diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv003_12683.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv003_12683.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..eb97ba5fb821308163d10c6914b309d66624dd46 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv003_12683.txt @@ -0,0 +1,19 @@ + " quest for camelot " is warner bros . ' first feature-length , fully-animated attempt to steal clout from disney's cartoon empire , but the mouse has no reason to be worried . +the only other recent challenger to their throne was last fall's promising , if flawed , 20th century fox production " anastasia , " but disney's " hercules , " with its lively cast and colorful palate , had her beat hands-down when it came time to crown 1997's best piece of animation . +this year , it's no contest , as " quest for camelot " is pretty much dead on arrival . +even the magic kingdom at its most mediocre -- that'd be " pocahontas " for those of you keeping score -- isn't nearly as dull as this . +the story revolves around the adventures of free-spirited kayley ( voiced by jessalyn gilsig ) , the early-teen daughter of a belated knight from king arthur's round table . +kayley's only dream is to follow in her father's footsteps , and she gets her chance when evil warlord ruber ( gary oldman ) , an ex-round table member-gone-bad , steals arthur's magical sword excalibur and accidentally loses it in a dangerous , booby-trapped forest . +with the help of hunky , blind timberland-dweller garrett ( carey elwes ) and a two-headed dragon ( eric idle and don rickles ) that's always arguing with itself , kayley just might be able to break the medieval sexist mold and prove her worth as a fighter on arthur's side . + " quest for camelot " is missing pure showmanship , an essential element if it's ever expected to climb to the high ranks of disney . +there's nothing here that differentiates " quest " from something you'd see on any given saturday morning cartoon -- subpar animation , instantly forgettable songs , poorly-integrated computerized footage . + ( compare kayley and garrett's run-in with the angry ogre to herc's battle with the hydra . +i rest my case . ) +even the characters stink -- none of them are remotely interesting , so much that the film becomes a race to see which one can out-bland the others . +in the end , it's a tie -- they all win . +that dragon's comedy shtick is awfully cloying , but at least it shows signs of a pulse . +at least fans of the early-'90s tgif television line-up will be thrilled to find jaleel " urkel " white and bronson " balki " pinchot sharing the same footage . +a few scenes are nicely realized ( though i'm at a loss to recall enough to be specific ) , and the actors providing the voice talent are enthusiastic ( though most are paired up with singers who don't sound a thing like them for their big musical moments -- jane seymour and celine dion ? ? ? ) . +but one must strain through too much of this mess to find the good . +aside from the fact that children will probably be as bored watching this as adults , " quest for camelot " 's most grievous error is its complete lack of personality . +and personality , we learn from this mess , goes a very long way . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv013_10494.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv013_10494.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3c21098eb299bfa205174abe14c296b14ca030f7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv013_10494.txt @@ -0,0 +1,45 @@ +a movie like mortal kombat : annihilation works ( and must be reviewed on ) multiple levels . +first , there's the rampant usage of randian subtext that pervades the entire movie . +but occasionaly , almost as if making an ironic , self-depreciating remark , the movie tosses in clearly marxist imagery . +no no . . . +just kidding . +had you going there for a moment , didn't i ? +in all seriousness however , and to be fair to the movie , it * is * necessary to provide two viewpoints : that of a movie watcher unfamiliar ( or only marginally familiar ) with the whole mortal kombat phenomenon , and that of a fan of the first movie and/or a fan of the games . +the first movie ( mortal kombat ( 1995 ) ) concerned itself with a martial arts tournament that would decide the fate of earth ( and it's 5 billion inhabitants ) . +the mortals won , and in theory this should have prevented the emperor shao khan from taking over the earth . +unfortunately , shao khan was a poor loser , and the very final scene in mortal kombat showed him arriving anyway , ready to take over the planet , as our heroes assumed a fighting stance . +the first movie was extraordinarily entertaining for those ( like myself ) who are fans of the game . +i'd even go so far as to say that many folks who didn't know about the game probably enjoyed the movie . +the writers and directors knew the limitations of both their cast and of the basic story itself , and they didn't try to overachieve . +there were a lot of really cool fight scenes ( with really cool accompanying music ) , intersperesed with some distracting ( but ultimately non-intrusive ) bits of fluff passing itself off as a plot . +and , as we know , the movie was a smashing success at the box office . +mortal kombat : annihilation picks up precisely where that movie left off , with some introductory exposition to clue in those who may not have seen the first movie . +shao khan has decided that he's going to take over the earth * anyways * , and to hell with some silly rule about mortals winning the tournament . +thereafter follows approximately 85 minutes of film that alternates between being confused , being trite , being silly , and being just plain stupid . +one gets the general impression that the producers of the movie thought " hey , that last movie was such a success that we can get more money and make a * real * movie now . " +too bad they didn't simply stick with the formula from the first movie . +i could write volumes about the things that are wrong with this picture , but here are the high points : + * the acting is truly bad . +sandra hess ( playing the sonya blade character ) is particularly execrable , especially in scenes where she tries to convince us that she loved johnny cage ( a character from the first movie who gets greased at the beginning of this movie ) . + * in one of the worst pieces of mis-casting i think i've * ever * seen , james remar plays raiden , the god of thunder . +in the first movie , christopher lambert played raiden and played his character as though he was in on the joke : a french actor playing a japanese thunder god being revered by chinese mystics . +i generally like it when actors are cast against type ( tim " tiny " lister , jr . being cast as the president of the u . s . in the fifth element , for example ) , and remar has always been one of my favorite " utility " actors but he's so totally wrong for this part that he doesn't even have the luxury of amused self-awareness . + * there are too many characters that are introduced as being potentially important , but then never seen again . + * there are a number of completely meaningless story sidetracks , including a muddled scene where liu kang ( robin shou ) seeks out nightwolf ( litefoot ) , has a mystical hallucination , and then wanders off with jade ( irina pantaeva ) . +for these reasons ( and many others ) , i can only give the movie a 2 . . . + . . . unless you're a huge fan of the games and/or the first movie . +in that case , the following critiques also apply : + * sandra hess , while being an even worse actress than bridgette wilson ( who played sonya blade in the first movie ) , is much more convincing as a fighter . +wilson looked like she was simply mimicing some movements taught to her by the fight choreographer . +hess looks like she actually knows some martial arts , and puts together a much more believable fight scene . + * in the fights , each of the characters does at least * one * thing they do in the game ( and often more ) . +sonya does her " kiss of death , " jax does his " earthquake , " liu kang does his " animality , " and so on . +a big bonus for those of us who were looking for similar moves in the first movie and found them only rarely . + * there aren't as many fight scenes in this movie as there were in the first , because the folks making the movie mistakenly try to hang a more robust plot in between . +silly , silly folks . +and the lamest fight involved two of the women in what turns into a mud-wrestling match . +lame and so obviously sexist even i ( politically incorrect , for the most part ) noticed and remarked upon it . + * the special effects are generally better , except for the final fight scene between the emporer and liu kang in which both perform their " animalities . " +motaro and sheeva are both more convincing and lifelike than goro was in the first movie . +for folks like myself who loved the first movie and enjoy the games , i give this a 5 . +you'll probably like it , but not nearly as much as you liked the first one . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv015_29356.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv015_29356.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..07fb45bd1faf1a8018c36815c64840b5e40a0682 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv015_29356.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +john carpenter makes b-movies . +always has ( " halloween , " " escape from new york , " " the thing " ) and , by the looks of it ( " they live , " " escape from l . a . , " " vampires " ) , always will . +carpenter's latest horror opus with a science fiction bent ( or science fiction outing with a schlock horror bent ) is the aptly-titled " john carpenter's ghosts of mars " ( in case , i suppose , you went looking for someone else's " ghosts of mars " ) . +like all those films prefixed by the very possessive " john carpenter's , " " ghosts of mars " is an unashamed b-movie punctuated by a b-movie plot , b-movie actors , and b-movie special effects . +in category one , above , we have a storyline that borders on idiotic ( and , at times , chaotic ) . +dormant martians ( i . e . , swirling red gases ) awakened by meddling humans possess the souls of hapless mining colonists rendering them testy marilyn manson lookalikes . +all this explained ( in flashback ) to some grand pooh-bah counsel by martian police official melanie ballard ( natasha henstridge , from the sub- " species " films ) , the only returnee on a silly-looking train . +officer ballard went in to bring back incarcerated felon james " desolation " williams ; what she found was not a pretty picture . +in the second category we have ms . henstridge , her blonde hair pulled back tightly and awkwardly into a ponytail , ice cube ( as the appropriately-named " desolation " ) , pam grier ( briefly , oddly--who wanted to work with whom i wonder ? ) , and a host of extras all assuming that the story and special effects were going to carry this film and therefore they didn't need to try too hard . +in category number three we have , in addition to those swirling red gases and the silly-looking train , a couple of bird's-eye-view shots of a sprawling martian metropolis ( reddish also ) . +state-of-the-art special effects have never been a carpenter trademark and once again the writer/director ( who seems to have no problem finding work , however ) doesn't waste any of the film's budget in that department . + " ghosts of mars " is lock , laughing stock , and barrel all your standard carpenter fare : dingy interiors , cluttered exteriors , inane dialogue , lots of leather , scarred , crazed-looking aliens , and lots and lots of weaponry . +the film often and always explodes into warfare without warning--spontaneously , stupidly . +carpenter might like to think he's made a western here but it's a western without any real heroes , villains , or border conflicts . +it's just the shootouts minus a hissing snake plissken . +i never thought i'd miss the guy but i do . +it's not * all * the same , however . +dubbed the " one-note wonder " for his minimalist music soundtracks , carpenter seems to have graduated from simplistic ( yet effective ) scoring by highlighting his action with loud , screeching guitar work . +fortunately this drowns out a lot of the dialogue . +the final exchange between henstridge and , er , cube though is both audible * and * priceless . +mars has proven an infertile breeding ground for hollywood in the last year or so , what with the stillborn " mission to mars " and " red planet " ( with val kilmer ) . + " ghosts of mars " sadly adds to those disappointing returns ( in its opening weekend it was overshadowed by a bunch of sequels , among them " american pie 2 " and " rush hour 2 " ) . +the irony is that the mars in carpenter's film feels sadly absent . +there are occasional references to the red planet , of course , but the film might as well have been set in perth amboys than on earth's closest neighbor . +two things keep " john carpenter's ghosts of mars " from getting a huge slap upside the head . +1 . +henstridge keeps her top on ( miraculously ) , and 2 . the film doesn't pretend to be anything it's not . +what that means , however , is that fans of superior , intelligent , grade a sci-fi/horror are singularly out of luck . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv020_9234.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv020_9234.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..debfcbd07bbcb1f7ae129a6f55b409749ae206b4 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv020_9234.txt @@ -0,0 +1,33 @@ + " spawn " features good guys , bad guys , lots of fighting , bloody violence , a leather-clad machine gun chick , gooey , self-healing bullet holes , scatological humor and a man-eating monster . +it not only appears to have been tailor made for a swarm of 12- and 13-year-old boys , it appears to have been made by them . +in a classic example of telling and not showing , " spawn " opens with a truckload of mumbo jumbo about forces of darkness , forces of light and how " men are the ones who create evil on earth . " +so much for a message . +the movie then lurches forward into the plight of al simmons ( michael jai white ) , a government assassin/operative who is murdered by diabolical boss jason wynn ( martin sheen , who plays all of his scenes like an oscar clip ) while on a top secret mission in a north korean biological weapons plant . +simmons goes to hell and back , after making a deal with satan himself -- if he agrees to command the devil's army to overtake the world , he'll be allowed to return to earth to see his wife wanda ( underused theresa randle ) and little girl cyan ( sydni beaudoin ) . +of course , seeing as how five years has passed , wanda has fallen for -- and married -- simmons' partner ( d . b . +sweeney ) . +his , uh , shoulder to cry on comes in the form of clown ( john leguizamo ) , a disgustingly disproportioned minion of satan's . +clown manipulates simmons , now in superhuman spawn form , into a stand off with wynn . +wynn , who thinks he is in league with the double-dealing clown , recognizes spawn as a threat and undergoes an operation where a bomb is placed on his heart -- when it stops beating , major cities around the world will detonate , causing the leak of a disease that " makes the ebola virus look like a skin rash . " +phew . got all that ? +it would be easy to dismiss " spawn " as just another one of those heavy-on-fx , short-on-substance action pics , but it doesn't even work on that level . +the computer-generated sequences are often and plenty , and the problem is that they look too computer-generated . +the several scenes set in hell present a devil that looks and acts like a video game graphic -- with the movie's healthy budget you'd think they could have afforded to make his mouth move when he talks . +other elements of the movie are so-so ; spawn's enormous red , flowing cape is a wonderful sight , but it's too obvious when he's being played by a costumed actor or an image . +in movies like " contact , " the special effects serve the story . +in " spawn , " they are the story . +and spawn himself isn't even an interesting character . +the film's reliance on razzle-dazzle would be acceptable if we were given somebody to root for , but both simmons and his funky alter-ego are completely underdeveloped . +what we need is a batman , a luke skywalker . +even watching the adventures of kleenex man would be more interesting than spawn . +poor leguizamo . +he starred in february's " the pest , " a movie that i still think is the year's worst so far , although this one does give it a run for its money . +as clown , he overacts to the extreme , never missing an opportunity for a poor-taste punchline . +leguizamo farts green mist , munches a pizza slice covered with maggots and even dons a mini-skirt and performs a cheerleader routine , all before turning into a giant grey demon . +the guy was brilliant in " to wong foo , thanks for everything ! +julie newmar . " +what is he doing wasting his talent in this and " the pest " ? +i'm one of the few people that liked " batman & robin , " this summer's other big-budget comic book film . +yet after catching this movie and making the inevitable comparison , i can only hope people will change their minds and think of " batman " as the superior adaptation . +there's a compelling story somewhere in " spawn " -- including strong religious overtones and the debut of the first african-american superhero ever -- but it's just not found anywhere near here . +as it is , " spawn " is just awful -- it stinks worse than a dead trout . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv029_19943.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv029_19943.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..82581761c72c9746866f99f51d891f0cbd173e64 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv029_19943.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +one-sided " doom and gloom " documentary about the possible annihilation of the human race as foretold by the bible . +orson welles narrates and appears in the film in which he , along with best-selling author hal lindsey , discusses various prophecies from the bible and relates them to recent ( well for 1976 anyway ) events . +the film is dated badly , as many things that are supposed to happen in the " future " never do . +for example , the planets of the solar system were supposed to line up in the year 1982 and cause chaos here on earth . +we're still here . +the arms race between the soviets and america was supposed to kick-off the apocalypse . +we're still here . +some of the more ludicrous moments come when it's alluded to that people like jimmy carter and henry kissinger may actually be the antichrist ( ! ) . +also , there's ten minutes of stock footage at the end of the film meant to give us an idea of what the battle for armageddon might be like . +if it's anything like it's depicted as here then it's going to be incredibly boring . +the late great planet earth is available on dvd from vci home video . +it contains the film in standard form ( aspect ratio of 1 . 33 : 1 ) , although some moments of stock footage are letterboxed . +also included are brief bios on orson welles and hal lindsey , as well as a trailer for another recent vci home video release , chariots of the gods . +audio is mono dolby digital , and the video is fair to good for a film like this . +i believe this is the first appearance of this film on any home video format so any condition at all is fine with me . +certainly i never expected a remastered print . +curiously , the menu screens on this dvd look nothing like the menu screens pictured on the back of the case . +but they're menu screens . . . +so who really cares ? +[pg] diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv032_23718.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv032_23718.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b14fac03b59aabc2efb8ce50b58224309b1a70c4 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv032_23718.txt @@ -0,0 +1,70 @@ +hong kong cinema has been going through a bad spell . +the last few productions have been effect laded action adventures that combine both the best and worst of american filmmaking with the same qualities of hong kong films . +in a nutshell , the current crop of films from hong kong has been maddeningly convoluted and visually sumptuous . +with the one time british colony reverting back to mainland ownership , a lot of hong kong's best talents have crossed the pacific to work on u . s . productions . +such talents as jackie chan ( rush hour ) , chow yun-fat ( anna & the king , the corrupter ) and yuen woo-ping ( the matrix ) have all moved into the budget bloated world of hollywood filmmaking with mixed results . +now we can add two other hong kong filmmakers to the mix with star jet li and director and fight choreographer corey yuen kwai . +unfortunately " romeo must die " bears all the trademarks of a typical hollywood action film and none of hong kong's rhythms . +the film opens in a nightclub as an asian couple is necking . +enter a group of chinese gangsters led by kai sing ( russell wong ) . +kai confronts po sing ( jon kit lee ) , the son of kai's boss and leader of the local chinese family . +a battle breaks out between the bodyguards of the club and kai , who handily kicks and punches his opponents down . +it's not until club owner silk ( rapper dmx ) , bears down on kai and his henchmen that the fight ends . +the following morning po sing is found dead . +suspicions escalate , as issac o'day ( delroy lindo ) is told of the murder . +his concern that the war between his and the chinese family may explode and ruin his plans to move out of the business of corruption and into a legitimate venture . +issac implores his chief of security , mac ( issiah washington ) to watch after his son and daughter . +the scene shifts to a prison in china , where han sing ( jet li ) learns of his brothers murder . +he fights with the guards and is dragged off to be disciplined . +hung upside down by one foot , han recovers and battle his way out of custody in a blistering display of fight choreography and stunt work . +escaping to the u . s . han sets out to find the person responsible for his brother's death . + " romeo must die " is in many ways a fun film . +it is both absurd and assured . +the basic plot of a gangster wanting to become legitimate echoes " the godfather " . +the relationship between jet li's han and aaliyah's trish o'day reminds us of abel ferrera's " china girl " , except that romeo must die's couple never once exchange more than a loving glance towards one another . +their romance is much more puritanical than any other romance in film history . +the performances are adequate if not fully acceptable . +li , of course has the showiest part , having to express both an innocents and steadfast determination . +allayah , in her feature film debut manages to carry what little is asked of her with a certain style and grace . +it's obvious that the camera loves her and she is very photogenic . +but , still the part is under written in such a way that even a poor performance would not have affected it . +delro lindo as issac o'day carries himself well in the film . +an unsung and under appreciated actor , mr . lindo turns out the films best performance . +the other performers are all adequate in what the script asks of them except for d . b . woodside as issac's son , colin . +the performance is undirected , with the character changing his tone and demeanor in accordance with whatever location he is in . +an unfocused performance that should have been reigned in and / or better written . +first time director andrzej bartkowiak does a workmanlike job in handling the film . +having a career as one of the industry's best cinematographers , bartkiwiak knows how to set up his shots , and " romeo must die " does look good . +but the pacing of the film is lethargic , only coming to a semblance of life during the fight scenes . +the script by eric bernt and john jarrell is not focused in such a way that we can care about the characters or the situations they are in . +the big gambit of buying up waterfront property to facilitate the building of a sports center for a nfl team is needlessly confusing . +and of course the common practice of one character being the comic relief of the film becomes painfully obvious here as anthony anderson as allayah's bodyguard , maurice has no comic timing whatsoever . +the best things about the film are its fight scenes . +jet li is a master of these intricate physical battles . +one needs only to see his film " fist of legend " to understand that the man is without peer in the realm of martial art combat . +here , jet is given the opportunity to show off in a way that " lethal weapon 4 " ( jet's u . s . debut ) didn't allow . +unfortunately , a lot of jet's fights are aided with computer effects that detract from his ability and precision . +also " romeo must die " must be noted as having the most singularly useless effect ever committed to film , and that is an x-ray effect that appears three times during the course of the film , showing the effect of bone crushing blows on an opponent . +obviously a homage to the famed x-ray scene from sonny chiba's " streetfighter " , the scenes here are just pointless and interfere with the pacing of the film . +it's as if the film has stopped and a video game has been inserted . +one problem though about the fight scenes . +those that are familiar with hong kong action know that even though the films are fantasies and are as removed from reality as any anime or cartoon . +they do have an internal rhythm to them . +a heartbeat , so to speak in their choreography . +the fight scenes in a hong kong film breath with an emotional resonance . +this is created by the performance , the direction and the editing . +here in " romeo must die " , there is no staccato . +every fight scene , even though technically adroit and amazing becomes boring as the editing both cuts away from battle at hand and simple follows a set pattern . +the rhythm is monotonous . +a hong kong film has a tempo that changes , heightening its emotional impact . +'rmd' is limited to a standard 4/4 tempo , not allowing for any emotional content whatsoever . +a fine example of this difference can be found by examining a couple of jackie chan's films . . +watch the restaurant fight from the film " rush hour " and notice that the context of the fight , while technically amazing is rather flat ( the framing and cut always do not help ) . +now look at the warehouse fight from " rumble in the bronx " . +there you have a heartbeat , and emotional draw that doesn't let the audience catch its breath . +the stops and pauses for dramatic effect work perfectly , causing the viewer to be both astounded and flabbergasted . +here in 'romeo must die' , the fight scenes have no more emotional content or character than any john wayne barroom brawl . +jet li is a grand and personable screen presence . +it's a shame that his full talents were not used to full effect here . +one day filmmakers here in the u . s . will stop making films by the numbers and start to embrace the style and emotion that has made hong kong action pictures such a commodity . +until then , we'll be left with emotionally hollow product like " the replacement killer " and , currently " romeo must die " . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv043_16808.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv043_16808.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..727e75185d6bdaaaa25a18b3e8e9d2a847afe791 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv043_16808.txt @@ -0,0 +1,15 @@ + " party camp , " is one of the most mindnumbingly brainless comedies i've seen in awhile . +a late rip-off of the " meatballs " series , the film follows a group of young camp counselors at camp chipmunk . +that's really about all that can be said about the " plot " because nothing much happens , except that the main character , wise-cracking jerry ( andrew ross ) , has the hots for a cute blonde ( kerry brennan ) , and there is a big contest in the climax . +how fun ! +since , " party camp , " has practically no screenplay and there is no talent at all involved , the least the makers could have done was make it raunchy and exploitative . +it's not that i think exploitation is necessarily a good quality , but when you are talking about a dull turkey like this , the least that could have been done would be to fill it with a lot of mindless sex . +even a psychopathic slasher at the camp would have done the trick . +at least , then , it wouldn't have been such a chore to sit through . +never before have i seen so many jokes fall astoundingly flat . +the comedy was easy to spot , but it wasn't the least bit funny . +it was groan-inducing . +constantly throghout , i was asking myself if director gary graver actually thought this movie was worth anything . +so what saves , " party camp , " from the dreaded zero star rating ? +well , that's simple : jewel shepard , as a flighty bimbo , was admittedly fun to watch . +although nothing could have saved this film from the lowest depths of motion picture trash , at least if the film had centered on shepard , she might have been able to add a little spice to an otherwise rancid , low-budget teen comedy . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv046_10613.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv046_10613.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..98f73ad48cd69e99bb5b5dbf6b0a3327c50a5b97 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv046_10613.txt @@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ +all through its production and into the early days of its initial , aborted pre-release publicity , hard rain bore the appropriate moniker of the flood . +ultimately , however , paramount pictures , nervous that this movie would be confused with 1996's other , underperforming disaster films ( dante's peak , volcano ) , changed the title and shifted the release date by nearly a year . +but , to paraphrase the bard , swill , by any other name , would smell as rank . +no number of name changes can help this picture . +it's not just about a disaster , it is a disaster . +hard rain is the case of a movie that gets progressively worse with every passing minute . +the best shot occurs during the opening credits , as the camera pans over the streets and byways of huntingburg , indiana as the water level slowly rises . +the community , protected by an overworked dam , is being evacuated as the rain continues to pour relentlessly from the cloud-choked skies . +from that moment on , it's all downhill . +whatever initial entertainment value the film possesses has long since drained away by the halfway point . +it takes forever to get to the end credits -- this is one of the longest-seeming 95-minute motion pictures i have recently endured . +basically , hard rain is one extended , dull chase sequence punctuated by occasional shoot-outs . +there's a lot of water , broken glass , gunfire , and explosions . +it's all very routine and uninteresting because there aren't any real characters and the plot only occasionally makes sense . +the film's conclusion is so preposterous that it's almost worth watching for the sheer masochistic enjoyment of seeing the monumentally idiotic way that the film makers decide to resolve the myriad subplots that are floating around . +action films are supposed to become progressively more invigorating as they rush towards a conclusion . +graham yost , the writer of both speed and hard rain , surely understands that principle . +unfortunately , neither he , nor cinematographer-turned-director mikael salomon ( a far off place ) , applies it . +the action in hard rain grows tedious through repetition . +we see the same kinds of things -- speedboat chases , flood damage , shoot-outs , etc . -- over and over again . +the movie constantly recycles about twenty minutes worth of material to pad the running time out to an acceptable movie length . +the storyline gives us a number of paper-thin characters in contrived circumstances . +there's tom ( christian slater ) , the one- dimensional action hero who works as a security guard driving an armored car full of cash . +he and his partner , charlie ( edward asner , tv's " lou grant " ) , get stuck on a street that's rapidly turning into a river . +a group of men , led by jimmy ( morgan freeman ) , arrive on the scene not as rescuers but as robbers . +after charlie is killed in a shoot-out , tom hides the money , then runs . +as he swims and boats his way through huntingburg's roads , he encounters some of the locals : karen ( minnie driver ) , a would-be love interest ; a bickering old couple ( richard dysart and betty white ) , who are on hand to provide comic relief ; and the easily-corrupted sheriff ( randy quaid ) , whose seeming helpfulness hides sinister ulterior motives . +there isn't any real acting in this film . +christian slater utters a few lame one-liners and does a lot of mugging for the camera . +tom is easily one of the most lifeless characters the actor has brought to the screen . +randy quaid sneers a lot , and is totally unconvincing . +morgan freeman and minnie driver both attempt to give legitimate performances , but they are defeated by the script . +freeman , one of the best cinematic thespians working today , looks suitably embarrassed to be here , but i suppose everyone needs a good paycheck from time-to-time . +following in the wake of twister , this is yet another natural disaster movie that doesn't trust nature's fury as the chief engine of conflict . +as a result , we are saddled with an idiotic good guys/bad guys story that effectively ruins any potential that the flood tale could have had . +titanic proved that there can be a wealth of drama in a movie where everything goes under water . +hard rain successfully demonstrates that the opposite is equally possible . +thus far this year , hollywood has already subjected us to its unique brand of moronic mayhem by fire ( firestorm ) and water ( hard rain ) . +fortunately , there are only two elements left . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv049_21917.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv049_21917.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5db5b313da71c532bec4e8b94006ccab52d998ab --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv049_21917.txt @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ + " the world on land -- it's just too big for me . " +starring tim roth , pruitt taylor vince , bill nunn , clarence williams iii . +rated r . +the legend of 1900s is the year's most absurd movie , a rambling , nonsensical piece of seafaring garbage that goes nowhere fast . +it stars thespian extraordinaire tim roth , looking wistful as ever , as a guy named . . . +1900 . +you heard right . +his name is , in all actuality , 1900 . +he was born on an ocean liner on 1/1/1900 ( uh , hence the name ) , abandoned and adopted by danny , a ship crewman . +1900 spends most of his early years hiding in the bowels of the ship because of danny's fear that he might be taken away from him because of " visa matters . " +well , when 1900 is about 9 or so , he starts wondering all around the ship . +one day , he discovers a grand piano . +he sits down and starts playing . +miraculously , what comes out is beautiful . +a group of onlookers gathers to watch this stunning prodigy make such amazing music at such a young age . +when one of the people who knows 1900 tells him that his playing the piano like that without permission is " totally against regulations " 1900 replies " f * ck the regulations ! " +ho ho ho . +1900 grows up never setting foot on dry land . +when he's about 30ish and can play the piano like nobody's business , onboard comes another musician . +his name is max ( pruitt taylor vince ) and he plays the trumpet . +after 1900 catches max barfing everywhere during a storm , he sits him down on the piano next to him , takes the piano's braces off and plays while the piano flies all around the hall , taking them with it . +how the chair they're sitting on and the piano don't separate , i don't know , but this apparently isn't the kind of thing we're supposed to ask . +after that , 1900 and max become friends . +max is determined to get 1900 off the ship and discover what he is missing on land , but 1900 has no intention of doing so . +what's more , he doesn't even want his music to go anywhere without him : when a record company hears about his talents , they come on board to make a record of his music , but after finding out that -- gasp ! +-- they're going to make millions of copies , he breaks the record . +the conflict of the movie is that after max , unsuccessful in his endeavor to get 1900 off the ship , gets off himself , he stumbles upon a record of 1900's music in a store . +the record shouldn't exist because a ) 1900 never stepped on dry land and b ) the one record that was made on the ship was broken . +ladies and gentlemen , it's a mystery ! +the story itself is ludicrous and uninteresting and so are its elements . +we're supposed to be roused by a climactic . . . +piano duel ? +there isn't anything in this movie with the potential to compel . +1900 comes off as a whiny , brooding , extremely unlikable man : i can't recall a single word he said that was not some sort of depressing pseudo- meditation on life . +ditto for max , who doesn't seem to have a life outside his friendship with 1900 . +tim roth plays 1900 with about as much panache as a fig leaf ; there's no spirit , no gusto to the character . +he insists that he leads a happy life on the ship , but to us he is dead . +pruitt taylor vince is a little more palatable , at least providing a moment of comic relief here and there to liven things up a bit . +the highlight of the movie would have to be the eminently amusing clarence williams the iii as the arrogant , leering " king of jazz " who challenges 1900 to the aforementioned piano duel . +the legend of 1900 was made by giuseppe tornatore , whose 1988 cinema paradiso is considered a masterpiece by many . +this effort is utterly limp and lifeless . +at once ridiculous , boring , narrow-sighted and pointless , this is one movie that should be -- and will be -- quickly forgotten . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv052_29318.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv052_29318.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..25659e919d1db9c550585004549ca34f23c611fc --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv052_29318.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +this feature is like a double header , two sets of clich ? s for the price of one . +not only do we get the usual tired sports chestnuts , but the banal rich girl-poor boy love story is tossed in for good measure . +an original moment in this loser is as rare as a chicago cubs world series appearance . +the screenplay by kevin falls and john gatins , based on a story by falls , merely lobs its plotline at the audience . +this is a story that needed sent down for seasoning and more coaching . +summer catch centers around ryan dunne ( freddie prinze jr . ) , a cape cod youth chosen to participate in the prestigious cape cod baseball league , supposedly a showcase for the best young amateur and college players in the country . +ryan is a blue-collar kind of guy . +he works with his dad taking care of the lawns of cape cod's rich and famous . +he also , as we are informed early , his own worst enemy . +he has the potential and the talent , but always seems to self-destruct at the crucial moment . +so , ryan tries to remained focused on baseball . +then he meets tenley parrish ( jessica biel ) , daughter of one of the blue bloods whose lawn he manicures . +tenley , a name only a hack screenwriter could invent , is unlike her snobbish counterparts and falls for ryan . +if you can't figure out where all this nonsense leads , then you need a remedial course in film viewing . +as always prinze is pretty to look at , but his performance mainly consists of facial expressions : puppy dog love , heartbreak , frustration , self-loathing or determination . +biel cries a lot , while bruce davison merely acts smarmy as her class-conscious father . +the only beacon is matthew lillard's fun-loving billy brubaker , the team's catcher . +summer catch borrows situations and stylings from other baseball movies , such as bull durham and the natural . +no curve balls here , no sliders . +every pitch is predictable . +a blind umpire could call this movie . +summer catch is strictly rookie league moviemaking . +it has as much chance of making the movie hall of fame as the dodgers have of moving back to brooklyn . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv061_9321.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv061_9321.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..bfe9513181c79213599e26ecfa605186d0d3e549 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv061_9321.txt @@ -0,0 +1,72 @@ +'traffic violation' dr . daniel's review of u-turn +dr . d's rating : critical condition ( +okay , here's the deal . +i'll be the first one to grant that everybody needs a day off now and then . +i'll even go so far as to say that a vacation is a necessary part of doing any job well . +i mean , hey , i've been known to stretch a weekend into a three-day outing , if friday looks to be a slow day . +and if monday ain't looking like a pick-me-up , well , i've been known to give martha nell a call and say , " do me a favor , sweetheart . +bump old man ferguson's boil lancing to tuesday morning , and tell miss audrey that i'll swing by her house monday evening and see if we can't get her trick knee back in line . " +a simple sentence like that , and i've got a nice four-day fishing trip with the boys , or more often than not , a trip up to cherokee , n . c . , for jackpot bingo and assorted other mountain funnery . +but the point is , if you take a day off , do something different . +if you've worked yourself silly for months , relax a bit . +sleep in . +eat pancakes at noon . +microwave an egg in its shell . +watch pro wrestling with the sound off . +listen to some barry white records at high speed . +whatever . +but do not , under any circumstances , spend your vacation doing the same thing you do for a living . +and , if you do , don't make the final product look ten times worse than it would any other time . +because i do not want to hear your sob stories , oliver stone . +you apparently thought you needed a break from making " important films . " +cool . +so you found this hinky little book and decided to make it a movie . +that's cool , too . +but , ollie , old sage , do not take a good story and a hot cast and make one of the most pointless and worthless films of the decade . +i'm just eager to meet you one day , so i can buy you a stoli , look you in the eye and say , " what in the wide world of sports were you thinking with u-turn ? " +and i'll stand there staring 'til i get a straight answer . +sean penn stars u-turn , as bobby , a drifter who's had some troubles a while back . +he's heading cross the desert minus two fingers when his mustang ragtop blows a radiator hose , stranding him in superior , arizona , held there by an " ignorant , inbred , turtleneck hick " of a mechanic named darrell . +while darrell puts a new hose on the ride , bobby walks into town to see what's cooking . +is it needless of me to say that superior , arizona , is not exactly the shiny scrubbed home of all things lovely ? +probably not . +bobby meets up with grace ( jennifer lopez ) , who invites him back to her place , for drape-hanging and other domestic issues . +just as those issues are starting up , grace's husband , jake , storms in , looking like check-out day of the elks lodge convention . +just beats bobby silly . +bobby takes to the road , only to meet up with jake again , and jake asks bobby to kill grace . +a little while later , grace asks bobby to kill jake . +them murderous arizonians . +gotta love 'em . +if any of this sounds familiar , congratulations . +you win a kewpie doll . +the story is a straight shoplift of red rock west , a cult favorite a few years back from john dahl , maker of the phenomenal the last seduction . +but the contest doesn't end there , guys and gals . +we get steals from russ meyer movies , where everybody in town is horny and sweaty . +we get the town from bad day at black rock , minus the train , plus busty women who can speak . +look at any schwarzenegger film , and you'll see our hero , bobby , as bobby has a mudhole stomped in his keister a dozen times , has his ribs stove in at least fifteen times , gets bit by a tarantula , gets shot at , and ends up with vultures circling overhead , all the while getting up like he just got a shaving nick . +bobby as terminator ? +stretch it a bit , and we have a five-finger discount from doc hollywood , where the whole story occurs because of car trouble , forcing the main character to stay at the mercy of the town and the mechanic . +okay , he's working from a book , so maybe ollie's not totally to blame for blatantly copping these ideas . +i just expect a man who can make up an alternative history of the united states to be able to craft a few original ideas before exposing the negative . +i just wish he hadn't brought a cast like this together for what amounts to a group toe-stub . +sean penn gives a great performance , and jennifer lopez and nick nolte are as on target as they can be , playing over-the-top caricatures of stereotype characters . +the best thing about the movie is watching penn react to the madness around him and try to figure out exactly what the blankety-blank is going on . +too bad it's not fun to watch when it's happening to us . . . while +we sit through this mess of a film . +u-turn is not a bad film if you're a fan of technique . +it's the oliver stone you've always known . +robert richardson is his usual cinematographer , and rob and ollie know how to shoot a flick -- great camera angles , shifting viewpoints , wicked colors , nice looking pictures . +but pictures of what ? +i think i'd rather stare at a xeroxed envelope for two hours than try to figure out the tilt-o-whirl point of this loser film . +plot twists are one thing , repetition is almost unforgivable , and this is dang near as unforgivable as any movie i've seen in the past five years . +oliver , i know your body of work is nothing to sniff at . +you've been nice enough to limit us to only one doors movie , and films like platoon , jfk , wall street and nixon give us plenty to dig on . +your scripts are certainly respectable , your budgets are up there on the screen , and your actors don't dog it . +and i know that , maybe , with u-turn , you were just kicking back , just having fun . +that's fine . +but don't do that with a movie with the potential of this one . +do some police academy sequel ( imagine that . ) +do a big comedy , like a remake of it's a mad , mad , mad , mad world . +but do not drop a limp u-turn out of your pocket and expect us to accept it as " an oliver stone movie , " and not question why it stinks like week-old snook . +there's a right way to have fun , and a wrong way to have fun . +this was as wrong as you can get without going to jail . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv066_11668.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv066_11668.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..56f2cd823a6e223b5b70a4339be0006297f7e6f8 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv066_11668.txt @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ +mr . nice guy is the latest jackie chan film , so you should know what to expect . +a weak plot , terrible dialogue , very little acting ability , but some jaw-dropping action sequences that nearly make the rest of it worthwhile . +however , mr . nice guy lacks the sparkle of jackie's best efforts , and its weaknesses are more glaring than ever . +jackie chan plays , who else , jackie . +this time out , he's a famous chef who hosts an australian cooking show . +not that it ever makes a difference in the plot . +there are only two scenes of him cooking . +for the rest of the film , somehow he mutates into jackie chan , supercop . +it never does explain why his character has such superb martial arts skills . . . perhaps he was in the same cooking class as steven seagal in under siege ? +a tv newswoman , diana ( gabrielle fitzpatrick ) , covertly tapes a drug deal involving kingpin giancarlo ( richard norton ) and a local gang of toughs , the demons . +although she only has one camcorder , somehow the result is full of close-ups and multiple angles . . . hmmm , +shades of broadcast news ? ? ? +anyway , the goons discover diana , and will do anything to recover the tape . +here lies another crucial flaw in the story : doesn't anyone realize you can copy a tape ? +oh well , no one ever said jackie chan movies had to make sense . +as luck would have it , diana runs across jackie , and , wouldn't you know it , jackie accidentally ends up with the tape . +this leads to countless chase and/or fight scenes which look like they could have been lifted from rumble in the bronx or nearly any other jackie chan movie . +in a move apparently designed to woo american ( and other english-speaking ) audiences , the film uses english as its primary language . +however , that doesn't mean an end to the atrocious dubbing that has afflicted jackie's recent americanized releases . +strangely , many of the characters speaking english are overdubbed with english , and poorly too . +whether this is just a very bad case of looping , an effort to minimize accents , or a simple case of nostalgia , it does achieve the same level of distraction present in all of jackie's dubbed films . +the plot in mr . nice guy is negligible , merely an excuse to have jackie on the run from various goons . +but even though plots have always been second to the action in jackie's films , it seems odd that the filmmakers have stuck us with this tired retread . +look , if you have jackie chan playing a chef , why not use that to your advantage ? +watching jackie doing his stuff in a kitchen , beating the bad guys with foodstuffs sounds like the perfect setup for innumerable comic stunts . +the action is a mixed bag here . +there's really only one no holds barred fight scenes that have become the trademark of jackie's films . +it takes place in the arbitrary location of a construction site , apparently for the sole reason that there are lots of nifty things lying around that can be useful ala jackie chan . +the action in the film is neither jackie's best nor worst , but you long for some more inspiration in the scenes . +the film's gratuitous use of slow motion is distracting . +once or twice , it may be useful to highlight a spectacular stunt sequence . +but to slo-mo jackie running ? +either this is a nod to the six-million dollar man , or a pathetic attempt to disguise the fact that jackie may be slowing down . +if you've seen all of jackie's films and are in need of another fix , go ahead and see mr . nice guy . +however , if you're just in the mood for some good action , you'd be better off hitting the video store for some of his better work , such as supercop . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv084_15183.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv084_15183.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..69b1d518f6b27c503a217b9c13849391094cc900 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv084_15183.txt @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +brian de palma , the director who bought us carrie , dressed to kill and mission : impossible is back , and has bought all his technical expertise with him . +sadly , he forget to bring a good story and believable characters . +nic cage plays rick santaro , a fast talking cop who is watching a boxing match with his friend commander kevin dunne ( sinise . ) +an assassination takes place , and santaro tries to peace together how it took place , trying to work out the roles of the people involved in this conspiracy . +the film uses flashbacks and video cameras to bring the mystery together . +however , the film doesn't keep the mystery for long , and once the big 'secret' is out concerning kevin dunne , the film is at a dead end . +although there are some fantastic shots by de palma , including a 15 minute steadicam shot at the start of the film , halfway through the film drops dead . +the problem is that de palma doesn't have a strong story or characters to work with . +he tries to offshoot this with flashy camera techniques , but pretty soon this has no effect on the audience , and i quickly got bored . +nic cage and gary sinise try to inject some life into some poorly realised characters , but it's no use . +they are boring , faceless , and completely unlikeable . +yes , another problem with the film is that there's no-one to root for . +we're supposed to be on cage's side , because his character becomes nicer throughout the film . +however , his change is sadly unbelievable . +poor gary sinise's character is terrible , who completely changes throughout the start , the middle and the end , in an appalling way . +the film's use of flashback quickly gets boring . +while clever and interesting the first few times , it quickly becomes apparent that flashbacks are being used because the film has nowhere to go . +they certainly don't increase the tension or suspense of the movie . +there is small thread of suspense running through the film , but it certainly doesn't make this film a powerhouse thriller , rather just a slightly below average one . +the script is lousy and contrived , the characters flat and two dimensional . +certainly not good factors for a film passing itself off for a thriller . +the most depressing aspect of the film is that it had potential . +there's a good story buried in snake eyes , it's just bogged down in razzle dazzle and flashbacks . +it also gives itself away far too quickly , rather than leaving the big twist for the end . +while the performances are intriguing , especially by newcomer carla gugino as a sexy 'number cruncher' wrapped up in the case , there's no way of altering the fact that snake eyes is a terminal case of style of substance , and unless you're a big fan of either cage or flash directing , should be avoided . +a david wilcock review ? 1998 + " you know , for kids " - norville barnes diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv116_28734.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv116_28734.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e2236d54ec1b4ff3b53ce72ba4966ee0bdf98ecb --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv116_28734.txt @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ +a remake of the 1978 warren beatty vehicle " heaven can wait " ( which in turn was a remake of " here comes mr . jordan " ) , " down to earth " tells the tale of lance barton ( chris rock , " lethal weapon iv " ) , a young black standup comic trying to win over the audience at harlem's apollo theater . +when he's taken to heaven prematurely by bumbling angel keyes ( eugene levy , " best in show " ) , his only recourse is to return in another body . +he chooses that of charles wellington , the tenth richest man in the united states . +of course , wellington is not only rich , but white and 53 years old , which makes lance's bid for closing night at the apollo , as well as his desire to woo suntee ( regina taylor , " jerry maguire " ) , a tad tricky . +the original elaine may/warren beatty script has been reworked by chris rock , lance crouther , ali leroi , and louis c . k . +to turn beatty's vehicle as a football player into rock's vehicle as a comic and add some racial humor . +as directed by chris weitz and paul weitz ( codirectors of " american pie " and costars of " chuck & buck " ) , the whole affair comes off as amateur hour . +initial scenes play like filmed line reading rehearsals . +production values are shoddy . +most serious of all is the use of rock when his wellington counterpart would have been more appropriate . +this problem is clearly attributable to the fact that the old white guy is never lip or action synched when he is on screen . +rock does get the chance to do some fun schtick , such as his turnaround on wellington's plans for a poor neighborhood hospital ( 'bullet in the head ? +you got a bed ! ' ) , but he's uneven when interacting with the rest of the cast . +regina taylor fares well amidst the mediocrity as the young activist who confusedly ends up falling for the man she believed to be her nemesis . +also good is frankie faison ( " hannibal " ) as whitney , lance's compassionate manager - the only human who's made privy to lance's body body switch . +chaz palminteri and levy are pretty much wasted as heaven's ambassadors . +another " best in show " alumnus , jennifer coolidge , is poorly used as wellington's cheating wife ( and shown several days apart wearing the same outfit ? ! ) and greg germann ( tv's " ally mcbeal , " " sweet november " ) continues display his sitcom roots as her lover and husband's lawyer . +mark addy ( " the full monty " ) is sorely underutilized as cisco , wellington's fake english butler . +stealing the show in every scene she's in is wanda sykes ( " the chris rock show " ) as wellington's disgruntled maid . + " down to earth " is for chris rock fans only . +all others should go rent " heaven can wait " or truly be brought down to earth . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv119_9909.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv119_9909.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b30d02613e70890e7c039b2399c85d7e4ca61c8d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv119_9909.txt @@ -0,0 +1,19 @@ +apparantly money talks . + . + . +and uses quite a bit of obscenities doing so ! +i've always considered myself pretty open about the gratuity a film can possess , whether in language , violence , sex , or what have you . +i find that this fact gives me a little more leverage to complain when a movie goes overboard , and money talks definitely does ! +it's not so much that the movie swore nearly constantly ( and i mean constantly ! ) , but it swore so much that it seemed overly prominent and way too staged . +perhaps if one character were foul mouthed , but in this film , everybody swears nearly every other word . +money talks is about a black ticket scalper named franklin hatchett ( played less annoyingly than expected by chris tucker ) . +franklin is your typical con-man and ends up with more than one person out to get him . +when the plot finally gets underway , there's no less than three people ( or groups ) that want him , dead or alive . +the frenchman who's somewhat responsible for franklin's escape from a prisoner-packed bus , a hoodlum whom franklin owes seven grand , and the cops who wrongly suspect him of murder . +franklin's only hope : james russell ( charlie sheen ) , an investigative reporter for the local news who's out to prove himself a worthy journalist . +james offers to help clear franklin's name if franklin will just allow him an exclusive report to help channel 12 conquer sweeps week . +both of these elements are completely lost along the way however , and never do reappear . +as expected , the odd couple of franklin and james do wind up friends at the end , which is another wasted element seeing as how they show no signs of becoming friends at any point along the way . +there is just nothing original or intriguing about this film , and so many developments are either non-relevant , or just plain forgotten about . +money talks is a paint-by-numbers movie that lacks any real involvment with the audience . +frivilous dialogue , a predictable , flat storyline , and two-dimensional characters make money talks a reason to save your money . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv145_12239.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv145_12239.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..85855b22f62c2ed880ea390521a6fcedc0c7df92 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv145_12239.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +it was once said that in order to truly enjoy some of todays movies or novels , you must suspend disbelief .  +however , there is a distinct separation between opening your mind to ridiculous situations and believing a bunch of flat lies . +it came as no surprise to me to learn that huntingburg , indiana ( where the film is set ) , does not have a mcdonald's , a sears store , a statue of a man on a horse , nor even a dam close by . +even if you can ignore these somewhat white lies ( even though the dam is crucial to hard rains plot ) ; there is still a bunch of things that just dont gel . +firstly , morgan freeman , possibly the greatest actor alive ( after such films as driving miss daisy , the shawshank redemption and se7en ) , was cast as a shifty goon intent on stealing enough money for a healthy retirement . +he _should_ have played the town sheriff , an experienced and somewhat intriguing policeman . +as a massive flood started by a dam accident overwhelms huntingburg , its residents presumably flee as the water level steadily increases . +i say presumably simply because we never know what happened to them ; and it seems a tad strange that an entire town ( with the exception of some folk who get introduced along the way ) can vanish before the flood has actually started . +but nether the less , armored guard couriers tom ( christian slater ) and his uncle are carrying three million dollars in the back of their van . +with a heavy rainstorm causing depressing conditions and slippery roads , it doesnt take long for the van to end up stuck amongst mud and water off the side of the road . +jim ( morgan freeman ) and a small gang of thieves locate the van and attempt to steal the three million dollars . +but of course tom is more than willing to save the day , so he takes the money and hides it elsewhere in town . +the local sheriff ( randy quaid , whom most will remember as the drunken pilot in id4 ) and a couple of police men investigate the situation , but their morals are soon overpowered by greediness as each character contemplates what he/she would do with their share of the three million dollars . +director mikael salomon has made sure that hard rain ends up turning everything topsy-turvy , and whilst the film may at first appear to be a definite goodies versus baddies ,  there are numerous twists in its plot that make this a slightly more enjoyable experience . +but by the time these interesting changes occur , its far too late in the film for them to have much affect . +hard rains continuos corniness and lack of originality washes out whatever hope the script may have had ; and although its cast is somewhat appealing most of its stars act well below par . +not at one stage capturing what could have been a fabulous on screen battle between slater and freeman , we are left to reminisce on films that dared to do something different and achieved more than what was expected . +such titles as broken arrow ( slater and john travolta ) and face/off ( nicholas cage and john travolta ) come to mind as films that have mastered silver screen confrontations . +strangely enough , they were both directed by john woo and both star john travolta . +we can forgive morgan freeman for giving a slightly disappointing performance since he is newish to the action genre , but christian slater could have achieved so much more had the amount of crummy one liners been reduced and some personality added to his character . +if you had asked me whether slater could perform well enough to substantially boost a movie prior to the release of broken arrow , my answer would have been a definite no . +i now know that he has no excuse , and _can_ do better ( if you dont believe me rent a copy of broken arrow from your local video store ) . +although hard rain never really works from the start , i somehow felt feelings of missed opportunity when the credits filled the screen . +the addition of an enticing sub-plot would have given the film time to breathe , rather than try to cram 96 minutes of action and disaster into a story that cant handle anything else . +despite the fact that hard rain fails on almost every account , if your standards are low enough you may find this to be a mildly enjoyable film . +no creative flair and no inventive scenes means that hard rain does not stand up well against its many competitors , but it doesnt really matter since the last thing you would want to do after shelling about $8 . 50 is compare this to other films . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv171_15164.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv171_15164.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..cf73bc510ecaa29c3151144be32983dbb165fa5f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv171_15164.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12 @@ +ingredients : possessed plastic dolls in love , plastic dolls having sex +starring : jennifer tilly , voice of brad dourif , katherine heigl , nick stabile , john ritter +synopsis : this is the fourth film in the chucky series , which debuted in the late 1980s . +basically , chucky is a plastic doll that can walk and talk because it is possessed by the spirit of a slain murderer . +in bride of chucky , chucky's longtime girlfriend tiffany ( jennifer tilly ) dies and her spirit inhabits a female plastic doll through voodoo . +dolls tiffany and chucky get married and embark on a quest to reach a cemetery in new jersey , where a mystical gem might enable them to be humans . +the dolls stow away in the back of a vehicle driven by a newly eloped couple , so in the side plot , the couple suspects each other of being a murderer . +opinion : bride of chucky is an attempt at horror with humor , but doesn't succeed . +somehow , chucky moaning about mid life crisis , and how he should have gotten married does not make for a very scary chucky . +and tiffany harping about mid life crisis , and how she should have gotten married does not make for a very scary tiffany . +the suspenseless bride of chucky relies mostly on jennifer tilly's cleavage to keep attention during the first half , and on occasional puns to keep attention during the second half . +the best that can be said about bride of chucky is that it is sarcastic . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv176_14196.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv176_14196.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..be9078f0f23f0421d0e78bc7a35011d8c1d3ca90 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv176_14196.txt @@ -0,0 +1,48 @@ +hello kids . +today the movie studios want to take over my critical review , and somehow persuade you that _armageddon_ , the summer's biggest blockbuster , is a film for everybody . +and remember , if a film is for _everybody_ , and if it makes the most money for the summer , it _must_ be good , right ? +armageddon is a comedy , with a capital " c " . +it stars bruce willis , who has a hundred one-liners ! +it has a tiny rock land directly in the middle of a heated argument in new york city ! ! +and , chuckle , chuckle , one of those new yorkers , _survives_ , with charcoal all over his face ! ! +snorkle , * sniff * , hiccup . +and it has steve buscemi as a _genius_ who wants to work for an oil rig ? +knee-slap ! ! +isn't this just so , so , funny ! ? +armageddon also has romance , with a capital " r " . +it has a tender moment between * forbidden lovers * ben affleck and liv tyler , with , with , animal crackers ! +and it has will patton as a long lost husband trying to reunite with his separated wife and child , who thinks he's a salesman ! +gurgle , * sniff * , awwwww . +and it has steve buscemi spewing more one-liners about minors and strippers . +umm , moving right along . . . +armageddon also has lots of action , with a capital " a " . +not just any action sequence would do . +it must have _original_ action sequences that are designed to thrill . +like , drill , darn it , drill ! ! ! +and , let's have inept people destroy the mir space station ! ! +can't you hear your heart beating ! ? +and steve buscemi goes crazy and starts shooting at people ! ! +what drama ! ! +lastly , armageddon is out there to save the planet , with a capital " p " . +this can't be any old thriller--we must have an asteroid , the size of texas head straight for earth ! ! +and , and , we must have beautiful scenic worldwide shots , like paris , blown up . +and , and , we must have peoples of all colors , nations , and religions , join hand in hand for one final , hopeful , hug . +the final sequence , where muslims in prostrate worship stand up--in domino fashion--to cheer the victory , filled me with such emotional goo that i wanted to , to , to rip the screen into shreds ! ! +i mean , i mean , cheer for ecstatic joy ! + ( it was over ) . +comedy . " c " . +romance . + " r " . +action . + " a " . +planet . + " p " . +okay , kids , what does that spell ? +seriously , folks . +any film that could take the indie-films' most valuable talents , and throw it all away with a bruce willis vehicle , a hundred-million dollar budget , but have cheap-o sets and lousy special effects , is , bottom line , living proof that hell exists , and has made a multi-picture deal with universal . +in the midst of all the action , the terseness , the one-liners , the fake sets , the overall waste of time , i recognized matt malloy playing an underwritten nasa technician ( " malloy , give me a reading " ) . +remember him ? +he was a principal player in last year's _in the company of men_ , a film that was more powerful , shocking , terrifying , funny , and shocking than _armageddon_ could ever aspire to be . +_armageddon_ cost over $100 million to make . +_itcom_ cost a paltry $30 , 000 . +need i say more ? diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv180_17823.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv180_17823.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ebce0219f60e878bc4228e9bc65f1707b5d24586 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv180_17823.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ + " goodbye , lover " sat on the shelf for almost a year since its lukewarm reception at the cannes film festival last may , and one look will tell you why . +it's a mess . +and that's * way * before ellen degeneres shows up . +the film is one of those torrid double-indemnity crime stories that , in this case , required the services of three screenwriters . +i suspect that one wrote a sexy thriller , one wrote a murder mystery , and one wrote a comedy , then director roland joff ? tried to piece it all together in the editing room while scratching his head in bewilderment . +i didn't laugh at ellen degeneres much ( i think i was supposed to ) . +degeneres is horrible and her character is even worse , a tough-talking vulgar cop with a bad wardrobe and bad hair . +either degeneres is wearing a wig--as most of the actors appear to be--or she doesn't yet have enough clout to secure a hairstylist . +every single word out of her mouth is supposed to be racy and hip , but her incessant wisecracking is poorly-written and merely stupid . +her reaction to the brutal killing of a jogger is " at least she died healthy . " +and that's one of her wittier asides . +degeneres' sgt . +rita pompano is called in to investigate the allegedly accidental death of . . . wait . +to give away too much of the plot would all but ruin a film that has very little going for it outside of its numbing plot twists and multiple triple-crosses . +it's best described this way : +sultry sexpot/real estate agent sandra dunmore ( patricia arquette ) is married to jake , a " creative yet unfocused " ( and alcoholic ) advertising rep , played by dermot mulroney . +sandra likes to act out her deep-seated sexual fantasies and jake's brother ben ( the suave-as-ever don johnson ) likes to help . +ben is also coming on to his petite , mousy co-worker peggy blaine ( mary-louise parker ) and someone , somewhere , is planning to cash in on that huge life insurance policy of his . +the film is ripe with cheating lovers cheating on each other and back again . +although there are some genuine surprises , the plot twists get too contrived too quickly . +probably around the time degeneres' gumcracking gumshoe appears . +at least the former " ellen " star is going for something a little different . +arquette turns in yet another of her stiletto-heeled , platinum blonde bombshell roles ( see : " lost highway , " " true romance " ) while quoting embarrassing lines like " i'm not wearing any underwear . " +i hope she got paid a lot of money to do this . +here's an example of some of the film's flat-out stupidity . +sandra purchases a used car and disguises herself in a red wig prior to stalking two of the film's duplicitous lovers . +she drives the motorbiking couple off a cliff while blaring her favorite " the sound of music " on her car stereo , intent on identifying herself to her hapless victims . +so what was the point of the wig and the car ? + " the sound of music " stuff might be a reference to " the wizard of oz " allusions in david lynch's " wild at heart , " but if so joff ? must have forgotten that " wild at heart " was a despicable movie . +it's hard to believe that " goodbye , lover " was directed by the same person who made " the killing fields " and " the mission . " +it's not , however , hard to see why it sat on the shelf for so long . +it should have stayed there . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv187_14112.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv187_14112.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ed818677d7c76ef1c10bda02dab48b870e69b7f0 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv187_14112.txt @@ -0,0 +1,54 @@ +54 is dull , perfunctory , uninspired , and boring . +a greater writer might have created a lyrical sentence for each of those adjectives , flowing in lovely arangements with soaring metaphors . +i , however , would rather cut to the chase . +54 is dull , perfunctory , uninspired , and boring . +there is nothing in it -- not a glimpse of depth , nor a shimmer of intelligence or insight . +there is no electricity in any of the scenes , or a moment of interest in the story or its subplots . +and it's underdeveloped , and features an array of bland characters played by actors who think they're in this year's boogie nights . +they are so wrong . +the picture has been assembled by mark christopher . +based on this film , i don't know how he got a job in the business . +54 is supposed to be an amazing insight into the world of the dance club of the same name , which originated in the 70s and closed down in the 80s . +i don't know if this film went into production after boogie nights was released , but christopher has managed to plagiarize paul thomas anderson's brilliant work in every possible way , from the framework of the plot down to the style of the cinematography . +what it lacks is everything that made boogie nights great : depth , intelligence , energy , fascinating characters , and challenging themes . +54 can't even measure up to the last days of disco , which is flawed , but still smart and entertaining . +it's remarkably bad timing , i'd say , to release a film this tedious after a couple of noteworthy pictures of the same kind . +i have exaggerated , though : there is one interesting character , and one terrific performance . +that character is steve rubell , played with more perceptiveness by mike myers than this limp production deserves . +steve rubell is the owner of studio 54 , and if christopher had focused on him , then myers could have forced a good film out of this wreck all by himself . +alas , we are instead guided to endure the trials of a young man named shane ( ryan phillippe ) , a going-nowhere new jersey teen who gets a job in the club , thanks to rubell's homosexual impulses . +it's here that he meets his friends , the array of uninteresting characters : his co-worker , greg ( brecklin meyer ) , his wife , anita ( salma hayek ) , and , of course , the love interest , julie black ( neve campbell ) . +shane is just an innocent young fool in the beginning , and he has a reasonably sturdy home life . + ( some of the scenes with his father border on interesting , while heather matarazzo , who plays his sister , pushes phillippe off the screen . ) +but he decides to envelop himself in the disco scene , and succumb to peer pressure and to drugs . +why his " friends " push him into drugs is never really explained , but the fact that they are " friends " is questioned only is superficial ways ( greg gets really mad at shane because he's been elevated to bartender status ) . +there isn't a single conflict that takes center stage , except that shane has some kind of unexplored reservation with the business in which he works . +most of the film is dumb , and most of the dialogue is inane . +there's a scene late in the film in which shane confronts julie black , and , in the next scene , they're arm-in-arm without a bit of development . +then , they're kissing in a bowling alley ! +this is five minutes of material , thrown into the picture at the last minute ( well past the one-hour mark , and this isn't a long film to begin with ) . +campbell is a talented actress , but she needs a role that gives her a little depth . +this one doesn't . +and phillippe has almost no presence whatsoever ; this performance pales in comparison to mark whalberg's star-making role in boogie nights . +he seems dumb and misguided , and his voice never changes tone . +i guess he was picked for the color of his hair and the shape of his body , but he seems pretty lanky to me . +he's all wrong for a lead role , but it doesn't help that christopher has forgotten to develop his characters . +by the end of 54 , shane's most notable trait is his stupid , fake accent . +the rest of the performances are wasted . +hayek is an energetic , talented young actress , and does almost nothing here . +meyer is endearing , but allowed to be no deeper than cardboard . +only myers , by sheer force of talent , manages to rise above christopher's wading-pool of a script . +rubell has been written just as depthless as the rest of the characters , but myers is good enough to inject subtleties that help round out the performance . +in fact , myers is the sole reason to see 54 , and all it really does is make you wish that the film had revolved around him . +i've read that studio 54 has been recreated down to the last detail . +frankly , i don't care . +it's easy to recreate something technical like this . +a fairly skilled production designer and a few carpenters can manage such a task . +besides , christopher keeps the lights so low that the sets are invisible , anyway . +aside from myers' performance , 54 is a complete failure . +it's dull , perfunctory , uninspired , and boring . +some may find my comparisons to boogie nights unfair , but they're so obvious to me . +in any event , 54 is pallid without the contrast . +it doesn't even work as mindless entertainment : it's so shallow that the most escapist viewers are likely to dismiss it . +so , don't forget those key words : dull , perfunctory , uninspired , and boring . +everything else i said was just padding . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv195_16146.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv195_16146.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..cbf8f5254b49f6d789d7aa812d2c3147020e6d8b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv195_16146.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +one of the first films of 1999 is this mtv pictures release which marks the first leading feature role for james van der beek , the star of the wb's runaway hit dawson's creek . +following in the foot steps of mtv's two other live action films , joe's apartment ( 1996 ) and dead man on campus ( 1998 ) , varsity blues is a bad film and is unlikely to cause much of a sensation in the marketplace . +set in west cannan , texas , the film examines the small town obsession with high school football through the eyes of second string quarterback john " mox " moxon ( van der beek ) . +we know he's smart because he reads kurt vonnegut instead of the playbook . +coach bud kilmer ( jon voight ) has been around so long there is actually a bronze statue commemorating him . +the star quarterback , lance harbor ( paul walker ) , is a handsome , blonde , hero who has his own billboard in his front yard and dates the sexy head cheerleader , darcy ( ali larter ) . +also on the team are an enormous guy ( ron lester ) with some health problems and the token african-american team member ( eliel swinton ) whose only real dialogue scene deals directly with the color of his skin . +when lance is seriously injured , mox gets his chance to shine and he runs with it , undermining kilmer with his unusual playing strategies . +his relationship with his dutiful girlfriend , jules ( amy smart ) , is threatened and there's a big game at the end . +guess who wins ? +nothing about varsity blues is inspired and the whole film simply moves through the sort of conventional motions that coach kilmer would love . +there's a chance for some smart satire on small town obsessions but the humor here is decidedly lowbrow . +van der beek does a decent job of carrying his first film although a silly accent trips him up sometimes . +also , the role isn't very much of a stretch from his dawson leary character . +he's still a pseudo-intellectual , whiny , nice guy , except here he also happens to be a jock . +voight is a terror as he chews up every single piece of scenery and spits it out . +the other adults are all notably awful while the younger performers don't fare much better . +on the positive side , walker is a charismatic actor who is due for a breakout role following this and his supporting turn in pleasantville ( 1998 ) . +scott ( son of james ) caan has some lively moments as tweeder , the team's wild man . +larter , as a gorgeous seductress looking for a one way ticket out of texas , gets to show off the film's most interesting costumes , including a very eye-opening " whipped cream bikini . " +it's interesting to note that the film definitely earns its r-rating with a lot of harsh language , alcohol abuse and an unusually high amount of nudity ( including a gratuitous trip to a strip bar that reveals a not very surprising surprise ) . +all this is likely to come as a shock to the young female fan base of dawson's creek , presumably the target audience for the picture . +director brian robbins previously helmed the kids feature good burger ( from nickelodeon films , a sister company of mtv ) and changes directions here a bit but still fails to make much of an impression . +the look of the movie is as bland as the town and characters who populate it . +the football scenes are generally unexciting and the entire film looks a bit washed out . +there's an ok soundtrack featuring music from collective soul , foo fighters , green day and aaliyah but it's not as impressive as one would expect from a mtv film . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv199_9721.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv199_9721.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8b82846ac849c3bb6db9e4ab1a2f7991182c1bca --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv199_9721.txt @@ -0,0 +1,33 @@ +come on hollywood , surprise me . +stop giving us these poorly written thrillers with banal dialogue , sketchy characters and plots as predictable as the sunset . +the always watchable morgan freeman plays a detective who becomes personally involved in a case involving missing girls . +personal , because his niece is one of the victims . +it's a slobbering psychopath , of course , but this time there's a twist . +freeman notes that each of the young women who've disappeared are all strong willed , assertive , and more successful in their careers than the average girl . +we soon learn that the guy calls himself casanova , whose aim is to " dominate " these modern gals by imprisoning them in some dungeon and keeping them as his personal harem . +anyway , one of the women manages to escape ( ashly judd ) and teams up with freeman to . . . well , +you know the rest . +a brief glance at the plot to silence of the lambs , with which this film is constantly being compared to by the hype merchants , may suggest lambs also has a fairly predictable story . +perhaps , but that film also has superbly drawn characters and smart dialogue . +so lets not insult a great movie by taking the comparisons any further , okay ? +and as for comparisons to seven . . . oh +please ! +kiss the girls is based on the novel by james patterson and written for the screen by one david klass . +maybe the novel was a stinker to start with , but whatever the case , it's the writing that's clearly at fault here . +one , these characters have very little to say that's engaging or interesting . +two , the script has no sense of humour . +three , while the notion of a psycho's victims being smart , successful women is an interesting twist , the execution isn't even half as good as the idea . +thus , ashly judd comes across all out of focus , instead of being the heart of the story . +we can't feel her rage . +some atrociously written casual exchanges between her and several male characters are supposed to remind us that she's the no-bullshit 90's type , but these conversations barely register . +and as for freeman , kiss the girls is his second dog in a year : first chain reaction , now this . +for an actor of his calibre , this is most worrying . +young director gary fleder scored a hit a few years back with his quirky pulp fiction-esque things to do in denver when your dead . +but what can he do with material as resolutely mediocre as this ? +not much , and you can hardly blame him . +there's a few well-staged chase scenes through the forest where the camera whirls , dives and jumps , and the effect is startling . +but the script is beyond rescue . +what hurts most is that hollywood continues to get away with serving up this tripe , safe in the knowledge that jaded audiences will lap it up . +complacency rules : it's been so long since we saw a mainstream american thriller that delivered juicy characters , real surprises and consistently sharp dialogue . +the only consolation for this viewer is that my ticket to the movie was a freebie , positive proof that the best things in life aren't free . . . . + . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv203_19052.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv203_19052.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e61ee01d2f39a708379d6095aff5af7264cb269b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv203_19052.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14 @@ +synopsis : sonny koufax ( adam sandler ) is a rich , childish , angry man who has just been dumped by his girlfriend vanessa ( kristy swanson ) . +in a bid to impress vanessa sonny impersonates his friend kevin ( jon stewart ) and adopts a 5 year old boy named julian ( cole and dylan sprouse ) while kevin is on an overseas trip . +under sonny's supervision julian soon learns to lie to women , tell people how he " wipes his ass , " throw tantrums , and scream for his " god damned " treats . +self centered , julian breaks a school classmate's arm without apologizing or even realizing he has done anything wrong . +meanwhile sonny bribes julian with sugary talk , food , toys , and flashy promises in order to get the kid to perform . +not surprisingly the government takes julian away from sonny's incompetent supervision , and this leads to a custody battle . +opinion : it's a movie about an embittered creep teaching a little kid to be a jerk , and we all get cheap laughs because for 90 minutes the innocent kindergartner never finds out what it means when he mimics all the bad boy behavior . +that's the essence of big daddy . +but there's a bigger issue involved : marketing . +movies that are rated pg and pg-13 are heavily marketed towards children of preteen age and below . +on tv , film clips advertise these movies as family-friendly hit comedies . +then when you go see them they turn out to be either raunchy sex acts like austin powers with characters named fat bastard - - or big daddy where adult characters get their jollies by buddying up to naive five year olds and encouraging them to experiment with drugs and mistreatment . +folks in hollywood are trying to develop a preteen market for raunchy stuff , but i think most american parents would agree that early childhood is a time of mental innocence that should be protected from uncaring media market exploitation . +to many american mothers there's probably nothing more pathetic and unsettling than the sight of a theater full of unsupervised little eight year olds laughing raucously as movie character father adam sandler jokes about a woman's " ice cold tits . " diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv229_15200.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv229_15200.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..7f818283f1c5a3071ffac316b85bc82ab2284c03 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv229_15200.txt @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ +it's amazing how a comedian can have the some of the funniest stand-up around but completely fall flat in the movies . +take adam sandler . +on the basis of his first two cds ( " they're all gonna laugh at you ! " +and " what the hell happened to me ? " ) , +he's the best thing to hit comedy since robin williams . +but when you put him in front of a camera , it just isn't the same . +i kind of enjoyed happy gilmore and thought that it warranted a marginal recommendation , but his latest film , the waterboy is about as funny as a root canal . +seriously , i'm willing to wager than there were more laughs in saving private ryan than there are here . +in fact , i found this movie to be more depressing than comedic . +the first half hour generated not one smile in me , with it's scenes of emotional abuse towards adam's character of bobby boucher not only by the cruel football players , but also by his very disturbed mother ( kathy bates - what is the world coming to ? ) . +granted , after the film gets rolling , there are a few mild chuckles throughout ( i'm even willing to admit that it actually had me laughing once or twice ) , but not nearly enough to sustain the waterboy for it's nearly hour and a half running time . +you're all familiar with the plot because you've seen it at least a million times before ; everyone picks on the hero until he shows a hidden talent and leads the underdog team to victory over the champions , in the process not only winning the respect of his teammates but also getting the woman he loves . +and believe me , i'm not giving anything away by saying that sandler's team wins . +if you would actually feel any degree of suspense watching this movie , then god be with you . +the only things that keep this bomb from getting the big banana are the winning performances from henry winkler as the insecure coach and the severely underrated fairuza balk as bobby's love interest . +i mean , they should be lending their talents to some loftier purpose , but they do extremely well with what they are given here . +kudos to both of them . +my advice to adam is to try and follow in the footsteps of veteran comedians like williams and steve martin , who made a very smooth and successful transition from stage to screen . +rely more on actual comedy rather than strange voices and rude noises to make people laugh . +or maybe even show what dramatic talent he might have , like jim carrey did with the recent truman show . +with the obvious and considerable talent that he possesses , he just can't keep going on like this . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv266_26644.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv266_26644.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..62422bdb8d9e8592dfd59928e6b1939f7cf08a4e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv266_26644.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +the spy game is up . +you can thank charlie's angels -- the movie -- for that . +when did banality and pandering become okay ? +just steal from hong kong , the matrix , and a kitschy tv show from the mid-1970s and that's a movie ? +charlie's angels is one of the worst examples of action film homogeneity and shameless duplicity in any film i've seen in ages . +charlie's angels is dumb . +just plain dumb . +as we all know , three of the hottest females on the planet -- drew barrymore , cameron diaz , and lucy liu -- are three super-agents working for the mysterious millionaire named charlie . +they all drive fast cars , look oh-so-fabulous even in the morning , and don't seem to get a scratch even when fighting armed men , having buildings explode ten feet in front of them , or flying through the air in matrix slow-motion . +and while the entourage spends 90 minutes romping around in cleavage-busting wetsuits , cleavage-busting waitress uniforms , and cleavage-busting wet t-shirts , they scarcely succeed in resembling so much as a group of annoying , drunk sorority girls , the kind who hit on everybody at a party . +the actual plot revolves around the ridiculous story of a millionaire computer engineer -- the great sam rockwell -- who gets kidnapped by a mysterious rival computer company . +of course , the rival wants control of his new personal identification system , which involves such latter-day buzzwords as gps , cellular tracking , and even mainframe . +the amazing crispin glover lends his acting chops as a crazed henchmen involved in all the nasty things that happen to the angels -- like battling each of them in many round-robin matrix rip-off ( again ) fight sequences and harboring a strange attraction to sliced-off locks of the angels' hair . +the coup de grace is bill murray as bosley , serving as charlie's manservant , or , more to the point , the angels' pimp . +the rest of the movie comprises a revenge arc , enough costume changes to fill three productions of les miserables , carbon-copy fight sequences that would lend credible evidence to a jackie chan and the wachowski brothers lawsuit for intellectual property theft , and the strange transformation of sam rockwell into mickey rourke's long-lost brother . +charlie's angels starts off with a bang and ends up being a soggy burrito left out overnight . +nothing is difficult , plausible , or believable in any of the angels' actions . +it feels like the matrix , mission : impossible 2 , and cleopatra jones and the casino of gold all rolled into one . +diaz is a knucklehead . +barrymore is the " dangerous one , " mean and tough and about as believable as katie holmes in the role . +liu is just . . . +lucy liu , looking good in a skin-tight black leather suit . +the list of movies from which charlie's angels is directly lifted is equally astonishing . +the writers apparently ran the copier all night stealing scenes from armageddon , lethal weapon ii , all of jackie chan's movies , the great escape , saturday night fever , revenge of the nerds , payback , darkman , dr . no , the matrix ( as mentioned ) , and even tv's friends . +it's a shame , too , because one of the many screenwriters , john august , was at the helm of last year's favorite , go . +then again , what can you expect from a director known solely as " mcg . " +there is no camp value in the film , no interesting main characters , no invigorating action scenes , no reason at all to waste your time except to ogle the hot chicks and enjoy the performances of a few supporting players . +note to hollywood : next time , let's leave the tv shows on the tv . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv286_26156.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv286_26156.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..366cb6511c8b71ea52f101439f54ddae8b47cb8f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv286_26156.txt @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ +here i sit at my computer about to write my review of the recent action comedy " bait " starring jamie foxx and david morse . +this is a review i don't even want to write because i'd just be laying the same criticisms on it that i would with any other so-generic-and-predictable-it's-beyond-ridiculous piece of hollywood fluff . +if they're not going to give us , the audience , just a little credit and put something together with half a brain , why should i waste my time and mental energy criticising it ? +last summer i took this same approach with my review of " the mummy , " in that review i just quoted phrases my reviews of other sub-par movies . +i think i shall do the same thing here but with a few less quotes ( not all are applicable ) . +i hope this goes to show you what i think of " bait " and why you can find out all you need to know about it without having to take a wild guess . +it's genuinely unfunny ( i , and the other audience members only laughed once during the entire two hours ) , unoriginal and unthrilling . +it's not so bad to the point where it's fun to watch because of its badness and it's no so bad you absolute loathe it and are pained by watching it , it's just such a cliche in and of itself , that , uhh . . . +lost my train of thought . +anyways , here's those quotes , enjoy ! + " getting an audience's attention right from the beginning plays a major role in how today's films work . +we want to have something exciting to watch , not a slow build-up of a story ( god forbid ! ) , and this film plays right into the mainstream's hands . . . " +- review of " armageddon . " + " it's clear the film doesn't want to waste time on reality and thus the attempt to establish plausability ( the most minimal amount necessary ) comes across as a half-assed effort . +supporting characters and shady sup-plots are introduced , but as is the case with films made up of a large cast of characters , only a handful have any real significance . . . +there's a fine line separating homage from plagiarism . . . , " - review of " godzilla " ( 1998 ) + " unfortunately , as is the case with most modern thrillers , once the film showed potential for authenticity and intelligence , the cliches and action sequences take over , " - review of " the jackal . " +chad'z movie page is back after heavy renovation . +reviews of nearly all mainstream movies playing today ! +get my reviews of everything playing at your local cineplex so you can better make an informed decision on what to see . +don't forget to vote on my poll and sign the guestbook ! diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv297_10104.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv297_10104.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..77acbdb6a40e11953d00ffd55a4475017ab2f32c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv297_10104.txt @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +this movie tries to present itself as the sequel to jan de bont's debut as a director , 1994 surprise hit speed . +but the only thing the two movies have in common is sandra bullock as the female lead . +annie ( sandra bullock ) is in the wrong place at the wrong time again . +she's going on a cruise with her new boy-friend alex ( jason patric ) , and of course it is her ship that is kidnapped by john geiger ( willem dafoe ) who has a bone to pick with the shipping line . +they sacked him after he got sick . +now he wants the diamonds stored in the ship's safe for compensation . +that actually is the whole storyline . +speed 2 could do without dialogues . +the movie is all about images and remarkable sound . +i don't really know why this is called an action movie . +except for a few scenes that are vaguely reminiscent of speed this goes along the lines of the desaster movies of the 70ies . +first we are introduced to a number of people who are going to be important later on in the movie . +then desaster strikes . +sandra bullock was said to have been glad that she could take action this time around . +i looked for the " action " but couldn't find it . +most of the time she is part of the decoration . +the only time she is part of what happens is when she can have a shot at defusing a bomb and freeing some passengers trapped behind a fire door . +now we know that she can handle a chain saw . +we also know that fire doors on cruise ships can be cut apart in seconds . +the bomb defusal of course goes wrong , but only the furniture is damaged , not our heroes who still are needed . +jason patric alias alex spends most of his time flirting with annie , helping other passengers and frolicking in the water . +his initial sea-sickness is suddenly gone , because there are ship , crew and passengers to be saved from evil geiger . +he does a pretty good job but i can't blame keanu reeves for declining this part . +then there's willem dafoe , the villain , who desperately tries to look as frightening as frankenstein's monster . +he doesn't succeed , though . +an untidy appearance isn't enough to convince the viewer of his psychopath potential . +before he tries again to make us believe he is a dangerous man he should practise for a while in front of a mirror . +i can't really recommend speed 2 . you will probably like the movie if you like funny situations that aren't meant to be funny . +especially the showdown , when the ship first runs into an oil tanker and then dissembles a whole village is a treat . +there you get to see the most superfluous scene in the movie . +in keeping with last year's desaster movie tradition a dog is miraculously saved from certain death . +a really funny ( and meant to be funny ) scene takes place on the oil tanker right before the collision . +some crew members watch two ships colliding in an old movie . +had they looked out the window they wouldn't have missed the huge ship racing toward them . +those of you who still want to see the movie should pick a theater with a large screen and a good sound system to enjoy the visual effects and the phantastic surround sound effects . +in an adequately equipped theater it's as if the explosion were going off all around you and you can feel the seats vibrate . +but the ilm special effects can't save the movie . +for all the money they could have done better . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv313_19337.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv313_19337.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a1765e9e3ddcf5a62507cfa1e308bf1c12533399 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv313_19337.txt @@ -0,0 +1,19 @@ +let me begin by saying that this is easily the worst movie in the entire official ( and even unofficial ) james bond series . +it is so full of self-parody and silly characters that you would almost believe you were watching a spoof . +an omen of what is to come is provided by the pre-credits sequence , a dull affair featuring a confrontation between a man ( it's difficult to give a better description since no mention of him is made elsewhere in the movie ) and the assassin of the title . +a song with woefully terrible lyrics follows , and the rest of the movie is even worse . +the plot might have been a pleasant change from the usual rule-the-world so often found in the james bond movies of the 70s , but here we get a confused mismash about a fabled assassin , francisco scaramanga ( christopher lee , putting in a performance which is one of the rare saving graces of this movie ) who someone has apparently payed one million dollars to in order to remove roger moore's 007 . +there is also a flimsy connection with the energy crisis and a missing solar cell with 95% efficiency . +it's as much of a mess as it sounds . +bond is " helped " in his task by mary goodnight ( ekland ) , whose character couldn't possibly be any closer to the stereotypical bimbo . +during the course of the movie she gets locked in both a closet and a car trunk , blunders around a control room accidentally setting off a laser and serves no purpose in enhancing the plot whatsoever . +maud adams ( later to star in octopussy ) is a much more stronger and useful character , but she hardly features in the movie . +scaramanga's lackey is a dwarf called nik-nak , who rather fittingly is also possibly the silliest henchman in the series , serving up annoyance and weak dialogue in equal measures . +worse still is an almost total lack of action throughout the whole movie . +there is but one fight sequence about fifteen minutes in ( not counting a ludicrous scene where two teenage girls beat up several dozen trained martial artists -- another misguided attempt at humour ) . +the solitary car chase might have been a highlight , but the " action " is interrupted on a frequent basis by a redneck sheriff ( j . w . +pepper , played by clifton james of live and let die " fame " ) yelling stupid comments out of the passenger window . +he is easily the most irritating character in a james bond movie . +even his presence could have been made bearable by one of the most impressive car stunts in cinematic history , a 360 degree twisting loop jump over a broken bridge -- could have been , except somebody got the idea to dub a mocking whistle tone over the final print . +on top of that debacle , the whole end of the film is an anticlimatic sequence in scaramanga's " funhouse " . +the only good thing that came out of this movie was that the producers had to make the next film in the series ( the infinitely superior " the spy who loved me " ) a great film in order for the bond franchise to survive . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv324_7502.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv324_7502.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4c850261fc6e459ac6b0bfee139480979bbc208f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv324_7502.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ +i wish more films would take on issues of faith and morality in the modern world . +and i wish that film-makers would use commandments as a blueprint on how _not_ to do it . +writer/director daniel taplitz has created a bizarre conglomeration of satire and soul-searching in this tale of seth warner ( aidan quinn ) , a man of faith who runs into a streak of bad luck which usually inspires country-western lyrics : his pregnant wife drowns , his home is destroyed by a tornado , he loses his job and his dog is crippled by a bolt of lightning . +convinced that god has broken his half of the covenant , seth decides to break his , and sets out to turn every " thou shalt not " of the ten commandments into a " thou shalt " ( and vice versa ) . +his wife's sister rachel ( " friends " ' courteney cox ) wants to help seth ; rachel's selfish husband harry ( anthony lapaglia ) , who tends to break a few commandments of his own , thinks seth is a lunatic . +thus begins a film which picks the wrong tone for every occasion . +taplitz isn't interested in treating seth's tragedies as genuinely tragic , making it impossible to sympathize with him . +composer joseph vitarelli provides a score full of whimsical woodwinds , turning seth's sacrilegious mission into an amusing lark ; quinn's performance as seth is all wild-eyed fervor without any genuine pain . +the actual breaking of the commandments is almost treated as an afterthought , with one through five dispatched in a five-minute montage . +the result is a character whose actions feel less like the authentic responses of an anguished man than the machinations of a high-concept movie plot . +it's not even entirely clear that commandments is about seth . +corporate attorney rachel is given a case which is supposed to soften a hard heart we see no indication she has , while harry gets his comeuppance as part of seth's " false witness . " +only courteney cox strikes a note of reality in a solid performance ; she is sane center around which too equally troubled men revolve . +even she can't force taplitz to decide whose story this is , or what we should have learned about dealing with the struggles in our lives and our relationship with the infinite . +by the time seth makes a singularly biblical reappearance late in the film , it has become clear that taplitz is aiming for a fantastical fable which makes no connection with real human experience . +commandments is a bad comedy which could have been a decent drama if daniel taplitz had had the guts to take faith -- and the loss thereof -- at all seriously . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv334_0074.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv334_0074.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..27f8913b81a14336979bd7406f5ba3138827d7ee --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv334_0074.txt @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +i'm not sure i should be writing a review of the witches of eastwick , because i'm not sure just what the hell ( pardon the expression ) was going on in it . +however , i can express the most important observation i made of it , i . e . +i didn't like it . +if i had to summarize this film , i think i'd conclude it was an updating of one of those old new england folk tales of someone selling their souls to old scratch and how they try to get out of the deal . +that's the kernel of it , anyway . +tossed into this are little bits and pieces that occasionally seem to be saying something about men and women , feminism , the role of the devil , modern reformers , and friendship . +unfortunately , little or no effort is ever made to follow up and elucidate on these concepts ; they're simply thrown out and then left to rot while the film goes on apace . +actually , i think that most of the audience was even more confused than i was . +they came in expecting some kind of supernatural comedy , on the level of ghostbusters , and were a bit confused to be getting a folk tale with philosophical overtones . +they laughed , or tried to laugh , at moments that were either barely funny , or much more horrible than funny , as if that could bend the film away from it's rather frightening direction . +three women ( cher , susan sarandon , and michelle pfieffer ) live in eastwick , a small midwestern town . +one night , while drinking late into the evening , they begin wishing for the ideal man to drop into their lives . +in seeming answer to their idle daydreams , a wealthy eccentric moves into a mansion on the hill and seduces each one by attempting to be everything they want him to be . +he soon shows evidence of mystical--perhaps demonic--power , and his devotion to the women's merest fantasies or wishes has dangerous overtones . +even worse , when ignored his moods become ugly , and he mistreats the women for spurning him . +anyway , the problems : all three female characters are fairly uninteresting , and several are cardboard stereotypes , especially sarandon's character . +we never get inside them , never feel sympathetic to them , because their dialogue and personalities seem pretty bland . +as for nicholson , well , even the devil needs a direction to go in , and while darryl van horne is the most interesting character in the movie ( due to the grace of the screenwriter and , more importantly , nicholson's acting ) , he still can't be yanked in one direction and then another without making him a little vague . +and then there's the special effects . +not in themselves--they weren't that good--but their overuse . +i was almost positive , until i saw the credits , that the witches of eastwick was either produced by alexander salkind ( who has turned out the slop named superman ii and iii and supergirl ) , because of the big name actors in dopy stunts , or stephen spielberg , after the 18th vomit scene and the nicholson-blown-down-the-street stunt . +nope , it's another bunch of guys , and directed by george miller , who has shown great skill with stunts/special effects before ( the road warrior , " nightmare at 20 , 00 feet " episode of twilight zone : the movie ) but apparently doesn't know when to turn off the wind machine and let his people act . +f'gawds sake , guys , this is jack nicholson ! +let him loose ! +let him grin demonically ! +skip the splitting earth and fake lightning ! +watching the scene where nicholson is tossed out of the car by the voodoo doll , all i could think of was , " what a waste " . +if you're going to use slapstick like that , use it up on pee wee herman . +nicholson does what he can with the role , and when he can find his bearings , can be extremely good ( the scene in the church , for instance ) , but most of the time , he seems a bit stiff , as if he's not sure what he should be doing next . +and no wonder . +this script goes all over the map , giving you the feeling that it'd just love to be allegory , but it's not sure about what-- maybe if you give it time it'll think of something . +so what is the witches of eastwick ? +a horror movie ? +a folk tale ? +a comedy ? +a statement about women ? +an examination of the religious right or comparitive morality ? +i tend to think of the image that seems to dominate the movie for me . . . watching +someone regurgitate half-digested bits of food and cherry pits all over rooms , people , the screen , and ultimately , the audience . +in other words , a mess . + ( $2 . 00 ) +if you like nicholson enough to watch him here ; maybe 25% of his charm is able to make it through the logjams of others . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv338_9183.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv338_9183.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..9dded2bb4acf0b0f309564b4da15ffafcd172857 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv338_9183.txt @@ -0,0 +1,52 @@ +wizards is an animated feature that begins with a narration of epic proportions . +over black and white drawings , we are told that the earth is destroyed in an apocalyptic nuclear exchange , sending the remnants of humanity through generations of radiation-induced mutation . +the " original " inhabitants of the earth , fairies and elves , return to populate the globe , along with their evil , mutant counterparts . +one day ( and i say " one day " not to be trite , but because that's exactly how it happened - no advance notice ) , a fairy queen gives birth to twins , one good and one evil . +the twins grow up to be powerful wizards , the good one embracing magic , and the bad one utilizing technology to attempt to expand his evil empire . +we are given the notion that an ultimate battle must occur between the forces of magic and those of technology . +as unoriginal as the premise is , i was still somewhat interested in how this story would play itself out . +there's a lot you can do in an animated fantasy world , after all . +i soon learned , however , that the fantasy was the expectation of a decent film . +once the transition was made from still art to color animation , an entirely different feel takes precedence . +rather than the epic saga promised by the narration , we get a goofy-looking world of a saturday morning cartoon . +not just the look , mind you , but all the zany sounds like >honk boing +for years , blackwolf has lost his battles against the magical forces of good , since his armies of ogres and other mutants would get dispirited or distracted soon after battle is joined . +however , blackwolf now has a secret weapon : nazis . +yup , adolf hitler , the luftwaffe and the wehrmacht . +okay , not the real things , but an archival film his minions dug up . +projected into the sky for all to see , it inspires his own army while shocking the enemy into submission long enough for the ogres to hack them up . +before you know it , there are dead elves everywhere . +this is just as well . +the characters are so bad that the viewer doesn't care about any of them . +they're either silly , sappy , or both . +the dialog gets much of the credit for this . +an example is when avatar nonchalantly says , " well , looks like my brother and i begin our final battle . " +not very formidable when he's also the guy who says , " this is the biggest bummer of a trip i've ever been on . " +my favorite line was from a sideline fairy who is asked by her child why good can't fight back against the nazi-charged evil . +her response is , " they have weapons and technology . +we just have love . " +suffice to say , the characters are strictly two-dimensional , and we therefore don't expect anything more than the obvious to happen . +which it does . +the only unexpected occurrence is the way the final battle between brothers is played out , which is anticlimactic and disappointing . +please note that it is the action that is unexpected . +that it is disappointing is not . +the film couldn't settle on a particular mood . +it seems to move from dark to light with the cuts from scene to scene and even angle to angle . +scenes which are seemingly meant to contain deep meaning are ruined by acts of levity . +the dramatics , which seem to occur at random , are overly staged and overly acted , detracting from any kind of value or even enjoyment which could otherwise be gleaned . +ralph bakshi , the director , makes an obvious attempt to get a message across in this film : hitler and the nazis were bad . +so who doesn't know this already ? +well , maybe children . +okay , so you might say that this is a movie for children . +it's not . +in the scenes where good fights evil , there's a lot of violence and gore that children should not be seeing if they're watching a cartoon . +so is the film for adults ? +if so , we probably don't need to be bashed over the head to get the point . +why not have the bad guys be symbolic of the nazis instead of using old propaganda in a seriously disjointed attempt to show us something we already know ? +wizards gives us a lot of footage of nazi tanks and airplanes , and hitler giving speeches . +however , we don't see any reason why they should be considered bad . +we see no atrocities being committed , not even any real battle footage . +there is absolutely no connection made between the armies of evil and the third reich , and we're not even given a cursory explanation as to why this stuff is inspiring in the first place . +this needed to be thought out much more thoroughly if a point were to be made , since subject matter such as this deserves better treatment . +i'd like to assume that bakshi was trying to say that the same nationalist movement that drove the nazis could happen anywhere , at any time , and we must therefore be vigilant . +however , i'm not sure if i want to give him that much credit . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv354_8573.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv354_8573.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2bb7b2045eb73f304cee181ae25634316819f499 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv354_8573.txt @@ -0,0 +1,19 @@ +wow , a film without any redeeming qualities whatsoever . +i'm amazed that someone thought this was a story that must be told on screen . +many blacks in hollywood complain that they are not nominated for awards based on their race . +i think first they need to concentrate their energy on themselves , and stop making movies which makes them look like nothing more than sex-crazed buffoons . +even i'm offended by it . +bill bellamy is a " player " which means he sleeps with a lot of women and lies to them . +what a pleasant main character . +one day , his friends decide that they want to find out how to be a player . +why they decide this " one day " i have no idea . +how many years have they been friends and why all of a sudden would they want to learn ? +anyway , bellamy agrees to teach , and his wonderful lesson to his friends consists of letting them ride in his car while he rides from house to house having sex with women . +this is the bulk of the film folks , guys riding from house to house , one keeps getting out to have sex , while the others sit in the car . +since russell simmons is producer , and since the official title of the film is " def jam's how to be a player " , i was ready to be jumping up and down and stomping my feet and beating the person next to me because of the comedy . +amazingly , aside from gilbert gottfried's 90 seconds of screen time , there was no comedy in the film for me to express myself in such a manner . +instead of jokes , there's just an endless stream of profanity and naked breasts ( and naked breasts aren't so bad , but naked breasts alone don't make a good movie ) . +be sure to bring along your ebonics to english dictionary as well . +gilbert gottfried's character serves as one in his very brief appearance , asking for explanations as to what is being said . +they should have brought him along for the entire film . +[r] diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv356_26170.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv356_26170.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a2316a0130303afa5a38edf6bb7132cefeeaa141 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv356_26170.txt @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +the summer of 00' wasn't a very good one for devout cinephiles . +it offered no blair witches or sixth senses ; the best big budget hollywood could do was an efficient x-men adaptation and a flawed but entertaining shaft update . +nurse betty signals the unofficial end of that dreadful summer movie season and the commencement of a potentially brighter fall movie season , that battery-charging ( at least for critics who have to sit through every piece o' shit that moseys into multiplexes ) time of year when all those oscar contenders ( read : " quality " films ) compete for audiences . +alas betty has the dubious distinction of being the first overpraised junk heap of the new season . +it's also indie director neil labute's first attempt at something resembling a mainstream picture , and i'm sad to report it's a resounding failure ( at least on this web site ) , a mess that's as hopelessly saccharine as people have accused labute's previous films of being unrelentingly masochistic . +i went in expecting something decent , for betty was gleefully praised , it's screenplay even winning an award at cannes , but i exited shaking my noggin in bewilderment . +are critics so desperate for something unique that they're blind to how derivative the particular brand of " uniqueness " betty dolls out is ? +for the first time labute is working from a script he has not written , and he seems unsure of how to handle the material . +betty tries to be hip like pulp fiction ( this is another flick featuring a pair of strangely bright and articulate hit men ) , enchanting like the wizard of oz ( of which this film makes several allusions to ) and heartwarming like [stick in your favorite loveable misfit movie] , but by the end it left me cold with its calculated desperation . +it's labute's half hearted attempt to make a crowd pleaser and he doesn't even seem to have half that heart in it . +nurse betty concerns a soap opera addict , betty ( brilliantly played by renee zellweger ) , who witnesses the killing of her husband , del ( aaron eckhart playing the most casually loutish husband since richard benjamin in diary of a mad housewife ) by two hit men ( morgan freeman and chris rock ) . +she happens to have her most beloved soap on in the background and somehow merges the two realities . +she's blocked out her husband's death and thinks she's a character in her favorite soap , a reason to love . +betty sets out on the road to la ( with some drugs unknowingly stashed in her car trunk ) searching for her soap boyfriend dr . david ravell ( greg kinnear ) while the two bickering hit men follow in not so close pursuit . +the labute who birthed the extraordinary in the company of men , slipped a bit ( but not much ) with his sophomore effort , your friends and neighbors , then fell straight on his ass with bash , a play he penned that was recently aired on showtime . +the play demonstrated no forward movement as an artist , only labute's persistence in wallowing in the horrid things " average " people do to each other , usually with out realizing how horrid they themselves are . +in the play , paul rudd , as an obnoxious jock , delivers a monologue detailing how he once followed a gay man into a bathroom and beat him maybe to death , while his clueless girlfriend essentially regards his sadistic behaviors as something along the old maxim " boys will be boys " . +another character , schlubby businessman reacts to the loss of his job by actually killing his own baby ! +what was once so powerful about labute's work , the casual , nonchalant cruelty and selfishness ( often elements we all have in us amplified to a disgusting degree ) had become so over the top it was borderline comic . +obviously , at this point , labute could use a dose of some different kind of material before he pigeon holes himself further , but nurse betty isn't it . +he clearly has little passion for what he's doing here , instead replacing his mojo with strained quirks ( one of the hit men is a huge soap fan , and the character of betty would be little more than a one joke gimmick if zelllweger hadn't managed to transcend that ) tailor made to appeal to the widest possible audience . +nearly every scene between chris rock and morgan freeman fatally slows the picture down , as the two are made to enact soft-boiled tarantino-esque dialogue . +they evince little chemistry , with rock constantly in over the top rant mode , acting more like an angry comic than any thing resembling a hit man ( an occupation that's represented far too frequently in movies nowadays ) . +i think rock is a great comic yet he hasn't been able to bring his feral intelligence to movies , whenever he acts , and no matter the part , it's like he's doing the damn chris rock show . +surprisingly ( at least considering her work in me , myself and irene ) renee zellweger gives a revelatory performance , building on her baby faced , apple pie looks . +that wide-open face and helium voiced earnestness suggests a little girl not fully grown into her thirty-year-old body . +it's the best work she's ever done . +freeman is effective as always , though his performance nonetheless suffers because it seems at odds with where the movie wants to take it . +the actor plays the role in his usual calm , collected manner , though the flick tries to insinuate a symbolic kinship between his character and betty's , suggesting that both are controlled by their fantasies rather than reality . +that's interesting but the movie doesn't do anything with it other than crash land the sub-theme into a labored speech in the midst of a badly staged gun battle . +the film has good moments ( many of the scenes involving a very good greg kinnear , especially his confrontation with zellweger ) , an almost soothing , lyrical score ( and you know a movie's in trouble when the score sticks out as one of the best things about it ) but nothing jells , it's parts , good or bad , are so disparate as to be opposing . +the film might have worked had it settled on being one type of film , a mainstream , female forrest gump or an oddball art film , but as both if it falls as flat as diet coke . +betty's screenplay makes the mistake of relying too much on concurrence , without which betty wouldn't make any progress in the film . +nurse betty is a film driven by coincidence rather than charter , like how betty becomes a nurse in the film , a job that she takes in order to get closer to her imaginary lover ; she happens to be at the hospital at the exact moment that a drive by shooting takes place and miraculously knows how to take care of the victim's wound because she happened to see how on tv , which leads to her being offered a room with the victim's girlfriend who eventually gets betty into a party where she meets kinnear ? ? ? a little too tidy , don'tcha think . +betty has an interesting theme , though it doesn't even seem aware of this . +the current state of tv has been leaning towards reality television what with the enormous success of survivor and moderate success of big brother , with more on the way . +this is a film about a women so deluded as to think that her favorite soap opera is reality ( ironically real-life survivor sean kennif has taken a part as a doctor on the soap opera guiding light ) . +instead of exploring this timely matter in a way relating to the current tv craze ( since the film does largely appear to be a satire of television , albeit one that would feel more appropriate in the '80s than the '00s ) , the film simply uses betty's delusions as a plot device to get her from point a to b . no progress is made and little is unearthed except that maybe labute could use a bit of rest and a lot of contemplation . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv365_12442.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv365_12442.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..578c7e7237dfc42d6b6447622622f1809472e142 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv365_12442.txt @@ -0,0 +1,68 @@ +welcome to your oh-so typical sequel . +it tries to be twice as big as it's predecessor , yet ends up twice as shallow . +shallow . . . . hmm . . . now there's an idea . +maybe if the ill-fated cruise liner in this movie had struck a shallow reef early on things may have turned out better . +the first thing that struck me . . . and +surprised me , was that the camera work ( for the opening sequence anyway ) was terrible . +looked like the cameramen were drunk and kept tripping on their own feet . . . . . . very +different to the original movie . +the characters ? +well , not many of the characters actually * had * characters , but here's a rundown . +annie , who was the highlight of the the original , must have seriously banged her head in the train crash at the end of the first movie . +why ? +because something's got to account for her losing that many iq points . +even though annie wasn't exactly a rocket scientist in speed , here some of her actions just make you want to beat your head against a wall . +for instance , after successfully using a chainsaw to cut a hole in a door so that a group of people can escape noxious gases - she stands in the middle of the opening for about five minutes till someone reminds her that the people can't get ut till she get's the chainsaw out of their faces . . . . bang +bang bang +in point of fact sandra's character is turned into little more than one of those scantly dressed extras from hercules , who constantly has to be rescued . +jason patric ? +all i can say is bring back keanu . +keanu reeves might have the emotional range of a tree stump . . . but +that's one more tree stump than jason has . +i don't think he changed facial expressions all movie - jason , smile for the cameras ! ! +now frown ! . . . i said frown . . . . oh . . . you are . . . bang +bang bang . . +wooden just doesn't describe this guys performance , but it'll have to do . +the bad guy . . . . . ahh . . . william +dafoe - there's a bright move . +how can you go wrong with the star from that acknowledged classic , body of evidence ? + ( yes , that is sarcasm ) . +his wide eyed maniac of a character doesn't start out too bad . . . . but +goes steadily downhill as the movie progresses . +in the end he degenerates to chasing annie around for a hostage , even though he already has the money and can escape . . . . bang +bang . +though i'd like to give this movie a double thumbs down , there were some nice sequences . +considering the movie cost over 100 million dollars - you'd hope there'd be at least a couple . +the real eye-popper for me , even though it was given away in the trailer . . . . bang +bang . . . . . was the sequence where the cruise liner sideswipes the oil tanker . +this looks terrific and i was very surprised to hear that the cruise liner in it was . . . . completely +computer generated ! +wow . . . . i +don't think i've ever seen a cg model look so real before . +the sequence where jason patric in trying to disable the propellers from under the ship is also terrific , and the only time during the entire movie where you get that feeling of . . . . speed . +this lack-of-speed problem affects many sequences . +such as the oil tanker part . . . . . it was - " oh no , we're going to hit the oil tanker ! " , +20 minutes later - " oh no , we're going to hit the oil tanker ! " +20 min . . . . you +get the point . +this movie failed simply because it didn't live up to it's name . . . . there +was very little feeling of speed . +in the original movie , the lead characters had to make split second decisions to survive . . . . . in this movie it felt more like - " well people , we're gonna run into that there island in a few hours - i think i might stroll over to engineering and see if i can't turn off the engines . . . i'm +passing the cafeteria on the way , can i get anybody anything ? " +the ending of this movie really is terrible . +even though it features what i've since found out is one of the most expensive sequences ever in a movie - it just doesn't work at all . +the part where the liner crashes through the town looks very realistic , but . . . . surprise +surprise - it just takes waaaaay too long . +it seemed to go for 15 minutes before the ship finally stopped . +one thing that struck me as extremely poor scriptiing was that as the ship crashes through the harbour and town , around 25 people are killed by the ship . . . . and +there's only 15 or so people left on the ship . +so when it stops safe and sound and the characters are all cheering - the audience is sitting back and thinking - " wait a sec . . . this is a happy moment because ? " +bang bang +then there was the dog . . . . . i +almost fell out of my seat when i saw the bit with the dog dodging the falling debris . +putting a dog in peril has become the ultimate hollywood cliche . . . . . . every +movie seems to have a 'dog-in-danger' sequence - volcano , dante's peak , independence day , daylight , twister . +lost world . . . . . . etc , +etc . +this movie is a perfect example of how not to make a sequel . +director jan de bont should try watching the orignal movie and this one back-to-back and see if he realises where he went wrong . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv378_21982.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv378_21982.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f885b96f3cd59105fed029b0e82b213de4928792 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv378_21982.txt @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +it should have been a classic . +a great cast of respected supporting actors . +an interesting premise of loser comic book characters . +however , " mystery men " proved to be one of the great disappointments of 1999 . +the jokes were bland and hackneyed from talents who have previously made audiences laugh with their unique rituals . +the number of cliches and shallow characters made the film difficult to sit through seriously hurting its attempt of having a fast paced premise . +the script tried to deliver a series of small jokes throughout the film but without a big laugh-out-loud joke and mediocre small jokes , it failed miserably at being entertaining at all . +the jokes were not funny for a number of reasons . +they had been used a number of times before in previous films , the best ones , which were mediocre to begin with , were ruined in the trailer , and the expectation of laughing at clever , unique gags from clever unique comedians when there were none to laugh at greatly damaged the film . + " mystery men " might have worked if it was an ensemble cast of newcomers trying to break into the business . +but with veterans doing this kind of junk , it really questioned whether their other work was as funny as originally thought . +thankfully most actors in this movie will appear in five other movies before the new year arrives to help viewers forget this little movie . +the film follows a band of wannabe superheroes living in a wannabe gotham city who are ridiculed by their fellow citizens and villains because of their clumsiness and failure to save they day and capture the bad guy . +the fact is these pathetic losers are not needed because their city already has a successful superhero , captain amazing , who has recently captured every evil-doer in the city . +captain amazing ( played terribly by an uninspired greg kinnear ) , because of his success in the past , is worried that he will lose popularity . +after freeing one of the most notorious bad guys in the city ( geoffrey rush , overacting just a bit too much ) to keep himself busy , things get out of hand when captain amazing is captured . +it is up to the wannabe superheroes to save the day . +by the time this section of the plot is finished , the interest for what happens ( if you haven't already figured it out ) is very low . +there are very few scenes which catch the viewers complete attention . +the first scene in the film , which shows the wannabes trying to save the day , feels like it was seriously edited down . +right when it was beginning to become slightly funny seeing these actors get humiliated at an old folk's home by some masked goons , captain amazing comes in and saves the day ? or ruins the movie . +instead of editing this scene , more editing should have been done in areas such as the unnecessary romance between mr . furious ( ben stiller ) and monica , a waitress ( claire forlani ) or the vast majority of the film , which is the heroes talking at a coffee table about how their day was . +a simple rule : more silly action is needed in order to make a silly action movie work . +another major problem with " mystery men " is that every actor in it seemed very uncomfortable and consequently gave terrible performances . +the film depended on its cast to work fluently together , like a bunch of old friends working together in an amiable reunion . +however , most characters seemed like they did not even want to be in this film or at least the script made it seem this way . +to pull one of the actors in this film randomly out of a hat , paul reubens , who disappeared from acting to everyone's joy , returns here leaving very little to be impressed about . +as a wannabe who uses flatulence for a weapon , all of his jokes must therefore be fart jokes . +fart jokes that have all been heard before and will inevitably be heard again in future films thanks to the success of " american pie " and " there's something about mary . " + " mystery men " drags on towards the end to a point where anything else in the world is more entertaining . +anyone with a brain knows each one of the heroes is going to be successful at their talent in the end and each one is going to contribute in a helpful way . +so why continue to watch ? +this film is far from a worthy guilty pleasure . + " mystery men " indeed does this and every time a character succeeds another one congratulates him and says " i knew you could do it ! " + " mystery men " fails in every category it attempts to pass . +what makes this film so bad is that it had the potential to be wonderful and unforgettable . +terrible acting , terrible script , and a terrible waste of time changes opinions about all of these actors . + " i'm unpredictable ! " +an overexcited ben stiller shouts out . +no ben , you're the complete opposite . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv380_8164.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv380_8164.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..33be4cf6806eb409d701487439163d519597be88 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv380_8164.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +i want to be involved in show business one day . +and i refuse to do any sequels to any movie i may make because i believe they only get worse . +this movie proves it for me . +i was a little worried about the last batman film , as i thought joel schumaccer , taking over from tim burton , would screw it up . +i also assumed val kilmer would screw up as bruce wayne . +they didn't . +kilmer did a good job , and the cast was left to carry the movie , which they did ( even jim carrey as the riddler and i can't stand jim carrey ) , because schumaccer messed up the direction with his glitzy gotham and his awkward camera angles . +this film is different . +the cast is still impressive , but here , not only does schumaccer mess up with the direction ( he's one of those directors who's good with actors , terrible with camera angles ) , but writer akiva goldsmith doesn't really give an impressive cast anything to do . +the cast is impressive : clooney is a surprisingly good wayne/batman , o'donnell is a crafty robin as usual , they could've casted somebody better as batgirl ( my friend likes neve campbell ) , but silverstone is not bad , and thurman is a good poison ivy . +the major problem is schwarzenegger , who is a terrible freeze . +his accent is so heavy , you can't understand what he says , and the trouble with action stars like him is they cannot act , and they know it , but they figure that if they flex their muscles , say a limited amount of stuff , and kill a bunch of guys , then they figure nobody'll notice . +that's the trouble with me , * i * notice . +schwarzenegger does not deserve billing over clooney , or as much money as he got for this , but hollywood thinks he does . +patrick stewart was the person i'd heard that was considered to play freeze , and he would've been so much better . +or sean connery , but not arnold " i'm not an actor , but i play one in real life " schwarzenegger . +i realize that you must be a star to play a major role in a batman film , but it would've been nice if they'd casted a star that had talent for the role . +akiva goldsmith's screenplay avoids some stuff that happens in a normal batman film . +in a regular batman film , they'd concentrate on the relationship with the girlfriend a little more , but elle macpherson's julie madison is so limited here that we never get a real sense of who she is . +there is talk of a fifth batman movie . +my interest to see it is low , but i hope it's better than this . +if you don't want to waste your time , rent any of the other batman movies from blockbuster . +any other . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv396_19127.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv396_19127.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8f428664121e24f9783cc8d6d858b416405e0b1b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv396_19127.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6 @@ +adam sandler isn't known for appearing in deep , thought-provoking films , but he's still a really funny guy . +most of his movies are successful not because of the film making behind them , but because they let sandler do what he does best without a stupid plot to drown him out . +big daddy is the first film in which the story seems more important than sandler's comic performance , and it's a miserable failure . +sandler plays a thirty-something loser who gets attached to an orphaned young boy ( played by cole and dylan sprouse ) . +as one might expect from the synopsis , director dennis dugan resorts to the usual bag of manipulative and sentimental sequences , including a repulsive courtroom battle and a lot of teary scenes in which characters say " good-bye " to one another ; in addition , there's a ridiculous amount of disgusting toilet humor ( urine and vomit both get more screen time than sandler himself ) . +there's a hilarious running joke featuring a female doctor who previously worked at hooters , and the film features passable performances from sandler , joey lauren adams ( as the love interest ) , and the two young boys , but the film on the whole is trite and disappointingly unfunny . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv403_6721.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv403_6721.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6228305e1ff0c64fa10b208e38ac870ae8205ea3 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv403_6721.txt @@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ +a cop with a troubled personal life . +a ruthless villain . +a friend of the cop . +a _dead_ friend of the cop . +a quest for vengeance . +a new partner . +a romantic interest . +a chase scene . +a chase scene _in san francisco_ . +a woman in peril . +a confrontation . +an explosion . +the end . +yawn . +yawn . +yawn . +the preceding has been the plot of approximately twelve thousand and six action films ; this one just happens to be called metro . +i have learned to expect little from films like metro , and consequently i am bored by them more often than i am genuinely disappointed . +with eddie murphy on board , however , you hope for something extra , some kind of spark . +when a film makes watching eddie murphy a tedious experience , you know it is doing something terribly wrong . +murphy stars as scott roper , a hostage negotiator for the san francisco police department who is exceedingly good at his job . +with his personal life , he is considerably less successful , facing an unhappy ex-girlfriend named veronica ( carmen ejogo ) , a gambling problem and a mountain of debt . +then his professional life gets a jolt as well when a friend and colleague ( art evans ) is murdered while investigating suspected jewel thief michael korda ( michael wincott ) . +finding korda becomes very personal to scott , and he joins with new partner kevin mccall ( michael rappaport ) to foil korda during an attempted heist . +but all is not well even with korda in jail , as scott , veronica and kevin all continue to face life-threatening danger . +metro ( the title , in case you are wondering , means absolutely nothing ) is so badly put together that even the most casual viewer may notice the miserable pacing and stray plot threads . +in the first place , korda's rage over being discovered before he can make his big score is rendered completely pointless when he proceeds to hit the target anyway ( and , incidentally , to screw it up ) . +a reference to payoffs in the police department , followed by a conspicuous decision to keep scott off the korda case and a couple of pointed glances , is dropped abruptly with no resolution after about forty-five minutes ; even the relationship between scott and new partner kevin is so perfunctory , with kevin disappearing entirely after taking a bullet for scott , that you may yearn for bickering buddies . +worst of all is a plot structure which places the main villain ( the always menacing michael wincott ) behind bars for far too long , leaving a lot of time to kill with the tedious reconciliation of scott and veronica . +you can't blame murphy for being unable to muster any enthusiasm for the scenes with his bland leading lady , but he should have known better than to take this role at all . +scott roper exists in an uncomfortable middle ground between the kind of street-wise fast-talker murphy has built a career on and an actual three-dimensional character , and murphy is never able to reconcile the two . +the script seems to have been doctored for him , with a gambling problem turned into a bit of character color and his supposed inability to form relationships turned into a cause for gags rather than actual conflict , yet there is still too little comedy for murphy to work with . +for much of the film , he walks around with an intense frown , and it is over 90 minutes into metro before you hear that trademark laugh for the first time . +murphy is stranded with too few solid punch lines , and nearly all of the ones he does have bounce of ejogo and fall to the ground limply . +i suppose i should give director thomas carter credit for taking the obligatory san francisco car chase ( how much do you want to bet on the likelihood of seeing a car soar over a hill ? ) and doing a few interesting things with it . +as vehicles are sent flying and passengers sent sprawling by a runaway cable car , it is possible at least for a moment to take some pleasure in a goofy spin on a familiar situation . +carter does an even better job by taking that old suspense stand-by -- the medicine cabinet mirror which will close to reveal a killer standing behind someone -- and using it to defuse tension not once , but _twice_ . +the fact that carter was able to demonstrate even that much recognition of cliches , and a willingness to subvert them , makes his involvement in the rest of the disaster that is metro all the more puzzling . +an action film like this plods so relentlessly and obviously from point a to point b to point c that you might find yourself shouting out " point c ! " while they're still getting to point b , or getting up with the rest of the audience after the big explosion which signals that nothing else of any consequence is going to happen . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv409_29625.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv409_29625.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..edb1d1778154dbc82d1abd79faa3e5f0dcf51ba6 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv409_29625.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +capsule : this super-light situation comedy from sweden tells the story of two close friends with romantic problems . +the script involves formerly taboo subjects like erotic toys and sexual enhancers but otherwise the writing is not a lot different from what is shown free on television . +the characters are paper-thin and the interesting ideas purely non-existent . +this is a decrement-life-by-90-minutes card . + , 0 ( -4 to +4 ) +jalla ! jalla ! +is basically an exuberant tv situation comedy written instead for the wide screen . +it tells the story of two park custodians and the problems they are finding on the path to true love . +the film is set in sweden where roro and mans ( fares fares and torkel petersson ) are custodians at a public park . roro is from a tightly knit lebanese family who control him very closely , mans is a swede from a much more liberal background . +they spend most of the day in the bushes at their park , cleaning up after dogs . +roro and mans each have girlfriends , but each has a problem . +roro ( nicknamed " jalla " ) is having family problems . +it seems that his family wants to arrange a marriage between him and a nice lebanese woman , yasmin ( laleh pourkarim ) , but he is already in love with lisa ( tuva novotny ) . +yasmin likes roro , but does not want to get married either . +mans on the other hand has been having a problem of sexual impotence . +the two friends worry about their problems and discuss the problems with each other . +mans thinks the answer to his problem is to purchase sexual enhancers . +the one catch is that he is too shy to go in and buy them . +roro and yasmin decide to give themselves some time by telling the families that they want to marry each other , but then plan to break up before the wedding . +not too surprisingly neither finds that his idea works out the way he quite expected . +the plot turns in several places are contrived . +one knows fairly quickly that if things are going to work our happily for everybody certain plot contrivances have to happen . +lebanese-born josef fares who wrote and directed is perhaps a better director than he is a writer . +when things start to get slow , he just adds throws in another story . +for example halfway into the film mans innocently antagonizes some local toughs and a long chase is added to the film . +characterization is a little better with roro than it is with mans who does not seem to have a whole lot more personality beyond fear for losing a biological function . +we do see some of roro's family life and his concerns . +that may be because roro's background is a lot like that of the director . +while the story was entertaining , i did not feel that i got anything worthwhile from the film . +it was just a way to pass about an hour and a half in my life . +one does not have to go to the movies to see entertainment like this . +i rate it a 4 on the 0 to 10 scale and a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv415_23674.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv415_23674.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..134965b892b3e01332ce7c830a10ac540aba8236 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv415_23674.txt @@ -0,0 +1,44 @@ +it's been hours since i returned from the much anticipated sci-fi opus `mission to mars' , and i can still detect the reek of moldy cheddar . +why ? +the movie is a shoddy cheesefest full of digital eye candy , stapled carelessly onto a flimsy screenplay which somehow manages to leapfrog the great promise of a space opera , instead shooting for the angle of a feel-good science fiction drama more akin to `2001 : a space odyssey' . +i got the feeling that most of my fellow movie-going patrons were expecting another `armageddon' . +but no , `mission to mars' certainly isn't one large action sequence about colossal disaster . +this is a supposedly thoughtful , family-friendly space flick in which the apocalyptic excitement takes a back seat to visual elegance and uplifting drivel . +you have been warned . +of course , crafting a tightly claustrophobic space drama is not impossible ( see `apollo 13' for an excellent example ) , but few directors possess the skill and craftsmanship to pull it off without seriously scarring their reputation . +brian de palma has enough directorial expertise and visual wizardry up his sleeve to pull it off . +when he gets his hands on an intelligent , systematically practical script like `the untouchables' or `mission : impossible' , the director has the ability to create a sound technical achievement ( although his overly indulgent style becomes bothersome more than occasionally ) . +of course , there's also the inexcusable string of crap that has carried his name ( including `snake eyes' and the notorious bomb `the bonfire of the vanities' ) . . . . +all of which makes me want to call de palma the most talented hack in hollywood . +that term may be too harsh , but if i were judging him solely on the perpetual waste of talent that is `mission to mars' , my choice of words would have been slightly less lenient . +if i were gary sinise , i wouldn't touch de palma with a 10-foot pole . +sinise is a wonderful , wonderful actor , but after appearing in `snake eyes' and this vomit-inducing sham , i'm sure he wouldn't want to risk the embarrassment of a third collaboration . +the academy award-winner plays nasa astronaut jim mcconnell , a man who recently lost his wife ( kim delaney ) and is apparently psychologically unfit for an upcoming space shuttle mission to mars ( oops , forgot to mention the year - 2020 ) . +after a barbecue get-together for the astronauts , we cut to luc goddard ( don cheadle ) and his team , who are already taking measurements and calculations on the red planet . +suddenly , a towering formation of rocks and soil - probably best dubbed a `sand tornado' - appears and creates a whirlwind of suction . +for some reason , the astronauts just stand there calmly to admire this , as if it were a lovely piece of art . +the team is killed within seconds , expect for luc , who was able to send one final transmission and may still be alive . +immediately , a second mission - consisting of astronauts mcconnell , husband and wife woody and terri blake ( tim robbins and connie nielsen ) and phil ohlmyer ( jerry o'connell ) - are dispatched to rescue luc and discover the mysterious secret of planet mars . +let's put the `secret' on hold for now , and discuss the trip there . +it is explained , whether scientifically accurate or not ( probably not ) , that a trip to mars takes roughly six months . +i'm not sure why the quartet of screenwriters behind `m2m' didn't capitalize on this juicy opportunity of creating tension and claustrophobia . +instead , we join the team during their final days aboard the ship . +what happened during the five months prior to this ? +did they just play cards and tell dirty jokes ? +still , there are few nicely tense moments ( maybe the only in the movie ) during the time-frame involving a fuel leak . +depalma's direction is quite good in these scenes , although the score by ennio morricone is largely inconsistent ( organ music in space ? +c'mon ) . +there's a few good , imaginative ideas in the landslide of cheese , a sad realization that causes me to sigh out loud . +it's a colossal bummer that `mission to mars' is poorly assembled and laughably written , with a dubious and supremely silly finale that will only satisfy dedicated optimists . +as mentioned before , anyone looking for some disaster-movie carnage is going to feel savagely disappointed . . . +maybe even cheated . +after the unbelievably hokey final shot ( with the words ? the end' somehow adding insult to injury ) , a few audience members made the effort to boo and hiss at the screen . +others muttered obscenities , shaking their heads in disbelief while mumbling `jeez , that sucked . ' +okay , it did suck . +but you have to show the actors some sympathetic mercy . . . +after all , they do pretty well . +sinise is sincere and effective in many of his scenes , robbins and nielsen wholeheartedly convince as a loving nasa couple , and funnyman o'connell - well , he has a couple lines are actually amusing ( and intentionally so ) . +the digital effects accompanying the sand tornado sequence are quite impressive . +so , by golly , where did this `mission' go wrong ? +looking back on the appalling experience , i would say in practically every conduit and crevasse it could have . +while watching `mission to mars' , my suggestion would be to immediately abort , or better yet , don't even strap yourself in for lift-off . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv427_11693.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv427_11693.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ba36c7799ce50f3bf8c1f7b569895c4271db8405 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv427_11693.txt @@ -0,0 +1,49 @@ + " mandingo " has traditionally been seen as one of two things : either a much-needed revisionist look at slavery in the south , or in the words of film critic leonard maltin , " a trashy potboiler " that " appeals only to the s&m crowd . " +actually , i think " mandingo " is a strange combination of the two , although it fails on both fronts . +it's too trashy to be good drama , but too dramatic to be good trash . +the story takes place on a dilapidated louisiana plantation run by crotchety old warren maxwell ( james mason ) and his son , hammond ( perry king ) . +one day in new orleans , hammond comes across a slave trader selling a mandingo named mede ( heavyweight boxer ken norton ) . +although the movie never explains it , a mandingo is simply the name for africans who come from the region of the upper niger river valley . +according to the movie , mandingos were the rolls royce of african slaves . +hammond pays top price for mede and has to fight off others in order to get him . +hammond then spends his time training mede to be a fighter in money brawls with other slaves . +meanwhile , hammond has married his cousin , blanche ( susan george ) , because she wants to escape her family and he is under pressure from his father to produce a grandchild . +hammond , however , is happier spending nights with his " bed wench , " the derogatory name given to female slaves used by their masters for easy sex . +it is quickly apparent that hammond , despite his overt racism , is more in love with his bed wench , a sensitive slave girl named ellen ( brenda sykes ) , than he is with blanche . +hammond considers blanche tainted goods because he finds out on their wedding night that another man had " pleasured " her before he did . +of course , it's fine that he's slept with numerous slave girls , but the fact that his wife , a " white lady , " had been with another man out of wedlock destroys his capacity to care for her . +so blanche is usually left lonely and sex-starved while hammond is sleeping with ellen . +blanche gets back at hammond by seducing the studly mede and bearing his child . +hammond and his father cannot stand the idea that blanche has given birth to a half-black child ( although it's okay that ellen was pregnant by hammond ) , so warren kills the child by letting it bleed to death after birth , and hammond poisons blanche . +hammond then finds mede , shoots him twice in the shoulder , and pushes him into a giant cauldron of boiling water . +yes , you read right : the film ends with hammond getting his revenge by boiling mede alive . +judging only by the plot , " mandingo " is pure sexploitation . +the main purpose of the film seems to be getting as many blacks and whites into bed together as possible , with only the slightest commentary on what that would mean in 19th century southern society . +when " mandingo " was released in 1975 , it was still a bit of a shocker to see miscegenation on screen in such a graphic detail ; this way the movie could revise cinematic history while attracting large audiences of curious voyeurs . +dramatically , " mandingo " is weak and unfocused , and historically it's mostly confused . +if one were to judge history by this film , it would be easy to walk away with the notion that the entire system of american slavery was based on sexuality , not economics . +not once in the film do we see any of the slaves working , except for a few house servants . +the men spend most of the time sitting around , while the sole purpose of a female slave seems to be free sex for the owner . +there is historical basis in the notion that slave owners often slept with their female slaves , but " mandingo's " overwhelming emphasis on this aspect of slavery gives the movie the unpleasant taste of a cheap sex flick ( although there's plenty of violence -- fights , vicious beatings , shootings , and the aforementioned human boiling sequence -- thrown in for good measure ) . +some tried to write off " mandingo " as a blaxploitation film , one of a number of quickly-made , low-budget films appealing to black sensibilities in the early seventies , but it's not that easy . + " mandingo " was studio-financed by paramount pictures , and produced by dino de laurentiis , the grandiose italian producer behind such notorious productions as " the bible " ( 1966 ) , the remake of " king kong " ( 1976 ) , and the ill-fated " dune " ( 1984 ) . +the director was richard fleischer , a veteran who was best known for several special effects-laden action movies including " 20 , 000 leagues under the sea " ( 1954 ) and " fantastic voyage " ( 1966 ) , as well as such superior suspense films as " the narrow margin " ( 1952 ) . +the script , based on the supermarket best-seller by ken ostott ( and the subsequent play by jack kirkland ) , was penned by norman wexler , who had been nominated for an oscar two years earlier for his work on " serpico . " +james mason , perry king , and susan george were well-known and respected actors ( mason already had three oscar nominations under his belt ) , and ken norton appeared to have a promising film career . +so why is " mandingo " so bad ? +a number of reasons , including the fact that all those experienced filmmakers behind and in front of the camera did a lousy job . +wexler's script is pure poor hokum bordering on the offensive ; it combines stereotyped slave-talk ( " yessuh , massuh " ) , stereotyped southern white trash talk ( " fer whut're you gittin' outta bed ? " ) , and stereotyped contemporary militant black talk ( " if you see me hang , you gonna know you killed a black brother ! " ) . +fleischer's direction is clumsy , especially during the fight scenes , and all the actors give weak performances , especially susan george whose constant shrieking finally becomes laughable . +nevertheless , credit should be given where credit is due . +despite its exploitative nature , " mandingo " was one of the first hollywood movies to take an alternative look at slavery . +until then , there had been a kind of underlying racism in all hollywood films dealing with slavery . +even classics such as " gone with the wind " ( 1939 ) can be seen as inherently racist by its glossing over the subject matter . + " mandingo " reassessed the south , and showed that it wasn't all beautiful plantations , green fields , and pretty sunsets . +but all this is constantly undermined by the film's negligible point-of-view -- it claims to see things from the black perspective , but the entire narrative focus is on the soap opera tales of the white owners . +with a little more maturity and different handling , " mandingo " might have been an effective , worthwhile film . +while it portrays many sensitive aspects of slavery , it never deals with them . +the issues the movie brings up are worthwhile , but wexler's script refuses to move them beyond a surface level of trashily vicarious viewing . +there is a great deal of potential in honestly exploring the nature of a sexual relationship between slave and owner , but " mandingo " never does it . +steven spielberg touched on that same topic in " schindler's list " ( 1993 ) , by looking at a nazi officer writhing in inner turmoil because of his feelings for a jewish maid . +the difference between that film and " mandingo " is that spielberg dealt with the situation in a fair , unexploitive manner that focused on the inherent human dilemma . + " mandingo " is satisfied to simply show some skin , and because of that , its " trashy potboiler " nature overshadows any potential social good it might have accomplished . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv452_5179.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv452_5179.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..44771883efe5d12960defb0c8d68aacd6c60c6ba --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv452_5179.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +a big , busy boxing satire with a surprisingly paltry punch , the great white hype stars samuel l . jackson as a shameless boxing promoter whose plan to boost sagging pay-per-view revenues is to " invent " a white contender ( peter berg ) to challenge his black heavyweight " champ " ( damon wayans ) . + ( the logic is that people will pay more to see black vs . white than black vs . black . ) +he may be right , in an absurdly accurate way , but the film doesn't give us a reason to care . +as a scathing sports spoof , hype is just that : unfunny , unfocused , and , at times , just plain pointless . +as a commentary on race relations , it's even * less * effective . +the dialogue is the best of this mess , lines like jon lovitz exclaiming " i cannot make caviar out of fish eggs ! " +writers tony hendra and ron shelton also do good on the street slang , though we never hear enough of it . +the script isn't strong enough , though , to support the aggressive camera work of director reginald hudlin ( house party ) . +he comes across as absolute overkill . +the great white hype * almost * turns around at the end , at the big match , when hudlin attempts an extended gag of rock-concert proportions . +with costumed dwarfs , gangsta rappers , and the " champ " dressed as death , only then do we get a glimpse of the spoof that should've been . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv462_20788.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv462_20788.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..24615b3acda8d61405aa012382f517bfe6555998 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv462_20788.txt @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +in double jeopardy , the stakes are high . +think of the plot as a rehash of sleeping with the enemy , and then rearrange the details and the gender of the stalker . +the finished product , although able to maintain the viewer's attention , is a predictable and unexciting thriller with an idiotic script . +`alex , i'll take homicide for $400 . . . ' +libby parsons ( ashley judd ) is a happily married mom leading a normal life . +one night , her husband nick ( bruce greenwood ) takes her out for a romantic escape on a sailboat . +libby awakens in the middle of the night to find she is covered in blood and nick has strangely disappeared . +she follows a trail of bloody footprints up to the deck , where she handles a fallen knife ( like any stupid character ) and is spotted by the coast guard , who are responding to a distress signal sent earlier in the evening . +nick is presumed dead , and although she pleads her innocence , libby is tried and convicted for the murder of her husband . +now , please don't think i'm spoiling any vital plot details , because the informative trailer has already spilled most of the beans . +if you haven't seen this preview , don't read any further . +but seriously , the inane screenplay by douglas weisberg and douglas s . cook is so elementary that the average viewer will be two or three steps ahead of the characters . +during the most vital scenes in the movie , i was anticipating every twist or `surprise' that eventually popped up on the screen . +i imagine the writers presume their core audience for double jeopardy is a very naive group of individuals . +most , unfortunately , will be too distracted by the moronic plot to appreciate the few positive aspects of the production . +one is tommy lee jones , who plays travis lehman , a parole officer given the tedious task of watching over libby after she serves her sentence in prison . +jones is always wonderful as an authority figure , and he's certainly familiar with this sort of role ( as he played so well in the fugitive and us marshals ) . +judd , as a likable heroin with gusto , also has a chance to flex her acting abilities . +while emotionally unconvincing , the actress is tremendously fun in her juvenile role , perking up the movie like an injection of anti-depressant . +the actors , and their relationship together , present the one-two punch that prevents double jeopardy from derailing itself entirely . +and now , back to the plot . +while behind bars , libby learns an interesting little bit of information : a person can't be convicted of the same crime twice . +this law , called `double jeopardy' , could be her motive for hunting down her husband . . . +who may still be alive . +yes , you heard right . +the movie degenerates into a cross-country chase , where everything you expect to happen . . . +does . +the final scenes , which could have redeemed the film , are poorly handled by director bruce beresford - whose previous work centers highly around drama ( driving miss daisy , paradise road ) . +ironically , it is those elements - like the driving force of libby to reunite with her son - that don't quite work here . +at least double jeopardy is paced well enough to satisfy diehard fans of the two stars . +unfortunately , jones lacks some of the edge that he had as sam gerard in the fugitive , and the real depth of his character is only skin deep . +but he and ashley judd are more than welcome considering the material , and both have some memorable comic moments . +judd , in particular , has a hilarious scene in which she wards off an oncoming male by explaining she has to check in with her `parole officer' . +hmmm . . . +perhaps this would have made a good comedy . +it is disappointing , because there are the makings of a competent action film here . +it's nicely shot and choreographed in downtown vancouver , and will entertain those who aren't turned off by the woeful story-line . + ? tis a shame that double jeopardy is an adult thriller that wouldn't fool most children . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv468_16844.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv468_16844.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a6f6e2d3aebefd1d45ceaee775521532a4b89524 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv468_16844.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +the " fab 4 " of ronald reagan high are four stuck-up girls , played by rose mcgowan , rebecca gayheart , julie benz and charlotte roldan , who overdress like 4 posh spice wannabes . +their daily ritual is to parade up and down the school halls like royalty , and their constant reflex action is to grab their compacts so they can check their make-up and powder their cheeks . +under no circumstances will they ever let themselves be seen eating in public . +in writer and director darren stein's jawbreaker , it isn't as funny as it sounds . +in fact , it isn't funny at all . +stein has taken the black comedy of a teen movie like heathers and stripped it of any intelligence , wit or charm . +his actresses toss off their lines so fast that they don't have time to add any emotion . +and all of his female characters have considerably more lipstick than brains . +the setup for the movie has one of the fab 4 , liz , who is referred to as " the princess di of reagan high , " be killed when a prank by the other 3 goes wrong . +the princess di reference is in bad taste , as is much of the movie . +granted , bad taste can sometimes be funny , but the mere presence of bad taste doesn't guarantee it . +liz's girlfriends stick a jawbreaker that is literally larger than a golf ball in her mouth , tape her mouth shut , and stick her bound body in the trunk of a car . +when they open the trunk later , liz is dead . +they eventually put her blue and bruised body into a sexual position and make it look like liz was the victim of a brutal rape . +these realistic and disgusting scenes of a dead , seminude teen have a pornographic feeling that is hard to forget and will likely turn the stomach of many a viewer . +the film's dialog not only isn't funny , it's trite . +one nerdy young girl introduces herself with " my name is fern mayo , as in hold the mayo . " +when fern discovers what has happened , the fab 3 make her an offer she can't refuse -- make-up ! +they cake it on her and welcome her to the clan . +the parents in the movie brag about learning parenting skills from watching oprah . +the teachers fare no better , especially in the ridiculous lines they are given . + " miss shayne , please cover your bosom , " one young teacher , who has been made up to look old and ugly , says without any conviction . + " this is a learning institution , not a brothel . " +besides the obvious question of why this movie was ever made , there is one other question that i'd like to ask the director . +why do you have a phone number start with 555 if you going to cover the rest of the number anyway ? +in a cameo , pam grier plays detective vera cruz , who investigates liz's murder . +as she interrogates the other people , she stares at them like they are all idiots , proving that she is the only one that gets it . +i am sure that if the hard nosed detective cruz were to see this movie , she'd walk out after about 5 minutes , and you'd be well advised to do the same if you should happen to find yourself in a theater showing it . +jawbreaker runs 1 : 27 . +it is rated r for violence , gore , profanity and sex . +i would advise everyone to avoid it , but if teenagers go they should be older and mature . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv472_29140.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv472_29140.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..7b781f9a614c0b84c4ad110d8b484a4c939fd7ce --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv472_29140.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +it's almost amusing to watch 21-year old christina ricci get drastically overshadowed in sally potter's follow-up to 1997's the tango lesson , the man who cried . +the gen-y actress , with her cold stare and big , black eyes , has appeared in an impressive range of films ; but she doesn't even come close to being the bold heroine the film , set against the historical backdrop of world war 2 , requires her to be . +ricci , whose character is shockingly silent and blank , showing only the occasional smile or hint of concern , shares most of her scenes with the astounding cate blanchett : quite an amusing sight to behold . +blanchett's lola , a paris dwelling dancer who befriends the aspiring singer suzie , is bold , interesting and layered ? everything our heroine lacks . +co-star of the upcoming lord of the rings trilogy , blanchett has a good seven inches on ricci , sports twice the makeup and dons a flashy wardrobe . +the actress inhabits the role ? as she always so remarkably does ? with a fervor and life that makes you want her to hold the screen as the film's lead rather than her dull companion . +important historical events involving hitler and his nazis scatter themselves across the film ; these landmarks serve as the film's little conflict . +obviously , the tables are turned in the life of suzie by these events , whose jewish origin is unknown among her parisian colleagues . +the man who cried has many aspirations , none of which come full circle by the film's close . +there are forced messages here and there : " go forward ; always go forward , " lola preaches to suzie ; there's romance between suzie and a fellow target of hitler's nazis , the gypsy cesar ( johnny depp , who , like ricci , barely gets to speak ) ; lola struggles with her character that desires above all things wealth and men who have it ; and at the core of all these devices lies suzie's desire to travel to america , where her father journeyed after leaving her and her mother years ago . +the film's main problem is that potter isn't skilled enough to tell the epic-sized story of suzie . +the time period's instability , the conflicting social classes , the prejudice against suzie from all those around her in her new life : serving as both writer and director , potter throws in some of each , but hardly an inch of depth is to be found in any . +by the time the sigh-inducing climax hits , the believability and complete absence of focus leave one ready to leave the theater . +the film's falling action is weirdly unsatisfying and unlikely ; are we really meant to believe any of this could happen ? +contrastingly , in its moving final scene , the man who cried strikes a note that is made effective in its ties to the emotional beginning of the film . +although it's apparent that potter can't grasp what she reaches , i'm puzzled as to why she reaches for so much in the first place . +ricci's suzie is meant to be the film's core : from the extended flashback at the film's beginning to the quickly drawn ending , everything seen in the film , in some way , relates to her . +so why then does potter spend so much time on subplots involving other individuals ? +the character of suzie is too present for the man who cried to work as an ensemble , but not present enough for the film to be ricci's . +the almost constant lack of flow and one-note tone with which potter depicts the man who cried are somewhat improved upon by sacha vierny's beautiful cinematography that renders the film's various locations wonderfully . +also worthy of note are lindy hemming's costumes that help to depict the area quite nicely . +and then there's the music . +from minute one to minute ninety-seven , there's hardly a moment when the wavering , skilled voice of an opera singer or the rhythms of the gypsy music don't undercut the action ; the notes stricken both overwhelm ( particularly john turturro , portraying fictional opera singer dante dominio , whose money and reputation catch lola's interest ) and accompany ( oftentimes , the perfect chords are captured to undermine the state of the film's characters and reinforce that state ) . +potter obviously cares much about each and every musical note ; unfortunately , the same effort isn't given towards ( almost ) everything else . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv491_12992.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv491_12992.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..9f9c9a2b998c1ad3b8a5699ba723bebb7c87b19e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv491_12992.txt @@ -0,0 +1,46 @@ +at one point in this movie there is a staging of an opera that goes completely wrong . +but one member of the crowd stands up and cheers , thinking the performance was planned , and applauding it for their efforts . +that's " dirty work " in a nutshell . +a very different kind of movie . +this is not a movie that i can easily review . +the critic in me analyzes the structure , plot , acting , characters . + . + . and +tells me this movie is terrible . +but the norm macdonald fan in me had me rolling on the floor laughing . +this movie plays more like an hbo sketch comedy than a movie . +it's a one note concept . +mitch and sam need $50000 in order to bribe a doctor to give their father a heart transplant before other more needy patients . +realizing they are very good at revenge plots , they open a revenge for hire business , eventually running afoul of a rich businessman played by christopher macdonald ( who after roles in " happy gilmore " and " veronica's closet " seems typcast in this role ) , who sends them to destroy a building that mitch learns is the home of his girlfriend's grandmother , thus leading them to plot against the rich businessman on the night of the grand opening of a new opera house . +first the critic in me . +the plot is the standard poor guy vs evil rich guy device , where the main character meets the girl of his dreams along the way . +here's the catch . +none of the characters are sympathetic . +they're all selfish jerks who don't care who they hurt in their attempts to do whatever they want . +the jokes are juvenile , crude , appealing to the worst elements in people . +there's jokes about prostitutes , the homeless , beastiality , anal sex . +there's even a subplot that's developed , it seems , only to make jokes about infidelity and incest . +and i loved watching it . +i was a huge fan of norm macdonald's sarcastic , to-the-point comedy on saturday night live , and this movie is an hour and a half of it . +norm macdonald takes a joke , strips it to the core , and tells it like it is with a dry wit . +like the scene were he and his friend are learning the ropes at a new construction job . +the foreman goes over the basics , which mitch and sam don't understand . +how do they get out of it ? +by admiting they lied on their resumes , and don't know a thing about construction ! +and surprise , they get fired . +the characters are incredibly mean-spirited . +there's a father who's loud and obnoxious , a gambling addicted doctor played by chevy chase who tells sam of his father's condition by saying " if i were a gambling man i'd put a lot of money on death . " +the businessman cole who always has his dog spunky , and does who knows what with it . +and then there's mitch and sam , who , thinking they can get $50000 by destroying a building , ponder how their actions would ruin the lives of the residents . + " too bad we have to do it , " mitch says . +here's a movie where every joke that is executed as it is set up , where you see every punchline coming , where every spot profanity could be used and then is used . +at least the film is honest , and makes no mistake that it is anything more than idiotic . +but at least it isn't dull , and it isn't predictable . +and that's the way it should be . +it's sketch comedy , and if you're a fan of norm macdonald , you'll love it . +the jokes are crude , the characters are mean to the core , the attitude of the movie is that it just doesn't care . +if you don't like norm macdonald , or stupid movies , then you probably won't like this one . +the jokes are crude , the characters are mean to the core , the attitude of the movie is that it just doesn't care . +so before seeing this one , tune your mindset , and prepare for a slew of norm macdonald humor , gay animal sex , prison rape jokes , uncaring characters , and one last performance from chris farley . +the critic in me says ( * ) but i give it an 8 ( * * * ) . +i just couldn't stop laughing . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv497_27086.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv497_27086.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ee0374dfe2dc3ae5dbabdf74d15d6220f798cecc --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv497_27086.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +this film is worth seeing for those who want to see what mick jagger looks like when sporting an abe lincoln beard . +the rock and roller is asked to carry the film as the action antihero of australian legend . . . ned +kelly , the so-called robin hood of the aussies . +but he fails to be convincing , in my opinion he is better suited to play gene kelly than ned kelly . +the film opens to a b/w prologue of ned kelly bravely going to his execution . +then it goes to technicolor and ned is seen in what goes for flashback , coming home from jail after a 3-year sentence to see his mom and reacquaint himself with the large kelly family . +this scene is set in 1871 . +in the background we hear the booming voice of waylon jennings , as he sings shel silverstein's lyrics , which tells -- of ned's hatred for the british rule and hope for ireland to be a republic . +ned says a debt must be paid . . . +as he hears voices from his dead father , his class-divided country , and his conscience , all telling him to get revenge . +so begins ned's romp through australia's outback , seeking justice for all the wrongs his people have suffered . +he begins by stealing horses , after complaining about the unfair tax law on horses that stray , which favors the rich landowners . +when he's only 20 he forms a gang , causing him to hide the rest of his life from the police , who put a price on his head of two thousand pounds . +when ned's mother ( clarissa kaye ) is jailed on a false charge of abetting criminals and sentenced to 3-5 years , ned offers to surrender in exchange for his mother's freedom . +when the authorities refuse , the kelly brothers go on a robbing rampage , burning mortgages of the poor found in postal vaults and murdering some soldiers . +rampaging through the outback , they gather sympathy among the poor and lower classes , who don't trust the traps ( police ) . +spoiler to follow in the next paragraph . +in the climax , kelly and his gang plan to ambush a train with british police , but someone kelly trusted tips the police on the train and kelly is trapped in a saloon and captured . +ned's brothers commit suicide rather than be taken alive . +but kelly's gang escapes , as ned heroically has the police go after only him and his brothers , as they become decoys . +this was a flat presentation , hardly touching an emotional button on what all the fuss was about over ned kelly's call for justice . +jagger didn't have a prayer in succeeding in this dry script offered by ian jones and tony richardson . +the story failed to focus on australia , seemingly a more british film than australian . +under richardson's lackluster direction , all jagger seemed to do , was proclaim his innocence and vow revenge , which soon became a shrill cry . +if you want to see a better film about ned kelly , catch " mad dog morgan " ( 76 ) , a much truer and more daring version , with dennis hopper giving a much better characterization of ned kelly's madness , something this film could only do in a ho-hum manner . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv527_10338.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv527_10338.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e5aed3a40195ba86726e8197ae569c9f5fe46ee0 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv527_10338.txt @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ +woody allen is one of the most successful artist-directors in hollywood , but he is becoming less and less reliable as a filmmaker . +in his early years of film-making he mastered the simple comedy . +from there he went into a second phase and took risks experimenting with different approaches and styles . +some of these work better than others . +zelig and crimes and misdemeanors are the work of a creative and intelligent artist . +deconstructing harry goes to the other extreme and is a bizarre experiment demanding more of the viewer than it gives back . +harry block ( allen ) has in his life only two drives . +he wants to have sex with as many women as possible and when he makes a mess of his life and those of his lovers he wants to retreat into his writing . +the story of this static and highly unsympathetic character is told with a number of often clumsy stylistic experiments . +perhaps the most irritating device is to express the disjointedness of harry's life by editing harry's scenes putting in cuts in the middle as if to show missing time with something edited out . +as a writer , harry puts his friends into his books in the thinnest of disguises . +the film dramatizes incidents from these supposed books and cuts between his real story line and fragments from harry's books with different actors playing the real and fictional people in harry's life . +these fragments are frustrating in their lack of completion , but even more frustrating is the bringing of the characters out of the fragments into scenes with the real characters . +it is up to the viewer to keep track not just who is fictional and who is real but also to keep straight who is the fictional doppelganger of which real person . +if that sounds complicated , it is . +then as another device in one of the stories , an actor seems to have the peculiar property that he has gone out of focus and can only be seen in blurry image . +harry sees this as a metaphor for his own condition and himself goes blurry for a short time . +as if these touches did not create sufficient confusion , the story is told out of chronological order . +if allen were giving the audience a story that was worth decoding , any and all of these stylistic touches could be excusable . +but allen puts the audience through all of this to give us a portrait of harry block who is a selfish manipulator who is not worth the effort to understand . +deconstructing harry is set at a time when harry's old college , the one that expelled him when he attended it , wants now to honor him for a lifetime of writing achievement . +harry is searching among his friends to find one who will go with him . +just why someone who is so unwilling to commit to a relationship with anyone suddenly needs the support of someone else is unclear . +harry tries his current girl friend fay ( elizabeth shue ) only to find that she is about to marry harry's old friend larry ( billy crystal ) . +block would like his son hilly ( eric lloyd ) to accompany him , but hilly's mother , previously first harry's psychiatrist and more recently his wife , refuses to let her son see his father . +another friend richard ( bob balaban ) would go but has health problems . +harry also considers bringing a prostitute cookie ( hazel goodman ) . +it is interesting that allen should introduce another likable prostitute so soon after mighty aphrodite , but cookie is considerably different--black and a lot brighter than mira sorvino's character in the previous film . +while the comedy sequences are never complete , a few are elaborate and some quite funny . +the centerpiece of the film is a journey into hell with allen playing a sort of orpheus rescuing fay from the clutches of the devil , who looks a lot like larry . +that story also is left uncompleted , perhaps to show harry's unwillingness to commit even to telling a story . +the linchpin that was needed to tie together the stylistic quirks of this film was a central character who changes and who gives us something about which to care . +that character is patently not the one allen creates in harry block and not the characters around harry as seen through his acerbic eyes . +allen can do much better than deconstructing harry . +i rate it a 3 on the 0 to 10 scale and a -1 on the -4 to +4 scale . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv531_26838.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv531_26838.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b0768dd6f027f81d3a50fd07c3922eef29f7cd76 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv531_26838.txt @@ -0,0 +1,43 @@ +i have never been so confused after watching a movie . + " meet joe black " is probably one of the most visually satisfying films of this year , with a cinematography , music and cast that will dazzle most of us . +at the same time it is probably the most boring and ridiculous experience hat you will have this season . +at first you marvel at the elegant direction , graceful cinematography and sensual musical score . +then you'll wait for something to happen for half an hour , but when you finally understand what's going on , you'll wonder what are actors such as anthony hopkins , brad pitt and claire forlani are doing in a film like this ? +the script is simply a silly and unresolved story , which is artificially stretched into a three hour long motion picture . +it feels like an eternity . +most of the time it is a pompous soap opera , filled with empty dialogue that the actors deliver in a high pitched voice and " meaningful " winks . +the film is based on alberto caesella's play " death takes a holiday " . +the story concentrates around bill ( anthony hopkins ) who lives a fulfilled life as a successful business man , but sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night and hears a voice that is saying " yes " . +soon he meets a young elegant gentlemen ( brad pitt ) who introduces himself as " death " . +it is bill's time . +but death has other plans . +it has come down to us simple mortals to find out what it means to be alive . +our bill is chosen to be death's guide and in exchange he gets time . +bill introduces death as joe black , who immediately becomes the center of everyone's attention . +bill's business partners speculate about why joe is constantly at bill's side , lives in his house and resides at his office . +that is not all , however . +bill's youngest daughter susan ( claire forlani ) falls in love with the mysterious stranger and joe falls in love with her . +this relationship is bound to have some serious consequences . +it wouldn't be fair to say that this film didn't have some interesting moments , such as the scene where joe is invited to join bill's family for dinner . +when joe starts enjoying peanut butter and later falls in love , the experience is somewhat different . +it is obvious that a story like this story is very difficult to structure . +it's one thing to say : " wouldn't it be fun to have death take human form and come down to earth . . " +to create a motion picture out of this is another . +four screenwriters have worked on a script that lacks drive and logic . +it is overlong and too primitive to pass as a serious film . +on the other hand it demonstrates incredible performances and a very decent direction by martin brest ( " scent of a woman " ) . +hopkins looks great in any role , and no matter how shallow or hollow it is , he will complete it . +his talent and charisma are needed here more than any where else , since it actually saves the film from a complete embarrassment . +but pitt is the one that got one of the most difficult roles of recent time . +how can you play death in human form ? +to me it seems that death and life are not something that can be associated with earthly matters . +they are not creatures , but phenomenas . +saying that death takes human form would be the same as to suggest that eternity would take human form . +handling such a ridiculous task is incredibly difficult and pitt deserves some credit for his work . +speaking in a calm , soft voice , portraying death as a lonely , distant and powerful guy that is unfamiliar with practical earthly matters . +he looks and acts more like an angel of death , rather than a demon or a red-eyed executioner . +claire forlani and others are also fine , stretching their stereotypical characters to their limits . +unfortunately their performances are not enough to rescue this film from its self inflicted misery . +in other words this is not what i expected from the director of " scent of a woman " . +it could ( and should ) be better with such cast and crew . +in the end it seems as if they have all been intensively working on a ravishingly looking soap opera . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv533_9843.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv533_9843.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..dd46f9e8b07fac7fde73e899db77147ad1e1e25c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv533_9843.txt @@ -0,0 +1,43 @@ +keep cool , a chinese film directed by semi-accomplished filmmaker yimou zhang , was one of the kickoff films for this year's hawaii international film festival . +on the day it premiered , lines of eager moviegoers stretched around the block , some anticipants having queued up well in advance to get a good seat in the theater . +they need not have wasted their time . +the movie is billed as a comedy , but is surprisingly bereft of humor . +there are noticeable attempts at laughs , but very few tries actually click . +i wondered if there were jokes that i wasn't getting because i'm not from china , but unfortunately my conclusion was that this lack of humor couldn't be attributed to the cultural barrier either . +keep cool just isn't very funny . +the prelude to the film was a visit by keep cool's producer who , with the help of an interpreter , regaled us of how in order to get the print to the festival in time , an assistant hand carried it on the plane from china to hawaii . +although the print made it , the assistant's luggage was lost . +too bad that story wasn't in the movie , because it got a big laugh . +qu ying , the film's female lead , was also on hand to give a few comments . +however , whereas the producer politely made regular pauses in his dialog so the interpreter could bring us up to speed , ms . ying saw fit to say everything she had to say in one , fast-paced , incredibly long tirade . +it was dizzying ; good foreshadowing for the film . +you see , keep cool is filmed almost totally with a camera handheld by a man with a bad case of the shakes . +at least that's the way it seems , since the camera is constantly moving . +cinema verite is one thing , but panning and shaking around until your audience has a headache is another . +although some might consider it a form which helps give the viewer an idea of the anarchic state into which chinese youth is slowly growing , i found it thoroughly distracting , and after a while , quite annoying . +headache , as i said . +the film is about a young bookseller ( wen jiang ) who is after a young woman ( qu ying ) . +they used to be romantically involved , but the woman grew tired of him and left the relationship . +the first half of the film is about the young man's plan to win her back . +of course the thing is , she doesn't want to be won back , and has a nightclub owner friend of hers rough him up a bit . +in the fight , the young man grabs a laptop computer belonging to a bystander and attempts to use it to fend off his attacker , but only ends up smashing it against a lamppost . +we later find out that the laptop belongs to an older man who wishes to get his damaged computer replaced . +there is a funny scene ( the only one in the film ) where the young man tries to use some twisted logic in order to get the older man to seek out the nightclub owner ( baotian li ) in order to recoup his losses . +there is no sense to be made out of the young woman's behavior ; cold one minute , caring the next , so we feel no sympathy for her character . +the bookseller would be better off without her . +although the second half of the film causes us to lose a lot of sympathy for the young bookseller as well , who is obsessed with chopping off the nightclub owner's hand as revenge for the beating he took , it also offers us some nice interaction between the bookseller and the older man . +while the bookseller is blinded by his thirst for revenge , the older man is the voice of reason and tries to rationalize each situation . +his quest to end the dispute peacefully and equitably is the one we identify with , but it is frustrating to see that he seems to be talking to a brick wall half the time . +a friendship develops between the two men , but it occurs too late in the film for the audience to appreciate . +although only an hour and a half in length , keep cool contains extraneous material . +the whole plot of how the bookseller is after the young woman could have been taken out , since we don't see her from the midpoint on . +a case of mistaken identity or some other device could have served as the point of conflict between the bookseller and the nightclub owner , and would have saved us from the bookseller's boring pursuit during the first half . +but of course , this would have shortened the movie to less than an hour . +there are a few things that keep cool does right . +as mentioned before , the interaction between the bookseller and the older man is generally pretty good . +although it grows tiresome , the reasoning with the unreasonable is a nice exercise in logic , and represents the differences in thinking between generations . +in one scene , for example , the bookseller quotes confucius to get his point across , but the older man claims the quote was misinterpreted , and that it means something entirely different . +also effective is the way zhang sets up tension within a scene , such as when the bookseller is getting ready to cut off the hand of the unwitting nightclub owner . +the nightclub owner is counting out money , slapping each bundle of currency on the table . +with every shot of his hand , we can hardly stand the interminable wait before the bookseller is going to pull out his cleaver and exact his revenge . +unfortunately , these crumbs are not enough to overcome the rest of the film's shortcomings , and weren't enough to prevent that headache from lingering after i left the theater . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv539_21865.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv539_21865.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..7cfc3b6828cdd98bb0dfb347f76fccb11d30b35c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv539_21865.txt @@ -0,0 +1,45 @@ +well arnold has completed the seemingly impossible task . +he has made three consecutive unsatisfactory action films . +in a domain that he owns , it is very surprising that this goliath of an action star can not tell a good action script from a bad one . +eraser , back in 1996 , was a confused film that made no attempt at all to make sense . +batman and robin , in 1997 , was the black sheep of the batman series with ridiculous acting , idiotic action scenes , and painfully flashy costumes . +now in 1999 , " end of days " ( not " the end of days " ) is the third strike in a tough at bat for arnold . +is this the end of a powerful action star's long-lived career ? +will arnold ever give us another unforgettable performance in another unforgettable classic like those in the past ( " terminator " , " terminator 2 : judgement day " , " predator " ) ? +or an unforgettable performance in a great guilty pleasure like those in the past ( " commando " , " red sonja " , " true lies " ) ? +it doesn't look that way . + " end of days " begins with the birth of a baby girl in 1979 who inexorably , due to the formation of the stars on that night , will be the carrier of satan's baby the hour before new year's of 2000 . +fortunately for the movie's sake , the girl grows up and now resides in manhattan with skyscrapers , subway trains in dark tunnels , and a myriad of inept nypd officers . +it's an action film's dream come true when the director is given tons of cool stuff to blow up . +imagine if the girl had lived in anytown , usa , where the only thing to destroy is a dairy queen and a post office . +arnold schwarzenegger ( jericho cane ) , in a series of boring events finds himself in the middle of a religious battle between the church , who is trying to hide the girl ( or in some cases trying to kill her ) , and satan ( gabriel byrne ) who is trying to make her pregnant . +if the devil is successful , the world will no longer exist as we know it . +jericho feels it is his duty to protect the girl from everyone because 1 ) he once had faith but no longer does and 2 ) his wife and daughter were killed and he feels responsible for it . +jericho cane is your cliched , by-the-numbers hero right up to his name . +arnold fittingly plays the character as cliched as he can . +he shouts at everyone , from cops to priests , to the devil . +in one truly hilarious scene , which was supposed to be the ultimate dramatic high point , jericho screams to the devil ; " you are a @#$^% ! & +choir boy ! +you are a choir boy ! " +those two lines marked the high points of this film . +a movie can still be enjoyable when the supporting cast is more effective than the main actor . + " end of days " fails to contain any memorable performances with the exception of gabriel byrne . +byrne , playing a man who has been made the manifestation of the devil , seems to be the only one who is having fun in this whole movie . +he wonderfully plays a manipulative villain with the power to control everyone at any time . +the annoying thing about his character , however , is that he has the power to kill any human with a simple punch in the face , yet he finds it impossible to seriously hurt jericho . +i can not count the number of times he could have killed jericho and taken the girl from his custody . +the other actors in the film give very weak and unconvincing performances . +kevin pollak , who plays the partner and close friend of jericho , is the supposedly funny character in the film ( every action movie has one ) . +the one problem is that pollak does not deliver one funny line . +robin tunney plays the chosen mother of satan's baby with extreme annoyance . +she gets no sympathy from any of the characters in the film , except arnold who pretends she is his wife and daughter , or any of the viewers in the audience . +in one unnecessary scene , tunney walks out of her room and takes her top off . +is this her job in the film ? +the actors are not to blame entirely because the script is terrible . +you can tell a script is terrible when you are able to predict what will happen minutes before it does . +this little prediction game is a very fun exception to trying to sit through this nonsense of a movie . +in a last attempt to make this movie good , special effects are used to try to entertain the audience . +but without a memorable action scene in the whole film , the director has not done his job successfully . +this film would have gotten a c+ if arnold stood in front of a camera and shouted " you are a ! $@^@ * ^ +choir boy ! ! " +for two hours . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv564_12011.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv564_12011.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6ede3d41e5324e9aeea67afb14386aa89ca0f373 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv564_12011.txt @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ +my giant begins with a monologue that's more funny than not and a distinctive `princess bride , ' medieval fairy-tale-in-the- ? 90s feel . +i was pleasantly surprised how sharp the comedy was , with very funny scenes occurring on a movie set in romania where talent agent sammy ( billy crystal ) is visiting a client and in the monastery where sammy ends up after being mysteriously saved when he accidentally plunges his car into a stream . +and when sammy meets max , his giant , mysterious savior played by gheorghe muresan , there is magic in the air ; albeit it a bit goofy , i loved every minute of it . +the film , of course , plays on the size difference between the two , and at times you would almost swear it must be special effects . +i particularly enjoyed a shot of sammy dangling his legs from a max-sized chair as the two face each over an enormous table and eat from oversized bowls and spoons . +i also liked jere burns' ( from tv's `something so right' ) performance as the director of the film in romania . +at this point , the primary flaw in the film is that gheorghe muresan is incredibly hard to understand , particularly during his fast-paced first scene . +it is unfortunate that the script required him to speak quickly right out of the gate , as i did understand him more as the film continued and i became accustomed to his speech . +however , about the time muresan becomes coherent , the characters head to new york and the film takes a dive . +off the high board . +suddenly , we are expected to believe sammy is a do-whatever-it-takes slime ball . +up until this point he was pursuing his own interests to be sure , but he didn't come off as a desperate jerk . +if he had , the first scenes could never have been so lighthearted and magical . +but now , in new york , we are further introduced to his neglected wife and son , and his character is desperate enough to involve max in a disturbing giant vs . midgets wrestling match , which i found quite unpleasant and jarring within the framework of the film . +indeed , many scenes stuck out of this film like incorrectly placed puzzle pieces . +this includes the scenes featuring steven seagal , when sammy gets max a role in a big , hollywood movie filming in las vegas . +while i enjoyed seeing seagal poke fun at himself , the scenes appeared to exist solely because of his participation , rather than because the film demanded it . +and the audience is required to take a huge leap to believe that max would win the role based on his quotations of shakespeare . +at this point i found myself thinking , `we're supposed to believe that someone would cast this guy in a film ? ' +then i realized he was , and i was watching it . +in the final third , the film undergoes another transformation , this time to unbridled sentimentality . +note : major plot points are revealed in this and the final paragraph . +max went to america because sammy promised to reunited him with his childhood love , lillianna , who hasn't seen him since he was a normal-sized kid . +her refusal to see max ( unbeknownst to him ) leads us to an awkward `ends justify the means' scene as sammy's wife serena , played nicely by kathleen quinlan , poses as lillianna . +i found this scene offensive . +not only did it rely on deception to induce warm , fuzzy feelings from the audience , it reduced max to someone we should pity and coddle , which i thought was quite undeserved . +i think max could have handled the truth , gratuitous illness and all . +late in the film we learn max , and in fact all giants , have a heart condition which shortens their lives considerably . +this could be an enlightening revelation , but the film seemingly presents it only to justify sammy's transformation into a caring , sensitive guy -- and hey , a great dad and husband , too ! +`my giant' suffers from a poorly constructed story line and undeveloped characters whose actions are determined by plot points rather than their own internal persuasions . +a stronger story with more room for character growth might have been possible if the focus was on max's struggle to be accepted and cast in movies instead of sammy's struggles to get money and become a better person . +in this scenario , max's illness could have been a integral part of the film not a story motivator . +sentiment and emotion would have followed naturally . +instead , we're apparently not supposed to like sammy until the end , but we're not allowed to focus on max . +crystal and muresan give adequate and at times enjoyable performances , but in the end , `my giant' left me feeling like i'd been fed gruel from a giant spoon . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv581_20790.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv581_20790.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1988626bc0d788cb562afe901103ed99523333a6 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv581_20790.txt @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@ +once upon a time jean-claude van damme was a decent action hero . +the muscles from brussels bursted into the hollywood market with mindless adventure films , boasting his spectacular martial-arts ability . +some of these excursions were fun . +but now it seems like watching a van damme movie has become a painful chore , with no rewards but the virtually guaranteed helping of mind-numbing action . +and when the action goes sour , what is there left to enjoy ? +i'll explain . +knock off is about a pair of counterfeit jeans salesmen working out of an office in hong kong . +marcus ray ( van damme ) , a babe-magnet and stylish dresser , heads up the company with an annoying weasel of a partner ( rob schneider ) . +they become part of a plot involving microbombs implanted in counterfeit jeans , seemingly by a mole in the business . +i'm going to reveal about everything in the next paragraph , so if you want a review devoid of spoilers , skip onto the next one . +i'm not quite sure who gives a crap , but i'll issue a warning anyhow . +tommy is really working with the cia . +his boss ( a very hammy and flat paul sorvino ) is the mole , and he wants to cause carnage with these tiny but immensely powerful super weapons . +he even stoops so low to put them into children's toys . +if you thought this plot outline sounded intriguing , then you probably will enjoy knock off . +if you think that this ridiculous set-up couldn't even fill five minutes of screen time without causing you to roll over laughing , this might not be your cup of tea . +knock off sucks . +it stoops to ridiculous levels that most individuals could only conjure up in horrific nightmares . +it amazes me how far these producers will go to sell something , simply because van damme is the star . +the plot is pathetic garbage strung together by inane action sequences that will baffle your mind , the performances are so wooden you could use them to row a canoe , and the action itself is an absolute catastrophe . +director tsui hark ( who teamed with van damme in the superior , but still lame-brained double team ) is at the helm , and he would rather attempt to dazzle us with fantastic camera angles than engage us with the plot . +i suppose i enjoyed some of the camera work , but the incessant desperation of it all made me rather nauseous . +the picture freezes in the middle of an action sequence , speeds are altered consistently , and the camera tricks mostly apply to traveling up gun barrels as the weapons are fired . +it all sounds very cool . +trust me , it isn't . +as much as it scars me to say this ( har , har ) , van damme is terrible . +sure , he does lots of fancy kickboxing moves and dodges giant crates with the greatest of ease . +he looks like he's doing a bad impersonation of jackie chan , and his performance is stiff and tired . +i hate to say it , but perhaps it's time for mr . van damme to give up his day job . +it's really a test of endurance watching knock off . +i suppose there's some enjoyment derived from schneider's character , who is extremely annoying , but provides the film's better moments . +and what is the beautiful lela rochon doing in this movie ? +hopefully she grabbed her paycheck and then fled the premises like an olympic sprinter . +knock off doesn't even stand strong as a mindless but entertaining action film , like a handful of van damme's others . +no , this movie is an embarrassment to the entire action genre of modern filmmaking . +and considering how low hollywood has stooped as of late in that department , that is certainly not saying much . +note to self : avoid universal soldier 2 : the return upon release in august ? 99 . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv584_29549.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv584_29549.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0c0e625e5ebf1397bfedf94a65e6e8f9304e5a9e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv584_29549.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17 @@ +susan granger's review of " glitter " ( 20th century-fox ) +there's less here than meets the eye . +or , put it this way , if you thought madonna was awful in " shanghai surprise , " mariah carey's worse in this reworking of " a star is born . " +she plays billie frank who , despite being abandoned by her singer/alcoholic mother ( valerie pettiford ) , believes she's destined for greatness because everyone tells her she is . + " you've got this amazing gift , and you gotta use it , " her roommate says . + " your voice - it's incredible , " says another singer . + " i ain't never met anyone like you , " proclaims julian " dice " black ( max beesley ) , the hot new york dj who becomes her svengali-like producer/lover . +problem is : her signature song , " i didn't mean to turn you on " is wretched . +and when she fumes out of filming her first music video because the director wants to " exploit " her by having her wear a bikini , the audience bursts into laughter . +exploit mariah carey , who chooses to wear as little as the law will allow ? +come on ! +writer kate lanier's script is fatuous and director vondie curtis-hall doesn't have a clue how to handle the glitzy pop diva and , as a result of their incompetence , whispery-voice'd ms . carey seems to be embarrassed on-screen . +she almost cringes when the camera comes in for a close-up , pursing her lips and averting her glassy eyes . +talented british musician max beesley appears equally inept , and as cinematographer geoffrey simpson pans around the manhattan skyline , there's an audible audience groan when the twin towers of the world trade center come into view . +perhaps one of the reasons ms . carey suffered her highly-publicized nervous breakdown this summer is because she saw a preview of this clunker . +on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , " glitter " is a pathetic 1 . +right now , it's tops on my list of the worst of 2001 . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv586_8048.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv586_8048.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1e3b25aee4ea9f6ac911635ad16c9c1fb55f4adb --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv586_8048.txt @@ -0,0 +1,48 @@ +this is the worst movie i've seen since the " so bad i walked out on it " " jingle all the way " . +it is crap on toast made of crap baked in a an oven fueled by crap . +it is crap through and through . +nothing works in this film , as to be expected from joel schumacher , who has made only one watchable film in his entire career ( that being " cousins " ) . +here's a man who admits he's a medicore director , a rather charmingly self-effacing statement . +but truth be told , he is much worse than mediocre . +not all scorn should be heaped on schumacher though -- akiva goldsman should not be allowed to write ever again . +there is no plot anywhere , and the " dialogue " is unrelentingly shallow , preposterous , and boring . +they set up mr . freeze as a tragic figure trying to cure his cryogenically frozen wife , then completely sabotage his character by giving him the lamest one-liners . +it turns him into a stock maniacal villain who thoroughly enjoys his villainy instead of a brooding scientist who has spent much of his life to bringing his wife from the brink of death . +but that's par for course -- nothing in this film makes any sense , including half of arnold schwarzenegger's lines . +as mr . freeze , arnold is given way too much dialogue to spit out at once . +this is the same problem he had in " jingle all the way " , and it seems that his austrian accent is getting thicker and more unintelligible as the days pass . +personally , i think that he has more pull with the directors and doesn't retake scenes to make him understandable . +compare his dialogue in the terminator series to the load of nonsense that streams forth in " batman & robin " . +apparently , james cameron knows how to get a competent performance out of arnold . +uma thurman is not as bad , but nothing resembling good either . +her poison ivy vamps around terribly , chewing up scenery left and right . +and her pamela isley scenes are marred by sub-snl standard " acting " , as if she's reading off cue cards and is about to laugh at any given moment . +given the " script " , it's a wonder it didn't happen more frequently . +there is no redeeming feature in this film -- not george clooney as batman , chris o'donnell as robin , nor alicia silverstone as batgirl . +michael gough is eerily sickly looking as alfred , as if the conceit of his illness was prompted by his cadaverous appearance . +in fact , there was something unsettling about his appearance , which seems to have been accomplished without any make-up tricks , looking as if it were scenes from a documentary about a dying man . +unfortunately , every scene about alfred's sickness is bungled with such incompetence that there is absolutely no emotional resonance -- they just go through the motions , losing whatever impact the scenes were supposed to impart . +the movie is rife with poorly choreographed fights scenes that never give any sense of a big battle -- you know there's a bunch of people , but instead of a melee , schumacher decided to focus on a foot or a fist . +there's never a moment of awe , wonder , or mayhem . +the only interesting part of the battles scenes are the freezing effects , which are impressive ( and probably expensive ) . +even then , the fights are so full of camp and stupidity that they become unwatchable . +the hockey team from hell ? +not even the tv series got that stupid ( at least not on the grand scale of stupidity that " batman & robin " showcases ) . +frustrating too are the various supporting characters that walk on and off with nothing to say or do . +blink , and you'll miss elle macpherson as julie madison , vivica fox as a " why is she even in the film " vamp in freeze's lair ( with all of two lines ) , and pat hingle as the most ineffectual commissioner gordan the batman series ever had . +and in what almost seems like an effort to save on costs , vendela kirsebom has no lines as mrs . fries -- she isn't even filmed well enough to look good ( trust me , she's quite attractive outside of this dreck ) . +and as if the film weren't bad enough to limp along with bad direction , bad dialogue , bad performances , and bad fight scenes , there are inconsistencies and illogic galore . +i know it's nit-picky to ask where the hundreds of feet of cable are stored in the batarangs , why the character's arms aren't ripped out of their sockets when they accomplish a one-armed batarang save after falling hundreds of feet ( while holding on to another person no less ) , or where the moisture comes from when freeze's weapon creates tons if ice . +that's all traditional comic book stuff . +but why does batman spring a trap for freeze at a public charity event that endanger the lives of hundreds of by-standers ? +why is there a big switch clearly marked , " heat " in mr . freeze's lair ? +why do countless bumbling police officers even try to take on mr . freeze hand to hand ? +why does alfred encourage silverstone to become batgirl and even go so far as to have a suit made for her ? +why do batman & robin take 10 minutes to bicker before leaving the batcave in response to an emergency ? +and since it established early on that ivy is using pheromones , why don't they wear masks to filter it out ? +i could go on and on . + " batman & robin " is a braindead , pointless , garish , loud film that should still reign as the " worst film of the year " by the time 1998 rolls along . +note to warner bros . -- if you're going to make another batman film , please replace schumacher with nearly anyone . +because it could actually get worse than this . +what schumacher does not understand is that " comic book " doesn't automatically equal unbearable idiocy . +the true equation seems to be schumacher + batman = unbearable idiocy . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv587_20532.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv587_20532.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..684a5fc1a0135dd46f85c2cd38084b8251fab5e4 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv587_20532.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +when i ponder childhood memories past , one of the things that always springs immediately to mind is watching the " inspector gadget " tv show with my older brother . +truth be told , we were rabid fanatics ; our version of cowboys and indians was chasing each other around our coffee table to the theme tune , alternating who would get to be gadget and who would be stuck playing the part of dr . claw , the inspector's arch nemesis . +i was never a biggie on nostalgia , but you just can't help but have fond memories of something like that . +sometimes i even find myself up at 4am watching re-runs of my favorite episodes , trying to recapture some of that sense of wonder i felt as a kid . +at the very least , i was expecting the new film version of the classic television series to have at least some kind of similar effect on me . +despite how horrid a film may be , the simple task of rekindling even a slight feeling of nostalgia is pretty tough to screw up . +so back i sat , with minimum expectations of what the movie would deliver ( let's face it ; exactly how good can a live-action disney film really be ? ) . +i was wise enough to steer clear from the likes of mr . magoo and george of the jungle ( two previous disney adaptations ) , and i wish to god that i had been sharp enough to skip gadget as well . +rarely has a movie left me with such an utter feeling of emptiness . +as everyone else was getting up to exit the screening room after the movie had completed its assault on mankind , i was left sitting there , absolutely speechless and totally dumbfounded at what i had just seen . +can something this awful truly exist in such an evolved world ? +right from the beginning , i knew i was in trouble . +in the opening scenes , each character is introduced as if their sole purpose is to just be , to simply serve as real-life duplicates of their cartoon clones . +when referring to them , people almost yell in fear that the audience will not catch on as to who a certain character is supposed to be ( " oh , hi penny ! +is brain with you ? " ) . +creating one-dimensional replicas is one thing ; having mere names take the place of them is quite another . +the " plot " , shall we call it , stays fairly in tune with the original series . +matthew broderick stars as john brown ( how creative is that ? ) , +a security guard who is horribly injured by a pack of ruthless businessmen headed by scolex ( why , rupert everett , for the love of god why ? ? ? ! ! ! ) , who himself is transformed into claw by an unfortunate chain of events . +brown is then rescued and used as a prototype for a new law-enforcement technology wherein he's joined with various machine parts and some nifty gadgets to form ( drumroll , please ) . . . +inspector gadget ! +>from here on out , the movie becomes a hodgepodge of stupid dialog and confusing situations ( although , to be fair , my confusion could have been caused by the virtual concussion the film was inflicting upon my fragile mind ) . +there's something about an evil gadget taking over the city ( his first crime must have been swiping matt dillon's dentures from there's something about mary ) and it all ends with ( what else ? ) a bunch of post-credit nonsense and a cameo by don adams himself . +to be honest , i wasn't much paying attention to these " treats " . +i was just glad that it was over . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv601_24759.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv601_24759.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..bd49284abd824d49f63a8910b1107b2b2113b674 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv601_24759.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18 @@ +so i went and saw this film right , it was called " battlefield : earth " , i was never interested in the previews , and never too terribly interested in the book , nor do i find scientology interesting , but after reading advanced reviews of how bad this film really is , i had that weird urge just to watch it . +well let me be the first to say , and so far in my view it's safe to say : battlefield : earth might be the worst film i have ever seen , yes even worse than " mr . magoo " , " blue in the face " , or " jaws : the revenge " . +roger christianson whos credits include set direction , and art direction for such great films as " alien " and " star wars " , directs this film with such amateurism , that the film looks and feels and in fact sounds so dumb , that it's quite depressing . +the look of the film , is dark and drabby at times , but then bright and happy at other times . +the sound is terrible , and has the worst surround sound effects i've heard . +the acting is nothing , the dialogue poor , and the make-up effects hideous . +here's the so-called plot : earth 3000 . . . . man is a endangered species , while aliens from the planet psychlo ( the aliens are named psychlo . . . i +wonder why ? ! ) are invading earth , destined to put an end to those " man-animals " to an end , and destroy earth once and for all , of course we have our typical hero ( played terrible by barry pepper , who was great in a small role in 1999's " the green mile " ) who is destined to go out , and save his planet ! +one thing : he has to go up against , terl , the chief of security psychlo , who is played frankly , quite bad by john travolta , whom with dreadlocks , a big head , and green eyes just doesn't work . +of course the sidekick to terl , is played by ( lol ! ! ) +forest whitaker , who looks like a deformed werewolf of some kind . +our friendly human johnny ( barry pepper ) looks just as bad as well , with long scraggly hair . +i'm not really sure how to quite explain the badness of this film , except just to say it's terrible . +everything in this film is imcomprehinsable , from the make-up effects , which by the way aren't good , to the phony looking special effects , everything in this film is faulted . +in fact i don't remember one part in this entire movie where i was having a good time , or enjoying myself . +in fact there is no part in the movie that i liked or enjoyed . +throughout the entire 127 minute running time , i was dying , constantly looking at my watch , and hoping maybe the projectioner would blow a bulb or something , sadly it didn't . +my advice to hollywood : get new scripts , new acting classes , better directors and damnit , make films like american beauty more . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv632_9704.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv632_9704.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b98cec5bd50cb30c26dadb51cfb3a542aa3bbab7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv632_9704.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +guilt . guilt is something i felt while watching basic instinct for the ninth time ; the penultimate t & a thriller , basic instinct made my last few teenage years worth living . +but i know so well that it's a terrible film , made by a terrible director incapable of feeling guilt . +verhoeven went on to make the even more offensive showgirls and , on november seventh , 1997 , unleashed starship troopers to innocent moviegoers like me , who cannot control the urge to see giant bug movies . +the pic begins with the most unintentional laugh of the year . +a simple , white on black title card reads " starship troopers " -my friends and i speculated that the night before the prints were shipped , verhoeven realized he forgot the credits . +is this how a hundred million dollar movie should open ? +were the rest of the film that subdued . . . +starship troopers is about a group of white , blond-haired himbos and bimbos who all have spanish last names . +they graduate high school , join the military , and then , rather curiously , decide to travel to an alien planet and destroy all lifeforms on that planet . +the story is so incomprehensible , and told so bombastically , it's akin to 129 minutes of someone screaming punishments at you in a foreign tongue . + ( aside , club lovers will be happy to know that dance music hasn't changed in the future . ) +one plus : starship troopers contains some very funny sequences , specifically the newsreels of the future . +hysterically funny , actually . +but the cynicism of these reports left me curious as to whether verhoeven felt pessimistic about the story in between . +the storytelling lacks focus , to say the least . +the politics of the film are scary . +the actions of the major female characters are dictated by their out-of-control libidos . +there's even a creepy sex scene : the lovely dina meyer makes out , nude , with the sickening van dien while half her face is covered by her opaque sweater , just the way he seems to like it . +i use the term sickening because van dien is the least appealing actor i've encountered in a big budget picture ; all chiseled features and machismo , he even barks a eulogy at a funeral like military orders . +of course , verhoeven's probably the one to blame , and perhaps i'm jealous because i'm so disgusting . +at any rate , a movie called starship troopers shouldn't be about sex . +exactly ten years ago , verhoeven made robocop , which was about nothing but skillfully made and oddly moving . +and r-rated , despite its goofy premise . +maybe it's asking too much for verhoeven to make a pg-movie , then-he's a master of insipid violence . +however , ten year old boys would adore starship troopers if they could see it . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv634_11989.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv634_11989.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2a0c1c5dfd7f1622a4fd06bbe9c7e874e7043555 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv634_11989.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +i didn't come into city of angels expecting greatness . +i've never seen wim wenders' wings of desire , the classic movie upon which city is loosely based . +then again , i have seen enough stories which are based upon a similar plot device , with the little mermaid ( both the disney version and the original folktale ) being among them , that i had some high expectations about the possible power such a story of impossible love can hold . +unfortunately , city of angels ended up fulfilling few of them . +the plot , for those that couldn't tell from the previews , revolves around the angel seth , played with an almost creepy intensity by nicolas cage , who , in the midst of his angelic duties , falls in love with a heart surgeon named maggie ( meg ryan in her most endearing performance since when harry met sally ) . +of course , his being an angel prevents him from doing much about his love except appearing at random times to talk to her , watch her buy groceries , only to disappear in the blink of an eye . +their love must remain unrequited unless seth decides to make the ultimate sacrifice and become human . +using this framework as a jumping-off point , the movie attempts to veer through some heavy philosophical ruminations on the nature of desire , the joys of being human , and the definition of perfection . +the first half of the movie succeeds on most points . +cage excellently plays the eminently difficult role of an angel who doesn't know feelings so can't really express , preventing the character of seth from getting boring despite his limited repertoire of intent looks and hang-dog expressions . +unfortunately , cage takes the intensity too far sometimes , and then seth comes across as more creepy than sensitive . +as maggie , ryan manages to be convincing as a heart surgeon who has trouble coming to terms with her having lost a patient on the operating table despite having done everything right . +her beauty , unlike her unbearable cuteness in french kiss , is mature , intelligent , and winning . +likewise , some interesting ideas float around at the beginning of the film . +when the camera pans through traffic jams and libraries and we get to hear the thoughts of the random people who flash across the screen , the audience experiences a little of what it must be like to be an angel . +the beautiful camera work , shooting down onto the hectic world of los angeles from the improbable perches of the angels , also gives us a sense of the unique wonder angels feel . +the film begins to lose its way , though , when the focus tightens more and more on seth and maggie . +the grand , angelic perspective gets lost , except for some idly tossed lines about the incredible beauty of the world through an angel's eyes . +the movie devolves into an examination of how seth can't feel the world or , more importantly , he can't feel maggie : he can't smell her hair , feel her touch , or taste the pears she eats . +this change in focus attempts to capture the audience in seth's intense longing , but in doing so , the conflict disappears . +if he wants maggie so badly , then why doesn't her just make the leap and become human ? +after all , what's so great about being an angel ? +sure , you get to sit on marlboro signs , but what's that compared to getting to be with meg ryan ? +and from there , once the yearning has been established and the romantic denouement must occur , it's all downhill . +the philosophy becomes heavy-handed , the dialogue pedestrian when it tries to be deep , and the plot twists simply attempt to yank a few more tears into the audience's hankie . +it's the last thirty minutes of the movie , then , that wrecks the film . +i feel like the writer , by pulling out all the melodramatic stops , has robbed me of what could have been a genuinely powerful movie experience on both the romantic and the philosophical level . +i came out feeling robbed , seeing so much possibility in a film becoming nothing . +i could go on longer , but i don't want to " ruin " the end by revealing any of the cheap plot devices the film relies on . +city of angels , then , is a paradox . +it's a well-acted ( particularly look for dennis franz cutting against type-casting as a happy-go-lucky fallen angel ) , well-filmed , and based on a wonderful idea . +all these possibilities , though , are what make the film so unredeemable when the closing credits come up . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv636_16954.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv636_16954.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..21567a3356ab154c1609229b2bc774c4b1fa1fb2 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv636_16954.txt @@ -0,0 +1,51 @@ +200 cigarettes takes place on new year's eve 1981 . +monica , played by martha plimpton is having a huge new year's party . +everyone in town is trying to get there , but some are caught up in other things . +this is the basic plot of 200 cigarettes . +as we meet the characters headed towards the party , we are sent into many subplots which are unoriginal , and not interesting at all . +this disappointed me greatly . +the film should have been more about the party than the people trying to get there in my opinion . +lucy , played by courtney love , is with kevin , played by paul rudd . +the two are in a relationship that is more of a friendship , but starts to blossom into something more than that . +this subplot is extremely boring and dull , and i am getting quite sick of plots like that . +janeane garofalo is involved in another subplot , dealing with kevin . +she plays ellie , an ex-girlfriend of kevin's . +this subplot is completely a waste of garofalo's talent . +there was no point to it at all , and it was hardly even in the movie . +when lucy runs into a bartender , played by ben affleck , another subplot is formed . +the bartender is invited by lucy to come to monica's party . +at the bar , he runs into two more girls . +the girls are played by angela featherstone and nicole parker , but unfortunately , due to the terrible acting of both of them , i don't even remember their characters names . +ben affleck is a good actor , but his character doesn't go anywhere so he doesn't have much screen time to give a good performance . +featherstone and parker are horrible in their roles , and they are part of the reason the film is so bad . +christina ricci plays val , and gaby hoffman plays stephie . +the two girls are trying to get to the party but are extremely lost . +they meet some guys and end up going around with them all night . +this subplot was alright , but it was quite annoying with stephie's accent . +hoffman did an okay job of acting , but ricci did good . +she was underused , considering she is such a wonderful actress . +another subplot in the film is the relationship between cindy , played by goldie hawn's daughter , and jack , played by jay mohr . +jack is an actor who doesn't care about the girls he goes out with , he just likes dates for one night , and the next day he doesn't . +kate hudson is a huge klutz . +she gets herself into very funny situations , that are the funniest parts in the entire movie . +they are probably the only funny parts in the entire movie as well . +this subplot could have been used more , mainly due to hudson's performance . +mohr wasn't good , but he wasn't bad . +he was just alright , which i didn't find acceptable . +there is not much to say about the performances in the film . +none of the characters are developed or shown enough to really tell if the acting is good or not . +the only performances that i can judge are christina ricci's as always good performance , kate hudson's funny role , courtney love's mediocre performance , and paul rudd's annoying and overused performance . +i was hoping for a little more out of jaw mohr , ben affleck , casey affleck , gaby hoffman , dave chapelle , and especially out of janeane garofalo . +the two strongest things in the film were the great soundtrack and the original costumes . +martha plimpton and christina ricci had very different and original outfits which made me feel like i was in the year 1981 . +the soundtrack is full of 1980's tunes , ranging from " i want candy " to " tainted love . " +the songs in the movie also helped create the feel that you were back in the 1980s . +during the film , i often found myself asking the questions , " is there a reason to this ? +is there any moral story ? +is there a point ? +are any of the events going on in the film necessary ? +do i care what lucy and kevin are going through ? " +the movie is extremely boring , and by the time they reached eleven-o-clock , one hour before midnight , i could not wait for the movie to be over . +the plot is okay , but the subplots make it terrible . +maybe if the film was about the party , not about the people at the party , it could have been a lot better . +the bottom line : just like a slasher movie , this ? 80s comedy is just one too many . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv657_25835.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv657_25835.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8e767082e3c8e92e69984fca1a0f3f2fc0a7b001 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv657_25835.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17 @@ +wesley snipes is a master of selecting bad action roles . +murder at 1600 , u . s . marshals , money train , drop zone , boiling point , and the ultimate camp film - passenger 57 . +the art of war is another entry in this very ugly and unique category . +ultimately , it is little more than a ridiculous action film with a plot as believable as the warren report , ugly violence that would have made peckinpah cringe , and terrible acting by b-list actors like michael biehn and anne archer . +oddly , it feels like the undiscovered sequel to another snipes " masterpiece , " rising sun . +the movie revolves around the convenient story of a special un operative caught up in a secret murder conspiracy involving a chinese ambassador , the chinese triad brotherhood , a rich chinese businessman ( played by ? that bad guy from rising sun , cary-hiroyuki tagawa ) a chinese un interpreter , and , inexplicably , donald sutherland . +the film ends with more confusion than a boatload of chinese immigrants trying to register at ellis island . +or should i say the film ends with the most blatant ripoff of both the matrix and all of john woo's hong kong films combined . +i am really at a loss to figure out why wesley snipes had the gumption to not only star in this action dud but also act as one of the producers of the film . +i usually enjoy snipes' movies - though his dramatic roles better show off his creativity as an actor than the flashiness of his action films . +simply , i am amazed by the how inane the script was , filled with terrible cliches and extremely violent action sequences . +director christian duguay ( screamers ) has a strange attraction to the viciousness of violent acts -- showing splattering brains , people impaled with broken shards of glass , and lots of gargling and gagging as blood sprays everywhere . +it also sickens me to know that oliver stone , one of the greatest directors working today , had his hand in producing this monstrosity . +i guess snipes sold stone on the conspiracy angle and stone chose not to read the script , watch the dailies , be involved in casting , or anything else -- or else he'd be filing a court order to remove his name from the credits . +it's also seems evident that with the russkies as our new bosom buddies and the middle eastern terrorist angle being beaten to death in the last couple of years that the new international enemies in hollywood are the communist chinese . +i'm sure over the next couple of months , even more " chinese conspiracy/martial-arts action flicks " are going to be popping up in your local multiplex . +hopefully they won't include wesley snipes . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv659_21483.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv659_21483.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..837db60f2a54138fbc8ad563e4539f3d99eaec3f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv659_21483.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +i came to an epiphany while watching the bachelor , an innocuous-enough-on-the-surface romantic comedy . +it's not the sort of film in which one would expect to achieve any moment of clarity , but there it was nonetheless . +i sat there watching this marshmallow of a movie unfold when suddenly i realized what is so ridiculously wrong with the entire romantic comedy genre circa 1999 . +in a word , it's the same thing that's wrong with so many movies circa 1999 : writing . +more to the point , it's the refusal to acknowledge that characterizations matter when you're telling a story about a relationship . +the bachelor is merely the latest in a long line of films where we're expected to get dewy-eyed over any pairing of attractive , pleasant people just because they're attractive and pleasant . +in this particular case , attractive and pleasant exhibit a is jimmy shannon ( chris o'donnell ) , a single guy who has been watching his friends slowly but surely sucked into marriage . +it's a scary notion for jimmy , even though he dearly loves attractive and pleasant exhibit b anne ( renee zellweger ) , his girlfriend of three years . +convinced despite his reservations that it's time to " sh * t or get off the pot , " jimmy proposes to anne -- very badly . +anne refuses , which leaves jimmy in a very odd position when his eccentric grandfather ( peter ustinov ) dies and leaves a very specific video will . +jimmy stands to inhereit $100 million if he is married by 6 : 05 p . m . on his 30th birthday , stays married for 10 years and produces a child . +there are only a couple of minor problems : 1 ) jimmy's 30th birthday is the next day ; 2 ) anne is nowhere to be found , meaning jimmy has to find another willing bride from among his many ex-girlfriends . +it's a wacky , brewster's millions-esque premise ( acknowledged as such in one of the film's better , more self-aware lines of dialogue ) , the kind where a shallow and materialistic guy learns what really matters . +at least that would be the case if jimmy weren't already a world-class altruist . +screenwriter steve cohen slides into the story an even more draconian condition in the will : if jimmy doesn't get married , not only will he lose all the money , but the family billiard table buisness will be sold out from under him , costing hudreds of jobs . +from the outset , jimmy's motivation isn't cash ; it's the livelihoods of his devoted employees . +it's almost embarrassing for his marital misgivings to play a role in the bachelor's plot development . +by any human standard , the guy is impossibly selfless . +and that's the essence of the gutlessness endemic to films like the bachelor -- the fear of giving the characters flaws to overcome on their way to happiness . +there's never any tension between the two star-crossed lovers , because there's no sense that anything remotely significant is at stake . +the blandly nice o'donnell couldn't pull off a randy cad if he tried , so the filmmakers don't even let him ; zellweger's anne may have issues with her sickeningly affectionate parents as an impossible standard to live up to , but no one dares make her anything but the woman ( lightly ) wronged . +and forget about seeing enough of jimmy and anne together to feel invested in their potential reconciliation . +the parade of sit-com set pieces had better be damned funny , since they're all that stands between us and a blissfully sweet foregone conclusion . +i'll admit a couple of those set pieces are amusing , including ustinov's rantings about procreation and a restaurant full-to-bursting with men popping questions and champagne corks . +far more of them are either tedious or downright ghastly , like the shudder-inducing sight of brooke shields as an icy fortune-hunter or the hideous collection of stereotypes when hundreds of potential brides gather in a church . +you're never going to get too many raucous belly laughs from a film like the bachelor , but that's not the real problem . +nor is it the real problem that you know exactly the kind of warm-n-fuzzy conclusion it's leading up to . +the problem are a beginning and middle that are equally warm-n-fuzzy -- there's no spark , no energy , no humanity . +it's an emotional pudding guaranteed not to offend any consumer's digestions . +we've reached a point where our proxies for cinematic romantic wish fulfillment don't even have a pulse . +the bachelor is love among the mannequins . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv660_23140.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv660_23140.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a0c52111f158b8d3452bb647748fc3e0cfc3b5d5 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv660_23140.txt @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ +are you like me ? +do you get annoyed seeing people talk on their cellulars in public places , shouting out loud , not giving a ratt's ass about anyone around them , and basically just wallowing in their own self-importance ? +well if you are , than you will most likely agree with my rating of this film since it basically features a trio of annoying ladies bickering away on the phone for an hour and a half . . . only to make up and hug in the end . +aaaaaaaahhhh . . . +plot : three grown-up sisters living their own separate lives , begin to re-establish their communication lines when their dear old dad falls ill . +critique : this would be a good movie if it wasn't for the fact that it's got very little to say , features uncaring people sharing annoying phone conversations , is chockfull of bad acting moments and provides less emotional satisfaction than any third-rate after-school special . +and i'm being nice ! +how junk like this gets made is beyond me , but happy am i that the ephron sisters will finally be dealt a professional blow , considering the regurgitation level of their material had just about reached its limit . +the only true emotional moment demonstrated between meg ryan's character and her dad in this film is when he hugs her and swings her around at a christmas tree lot . +wow . . . how +deep . +of course , the same christmas tune that's played in every ephron flick chimes out in the background , while characters continue to build " bonds " among one another by making reference to old , quaint movies or movie stars . +stop me . . . i'm +gonna cry again ! +this film is a mess . +the characters are boring and irritating to watch , the plot has something to do with three selfish sisters talking on the phone a whole lot , kind of liking their father ( but not really ) and then finally realizing the error of their ways , while sharing an " emotional " moment about movie stars from the 50s . +admittedly , i was not expecting much from a film whose television trailer features meg ryan screaming every two seconds and a big dog rolling its eyes , but even i was surprised at the level of ineptitude when it came to some of the acting efforts put forth in this film . +meg did fine as the sister who cries a lot , looking as adorable as ever , but someone please put lisa kudrow inside a permanent home of limited range , cause this woman basically is that very same character that she plays in every single movie/tv show that she's in . +enough already ! +and diane keaton must've spent more time thinking about her role behind the camera in this one , cause her acting was amateurish at best . +neither one convinced in " emotional " scenes . +granted , they gave walter matthau the best lines in the film and that's probably where my rating of three points comes from . +all in all , this movie is not funny ( unless you're one to chuckle at train wrecks ) , provides zero drama ( unless you consider loud phone conversations moving ) , generates absolutely no emotion ( although i did tear up when meg hugged a coffee machine ) and ends on a perfectly pretentious note ( " oh no , please don't get any flour on my donna karan dress ! ) . +ugh . +i suggest that all ladies take their husbands/boyfriends to see this movie if they are pissed off at them about something ! +that'll teach 'em to mess with you ! +oh and incidentally , mrs . joblo also likened this movie to a piece of cow dung flailing in the wind , so there ! +then again . . . maybe +you'll like it . + : ) diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv670_2666.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv670_2666.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..353437846295cdfb7e2121f79663e1d9227be7a4 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv670_2666.txt @@ -0,0 +1,41 @@ +wyatt earp details thirty-five years in the life of same from around 1865 to 1900 . +after seeing the movie speed twice recently , i kept thinking that i was seeing wyatt's life pass before my eyes in real time . +this movie was boring , slow , boring , and slow . +there were a few scenes that tried to be great scenes that tried too hard and just fell flat . +the script happily woman-bashes but also tries to sound like an 80s movie . +they cannot have it both ways . + " i now pronounce you husband and wife . " +sure , they said that in the 1800s . + " entrepreneur . " +sure . +every bit of male-ego-stroking dialogue that wyatt's third wife speaks to him made me sick to listen to it . + " oh , the script was written by two men ? " + " no kidding ! " +the movie is torture to sit through . +the scenery is boring . +the fades were either awkward or cliche or to self important . +can you say poor editing ? +everyone looks ugly in this movie . +when you shoot people from under their chins , they look like they have double chins . +kevin costner has never looked worse . +he should sue . +he looks like he gained the 43 pounds that dennis quaid lost . +dennis quaid is marvelous . +if you have to see this movie just for his performance , go into the theatre at the movie's halfway mark . +doc holliday ( quaid's character ) shows up at about the 90-minute mark . +gene hackman is very good . +is he in the credits ? +i don't remember seeing his name . +mare winningham makes the best of a small role as wyatt's second wife . +annabeth gish is good as wyatt's first wife . +i though that jamie gertz played wyatt's third wife , but i later heard that her name is joanna going . +she looks great but her dialogue sucks . +she also seems way to young for costner . +costner seems way to old for 90% of this movie . +in his first scene he is supposed to be about 19 years old . +yeah , right . +catherine o'hara and jobeth williams are always good and totally wasted here . +this is the worst movie that i have seen in years . +the last action hero was better that this . +go see maverick if you want to see a western . +bullets for dennis quaid's performance only . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv674_11593.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv674_11593.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6692c4340a81e127257e8e692f19ca6968f175c6 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv674_11593.txt @@ -0,0 +1,19 @@ +steve martin is one of the funniest men alive . +if you can take that as a true statement , then your disappointment at this film will equal mine . +martin can be hilarious , creating some of the best laugh-out-loud experiences that have ever taken place in movie theaters . +you won't find any of them here . +the old television series that this is based on has its moments of humor and wit . +bilko ( and the name isn't an accident ) is the head of an army motor pool group , but his passion is his schemes . +every episode involves the sergeant and his men in one or another hair-brained plan to get rich quick while outwitting the officers of the base . + " mchale's navy " 's granddaddy . +that's the idea behind this movie too , but the difference is that , as far-fetched and usually goofy as the television series was , it was funny . +there is not one laugh in the film . +the re-make retains the goofiness , but not the entertainment . +everything is just too clean . +it was obviously made on a hollywood back lot and looks every bit like it . +it all looks brand new , even the old beat-up stuff . +martin is remarkably small in what should have been a bigger than life role . +in the original , phil silvers played the huckster with a heart of gold and more than a touch of sleaziness . +martin's bilko is a pale imitation . +the only semi-bright spot is phil hartman as bilko's arch-enemy . +it's not saying much , considering martin's lackluster character , but hartman leaves him in the dust . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv680_10533.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv680_10533.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6b42ac64711c1a480076ec69622f427720058916 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv680_10533.txt @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +1 . he doesn't have a hard-to-decipher accent , 2 . he doesn't always speak in a monotone , and 3 . +his face doesn't always wear the same impassive expression . +in short , the former nfl player turned fox sportscaster turned actor is too good to be bad , but too bad to be good . +unfortunately , the same cannot be said of his first star vehicle , firestorm , which is just plain awful . +one of the most glaring problems with long ( who made his acting debut in john woo's broken arrow ) is that he's so mediocre that he often blends in with the scenery . +as ace firefighter jesse graves , long is supposed to be playing a bigger-than-life action hero -- the kind of he- man who will crash through a flaming door to save a child or parachute into a burning clearing to rescue some stupid campers . +unfortunately , despite the best efforts of first-time director dean semler to photograph long using heroic shots that make kevin costner's work in the postman look stark , jesse turns out to be a pretty boring good guy . +to put it kindly , this is not a well-written motion picture . +firestorm is a collection of howlingly bad lines set against a backdrop of disaster movie clich ? s which , taken together , form something that requires a level of viewer inebriation to be recognized as a plot . +the only reason this film is getting one star ( instead of something lower ) is that most of the fire sequences are realistic , and i was fascinated by the meticulous planning that must have been necessary to stage them effectively . +we're introduced to our big burly hero one afternoon when he and some colleagues jump into the midst of a forest fire to save a group of people . +during this sequence , our big burly hero proves that he's also a sensitive guy by risking his life to save a little girl and her dog ( yes , the dog lives ) from being broiled alive . +flash-forward a year . +now , our big burly hero is taking over as chief of his smokejumpers association , replacing outgoing honcho wynt perkins ( real actor scott glenn ) . +but this day , our big burly hero's first in charge , isn't going to be business-as-usual . +a group of nasty escaped criminals have set a wyoming forest alight to aid their flight to freedom . +led by randy earl shaye ( william forsythe ) , the sadistic creep who must be killed twice to really die , they pose as canadian firefighters who somehow got lost across the border . +along the way , they meet and take hostage the damsel in distress ( suzy amis ) . +eventually , our big burly hero is placed in a position where he has to fight the fire , rescue the damsel in distress , defeat the sadistic creep who must be killed twice to really die , and restore order to the galaxy . +firestorm's director , dean semler , is a former cinematographer ( he won an academy award for his work on dances with wolves ) , so it's no surprise that the film looks good . +unfortunately , that's firestorm's lone asset , and it falters near the end , when computer-generated special effects fill up the screen . +these are of about equal quality to what you might observe on a nintendo 64 video game . +the action sequences , which include a variety of chases , are occasionally interesting , but never invigorating . +everyone , including long , appears to be going through the motions . +there isn't a memorable performance to be found from beginning to end , unless you count the forest fire , which generates some heat . +as the sadistic creep who must be killed twice to really die , william forsythe lacks panache . +he's worse than a generic bad guy ; he's a boring generic bad guy who doesn't have any snappy one-liners to hurl at our big burly hero . +my advice to scott glenn ( absolute power ) and suzy amis ( titanic ) is to accidentally forget this film the next time they're making out a resume . +there's some small comfort in knowing this early in the year that i already have one entry for my bottom 10 list . + ( at least i hope there aren't 10 worse films than this . ) +and i know i wasn't the only one who really disliked this movie . +as the audience was filing out of the screening , i loitered in the theater lobby to catch a few comments . +the general consensus seemed to be that , although the movie sucked , the promotional key ring was cool . +the problem is that fox won't be giving out key rings to regular movie-goers , so that nixes any reason to see firestorm . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv686_15553.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv686_15553.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b1fc0c6d1c687f164fd5e5d32ce2651e4ce6d27e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv686_15553.txt @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +look ! the new version of " psycho " came out and the world didn't end ! +i guess gus van sant really isn't the bringer of the apocalypse ! +unfortunately , though , that " psycho " didn't end the world as we know is the best thing that can be said for it . +van sant's controversial " re-telling " of alfred hitchcock's classic 1960 film has polarized filmgoers everywhere ( even before it premiered . ) +without benefit of an actual viewing , many have said that the film will , at best , suck . +being an ( almost ) good critic , i waited until i actually saw it to decide that the film , at best , sucked ( and that concludes the use of the word " suck " and , hopefully , the thoughts that i am a brain-dead orangutan . ) +director gus van sant took the original hitchcock film and refilmed it , shot-for-shot , using the same , exact script ( with a few minor alterations . ) +the inherent challenge was in making the film suspenseful and scary , even though a large group of the audience will know exactly what will happen at the exact time . +suspense probably could have been attained if the actors had been able to create something new or different than the original . +sadly , that did not occur . +it is hard to be overshadowed by vera miles and john gavin ( from the original " psycho ) , but that is what exactly happened to julianne moore and viggo mortensen . +in moore's case , the film would have been helped if " the x- files " gillian anderson had been cast instead ; especially since moore goes through the entire film doing a scully impression ! +from the cold demeanor and expressions to her rigid way of forming a sentence , moore is scully ! +mortensen ( who i liked in " g . i . +jane " ) opts to play sam loomis as a cowboy/hick , which would have been nice if he had gone past that starting point . +sam has a twang and a cowboy hat , but that's about it . +mortensen turns in one of the most uptight performance in recent memory . +anne heche , in the janet leigh role , does a few good things in her brief time on screen . +at least her marion crane has a little life in her , which can't be said for most of the rest of the cast . +the best work , though , comes from vince vaughn , as the demented mama's boy , norman bates . +he's not going to make anyone forget anthony perkins , but he is effective both in being naughty and nice . +the best part of the film is the dinner scene heche and vaughn , where they simply talk . +there is some solid acting there , something that is not carried through the rest of the film . +van sant has made a boring film . +all the camera tricks that hitchcock so eloquently used in 1960 aren't as eye-catching now . +what passed for brilliance then has been copied so many times by so many directors that they don't impress or excite . +van sant , in what i assume is a grasp at originality , decided to put some stream-of-consciousness images into a few famous scenes ( was that a lamb in the middle of the road ? ) +these images , included with some questionable editing choices , took away from the scenes themselves and caused , at first , bewilderment and , later , laughter . +definitely not hitchcock's intention ! +at least danny elfman had the good sense to not mess with bernard herrmann's original famous and terrific score . +if a film like " psycho " does not frighten , then what's the point . +aside from norman , the characters are thinly drawn people who leave no connection with the audience . +there are things van sant and company could have done to at least make their recreation interesting . +in the end , however , the new " psycho " is a noble attempt , but , alas , a dismal failure . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv689_13701.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv689_13701.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..79e1d0ab52da2bb4f3131d28348dea530f8c7b1b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv689_13701.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17 @@ +in the first death wish movie , mild-mannered new york architect paul kersey , played by charles bronson , was avenging the death of his wife . +in the second , he was avenging his daughter . +in the third , he instigated small war in order to avenge the old friend . +fourth movie , on the other hand , begins with kersey doubting the point of his violent crusades and living the quiet life with his girlfriend karen , played by kay lenz . +however , since this is death wish movie , we know that sooner or later something bad is going to happen to the people kersey cares for . +this time karen's teenage daughter dies of a crack overdose and kersey is forced to return to his old vigilante ways . +kersey's new targets , unlike the previous movies , aren't the ordinary street punks but rich , heavily armed and well-connected drug dealers . +even such unstoppable killing machine like kersey needs some support , and it comes from the publisher nathan white ( john p . ryan ) , determined to avenge the drug-related death of his own daughter . +white's plan is to make kersey kill major players in two rival drug dealing organisations and thus instigate the war between them . +the plan begins to take shape , but kersey's actions bring attention of two police detectives - reiner ( george dickerson ) and nozaki ( soon teck-oh ) . +fourth ( and , unfortunately , not the final ) installment in the death wish series , will probably remembered as the typical movie of cannon group , production company responsible for some of the worst cinematic trash of the last decade . +however , although some critics might argue , death wish 4 : the crackdown represents slight improvement over the death wish 3 . paul kersey , one of the most intriguing ( and potentially controversial ) characters of the 1970s , is still being dumbed down by mediocre script , and charles bronson really doesn't feel the need to put much effort in his acting . +however , the hand of a veteran director j . lee thompson seems more capable of michael winner's and the action scenes seem slightly less surreal , although they still look cheap and repetitive and downright boring . +there are some attempts for the movie to have a plot between the numerous scenes of violence , and one of such attempts is a potentially interesting plot twist at the end . +the script even tries to fake some social conscience ( through criminally underused kay lenz's character ) and predates the war on drugs campaign that would inspire many hollywood products in next few years . +there are even some half-hearted attempts of humour - both intentional and unintentional , like in a scene where kersey assassinates mob figures by a wine bottle - but the quality of this movie is still far away from bronson's 1970s classics . + ( special note to x-philes : mith pilleggi , the actor who plays ad skinner in the x- files , could be seen in a small role of cannery lab foreman ) . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv694_4526.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv694_4526.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6f21275ffdf81c0c1d2e6c7019f494a17e23416a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv694_4526.txt @@ -0,0 +1,13 @@ +if you've seen the trailers or commercials , it's rather difficult to really figure out what this movie has in store . +well , it's hard to tell after watching the movie as well . +bruce willis is a resident of the future , and it is a rather bleak future . +the world's population had disintigrated into a mere 200 , 000 and is no longer ruled by humans but animals . +the reason ? +in 1995 , an organization called the army of the 12 monkeys contaminated the world with a pure virus , thus wiping out practically the world's population in a mere month . +bruce willis' character is one of the surviving few , but is enslaved by scientists , as are most of last living humans . +they barter his freedom by sending him on an assignment and having him do the ultimate task : go into the past , find the leader of the army of the 12 monkeys , and kill him . +well , this explanation didn't come easy . +although the movie is very thought provoking of us as a people , our future and the evilo in the world , as a story it is very confusing . +and dragging . +i know a movie isn''t keeping my interest when i fidget in my seat or feel the need to look at my watch only to find that it's only been an hour passed . +terry gilliam has a certain style that i realize many appreciate , and i haven't watched his previous work brazil , but this movie felt like it took too long to tell and yet when one realizes the end is near because it is very easy to figure out , you wish it were more complex , and not to mention that the movie is depressing is the only reason why it did invoke emotion from me . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv700_23163.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv700_23163.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a41d625cd9e8980e63e818d9ec54a8a6ffa74540 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv700_23163.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ + " the beach " is a structurally confusing film that i can only describe has having multiple personality disorder . +every forty minutes of this two-hour film begins with a new theme , virtually discarding what has been set up in the preceding act . +it starts off purposefully as a film about an innocent man seeking new thrills in a dangerous environment . +but then in the second act , the mood of the film abruptly changes and it becomes a story about a love triangle on an idyllic island paradise that evokes visions of " blue lagoon " . +forty minutes later , the mood changes once more , and it becomes a dumbed down version of " lord of the flies " where an isolated community is discovered , where their moral code touts maintaining a sense of bliss at all costs . +by the time it's over , you can only scratch your head and wonder what this film was really meant to be about . +the main character of " the beach " is angst-ridden richard ( leonardo dicaprio ) . +he travels to the netherworld of bangkok where back alley merchants push their wares upon unsuspecting tourists and scantily clad women brazenly ask if you're looking for a good time . +richard's voice-over tells the audience that he has come to this place because he is bored with his life and feels that one way to reinvigorate himself is to let go of the familiar and to enter into a world of the unknown . +this seedy environment is just what richard is looking for . +he checks into a fleabag hotel where he meets the crazed daffy ( robert carlisle ) . +he seems like a raving lunatic , obviously high from heavy drug use and looking as if he is afflicted with some sort of psychosis . +though his jagged behavior would distress most of us , richard listens to him as he speaks of a mysterious island that contains the most perfect beach that anyone has ever seen . +moreover , the island itself flourishes with enough hemp plants that can make a small city high for life . +captivated by the idea , he asks two other hotel guests to join him on his journey . +they are worldly etienne and the alluring francoise , who have also come to thailand for reasons similar to richard's . +once they finally arrive at this paradise , however , the mood of the story shifts to richard's growing desire for francoise . +this particular plot point is weak at best because there is absolutely no question in my mind that francoise will wind up with richard . +etienne is about as exciting as fluffy , white sand . +it's odd that etienne never sees this coming , but paradise has a way of hiding potential threats just out of view . +and once the three stumble across the hidden community ( mood shift imminent ) , more events transpire that depict its hidden dangers . +for example , there are marijuana fields close by patrolled by armed guards . +and the lagoon in which they swim invites the occasional shark . +there are several ideas that are introduced in " the beach " and each one could merit its own feature-length film . +there's the man vs . nature angle , the love triangle angle , and the utopia-gone-awry angle . +but the film meanders so tremendously that its entire purpose becomes blurred . +dicaprio , as a result , has an almost impossible time of trying to embody the different states of mind that he and the film goes through . +consequently , the audience has an equally difficult time trying to keep up . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv711_12687.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv711_12687.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0063bfeed1392fefc8b97ed535708b00a78cb472 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv711_12687.txt @@ -0,0 +1,48 @@ +some movies ask you to leave your brain at the door , some movies ask you to believe in the impossible to really have a good time . +playing god asks just one simple , eensy , teensy thing so it can fully entertain you , it's accomplished in just four easy to follow steps : crack open your skull , scoop out your brain , squish it under your foot several times and reverse steps two and one . +congratulations , you now have all the necessary requirements to fully enjoy a whole lot of nothing . +some movies fail at the box office but you manage to see why the producers thought it could have been a good movie , others are simply good ideas that are badly executed . +then there's playing god , which enters the esteemed category of movies which seem to have grown from the union of a drunk director , actors satisfied in the knowledge that this horrible flick will have no lasting impact on their careers and a bunch of rip-offs ( or homages as they like to call it ) from other , better movies that end up looking like an unflushed toilet . +harsh ? maybe . +justified ? +hell yes ! +this is a movie that is not just satisfied in ripping off other movies but feels the need to remind us of that fact every ten minutes . +for example , a gunman bursts into a garden with the two guns in his hands firing away . +this does look moderately kool , but the camera lingers on the actor for so long you can almost hear the director yelling : " oooh , look look ! +john woo ! +two guns blazing ! +slooooow motion ! " +and if that wasn't enough , you can also hear the script grunting under the effort it must take to try and make every single line of dialogue sound like something deep and meaningful like in a tarantino movie . +poor timothy hutton gets to deliver most of the corny lines , you have to admire the effort he puts into it , this guy deserves better . +unlike most movies this one does not suffer from " stupid bad guy " syndrome , just to make things a little different this time we get stupid heroes . +example : duchovny manages to distract a bad guy by making him go into the bathroom to get some bandages . +now the bad guy is , like , stoned , man , so he leaves his shotgun next to our hero . + ( term used as loosely as possible ) +survival instincts and a good dose of common sense seems to suggest grabbing the shotgun , which our hero does , but only after contemplating it for about thirty seconds . +even when he does grab it he seems unsure how to hold it , going so far as to actually wonder if he should place a finger near the trigger . +mind you , i've never fired a shotgun in my life but believe you me that the bad guy would be missing most of his vital organs , be he stoned or not . +some will argue that our hero does not have a killer instinct , the hell with that ! +two fbi guys have just been shot in front me , along with one bad guy and the other looks like he might go ballistic at any second . +solution ? +boom ! +i'll take the time to feel sorry about it later thank you very much . +another prime example of the idiot hero syndrome : +our boy duchovny needs to reach his girl before something bad happens to her . +he knows the head bad guy has her on the tenth floor of a building and that he might be running into a room full of people with itchy trigger fingers . +he still has his shotgun , bring it along you say ? +no thanks , i'll just ditch it in the back of my car . +and the real kicker is this : when he reaches the room and people start shooting at him he has the nerve to look surprised ! +while we are on the subject of getting shot , why in hades were those fbi guys sitting with their backs to the door ? +i've got no formal training but even i know you never sit with your back to the door . +ask mr . wild bill , the first and only time he did not sit with his back to a wall cost him his life . +this is the major problem with this movie , any mook could have thought of a hundred ways to make it better . +is it so much to ask that hollywood actually put a little common sense into their characters ? +for instance : +our heroes hide at duchovny's summer home , now the bad guys could come knocking at any moment . +ok , this time our hero does get himself a gun and has it at his side most of the time . +but see , our hero is a drug addict and guess what ? +he chooses now to go clean and suffer through dt . +oh sure , he'll be really impressive when the bad guys come calling . +going clean is really honorable of him , but i would have waited until i did not need to be conscious or being able to fire a gun . +for an enjoyable performance by timothy hutton , plot holes the size of godzilla , getting our intelligence insulted and several " oh come on ! " +moments . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv713_29002.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv713_29002.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..38af7629cfe3f0fe01bcb77a3d2c06d22f533990 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv713_29002.txt @@ -0,0 +1,44 @@ + " america's sweethearts " has an intriguing premise and a great cast , but it isn't nearly as edgy or funny as it should be . +almost all the problems with the project can be traced back to co-script writer billy crystal , who shows the same lack of discipline with the screenplay that he typically displays while co-hosting " comic relief " charity shows with robin williams and whoopi goldberg ( two other paragons of self-indulgence ) . +crystal ignores a simple , but crucial , rule : for a screwball comedy to work , the characters must be placed into a rigid social setting , because only in that context will their unorthodox antics be humorous . + " america's sweethearts " takes place at a press junket , where decorum must be maintained in front of the reporters . +it's a promising set-up , but the screenplay quickly blows off the rules , thus dissipating the tension of the situation . +by the end of the film , all the lead performers participate in a huge fight with a room full of journalists looking on , but their outbursts are only mildly amusing because the structure has been destroyed . +john cusack and catherine zeta-jones play eddie thomas and gwen harrison , a beloved acting duo whose marriage hit the skids when gwen began seeing hector ( hank azaria ) , a spanish actor with an ego almost as pronounced as his lisp . +of the last nine films eddie and gwen made together , six crossed the $100 million mark , but the prospects for their final effort , a space opus titled " time over time , " are far from rosy . +while eddie has spent many months in a new age rest clinic fretting over the breakup , gwen's solo films have tanked . +to make matter worse , the director of the movie ( christopher walken ) , a " visionary " who purchased the unabomber's cabin and had it moved to his backyard , is withholding the film from the studio , insisting that the first screening be held at the junket . +desperate to win over the press , the studio elects to hire lee ( billy crystal ) , a recently fired publicist , to salvage the situation . +lee hopes to turn lemons into lemonade by convincing eddie and gwen to pretend to be on the road to reconciliation . +he enlists the help of kiki ( julia roberts ) , gwen's sister , personal assistant and whipping girl . +what lee doesn't know is that kiki is in love with eddie , a fact that could temper her effectiveness . +press junkets are a haven for control freaks . +studios fly journalists in from around the world and put them up in a plush hotel , with food and drink always at hand . +generally , on the evening of their arrival , writers are bussed to see the featured film , then ferreted straight back to the hotel . +the next day , writers go to the studio suites and assemble in groups of five or six for roundtable interviews . +every 30 minutes or so , a producer , director , writer or actor is brought into the room for a few minutes of questions , with a publicist hovering in the corner to keep an eye on things . +the atmosphere is one of cordial oppression ? writers are free to ask what they want , but understand that if the studio dislikes a question , they may not be invited to future junkets . +representatives from tv stations face even more restrictions . +they get roughly five minutes to interview each member of the cast and crew , with the studio filming the exchanges . +the " reporters " are notorious for tossing softball questions as they suck up to the stars , but to play it safe , the studios stand ready to erase the tapes if anything unpleasant occurs . +placing two spoiled actors in a setting where image is everything is inspired , but the screenplay undermines the conceit . +the junket is moved from the handsome , but highly confining , four seasons hotel to a plush resort near las vegas . +for most of the film , the movie stars run around the sprawling grounds , completely safe from the eyes of the press . +when they do deal with journalists , the " it is imperative that you be on your best behavior in front of the reporters " premise is de-clawed . +gwen and eddie insult each other while the tv cameras roll , they scream at each other in a restaurant filled with the media and , at the screening of the movie , everyone connected with the film goes nuts , all without any repercussions . +lee certainly isn't bothered by any of the infantile outbursts ; in fact , he makes arrangements for footage of even more inappropriate behavior to be delivered to the tabloids . +is the studio angry about his handling of the combative actors ? +hell no ? they feel lee is a genius for garnering so much publicity for the movie . +all of which underscores how billy crystal and co-writer peter tolan screwed up their own premise : the comedy in " america's sweethearts " is based on barely-in-control people trying to contain themselves in the presence of reporters , except that it doesn't matter because any publicity is good publicity . +and thus the very set-up for the film implodes , leaving smoke and dust in place of laughter . +so what about the cast ? +julia roberts , at her best playing the underdog , is utterly charming here , although i could have lived without flashbacks that exist solely as an excuse to show her in a fat suit ( and not a very convincing one , by the way ) . +catherine zeta-jones makes a believable brat and john cusack fleshes out his obsessed character enough to make him vaguely sympathetic . +by casting himself as the publicist , billy crystal allows himself to do roughly the same thing he does on " comic relief " - stay on the sidelines of the action while tossing off cornball jokes and snarky remarks . +in supporting roles , hank azaria wears out his welcome fast with broad gestures and a spanish accent that speedy gonzales would have deemed " too broad . " +seth green is amusing as a toadie , stanley tucci is very good as a ruthless studio head and christopher walken plays the eccentric director with suitable flair , though he has little to work with . +come to think of it , " little to work with " is the operative phrase for this movie . +as a hollywood satire , " america's sweethearts " is toothless . +as a romance , it is at best a minor pleasure . +such a good cast , such a waste of their efforts . +had it not been taken long ago , a better title for the film would have been " much ado about nothing . " diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv721_28993.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv721_28993.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..dbeadb1b7a0127536687698cb47c891108012b27 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv721_28993.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +tim burton has now completed his evolution from the brilliant director of macabre stories about outcast individuals yearning for acceptance , and into a studio monkey whose name is used as part of multi-tiered marketing materials for crap movies . +and here he hits rock bottom , with planet of the apes . +i didn't expect much from this latest " interpretation " of pierre boulle's classic novel planet of the apes . +i mean , how could you top the force and impact of the original film , intelligently co-scripted by rod serling ( of twilight zone fame ) combined with the overbearing chuck heston growling and yelling at those " damn dirty apes , " in one of his best roles of his career ? +sadly , i sat down to watch burton's version of planet of the apes and within the first 20 minutes , i was checking my watch and my girlfriend ( a big fan of the original film ) started to nod off . +this time around , the story plays out like a cross between enemy mine , braveheart , and project x . marky mark wahlberg , who was enjoyable in boogie nights and the corrupter , plays leo davidson , a hot shot u . s . air force pilot . +leo and his crew are in search of some mysterious magnetic storms ( no real explanation given in the film ) and leo sends one of his genetically altered " smart " chimps into the storms to collect data . +leo and his crew lose communication with the chimp , leo hops in another ship to find the monkey , and then he's thrown through some type of time-space wormhole which crashes lands on the twentieth century fox studio backlot , all mocked up to look like the amazon jungle . +leo ends up getting captured by a group of talking apes and is sold to a slave trader named limbo ( paul giamatti ) who in turn sells leo to a chimpanzee named ari ( helena bonham carter ) . +the kind ari then helps leo and his fellow humans escape to the mountains to find leo's ship . +along the way , monkeys played by tim roth ( overacting his role of a vicious general named thade ) and michael clarke duncan ( who further enhances his career by playing another heavy in a bad action movie ) strive out to hunt down leo and his band of human savages , just like battlefield earth ! +in the end , it all culminates into another braveheart rip-off human versus ape battle scene . +while rick baker's makeup work is amazing , the script is a pathetic hodgepodge ( courtesy of three writers ) , the acting is horrible , and the " surprise " ending feels like a swing from a ball-peen hammer into the temple . +wahlberg does not have the physical or mental presence of a chuck heston to carry the film or any of its action sequences . +this remake , or re-interpretation , as tim burton has proclaimed it , is an insult to the intelligence and wit of the original film . +the ethical arguments about the equality of species , fascism , and military buildup have been replaced by tremendous amounts of ridiculous dialogue , an unimaginative narrative structure , and a romance between a monkey and a human . +even chuck heston's anti-gun tirade ( in the de rigeur cameo ) seems shallow and jokey . +but the main element missing from this tim burton film is tim burton . +even though his name is plastered across every billboard in america , john badham could have directed this film . +even joel schumacher could have directed this film . +he probably should have . +burton's predominant themes of rejection , isolation , and the search for one's place in the universe , as seen in ed wood , edward scissorshands , and pee-wee's big adventure , are completely absent in this planet . +i suppose that's what happen when a great director gets sucked through a wormhole . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv729_10475.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv729_10475.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e6f17ab9e8a09373dc32c8c733ed2ec00a83836f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv729_10475.txt @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +as forgetful as some people may be it is doubtful that anyone could forget their wedding , especially three times . +but , alas professor brainard somehow manages to accomplish this feat twice before the momentous night that he actually creates flubber . +it's amazing that he is able to remember any of the processes he uses to make anything . +the whole point here is how could a man be so blatantly forgetful . +this is not absent minded this is almost mindless and he is a professor . +well , this is the case for about the first half of the movie then things begin to settle into what might truly be considered absent minded . +along the way to becoming absent minded from absent of mind the professor stumbles onto flubber . +thankfully or there would be no movie or any amusement for the audience . +the flubber is supposed to be flying rubber , but it seems to have a life of its own . +this is there strictly for the kids . +the properties of the flubber provide some antics for the audience when flubber coated golfballs and bowling balls assail two would be thugs . +although amusing this is not original what so ever and brings back haunting memories of home alone . +the poor professor has to save the university where he teaches at , get his fiancee back , finally stop the plotting of an evil millionaire , and do all this in the funniest way possible . +admittedly there are funny moments but the movie is rather shallow and does not compare very well to the original ( the absent minded professor ) . +the whole scene with the basketball game was just atrocious and totally unbelievable . +the basketball players , stereotypically unqualified for the sport , somehow manage to bounce , fly and dribble their way back to being close to winning ? +this just sounds too bad to be true , the least that could have been done was keep semi close to the original movie to give this film a chance . +as for innovations and new ideas there is but two good ones in this movie . +giving life to the flubber , which is so poorly executed that it's best forgotten , and prof . brainard's flying robot weebo . +giving life to the flubber would have worked beautifully if it wasn't for scenes of the sort where you have the flubber dancing around on tables and books for no real reason other than to put in a bit of music and extend the length of the movie . +the life of the flubber had brief and rather whimsical moments where it might have been used well , but it wasn't and in the end might have done the movie more harm than good . +now , weebo is a totally different story . +it's a robot that prof . brainard created but forgot how and gave something of a life too . +this is a really original idea , well maybe not , but it is an idea that is well executed and in the end makes the poor robot the most developed and real character in the movie . +yes folks the little yellow robot has more emotion and character than the characters . +the film lacks the emotional punch to pull the audience in at all . +the acting by robin williams ( prof . +brainard ) seems to be half hearted for most of the movie and in many cases quite forced . +most of the acting in the movie was so convincing as to fool only the part of the audience that had not quite yet reached the age to 12 . +people when stood up at the altar , don't usually give third chances . +or for that matter talk to the fiancee afterwards , but what can be expected this is a children's movie . +flubber , as a movie does little original and is nothing special in any respect . +with the best character in the movie being something of a prop i doubt that many people will find it all that great . +it does have its amusing moments and it is a good story in the end , but it does not wash up to the original . +kids should find this movie amusing and fun and they'll probably enjoy the whole movie . +as a movie it's just a kids movie and not the best of ones at that . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv734_22821.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv734_22821.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6b7c87dc898fde565e0accdca42f496183b3f7b0 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv734_22821.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +i can see a decent sports movie struggling to break free of oliver stone's `any given sunday' . +it's an entertaining movie that offers both insight and excitement into the rock-em , sock-em profession of pro football . +unfortunately , the director seems to have only one priority on his mind : sprucing up the film with an assortment of fancy camera maneuvers . +in altering each frame with quick-flash photography and dizzying , in-your-face editing , stone appears to have completely ignored the matter of plausible character development and football politics . +we see glimpses of greatness , but `any given sunday' has its agenda all tangled in technical gobbledy-gook . +it grows tiresome and monotonous . +yes , stone has pulled a brian depalma . +matters of importance are pushed aside right from the get-go . +tony d'amato ( al pacino ) , coach of the struggling miami sharks , finds his team stuck in a losing rut . +aging quarterback cap rooney ( dennis quaid ) appears to be losing his touch , and d'amato can't seem to ignite any passion in his squad . +when cap is injured on the field , and after a patch of unlikely events occur , third-string qb willie beaman ( jamie foxx ) is brought into the game . +once in the huddle ( and this becomes an in-game ritual ) , beaman horks all over the field . +nerves , you see . +eventually though , the ancy youngster wins the game for his teammates , sparking his rise to fame in the football world - the endorsements , the music videos , etc . - and stone straps us in for the jolting ride of behind-the-scenes stress and fury that the business is apparently like . +and i believe it . +there is some intriguing insight posed , but in the big scheme of things , stone fumbles the ball . +the problem with the director's visual approach is this : he uses extravagant editing devices when a more conventional approach would have been appropriate . +football is an exciting game to watch , but stone seems to think dizzying the audience with an assault on the senses will only add to the adrenaline rush . +i guess he is mistaken . +`any given sunday' is a visual kaleidoscope that leaves the audience in a frustrated stupor more frequently than it excites them . +many football fans ( including one i attended with ) are liable to be disappointed with the `ultra-stylish' way stone has decided to present the game . +in return , a three-star film becomes unfortunately degraded due to the director's tampering . +in welcome scenes when the visual pummeling comes to a break , this actually shows decent character development and interaction . +for instance , heated returns between d'amato and feisty young owner christina pagniacci ( cameron diaz ) are enjoyable to watch . +there is also a solid performance from jamie foxx , who experiments with great success in his first trek into dramatic territory . +the stellar supporting cast includes matthew modine , aaron eckhart , lauren holly , ann-margret and charlton heston ( in an extraordinarily brief appearance ) . +unfortunately , too many big names are wasted - a typical demise for a film with such a large and experienced cast . +pacino makes some interesting progress with his character . +you begin to identify with coach d'amato and the morals he is striving for . . . . +but i often felt he was just another play thing stone could weave in and out of his editing dynamics . +`any given sunday' is a watchable but disappointing sports film in which plot and characters take a back seat to excessive filmmaking technique . +and a very distant back seat , at that . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv748_14044.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv748_14044.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3070e55967b4d1dfe343d81e087f506e6bc9f7e0 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv748_14044.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +dr dolittle ( 20th century fox ) running time : 1 hour 25 minutes starring eddie murphy directed by betty thomas riding high on the success of the nutty professor ( 1996 ) , murphy returns in this abysmal comedy . +he plays doctor john dolittle , who as a child had the ability to understand animals . +however , after being 'exorcised' he loses this ability , and we fast forward to see dolittle in a crummy job surrounding by crummy people ( most notably dr mark weller , played by oliver platt . ) +however , with a bonk on the head his ability to understand animals returns , and 'comedy' is ready and waiting to happen . +except comedy never does happen . +doctor dolittle , even with the excellent premise , rarely manages to raise a laugh . +poor old murphy looks bored stiff throughout the whole movie , and his performance suffers . +the manic murphy we saw in the 80's is gone , his more mature ( and more boring ) twin appears to be getting all the work in the 90's . +the voices of the animals , which include albert brooks , chris rock ( the 'new' eddie murphy ) and norm mcdonald as 'lucky' the dog are marginally better , and at least they put enthusiasm in the movie . +sadly , most of their lines are pretty dumb . +and they're not 'funny' dumb , like dumb & dumber ( 1994 ) , but just boring dumb . +the film even succumbs to fart jokes halfway through , in a desperate attempt to raise some laughs . +there are a few good jokes in the script , but they are few and far between . +if i had to choose a favourite performance , it would probably be albert brooks tiger , who has a certain charm about him . +sadly , he's barely in the movie , and rock's really annoying hamster is given far too much screen time . +joke wise , we are thankfully , spared the mocking and insulting type of jokes that featured heavily in the nutty professor . +the director , betty thomas , has , well , done better films . +she bought us private parts ( 1997 ) and the brady bunch movie ( 1995 ) which were , sadly , much better than this . +the scenes lack any charm , she just gets the job done . +the animals themselves , are reasonable realistic , although most of them are obviously puppets . +there's an impressive looking tiger , however , and the lip sync is pretty good . +you'd have no problem guessing that most of the close up's are puppets , however , with their jilted movement . +i was hoping jim hensons workshop , who created the furry friends , would have done a better job . +doctor dolittle , in the end , is a disappointment for everyone involved . +murphy has done much better movies ( i . e +trading places ) the director has seen better days , and even the creatures aren't that good . +the target audience , aged between 7-13 , who are undemanding , will probably like it however , thanks to it's dumbed down humour . +everyone else , however , should give doctor dolittle a miss . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv753_11812.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv753_11812.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..105ed98de7e8597ac8b4ec3d6f69db27fd020fd2 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv753_11812.txt @@ -0,0 +1,41 @@ +bruce willis needs to stay away from straightforward action pictures . +mercury rising adds to a growing list ( including such stinkers as the jackal , last man standing , striking distance and the last boy scout ) of stale actioners he has headlined . +and though mercury rising tries to spice things up by throwing an autistic kid in the mix , it is every bit as stale . +art jeffries ( bruce willis ) is your typical tormented fbi agent . +you know the type , haunted by his job , yet so good at what he does that even physically assaulting another agent merely gets him a slap on the wrist . +enter simon ( miko hughes ) , an autistic boy , who , like rain man and all other autistic people , is a savant . +he can merely gaze at a super-encrypted message , and , while little computer beeps go off in his head , he can understand what it says . +naturally , this talent has brought him to the attention of the federal government . +lt . col . nicholas kudrow ( alec baldwin ) , an nsa official bubbling over with evil , has spent countless time and money implementing the newest " unbreakable " code , mercury . +however , when two of his underlings ( robert stanton and bodhi pine elfman ) publish a mercury-encrypted message in a puzzle magazine as a final test of its effectiveness , simon cracks the code . +naturally , this infuriates kudrow , who sends a terminator-like hitman ( l . l . +ginter ) to eliminate the security hazard . +and that's where art jeffries comes in . +for some reason that's never explained in the film , the fbi is called in to help , and through a series of intricate machinations , art becomes the sole protector of the young autistic boy . +in a few unrealistic sequences , he enlists the aid of a stranger , stacey ( kim dickens ) , to help out , but she is given very little to do overall . +the central concept behind mercury rising is ludicrous . +why bother trying to kill the kid . . . i +mean , who would know ? +it's not like the kid ( or anyone else for that matter ) knew he was cracking a government super-cypher . +and even if he is eliminated , what does that help ? +he's already proven that mercury can be broken . +there's always the chance that someone else would crack it . . . but +i guess without a kid in jeopardy , there's not much of a movie here . +for all its faults , the film actually starts relatively well ( once you pass the painfully familiar teaser ) . +the film flirts with developing real characters , and a semblance of a plot . . . then +mr . terminator the hitman appears and everything begins going downhill . . . quickly . +miko hughes does a decent job , for his age , at creating a touching performance . +however , don't go to this film looking for any new insights into autism ( not that many people will ) . +instead he merely becomes the latest unique partner in a routine buddy-cop movie ( think cop and a half . . . with a twist ! ) +willis and baldwin are just overplaying to type . +rather than creating a nuanced character , baldwin simply oozes sliminess . +and for willis' part , he simply recycles the stock role of the loner cop/fbi agent ( which he has honed in the die hard series ) . +as almost an afterthought , about halfway through , the film carelessly gives him a character trait ( an addiction ) , and then drops it in the next scene . +but the biggest problem with mercury rising is the screenplay . +this film wasn't well thought out at all . +the film goes to extraordinary lengths to pad in as many convenient coincidences as possible . +the carbon paper scene alone is unworthy of the most gullible audience member . +at first the bad scenes just trickle in , but by the gruesomely bad finale they're a veritable flood . +the film's few decent moments come in the form of bad jokes ( mainly from the geeks who developed the supercode ) . +but they're not nearly enough to make the film worthwhile . +mercury rising is a thriller that you're more likely to groan at than cheer . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv760_8977.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv760_8977.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8541e816e06f6834a710ea45047c3c9c2cea7347 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv760_8977.txt @@ -0,0 +1,57 @@ +when considering david fincher's latest film , " the game " , four words come to mind . + " don't believe the hype . " +this michael douglas vehicle , from the director of " seven " , isn't nearly as clever or innovatively suspenseful as it would have us believe . +the film draws us in with an intriguing concept ( aided no doubt by the riveting trailer ) where a jaded millionaire ( douglas ) is presented with the opportunity to enter into a living fantasy . +this isn't simply virtual reality . +this is real life with a deadly twist . +on his 48th birthday , nicholas van orton ( douglas ) is invited to dinner by his underachieving younger brother , conrad ( sean penn ) . +conrad has a special birthday present for his brother . +he hands nicholas a gift certificate and tells him to contact a company called consumer recreation services . + " they make your life fun , " conrad tells him . +nicholas humors his brother , telling him he'll call , but it's clear he has no time for any foolish , " fantasy role-playing , " as he calls it . +then , for reasons that are never really made clear , nicholas decides to go to crs and see what they're all about . +he ends up spending a whole day going through their screening process , which to me made no sense considering the tight schedule he keeps claiming to have . +nevertheless , when it seems nicholas has been rejected as a crs client , the weird things start happening . +of course , when we've only covered about 30 minutes of screen time , what else should we expect . +douglas has built his modern career around playing powerful , violent and unlikable men being manipulated by unseen hands . +one of those films , " basic instinct " , came from the creative minds of writer , joe eszterhas and director , paul verhoeven . +the premise of " the game , " is not unlike the concept of another verhoeven film , " total recall . " +in that case , the premise was implanting someone else's memories as a way to enhance one's own life through a dream vacation . +yet , in both films , the real goal is to create a vicarious bond with the audience . +we live the adventure along with the protagonist , reacting to each twist and turn . +in theory , the key to the suspense is not being to tell what is real and what isn't . +all we can do is hang on until the end of the ride , when the truth is finally revealed . +now , for those of you who forgot , let me say this again . + " don't believe the hype . " + " the game " is not a thrilling roller coaster ride . +as a suspense-thriller , it doesn't do much but spin in circles . +by the third reel , i was fighting back sleep and checking my watch as i endured the predictable plot . +is it any wonder douglas won't be able to resist the charms of a mysterious , potentially life-threatening blonde ( ever heard of glenn close ? +no ? well , how about sharon stone ? +thought so ) . +if anything in this film surprises you at all , i would guess you haven't seen that many films . +there is no suspense here . +trust me , i looked hard to find some . +i had to settle for contrived gimmicks and ridiculously implausible situations . +fincher aim's for hitchcock but lands somewhere just north of joe eszterhas . +there are those that might say " the game " is not intended to be viewed literally . +i would submit that is exactly the way i tried to view the film . +the film simply does not have the teeth to bite into any real psychological issues . +there is a moment early in the film where van orton , realizing his game has begun , smiles as he walks through the airport trying to figure out who's in on the whole thing . +he is charged by his paranoia . +he is looking at the world through new eyes . +it is the last thought-provoking moment in the film . +from there on , the director only wants to stay a step ahead of us . +any significant archetype that is set up in the beginning of the film is simply turned into a plot device . +at the outset , we're told each " game " is tailored to the individual . +ultimately , this " game " is supposed to work like a crucible , trying this obscenely wealthy and emotionally detached aristocrat by fire , proving his soul . +yet , as douglas endures his personal gauntlet , we're given very few pieces of the puzzle to illuminate us on who this man really is . +i wanted to like this film more than i did . +i look at it as just anothergreat idea , poorly realized . +i can think of at least two other superior films where watching the film didn't mean we were seeing what was really happening . +bryan singer's " the usual suspects " for one , a film that was truly unique in its ability to get you lost in the details before pulling back to show you the full masterpiece on the canvas . +also , there is the underrated " jacob's ladder , " with tim robbins , a film that really has to be watched twice before you recognize the significance of all its symbolism . +here are two examples of films that don't simply manipulate for manipulations' sake . +there are films that use their labyrinth structure to lead us to a meaningful place . +one major issue that comes up in " the game " is whether or not the whole " illusion " is just a highly sophisticated con game . +well , i can tell you right now , after you've spent your $7 dollars , you may be asking yourself the same thing . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv767_15673.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv767_15673.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b05e1005a629d4bfe08126f99c483988a7a853d4 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv767_15673.txt @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +everything about this ninth trek movie seems on the cheap , from the roger corman-grade special effects to its highly derivative and ugly ad campaign ( the poster is nearly identical to that of star trek vi : the undiscovered country ) . +but piller's not-quite-half-baked screenplay should ultimately claim responsibility for insurrection's failure . +i'm about to give the same advice to rick berman and co . +as i've given to the financiers of james bond movies : it's time to breathe life into this workhorse by hiring solid genre writers and a real director . + ( while we're at it , put that visor back on laforge ! ) +for three hundred years , the ba'ku species ( who look just like humans ) have lived on a ringed-planet that might as well be called the fountain of youth . +six hundred of them occupy the briar patch , the area affected by metaphasic radition , a positive energy that reverses the aging process in the elderly . +but evil ru'afo ( this is probably abraham's last stop before performing " amadeus " at a dinner theatre near you ) , leader of the son'a ( who look just like burn victims after reconstructive surgery ) , wants to relocate the ba'ku and movie his people onto the briar patch in their place , in order to replenish his dying breed . +the federation is all for this , but picard feels this is a direct violation of the prime directive : to not interfere with the development of an alien race . + ( never mind that the ba'ku didn't exactly evolve-they went wandering in the universe one day and stumbled upon the magic world . ) +every time frakes gives an interview lately , he seems to top whatever ludicrous statement he last gave regarding this installment . +he has called it a comedy , a thinking man's picture , a throwback to the old series , and , most grievously , he has likened it to a john ford western . + ( i presume that's some john ford he went to school with , not the director of the searchers . ) +he has also gone on record as saying paramount recut the film from his version . +that's no excuse-someone generated this footage . +muddy cinematography and sitcom sets are the least of its problems ; star trek : insurrection appears to have been beamed in from the planet plotholia . +consider such curiosities . . . +picard's love interest , anij ( donna murphy ) , can slow things down by staring at them ( such as a waterfall or falling rocks ) -her scientific explanation for this ? + " don't ask . " +worf gets a pimple ( he's re-experiencing klingon puberty thanks to the time-defying atmosphere ) , laforge regains his eyesight ( trust me , levar burton's real eyes are scarier than those electronic lenses he wore in first contact ) and troi brags about her firm boobs , but picard remains as bald as an android's butt . +most suspiciously , what exactly is the problem with letting this endangered race have a little fun in the sun ? +the filmmakers cloud the issue with some nonsense about a family feud of sorts , and they also turn ru'afo into a completely power-mad superfreak , just so the characters will have something to do in the climax . + ( and if you've seen return of the jedi , you've seen the ending of this movie . ) +didn't picard himself previously disobey the prime directive when he prevented the borg from assimilating millions ? +frakes lucked out with first contact , and repeat viewings of that film reveal the seeds of what went wrong in his direction of insurrection : he has no sense of comic timing , and he mines for acting chemistry where none exists . + ( take a look at the painful " troi gets drunk " scene in fc and you'll get the general idea of insurrection's unsuccessfully jokey and hollow tone . ) +even the worst shatner and co . +treks , like the final frontier , maintained a watchability thanks to the effortless , charming comaraderie between kirk , spock , and bones . +neither first contact nor insurrection has any idea what to do with crusher ( gates mcfadden , whom i must say maintains a fabulous physique ) , troi , or laforge . +and all three next generation films spend too much time on data , who is the franchise's answer to urkel . +need a cheap laugh ? +have data say something sexual , or start singing , or lift up a four hundred pound boulder as if it's the hunk of styrofoam it really is . +here's my proposed title for number 10 : data star data trek : data data data data data . +in this movie , data will become preoccupied with learning to blow his nose , while crusher and troi watch silently from 500 yards away and laforge points his sinister gaze at the android in doubly robotic observation . +star trek : insurrection had one nice , eerie , silent moment that hints at a better , darker film . +i'm not saying all of them should be star trek ii : the wrath of khan , but this one boldly went where no movie should go again . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv775_17966.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv775_17966.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b4f5702552181c5a946948c7b554847b2371937a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv775_17966.txt @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +sometimes a stellar cast can compensate for a lot of things , and " pushing tin " certainly features some name stars who are going places : billy bob thornton , cate blanchett , angelina jolie , and oh yes john cusack who might not realize it at first , but he's actually the * veteran * among this quartet of fine-looking people . +sometimes a terrific cast like this can compensate for a lackluster screen treatment of an idea that has " hip comedy " written all over it , compensate for workmanlike but uninspired direction , compensate for an obnoxious score that would have anyone but the tone deaf screaming for the exits , compensate for clich ? d characterizations , compensate for embarrassing " you have to be joking " situations . +etc . +in " pushing tin , " thornton , blanchett , jolie , and cusack don't have an earthly . +from the opening sequence the film is in big trouble : squiggly , " quirky " credits , fake-looking passenger planes circling new york , and anne dudley's in-your-ear music making us wonder how she ever got that best original score nomination for " the full monty , " let alone won it . +but i , for one , wasn't ready to walk just yet . +so quickly we descend into a tightly-edited air traffic controllers montage which screams to us in large capital letters these people have a difficult job , yes , what with their frantic , mile-a-minute instructional personas , juggling planes and passenger's lives like some huge , real , mid-air video game . +hip , cool , demonic auctioneer nick " the zone " falzone ( cusack ) is the best in the biz . +of course . +until some hipper , cooler , leather-clad flyboy assist in the guise of russell bell ( thornton ) shows up to challenge falzone's finite air space . +boys will be boys and some heavy duty testosterone starts exuding , then the macho one-upmanship begins . +it doesn't stop with seeing who can juggle three 747s within a cat's whisker of each other . +oh no . +there are some broken hoop dreams , some wanna-see-how-fast-i-can-drives , and then the ultimate showdown : was that my wife i saw you with last night ? +director mike newell ( " four weddings and a funeral " ) must have read a different draft of this script because the one that's being acted out up there between newark , jfk , and la guardia doesn't have an ounce of subtlety , and newell has made some awfully good-and funny-movies before . +the antics of these air traffic controllers will make you cringe . +they'll make you frown in disbelief . +they'll have you constantly looking at your watch . +but wait ! +there's still 100 minutes to go ! ! +the film's only saving grace is blanchett , whose connie falzone is a spunky , brash , long island housewife who wants to better herself by taking art classes . +this is a wonderful accomplishment for the fine actress who has previously played a red-headed australian gambler ( " oscar and lucinda " ) and a tempestuous british monarch ( " elizabeth " ) . +but she's not enough to save the picture . +thornton looks terrific and performs solidly but his character is a joke . +jolie ( as russell's knock 'em dead wife ) isn't bad , but the up-and-coming actress disappoints by allowing herself to be displayed like a plaything . +cusack cracks gum , dons shades , and acts hip throughout but , like everything else in the film , his performance is forced . +in the last ten minutes or so , for some inexplicable reason , things start coming together and you begin to get a sense of how this film might have been , like the trailer teases . +but it's too little too late . +a fine cast aside , " pushing tin " is nothing more than an embarrassment . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv784_16077.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv784_16077.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8da2a423e85a2df0ec03bb0049ec4638dce2318b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv784_16077.txt @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ + " varsity blues " is the best film of 1999 thus far . +unfortunately , it is also the first film i have seen from 1999 . +it is another one of those small-town sports movies that involves a flawed , but good-heartedfrom 1999 . +it is another one of those small-town sports movies that involves a flawed , but good-hearted protagonist ; a rough and meanspirited coach ; and the " big game . " +by the end , will the underdog overcome great odds and triumph ? +will everyone in the town turn against the coach ? +will the team win the climactic game ? +do cats bathe themselves regularly ? +the so-called " hero " in question is john moxin ( james van der beek ) , a senior at west canaan high school who plays for the varsity football team , but is really just hoping to get a scholarship at brown university so that he can get out of the dead-end town . +at least he's got the right idea , since west canaan , texas is portrayed in the film as , frankly , pathetic , with the whole town treating the weekly football games as the second coming . +heck , in one scene , the front page of the town's newspaper is proclaiming about the west canaan badgers' big win the night before . +when the team's star quarterback is severely injured , tearing the ligaments in his leg , john finds himself taking over as the team's leader , but his few minutes of glory do not last long , as he begins to have problems with his girlfriend ( amy smart ) when she discovers he spent an evening with another girl ( ali larter ) . +and after staying out all night with his drinking buddies at a strip joint ( all of the teenagers in the film are portrayed as raging alcoholics ) , the team loses their second-to-last game , putting john at feuds with the coach ( jon voight who , like gary oldman , is overstaying his welcome in the typecasted role as the " bad guy " ) . +worse yet , the coach is threatening to ruin john's scholarship chances if the badgers don't win their final game . +the plotting of " varsity blues " is as old as the hills , and contains every cliche in the book . +admittedly , i was never exactly bored while i was watching it , but i hasten to add that i was rarely ever entertained . +throughout , all i could really think of is how virtually the same exact story had been filmed with a great deal more thoughtfulness and maturity in 1983's " all the right moves . " +one of the biggest problems i had with the film is how little of interest any of the characters actually were , least of all certainly not john , who , played by van der beek ( of tv's " dawson's creek " ) , is pretty much a bore without any engaging qualities . +while i probably shouldn't blame this on van der beek , since the inauspicious and " by-the-numbers " screenplay by w . peter iliff isn't of any help , he is still certainly not in the league of tom cruise in " all the right moves . " +the story revolving around john , meanwhile , is extemely thin throughout , particularly for its 104-minute running time , and it alternates between uninspired comic relief ( as in when the students see their sex education teacher working as a stripper at the club ) and heavy-handed melodrama . +the romance between john and his girlfriend had the potential to be an adequate subplot , but we also learned very little about her , which is unfortunate since amy smart , whom i don't think i've seen before in past films , is probably the only character written with any sort of intelligence . +smart does not allow her character to become the " passive girlfriend , " instead coming off as a young woman with her own ideas and opinions . +it's too bad the camera didn't linger on her long enough so we could hear some of those thoughts . +the adult characters probably fare the worse of any , since they all must play residents of a dim-witted town that cares about nothing but football . +john's relationship with his parents can also be telegraphed far in advance . +his father is set on him becoming a football player at a university , but john doesn't want any part of that . +his mother stands beside her " big , strong husband " and is a passive female . +finally , jon voight plays the stock bully coach character and he does nothing to make the thankless role any more than one-dimensional . +saving " varsity blues " from being a total washout are a few amusing sequences , including one set in the sex education class , which did get a laugh out of me . +the scenes of playing football were well-shot and thankfully didn't overstay their welcome , as many sports films fall victim to . +but leaving the theater , the question i had in my mind was why did this film need to be made ? +i seem to be asking this question quite a lot lately , since the same old stories seem to be cranking out of hollywood . +do we really need another high-school sports film ? +no , we don't , and certainly not one of this low-caliber , which felt like a cut-and-paste job of spare parts from much better , but similar , films . + " varsity blues , " no doubt is the first one , however , to include an earnest scene in which one of the characters is only wearing whipped cream on their private parts . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv799_19812.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv799_19812.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a8709238e11131a32741a0d040cdb66f0e05e5a8 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv799_19812.txt @@ -0,0 +1,75 @@ + * * * be warned . . . +the following review contains some harsh language * * * +the blair witch project . +quite possibly the least scariest movie of all time . +if you want to see real terror on the big screen go back and watch any scene with jar jar binks in the phantom menace , because this movie is not scary or even remotely creepy . +my colleague and friend chuck dowling wrote that if less is more , then the blair witch filmmakers must have thought that nothing is more . +and this worked for him . +well , i'm sorry , but nothing . . . +is nothing ! ! ! ! ! +nothing is not more . +it's nothiiiiiinggggggggggg ! ! ! ! ! ! . +i do not pay 5 dollars to see nothing . + " nothing " is free , available all around the world at a location near you . +i am absolutely in amazement that some people find this movie scary . +i could just discount them and say , " well , i guess they are just pansy chicken shits who are probably scared of their own shadow . " +but i have intelligent friends who like this movie and so that doesn't hold water . +there must be some other reason . + ( then again , maybe my first thought is correct , i think i'll try pointing their shadow out to them one day and test their reaction . ) +when i hear people praising this film , i never hear them talking about what makes up about 97% of this movie : three kids bickering with each other about being lost . +they only talk about what might make up possibly 3 to 4 minutes of screen time . +this being a few very short night scenes where the kids hear some unscary sounds and another where they shout " josh ! ! " +over and over . +this film should not be called the blair witch project , it should more accurately be called three dumb and pisspoor filmmakers get lost . . . +and argue with each other . +oh ladies and gentlemen you will be so scared when you hear them shouting " josh ! ! " . +and if you thought that was scary , wait till you see a pile of rocks , and then some tinkertoy lincoln logs , oh my dear lord you will be pissing in your pants with fear . +oh yeah , and some goo on one of their backpacks . +you've never seen terror like this folks , and you don't want to . +the chevy chase/goldie hawn comedy foul play is creepier than this film . + ( for current films , i highly recommend the sixth sense or a stir of echoes for a creepy filmgoing experience . ) +this film is an example of marketing with no substance . +the marketing was brilliant , and the whole nation is in awe of just the premise for the film . +they want this film to be good . +and i think they are reaching and praising the wrong movie because they don't have anything else to praise . +that wonderful film that rejuvenates the horror genre may come along , but this is not it . +this film could have been so much better . +just think , if maybe there had been only 10 minutes of arguing about being lost , and 80 minutes of nighttime stuff . +i saw this movie with a girl who was extremely pumped for it . +she was sold on this film . +and then , at one point during it , she turned to me and asked ' . . . are +we supposed to be scared by this ? ' . +i've heard one opinion that you " have to use your imagination " to create the fear in this movie . +well , i thought that was what the filmmakers were supposed to do . +use their imagination and create a good movie . +i mean anyone can use their imagination and not pay 5 bucks for it . +but even if you like this idea , then what are you imagining ? +an entity called the blair witch ? +some rednecks fucking with these kids ? +are either of these things really scary when you think about it ? ? ? +i've heard several people say that this movie makes them recall how scary it can be to be out in the woods and hear something . +well sure thats scary in real life , but there are a lot of things that are scary in real life that are not scary in a movie nor even interesting . +you could sit in your house and see a snake or a spider and it could be scary , but in a film it wouldn't be . +and no , a movie does not need a big budget or cgi special effects to be scary or creepy . +actually the less the better ( see the equally awful remake of the haunting ) . +but you have to do something . +you cant just count on us all having nostalgic memories of how something like this could be scary , if it were real . +and by the way , about the shakycam filming in blair witch . +aren't these supposed to be " filmmakers " who should know how to point a camera and shoot something without shaking the camera constantly ? +i'm not even talking about the couple scenes where they are terrified , that's justified . +i'm talking about the other 87 minutes of the movie where they can't seem to shoot anything smoothly at all . +minor quibble there . +there is a feeling in me that the people that like this movie are suckers . +that the filmmakers are just laughing their asses off all the way to the bank . +and i think there is a good chance they will see this film again and say to themselves " what was i thinking ? ? " . +but , if they don't , then thats fine . +if it works for them then that's okay i guess . +i just lament that by making this movie a hit , we are going to be subjected to more of the " nothing is more " approach . +pretty soon we're going to get some movies like this : just a still shot of a prison jail cell . +for 90 minutes . +and we'll have to use our imagination and think to ourselves , " my god , wouldn't it be scary to spend life in prison ? ! ! +this movie is the scariest movie of all time ! ! ! ! ! " . +or , a shot of a coffin , with some funeral directors arguing with each other . + " man , do you know how scary it would be to die ? ? ? ! ! ! ! +now this is the scariest movie of all time ! ! ! ! " +[r] diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv817_3675.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv817_3675.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c48024668cf3b0bc17ed6b3a3f4fdc0290b8faca --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv817_3675.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14 @@ +we're back in blade runner territory with this one , conceptual artist robert longo's vision of a william gibson-inspired future where information is the commodity to kill for . +front and center is johnny ( keanu reeves ) , a " cyber-courier " who smuggles data via a " wet-wired " implant . +he's ready to quit the biz and get a portion of his long-term memory restored , but , first , he has to finish one last , dangerous job . . +the pressing problem in johnny mnemonic is that keanu reeves seems to have forgotten how to play an action hero since his stint on speed . +he's walking wood in a forest of stiffs that includes henry rollins , ice-t , and dina meyer . + ( dolph lundgren's street preacher is in an acting category all its own . + : - ) without a believable performance between them , all we can do is sit back and watch the atmosphere , which is pretty good in places . +the vr sequences are way cool , but the physical fx--such as miniatures and mattes--leave a lot to be desired . +watch out for those bad blue-screens ! +we wouldn't mind a minute of johnny mnemonic if the action played better . +too bad the debut director isn't very strong in this de- partment . +his big finale is a sloppy , silly mess that runs twenty minutes too long , which is way past the time that most of our " wet- wired " processors have already shut down . +bottom line : yatf ( yet another tortured future ) . +skip it . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv829_21725.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv829_21725.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d18e1394504ac9c85fc88cf583d0b1d6e0b1d182 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv829_21725.txt @@ -0,0 +1,60 @@ +i had an epiphany today . +it occurred to me while i was watching " house on haunted hill . " +it is as follows : if a trailer makes the film it's advertising look like a trashy , stupid movie , well guess what ? +chances are , there * is * truth in advertising . +too bad i didn't trust my own instincts when something-or-the-other possessed me to see this movie . +i blame it on my sudden craving for a scare and my anticipation of " sleepy hollow . " +that and " dogma " started too late in the afternoon for my schedule . +an hour of " angel " or " buffy " is scarier than this doozy that tries to be scary and shtick but falls flat on its face . +i wish i'd seen it when it was halloween . +at least i would have been forgiving . +hey , tis the season . +the movie was scary ( albeit very confusing , dizzying , and nauseating ) at first , but soon the horror got repetitive and downright laughable because the film obviously wasn't going anywhere . +now i truly appreciate films like " scream , " " halloween , " or any old hitchcock film where the scariness stems from situations that are at least somewhat realistic . +that's what spooks people out , the fact that it could happen to them or someone they know . +there has to be a logical precedent for the situations they want to scare us with . +sure , utterly unpredictable is good , too , but that's different from utterly nonsensical . +hohh ( house on haunted hill ) , on the other hand . + . + . +well let's just say i about fell off my chair laughing when they oh-so-cleverly revealed that everyone who got invited to the party was related to the psycho doctors who died in the house a couple of decades ago . +riiiiight . +y'know , that just sends chills down my spine . +yeah . +just like i wet my pants when they told me the house is evil . +ooooooo . +hint : blood and guts only work a few times . +sooner or later people start to tell themselves that it's just ketchup and props and you've got to come up with something better than that . +there were just too many things in this movie that we've all seen before ; from the inevitable " plot developments " of strangers unwittingly trapped together ; strangers turning against each other ; the evil manifesting itself ; the dead coming back for a last scare . +each was more predictable than the last . +why didn't these fools just stay together in one place anyways ? +sheesh . +was i grossed out ? +yes . +did i get spooked a few times ? +yes . +but why ? +i get really disturbed when there is no why . +when there weren't random scares that were there for no other reason than for the visual effect ( which wasn't that good either , trust me ) and the scare , the film was filled with drab , laughable dialogue . +the characters were incredibly flat and cliched . +not to mention downright annoying . +you've got a bunch of people going nowhere in their lives ; of course they're dumb enough to go to a party some stranger invited them to provided they win a million dollars if they survive the night . +jeez , i thought no one fell for those " you may already be a winner " things anymore . +and of course , all three gals are babes . +i wonder how on earth the geoffrey rush of " shine " ended up in this movie . +keep that up , geoff , and you'll qualify for the next batman venture . +the only single person i enjoyed was chris kattan because , well , he just cracks me up . +and famke jansen ( sp ? ) +because she reminds me of the delectable brosnan . +pierce brosnan ( hey , i willingly endured " dante's peak " three times for him : ) . +all right , i concede . +there were a couple of things i enjoyed . +that perverted little amusement park at the beginning . +i probably won't ride a rollercoaster for a while . +and the machine they used to drive geoffrey's character mad ( see , i don't even remember their names ) . +the machine , not that stupid fishtank with naked wimmin in it . +i kept waiting and waiting for that inevitable twist at the end of the movie . +it wouldn't have redeemed the film , but at least it would have made me feel better . +but no , they opted for the beautiful sunrise ending . +thank god they didn't add a kiss at the end or i would have puked . +god , there is no hope . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv834_23192.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv834_23192.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3da67bff0b8a9ecb2f8d8f1688ed6fa4eeeb4e40 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv834_23192.txt @@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ + " meg ryan is irresistible in the comedy that celebrates sisterhood ! , " +screams the television ads for " hanging up , " disastrously written by real-life sisters delia and nora ephron and sloppily directed by diane keaton . +make me laugh again ! +not only is " hanging up " misadvertised , since the film wholeheartedly focuses on middle sister meg ryan and gives her two co-stars , lisa kudrow and diane keaton , little more than extended cameos , but they don't actually come together until the final ten to fifteen minutes . +and we are supposed to believe their strong bond , and smile in the last scene when they rekindle their rocky relationship , despite them being apart for the majority of the running time ? +excuse me , again , while i almost bust a gut at that truly delusional notion . +eve marks ( meg ryan ) is the middle mozzell sister , still living in the california town where she grew up , and with a husband ( adam arkin ) and pre-teen son ( jesse james ) . +her elderly , wisecracking father , lou ( walter matthau , in his brightest performance in years ) has just recently been put into the hospital , in the final stages of what i assume is alzheimer's ( even though the film never enlightens us on exactly what is wrong with him ) . +while eve's relationship with her mother ( cloris leachman ) is nearly nonexistent , since she ran out on lou and her children years ago , she has had her fair share of up's and down's with lou , who used to be an alcoholic . +her older sister is georgia ( diane keaton ) , an editor for the self-titled magazine , " georgia , " while maddy ( lisa kudrow ) is the youngest , a soap opera actress . +interestingly , their professions are given , but we not once ever see them working at their jobs , or , for that matter , learn much of anything about them . +maddy , georgia , and eve do not see each other much anymore , their adult lives gradually causing them to drift apart , but they do manage to consistently talk on the phone to one another . +and they talk . +and talk . +and talk . . . +in fact , the telephone is the major star of the film , even more so than ryan , as it appears in virtually every scene of this interminable 92-minute catastrophe that feels like its three hours long . +if you are able to get through the opening half-hour , in which phones ring so much you feel like jumping through the screen and taking a sledgehammer to them , you will surely survive the rest . +the question is , who would want to subject themselves to this resolutely irritating , self-involved pat-on-the-back ? +how could a comedy-drama that has the star-power of meg ryan , lisa kudrow , and diane keaton be so very bad in so many different ways ? +issues from the past involving the possible jealousy each has had for one of the others is fleetingly brought up , but the film isn't mature enough to deal with such a thing in a thoughtful manner , and since we learn next to nothing about their childhood , it is a lost cause that comes off as nothing more than an afterthought . +also , it is expected that the viewer quickly catch on to the tricky dynamic that the three sisters have with one another , but no dynamic metamorphosizes . +and when they do reunite in the finale , their whole consanguinity is reduced to a repulsively annoying three-minute scene in which they argue like little children . +you can see the impending death coming a mile away , and it conveniently occurs in the next scene , so that the three can quickly come to terms with themselves , and with each other . +you think to yourself : " the only thing left for them to do is have a playful food-fight , " and like clockwork , it also occurs by the end credits . +meg ryan is a versatile actress ( look no further than 1998's " hurlyburly " or 1994's " when a man loves a woman " ) , despite her various detractors who stubbornly believe all she can do is romantic comedies . +with " hanging up , " the only thing she needs to do is completely sever her filmmaking ties with nora ephron , a writer/director/hack who shouldn't be allowed to work in hollywood again after this big-budget , high-profile debacle . +even if she knew what she was making was not exactly up to par in the quality department , she nonetheless is very good , and the two scenes that work , flashbacks to christmas 1988 , when she had a heartbreaking run-in with her mother , and to halloween 1993 , when lou crashed her son's birthday party in a drunken stupor , are effective because of the realism ryan brings to the situations . +diane keaton , as georgia , is better as an actress than a director here , but that is a wildly feeble compliment . +what is more than a little far-fetched is that keaton is distinctly older than ryan and kudrow , although in the very brief glimpses we get at them as children , she is no more than five years ryan's senior . +yeah , right . +lastly , poor lisa kudrow has been wasted once again in a big-screen venture , after her even more thin role in 1999's " analyze this . " +kudrow isn't given enough time to create a full personality with maddy , so it isn't her fault she doesn't register until a few quiet moments sprinkled throughout where she is actually blessed with being given dialogue . +if anything , though , kudrow is a real talent , and i anxiously await the next time she is given a role more deserving of her time , as in her brilliantly nuanced , oscar-caliber work in 1998's " the opposite of sex . " +if you are a fan of kudrow's ( and who isn't ? ) , do yourself a favor and rent this gem that puts more good use to kudrow in sixty seconds than " hanging up " does in its entirety . +as eve's hardworking husband , adam arkin is , predictably , squandered with a role that gives him next to nothing to do , until a subplot reveals itself midway through , only to never be mentioned again . +cloris leachman , as with ryan and matthau , makes a small , but noticeable impression with her , albeit , very brief appearance , while edie mcclurg , as a rosy-cheeked woman lou had an affair with in the christmas 1988 flashback , manages one of the few laughs in this otherwise joyless production . +nearly all the emotions displayed within " hanging up " are patently manufactured , and despite the movie wanting the viewer to care about the characters , aside from eve , why would you want to when they are all spoiled brats ? +if , for some bizarre , " twilight zone " -type of reason , you find yourself in a movie theater showing this film , my suggestion would be to hang up on it before the opening credits are over . +saying it is a waste of time is an understatement of epic proportions . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv841_3367.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv841_3367.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..605ce05666d3bf1184ed84b8b98a830405e9c137 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv841_3367.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +a movie about divorce and custody in 1995 seems about as timely as a movie about mood rings . +family breakups have been an all too familiar part of the american landscape for nearly thirty years , and countless dramas have told stories of acrimonious court battles in hand-wringing detail . +still , i can't recall a comedy about the subject before bye bye love . +and after it , i still can't . +bye bye love is rarely funny , more often a weak and melodramatic retread of common tv-movie fare . +only a few moments which have nothing to do with the film's main premise offer big laughs instead of cliched emotion . +bye bye love follows one weekend in the lives of three divorced fathers who get weekend custody of their children . +dave ( matthew modine ) , a father of two , is an inveterate womanizer having difficulty staying faithful to his latest girlfriend ; vic ( randy quaid ) is a foul-humored father of three about to go on a rare date ; donny ( paul reiser ) pines for his ex-wife and has trouble relating to his teenage daughter emma ( eliza dushku ) . +over the course of the weekend , the three men face various crises , including vic's blind date from hell ( janeane garofolo ) and donny's growing estrangement from emma . +the three lead actors form a rather unlikely combo , and the quality of their performances is of widely varying quality . +randy quaid is the best of the three , bitter without being irritating , gleefully spiteful without being frightening . +his run-ins with is ex-wife ( lindsey crouse ) are a bit over-played , though , and his confrontation with a pompous radio psychologist ( rob reiner ) is gimmicky and implausible . +he does get bye bye love's best sub-plot , a hilarious dinner date with a gloriously demented janeane garofolo , and he does a great slow burn . +paul reiser really has only one character , his slightly befuddled , uptight nice guy " mad about you " persona , but he does it well . +as a personality , he is appealing , but as a character , he becomes pretty boring here . +matthew modine , is , quite simply , terrible . +this isn't a performance good enough to be called mailed-in ; he even forgot to put a stamp on it . +modine lacks any charm in an appallingly under-written role , looks bored most of the time , and gets stuck with a trite little speech about how it's all his father's fault he's such a cad . +carolco's executives , whose entire future is resting on modine's bankability for the upcoming cutthroat island , must be sweating buckets right now . +bye bye love basically comes off as a very confused movie , because it spends far too much of its time on the new relationships of its main characters instead of on the relationships between the fathers and their kids , making it just another " dating in the 90s " movie . +when the movie does deal with the children at all , it is to have one of them scream out an accusation and/or cry , perhaps to be resolved later by a sensitive talk and a hug , perhaps not . +even more confusing is a sub-plot featuring the late ed flanders as a widower who goes to work and a mcdonald's and befriends a troubled youth . +it is a sad end to flanders' career , getting caught up in a truly annoying over-use of mcdonald's as a location , a plot device and , apparently , a major advertiser . +even if bye bye love had decided to spend its time focusing exclusively on the parent-child relationships , it still would have been pretty difficult to pull off , because ultimately there is very little humor one can wring from family break-ups and their effects on children . +any way you slice it , it is a bad situation for kids , and the makers of bye bye love mostly go for the heartstrings when dealing with the single parenting issue . +it is left to the dads' romantic fumblings to probide what little humor there is , and it isn't enough . +there have been comparisons between bye bye love and parenthood , but parenthood was both genuinely funny and genuinely touching . +bye bye love is a genuine shame . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv843_17054.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv843_17054.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..52da877fdd17231b9104a7802d0f00dd574f8b8b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv843_17054.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +starring kiefer sutherland ; reese witherspoon & bokeem woodbine i used to think that the conversation was the worse film i had ever seen . +freeway is giving me second thoughts . +freeway is a modern retelling of little red riding hood . +only in the nineties , little red riding hood is a foul-mouthed juvenile delinquent played by reese witherspoon , and the big bad wolf is a serial killer ( keifer sutherland ) . +to top that pathetic premise off -- reese goes to visit granny and you'll never guess who's waiting under the cover's in granny's bed . +keifer sutherland is one of hollywoods most talented , yet underrated actors , and reese witherspoon is exceptionally talented and will most likely become a major star . +so what are they doing in this movie ? +after seeing the end result , undoubtedly they are both asking themselves the same question . +you might be asking yourself why this is such a short review . +the answer is quite simple -- i dont want to waste any more of my time writing or thinking about this movie than absolutely necessary . +i wasted enough of my time just sitting through it . +note to keifer : you wonder why you aren't a bigger star in hollywood ? +because you keep making movies like this . +note to reese : you were great in fear , what happened this time ? +note to both : don't worry about it too much , no one saw this movie anyway . +bottom line -- i'm still shaking my head . +don't waste your time on this turkey . +if you want to see a great keifer sutherland movie , go rent flatliners or young guns . +reese witherspoon's abundant acting talents are used to their full potential in fear , a great thriller . +do yourself a favor and rent one of these movies -- but stay as far away from freeway as you possibly can . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv844_13890.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv844_13890.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2ad3d2fec8166b8124a7d2fca3668fabb435ef9d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv844_13890.txt @@ -0,0 +1,46 @@ +synopsis : in " sooner than you think " america , the future of law enforcement resides in blade squad , a ragtag group of culturally diverse rollerblading cops with jetpacks strapped on their backs . +a dangerous criminal , however , attempts to destroy blade squad after his brother dies while being chased by them . +comments : so , what do an ex-gangbanger turned insubordinate traffic cop , a former prostitute with a substance abuse problem , and a junkie turned dennis rodman wannabe turned cop who crashed four police cruisers all have in common ? +why , they're all members of blade squad , an elite new crimefighting unit wearing black uniforms , rollerblades , and jetpacks ! +they also carry video cameras so they can communicate with one another a la the marines in james cameron's aliens . +yes , it's blade squad , the fox network's wednesday night movie of the week . +this " movie , " marking its dubious world premiere today , curiously has a number of guest stars . + " how can a movie have guest stars ? " +you may ask . +well , blade squad is not really a movie so to speak but a 2 hour pilot for a possible tv series packaged as a movie . +blade squad is dumb . +blade squad is loud . +blade squad is obnoxious . +blade squad will probably be a ratings hit and spawn a long-lived tv series . +why not ? +after all , television has given its audience crimefighters with talking cars ( " knight rider " ) , fast helicopters ( " airwolf " ) , and super fast motorcycles ( " street hawk " ) , and viewers have eaten it up in the past . +so , why not crimefighters with jet-powered roller blades ? +to be honest , as a made-for-tv presentation , blade squad is at least watchable . +the film has a relatively large cast of characters , a surprisingly intelligible albeit predictable script , and enough action sequences to keep one half-interested . +i'd imagine adolescent males , probably the target audience of this turkey , would get a kick out of it . +i tried to keep that in mind when i watched blade squad . +i can remember liking " airwolf " and " street hawk " when i was 10 or 11 . +and , although this isn't saying much , blade squad is leaps and bounds better than the last fox network movie i had the displeasure of wasting time on : the insipidly awful generation x ( a huge disappointment considering the comic book's terrific two-year beginning ) . +but , i digress . +despite its limited appeal , blade squad has a lot of kinks to work out if the movie is to become a tv series . +one , it suffers from mtv syndrome : a lot of quick shots and weird angles continuously jar the viewer's senses while a near nonstop generic rock soundtrack blares incessantly in the background . +oh yeah , dylan's " knockin' on heaven's door " and bowie's " i'm afraid of americans " are used here , in rather poor taste . +two , blade squad needs a new crew for the sound . +the substandard sound editing irritated me to no end . +characters' dialogue , at times , sounded choppy and unintelligible . +during one important scene , a song played loudly in the background . +when a character spoke , the song's volume dropped but did not disappear . +as soon as that character finished speaking , the song's volume immediately returned to its original level until the next character spoke . +this sounds trivial , i'm sure , but it distracted me immensely . +finally , this is commercial television . +foul language is not allowed , typically , on commercial television . +thus , don't use foul language in a made-for-tv production because that foul language has to be censored in some manner . +in an early scene of the film , for example , the lead good guy and bad guy have a minor confrontation in the streets . +when the good guy spouts out a bad word , a driver conveniently honks his car's horn off-screen to muffle the word out . +in a " seinfeld " episode , this technique proved funny ; here , it seemed goofy and cut the dramatic tension considerably . +perhaps future writers , if a show is spun out of the movie , could take a cue from marvel comics' 2099 series of comics . +make up a bunch of new bad words for the future . +this way , you don't need a bunch of honking horns or other silly devices to cover up foul language . +compared to the usual crap broadcast tv networks have to offer in terms of movies , blade squad is a suitable exercise in camp . +when compared to , say , a movie studio film , blade squad has a lot in common with a term which shares its initials : bs . + ( review written august 12 , 1998 ) diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv868_12799.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv868_12799.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..29f1c274efeceb75d5a8e76705385eb1cf7d370f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv868_12799.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9 @@ +aspiring broadway composer robert ( aaron williams ) secretly carries a torch for his best friend , struggling actor marc ( michael shawn lucas ) . +the problem is , marc only has eyes for " perfect 10s , " which the geeky , insecure robert certainly is not . +meanwhile , marc's spoiled ( hetero ) female roommate , cynthia ( mara hobel ) , spends her days lying about their apartment and harrassing magazine editor tina brown . +writer-director victor mignatti's " very romantic comedy " ( as the ad campaign states ) is supposed to be ( pardon the pun ) a gay ol' romp , but it's hard to have much fun with these annoying , self-absorbed characters and their shallow personal problems : marc and cynthia have sitcom-level domestic " crises " ( such as trying to kill bugs--how hilarious ) ; robert and marc go to acting class ( how riveting ) ; the zaftig cynthia goes on eating binges ( how original ) . +but more than anything else , the three whine . +constantly . +marc whines about his turbulent romance with an apparent " 10 , " david ( hugh panaro ) , the hunky musician from across the way ; robert whines about not being able to find the right guy ; cynthia whines about having to find a job ( horrors ) . +the terrible trio whine their way to a happy ending that is wholly undeserved . +add in overly broad performances and some laughable lipsynching by panaro , and you're left with one astonishing piece of cinematic damage . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv870_18090.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv870_18090.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..00aad328d3e29ae58163660fe9938a6aa50475e9 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv870_18090.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17 @@ +these days , people have rather short attention span and hardly anything can satisfy them for the long run . +1970s nostalgia is already wearing off , and now , people are becoming more and more interested in 1980s . +few years in the future , early 1990s are going to be regarded as next golden age of nostalgia . +however , i doubt that people are going to be very nostalgic about the hollywood products of that period . +one of the reason would surely be films like national lampoon's loaded weapon 1 , that , in many ways , symbolise the biggest problem of contemporary american film industry - lack of originality and ideas . +being made as some kind of parody on lethal weapon series , this film pairs two l . a . policemen - jack colt ( emilio estevez ) , burn-out alcoholic cop on the edge , and wes luger ( samuel l . jackson ) , by-the-book policeman , days away from retirement . +two of them , following the murder of luger's ex- partner , must confront evil general mortars ( william shatner ) , crime lord who is going to flood the market with cocaine stashed in wilderness girl cookies . +the authors of this films ( whose director , gene quintano , worked on such projects like third and fourth sequel of police academy ) lacked any original idea before they undertook the projects , and that reflects in the lack plot , characters , and , even original lines . +the plot , or what goes for the plot in this movie , is nothing more than a series of gags that make laugh of some popular films made in previous few years ( apart from lethal weapon series , this film " borrows " its female lead from basic instinct ) . +the best gags , are , same as with many other similar movies , shown in the trailers . +the rest simply doesn't work . +only those who used to watch a lot of hollywood products in that period would laugh . +others would probably wince at the lameness of humour . +some would be entertained by celebrity cameos that pop up every once in a while . +but , at the end , spending hour and half in front of this disorganised mess of a movie is simply not worth the effort . +the film was sometimes criticised for being the parody of a series that already had strong comic overtones . +the authors of lethal weapon returned the favour by using the loaded weapon 1 joke in their fourth sequel . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv872_13710.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv872_13710.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1b9f245e58f4a0a4edd7928ab1207ba626a61650 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv872_13710.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +fact that charles bronson represents one of the most important movie icons of the 1980s represents one of the biggest and almost tragic ironies of that decade . +tragedy lies in the fact that the icon status was earned less by quality of his work in movies , but the quantity . +most of those movies were produced by cannon group , company led by israeli producers menahem golan and yoram globus . +those two men probably thought that they could be the next roger corman , b- movie mentors of future hollywood legends . +unfortunately , that didn't happened , and when cannon finally went bankrupt at the end of the decade , behind it stood the huge pile of cinematic garbage , that would require at least few centuries before it reaches the camp appeal . +sadly for bronson , that garbage also contained numerous movies in which that capable character actor and action hero of the 1970s tried to raise their worth simply by being the main lead , and lowering his own reputation in process . +on the other hand , bronson could take comfort in a fact that those movies were extremely popular , especially among the audience 3 or 4 times younger than bronson himself . +one of such movies that seriously marred bronson's reputation is death wish 3 , third sequel in the series which began with death wish in 1974 . +in the original movie , bronson played paul kersey , mild-mannered new york architect who turns into deadly street vigilante after his family fell victim to urban violence . +that movie was far from masterpiece ; yet , in it the director michael winner was skillfully offering the cinematic remedy for very real disease of growing crime rates of the time ( on the same lines like siegel in dirty harry ) . +unfortunately , six years later cannon group got rights to the character of paul kersey and began destroying it by pumping out sequels ; even the presence of its original director didn't stop the rapid decline of the quality . +death wish 3 begins when kersey comes to visit an old friend , living in the urban wasteland of east new york , populated by young criminals and people too old or too poor to move out . +before the reunion , kersey's friend falls victim to the street gang led by evil fraker ( played by gavan o'herlihy , probably the only noteworthy role in the film ) . +kersey decides to avenge his death and slowly prepares for his crusade , while the police inspector shriker ( ed lauter ) , ants to use him as a secret weapon in his losing war against the urban crime . +bronson , the main asset in this movie , plays the character who is nothing more than an efficient killing machine . +although bronson's charisma does help in overcoming some implausibilities ( single man in his 60s and armed with a single pistol manages to wipe out dozens of opponents with superior firepower ) , the lack of emotions or bronson's own commitment could be seen in a very few lines spoken in a film . +the movie authors were somewhat aware of that emotional shallowness , so they added romantic interest for their hero - public defender played by deborah raffin and conveniently terminated in order to give some more motives for kersey's crusade . +on the other hand , emotions are much better played by confronting law-abiding , yet ethnically stereotyped citizens with their daily nemesis of street punks - ruthless enough to exercise their reign of terror on the entire city blocks , and stupid enough to be killed in droves by kersey . +unfortunately , michael winner doesn't know how to work out the plot , and after torturing the viewers with mostly uninteresting characters and cliched and formulaic situations , ends this movie with a bang . +the big showdown at the end - that turns east new york into the sarajevo-like battle zone - is probably the worst part of the movie , because of the poor editing and the cheap sets and props that give away the low budget . +in short , this movie could be recommended only to the most fanatical charles bronson fans or for the people who are already desperate for 1980s nostalgia . + ( special note for trekkies : marina sirtis , the actress who played counsellor deanna troi in star trek : the next generation could be spotted in a small role of portorican wife ) . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv896_17819.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv896_17819.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..fc37758e3c14c57bf11e04abb32c4ddd59ca51d0 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv896_17819.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +what would inspire someone who cannot write or act to pen and star in a movie ? +a better question , what would inspire a studio to produce said movie ? +if you have an answer , let me know . +foolish , the new movie written by and starring master p is a jaw-droppingly horrible film , one with no redeeming value socially , cinematically or otherwise . +comedically it has some potential , but only in its stand-up comedy moments , which i can turn on comedy central for . +master p stars as fifty dollah' ( beat that ! ) as a mobster ( i think ) who is trying to start a comedy club/act with his little brother foolish ( eddie griffin ) . +but the two of them have to deal with an angry mob boss ( played by andrew dice clay , for the very first time entertaining ) , a stubborn club owner and family problems ( the latter in foolish is a perfect example of roger ebert's " idiot plot , " if everyone here wasn't an idiot , there would be no problem ) +so what does foolish have to offer beside a bunch of idiotic character names ? +not a hell of a lot . +as i have mentioned , master p cannot act or write . +he acts like the rapper that he is . +the occasional despair that his script requires him to exhibit is excruciatingly forced , as are his warm and fuzzy scenes with his little bro . +as for his script -- well , i suppose he delivers what one would expect from a musical artist with no previous screenwriting experience . +if you haven't yet figured it out , that is not saying much . +co-star eddie griffin ( really the star of the show ) is quite a different story . +the fact of the matter is that griffin , whose most significant screen outing to date is probably the mildly successful tv show malcolm and eddie on the fledgling upn network , is an extremely talented comedian , stand-up and otherwise . +he has much in common with chris tucker ( rush hour , money talks ) in how quickly and effortlessly his speech flows from his lips . +he spouts profanity with impressive dexterity ( to the extent which that can be done ) , and while i hope that does not become his trademark it works in a few scenes in this movie . +and indeed , i laughed at a few stand-up scenes here , but from a feature-length movie i expect more . +foolish provided me with no reason to care for these characters . +every scene which has any potential for dramatic impact is effectively diffused by either a stupid joke ( in a scene where tension escalates between the two brothers , foolish blurts out towards his jewelry-sporting sibling " you lay one hand on me and this cemetary is going to be a gold rush " ) or something even more idiotic such as foolish smashing his own car ( to which i said , a bit too loudly for the occasion " huh ? " ) after getting slightly upset with his wife . +believe me when i say that there is nothing in foolish that warrants parting with your hard-earned $8 . +you'll get more laughs from watching 30 minutes of comedy central or any virtually any sitcom if you don't have cable . +eddie griffin fans may enjoy this derivative ( although offensive ) yarn , but everyone else should stay the hell away . +‰ ; diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv912_5562.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv912_5562.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0e622f4ae2dbbac04ee2633fd46c312c29090115 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv912_5562.txt @@ -0,0 +1,52 @@ +my inner flag was at half-mast last year when nick at nite pulled " dragnet " reruns off the air . +sure , i'd seen them all at least once , but i could always count on at least a few inadvertent laughs from ultra-serious jack webb when there was nothing else on tv . +even though " dragnet " is out of circulation at the moment , we webb anti-fans still have the d . i . , a 50's propaganda piece for the military that is almost as hilarious as the famous " blue boy " episode of " dragnet . " +for anyone like me who got laughs out of webb's rapid-fire speeches and straight-faced seriousness , think of the d . i . +as what would happen if sgt . +joe friday ever enlisted , because he plays exactly the same character here , a no-nonsense old fart who looks with disdain at the younger generation and loves to give long- winded , melodramatic speeches on any topic . +in this election year , i'm more convinced than ever that webb and bob dole were separated at birth . +the movie opens in characteristic fashion as one recruit after another knocks on webb's office door and enters . +he gives each one a different series of cranky criticisms before the credits come up . +the " produced and directed by jack webb " card pretty much goes without saying . +this is his movie all the way , and after the first twenty minutes of him chewing out his recruits for no reason , i was wondering if there would even be a plot . +i certainly would have been entertained by an hour and a half of trademark webb rants , but the d . i . +gives us more -- much more . +webb's mission is to make a man out of private owens , the local screw-up . +the captain gives webb three days to convert owens into marine material or , the captain will " personally cut the lace off his panties and ship him out myself . " + ( whether the " lace panties " part refers to webb or owens remains unanswered . ) +this , of course , gives webb an excuse to focus all his crotchety energy on making owens' life a living hell . +for those of you who haven't been indoctrinated into the pleasures of webb watching , here's a reprint of a typical monologue of his . +i can't duplicate his hilarious delivery on paper , but the words should at least partially convey what i'm talking about . . . + " now you listen to me , youngster . +someday you'll wake up fighting on a beach and you'll pray to god somebody doesn't get killed because of your foolishness . . . +i've got a headline for you : every time you make one of those little mistakes of yours , you're gonna turn around and i'll be standing right there . " +i couldn't write down all the reprintable dialogue from the d . i . + ( nearly all of it belongs in the bad movie hall of fame ) , but i tried to include some of the more noteworthy lines , like one from the scene where webb unwinds from a hard day's work by going to the local bar ( where he orders a tomato juice ) . +he meets a woman who , coincidentally , also orders tomato juice but walks away from a typically-stimulating conversation with webb to flirt with his arch-rival , another marine d . i . +webb marches over to the table , gets up in her face and says , " just what kind of a dame do you think you are ? " +bogart he ain't . +the other d . i . +gets one of the few memorable non-webb lines when he confesses to the girl , " he's a damn good d . i . + . . . +i guess i'm just a little jealous . " +join the club , we're all jealous of jack webb's way with women , which is showcased even more amusingly in a later scene , as webb finds his way to the woman's place of employment , a lingerie store , and stands around looking incredibly flustered at the negligees on display . + " you expect me to talk to you . . . +in _here_ ? ! " he exclaims , no doubt intimidated by the barrage of bras . +the woman goes off to help a customer , leaving webb to fend for himself once again in this palace of estrogen . +a little girl spots him in the store and demands , " what are you doing in here . . . you're a man , aren't you ? " +he doesn't reply , but you know he's thinking in his head , " what an odd species of human -- so small . +must be one of those children everyone's been talking about . " +this poor girl , scarred for life by her early encounter with jack webb , would later swear off the male gender entirely , just one of the many lesbian conversions he's responsible for . +the movie doesn't focus too closely on webb's romance , it also continues the owens subplot with probably the most memorable scene in the entire movie , where webb forces his platoon to spend the entire night searching the ground for a flea owens killed during one of their drills . +after two privates hatch a scheme to present webb with the wrong dead flea , webb asks owens , " was that flea you killed a male or female ? " +owens replies , " a male , sir . " +webb yells to the platoon , " this ain't the one ! " +that such a scene ( along with the rest of the movie ) was intended to be taken seriously defies comment . +but we know it was all presented with the utmost seriousness when a title card at the end thanks the marines not only for their cooperation in the making of the d . i . , but for iwo jima , guadalcanal and every other major battle of the first half of the 20th century . +webb held the military in such high esteem that all the soldiers in the movie ( with the exception of owens ) were played by actual marines . +someone wanting to parody this movie couldn't do a more comical job than webb did . +it makes it all the more ironic ( like raeeyain on your wedding day ) that the man had no sense of humor himself . +there's a scene in the movie where the guys are on their break time discussing something and one of them breaks into laughter . +webb bursts in the room and shouts , " what did i tell you about laughing ? ! " +to which the private replies , " sir , only nine-year-old girls laugh , sir ! " +and let me tell you , i was as happy as a nine-year- old girl while watching this movie . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv915_9342.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv915_9342.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..faa20115e9c80c5bd367e4cb2d84cd0c60f1ccb2 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv915_9342.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +there's only one presidential election every four years , but it seems like every few months we get another presidential conspiracy movie painted as _the_ thriller of the year . +in 1997 , we've had absolute power , air force one , shadow conspiracy and murder at 1600 . +this one is about as lame duck as old gerald ford , trying to bring us a complex plot of cover-up and intrigue but copping out over and over again with rehashes of action flick standbys . +here's what happens this time . +it's night at the white house . +a secretary is having sex with some unidentified guy with a cute butt . +the next day she's dead and hotshot detective wesley snipes is called in . +how do we know he's a hotshot ? +we've seen the traditional action flick opener -- the clever hostage negotiation scene . +it's not so clever this time , consisting of snipes disarming a suicidal ex-government employee holding a gun to his head in the middle of the street . +snipes is off to the white house , where he finds the secret service head ( the shiny bald head of daniel benzali ) won't cooperate with him at all . +in fact , if not for the intervention of national security adviser alan alda , snipes wouldn't have been allowed in the white house at all . +alda helps snipes out further , assigning a sexy secret service agent ( diane lane ) to act as his liaison . . . +a very dangerous liaison . +well , not really , i just wanted to say that . +almost immediately , a suspect is found , an eccentric night janitor seen flirting with the deceased on one of the security videos . +snipes doesn't buy it , and launches into an independent investigation of his own , one that reveals planted evidence and romantic involvement by the president's son . +snipes' partner , an always- wisecracking dennis miller , calls him up every once in awhile with more news and lane , who at first doesn't believe snipes , eventually and predictably comes around , and risks her ass to break into social security storage and break out some classified information . +for the first hour or so , murder at 1600 looks like it could be going somewhere interesting . +sure , we have to sit through the lame opening sequence and plenty more lame scenes after that , but the whole murder in the white house thing makes for an interesting premise that is never quite delivered upon . +snipes and lane don't make for a bad action team , but with nothing to work with , they're just cogs in the bad movie machine . +dennis miller might as well not even be in the movie ; they waste his talents more in murder at 1600 than they did in bordello of blood , and that's saying a lot . +when you get to the last half-hour , the movie has descended metaphorically and literally into a wet sewer , busting out the old break-into-the-building underground climax . +and when they finally reveal who killed the woman and why , you'll wish you never sat through this movie at all . +the " 1600 " in the movie's title doesn't represent an address , it represents the number of satisfied customers worldwide . +serving the world for nearly 1/25th of a century ! diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv925_9459.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv925_9459.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..575977723ddb628d9fa9cd5a85c9713ea75993bd --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv925_9459.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +everybody in this film's thinking of alicia . +no , this is not a documentary on those of us after we first saw the " cryin' " video . +this is one of those erotic thrillers , but not like one starring shannon whirry or shannon tweed . +first off , there's zero sex , almost no nudity , and it's not as well-plotted as one of those tweed flicks . +well , anyway . +the " plot . " +alicia plays , well , the babysitter , who is taking care of some kids one night while the parents ( j . t . +walsh and lee garlington ) go out to a party . +the film , trying to be like one of those introspective erotic thrillers , shows every characters' thoughts , except alicia's . +the thing is alicia's in most of them in most cases , and the thoughts aren't too kosher . +first off , there's her boyfriend ( jeremy london , who gave one of the all-time lousy performances in " mallrats , " and is only a notch better here ) , who's a dorky kid who hangs out with a kind of bully , played by nicky katt from " suburbia " ( who shows he's got that quiet creepiness down pat once again ) . +they decide they want to crash her babysitting job , looking for the typical babysitting hanky-panky . +somethine like that . +the film intercuts between the subplots ( alicia babysitting , nicky and jeremy , the party ) and each characters' thoughts . +we get to see jeremy and nicky's dreams of doing a little threeway with alicia , j . t . +thinking of coming home to find alicia naked in the bathtub ( she has it all covered up , the little tease ) , and , worst of all , lee garlington dreaming of that hunk , george segal . +it even shows them in bed together . +yea . +i so wanted to see george and lee garlington in bed , though i guess i'm used to george after seeing her and mary tyler moore fooling around in " flirting with disaster . " +the ending is some kind of big tragedy thing , but come on . +like we care about any of the characters . +the only interesting one is alicia , mainly because she's alicia , and we mostly see her in the fantasies . +so i guess she's some kind of mystery or something . +but she is never explored further . +so , basically , this film is just a series of mastabatory images , sometimes featuring a non-nude alicia ( once again , sadly ) , sometimes featuring a scantily-clad george segal ( once again , sadly ) . +i watched this on one of those free previews of showtime or cinemax one night , and let me tell you , it is the only way to watch this film . +i mean , there's a reason they put these kinds of films on late at night : they're just as good as sleeping pills . +and this one is one big fat waste of time , even for an alicia film . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv931_18783.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv931_18783.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5d89a632cf25dcbaf196986781637fbe02677fdf --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv931_18783.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18 @@ +it's a sad state of affairs when the back box blurb is more exciting than the movie contained within it . +such is the case for the 1990 paul mayersberg film _the last samurai_ . +though the blurb alludes to " a jungle filled with political intrigue , uneasy alliances , and murderous enemies at every turn , " the story of the movie is actually quite simple ( and prosaic ) : a middle-aged japanese businessman named endo ( played by john fujioka ) and his assistant , both of whom have samurai aspirations , travel to africa in search of his ancestor , who went to bring buddhism to africa . +he hires the services of down-at-the-heels vietnam veteran pilot johnny congo ( the redoubtable lance henriksen ) and his girlfriend ( arabella holzbog ) , and travels to the camp of an arms-merchant-cum-safari-host- cum-islamic-missionary ( john saxon ) and his wife ( lisa eilbacher ) . +they are all kidnapped by an african revolutionary guerilla with witch-doctor aspirations to conceal a pre-arranged arms deal , which subsequently falls through . +congo escapes , finds endo's ancestor's sword , and comes back , guns blazing , to free the rest of them , and endo kills the revolutionary with the sword . +the end . +_the last samurai_ is one of those movies that is neither bad enough nor good enough to be enjoyable . +it is merely _there_ . +the murky plot is filled with subtexts that are never elaborated , subplots that are never explained , and many scenes that make very little sense at all . +the film is shot through with all the tired old " inscrutable japanese samurai " and zen stereotypes that are to be expected from an american movie . +it is quite slow-paced , with only a bit of action near the end , and the final duel between endo and the terrorist is quite anticlimactic . +most of the acting is fair , with the possible exception of congo's girlfriend . +lance henriksen is his usual scene-chewing self , and is one of few possible reasons anyone might conceivably have for seeing this movie . +the only other bright spot is the sweeping african scenery . +i paid $3 for this film , from the discount rack at best buy , and halfway suspect i overpaid for it . +if you are in the mood for samurai , read a clavell novel or watch a kurusawa movie . +skip _the last samurai_ unless you are a die-hard henriksen fan . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv950_13478.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv950_13478.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..911363b03fa9be117ba163f3a2ab62738a0b7292 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv950_13478.txt @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +the most interesting part of " can't hardly wait " just happens to be not only the most human , but for many of us , the one part that many of us can easily relate to . +that is the character of denise ( lauren ambrose ) , the film's sole sarcastic member who mocks everything that goes on in the film , and at one point sits down on a couch and looks totally bored . +the film wisely holds over this moment , nicely showing her alienation in the midst of a large high school party . . . almost +too nicely . +for some members of the audience ( read : me ) , this is basically a mirror of what's going on with them watching this film . +we sit there wondering why we've even bothered to see a film about a long high school party we probably never felt the desire to go to in the first place . +i would actually highly recommend this film if it satirized all of this . +after all , this film is filled with a bunch of pathetic stereotypes much of which i went to high school with . +everyone's here : the jock , the homecoming queen , the nerd ( and his dominions of trekkies and x-philes ) , the alienated wannabe writer , the school spirit girl , the pothead ( s ) , the wigger , etc , etc , etc , and weirdly enough this film shows them as superficial , lame , and basically as a bunch of losers . +except for denise , who rolls her eyes at everything , and easily becomes the most likable character even before she speaks ( her yearbook entry , something which is done for each main character , quotes oscar wilde - definite pointers there ) . +unfortunately , the writers and directors take several major misteps on the way to making this into an admirable and even likable film . +the film , as i said , portrays most of its characters as superficial and just totally ignorant to everything . +however , instead of sticking with this , perhaps even going a bit further with it , they let this lie , and actually make these characters into our heroes . +we follow several of them , all a bunch of moronic stereotypes with only a shread of humanity and realism , and tries to tell boring and overly melodramatic tales about them as if we actually cared and/or identified with them . +and if we did , we certainly don't want to revisit that state of being . +here's a quick low-down : it's graduation , and we follow a bunch of seniors on the last night , otherwise known as the " american grafitti " or , to a lesser extent , the " dazed and confused " cliche . +the formal just followed them as they drove aimlessly ; the latter did a little bit of that and featured a big outdoor keg party . + " can't hardly wait " just opts for a big indoor keg party , and a little bit of aimless driving , albeit of the i'm-whining-because-i-can't-get-a-girl-i-want brand . +we follow many people around , but mostly we trail preston ( ethan embry , of " that thing you do ! " ) , the alienated writer , who's been pining over the homcoming queen , amanda ( the totally overrated jennifer love hewitt ) , for the entirety of high school because he thinks they shared a moment their freshman year over a freaking pop tart . +now that she's broken up with her football player boyfriend , mike ( peter facinelli ) , he decides to go to the party with a note he's written declaring his " love " for her in the hopes he'll build up the guts to give it to her . . . even +though he's leaving for a multi-week intensive writing program hosted by none other than kurt vonnegut ( okay : the ingenius vonnegut or some icky noxema spokesperson ? ) . +since that plot is incredibly lame and a track record of what goes on with it wouldn't be able to carry a commercial let alone a feature film , and because it's a party , there are some more main characters , such as : william ( charlie korsmo , finally surfacing after " dick tracy " ) , the nerd ( and his dominions ) who has come up with a ridiculous plan to publically sabotage mike , who's humiliated him for years , but gets too caught up in drinking to do it ; kenny ( seth green ) , the wigger , who has decided that this party will be where he will finally get laid ( uh huh ) ; and denise , the only exceptional character , who unfortunately gets stuck in a bathroom ( don't ask ) with kenny where the two characters let down their characters and are allowed to follow the laws of plot cliches from point a to point b with nary a bit of characterization involved after awhile . +ugh . +the main comparison this film is getting to another film is actually not " american grafitti " or " dazed and confused , " two films that embraced and ultimately made humans out of many of its high schoolers ( not to mention were extremely entertaining ) , but to john hughes films of the 80s , most notably " sixteen candles . " +the big difference in the two is that that film managed to not only embrace but even satirize its main characters , and did so equally and in an entertaining fashion . +this film forgets to satirize its characters , and ultimately tells a story about a bunch of uninteresting stereotypes . . . and +then says that it's all okay . +we can't take this film seriously , nor can we take this as fun , so really what good is it ? +but i will tell you some things i did like : i liked the direction , except for a couple too-over-the-top features , like way-too-glossy jump cuts ( it's like an oxymoron ) and other obscurities . +generally , though , elfont and kaplan do have graceful camera movement , and even manage to capture an altman-esque feel to their film from time to time ( a thing with a note , though , is too hokey to really be admirable ) . +i actually did like seth green , for once in about a decade ( when he played a very young woody allen in " radio days " ) - his desintegration of his wigger character was almost believable . . . almost . +and , of course , lauren ambrose is wonderful as denise , the one character we could have used some more of , even though it would have changed the entirety of the film . +however , the character of denise really doesn't work with the film , when really thought about . +she's far too witty and realized ( at least for the first half ) to belong in this film , and whenever she appears , she automatically gives everything a delightfully satirical tone . +she's not just the cynic or the intellectual ; she's just a very interesting character who provides entertainment even if it further damages other already damaged characters . +she may ruin the film more , but at least when she's on screen we can sit up and think to ourselves " well , at least we'll be entertained . " +a couple other things that just don't work : mike's character , who suffers an epiphany throughout the film but in the end acts as though he has forgotten everything : too much the sacrificial lamb for the film in general ; the aimless , bitchy driving by preston to try and get over his inability to shack up with amanda - give me a break ; and perhaps the one thing that just doesn't work at all : jenna eflman's uncredited cameo as an angel - just didn't work , but nice try . +basically the worst thing about this film , the real reason i'm giving this such a low rating , is because it refuses to give us any fully realized characters and then insists we follow around complete stereotypes from other movies doing things that are inane and unlike anything we'd do . +we don't feel for these characters because for most of us , we aren't stereotypes going through the motions to worn subplots . +the acid test for high school movies is : does it at all capture the feel of what it's portraying ? +the answer for this film is no . +nice try , though . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv973_10171.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv973_10171.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..490cacad5629e9cd15fd43fc13371b34a4474a72 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv973_10171.txt @@ -0,0 +1,71 @@ +in the continuation of warner brother's franchise , joel schumacher has successfully killed this cash cow . +what makes this film such a grand disappointment is the tremendous line up of talented people involved with the film . +avika goldsman's screenplay is such a cluttered mess that there is no suspense built from one scene to another . +this coming on the heals of such a marvelously written project as " the client " is such a shock that it gives rise to thoughts that the latter film was a fluke . +situations are developed and executed with no thought of reason other that to get the characters from one point to another . +this is most glaringly brought to point by the appearance of alicia silverstone's batgirl , who just happens to be alfred's niece . +the story of dr . victor freeze is told almost completely in dialogue as an afterthought . +while working on a cure for a tragic decease contracted by his wife , dr . freeze is injured during a cryogenic procedure , and becomes a man who can only survive in a sub zero environment . +now of course he has become a terrorist intent on turning the world into a frozen planet where only he can live . +now the logic of that little sub-plot escapes me . +if mr . freeze wanted to find a cure for his wife and bring her back from the brink of death , why would he want to have her live in a world with no warmth . +this is indeed a cold hearted man . +the development of poison ivy is no less contradictory . +she wants to breed a form of plant life that can defend itself like an animal . +she joins with mr . freeze in his plan to start a new ice age , destroying all animal life , therefore giving her plant creations no reason to have the defense mechanism she had been trying to breed into them . +the characters have no logic . +batman of course is no longer the dark knight of the earlier films . +now that he has an adoptive son in burt ward / robin , bruce wayne is trying to be a father figure , constantly spouting out homilies about family and relationships , while at the same time not really having any . +george clooney tries in vain to keep from rolling his eyes while reciting the dialogue given him . +to say that his performance is workman-like is to be generous . +his best performances are still on " e . r . " . +bruce wayne has the most unromantic evening with his girlfriend ( played by elle macpherson ) , that it brings into question bruce's latent homosexuality . +there is no spark and no passion ( as there was for nicole kidman's psychologist in " batman forever " ) between bruce and anyone other than alfred . +and even that relationship is very reserved . +robin comes off less charismatic that in the last film in the series . +now he's just a spoiled kid . +in " batman forever " , burt ward wanted to be batman's partner and friend . +now , robin is suffering from ego deficiency . +robin's attraction for poison ivy is not believable , except for a boy around the age of 15 . +his later flirtation with batgirl smacks of incest , even though they are not related in a traditional sense . +chris o'donnell , once considered a rising star , successfully burns up on reentry with this performance . +his robin needs nothing more than a good spanking . +the less said about alicia silverstone's performance the better . +this talented young actress reads her lines with all the aplomb of a dubbing actor for a godzilla film . +she was cast strictly for her commercial value and she knew it . +this brings us to the villains . +arnold scharzenegger walks through his part with all the concern of someone waiting for payday . +the most rediculous scene is during mr . freeze's imprisonment . +the guards are at least a foot taller that arnold and yet fall at his hand in one of the most unbelievable fights scenes caught on film . +it's almost as ludicrous as seeing michael jackson as a gang member . +umu thurman struts and coos her way through her part , showing a growing discomfort with her sex symbol status . +her poison ivy has all the come hither sex appeal of may west in " sextette " ( 1978 ) . +the only performances worthy of notice are pat hingle and michael gough . +these two seasoned veterans carry their scenes with a dignity sorely lacking from the rest of the film . +without going through the intricacies of the plot , there is one question that always comes to mind with this series ( except for the first " batman " ) , and that is how do these super villains manage to hire so many thugs only to abandon them at the final reel . +mr . freeze is introduced with a team of hockey playing hoodlums that seem to have stepped out of an old kiss music video . +every villain ( even the minor ones ) have to have a look , no one can be an individual with day glow paint on their face or some sort of elaborate costume . +with this film , warner brothers has succeeded in retrograding the series back to it's tv incarnation . +the only thing missing from the action scenes are the superimposed titles detailing the pows ! , +gwaaaa's , and clang's associated with the old series . +you almost wonder if william dozier , producer of the tv series is collecting royalties from this film . +the special effects ( by john dykstra ) and production design ( by barbara ling ) are the primary stars of this film . +and it is a case of extravagance in the pursuit of nothing . +every set , from ivy's lair , the batcave , to freeze's hideout is set with enough neon and fiberglass to keep the epa in paperwork for years to come . +there is no one realistic set or set piece in the film . +everything is set for maximum exposure . +the special effects have that strange cartoon look that most rushed cgi effects have . +there are homage thrown in by dykstra and his team to gene warren and his work on " the time machine " ( the growing plant scene ) but these scenes are so wroth with glaring color and art that they are almost obscured . +joel schumacher has directed the film with no flair . +camera angles are poorly chosen rehashing set ups from the old tv series . +master shots pepper the action scenes , destroying any flow of kinetic quality they may have had . +mr . schumacher is a good director . +one just has to look back on the films " the lost boys " , " cousins " ( an underrated film ) and " the client " to know that . +but " batman and robin " comes off as a mated made for tv movie . +the film has no style of individuality . +it is the cinematic equivalent to jell-o , pretty to look at , but empty . +it is unfortunate that this film , even with it's surprisingly strong box office has succeeded in doing what warner's thought tim burton would do with the franchise . +kill it . +joel schumacher's " batman & robin " is loud , colorful , action packed , and ultimately . . +boring . +stars . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv980_11851.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv980_11851.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b61a4fab8408f67305a9f1b611a522571bce8efd --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv980_11851.txt @@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ +with his successful books and movies , michael crichton is doing well . +with early successes with westworld ( 1973 ) and coma ( 1978 ) , and recent films such as jurassic park ( 1993 ) , his films have been entertaining . +however , he seems to taken a wrong turn somewhere with sphere . +this $100 million mess by good director barry levison ( disclosure ) is dull , long winded , and a huge disappointment . +considering the huge budget , the all star cast , and a story by crichton , sphere is majorly disappointing . +the film opens with norman goodman ( hoffman ) , a psychologist who thinks he is visiting an airplane crash to console the survivors . +however , when he arrives , he his told by supervisor barnes ( peter coyote ) that he is actually investigating an spacecraft . +along with goodman is mathematician harry adams ( jackson ) , biologist beth halperin ( stone ) and ted fielding ( liev schrieber . ) +they investigate the spaceship , find a massive sphere inside , meet an alien intelligence called jerry , and basically weird crap happens . +unfortunately , something went wrong along the way with sphere . +the film starts off entertaining enough , but throughout this very long movie , it just gets sillier and sillier . +the film jaunts along from scene to scene , never fully explaining what is going on . +the actors and directing don't help , either . +hoffman is on autopilot ( and almost seems embarrassed ) throughout the movie , churning out dull lines , and probably wondering what the hell he is doing in this movie . +stone is useless , displaying no emotion , and fails to convince the audience that she has any feelings for hoffman . +the only person who seems to be having fun in this movie is jackson , who's funny as the mathematician who slowly goes crazy and entering the sphere . +but he's hardly in it , and by the end of the film he is just as dull as hoffman and stone . +the same goes for peter coyote , who hams it up as the officer , but is then killed off halfway through . +the director , barry levinson , who directed the better crichton adaptation disclosure ( 1994 ) messes up with the drama and the action . +the drama scenes are , quite frankly , boring , and the action scenes suffer from overkill , with levison throwing the camera all over the place ( much like the godawful speed 2 , 1997 ) +the writing doesn't help much , either . +although crichton is great with plots , he's terrible with dialogue , and practically every line in sphere is a dud . +the speech is too simple , i was hoping it would be a bit more intelligent . +practically every line is just stating the obvious . +none of it is smart . +also , where the hell did the budget go ? +the sphere itself is impressive , and there's a few nice special effect shots , but where the $100 million went is anyone's guess . +there's a giant squid attack in the picture , but not once does the audience see the squid , even though the film has a massive budget . +i assume the picture was trying to build up tension by not showing the squid , and if handled correctly it probably would . +but the whole scene is done badly , and i was just hoping we could see the stupid squid . +finally , the film has no idea what genre to be . +levison can't handle his own plot . +it leaps from hokey sci-fi , to horror , and finally the shining/event horizon psychological thriller . +and , of course , the film is very much like the abyss ( 1988 ) , although in it's defense , crichton did write sphere before the abyss was released ( and is far superior to this rubbish . ) +it's not all that bad though . +the plot is all right , there's a few jump scenes ( although nothing very scary ) and there's the occasionally interesting bit . +but overall , sphere is a big waste of some fine talent , a lot of money , and a potentially good movie . +not really worth seeing . +overall rating= review by david wilcock diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv982_22209.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv982_22209.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e2efdc8d9258c20993ef9447028c5bcdecafb212 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/neg/cv982_22209.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +i remember really enjoying this movie when i saw it years ago . +i guess my memory really sucks . +there is very , very little that is funny in caddyshack . +the laughs are few , and far between , and what there are really aren't that great . +caddyshack , as the name implies , more or less centers on one young caddy working at an exclusive country club . +michael o'keefe plays said caddy . +why they cast this unknown , fairly untalented actor in the lead role is completely beyond me . +the movie doesn't seem to have a real plot , just a series of scenes that are little more than opportunities for the rest of the cast to mug at the camera . +the only real story , if you can call it that , was a subplot involving the mentally disturbed greens keeper , bill murray , who is having his own private little war against a gopher who is ruining the course . +most of the marginal laughs come from rodney dangerfield and ted knight mugging and overacting for the camera -- with painfully limited success . +bill murray is slightly amusing in places , but fairly wasted . +the biggest waste of all is chevy chase , who didn't even crack a smile on my face with his character's lame zen-like approach to golfing . +there are a few decent scenes involving the interaction between dangerfield and knight , but they are far too infrequent to carry the movie . +i guess that's what you get for basing a story around an unknown kid . +i'm not sure what the writers of this thing were thinking of , but i really think it was something far removed from comedy as they were putting pen to paper . +nothing about this movie works . +it wouldn't have taken a genius to figure out that this thing wasn't going to fly . +most of the scenes just couldn't possibly be funny . +it's as if the writers where off in their own little brain damaged world . +i'm sure scenes involving chevy chase and his oneness with the golf ball were supposed to be funny . +in reality , they were painfully embarrassing to watch . +there is a scene at the club pool where all the caddies go wild for the " hot babe " of the movie walking by in her bikini . +olive oil would have filled out this swimsuit better than this girl . +everything about this movie was just completely implausible as far as the comedy was concerned . +maybe if you were drunk out of you mind or high off some sort of illegal narcotic this thing might be funny . +but for the rest of us , stay the hell away from caddyshack . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv000_29590.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv000_29590.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4a8986f00a304a99d2e76c543ee4307bfdbc0009 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv000_29590.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +films adapted from comic books have had plenty of success , whether they're about superheroes ( batman , superman , spawn ) , or geared toward kids ( casper ) or the arthouse crowd ( ghost world ) , but there's never really been a comic book like from hell before . +for starters , it was created by alan moore ( and eddie campbell ) , who brought the medium to a whole new level in the mid '80s with a 12-part series called the watchmen . +to say moore and campbell thoroughly researched the subject of jack the ripper would be like saying michael jackson is starting to look a little odd . +the book ( or " graphic novel , " if you will ) is over 500 pages long and includes nearly 30 more that consist of nothing but footnotes . +in other words , don't dismiss this film because of its source . +if you can get past the whole comic book thing , you might find another stumbling block in from hell's directors , albert and allen hughes . +getting the hughes brothers to direct this seems almost as ludicrous as casting carrot top in , well , anything , but riddle me this : who better to direct a film that's set in the ghetto and features really violent street crime than the mad geniuses behind menace ii society ? +the ghetto in question is , of course , whitechapel in 1888 london's east end . +it's a filthy , sooty place where the whores ( called " unfortunates " ) are starting to get a little nervous about this mysterious psychopath who has been carving through their profession with surgical precision . +when the first stiff turns up , copper peter godley ( robbie coltrane , the world is not enough ) calls in inspector frederick abberline ( johnny depp , blow ) to crack the case . +abberline , a widower , has prophetic dreams he unsuccessfully tries to quell with copious amounts of absinthe and opium . +upon arriving in whitechapel , he befriends an unfortunate named mary kelly ( heather graham , say it isn't so ) and proceeds to investigate the horribly gruesome crimes that even the police surgeon can't stomach . +i don't think anyone needs to be briefed on jack the ripper , so i won't go into the particulars here , other than to say moore and campbell have a unique and interesting theory about both the identity of the killer and the reasons he chooses to slay . +in the comic , they don't bother cloaking the identity of the ripper , but screenwriters terry hayes ( vertical limit ) and rafael yglesias ( les mis ? rables ) do a good job of keeping him hidden from viewers until the very end . +it's funny to watch the locals blindly point the finger of blame at jews and indians because , after all , an englishman could never be capable of committing such ghastly acts . +and from hell's ending had me whistling the stonecutters song from the simpsons for days ( " who holds back the electric car/who made steve guttenberg a star ? " ) . +don't worry - it'll all make sense when you see it . +now onto from hell's appearance : it's certainly dark and bleak enough , and it's surprising to see how much more it looks like a tim burton film than planet of the apes did ( at times , it seems like sleepy hollow 2 ) . +the print i saw wasn't completely finished ( both color and music had not been finalized , so no comments about marilyn manson ) , but cinematographer peter deming ( don't say a word ) ably captures the dreariness of victorian-era london and helped make the flashy killing scenes remind me of the crazy flashbacks in twin peaks , even though the violence in the film pales in comparison to that in the black-and-white comic . +oscar winner martin childs' ( shakespeare in love ) production design turns the original prague surroundings into one creepy place . +even the acting in from hell is solid , with the dreamy depp turning in a typically strong performance and deftly handling a british accent . +ians holm ( joe gould's secret ) and richardson ( 102 dalmatians ) log in great supporting roles , but the big surprise here is graham . +i cringed the first time she opened her mouth , imagining her attempt at an irish accent , but it actually wasn't half bad . +the film , however , is all good . +2 : 00 - r for strong violence/gore , sexuality , language and drug content diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv002_15918.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv002_15918.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8b169deae109874eaf601848c4098e3b647772af --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv002_15918.txt @@ -0,0 +1,19 @@ +you've got mail works alot better than it deserves to . +in order to make the film a success , all they had to do was cast two extremely popular and attractive stars , have them share the screen for about two hours and then collect the profits . +no real acting was involved and there is not an original or inventive bone in it's body ( it's basically a complete re-shoot of the shop around the corner , only adding a few modern twists ) . +essentially , it goes against and defies all concepts of good contemporary filmmaking . +it's overly sentimental and at times terribly mushy , not to mention very manipulative . +but oh , how enjoyable that manipulation is . +but there must be something other than the casting and manipulation that makes the movie work as well as it does , because i absolutely hated the previous ryan/hanks teaming , sleepless in seattle . +it couldn't have been the directing , because both films were helmed by the same woman . +i haven't quite yet figured out what i liked so much about you've got mail , but then again , is that really important ? +if you like something so much , why even question it ? +again , the storyline is as cliched as they come . +tom hanks plays joe fox , the insanely likeable owner of a discount book chain and meg ryan plays kathleen kelley , the even more insanely likeable proprietor of a family-run children's book shop called , in a nice homage , the shop around the corner . +fox and kelley soon become bitter rivals because the new fox books store is opening up right across the block from the small business . +little do they know , they are already in love with each other over the internet , only neither party knows the other person's true identity . +the rest of the story isn't important because all it does is serve as a mere backdrop for the two stars to share the screen . +sure , there are some mildly interesting subplots , but they all fail in comparison to the utter cuteness of the main relationship . +all of this , of course , leads up to the predictable climax . +but as foreseeable as the ending is , it's so damn cute and well-done that i doubt any movie in the entire year contains a scene the evokes as much pure joy as this part does . +when ryan discovers the true identity of her online love , i was filled with such , for lack of a better word , happiness that for the first time all year , i actually left the theater smiling . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv005_29443.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv005_29443.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ba99d8ebdcf89e9366b12b8fbc0b0d4487a81233 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv005_29443.txt @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +on june 30 , 1960 , a self-taught , idealistic , yet pragmatic , young man became , at age 36 , the first head of government of a newly independent african state , formerly the belgian congo . +two months later , he was ousted from his powerful position and hunted by government troops until he was captured and brutally murdered along with two aides . +this little-known story of this meteoric rise and fall is told my international filmmaker raoul peck in " lumumba . " +patrice lumumba's ( eriq ebouaney ) story has been told previously by helmer peck in his 1991 award winning documentary , " lumumba - death of a prophet , " virtually guaranteeing that his new , fictional account of a patriot remains true to its subject . +peck , with co-writer pascal bonitzer , begins at the end of the story of the young political leader . +we watch as two white men perform the gruesome task of dismembering the bodies of three black men . +images of hatchets , saws and fast-emptying whiskey bottles accompany the grisly image . +jump back a few years to a meeting among the black leaders in the belgian-owned congo . +a third class postal worker , lumumba , speaks his mind to heads of the most powerful tribes , proclaiming himself not tribal , not regional , but a national leader . +his small , mobile party , the congolese national movement ( mnc ) is gaining prominence and patrice leaves his clerical job to sell beer , and get his face known , in the bustling capital , stanleyville . +at a time when the colonial empires are falling down around the world , lumumba is in the right place at the right time and , through political savvy and chess-like manipulation , achieves a position of leadership of the mnc . +as the date for independence approaches , he tactically positions himself to be the new nation's first prime minister and defense minister , supporting the presidency of joseph kasa vubu ( maka kotto ) . +the coalition he created soon starts to fall apart as the former belgian masters continue to exert influence on the struggling nation as they strive to maintain economic hold on the country's vast natural resources of copper , diamonds , gold and more . +lumumba won't seek the help of the us , knowing that they would try to create de facto american control of the fledgling government . +his initial investigation into soviet assistance immediately tags patrice as a communist and his integrity is overshadowed by the cold war threat of russian domination . +the situation goes from bad to worse as the army mutinies , the remaining whites begin to evacuate or arm themselves , belgian troops violently intervene , the lucrative katanga province succeeds under the leadership of rival moise tschombe ( pascal nzonzi ) and lumumba is refused access to his own country when he returns from a conference abroad . +this tumultuous and little known period of modern african history saw a score of nations struggling for independence from the sometimes-odious colonialists who have ruled much of the world from their european seats of power for centuries . +peck focuses his story on familiar material that strives to give an honest portrayal of patrice lumumba , his friend and foes and the independence movements that gripped africa in the 50's and 60's . + ( during the time the story takes place , many new nations , including nigeria and somalia , were born , with varying degrees of success and failure , usually dependent upon which country colonized them . +some colonial masters were better than others . ) +the effort involved in " lumumba " is quite ambitious as peck and his crew before and behind the camera strive to bring to life this slice of world history that might have gone unexplored for decades , if at all . +production values are first rate on what must be a small , by us standards , budget . +the period feel and realistic african settings are nicely maintained in a production that traveled from zimbabwe to mozambique . +the screenplay covers a lot of ground and does yeoman's work in providing a great deal of detailed history while trying to do justice to the story of lumumba's life . +the political side of things is evenly told in a linear , straightforward manner that teaches , not preaches . +it concentrates on the good deeds of the man , if a bit as a stalwart saint , but doesn't embellish on a larger than life persona . +the family side of patrice's life is handled in several , perfunctory and brief interludes that show him talking to one of his children , embracing his wife or lamenting the death of his child . +i know the intent is to flesh the man out , but too short a shrift is given to the family man side of lumumba . +the story , as such , has a lopsided feel about it . +high marks go to eriq ebouaney as the title character . +the actor gives a convincing , charismatic performance as the multifaceted , politically deft patrice lumumba who has the good of his people and his country as the force driving his own ambitions . +in true docudrama tradition , the supporting cast does not outshine the star , complementing his good efforts , instead . + " lumumba " is a solid , interesting , educational and honest docudrama that should appeal to film buffs and politicos , both . +it has more intelligence in its telling than anything i've seen out of hollywood for months and i give it a b+ . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv006_15448.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv006_15448.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..786973d435cdfe168461b6adf0357c863f0e9d45 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv006_15448.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +apparently , director tony kaye had a major battle with new line regarding his new film , american history x . i don't know the details of the fight , but it seems that he is not happy with the final product , and nearly removed his name from the credits altogether . +i've heard about this kind of thing happening before , and it makes me wonder how much input a studio has over the films they produce . +as it is , i found american history x to be an extremely good film , not just because of tony kaye's focused look at the touchy subject of racism , but because of a powerful , charismatic performance from edward norton . +it's hard to believe that it has only been two years since norton's fantastic role in primal fear , but , here he is now , starring in his own film and making himself a star . +norton is one of those performers who becomes his character , and his work in american history x is one of the very best performances this year . +he plays a young man named derek vinyard , a skinhead living in venice beach with his brother , danny ( edward furlong ) , mother ( beverly d'angelo ) , and sister , davin ( jennifer lien ) . +the film opens with a flashback , in which derek brutally kills two black men vandalizing his car . +we find out that this lands him in prison , and the film from that point is seen through the eyes of danny . +in the present-time of the film , danny is in high school , and eager to follow the footsteps of his brother . +much of the film is told in flashback , and we see the path that leads to derek's adoption of white supremacy . +when derek is released , having served three years in prison , he finds that his brother is now a full-blown skinhead ; derek , however , has given up the violence , and tries to get his brother to understand why racism and the violence that comes with it are bad things . +what makes this all interesting is that these two young men are not stupid , thoughtless people -- they are intelligent and articulate , and voice their beliefs in disturbingly straightforward terms . +it's hard to make a controversial movie and not preach , but kaye has found the right note for his material . +because american history x is a mainstream film , there has to be a redemption phase for our main character -- some people may think that this is the only way to make him sympathetic . +i partially disagree with this , because , although i do not advocate racism in any way , it's interesting the way kaye presents derek -- he is a loud , obnoxious man , but he's also very smart . +the reasons for why he becomes a skinhead are believable -- his father was arbitrarily killed by a group of black men . +it's clear that he's passionate about his beliefs , and that he's not just a punk looking for an excuse to beat people up . +of course , it helps that kaye has an actor as talented as norton to play this part . +it's astonishing how frightening norton looks with a shaved head and a swastika on his chest . +in addition to getting the look just right , he's perfect for this role -- derek requires intelligence , depth , and a whole lot of shouting , and norton does it all with ease . +even when he's at his meanest , derek has a likable quality to him , and that's a gutsy approach when telling a story about a skinhead . +what adds depth to the story is a subplot in which the principal of danny's school ( avery brooks ) becomes obsessed with purging the hatred from danny . +the other performances are all terrific , with standouts from furlong , d'angelo , and lien . +visually , the film is very powerful . +kaye indulges in a lot of interesting artistic choices , and most of them work nicely -- lots of slow-motion and strange camera angles add to a moody atmosphere . +but , like a lot of movies lately , american history x skims past greatness in the last few minutes . +although the climactic scene is very moving , the picture ends with a pretentious , preachy resolution featuring a brief narration from a character who was killed . +for a movie so smart a subtle up until that point , it felt like a slap in the face to be hand-fed a theme in such a simplistic way . +it makes me wonder what , exactly , tony kaye disliked about the final version of his film . +perhaps this last scene was the problem . +it's hard to imagine any director not being at least partially pleased with a film this good -- in a time when so many movies are timid and weak , american history x manages to make a compelling argument for racism without advocating it any way . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv009_29592.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv009_29592.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6952b14a19d349f695922158b9e896c2356f2c8e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv009_29592.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18 @@ +the american action film has been slowly drowning to death in a sea of asian wire-fu copycats . +it's not a pretty death , and it's leaving the likes of schwartznager , stallone , and van damme wearing cement galoshes at the bottom of a kung fu sea . +sometimes , the mix results in a mind-blowing spectacle unlike any other . +quality action with amazing and exciting stunt work , as in 1999's the matrix , can be a real gem . +but too often hollywood gets it wrong , even when they pay off chinese directors . +flying ninjas and floating karate masters have been replaced by soaring bronx detectives and slow motion kicking scientists . +mostly it's laughable . +in hollywood's rush to emulate the success of the matrix , trademark asian stunt choreography has become more of a joke than an art form . +but iron monkey , the latest asian import , shows us how to get it right . +iron monkey ( actually a reissue of a 1993 film ) is the story of a 19th chinese vigilante ( rongguang yu ) , fighting with his own unique style of shaolin kung fu for the rights of the oppressed and the bellies of the hungry . +but it is also a piece of the narrative of legendary chinese film hero wong fei-hong , most recently seen in one of the most overlooked , and possibly best films of 2000 , drunken master 2 ( released in the u . s . as the legend of drunken master ) . +unlike drunken master 2 , which stars jackie chan as an adult fei-hong , iron monkey finds a much younger fei-hong ( sze-man tsang ) and his father wong kei-ying ( yen chi dan ) thrust into the middle of iron monkey's fight against oppression . +iron monkey succeeds as no kung fu film since drunken master 2 . at times , fighting styles , especially that of monkey himself , do devolve into the ridiculous twinkle-toed floating of films like crouching tiger , hidden dragon , director yuen wo ping eventually remembers to bring his action scenes back to earth . +iron monkey is at its heart a hardcore , kung fu action film rather than any kind of drama a la crouching tiger . +however , there are brief moments of profoundness shared between characters , such as those that pass between our outlaw hero and his good-hearted but misguided enemy , chief fox . +in those moments , and in others , iron monkey manages to transcend its mindless kung fu nature to touch the hearts and minds of its audience . +while in no way the equal of a masterpiece like drunken master 2 , iron monkey dances quite nicely to the invading kung fu tune . +aka siunin wong fei-hung tsi titmalau . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv010_29198.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv010_29198.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f2fe0f73df156dbcfed4cf519cd7acf3fd9d1bd4 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv010_29198.txt @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +after watching " rat race " last week , i noticed my cheeks were sore and realized that , when not laughing aloud , i had held a grin for virtually all of the film's 112 minutes . +saturday night , i attended another sneak preview for the movie and damned if i didn't enjoy it as much the second time as the first . + " rat race " is a great goofy delight , a dandy mix of energetic performances , inspired sight gags and flat-out silliness . +hands down , this is the most fun film of the summer . +the movie begins with zippy retro-style opening credits that look like they were torn straight out of a '60s slapstick comedy , featuring animated photos of the cast attached to herky-jerky bodies bounding around the screen . +then comes the setup . +donald sinclair ( john cleese ) , the extremely rich owner of the venetian hotel and casino in las vegas , enjoys concocting unusual bets for his high rolling clients . +to that end , he places a half dozen very special tokens in his slot machines . +gathering together the lucky token holders , he explains , " today you have a chance to play a game where the odds of winning are one in six . " +the competition is simple : each contestant gets a key that opens a locker in silver city , n . m . , containing $2 million in cash . +there is a transmitter in every key , so that sinclair and his cronies can keep track of who is ahead . +the race has no rules ? whichever contestant reaches the locker first gets the money . +since it would be wrong to spoil any of the jokes , let's use the next few paragraphs to profile the racers . +decked out in flashy , trashy clothing and sporting big hair , vera baker ( whoopi goldberg ) is in town to reunite with the daughter she gave up for adoption as a baby . +she finds that grown-up merrill ( lanai chapman ) is erudite , conservative and more than a little bit wary of this stranger trying to jump into her life . +thrown together , it becomes clear that both women share a fierce competitive nature . +owen templeton ( cuba gooding jr . ) is currently the most hated man in america . +an nfl referee , he cost gamblers all over the country enormous amounts of money by blowing a call in a high-profile game . +after escaping from a vengeful cab driver , owen gets to new mexico by masquerading as the driver for a busload of lucy ricardo impersonators heading to a convention . +mr . pollini ( rowan atkinson ) is a cheerful , odd little italian man on holiday in america . +he also is narcoleptic and falls asleep at the most inopportune times . +pollini hitches a ride with zack ( wayne knight ) , a hyper-tense ambulance driver carrying a human heart across country for a transplant operation . +randy pear ( jon lovitz ) promised his wife beverly ( kathy najimy ) and two kids a fun-filled vacation in las vegas . +fearful that beverly will be angry over his involvement in the race , he claims that he must travel to silver city for a job interview . +beverly insists the family stay together , so they hop in the mini-van and tear off into the desert . +brothers duane ( seth green ) and blaine ( vince vieluf ) cody are young , crooked and stupid . +blaine has a speech impediment due to his poorly self-done tongue piercing , and duane is the only person who can come close to understanding him . +the boys will stop at nothing to reach their goal . +finally , nick shaffer ( breckin meyer ) is a no-nonsense lawyer-in-training who recruits helicopter pilot tracy faucet ( amy smart ) for the journey . +at first glance , they seem blandly wholesome , but all that changes when tracy buzzes the home of her boyfriend shawn ( dean cain ) and spies him swimming with another woman . +director jerry zucker ( " airplane , " " ghost " ) leaps from racer to racer , periodically returning to las vegas where sinclair and mr . grisham ( dave thomas ) , his personality-impaired right hand man , continue cooking up bizarre bets for the gamblers . +as with any zucker production , a few jokes fall flat , but the momentum of the comedy zooms past those missteps . +high points for me include a bit involving kathy bates as a roadside squirrel salesperson and an intricately set up gag that carries jon lovitz and family from a bizarre museum to an outdoor rally , with an utterly tasteless and screamingly funny pay-off . +had i been part of the filmmaking team , i would have ditched a joke where a key is dropped into a baby's clothes and instead had the key get lost in the cleavage of a dozing society matron . +it would have drawn the same laugh without the squirm-inducing hint of child molestation . +i also would have selected a different band for a concert sequence . +my god , do we really need yet another movie with smash mouth performing " all star ? " +but enough carping . + " rat race " is a riot , with terrific no-holds-barred performances from the diverse cast . +see it , see it again and when the dvd comes out , buy it , because a movie this hilarious will surely have outtakes to die for . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv011_12166.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv011_12166.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..70dc6829a0bfa0b21430577f268b3315dd92e2f5 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv011_12166.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +i've noticed something lately that i've never thought of before . +pseudo- substance - hollywood faking deep meanings in their films . +have you ever seen a movie that you really enjoyed , then when you look back , you realize there was something missing ? +more and more , filmmakers seem to be putting out well rehearsed , melodramatic films that evoke strong connotations of being a great film , but if you step aside and reflect on your movie going experience , you may just discover nothing more than elegantly presented fluff . +i'm not trying to say city of angels is that bad . +it had a lot going for it , but somewhere along the way , it faltered . +somehow , underneath the seemingly poetic beauty of it all , there was a gigantic hole somebody covered with iridescent performances and glossy cinematography . +the predictable ending that shattered our hopes ( even though we saw it coming ) only added to the disappointment . +but for over an hour , city of angels is well worth the time . +nicolas cage is seth , a guardian angel who , like hundreds ( likely thousands or even millions ) of other angels , spends eternity watching over the citizens of mortality ; humans never aware of how much celestial intervention occurs in their life . +meg ryan , in her most subdued performance yet , plays maggie , a doctor who begins to ponder exactly who it is we're fighting against when we fight to keep someone alive . +after losing a patient on the surgery table , these questions envelope maggie , and seth , the angel who was there to oversee the patient's transition into the afterlife , is immediately captivated by the doctor . +he begins following and observing maggie , falling more and more in love with her everyday . +angels , who we quickly learn are not and never were humans , can not experience human sensations such as taste and touch , but they do have the ability to make themselves seen to anyone they desire . +seth's adoration is too much to resist , and eventually he does appear to maggie , quite regularly , although such a thing seems taboo among the angelic community . +the angels are interestingly presented , all of them dressed in black and more reminiscent of hitmen than traditional glowing white entities , but it's a nice touch that never seems like a mere attempt at uniqueness . +cage is a wonderfully versatile actor ( think face/off , raising arizona , and it could happen to you - what a combo ! ) who slips into the role of a heavenly agent quite nicely but threatens sappiness more than once . +it's nice to see ryan pick up roles like this and the one in courage under fire . +the two aren't very comparable to each other , but they both deviate from her usual " intelligently ditzy " romantic comedy roles , and it's an impressive side of ryan movie goers rarely have the chance to enjoy . +but even though the two leads do an impressive job , it is dennis franz who grabs us with his interpretation of a hospital patient who knows more than meets the eye . +it's a shame that with so much going for it , city of angels falters so much in its final stages , leaving us with the realization that an emotionally incredible movie was out there , they just didn't know quite how to get to it . +they struggle for an impacting conclusion and wind up with painful thud rather than an exhilarating high . +filmmakers should know your final impression will be the one you linger on , remember , and convey to others thru word of mouth , so after telling us for 60+ minutes that this film is a glorious masterpiece , they sure leave us with a disheartening taste of mediocrity in our mouths . +based on the german film wings of desire ( that being the english title , of course ) , city of angels is ninety percent success , enough to make most people forgive its shortcomings , even the devastatingly disappointing ending . +most movie goers , the non-cynics anyway , will be too wrapped up in the surreal atmosphere to give criticism to that which needs to be criticized . +nonetheless , city of angels is beautifully captivating , which is probably enough to satisfy those poetic viewers who will appreciate a delve into rich emotional territories . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv012_29576.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv012_29576.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2260bfd50b51df0e23c0bab647493eeccf64384e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv012_29576.txt @@ -0,0 +1,15 @@ +synopsis : bobby garfield ( yelchin ) lives in a small town with his mirthless widowed mother ( hope davis ) . +bobby's world revolves around his friends , especially the spritely carol ( boorem ) . +then one day , a new boarder arrives at bobby's house . +ted brautigan ( hopkins ) is an enigmatic man to whom bobby takes an immediate liking . +as the bond between bobby and ted deepens , bobby becomes privy to ted's great secret , an event which will change both of their lives forever . +review : a small but enchanting movie , " hearts in atlantis " easily recalls another king-inspired coming-of-age film , " stand by me " , both in terms of its setting and the sentiment it conveys . + " hearts " is a tribute to the magic of childhood , to those summers when the days seem neverending , and nothing means more than your closest friends . +unlike " stand by me " , there is a supernatural element to " hearts " , but although it is key to the plot , it is not prominent . +like " stand by me " , this is a mostly character-driven film , and as such it benefits greatly from superb casting . +yelchin is very good as bobby , finding a good mix of innocence and resignation . +more splendid still is boorem , whom i praised highly for her work in " along came a spider " and who is simply radiant here as carol . +and then there is hopkins , who despite playing such a quiet , introspective character as ted , nonetheless commands our attention every time he is onscreen . +less successful is davis , whose strident elizabeth comes across as overly cartoonish . +i also found it odd that bobby and carol's other friend , sully ( whose death as an adult sets up the movie's flashback framing device ) , is paid virtually no attention . +but hicks' direction is lovely without being cloying , and despite the movie's general lack of incident , it never ceases to weave its spell over the audience . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv013_10159.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv013_10159.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c8f3471437e11c045b724e0dd1b14ae063181c7a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv013_10159.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +synopsis : in this movie , steven spielberg , one of today's finest directors , attempts to spice up the 1800s story of a long courtroom battle over the fate of prisoner cinque ( djimon hounsou ) - - a young angry man from sierra leone who was kidnapped into slavery - - and his fellow prisoners . +cinque and friends have landed a ship on the shores of america after escaping spanish slave traders , but since the americans don't speak cinque's language , the black men are hauled into court to determine whether or not they are legally slaves . +technically , since the international slave trade was outlawed at that time , people like cinque couldn't be kidnapped into slavery ; one had to be born a slave to be legally considered a slave . +lawyers baldwin and adams ( matthew mcconaughey and anthony hopkins ) must prove cinque and the others were captured into slavery , rather than born slaves , in order to get them out of prison as free men . +three lengthy court cases are portrayed with spielberg's trademark panache - - flashy beginning , lots of facial close-ups , big music , and dramatic imagery . +a final speech by adams is followed by an anticlimax where subtitles show what eventually happened to the various characters . +opinion : making a fictional movie is easier than making one about real life . +in fiction , one invents purposeful , clear-cut good guys and bad guys , puts the fictional characters in conflict , and takes the tale to its exciting conclusion . +real life , however , consists of long stretches of boredom with a few dramatic moments and characters who stand around , think thoughts and do nothing , or come and go before events are resolved . +spielberg gives us a visually spicy and historically accurate real life story . +djimon hounsou and anthony hopkins turn in excellent performances . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv015_29439.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv015_29439.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..356d8fd79e04be46b59812d169ddc416da578d63 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv015_29439.txt @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ +plot : a young man who loves heavy metal music and especially the band steel dragon , to whom he's devoted a tribute band in which he sings , gets launched into stardom when the real group get rid of their lead singer and call on him to take his place . +critique : i'm a sucker for movies like this . +a young man with a humble background and lofty dreams , works hard , devotes the time , the energy and the patience , and ultimately hits it big-time . +in the case of this film , our boy loves a certain heavy metal band and as luck would have it ( yup , luck always finds its way into these types of equations , although generally tied very closely to hard work ) , they need a new singer . +his entry and adaptation to the whole " rock 'n roll " lifestyle fills the rest of the film and is really fun to watch . +although i will preface this by saying that one thing that would definitely enhance your appreciation for this film is your own love ( or past love ) of heavy metal music and the whole scene around it . +metal was one of my first loves as a teen and even though the genre of music isn't that prominent anymore , i still check out my motley crue , twisted sister and anthrax cds every now and again . +that's not to say that you won't like this film if you don't like the music , but the music and live performances from the band , play a big part in the movie , and i for one , had a blast watching and listening to it all . +but the even greater draw in this film is the standout performance given here by mark wahlberg . +wow , hand this fella some major props , as he totally becomes this heavy metal geek/god ( incidentally , metal god was the film's original title , and a much better one if you ask me ) . +he is this movie and i was quite taken by his character pretty much the whole way through . +he came off like a regular guy with extremely passionate goals and work ethic , who was willing to do anything in order to fulfill his dreams . +aniston was also surprisingly good as the girlfriend ( and the romance angle between them was sweet ) , but she didn't pull me in hard enough during their emotional scenes . +i was also impressed by some of the " real " musicians who played in the film ( zakk wylde from ozzy osbourne , jeff pilson from dokken , stephan jenkins from third eye blind , blas elias from slaughter ) , but actor dominic west as kirk cuddy made the biggest impression among the band members . +it's to note that this film was based on a real-life tale of a young man who used to sing in a judas priest cover band and then went on to become their actual singer ( their original singer also admitted to being gay , as in this film ) . +just for the record , i'm certainly not recommending this film for its originality or surprise elements , since most of this stuff has already been covered in some way or another in other movies , but because it's a fun , uplifting , well-paced movie with a solid central showing by wahlberg and energetic live performances . +oh yeah , and for those who dig the " heavier " side of music , the soundtrack also rocks ! ! +you see . . . dreams +can come true . . . +where's joblo coming from ? +almost famous ( 8/10 ) - blow ( 8/10 ) - boogie nights ( 9/10 ) - detroit rock city ( 8/10 ) - girlfight ( 6/10 ) - goodfellas ( 10/10 ) diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv016_4659.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv016_4659.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..30c891d07838beccdaa26658c5ee94b0b7e3d2cc --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv016_4659.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ +carry on matron is the last great carry-on film in my opinion . +made in 1972 , it still features most of the regulars of this genre . +sid james plays the head of a gang of crooks intent on stealing contraceptive pills from the local maternity hospital and selling them off to make a profit , kenneth williams is sir bernard cutting , head of the hospital but also a hypochondriac , hattie jacques re-takes her role as matron , and charles hawtrey is the psychiatrist dr . goode . +the jokes come in fast and so do the laughs , with humorous antics between the matron and sir bernard . +this time , williams is after matron ( jacques ) when he needs to prove himself that he is a man after visiting dr . goode . +the doctor ( hawtrey ) is sworn to secrecy : - " i assure you , that anything you say to me today will go in one ear and straight out of the other ! " +bernard thinks he is having a sex change and needs to prove himself . +there are great cameos from joan sims , an expectant mother who is many weeks overdue and is eating constantly in every scene , and from kenneth connor as the expectant father who still thinks he's at work ( at the railway station ) . +sid james' gang including cyril his son ( kenneth cope ) try to find out where the pills are by getting cyril to dress up as a nurse and live in at the nurses home . +he has to share a room with nurse ball ( barbara windsor ) and she soon sees through him ! +the film ends with the attempted robbery of the hospital's pills with panic ensuing . +there are good performances by hattie jacques as the matron , however her character seems a little more subdued and quieter than her previous 'matron's' . +williams is , as usual , on top form , but sid james isn't given a very good part in this movie and i would forgive anyone to forget that he was in the movie at all . +the same does not go for charles hawtrey , for although he only first appears in the movie after 30 minutes gone and has scarce screen time , he seems to steal every scene he is in . +by not making use of sid james and barbara windsor's talent to full effect , the film seems to flounder , but it certainly makes up for it with it's good storyline and it's other appealing characters . +this film is genuinely funny and i could watch it again and again and not get bored ! diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv018_20137.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv018_20137.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..7a9deb334404184311f0e9baa008b58cb0a0a91b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv018_20137.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +having not seen , " who framed roger rabbit " in over 10 years , and not remembering much besides that i liked it then , i decided to rent it recently . +watching it i was struck by just how brilliant a film it is . +aside from the fact that it's a milestone in animation in movies ( it's the first film to combine real actors and cartoon characters , have them interact , and make it convincingly real ) and a great entertainment it's also quite an effective comedy/mystery . +while the plot may be somewhat familiar the characters are original , especially baby herman , and watching them together is a lot of fun . +the story begins in hollywood in 1947 . +cartoon star roger rabbit is blowing takes and having trouble keeping his mind on work , so hard-boiled private detective eddie valiant ( bob hoskins ) is called in by studio head r . k . +maroon ( alan tilvern ) to try to help get roger's mind back on work . +maroon thinks that roger's wife , jessica's , possible unfaithfulness to him might be the cause of distraction and tells eddie to get some photos of her in the act before it costs him any more money in reshoots . +valiant takes some photos of jessica playing , `patty cake' with marvin acme ( stubby kaye ) , the owner of toontown ( where all of the cartoon characters live ) and takes them to maroon . +upon seeing them , roger is emotionally destroyed and soon after acme is found dead and roger rabbit is the prime suspect . +the rest of the movie follows valiant and roger as they run around town ( and eventually toontown ) trying to clear roger's good name . +along the way they meet judge doom ( christopher lloyd ) a judge-jury-and executioner type who's out to get roger and has discovered the one and only way to kill a `toon . ' +`who framed roger rabbit' won 4 academy awards including a special achievement award for richard williams for animation direction and creation of the cartoon characters ( williams and his teams went through the film frame by frame and hand drew the cartoon characters in ) . +director robert zemekis must be given an equal amount of praise for overseeing the entire production , which included hundreds of animators . +also bob hoskins' performance should be credited . +he , in addition to the rest of the human cast , finds the right note to play in all of the scenes with his cartoon co-stars . +according to the internet movie database , hoskins studied his young daughter to learn how to act with imaginary characters and i guess his hard work paid off . +`who framed roger rabbit' is a rare film . +one that not only presented a great challenge to the filmmakers but one that can be enjoyed by the whole family ( although some very young viewers may be a little scared by judge doom ) . +do yourself a favor and rent it , `p-p-p-p-please . " diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv019_14482.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv019_14482.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..70d9269fe44ef6746f20b3c0112c770c6d27dbb1 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv019_14482.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +there's something about ben stiller that makes him a popular choice among casting directors these days . +stiller currently has three projects in circulation , and what other actor can lay claim to that ? +he's in " there's something about mary , " which i * still * haven't seen . +and he's in the acerbic " your friends & neighbors , " playing a talkative , sexually-frustrated drama coach called jerri . +now there's " permanent midnight , " in which stiller plays another jerry , this one a heroin-addicted television writer , last name stahl . +there's also something about this industry that pushes bankable stars like stiller into doing drug-addiction pictures the minute they've proved themselves commercially . +ewan mcgregor springs to mind who , after successful turns in " emma " and " brassed off , " received greater respect and admiration for his mind-blowing realization as renton in danny boyle's transatlantic junk-fest , " trainspotting . " +the philosophy appears to be a simple one : if you want 'em to be taken seriously , make 'em do drugs . + " permanent midnight " is based on the true life experiences of jerry stahl , a successful hollywood writer who , in the mid-eighties , had a $5 , 000-a-week job churning out plotlines for disposable tv sitcoms and a $6 , 000-a-week heroin habit . +a habit , in stahl's own words , " the size of utah . " +as stahl , stiller contributes a commanding performance . +unlike " trainspotting , " which was successful in having it both ways by chronicling both the highs and the lows of heroin abuse , " permanent midnight " instead focuses on the concept of drug addiction as maintenance . +one of the earliest observations in the film is a casual reference to " naked lunch " author william s . burroughs who , when asked why he shoots up first thing in the morning responds , " so i can shave . " +stahl rarely appears to be puncturing veins for the thrill of it all in " permanent midnight " ; it's so he can talk to his mother on the phone , show up for work on time , even pay his bills . +while the film itself occasionally wobbles around along with stahl , the writing ( adapted from stahl's autobiography by director david veloz ) is controlled and pointed . + " permanent midnight " shows how stahl moved from new york to l . a . to--again in the author's words-- " escape the drug scene " ( yeah , right ) ; why he entered into a convenient marriage with a british tv exec ( elizabeth hurley , so impossibly polite you'd swear her single profanity was dubbed ) ; and that he conceived a child in between his random hirings and firings . +stahl narrates all this in a motel bedroom to a sympathetic lover called kitty ( norristown's own maria bello ) with whom he spent some rehab time . +janeane garofalo is wasted--and miscast--as a heavily-bespectacled hollywood talent agent who fails to get her hooks into the doped-up wordsmith , and that's stahl himself playing a jaded clinic counselor . +stiller , unshaven ( burroughs take note ) and with lots of mascara around the eyes , has stahl stumble through the film looking like a train wreck but , to his credit , never once pushes his pill-popping , needle-jabbing performance over the top . +the ubiquitous stiller is the reason to see " permanent midnight " ; a dark , comic , and strangely absorbing study of assisted living . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv020_8825.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv020_8825.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..207c146c3fd0a2bc65ad62a87f3bdc1b6d3afb44 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv020_8825.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18 @@ +by phil curtolo mel gibson ( braveheart ) gave a gripping performance as the father of a young kidnapped boy in ron howard's ransom . +gibson plays tom mullen , a wealthy business tycoon whose past actions are coming back to haunt him as a deranged psychopath , played by gary sinise ( forrest gump ) , and his band of low-life thugs kidnap his only son for $2 million . +tom and his wife , kate , played by rene russo ( tin cup ) were instructed not to inform the police , but they contacted the fbi . +minutes later , an elite team of agents led by delroy lindo ( broken arrow ) are in tom's house and wiring every phone . +the plot sounds average , just like most other kidnap movies that you've already seen , and it was nothing more than that . +that is until about half-way through the movie . +suddenly , tom goes to the fox 5 news room and makes a live broadcast saying , " this is your ransom . +but this is as close as you will ever get to it . +instead , i am offering this money as a reward on your head , dead or alive . " +at this point , the plot thickened , and the unusually slow start of the film turned into a suspense-filled action film with great stunts . +the last half of the film is very well done . +another thing that carries this film are the superb performances by gibson and sinise , as they collide in a game of wits over their cellular phones for most of the movie . +owen gleiberman of entertainment weekly commented on the subject : " it makes you wonder what kidnappers did before cell phones . " +before this movie , sinise played mostly " good guys , " first in of mice & men , then in forrest gump , and most recently , in apollo 13 . +but he was surprisingly devilish and cold in his portrayal of a cop-gone-bad . +gibson , of course , was just being gibson , in an oscar-worthy performance . +although most of the scenes were quite predictable , ransom is a very entertaining and suspenseful film . + , diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv022_12864.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv022_12864.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4d504dffc4f54f434c5b329d317ea33f03024305 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv022_12864.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +a fully loaded entertainment review - website coming in july ! +>from ace ventura to truman burbank , jim carrey has run the whole gamut of comic , yet sympathetic , characters . +1996's the cable guy was supposed to be his big " breakthrough " role from zany humor into darker , more dramatic acting . +as most everyone knows , the results were , well , less-than-stellar . +not only did the film not do so hot at the box office , but it was also panned by critics . +as far as i know , gene siskel and i are the only ones willing to admit that we dug it . +the first time i saw the cable guy , in theatres , i was in super critic-mode , and didn't really like it . +however , due to the fact that hbo shows the movie every single day , i've had time to lean back , relax , and take in the film . +and to my surprise , it grew on me . +the plot is rather simple : broderick plays a guy named steven who befriends his cable guy , played by carrey , then is stalked by him when steven tries to break off the relationship . +see , steven's been having some problems with his girlfriend , robin ( leslie mann ) , and he doesn't think he has any more room in his life for a new friend . +also , some of the cable guy's antics have been creeping him out . +carrey , as the cable guy , gives steven various aliases , which later we find out are all tv characters : larry tate , chip douglas , ricky ricardo , etc . he apparently lives in his cable van , and while many critics didn't enjoy this newer , darker , less-manic performance from carrey , i thought it was interesting and rather well-done . +for me , its not the movie as a whole that's enjoyable , but rather several individual scenes : a karaoke jam at steven's apartment , a medieval fight at a theme restaurant , and a bathroom beating ( a la liar , liar ) , just to name a few . +perhaps the fact that more of carrey's humorous side comes out during these scenes is what makes them so funny . +and if you really want to see something , you've got to hear his version of jefferson airplane's " somebody to love " , sung at the aformentioned karaoke jam . +the cable guy has its bad spots , like most any movie . +i didn't particularly like steven's girlfriend , and i felt that more focus should have been used on the relationship between steven and his best friend . +also , the ending , while having you fooled for a moment , is rather contrived , and somewhat dissapointing . +still , i found the cable guy to be a worthwhile venture ; if you're at the video store and can't think of anything to rent , i suggest you try it out . +or if you have hbo , just wait till it comes on ( you won't have to wait long . ) +hell , that's what i do every day . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv023_12672.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv023_12672.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..7fb411341b01c130947144f09319929605747768 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv023_12672.txt @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +when bulworth ended , i allowed myself a sigh of relief : ? it is possible for me to enjoy political satire . ? +there have been several recent political films that didn't do a whole lot for me -- wag the dog , for instance , i found to be an intelligent but heartless film , while primary colors is unbearable and unwatchable in its awfulness . ? +bulworth is a far better film than these , both in its execution and lasting impression . ? +it's a tremendously funny and intelligent picture , but it also has an emotional center -- writer/director/star warren beatty allows the audience to identify with his character , and , in turn , we like him and actually care about the story . + ? +beatty plays incumbent democratic senator jay billington bulworth ; the film opens and we see bulworth sobbing as he watches his television spots over and over again . ? +he hasn't slept in days , nor has he eaten , and , almost instantaneously , he goes insane . + ? he's not stark raving mad ( not outright , anyway ) , but he's definitely bonkers . + ? it's the final weekend of his campaign , and his assistant , murphy ( oliver platt ) has written him a speech to feed to a group of black people in a church in the ghetto . + ? bulworth begins the speech , but suddenly goes off track and just starts being honest . ? + " you mean , " one lady asks , " the democratic party doesn't care about the african american community ? " ? + " well , " he shouts , laughing , " isn't that obvious ? " +the story is propelled by a device in which bulworth puts out a contract on his own life ( he muses later that it's a bad thing to make decisions when you're suicidal ) ; he keeps seeing a man in sunglasses ( graham beckel ) whom he believes to be the hitman . + ? bulworth also meets nina ( halle berry ) with whom he becomes infatuated . + ? suddenly , in the short span of this weekend , bulworth's no-nonsense " truth in politics " methods become a national sensation , and he shoots ahead in the polls despite the fact that he's appearing on television wearing gang clothes and spewing more profanity than coherent sentences . +beatty's work on both sides of the camera is excellent . ? +his script and direction are both extremely sharp , as is the surprisingly strong characterization of bulworth himself . ? +here is a man who's reached his limit , and his way of lashing back is by screwing over the entire political structure . ? +i like that the film doesn't take a clear shot at any of the political parties or affiliations , but at politics in general and how everything is run by the rich ( although the anti-rich sentiments do get a bit tiresome by the end of the film ) . ? +some of the segments are simply hilarious , such as a lengthy rap that he delivers at a luncheon dedicated to him . ? +much of the film is completely absurd , but that's the fun part about it . ? +it's an angry , serious film at the core , but the package that beatty has created is so much more accessible than recent attempts in the genre . ? +what adds to this feeling is beatty's portrayal of bulworth ; this is a performance that deserves recognition on a higher scale . + ? beatty is so much fun to watch here -- he's always funny , but he's also subtle in ways that flesh out his character without dialogue or hugely noticeable actions . + ? beatty is so good that bulworth , despite his shortcomings as a human being , is an entirely sympathetic and likable character almost from the beginning . +the supporting cast is vast and colorful . ? +berry is luminous , as always , and adds to her repertoire of solid supporting roles . ? +don cheadle has a good role as a drug dealer who uses gun-toting toddlers to do his dirty work . ? +oliver platt is an actor who should be careful , for someday i fear he may induce a heart attack with the intensity of his acting ( though he's very funny to watch ) . ? paul sorvino adds the southern accent to his list of mastered inflections . +is bulworth offensive ? ? +i suppose some may see it that way . ? +i wasn't offended by the film , but then again , i hardly care about politics . ? +i think that people who find this film offensive will just be blindsided by the honesty of the story . ? +the film isn't perfect , of course -- the ending didn't quite work for me , and the a few of the scenes between bulworth and nina feel forced ( although the eclectic dance sequence is fantastic ) . ? +but these are minor quibbles about an otherwise brilliant film . ? +bulworth is a smart , uproariously funny picture that proves to me that political satire can scratch far deeper than the surface . ? diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv025_3108.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv025_3108.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8a2b8284b1a4e30451f16b729dcaabc71424407f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv025_3108.txt @@ -0,0 +1,51 @@ +hilarious , ultra-low budget comedy from film school dropout kevin smith chronicles a day in the life of two convenience store slackers ( brian o'halloran and jeff anderson ) . +they spend most of their day ignoring customers while discussing everything from fellatio to self-fulfillment . +the premise is strictly sitcom and the photography is grainy as all get-out , but you could spend ten times the film's budget ( a reported $27 , 000 ) and still not get dialogue half as good as this . +originally rated nc-17 for language . +not recommended for viewers with sensitive ears . +killing zoe =========== +remake reservoir dogs as a french art film and you're halfway to killing zoe , writer/director roger avary's slow-moving story of a failed bastille day bank robbery . +eric stoltz stars as an american in paris who gets in * way * over his head when hooks up with a band of nihilistic bank robbers . +he's the safecracker who's blissful unaware that the bank job is a botch job from the word go . +though intriguing on all fronts , the film is paced at half the speed of pulp fiction , which avary co-wrote with quentin tarantino . +in english and french . +the road to wellville ===================== +based on the novel by t . coraghessan boyle , the road to wellville doesn't go very far . +bowels , bowels , and more bowels are explored by dr . john harvey kellogg ( a buck-toothed and bespectacled anthony hopkins ) , who , in the early 1900's , advocated abstinence , vegetarianism , and frequent defecation . +he also invented the cornflake . +really . +checking-in to kellogg's battle creek sanitarium are matthew broderick and bridget fonda , just two of the many well-known faces in this failed comedy . +leave your laughter at the door and you can marvel at the unfunny antics of john cusack , michael lerner , lara flynn boyle , john neville , and dana carvey . +the art direction is impeccable and some of the early sequences are amusing , but the novelty quickly wears off as writer/director alan parkers tries his darnedness to turn doo-doo into drama . +what he ends up with is something that i can't print here . +phew ! +stargate ======== +lawrence of arabia meets star wars . +this epic sci-fi film is more sheer spectacle than anything else . +director roland emmerich ( universal solider ) shamelessly rips off lucas and spielberg and just about any other cosmic cliche that he can lay his hands on . +the film is overlong , the characters are cardboard , and the script is filled with some of the most laughable details in modern sci-fi history . +that said , there's still plenty to watch here . +sci-fi fans should enjoy the sculpted sands , the morphing headdresses , and a surprisingly spunky james spader . +he plays the egyptologist who gets to prove his theory that that " somebody else " built the pyramids . +less interesting are co-stars kurt russell and jaye davidson of crying game fame . +star trek generations ===================== +trek fans may be more forgiving , but , for the rest of us , the sluggish star trek generations is a mixed bag at best . +the story is interesting , but each scene goes too long . +the cast is earnest , but the direction lacks punch . +and so on . + ( the best example of the latter is a klingon comeuppance that delivers none of the impact of a similar scene in star trek ii . ) +original enterprise captain james t . kirk appears on both ends of the story , though they cut the scene where shatner turns to the screen to plead " get a life . " +remarkably unremarkable . +miracle on 34th street ====================== +in a season of the specialist and pulp fiction et al , maybe a remake of miracle on 34th street * is * necessary . +john hughes certainly believes in santa claus and his les mayfield-directed production does nothing to tarnish the memory of the 1947 original . +the romance between costars dylan mcdermott and elizabeth perkins doesn't work too well , but the film makes a strong case that richard attenborough is the definitive kriss kringle . +his chemistry with children can moisten any eye . +no claus for alarm . +junior ====== +arnold schwarzenegger pregnant ? +sure , billy crystal did it before in rabbit test , but the sight of schwarz with a bulging belly is a casting coup comparable to dustin hoffman in tootsie . +what should be nothing more than a one-joke premise actually gets better as it goes along . +director ivan reitman ( dave , twins ) wisely keeps the farce to a minimum , so the first hour moves slower than you might expect . +don't expect too many yuks from danny devito , but you can't beat those early romantic scenes between emma and arnie . +how's * that * for a collision of acting styles ? diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv026_29325.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv026_29325.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ecaa9081edca0a10e9d453589d096323712db538 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv026_29325.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +for those of us who weren't yet born when the 1960's rock 'n' rolled around , monterey pop affords an affectionate glimpse of the music that influenced our parents to be hippies . +from otis redding to jimi hendrix , janis joplin to the mamas and the papas , and jefferson airplane to the who , this documentary is jam-packed with contagious energy . +but i give fair warning that i will reveal the ending , which does not do the rest of the film the justice it deserves . +shot in 1969 at an outdoor concert that precluded woodstock , the film defies the stereotype of the general population at the time . +sure , some have painted their faces and smoke joints , but d . a . +pennebaker ( the war room , moon over broadway ) surprisingly chooses to show a broad spectrum of the audience . +no matter who is watching , it all comes back to the talented musicians that stir your soul . +the excitement starts before the music even begins . +a young girl is cleaning thousands of seats and when asked why by an interviewer , she replies that she feels lucky to do so . +there are moments of organized craziness as john phillips , leader of the mamas and the papas and one of the concert organizers , tries to get in touch with dionne warwick . +and when one band is tuning up , a member remarks , " finally , a decent sound system ! " +you can tell just by watching these first few moments that this show isn't about vanity , it's about playing the music you love to those who have an appreciation for it , a two-way street . +this interaction between audience and performer continues throughout the film and becomes infectious to the audience . +it's impossible to tear your eyes away from janis joplin as she belts out her ballad about love being a ball and chain . +and while the lyrics to " wild thing " may not be all that complicated , watching jimi hendrix mime having sex with his guitar is as captivating as otis redding singing about love . +even if you don't recognize every band you see on stage , you can imagine being as enthralled by their work as the public sitting in those seats . +the only drawback to the film is the ending , which unfortunately i must reveal . +all the other bands , big names then and still today , got approximately 7 to 10 minutes of screen time . +in contrast , the last band on camera , a wholly forgettable one , gets an entire 18 minutes of screen time . +for a film that's only 78 minutes long , that's too large of a chunk , especially when previous acts are much more stimulating . +all in all , monterey pop is a precious , rare look at a time period that still holds sway over us . +the variety of music , as well as the beautifully shot performances , are easy to become immersed in . +if there was ever any question as to why most of these bands were so popular , this is quickly dispelled . +it's almost depressing to think that music this moving doesn't get made much anymore . +instead we're stuck with * nsync , the backstreet boys , and jennifer lopez , all of whom should have stuck with modeling . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv027_25219.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv027_25219.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..db0225cef574d0a10f3e470efdb48d74680d41fb --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv027_25219.txt @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +the most common ( and in many cases the only ) complaint against francis ford coppola's 1972 masterpiece the godfather is glamorising of mafia , which is presented as an institution guided by ancient tradition and virtues like honour , loyalty and solidarity more suitable for some gentler , kinder ages . +martin scorsese , another italoamerican moviemaker , confronted that perspective with his own , more down-to-earth vision of mafia in 1973 mean streets , movie that dealt with lower echelons of organised crime . +unfortunately for scorsese , his film was unspectacular and too artsy to compete with coppola's influence on mafia portrayals in the movies . +seventeen years later scorsese returned to mean streets of new york with another film that dealt with darker side of american organised crime . +this film was goodfellas , epic black comedy which is today considered as one of the best and most influential films of 1990s . +goodfellas owes some of its initial success and popularity to the fact that it was based on the true story , told in best-seller book wiseguy by nicholas pileggi ( who would co-write the screenplay for the film ) . +the book , as well as the film , chronicled thirty years in the life of henry hill ( played by ray liotta ) , irish-italian criminal from new york . +at the age of 13 he gets recruited in the criminal organisation of paulie cicero ( played by paul sorvino ) , local mob boss , and gradually climbs up the ladder starting with small errands . +after couple of years , together with his best childhood friend tommy de vito ( played by joe pesci ) , he joins the crew of expert thieves led by jimmy conway ( played by robert de niro ) . +three of them spend years as best friends and associates , gathering enormous wealth from their criminal enterprises that would culminate with one of the most spectacular robberies in american history . +wealth , influence and privileges of men connected with mafia are enough for henry hill to seduce his future wife karen ( played by lorraine bracco ) , who would afterwards remain loyal to her husband despite infidelities , domestic abuse , arrests and would even be accomplice to his own private drug dealing business . +but the perfect world of " wiseguys " gradually begins to fall apart - tommy's unpredictable outbursts of homicidal violence , jimmy's reluctance to share his part of the loot with partners and , finally , henry's own drug habit would lead to his downfall and make him question his loyalty to the friends . +goodfellas is an excellent example of a film that represents work of a film genius in his full glory . +scorsese managed to create a vision which is effective and complete despite being full of contradictions that would ripped the film apart in the hands of less talented filmmaker . +world depicted in this film is both ordinary and fascinating . +scorsese spares no effort to show us all the violence , hypocrisy and inherent paranoia of organised crime , yet it manages to make it both seductive and funny . +after being exposed to two and half hours of the film and three decades of criminal history ( based on some notorious real life events ) , the audience understands why the characters chose such dangerous life paths , trading the superficial and short-lasting glamour and prosperity of a criminal to the dullness and poverty of honest citizens . +scorsese also manages to break viewer's moralistic inhibitions by showing truly revolting material - scenes that depict personal tragedies , broken homes , human depravity , violence , bloodshed and murder - in all their uncompromising reality , but in a manner that would make it amusing and funny to the audience . +with the use of ironic soundtrack , manipulative shots , character's dialogue or narrator's commentary , goodfellas represents the new standards of black humour that would became very popular few years later during tarantino era . +even if we don't pay attention to skills with which potentially disturbing material becomes eye pleasing and entertaining , we should admit that scorsese displays his talents of truly original and creative filmmaker . +first , we might notice unusual structure of the plot - relatively minor subplot is used as movie's ironic prologue . +then , instead of single narrator , scorsese switches to the second character as narrator in the middle of the film only to switch back to the original shortly afterwards . +this multiple points of views , both in terms of narration and various subjective shots , only lengthens the ironic distance towards characters and their situation . +same ironic distance comes with extremely effective choice of soundtrack . +nostalgia for good old times is illustrated with easy-listening 1950s pop songs , while depression , paranoia and bad times find their expression in more neurotic rock songs of late 1960s and 1970s . +but the soundtrack is most effective when it is used as ironic comment - almost pastoral , easy listening tunes make strong and very ironic contrast to the scenes of violence and bloodshed . +however , thing most associated with this film is couple of continuos shots that feature characters moving through large rooms and interacting with dozens if not hundreds of people . +such scenes , although they require very great skill and patience during their shootings , became very popular among other directors in 1990s . +fragmentary character of the screenplay , which doesn't have straight plot and instead bases film on series of loosely connected vignettes , gives another interesting opportunity for scorsese . +he uses this structure of film to experiment , and most successful of such experiments is hilarious " a day in life " segment near the end of the film . +another essential element of goodfellas is large but superb collection of great acting talents . +the most respectable among them is robert de niro , but his character , who happen to be most quiet and business-like member of criminal trio , gets overshadowed by two of his friends and colleagues . +joe pesci deserved his " oscar " for supporting role of homicidal psychopath tommy , and his lines , including ad-libs , probably represent the most memorable element of the film . +ray liotta , although equally talented , perhaps doesn't look as the best choice for narrator and nominal hero of the film . +liotta's henry hill looks somewhat too hollywoodised and glamorous among this bunch of low-level street thugs . +liotta , on the other hand , improves general impression by very realistic and menacing portrayal of drug addiction . +lorraine bracco is , on the other hand , very effective and believable as karen hill , wife who gradually descends into same moral cesspool as her husband . +paul sorvino is also very effective as patriarch mafioso , and among the supporting cast most memorable is chuck low as pestering small-time gangster who unknowingly digs his own grave . +as a combination of clever sociological study , black humour and innovative filmmaking goodfellas became something only the truly great films could do - work of art and excellent popular entertainment in the same time . +because of this achievement , and also because of the great influence on future filmmakers , this cinematic gem deserves its rightful place among the best films of 1990s . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv028_26746.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv028_26746.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1b7f07092675f730480ca552fa65b6348420ed1b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv028_26746.txt @@ -0,0 +1,49 @@ + " the blair witch project " was perhaps one of a kind , a unique film that played completely on its own merit , managing to scare even the most experienced horror fans out of their senses . +its success made a sequel inevitable , but this is not the sequel , i suspect , anyone much wanted . +after the release of " the blair witch project " , tourists have practically invaded the small town of burkettsville , in order to get a glimpse of the blair witch . +locals have turned this mass hysteria into a great business opportunity , selling twig-sculptures , stones and dirt like those in the movie , and the exasperated local sheriff patrols the woods with a bullhorn , shouting , " get out of these woods and go home ! +there is no goddamned blair witch ! " . +jeff ( ) is one of those people , who has used the sudden popularity of the small town to his advantage . +after he got released from the mental institution , he created a mobile business that attracts thousands of customers through the internet . +as the movie starts he is leading one of these groups into the woods , on the " blair witch hunt " . +among the five strangers is stephen and his girlfriend , the pregnant tristen , who are writing a book on the hysteria caused by the film called " the blair witch : history or hysteria ? " , and kim , who dresses in black and has some psychic powers . +the last member of the crew is erica , a young beautiful witch-wannabe , who constantly quotes from the wiccan lore , saying " the first rule of wicca is , do no harm , because whatever you do will come back to you threefold . " +this strange group plunges into the woods , where they begin to argue about their different approaches to the experience . +on the very first night that they decide to spend under the stars amidst the ruins of parr's abandoned house , strange things start happening . +when they wake up their equipment is gone and only the tapes remain . +after a while they discover strange markings on their bodies . +they are somehow lost in time , as it loops uncontrollably back and forth . +they are all haunted by hallucinations and horrible nightmares and soon they can not see the difference between dreams and reality . +the only thing that they are sure of is that they have brought something or someone with them from the woods . . +documentary director joe berlinger ( " paradice lost " ) helms " blair witch 2 " , leaving the creators of the first film ( dan myrick and ed sanches ) in the background . +the opening scenes--the documentary showing the townspeople affected by the first film-- is a more promising approach , because instead of trying to cover similar ground , it goes outside the first film and makes its own stand . +but soon the movie gets confused and sidetracked by its own story , that is never resolved and ends with a very anticlimaxic epilogue . +in a way , this is a typical hollywood sequel . +more money has been spent and more people have worked on a project that was doomed to fail . +the horror and suspense of the original simply could not be repeated . +of course in these situations , quantity is more important than quality and profit is more important than the artistical values . +from its opening scenes when the camera gracefully panes over the bloody-red forest , with carter burwell's ( " being john malkovich " and " fargo " ) musical score in the background , you realize that with the exception of its title , this film has absolutely nothing to do with " the blair witch project " . + " blair witch . . " +was filmed by handheld videocameras and nfeatured acting that was mostly based on improvisation . +in the sequel the technical aspect of the film is close to perfection , creating a completely different atmosphere . +with its graceful cinematography , production design and flashy editing , the film has a very polished look , which is impossible to associate with the first installment . +and though berlinger directs his film with an energy and pace that makes the adrenaline rush through the body a couple of times , he has obviously misunderstood the nature of his predecessor . +the key is simplicity . + " blair witch project " had a story which was incredibly simple . +that allowed the audience to fill the gaps with our own imagination . +the film was practically an empty screen , on which we projected our most frightening nightmares . +the effect was incredibly powerful , lasting and entir e everyone , but in a different way . + " book of shadows " feels incredibly controlled and restrict . +here , very little is left to our imagination and the story is so complex and " clever " that the screenwriters are the first to get lost in it . +there is is no book of shadows and no conclusion that we can be satisfied with . +this is simply a less artistic film that doesn't have the talent and originality of its predecessor . +it resorts to fancy cinematography and special effects to create the right effect and doesn't always succeed . +but most importantly : it stands on its own ground and has almost no connection with the first movie , which doesn't allow it to destroy the original . +in the end , i can't call it a bad effort . +it's less artistic , not so scary and less original , but certainly not bad . +it's simply different . +in fact , if you haven't seen " the blair witch project " , you might like this film for what it is -- a cross between " the blair witch project " and the " scream " -films . +the only element that remains constant and similar between the two films is the solid acting ( jeffrey donovan and tristine skyler should be mentioned ) and incredible sense of surrealism . +but it's a common knowledge and experience that , with a few exceptions , every movie sequel is worse than the original and some are even not worth making . +to me the story of " the blair witch project " seemed completed , but there are obviously no limits to commercial success that " the book of shadows " is certainly assured . +and it's already time to look forward to " blair witch 3 " . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv029_18643.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv029_18643.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..75e2279312366c7dc4f57c14bb177240c3c4c98b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv029_18643.txt @@ -0,0 +1,41 @@ +seen may 31 , 1999 on home video ( rented ) . +one of the best things about the movies is that they can make you really start to wonder and analyze things in your own , everyday life that you might not have thought much of otherwise . +with some films it might be just a secondary issue , but with `dark city' what we get is nearly an entire film committed to philosophizing and theorizing about human memory and how it defines who we are , which is a poignant theme made through an absolutely beautifully-constructed film with the kind of story and setting that could only happen in a movie . +there's an old role-playing computer game called `d ? ja v ? ' wherein the player takes on the role of a man who can't remember who he is , where he is and how he got there . +the goal is to gather as many clues as possible to figure that out and along the way overcome a conflict . +the premise to this film is not unlike that game , only this time we don't have control over the protagonist . +we begin by meeting a seemingly ordinary man living in an extremely dark and dirty city ( actually , it's more than just the city , it's the whole reality ) that isn't just that neo-gothic look ( a la `batman , ' `blade runner , ' ) , but is so fully developed it's almost a different genre completely . +later he will learn that his name is john murdoch ( sewell ) , but for now he has no idea what's going on other than the fact something is not right . +the fact there's a dead body in the corner goes to enhance the feeling of paranoia and a mysterious , hurried call telling him to leave immediately is also very chilling . +this opening scene alone goes a long way to define the setting of the film and its bizarre , horrific tone . +the man doesn't know who he is nor where he's going and it's interesting to follow him since we the viewers have no idea either we can sympathize and identify with him . +in fact , this is the way all stories begin since it's impossible to know the history of a character , their feelings , values , morals , etc . until after we've observed them for a while . +but in this case , the total feeling of amnesia is an excellent tool towards characterization , developing the mood and outlining the story . +eventually , some semblance of a plot begins to unfold as it appears that john is a serial killer wanted by the police . +we met inspector frank bumstead ( hurt ) , a quiet , unemotional , soft-spoken deadpan man who appears to have been on the trail of the killer for some time . +two other important characters are also introduced : dr . daniel p . schreber ( sutherland ) , a neurotic psychiatrist who claims to be john's doctor ; and emma murdoch ( connelly ) , a jazz singer dolled up to look like a caraciture right out of the old dick tracy serials or any given leading lady of the old film-noir movies . +it was schreber who contacted john for reasons that are continually revealed throughout the course of the film . +he also contacts emma , which further helps the film reveal what is seemingly a complex , mysterious back story . +but absolutely nothing is as it appears to be in `dark city , ' which is what makes it so fascinating throughout its continual scenes of confusion and vertigo . +everything the filmmakers want us to see has some significance - considering how intricate the detail is to every single shot , its lighting , art direction and overall production design , they don't seem to be able to afford any gratuities . +however , that might also be what's keeping it from reaching its maximum potential . +by continuing to follow john as he wanders around this strange place , so much unlike the real world we know , we come to realize that it's all a hoax . +everyone in the city is the subject of an experiment being conducted by a race of aliens to understand what makes humans tick in their efforts to somehow save themselves from extinction . +but , as the film's tagline says , `last night , one of us went off . ' +for reasons that are never clearly explained , it appears that john possesses telekinetic powers to can do pretty much whatever his mind can conceive ( a process known as `tuning' ) . +the aliens , which look like very old bald human men with pasty skin , also possess the power en masse and use it to change the city every night at midnight . +at the same time all the humans fall asleep and after the changes are made , they awake and either continue where they left off or begin a new life they have no idea they did not have until then . +this premise certainly is interesting and director and co-screenwriter alex proyas is able to keep the film consistently mysterious in this regard . +he does provide some explanations such as that dr . schreber is an assistant to `the strangers' because he somehow could synthesize memory into chemical form . +the aliens mix and match the memories of the city's population to see who will change and who will not . +in the process this creates for a good deal of deep , thought-provoking philosophies that could be applied to the real world . +however , where the film errs is by not playing up the idea of memory versus the human heart as to what makes a person who he or she is . +the main characters are all closely intertwined within the seemingly complex murder mystery which never actually happened , yet when they start to go through some of the expected emotions it comes off as distant , static and cold ( mediocre performances by hurt and connelly don't help either ) . +for example , john realizes emma is not and probably never was his wife so he does not feel an emotional bond to her , yet in some scenes crucial to the film's plot , we are expected to believe they do have a genuine love for each other , which is also part of the film's climax and ending . +and that's what proyas seems to be inferring with the film , but never quite manages to convey in its fullest sense . +ironically , this is what made his first film `the crow' work so well , which had a similar theme of struggling to find hope and the human spirit within a nearly identical , dark twisted world . +with `dark city' the messenger seems to be mistaken for the message . +still , the film is by no means bad and is consistently entertaining and enjoyable . +there's a lot to like here , most notably the sheer visual look and style of it all which accounts for at least half the reasons the film is able to tell the story it does . +the story as a whole is one of the most original to come out of hollywood in years . +`dark city' is what the movies are all about - the escape from the real world . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv030_21593.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv030_21593.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..138084b27f1cdc5bc562f6298cd0684928f59872 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv030_21593.txt @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +linda fiorentino disappeared off the radar after a deservedly heralded turn in the cable pic the last seduction , and her being cast as dogma's lead is nothing short of inexplicable . +she's still in fine form as bethany , an abortion clinic worker who's lost her faith . +one night , a visitor from heaven makes a fiery entrance in bethany's bedroom . +he is metatron ( alan rickman ) , the voice of god , and he needs her help : she must stop two fallen angels from entering a new jersey church-the fate of the universe depends on it . +god would do it him/herself , but he/she is . . . missing , having taken up human form somewhere on earth never to be heard from again . +bethany is joined on her road trip to the garden state by the " prophets " jay ( jason mewes ) and silent bob ( kevin smith , doing double-duty ) , the slacker minstrels who have appeared in all of smith's films thus far . +at some point , rock drops naked out of the sky as rufus , the undocumented ( and very black ) " thirteenth apostle " , and offers his assistance , as does divine stripper serendipity ( salma hayek ) . +it's a wild ride . +they're in pursuit of loki and bartleby ( damon and affleck , respectively-this is probably the sharpest either has ever been ) , who were banished from heaven to wisconsin and have discovered a dogmatic loophole that will enable their return . +loki decides to wreak havoc along the way with the knowledge that his sins will be absolved at the pearly gates . +at one point , he terrorizes a boardroom full of suits with an angry combination of words and bullets . +it's a nasty , guiltily enjoyable little scene that asks , " how corrupt are you ? " . +wings of desire this ain't . +since debuting with clerks , smith has grown as a director , particularly in terms of working with actors . + ( chris rock is this film's only weak link-between jokes , he's wooden . ) +his no-frills visual style hasn't changed much over the years , though ( dogma's widescreen compositions at least have blockbuster affectations ) , nor has his writing-his characters still sit around delivering one caustic , hilarious speech after another . +dogma chips away at big religious issues-namely , the hypocrisy that accompanies any organized system of beliefs-eloquently and articulately , but a few of the monologues sound too much like blatant exposition . +as well , the verbal introduction of each new person seems to take forever . +any movie with this much weighty talk would have a hard time maintaining momentum ( hurlyburly , anyone ? ) , and eventually dogma's pacing goes slack . +a long diatribe from bartleby late in the game , in which he laments the destiny of celestial beings , comes at a point when we've heard enough . +because his change of heart ( bartleby is initially the good cop to loki's bad ) drives the climax , said rant is given a great deal of screen time . +sure , affleck deserved a big moment ( damon steals their scenes together prior ) , but it ultimately makes the film and us feel bloated . +like tarantino , smith was a video-age sponge who became a sample-mad indie filmmaker . +dogma pays welcome homage to an eclectic batch of movies , including indiana jones and the last crusade , with silent bob doing his best harrison ford , and weird science-a shit demon attacks our heroes ! +smith also has a kitchen sink brand of humour : his dexterous maneuvering between the satirical ( a cardinal played by george carlin attempts to mount a publicity campaign with the slogan " catholicism wow ! " ) and the scatalogical ensures that no lover of comedy will leave dogma feeling malnourished . +i bust ( ed ? ) a gut on several occasions . +proceedings also get off on the right foot with the opening with the funniest disclaimer ever . +it's a disclaimer unlikely to put protestors at ease , for to read it , one actually has to see dogma . +the prerelease ballyhoo is in the tradition of the last temptation of christ's , martin scorsese's 1988 adaptation of nikos kazantzakis' controversial novel , in that it is not directly linked to the picture's content but to rumours and heresy . +there's a famous anecdote about fletch director michael ritchie inviting picketers of the last temptation of christ into a screening on his dime , just so they could know for certain what they were rallying against . + ( not one of them had watched it . ) +every single person refused . +smith and scorsese have a lot in common , and so do the two films in question , because both smith's bethany and scorsese's jesus are hollow shells without their faith . +in fact , dogma's denouement ( which follows a thrilling showdown that's worth the wait ) is a catholic love-in , a veritable recruitment poster . + ( i felt sentimental about a religion i don't belong to . +now that's powerful filmmaking . ) smith is nothing if not sincere about his own devotion to god , and that spirituality shines through . +it's enough to make me forgive dogma for its editorial sins . +my religion is movies . +when the catholic league beats on dogma for imaginary crimes against a doctrine , in a roundabout way they're attacking what i live for : freedom of expression through celluloid . +i therefore feel that , although i'm no bible-thumper , i'm at least as qualified to criticize dogma as william donohue and his followers . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv031_18452.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv031_18452.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f42d1373425a8506eb0f1d4886f13e7978eeb8fd --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv031_18452.txt @@ -0,0 +1,66 @@ +you've heard all the hype . +you've seen all their faces - natalie portman ( the professional ) as queen amidala , liam neeson ( schindler's list ) as qui-gon jinn , ewan mcgregor ( trainspotting ) as obi-wan kenobi , and jake lloyd ( jingle all the way ) as young anakin skywalker . +if you've read any reviews , you've also probably heard that this movie fails to live up to the magic and humanity of the first trilogy . +you also may have heard that this one's too kiddie-friendly , and doesn't have enough content for adults . +believe the hype . +the effects are stunning , the digitalized creatures are amazingly realistic , the lightsaber duels are amazing , and queen amidala's sumptuous robes are fit to be worn by queen elizabeth . +but there's something missing here , and it isn't budget or effects - it's everything money * can't * buy . +the actors struggle as best they can to flesh out broad-stroked and flat characters . +the most successful at this is liam neeson who , as qui-gon jinn , a jedi master to young obi-wan kenobi , has quiet dignity and a wise , commanding presence . +he is the anchor to this movie , as he is the one character who george lucas apparently spent some time fleshing out . +portman's queen amidala and mcgregor's obi-wan kenobi don't fare nearly so well . +amidala , the future mother of luke and leia and the queen of a peaceful planet being invaded by the trade federation ( ? ! ? ) , comes off as stoic , stilted and caricatured ( it appears as though she was a vulcan geisha in a former life ) . +and obi-wan , although mcgregor makes him very endearing , has so little screen time that he's nothing but a robin to qui-gon jinn's batman . +however , mcgregor does struggle manfully to infuse this surprisingly small supporting role with a spark of genuine insight and humanity , and he does a good job . +he also absolutely nails alec guiness' ( obi-wan in episode 4 - 6 ) scottish accent , and that really makes his presence in the film more profound than it might have been otherwise . +in fact , lucas seems to bank on that preexisting knowledge quite a bit , and that's one of the problems with this film . +i would never call myself a " star wars " fan - especially not considering what it means to be a fanatic these days - but i've always enjoyed the films along with everyone else in america . +however , if you are the one person in america who * hasn't * seen the films at all or even recently , or who doesn't bother to brush-up on the names of obscure characters , you may be hopelessly lost . +for example , one of the film's main ( nefarious ) characters is senator palpatine . +for those of you not recently steeped in " star wars " trivia , emperor palpatine is that scary hooded apparition who was darth vader's master in " return of the jedi " and " empire strikes back . " +so , obviously , his appearance in " phantom menace " is meant to stir some echoes of his later role in the series , thus making his role here more meaningful . +a lot of the movie is like that . +r2-d2 and c-3po make token appearances , and it's obvious that lucas is banking on the audience's pre-existing fondness for them . . . +because he doesn't do much to add to it in any way . +same goes for jabba the hutt , who doesn't look as much mean here as he does corpulent and lazy . +even * planets * make foreshadowing guest appearances in this film - tatooine ( the desert world where luke grew up ) , coruscant ( the cloud city from " empire strikes back " ) , and alderaan ( leia's home planet - which we never actually see - that gets blown up in " star wars " ) show up or are mentioned briefly in passing . +what's the result of tying so many plot points and characters to future films ? +the answer is that this one seems surprisingly empty . +there's no meat - no substance - that makes you want to love the characters as they are , not as they will be . +another problem is that there are actually * too many * alien characters in the film . +i was distracted by the fact that two of the main evil characters - strange looking aliens who looked like gila monsters - had mouths that barely moved , making them look more like muppets than actual characters . +and jar jar binks , a silly roger rabbitish amphibious character , is intended as comic relief , but what he really becomes is annoying - and fast . +unlike chewbacca and c-3po , who got their humanity ( if you'll pardon the expression ) from their interactions with the human characters , jar jar is often left to interact mostly with others of his kind , at times making the movie seem like nothing more than a very expensive " teenage mutant ninja turtles . " +furthermore , the dialogue is often stilted and corny , and sometimes downright infantile , thereby rendering some characters into nothing more than bystanders to the plot . +oddly , this isn't just * my * judgment - lucas has said that he designed this film for kids . +well , he's done a good job . +the hero of this film , of course , is young anakin , but it was very hard for me to feel any kinship or identify with an eight-year-old boy . +that's not jake lloyd's fault , though - he does a good job of being a cute kid , which is apparently all lucas asked of him . +that's another mistake , of course , because the cute tyke becomes darth vader . +warning : spoilers ahead ! ! ! ! +in my opinion , there was not nearly enough foreshadowing of anakin's future evil in the film . +the boy is all blond flowing hair and rosy cheeks , and there's nothing more than a spark of aggression in him throughout the entire movie . +he has a doting mother ( pernilla august , making her first english- language film ) and is a slave to a gross flying gnome on tatooine . +but the only indication the audience gets that this kid isn't all hearts and roses is yoda's hesitation in allowing him to train as a jedi under qui-gon jinn . +his explanation ? + " his future is clouded . " + ( warning : major spoiler ahead . +enter at your own risk . ) +of course , the noble qui-gon dies at the hand of darth maul , a scary-looking sith lord who excels at the jedi arts , but has turned to the dark side . +this dude has maybe two lines in the entire movie , but he establishes his presence through his amazing moves with his double-sided lightsaber , and his scary facial makeup . +because qui-gon never gets a chance to train the young anakin in the ways of the force , obi-wan , qui-gon's young padawan apprentice ( one level below knightdom ) , must take over the training himself . +so , at the end of the movie , we end where the saga actually begins - with obi-wan kenobi and his young apprentice , anakin " darth vader " skywalker . +did this story need to be told ? +i would say no . +but is it a worthwhile movie to see ? +absolutely . +if you don't enter the theater with jedi-size expectations , and you simply want to be treated to an enjoyable visual spectacle , then this is your movie . +the tatooine pod races are a triumph of effects and computer animation . +the digitalized backgrounds on some of the planets are an astonishing sight . +and yoda and young obi-wan are worth seeing for their origins in a simpler , happier time . +above all , this is a fun movie . +not deep , not meaningful , and not profound . +but fun . +maybe next time , lucas will hire lawrence kasdan to co-write the script , and the guy who directed " empire " will direct . +because if lucas does the next one himself , it will be lacking the one thing it needs the most - potential . + : ) diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv032_22550.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv032_22550.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f91e496669214767052808cf86b20fa87e12e2e4 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv032_22550.txt @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +as african american detective vergil tibbs questions a suspected white murderer inside a jail cell , there is a wonderful , eye-catching shot which instantaneously presents the main message of the entire film . +the shot has tibbs' face completely covered by the shadows of the prison bars . +to see these bars blocking his face , we see how separated tibbs is from the rest of the characters in the film . +as a black detective conducting an investigation in a southern town full of violent white bigots , no matter how innocent tibbs is , he is still seen by these bigots as a threat simply because of the color of his skin . +the bars show that tibbs has not been given a fair chance to show exactly who he is , instead others have chosen him as different and dangerous . +this one shot amazes me because it captures a whole theme in a matter of seconds . +it perhaps may be the most powerful image i have seen in a film . + " in the heat of the night " was the first and the best of the three films norman jewison directed concerning racism in america . +jewison has a very keen style of displaying various cases of racism as he is neither pedantic nor overly sentimental . +in these three films he does an excellent job creating very detailed equal analyses of characters from the abused to the abusers . +he is also not afraid to tell the absolute truth about how corrupt society was in the past and is in the present . +preceding the very original " a soldier's story " and the recently released " the hurricane , " " in the heat of the night contains some classic lines and some very memorable characters . +the film , which won best picture in 1967 focuses on vergil tibbs , played superbly by sidney poitier as a fearless african american police officer from philadelphia who refuses to give up on an investigation in a white town where is he not wanted . +tibbs is a man who rarely loses his temper and that is worth mentioning because he is constantly facing abuse from those around him . +as a hero who is not afraid to face off against five men with chains , tibbs is the perfect protagonist . +poitier also gives an excellent , noteworthy voice to his character . +never nervous and always commanding , his speech patterns are very manipulative as they range from stentorian to soothing . +however , unlike " the hurricane " where denzel washington dominated over the rest of the cast , poitier shares the spotlight with rod steiger , who won best actor for his excellent performance . +as a sheriff who helps tibbs and warns him of the dangers around him , steiger shows a great amount of skill in his role . +he starts off as racist and blind as the other townspeople . +he would refer to tibbs as " boy " and would always suspiciously keep an eye on him . +as the film progresses though , there is a very gradual change in the sheriff . +he begins to see the hardships tibbs faces and he sees the foolishness of his own neighbors . +what i really enjoyed about steiger's character was that he did not completely abandon his friends or connect with tibbs at the end of the film . +he still could not refer to tibbs as mister tibbs or officer tibbs but rather settled for virgil . +instead , it was apparent that he was eventually going to see the world differently in the future . +most movies would have a character reversing all of his beliefs and influences in a matter of minutes . +this action would not have been realistic at all since it is nearly impossible for someone to believe something one day and believe something else the next day . +jewison's determination to make this film as realistic as possible is very obvious here and also very appropriate . + " in the heat of the night " shows the difference between the north and the south or a major city and a small town in the united states during the 1960's . +it displays this perfectly . +however , the actual investigation , although it is not the main focus of the film , lacks interest . +it seemed rushed especially towards the end as if jewison had given his message about racism and did not feel like giving a credible explanation involving the murder victim . +there were way too many characters added during the last fifteen minutes and some of the scenes during this time period were inane ( police officer sam being a suspect was not needed ) . +also , it is given that tibbs is a vigilant homicide detective who is the best at what he does , but some of his discoveries came out of nowhere and how he found out some of the important case details towards the end were never answered . +the rushed ending was the only mistake of this otherwise memorable jewison classic . + ( a congratulations has to be given to actor scott wilson . +he managed to be in the two best movies of 1967 , " in the heat of the night " and the even better " in cold blood . " ) diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv033_24444.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv033_24444.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e1dbb3a8029b74b2ab8e956f497f9230429ec823 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv033_24444.txt @@ -0,0 +1,52 @@ +in wonder boys michael douglas plays an aged writer \ professor with such lived-in naturalism that i believe it may be his best performance . +ever since wall street , douglas has spent the greater part of his career playing variations on the shark in a suit gordon gecko character he personified in the mid-80's . +in those performances he tended to exaggerate the vehemence of cutthroat businessmen , with much frothing at the mouth while projecting all his bad intentions to the world . +you'd think such a man would keep his evil wrapped tightly underneath a good-natured veneer , but from gordon gecko to nicholas van orton , douglas played the role straight and out in the open . +in wonder boys his performance isn't showy or a tour de force , it's simple yet truthful . +he embodies grady , a craggy old writer with a predilection for pot and pink bathrobes . +grady instructs a writers workshop while working tirelessly on a follow up to the novel that put him on the map . +when we first encounter this curmudgeon in the midst of his workshop , we hear his sardonic narration on the soundtrack as students bombard one of their own with unfair criticisms . +grady points out , in his narration , that they only do so out of jealousy . +their target is the very writerly named james leer ( played by the always understated tobey maguire ) , a student full of potential and one whom grady develops a mild affection for . +leer is the kind of youth who seems to mechanically block out emotions . +he speaks in an intellectualized monotone with just a hint of dry wit around the edges . +he's portentous and gloomy , as if modeling himself after the great depressed writers , though his act is a little too calculated . +he reminds me of the self-imposed outcast film director , jim jarmusch ( dead man , ghost dog ) . +whenever i happen to catch jarmusch in an interview i see the man speaking in a toneless manner ( the monotonous drawl supposedly masking depth or contempt for his interviewer ) , exclusively dressed in black , and with his spiked hair dyed snow white . +leer is similar , a guy who equates quirks with depth . +tobey maguire fits well in the role . +with his round , sweet-eerie face he resembles bud cort from harold and maude . +but unlike cort , maguire is easier to warm up to ; he's a messed up kid reaching for artistic credibility . +katie holmes plays hannah , a beautiful , talented writing student just itching to get in grady's pants . +this is a plot line i had trouble with . +douglas , in his old age , is beginning to resemble jerry springer , a man who has actually paid for sex on numerous documented occasions . +at first i found it extremely difficult to believe that someone as beautiful as hannah would desire grady ( maybe it's because i'm jealous , and wish holmes was throwing herself at me , after all i may just be a lowly internet critic but at least i still have all my teeth ) , then i think of douglas's real life companion , the breathtaking catherine zeta jones . +seeing those two together looks a lot like a kidnapping . +suddenly my mind has shifted from the task at hand ( that being reviewing this completely wonderful movie ) and i'm pontificating on why the hell jones would desire douglas . +there is a movie in there somewhere . +grady , rather chivalrously if you ask me , resists the charms of hannah for sara gaskell ( a droll frances mcdormand ) , who is his age , but also married to another professor . +okay , maybe not so chivalrous . +there is a great line in the film spoken by douglas about sara where he says , " she was a junkie for the printed word . +lucky for me i manufactured her drug of choice " . +robert downy j . r plays a bisexual editor who makes his entrance with a towering transvestite on his arm . +downy has mastered the gleefully dry hyper articulate wit of many a hipster intellectual . +he's arrogant but completely likeable in his utter arrogance . +the actor is perfectly cast here , and remains a joyous movie presence somewhere between a typical tom hanksian comic leading man and edgy character actor . +i wish wonder boys had more of him . +searching for a plot among the elements of wonder boys would be pointless , for it meanders through its running time , but that's part of its charm . +and maybe i'm a bit biased towards the film because it takes place in a haven of literary academia , a place i'm greatly fond of , and a place rarely explored in american cinema . +everyone has a sub-genre ( be it war films , westerns , dance movies ) that they happen to be privy to . +i'm privy to films about literary types i . e . +those individuals enthralled by the written word , and if you are not so inclined it may be wise to knock my above grade down about half a notch . +the direction by curtis hanson is more akin to a european film with its leisurely pace and situations that grow from the characters , rather than generic mapped out story points . +sometimes the dialogue is too clever , but that's a problem i wish i found with films more often . +another minor quibble is that early on the film seems a bit too introverted , like its characters , but as the story progresses it begins to open up . +for me wonder boys works as subtle drama because of its insight into artistic types , and as a low-key comedy for its chuckle-worthy throwaway gags . +the gags are like those in the great robert altman ( m * a * s * h , the long goodbye ) movies , where jokes exist as asides on the fringes , like jokes in life often do . +the broader comedy such as the killing of a blind dog , and incessant smoking of marijuana isn't ineffective but not nearly as memorable as the little things . +curtis hanson , who before his last film , la confidential , toiled about with exploitation fare like losin' it ( an early tom cruise sex comedy ) and the hand the rocks the cradle , has graduated to more meaningful films . +he directs wonder boys in an appropriately dour style , the comedy coming from the false gloom his characters put up . +the morose crooning of leonard cohen would seem an odd song for the background of any party , but in a wonder boys party , it fits . +the film is like a piece of literature put up on the big screen . +it's the cinematic equivalent to a good read , novelistic in its approach with themes rarely found in american movies . +many will find it slight , but i found much to savor among its subtleties . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv035_3954.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv035_3954.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..7927235b3ff8398cc990400b45547aa967f409fa --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv035_3954.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +unzipped is a cinematic portrait of isaac mizrahi , an artist whose palette is fabric . +ostensibly , the film is a documentary , but use of that term requires stretching its meaning . +many scenes appear staged , and a great deal of cutting-and-pasting has been done in the editing room . +the cinema verite effect is a conceit -- genuine spontaneity is at a premium , and everyone is aware of and playing to the camera ( especially would-be actresses like cindy crawford ) . +director douglas keeve ( who was mizrahi's lover at the time ) freely admits that he " couldn't care less about the truth " but was more interested in capturing " the spirit and love in isaac and in fashion . " +despite violating nearly every rule of " legitimate " documentary film making , however , unzipped is a remarkably enjoyable piece of entertainment . +while it sheds only a little light on the behind-the-scenes world of the fashion industry , it presents a fascinating , if incomplete , picture of designer mizrahi . +this man is the perfect subject for this kind of study -- he's funny , energetic , and eminently quotable . +he has unusual views on just about everything , from fashion ( " it's about women not wanting to look like cows " ) to mary tyler moore ( " between her and jackie kennedy , they shaped this country " ) to style ( " it's almost impossible to have style nowadays without the right dogs " ) . +unzipped also gives a glimpse into the creative process by which mizrahi turns an idea into a dress . +it's almost certainly different that anyone would imagine . +the designer draws on a variety of sources for his look , including nanook of the north and old bette davis movies , then enlists the aid of a ouija board to help form the collection . +in particular , unzipped traces mizrahi's development of his fall 1994 line from its inception in the spring to the final fashion show , which highlights a number of prominent models , including cindy crawford , naomi campbell , kate bush , and linda evangelista . +on the technical side , a number of interesting choices were made in filming unzipped . +a variety of film stocks were used : super 8 , 16 mm black-and-white , and 35 mm color . +there is a purpose to this beyond simple artiness -- the stock often serves as an emotional key to the movie , and , during the climactic fashion show , color is used to show the audience's perspective , while black-and-white is for the behind-the- scenes sequences . +nevertheless , some viewers will be put off by this treatment . +while unzipped isn't an expose on the fashion industry per se , keeve has enough clips of petulant models to make the viewer realize how tame robert altman was with ready to wear . +overall , however , this movie is far more about mizrahi than anything else , and only when viewed from that perspective does unzipped succeed . +when the designer declares that " everything is frustrating except designing clothes -- that's beautiful and liberating , " it fits perfectly with the image of him that unzipped has constructed . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv036_16831.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv036_16831.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3bf2a9f531abf865f9a6ce8041af4d87ce41b1ff --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv036_16831.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +dora ( fernanda montenegro ) sits behind a make-shift desk at rio+s major train station . +she , in her colorful demeanor , offers a service that is unheard of in the states . +she writes letters for the illiterate , who pass through , to try to find lost relatives , find love , or search after lost debts . +she+s quirky , she+s elderly , she+s caring . +totally trustworthy , right ? +not a chance . +once home , she never sends these letters , saving money on postage , and relishing in the drama contained therein with her neighbor irene ( mar ? lia p ? ra ) . +one of the letters is sent by a young mother with her nine-year old son , looking for their father . +shortly thereafter , she gets hit by a bus , and the son is orphaned . +days go by , and the boy , named josu ? , roams around the station , hungry , desperate , and somewhat clueless to his predictament . +through a series of circumstances too precious to elaborate upon , dora somehow takes a responsibility in trying to find josu ? +s father . +this means leaving the security of rio , traveling to the outskirts of brazil , where unpaved roads , religious devotees and the poverty-stricken become commonplace . +films like this remind me as to what i enjoy about some foreign films . +it is an opportunity for me to get a fresh breath in another part of the world , so distant from my own . +it does so entertainingly , and so heart-wrenchingly . +and yet , it+s backdrop is merely that . +the focus is on the minute transformation of dora , of how she learns to love this little kid , without being cloying or sentimental . +the most interesting backdrop is the amount of religious dedication is in the film . +dora being an amoral scam-artist , could care less about the amount of bickering between the candle-lighting of the catholics versus the bumper-sticker mentality of the evangelicals . +but neither side is trivialized . +she even begins to develop an affection for a non-drinking evangelical , who sees the problems with dora , if not initially . +fernanda montenegro surprisingly got an oscar nomination for this very delicate performance , but the true marvel is that of vinicius de oliveira , who plays josu ? . +he , like the discoveries of j ? r ? mie renier ( _la promesse_ ) and giorgio cantarini ( _life is beautiful_ ) , prove that the true acting discoveries may be outside of the united states . +he is a natural , and never once grating . +send a memo to jonathan taylor thomas . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv038_9749.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv038_9749.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1bc6a4eb5ab4cd743934c8ad184079672d24504b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv038_9749.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +sometimes a movie comes along that falls somewhat askew of the rest . +some people call it " original " or " artsy " or " abstract " . +some people simply call it " trash " . +a life less ordinary is sure to bring about mixed feelings . +definitely a generation-x aimed movie , a life less ordinary has everything from claymation to profane angels to a karaoke-based musical dream sequence . +whew ! +anyone in their 30's or above is probably not going to grasp what can be enjoyed about this film . +it's somewhat silly , it's somewhat outrageous , and it's definitely not your typical romance story , but for the right audience , it works . +a lot of hype has been surrounding this film due to the fact that it comes to us from the same team that brought us trainspotting . +well sorry folks , but i haven't seen trainspotting so i can't really compare . +whether that works in this film's favor or not is beyond me . +but i do know this : ewan mcgregor , whom i had never had the pleasure of watching , definitely charmed me . +he was great ! +cameron diaz's character was uneven and a bit hard to grasp . +the audience may find it difficult to care about her , thus discouraging the hopes of seeing her unite with mcgregor after we are immediately sucked into caring about and identifying with him . +misguided ? +you bet . +loveable ? +you bet . +a life less ordinary was a delight and even had a bonus for me when i realized it was filmed in my hometown of salt lake city , utah . +this was just one more thing i didn't know about this movie when i sat down with a five dollar order of nachos and a three dollar coke . +maybe not knowing the premise behind this film made for a pleasant surprise , but i think even if i had known , i would have been just as happy . +a life less ordinary is quirky , eccentric , and downright charming ! +not for everyone , but a definite change of pace for your typical night at the movies . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv039_6170.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv039_6170.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..15965ebfdce4f11dfa088640f59cb58f9e8cd222 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv039_6170.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18 @@ +that thing you do ! + ( r ) tom hanks's screenwriting and directorial debut , that thing you do ! , has all the qualities you would associate with the most beloved screen actor of the moment : fun , lively , and oh-so-nice . +it is the latter quality , however , that becomes a hindrance , for this '60s nostalgia trifle is so nice and sweet that it teeters on becoming bland milquetoast . +that thing focuses on the wonders , a teen rock band from erie , pennsylvania that is suddenly thrust into the national spotlight in 1964 when they score a major dance hit called , of course , " that thing you do ! " +the group's members are , naturally a diverse group : there's brooding lead singer and songwriter jimmy ( johnathon schaech ) ; girl-crazy lenny ( steve zahn ) , the lead guitarist ; a goofy , geeky type known only as the bass player ( ethan embry ) ; and the film's center , guy ( tom everett scott ) , the drummer who has aspirations in jazz . +along for the wonders' ride to success is jimmy's perpetually neglected galpal , faye ( liv tyler ) . +hanks proves to be a capable writer-director , deftly recreating the innocent spirit of 1964 , which hanks calls " the last innocent year . " +the spirit is not only reflected in the period clothes and settings but also in the music , which , like the other recent period music film , grace of my heart , was expressly written for the film ; hanks himself had a hand in writing four of the tunes--but not the infectious title cut by adam schlesinger , which is guaranteed to stay in your head long after the end credits have rolled ( it's still playing in my mind as i write this ) . +it should come as no surprise that hanks the director works well with the actors , eliciting charming , likable work from the entire cast , most notably hanks lookalike scott and tyler , who is remarkable in delivering the film's biggest and best dramatic moment . +the work of the young ensemble is so natural that they truly convince as teens of the early '60s ; they do not appear to be '90s grungers playacting " retro . " +yet for all the light , frothy charms of that thing you do ! , it's nearly nice to a fault . +while this unbridled innocence in film is a refreshing change from all the sinful cinema around these days , there is not enough conflict to keep things consistently interesting . +everyone is so happy , basking in the glow of overnight success , marvelling at it all--except toward the end , but even then the tone quickly reverts to sweetness , ending on an appropriately feel-good note . +there isn't much of an edge throughout that thing--the only thing that is remotely edgy is hanks's turn as the wonders' manager--and thus becomes in danger of being so nice it's bland . +but a little niceness goes a long way these days , and there's no denying the entertainment value of that thing you do ! ; it's just about impossible to hate . +it's an inoffensive , enjoyable piece of nostalgia that is sure to leave audiences smiling and humming , if not singing , " that thing you do ! " --quite +possibly for days . +to paraphrase a passage from the song : though i try and try to forget that song it is just so hard to do every time they play " that thing you do ! " diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv041_21113.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv041_21113.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..df35043560e4fb10d24de145b78fb191b4e577d6 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv041_21113.txt @@ -0,0 +1,61 @@ +dreamworks pictures presents a jinks/ cohen company production kevin spacey annette bening " american beauty " thora birch allison janney peter gallagher mena suvari wes bentley and chris cooper co-producers stan wlodkowski alan ball music by thomas newman costume designer julie weiss film editor tariq anway chris greenbury production designer naomi shohan director of photography conrad l . hall , a . s . c . +produced by bruce cohen & dan jinks written by alan ball directed by sam mendes + " both my wife and daughter think i'm this gigantic loser . +and they're right . +i have lost something . +i didn't always feel this sedated . " +with that piece of dialogue , we are fully introduced to lester burnham ( kevin spacey ) , a 42 year old man trapped within his own life . +lester works for an advertising agency . +his growing dissatisfaction with his job is only one of the mid-life crisis he is suffering . +estranged from both his wife and his daughter , lester starts to crack under the stress . +his life becomes nothing more than a series of mastubatory fantasies , and sullen apathy . +carolyn burnham ( annette bening ) , is the prototypical career woman/ homemaker . +she carefully tends her rose garden , decorates her home with the best furnishings . +but inside she is desperate . +unsuccessful at her profession as a real estate agent , she drives herself into states of denial and self loathing that only feed her growing resentment towards her family . +the third member of this anti-family is jane burnham ( thora birch ) , lester and carolyn's daughter . +a young girl going through the typical stages of adolescence , but having to also come to terms with her families growing dysfunction . +this funny ( and frightening ) slice of life is refreshingly simple . +not one character is given less than is needed to identify him or her . +some of the most telling characters are those that serve to highlight other characters . +most notably is barbara fitts ( allison janney ) , the almost catatonic wife of retired marine colonel fitts . +she has almost no dialogue , and seems to be either recovering from a stroke or suffering from one . +colonel fitts ( chris cooper ) is an angry and frightened man . +his rage directed almost singularly at his son , ricky ( wes bentley ) who has just moved with his family to the same neighborhood as the burnham's . +in fact they are the next door neighbors . +anymore detail into the personalities of these marvelously diverse characters would deprive one of the many pleasures and surprises to be had in " american beauty " . +alan ball , who was the co-executive producer of the hit tv series " cybil " and creator of the new sitcom " oh grow up " , has fashioned one of the most insightful and expertly tuned screenplays to have hit the screen in the past ten years . +not one character in this film rings falsely . +and the depth of personality in each , is achingly honest and insightful . +the plot detailing the last year in the life of a man as he tries to find his own self worth is so resoundingly cliched and at the same time original as to bring to mind such marvelous film work as " the graduate " or " lolita " . +kevin spacey turns in one of this years most pragmatic performances . +his lester burnham is an everyman caught up in the middle of a life that is spiraling into old age . +finally unable to deal with the lost soul that he has become , lester tries to return to his youth . +he quits his job ( actually blackmailing his employer for one year's salary ) , starts smoking pot , fantasizes about his daughter's girlfriend angela ( mena suvari , in a marvelous performance here ) , starts working out , and finally takes a job at the local fast food outlet . +mr . spacey's performance is so remarkably subtle and ingenuous , that we can be certain that come oscar ? time , we can be assured to see him name among the five nominees . +annette bening also turns in what may be the best performance of her career . +carolyn burnham is a woman who has become so insecure as to be caught up in maintaining the facade of normalcy . +unable to cope with her growing disillusionment , she forces herself to maintain her demeanor , driving her further and further into desperation , adultery and possibly murder . +ms . bening makes the character of carolyn so compelling as to be identifiable to almost anyone . +the slow and methodical turn from happy home maker to charnel house martha stewart is too frightening to express in words . +thora birch holds her own against the talents cast with her . +jane burnham is both an innocent girl caught up in what is a dysfunctional family , and a rebellious child ready to abandon them at any moment . +her growing distrust and isolation from her family is something that many parents should view as a warning . +she is the prototypical trophy child . +when carolyn praises her daughter after a performance by her cheerleading team ( " i'm so proud of you , honey . +you didn't screw up once ! " ) , the bitterness and resentment are palpable . +thora birch is a young actress to watch . +praise must also go to chris cooper who brings yet another angry father role to life with depth and resonance . +colonel finn is a man in complete denial . +his military upbringing masking a desire he is too repulsed to even comprehend . +wes bentley as ricky finn is fine as the enigma . +the boy next door who may be more foe than friend . +a deceitful and calculating young man , whose voyeuristic proclivities mask a deeper and more profound understanding of life than any of the adults around him . +mr . bentley's performance is the one troublesome note in the film . +that is simply because the character is such a grand and complete liar , that one almost faults the performance for it . +director sam mendes handles all of the particulars of the cast and the settings with a sure and composed style that is neither intrusive nor subtle . +scenes of carolyn walking through the rain , carry an ominous fission that calls attention to the emotions of the character . +the subtle cinematography by conrad hall is wonderful , capturing the season in all of it's harsh beauty ( fall has never looked so inviting , yet depressing ) . +every nuance of " american beauty " begs it's audience to think and examine . +it is a film that will be discussed and debated for years to come . +and well it should , as it is simply one of this years best . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv042_10982.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv042_10982.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..89463016973c78f7e8c5fc50223490cb14363008 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv042_10982.txt @@ -0,0 +1,51 @@ +will hunting ( matt damon ) is a natural genius . +for a movie character , that's usually a death sentence . +it's a trait associated with what my brother calls " too good for this world " movies , like phenomenon or powder . +forgive me for spoiling the ending , but will doesn't die . +this is no formula movie . +in fact , it's quite fresh and original . +it's a character study more than anything , and that's not surprising , considering it was written by two actors : damon and co-star ben affleck . +will works whatever kind of job he can get . +first he's a janitor , then he works construction . +off-screen he speed reads books on any academic subject that interests him . +on-screen he hangs out with his friends , picking fights in robust , romanticized-hemingway fashion . +lambeau ( stellan skarsgard from breaking the waves ) , a math professor , learns that the janitor ( will ) is a genius with a special talent for advanced mathematics . +having confirmed he's not a fluke or a savant , he does what he can to get will into the education system . +he is firmly rejected . +finally , will lands in jail for one of his fights . +lambeau can get him probation instead of prison time as long as will agrees to therapy sessions and to discussing mathematics with him . +will ( barely ) decides to go for the therapy over prison . +lambeau treats will like a son . +he's proud of , and amazed by , will's accomplishments in mathematics . +he encourages will and tries to give him structure , knowing that , with a little discipline , he could be bigger than einstein . +will isn't really interested in academia . +he knows he would be the best in his field , and therefore spend all of his time in an office , explaining math to people like lambeau . +he would rather work construction , which breaks lambeau's heart . +meanwhile , will attends his mandated therapy sessions . +it's not long before he shreds all the therapists on lambeau's " a " list . +will has read enough psychology to know the tricks of the trade , and how to keep them from affecting him . +shrink after shrink refuses to return after will's mockery . +lambeau's last hope is his old college roommate , now a psychology teacher at a small-time community college . +knowing that will is going to try to shred him too , sean ( robin williams ) agrees to take him on as a favor to lambeau and for the chance to meet this next einstein . +true to form , will finds sean's emotional weakness and attacks . +but unlike the other shrinks , sean knows what he is in for and continues the sessions . +like a foster mother with a fussy child , sean knows that the attacks are defensive and is able to take them in stride . +like the foster mother , sean knows that time and quiet patience is the only approach . +robin williams is excellent in this role . +he's not an actor with a great range , but in the right roles he has great depth . +in this movie , as in awakenings , there comes a point when the quiet , shy man accomplishes something of great personal importance , and a smile of pure joy spreads up to his eyes . +williams is the only actor i can name who can make an audience cry just by smiling . +i have compared will to a foster child and that's not entirely fair . +emotionally , he has a lot to learn , but he is not a child . +he has thought about his life and made rational decisions about what he wants . +sean , his girlfriend , his pals , and lambeau all help him grow , but he didn't start out asking for , or particularly needing , help . +his exceptional gift singled him out , and those who love him kept pushing him in the right direction . +if i had to say anything bad about good will hunting is that it walks the line between drama and melodrama . +it's too sentimental and uplifiting for a straight drama , but the emotions are too subtle for melodrama . +it is emotionally engaging , but it's not quite larger than life . +this isn't a problem per se , but at times i didn't know quite how to take it . +but this is a relatively small complaint about a very good movie . +a good movie allows its characters to learn and grow . +it doesn't just happen ; it takes a good script , good acting , and good direction . +good will hunting has all three . +if you are at all inclined to see it , by all means , go . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv043_15013.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv043_15013.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8ed22c4f7c894be232519345f0b22182fb95d647 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv043_15013.txt @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ +if there's one thing in common about all of hollywood's major studios , it's that their productions are moving toward mainstream more and more . +although twentieth century fox and new line cinema have spawned subsidiaries which specialize in independant or controversial motion pictures ( fox searchlight and fine line respectively ) , it's obvious there's no significant movement underway to promote inventive ideas at the theater . +so when a movie like gary ross' pleasantville comes along , wrapped in a blanket of innovative ideas and served up on a platter of fine production , it's a welcome change of pace for all who frequent the cineplexes . +although the atmosphere and buzz about the movie are cheery and lighthearted , pleasantville should not be mistaken for a no-thought movie . +quite the opposite is true , in fact , as director ross skillfully brings a narrative with intense and intelligent undertones to the screen . +the story , both about the joys of living life to the fullest as well as the social ills of segregation , captures the essence of statement-making in the cinema . +not in recent memory has a movie carried such weight of theme into widescale distribution , and even if mass audiences fail to see the ingenuity of ross' work , it is still a testament that his picture was considered worthy enough . +kudos to both he and his production staff for putting together this fine picture . +it stars tobey maguire and reese witherspoon as two nineties teenagers who , through quite a bit of luck , find themselves zapped into a fifties sitcom named " pleasantville . " +maguire , as the reserved bud parker , is perfect for the pseudo-world ; but the rebellious mary sue ( witherspoon ) is not at all made for the father-knows-best times . +it's not long before she sets the town of pleasantville on end , and begins to teach the townspeople - in a quite unlikely way - what life is * really * like . +soon hues of color creep into the black and white world , and while some embrace the change in the passion of realism , others fear the strangeness . +at one end is a soda shop owner-turned-painter named mr . johnson ( jeff daniels ) and at the other end is a close-minded mayor ( j . t . +walsh ) and his chamber of commerce ; but the two sides are simply fronts for a clash of ideas that soon involves the entire town . +fine performances are turned in all around . +maguire and witherspoon are effective as the leads , but the true complements go out to jeff daniels and j . t . +walsh ( in his latest and final posthumous performance ) . +daniels brings an atmosphere of awe , inspiration , and hope to his character , whereas walsh simply drips of sinister closemindedness - almost to the point where you can sense gene hackman's envy . +for daniels , it's his most commendable performance of the last three years - or more - and for walsh , it's a complementary exclamation point on a fine career . +also of lesser note is the supporting role by joan allen , and in viewing the entire cast works well together from start to finish . +there's not much to dislike about pleasantville , and its dynamic nature makes it the perfect movie for those who want serious as well as those who don't . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv046_10188.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv046_10188.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0916632fafd7aaa0e6182ec90a8be6eac6aed233 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv046_10188.txt @@ -0,0 +1,48 @@ +at first glance , it appears that the home alone movies are brainless slapstick intended for those with minds of 8-year olds . +that's true of home alone 2 and i'd bet money that it's true of home alone 3 ( opening soon ) . +but home alone actually has a lot going for it , and the cartoon slapstick doesn't get in the way . +the mcalisters , all 15 of them , are going to france for the holidays . +four adults and eleven kids are spending the night together before heading to the airport en masse . +the littlest kid , kevin , is the victim of the older kids' cruelty . +kevin's patience runs out when he learns that his plain-cheese pizza has already been eaten , and he's going to have to starve . +he attacks his big bully brother buzz , who had been teasing him . +the fight disrupts the already-chaotic dinner , spilling milk and soft drinks all over the table , a few cousins , and an uncle . +the knee-jerk reaction is for everyone to blame kevin . +nobody came to his rescue when he was being teased , but they all point their fingers when he fights back . +the ultimate punishment comes from mom ( catherine o'hara ) who sends him up to the spare bedroom in the attic for the night . +on his way up the stairs , he tells her that " families suck " and that he hopes never to see any of his family again . +that night the power goes out , knocking out the alarm clocks , so the mcalisters wake up in a big hurry to get to the airport . +in a surprisingly plausible setup , kevin is mistakenly accounted for , and the family heads off without him . +it's interesting that , in a subtle way , his parents never noticed him missing because of their deliberate desire to separate themselves from their children . +first they delegate the headcount to an older sibling , and second , they put all the kids in coach while they fly first class . +they're two-thirds of the way across the atlantic before they realize they are missing a child . +meanwhile , kevin believes that somehow his wish has come true . +he's finally rid of his family ! +life is a dream come true . +he can jump on the beds , watch r-rated movies , eat gobs of ice cream and potato chips , and dig through his big brother's secret box . +slowly , the novelty wears off and he settles into the mundane . +he grooms himself , he does the laundry , he goes shopping ( " i bought some milk , eggs , and fabric softener " ) . +he also starts to miss his family , not just for their company , but for the security they bring . +the furnace in the basement is a scary monster , the old man next door is a snow-shovel murderer , and two crooks are trying to break into his house . +macaulay culkin is cute but he isn't much of an actor . +still , we can see that kevin's character grows , thanks to some good direction and editing . +for example , acting has little to do with the emotional impact of the scene where kevin searches out a seasonal santa at night , just as " santa " is getting in his car . +kevin asks the man to pass on his request - he wants his family back - to the real santa . +he learned how to deal with the furnace . +you turn on the lights and it's not so scary anymore . +he goes to a church one evening and there he sees the snow-shovel murderer , who actually turns out to be a nice man . +they talk about their fears and kevin learns that age alone does not make you less afraid . +finally , in the last 20 minutes , kevin confronts his last fear - the bandits , head on ( literally ) . +this last act is full of violent comedic slapstick , and after the movie's genuine dramatic setup , it is dessert . +it's a lot of fun , and it doesn't overwhelm the rest of the movie . +on the whole , home alone is a great holiday movie . +john williams' original score has the sound and feel of holiday music without the disadvantage of being overplayed at the malls , and the christmas setting can put you in the mood for those family gatherings . +but it does have its flaws . +the smallest problem is that culkin doesn't act very well . +as i said before , he is cute , but repeated viewings reveal more about how columbus covered himself than about culkin's insight into his character . +the biggest problem is that during the cartoony coda , the villains threaten kevin's life about five times . +instead of " i'm gonna get that kid " they say " i'm gonna kill that kid . " +some might argue that the tone is the same , but i strongly disagree . +mixing comedy with specific and viable threats of murder is a sociopathic faux-pas . +i'll probably never see home alone 3 , and i wish i had skipped home alone 2 , but i do enjoy home alone almost every year . +don't let your impressions of the others detract from the original , which has much more to offer than cartoon slapstick . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv047_1754.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv047_1754.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..cdc227aa56eb68e33e8a47e8c96f320d072d7da9 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv047_1754.txt @@ -0,0 +1,41 @@ +-- comedy , rated pg , runs about 1 : 40 -- starring : john goodman , kathy moriarty , and a bunch of teenagers -- directed by joe dante and written by charles hass -- +summary : lawrence woolsley ( john goodman ) brings his new horror film mant ! +to premiere in key west during the height of the cuban missile crisis . +he hopes to capitalize on the tense moment by providing an escape for the town . +we see most of the events through the stories of four teenagers and how life affects them . +quick and easy review : i really enjoyed matinee . +the mixture of comedy and tension blended nicely . +unlike many comedies this film tries , and succeeds , in getting past the stage of doing anything for a laugh . +the makers of the film also cared about telling an intelligent story . +the performances of all the principals are right on the mark , particularly john goodman as the schlock master . +so i would definitely recommend this film to anyone looking for a light hearted , yet interesting way to spend a couple of hours . +longer , more detailed review : [beware of spoilers] +the primary reason i enjoyed this film was , that while being a comedy , the film also had an intelligent story to tell . +too many comedies today subscribe to the the notion that a comedy need only make you laugh . +you watch the movie , laugh a lot , leave the theatre and take nothing with you . +matinee is not like that . +i left the picture thinking about what i would do faced with the cuban missile crisis . +i found myself wondering what would happen to the characters of the film . +but most importantly , i found myself caring about what would happen to the characters . +the comedy of the film centers around goodman , his character , and the film he brings to key west . +i believe that goodman is one of the finest comedic actors in the business today . +he is highly expressive both physically and vocally . +i felt he at least deserved an oscar nomination for his work in barton fink . +the other characters are often lost in a scene with him due to his commanding nature , however , while the star , goodman is actually not at the center of the film . +the movie is really the story of the four teenagers , discovering who they are and what they want , against a background where at any minute it could all end . +i thought the kids reaction were highly realistic . +they tried to block it out , they tried to escape from the concerns of their world . +unfortunately it kept creeping back in , particularly with the fear , and the chaos of the time . +while the comedy centered on goodman , and the drama on the teens , there was a great deal of overlap . +several aspects of the panic are shown in a humorous light . +one example is a scene where people are fighting each other for the the last cans and boxes of food in a grocery store . +if you think about it the threat of nuclear annihilation seems hardly to be the backdrop for a comedy , but it works here . +another reason i like this film is that i like b- science fiction movies . +one of my favorite films to go watch is plan 9 from outer space . + ( note i did not say it was one of my favorite movies , but one of my favorite to see . ) +while mant ! +never got made , many films like it were , and mant ! +serves mostly as dante's homage to the b-films he loves . +so again i would like to recommend matinee to anybody looking for a good , humorous story . +this isn't a gag film like many other comedies but an intelligent , well-thought out , film about real people with real problems told in an often hilarious way . +enjoy ! diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv048_16828.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv048_16828.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ef930607a2faaee1524f3f38d18ee279279e0199 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv048_16828.txt @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ +when _star wars_ came out some twenty years ago , the image of traveling throughout the stars has become a commonplace image . +when the millenium falcon moves throughout the stars , we see constellations , meteor showers , and cool space-ships . +when han solo goes light speed , the stars change to bright lines , going towards the viewer in lines that converge at an invisible point . +cool . +_october sky_ offers a much simpler image--that of a single white dot , traveling horizontally across the night sky . +was it really only forty years ago , when sputnik was launched , and that before then , no satellites ever existed ? +have we become so technologically advanced that we have forgotten that it was nearly two generations ago where people stood outside to breathlessly see a then-technological achievement , even though it was from the russians ? +it sounds hokey , but when that scene occurs near the beginning of _october sky_ , i found myself caught up with the enthusiasm of homer hickam , played by jake gyllenhaal . +determined to make a dent in the space race , he becomes transfixed with his desire to make a rocket that could fly like the best of them . +it is films like this that we know the ending as we buy the ticket . +when lovely teacher miss riley ( played by laura dern ) , suggests that he enters his findings into the national science fair , we know exactly who is going to win . +but the joy in a film like this is in the little details . +for example , homer is clearly not the strongest student in his class . +if he has any strengths whatsoever , it is an undeterring vision , and a good organizer . +it means that he may have to lose his reputation by associating with the nerdiest kid in school , who knows more about rocket science than he does . +it means that if his father forbids him to shoot rockets on company property ( that is , the entire coal-mining town ) , he must walk eight miles one way , just to set up the rockets , which will fail , fail , fail , and fail again . +homer+s dad is played by chris cooper , a favorite actor of mine since _lone star_ . +here he plays the antithesis of the character he played in _matewan_ : instead of organizing union rallies , he is the head of the coal-miners , who is constantly wringing his hands against the unions . +this is will be one of the great unnoticed performances of the year : note how multi-dimensional his character is . +he is his son+s last nemesis , as one who most likely interferes with his son+s dreams . +but he truly loves his son , and wants to see him succeed the only way he knows how . +through coal-mining . +because of his character , we can see how far we+ve come . +the revolution of modern technology has allowed for us to see society advanced at a rate far faster than any generation before us . +we don+t understand that there were the generations from the industrial revolution who knew of no other way to raise a family . +the paradigm was shifting under the father+s feet , and he knew of no other life . +so _october sky_ , far from being merely a feel-good inspirational film , offers much food for thought . +and this is the best type of inspirational film ; the one that you take something with you . +btw , the final image of the film is just as simple , is as strong a contrast as the aforementioned horizontal-moving white dot against the night-sky background . +another commonplace image , to be sure , but it must have been breathtaking forty years ago . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv049_20471.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv049_20471.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..9d3baeee012b8326dbbd7dc35828c8fa60a6f570 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv049_20471.txt @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +warning : contains what the matrix is . +rated r for sci-fi violence . +starring : keanu reeves , laurence fishburne , joe panteliano +some may be disappointed with the matrix . +i'll tell you i was . +i sat there and sat there and sat there waiting for something to happen . +now wait wait , i know most of you loved it , and i'm not saying i didn't like it . +what i'm saying is the first half was extremely slow . +now seeing the trailer it makes you think the whole entire movie is one big special effects show . +don't be fooled , this movie has a big story . +and big chunks of talky moments . +but i will admit the special effects and the acting were above par , deserving the rating above . +ok now to the story . +well this may take a while . +ok first of all , our world we live in now , is not the real world , actually we live inside a computer generated world known as the matrix . +a man played by keanu reeves is about to find that out , when is kidnapped and almost coaxed to go into the real world . +he does so , and finds out that he can do anything , be anything he wants to be . +but he has to fight a 'matrix skipping' bad guy , who wants to send him back to his own world or destroy him . +laurence fishburne , his guide of sorts plays his character well as does keanu reeves . +but i sat in the theatre for over and hour wondering where all the special effects were . +yeah there were some in the first half but not enough . +the trailer for this movie was really decieving making people think that this was a special effects laden movie . +now for the second half , it is explosive , and saves the movie . +some of the special effects and fighting were breathtaking . +the sound , the music , and all the effects were effective , and the last hour kept us entertained . +but with a running time of 2 hours and 20 minutes , this movie is at least 40 minutes too long . +one would have wished for a better 'matrix' , but i do have to say , i did like it and i was entertained . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv050_11175.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv050_11175.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..baace6844a49a15bbf8aea5009db5476b43150f9 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv050_11175.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +national lampoon's animal house , made in 1978 and set in 1962 , remains one of the -- no , fuck that noise -- * the * funniest movie ever made . +and this isn't just my opinion , either ; everybody knows this , and that's why about a gazillion inferior rip-offs have been made , trying to duplicate its success . + ( pcu anyone ? +and the first person to bring up glory daze gets decked . ) +animal house takes place at the fictional faber college , circa 1962 , where the omega frat calls the shots . +these guys are wholesome , clean-cut , model-citizens . . . +i . e . +a bunch of assholes . +greg , their leader , is going out with mandy pepperidge , but since the silly bastard doesn't believe in pre-marital sex , their relationship never goes further than a quick jack-off under the stars . +neidermeyer is the supreme-bozo of the bunch , walking around with his dick out kicking freshman ass and trying to impress the muff . +also hanging around these losers is babs , future universal studios employee and serious bitch . +now let's just take a peak next door , at the delta house . +over here , anything goes : you wanna throw shit out the window ? +okay . +you wanna crush a bunch of beer cans on your forehead and pour honey-mustard all over your chest ? +go right ahead . +the frat's leaders are otter and boon ( tim matheson and peter riegert ) . +otter is the ladies' man , going out with another girl every night , and boon is the comedian . +he's got a steady-date , katy ( karen allen ) , but she's sick of playing second-fiddle to a bottle of j . d . +then there are the others : pinto , a wimp ; flounder , a blimp ; d . day , a biker ; stork , who may or may not have brain-damage ; and last but not least . . . +bluto ! +bluto , played by the late , great john belushi , is the man . +he's the kind of guy who slugs back entire fifths of whiskey then proclaim , " i needed that . " +the kind of guy who puts a cream-filled snowball into his mouth , puffs up his cheeks and spits it out , and then says " i'm a zit -- get it ? " +the story is as follows : the omegas are getting the deltas kicked off campus . +the deltas , knowing that fighting the omegas is stupid , decide to go out with style , throwing a wild toga party and ruining the homecoming parade . +this is the fucnniest movie int he history of the world . +do yourself a favor and go see it . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv051_10306.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv051_10306.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b8c96e26f1bcc6e5c29a6fcaec826e4ab3b6ad9c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv051_10306.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18 @@ +every year , hollywood crowns a new " it boy " --a young actor pegged for major movie stardom . +inheriting the mantle from last year's " winner , " matthew mcconaughey , is matt damon , and , like mcconaughey , he proves to be more than just a fresh young face , as evidenced in two radically different projects currently in release--john grisham's the rainmaker and good will hunting . +damon has his first major starring role , a la mcconaughey , in a john grisham adaptation--in this case , francis ford coppola's take on the rainmaker . +damon plays wet-behind-the-ears attorney rudy baylor , who , immediately after passing the bar exam , finds himself representing the mother ( mary kay place ) of a terminally ill young man ( john whitworth ) in a big-league suit against a negligent insurance company . +while rudy's ( and the film's ) main concern is this case , he also finds time to protect a young wife ( claire danes ) from her abusive husband ( melrose placer andrew shue , in a mercifully brief role ) . +written for the screen and directed by coppola , the rainmaker is the best grisham film yet mostly because it does not take itself too seriously . +coppola's most notable--and effective--contribution to the tried-and-true grisham formula is a sense of humor about itself , which largely comes in the presence of danny devito ( as rudy's unlicensed co-counsel ) and golden globe nominee jon voight ( as the insurance company's hotshot attorney ) . +the inclusion of the battered wife subplot feels rather superfluous , but danes is as superb as always . +then , of course , there is damon , who nicely juggles the weighty ( the insurance case , the spousal abuse ) and the humorous ( rudy's often comical naivete ) requirements of his role without missing a beat . +as good as he is in the rainmaker , damon showcases the depth of his talent in good will hunting , directed by gus van sant and written by actor ben affleck and damon himself . +damon plays the title character , will hunting , a troubled young construction worker/janitor at mit who also happens to be a supergenius . +in an attempt to steer this brilliant young mind in the right direction , an mit math professor ( stellan skarsgard ) taps his old college friend , community college psychologist sean mcguire ( robin williams ) , to counsel the abrasive , standoffish will and try to help him come to terms with his turbulent life . +good will hunting is the touchy-feely enterprise its plot synopsis suggests , but to simply dismiss it as that would be to discount the true emotional chords affleck and damon's intelligent script touches . +even though no one ( and , if so , _very_ few people ) can directly relate to will's burden of superhuman intelligence , the insecurities he suffers are universal . +the material is brought to life by the terrific ensemble of actors . +williams delivers a nice dramatic turn ; affleck , a hot up-and-coming actor himself ( chasing amy ) , turns up in a warm and charming performance as will's best friend ; and the ever-appealing minnie driver shines as will's harvard-schooled love interest . +the clear standout in the cast , though , is damon , who bravely does not soften will's prickly nature but has such a natural ease with the audience that it is hard _not_ to care for him . +so many names come and go with the fluctuations of the hollywood hype machine , but based on his impressive work in john grisham's the rainmaker and especially good will hunting , it is a safe bet that matt damon is one name we will be hearing a lot more of in the years to come . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv052_29378.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv052_29378.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a43242353300e8dceb0db7824dacaf9d41eae6c7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv052_29378.txt @@ -0,0 +1,15 @@ +synopsis : leonard shelby ( pearce ) is a former insurance investigator on the trail of the man who killed his wife . +leonard has only a few clues to the murderer's identity ; to make matters worse , he suffers from a condition which inhibits the creation of short-term memories , meaning that leonard is always forgetting what happened just minutes earlier . +because of this , leonard is forced to rely on notes he leaves for himself . + " memento " traces the investigation back in time from its apparent culmination . +review : " memento " is the sort of movie i wish i'd written ; i can think of no higher praise than that . +i am envious that nolan has concocted such a brilliant , involved , original movie as this . +an instant film noir classic , " memento " is virtually flawless . +the script is unlike any i have ever seen -- a notable achievement in these days of recycled hollywood homogeneity . +although the idea of starting at the " conclusion " of the plotline and then moving backward in time to the " start " is not entirely new , never before have i witnessed it executed with such flair and coherence . + " memento " is endlessly exciting and inventive , a rare story which keeps the viewers guessing during the film itself , and mulling over its connotations long after leaving the theatre . +and it is not merely an exercise in cerebrality ; there is plenty of action and an unexpected dose of humour to keep the proceedings lively . +nolan's direction is equally effective , never losing its crispness and clarity despite " memento " 's challenging gimmick . +and to top everything off , all the performances rise to the occasion . +pierce is terrific as the troubled leonard ; moss shows great range as enigmatic natalie ; and pantoliano's teddy achieves a splendidly affable yet sinister quality . + " memento " may be the year's best screenplay , and is certainly amongst the top theatrical attractions of 2001 . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv053_21822.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv053_21822.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..9d0abea65fa2038e512fe559bf2ede09bf9700e4 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv053_21822.txt @@ -0,0 +1,43 @@ +earth is a harsh , unconsoling drama about the time when india gained independence from britain and the ensuing turmoil that engulfed the subcontinent . +people who supposedly loved the same land and the same god found themselves in bitter conflict , as the country divided into factions fighting in the streets : indian and pakistani ; muslim , hindu , sikh , parsee . +the story takes place in lahore , which was indian before partition , and pakistani afterward , regardless of what its citizens might call themselves . +the action is seen through the eyes of lenny ( maaia sethna ) , a young parsee girl , but it is really about her nanny , shanta . +shanta has a small circle of male admirers . +two of the men are suitors : hasan ( rahul khanna ) , a hindu , and dil navaz ( aamir khan ) , a muslim . +the others--sikh , hindu , muslim--are older ; some are married ; but all appreciate shanta , who is played by the stirringly beautiful nandita das . + ( she also starred in deepa mehta's previous film , fire , the first part of a thematic trilogy which will conclude with water . ) +in an early scene , the men are sitting in a park talking with shanta and lenny ; political tension in the country is growing as the day of independence nears . +one of the men remarks , jokingly , that their little group is probably one of the last places in the city where the different religions can still get along . +he is wrong : the men make barbed little comments to each other , spoken like jokes , but with an undercurrent of fanaticism . +the tenor of these exchanges grows darker and more bitter as the movie progresses . +it is easy to perceive , in these squabbles , the trajectory which ends in mass violence and slaughter . +the group around shanta represents , in a sense , a united india , and shanta herself the ideal motherland--one which all love , which inspires hindu , muslim , and sikh to live peacably together . +but the circle around shanta is sundered , as is the state . +a sikh is persecuted , hides , then flees . +another man is murdered . +the group of friends will not meet again . +the movie is rife with images of breakage and destruction : a plate shattered on the floor , a stuffed toy torn apart by an upset child , and , most brutally , when the tension escalates into violence , a man is held down , tied between two cars , and ripped in half by the opposing movement of the vehicles . +it is a visceral and effective metaphor for a country which is being destroyed just as painfully . +the crux of earth's plot is the transformation undergone by dil navaz . +his sisters are killed in brutal fashion , by hindus , because they are muslim . +dil navaz seeks solace from shanta , and asks in desperation that she marry him . +but she loves hasan , and tenderly refuses dil navaz's offer . +the combination of familial anguish and romantic rejection twists inside him , and it is easy to see how he is seduced by the growing mob mentality : the muslim cause gives him a motive to vent his anger and hate . +despite the things he later does , it is to the credit of earth that it does not simply denounce dil navaz and those like him , but shows how circumstances can make decent enough men do monstrous things . +the conclusion--the consequence of dil navaz's transformation--is rather abrupt . +the story earth tells does not end . +it just stops . +it is an appropriate finish : giving us closure would have imparted , at least on an aesthetic level , a sense of resolution , of satisfaction . +but there was no resolution for india and pakistan--they have been at war , on a small or large scale , for decades . +since the personal dramas in earth mirror the political struggles of a nation , it is only right that those dramas should have no terminus . +there is no healing to be had , no closure , on any level ( despite the needless , tacked-on ending , with voice-over narration from lenny as an adult , framing the story ) . +earth is , in some ways , an unexceptional movie . +it does not reinvent the wheel , following instead the standard pattern of historical dramas . +but deepa mehta's directon is assured , and the issues she addresses run deep . +earth does for india what movies like zhang yimou's to live and tian zhuangzhuang's the blue kite did for china : they show us the agonies endured by unremarkable people who had the bad luck to be caught up and smashed in the crucible of history . +such films strike me as inherently valuable , even when flawed . +they may be biased or inaccurate , but they bear the weight of human hardship , and this confers on them a nobility and gravity which other , more inventive films , often lack . +it is notable that all three movies were banned in their native countries : the events shown may have happened decades ago , but they still touch a nerve . +the issues tackled in earth have a particular urgency in light of the nuclear test bombings that took place last year . +in the near future , india and pakistan may launch nuclear missiles at each other . +at the time of the tests i had some understanding of the reasons why this might happen ; after seeing earth , i have a much , much better understanding . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv054_4230.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv054_4230.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1e6d9d5db53386f59571d4f0f802dc21c0dbff4b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv054_4230.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +up until about a year ago , john travolta's career consisted of those " look who's talking " movies ( notice how they never called them look who's talented ) and the 1991 bomb shout ( which was bad enough to make most people scream ) . +but somewhere along the line , travolta got the starring role in the tarantino masterpiece pulp fiction and his career soared once again . +weird how someone whose career was on par with the bee gees back in 1978 would experience fame and fortune once again , while barry , robin and maurice gibb could do no better than a 1993 straight-to-the-cutout-bin album aptly named " size isn't everything " ( and of course , they learned that sales are everything ) . +but now travolta's back on the hollywood scene once again , and i think we all know why . +four words : contract with the devil . +and this has nothing to do with newt gingrich's " contract with america . " +no , satan is much more humane . +anyway , yes , travolta has sold his soul to the hairy host of the netherworld . +how do i know ? +i own the document in question . +amazing what you can buy at those collector's shops for a few hundred dollars , isn't it ? +get shorty continues in the vein of pulp fiction , with travolta as crime minion chili palmer . +he goes to collect some of the mafia's money from a b-grade director ( gene hackman ) and suddenly finds out he wants out of the mob game and into the movie game . +sure , a ruthless criminal like him is far too honest to make it in hollywood , but i guess that's beside the point . +palmer is determined to get hackman's next project made , so he sets out to convince big star martin weir ( danny devito ) to star in the movie , bringing along down-and-out horror actress karen flores ( rene russo ) , who has already had affairs with hackman and devito . +it doesn't take a las vegas odds-maker to predict that she and travolta will soon be hitting the sheets as well , after the customary sexual tension and denial , which has been used in every comedy from " who's the boss ? " +to speechless . +it works in this case , unlike " who's the boss ? " +although it's interesting to note that tony danza has signed a contract with the devil also . +complicating matters somewhat are the mobsters who have backed hackman's other films and want in on this one too , along with travolta's mob boss trying to track him down for defecting . +get shorty is by no means on the same level as pulp fiction , despite the obvious similarities . +this movie doesn't have near the amount of originality or depth as pulp fiction but it is definitely one of the most entertaining movies i've seen this year ( yes , even better than halloween vi ) . +get shorty is my kind of movie , one that mixes intelligent humor with action and violence . +i'm definitely going to have to check out the novel it was based on . +are you getting this , shorty ? diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv055_8338.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv055_8338.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..44133d70640895b1b1d3aded95c82bfd0ec6f2f0 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv055_8338.txt @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +i was fortunate enough to attend an advance screening for the upcoming thriller conspiracy theory . +this was , of course , a big deal for me because reviewing movies is basically just a hobby for me and i never get a chance at something like this . +not only did i get to see an advance screening , i was able to see an advance screening of a * very good * movie . +the very fast-paced film stars mel gibson as jerry fletcher , a fast-talking , witty , comical taxi driver in new york city . +gibson's performance is terrific , and his character is similar to that of martin riggs in the lethal weapon films . +gibson again teams up with richard donner , as he did in the lethal weapon films and maverick , and this time around , the combination works even better . +the character of jerry fletcher is indeed unique . +try to imagine a toned-downed version of travis bickle who , this time around , is a jittery guy with knowledge of government conspiracy cover-ups . +if you can imagine that , then you've basically got jerry fletcher . +in many ways , i was surprised by this movie . +to begin with , i was surprised at how good it was . +don't get me wrong , it's not going to be accepting any gold trophies next spring , but it was a very enjoyable movie . +secondly , i was surprised at mel gibson's performance . +he provided a fantastic performance . +the previews of this film led me to believe it was an all-out action flick , which after viewing , it was almost the opposite in a certain sense . +gibson's character has an almost uncountable number of one-liners , hilarious situations , and his character is one that the audience tends to side with throughout the film . +for instance , jerry's apartment ( and especially his security ) is memorable . +and last , i was surprised at how good the plot is . +writer brian helgeland has created a terrific story , and when watching this film , you are left to wonder if all of jerry fletcher's far-fetched ( or so they seem at first ) conspiracy theories are helgeland's own opinions . +mel gibson isn't the only stand-out in the film . +julia roberts is very good in her performance as alice sutton , the department of justice employee who can't seem to stay away from jerry fletcher , who continually visits alice in hopes that she will do something about his theories . +he also seems obsessed and in love with her . +but whenever he approaches her with another one of his theories , she shrugs him and his beliefs off , continually noting that one day she is going to slap a restraining order on him . +jerry , obviously determined to continually seek out the truth , continues to research information for his next conspiracy theory , which will be printed in his newsletter ( same title as the movie ) . +although he only has five subscribers , he puts a large amount of time and effort into his work , and publishes his next edition . +very soon after he does so , he is abducted and tortured by a sinister man who refers to himself as dr . jonas ( patrick stewart ) . +after barely escaping alive , jerry is forced to turn to the only person he can trust : alice sutton . +the remainder of the film is almost always fast-paced and full of action and suspense , with jerry's life being constantly put into jeopardy . +and more along the way , the audience ( and alice ) learn more and more about jerry's life . +many things are explained throughout this film , both to the characters and to the audience . +for instance , the meaning of the book " the catcher in the rye " and its ties to assassins , the reason lone gunmen have three names ( e . g . +lee harvey oswald and james earl ray ) , and the real truth behind the grateful dead . +make sure listen closely throughout the film , as jerry is constantly throwing out interesting tidbits such as the above . +definitely , when conspiracy theory hits theaters august 8th , make sure you are standing in line to see it . +i am nearly positive everyone should enjoy this film , especially if you are into an action-thriller with witty dialogue and numerous suspenseful situations . +and even if you aren't , you should still like this film . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv058_8025.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv058_8025.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3d514e9892025ecd6b0a1520065a76d20d0676d8 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv058_8025.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10 @@ +disney's 35th animated feature-- a retooling of the olympian legend crossed with , well , the superman story-- is surprisingly soft at the center . +great wit , great art , and a great villain ( james woods as hades , lord of the underworld and local lounge act ) can't quite stifle the yawns induced by a bland hero , his colorfully monotonous sidekick ( danny devito as the satyrical trainer phil ) , and a largely unremarkable soundtrack . + ( none of the alan menken/david zippel tunes are particular- ly noteworthy . +some lack lyrical snap . +others need more memorable melodies . +boring ballads we expect , but boring production numbers , too ? ) +so , hercules is a bit of a long sit , but you won't stay bored . +the highlights include a nifty round of animated action ( herc battling a cgi hydra ) , a steady stream of anachronisms ( " somebody call ix-i-i " ) and pop references ( " let's get ready to rumble ! " ) a la aladdin , and several long-overdue jabs at the mouse's marketing and merchandising depart- ments . +while not as rock-solid as hunchback , it's a still a new world of improvement over pocohontas . +directed by ron clements and john musker , with voice credits including tate donovan , susan egan , bob goldthwait , matt frewer , samantha eggar , paul shaffer , and , as lighting bolt zeus , rip torn , who's having a very good summer , also appearing in trial and error and men in black . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv059_28885.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv059_28885.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..51cdc36f39cc6527c23e1c7df29203030f2fa7df --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv059_28885.txt @@ -0,0 +1,41 @@ +the computer-animated comedy " shrek " is designed to be enjoyed on different levels by different groups . +for children , it offers imaginative visuals , appealing new characters mixed with a host of familiar faces , loads of action and a barrage of big laughs ( including numerous gags related to body functions and yucky substances , apparently a requisite in contemporary family films ) . +for adults , it's a fractured fairy tale packed with rude jokes that will sail over the heads of the kids . +all in all , " shrek " is a snappy ride , although there are a couple of points i found disturbing . +but first the basics . +based very loosely on a 1990 children's story , " shrek " follows several momentous days in the life of the title character , a rotund green ogre voiced by mike myers in that pleasant scottish accent he is so fond of using . +shrek is a grumpy fellow living a solitary life deep in the swamp , until a local nobleman disturbs his peace . +petty tyrant lord farquaad ( take away the " awk " in the middle and you have the basis of a string of impolite one-liners ) owns the land on which shrek resides . +he proceeds to turn the ogre's yard into an ellis island for storybook characters when he banishes the fanciful beings from his castle . +as a result , shrek finds himself surrounded by legends like the three blind mice , pinocchio , the big bad wolf , the seven dwarfs , and the three bears , to name but a few . +an enraged shrek storms to the castle , only to find farquaad ( john lithgow ) ready to bargain . +lord obnoxious wants to become king and the magic mirror from " snow white " has shown him the way . +all he has to do is rescue a damsel in distress and make her his wife . +the mirror unveils three choices in a presentation straight out of " the dating game " ( when snow white is shown , the cheeky announcer purrs , " even though she lives with seven men , she's not easy ! " ) +farquaad selects the lovely princess fiona ( cameron diaz ) and offers shrek a deal : if the ogre snatches fiona from the dragon-protected , lava moat-filled castle in which she is held captive and brings her to the throne , the lord will allow the fairy tale pests to move back on his grounds . +shrek reluctantly agrees and sets off on his quest , accompanied by a motor-mouthed donkey ( eddie murphy ) determined to make the green grump his best friend . +they finally hook up with the princess , only to learn she is not the helpless maiden they expected to meet . +for the matter , the dragon offers a few surprises as well . +the movie references a great many other flicks , from " babe " ( " that'll do , donkey . +that'll do " ) to " the graduate . " +but the lion's share of the jokes come at the expense of the wonderful world of disney . +the public-domain characters made into icons in various disney films take their hits ? pinocchio is referred to as a " possessed toy " and when shrek spies a sleeping snow white in his cabin , he bellows , " get that dead broad off the table ! " + ? but the biggest slams come when shrek visits farquaad's royal domicile , which closely resembles a certain magic kingdom , from its souvenir stands and queue lines to a display of animatronic figures that sing the palace rules in a relentlessly peppy tune that sounds a lot like " it's a small world . " +which brings me to disturbing point number one . +i laughed at all the disney swipes , but found the mentality behind them a bit sad . +the acrimony between dreamworks honcho jeff katzenberg and disney big wheel michael eisner is well known . +for years the two companies have tried to sabotage each other's film and video releases by issuing similar competing productions on the same day . +and now we have katzenberg using an entire movie to attack his former employer . +here's a suggestion for the two boys : grow up ! +put the past behind you ! +there's room in the sandbox for both of you and if you farquaads can't play nice , then go to your rooms ! +the other area i found troubling came in the portrayal of lord farquaad . +beyond all the irreverence , " shrek " actually has a message : people should learn to look beyond physical appearances , because true beauty lies within . +it's a lovely notion , but the film betrays its own moral by incessantly taking cheap shots at farquaad's diminutive stature . +do we really need a family film reinforcing the idea that mocking short people is acceptable ? +the pompous , selfish behavior of farquaad is enough to make him a target for zingers . +adding short jokes is simply mean . +still , " shrek " is a rollicking good time . +the computer animation is mostly impressive ( although several key characters look like animated rubber squeeze toys and the human movements are often jerky ) , the voice work is strong ( particularly from eddie murphy ) , the laughs come fast and furious , and the moral , tainted though it may be , is a good one . +to trot out a clich ? , " shrek " is fun for all ages . +parents , though , should remind their young ones during the ride home that taunting others because they are short , tall , skinny , fat , etc . is a bad thing . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv060_10844.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv060_10844.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..af7403ae94ddffafc404ba886b619bbcad1f7230 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv060_10844.txt @@ -0,0 +1,43 @@ +after watching the first ten minutes of this japanese film , you will never eat a bowl of ramen the same way again . +there is a scene where an old man is teaching a young one how to eat the soupy bowl of noodles , as a master would teach an eager apprentice . + " you caress the noodles with the chopsticks , " he says , " then put the roast pork on the side of the bowl and apologize to it by saying , 'see you soon . ' " +of course , it's meant to be a parody , but there is an earnestness underneath the silliness that makes you take it with a certain degree of sobriety . +you begin to appreciate the food as not merely something you eat , not something you like , not something you enjoy , but rather something you experience . +experiencing it is a process which engages all of the senses , fulfilling each one on its own terms and weaving them so that the total is a pleasure that is more than the sum of its parts . +trust me , you really want to go find a noodle shop at this point . +juzo itami's tampopo brings the same sense of the serious parody of food to the forefront by making the story follow the pattern of an american western , set in modern day japan . +a stranger , goro ( tsutomu yamazaki ) , comes into town and finds tampopo ( nobuko miyamoto ) , the proprietor of a small , hole-in-the-wall noodle shop , trying to fend off the insults of the local strongman , pisken ( rikiya yasuoka ) . +goro , to defend the honor of this woman and her noodles , gets into a fight with the ringleader and his henchmen , emerging bloodied , but victorious . +goro finds that tampopo's ambition is to have a shop that people would flock to from far away , just to eat a bowl of her ramen . +the problem is , her fare is something less than popular , and less than appetizing . +however , goro agrees to help tampopo in her quest , and in the process they seek the wisdom of an elderly noodle expert , enlist the aid of a wealthy patron , and make friends with the former enemy . +this film is filled with many little scenes which are absolute gems . +take , for example , when tampopo tries to buy the recipe for a delicious soup from another shop owner . +the price is too high , but the owner of the store next door will secretly sell it to her for a more affordable sum . +tampopo meets him at his store late at night , and he leads her to a back room . +she protests , thinking that perhaps this man has ulterior motives , but he insists . +just when she is about to bolt for the exit , he shows her a small gap in the wall adjoining his store with the noodle shop next door . +she peers through and takes notes as she watches the cook make the soup for the next day , her face filled with a joy that can be felt by the audience . +this scene , while comical , is very effective at filling the viewer with a sense of trepidation , then of relief and discovery . +there's also an interesting scene where goro introduces tampopo and her son to a bunch of street people who , despite their economic trappings , are all gourmets and master sommeliers . +we even watch as one of them sneaks into the kitchen of a restaurant and expertly prepares a french omelet . +the scene is meant to bring a laugh , but it also says that no matter whether people are rich or poor , food is something which everyone has in common , and the enjoyment of food is an experience shared by all . +there are also a number of unrelated vignettes appearing throughout the film , which help to illustrate and accentuate the role of food in people's lives . +a particularly effective one involves a wife and mother being tended to in her home by a doctor . +surrounded by her children , she is obviously in her last hours of life . +her husband comes home , and seeing her worsened condition , demands that she get up and make dinner . +the viewer knows the husband's intention is not to be mean ; he is desperate for the normalcy of which he and his family has obviously been deprived , and the wife making dinner is an essential part of this . +in a near miracle , the wife drags herself to the kitchen and prepares a quick meal , then brings it to her awaiting family . +as the family eats , she looks on them and smiles . +preparing food for her family is a joy and a comfort to her , and for a brief moment , she too enjoys the normalcy . +then she falls over , dead . +for a moment , the family is stunned , but then the father yells at the children , " keep eating ! +this is the last meal your mother ever made ! " +crying as they do so , the family finishes the meal . +the scene is comical , awkward , moving , and beautiful . +by including the vignettes , itami ran the risk of creating a disjointed film , but surprisingly , they do not interrupt the pacing of the main storyline . +instead , they even help contribute to the idea that tampopo's goal of being able to serve exceptional food is worthy and even noble . +because the film parodies a western , the construction of the plot is fairly predictable , but is still enjoyable as we watch the familiar way in which the " good guys " come together for the final showdown . +in this case , the showdown is against the ramen . +if they eat tampopo's ramen , soup and all , tampopo knows she has succeeded . +it's pretty obvious what the outcome will be , but when a film changes your whole perspective on something you consume every day of your life , you can afford to cut it a little slack . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv061_8837.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv061_8837.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4cc3951a533bad724b38a464fa3f3f31ac05bcbd --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv061_8837.txt @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ +there's an old saying that states something about leaving the best for last . +george lucas certainly followed that adage when crafting the original star wars trilogy . +return of the jedi , the final installment of the series , is easily the most innovative , action-packed , and entertaining of the three films . +the dark , eerie atmosphere that oozed from every frame of the empire strikes back is gone . +instead , for return of the jedi , we have good triumphing decisively over evil , a resolution to a love triangle , and walking teddy bears . +even darth vader doesn't seem very intimidating this time around . +with the arrival of the emperor ( an apparition-like creature played by ian mcdiarmid ) , vader has turned into somewhat of a henchman . +return of the jedi picks up at an unspecified time after the conclusion of the empire strikes back . +luke skywalker ( mark hamill ) , princess leia ( carrie fisher ) , lando calrissian , ( billy dee williams ) , chewbacca ( peter mayhew ) , c3p0 ( anthony daniels ) and r2-d2 ( kenny baker ) are on a rescue mission to luke's home planet of tatooine . +their goal : to save han solo ( harrison ford ) from the clutches of the intergalactic gangster jabba the hutt . +it is at jabba's home , a creepy-looking stone fortress guarded by hog-nosed beasts , that most of the added special effects come into play . +from a hysterical scene involving a music group to the dreaded beast outside jabba's sand barge , the effects are top notch . +as soon as han is freed from his cryo-freeze and rescued from the clutches of the evil jabba the hutt , it's back to outer space , where the rebel alliance is about to face the empire's newest threat : a second , more powerful death star , that , if activated , could spell doom for anyone who stands against the emperor . +so , while the fleet prepares for the final battle , luke and company travel to the forest moon of endor to knock out the shield that defends the death star against all attacks . +there , they are befriended by the ewoks , the teddy bear-like native race , and luke , fearing that his presence is endangering the group , turns himself over to vader . +return of the jedi has some interesting elements . +the scenes which pitted luke against the emperor and vader are suitably tense and well-acted . +from a technical point-of-view , the space battles are amazing , easily hindering anything depicted in the previous films . +not only are there many , many more ships , but their speed and range of movement have been dramatically improved . +on one level , return of the jedi is almost worth watching for the special effects . +in the special edition , even more ships are added , making the final space battle incredibly fun to watch . +the acting in return of the jedi is stronger than in the previous films . +by now ( or then - 1983 ) , mark hamill , harrison ford , and carrie fisher have all matured in their on-screen personas . +the chemistry amongst the trio is terrific . +as in empire , billy dee williams gives us another human hero to root for . +newcomer ian mcdiarmid plays the emperor as a suitably creepy , cunning , and evil creature , although he's not as imposing as vader was in star wars . +although it was great fun watching star wars and the empire strikes back on the big screen , return of the jedi generates a greater sense of enjoyment . +with the spectacular , new special effects , the adorable ewoks , the sinister jabba the hutt , the evil emperor , the same old millenium falcon , darth vader's incredible betrayal , the destruction of the new death star , and the always lovable yoda , return of the jedi concludes one of the greatest trilogies ever made with a huge bang . +congratulations to george lucas , whose innovative mind entertains us now and will continue to entertain generations to come . + , diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv062_23115.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv062_23115.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..caa170e7182deba2e94a59f123a2c633aa1b12ca --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv062_23115.txt @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +why do so many children's films treat their target audience with utter contempt ? +too many of those who write or direct for children's movies assume that the kids just can't handle serious , thoughtful discussions on meaningful issues . + " the iron giant , " which was directed and co-written by brad bird , late of such animated series as " the simpsons " and " king of the hill , " assumes that not only can children handle such discussions , but that they can do so while being entertained at the same time . + " the iron giant " holds absolutely no contempt for the young people in the audience , making it a film that's enjoyable for both children and adults alike . +hogarth hughes ( voice of eli marienthal ) is a spirited young lad who lives with his hard-working single mother , annie ( jennifer aniston ) , in a small town in maine . +after staying up late and watching scary movies on a night his mother is away , hogarth treks out into the forest to investigate what has stolen his antenna and ruined his tv reception . +he comes across a giant robot ( vin diesel ) from space that eats metal for food . +after saving the robot , nicknamed the iron giant , from electric shock , hogarth befriends the creature and takes him in as a pet of sorts . +because of damage he suffered upon landing , the giant has forgotten what his original mission was , so he just follows hogarth around like a lost puppy . +realizing he can't just keep the giant in a barn all the time , and that the giant needs food , he takes him to a junkyard owned by dean ( harry connick jr . ) , an eccentric artist who assembles sculptures out of scrap iron in his spare time . +it soon becomes apparent that dean and hogarth can't keep the giant a secret forever , because a government spook named kent mansley ( christopher mcdonald ) has been brought in to investigate mysterious sightings in the surrounding forest area and considers the giant a threat to national security . +he suspects hogarth knows something about the giant , and takes up residence in hogarth's house as a lodger . +meanwhile , the giant begins to exhibit ominous behavior that suggests he was built to be a weapon of some kind . + " the iron giant " is exactly what family films ought to be , because it doesn' t talk down to its audience . +the story is simple , very simple , about an alien being that drops out of the sky and befriends a young boy . +it's very similar to the spielberg classic " e . t . , ' and such comparisons are actually deserved in the case of " the iron giant . " +the film holds many of the better elements of spielberg's film , such as the ability to be sentimental without turning sappy . +the film delivers several serious messages , the most important of which is one's ability to choose one's own fate . +hogarth teaches the giant to go against his programming and become what he wants to be : a hero . +the final sequence is touching and appropriate , though i won't give it away , i will say that very few will be disappointed . +the animation , while not up to disney standards ( what could be , after " tarzan " ? ) , is good enough to make you forget you're watching a cartoon . +the giant is computer-animated , while the human characters are all hand-drawn the old-fashioned way . +the characters' faces are done quite well , drawn realistically enough to make the personalities credible , but the features are exaggerated so as to allow for the cartoonish expressions that provide for comic relief . +fine voice work is turned in by young eli marienthal as hogarth , and jennifer aniston is surprisingly convincing as his waitress mother . +harry connick jr . does a nice characterization as dean , and i really enjoyed the voice work of john mahoney ( of tv's " frasier " ) as an army general called in by agent mansley . +unlike several cartoon features , each character is actually a developed personality , rather than a stereotype , and is actually integral to the plot , rather than being a superfluous comic-relief sidekick ( a clich ? disney still hasn't ditched ) . +dean , for example , could have been a stereotypical beatnik ( his character profile seems to suggest that ) , but he is presented as a character with real emotions , thoughts , and motivations . +even the heavy , agent mansley , is not a villain who does bad things simply because he wants to , but out of his own fear and paranoia . +a lesser animated feature would have drawn up paper-thin stereotypes and figure the kids won't mind , but " the iron giant " has clearly put a little work into making the characters real , and it pays off . +the film isn't only around to deliver heavy-handed messages , though . +it's also very funny , and the humor is of the kind that both children and adults will enjoy . +the scenes in which hogarth teaches the giant to do certain things , such as dive into a pool , are handled well , and director brad bird clearly has a sense of comic timing , having worked on " the simpsons " for many years . +a sequence where hogarth and mansley attempt to " outlast " one another by trying to stay awake is very nicely timed , and also extremely clever . +the film even takes some jabs at america's nuclear paranoia during the early stages of the cold war , satirizing the lame safety films shown to grade school students that tell them to " duck and cover " in the event of a nuclear attack . + " the iron giant " has much more of a satirical edge to it than most family films , and the edgy humor is actually quite refreshing . +instead of seeing people get bonked on the head , we get well-timed , clever gags that seem to have required some imagination to come up with . +when you get right down to it , " the iron giant " is no more than the story of a boy and his robot . +the story is so straightforward , so quaint , that it ultimately becomes charming . +though i enjoy the complex plotting of film noir as much as the next person , when it comes to family entertainment , simple is the way to go . +it's akin to one of those bedtime stories your father told that had you hanging on his every word , but it's not the story that sets the film above others of its kind , but rather the elements that go into the story , namely real characters and thoughtful dialogue , which " the iron giant " has in spades . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv064_24576.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv064_24576.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b885599709506f3c2013bb2053fd18af0266ea1c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv064_24576.txt @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +roman emperor marcus aurelius ( richard harris ) chooses his trusted general maximus ( russell crowe ) as his successor . +however the emperor's evil son commodus ( joaquin phoenix ) murders his father before the announcement can be made , and maximus ( as well as his family ) is sentenced to be executed . +maximus is able to escape his executioners , but is later captured and sold as a slave to proximo ( oliver reed ) . +proximo is looking for gladiators to earn himself money ( he being a former gladiator himself ) , and maximus reluctantly uses his skills to prove himself a powerful gladiator . +when emperor commodus announces that new games will be held in the colisseum , proximo takes his gladiators there to do battle . +maximus sees this as his chance to exact revenge on commodus . +gladiator begins with a great battle sequence between the roman army and germania , and actually is able to maintain interest during the now required " 40 minutes of exposition after a kick ass opening sequence " style of moviemaking . +the only downfall of the opening sequence is the editing style used . . . +it's choppy slow-motion which is unsettling and distracting . +it's similar to the opening sequence in saving private ryan , but nowhere near as effective . +the actual gladiator battles are thrilling , but also a bit disjointed . +many times it's unclear as to exactly what's going on . . . +all the audience can tell is that blood is being spilled . +we're not sure who's blood or by who's hand though . +there's an instance of this earlier in the film too that's disappointing . +it's comes when maximus escapes his executioners . +some flashes and a few quick cuts later and maximus is free . . . +but i still don't know exactly how he did it . +russell crowe should have become a major star after his gleefully over the top role as a computer generated serial killer in 1995's virtuosity . +for whatever reason his stardom never arrived . . . +but he should have it now . +from here on moviegoers should now be able to say , " let's go see the new russell crowe movie " . +he gets the best scene in the film ( and one of the best moments of all recent movies ) when he reveals his identity to commodus in the colisseum . +it's both rousing and chilling . +joaquin phoenix does a very effective job of making commodus a person and not just a cartoon character ( which could have easily happened ) . +commodus is conniving , sneaky and whiny , but phoenix never lets the character get silly . +it's a very good ( and very creepy ) performance . +oliver reed died during the filming of gladiator , and it's a huge loss to the acting world . +i've always been fascinated with reed . . . +he's one of those very talented performers who once had a fine career but ended up in direct to video junk during his twilight years . +it's ironic that this film probably would have gotten him back into real movies again , as he gives a fun and sincere performance . +the film is dedicated to him , and he will surely be missed . +reed's death presented the filmmakers with an obvious problem , as he still had scenes to be completed . +rather than recast the role ( and end up reshooting a great deal of footage ) , a digital version of oliver reed was created at a reported cost of 2 million dollars . +ironically , that was probably more money than reed ever earned for a single film . +anyway , this digital effect is only used in one scene that i am aware of ( for about twenty seconds ) and if you aren't looking for it you won't even be able to tell . +some of the other digital effects are less convincing however . . . +and like i always say , noticable digital effects take me out of a movie immediately . +it's sad that such a good film has these distractions . +movies like the fall of the roman empire and spartacus seemed to do okay without the use of computer effects . +keep in mind that gladiator is based on real people and real events , but is entirely a work of fiction . +however it's a work of fiction that's great entertainment , and another film to add to the list of damn fine flicks released in 2000 a . d . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv065_15248.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv065_15248.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..54c2cae4aca278531679834180a6bf4eabf834e3 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv065_15248.txt @@ -0,0 +1,52 @@ +what a great film . +what a stunning , touching , heart-wrenching , heart-warming , life-affirming , miraculous film . +>from its opening moments , _life is beautiful_ walks that fine line between serious tragedy and uplifting comedy . +a car with no brakes speeds through the town , and guido ( roberto benigni ) motions people to move out of the way . +they mistake him to be the fascist president , traveling to their town that day . +heil ! +heil ! +huh ? +shortly thereafter , the president drives through , and people stare , with blank faces . +this is standard , but somehow fresh and postmodern stuff : the clown who is also a jew , triumphs over the anti-semitic society in which he = lives . +granted , _the great dictator_ comes to mind--charlie chaplin+s almost masterpiece . +i think lib ( which benigni wrote and directed ) trumps gd in one essential point : chaplin+s jewish barber gives a great speech at the climax , but to do so , he had to break completely from character . +benigni is given a similar situation : he is mistaken as a fascist dignitary , and must explain to a classroom filled with schoolchildren = on how scientists have concluded that aryans are the superior race . +benigni+s guido stays in character , and delivers the speech , keeping = the subject matter intact while showing the absurdity of its concept . +it = is one of the great satirical scenes in modern cinema . +there are many other scenes , especially in the first half , which are bright and loopy and funny and silly . +slapstick reigns , and although the film is subtitled , there was no doubt that a universal language was being conveyed . +and although it+s focus is on the courtship of guido = to dora ( played by nicoletta braschi , benigni+s real life wife ) , a silent undercurrent creeps in . +this is clearly a racist society , evidenced by the aforementioned scene and others , and it will soon affect him and = his family . +the second half of the film takes place five years later , in an unnamed concentration camp , where guido , dora ( by her insistence ) , and their five-year old son , giosu=e9 ( giorgio cantarini ) , are deported . +guido , seeing the horrors , is desperate to protect his wife and child . +for = his wife , who is separated from him , he must find ways to communicate to = her that he is all right . +for his son , ( and this is the most controversial part of the film ) he convinces the youngster that this is all one big elaborate game : it+s rules include hiding , being very quiet , and learning to not ask for seconds . +which raises the big questions : how do we deal with pain ? +with persecution ? +with injustice on the worst level ? +it+s said that tragedies bring out the best in people , finding strengths they did not realize they had . +other times they deteriorate , become overwhelmed = with little strength or incentive to swim . +sometimes even , people giggle in these moments , as if there were a vacant emotion behind them , yearning for some brightness to soothe their wounds . +benigni+s guido realizes this . +he is the clown , but he is not a fool . +he sees the slurs and the vandalism , and while feeling the weight of = the verbal attacks , he still has the audacity to see if everyone around = him , perhaps even the antagonists , laugh . +his liberty is stripped , but not his dignity , and certainly not the dignities of those around him . +it+s obvious from the onset that here is someone who is very much against fascism and the preposterousness of an aryan nation , but does so with a grinning , joyful demeanor . +perhaps that is a form of denial . +perhaps his alternate reality is all that he could muster ( not unlike the very different _brazil_ ) . +or . . . +perhaps this is an example of great fortitude , with no weapons but = wit . +whatever his purposes is subject to debate , but also a sure sign that this is one of the great three-dimensional characters , stranded amidst = a terrifyingly risky concept . +surprisingly , it works . +it is an important footnote that this film was not intended to be an accurate reflection of the holocaust . +it+s not that the atrocities are trivialized , far from it . +they don+t have to be broadcast and explicitly shown to muster the same horror--less is more . +i believe = that benigni was cautious to preserve the tone , and i like the theory that = it is guido+s alternate reality that we+re seeing . +however , any criticism that this is rewriting history , that the holocaust wasn+t as bad as it seems , is simply off-target . +benigni+s film has won audience awards at cannes , at toronto , and is a definite shoo-in for best foreign language film ( hopefully for best picture as well ) . +he has been made an honorary jew by a jerusalem film society . +it swept the italian academy awards . +controversy notwithstanding , it is one of the great films this year , and as of this writing , the one to beat for best film . +masterful . +miraculous . +a must-see . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv067_19774.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv067_19774.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e450c819a1c459fa12569ec50cedc204e17d8495 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv067_19774.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +you've seen this moment before , recently : a particularly troubled character senses danger of the paranormal kind when the room temperature inexplicably plummets to below freezing . +the difference is that when it happens to lili taylor's nell in the haunting , we don't care . +the hero of the sixth sense , a young boy named cole , is a rich creation , and we wish nothing more than for the ghosts who haunt him to take a hike . +the seasons have changed since an ex-patient shot jaded child psychologist malcolm crowe ( willis ) in the comfort of his own bedroom . +desperate to get his career back on track , even at the expense of his crumbling marriage ( to williams , of rushmore ) , malcolm councils the deeply troubled cole ( osment ) . +the preteen displays all the quirks of malcolm's would-be killer : scars on his body ; antisocial behaviour ; and the reluctance to reveal a big secret . +only after cole is locked in a closet by some bullies ( and hospitalized as a result ) does he divulge to malcolm , in a spine-tingling scene , that he sees dead people walking among us , all the time . +malcolm assumes , and given his profession , reasonably so , that cole is schizophrenic , not psychic , but the sincerity in cole's anguished confession prevents the doctor from taking drastic measures . +he will instead pursue the supernatural angle , becoming a kind of surrogate father to cole ( who lives with his single mother , lynn ( collette ) ) in the process . +the sixth sense has more in common with ghost than poltergeist . + ( though shyamalan does , somewhat unforgiveably , crib the self-rearranging kitchen business from the latter . ) +it's far more heartwarming than frightening , and the film would be none the worse for wear without its few pulp shocks . +cole attracts the dead for reasons unknown , but they're not out to harm him , really-they just want to be heard , even if it means scaring the bejesus out of the innocent gradeschooler . +perhaps the apparitions seem more ghastly to us , at first , than they really are because we're looking at the situation through the eyes of an eight-year-old . +that's right : willis , for the first time in years , gives up the spotlight to his costar . +we appreciate malcolm's domestic dilemma , but we identify with cole , recalling our fears of the bogeyman or the closet monster or the thing under the bed . +both actors deliver immensely likable performances , and their dynamic is manifest . +willis convinces us that he's a doctor , something he was unable to do as a horndog shrink in the overheated color of night . +osment is phenomenal , a true professional who resists mugging for the camera like some child stars with too much experience in television commercials do . +the sixth sense ( atmospherically shot by the silence of the lambs' cinematographer , tak fujimoto ) is actually a drama-its spooky , effective ad campaign is misleading . +only because i was expecting something different did i notice-rather , feel-the movie's running time , which is just shy of two hours . +the story unfurls slowly but engrossingly ; its unexpected finish is definitely worth the wait . +i'm not sure said big twist ending is bulletproof , but i admired its audacity . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv069_10801.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv069_10801.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1429e8821550250355189a54f26aab55e4401d40 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv069_10801.txt @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ +stendhal's syndrome : a condition where , in the presence of art , a person becomes engulfed in a painting and hallucinates and may afterwards suffer symptoms such as depression , suicidal behaviour and personality disorder . +grim stuff , to be sure , but the subject of a remarkable film from italy's master of the horror thriller dario argento . +boasting an unforgettable soundtrack from the grandfather of film music ennio morricone , the stendhal syndrome is a quite magnificent return to form for argento . +it follows his disappointing american debut trauma ( 1992 ) , the patchy opera ( 1987 ) and several mediocre films he produced for young italian director michele soavi in the late 1980's . +based on the novel by graziella magherini , the film stars argento's daughter asia as young roman police inspector anna manni in pursuit of a brutal rapist-killer . +visiting florence to follow up several leads , she is lured by the killer alfredo ( thomas kretschmann ) to an art gallery , a favourite haunt where he hopes to identify exactly who is on his tail . +at the gallery anna is overwhelmed by a painting and faints . +posing as a bystander , alfredo briefly comes to her aid and having now identified his pursuer , a strange game of cat and mouse begins . +a gripping story evolves , and a coherent one , too , which may surprise those familiar with argento's often lumpy narratives . +the stendhal syndrome is not a simple cop-hunting-killer scenario . +it is a disturbing and often compelling study of the central character's psychological disintegration . +the script explores its psycho-sexual themes with intelligence and candour , perhaps too much so for more sensitive viewers . +but as dark as its themes are , the stendhal syndrome emerges as one of the most artful and effective european thrillers of the last ten years . +argento is once again working in his native italy , and he fully exploits the opportunities to use art and architecture for both symbolic statements and as departure points for several brilliant hallucinogenic sequences . +effects whiz sergio stivaletti serves his director well here , and the cinematography by giuseppe rotunno is consistently excellent . +the film's opening 20 minutes segues between hallucination , flashback and real-time with tremendous style . +proof that , at his most inspired , argento remains one of the world's most exhilarating filmmakers . +the cast is generally good , though marred at times by dubbing into english that renders speech all but emotionless . +asia argento's performance is by turns risky , awkward and fascinating . +it's a difficult role , and given her relative inexperience on screen she deserves applause for her efforts . +thomas kretschmann is chillingly effective as alfredo , and marco leonardi ( of cinema paradiso , and possibly the most gorgeous looking man in italy ) does okay as anna's work colleague and increasingly confused love interest . +but perhaps the stendhal syndrome's single most striking element is ennio morricone's soundtrack . +active since the 1960's , morricone has scored over 100 films in his career and this must rate as one of his finest efforts . +it's mostly a variation on the one theme : a slow circular melody for strings and wordless female vocal possessed with an extraordinary , haunting beauty that lingers long afterwards . +it's been three decades since argento and morricone worked together . +this is a long welcome reunion . +if the film has a fault , it is that the last half hour drags a little and the film doesn't quite reach a completely satisfying climax . +but by the closing scenes , the stendhal syndrome has already offered us enough to qualify as one of the very best films of dario argento's career . + * note : see the uncut print from japanese laserdisc if you can . +dubs of this version are available from various video dealers on the world wide web . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv071_12095.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv071_12095.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2ceacaf69c0d250bd7c1eb2d778962973f0d231b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv071_12095.txt @@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ +zero effect gets its title from the main character , daryl zero ( bill pullman ) , although we don't understand what it truly means until the very last line of dialogue in the film . +zero is a private investigator , perhaps the best private investigator who ever lived ( at least he'd like to think so ) . +however , he's a socially inept being , and eccentric in every possible way -- this fact certainly makes his talents as a private eye even more bewildering than they already are . +zero's accomplice is steve arlo ( ben stiller ) , a " normal " guy who does the business side of the job -- he's the one who actually speaks to clients and explains zero's greatness as an investigator . +the opening scene has steve explaining the many virtues of zero's talents to soon-to-be client gregory stark ( ryan o'neal ) . +it turns out that stark has lost a key to a safe deposit box , and is now being blackmailed for something that he apparently knows nothing about . +zero takes the case , and the plot thickens . +his path leads to a young , pretty paramedic named gloria sullivan ( kim dickens ) . +despite her luminous and seemingly-harmless presence , she turns out to be the one blackmailing stark . +through his investigations , zero learns why , but not without developing feelings for gloria -- feelings that , because of his reclusive behavior , are new and confusing to him . +i have no particular affinity towards the mystery genre of film . +i can idly enjoy movies about private investigators , and , every once in a while , a film like chinatown comes a long that blows me away ( actually , no private eye film has ever reached chinatown's greatness ) . +zero effect , which is jake kasdan's first effort as writer/director , is a film about a private investigator that succeeds in all attempts : it's an original , funny , and completely involving motion picture . +with so many cliches available to this genre , i find it amazing that kasdan avoided all of them . +but he didn't just successfully avoid flaws : he has created a great film here , one that had me interested and fascinated from the first shot to the final moment . +take , for starters , the great cast of characters . +pullman is terrific as zero , showing a comic flair that i really haven't seen from him since spaceballs . +zero is the kind of guy who seems at ease switching personalities so frequently as he does here ; the fact that he's an almost exaggeratedly twisted , emotionally unstable man outside of his profession is not at all difficult to believe . +pullman's performance is much more layered than it might seem at first glance , and the occasional voice-over as he's going through the motions of his job are insightful and often hilarious . +ben stiller is also a very funny individual ; he's the kind of comedian who makes normal lines sound funny . + " i'll shoot you , " he says to stark at one point . + " i have a gun , and everything . " +his character is also well-drawn , with an interesting subplot involving his girlfriend ( angela featherstone ) who is not happy with the extensive amounts of time he must spend away from her due to the unpredictability of his job . +o'neal also gives his character a bit of depth ; and kim dickens , last seen ( and underused ) in mercury rising , gets a chance to show us her talent here , giving gloria the realism this kind of character really needs . +i find zero effect to be an immensely funny and witty film . +kasdan's humor is of the best kind -- soft spoken , and mostly dialogue-driven ( though there are some great visual jokes ) . +it's the kind of humor that's funny even after you've seen it five or six times . +there's one scene in which zero talks about how detached he is , an how that makes him such a great detective . +what we see during this narration are various shots of him sitting on a bed , or standing motionlessly , with his hair destroyed and an utterly blank look painted on his unshaven face , his eyes pointing to something off camera , but obviously to nothing in particular . +i can't convey to you how funny this is , but what makes it great film making is that it has a point -- scenes like this are frequent , and they provide solid characterization of zero . +as a side note , i don't consider myself an average viewer when it comes to comedy ( not to sound elitist ) -- i find things funny that many do not , and vice versa . +there was a clump of people near me in the theater laughing uproariously through this film , and the rest of the theater was relatively silent through most of it . +i have a feeling the humor here won't appeal to everyone , but there's certainly enough story and character development to keep anyone's interest . +jake kasdan , son of writer/director lawrence kasdan , is only 22 years old . +i found this out after seeing the film , and i can't remember ever being so impressed with a film maker . +his direction is stylish without being pretentious , and his writing is mature , full , and developed . +zero effect is the kind of film that i'll buy for my collection -- smart , original films like this are rare as it is , but this one actually has a heart and a soul . +at the end of the film , i was involved in the characters , and i was satisfied with the outcome . +and , with kasdan's undeniable talent at such a young age , all i can do is hope to see a lot more from him in the future . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv072_6169.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv072_6169.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..747a89c67dc83a7cbc991977932ccc29b20e74d6 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv072_6169.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +the long kiss goodnight ( r ) meryl streep tried it and failed . +even pamela anderson lee made an attempt but fell flat on her well-bared assets . +however , geena davis could very well become the first bankable american female action star with the long kiss goodnight , a preposterous but incredibly fun action thriller directed by her husband , renny harlin . +davis plays samantha caine , a mousy suburban school teacher and mother whose memories only go back eight years . +with the help of ethically questionable private detective mitch hennessey ( samuel l . jackson ) , she slowly remembers--and reclaims--her past as charly baltimore , tough-as-nails cia operative . +needless to say , with the reappearance of samantha/charly comes the appearance of an assortment of no-goodniks out to erase more than her memory . +shane black netted a cool $4 mil for his script ; i'm not so sure if his prose is truly deserving of such a hefty price tag , but for what it's worth , it delivers the goods . +like black's previous work , such as lethal weapon and the last boy scout , the script juggles some impressive action scenes with funny , quirky dialogue . +the humor especially works well in this case , for the story is so preposterous that the laughs help to keep things from taking things too seriously . +but there's no argument that the more unbelievable sequences are original and entertaining as hell : who can resist the sight of davis tossing her daughter from a hole in her house into the nearby treehouse or chasing after a car . . . +while ice skating ? +jackson and davis make a good team . +jackson is funny as ever as ever ; in fact , his spirited line deliveries , especially when he first appears , are more than reminiscent of his work as jules in pulp fiction . +as good as he is , the one who should benefit the most from this project is davis , who shows much promise as an action heroine . +what makes her so effective and why she should succeed where streep and lee failed is that she doesn't take herself too seriously . +she is obviously in on the joke , slyly taking jabs at herself and at the situation . +this is not to say that she doesn't need work--sometimes she lays on the " toughness " a bit too thick and comes off too much as a caricature . +but should the public embrace the film and , in turn , the notion of a kick-ass female , davis could have found her special niche . +it seems as if davis and harlin's first collaboration , the middling pirate epic cutthroat island , was just a dress rehearsal ( albeit a very costly one ) for long kiss , in which the wife-husband team hit their action stride . +anyone simply looking for a fun , escapist entertainment that requires little-to-no thinking will find this film to be a more-than-welcome kiss . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv073_21785.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv073_21785.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3a170db8ad25c124b2902db113337c1cef361b88 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv073_21785.txt @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +screen story by kevin yagher and andrew kevin walker . +screenplay by andrew kevin walker . +inspired by the short story the legend of sleepy hollow by washington irving . +directed by tim burton . +starring johnny depp , christina ricci , and casper van dien . +special appearances by christopher lee and christopher walken . +synopsis : investigator ichabod crane journeys to 1799 sleepy hollow to investigate a series of murders involving decapitation . +townspeople believe the spirit of a dead german mercenary is threatening them . +cute blonde katrina and a listless orphan help crane solve the mystery . +comments : tim burton has directed a number of entertaining and groundbreaking films over the years . +batman , of course , is perhaps his best-known film and led to a string of less successful sequels . +he's done biographical work ( on the director ed wood ) , children's movies ( nightmare before christmas ) , and a homage to alien invasion movies ( mars attacks ! ) . +sleepy hollow , his newest feature which fans have been anticipating for a while , shares the similar dark and atmospheric style of his earlier work and counts among his better movies . +sleepy hollow quite obviously draws its inspiration from the old period horror films of the 1950s and 1960s , especially hammer studios' reworkings of dracula and frankenstein , and american international's series of movies based on the works of edgar allan poe . +christopher lee , in fact , star of many hammer productions over the years , appears at the beginning of sleepy hollow as a judge who sends ichabod crane out to investigate the murders . +the movie also borrows from the universal monster movies of the 1930s . +one of the climatic scenes involves a windmill and obviously takes its cue from frankenstein . +i mention these allusions for a reason . +seasoned horror film fans , including myself , will smile at their inclusion in this film . +with the recent disappointments in theatrically released horror movies , especially the blair witch project ( the most overblown turkey of the decade ) , we needed a film like this . +not only does it have a sense of history , but burton's skillful use of setting and mood make this an entertaining exercise in horror . +the film's eerie landscapes and foggy towns , indeed , overshadow the actors and the plot as the most noteworthy aspect of the movie . +johnny depp , a veteran tim burton actor who has appeared both in ed wood and edward scissorhands , plays ichabod crane , who has apparently changed occupations from irving's original story and is now an investigator . +depp is adequate in his role . +no more ; no less . +equally adequate is christina ricci , who plays the love interest in the film . +she's a good witch too . +how cute . +one of the few weak parts of sleepy hollow is the wooden and cliched dialogue between the main characters . +the two actors , however , carry the movie well enough , but the supporting cast is what makes this movie shine . +veteran actors such as jeffrey jones and michael gough ( who played the butler alfred in all four recent batman flicks ) are terrific as the aging townsfolk involved in the conspiracy which depp uncovers . +while i do not wish to reveal crucial plot points , i can say that the storyline becomes quite confusing . +you have to pay attention . +andrew kevin walker wrote the screenplay . +he's the one who also wrote 8 mm and seven . +walker is quickly becoming one of the premiere suspense writers in hollywood , and sleepy hollow certainly doesn't hurt his growing reputation . +as one might imagine from a gentleman like walker , sleepy hollow is quite graphic . +there's a lot of blood and a lot of beheadings . +this is definately not a flick to take the young kids to . +a lady in front of us took her two young sons to see it and spent about 25 - 30 minutes covering the youngest's eyes with her hand . +he was obviously upset by the movie's intense violence . +if you're looking for a good scare , however , sleepy hollow is definately recommended . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv074_6875.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv074_6875.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d053fa3407234a71a0e03e778b5c02681dbe9d35 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv074_6875.txt @@ -0,0 +1,59 @@ +mpaa : not rated ( though i feel it would likely be pg , for martial-arts violence . ) +with three movies already ( re ) released theatrically in america , and at least three more on their way , jackie chan is one of the newest " hot properties " in action adventure stardom , and it's just about time . +for over twenty-five years , jackie's been starring in martial arts and action movies in hong kong , thrilling audiences with both an incredible grasp of acrobatics and martial arts and a wonderful sense of comedy . + " drunken master " has the distinction of being the first jackie chan movie to " make it big " --this is the movie that supposedly set jackie up for big stardom in hong kong . +i'm not entirely sure why , exactly . +in many ways , " drunken master " is similar to most of jackie's other early films , such as " fearless hyena " i and ii , " master with cracked fingers " , " half a loaf of kung fu " , " spiritual kung fu " , and others . +in fact , looking at all these early films together , one gets the impression that they were stamped out , cookie-cutter style , at a rate of four to six per year , all using the same casts and telling very similar stories . +to be honest , i think that early jackie chan movies are something of an acquired taste . +they're quite different from action movies as we know them in america . +these films tend to be set in the chinese countryside in an indeterminate period sometime in the distant past , with fairly slow plots that often meander far afield and sometimes seem to exist only for the intention of stringing comedy and fight scenes together . + " drunken master " , though its plot is tighter than some , is no exception . + ( as an aside , " drunken master " was the first jackie chan movie i ever saw , and i saw it the way it was meant to be seen . . . in +a movie theater in seattle , as part of an asian film festival . +at the time , i didn't really think it was anything special . . . but +after having seen more films like it , it's kind of grown on me . ) + " drunken master " 's storyline is very similar to that of other early jackie chan movies , such as " fearless hyena " i and ii and " master with cracked fingers " --slacker martial arts student is taught the martial arts by a harsh-seeming master , and has a big fight with an evil bad guy in the end ( a formula that has been " adapted , " to put it kindly , by american films such as karate kid ) . +more specifically , jackie chan plays the part of wong fei-hong , aka " naughty panther , " a fun-loving , practical-joking kung fu student who is too good at kung fu for his own good , but not _quite_ good enough . +after embarrassing his instructor's assistant by beating him roundly , then beating up a bully in a marketplace , wong fei-hong tries to hit on a pretty girl , but discovers that she , and her mother , can hit back , better than he can . . . and +is further chagrinned to discover that the two women are his cousin and aunt , respectively . +his father , wong kei-ying , is unhappy about this , and is further annoyed when the father and brother of the bully show up to sue for damages . +kei-ying soon institutes a harsh regimen of punishment , which fei-hong does not like at all . +while escaping from this punishment , fei-hong meets up with a drunken old man , who proceeds to thrash him soundly , then take him on as a student and thrash him some more . +this turns out to be su hua-chi , a legendary master of drunken-style kung fu . +he assigns fei-hong a series of bizarre tasks , such as filling jugs with water while hanging upside down from a frame , cracking walnuts with his hands , and other such exercises , that seem like more pointless cruelty but are actually strengthening him up . +then , when he's ready , he teaches him the seven styles of drunken kung fu . +unfortunately , the lazy fei-hong only practices six of them . . . + " drunken master " features some wonderful martial arts sequences , with jackie winning some fights and losing others . +it's been said before , but i'll say it again--these fights don't just _happen_ , they're as carefully choreographed as any ballet performance , and it shows . +in his fights , jackie often makes use of objects found in his environment-- benches , jugs , cups , bowls , fruits and vegetables--often in new and surprising ways . +the fight scenes , particularly those toward the end of the film , are unparallelled in most american films . +whether jackie wins or loses , it's really something to see . . . and +it's often as funny as anything , too . +and funny is the other thing jackie chan is very , very good at . +there's very little that's new in this movie--jackie winning fights , jackie getting beaten badly by a master , jackie going through punishment or training . . . these +schticks have all been seen before , in any one of several dozen similar jackie movies from the seventies and early eighties . +but they're still hilarious as ever . +likewise , jackie has a _great_ supporting cast , many of whom were also in other early jackie films , and they're often the source of plenty of hilarity on their own . +the really big thing about " drunken master " , though , that inspired several copycats ( including a couple starring jackie himself ) and a sequel fifteen years later , was the drunken-style kung fu . +i'm not certain whether or not this is actually a genuine style of kung fu , but the principle behind it is to imitate the wobbly movements of a drunkard to lull the enemy into a false sense of security . . . and +it apparently helps if you're drunk while you're doing it . +genuine or not , i have to admit , there's just something incredibly fun about watching a fellow who looks utterly sloshed wading into a group of startled opponents and making mincemeat out of them before they even realize what's going on . +come to think of it , perhaps this element is what accounts for this film's success over any of the other jackie films . . . it's +not just martial arts , it's the kind of martial arts that makes you stop and go , " whoa . . . " +on the negative side , the cinematography in this film is nothing special , the film stock is rather primitive , the plot is often rather slow , and the subtitles are sometimes extremely hard to read against the background . + " gone with the wind " , this isn't . +still , if you like martial arts films , or like what you've seen so far of jackie chan and want to see more , give it a shot . +it's much more " real " than chuck norris or jean-claude van damme . +you might very well like it . +another interesting thing about " drunken master " has to do with its video availability in the us . + " drunken master " is the only early jackie chan movie that i know of that you can find in its original , letterboxed , hong kong subtitled form , commercially available on vhs ( from magnum video , in a gold box , for about $10 ) . +there are plenty of other early jackie films around , but these are typically either in dubbed , pan-and-scanned form or else import tapes priced for rental instead of purchase . +thankfully , " drunken master " , at least , is available in the aspect ratio in which it was meant to be seen , at a very affordable price . +if you like " drunken master " , take a look at the numerous other early jackie chan films that are out there ( even the dubbed ones aren't really _too_ bad . . . if +nothing else , you can enjoy the martial arts choreography while making fun of the dialogue ) . +i particularly recommend " spiritual kung fu " , " half a loaf of kung fu " , the " fearless hyena " movies , and " snake & crane arts of shaolin " . +also , the mostly-unrelated-storywise sequel , " drunken master ii " , will hit theaters in american release sometime later this year ( though what its american-release title will be is still uncertain ) and comes _highly_ recommended by this reviewer . +also , for a rather different interpretation of the character wong fei-hong ( who is in fact a popular figure from chinese folklore ) , i've been told to suggest the " once upon a time in china " series starring jet li ( though i haven't personally seen any of them yet ) . +if you choose to watch " drunken master " , i really hope you enjoy it , and i hope it starts to open your eyes to the wonderful world of asian cinema that's out there . +all in all , i give this film an . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv077_22138.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv077_22138.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..46ac735649f41fe316d745fb2ef8e13c317557bc --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv077_22138.txt @@ -0,0 +1,33 @@ +blade is the movie that shows that wesley snipes really can live up to his potential as one of hollywood's premier leading men . +blade is based on the comic book character of the same name and has that comic book kind of feel to it . +it is a very stylish movie and for the most part that style works very well . +although , at a few points i thought i was watching a music video as opposed to a movie . +the ideas behind blade are good , as is the basic plot of the story . +but at times , things seem to get a bit muddled , and the writers appear to want to do too many things at once . +that really doesn't take away from the story too much , but it does hurt it a little bit . +blade ( snipes ) is half man , half vampire . +his mother was bitten by a vampire when she was pregnant with him and as a result he has many of the classic traits of a vampire . +including a thirst for human blood that must be kept under control by a special serum which quenches his blood lust . +blade has spent his life hunting down and killing vampires as a sort of revenge for the fact that one of their kind killed his mother . +but this isn't as easy as it seems , because the vampires in blade's world are more sophisticated than the ones that you find in most films . +the government and other authorities know of the existence of vampires , but they let them feast of the population at large because they are taking bribes from the vampires . +where do vampires get money ? +well , in blade , they run multinational companies in order to finance their vampire organizations . +i personally thought that this whole secret corporate world run by vampires to be a very clever idea , and a great addition to the movie . +blade runs up against the evil deacon frost ( stephen dorff ) a maverick in the vampire community . +he isn't content to live among humans , and is convinced that the vampire race is the superior one and he means to insure its superiority . +he has managed to translate the ancient vampire scrolls that tell of the method of making him an all-powerful vampire -- rendering him virtually unstoppable . +it's up to blade to see that this doesn't transpire . +admittedly , blade is style over substance through and through . +the story is a relatively forgettable one , but it is fun none the less . +the acting in blade is just about what you would expect from a movie of this type . +this isn't a film that is going to win accolades for its performances , and the actors know this . +the movie is played for fun and nobody seems to think otherwise . +it's a popcorn movie , and no one involved has any illusions otherwise . +blade's production values are as slick as any that you will find in your typical summer blockbuster . +the combat sequences between blade and his vampire targets are incredibly well done . +although , the mtv-style cuts did get on my nerves after a while during long sequences . +blade is a fun movie with an interesting take on the vampire genre . +this is not the movie for those of you who like your vampires in tuxedos and living in coffins in the basement of some gothic castle . +what blade excels at is bringing the classic lore of the vampire into the next century with a fresh outlook on life . +very cool . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv078_14730.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv078_14730.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5866e419ff871139bbc29154dab0d7cbaadc50a6 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv078_14730.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +the truman show ( paramount pictures ) running time : 1 hour 42 minutes starring jim carrey and ed harris directed by peter weir after a long wait , jim carrey's dramatic debut finally makes it to the big screen . +in case you've been asleep for the last few months , the plot centres on truman burbank ( carrey ) who leads an seemingly idyllic life in the beautiful town of seahaven . +his life seems so perfect , however , because it's controlled by christoff ( harris ) creator of the truman show , the program burbank is unwittingly the hero of . +that's right , burbank's life is being broadcast live to the american public , and seahaven and all it's inhabitants are inclosed in a massive sound stage . +the film takes the jerry springer format one step too far . . . +with an idea so different , it would be easy for the director and screenwriter to dumb it down and appeal to the lowest common denominator . +luckily , the film remains sensible enough to appeal to all ages , yet never seems to be a dumb carrey movie . +talking of carrey , he's perfect in this movie , enjoying the best role in his career . +his character is a re-inforced stanley ipkiss from the mask ( 1994 ) and is completely suited to carrey's persona . +he occasionally falls into ace ventura mode , shrieking and being silly , but generally the audience is watching subdued carrey . +he's not completely dramatic like the film promises , however . +ed harris brings an extreme intensity to christoff , the megalomaniac creator of the show . +quiet and well spoken , he burns an image into the viewer . +unfortunately , he's barely in the film , and for the first hour dosen't appear at all ! +also disappointing is natascha mcelhone's character sylvia . +she plays the role well , but her character is sadly underwritten and is pushed to the sidelines just when the audience is used to her . +the supporting cast is excellent , and the town of seahaven looks delightfully perfect , so perfect it's creepy . +the philip glass soundtrack is also superb , and is used to great effect during the film . +peter weir keeps the film going , clearly having fun . +the film is far more upbeat than his previous films dead poets society and green card . +although it is slightly slow to begin with , about half an hour into film the pace really picks up , and when christoff is introduced fully the film is on a roll . +sadly , though , the film is practically over when the film is in full steam . +also , concerning the ending , it is slightly too ambiguous , which was disappointing . +the screenwriter , andrew niccol , who bought us gattaca ( 1997 ) delivers an entertaining script , and manages to keep the plot in trim . +while christoff's plans to keep truman in do get increasingly silly , they never go over the line , which would have been easy for niccol to do . +also , there's some funny gags involving product placement and the people who watch the show . +overall , the truman show is excellent entertainment . +certainly different from the usual crap hollywood produces , it should be viewed by everyone . +it offers something to every member of the audience , and you would almost certainly not come out disappointed . +overall rating= +review by david wilcock ? 1998 + " you know , for kids " - norville barnes diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv079_11933.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv079_11933.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..53606e13cdeda1448275a5cb2c4a7955b787236f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv079_11933.txt @@ -0,0 +1,15 @@ +no film in recent has left me with such conflicted feelings as neil jordan's harrowing , humorous , horrifying adaptation of patrick mccabe's novel about young lad francie brady's ( eamonn owens ) descent into madness in 1960s ireland . +on one hand , it was difficult for me to become invested in francie's story because he is such an unsavory character , unjustifyably venting his rage at his nosy but otherwise harmless neighbor mrs . nugent ( fiona shaw ) . +on another hand , i found it difficult to laugh at some of francie's darkly comic shenanigans because he obviously is such a sick , needy child , having been raised by a drunken father ( stephen rea ) and a suicidal mother ( aisling o'sullivan ) . +on yet another hand , i also found it difficult to completely sympathize with francie during his more emotional scenes because some of his , for lack of a better word , " bad " deeds are so incredibly shocking in their brutality and the malicious glee in which he performs them . +however , the butcher boy's power is undeniable , and the film as a whole is unforgettable--perhaps because it is so disturbing . +what makes it so unsettling is the francie's overall wink-wink yet matter-of-fact attitude about everything , expressed in a cheeky voiceover narration delivered by the adult francie ( rea again ) . +think heavenly creatures played largely for laughs , and you'll sort of understand . +anchoring the whole film is the astonishing debut performance of owens ; love francie or hate him , you cannot take your eyes off of owens . +the butcher boy truly is a twisted , unusual film that is bound to make just about anyone uncomfortable . +in the lobby after the screening , i overheard one man raving about how great yet disturbing it was ; i also heard one particularly offended woman say with disgust , " that movie was so unfunny ! " + " i didn't know what to expect . +it's like something you chase for so long , but then you don't know how to react when you get it . +i still don't know how to react . " +--michael jordan , on winning his first nba championship in 1991 . . . or , +my thoughts after meeting him on november 21 , 1997 diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv081_16582.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv081_16582.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6b25576141e572bfe7e28fe12cf82ce391fcc382 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv081_16582.txt @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +since 1990 , the dramatic picture has undergone a certain change of style . +now , instead of emphasizing feel-good stories replete with characters of noble virtues , the screenplays and direction point toward human struggle and sorrow . +this realist tendancy can be inspiring at times , as 1993's schindler's list shows . +most of today's mainstream drama , however , creates an overabundance of emoting that can turn off members of the audience . +that's why pictures like october sky , which are a throwback to the good ol' dramas of yesteryear , are such a welcome relief in contemporary cinema . +the movie is based on the true story of homer hickam ( jake gyllenhaal ) , a teenager in the 1950's company town of coalwood , west virginia . +it's a well-known fact that the only boys to make a name for themselves are the ones that get out of the town on football scholarships ; the rest grow up to work in the coal mine . +the mine , which is run by homer's father ( chris cooper ) , is not the place for homer , however . +after watching the soviet satellite sputnik shoot across the october sky in 1957 , homer feels a connection with the outside world -- as he puts it , " anyone in the world could look up and see the same thing i did . " +drafting two of his best friends and the brainiac outcast , homer begins to construct rockets . +with the help of their history teacher , miss riley ( laura dern ) , and several mine workers , the four are soon bound for great things . +october sky is a skillfully crafted film , and most of that credit must go to director joe johnston . +johnston -- whose career in the film industry includes everything from directing well-known titles like jumanji and the rocketeer down to an uncredited role as a death star trooper in star wars -- certainly knows what he's doing here . +he molds characters which are true to life and also fun to watch into a plot that is straightforward and robust . +he does not push any barriers , but instead adopts a conservative style of filmmaking which enhances the film's charm . +his finesse brings out elements which might otherwise be lost -- such as the relationships between homer and various mine workers , or the silent struggle between homer's mother and father . +the cast is well chosen , although the true bright spots are the supporting roles . +laura dern ( jurassic park ) lends a strong performance in the role of the history teacher , giving the boys the support and guidance they need . +her role is instantly likeable . +chris cooper ( the horse whisperer ) , as homer's father , is less likeable -- even downright despicable at times -- but his turn here gives gravity to the movie . +he's definitely a driving force in homer's life , and his more humane moments give the piece a certain dynamic that is commendable . +the script is generally cheerful , projecting the boys' endeavors in a lighthearted manner . +there are moments when it becomes predictable -- such as the train tracks scene -- and there are moments when it sacrifices orginality for the need to come up with an emotional plot twist . +it highlights the essence of youth , however , and for its exceptional job at this it can be forgiven other missteps . +october sky should be a success with audiences . +although it doesn't have the appeal of current teen flicks like varsity blues or she's all that , it certainly holds an undeniable quality that older crowds will lean towards . +it's a welcome change to the dramatic genre , and one that everyone should see . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv083_24234.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv083_24234.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c0db5e8787cf2f5ee54fa38c6b244ab2a1f7e6f8 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv083_24234.txt @@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ +after having heard so many critics describe " return to me " as an old-fashioned hollywood romance , i kept asking myself going into this movie : what exactly is an old-fashioned hollywood romance ? +what made " return to me " old-fashioned and old-hollywood ? +was it the tunes from sinatra , etc . , legendary singers the senior citizens in the film constantly harp on ? +was it the glamorous , sophisticated feel ? +the charisma of the two leads ? +even now i can't say that i have gotten any closer to the real answer , because i haven't see that many old-fashioned hollywood romances . +i don't think any of the romances i've seen have been classified as such . +which leaves me the option of vaguely agreeing with my fellow critics -- " return to me " was old-fashioned in the sense that it reminded me of the way the younger generation perceive venerated old hollywood magic , the way i perceive cinnamon spice and apple cider . +it was traditional , magical . +we knew it couldn't be too daring , or have any surprising plot twists that many cynical modern romances are apt to throw in . +it was a romance told with such endearing simplicity , tenderness , and love ( from director bonnie hunt ) that it couldn't help but sparkle with charm despite its shortcomings . +the film owes a lot of what it has to bonnie hunt's direction . +from the very first bird's eye view of chicago , zooming in slowly toward the insignificant bob rueland ( david duchovny ) , accompanied by the " return to me " ballad ( by whom ? ) , we can tell we're in for something sweet . +the scenes between the characters are endearing , truthful , with just a hint of fantasy . +real people don't act that way ; real people aren't that nice . +we know all this , and yet we want to believe in these folks' existence . +the premise itself seems to have sprung out of a fairytale , but hunt's rooting the fairytale in common chicago folk simultaneously lends credit to the scenario and tinges everyday urban life with a hint of the ethereal . +everything is ordinary--yet beautiful--in this film . +>from the festive little family restaurant to grace ( minnie driver ) and bob's wardrobes . +from the eloquent , not-in-a-hurry to progress storyline to the dainty watercolors that grace paints . +from the animal stars to the way all the characters interact on screen -- the most beautiful part . + " return to me " has done an excellent job of assembling together a group of actors who blend in effortlessly as a family : the audience has no trouble at all believing that this rambunctious family actually does exist . +we care for them , laugh with them , cry with them ; we're concerned that the little boy will pick up cursing from his father . +whatever hunt did , she brought out the naturalism in all of the actors . +disappointingly , david alan grier's charlie , however much i like him , was the most flatly-written . +duchovny here does a laudable job of shaking off his fox mulder persona -- with the help of his fellow co-stars rarely do we see any hint of special agent fox mulder . +instead we have a normal guy who when he falls in love shows more delight than fox mulder will show over the span of an entire season of " the x-files . " +duchovny , who is excellent at understatement and self-deprecation as an actor showcases his considerable comedic talent on screen . +minnie driver is engaging as always as the sweet , innocent grace with nothing but a good heart to offer . +though an unlikely pair , duchovny and driver gradually warm up to each other as the movie progresses . +while " return to me " functions remarkably as a laugh-out-loud comedy , a romantic scenic tour through chicago , and a tearjerker , the story is set up so the film ends up having nowhere to develop . +the entire climax of the film hinges on when and how grace is going to tell bob that she actually was the recipient of his wife's heart . +we already know that there's going to be a happy ending ; we feel like we spend the entire film , however enjoyably , in a straight line going towards that point . +as a result bob and grace click almost too quickly--yes , i know she's supposed to have his ex-wife's heart and everything--it seems too effortless . +the main subject is a love story , and the family scenes i love so much unfortunately are overused and distract from the turmoil of the two main characters ( whose story might not have that much meat after all ) . +however , in the spirit of " return to me , " it won't do to be too picky about how " old " hollywood tells its stories . +i loved knowing that this was a labor of love for bonnie hunt . +it shows . +the bottom line : " return to me " is nothing remarkable , and yet its sweetness , sincerity , and charm might touch your heart in ways that you hadn't imagined . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv086_18371.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv086_18371.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4c0592a16bfb21840939e76c2c5eb55a382fe5e5 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv086_18371.txt @@ -0,0 +1,55 @@ +are you tired of all the hot new releases being gone by the time you get to the video store ? +wafflemovies . com is dedicated to finding those hidden gems that lie on the shelves . +everyweek , wafflemovies . com +reviews independent film and big studio pictures that deserve a second chance on video . +here is a sample review : +welcome to sarajevo +in light of america's recent intervention in kosovo , welcome to sarajevo is a reminder of the horror america and the world ignored for years . +set in sarajevo 1992 and based on actual events , this picture examines the human and societal casualties of war . +the picture opens with a family escorting their young bride to her wedding . +as they make their way down the street , a sniper shoots the mother of the bride . +yet another reminder that daily life in war torn sarajevo can never escape the horror of war . +in this scene , we meet joe flynn ( woody harrelson ) , an american reporter who stops reporting to help a priest carry the mortally wounded mother into a church . +joe is cocky , but also good at heart as he continues to carry out kind deeds for people he doesn't even know . +his fellow reporter is the british michael henderson ( stephen dillane ) . +michael is quickly growing tired of the horror that surrounds him and the world's lack of interest . +henderson is haunted by the memory of an altar boy who witnesses the mother's death as well as a young girl who he finds orphaned in a hospital after a mortar attack on citizens waiting in line for bread . +he decides to take action when a united nations' delegation descends upon the area to declare yugoslavia the fourteenth most dangerous place on earth . +henderson begins a series profiling an orphanage located on the front lines . +he finds children of all ages living in fear and taking care of each other with the help of one adult . +during his visits , he befriends a pre-teen girl , emira ( emira nuseric ) who serves as surrogate mother to baby roadrunner . +he promises to get emira out of harm's way if he gets the chance . +after the un delegation leaves the country without rescuing any of the children , henderson loses hope . +however , his reporting has grabbed the attention of nina ( marisa tomei ) and her children's aid group that helps to find homes for the yugoslavian orphans . +unfortunately , only babies are wanted for adoption , so henderson pledges to take emira to england . +the group of children , nina and henderson depart the front lines on a dangerous escape for italy . +can they complete this dangerous trek through the war torn countryside and avoid hostile troops gathering up muslims for concentration camps ? +the movie was beautifully and sensitively made . +director michael winterbottom and screenwriter frank cottrell boyce vividly express the societal destruction that has occurred . +they show the destroyed lives , families that have been split up , and the desolation that everyone attempts to cope with . +this is best exemplified by the group of yugoslavians henderson , his producer and flynn have befriended . +the group of twenty-somethings reside in a bombed out bar without life's simplest pleasures and amenities . +one of them is an accomplished musician who spends his days playing the piano and promising to play a concert when sarajevo is declared the most dangerous place on earth . +like the rest of those deeply effected by the war , this small group tries to survive instead of trying to live . +winterbottom brilliantly intersplices scenes with actual news footage to give the film the feel of a documentary and keeps the viewer aware that many of these horrors are being carried out thousands of miles away as you sit safely in your living room . +the picture is also bolstered by beautiful cinematography that captures the devastation of this city that hosted the 1984 olympics . +winterbottom and boyce also produce a realistic portrayal of the reporters covering the atrocities . +this portrayal is much more flattering to reporters than earlier wafflemovies . com +selection mad city . +we watch them struggle to cover the horror , while trying to remain professionally detached . +however , they are human and question the reason behind it all , why no one cares , and how they can get out . +stephen dillane is wonderful as henderson . +he portrays the character as an everyman caught in the middle of extraordinary events . +dillane avoids making the character overly heroic and preachy . +henderson realizes that he cannot save the world , but he can help a few . +it is a wonderful opportunity for dillane after he had to suffer through the denis leary-sandra bullock disaster two if by sea . +woody harrelson continues to prove that he is one of the finest , most versatile actors of his generation . +harrelson plays the cocky celebrity reporter with a heart of gold by allowing the character's caring nature and vulnerability shine through . +harrelson is equally adept at taking on roles as zany leading men ( cheers , white men can't jump ) as well as excellent supporting roles such as this one . +this ability will serve him well and give him a long , successful career . +america's involvement in this struggle comes seven years after the events of the movie take place . +for those who do not have a full understanding of the history of the conflict , the entire movie , most importantly the opening scenes , provide a history lesson . +war is a foreign concept to most of us in america . +battles are fought thousands of miles away among people we have no attachment to . +televised images of the gulf war are all the experience most of us have with war . +this picture brings it right into your living room and makes you think outside of our own small world , something we don't do enough of in 90's america . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv087_1989.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv087_1989.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..afd8ffefaeefaa368cfbc234997cba9bfab4a7d8 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv087_1989.txt @@ -0,0 +1,52 @@ +many people dislike french films for their lack of closure . +while possibly shallow , i've often had a desire for a sense of epiphany , or at least a resolution , in the films which i view . +there is no revelation in un coeur en hiver in the traditional ; however , the film is incredibly successful in its passionate dramatization of a passion-denying protagonist , stephane ( daniel auteuil ) . +stephane ( daniel auteuil ) is a master violin maker . +he is passionless about all that which surrounds him except his craft and the music which his craft is responsible for producing . +even the relationship between he and his boss , maxime ( andre dussollier ) is a controlled , and almost manipulated association , highlighted by the fact that stephane permits maxime to win close squash matches . +in the beginning of the movie , stephane is a closed , solitary individual and the audience is carefully left to wonder about the depth of emotion behind this enigmatic man . +camille kessler ( emmanuelle beart ) is a master violinist and the new love of maximes . +maxime is so much in love with camille that he plans to and does leave his wife . +like stephane , camille is outwardly very controlled and reserved , sacrificing all thought and emotion to her violin and the music which emerges . +when stephane and camille meet , there is a recognition of a bonding by both individuals . +however , whereas camille submits to the wild interplay of emotions which she now feels for stephane , stephane only admits that camille is attracted to him . +stephane ignores his feelings for camille , which the audience cannot help but to see is present . +as the movie progresses , the two characters become more and more polarized in their views and emotions for one another . +these two people , with very similar approaches to life initially , react to their new circumstance very differently . +stephane becomes even more rational and controlled , while camille becomes more tempestuous , until she almost borders on suffering a nervous breakdown due to the inability to consummate their relationship . +however , their approach to each other is perhaps not surprising considering their vocation . +the audience is led to believe that stephane may have been a genius as a violinist as well , due to his relationship with a master violin teacher . +however , apparently , he could not be a violinist due to his intolerance for flaws in his playing . +consequently , stephane becomes a precision craftsmen with the instrument and no longer plays . +in contrast , camille had almost given the violin , years earlier . +however , with the aid of her manager , she has progressed to being almost one of the world's finest , successfully submerging herself to her playing . +during the course of the movie , we see both characters evolve as they struggle to meet the challenge of their new emotions . +stephane attempts to remain unchanged . +however , we do see subtle hints of his transformation . +one of the most obvious is when he defeats maxime in squash . +the development of all of the characters , many of which is not included in this synopsis , is incredible . +american movies , with rare exceptions , have not and i would daresay cannot approach foreign films in character development . +in its essence , this movie is about the development and growth of the characters , camille and stephane . +the portrayal of all the other characters in the movie , including a death , is to further the development of camille's and stepahne's characters . +i am not sure why berardinelli says , " at times it becomes difficult to determine whether stephane should be pitied or vilified , and it is to auteuil's credit that he manages to maintain this uncertainty . " +this movie is not about judging stephane's actions as being right or wrong , but about viewing their growth and accepting the characters as who they are . +i find the ending appropriate ; unfortunately , i found the last ten minutes which led up to the final scene to be very unfulfilling . +this portion of the film is where the " sense of closure " could have been successfully accomplished . +unfortunately , there is a hurried and almost a soap opera-type surge of emotions from all of the characters . +while ravel may not be quite as accomplished as schubert or mozart , ravel has his day in this film . +the synergism of the tension of ravel's music and tension on the screen is the best i have ever seen . +the directing in this movie is wonderful . +the actors and actresses are excellent , each playing their part with great sincerity and warmth . +emmanuelle beart's personality is beautiful . +and needless to say , i must say that emmanuelle beart , herself , is beautiful . +besides the near ending , the only other criticism of the movie which i have is that the movie is almost too cerebral . +i almost left with the sense little happened because almost all the changes which occur in the movie happen in deep in their psyches and little in their personalities or the situations which they end as part of . +the one question which i am left with is while they have accepted their lot , has their attitude towards love changed ? +i have several possibilities which i believe the movie hints at , but i am unsure of which the director is espousing . +in summary , this movie is solely about the character growth of two characters who almost develop a relationship . +in the process , we see their attitude towards life and other people . +in itself , i do not believe un coeur is a complicated movie . +where it does become complicated is when we juxtapose the scenes of the movie into the greater walk of life where we , as americans , have preconceived american notions of relationship , love , and people . +i do wonder how the movie translates when viewed within its native french culture . +however , i , bringing my american preconceptions , enjoyed the film . +i would welcome any comments about this movie from any who have seen it . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv088_24113.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv088_24113.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a73c3c09c964a1d3573b40e36b3dd78a636a3839 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv088_24113.txt @@ -0,0 +1,44 @@ +the keen wisdom of an elderly bank robber , the naive ambitions of a sexy hospital nurse , and a partnership that blossoms between the two are the fine components that make up a modest , little caper adventure entitled `where the money is . ' +the elderly bank robber is henry ( paul newman ) , a famous criminal that was only recently caught . +he has pulled off dozens of successful heists and has probably stashed away a small fortune . +always the shrewd thinker , he begins working on a plan to get out of jail . +this involves years of studying buddhism and self-hypnosis . +when he is prepared to execute his plan , he uses what he has learned to fake a stroke . +now a seemingly twitching vegetable , he is temporarily transferred to a state-run home . +carol ( linda fiorentino ) is the nurse that cares for him . +she's a very bright person with a good heart . +yet , her life is a miserable waste of time . +the most exciting thing to do in town is to fix cars . +her days at the hospital facility are spent leading wheelchair calisthenics . +worse , she's in a dead-end relationship with high-school sweetheart wayne ( dylan mcdermott ) . +they became a couple because they were king and queen of the prom . +to her , this made sense long ago . +but now , it's a different story . +wayne seems equally bored with his life , but is content enough to stay put . +wayne's greatest ambition is to become a night shift supervising foreman . +carol feels as lifeless as many of the other hospital patients , but she's never been anywhere else and doesn't see many other opportunities in life . +however , when henry falls under her care , her outlook begins to change . +the medical reports may state that he suffered a massive stroke . +carol , however , begins to grow suspicious that henry may just be faking it after all . +maybe she can get through to him , and maybe she can learn something about the money that he has stashed away . +the opening 30 minutes are filled with hilarious attempts of carol trying to bring henry ? back to life . ' +and what are some of carol's resuscitation techniques ? +perhaps an erotic lapdance might stir his senses . +if that fails , maybe she'll try a little shock therapy by pushing him off a 20-foot high pier into the cold lake below . +when he finally comes out of his state of self-trance , the movie's direction changes , though it remains equally if not more entertaining . +carol sees that henry is filled with charisma and self-assuredness . +she is invigorated by his commanding presence and refreshed by his vibrancy . +this , of course , puts wayne in an odd situation . +henry and carol's bond grows stronger when they enter into an agreement to rob an armored car . +henry needs this heist because he is unable to retrieve his original stash . +meanwhile , this is carol's ticket to a better life . +wayne is uncomfortable with the situation , but helps out nonetheless . +however , his lack of commitment threatens their success . +the heist sequence is suspenseful , well paced , and casts the uneasy feeling that something will horribly go wrong . +`where the money is' does more to spotlight newman and fiorentino than it does to showcase a story about a nifty heist . +newman is the real joy of the film , adroitly showing that at age 75 , he's still really hot stuff . +he possesses a sly smile , displays a dominating attitude , and a projects a demeanor that is undeniably attractive . +fiorentino is also a fun presence . +you root for her despite her sense of amorality . +sure , she wants to commit robbery and has little compunction about pushing a wheelchair-stricken man into a lake , but we can see that to escape her dead-end world , she needs to do something drastic . +with two charismatic characters such as these , it's hard to ignore that `where the money is' is where the fun is . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv089_11418.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv089_11418.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3182b34f8dc187a2180f08d15a5529d5cdd782a5 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv089_11418.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +robert benton has assembled a stellar , mature cast for his latest feature , twilight , a film noir mystery set amid the fading stars of hollywood . +paul newman stars as retired detective harry ross . +harry has spent the last couple of years doing odd jobs for jack and catherine ames ( gene hackman and susan sarandon ) , a pair of married actors who have fallen from the limelight . +when jack sends him on a routine delivery job , however , the old instincts kick in . +soon , harry is wading through a mystery where friendships and lives are on the line , and he no longer knows who to trust . +there are plenty of familiar faces throughout twilight , in addition to newman , hackman and sarandon . +james garner plays raymond hope , a former cop and one of harry's best friends . +stockard channing plays verna , harry's former partner , and possibly a former love interest . +reese witherspoon is mel , the distrustful daughter of the ames' , and liev schrieber is her scuzzy boyfriend . +giancarlo esposito appears as harry's bumbling detective protigi , and john spencer is a suspicious police captain . +with a cast like that , it's almost worth watching twilight just to stargaze . +luckily , there's more to the film than some sort of actor's recognition ceremony . +twilight has a solid film noir-ish plot . +it may not have as many twists and turns as some of the classics , but it has much more than a lot of what passes for film these days . +the major cast members all deliver strong performances , as can be expected of their caliber . +however , none of them have that little extra oomph which would make them memorable . +the supporting cast is enjoyable , if a little underdrawn . +stockard channing's character , in particular , is a cipher . +there's more to her character than the film takes the time to describe . +it's a minor , but irritating , flaw . +with a solid cast , and a good plot , there's a lot to recommend about twilight . +it's biggest flaw is actually its short running time . +at a slim 94 minutes , there's a lot of stuff that's packed into an awfully small package . +still , the chance to see newman , sarandon and hackman working together is worth a cramp or two . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv090_0042.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv090_0042.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5353d748664c983ce2edf1644190df61a900b29d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv090_0042.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18 @@ +warning : anyone offended by blatant , leering machismo had better avoid this film . +or lots of blood & guts , men against men and mano-et-mano stuff . +in other words , it's a walter hill film ! +with a john milius script ! +i always picture these guys getting together and producing a movie between arm-wrestling matches . +these films always contain male characters i have a very hard time identifying with , probably due to the likelihood that any meeting between them and me would result in my arm being ripped off and then my subsequent death by beating with said limb . +and we got tough guys galore , here ; drug-running banditos by the dozens , all dirty and sweaty and pretty ill-tempered , overall ; a secret task force of army commandos who are in the area to cover-up ( supposedly ) any connection between the government and the drug runners ; and lots of shit-kicking texas dirt farmers who'd as soon shoot you between the eyes as look at you . +in particular , we got nick nolte as one hard-ass texas ranger , powers boothe as the drug kingpin , michael ironsides as the leader of the secret army , and rip torn as the local sheriff . +torn is the sympathetic figure of the group ; he smiles before shooting anyone . +as to women . . . +well , i've never seen jane fonda or meryl streep in a walter hill film , and at this rate , i doubt i ever will . +women exist here to look good , comfort the man , and get argued over . +gosh ! +just like the old days . . . +frankly , this is a pretty good movie , if you can accept the premise and can take the macho stuff . +the cinematography is excellent , the cast of characters is broad and has texture , the script is quite good , and the film lets you keep up with what's happening yourself , without spelling it out to you . +i appreciate a film that makes me have to think to keep up . +finally , there's lots of sam peckinpah slow-motion shoot-ups . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv091_7400.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv091_7400.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1ad2be83381bb79d373db33ab8cfbbe3967cc08c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv091_7400.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +accepting his oscar as producer of this year's best picture winner , saul zaentz remarked that his cup runneth over . +one could almost say the same about his much-prized film . +rarely is the screen so overflowing with potent imagery , symbolism , ideas and metaphors , complex and literate storytelling , all possessed of an intelligence that invites -- even demands -- constant scrutiny , an acuity of perception and observation that must somehow yield the truth . +in short , the antithesis of all things hollywood . +yet this surfeit of signals is made to serve a rather pale and thinly realized love story whose emotional impact is as dry as a desert wind . +ralph fiennes is the title character , an amnesiac burn victim whose gradual return to memory , and particularly the memory of love , is the ostensible focus of the film . +but despite the use of numerous flashbacks to help put the pieces of this personal puzzle together , we never learn enough about the man to feel much empathy for him . +his emotional life before the story begins is an essential clue that remains withheld . +the same can easily be said for every other character in the film , of which there are too many . +juliette binoche's nurse comes as close as this film gets to an emotional heart . +at least we learn early on that she is scarred by the deaths of those close to her , and so we understand why she is eager to escape the company of her comrades in order to seek refuge in the convalescence of a mysterious , disfigured , dying stranger . +even this information is imparted so quickly and in such cursory fashion , however , that it verges on the comical . +with so many characters enjoying so little screen time , the film's 160 minutes can be taxing . +yet there is something so captivating about the sensibility behind the camera that i couldn't help but feel that greatness was in the air . +hints of it were everywhere -- in a man who hates ownership but wants desperately to possess his lover ; in ancient cave paintings of swimmers copied casually by a modern-day swimmer in the sahara ; in the way the shifting sands of time obliterate everything more completely than a world war . +there is enough latent meaning to supply college film students with paper topics for years . +but ultimately the emotional truths writer-director anthony minghella was grasping for were never revealed . +in the end , i was left with the impression that i had witnessed quite an oxymoron : a haunting bore . +bore is perhaps too strong a word . +but after drinking in the rich production values , the cup remains only slightly over half-full . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv093_13951.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv093_13951.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..06dfea04477a35985a2a5b73aab77e3307712b07 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv093_13951.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ + " footloose " has only one goal in mind : to reel in an audience with cheesy sentiment and feel-good antics . +and i hate to admit it ; i fell for it . +the movie is about a teenager ( bacon ) who moves to a small town from the big city , and discovers that dancing has been banned by the local reverend ( lithgow ) . +he ends up falling for the preacher's daughter ( singer ) and showing the whole town what the magic of dance can do . +as mentioned at the beginning of this review , " footloose " is an extremely hokey and predictable teen drama . +there are virtually no surprises , and the writing is second-rate . +so why did i enjoy it so much ? +for one thing , the cast is great . +kevin bacon oozes charisma in an early role . +we're rooting for him right from the start , and , unlike most films of this genre , bacon doesn't play him as the " rebel without a clue " sort . +yes , he does rebel , but he's also polite when he needs to be . +and he never broods . +the rest of the cast is equally impressive . +john lithgow , seen here playing a normal guy for a change , is playing a man who would normally be a flat out villian . +but lithgow plays him as a concerned father who is trying to do what he feels is best for his daughter . +by the end of the film , we feel a genuine sense of love and understanding between him and the lori singer character . +another nice touch is the music . +we see the parents of the kids complaining that the music they listen to is filled with " sexual innuendos " , but that's not true at all . +the title track , performed by kenny loggins , is upbeat and fun . +during the final sequence , i was overcome with the urge to get off the couch and start dancing . +of course , i soon realized that would be a little pathetic . +anyway , " footloose " is a charming little surprise . +don't let the premise prevent you from watching it . +it sucked me in , and it'll do the same to you . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv094_27889.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv094_27889.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8cf986f03ee71ae69e72678aa592cbfe1c658f8d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv094_27889.txt @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +as i walked out of crouching tiger , hidden dragon i thought to myself that i had had just seen a great film . +with the passage of a few hours i tempered my enthusiasm and started pondering the question of whether a masterpiece must implicitly be a " great " piece of work and viceversa . +attempting to make a distinction may be a matter of splitting hairs . +i avoided a commitment by appealing to etymology . +as the word implies , a masterpiece is any work which embodies the skills of a master . +as such it should suffice to say that it is a product of exceptional quality . +crouching tiger , hidden dragon fits comfortably in that category . +crouching tiger , hidden dragon immerses the viewer in an idealized world of oriental folklore , with the requisite blend of legend , fantasy , magic and mythology . +it is reminiscent of a wagnerian epic with characters which might as well be half-gods - greater than life , purer than life , stronger than life , physically invincible and able to accomplish superhuman feats , but with a human soul that makes them ultimately vulnerable . +all the classic elements of the oriental mystique are thrown into the mix , including the art of contemplation and the concept of martial dexterity as the physical equivalent of spiritual advancement . +the classic struggle between good and evil is the inevitable backdrop , with advanced masters of each and a golden pupil , which must choose between the two . +it is the gifted pupil who , under the influence of the evil master steals the holy grail in the form of a magic sword which is the focus of the conflict at the heart of the legend . +the elements of romance at two different levels of enlightenment ( a pair of masters and a pair of youngsters ) are poignantly represented . +the paradox of oriental restraint existing side by side with all consuming passion in the same breast is projected effectively . +the fight scenes are stunning balletic tours-de-force , not to be taken literally but clearly to be enjoyed as superb cinematic art , as are the prodigious leaps and flights to , from and between rooftops , the martial combat at the top of swaying bamboo branches and the combatants skipping like pebbles along the surface of a lake . +there need be no question of suspended disbelief when one is in the presence of poetry . +as in a wagnerian opera there is a substantial story line , which takes place at an ordinary human level , yet the entire project is to be accepted as a work of art rooted in fantasy . +do not assume , however , that the art is limp-wristed . +for those who are put off by the " art " label this film can be confidently recommended as engrossing entertainment at the levels of adventure , action and romance . +there are no weak performances in this movie . +michelle yeoh imbues her character with depth , humanity and wisdom . +chow yon fat projects dignity and purity of heart . +zhang ziyi is a budding superstar . +she is radiantly beautiful and totally persuasive in a multifaceted role . +cheng pei pei as the evil master and chang cheng as the bandit prince acquit themselves admirably . +kudos to screenwriters james schamus , wang hui ling and tsai kuo jing , choreographer yuen wo-ping , photography director peter pau and music director tan dun , each of which contribute quality components to this extraordinary film . +ang lee as the director , co-producer and mastermind of the project gets the lion share of the credit . +this is destined to be one of those films that everybody likes , including those who hate martial arts movies . +don't miss it . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv095_28892.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv095_28892.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2ada010eca1eb20b3bc14945d04e56240a70cea8 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv095_28892.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ + " crazy/beautiful " suffers from the damned-if-you-do , damned-if-you-don't syndrome . +after a spate of flighty , cookie-cutter teen films , the romantic drama addresses alcoholism and parental loss along with its love story . +but rather than applaud the production , early reviews have dismissed it as an overblown " afterschool special . " +even worse , in the wake of federal trade commission hearings that blasted the industry for marketing violent and sexual movies to young people , the studio got a case of the heebie-jeebies and forced director john stockwell to re-shoot scenes and cut footage to " tone things down . " +needless to say , the filmmaker was frustrated . + " we were trying to make a cautionary tale , " he told newsweek , " and we couldn't show the behavior we were trying to caution people away from . " +regardless , the film works , thanks to exceptional performances from its lead players and a script determined to transcend stereotypes . + " crazy/beautiful " is quality fare , good enough that i half-expected the summer movie crap police to walk into the press screening and confiscate the print for " failure to incorporate explosions and poop jokes . " +set in pacific palisades , calif . , the story follows the burgeoning relationship between two teens . +every morning and evening , carlos nunez ( jay hernandez ) takes a two-hour bus ride in order to attend pacific high school . +an honor student and star athlete , carlos is responsible , modest and focused as he works on securing a place in the naval academy . +all is well until he meets nicole oakley ( kirsten dunst ) , the daughter of a rich congressman ( bruce davison ) . +nicole is a drunk apparently hell-bent on self-destruction . +carlos is smart enough to recognize the danger in getting involved with her , but he is only human and she has the greatest smile . +plus , as her father notes , she has a real knack for drawing others into her downward spiral . +as with " save the last dance , " " crazy/beautiful " ( god , how i hate lower-case titles ) takes situations that look stale on paper and makes them seem fresh . +while noting the racial and social differences between the kids , the screenplay dances around most of the clich ? s ( there are still several mtv moments , though ) . +the filmmakers make a point to give characters that crucial extra bit of shading that turns them into individuals instead of stereotypes and the actors take it from there . +cute-as-a-button dunst forces the viewer to share the pain beneath nicole's behavior . +she is credible enough that when dad urges carlos to get away from her before she drags him down , i hoped the boy would listen . +as carlos , hernandez is a revelation . +hunky without looking like the product of a hollywood design team , the young man can really act ; we will see a lot of this guy in the future . +aside from its title , the biggest problem with " crazy/beautiful " is its ending , which wraps everything up too fast and too tidy . +after carefully presenting credible characters and situations , the conclusion feels rushed and lazy . +still , this is the kind of film that deserves accolades from critics instead of cheap shots . + " afterschool special " my ass ? " crazy/beautiful " is the real deal . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv096_11474.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv096_11474.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a5649eebe44bcebc7f6f8ddc0d13d9e198e0fb2c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv096_11474.txt @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +everyone knows someone like giles de'ath : stuffy , arrogant , set in his ways , and at war with anything that could in any way be associated with " progress . " +giles is a writer , but the product of his typewriter is the kind of scholarly stuff that is immediately put onto library stacks where it can gather dust until some graduate student needs another reference for his or her thesis . +his house looks like an immaculate museum ? with no television , microwave , word processor , or other technological gadgets , only the electric lights betray that he's living in the twentieth century , not the nineteenth . +this is the kind of role that could easily be turned into a flat stereotype , but john hurt , in what is certainly his best performance in a decade and possibly the most impressive of his long and distinguished career , turns " erstwhile fogy " giles into a three-dimensional human being . +despite his tunnel vision , it's impossible not to like the man , especially after his entire being is transformed by that singular affliction to which no one is immune : love . +and , as giles discovers during the course of this amusing , warm-hearted motion picture , it's possible to find the object of one's affection in the most unusual places . +giles , who is a widower and a recluse , does not frequent the cinema , but when he learns that an e . m . forster film is playing at the local theater , he screws up his courage and decides to go . +what he doesn't realize is that the movie house is showing two films : the forster adaptation and a teen exploitation flick called hotpants college ii . +a nonplused giles ends up sitting in a darkened room watching buff male and female bodies in various states of undress . +just as giles is about to leave , however , he notices ronnie bostock ( jason priestley ) , and , suddenly , it's love at first sight . +giles is enraptured , and the moment hotpants college ii is over , he beings to scour stores for bostock memorabilia , including teen magazines and video tapes . + ( in order to watch those tapes , giles must buy a vcr , but he initially doesn't realize that he needs a tv to use the vcr . ) +eventually , not satisfied with being the world's foremost authority on bostock , giles boards a plane and travels to long island , where his idol's home is located . +bostock is away when giles arrives , but the wily englishman manages to befriend ronnie's supermodel girlfriend , audrey ( fiona loewi ) . +eventually , the actor arrives home and , impressed with giles' demeanor and intelligence , he begins to rely on the older man's advice . +but , while giles' affection runs deep , ronnie's feelings are less constant . +love and death on long island is a comedy , and a very funny one at that . +in fact , for its first half , the film is nearly-perfect . +it suffers a fall-off once giles reaches new york , and the ending , with its none-too-subtle homosexual overtones , is a little too overbearing for the lighthearted material that precedes it . +in his gently satirical approach to popular culture and movie stardom , writer/director richard kwietniowski , adapting from the novel by gilbert adair , is 100% on- target . +in the process , he not only creates a truly likable and memorable character in giles , but says a few things about the transforming power of love , even if it is unrequited . +from start to finish , this is clearly hurt's movie ? he's in almost every frame . +it's a role that the veteran actor must have relished , because he makes giles an unforgettable motion picture figure , and does so by means of dialogue delivery , body language , and ever-changing facial expressions . +jason priestley , cashing in on his beverly hills 90210 image , is surprisingly effective as the shallow ronnie . +he is charismatic , and it's not hard to understand why giles is attracted to ronnie . +meanwhile , solid support is provided by the appealing fiona loewi and the always-reliable maury chaykin . +love and death on long island is many things wrapped into one : a social commentary ( it tackles the thorny issue of film as pure art versus film as mindless entertainment ) , a buddy picture/love story ( ronnie and giles have one of the most interesting relationships found anywhere on a movie screen these days ) , and a " fish out of water " tale ( victorian relic giles forced into the modern world ) . +yet , despite the many laughs love and death offers , it never takes cheap shots . +it has a vibrant , beating heart ? and that makes the comedy all the more worthwhile . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv097_24970.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv097_24970.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d853ac5efa8d295607719f5eb850af9fe5299129 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv097_24970.txt @@ -0,0 +1,51 @@ +for many people , procrastination isn't a problem to overcome , it's a high art . +we'll do just about anything to put off a task . +when the deadline for this column nears , it's the only time during the week dishes get washed and the bed made and laundry done and plants watered and . . . +eventually , hopefully , sometimes , there's a breakthrough and we actually get down to work . +amazingly it's almost always easier than we dreaded and after finishing , that sense of oppressive apprehension melts away . +and then , the next time , we do it all again . +english professor grady tripp ( michael douglas ) is a master . +seven years ago , his first book was a hit . +he's been working on his second -- a short 200-page piece -- since then . +fearful that he can't live up to the first , he can't bring himself to finish it . +no writer's block , he's nearing 3 , 000 pages with no end in sight . +now he's having a particularly difficult day . +the college's annual writers conference is bringing in accomplished novelists reminding tripp that other people are finishing _their_ books . +during the first day , his wife has left him , his married girlfriend informs him she's pregnant and his agent is in town with a six-foot transvestite in tow . +by the evening , our besieged writer is driving though the snow-covered streets of pittsburgh with a suicidal student beside him , a stolen jacket that marilyn monroe wore on her wedding day in the back seat and a murdered blind dog stuffed in the trunk . +this could be a pivotal point in his mid-life crisis . +and then there's the next morning . +there's a lot to like about this movie . +there are no huge explosions , shattering glass or computer-generated dinosaurs to distract from the very real human issues . +grady is caught up in the curse of people who accomplish great things early in their career . +in the world of " what have you done for me lately ? " , he knows his second book has to be better than his first . +instead of finding out , he drifts , comfortable in the insular cocoon of academic peter panhood . +he doesn't have much of a life and neither does his star pupil james leer ( tobey maguire ) . +james may be suicidal and psychotic . +certainly everything that comes out of his mouth is a lie . +he makes up a past of working clash anguish because the truth of wealth and comfort just isn't interesting enough . +as the weekend progresses , they are both forced to fully engage life . +that's the question they must face : comfort or real experiences ? +the film takes some interesting chances . +non-traditional relationships are presented as matter-of-fact . +extra-marital , gay , interracial , professor-student : here they aren't judged , merely choices . +the actors are all first-rate . +douglas triumphs , playing against type as he spends most of his time disheveled , unshaven and clad in a pink women's house robe . +maguire's disengaged alienation works perfectly here . +robert downey jr . as grady's agent livens up his scenes . +director curtis hanson ( " l . a . +confidential " ) makes a few missteps . +the women are underused . +frances mcdormand does a good job of her limited role of sara , grady's married lover but we never understand much of who she is . +the chemistry between the two of them is non-existent which makes some of the ending unconvincing . +katie holmes is a student with a major crush on the professor , but her character goes nowhere . +we never even see grady's exiting wife . +this is very much a guy's film . +the varied relationships between the men are much more convincing than any of the others . +grady's alternating mentoring and rejection of james is the centerpoint of the film , not him and sara . +as the boomers age , expect to see more mid-life crisis films to catch the attention of that demographic . +eventually it'll probably become cliche , but right now we've got a winner . +i'll finish this in a second . +right now i have to grab some paint . +i noticed some trim in the other room that needs a little touch-up . + ( michael redman has written this column for so long that he's made mid-life crisis a career choice . ) diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv098_15435.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv098_15435.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b48f60ce930cb045ace1a2266469d9680ef87172 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv098_15435.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +meet joe black ( reviewed on nov . 27/98 ) +starring brad pitt , anthony hopkins , claire forlani +in " meet joe black " , brad pitt plays death . +that's all that really needs to be said , but nevertheless , i will provide the three of you that have seemingly been living in a cave with a plot description . +death decides to take a holiday , what with all the rigors of soul-collecting and all , and forces anthony hopkins into showing him what it's like to be human . +death assumes the body of brad pitt , and from there , much trouble ensues . +for one thing , death-as-pitt falls in love with hopkins daughter , played by claire forlani . +obviously this enrages hopkins , because really , what can death offer ? +besides eternal damnation , of course . +there is also a sub-plot about forlani's ex-boyfriend ( she dumps him for pitt ) trying to take over hopkins company . + " meet joe black " runs just under three hours . +i've always thought that such obscene running times should be limited to historical epics . + " meet joe black " is neither historical nor is it an epic , though i get the feeling martin brest ( the director ) desperately wants it to be . +every single scene in the movie goes on about 3-4 minutes too long . +and the ending takes about 20 minutes longer than it really should . +a severe editing job could have made this movie excellent , instead of just good , which is what it is . +pitt , an actor i normally loathe , is actually quite engaging as death . +i believed his performance , and i could see why forlani's character would fall in love with him . +i have to agree with roger ebert , though , who found it hard to believe that an entity that's been around for all time wouldn't know what peanut butter was . +that has nothing to do with pitt's performance , of course , but it is a little distracting . +hopkins gives his usual excellent performance . +he's able to portray the angst of a man who knows he has very little time left , without making him an obnoxious whiner . +and in her first major studio role , claire forlani is surprisingly good . +she has a sweet tenderness that allows the audience to instantly root for her . +so , " meet joe black " is a good movie hampered by it's ridiculous running time . +had the film been cut by an hour or so , i have no doubt that i would be calling it one of the best movies of the year in this review . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv099_10534.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv099_10534.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2285b3386f04d3216c13d22bffadcdfc0d584595 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv099_10534.txt @@ -0,0 +1,48 @@ +call it touched by a demon . +gregory hoblit's fallen is a serial killer movie with an unusual , horrific twist . +if marketed properly , this film could have crossover appeal for both those who appreciate supernatural tales like the prophesy and those who crave grim , dark thrillers like silence of the lambs and seven . +in fact , there's even a little twin peaks to be found here , albeit with the lion's share of the weirdness distilled out . + ( remember bob ? ) +the biggest failing of fallen is that , although it's consistently interesting , it's not always as edgy and suspenseful as one might hope . +a serial killer ( elias koteas ) has been on the loose in philadephia , but detective john hobbes ( denzel washington ) , the noblest man on the police force , has brought him to justice . +now , during his last hours on death row awaiting his inevitable date with the gas chamber , the mass murderer cryptically tells hobbes , " what goes around really goes around . " +shortly thereafter , he begins to sing " time is on my side " as he's taken on his last walk . +minutes later , the state of pennsylvania has carried out the execution and edgar reese is dead . +but for hobbes , the nightmare is just beginning , because reese wasn't a normal psychopath ? he was the host body for a mythical dark angel named azazel . +and , with reese's death , azazel is free to hop from body to body , murdering and wreaking havoc at will . +only hobbes and a pretty , female theology teacher ( embeth davidtz ) have an inkling of what they're up against . +the rest of the cops , including hobbes' partner , jonesy ( john goodman ) ; lou ( james gandolfini ) , a newcomer to the department ; and lieutenant stanton ( donald sutherland ) , don't have a clue , and , as a result , they are in mortal danger . +as depicted by hoblit ( primal fear ) and cinematographer newton thomas sigel , philadelphia is a dark , dreary place ? a gothic city rather than a modern one . +no skyscrapers or other monoliths of current architecture or technology are shown . +the most famous landmark to appear isn't the liberty bell or independence hall ; it's geno's steaks . +shadows and night scenes abound . +the days are cloudy and unpromising . +this is the kind of setting where it's easy to believe that fallen angels walk among men . +fallen's plot is brimming with potential , not all of which is realized . +somehow , i would have expected a more frightening tale to emerge from something with this kind of premise . +but the level of terror , like that of gore , is kept in check . +nevertheless , there are several creepily effective scenes as the spirit of azazel moves from body to body when people bump against each other on crowded city sidewalks . +the film also boasts a chase sequence of a kind that can best be described as unusual . +of the several dozen actors to play azazel , the best is by far elias koteas ( exotica , crash ) , who , despite only being on screen for about ten minutes , gives a fantastically charged performance . +john goodman also seems to be enjoying himself , although his role for most of the film is relegated to that of a burly sidekick . +sadly , however , these two are the only ones who excel . +everyone else , including denzel washington , is boring . +washington's flat performance is the most disappointing surprise of the film . +it's not that he's bad per se , but he's not very interesting . +there's no real sense of vulnerability or desperation in the way he portrays his character , and that keeps us distanced , however slightly , from hobbes . +as circumstances become progressively more dire for the cop , and as his life-or-death chess game with azazel approaches the point of checkmate , i expected to be more on the edge of my seat than i was . +washington's subdued approach is part of the reason for this ; i never felt a sense of urgency . +however , at least washington was believable , which is more than can be said for embeth davidtz ( schindler's list ) and donald sutherland . +to be fair , the flaws in their characters aren't all acting-related ; neither stanton nor gretta milano are well-written . +that said , however , there's nothing inspired about either davidtz's or sutherland's work . +both appear to be sleepwalking their way through the parts , as if they know that their contribution to the film is one of advancing the plot rather than developing a multi-dimensional individual . +narratively , fallen has a few glaring weaknesses . +although the plot proceeds with a convoluted , game-like structure , it uses a denzel washington-supplied voiceover to overexplain matters . +at times , this is actually helpful , and it has a use beyond the obvious , but there are occasions when ponderous lines like " i like the night ? sometimes you come face to face with yourself " become a little hard to swallow . +in addition , fallen is saddled with the same kind of disgustingly bland , generic theology embraced by numerous movies and tv shows like touched by an angel . +however , despite the negatives , i'm still recommending fallen on the strength of its complex plot and especially its ending , which i loved . +the final scenes are startling , audacious , and unexpected . +it's not often that a plot development takes me by surprise the way this one did . +at a time when most movies fall apart in the last ten minutes , fallen manages to buck the trend and redeem itself . +this is not a great motion picture , but , considering how bad most january releases are , it's a reasonably entertaining way to spend two hours . +and , whatever you do , don't walk out on the film before the end credits have begun to roll . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv100_11528.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv100_11528.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..17dca8279451c5ebb5abd66d3b4987daf8c8f46a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv100_11528.txt @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +james l . brooks , one of the developers of the simpsons and director of broadcast news , returns to the big screen with this entertaining , if slightly flawed comedy . +nicholson plays melvin udall , probably the most horrible person ever on the screen . +he's racist , homophobic , and never has a good word to say to anyone . +so , nobody talks to him , except waitress carol conelly ( t . v +sitcom star hunt , who was last seen in twister , 1996 ) . +naturally , udall , conelly and gay neighbor simon bishop ( kinnear ) who nicholson hates , all hit it off in the end . +like good will hunting ( 1997 ) and titanic ( 1997 ) , even though the outcome is completely obvious , as good as it gets is an enjoyable , funny and warm comedy . +nicholson is hilarious as melvin , churning out insults with superb relish . +only nicholson could get away with the lines that melvin delivers . +hunt is also good as waitress carol , and easily rises to the challenge of nicholson . +there's also ( thankfully ) a bit of chemistry between them . +kinnear , as the gay neighbor , seems to have a slightly underwritten role , he's more of a plot convience than a character . +although his performance is good , his character just seems to exist to help melvin and carol come together . +in fact , the scene stealer is simon's dog , who is funnier than nicholson . +but then again , pets are always cute on screen . +providing solid support is cuba gooding , jnr ( jerry maguire , 1996 ) and yeardly smith ( who is the voice of lisa simpsons in the simpsons ) although gooding isn't as good as is character in maguire , he is still fun . +he overacts a little , but not so much as to be annoying . +smith is also good , although she has a fairly small role . +even director lawrence kasdan ( body heat , 1981 ) makes an appearance as a doctor . +but this is primarily nicholsons film , and every scene he's in , he's steals it . +he's character is so hateful , though , it's amazing that anyone talks to him at all , especially carol . +and this is the films main problem . +it's totally unbelievable that carol would ever consider liking melvin . +she doesn't fall in love with him naturally , the film forces her to fall in love with him . +also , melvins character seems to go too nice , too quickly . +i would doubt anyone with a character like melvins would be able to turn back to a nice , loving person . +it would take a helluva long time , much longer than this film would like to make out . +brooks direction is good , though , if a bit average , but he usually manages to get an emotion out of the audience . +he handles the comedy scenes better than the sentimental ones ( he tends to pile on to much schmaltz ) but generally he's good . +there's also a nice soundtrack by veteran composer hans zimmer . +but , generally , as good as it gets achieves what it sets out to do , which is to make the audience feel good by the end of the movie . +the movie is a bit overlong , but nicholson is such good fun that the running time passes by pretty quickly . +overall , as good as it gets is a fun movie , even though it may be unbelivable , and certainly worth seeing ( if just for jack nicholsons performance . ) +not quite as good as it gets ( pardon the bad joke ) , but still good fun . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv101_10175.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv101_10175.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1c05fb1342a88d7fd2e81cbf4445add1c615973b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv101_10175.txt @@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ +after a stylistic detour with mrs . +parker and the vicious circle ( which , despite its uncomfortable tone , was close to being a conventional movie ) , director alan rudolph has returned to his unique brand of film making with afterglow , a romantic black comedy about love , betrayal , and self-absorption . +while these may not be the most unusual themes to fashion into a motion picture , rudolph's atypical approach to the characters and their situations makes for an intriguing , if not always pleasant , movie . +it is said that rudolph is a polarizing director ? meaning that most viewers either love his work or hate it . +until mrs . +parker , i had not been overly impressed by his movies . +i found equinox , his last pre- mrs . +parker effort , to be irritating and frustrating . +i was somewhat surprised , therefore , to discover that i liked afterglow . +there are several reasons for this , but the paramount one is that rudolph seems to have muted some of the most strident , mannered aspects of his approach . +the characters here are more like real people with genuine problems , the story is absorbing , and the acting is top-notch . +in short , rudolph has created a world that it's worth spending two hours in . +afterglow introduces us to two unhappily married couples . +jeffrey byron ( jonny lee miller ) is a cold , seemingly-heartless businessman who is sexually indifferent to his young wife , marianne ( lara flynn boyle ) . +for her part , marianne is so obsessed with having a baby that she never attempts to interact with her husband on a human level . +all she's interested in is seducing him during those few days when she's ovulating . +after he refuses to make love , she decides to find someone else to play the role of sperm donor . +the other couple , lucky ( nick nolte ) and phyllis mann ( julie christie ) , are an older pair , but they're no more content than jeffrey and marianne . +a mysterious fracture in their past relationship has driven them apart . +they remain married as a matter of convenience , but , since phyllis won't allow lucky to touch her , they have an unspoken agreement whereby he can fool around as much as he wants provided that no lasting bond is established as a result of these affairs . +the landscape of emotional pain between them is palpable . +the four characters begin interacting when marianne hires lucky as a handyman to fix up the inside of the apartment she shares with jeffrey . +the two of them are immediately attracted to one another , and it doesn't take long before they're lounging together , naked , in her pool . +meanwhile , jeffrey , who is captivated by older women , runs into phyllis in a hotel bar , is smitten , and invites her to accompany him on a weekend retreat to the mountains . +the romantic couplings of the characters are interesting in that they illustrate the multiple faces of love . +sex means something different to everyone ? to jeffrey , it's an unpleasant chore , a loss of control ; to marianne , it's a means to a maternal end ; to lucky , it's an enjoyable distraction that blocks out his marital troubles ; and to phyllis , it's a method of establishing or denying emotional closeness . +ultimately , none of these characters appears to love anyone else as much as they love themselves . +the greatest strength of the film lies not in the script , but in the performances . +jonny lee miller is perfect as the selfish , callous , suit-and-tie businessman . +those who recall him as sickboy in trainspotting will find that he is almost unrecognizable here as the image of conformity . +lara flynn boyle , who wasn't impressive in rudolph's equinox , is greatly improved , making marianne a jumble of sexiness and vulnerability . +nick nolte is delightful as the uninhibited lucky , and he manages to deliver some of rudolph's most pregnant lines with practiced ease . +the clear standout , however , is julie christie , who is nothing short of delicious as the world-weary phyllis . +her often wry , occasionally cutting asides are the source of much of the film's humor , and there's hardly ever a moment when she doesn't steal the spotlight from her co-stars . +i don't know if afterglow is the film to convert rudolph- detractors , but it seems that this movie is a little more accessible than some of the director's earlier productions . +enough of his trademark style remains , however , to reassure his supporters . +afterglow is basically a four-pronged character study . +the plot is not especially compelling , but the character interaction is , and that's the real reason to see this motion picture . +rudolph has painted an able picture of the non-romantic side of love -- the one that has more to do with tolerance and familiarity than with affection and attraction . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv102_7846.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv102_7846.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e4f6149dd27cd452b3ec8c69924740d8bd4f9d25 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv102_7846.txt @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ + " the fugitive " is probably one of the greatest thrillers ever made . +it takes realistic , believable characters and tells an exciting story that's totally believable throughout . +this isn't an over-the-top action flick for the sake of action , this is an intelligent adventure story with a real sense of mystery to it and it works perfectly . +harrison ford stars as dr . richard kimble , a man who is wrongly accused and convicted of murdering his wife . +the entire premise of the story revolves around this murder , but is not told in a straightforward manner . +we constantly see flashbacks to the murder from kimble's perspective . +hints are dropped from various times of the night kimble's wife , helen ( sela ward ) was murdered . +we don't get to see who the killer is until much further into the story . +in fact , we might even have a little doubt about kimble's innocence ourselves . +the film doesn't spend much time on the details of kimble's trial and conviction as it is not the point of the story . +one of the greatest action scenes ensues as we get a botched escape attempt by his fellow inmates which leads to a fantastic train wreck . +but it does not at all seem gratuitous or formulated , it is actually suspenseful to watch . +this movie is so incredible because it's able to take elements like these and make them wholly original and believable . +tommy lee jones almost steals the show as deputy sam gerard , a u . s . marshall who is an expert in hunting fugitives . +from the moment he appears we know a huge game of cat and mouse is about to occur . +kimble and gerard are equally matched as there is no way to tell how one is going to outsmart the other . +most of the film deals with richard's complex investigation as he tries to find the one-armed man who killed his wife . +ford does not have a lot of lines here , so it is stuart and twohy's script and davis's outstanding direction that make the film as great as it is . +just watching richard use his keen intelligence and wits , disguising himself , and doing his own detective work is very interesting . +we know just as little as he does as to why his wife was killed , so as he learns more so do we . +meanwhile gerard and his staff are using all their skills to hunt him down . +at one point they run into each other and a great chase ensues , but richard is just too smart for them . +he leaves clues for gerard to show his innocence and to help him solve the mystery . +one of the greatest charms to the film is its sense of humor . +there is a great sense of comradeship between gerard and his two closest deputies cosmo renfo ( pantoliano ) and biggs ( roebuck ) . +they are trying to catch what they believe to be a dangerous murderer , yet they constantly start up small talk with each other , making funny wisecracks and one-liners , but not in any kind of distracting manner . +the final act concludes with another terrific chase . +richard figures out who the killer is and confronts him , and although we get a typical fight scene , the case is far from solved . +the man who ordered the murder has been under our nose all along , and we don't realize this until the end when both richard and gerard put the pieces together . +maybe the finally scene is a bit much , but it still has a believable atmosphere to it . +we're so relieved when justice is served . +it's not the plot is that makes " the fugitive " great , it's all the motions the characters go through to make for an intriguing story . +watching a seemingly average man go through as much as this is what makes the movie so adventurous . +if only hollywood could produce more movies like this . + ( 10/31/96 ) ( 1/29/97 ) ( 6/13/97 ) [see also : " nick of time " ] diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv103_11021.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv103_11021.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..646d7b7b5ff58c55aa11de25fbca680f5fad7861 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv103_11021.txt @@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ +i think that any competent member of the human race who's ever seen a movie--any movie--could probably predict just about every turn in the wedding singer . +even though i try very hard to not predict films as i'm watching them ( especially not romantic comedies ) , the plot of this particular film just advanced before me seconds , and sometimes minutes , before i actually saw it happen on screen . +but i don't care . +not even a little . +my reasons for this are simple : 1 ) adam sandler is great . +2 ) drew barrymore is great . +3 ) the movie is so funny . +there are parts that left me gasping for air because i was laughing so hard . +i haven't laughed this hard in a movie since austin powers . +sandler plays robby hart , a wedding singer who once had dreams of being in a rock band and writing his own music . +in the opening scenes , he seems like a happy-go-lucky wedding singer , at least partially enjoying his profession and doing a rather good job of talking down a really drunk individual ( steve buscemi ) who decides that his brother's wedding is a good place to tell the whole world that his life , up to that point , was utter pointlessness . +a week later , at his own wedding , he is left standing at the altar by his ex-fianc ? e , linda ( angela featherstone ) . +with his life in complete disarray , he meets julia ( barrymore ) , a waitress . +she is engaged to glenn ( matthew glave ) , and is to marry him in about three months . +julia and robby become good friends when she enlists him to help with the wedding plans . +soon ( and predictably ) it becomes pretty clear that glenn is a jerk , and that robby and julia really love each other . +oh sure , it's trite . +and if anyone making this film expected us to , like , feel suspense or something while watching the wedding singer , then they truly underestimated their audience . +what makes the story bearable , aside from the terrific costumes and 80s music , are the performances . +barrymore is simply adorable here ( i've never seen her look so close to the way she did in et ) . +not only is she pleasant to look at , but her acting job here really is a good one--and it doesn't hurt that the character is likable and adequately well-written . +and the jerk , played in full-force by graves , is just as despicable as any villain in any romantic comedy i've ever seen . +naturally , the true star here is sandler . +i think the guy is flat-out hilarious . +he can say something that just isn't funny , and his delivery makes me laugh . +his comedic performance here equals that of happy gilmore , but in this film he goes much further and proves to me that he can , indeed , hold his own as a leading man in a romantic comedy . +whereas his roles in his previous films kind of had sandler playing sandler , the wedding singer gives him a character that , for the first time , he actually has to fit into . +as far as i'm concerned he succeeded , and this film is testimony that he does , in fact , have some range in his talents . +and the movie is just so funny . +perhaps the best moment is when he sings a song for julia that he claims is a little uneven because he began writing it while in a good mood and finished it after his fianc ? e abandoned him . +this is the part that literally had me groping for a breath of air . +and while the film , like all romantic comedies , takes a hiatus from laughs towards the end because the plot has to finish up , there are more than enough truly hilarious moments in the first hour that make up for any slumps in progress during the second half . +my formal complaints for the wedding singer aren't very important . +the film is predicable , but who cares ? +the characters are extremely likable , the movie is ridiculously funny , and the experience is simply enjoyable . +in addition to this , i can't imagine anyone seeing the preview and not wanting to see the film . +in that order , i conclude that it is pointless for me to even have written this review . +i just want everyone to know that i laughed . +a lot . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv104_18134.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv104_18134.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a0639a173dfded8ab5fc494e92c997a4c95f8207 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv104_18134.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +based on the boris karloff's classic by the same name , the mummy starts off with the high-priest of osiris , imhotep , who murders the pharoah for his mistress and is punished by being mummified in the most horrifying way possible -- bandaged up , having his tongue removed , and being covered in flesh-eating scarab beetles , then entombed . . . all while still alive . +recap a few thousand years later , where a soldier named rick ( played by brandan fraser ) aids a young historian named evelyn ( played by rachel wiesz ) and her brother , jonathan ( played by john hannah ) in finding the book of amon ra , in the process inadvertently freeing the mummy . +problem is that the mummy wants to revive his mistress , using evelyn as a sacrifice . . . +walking in with relatively low expectations , i thought this movie was actually pretty good . +the visuals and cgi are astounding , and obviously not cheaply done at all . +they pack a ton of detail into the images , especially during scenes involving mummies rendered completely by cgi . +the computer special effects makes for some brilliant scenes , such as unnerving moments involving flesh-eating scarab beetles and moments where the mummy goes after the people who freed him ( after all , those who took his artifacts are cursed ) . +unfortunately , the film attempts to be way too much in such a short span of time , becoming a tug of war for control between genres . +on one hand , it is a fast paced action film . +on the other , it's a frightening horror film . +and on the side , it's a hilarious comedy . +ideally , for it to be successful , the film would have to focus on one the more action oriented aspect , with one character serving as the comic relief ( that would be johnson ) . +the problem with this film is that it has at least three characters serving as comic relief , with rick occasionally delivering his witty one-liner . +if they were trying to make a horror-action-comedy , it would have helped if it were established early on in the film , but unfortunately , with the backstory of imhotep's entombment , that would be impossible . +and then there's the slapstick fight scene between a sword-wielding rick and an army of mummies . +while really well done , it had the feel of slapstick comedy . +replace the sword with a chainsaw and you'd effectively have ash fighting zombies in army of darkness . +while entertaining and funny , it feels really out of place . +but at least it's a break from the naive heroes that brendan fraser has been playing a lot of . +on the whole , the movie is pure popcorn fare from beginning to end , entertaining the audience . +but i must end my review with a plea to movie theatre owners . . . turn +the sound down ! +while a lot of theatres have good sound systems , my ears were almost ringing as i walked out of the theatre ( the sound is particularly irritating and will make you crap your pants if you're not careful ) . +when they were showing the trailer for the upcoming schwarzenegger film , " end of days " , it was so loud i couldn't make anything out . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv106_16807.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv106_16807.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ec49c967c93191e451724ba25ae7da72325c09b0 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv106_16807.txt @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +as any sociologist will attest , your childhood and the types of parents that you have will heavily influence your happiness as an adult . +parents that are supportive and environments that are nurturing will yield children who will embrace the values and norms that can allow them to live healthy and productive lives . +but if your upbringing is marred with violence , hate and dysfunctionality , then your journey towards a happy adulthood will be saddled with psychological obstacles almost too great to overcome . +`affliction' explores how a man never truly escapes the grip of an unforgivingly nightmarish childhood . +the man in question is wade whitehouse ( nick nolte ) . +here is a man who is like any other citizen on the surface . +he is a productive member of the community and goes about his daily routine much like you and me . +but as you scratch beneath the surface , something scary and evil begins to rear its ugly head . +we see that he is a mean-tempered person . +he has a hard time taking control of his emotions , which usually gets the better of him . +he is quick to apologize for his actions and wants to be a gentle person , but something is sparking a tendency towards violence . +he also has tremendous problems with relationships . +he is divorced and his only connection to love is his daughter . +but his bearish persona and stature alienates her . +he is visibly shaken by her rejection even though she says that she loves him . +his demeanor also puts his relationship with a local townsgirl ( sissy spacek ) at risk . +she tries to remain true to him and supportive , but for women unlucky enough to attach themselves to this kind of person , relationships will ultimately end like sentences ending with an exclamation point . +finally , he is spiteful and vindictive . +as a rejected father , he initiates a custody battle that seems hopeless . +as the town's only police officer , he issues a speeding ticket to a man whose father has just died . +we can see that this is a man that is both afflicted and living with pain . +he is a prisoner and a slave to it . +he is moving towards a level of madness and insanity that defies comprehension . +what kind of force can move a man to the edge of his emotions and beyond the reach of people who genuinely care for him ? +we learn that the answer is his father ( james coburn ) . +this is the kind of father that every son would be ashamed to have and that any woman would be afraid to meet . +he is an overbearingly misogynistic and frequent drunk who rules with an iron fist . +we see his tyrannical behavior through flashbacks . +to heighten the father's churlishness , the flashbacks are shown as home video footage taken by a very frightened person . +very effective . +today , wade's dad is quite elderly , but still manages to instill fear into a grown man . +the influence that the father possesses is inescapable , and its unsavory effect clamps down hard on the tortured wade . +the result is every son's nightmare ? becoming like the father that one has always dreaded to be . +this is a terrifically presented piece of psychological drama , and nolte turns in a strong performance as a man whose pain seems to become a detriment as well as a necessity . +he's a hulking person who is still reduced to whimpers when in the presence of his father . +coburn displays heft as the bitter dad . +but , it's most certainly not saturday-night-friendly fare . +there's nothing light or fluffy about this film . +that may turn many moviegoers away . +but it's certainly worth noting that this is a well-acted drama showcasing nolte's and coburn's raw acting talents . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv108_15571.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv108_15571.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2acce61fd76f20b3421518255cc333730b1b7da5 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv108_15571.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ +it's rather strange too have two computer animated talking ant movies come out in a single year , but that is what disney and pixar animation ; s latest film represents . +while a bugs life isn't nearly as deep as it's predecessor , dreamwork's antz , it is just as funny . +a bug's life centers , appropriately , around the life of an ant , named flik . +flik , cutely voiced by newsradio's david foley , hates sticking too tradition and attempts too find new ways of harvesting food and other task . +when one of his inventions causes the offering too be completely lost , the leaders of the colony send him out on a mission too get him out of the way . +the offering is food that a vile group of grasshoppers force the ants too harvest for them . +the leader of the grasshoppers is hopper , who is fiendishly voiced by oscar winner kevin spacey . +when the offering is lost hopper is very upset and he vows to return shortly too retrieve double the amount of food . +when the leaders of the ant colony send flik out on his mission , they never dream he will be successful , they just hope they can get him out of the way so they can harvest the extra food . +flik's mission is too hire some warrior bugs too fight off the grasshoppers when they return . +instead flik accidentally hires circus performing bugs , who he mistakenly assumes are warriors . +when he returns with the `warriors' , the town is ecstatic until they find out the truth about their heroes . +a bug's life has animation that is simply stunning . +the sheer uniqueness of the day to day bug life is very imaginative . +together with the great voice acting , this film is the perfect holiday family film . +its main weakness is that it couldn't beat antz to the theaters , making it seem like stale material . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv109_21172.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv109_21172.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6d21549b7405c2f1d6b021a35cb9aebee636b5dc --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv109_21172.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +not since oliver stone's natural born killers has there been a movie this incendiary , and not since david cronenberg has a so-called mainstream director been this willing to repeatedly tiptoe the fine line between pointed social commentary and outright social irresponsibility . +while fincher's films have never suffered from a lack of shock value ( his major character killings in both alien 3 and seven are fine examples ) , fight club marks the distillation of his pitch-black comedic sensibility ( see 1997's the game ) into something like a definitive statement . +jack ( norton , acting as both narrator and protagonist ) is your typical cubicle clone , whose disillusionment is amplified by a seemingly incurable insomnia . +on the offhand advice of a doctor , he sits in on group-therapy sessions for everything from blood parasites to testicular cancer . +here he meets bob ( marvin lee aday , aka meat loaf ) , a cancer-emasculated eunuch with profound gynecomastia . +strangely , the release he finds while sobbing on bob's breasts allows him to sleep at night , at least until a fellow group-therapy " tourist " named marla singer ( carter ) comes along to ruin things for him , forcing a grudging compromise that recalls monty python in its dark hilarity . +later , he meets tyler durden ( pitt ) , a soap salesman with a decidedly subversive outlook on life . +one night , after his ikea- furnished condo explodes ( don't ask-- you'll just have to see the movie , awright ? ) , he is goaded by tyler into a fight , and damned if it doesn't feel good . +it is pure , raw existence , a brief moment of clarity and purpose that makes his dreary workaday life pale in comparison . +he moves into tyler's squalid abandoned mansion , and they form the titular organization , an underground therapy group where men bond with bare-knuckle savagery and very few rules , the first two of which are " don't talk about fight club . " +armed with charisma and an attractive anti-corporate philosophy , tyler assumes leadership of the burgeoning membership of white-collar slaves and dead-end mcemployees . +resentment creeps into jack's heart , made worse by the fact that tyler is also regularly and noisily boffing the hated marla . +funded by a frivolous lawsuit , tyler begins molding his devotees into an army dedicated to mischief and mayhem . +their initially juvenile pranks ( like pissing in food and putting spike belts on roads ) quickly evolve into something more like sedition , and jack fears that things have gone sour . +it is after this point , when you are plenty uncomfortable and wondering just how far fincher will go to say something original , that the film uncorks a disappointing plot twist . +it is so contrived-- and so conventional compared to what precedes it-- that everything which follows ( including the ending ) becomes far less interesting . +it's a major ( though not fatal ) flaw , and for a director as notoriously unpredictable as fincher , it feels like a cop-out . +fight club is going to be misconstrued by a great many people . +in the early going , it has a downright dangerous feel ; it seems to be saying that violence and civil disobedience are good for the soul , and this is undoubtedly the message that a few moronic punks are going to take from it . +i'll be mightily surprised if imitation fight clubs don't spring up here and there , and i'll be even more amazed if fincher isn't vilified for it by the same humorless witch-hunters that are currently after oliver stone . +they needn't bother , because fight club is less a message movie than fincher's elaborate attempt at a joke . +tyler durden , for all his dionysian allure , is really nothing more than the logical ( and far less hypocritical ) extrapolation of all those self-help gurus who constantly show up on oprah to preach their me-first gospel of self-actualization . +in this context , the joke works , but like the latest columbine joke , some people will get it and enjoy a good laugh , and others won't . +hopefully , though , their silly moral outrage won't spoil the joke for the rest of us . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv110_27788.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv110_27788.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..62851883284b28156880330d6f9378cb42aa3f00 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv110_27788.txt @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +plot : a bunch of bad guys dressed up as elvis impersonators rob a vegas casino during a presley convention . +the boys eventually get together to split the money , but as plans change , double-crosses occur , dealing and wheeling goes down and the crew set up for the road . +who's on the up and up , who's the real bad guy and who's gonna get to bang courteney cox are just a few of the questions which will be answered by the rest of this movie . +critique : the funnest movie that i've seen so far this year ! +it's got style , it's got tough guys talkin' shite and it's got plenty of bullets to go around . +a definite hunk-a-hunk-a burnin' adventure ! +a guy's guy movie through and through , and one that'll set your jollies to high if you dig on the rough stuff . +it's not very original , it goes on for a little too long , but costner and russell make it happen , as two shite-kickin' elvis lovers , who don't stop till they , more or less , drop . +this movie's got some pretty intensive shoot-out scenes , one of the coolest robbery scenarios that i've ever witnessed , featuring several elvises with guns a blazin' and the king's music playing in the background , and a decent helping of double-crosses , sharp dialogue and funny moments . +in fact , even though the cast is filled with many name actors ( b-actors as they might be for the most part ) , most of them do their bit and succeed well in passing the torch onto the next victim . +but the true glue that holds this film together , other than the spirit of elvis himself , is costner and russell , who play their badass characters to the t . sure , russell's been down this road before , but costner surprised me with his nastiness . +i guess he's pissed at all the box-office bombs that he's been in of late , but he sure played a great unstable elvis impersonating robber here . +in the end , the bottom line with this movie is having fun , kickin' ass and making sure there's enough bubblegum around to chew afterwards . +and smoke 'em if you got 'em , folks ! +there is also this one really great show-down scene between costner and a cop , that'll have you crackin' up and lovin' it all at the same time . +the violent scenes in this movie are violent and the entire film is wrapped in a soundtrack that'll kick your arse from this end of the theatre to the next . +it should actually come to no surprise to anyone that the director of this movie comes from a music video background , with plenty , and i mean plenty , of camera tricks , cuts and edits , but for this kind of flick , it actually works . +the film is not perfect though , it starts off with a pretty big bang , but then pulls a way of the gun on us , and slows the pace down somewhat in the middle , while characters intermingle and disperse . +i was personally kept in the game despite some soft spots , and enjoyed the overall ride for what it was as well . +and did i mention that courteney cox looked mega-hot in the movie ? +no . . . okay , +well i just did ! +i coulda done without her whole " romance " angle , but to be honest , it doesn't take up much of the film , which is generally covered in blood , explosions , guts and elvis nods . +try to see how many " inside " connections to the king you can guess . +of course , it's no secret that i am quite a big elvis fan myself so please take this whole review with that grain of salt in mind . +i also like these types of " guy " movies a lot , and even though the film doesn't bring much originality to the table , it does offer a pretty coherent story , some nice twists and turns , humor and a big ol' helping of whoop-ass coming straight from costner and russell's respective boots . +probably not a film for everyone , but definitely for those who enjoy the guns , the charismatic bad guys and a fun , if entirely disposable , adventure . +now see how many elvis songs i've used to pun my way through this phony review below . +the elvis songs also recommend this movie ! +so whether you're lonesome tonight or any other night , remember to pack the teddy bear with bullets , leave your little sister at home , bring your bossa nova baby and rock out of that jailhouse , cause this movie ain't one to return to the sender . +i really beg of you , whether you're stuck in the ghetto or crying in the chapel , to slap this cinematic ring around your neck and love it tender . +and no suspicious minds either , folks , cause i got stung by this movie , i mean it really shook me up , and unless you're the devil in disguise himself , i think you won't be able to help falling in love with this lucky charm either . +so don't be cruel , don't turn away , don't curl up with your latest flame tonite ( whether she be a hard-headed woman or not ) and surrender to the hound dog of movies that is this film . +it's now or never , folks . +trust me , i did it my way and the heartbreak hotel of crappy movies that i'd seen so far this year is far behind me . +joblo has now officially left the sanity of his mind and this building . +thank you . . . thank +you very much ! ! +where's joblo coming from ? +get carter ( 7/10 ) - heat ( 8/10 ) - honeymoon in vegas ( 9/10 ) - payback ( 8/10 ) - reindeer games ( 5/10 ) -reservoir dogs ( 9/10 ) - way of the gun ( 6/10 ) diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv111_11473.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv111_11473.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2eec76f71d4631fa25664dd406259c559f37453c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv111_11473.txt @@ -0,0 +1,13 @@ +>from the commercials , this looks like a mild-mannered neil simonesque tale with mary tyler moore baring her bra touted as the highlight . +instead it turns out to be a hilarious film running in high gear from beginning to end . +the concept is deceptively pedestrian . +an adult adopted son is looking for his biological parents and encounters eccentric characters along the way . +the movie demonstrates just how far a good script and actors can take a mundane idea . +the son and his wife take off on the search accompanied by a woman from the agency who located his parents . +following one dead end lead after another , each funnier than the previous , they eventually end up in new mexico with his real biological parents : alan alda and lily tomlin . +it's difficult to condense the mile-a-minute plot . +seemingly hundreds of scenes jump on top of each other without giving you a chance to recover from the last one . +without giving too much away , one of the better episodes involves a gay federal alcohol , tobacco and firearms agent attempting an arrest while tripping on lsd as his bi-sexual partner is upstairs licking the armpit of a woman while her husband is in the next room seducing their traveling companion . +and it's all done in a fairly clean , almost ( well , maybe not exactly ) family fare manner . +a grand cast ( tomlin , alda , moore , ben stiller , patricia arquette , tea leoni , george segal ) interacts in a seamless parade of laughs . +drawing from a more hyper woody allen style , the film succeeds beyond expectations . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv112_11193.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv112_11193.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..32542e4b649ee40ea1a615e4349e5dce8f23431f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv112_11193.txt @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +i'm not quite sure how best to go about writing this review . +i must admit that i was a little disappointed by barry levinson's political satire " wag the dog , " but in retrospect , this has less to do with the film itself than with false expectations i had going into it . +quite a few of the reviews i have read led me to believe that this film was absolutely hilarious and would make me laugh out loud the whole way through , and it didn't do that . +they also led me to believe that it would deliver a vicious and all-too-true attack on the way the american political media works , and it didn't quite do that either . +a few of them even suggested that it would prove a worthy successor to stanley kubrick's " dr . +strangelove " in the tradition of political black comedy , and it most definitely didn't do that . +that said , " wag the dog " is actually a very clever satire on the shady manipulations of political figures and those who assist them . +the story revolves around the attempts of political spin doctor conread brean ( robert deniro ) to distract the american public from the accusations that the president , who is up for re-election in two weeks , sexually harassed a young girl in the oval office . +the accusations , the script suggests , are probably untrue , but as brean so pointedly puts it , that isn't particularly relevant : the scandal is likely to derail the president's campaign regardless of its truth or falsehood . +brean , along with his assistant ( anne heche ) , decide to contact hollywood producer stanley motss ( dustin hoffman ) to enlist his help in concocting enough propaganda and special-effects trickery to make it appear that the u . s . is going to war with albanian terrorists and thus propel the president to victory on a wave of patriotic fervor . +as i said , " wag the dog " is not quite as laugh-out-loud hilarious as i had expected , but there are some genuinely funny moments to be found here , such as when , in an echo of a familiar movie clich ? , the camera pans out over an urban sunset to the strains of uplifting , inspirational music , then cuts to a studio to reveal that the singing is coming from a group of musicians whom motss has assembled to perform " we have the right to fight for democracy . " +another scene shows us how , with modern editing equipment , an actress running across a sound stage with a bag of potato chips can be turned into a frightened young girl and her kitten fleeing a terrorist attack on her village . +the most consistently effective gag revolves around the propaganda team's attempt to forge a fictional war hero out of sgt . +william " old shoe " schumann ( woody harrelson ) , an ex-military officer who turns out to be a first-class psycho . +of course , not everything goes as planned ; the cia , for example , realizes what's going on and strikes a deal with the president's electoral opponent to report to the media that the " fighting " has ended , forcing motss and brean to come up with a new angle on the supposed albanian crisis . +still , even with the cia's involvement , the film falls a little short in terms of making this scenario believable . +regardless of the official word from the president or the cia , wouldn't the major media outlets have eastern european correspondents who could verify that there is , in fact , no fighting going on in albania ? +the film never addresses this question , nor does it show the reactions of the american public to the news of the apparent war except for a few scenes which border on the farcical , such as when basketball fans litter the court with shoes in support of the aforementioned sgt . +schumann ; we are apparently meant to assume that everyone is buying it . +there was also an instance , towards the end of the film , in which one of motss's forced reinventions of the story seems to contradict what he and brean had been selling to the public thus far and could conceivably have given the game away . +with these plot holes , " wag the dog " doesn't quite work as a satire of american politics , but it does send up the mentality that might lead to these kinds of machinations in the first place . +brean and his advisors never seem concerned that what they are doing is unethical ; rather , they worry about how convincing it will be and whether or not they have enough money to pull it off . +the film takes a decidely dark turn towards the end , as we learn how far they are willing to go in order to keep the propaganda campaign a secret . +motss and his hollywood buddies , meanwhile , seem completely out of touch with the rest of the world and just see this undertaking as another creative project . +in fact , one of the sources of conflict in the film is motss's increasing restlessness with the idea of not being able to take credit for producing the fake war ; in his mind , it is the greatest work of art he has ever created . +i think it's fair to say that " wag the dog " underachieves a little bit : more attention to the public reaction and tighter plotting might have made this into a four-star film and a classic satire . +still , the issue of an american president using war and patriotism to distract from scandals or domestic unpopularity is a very real one . +wag the dog takes the issue one step further and asks , what if the war wasn't even real ? +with this premise and the talented cast , the film still delivers more consistently than most , whatever its flaws . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv113_23102.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv113_23102.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..086b077f50d3eae076d643f3915aaec33d13a57c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv113_23102.txt @@ -0,0 +1,47 @@ +the sheer horrific audacity of the nazi plan to exterminate the jews of europe is almost incomprehensible . +people may make documentaries about it for another hundred years and still not understand the organized , methodical hatred . +five concentration camp survivors from the last days of world war ii tell their stories in the last days , the first documentary from steven spielberg's survivors of the shoah visual history foundation . +the five interviewees are linked by their hungarian ancestry . +as the introduction explains , even as germany started to lose the war , the nazis stepped up their extermination of the jews in europe . +in 1944 , hungary had the last big population of jews within germany's reach , and they became the last target of hitler's " final solution . " +each of the five tells his or her story . +their stories are intercut chronologically , starting from normal life in pre-war hungary . +they recall the nazi invasion of hungary , being sent to " work " camps and their realization that they were actually in death camps . +they recall their horrible , precarious lives in auschwitz and buchenwald ; the deaths of their family and friends ; their loss of hope . +each recalls his or her unfathomable , eventual liberation . +and finally , the last days shows their cathartic , pained , modern-day return to their old homes and the camps . +needless to say , their stories are horrifying , amazing , and emotionally draining . +by themselves , the stories would be forceful testaments , but by cutting them in parallel , their impact is multiplied by five . +the last days is a talking-heads style documentary -- it's mostly pictures of people telling their stories , intercut with period photographs and newsreel footage . +in this kind of movie it's almost impossible to get archival pictures from the same time and place being discussed on-screen , but director james moll made a better effort than most at finding specific , or at least relevant , images to go with his subjects' narration . +the liner notes ( one of the many nice features of this dvd ) indicate that there is some never-before-seen historical footage in the last days . +it's not clear which scene it is . +it could be one of two that i hadn't seen before , both powerful . +one is rare color footage , shot by an american , of piles of victims in cattle cars . +there is something jarring , something unsettling about seeing the pictures in color , when so much of the footage from world war ii is in black and white . +another segment shows walking skeletons ; survivors who are so starved that they hardly look human anymore . +there has been a glut of holocaust movies and i was skeptical that a new documentary would have anything new to say . +but by focusing on hungarian jews during the last days of the war , moll told a specific part of the story in a new way , in greater detail . +and i'm glad he did because his careful filmmaking stands up well compared to other movies on the same subject . +the transfer to dvd is rich and beautiful . +x-mozilla-status : 0009f words for a holocaust documentary , but some of the interviews take place in europe in late spring , when skies are blue and trees are green . +also , the movie was shot on 35mm film ( and not video ! ) , +so the richness and detail are impeccable . +the dvd's features are plentiful and well-chosen . +there is a theatrical trailer for the movie , which is a great introduction to the subject matter . +there are about fifty still photos , both from the production crew and from the private collections of the survivors . +also , the disc has two complete versions of the movie ( widescreen and full screen ) , both on the same side . +one of the more interesting dvd features is an outtake segment for each of the survivors ( plus one for the crew ) . +you'd think outtakes would be inappropriate in a holocaust documentary , but they're not bloopers . +instead , they are solid , moving segments that were probably cut from the film only for length . +one of them continues a confrontation that was only touched on lightly in the film . +renee firestone ( one of the five ) spoke on camera with dr . hans m ? nch , a german doctor who ran the medical clinic at auschwitz . +firestone was aggressive , questioning the doctor about what his children thought . +the doctor was evasive and clearly uncomfortable . +another of the outtakes showed bill basch saying a prayer for his dead friends at auschwitz . +he ends his prayer by saying " . . . forgive me for surviving . " +it's ambitious to shoot a documentary on 35mm film . +it's ambitious to make it on a subject that has saturated cable , television , and movies . +it's ambitious to make it 54 years after the events it covers . +but the last days handles all these potential obstacles very well . +it's only fitting that the dvd , with its wealth of interesting and relevant features , would also be ambitious and successful . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv114_18398.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv114_18398.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8f95fe90f9e161a1b30d704fc05fa53587d6131c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv114_18398.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12 @@ +it is easy to label something sentimental or tear jerking when one has not experienced the heartache of losing a child ? whether that may be in life or in death . +after having said that , i will also say that this movie does all of the above very well . +one gets that choking sensation in the throat ( because of grief ) when one brother forgives another for a costly mistake , or when a husband hugs his wife after a long estrangement . +there is no ocean , no drownings and it does not conjure up memories of yet another ? ordinary people' . +in fact the only thing remotely connected to the ocean is probably tap water and the toilet flushing ( not that this literally happened in the movie ) . +so what are the lessons learnt : 1 . +don't take your children to class reunions . +2 . don't leave them alone in the lobby , not even for a second . +michelle pfeiffer once again plays the role of a highly-strung wife and mother , a trend that started with ? a thousand acres' and ? one fine day' . +my comment is that she is exceptionally fine strung in this movie , so much so that when she has a nervous break down , the veins on her temples bulge impressively . +whoopi golberg also puts in an understated performance , playing a lesbian cop , with a name that makes one want to reach for a lollipop . +lastly , who are the ideal companions for this sort of movie ? my grandmother comes to mind . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv115_25396.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv115_25396.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2405b0fd9017bd849bb10e60e3fe659d033eafba --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv115_25396.txt @@ -0,0 +1,56 @@ +i know that " funnest " isn't a word . + " fun " is a noun , and therefore cannot be conjugated like an adjective . +but that's the word that came to me right after viewing " chicken run . " +no wonder : this is the kind of movie that reduces you to childish expressions , like " that was the funnest movie i've ever seen ! " +so to hell with webster's -- " chicken run " is one of the funnest movies i've seen in a while . +i can't remember the last time i've seen anything funner . +the chickens at tweedy's farm are up to something . +living in a concentration camp-like atmosphere , they are led by one plucky hen called ginger ( voice of julia sawalha ) who continually comes up with plans for escape -- and always gets caught , subsequently spending day after day in the coal box . +one night , a brash american rooster flies in over the fence , calling himself rocky ( mel gibson ) , famous flying rooster and circus performer . +rocky promises to teach the chickens how to fly , and the situation grows more desperate as the nefarious mrs . tweedy ( miranda richardson ) decides to abandon the farm's egg-selling plan for a pie-selling plan . +she orders a huge pie-making machine , cackling , " chickens go in ; pies come out . " +what sort of pies ? +chicken pies , of course . +co-director nick park and his studio , aardman animation , produced three oscar-winning short films : " creature comforts , " " the wrong trousers , " and " a close shave . " +the latter two were the second and third installments of a trilogy starring the delightful team wallace & gromit , a man and his dog famous for getting themselves into increasingly peculiar adventures . +part of what made the " wallace " films brilliantly entertaining was park's uncanny ability to make an old story seem new . + " the wrong trousers , " for example , pulled out a lot of old hitchcockian suspense tricks , and " a close shave " owed a great deal of inspiration to classic detective stories . +but in the hands of park and his team , the stories felt fresh and inspired , and not the least bit contrived . +now teaming with co-director peter lord , park has created a similar creature in " chicken run . " +the plot is largely lifted from " the great escape " ( watch for a quick reference to the ball-bouncing scene ) , with some spielberg-inspired action sequences providing the excitement . +thing is , the film doesn't feel like it's been lifted from somewhere else ; " chicken run " feels fresh , alive , like nothing else ever done . +part of it is the original idea : who in the world came up with the idea to make a prisoners-of-war movie starring chickens ? +park and lord milk the incongruity for all it's worth : the characters treat their situation as if it were dead serious , and to them , it is . +but they're * chickens * , so it's funny to us . +another thing that helps " chicken run " ( and most of park's films ) succeed is the animators' subtle way of giving nods to the very films they're cribbing . +there are references to " the great escape , " obviously , and " stalag 17 . " +the chase sequence inside the chicken grinder parodies both " raiders of the lost ark " and " indiana jones and the temple of doom . " +there's even a nod to " the blues brothers , " if you can believe it , and the filmmakers even get in a little light-hearted ribbing at the expense of their star voice actor , taking a couple of very subtle jabs at mel gibson's nationality and film history . +the " braveheart " reference is a hoot if you catch it . +when you consider just how fine a line resides between a funny parody and a redundant one , " chicken run " is downright brilliant in its execution . +consider this : since july of last year , i've seen dozens upon dozens of " blair witch project " parodies , on television , on the radio , and online . +out of all those , maybe one or two were amusing , the rest tiresome . +why ? +because once you got past the thought that " they're parodying that‘ ; blair witch' movie , " most of the parodies had nothing to offer -- no insight , no original idea , no greater purpose . +they were only funny if you had seen the movie ; otherwise , you got nothing . +conversely , " chicken run " doesn't lean on its parodies -- the film references are never the sole focus of any scene . +if you've never seen " indiana jones , " the chase sequence is still fun . +even if you have no idea who mel gibson is , rocky remains an interesting character . +park , lord , and screenwriter karey kirkpatrick realize that an audience does not need a parody shoved in their faces before it's understood , and as a result , " chicken run " is filled with visual and verbal jabs that are never too obvious , but not quite vague either . +enjoyment of this movie doesn't require knowledge of film history , but if you've got it , " chicken run " is that much richer . +the voice cast turns in uniformly lively performances , and the characters they play are given so many subtle nuances that it's hard not to fall in love with every one of them . +ginger is perfect , spunky and opinionated , but with a soft heart that forbids her to leave her companions behind , and julia sawalha ( known as the cute mousy girl on " absolutely fabulous " ) nails it . +she has warm , human chemistry with gibson , whose rocky hides his personal doubt under a brash gung-ho veneer . +the characters' inevitable romance doesn't feel contrived , but sweet . +poor mr . tweedy ( tony haygarth ) suspects the chickens are organizing in some way , but his limited intellect prevents him from figuring things out , and his overbearing wife certainly isn't any help . +jane horrocks delivers a lovely voice characterization as tragically optimistic babs ( a hen that runs away with most of the best one-liners , all while perpetually crocheting a sweater ) , and two supply-trading rats that seem to have walked straight out of a monty python sketch nearly steal the show during the lively central swing-dancing sequence . +they even come up with an inspired riff on something that's baffled scholars and theologians alike for decades : the chicken vs . egg dilemma . +one might have expected this inevitable joke to come off as wearisome , but as with most of " chicken run , " it comes as a delightful surprise . +the film manages to cross all barriers ; it should be accessible to both children and adults , brits and yanks , rats and chickens . +the animation is first-rate . +remember that this was all done the old-fashioned way , with actual humans moving clay figurines around on a tiny set bit by painstaking bit , and you see just how truly remarkable " chicken run " really is . +this movie possesses that same quality that makes pixar studios' animation great : precise and unwavering attention to detail . +as in such top-notch family fare as " a bug's life " or " toy story 2 , " " chicken run " has something to offer in nearly every frame . +certainly a passive viewer can enjoy it as a straightforward story with a worthwhile moral and some surprisingly touching scenes , but a active , attentive viewers will enjoy it even more because they'll catch all the details . +anyway , the movie's just a boatload of fun . +funnest damn movie i've seen all year . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv116_28942.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv116_28942.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..013ef444e9beb47c7dc853392a848a6962217123 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv116_28942.txt @@ -0,0 +1,57 @@ +capsule : a short punchy action sequel to the two dinosaur films made by steven spielberg . +joe johnston directs a straightforward story of an excursion back to the island of the dinosaurs . +it lets us see some new dinosaurs ( is that an oxymoron ? ) and gives us a nice and generally reasonably written adventure . +the film is neither ambitious nor pretentious . +i had a good time . + , low +2 ( -4 to +4 ) +here goes my credibility . +this is a film on which i expect to be in a minority . +i liked the third jurassic park film . +i even liked the second jurassic park film . +in a lot of ways jurassic park : the lost world was a creative three-way braiding together of michael crichton's novel the lost world , arthur conan doyle's novel the lost world , and the classic silent film version of the doyle . +jp2 was an adventure , as doyle said , " for the boy who's half man or the man who's half boy . " +that is what all the jurassic park films are . +expecting them to give the viewer insights into the human condition is like expecting your car to vacuum your house . +the classic adventure films like gunga din or king solomon's mines had under-written characters also . +jurassic park iii is an all out adventure on an island inhabited by dinosaurs . +the characters are a little more complex than they at first appear to be , and even that is a little more complex than i was expecting . +some of the characters who start out looking stupid and useless prove to be neither as the film proceeds . +that degree of complexity combined with those very realistic looking dinosaur effects is just about as much as i require . +i feel i got my money's worth . +the story opens with eric ( played by trevor morgan ) and friend parasailing near the forbidden island of isla sorna off costa rica . +this was the research island where the dinosaurs were created for the now defunct jurassic park . +they hope , no doubt , to get a look at the island's dinosaurs from a safe height . +the height is safe , but driving the boat in the water is not . +the two soon find themselves in trouble and have to ditch their parasail onto the island where they do indeed get a better look at the dinosaurs than they had intended . +flash to the united states and someone is offering to fund paleontologist alan grant ( sam neill ) in his research if he will go and fly over isla sorna and act as a guide . +he has said that no force on earth or heaven could get him back near real dinosaurs . +but again money convinces him to drop what he is doing and go . +doing the convincing is a wealthy and eccentric couple ( william h . macy and tea leoni ) who has been just about everywhere else in the world and wants the adventure of seeing real dinosaurs . +they too plan to see the island from a safe height grant is relieved to learn . +he will fly over this island at a safe altitude just this once . +right . +guess what happens next ? +jp3 probably functions better as a sequel than jp2 . +first it has alan grant and ellie sattler ( laura dern ) back rather than the much less appealing ian malcolm . +sattler has a much smaller part in jp3 , but is still present to tie this story to the first . +curiously each film seems to arrange to have a signature scene with characters holding on to some large metal object that is about to fall some great distance . +one thing that does not quite fit with the earlier films is just as grant discovers that raptors may be able to talk to each other , suddenly they seem to be doing it all the time . +they did not appear to be conversing in the previous films . +of course , these raptors look a little different also , so perhaps they are a different related species . +not only are they more intelligent than in the past films , they are also more sympathetic . +in this story they are not just killing machines , they have reasonable motives for what they do beyond nutrition . +this time around they may be a little too anthropomorphized . +each new film in the series introduces us to some new dinosaurs , of course . +in this film a major threat is from a spinosaurus , not as common or as popularly known as a tyrannosaurus , but larger and presumably more nasty . +it has a crocodile's head and the body that looks like a dimetrodon walking upright . +perhaps as an economy measure or just to create a mood the visual effects team frequently obscures our view of the dinosaurs . +sometimes they just move too fast to see . +occasionally darkness or fog obscures our vision . +a few times we get unconvincing matte shot , particularly of the laboratory . +but there is less money on the screen in terms of dinosaur effects than in the two previous films . +the musical score by don davis borrows heavily from john williams's score for the first film . +joe johnston , who directs , already has to his credit two very good films i recommend the rocketeer and october sky . +a team including alexander payne and jim taylor known for election writes the screenplay . +the film they have made is a long way from great cinema , but it still is fun . +if you get a thrill from seeing what look very much like live dinosaurs alive today , the film is for you . +i rate it a 7 on the 0 to 10 scale and a low +2 on the -4 to +4 scale . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv118_28980.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv118_28980.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e6f4d8b6a9b0c6329bf8f9ec0da1a39ba81fc227 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv118_28980.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +plot : a human space astronaut accidentally falls upon a planet ruled by apes . +he is taken prisoner along with some other humans , and tries his best to escape his simian captors . +oh yeah , and did i mention that the apes can talk ? +kewl ! +critique : despite this film not looking like a " tim burton movie " or its lead human character showing any signs of being a human being himself , i did find myself generally entertained throughout most of this film and do recommend it as fun , summer fare . +although the thing that sets this movie apart from all others is definitely its incredible ape make-up jobs and characterizations . +i mean , i was completely convinced that every single one of these apes was for real ! +i also have to " give it up " to all of the actors inside the costumes , not only for waking up at three in the morning every day to get make-up slobbered all over them for 2-4 hours , but for coming through their costumed exteriors and selling us their characters on the screen as well . +i especially enjoyed bonham carter's performance , who i believed to be the most developed character in the entire film ( human or ape ) and tim roth's bad guy , who chewed up scenery and oozed evil in every scene in which he took part . +plot-wise , i liked the beginning of the film , the whole build-up once wahlberg got into the village , the escape and most of the fight scenes , but once things got out into the deserted area ( and the final battle sequence ) , i kinda lost a bit of my interest . +i was much more intrigued by the interactions between the characters and the whole idea of " human beings as animals " then i was about the end battle sequence , which just seemed a bit too typical for this kind of film . +i also hated the " kid " character who just got on my nerves and didn't really care for the way that the battle sequence was resolved ( i won't ruin it here but c'mon guys . . . you +coulda thought of something a little more plausible than that , no ? ) . +but the thing that held this movie back more than anything else was its lead character , his cold demeanor and the zero chemistry that he shared with either one of his inter-species love interests . +this dude didn't seem to give a rat's ass about anyone but himself and i ultimately didn't really care about what happened to him either . +now i'm not sure if this was the fault of the actor or the script , but the film suffered because of it . +visually , the movie was also nice to look at ( especially the apes ! ) , but i definitely expected greater coolness from tim burton . +the " surprise ending " that highlighted the original planet of the apes film back in 1968 , felt a little tacked on here , and despite being interesting , didn't really make all that much sense to me ( unless you look at it from a sequel point of view ) . +so overall , i loved the whole " feel " of the planet , the apes that ruled it , the manner in which they treated the humans , screamed , shouted and reverted the entire evolution chain , but didn't appreciate the film's lack of human character development ( why was kris kristofferson even in this movie ? ) and the fact that its lead male and female humans were just plain boring . +but i would still recommend this film as a fun , summer movie with laughs , creepiness and a really cool premise . +ps : for anyone who has seen the original , i cannot believe that they didn't at least bring back the scene in which the lead human character ( in this case , mark wahlberg ) goes nuts at the world in which he's suddenly been thrust ( " this is a mad house ! " - +type of thing ) . +the guy in this film barely seems to be " put off " by the fact that he's surrounded by apes who can speak english ! ! +where's joblo coming from ? +the arrival ( 8/10 ) - battlefield earth ( 7/10 ) - godzilla ( 4/10 ) - instinct ( 6/10 ) - mission to mars ( 3/10 ) - pitch black ( 7/10 ) - ( 1968 ) planet of the apes ( 9/10 ) - sleepy hollow ( 8/10 ) diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv121_17302.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv121_17302.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f896d718a24f03961ad9a1dba76d9ee4b22aaf8e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv121_17302.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +i relish those rare opportunities when a talented screenwriter can make me feel like a fool . +i spent the first hour of forces of nature slowly stewing over its grim attitude towards marriage , grousing to myself about its transparently planes , trains and automobiles plot machinations , and waiting for the inevitable hollywood denouement . +this was a mass market romantic comedy , after all , a genre which has been taken over by teenagers and , even in its best days , worked hard to perpetuate the romance = infatuation paradigm . +then marc lawrence did something wonderful , something which made the entire film click into place : he showed me a comic love story about grown-ups . +it certainly didn't look that way from the outset , which introduces groom-to-be ben holmes ( ben affleck ) at his bachelor party , surrounded by friends and family whooping over his " last night of freedom . " +ben loves his fiancee bridget ( maura tierney ) , but the doom-and-gloom pronouncements of everyone around him have him questioning the meaning of this 'till death do you part business . +then , on an ill-fated flight from new york to his wedding in savannah , ben meets sarah lewis ( sandra bullock ) , a free-spirited woman with a string of failed careers and relationships behind her . +as transportation troubles thwart them at every turn , ben and sarah begin a three-day southward journey in which their connection grows ever stronger , ben seeing in sarah the chances he's never taken and sarah seeing in ben the stability she's never had . +forces of nature gets off to a solid enough start , setting up the characters and the situations with plenty of witty dialogue . +ben is an ideal role for affleck's easy-going charm , and he plays the straight-laced straight man without forced exasperation . +sandra bullock , for her part , is more loose and appealing than she has been in her last half-dozen films combined , avoiding her recent habit of playing any semblance of character depth as moping . +the two performances -- part of a great top-to-bottom cast -- are effective and connected from the start , yet the script's apparent sympathy with the marital horror stories ben hears makes it difficult to enjoy the romance completely . +lively and funny though it may be on a consistent basis , forces of nature leaves a bitter taste that feels like self-justification . +the kicker is that those acidic anecdotes serve exactly the opposite purpose , leading to a surprisingly emotional resolution . +forces of nature isn't about a man developing a fear of commitment ; it's about a man learning what commitment means _to him_ , learning that it's not what he thought it was . +lawrence's script feints and dodges before reaching its happy ending , an ending which is happy because people make the choices that make the most sense . +earlier scenes that might have felt like throwaways take on more resonance , and that bitter taste sweetens into something fresh and genuine . +though one too many plot contrivances keep ben and sarah together through the film , and they do exchange the obligatory mutual character analysis of bickering screen couples , forces of nature wraps up so perfectly that you'll end up remembering the humor and the simple wisdom . +that is , provided you're not put off by the ridiculously busy direction of bronwen hughes . +for a brisk romantic comedy , forces of nature comes loaded with some of the most over-directed scenes of the year : teetering hand-held shots , why-not low or high angles , sweeping pans . +occasionally the hyper-real approach works , with cinematographer elliot davis creating a world of fantasy romance ; far more often , hughes refuses to let a scene be what it is , covering it with flourishes so thick you almost can't find what's underneath . +a script this smart and mature deserved a more restrained director , but even hughes' excesses can't spoil this unique concoction . +forces of nature may restore your faith in romantic comedy as something with the power to enchant , something that can make you happy to be proved wrong when you expect a tale for and about adolescents . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv122_7392.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv122_7392.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0fa7ad6702b8e2e5379a832de3c02ede85bce3d5 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv122_7392.txt @@ -0,0 +1,63 @@ +warning : this review contains some spoilers for the 1964 film " fail-safe . " +if you haven't seen the film yet , proceed with caution . +nutshell : a relevant , intelligent , suspenseful drama . +still powerful today , even after the end of the cold war . +-------------------- " fail-safe " ( usa , 1964 ) drama , 111 minutes +screenplay by walter bernstein based on the novel by eugene burdick and harvey wheeler produced by max e . youngstein directed by sidney lumet +review by jamahl epsicokhan -------------------- +the most ironic aspect of nuclear war is that it doesn't have a winning side and a losing side . +in a nuclear confrontation , everybody loses , and the aftereffects have devastating effects that impact the entire world--assuming the world survives . +the idea--and perhaps the only real option--is to avoid war at all costs . +this is the theme of sidney lumet's " fail-safe , " a fictional drama based on the novel by eugene burdick and harvey wheeler . + " fail-safe " takes place during the heart of the cold war ( the actual film was released two years after the cuban missile crisis ) , when the united states and the soviet union were in static discord over an issue that can be summarized in a single word : communism . +the premise centers around a combination of accidents and operation flaws . +five u . s . bombers carrying nuclear warheads are ordered to set a routine course for moscow after an unidentified aircraft is spotted heading toward america . +the unidentified aircraft turns out to be a commercial airliner , but a mechanical failure strikes the military base that commands the bombers . +suddenly out of contact , and with standing orders to remain on course until receiving new directives , the bomber pilots cannot be recalled , and they proceed to moscow with the intention of destroying it with a nuclear strike . +a great deal of " fail-safe " 's plot follows various characters as they attempt to devise ways of stopping the u . s . bombers from reaching russia's borders--at any cost . +the plot is compelling , and the story creates urgency and dread by painting the grimmest of worst case scenarios . +the reality sets in quickly as one attempt to turn the bombers after another fails . +general bogan ( frank overton ) , taking orders directly from the president of the united states himself ( henry fonda ) , is powerless--the fate of the world lies in the hands of an automated , pre-programmed system that may not be stoppable , simply because the creators of the war machines were too efficient in their task to make a no-win situation winnable . +the events in " fail-safe " are fascinating because they're anything but predictable , but the real reason " fail-safe " works is because it understands more about nuclear war than what exists within the confines of its plot . +a key ingredient to the film is its ability to create an ongoing polemic about nuclear war , communism , the cold war , and the united states' role in all of it . +most of this is through the film's use of the character groeteschele ( walter matthau ) , an arrogant civilian theorist of nuclear weapons use who , incidentally , is on the president's advising staff for analyzing the statistical plausibility of waging a nuclear war . +many of the film's most pointed messages arise from discussions where groeteschele is one of the key voices . +early in the film , he hosts a dinner party where he explains the importance of " strategy " in a nuclear assault to " minimize " casualties . + " what's the difference between 60 million and 100 million dead ? " +a guest asks impatiently . + " forty million , " groeteschele responds wryly . +the problem with groeteschele's mindset is that he * believes * nuclear combat to be a viable method of war . +the only difference to him between nuclear armageddon and conventional warfare is the raw data and the casualty totals . +groeteschele realizes that these weapons can destroy the world several times over . +yet his answer to the arms race is not to slow down and try to cool the situation off , as general black ( dan o'herlihy ) has often recommended . +on the contrary--according to groeteschele , that would lead to russia having * more * nuclear weapons than the u . s . , which would clearly put america at a disadvantage . +such a stance was perhaps the central paradox and misguided practice of the arms race . + " fail-safe " clearly sees it as one of the central issues of the cold war , and , likewise , it becomes a central theme in the film . +why continue to build such machines of mass destruction while already possessing enough of them to destroy the world several times over ? +is it wise ? +is it even logical ? +no , not really . +although " fail-safe " is more about the issue of nuclear weapons than it is about the political ramifications of communism , there is a scene in the film that deals with communism in an intentionally superficial , one-sided sort of way . +again , this is achieved through groeteschele , who is easily the film's most important character in terms of the larger-theme significance . +in addition to providing the central " pro-nuclear war " voice that the film warns against , he also makes key remarks about communists that show just how much fear and resentment people of the period were prone to when it came to communism . +the context the film uses suggests that this hatred was often glib . +one of groeteschele's " logical " trains of thought ventures so far into fantasy theoretical prediction that it's merely absurd . +he labels the average marxist an " unfeeling , calculating machine " that will do whatever it takes to preserve itself . +groeteschele takes it so far as to say that if the u . s . drops the warhead on moscow , the soviets will * instantly * surrender , for to retaliate would invite counter-measures that would further destroy russia's home soil--which must be preserved at all costs . +groeteschele seems to forget these people are human beings with emotions ; general black quickly reminds him that the soviets would attack out of revenge--as any normal person would . +the irony here is groeteschele's own mechanical theorizing . +he is so quick to judge the enemy that he doesn't even realize his own seemingly programmed thought patterns . +once the film makes it evident that turning the u . s . bombers will be impossible , the question becomes what the * consequences * of destroying moscow will be . +just how will the soviet union's leader react , and what can the president do to convey his best intentions ? + ( just * how * does one pass off the deaths of millions of people as an * mishap * ? ) +with the help of his translator buck ( larry hagman ) , the president negotiates at length with the soviet leader , in scenes that prove amazingly taut and powerful in their simplicity , with lumet's long takes of fonda and hagman in the same frame , exchanging the dialog between the president and the soviet leader . +without getting into too much detail , i will say that the compromise they ultimately reach is very costly , yet necessary and as sensible as possible under the circumstances . + ( that is , as sensible as a nuclear " incident " can probably be . ) +it does accomplish what it must : it avoids an all-out war , something that simply isn't possible because of its all-too-real consequences . +dramatically , the ending is quite powerful , and the use of o'herlihy's character as the symbolic " matador " ( providing a bookend to the film by ending the story while tying into his dream sequence from the film's opening ) , is particularly appropriate . + " fail-safe " is a production of a major hollywood studio ( released by columbia pictures ) , and it has the structure of a high-tension suspense thriller that one might expect from a hollywood film . +nevertheless , under lumet's direction and walter bernstein's intelligent adaptation of burdick's and wheeler's novel , the film continues to have a lasting effect even after the events on screen have unfolded . +the film often warns that the automation of war is something that may make nuclear holocaust an unintentional consequence of such mass arming . +but it was the conscious , human choice to * initialize * this automatic arming that " fail-safe " also finds dangerous . +in retrospect , the arms race seems to be one of the most puzzling exercises in futility of the century . +it's just fortunate that both sides were finally able to come to their senses and slow down , rather than continuing groeteschele's dangerous approach of speeding up and causing a possible meltdown . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv123_11182.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv123_11182.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d76c57bc4de10f5b20f00e09cdd1bebaaeb12066 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv123_11182.txt @@ -0,0 +1,48 @@ +andrew lloyd webber's musicals , preferably his early work with lyricist tim rice , present a musical which is totally unlike any musical before its time . +webber and rice do not subscribe to the gaity of such musicals as " oklahoma ! , " or the slapstickness of shows like " a funny thing happened on the way to the forum . " +they instead tackle hot issues from our past , and view them differently , and pack them together with redundant , catchy music , as well as thoughtful lyrics . +like " jesus christ superstar , " which examined the rise and fall of jesus in his last days from a fame perspective ( in the cool tune " superstar , " a dead judas comes back from the dead to ask jesus why he didn't spread his message wider ) , " evita " takes an inventive stance on its topic , this time being the famed wife of argentinian dictator , juan per ? n , eva , who slept her way to the top and became famous chiefly because she got attention , much like the woman playing her : madonna ( although i think madonna did rise to the top for her musical talent , among other things ) . + " evita " deals with the rise and fall of eva per ? n , a woman who captured the heart of the nation after marrying juan ( jonathan pryce ) , then died at the young age of 33 , creating an international stir of mourning not unlike that of princess di ( the two do share a bit in common , although it wasn't like di slept to " the top " ) . +webber and rice sure chose bizarre topics for their musicals , but they always have a point for doing it . +here , they wish to expose her for what she is , but still show that despite all of her many drawbacks , her lying , and covering up for her fascist husband , but show that she was still a good woman with fairly good intentions , and her death was very sad . +it's also a musical , with almost no words not unsung . +the film plays like a rock opera , much like their " jesus christ superstar , " with many giant musical sequences just like the old musicals , even if they do possess very intelligent lyrics , which create not only an intellectually enlightening experience , but also a very entertaining one . +after all , this is a musical , and webber's musicals never undermine this . +they are a balance of energy and intellectual depth , walking on a fine line between the both , and never stumbling on either side . +this is why the beginning of " evita " is kind of a let-down . +okay , it is a let-down . +i'm not saying the opening moments are bad , because they're pretty good . +but what comes after is a lifeless , un-entertaining , and totally unrewarding sequence where she cons a singer ( jimmy nail ) into taking eva to buenos aires after a one-night stand . +in the musical , it's a fun , energetic sequence , culiminating in the show stopper , " buenos aires , " which is also lifeless . +then a punch is pulled as we see eva being screwed over by the singer , instead of her leaving him , where she ends up singing the sad tune , " another suitcase in another hall , " which was meant for a later character , screwed over by eva . +the portrayal of eva in the beginning is too soft , seeming like parker and oliver stone , who adapted it for the screen , are afraid to present her for what she is , even while it's being narrated by a hater of eva's , the omnipotent ( antonio banderas ) , who presents her in a negative light . +for a while , it looks like alan parker can't pull it off . +however , the film pulls itself together in a flash , and after that song is over , and the giddily nihilistic song " goodbye and thank you , " where we see eva go through a long line of lovers who help her ascend , is magnificent , darkly comical , and just gleeful . +from this point on , the film is hypnotic , satisfying , and satirical . +no more punches are thrown , and the basic outline of the original musical are in tact . +we see eva woo and marry juan , get him out of jail , rise to stardom , falter a bit , come back , and then gradually die of cancer ( i think it was because of cancer ) . +more importantly , many of the themes from the musical carry on with this , as well as some filling-in-the-gaps reconnassaince work . +juan , who is pretty underwritten in the musical , is given some extra scenes , and exposed as what he was for eva : an accessory . +a muted scene where he tries to visit her respective room but is shunned allows us to learn more about juan , and understand his sadness more than we did before . +>from the " goodbye and thank you " number on , the film shows eva trying to cover up for the horrible government by doing cheap and petty things which wooed a nation , and saved a government , even while it left the nation's people downtrodden . +but despite this , the nation still loved eva , and when she slipped into death , the world mourned her because she was a star . +that's when our narrator , ch ? , comes out to show that she wasn't the great woman she really was , and expose her fame . +describing this character is difficult , mainly because he has no real realistic background ( he's said to be based on the revolutionary ch ? guevera , but the two probably could have never met , like they do in the film ) , but he serves as a perspective on eva , but even his perspective can't help us from feeling bad when eva dies a pathetic death . +alan parker , no stranger to bizarre musicals ( he's done " fame , " " the committments , " " bugsy malone , " and " pink floyd the wall " - the latter which is absolutely brilliant ) , nails the film , exposing everything for what it is . +we cry for evita at the end because we feel we should , by the way it is presented . +his direction is manipulative for a reason : to show the mourning for what it is . +and there is energy throughout , with lots of bright colors , and scenes which are cinematically entertaning , as well as enriching and deep , such as the balcony scene where she sings " don't cry for me , argentina , " and her death sequence , which is poignant becuase of how sad it is . +madonna's golden globe winning performance is much like the movie : starts kinda downhill then goes up quickly , remaning there for the rest of the film . +at the beginning , she looks like she's too busy concentrating on her singing to act , but she eventually gets it right , though never really getting the presence of , say , patti lupone ( who did the role in its american premiere back in the late 70s ) . +her death , though , is brilliant . +her singing could be better though . +i know she took lessons to improve her range and all , but it still sounds like she's trying to hard . +she sounds way too soft in several places where she should be comanding ( like . . . patti +lupone - i heard her sing on an old " evita " cd , and you could just feel her stage presence without even seeing her ) . +but it's generally very good , although not up to the brilliance the role really requires . +antonio banderas , who is almost like a guilty pleasure these days ( i'm one of the few people who thinks he rocks ) , is extremely comanding in his performance , presenting a lovable narrator . +his singing is very good , though nothing compared to the original , mandy patinkin . +he does have a pretty good singing voice , and a great range . +and jonathan pryce is pretty awesome , although very brief at times , in his role as juan , seeming to put on a poker face for his melancholy facade . +although it gets off to a rocky start ( " rocky " 's polite for what it really is ) , it soon picks up and becomes a wonderully poignant musical . +like the other musical released in '96 ( woody allen's " everyone says i love you " ) , it's a reminder that the hollywood musical may be dead , but it can come back every now and then for a brief performance . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv124_4122.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv124_4122.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8105ee5aa0d2a9f49b24e4227f186abe0cc10e3c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv124_4122.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +there's more to a quilt than fabric and thread--each patchwork design has its own unique story ( or stories ) to tell . +in how to make an american quilt , the first hollywood release from australian director jocelyn moorhouse ( proof ) , we come to understand how the tales of the seven makers imbue their creation with passion and vitality . +all the sorrows , joys , longings , sufferings , and loves of these women are sewn into their quilt and , as their bittersweet memories are given expression , one young woman applies these lessons of the past to her own uncertain future . +motion pictures are filled with male bonding rituals ; how to make an american quilt presents a distinctly feminine alternative . +the " quilting bee " consists of seven members : sisters gladys ( ann bancroft ) and hy ( ellen burstyn ) ; sophia ( lois smith ) , a woman known for frightening children ; emma ( jean simmons ) , the timid wife of a perpetually unfaithful man ; constance ( kate nelligan ) , who has been having an affair with emma's husband ; anna ( maya angelou ) , the leader of the group ; and marianna ( alfre woodard ) , anna's daughter . +the project they're busy with is the wedding quilt for hy's granddaughter , finn ( winona ryder ) , who has just become engaged . +she's spending the summer with hy and gladys , and away from her fiance , to decide whether a lifelong commitment is really what she wants , and whether it's better to marry a friend or a lover . +one of the greatest pleasures of how to make an american quilt comes from watching an array of fine performances by an impressive ensemble cast . +from winona ryder , ann bancroft , ellen burstyn , and maya angelou to minor players like rip torn , claire danes , and kate capshaw , this film is overflowing with realized talent . +the performances are good enough , in fact , to cover up many of the script's weaknesses . +how to make an american quilt is basically an unremarkable , if affecting , tale of love across the generations--a sort of truncated american version of the joy luck club , with a dash of fried green tomatoes added . +there are probably too many characters . +so , instead of really getting to know a few of them , we are presented with quick glimpses into a single defining event in each of their lives . +we learn about the root of the smoldering resentment between gladys and hy , and are told the reasons why emma stays with her husband and sophia is so irascible . +there are other episodes as well : the love of anna's life , marianna's soul mate , and a look at the reasons why constance entered into an affair with her friend's husband . +the sum total of these tales is meant to provide the framework for finn's story : whether to go forward with her marriage or dally with a hunky stranger . +there is no emotional epiphany in how to make an american quilt . +the stories are all well-told , but it's difficult to really connect with the characters--their moments pass so quickly . +while we certainly feel something for each of the eight principals , our emotional investment is tenuous . +there isn't enough depth to pull the viewer in all the way , and many of the personalities and relationships feel half- formed , like a quilt with patches missing . +to put it bluntly , while i enjoyed watching this film , it didn't " do much " for me . +on the whole , how to make an american quilt is a nicely-understated drama that has a lot to say about love , passion , and monogamy in relationships . +finn's segment is by far the most compelling , because she's the focal point : her actions are shaped by everyone else's experiences . +the other patches of this american quilt are successful only to varying degrees . +if there's a disappointment here , it's that the script doesn't have more resonance , but the privilege of seeing such a fine cast in top form allows a viewer to enjoy this picture even if the story is somewhat conventional . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv125_9391.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv125_9391.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..07352cd579426e55d5eea5aca1864be61b38364b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv125_9391.txt @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ +mimi leder is probably best known for her stunning work as a director of the hit tv-show er . +her mast famous episode , " love's labour lost " , dealt with the ordeal of doctor mark greene as he tried his best to save the life of a pregnant mother and her child . +the way she moved the camera and created tension throughout every scene was amazing . +there was more excitement and adrenaline rushed suspense than just about any of hollywood's big blockbuster movies . +so it's only natural that leder would get to direct her very own hollywood blockbuster . +and i have to say , after a shaky beginning , she does not disappoint . +peacemaker deals with the theft of nuclear weapons by terrorists , which is obviously nothing new . +the first half hour goes into detail , way too much detail , about how the weapons are stolen . +despite a few good images , including a train collision and a very impressive explosion , none of this was very coherent . +it's long and drawn out , and i would have settled with a more implausible beginning that would have moved the story along better . +once george clooney and nicole kidman enter the picture , it begins to take off . +george clooney is an air force colonel with connections all over the world . +he has a nice sarcastic wit and the rough edges that you expect from most clooney characters . +nicole kidman is head of a white house team on weapons smuggling . +there is the usual flirtatious banter between the two , but that is dispensed with quickly . +the story takes clooney and kidman across the globe , trying to figure out who has the weapons and where they are going with them . clooney +goes through bouts of sarcasm , frustration , determination , and revenge while kidman works against her own insecurity and self-doubt . +this is when leder starts to show her true stuff . +she starts us off with a nifty little car chase as an appetizer . +then we get clooney doing heroics in and out of a helicopter . +then that leads us to the brilliant final showdown on new york city's crowded streets , and a madman with a nuke walking among them . +mimi leder is a natural at creating suspense . +she reminds me of wolfgang petersen in her ability to make the most routine action sequences exciting and breathtaking . +nicole kidman is an intelligent female action hero . +you're not gonna find her falling down so clooney can come back to save her . +george clooney is a real movie star . +many of you may have hated him as batman , but this guy is for real . +he has a natural screen presence , and an ingratiating personality . +he'll be around for a while . +dreamworks is off to a satisfying start with peacemaker . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv126_28971.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv126_28971.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b1a80644f71bf64dc125c582b7e8065a1afe0d33 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv126_28971.txt @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +i have to say it . +tim burton's retelling of planet of the apes is more fun than a barrel of monkeys . +ok , that's off my chest . +no more monkey puns , i promise . +seriously , though , planet of the apes is one rip-roarin' summer outing , filled with thrills , action , adventure , wit and bits of funny ( dare i say , monkey ) business . +i know , i know , i promised . +and for those film buffs who are fond of the original , burton's version includes a couple tips of the hat to that movie . +mark wahlberg stars as capt . leo davidson , a deep-space pilot whose ship gets drawn into a magnetic field and hurled into the future . +he crash lands on a planet where apes are the dominant species and humans are hunted , captured and sold into slavery . +despite being darker than the original , burton's film is not as heavy handed nor as sanctimonious . +some of the movie's flashes of humor are surreal as well as typically burton : an organ-grinder ape with a midget or an elderly ape taking off a wig and removing false teeth as he prepares for bed . +then there are the parents who buy a little girl as a pet for there young daughter . +the seller advises the parents to get rid of the girl before she reaches puberty : " one thing you don't want in your house is a human teen-ager , " he says . +you don't have to be an ape to realize the truth in that statement . +touches such as these are what stamps this movie with burton's brand . +lines that hearken back to the original movie are sprinkled throughout : the first words spoken by an ape to davidson as the astronaut is regaining consciousness and grabs the simian's foot to try righting himself are : " take your stinking hand off of me , you damned , dirty human . " +anyone familiar with the first version of the film will , of course , recognize the irony in that piece of dialogue . +another of burton's in-jokes is to have charlton heston , star of the original , play the chimpanzee father of tim roth's gen . thade . +the young chimp goes to visit his dying father . +both have one thing in common , a hatred of humans . +with his dying breath , the elder spews out his vile : " damn them , damn them all to hell , " he says before expiring . +that is the famous line heston's taylor shouted at the conclusion of the original after discovering the planet's terrible secret . +the performances throughout are top-notch . +wahlberg plays davidson not as some gung-ho hero , but as a confused and somewhat frightened explorer who only wants to return home . +he is reluctant to lead the human rebellion ; his only objective being to find a way off this upside-down planet . +this hesitation is what makes his character believable and vulnerable . +roth is ferocious , cunning , cruel and savage as the fascist chimp who wants to rid his planet of all vestiges of humanity . +he leaps and bounds as if he had springs on his feet . +it is a masterful turn . +helena bonham carter is ari , the chimp who believes that apes and humans can live in peace and as equals . +hers is a smart , compassionate characterization . +michael clarke duncan is big and brutal as attar the gorilla aid to thade who blindly follows his leader until his faith is shaken . +a fine comic outing is given by paul giamatti as limbo , the ape slave trader making a living off the misery of the humans he captures . +as the battle between apes and humans looms , the cowardly limbo pleads , " can't we all just get along , " echoing the words of rodney king . +much of the success of planet of the apes goes to burton's technical crew , especially production designer rick heinrichs and the legendary rick baker who created the ape makeup . +burton's musical collaborator , danny elfman , provides another fine score , though it is not as memorable as his work on batman or sleepy hollow . +the movie's only letdown comes at the very end where burton tries to outshock the finale from the 1968 original . +he comes close , but falls short . +otherwise , planet of the apes is what a summer movie should be : an amusement park ride filled with lots of action , stunts and a few laughs . +this is one feature in which the expectations lived up to the pre-release hype . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv127_14711.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv127_14711.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d03dc74bb4e9e8f2d7c59987364179204c0e1829 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv127_14711.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +urban legend surprised me . +based on the last few films the genre has produced ( including but not exclusive to the likes of i know what you did last summer , disturbing behavior and the disappointing halloween : h20 ) , i was positive that i was in store for another mildly entertaining but silly and ultimately boring rehash of the scream phenomena . +thankfully , legend rose above it's soggy premise to become not only a hip , scary and stylish entertainment , but also what will probably become one of the best films of the year . +you're all familiar with the plot ; a bunch of overly horny teenagers get systematically slaughtered by a masked maniac who's identity is not revealed until the closing moments of the film when it turns out to be , you guessed it ; everybody's favorite veteran of the whodunit flicks . . . the +only person you didn't suspect ! +however , just because legend doesn't really break any new ground as far as literary or even technical achievements go does not mean that it can't qualify as first-class entertainment . +it was , believe it or not , one of the funnest times i've had at the movies all year . +the thing is , i'm not really sure what made this particular stab ( pardon the pun ) at the genre seem so fresh and alive . +maybe it was the above-par performances by the movie's two leads ( jared leto and " cybil " actress alicia witt ) . +or , it could have been the on- target direction by jamie blanks . +more likely , though , it was because of the inspired premise . +i don't think i need to tell you that a killer hacking people up ala urban folklore is much more frightening than a killer fisherman . +urban legend begins with a sequence that reminded me of the classic scream opener , not so much in plotting as in attention to detail that makes for an absolutely chilling teaser for the rest of the film . +a pretty young coed is driving down a deserted road when ( gasp ! ) a gas problem ( hee-hee ) forces her to stop at an equally deserted gas station for a refill . +one problem , though . +would you want to stop at a station run by brad dourif ? +i thought not . +predictably , the attendant ends up coaxing her into the main building to sort out a problem with the credit card company . +it's odd , though , when you pick up a phone to realize that nobody's on the other line . +naturally , the potential victim escapes into her car and drives off . +and the when we least expect it . . . whack ! ! ! +a decapitation . +it turns out that the creepy looking attendant was just trying to warn her about the maniac in the back seat of the car . +so who is it this time ? +the obvious candidate is the slightly off-kilter professor at the college the girl went to ( none other than freddy kruger himself , robert englund ) , who teaches a class on urban legends . +a-ha . +or could it be the fame-hungry local journalist ( leto ) looking for a meaty story to put on his resume ? +like all movies of this nature , one of the chief pleasures is trying to guess whodunit . +and it turns out to be , of course , the one you didn't suspect . +i'm not going to pretend urban legend is anything more than it is , but i must give credit where credit is due . +and this flick definitely deserves credit for being what not many other recent horror films have been . . . fun . + * complimentary movie ticket courtesy of valley cinemas in lodi , ca diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv128_29627.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv128_29627.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2821d88ea27c0482fb4dea261d0d0407a05187e2 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv128_29627.txt @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +capsule : the verma family is having a wedding and all the relatives will come for the multi-day festivities . +mira nair's film is pleasant enough with a little human drama , a few family secrets , some sadness and some happiness . +you have seen it all before , but perhaps not from india . +the photography is colorful and the music is very agreeable . + , low +2 ( -4 to +4 ) +mira nair previously directed salaam bombay and mississippi masala . +her newest film , written by sabrina dhawan , is very similar to previous films like betsy's wedding but it is set in new delhi . +a wealthy family is having a wedding . +an indian wedding is a multi-day affair as much a family reunion as a nuptial . +even more than in the us , it is an excuse for a lavish and extravagant family get-together . +the film shows us what the family does together and at the same time follows several family members' individual story lines . +aditi verma is marrying hemant , an indian engineer working in the us . +she had previously had a relationship with vikram , her supervisor . +latit , her father ( played by naseeruddin shah ) , is juggling many problems , not the least of which is worrying about the caterer has hired pk dubey . +dubey is a rather eccentric man with a taste for eating the marigolds he uses for decoration . +even dubey will soon be romantically entangled when he becomes interested in alice , one of the family servants . +several family members arrive giving rise to several plotlines involving sex , family secrets , or both . +there are heartbreaks and there are people falling in love . +some of the subjects covered are probably near taboo for indian films . +western audiences will appreciate a look at unfamiliar indian customs like women painting their hands with henna . +on the other hand it was not clear ( to me at least ) if scenes like the family singing together are typical of indian culture or if they are a convention of indian musical films . +this seems a particularly westernized family with the father wearing american designer sweaters and the family speaking mostly english . +the latter will , however , help with an international release . +sabrina dhawan's screenplay is vibrant with witty dialog . +we have seen films with plotting very much like this , but the indian setting makes a great deal of difference . +director mira nair calls the film an affirmation of life . +i rate it a 7 on the 0 to 10 scale and a low +2 on the -4 to +4 scale . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv129_16741.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv129_16741.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1dd96e49ddcff0298c2296750c10a567b793408f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv129_16741.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17 @@ +the love for family is one of the strongest driving forces in any man's life , especially for those who have fostered their family under precarious circumstances . +thematically in cinema , love for family has been used frequently and emphatically to highlight more abstract aspects of characters ; it is rare , however , for it to develop as outstandingly as it does in roberto benigni's neo-classic drama , life is beautiful . +through a central cast of father , mother , and son , benigni demonstrates the wonderful , undying love that a family shares in the best of times and the worst of times . +life * is * beautiful for guido orefice ( roberto benigni , directing himself here for the sixth time in his career ) , an italian jew , master con man , and aspiring waiter extraordinaire . +living in 1930's italy , he lives a carefree life of good fortune ; it is made even better when he happens upon a pretty schoolteacher named dora ( nicoletta braschi ) . +although dora is already engaged , guido manages to sweep her off her feet and persuades her to marry him instead ; the two have a child named joshua ( giorgio cantarini ) . +unfortunately for the happy family , the third reich and its nazi minions occupy italy and imprison all jews in work camps . +it is after the movie takes this dramatic turn that the movie's theme of family love becomes the strongest . +although prior to this turning point benigni plays guido with a sort of goofy charm , he relaxes the role to ensure his son's happiness . +now , instead of awkwardly seducing the sweet dora , he constantly reassures his son that everything will be all right . +benigni's performance is truly a well-rounded one , and certainly one of the more fluid turns all year . +the supports are all strong as well , but the movie truly excels in its script . +life is beautiful is a self-proclaimed fable , one which tells its story in grand , two-part fashion . +in certain parts it manages to sink to the level of a " saturday night live " spinoff -- a number of humorous skits connected by a token plot -- but in the movie's second half the script's circular nature becomes admirably obvious . +characters make reprise appearances in fine form , and certain events which are intially curious become critically linked to the plot's outcome . +in all , fans of foreign film will see this as a memorable motion picture , and novice movie-watchers may take this opportunity to see their first " artsy " film . +life is beautiful is an artsy movie by convention but easily accessible to everyone , and above all is a fine thematic picture . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv131_10713.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv131_10713.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b018a4033a5d36165b6cd088e94c69453dacf31a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv131_10713.txt @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ +no , i did not read the novel by thomas hardy , " jude the obscure , " his final novel ( final because this film created such an outrage that he never wrote again - see : i did do some research on it ) about a man who is plagued with bad luck throughout his entire life . +but , after watching the movie , i can imagine how incredibly depressing it is . + " jude " is a satirical film from start to finish about society's way of spitting out and chewing up those unwanted in its system , but what's remarkable is how timeless this film is . +the film takes place in the late 19th century ( or early 20th - wasn't really sure ) , but its story could even be retold today in modern form , although it'd be kinda different ( a given ) . +it tells the story of jude ( christopher eccleston - the psychotic accountant from " shallow grave " ) - a simple , dim-witted young man with big dreams . +in its bleak , foreboding opening , shot in grainy black and white , he gets a lesson from phillotson ( liam cunningham ) , his teacher : as they stand upon a mountain , looking upon a city in the distance , he says all you have to do is work hard and you can have anything in the world . +after marrying and divorcing an immature woman named arabella ( rachel griffiths ) because they frolicked in the hay ( literally ) but did not ultimately share anything in common , he moves away to a town with a giant university , with a chance to learn more , and get ahead in life . +taking a welding job , he works hard while studying constantly for his college bars , reciting latin over and over again , and training himself . +but when he sends his application for the school in , he is bluntly told to just remain a worker . +another reason for going to this town was because someone in his family lives there : sue ( kate winslet ) , his cousin and a very intelligent but kinda mischevious young woman who wants to be a school teacher . +she and jude click eventually and become very endearing friends , so much that when she spends the night at his flat after running from her apprentice teacher job ( for none other than phillotson at the local school ) , there are rumors that she and jude did some nasty business ( nudge nudge ) . +several twists turn in the storyline , and eventually jude and sue do do some nasty business ( an interesting scene , to say the least . . . ) , and are soon born into a controversial non-wedlock , as she eventually gives birth to their baby , and jude inherits his son from arabella , who turns up again after awhile . +because they aren't married , and because they're cousins , they run into problems with every place they go to , carrying around two children everywhere , and only staying in lodges for a very brief period of time , then moving on . +if you didn't think this was harsh enough , wait till you see what happens later on . . . +the sad truth is that jude is one of the miserable people who can never get any luck in this world . +he will never gain any true happiness , and any happiness that happens to him will be fleeting , and will probably bring more horrible instances to his life . +part of it is his fault - he's too optimistic , and too gullible . +but society has a way of taking these people , and hurting them until their death . +the ending of " jude " is bleak because it has to be ( although i hear the ending of the novel is even worse - guess i'll have to read it now ) . + " jude " offers a satirical view on society's cruelties , but shows no way of curing this , and thank heavens it doesn't . +there's no way to relinquish the selfishness of society , and any solution would be too small to cure such a mass problem . +satire has always been one of the few ways of changing certain people's minds , and that's what " jude " is . +sure , it's one hell of a downer , but it needs to be . +the film also posesses two fantastic performances from its two leads , and some good supporting work along with it . +christopher eccleston ( slightly resembling richard edson with his new look and dumb expression ) plays jude wonderfully , sometimes bringing a big dumb smile to his face , and making him kind of child-like at other times . +kate winslet , in a pre- " titanic " performance , is brilliant , nailing every psyche of her character , and creating someone who's troubled but very seductive with her personality . +kate may be the best actress in her age group ( if you don't believe me , see " titanic , " branagh's " hamlet , " " sense and sensibility , " and " heavenly creatures , " the latter one being my favorite performance of hers ) . +in the supporting roles , liam cunningham is a wonderfully flawed teacher , exposing all his bad parts , but ultimately being a pretty good person ; and rachel griffiths is wonderfully immature as jude's wife , whom he never divorces . + " jude " moves at a very slow pace , and keeps taunting its viewers with chances of happiness for its protagonists , which would drive some people nuts . +but those who appreciate good social commentary with their films , no matter how slow or downright depressing they are ( this one is both ) will appreciate " jude , " though i doubt anyone truly enjoys it . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv132_5618.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv132_5618.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..841b24333432c1f075554f1c1d0afb325c269ee4 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv132_5618.txt @@ -0,0 +1,15 @@ +quaid stars as a man who has taken up the proffesion of dragonslayer after he feels he is betrayed by a dragon early in the movie . +he runs into the last dragon in existence , and there is a genuinely amusing battle between the two which results in a standoff where quaid is in the dragons mouth , but has his sword pointed at the dragons brain . +eventually , they decide to call a truce , and they work out a deal . +since he is the last dragon , he will pretend to die and quaid will be able to get paid for it . +their scam works at first , until they come to a town without any money . +instead the town sacrifices a girl to the dragon , but of course , draco is a nice droagon , so he won't eat her . there is however a very amusing scene where draco is hitting on the young girl . +of course , as you can probably tell by the plot , this is a silly movie , but it does know when to take itself seriously at the right times , unlike eddie , which was serious all the time . +you could probably call this a medieval comedy , because there are more laughs here than in eddie and spy hard combined . +dennis quaid makes a fine hero . +pete posthlewaite provides some ghreat comedy as a monk who journeys with them . +dina meyer is appealing as the sacrificed girl . +but lets face it , the movie is really about the dragon , and what an amazing creation he is . +connery's voice and ilm team up to provide us with a truly magnificent dragon . +so , if you are going to see this movie for a strong hard core medieval epic , you are going to the wrong movie . +if you are going because of the dragon , you will not be dissapointed , and you will be provided with plenty of laughs that smooth out the boring parts in the script . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv133_16336.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv133_16336.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3d99306ed930e4e223263244b7cd3410fcc66d2a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv133_16336.txt @@ -0,0 +1,33 @@ +it has been 20 years since a terrence malick film hit theaters . +his new film , the thin red line , is a strange , beautiful , enigmatic mess of a movie . +the first thing that jumps out to one when they see the advertisements for this film is the huge cast . +it is filled with above-the-title stars . +the cast , for the most part , gives great performances . +john travolta , whose role is nothing more than a cameo , seems not to have attacked his performance with that much verve . +george clooney , whose role became a cameo in editing , gives a strange performance . +one wonders if he knew that his performance would become the object of ridicule through a character's narration . +the rest of the cast , especially nick nolte and elias koteas , are unambiguously fantastic . +these actors ( and they are , with two exceptions , men ) were lured by the name of malick . +terrence malick is a cinematic legend . +he has often been called " the j . d . salinger of cinema . " +his two previous films , badlands and days of heaven , are spectacularly beautiful and obscure motion pictures . +after he made them , he disappeared for 20 years . +this film marks his return . +what he's made with the thin red line is a film that seems less concerned with plot than with the emotion of the moment . +the narration which fills the film ( and perplexes many ) not only lets us hear the narrators ( the characters themselves ) pontificate , but also lets us hear such of-the-moment thoughts as " i'm scared . " +the rather simple plot of the thin red line is used as a canvas on which many stories are painted . +the plot couldly simply be boiled down to an assault on a hill . +a plot synopsis for the thin red line is difficult , because the story is fractured . +many stories are here , from the clash between the lieutenant ( elias koteas ) and the savage colonel ( a voracious nick nolte ) to the private ( ben chaplin ) who uses his love for the woman he left behind to keep him going . +the fracturing of the story is ultimately a fault . +it is as if an artist spent an incredible amount of time artfully sculpting tiny statues and then threw them into a box , shook the box , and poured the results onto a table . +this basically creates a mess , but the stories can be discerned and enjoyed . +i'm not declaring that the film has no structure . +while saving private ryan used warfare to bookend the plot , malick uses reflection and glorious shots of nature to bookend about 90 minutes of combat . +the battles in the thin red line are astonishing and display a mastery of filmmaking . +the astounding cinematography in this film must also be given notice . +this film uses color and light in such a fantastic way , that it will be sad to see it degraded when it has to bee transferred to video . +ultimately , malick has crafted a film that is a movie that enjoys looking through the treetops more than regarding the war that rages below them . +the film is filled with nature photography and the regarding of nature . +while some have said that the anti-war message and pro-nature tubthumping was juvenile , it was done with so much complexity and thought , that it cannot ever honestly be called childish . +after seeing the thin red line , i was haunted by it and am quite ready to see it again . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv134_22246.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv134_22246.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..bf30e0864d1b8a1e40bc9c3bcf6dca4eabb5973d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv134_22246.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ + " stuart little " is one of the best family films to come out this year . +it's a cute , funny and very good-natured film that has nothing for parents to squirm over except a few mild cusswords . +though i read the book a long time ago and i really do not remember what it was about , i do know that this film does not disappoint . +finally a movie gets released that is as good as the trailer makes it to be , with a few surprising twists , some very funny moments , and a few sentimental moments all mixed in to one great little movie . +stuart little is a mouse . +he has finally gotten a new home after being put up for adoption , he now lives with the littles . +a nice little ( no pun intended ) family that lives in their apartment next to central park in new york city . +they have a little boy george ( played by the adorable jonathan lipnicki ) and now they have a new son . +at first stuart takes a while but he finally adjusts to being part of the family and even getting along with the pet cat . +george doesn't take too well to having a mouse for a brother at first , but once the two play together they instantly bond . +stuart however is missing something , and he wants to know who his real parents are . +the littles try and find his parents and one day they show up on the doorstep wanting stuart back . +hesitating the littles know what's best for stuart and so does snowball the pet cat , he and his friends try to get stuart but in the end we find out the truth about stuart's past ending up to a sentimental and very heart-warming ending . +one thing i noticed about the film instantly was the fantastic special effects . +just like in " star wars : episode 1--the phantom menace " stuart little and his family are all computer generated and they look fantastically real . +from the detail of their fur , to the detail of the way the walk ; the special effects team put a lot of time and effort on this $90 million dollar film and it shows . +another movie that this has in common with is " babe " with it's talking animals and people understanding them . +it has a family friendly atmosphere and is never really scary or suspenseful enough to even scare the youngest of kids . +michael j . fox does the voice of stuart himself and just like in the " homeward bound " movies does a fantastic job and brings more out of stuart than anyone else could . +he to me fits the character perfectly and ends up making stuart even more lovable . +another gem of the film is nathan lane as snowball . +when he was timon in 1994's " the lion king " i would have sworn he was a comedian , and now in " stuart little " he brings the most out of snowball and makes him one of those characters we love to dislike . +for the human actors geena davis who never gives a bad performance does not disappoint here as well . +she fits nicely in her character and there is a good chemistry between her and hugh laurie who plays mr . little . +both make us believe they are happily in love and married and jonathan lipnicki as their song is even more adorable than he was in 1996's " jerry maguire " . +even though stuart little is completely cgi , the human characters and stuart have a nice chemistry together and even makes us believe they really do care for each other . + " stuart little " is ideal family entertainment for this holiday season and will not disappoint youngsters or adults for that matter . +we get entertainment , laughs , cries and more fun at the movies this season than probably any other movie . +its nice to see a pg rated movie out at christmas that everyone can see . +even though it has a $90 million dollar budget i'm sure it will make over that or just below it respectively . +for all you parents out there trying to find a good family movie , i have yet to see bicentennial man as i write this but as far as i know " stuart little " and " toy story 2 " are by far the best family films this year . +a winner . ? diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv135_11603.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv135_11603.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5f83bcf33721993b65862babb4ef3fe8c85626ca --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv135_11603.txt @@ -0,0 +1,13 @@ +as with his other stateside releases , jackie chan's latest chopsocky vehicle , mr . nice guy , is contrived , blockheaded , and lacking in narrative logic . +but also like those other films , it is a highly enjoyable ride . +once again , chan's screenwriters ( here edward tang and fibe ma ) have taken the easy way out and named their star's character simply jackie , with no last name . +this jackie is a world-class chef who co-hosts a popular cooking show on australian television . +of course , jackie also happens to be a talented martial artist , and these skills come in handy when he becomes involved in an ambitious reporter's ( gabrielle fitzpatrick ) expose of a drug dealing ring . +other plot details , involving a videotape and a biker gang , are irrelevant ; in fact , as is the case with most chan films , the plot itself is just about irrelevant . +the sole purpose of mr . nice guy's existence are chan's comic fight scenes , and those here do not disappoint . +director samo hung ( who has a cameo role ) , a longtime collaborator of chan's , does not waste any time putting chan in action , diving head-on into a wild chase/fight/shootout after a brief cooking show prologue . +other impressive set pieces follow , most notably a chase in a mall , which directly leads to some frenzied , if cliched ( can you say fruit cart ? ) , business involving a runaway carriage ; and an extended late-film sequence at a construction site , in which a hilarious pursuit through a maze of blue doors culminates in some exciting fights involving boards , cement mixers , and a deadly buzzsaw . +none of the action sequences in mr . nice guy are as spectacular as supercop's thrilling helicopter-train finale or rumble in the bronx's daring leap between two buildings ; nor is anything as inventive as the ladder fight or air tunnel climax in first strike and operation condor , respectively . +but the action delivers , even if the energy peters out before the film's end ( the finale , as spectacular as it is , is a letdown for fans of chan's athletic prowess ) . +filmed almost entirely in english ( even so , the voices of some english-speaking actors are laughably dubbed ) , mr . nice guy hints at jackie chan's latest transition to hollywood productions ( he made ill-fated attempts with 1980's the big brawl and 1985's the protector ) ; next in the pipeline is rush hour , a stateside production co-starring chris tucker . +hopefully that film will be a mere diversion in tinseltown , and chan will continue with exuberant hong kong productions such as mr . nice guy , for his unique charm and reckless abandon are sure to be diluted by american hands , much like they have been before . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv136_11505.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv136_11505.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..fe506e55ec54d3f326d4f410d5ad2a304ec16cb7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv136_11505.txt @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@ +the premise of wag the dog is so simple that it's adequately explained by the commercials . +with 11 days to go until the election , the president ( who we never see ) calls in political dirty-tricks artist robert deniro to distract attention from a burgeoning sex scandal . +deniro enlists hollywood producer dustin hoffman to produce a " pageant " , a phony war against albania , fought on the blue screens of hollywood and the recording studios of nashville , with woody harrelson as the reluctant , psychotic hero . +and if there wasn't anything more to the movie than this , it would be a second-rate heist comedy at best , enlivened by great actors -- like sneakers goes to washington . + ( a heist comedy ? +yup . +deniro and hoffman are " stealing " the election , so to speak , and the movie is more about how they do it -- and the fun they have doing it -- than anything else . ) +wag the dog succeeds because it's based one great truth : the american people are stupid . +ok , maybe it's not " love thy neighbor as thyself " or even " two plus two makes four " , but a truth nonetheless . + ( any average person who thinks that they're really smart about the two things this movie satirizes -- moviemaking and the political process -- is invited , nay , challenged , to spend a week either watching a movie actually being made or 48 hours straight watching c-span when the house is in session . ) +and because we're so utterly , predictably stupid , hollywood knows that a certain percentage of us will go see hard rain or magoo , washington knows that we won't notice a few million dollars spent here and there on porno art grants and cigar subsidies -- and deniro's character knows that american geography skills are so weak that we won't be able to locate albania on the map . +the beauty of wag the dog is that it isn't a light , meaningless comedy about politics ( like speechless , the michael keaton - geena davis picture ) or from the level of light-hearted politcal satire to near-greatness . +nor is it a hard-edged cynical look at the manner in which a morally-deprived , ethically challenged baby-boomer connives his sleazy way into the white house ( like primary colors -- and yes , i am a little disappointed in the way the last two elections turned out , thanks for asking ) . +instead , david mamet's script strikes that delicate balance between comedy and cynicism needed for satire . +it does this by keeping us in a fantasy world where most of the schemers' schemes come off beautifully , and fail only in entertaining and humorous fashion . +deniro is playing a variation on his al capone character from the untouchables , without any of the violent rages . +it's all : " what do i love ? +what is it that brings me joy ? +baseball , " minus the savage bloody beating with the bat . +he threatens a lot of people , mind you , but he's doing it in a very nice , polite way . +it's a very mellow , restrained performance , which fits in with the air of gamesmanship in the script . +hoffman , on the other hand , is giddy , exuberant and joyous . +this kind of thing is what his character lives for , and he's so excited that he can't even shut up . +even on the edge of disaster , he's bright-eyed ( behind oddly tinted sunglasses ) and positive . +insiders note that he's basing his character on some powerful-but-anonymous producer -- which may or may not be true , but hoffman still exudes the kind of lets-put-on-a-show electricity that you figure a producer needs to have . +the best part and the most frustrating part of wag the dog is in the supporting cast . +the characters are so well drawn and so well acted that we want to see more of them , listen to them talk in that wised-up mamet dialogue , get to know them better -- which we don't . +anne heche , is dead-bang-on in her portrayal of a political press aide -- cool and composed on the outside , panicked and frenzied on the outside . +denis leary ( one of my favorite actors -- see the ref ) is the " fad king " , who handles the profitable " back-end " -- t-shirt tie ins and shoe contracts and other creative , innovative ways to separate a fool from his money . +they could make a whole movie , just about the fad king , and i'd go see it . +willie nelson and merle haggard handle the musical end of things fabulously , from the upbeat gospel chorus theme song , to the weepy country waltz , to the hilarious " ballad of the green berets " parody . +woody harrelson has a brief , but memorable part as the overmedicated " hero " of the albanian conflict . +craig t . nelson , as the opposition candidate , and the ever-reliable william h . macy , as a wacky cia agent , are given surprisingly short shrift . + ( one of my small gripes is that we never see what the spin doctors on the other side are doing . ) +wag the dog is a funny movie about serious problems : the trivialization of american politics , the role of the press in dumbing down the issues , the impact of hollywood in creating campaign commercials , the reduction of all things political to soundbites and sidebars -- the list goes on . +we can solve most of these problems by taking a greater role in our national life and educating ourselves as voters and citizens . +wag the dog reminds us of what can happen if we don't . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv137_15422.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv137_15422.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3374145b33021483e53a4565855850cc0209355a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv137_15422.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +as the film opens up , expectant unwed mother sally ( played by drew barrymore ) encounters her baby's father in a fast food drive-through window . +after he gets his milkshake , he drives off , only to be pursued by a military helicopter . +from this moment forward , you know that this isn't going to be your run-of-the-mill romantic comedy . +home fries tells the tale of the relationship between sally and dorian ( played by luke wilson ) , a helicopter pilot who has a different kind of connection with sally . . . more +than he would care to admit ( hint : it has something to do with the father of sally's unborn child ) . +after taking a personal ( and professional ) interest in her , he finds work at the local fast food restaurant at which she works , and the fun goes on from there . +this movie is a lot of fun . +it is comedic on two levels , as a romantic comedy and a dark comedy . +the romantic moments are sweet , yet not sappy . +one of the more poignant moments is when dorian accompanies sally to lamaze classes . +however , the dark comedic moments are more memorable . +this is also a tale of revenge , and a funny one at that . +the father of sally's unborn child also happened to be a married man , whose wife is played by catherine o'hara . +she does a wonderful portrayal of a jealous wife who is targeting the person who had an affair , and is not above getting other people to do her dirty work . + ( my apologies if this sounds cryptic , but there is too much of the plot to give away ) . +rounding out the cast are jake busey as angus , dorian's overzealous brother and daryl mitchell as roy , dorian's trainer at the fast food restaurant . +the dialogue is sharp and not filled with sappy overtones , even with the romantic nature of the plot . +if there are any complaints , it is over drew barrymore's performance . +while she does light up the screen , there are moments when she doesn't seem all that convincing . +the movie was filmed in texas , and most of the characters have southern texan accents . +drew barrymore's accent tends to come and go ( luke wilson doesn't seem to have this problem ) . +as well , she seems awfully agile for a woman that is eight months pregnant . +still , this movie is one that will please many viewers . +with plot twists galore and hilarious dark moments , this is sure to entertain . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv138_12721.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv138_12721.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..53f88db871f92c5d8eb69e4ab6d975461caee383 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv138_12721.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18 @@ +the second jackal-based film to come out in 1997 ( the other starring bruce willis was simply entitled the jackal ) , this one stars aidan quinn and donald sutherland , and is directed by a man who hailed from joblo's own alma matter , concordia university in montreal , canada . +the story is based on the exploits of the real terrorist known as the jackal , but does not pretend to be 100% factual . +plot : naval officer ramirez ( quinn ) gets called upon by the cia to impersonate the international terrorist known as the jackal , in order to put an end to the actual militant's radical activities . +he is chosen for this role because he physically resembles the real terrorist to a tee . +ramirez reluctantly agrees to take part in this " assignment " , and soon finds himself wrapped up in a true web of international terrorism , intrigue and double-personality syndrome ( which does not sit well with his uninformed wife and kids back in the states . ) +critique : great premise is executed with enough style and thrills to keep the piece interesting throughout its close to two-hour runtime . +admittedly , i wasn't a huge fan of any of the main actors in this film , and didn't expect much from this movie beforehand , but surprisingly it did have its thrilling moments , as well as a mostly plausible and absorbing story line . +the first hour is mostly just a build-up of things to come , and does offer a great characterization of the jackal , but the second hour is the one that really cranks in the cool scenes and a sweet ending . +quinn was adequate in both roles as naval officer ramirez and the real jackal , but didn't offer anything extraordinary , in my opinion . +sutherland and kingsley seem to be playing the same role that they've played in both of their respective careers of late , but nonetheless , appeared to relish the cold-heartedness of their chosen characters . +i didn't like performance put forth from quinn's wife in this flick , but then again , she doesn't show up in most of the film , so that wasn't so bad . +i did however enjoy director duguay's interesting style and cinematic vision . +this thriller could easily have been boring during many sequences , but duguay always seemed to find something interesting to show the viewer . +i thought that was neat . +having said that , i didn't think the first hour needed to be as long as it was , and the film did have me tinkering on the bridge of believability when the " fake " jackal met with the " real " jackal's girlfriend without much retrospection on her part , but all in all , not too many complaints in a movie that could easily be enjoyed by all those who take pleasure in the spy and terrorist thriller genre . +little known facts : ben kingsley's real name is krishna banji , he stands 5 " 8 , was born in scarborough , england , and won the best actor honor in 1982's academy awards presentation for the title role he portrayed in ghandi . +many scenes from this film were actually shot in montreal , canada ( joblo's haven of restfulness ) . +donald sutherland has fathered actor kiefer sutherland , is canadian , and apparently still owns a place in the north of montreal . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv140_7479.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv140_7479.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..cdf6cd765ab371be41b726776a52c3365e644171 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv140_7479.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +the cryptic teaser trailer has been unspooling in moviehouses for quite sometime now : " it mu5t be found . " +so what , exactly , is the fifth element ? +after seeing luc besson's ambitious , much-shrouded-in-secrecy science fiction fantasy , i could not help but be let down by the actual answer , which is not nearly as exciting nor clever as one would think . +but what is far from a letdown is the film as a whole , a wildly imaginative feast for the senses that does what all the best science fiction films do--create a universe unlike any other presented on the silver screen . +the biggest irony of the fifth element is that the one thing that has been kept under such tight wraps--the actual storyline--is the most conventional , dismayingly so , element ( pun intended ) of the film . +speaking in the vaguest possible terms , the basics of the plot are as follows : in the year 2259 , a great force of evil threatens to consume the earth , and only the four elements--earth , wind , fire , and water--united with a fifth element can stop it . +figuring into all of this are new york cabbie korben dallas ( bruce willis ) ; a shady , southern-drawling entrepreneur by the name of zorg ( the hilariously hammy gary oldman , picking up where he left off in besson's the professional ) ; a priest ( ian holm ) ; and a mysterious creature named leeloo ( milla jovovich ) . +all of the pieces come together in a tidy and somewhat underwhelming--and unsurprising--fashion , but there is no denying that this basic story holds some intrinsic interest . +what remains interesting and exciting , however , after brief glimpses is the fascinating world besson has created with production designer dan weil , director of photography thierry arbogast , visual effects supervisor mark stetson , and the crew at digital domain . +the look is absolutely mesmerizing right from the opening moments to the last . +the frenzied cityscape of new york , with its vibrant day-glo colors , tall buildings penetrating high into the clouds , and the swarm of cars , cabs , and other vehicles flying through labyrinthian skyways , is absolutely breathtaking to behold , especially in a wild car chase sequence early on in the film . +but it would not have been a completely captivating vision if the people inhabiting the settings weren't equally as interesting , and are they ever . +in addition to the exotic menagerie of alien creatures that populate this world , from bulky robots to dog-like mangalores , the humans are outfitted in costumes by eccentric designer jean-paul gaulthier , best known for creating madonna's pointy bustier get-up in her blonde ambition tour . +gaulthier's outlandish creations , such as a number worn by leeloo made entirely out of white straps , feel more at home in besson's futuristic vision than on any fashion runway in the world ; they add to the sense of otherworldliness about the film . +while besson's bold vision is the biggest virtue of the film , it also could be its biggest obstacle to reaching a mass audience . +for all its imagination , certain things about the film may be a bit too quirky and bizarre . +i really do not know what middle america will make of the most outrageous character of the film , ruby rhod ( chris tucker ) , a flamboyant disc jockey who makes dennis rodman look conservative--he makes a raucous entrance dressed in an animal print dress , sporting a blonde hairdo in the shape of a hair dryer , speaking in high pitches at rapid fire speed . +at first this character's hyper energy is funny , but the act wears out its welcome very quickly . +not irritating , but just as strange , is a musical number by blue-skinned alien chanteuse diva ( maiwenn lebesco ) , who sings--and dances--an aria that is an unlikely blend of classical opera and techno . +the tune , as with the entirety of longtime besson collaborator eric serra's innovative score , is haunting , but it is also completely jarring . +then there are the campy touches of humor besson and co-scripter robert mark kamen sprinkle throughout , which too often are silly and forced ; a comic sexual encounter between ruby rhod and a flight attendant is highly distracting and not very funny , to boot . +the story's weakness shines through in the climax and conclusion of the fifth element . +while still visually and aurally spectacular , the events detailed are not as exciting nor powerful as they should be . +the big , serious dramatic climax was met with more than a few snickers , and it ambitiously strives for a profundity which the film had not even begun to work toward . +as such , at the end there is a sense that there was something bigger at work here , that there was still more left to be said about this story and these characters . +this suspicion was confirmed by besson himself , who told me in the lobby following the screening ( imagine that , the filmmaker watching the film with the " enemy " --the critics ) that what had made it to the screen was really just the first half of the lengthy original fifth element screenplay and that the second half--now titled mr . shadow--is still waiting to be made . +still , despite the story problems , the fifth element is an artistic triumph for luc besson ; rarely does a filmmaker's original vision come to the screen in all its audacious , undiluted glory . +it is a fascinating example of how of one artist's fervid imagination can transport an audience into an intoxicating fantasy world generally seen only in dreams . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv141_15686.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv141_15686.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..33c0ffa7a4a07b21e06c7977184fa660196f1a8c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv141_15686.txt @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ + " very bad things , " is the most delightfully morbid film of the year , a movie that goes so far over the deep end with its outrageousness and violence that i couldn't help but be won over by the material . +the film starts off with five friends leaving their homes in los angeles for a bachelor party in las vegas . +the groom-to-be is kyle fisher ( jon favreau ) , who is about to be married to the controlling , wedding-obsessed laura ( cameron diaz ) . +the other friends are real estate agent robert boyd ( christian slater ) , quiet charles ( leland orser ) , and brothers , michael ( jeremy piven ) and family man adam ( daniel stern ) . +after a wild night of gambling , boozing , and drugs , a stripper ( carla scott ) who was paid for by robert comes into their hotel room , but after a freak accident , to everyone's terror , she is killed . +as robert puts it : " there are two options : go to the police and go to prison , or bury her out in the desert where no one will ever find her . " +after a security guard enters into the hotel room unexpectantly and sees the body , robert is forced to kill him as well . + " okay , there is only one option now . +you can forget about calling the police , " he says . +by the time the five friends return home and as the wedding draws nearer , most of them are overcome with guilt , which sets off an even more elaborate series of event , that includes much , much more murder , double-crosses , and the inevitable wedding from hell . + " very bad things , " which is actor peter berg's feature film directing debut , is the shockingly perverse and wicked comedy that , " there's something about mary , " wanted to be . +it pulls out all the stops to create something fresh , original , and hilarious , even if that requires surprisingly graphic violence , gore , and a slew of truly hateful characters that all get what they deserve by the end . +the screenplay , also written by berg , is , to put it mildly , very funny and courageous . +during the second act of the film , some of the fun was beginning to slightly dwindle due to so much death , which was beginning to undermine the humor , but it eventually recouped itself with a climax that has to be seen to be believed . +the dialogue is edgy and inventive , and this film proves that a movie doesn't necessarily require likable character to be extremely enjoyable . +there's more fun , i think , in showing ignorable people getting their just desserts . +cameron diaz gives her best performance to date here , and has a lot of fun in playing the hateful laura , who eventually turns out to be more crazy than any of the five male friends . +diaz puts so much overblown energy to her character that i really do think she deserves a supporting actress oscar nomination come next january . +by the time she is beating someone to death with a coat hanger , and reciting lines like , " stuff him in the crapper and get your ass upstairs , " i couldn't help but crack up at how " balls-to-the-wall " this film had become . +jeanne tripplehorn creates another character original , as daniel stern's wife , who late in the picture , we discover , is a tough kick-boxer that should not be messed around with . +it is at this level that , " very bad things , " was so entertaining and surprising . +just when you thought you could predict what was going to happen , there would be a little twist involving the characters that would be absolutely wacky . +the last sequence was perfect and managed to go even further over-the-top . +although i enjoyed the film immensely , let me make this clear : " very bad things , " is not a movie for everyone . +it is more tasteless than anything i have ever seen , it is more violent and bloody than a r-rated film usually is , and it is offensive . +luckily , these are elements that i would prefer in a comedy , since it clearly shows the filmmakers were set on making a no-holds-barred , politically incorrect comedy . +the fact that this film slipped through the cracks of the usually mainstream and " safe " wide-releases coming out lately , still gives me hope for the hollywood film industry . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv142_22516.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv142_22516.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..dc6d6cf4c1085d3ad192b753e0926255c91dc4b5 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv142_22516.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +it is hard to imagine that a movie which includes abortion and incest as prominent plot devices could be so sensitive , so delicate , so insightful and yes , even so enjoyable . +somehow , the cider house rules manages to keep an even keel in the face of the harsh subject matter and allows a substantial amount of heart to shine through . +set in the 1940's , the film tells the story of a unique young man named homer wells ( tobey maguire , ride with the devil ) . +an orphan , twice rejected as an infant by possible adoptive parents , he grows up in the care and under the tutelage of dr . wilbur larch ( michael caine , little voice ) , father figure to the orphans of st . cloud , obstetrician or abortionist to the unhappily pregnant women who come there seeking his help . +figuring that as long as homer was going to stay at the orphanage , he might as well be of use , dr . larch begins teaching him all he knows about obstetrics . +soon homer is delivering babies like a professional . +he refuses to perform abortions , instead wondering why the couples just didn't behave more responsibly . +larch , too old and experienced to have such youthful ideals , marvels that homer " continues to have such high expectations of people . " +such is the result of an insulated upbringing . +though skilled in certain medical procedures , homer remains woefully naive and ignorant about most everything else . +he finally figures that in order to find his place in the world , he must go out into it . +befriending a young couple who had come to see dr . larch , he hitches a ride with them and parlays that into landing a job as an apple picker with a group of black migrant workers at the orchard where they lived . +thus , homer begins his worldly instruction , with new friend candy kendall ( charlize theron , the astronaut's wife ) a willing tutor . +tobey maguire is well cast yet again as an inherently good man who is seeking answers to life's questions . . . +many of which he was unaware needed to be asked . +he demonstrates a quiet strength and thoughtful curiosity that is both warm and appealing . +michael caine is , in a word , brilliant as the caring caretaker of these orphans , many of whom he helped to bring into the world . +calling them " princes of maine , kings of new england " in his ritualistic goodnight , mr . caine manages to communicate the love and commitment larch has towards these children without becoming maudlin or saccharine . +delroy lindo ( a life less ordinary ) has many powerful moments as mr . rose , the strong and charismatic leader of the apple pickers whom homer joins . +director lasse hallstrom ( what's eating gilbert grape ? ) and screenwriter/novelist john irving ( the world according to garp ) , who adapted his own work for this movie deserve much of the credit for the balanced approach to the sensitive subject matter . +regardless of one's personal stand on the divisive matter of abortion , it is hard to imagine anyone becoming offended by the evenhanded treatment used by these filmmakers . +the title is a reference to a list of rules posted in the quarters of the illiterate apple pickers . +figuring the rules didn't apply to them since they didn't have a hand in writing them , they decide to ignore the list and make up their own rules as they go along . +dr . larch , in his own way , acts similarly . +there is a danger in that line of reasoning . +god has also given us a set of rules . +unlike the list posted in the cider house , god's rules , if followed , promise us benefits beyond our imagination . +and yet , many continue to ignore his " rules " preferring to make up their own as they go through life . + " trust in the lord with all thine heart ; and lean not unto thine own understanding . " +proverbs 3 : 5 [kjv] +just as a builder follows a designer's blueprint or a conductor follows a composer's score , why shouldn't we follow the rules of life given to us by life's architect for our own blessing ? diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv143_19666.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv143_19666.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..80c0d7b4568bfb4e222437bdcc439b82c465c117 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv143_19666.txt @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +known as the most successful , highest-grossing romantic comedy in history , director garry marshall apparently struck gold with " pretty woman , " which opened quietly during the summer of 1990 but , thanks to positive word-of-mouth , was able to reach upwards of $175-million in theaters alone . +the question of why it worked so well lies directly with the film's two charismatic stars , richard gere and julia roberts , since the story itself is none too original or even believable . +the other winning element that makes " pretty woman " so entertaining is its genuine sweetness and innocence , which is rarely as palpable in today's films as it is here . +edward lewis ( richard gere ) is a suave , extremely wealthy business mogul who , at the start of the picture , breaks up with his girlfriend over the phone after a nasty argument , and abruptly takes his friend's car and gets lost on hollywood boulevard while trying to find his hotel . +stopping the car along the street , he asks a woman , obviously a prostitute , for directions . +agreeing to get in his car and show him for ten bucks , edward ultimately accepts , they strike up a conversation , and before long she has been asked up to his penthouse room on the top floor . +this meeting does not lead to sex , however , as edward confides that he'd rather just have someone to talk to , and offers her $300 to spend the night . +just as well , since the hooker , named vivian , is a beautiful , generally upbeat young woman who is the type of person that can lend an understanding ear . +the meeting between these two completely opposite people does not end the next morning as planned , when edward finally offers to pay vivian three-thousand dollars if she will stay with him for six days and nights while he is in the area , keeping him company and acting as his companion to business dinners and get-togethers . +since vivian firmly tells edward at the beginning that she will do anything with him except kiss him on the lips , which always leads to unwanted intimacy when dealing with her customers , the obligatory rule of the genre says that by the third act , edward and vivian will finally , truly , kiss . +allegedly planned as a grim , downbeat drama until garry marshall came on board as director , " pretty woman " has been transformed in all senses of the word into a classic fairy tale , a la " cinderella . " +the premise is hardly believable and its portrait of prostitutes hanging out on the streets of hollywood boulevard is just about the most idealized portrayal that there could have possibly been . +you honestly don't need a high-iq ( or any iq , for that matter ) to guess how the film will end , and the story is as old as my great great grandma bertha . +the supporting characters are almost all sketchily written and less-than-gratifying , and the screenplay is no award winner . +and yet , amidst all of these qualms and flaws , " pretty woman " is an astoundingly charming motion picture , and it is definately easy to see why it became such an overnight sensation with moviegoers . +you'd actually be amazed how far bemusement can go , and there are a few select moments ( not even whole scenes , mind you ) that are as romantic as anything i've seen on film in the 1990's . +additionally , the film belongs , and its success can be attributed , to two people and two people only , and they are richard gere and julia roberts . +playing sex symbols throughout the '80s with such pictures as " american gigolo " and " an officer and a gentleman , " gere branches out here to play a more quiet , almost shy , but still alluring , character that believably could sweep julia roberts off her feet , and vice versa . +julia roberts , in her breakthrough role after 1988's well-received " mistic pizza " and 1989's " steel magnolia , " for which she was nominated for an academy award , is radiant and funny as the wordly vivian , who surprisingly could be a role model for impressionistic viewers , not for her line of work , but more for her sheer intelligence . +it would have probably been easy to have written vivian as merely a flake , but screenwriter j . f . lawton clearly cared too much about his central characters to do such a thing . +after " pretty woman , " roberts , along with meg ryan , became the reigning queen of romantic comedies ( with her latest being the just-released " runaway bride , " which repairs gere and roberts together once again ) , and no wonder . +roberts has continually proven to not only be a strong actress with a flare for comedy , but also one who can efficiently do drama , and in almost every film she appears in , it is difficult not to fall in love with her along with her male co-star . +an especially strong scene that gere and roberts do together takes place after edward foolishly tells one of his co-workers that vivian is actually a prostitute , and he then approaches her , making sexual advances . +no only does this make vivian feel cheap , especially since she had previously been posing as a more professional , eloquent young lady , but it also maddens her that edward would demean and betray her in such a way , and ultimately causes her to question where exactly her life is leading , and if she likes this particular path . +on the more dreamy side , the film is filled with romantic scenes that are simply effervescent to behold , especially one in which edward enters into the hotel's lounge to see vivian turn around and not only reveal her marvelous cocktail dress , but also her inner ( and outer ) glowing beauty . +another subtle moment has vivian lovingly blowing a kiss to edward , who is asleep , and placing it on his lips , since she still is unsure if she should be getting attached to this man who may very well be out of her life forever in a short couple of days . + " pretty woman " does not blatantly step wrong until the very last scene , which is a happy ending ( as you'd expect , and wouldn't have it any other way ) that somehow does not work , perhaps because of its undeniable contrivances . +this one misstep does not put a damper on the rest of the film , though , because there is just far too much magic at work here to disaffirm such a petty problem . +helped along by a warm , memorable supporting performance from laura san giacomo , as vivian's best friend and roommate , and a fabulously catchy soundtrack , in which all of the songs prominently aid in the movie's overall fulfillment , " pretty woman " is a sparkler of a motion picture , and has what it takes to act as a blueprint on how to make the quintessential romantic comedy . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv144_5007.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv144_5007.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a30289c71135e7ff0d2223470cdddc11bfd1731d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv144_5007.txt @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ +the dramatic comedy cousins has all the necessary ingredients : a witty and whimsical script , inspired performances , a great sense of humor , a large and wonderful cast , and the beautiful scenery of vancouver . +it's a movie of weddings , marriage , family , infidelity , and--oh yes--love . +like 3 men and a baby , cousins is an americanized version of a french film : 1975's cousin , cousine . +the plot is complicated , but it goes something like this . +larry and tom are cousins , each of whom is not-so-happily-married . +tom starts an affair with larry's wife , tish , and to get even , larry and tom's wife , maria , pretend to have an affair of their own . +soon the pretending turns to love and cousins is off and running . +cousins is populated by a wide assortment of interesting characters and caricatures . +the acting is first rate down to even the smallest supporting role , and virtually every performance deserves mention . +ted danson ( in his first starring film role ) finally gets to play a character with some depth and sensitivity . +while larry may be confident and charming like sam malone on " cheers , " he is also complex and vulnerable , with more between his ears than empty space . +as maria , isabella rossellini is a joy to watch ; she is shy , sensuous , and immensely alluring . +sean young is perfectly cast as larry's picture perfect wife , tish , a superficial and trendy make-up consultant . +keith coogan , from adventures in babysitting , is wonderfully weird and eccentric as larry's rebellious son , mitch . +and finally , lloyd bridges in a tour de force performance is mitch's rambunctious grandfather ; he provides some of cousins' best lines and laughs . +like moonstruck , cousins is a mix of drama and comedy . +the film is larger than life and has a keen sense of the absurd . +it understands human nature extremely well and milks it for every possible laugh and heart-tug . +how often do you see a movie where you believe that two characters truly and sincerely care for and love each other , as friends and as lovers ? +well , to its credit , cousins is just such a movie . +let's hope the french continue to provide us with the inspiration to make films like cousins diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv145_11472.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv145_11472.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c4e736c8840ed1fc57e7f08a7c08afac5cbba948 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv145_11472.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ +this remake of " la cage aux folles " features a gay couple pretending to be straight in order to pull the wool over the eyes of their son's future in-laws . +the couple ( robin williams and nathan lane ) are about as archetypal , or as the less kind might put it ? stereotypical , gays possible . +williams owns a nightclub featuring drag queens where his partner performs as the featured star . +they live above the club in what could not possibly be mistaken as a heterosexual abode . +williams is excellent as should be no surprise . +gene hackman as right-wing potential father-in-law is refreshing in one of his few comedic roles . +the real star is lane . +his attempted transformation from one of the most obviously gay men in the world to the straight-shooting uncle is hilarious . +perhaps it is a personal failing on my part , but the crying and screaming drag queen faux high drama just grates on my nerves and the first few minutes of this film are filled with it . +luckily ( for me at least ) , it doesn't last long and the rest of the story focuses on the relationship between the men , their son and the deception . +the question of stereotypes is a touchy one . +these guys personify the homophobic gay image . +you can almost hear the swishing . +if you think that they are supposed to be representative of every gay man in the world , you'll be outraged . +but if you can accept the view is that this is a movie about gay individuals , you'll love it . +your choice . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv146_18458.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv146_18458.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..23e474c7b2be164f679387f12430217302071bc7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv146_18458.txt @@ -0,0 +1,69 @@ +seen may 19 , 1999 at 5 p . m . at the crossgates cinema 18 ( guilderland , n . y . ) , theater #1 , with my brother john for $8 . 50 . +[theater rating : * * * * : excellent seats , sound and picture] + ( critic's note : this review is the longest i've ever written and still only scratches the surface . +i'd recommend this be read only by those who have seen the film as a form of critical analysis . ) +as my friend and fellow film critic ted prigge said in his review of `the phantom menace' - how do i even write this review ? +never mind the fact that i've been waiting for a new `star wars' movie since i was seven years old . +never mind the fact everyone on the internet had already dissected and discussed the movie before it was even released . +never mind that there's so much going on in this movie in terms of plot , action , special effects and long-term story that to analyze every aspect would take a lot of time and energy and still wouldn't cover everything . +and also like ted does in all of his reviews , i'll try to review this in a way different from my usual reviews and instead write as casually as possible as if i was talking directly to you , the reader . +before we can begin analyzing the specific aspects of the film , many of the most general and most significant factors must be considered ( to get the specifics of the film , skip this and the next four paragraphs ) . +as has been made obvious for the last several years , another trilogy of films will be produced to account for the [missing] initial three installments of the `star wars' series ( the first of the films was actually episode four , not one ) . +george lucas , the creator of the series , has probably just assumed most people know the first-produced trilogy ( `star wars , ' `the empire strikes back' and `return of the jedi' ) is actually the second trilogy , chronologically . +in media interviews in the past he has explained why the movies were made out of order , but i can't recall his reasons . +with this new film he as writer and director has also assumed viewers are at least vaguely familiar with the storylines and significant plot points of the first trilogy ( err . . . +second trilogy . . . +well you know what i mean ) . +and in order for this review to be thorough many of those significant points must be mentioned which , unfortunately , may serve as spoilers so proceed with caution . +[critic's note #1 : it is one my personal policy not to intentionally analyze spoilers because i would like my reviews to be able to make sense to the reader both before and after viewing the film reviewed , but it would be nearly impossible to do the film justice here without breaking the rule . +critic's note #2 : reviewing this film also breaks the universal critics' law of reviewing movies , which as roger ebert coined , `it's not what a movie is about , but how it is about it . ' +because so many outside factors come into play in the film's plot and significance as part of a trilogy , and just considering modern society , it again would be difficult , if not impossible to simply review the film as a completely autonomous story . ] +first of all we have to catalog what we know about the film before even going into it . +we know that young anakin skywalker will grow up to become the evil ruler darth vader who is also the father of luke skywalker , who will lead a successful revolution against him and his empire . +we know obi-wan `ben' kenobi was the trainer of anakin in the ways of `the force' in attempts to become a jedi knight , but would fail and thus anakin would fall to the `dark side . ' +we also know something about `the force' itself , that it is some kind of universal force which determines fate and can be manipulated by those whose minds are expanded enough to believe in it and feel it ( the jedi ) . +what we don't know for sure is the history of the ruling of the galaxy , which is most likely much longer and more complex than any government we have had here on earth . +to me , this was one of the most fascinating aspects of the first three films because there seemed to be a subtle , definite order to all the complexity . +also , it seems that we're supposed to be familiar with a few other details about the story which have come out of the thousands of comic books and paperbacks published in the years since the movies ended . +most notably , details regarding the emperor from `empire' and `jedi , ' and that he was once a senator and his last name is palpatine . +for those who haven't kept up with all the `star wars' paraphernalia over the years , there is still a way to know these details simply by recognizing an actor ( or his voice at least ) . +with `the phantom menace' being the first chapter of a long saga , one would assume the basic groundwork would be laid , including the history behind all the major factors of the series , especially `the force' and the jedi knights . +unfortunately , this film does more of the opposite as it simply builds on top of what must be a history so long and detailed it could never be explained . +i didn't liked that aspect to this film and is one of the reasons it falls just short of greatness . +if you're going to tell a story from the beginning - tell it from the beginning ( is it possible that after this trilogy is complete there could be another trilogy of episodes -1 through -3 to clarify the back story even further ? ) . +but i digress . +i've said so much and yet i haven't even touched on the specifics of the film itself . +all these necessary `disclaiming' elements should go to show just how vast the story of the `star wars' series is and this individual film itself . +what we get here is a movie not unlike any of the other three we've come to know and love since the late 1970s . +its similarity to the other films helps to keep the spirit of the series familiar , but at the same time seems to be a flaw in the filmmaking process itself since it sometimes rings of unoriginality . +the basic story is rather sorted , complex and even confusing at times . +we're told that an army known as `the trade federation' has set up a blockade around an seemingly insignificant planet called naboo . +we're not given too many details to clarify the back story of what the federation is and what their purpose is , instead the film opts to get its story moving quickly . +we're introduced to two jedi , the master qui-gon jinn ( neeson ) and his apprentice obi-wan kenobi ( mcgregor ) . +the two are acting as ambassadors of some sort in hopes of ending the obvious hostility between the federation and the planet's queen , amidala ( portman ) . +the leader of the federation , an alien called viceroy , is following the orders of a strange , mythical character - an older human man whose face and body are covered and shadowed by the black robe and hood he wears . +he is referred to as lord sidious but considering his appearance , and especially that creepy evil voice of his , he is a obviously one of the most significant characters in the series . +sidious communicates to viceroy only through digital transmissions and never in person . +clearly his actual whereabouts are something he wants to keep secret because that would also reveal his identity ( which is never openly revealed in the film , but should be clear to most viewers . +i have a feeling we'll delve into his background in the next two films ) . +but it doesn't take the film long to spring into action and within minutes our hero jedi are fighting for their lives and the film's story begins to move along . +the film doesn't have one specific plot and works in the same manner as the other films in the series where as what we get is one mini-plot and adventure on top of another . +there are so many of these mini-plots-within-plots in this film i would not describe them all because it is what gives the movie its hook . +the other films have relied on this type of storytelling , but because of the limits of the technology at the time , the films' screenplays were also limiting . +the sense of limitlessness here is what gives `the phantom menace' its unique traits . +as we already know , the film takes place at least a generation or two before the original `star wars' trilogy which means a lot of the background which was unclear and/or unexplained may be cleared up here as it is the beginning of the vast epic story . +and here the most significant storyline is that involving the discovery of 10-year-old anakin skywalker ( lloyd ) , by qui-gon jinn and his introduction to the jedi council . +to briefly summarize the story , jinn stumbles upon skywalker in an attempt to buy parts for queen amidala's spaceship which was damaged in efforts to free her from the federation . +their meeting on tatooine is mostly chance but of course jinn chalks it up to the will of the force . +jinn can feel that skywalker has a great natural power in the force , and through another sub-plot involving a bet on skywalker in a fantastic race he will enter , more and more details of his significance begin to reveal themselves . +this also provides for a new elaboration and explanation of the force which has never been mentioned before . +in fact , it seems to be something so important it is upsetting it has never been mentioned before . +the element seriously undermines the mystical aspect of the force and transforms it into something more physical and scientific which is completely unnecessary . +by the film's third act all the major significant elements become tied together in a rather familiar execution of the plot . +it's funny how the reality of the `star wars' world seems so embedded in mythology , new age-like philosophy and religion and yet the solution to all the major conflicts in the series has been violence . +not that this technique hasn't been used in movies and in real-life situations countless times throughout history . +and at least it's all in the spirit of the ultimate powers of good versus evil in a fun and exciting matter . +it does border of the cartoonish sometimes , but that's just the film appealing to our inner child , which is the basic reason the entire saga exists and has become such a big part of our modern society . +`the phantom menace' delivers exactly what you'd expect from a `star wars' film which is why it succeeds as well as it does but is always why it never truly achieves greatness . +so many things in the film we've seen before and done with more heart because the filmmakers concentrated just a bit more on story and character because they were limited . +but this film is far from bad because it at least embraces the spirit of sheer fun at the movies . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv147_21193.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv147_21193.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..75aca7c82dbe38e005eec9b55ceb37e47cd1d8c9 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv147_21193.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +the story of us , a rob reiner film , is the second movie this fall that touches the viewer in a way they are rarely touched by a film , as they can see their everyday lives in the usually once in a year films . +well , 1999 has two of them , the other being the instant classic about a very dysfunctional family , american beauty . +the story of us , a film about the highs and lows of marriage and family , is a well written , heartbreaking and insightful film that made the majority of the audience , including myself , cry . +the story of us tells the story of ben ( bruce willis ) and katie ( michelle pfeiffer ) jordan , and asks the question , " can a marriage survive 15 years of marriage ? " +the film is about two individuals who have come together , spent a good chunk of their lives together , and shows when our main characters are " him " and " her " ( during the bad times ) , and when they are " us " ( during the good times ) . +the story of us is about their entire 15 years of marriage that is collapsing day by day . +ben and katie now only see and live with each other because they don't want to devastate their children with the fact that their parents no longer , or at least say they don't , love each other anymore . +ben , a cartoonist , and katie , a crossword puzzle writer , have grown apart during their fifteen years of marriage , as they have grown to follow different views on life , family , and marriage . +katie is the more organized , sophisticated type , who wants to plan everything out , while ben is a spontaneous , adventurous individual who doesn't mind doing things differently than they were planned . +the story of us plays out nicely , as the film opens with ben sharing his story with a therapist , told to the viewer through flashbacks . +as the film progresses , it switches between ben and katie talking to their therapist , with their stories being told with flashbacks of their marriage . +this method is highly effective , as we see the characters changing from year to year , slowly growing apart . +through the flashbacks , we get to see the story of them through both of the character's eyes , and this gives us a strong sense of what their characters are really like , as the story of us has three dimensional , believable main characters . +the screenplay , written by jessie nelson ( stepmom ) and alan zweibel ( dragnet ) , is a touching , down to earth work that hits a chord within the viewer , much like another one of nelson's films , stepmom . +the script has an open honesty and outlook on life , one that is so realistic , you feel uncomfortable at many times , because so many situations the characters are in are undeniably familiar , as most families these days most go through the hard times , as ben and katie must . +if it wasn't for the first 15 minutes that the writers wrote , which are rugged and certainly flawed , the story of us would have been this year's best picture . +bruce willis , a usual action/adventure star , has certainly turned himself around in the past year- he went from being a man who was being typecast to the same role in action movies , to a distinguished , sophisticated actor , as in last summer's the sixth sense ; and now in the story of us , willis shows the world what he can really do if he is fed a good script . +although i wouldn't pick willis as the choice actor for ben jordan , willis handles himself nicely , and shines in a few of the film's most powerful scenes , enough that make his performance a definite contender comes awards season . +where to start about michelle pfeiffer ? +pfeiffer's performance is spellbinding and ultimately strong , as she brings her character to life with such charisma and emotion , you wonder how , how it is possible for someone to portray a real person with such realism . +pfeiffer's performance is one that if not recognized by the academy next spring , will be in the heart's of any viewer that has watched this moving film . +the story of us is one of 1999's most real , yet funny films , as the razor sharp script evens out the laughs and the tears to keep the viewer hooked . +superb acting , direction , writing , story , and soundtrack that always sets the mood for the film , which is beautifully composed by eric clapton and marc shaiman , make the story of us a touching , unforgettable motion picture that will touch the hearts of viewers across the country- and will certainly become one of the most talked about movies of the fall . +the film's major high points are the fights between ben and katie , as the two constantly accuse of each other of whose fault it is that their marriage has collapsed , and although they also say things like " it's over , " or " i hate you , " you can tell the two still share a deep connection , and that inside , somewhere , they are still an " us . " +the bottom line : a wonderful , enchanting , and heartbreaking film . +one of the most realistic , heartbreaking films in recent years . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv148_16345.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv148_16345.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b0d547995b13b86caf037f55bcec9e6b73aded83 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv148_16345.txt @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ +warren beatty returns to the screens in the funniest , craziest and hard hitting movie in his career . +based on a story concocted by himself , and also written by beatty , bulworth gives a good insight of what beatty thinks of the american government system . +beatty stars as senator jay bulworth , who's going through a nervous breakdown . +after hiring someone to kill him , he completely changes his campaign strategy and tells the honest truth about what's _really_ happening in american politics , much to the annoyance of assistant dennis murphy ( platt . ) +instead of everyone hating him , the american public love him . +however , inside his party , more people want to kill him than just the hired assassin . +and he also strikes a relationship with black girl nina ( berry . ) +it's remarkable that this film was released at all . +much more open than the rather subdued primary colours , bulworth barely gives the american politic system a good name . +the outrageous remarks bulworth makes to his potential voters are very funny , and also somewhat true . +it's great that beatty isn't afraid to let loose on a subject . +talking of beatty , he's excellent in the role of the demented senator , clearing having fun . +and seeing warren beatty have fun is a rare sight indeed . +even in dick tracy , he was the most straighten face actor . + ( then again , he was the only characters face we could completely see . ) +the film gives an opportunity for the 61 year old beatty to indulge in some rapping , which he does with gusto ( and also quite well . ) +and seeing beatty as a 'homeboy' has to be seen to be believed . +it's nice to see that beatty can laugh at himself . +second best is oliver platt as the flustered , coke snorting assistant , who goes over the top when he finally snaps . +halle berry is fine , and sexy , as the intellectual nina , who comes to like the senator . +also popping up in the supporting cast is paul sorvino wit h a strange accent , laurie metcalf as the exact same characters she's also played , and christine baranski of cybill fame as bullworths wife , who all contribute to the fun . +and , this being a political film , the ubiquitous larry king makes an appearance , as , * shock * , himself . +the writing and directing , both by beatty , are above par . +the direction is very nearly sitcom like , but suits the film perfectly , and both the politics are gangland parts are handled well . +the script is funny , and the raps are actually well produced and humorous , and quite clever . +they're not cringe inducing , at least . +the script makes many points about society in america today , and isn't afraid to make any bold statements about what is a flawed system . +best of all , the film is thought provoking , but directed and written in such a way that the film feels as light as a feather , and is very entertaining . +there's also a great rap soundtrack with some well chosen tunes . +bulworth is a film with many advantages , and few flaws . +perhaps it could be somewhat embarrassing to see a 61 year old man rapping , but beatty does it so well it's irrelevant . +in fact , there's very little against bulworth , except for the language which is very heavy , but then again it should be expected . +bulworth , then , is well worth watching . +a david wilcock review ? 1999 + " you know , for kids " - norville barnes diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv149_15670.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv149_15670.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c44e2e5019a12b0da273019a8b49a871077fa45c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv149_15670.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +the long and illustrious career of robin williams , which has included both forgettable turns like mrs . +doubtfire and flubber , was punctuated with the actor's first academy award in 1998 for his role in good will hunting . +it was his first truly dramatic role since 1989's dead poets society , and critical remarks were unanimously positive . +his next role , that of a deceased pediatrician in what dreams may come , was unfortunately lackluster . +and so , after a six-year stint as a comedic actor , the proof on whether or not williams can cut it in the dramatic league has come down to patch adams . +williams is the title character , hunter " patch " adams , sporting scruffy facial hair that falls between the clean-shavenness of dreams and the grotesque hairiness of will hunting . +we're introduced to patch as he commits himself to a mental institution because of his suicidal tendancies . +it's at the institution , however , that he discovers a latent talent for relating to people . +he removes himself from the institution and enrolls at the university of virginia's medical college , where he finds that medical doctrine is a calculating , impersonal trade . +his attempts to inject humanity into the profession result in several bouts with expulsion , and the movie climaxes with patch's appearance before the state medical board . +the characters are well-defined in an oscar-worthy sense . +although the script does not perform well as a narrative -- there's little story to be told outside of patch's skit-length experiences -- the script does go a long way toward building the relationships of characters . +at medical school , patch meets up with truman schiff ( daniel london ) , an outsider like himself who relishes patch's zest for humanity . +the two instantly become the best of friends , and it's easy to see why . +monica potter plays patch's love interest , a young woman who personifies the things that patch hates about medical school . +for some reason he's attracted to her , and although it never gets said , the audience understands from an intrinsic point of view . +the script -- based on hunter adams' own story -- works well this way . +the rest of the cast , bob gunton as the villain professor in particular , is solid . +director tom shadyac ( liar liar ) leads us in and out of patch's life in a sound , intentional manner ; combined with williams' presence on screen , the movie rarely becomes boring . +patch adams' lack of purpose is its major shortcoming , and for the first ninety minutes out of two hours , there's little feeling of continuity or the passage of time . +nevertheless , it's an emotionally moving picture , and patch adams looks to be one of the more memorable of the holiday season . +it succeeds at everything it tries , and only fails at the stuff it doesn't try in the first place . +by and large there may be another oscar nomination herein for williams , but more importantly , it's entertainment for the entire family . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv150_12916.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv150_12916.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..841ad92492b21355377bfc451c4dbd73da7beca6 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv150_12916.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18 @@ +in recent years , harrison ford has been such a grave screen presence , scowling through the likes of tom clancy's jack ryan series , _the_fugitive_ , and last year's smash _air_force_one_ , that one wonders if the rogue charm that made him such a superstar had been completely drained from his system . +apparently , it was just lying dormant . +with ivan reitman's enjoyable romantic comedy/adventure _six_days , _seven_nights_ , the lovable scoundrel is back , giving audiences a fresh reminder of why ford is one of the most enduring and popular modern screen icons . +ford plays quinn harris , a carefree and slightly slobby ( endearingly so ) pilot in the tropics whose broken-down plane crashes in a storm , stranding him and his charter , new york magazine editor robin monroe ( anne heche ) , on a deserted island . +of course , the sophisticated robin and the salt-of-the-earth quinn are at odds long before the plane goes down , and all manner of hostile repartee is exchanged between the two from their first meeting . +while some of the lines fall flat , the formulaic motions work because of the unexpectedly electric chemistry between ford and heche . +both actors , who have largely done serious works as of late , seem liberated by the lack of dramatic weight on their shoulders , and they deliver their zingers , as weak as they sometimes are , with beguiling abandon . +naturally , there's nothing like a life-threatening crisis to bring two people together , and quinn and robin's warmup to each other is sped up even further by the arrival of some bloodthirsty pirates . +granted , some conflict needed to be introduced on the island , but this tacked-on development from writer michael browning is a bit too obviously thrown in for the purpose of adding gratuitous action scenes . +but the point is to get the two together , and their newfound affection causes complications for both , but mostly robin , who came to the islands on a vacation with her fiance frank ( david schwimmer ) , who frantically awaits her return on the home island . +reitman , and old , reliable hand at breezy comedies , keeps the pace brisk and capably handles the more action-oriented sequences . +his big accomplishment , however , is bringing the old , smiling ford back . +as appealing and charismatic as he always is , ford hasn't been quite this charming and affable in years ; he's obviously having a blast , and the audience cannot help but have one along with him . +holding her own is heche , whose scrappy character never becomes the screaming ninny she initially promises to be ( as the plane goes down , she frantically pops stress pills ) . +she can take her lumps , physical and otherwise , just as well as quinn , making her a formidable foil and ideal match . +formulaic and light as a feather , _six_days , _seven_nights_ could be cited as a classic example of the summer " popcorn " movie season's lack of substance . +it's certainly fluff , but it's unpretentious , undemanding , and--most importantly--fun fluff that goes down as easily as a frothy pina colada on a balmy tropical beach . +pass the popcorn . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv151_15771.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv151_15771.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e96a51c98e2993415d9abf7205177193c80aa9ff --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv151_15771.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +near the end of 1996 , analysts remarked that the year would be the last in which disney would stand alone as the animation king . +the following year , 1997 , saw the first sleeper entry into the genre from a studio other than the magic kingdom : twentieth century fox gave baronial russia to the masses in the form of anastasia . +at best , that's all it was -- a sleeper hit , designed to surprise but not shake the industry . +in 1998 , however , things have been decidedly different . +there have been a number of pushes on disney's death grip on the market , and fifty-one weeks into '98 , a new champion has emerged . +dreamworks' the prince of egypt succeeds where all of the other conventionally animated products have failed . +the other two contenders , warner brothers' quest for camelot and disney's own annual entry , mulan , lacked inspiration and drive respectively . +although camelot was borderline-abysmal , and can't really be considered a shot at the title , mulan had the makings of winner . +unfortunately , it was saturated with traditional , disney-cute animation , and lost points against the rapidly-changing face of the competition . +in making the prince of egypt , dreamworks has strayed from all of these hallmarks and created a genuinely unique product . +the animation is flawless , and , aside from a bug's life , is the best-looking movie to date . +the animators have nimbly mixed both flat and spatial effects , and the 2d/3d combination is something that artists from disney and fox have heretofore struggled with . +the key to success , however , was that the visuals were used not just because they looked cool but also as a method of advancing the plot . +namely , some of the most important action sequences ( like the parting of the red sea ) were done almost entirely in 3d . +dreamworks is the first studio to prove that they've got the stuff of success , and that they're capable of challenging disney . +the story is also well-written , and the characters voiced with talent . +for the most part , the plot follows its source material -- the book of exodus -- although only in the most general sense . +the writers took a few creative liberties , and most do not damage the story in any way . +in fact , the shakespearean relationship between moses ( val kilmer ) and the pharaoh rameses ( ralph fiennes ) makes the story more interesting if anything . +moses , a hebrew , is saved from the slaughter of the firstborn sons by his mother when she sets him in a basket on the nile ; he floats into the pharaoh seti ( patrick stewart ) 's palace and is taken in by the royal family . +moses grows up but learns of his heritage and flees into the desert , where he discovers the burning bush and is commissioned by god to return to egypt and free the slaves . +by this time , rameses is now pharaoh , and the two brothers , now on opposite sides of the line , face off in a battle of wills and divine intervention . +the cast of voices is most impressive , and also includes such noteables as sandra bullock , jeff goldblum , danny glover , and steve martin . +the script does not have a lot of one-liners in it , and god is reduced to a voice that might well be mistaken for the same one that spoke to kevin costner in field of dreams , but overall the story is exciting and interesting . +it's decidedly for an older crowd , and the tykes who haven't had a few years of religion class will be hopelessly lost . +but for those who make the bid , the prince of egypt can be a great watch . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv153_10779.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv153_10779.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e4615d54ac68e2028bc4802101890bcd1410726b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv153_10779.txt @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +jack nicholson has a funny way of playing characters with very few redeeming qualities , but whom you end up liking anyway . +in as good as it gets , the character in question is melvin udall , a successful novelist with obsessive-compulsive disorder who seems bent on having as little contact with people around him as possible , except when he feels like being a royal pain in the you-know-where . +he's mean . +i mean really mean . +the opening scene shows him shoving a little dog down the trash chute of his manhattan condominium . +every day , melvin eats at the same cafe , sits at the same table , and gets served by the same waitress . +you can tell that this is his favorite place to be a vicious nuisance , when his waitress carol ( helen hunt ) tells him he can just go sit in another section , and all the other waitresses just cringe . +one day , melvin makes a comment that goes to far , and carol , genuinely hurt , comes down on him like a ton of bricks . +at that point we find that she is not only the only person who can put up with him as a matter of course , but is also the only person who can get to him , too . +another person who often crosses melvin's sights is simon ( greg kinnear ) , an artist who lives on melvin's floor . +aside from the fact that he lives near the terror of the city , simon has the added benefit of being gay , making him a prime target . +simon's friend frank ( cuba gooding , jr . ) , also gay , does not fare much better . +when simon walks in on a pair of men robbing his apartment , he is brutally beaten and sent to the hospital , and frank , who has grown tired of seeing his friend take the verbal abuse dished out by his neighbor , intimidates melvin into watching after simon's dog while he convalesces . +this is the same dog melvin had earlier shoved down the garbage . +an interesting thing happens when melvin takes this dog in : melvin gets to like the dog , and the two develop an attachment which is the catalyst to melvin's softening up to the world around him . +it doesn't happen overnight , but throughout the film , he bites his tongue here , cares a little there , and most miraculously , falls in love . +one of the best elements of this film is watching melvin try to express feelings which are not the usual negative ones he so often shares with others . +he's traveling terra incognita here , and it shows . +good performances are turned in by all principal players in this film , especially by nicholson and hunt . +they play well off of each other and have a genuine chemistry which makes it a pleasure to watch them on screen . +greg kinnear , who is becoming known for his supporting film roles , is also very good at playing the vulnerable simon . +he gives a short monologue about what it means for him to be an artist , and delivers it with such inspiration and conviction that you actually get to feel some of what he feels . +cuba gooding jr . performs with a hyped-up level of energy which contrasts nicely with that of kinnear , and comes through with a near constant comic performance . +the screenplay , by mark andrus and james l . brooks , is clever , touching , and funny . +the best part about it , however , is that it is filled with characters we care about because they are actually interesting . +melvin is a man we can't quite figure out , but whose mannerisms and quirky qualities capture our attention . +carol is a working woman living with her mother , trying to take care of a child with a debilitating respiratory problem . +simon is a man who is a success in his circle of peers , but who is still not accepted by much of society . +combined with the talent of the actors , these characters make the film . +the one noticeable area where the film is lacking , however , is the absence of cuba gooding , jr . through the second half . +his character makes an exit which is supposed to be temporary , but the film ends before his return , leaving his relationship with simon and melvin unresolved . +i would have liked to have seen more of his character in general , in addition to a part in the film's conclusion . +there's one actor , who will probably not be recognized by any awards , but who contributes greatly to many of the movie's best scenes and who deserves mention . +this is that little dog . +he plays such a pivotal role to melvin's character development , actually serves to forward the plot , and has some absolutely scene-stealing moments , that it is hard to believe he is simply an animal . +award or no , however , when even the dog puts in a good performance , you know you've got an outstanding movie . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv155_7308.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv155_7308.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8b758de7c2aca891b58c1fa618fd4147f922938b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv155_7308.txt @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ +the deer hunter , directed by michael cimino , is truly one of the greatest movies ever made . +a captivating drama about the lives of a group of friends from a small russian-american pennsylvania community , the deer hunter promises to be one of those movies that you will never forget . +in this academy award winner for best picture of 1978 , outstanding performances are turned in by all actors , and cimino's brilliant directing provides the perfect vision into the character's lives . +the first act of the film provides us with an inside look into the lives of a group of men from a small community who work and hang out together . +michael , portrayed perfectly by robert de niro , is shown early on as the natural leader of the group . +after a days work , the men leave their jobs at a factory to head down to the local bar , where john ( george dzundza ) works . +three of the men , michael , steven ( john savage ) , and nick ( christopher walken ) will be leaving shortly for vietnam , but not before steven gets married . +after the marriage , the group , including axel ( chuck aspegren ) , spend one last day on a hunting trip , one of their favorite past-times . +this sequence of events enables us to view the lifestyle of a normal group of men , who will be suddenly and permanently affected by the ravages and separations of war . +the wedding scenes , although criticized by many as being quite long , actually enhance even more the purpose of the first act . +the outstanding performances by de niro , walken , streep , savage , and cazale , who died very shortly after the filming of the movie was completed , really begin to shine through and promise not to halt in the near future . +the second act of the movie begins with the trio of men on the front lines in vietnam , stationed in a south vietnamese village being attacked by the viet cong . +the men are eventually captured and held in a floating prison on a river . +this prison , run by the v . c . , +initiates the horrifying scenes in the movie , where the prisoners are forced to play russian roulette against each other . +steven , who is emotionally marred by this turn of events , is secluded in a tiger cage with water up to his face when he refuses to participate . +michael shows his leadership again by convincing nick that the only way that steven will survive is if the two friends play against each other , and moreover , they must play with 3 bullets in the gun . +personally , i felt that de niro's absolutely gripping portrayal really was displayed in a brilliant way in these and the following scenes . +the men are eventually able to escape , but are separated . +michael is able to get steven , who ends up losing his legs , to medical care , while nick finds his way to saigon and a u . s . army hospital . +michael returns home and does not feel at all like a hero . +he wants to avoid the celebrations and recognition that his friends would like to bestow upon him . +he assumes that nick is still lost in vietnam . +the third act concentrates more on walken's character , who eventually stumbles upon a small gambling operation where the game is , again , russian roulette . +only in this game , you play for money . +michael has learned that nick is possibly still alive and returns to saigon to attempt to find him . +the two narrowly find each other at the russian roulette games , but do not link up until michael discovers nick participating in the games and tries to bring him home . +a very emotional , and , for many , a very disturbing movie , the deer hunter is a truly magnificent movie that should not be missed . +the greatest performances possible are turned in by all actors , and cimino's directing , which is considered to be at his all-time best in this film , is equally dazzling . +do not miss this film , it will captivate and astound you . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv156_10481.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv156_10481.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..9dd91a68ed6b6b19f6c0a8492e5b0fe87f74587b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv156_10481.txt @@ -0,0 +1,19 @@ +with storytelling this compelling , who needs books ? +based on the book by author james ellroy , l . a . confidential is probably one of the best piece of work produced by hollywood in recent years . +together with director curtis hanson ( the hand that rocks the cradle , the river wild ) whom ellroy corroborated closely throughout the shooting of the film , resulted in a movie with a plot and and script so tight , an atom would have to squeeze itself through . +set in the 50s , the story revolves around 3 policemen of vivid personalities . +jack vincennes ( spacey ) is the cop who is more concerned on busting with fame and stardom ala hollywood style , concentrating heavily on work which will attract him media attention . +there is also the young hot-shot rookie , ed exley ( pearce ) , fresh out of the academy and all-out to carve a name for himself in the footsteps of his legendary cop father . +the tough and unnerving bud white ( crowe ) , a cop who believes in justice , the swift and violent way . +3 policemen , distinct in their characters and paths but all of them working in a place where there is no real distinction between good and evil . +when his partner is murdered on the day of his resignation , bud sets out to find the people responsible but unwittingly delved himself into something more than just a simple robbery murder . +even after exley receives a promotion for his work on the murder case , happenings began to link itself to the murder . +the 3 eventually reach a point of convergence when what actually began as a personal investigation turns out to be an uncovering of a complex web of organised-crime in hollywood . +the last time i remember a film so clever and compelling was when i watched the usual suspects . +in l . a . confidential , you do not get the shock and cleverness as the former but it has a lot more of `story' going for it . +there is not a single moment in the film in which i felt was slow at all . +surprisingly , though spacey did a very convincing job as the street-wise vincennes , the movie was carried mostly by the two rather `unknowns' , pearce and crowe . +pearce's exley is cool and calculative in his actions and there is a slight hint of val kilmer in his appearance . +crowe's bud white is the most impressive of all ; head-strong and temperamental , he should obtain some sort of recognition for his work here . +superb acting . , wonderful storytelling and one of the best climaxing gunfights ever . +easily the best hollywood piece for 1997 . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv157_29372.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv157_29372.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6c4568ee1409fa924d453bf3b70f2bbe9ad02b91 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv157_29372.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14 @@ +synopsis : committed to an asylum , the marquis de sade ( rush ) continues to publish pornographic literature , aided by young maid madeleine ( winslet ) . +abbe coulmier ( phoenix ) , who runs the hospital , disapproves of the stories , but humours him in the hope of achieving a cure . +de sade's craft and life are threatened when the emperor dispatches dr royer-collard ( michael caine ) to stop the marquis' work , permanently . +review : " quills " is an exploration of the marquis de sade : his madness , his cruelty and his perversion , his obsession with sex in any form , no matter how obscene . +but " quills " also details the marquis' determination : to write in spite of the obstacles put in his path , and to propagate his words to the masses . +the extent to which de sade is willing to go to practise his trade is amongst the movie's most intriguing elements , as when de sade scribes a story in his own blood , or narrates a tale via of a chain of fellow inmates , cell to cell . +to provide a contrast with the marquis , wright involves him with two very different characters . +one is the abbe , a handsome , charming and kindly man whose desires are stymied by his oath to god . +the abbe lusts for madeleine , but it is the wizened marquis who is able to have her . +and then there is royer-collard , a hypocrite who in truth is as sadistic as any of the marquis' motley creations . +rush is splendid as de sade , utterly inhabiting the character . +kaufman's direction is fine , and he is able to bring a sense of bizarre humour to the grim proceedings . +the plot itself is rather mundane and plays out unsurprisingly , but this is virtually unimportant . +for two hours , " quills " acquaints us with the marquis de sade -- and , more frightening still , allows us brief insight into his scatological soul . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv158_10390.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv158_10390.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f4f166ade76e4c3754ef06af1f72c1a03007ff65 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv158_10390.txt @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +with more and more television shows having gay characters , and even the infamous " ellen " sitcom being centered on the life of a lesbian , the movie industry too seems to be gaining more and more homosexual based plot lines . +the birdcage was critically acclaimed , as was this years chasing amy . +then along came in & out , and all three of these films are on my top ten list for the years in which they were released . +it's also noticeable that this " alternative lifestyle " becomes less and less taboo as the years go by , and it seems that using comedy as a medium is proving a worthwhile effort . +while it's a very serious issue to many , it is the comedies that people are flocking to see and that are gaining notoriety . +but the way we're using comedy to present homosexuality is also changing quite dramatically . +while the gay community was once very stereotyped and used to laugh * at * , it is more and more becoming something we laugh * with * , and when a movie like in & out comes along , it is something that both heterosexuals and homosexuals should be able to thoroughly enjoy . +it doesn't poke fun at the lifestyle , it simply uses it to all it's comedic capacity , just as love , sex , marriage , birth , death , and anything else has been . +the idea for in & out was born the day tom hanks won his oscar for portraying an aids-afflicted gay man in philadelphia . +if you remember , during his acceptance speech , hanks gave a highly emotional tribute to the gay community , and even sighted a former gay teacher of his as a major inspiration in his life . +it's a serious and touchy subject , but producer scott rudin viewed it as the setting for a potentially hilarious comedy , and pitched it to screenwriter paul rudnick . +it's true that if this same film had been written by a heterosexual , it may have been more controversial , but because it was written by an openly gay writer , the prerogative was set . +kevin kline , who only seems to become more and more acclaimed , stars as howard brackett , a high school english teacher in the small , picturesque town of greenleaf , indiana . +after a three-year engagement to fellow teacher emily montgomery ( joan cusack ) , a wedding date has been set , and the hubbub surrounding it is almost as big as that surrounding another huge story - greenleaf high graduate cameron drake ( matt dillon ) is up for a best actor oscar . +the small town eagerly awaits both events , and both seem quite astronomical , but little does anyone know how much one will affect the other . +when cameron drake is announced the winner , the excitement is heightened as he pays tribute to his high school english teacher , mr . brackett . +everyone is cheering back in greenleaf - that is until cameron tacks on those three calamitous words , " and he's gay . " +the town becomes silent as the entire population joins in a simultaneous jaw drop . +the thing is , nobody , including howard , can understand how cameron came to that conclusion , and such wild and unexpected news can only wreak havoc in such a conservative american haven such as greenleaf . +naturally the questions pour from howard's fiancee , parents ( debbie reynolds & wilford brimley ) , students , and the high school's principal , tom halliwell ( bob newhart ) , and the evidence starts to become more and more obvious : howard is clean , neat , honest , sincere , a romantic , and perhaps the most incriminating fact , he loves barbara streisand . +the frenzy isn't helped any when camera crews from every conceivable news magazine and " entertainment tonight " wannabe show up at greenleaf high the very next morning . +one particular reporter is peter malloy ( tom selleck ) of " inside entertainment " , who unlike the collage of other reporters , wants to spend a whole week in the life of howard brackett , including coverage of his wedding . +the intrusion is all but welcome by howard , who is going more and more out of his mind with each passing minute . +it seems that no matter where he turns , a camera is being shoved in his face and questions regarding homosexuality are being tossed to him like frisbees . +the dominoes begin to tumble as howard's closest friends begin acting different and principal halliwell hints at a possible termination of employment should howard indeed be gay . +it all sounds very devastating , and it would be if it weren't presented with near-perfection by one of this year's most delightful ensemble casts . +kline seems only to improve with age , and he is downright perfect here . +the great thing about this film is that every single character has a moment to shine , and they use it wonderfully . +every single actor turns in one of their best performances ever . +dillon has never been so likeable , cusack has never seemed so perfect for a role , and brimley , reynolds , and newhart all provide huge laughs when they're up to bat . +rudnick's script is heavily laced with wit and humor , and you'll likely find yourself laughing out loud for a solid ninety minutes . +while in & out doesn't carry enough to give it four stars , it remains one of the best done films of the year , all-around . +the script is exuberant , the actors are absolutely top- notch , and we're allowed just the perfect blend of heart-tugging so as not to bog down the laughs . +it remains a solid comedy throughout its entirety , yet we're still allowed a sappily touching ending . +despite it's subject matter , and one scene that comes almost too close for comfort on explaining gay sex , this is a movie that everyone could , and should , enjoy . +frank oz , best known as a voice talent for muppets , directs this film quite delightfully , using all the potential rudnick's script has to offer , which turns out to be quite a bit . +check this one out . +you'll have a gay old time . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv159_29505.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv159_29505.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c7d48998fc5aaa9954544b778ae9229a6f3decfe --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv159_29505.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +with his last two films - shine and snow falling on cedars - australian director scott hicks has proven his cinematic flashbacks to be some of the best out there , and his latest , hearts in atlantis , is no different . +its structure - beginning and ending in present day with one long flashback in the middle - is similar to the green mile , which is a bit ironic considering both were based on stephen king books . +the parallels don't end there , either . +atlantis was adapted by william goldman , who had previously penned the big-screen version of misery and is in the process of working on the script for king's dreamcatcher . +even the film's content is a bit reminiscent of mile . +in fact , it's the perfect blend of the feel-good '60s nostalgia of stand by me ( also by king ) and mystical power hokum of mile . +king's atlantis is a book comprised of five related short stories , but the main focus here is on the first ( and longest ) tale , called low men in yellow coats ( the film's title comes from the second chapter ) . +it's set in 1960 harwich , connecticut , where 11-year-old bobby garfield ( anton yelchin ) lives in a boarding house run by his cold , self-centered mother elizabeth ( hope davis , joe gould's secret ) , who seems to care more about her wardrobe than her son . +bobby spends his time with his two closest friends , john sullivan ( will rothhaar ) and tomboy carol gerber ( mika boorem ) , who become something like the kevin , paul and winnie of harwich . +when a new tenant moves into the vacant room , the fatherless bobby finds a male role model in ted brautigan ( anthony hopkins , hannibal ) , a mysterious stranger who is vague enough about his past to make bobby's mom suspicious enough to at least momentarily turn her head away from the mirror . +ted teaches his young neighbor about the wonders of literature ( after his cheapskate mother gives him a library card for his birthday ) , dispenses prophetic words of wisdom and even pays bobby one dollar a week to read him the local newspaper and keep his eyes peeled for the low men , a group of people chasing ted to exploit his special powers . +i won't go into what these powers are , but they're considerably toned down from the book ( and don't involve black stuff flying out of ted's mouth , a la mile ) . +atlantis' present-day setting which bookends the film is based on the novel's final chapter , titled heavenly shades of night are falling , and features david morse ( in yet another connection to the green mile ) as a married , middle-aged bobby who learns of the death of both of his childhood friends and returns to the dilapidated boarding house in which he spent his formative years . +atlantis is nowhere near as flashy as hicks' cedars , which is disappointing but understandable considering the switch from the completely amazing robert richardson to the occasionally amazing piotr sobocinski , the oscar-nominated cinematographer behind krzysztof kieslowski's red . +the acting is solid from everyone , including hopkins , who never once makes you think of dr . lecter . +most impressive are youngsters yelchin and boorem , who both had tiny parts in along came a spider . +while i didn't really have much of a problem with goldman's screenplay , i do need to point out at least one inconsistency . +goldman , for those of you who don't read premiere , writes what seems like an annual criticism of everybody else's films , carefully explaining why they all suck , make no sense and insult their audiences , while somehow failing to mention the crap that he's penned ( like the general's daughter ) . +it's mean-spirited but fun to read , mostly on account of nobody else in hollywood having the balls to say anything remotely negative about anybody else in the business ( including michael jackson , o . j . +and robert blake ) . +in atlantis , which is supposed to be told through the eyes of young bobby , one would assume he would have to be in each scene in order to have the memory to which to flash back . +well , he's not , and it doesn't make sense . +1 : 41 - pg-13 for violence and thematic elements diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv160_10362.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv160_10362.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..df63c120907b9338d4cfb0e20972ff370526bc98 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv160_10362.txt @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ +corey yuen's latest film , " hero " is notable on two fronts . +first this is the film to bring back the shaw brothers studio back to the forefront of film production . +secondly , the film is the re-discovery of yuen biao . +the film opens around the end of the qin dynasty , when many immigrants were making their way to shanghai . +poverty and crime rule most of china . +a young man , ma wing jing and his brother enter the fabled city and become laborers at the pier . +tam see is the most powerful gangster in town , having control of the center of the city and having an alliance with the british army . +wing jing and see become friends during a confrontation . +their friendship grows as both men start to realize their dreams , wing jing's to be a powerful and wealthy man , and see to settle down with a woman he can truly love . +wing jing meets the singer at the club ( jessica hester ) and falls in love with her , not realizing that she is the star attraction . +after stealing her picture from a display , wing jing and his brother plot to impress her . +first they rob two foreigner's of their money and cloths , and set up a midnight rendezvous . +unfortunately , wing jing has run afoul of a rival gangster , yeung seung who has bribed the police in an effort to gain control of see's night club . +the two bothers are arrested and held until they manage to escape just before dawn . +jessica , having waited outside in the cold with her manager all night , gives up and returns home . +see decides to retire , he gives the night club to wing jing , as repayment for saving his life during an attempted murder . +see arranges the trade and ask his lover ( valerie chow ) to take care of wing jing . +unfortunately , she has sided with yeung seung . +the performances in the film are all top notch , with fine turns by takeshi kaneshiro as ma wing jing and jessica hester and valerie chow . +the comic turn by yuen wah , previously known as the mad vietnamese in samo hung's " eastern condors " , is a marvelous surprise . +his gift for comedy is marvelously understated and hilarious . +the stand-out is by yuen biao who returns to the screen after a string of disappointments , with a stellar performance . +his tam see is a triad boss who knows that his time is coming to an end but still has the cunning and craft to uphold his pride . +his gangster is almost non-violent , in that he only retaliates , never instigates violence . +but when the time comes to fight , yuen biao has never looked better . +corey yuen directs the film with a maturity and a sense of pacing that has been lacking in hong kong movies as of late . +the lighting , cinematography and staging of the film are beautiful to watch . +the action scenes do not disappoint either . +this is the most aggressive and inventive martial art choreography i've seen in some time , actually surpassing jackie chan's work in both 'rumble in the bronx' and 'first strike' . +the special effects team deserves praise for a fantastic job of making the impossible look possible . +an early fight between takeshi kaneshiro and yuen biao on the back of a horse is to be seen to be believed . +also noteworthy is the score for the film , done in a marvelously lush orchestral style , not representative of most hong kong fare . +i would dare to say it ranks as high as the scores for both " titanic " and " rosewood " as best of the year . +all in all , " hero " marks a grand return to filmmaking for shaw brothers . +this is the film that gives us faith that hong kong cinema is alive and flourishing . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv161_11425.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv161_11425.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8ea113eea44bc515060ba6058717c8fd317de359 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv161_11425.txt @@ -0,0 +1,15 @@ +synopsis : in this cultural exploration , a chinese american computer engineer named fang ( peter wang ) decides to take a month-long vacation to visit his sister mrs . chao ( shen guanglan ) , her husband mr . chao ( hy xiaoguang ) , and their teenage daughter lili ( li qinqin ) in beijing after 30 years of separation . +fang brings his asian american wife grace ( sharon iwai ) and his college-aged son paul ( kelvin han yee ) along , both of whom don't speak chinese . +the encounter between the two families allows the audience to compare the eastern and western cultures as well as the ambitions of individual characters . +opinion : sometimes a film is plot driven . +sometimes it's a character sketch . +a great wall ( 1986 ) can be called a culture sketch , as opposed to a character sketch because it gently compares a chinese american family to a beijing family . +fang's family is thoroughly americanized . +fang is an upper middle class professional who enjoys jogging and argues with his boss . +his wife can't cook chinese . +his son has a white girlfriend and complains of racism when fang encourages him to befriend an asian girl . +meanwhile fang's beijing sister advocates absolute loyalty to the 'work unit . ' +her husband is a retired official who has heard rumors of american depravity ( homosexuals running the streets ) , and her daughter lili longs for american freedoms in a youth culture where studying for college entrance exams is the most important thing in life . +the two families spend a month slowly learning about each other . +there is no ultimate 'answer' or final comprehensive understanding after the month-long vacation . +the film is neither here nor there ; it's a neutral , meandering , gentle , portrait of life on both sides . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv164_22447.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv164_22447.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b53b2547914605b8fcf9e56c9d72684a730d79d6 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv164_22447.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +this christmas , little ralphie parker ( peter billingsley ) wants nothing more than a red ryder bb gun under the tree . +although cautioned by many that he will ? shoot his eye out' , ralphie remains optimistic , conjuring up a detailed scheme to get on the good side of his parents and teachers . +it could be possible that no one has ever wanted anything with more passion than ralphie wants this bb gun , and the story of his eternal struggle is a charming one . +`a christmas story' is a favorite among many during the holiday season , and boy , it is certainly easy to see why . +ralphie's endless desire for the bb gun may transport you back to your childhood , when you were craving a certain gift for christmas and the anxiety was almost indescribable . +evoking pleasant childhood memories is only one of the many things `a christmas story' does so well . +here are a few features that make this film such a charming little package for everybody during the holiday season : +1 ) period detail . +this film is based on the memoirs of late humorist jean shepard , who shares his experiences as a young boy living in the 1940's with loving detail . +shepard narrates from a first person point-of-view , divulging his various adventures one snowy december , in which visions of taking aim with his new bb gun replaced that of sugarplums dancing in his head . +shepard's first-hand commentary of several situations is not only downright hilarious , but also witty and warm , with various metaphorical meanings that ring perfectly with the essence of comic timing . +on top of that , young billingsley's stupefied reactions to each predicament is absolutely perfect in contrast with the narration . +director bob clark captures the look and feel of the era with wonderful technicality . +i can hardly imagine a more accurate depiction of what christmas for young ralphie must have been like . +2 ) mom and dad . +both melinda dillon ( as mom ) and darren mcgavin ( as ? the old man' ) are perfect in their roles . +it's hard to fathom a more agreeable pair for the requirements of a story like this one , with each possessing at least one memorable trait that instantly separates them from the wooden caricatures that could have been featured . +for instance , he is a bloodthirsty turkey hound , and she is forgiving and understanding when it comes to some serious issues . +in portraying the writer as a persistent but mild-mannered young lad , peter billingsley has struck quite the chord . +his performance is richly textured , making all of the humorous situations he stumbles into radiate with flavor and enjoyment . +which brings us to . . . . +3 ) the comic situations . +there are plenty of memorable moments in `a christmas story' . +moments that undoubtedly will improve in comic potency upon each new viewing , with so much more to explore and to cherish . +i am particularly partial of the ? f-word scene' , in which ralphie blurts out the shocking four-letter obscenity while helping the old man in the yard . +again , shepard's method of handling this amusing scenario is nothing short of comic wizardry . +the numerous sequences that stick in one's mind include , of course , the famous department store santa scene - in which billingsley has some problems in telling old saint nick what he wants under the tree . +i could go on , but i'll finish on this note : `a christmas story' is a standout among holiday movies , because it captures so much in a meager 90 minutes . +not only is it funny , it's often genuinely hilarious . . . . not to mention warm , fluffy and touching in all the appropriate places . +i plan on making `a christmas story' a christmas tradition . +why don't you ? diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv166_11052.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv166_11052.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..576e9ebe1b7dc350190d32807b1575df83f64fc3 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv166_11052.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +contact is the 1997 movie i've seen the most - five times to be exact . +four of those times were on the big screen , but even on a tv , it's a very impressive film . +the same can't be said for films like independance day , but that's because contact is a rare example in sci-fi filmmaking where the story is treated more importantly than the special effects , and all of us know looking back that id4 didn't offer much outside of some one-time delightful eye candy . +contact's wonderfully presented story deals with ellie arroway ( jodie foster ) , a radio astronomer whose preference of study involves the outdated technique of " merely listening " to sounds out in space . +her interest in the field of astronomy developed at a very young age , encouraged by her loving father , ted ( david morse ) , who let ellie use a small ham radio to pick up on frequencies and communicate with people as far away as pensacola , fl ( that was , of course , before the days of internet chat rooms ) . +while everyone else uses modern technologies to aid them in the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence ( of which the program seti is an acronym for ) , ellie prefers to pop on a pair of headphones and see what she can pick up on , keeping the youthful magic and intrigue strongly alive . +ellie's strong scientific basis essentially makes her an atheist , a belief likely influenced by the death of her father while she was still quite young . +in puerto rico , she meets palmer joss ( matthew mcconaughey ) , a writer examining the effects of technology on the world's overall happiness ; a one- time seminary student who describes himself as " a man of the cloth , without the cloth " . +despite the vast differences in opinion regarding a " supreme being " , ellie and palmer hit it off , and even take the time to sleep together . +it's a weak and hurried relationship , but director zemeckis needs it to add to the plot later on . +meanwhile , dr . david drumlin ( tom skerritt ) , who has authority over seti but finds the program a frivolous waste of time and money , is ready to pull the plug on any and all seti funding . +this leaves the passionate ellie searching for new sponsors , eventually finding a setup in new mexico and leaving palmer with no explanation , and only a one night stand to remember . +it is in this nm city where , several months later , ellie finally picks up on a strong signal from outer space , perhaps the most profound discovery in the history of science . +when the signal is closely examined , many new developments spring up , and before long , drumlin is stepping in to take over the operation he once scoffed at . +eventually , it is concluded that information in the signal may be blueprints for a transportation device used to teleport an earthling to vega ( where the signal seems to have originated ) . +the media swarms , fanatics go further off the deep end , scientists clamor for new information , politicians huddle in discussion of appropriate actions to take , and presidents are morphed into a celluloid reality ( remember when zemeckis couldn't get enough of this in forrest gump ? ) . +as if that weren't enough , ellie's discovery leads her to the nation's capital where she again runs into palmer . +contact is based on the novel by carl sagan and deals heavily with the subject of science vs . religion . +the impressive thing is how well both aspects are presented , with no signs of bias . +arguments for both sides are intelligent , solid , and thought-provoking . +when palmer joins a selection committee to choose an ambassador to vega ( of which ellie is a leading candidate ) , personal convictions play a more important role than love interests . +the question is , can a person who doesn't believe in god truly be the best representative of earth when 90% of the planet * does * believe in a higher power ? +even when the film wraps up , it's uncertain whether it's meant to play as an advocate for religion , science , both , or even neither , and in our modern day society where " right and wrong " is only opinion ( at least speaking " politically correctly " ) , the ambiguity is an incentive . +don't get me wrong . +as much as it sounds like it , contact isn't merely a theology class rolled into a reel of film . +it's a * highly * enjoyable two and a half hours . +despite its seemingly heavy issues , it's not a tedious undertaking to watch this film . +the special effects are outstanding , though ( warning ! ) +highly depreciated on the small screen . +even so , some of the subtle visual effects ( that will likely go unnoticed by many ) are even more impressive than ones more recognizable as " sci-fi " . +the storytelling is rich and complete , and although there are moments in the film that feel quite pretentious ( and at times , even hokey ) , it's easily one of the best 1997 films , and one of the best sci-fi films i've ever seen . +this is zemeckis' best since back to the future , and for those of us who actually know that forrest gump was astronomically overrated , zemeckis now has real reason to boast . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv167_16376.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv167_16376.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..26b68dc1cdb17eaae43c6791262ff8e9753278cf --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv167_16376.txt @@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ +roberto benigni is a clown in the tradition of chaplin and keaton . +this italian film star , best known in the united states for the poorly received son of the pink panther , has done the near impossible by creating a comic fable about the holocaust . +but benigni's life is beautiful ( la vita e bella ) is not so much a story of the holocaust as it uses that monstrous outrage against humanity as a backdrop to tell a story of familial love , devotion and sacrifice . +the movie starts out as a typical slapstick farce with benigni's guido arriving in the small tuscan town of arezzo in 1938 to fulfill his dream of owning a bookstore . +like many of the slapstick clowns who preceded him , most notably the almost-forgotten harry langdon , benigni's guido has a childlike innocence . +he ignores the growing anti-semitism of the fascist government . +instead , guido ardently falls in love and persues dora , a local school teacher who already is engaged to a local fascist official . +in benigni's tightly wound script this is the same fascist official with whom guido had an earlier unfortunate - yet slapstick - encounter . +guido wins dora . +they marry . +fast forward about five years . +guido , dora , and their 5-year-old son , giosue ? ( giorgio cantarini ) are a happy family . +guido has finally fulfilled his dream of opening a bookstore . +but racial and anti-semitic tensions are on the rise in italy , and guido has determined to do his best to shield his son from these harsh realities . +the task becomes even the more difficult when the family is deported to a concentration camp . +here , guido must use all his skill and imagination not only to shield his son , but to keep him from being exterminated . +it is at this juncture in life is beautiful may tend to offend those whom the holocaust has touched . +for the scenes in the concentration camp lack the horror , the pain , the unimaginable suffering of a schindler's list . +true , many italian jews were not deported until the war was nearly over , and most were not sent to the death camps , but to work camps where they were used as slave labor . +unlike steven spielberg , benigni is not out to tell the story of the holocaust . +his story is about family and the lengths a parent will go to protect a child . +for guido , to save his son , transforms the entire experience into an elaborate game . +giosue ? must follow the rules without question to amass 1 , 000 points . +the winner takes home a tank . +therefore , guido tells him , he must remain hidden in the barracks . +he cannot make a sound nor allow the guards to see him . +guido explains this during a hilarious sequence when a german guard barks the camp instructions to the newly arrived inmates . +guido , lying that he understands german and can translate for his fellow prisoners , instead lays down the rules for his son to allow him a chance to survive . +throughout their imprisonment , guido's quick thinking continually keeps his son from harm's way . +ultimately , the allies rescue the camp . +in a poignant scene , giosue ? comes out of hiding just as an american tank rolls into the compound . +the boy goes wide-eyed with wonderment and delight , thinking he has won the game . +the price for his victory is most high . +benigni has succeeded in using the blackest moment in human history to prove that even in hell , a ray of hope and salvation can penetrate the darkness . +life is beautiful is a fantasy , a fable . +it is not to be taken as a record of the holocaust . +those who object to it are missing its point . +and that is simply where there is hope , where there is life and where there is love , the spark of humanity will never be extinguished . +committed to lifelong learning through effective communication diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv168_7050.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv168_7050.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..02b4bf3e7e3062b2b32d6af6a70df9f63f00cd82 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv168_7050.txt @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +larry flynt is a self proclaimed smut pedlar and the owner/publisher of the multi-million dollar hustler publications company . +the people vs . larry flynt is the story of larry flynt's fight for the freedom to circulate and sell his pornographic magazine , hustler . +based on a true story , the film is almost a documentary in that it's a very vivid and detailed look at larry flynt's life . +woody harrelson gives an excellent performance . +he conveys flynt's peculiarities and his character with depth and focus . +by the end of the film the audience actually finds themselves , somewhat grudgingly , liking larry flynt . +this is some feat given flynt's apparent lack of any morals or ethics and his extremely smutty and childish behaviour in court . +however , flynt has a number of things going for him , he's rich , he's funny , and most importantly , he says exactly what he means . +larry flynt's wife , althea leasure is played by courtney love . +larry meets althea at one of his clubs , and they fall in love ( a very sexual and open love ) . +both of them indulge in a world of too much sex , and eventually too much drugs . +flynt had been taking an excessive amount of pain killers after being paralysed from the waist down ( which was especially upsetting for him ) by an assassin . +althea had joined him in taking the drugs . +following an operation flynt decides to stop taking drugs , althea does not have any such plans , nor the determination to follow them . +as the film progresses we see her become increasingly frail and sick . +courtney love obviously has a great understanding for althea's situation , as she is brilliant in portraying althea in every respect . +it's extremely sad to watch althea literally wither away . +edward norton plays flynt's lawyer , alan isaacman . +again , this is a solid performance . +the audience finds it easy to sympathise with isaacman who somehow puts up with flynt's courtroom antics . +flynt is not only childish in the courtroom , but downright rude to the judges , and lands himself in a lot of trouble ( and even in a mental institution ) because of it . +isaacman is very easy to like , and great at proving ( in quite clever ways ) his points to the court . +milos forman has done a great job in directing the people vs . larry flynt . +it is not really an exciting or thrilling film , but instead a highly interesting portrayal of a true story . +due to larry's character it is also , at times , a very funny film . +however , it is much more than that . +it is about the fight for freedom of speech , anti-censorship , and the right to be able choose for oneself what to see and buy . +an excellent look at flynt , his life , and his story . +keep a look out for the real larry flynt who makes a cameo as judge morrissey . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv169_23778.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv169_23778.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..29f2d7ea24543ed9816ded6b72a79b1e1c6ebf01 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv169_23778.txt @@ -0,0 +1,53 @@ +virtual reality is a topic that has almost defined its own genre . +since 'dark city' ( 1998 ) , films about alternative universes and parallel worlds have been coming one after another . +the most popular and original of them all has been the matrix . +all the films released after it , have been less successful . +david cronenberg's existenz , released only a couple of months after the matrix , was accepted and even appreciated ( by some ) , but the hype was gone . +and when 'the thirteenth floor' aired this fall , it was completely overseen and ignored . +i admit that this issue has become something between tiring and annoying , feeling like eating the same meal over and over again . +it was therefore i was less than excited , when i went out to see to 'the thirteenth floor' . +however , i was positively surprised by josef rusnak's latest picture . +matrix was an entertaining thrill ride through dreams and reality , combining the best of hollywood's action and effects with an intelligent story . +existenz was a violent , gory and unsettling journey through reality and virtual reality , ending in blood and madness . +'the thirteenth floor' is somewhere in between . +instead of going after the crowds - the action audience ( like the matrix ) , or aiming at the horror fans ( like existenz ) , 'the thirteenth floor' presents a more intelligent plot , witch will provide a less entertaining and more serious experience , that the true science fiction lovers will find rewarding . +in a near future . . . on +the thirteenth floor of a classified building , a genius scientist , hannon fuller , has created a simulated world , his personal dreamworld , where every inhabitant is a complex , selflearning program that only believes it is real . +right after the first testing of this world , fuller ( ) is found murdered . +douglas hall ( ) , his closest friend and business partner , immediately becomes the prime suspect and must enter through the thirteenth floor in search of the truth . +a beautiful woman ( gretchen mol ) who suddenly appears on the scene may hold the key to the mystery , which might unravel the horrifying truth about his own existence . +the first " download into simulation " is impressive . +it is the creator's first visit to his world , his creation . +in order to enter this virtual universe , you have to take over someone's identity , become another person . +this is called conciseness transfer , and this is part of the tragedy in the film : people " wake up " in unknown places and strange things start happen . +they start to doubt in their own sanity . +these innocent people pay for the mistakes of their " users " and creators with their sanity and their lives . +it is a frightening reality ; the fact that all the people in the simulation ( the program links ) are living out their lives , oblivious , not knowing that they are puppets in someone's fantasy . +with an appealing ( " blade runner " - type ) of detective story , this film presents the beauty and possibilities of virtual reality and the lurking danger that is always present . +our modern world is metal and glass -- cold , unfriendly , impersonal . +the thirties are different -- colorful , beautiful , elegant , virile . +this contrast demonstrates a wish for change . +virtual reality is here portrayed as a magical , enchanting power that seduces you into its endless possibilities . +to some it is just a journey to their personal paradise , to some a personal playground -- a life without any consequences . +for others - a way to start over and " correct " their mistakes , by living in an illusion of their past . +virtual reality is a wizard that transforms your hopes , dreams and fantasies to life . +at least that's how it is all beginning . +but when you're waking up from your dream , the real world seems worthless and unreal and all you can think off is returning to your personal paradise . +this , almost narcotic effect , soon turns into confusion and ultimately madness . +some important and interesting philosophical questions are raised -- what is real ? +what is thought ? +who are we ? +if these were answered , this film would be the greatest science fiction ever made . +they are off course not answered , but posed in an intelligent manner . +the visual aspect of the film is one of the key elements , since it portrays the contrast between these computer-simulated universes . +kirk m . petrucelli has done a marvelous job with the recreation of the thirties with its glamour , grace and color ; and setting this world in opposition to our own -- an almost caricatured recreation of the nineties . +there are some honest and decent performances by an almost unknown cast and harald klose's moody musical score that is at in right place at the right time . +a rather unusual thing about'the thirteenth floor' is the almost complete lack of special effects . +there are no cgi animated creatures , no bullets in slow motion . +this is a more philosophical approach , reminding about the european way of filmmaking . +this is off course a major disappointment to the audience that is used to endless gunfights and mutated amphibians , but the more serious science fiction buffs and 'dark city'-fans will be pleased . +this film is interesting and inspiring . +it has everything existenz doesn't , but it lacks the immediacy and intensity of the matrix . +and then there is a happy end which , like in 'dark city' , completely alienates it from the rest of the story and context . +the plot itself is not as original as the filmmakers want us to think , since they have virtually sucked out all information from the best science fiction classics , including blade runner and 'dark city' . +with this in mind , 'the thirteenth floor' doesn't make an oscar candidate or a film that will be remembered a year from now , yet this is a beautiful , elegant and intelligent take on virtual reality . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv170_3006.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv170_3006.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..046a7c41799b7bd9314708c162864c5bb797bd54 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv170_3006.txt @@ -0,0 +1,19 @@ +i don't know what movie the critics saw , but it wasn't this one . +the popular consensus among newspaper critics was that this movie is unfunny and dreadfully boring . +in my personal opinion , they couldn't be more wrong . +if you were expecting airplane ! -like +laughs and agatha christie-intense mystery , then yes , this movie would be a disappointment . +however , if you're just looking for an enjoyable movie and a good time , this is one to see . +honest , it is . +this story is about a 4th network , wbn , taking to america's airwaves in 1939 . +penny henderson ( mary stuart masterson ) , the station owner's secretary , must deal with her overbearing boss , an unimpressed sponsor and writers ready to quite on a moment's notice , partly due to the fact that they haven't been paid in weeks . +among the mayhem , she must also deal with her soon-to-be ex-husband , roger ( brian benben ) who desperately wants her back . +unfortunately , her problems only get worse as the night goes on and the body count rises without explanation . +while trying to woo penny back , roger must deal with the police and try to find the killer that lurks at wbn . +mary stuart masterson does well in her role as penny ( i'm trying to be unbiased so i won't tell you how amazing she looked ) , although brian benben gets most of the screen time . +along with the two leads , are several recognizable faces , including corbin bernsen ( l . a . +law ) , michael mckean ( laverne & shirley ) and bobcat goldthwait . +the special effects are amazing , and fooled me ( which some may argue isn't very difficult to do ) in many scenes . +although the movie sometimes goes overboard with the physical comedy , it more than makes up for those mistakes throughout the movie . +overall , i gave it , or an , depending on what system you use . +some comments collected from friends : diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv171_13537.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv171_13537.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..04f4fa6e01862424fa4d16aa85373f8ba206f807 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv171_13537.txt @@ -0,0 +1,46 @@ +it was with great trepidation that i approached +mary+ , the farrelly brothers+ latest film . +i knew the film would be funny--the trailer alone had me laugh harder than the actual comedy i went to see . +but i also knew the film would be an equal-opportunity offender , attacking the sensibilities of the politically correct with reckless abandon . +i figured the film would be raunchy , maybe another lucky escapee from nc-17 hell . +i may laugh , but would i feel better in the morning ? +i needn+t have worried . ++mary+ is the sweetest , warmest , all-out laugh-and-grossfest this side of _animal house_ . +surprisingly , the farrelly brothers have walked that very tight line of making a touching romantic comedy on the side , and filling the details with five or six outrageous howlers . +they make laughter , the toughest job for a filmmaker to do , look easy . +the plot is typical . +thirteen years ago , geeky ted ( ben stiller ) lucked out in having dazzling mary ( cameron diaz ) go with him to the senior prom . +as luck would have it , on that very day , he was hospitalized . +why , i shall not tell , but i assure you , it isn+t pretty . +he hires a private investigator to find her : pat healy ( matt dillon ) . +he becomes one of the great comic villains . +upon finding her , he too is lovestruck , and so pursues her , lying about his occupation and getting his teeth capped . +it is only a matter of time before ted finds out that he had been double-crossed , and goes to get her for himself . +would the geek get the girl ? +puh-lease . +the ending is pure hollywood ; no surprises there . +but the absolute joy in this film is how this simple premise allows for humor in zippers , hair gel , the mentally disabled , the physically handicapped , interracial marriages , homosexuals , skin conditions , serial killers , tanning , and drugged-up dogs . +the dog on speed sequence alone is worth the price of admission , and belongs in the film comedy hall of fame . +and yet , for all the targets that are hit , the film maintains its sweet tone . +mary , playing the straight role , is as sweet and caring as she is beautiful . +she is totally devoted to caring for her mentally handicapped brother , warren ( w . +earl brown--miles away from the cameraman in _scream_ ) . +mary+s sunniness carries the film here--it compliments the below-belt gags that come at you . +cameron diaz makes her totally charming , and the audience respects her , even though women in general do not usually undress before an open window . +ben stiller also fares very well , totally changing his image from his _reality bites_ and _flirting with disaster_ straight men to being a , ( how to say it ? ) , a complete loser . +braces , greasy long hair , not too bright , and very very funny . +dillon is exceptionally creepy , especially with his capped teeth . +and rounding out the cast is ted+s friend dom ( chris elliot ) , tanning addict magda ( lin shaye ) , modern troubador/greek chorus ron lichman , and mary+s sweet mom , markie post ( where has she been ? ! ) . +not everything works . +chris elliot+s role , skin blemishes and all , becomes merely tasteless and boring . +there+s lousy dialogue about eight-minute vs . seven minute exercise tapes . +and there are long stretches without much going on . +but the wait is worth it . +when those extraordinary sequences hit , the entire theater erupted with howls , tears . +belly-aches , that in some sequences carried over to the following scene . +the farrelly brothers have finally done it . +yes , there are some raunchy bits , but when it is all over , it+s not nearly as bad as it could have been . +while tasteless , it didn+t cross any lines , at least not with me . +while raunchy , it wasn+t nearly as bad as _porky+s_ or _boogie nights_ . +and it is sweet enough to be considered a date flick . +after the funny but sour _kingpin_ left a negative aftertaste in my palate , comes the funniest sex farce since _a fish called wanda_ . +approach this with an open mind , and you will reap the benefits hugely . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv172_11131.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv172_11131.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1178eaeb20c17172835ddc7f030ef6c4c97c9bf9 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv172_11131.txt @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +a standoff . +a man holds a woman , a diplomat's daughter , hostage in his embrace , a gun pressed to her head . +a cop , impaired by drink due to his wife's philandering , trains his gun on the man's nether regions , threatening to shoot . +another cop holds his gun to his partner's temple , forcing him to disarm . +the scene unfolds like a foursome bidding in bridge--upping the ante , signaling tacitly , going for game . +the second cop retrieves the first cop's weapon , the suspect lowers his , and the woman caught in the middle moves--in slow motion--to safety . +it is then that the intoxicated officer makes his move , grabbing for the assailant's gun . +the room turns upside down , a shot rings out , a cop is down . +shot in the back and paralyzed for life . +the young man who found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time is sent to prison for six years for a crime he didn't commit . +storytelling has always been one of pedro almod ? var's greatest gifts and in " live flesh " he gives us a twisting , turning , compelling tale peppered with well-written , colorful characters . +characters who find themselves , more often than not , in carefully-constructed scenes like these . +characters played by actors we might not know , but who look strikingly familiar nevertheless . +take the ruggedly handsome victor plaza ( liberto rabal ) , for instance . +before he gets out of prison he could easily be mistaken for that almod ? var favorite , antonio banderas . +when we first meet elena ( francesca neri ) , the woman in the middle of the nervous shakedown , she looks like spice girl barbie with her frizzy shock of orange hair , but later tones down her look sufficiently to pass for juliette lewis . +elena's husband david ( javier bardem ) is the cop crippled in the shooting and he wears david schwimmer's bemused expression throughout . +playing the inebriated cop and his cheating wife are jos ? sancho and angela molina--no lookalikes spring to mind , but they round out the excellent cast . +it's a credit to almod ? var's craft that these five individuals cross paths and intertwine with such credulity . + " live flesh " begins and ends with a live birth and the film's contradictions come almost as often as the contractions . +between the two childbearings , coincidence , irony , and a hefty dollop of sex form the key elements of this thoroughly entertaining film . +although based on a ruth rendell story , " live flesh " is brimming with the acclaimed spanish director's high-heeled flourishes . +women are at times alluring and repulsive , their extravagant hairdos and animal print coats providing colorful highlights to the intricately-woven drama , an eye bruised by an abusive husband here , a mouth bloodied by an impromptu delivery there . +while in prison , victor learns bulgarian from an inmate and learns to love the bible , quoting from deuteronomy thereafter not unlike the way by which david and sancho refer to themselves as " guardians of a sick flock . " +victor's pre-fab inheritance is a shambles in a slum resembling sarajevo . + " dear son , i got cancer " his mother writes to him in jail . +she dies before he is released and it's at the cemetery that victor is reacquainted with elena--redemption , ultimately , substituting for revenge . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv173_4471.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv173_4471.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4c812f42f2640f48037adcfb470a0997e7e60b30 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv173_4471.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17 @@ +with stars like sigourney weaver ( " alien " trilogy ) and academy award winner holly hunter ( the piano , raising arizona , etc . ) together in a single hollywood production , one would immediately identify the film as a potential academy award hot shot . +sadly for copycat , though tightly scripted and nicely plot , is still at heart , a typical hollywood thriller . +helen ( weaver ) , after a traumatic near death encounter with a serial killer , darryl ( harry connick jr . ) , has developed a phobia for being outdoors , so to speak . +incidentally , helen is also an expert on the subject of serial killers , which make her a juicy target for serial killer wannabes . +a year has passed and strange deaths begin to terrorise the city of san francisco . +detective monahan ( hunter ) and getz ( mulroney ) , baffled by the unorthodox methods of killing used by the killer , seeks the professional help of helen , who , as expected was reluctant at first . +copycat " borrows " a lot from silence of the lambs and in most cases , it did work . +but copycat tries to be a little bit more by immersing the audience into the lives of its main characters to give them more believability , this was rather unnecessary as the scenes seem to disrupt the mood of the entire film and also . . . +much of the time wasted could've been used to build up the suspense and injected with drama . +even so , weaver and hunter act very well in their own departments . . . +weaver being the vulnerable yet strong-within character ( as in aliens ) and hunter being the short , tough , texan speaking cop ( as in raising arizona ) . +harry connick jr . , a very good jazz singer , shines as the imprisoned serial killer a la hannibal lecter . +which comes to the moment of judgement ( drum roll please . . . ) . +copycat is a good thriller . +although the plot is highly predictable and one can actually predict the rest of the movie after about 45 minutes into the show , copycat survives from the moments of anticipation where the audience are held on to their seats , in anticipation of the killers next immediate move . +this worked pretty well and will offer audiences a couple of unexpected jolts . +nice movie to bring your girlfriend to . . . . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv174_9659.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv174_9659.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d3c2066476f0c3faaec98e915353b9f4cc69f97e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv174_9659.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +no , it is not a bad film , in fact it is so good in achieving its purpose , i actually wished for the film to end itself quickly . +event horizon is not your run-of-the-mill sci-fi film , i'm sure many who have watched this will agree with me . +it is not even original in that sense , and it does borrow heavily from films like alien , hellraiser and even blade runner . +the magic of this film lies in its unorthodox setting and methodical build-up that makes it wonderfully horrifying . +the story brings us to the year 2050 , where space travel have since enormously progressed . +the event horizon is actually a ship built for a secret experimental purpose ; it has the ability to fold time and space thus making it possible for travelling distances not reachable in a man's lifetime . +the ship disappeared as soon as it went into operation but after 7 years , it reappeared again within the orbit of neptune . +a search and rescue team led by miller ( fishburne ) is given the task to check for survivors of the event horizon . +the designer of the ship , dr . weir ( neill ) follows along to satisfy his curiosity on what actually happened to his otherwise technologically impressive ship . +event horizon is a sci-fi horror film , much truer to the word than say , alien would ever be . +while in alien , the crew has to cope with a ferocious creature while encased within tight spaces , in event horizon , the forces which goes against the crew is undefined but yet so powerful and horrifying . +the story unfolds itself slowly and the suspense buildup is superb , up till the point where i really felt like saying out loud `enough ! +i can't stand this anymore ! ' . +there are more than enough jolts to send your adrenalin pumping overtime . +the story in itself is not exactly something very exciting and also , the acting is only at most , average by most commercial standards . +even so , the essence of horror is carried out very well in this film , thanks to its well-paced storytelling , disturbing set designs and some really gory sequences ( which incidentally , has been quite generously removed by our censorship board ) . +director paul anderson ( who did mortal kombat ) and his team of `atmosphere' creators have done well in keeping event horizon within the bounds of the term `horror' . +this picture did not do very well in the us box-office most probably for the dread-factor impact it has on most audiences ; people will not see it again and not many would recommend their friend to watch this . +although on the face of it , event horizon is mostly molded for mass-entertainment ; many thrills , spills and suspense to keep audiences in focus . +however , the offbeat horror element which it ultimately convey audiences is very disturbing . +my friend and i could not say a word to each other for quite a while after going through the `experience' of event horizon . +i guess it was just the immense feeling of dread which the film had cast upon us . +be forewarned , this film is not for the faint-hearted nor for pure entertainment . +be prepared to be disturbed if you should decide to watch this film ! +event horizon is highly recommended ? ? but at your own risk ! +it has been a long time since good-horror embraced the big screen , and event horizon is one . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv175_6964.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv175_6964.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..588dbdbec085a794fba8e39c8b126297cbb9015b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv175_6964.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18 @@ +capsule : earthy , experimental , difficult , shockingly frank ( even for 1997 ! ) , and ultimately refreshing story of a black man on the run from the cops . +the first few minutes of sweet sweetback's baad asssss song ( yes , i checked -- that's the correct number of ss ) are without dialogue , just eerie montages of sounds . +a young boy , obviously malnourished , is taken in and fed up by several loving mother-surrogate figures . +then one of them takes the boy to bed for a sexual initation ( underneath the title credits ) that's far more confrontatory and shocking than any ten basic instincts -- probably because it has the directness and clumsiness of real life , something we're not used to seeing on screen . +this is one tough movie to swallow , no matter who you are , but that probably reflects more on how pallid and unchallenging movies have gotten lately . + ( i suspect the sex scenes in movies like el topo and salo would probably melt the synapses of most modern audiences . ) +the plot is simple but not simpleminded . +sweetback , hassled by two white cops who are apparently just looking for an excuse to beat up on a black man , breaks his bonds and runs like hell . +along the way he moves through a good many of the kinds of environments that we are only just now being seen in a more serious light in the movies -- or at all , for that matter : the slums , the missions , the ghetto . +in other , lesser , movies , sweetback would be machine-gunning everything in sight and the end credits would roll over a pile of bodies ; in this one , we get taken on a kind of a tour of the depressing and anarchic world that sweetback takes for granted . +ssbas first appeared in 1971 and was promptly rated x ( " by an all-white jury " , as director melvin van peebles crowed in his legendary ad campaigns ) , and it's hardly surprising why . +there's a good deal of sex in the movie , but it's handled in a way that's unsettlingly frank -- a frankness that spills over into the rest of the movie . +in one scene , sweetback visits a friend's house in the hope of getting sanctuary there , and the other man chats him up while on the toilet . +we're not used to coming this close to people in real life , let alone in the movies -- especially not people who are not made out to be glamorous . +the movie is also full of experimental stylistics that are relatively unused today , but probably because of that seem curiously fresh and new in van peebles' hands . +one scene , in which a man is interrogated by the cops , is loaded full of menacing energy as they fire off a gun inches from his ears , and suggest his deafness through a cleverly edited soundtrack . +another note : ssbas is not so much anti-white ( that would be too easy ) as anti-authority , and as the movie goes on to demonstrate , authority exists in many forms -- governments , churches , and even the paranoid inside of one's own mind . +ssbas is ultimately about thirsting for freedom -- and it looks like we could use a little more of that in our movie diet , god knows . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv176_12857.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv176_12857.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..599e85d9810ae092906fb6aeb5b5dbfd11e565ee --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv176_12857.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +a fully loaded entertainment review - website coming in july ! +i didn't really expect very much when i rented stuart saves his family . +the movie bombed at the box office , and i had never really liked the saturday night live sketch on which the movie was based . +my real concern , though , was the general reputation of snl-related movies translating to the big screen with less-than-stellar results ( half-baked , anyone ? ) +i was surprised to discover a truly entertaining , often hilarious yet also touching little film . +it is an al franken production through-and-through , who not only created the title character but also wrote and starred in the picture . +for those of you who don't know , al franken plays a guy named stuart smalley , who has a really annoying show on a public-access station about increasing your self-esteem , etc . although not a licensed therapist , stuart smalley is , as the program proudly boasts , " a graduate of several 12-step programs . " +stuart is doing well enough with his tv show , but he keeps getting distracted by family troubles . +stuart's relatives are a mess : his dad and brother ( harris yulin and vincent d'onofrio , respectively ) are alcoholics , his sister is overweight and getting over another divorce , and his mom is in constant self-denial and solves all perceived problems by baking . +then , disaster strikes . +stuart accidentally insults the manager of the station and gets his show revoked . +he is forced to move back in with his family after he can no longer support himself , and there the comedy truly picks up . +franken wrote all of the characters not just as cliches or stereotypes , but as sharply-drawn , real people . +although smalley's dad has always imbibed too much , stuart can still recall times when his father seemed like an okay guy . +also , after an accident towards the end of the movie , both stuart and the audience learn that there is more to his mother than previously thought . +although filled with small , very funny scenes , stuart saves his family also has its share of dramatic moments , especially towards the conclusion . +for a lightweight comedy , it handles these scenes especially well , often better than many so-called " serious dramas " of today . +all the more amazing is that such a movie comes from a saturday night live sketch that is essentially a one-joke bit . +if you feel like renting a comedy , and you haven't seen this film , i definitely recommend you try this one out . +you'll laugh . . . you'll +cry . . . . it's +all there . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv178_12972.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv178_12972.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c68b9231bc7493d498e0e48bfa270a36c2ec90e5 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv178_12972.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +i don't know how many other people have had the idea cross their mind that their life could be an ongoing television show watched by another world of people , but it's something i used to wonder about when i was younger . +i can't decide if i first thought it because i watched a lot of tv or because my brother hit me in the head with a baseball bat , but i'm pretty sure andrew niccol , screenwriter for the truman show , has had the same curious thought . +the truman show is about a man ( jim carrey ) whose entire life has been engineered by a corporation and marketed to the public . +since birth , he's been living in the fictional island town of seahaven , fla . , which actually exists as a giant domed set just beyond the hollywood sign . +all the people in truman burbank's life are actors , and the anonymous townfolk paid extras . +people watch truman's life 24 hours a day , live , with no commercial interruptions . +revenue comes instead from product placement , a staple of contemporary hollywood , with truman's friends and relatives describing their consumer items in cheerful and optimistic tones . +the sun rises and sets on cue and everyone likes everyone else . +even if you haven't seen the truman show , you've probably learned most of the crucial details from the commercials , the trailer and other promotion blitzes . +if anything i've written so far is a surprise to you , then i pity you for making me a primary source for your entertainment news . +either way , you should probably know the premise of the truman show going into it , because otherwise you'll probably think it sucks . +it begins with jim carrey looking into a mirror , reciting the crucial " eat me " scene from alive , wishing his neighbors a good day , afternoon and evening , and living in domestic bliss with his wife ( laura linney ) . +but weird things start happening . +a stage light comes falling out of the sky , truman hears people tracking his movements on the radio and he swears he sees his dead father . +we learn through a flashback that his father drowned when truman was a child , sailing through a rainstorm . +the death was staged by director christof ( ed harris ) , who wanted to put a fear of water into truman to keep him from leaving the island . +similar cruel manipulations keep him from stumbling upon the truth , not the least of them truman's best friend marlon ( noah emmerich ) , who assures him he's not in on any conspiracy because the last thing he'd ever do is hurt him . +as truman's trusting eyes tear over , christof fades up emotional synthesizer music for a worldwide audience of people who apparently never watch anything else . +there's even a daily behind-the-scenes update from harry shearer that captures the highlights of truman's existence . +the key to a movie like this is in finding the right balance between humor and drama , because a premise like this has its obvious implications in both directions . +and it all hinges on carrey , who has to balance comic naivet with a real sense of longing and drive to find out what the hell is going on . +he's come a long way from talking butt cheeks in ace ventura . +most fundamentally , it's just plain interesting to follow along as director peter weir shows us just how they can capture a person's life without the person realizing it -- how they coordinate extras , hide cameras and feed automatic lines to actors . +the most interesting thing about the truman show is that most of us can probably imagine some ambitious director pitching a show like this . +sure , the most interesting tv genre of the '90s has been reality programming and jerry springer's popularity is through the roof , but those people deserve to be humiliated for turning their intimate details over to the airwaves . +and when news shows use hidden cameras , it's done in the name of the greater good , not entertainment . +but merge the two and you've got the truman show . +right now , it's implausible -- i mean , the fcc won't let you say the s-word on the air ; do you think they'd let you broadcast every detail of a man's life to the entire world without his consent ? +one day , though , it could happen . +and , even though it would mean the end of privacy , people would eat it up . +you know they would . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv179_9228.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv179_9228.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f60446bfa8fba924f8b859aa9638ff78da7eeb1a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv179_9228.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +no filmmaker deconstructs a story as well as atom egoyan . +i'm referring , specifically , to the narrative form . +in the sweet hereafter , egoyan tells his story in a similar framework to his exotica or the adjuster . +said story , of a fatal school bus accident in the small town of sam dent , british columbia , that shatters the morale of the locals , is told in a most unstraightforward manner . +when the film opens , the accident has already happened , and stephens ( the wonderful holm ) , a polite ambulance-chaser , has arrived with the promise of a lawsuit that will eek out the truth of what really occurred that fateful morning . +throughout , we get to meet the parents of the dead , broken souls who follow stephens like " the pied piper " ( passages of which are read during the film ) . +but there is one living passenger , the paralyzed nicole ( polley ) , whose dark secrets of a life before the accident may affect her decision to testify . +we finally do see the accident , about three quarters into the film , which is a stunning visual effect . +a horrific long take that shows the bus sliding , then stopping , then collapsing into a frozen lake , is the best digital trickery in any movie this year and , perhaps , ever , in a motion picture . +the fractured narrative also intercuts a preoccupied stephens on an airplane , traveling to meet his hiv-positive runaway daughter , as well as glimpses of the artificially happy lives these people led pre-accident . +i have a problem not with the story or story structure , but with egoyan's heavy- handedness behind the camera . +for the first hour or so , i can quite honestly say i was on the verge of tears ; these are miserable , miserable people . +but that's just the problem : so anguished are these folk that sympathy wanes after a while , when a lot of sadness becomes too much . +also , a subplot involving incest rings untrue . +perhaps it wouldn't feel so contrived if it weren't shot in such a tasteful manner . +there are two characters who are father and daughter ; when they first appeared i thought they were lovers . +i was half-right . +nevertheless it's worth-seeing . +the delightful critic geoff pevere recently wrote that " american films are about action , canadian films are about consequences , " hence a recent wave of films about the effects of shock and death from toronto directors , including crash and kissed . +the sweet hereafter is much better than either of these two films , simply because it's not boring or , in the case of kissed , afraid of its own material ( necrophilia ) . +egoyan is a fine , fine , postmodern storyteller , whose work is entertaining , edgy and smart , if a bit too intellectual at times . +though i harped on the weightiness of the material , i was always absorbed , engrossed , and surprised by the sweet hereafter . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv180_16113.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv180_16113.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6047b8ec8f34320b1cdbd79578b8cd157b4de35c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv180_16113.txt @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +i know what i would do with $4 . 4 million if i found it in a previously undiscovered airplane crash site , especially if i were with jacob and lou . + ( huh ? ) +well , in any event , that is the situation hank ( paxton ) finds himself in . +he and his dim-witted brother jacob ( thorton ) and tubby friend lou ( brent briscoe ) come upon a large bag of cash inside a plane wreck . +against his better judgement , hank decides to go along with the idea of keeping it rather than going to the authorities . +the rest of the film is a question of who is going to die to keep this a secret , and is it worth it ? +a simple wish lies along the lines of very bad things , clay pigeons and even fargo , and is kind of wrapped all into one little dark bundle . +oh , and its much better than any of those . +sam raimi took a departure from his normal freak-show horror-monkey films and made this stylish and intriguing picture . +he really lets the audience sit back and watch the events unfold rather than force them down our throats as many directors prefer to do . +i think raimi knew he had a winner on his hands and decided to direct the picture on a natural flowing course . +one of the film's components can be linked to a recurring theme in terrence malick's the thin red line . +in malick's three hour bore-a-thon , he makes an interesting attempt to link mother earth to his war story . +it seemed nothing more than an occasional pretty cut to a field of flowing grass , a small bird , or a flowing body of water . +sure , there were obvious metaphorical connections , but there was no subtlty to his efforts . +raimi does a fine job of tying in a fox in a chicken coop and birds of prey to signify the future of the characters . +i think most viewers may miss the comparison , but it is a very intriguing ingredient in the film . +and then there's billy bob thorton , who is proof that the independent film industry is vital to the life blood of hollywood . +if it can continute to produce people like thorton , hollywood will be ok . +he gives a fantastic and devastatingly deep performance here . +it is not as engrossing as his carl childers character in slingblade , but is is just as complex , if not more so . +jacob is slow and simple , and yet we so often see him deep in thought . +i wondered if he was thinking about things that he would never say ( or didn't know how to say ) or if he was just taking a long time to think about the thing he just said . +here he really proves his worth as one of the best character actors in the industry . +though the plot is somewhat unoriginal , it has a very appealing new twist in its characters . +paxton gives one of the better performances of his career as the straight and serious leader of the group ( a far cry from chet in wierd science ) . +perhaps bridget fonda is miscast as his advice-giving wife , but she certainly doesn't do anything ruin the picture . +a simple plan can be included in the group of recent small hollywood films that is just dark and pretty un-redeeming . +but at least this one has an important message , unlike so many of its counterparts . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv181_14401.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv181_14401.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..565d7423b958c3f2dc529c33414631a09866f387 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv181_14401.txt @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +i saw simon birch in a basically sold out theater , on a sunday afternoon . +when the movie was over and the audience was exiting , i didn't hear one negative comment , and i didn't have any to offer . +simon birch is primarily about the friendship of two twelve year old boys , simon ( ian michael smith ) and joe ( joseph mazzello ) , and what destiny holds for both of them . +simon is a dwarf , who was not supposed to last through the night after birth due to a weak heart . +surprisingly , he does , and now constantly reminds everyone that he is a living miracle . +simon thinks god has a plan for him , a purpose for his life , and his condition , he just doesn't know what . +joe is an illegitimate child ( referred to both comically and dramatically throughout the film as a bastard ) , who's mom ( ashley judd ) won't tell him who his father is . +simon has more than just dwarfism as a problem , the people in the town don't really like him , because he isn't " natural " . +even his own parents don't care about him , and are disappointed they didn't have a " normal " son . +he is also harassed in church by the local pastor , rev . russell ( david strathairn ) and simon's chain smoking sunday school teacher played by jan hooks . +the only person , other than joe , that really cares for simon is joe's mom , who he also looks up to as a mother . +it would be just simon's luck , that he would accidentally kills joe's mom , something you are told at the beginning of the movie . +joe , now motherless as well as fatherless , feels the need to find out who his real father is . +with the help of ben ( oliver platt ) , the local drama teacher and joe's mom's current boyfriend ( before her death ) , he will attempt to locate his dad and get in a little trouble on the way . +most of this trouble is laugh out loud funny , although not all of it is . +simon will also look for god's plan for him , although he loses a little faith along the way . +starring in the first ( and last ) five minutes of the film is hollywood's newest dramatic actor , jim carrey . +jim plays the adult version of joe and does a impressive job starting the film off , and then tying it up just right . +this is the first character jim has played that is not over the top in anyway , and he does a commendable job . +simon birch is written and directed by mark steven johnson , this is his first film as director , but he has written several films , including the grumpy old men series . +he does an outstanding writing and directing job here , the film's structure is flawless and its flows together perfectly . +the dialog goes from extremely funny to morose without missing a beat . +the cast is excellent . +joseph mazzello gives the stand out performance . +joseph is outstanding for someone of any age , not alone someone who just turned 15 . +ian michael smith , in his film debut , has such a strong physical presence that you believe he is simon without any hesitation . +other great performances are turned in by the rest of the supporting cast . +i loved this movie , it is far and away one of the best films i have seen all year . +take your whole family to see simon birch , it is a magnificent film- an american masterpiece . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv182_7281.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv182_7281.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8facacc76e78503e9aeed0a08cf6493c38f8afdd --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv182_7281.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +the saint was actually a little better than i expected it to be , in some ways . +in this theatrical remake of the television series the saint , and its series sequel the return of the saint , val kilmer plays simon templar , an elusive thief who makes a living by stealing things from others for others . +this movie closely resembles a james bond flick . +it has the classic bond symbols : a man who can do just about anything and get away with it , a woman whom the man persues , a villain out to achieve something for himself who kills anyone to reach this goal . +kilmer actually provides a rather good role in this movie , although at times you are left to ponder how he actually gets out of the many tight situations . +the movie begins in his childhood in a strict school run by catholic priests . +as a young boy , kilmer's character enjoyed magic and would often journey away from his schoolwork . +that is until his school teacher finds him reading a book and demands that the young boy proclaim his name , that of a catholic saint . +he refuses to do so and instead announces who he wishes to be . +this leads to a devestating mistake , which is something that will stay in his mind throughout his life . +kilmer's first mission that we are shown is to steal a microchip from ivan tretiak , played by rade serbedzija . +during a press conference , he must make his way into a heavily guarded vault area , avoiding guards , cameras , and many other potential obstacles . +once his mission is completed and he is safely home , the fee is paid . +when he logs into his bank account and finds that he is only a few million dollars short of $50 million , he decides to carry out only one more mission , then retire . +dr . emma russell , portrayed by elisabeth shue , has discovered a way to produce energy by way of cold fusion . +this new advancement would change the world and save thousands of lives in the areas of russia , where millions are without heat and are freezing to death . +the only problem is , tretiak would like to have this for himself and use it to gain power amongst the people . +this presents the option for kilmer to achieve his goal . +tretiak hires him to steal the equations , small pieces of paper , from shue . +one of the enjoyable features in the film is the disguises that kilmer dawns to complete his missions . +they are very convincing , not only to the characters in the movie , but to us . +kilmer utilizes one such disguise to lure shue's character into getting to know him even more , which would provide him a means of stealing the energy formula . +when the two meet , and end up having a sensual experience , kilmer's character is seemingly falling in love with emma russell , as she is falling in love with kilmer's alter-ego , a traveling artist . +yet , he must reach his goal of $50 million , which requires him to steal the energy formula , putting his feelings aside . +shue's character is eventually able to track down simon templar by putting the pieces ( the names of the catholic saints ) together , something no one else is able to do . +when she finds him , they are left to team up and reclaim the energy formulas from tretiak . +the saint is very action-packed , with few slow points . +the sound was very well done and added to the many intense moments . +along the course of the movie , there are even a few , although brief moments of comedy . +these moments are almost always thanks to kilmer's extraneous , very convincing disguises and personalities . +all in all , a rather enjoyable movie with nearly non-stop action . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv183_18612.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv183_18612.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ad8575eac2798990faccd1141fe40b14000e6b03 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv183_18612.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +the thirteenth floor , the third in what i would call " the reality check movie series " , is very similar to the other reality check movies released this year , the matrix and existenz . +all three made you think , made you wonder what is real , what isn't , and if our world is just a huge game . +the thirteenth floor doesn't reach the level of originality , creativity , and curiosity sparked by the matrix and existenz , but it certainly gives a great shot at it . +in the matrix , we were told that the humans are simply a virus . +in existenz , we learned that our life could be just a game . +in the thirteenth floor , we learn that we are just electronic devices , living under another world of electronic devices . +there is just one world on top of another , and everything in them are fake and electronically generated . +the thirteenth floor took a huge , risky turn that i didn't expect it to take , and i'm not very sure it was such a great turn to make . +rather than focusing just on the reality parts of the film , the thirteenth floor becomes a murder mystery that ends up tying in with the different worlds . +after the mysterious murder of computer program designer hammond fuller , played by armin mueller-stahl , douglas hall , played by craig bierko , a man that worked under fuller for many years , must travel through an electronic computer device that fuller was using , to the year 1937 , which consists of computer generated characters only . +the simulation of 1937 is just like it was back in the olden days . +all of the people involved are just characters , or are they ? +douglas strongly believes that a character traveled through the transport from their world to ours , and killed fuller . +along the way , douglas interacts with many different potential suspects , and a woman who claims to be the daughter of fuller , jane fuller , played wonderfully by a talented young actress , gretchen mol . +the thirteenth floor is a plot driven movie from the time the film gets going , and doesn't use spectacular special effects and big sound to keep the viewer's interests . +i was worried that this film would be too much like the matrix and existenz , and i wouldn't enjoy it , but there were enough twists and turns to keep me thinking and attentive to the film . +unfortunately , many potential would have been great scenes were thrown away with predictable content , letting the viewer know the outcome of the scene long before it happened . +the scenes that aren't original or interesting seem to go absolutely nowhere , leaving you wondering , " what is the point of this ? " +sometimes it was hard to believe that this story , with terrible dialogue , some bad acting , especially from craig bierko , and scenes that go absolutely nowhere , are actually true . +i know this isn't a true story or anything , but a film should be able to make you think that it is . +on the plus side of acting , we get to see the missing from main character action since the film masterpiece shine in 1995 actor , armin mueller-stahl . +in the thirteenth floor , he is back and is still giving believable and amazing performances . +another plus is gretchen mol's realistic performance , creating her character with depth , not just staying in the one-dimensional phase . +don't expect the intensity of the matrix or existenz to come out of the thirteenth floor , just expect another film that messes with your mind for awhile , and shuts you down like any other movie would . +thrills , chills , and spills aren't what you will get in this film , but you will just get another trip to send your mind on , scrambling it until you've had enough . +the bottom line- let's hope this is the last of the " reality check " based movies for awhile . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv184_2673.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv184_2673.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5ce2f674d121149b6ead4e8794537ac57305cc70 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv184_2673.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18 @@ +i tried hard not like this movie without succeeding . +it contains parts of bringing up baby , any hepburn/tracy film , part of the plot of war games , cary grant and rosalind russell in his girl friday , elevator shaft action , train action , and murder . +it is cute , funny , suspenseful ( a little bit ) , sexy ( a little bit ) . +one of the bad guys was a surprise . +the pace is fast enough , there are some " action " scenes . +i think that this is a reasonable family summer movie for families with older kids who have already seen maverick . +julia roberts and nick nolte are fine separately and together . +i really identified with the julia roberts character ( wishful thinking , i know ! ) , but i do have better hair ! +her hair , a very dull dark brown , has no color . +she could use some highlights . +they both do fine with their roles : he's a bored columnist with the chicago chronicle and she's a hotshot " cub " reporter with the chicago globe . +they have great fun trying to out scoop each other to solve one case throughout this movie . +i like the one story focus . +other actors include charles martin smith as roberts' boss , olympia dukakis as nolte's coworker , nora dunn also with the chronicle , and marsha mason as a congresswoman . +basically this movie is reasonably fun . +there is a serious mystery to solve , and i enjoyed following a fun couple solving the mystery . +it is a pleasant change of pace from movies that take themselves seriously . +i do give successful comedy high marks . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv186_2269.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv186_2269.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5ca134581c19768de57ac439b11325372e3d9cea --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv186_2269.txt @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +i've never been a member of the robin williams fan club . +a little bit of his improvisationaly schtick goes a long way , and i sometimes feel as though i'm watching a 40-year-old class clown . +in his films , williams has often tried to balance his mania with touchy-feely emotion , leading to wildly uneven performances . +mrs . +doubtfire seemed ready-made for the same problems , but instead it proves to be williams' best comic screen project yet . +while it still contains some characteristic self-indulgence , mrs . +doubtfire is nonetheless an engaging belly-laugh comedy served up with high energy . +williams stars as daniel hillard , a cartoon voiceover artist with a penchant for irresponsible behavior . +one such incident proves one too many for wife miranda ( sally field ) , and she files for a divorce . +unemployed , living in a disastrously unkempt apartment and faced with limited time with his three beloved children , daniel decides to respond to miranda's ad for an afternoon housekeeper . +he turns to his brother frank ( harvey fierstein ) , a theatrical makeup artist , and emerges as euphegenia doubtfire , a matronly 65-year-old englishwoman . +daniel uses his access to the house to keep an eye on miranda's flirtation with a wealthy client ( pierce brosnan ) , to spend time with the children , and to learn something about responsible parenting , all the while trying to keep his identity hidden from the people who know him best . +mrs . doubtfire has to overcome a mountain of implausibilities to work , and basically it does so . +the most crucial is that no one in the family recognizes daniel , and thanks to the fantastic special makeup that's instantly believable . +it may be one of the most convincing transformations ever committed to film , making dustin hoffman's dorothy michaels look like milton berle . +more problematic was a series of calls daniel makes to miranda posing as nannies from hell ; it's a bit hard to swallow that she doesn't recognize any of the voices as her husband's . +perhaps the biggest contrivance we're asked to swallow is that daniel could make a quick change into mrs . doubtfire in a few minutes . +there's more to realistic makeup than slapping on a latex mask . +fortunately , these are inconsistencies which only attract attention as the credits roll . +during the film , i was generally too busy laughing . +after getting off to a slow start involving too much of williams' riffing , mrs . +doubtfire kicks into high gear once the wig and pads are in place . +daniel's frantic attempt to fool a court officer is wonderful , as is the climactic restaurant sequence , even though i saw the resolutions coming a mile away . +clearly , most of the credit for doubtfire's success goes to robin williams . +it took putting him in drag , but for once he plays a comic character that isn't just robin williams with a different name . +he thoroughly inhabits euphegenia doubtfire , and seems to relish the scenes in which he gets to play her as blunt and foul-mouthed . +wisely , he never aims for saintly . +his responses to the intrusion of new suitor stu are often petty , but the kind of thing most of us might do with the benefit of anonymity . +it's one of mrs . +doubtfire's charms that neither daniel nor miranda is perfect , just people trying to be better . +as miranda , sally field is solid in a background role , and pierce brosnan is nicely understated as stu . +the children are also good , although mara wilson is almost oppressively cute as the youngest . +the supporting players merely step aside and allow williams to do his thing . +it's easy to see mrs . +doubtfire as little more than tootsie warmed over , and it's true that there are both broad themes and specific details in common . +but mrs . +doubtfire manages to carve out its own space , particularly through the surprisingly honest moments involving a judge's decision and the ultimate status of daniel and miranda's relationship . +there's nothing dazzlingly new in mrs . +doubtfire , but there are plenty of laughs , and good comedies are always in short supply . +and it's nice to see robin williams just act for a change . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv187_12829.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv187_12829.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ab30f80b0a50cc62c5fd4888bbf1e3fc0c6783d3 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv187_12829.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18 @@ +weir is well-respected in hollywood for turning scripts with difficult subject-matter into deceptively simple , powerful films , the mosquito coast ( utopia ) and fearless ( post-traumatic stress disorder ) among them . +in the truman show , weir essentially breathes life into the now-tired concept of media-manipulation by tackling the material from the inside-out . +it certainly helps that he has an underrated performer in top-form playing the title character , truman burbank . +by now you must be aware of the premise : unbeknownst to him , truman ( carrey ) is the star of his own tv series , a 24-7 peep-show in which he is surrounded by actors and placed in loosely scripted situations ; people around the world tune in for the voyeuristic thrill of his genuine reactions to fictitious stimulants . +`seahaven' , his hometown , and the show itself , are the brainchild of christof ( harris ) , who presides over his creation in the base of a fake moon , directing over 500 cameras and hundreds of actors and extras . +for 30 years , truman suspects nothing-`we accept the reality we're given , ' poses christof-but a desire to break free of the sunny town and visit a long lost love in `fiji' ( mcelhone , who was actually an actress fired by christof for trying to break the confidentiality agreement ) overwhelms him . +thus , christof and his team suddenly find themselves working twice as hard to keep the veneer of seahaven intact , lest truman discover the world outside and put an end to the highly-rated program . +in a few broad strokes , weir creates a convincing second-reality , and he has the good sense not to bring christof into the picture until almost three-quarters through . +this allows us to comprehend and accept truman's world before we contextualize it . +for all his madness , christof has shown the world a place without violence and hardship , and demonstrated that a human being can function well within it . +truman is an inspiration to his audience because he grew up to be , well , so darn nice ; like a sibling ( or , perhaps more appropriately , a caged animal in an interactive zoo ) , they want to see him succeed . +the surrealistic soap opera is completely plausible thanks to a tight screenplay and a sympathetic carrey-he really is an everyman here , abandoning his facial contortions in favour of a credible , wide-eyed bewilderment . +cinematically , the truman show is impeccable , stylishly photographed by peter biziou and littered with symbolic images . +as well , it employs wojciech kilar's piece " zycie za zycie' masterfully and beautifully . +if the film has any flaws , one may find them in laura linney's characterization as meryl , truman's " wife " ( i doubt that betty crocker impersonation would fool anyone ) , and in a subplot involving truman's `father' , which feels curiously incomplete . +there are a few stupendous sequences , and the film pulls off a wonderful trick : we become truman's audience as much as the loyal viewers in the film . +they wear buttons asking `how will it end ? ' +i couldn't wait to know myself , though i didn't exactly want it to end , for this inspired movie is possibly the best-and most complex-summer picture in years . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv188_19226.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv188_19226.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b6946e7a9b57a1bdef9ac740667e6a215ba40898 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv188_19226.txt @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +synopsis : it's 1977 in a small italian american neighborhood in new york . +disco music is popular , and the sexual revolution is on , but the people of new york are not happy . +in fact , they're terrified . +as in spike lee's do the right thing a heat wave has the city in its grip , and peoples' tempers are flaring . +the cool of night offers no respite : the neighborhood is being terrorized by a nocturnal psychotic killer who calls himself the son of sam . +no one knows who the son of sam is , and no one is safe . +all around new york people are different . +aside from cultural groupings and ethnic neighborhoods there are differences between individuals . +in the italian american section of town a philandering husband named vinny ( john leguizamo ) tries to hide his trysts and sexual behavior from his long suffering newlywed wife dionna ( mira sorvino ) . +vinny's friend ritchie ( adrien brody ) hates disco , works at a gay strip club and doesn't want any of the neighborhood folks to know . +ritchie's girl ruby ( jennifer esposito ) is trying to escape a reputation as a slut . +everyone's different , but nobody in the film wants to be framed as " alien " to the community . +unfortunately , the killings help create a climate of suspicion pits neighbor against neighbor . +opinion : director spike lee's summer of sam is not about a psycho killer . +nor is it about cops trying to apprehend him . +it's about differences and how , given the right conditions , even close neighbors can fan the hostile flames of irrational suspicion . +one thing i found interesting in summer of sam was the use of sex . +in other movies sex is glamorized . +for example , james bond gets a sexual reward for winning . +or boring made-for-video " suspense " movies are spiked with gratuitous lingerie scenes just to keep the audience awake . +and every movie or soap opera character in these flicks seems to have expert sexual prowess . +not so with summer of sam . +in a very gutsy move director spike lee shows sex without fantasy . +sex is there , but it isn't gratuitous or titillating . +in fact , some of the main characters are downright lousy in bed . +sex is in the film because ( sexual ) deviance is part of the film's major theme of " difference " breeding hostility . +in my opinion this kind of movie sex is cutting edge for 1999 , as rare and thought-provoking in american cinema as showing a spanking . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv189_22934.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv189_22934.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f615ee2e13d81a1a2f14423cf767ed59a9cb999e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv189_22934.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +part one of " the strangest movies ever made " series at www . mediajunkies . com +by scott watson +[light spoilers , nothing you shouldn't read] +existenz has been called " a gooey matrix " , and while this is a correct description in some ways , in others it is completely off . +the only thing the two films have in common is the idea of a virtual reality that is indistinguishable from normal , " real " reality . +a major difference is that " the matrix " has a base reality that is obviously the true reality , while existenz does the impossible and makes us accept the most bizarre reality ever as true . +and oh what a reality it is . +david cronenberg has shown us before that he knows how to create strange movies ( naked lunch , crash ) , but this one is one of the strangest . +maybe it's because of how the mundane is mixed with the bizarre . +technology is organic , but only some of it . +cars are normal . +gas stations are the same . +cell phones are glowing bug like appendages . +you jack into a virtual reality game using a quivering pink gooey animal like apparatus ( referred to simply as a " pod " ) . +high technology has been replaced with organic creatures , and it provides a truly surreal setting for the characters . +a famous game designer , allegra geller ( a fine looking jennifer jason leigh ) , flees a demonstration of her latest game , existenz , after an assassination attempt . +she is on the run ( from who , i'm still not sure ) , and has to save her pod by playing her game with " someone friendly " . +that someone friendly is her dubious companion and security guard , ted pikul ( jude law ) . +unfortunately he is lacking a fundamental requirement for playing , a bioport . +sort of a hole in your spine ( ok , exactly like a hole in your spine ) , a bioport allows you to plug the vaguely entrail-looking wires from the pod into you , allowing you to play the game . +luckily a bioport can be installed easily ( they install them in malls ) , so off they go to get one . +after a crazy series of events at the local country gas station , they are able to plug in and play existenz . +the plot itself is a surreal melding of conspiracies , reality distortion , chinese restaurants , and multi appendaged amphibian things ( " it's a sign of the times " ) . +but the plot , while cohesive in it's own creepy way is secondary to just trying to figure out what the hell is going on in this universe . +cronenberg just slaps this weird organic-tech world into the viewers lap , and it's up to you to figure out how all these things work . +and that's the true joy of this film , entering the vaguely nightmarish world in which existenz takes place . +you learn a little bit piece by piece ( oh , they make pods out of those ) , and it's just enough to get you to accept the world that is presented to you . +there are all kinds of twists and turns as the characters wander around , including a fantastic scene in a chinese restaurant that will leave you trying to assemble something out of your moo goo gai pan for months afterwards . +also the bioports are occasionally used for things other than porting into existenz , the specifics of which i will leave for you to discover . +there's lots of little things that set off the weird-o-meter , like the little tiny pods that you can buy in the video game store , the two headed amphibian creature , and why that guy at the gas station's name appears to be " gas " . +it all adds up to a supremely far out trip , and given the choice i think i would rather live in the matrix's virtual world . . . +oh wait , i already do . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv190_27052.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv190_27052.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..609c8efb463b23e7a210940cbffcd34efb6cfad4 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv190_27052.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +good films are hard to find these days . +great films are beyond rare . +proof of life , russell crowe's one-two punch of a deft kidnap and rescue thriller , is one of those rare gems . +a taut drama laced with strong and subtle acting , an intelligent script , and masterful directing , together it delivers something virtually unheard of in the film industry these days , genuine motivation in a story that rings true . +consider the strange coincidence of russell crowe's character in proof of life making the moves on a distraught wife played by meg ryan's character in the film -- all while the real russell crowe was hitching up with married woman meg ryan in the outside world . +i haven't seen this much chemistry between actors since mcqueen and mcgraw teamed up in peckinpah's masterpiece , the getaway . +but enough with the gossip , let's get to the review . +the film revolves around the kidnapping of peter bowman ( david morse ) , an american engineer working in south america who is kidnapped during a mass ambush of civilians by anti-government soldiers . +upon discovering his identity , the rebel soldiers decide to ransom him for $6 million . +the only problem is that the company peter bowman works for is being auctioned off , and no one will step forward with the money . +with no choice available to her , bowman's wife alice ( ryan ) hires terry thorne ( crowe ) , a highly skilled negotiator and rescue operative , to arrange the return of her husband . +but when things go wrong -- as they always do in these situations -- terry and his team ( which includes the most surprising casting choice of the year : david caruso ) take matters into their own hands . +the film is notable in that it takes this very simple story line and creates a complex and intelligent character-driven vehicle filled with well-written dialogue , shades of motivation , and convincing acting by all the actors . +the script is based on both a book ( the long march to freedom ) and a magazine article pertaining to kidnap/ransom situations , and the story has been sharply pieced together by tony gilroy , screenwriter of the devil's advocate and dolores claiborne . +the biggest surprise for me was not the chemistry between crowe and ryan , but that between crowe and david caruso . +dug out from b-movie hell , caruso pulls off a gutsy performance as crowe's right hand gun while providing most of the film's humor . +ryan cries a lot and smokes too many cigarettes , david morse ends up getting everyone at the guerilla camp to hate him , and crowe provides another memorable acting turn as the stoic , gunslinger character of terry thorne . +the most memorable pieces of the film lie in its action scenes . +the bulk of those scenes , which bookend the movie , work extremely well as establishment and closure devices for all of the story's characters . +the scenes are skillfully crafted and executed with amazing accuracy and poise . +director taylor hackford mixes both his old-school style of filmmaking with the dizziness of a lars von trier film . +proof of life is a thinking man's action movie . +it is a film about the choices men and women make in the face of love and war , and the sacrifices one makes for those choices -- the sacrifices that help you sleep at night . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv191_29719.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv191_29719.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a80f32ad8a2616bff84fba6f682ac726980ef19f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv191_29719.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18 @@ +i must admit i'm going to be a bit biased in my review of the new romantic comedy serendipity , because that also defines how i met my current girlfriend . +the magic and mystery of our fated encounter is also embodied in the quirkiness and freshness of the very funny and very romantic serendipity . +i am not a big fan of the romantic comedy genre , but something drew me to this film . +maybe it was the casting of the underrated jeremy piven in a supporting role , and the hilarious eugene levy . +maybe it was my hope that john cusack would get the redemption he justly deserves after such crap as high fidelity , con air , and pushing tin . +but maybe it was because i feel as giddy as a school kid right now with this whole romantic thing currently in my life . +the story of serendipity is simple . +two people , john trager ( john cusack ) and sara thomas ( kate beckinsale , looking ever so hot ) , have a chance encounter over a pair of gloves -- with buck henry smack dab in the middle . +charmed beyond repair , these two knuckleheads grab a sundae together at a caf ? called serendipity , talk about that irresponsible thing called fate and the avenues it leads people down , and spend a few hours at the local ice skating rink . +but with each of them already involved with other parties , sara has john write his name and number on a $5 bill and she writes her name and number on a copy of love in the time of cholera . +sara declares that if this " thing " -- let's just call it love -- is destined to happen , fate will bring them together in the future . +years later and on opposite coasts of america , john and sara -- both engaged but still unsure whether they have found their soul mates -- decide to seek each other out to rest their doubts . +what happens then is an enjoyable and often hilarious cat-and-mouse game with the fates - involving such items as mistaken identity , a graduate homage , john corbett as a freaky new age musician , and eugene levy as an irate and crazed salesman -- to find out if that " thing " was right after all . +fortunately , first-time screenwriter marc klein has sketched strong , well-rounded , characters to propel a predictable and corny narrative . +coupled with deft directing by michael chelsom ( director of the very unfunny town and country and the very funny funny bones ) and the use of time-lapse camera work to illustrate the passage of years -- the film comes off with genuine believability and sincerity . +both piven and molly shannon make nice sidekick characters +on the flipside , films such as you've got mail , made in heaven , and even high fidelity are the quiet inspirations for the film's main journey at hand . +but it's what happens to the unexpecting characters left behind in the romantic wake after john and sara find happiness this is the most unsettling part of the picture . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv192_14395.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv192_14395.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..fa9841854970799d4a6d776a6a7970e65ff01065 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv192_14395.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +in some regards , making a movie is like trying to stretch a rubber band as far as you can without breaking it . +try too hard , and it snaps ; but too much reservation means someone else will come along and pull it farther . +in simon birch , director mark steven johnson shows us just how to master the technique : he takes advantage of caution and poise , but also risks his movie with a few bold steps . +in the end , he's not only holding an unbroken band , but he makes the audience appreciate the lengths he went to direct such a fine feature . +there's no doubt about it : the film that johnson has crafted is rich . +he chooses for his setting the quaint town of gravestown , maine - leaves turn bright orange in the fall , the grass is a lush green , pure white snow falls in the winter , and the sky goes on forever . +the characters continue that turn : our two leads are simon birch ( ian michael smith ) and joe wenteworth ( joseph mazzello ) . +simon is the smallest baby ever born within the records of the local hospital , and by age twelve he's only two feet tall . +joe is the bastard son of rebecca ( ashley judd ) , and by age twelve he's ready to know who is father is . +naturally , the two outcasts become good friends and share many adventures together , from disrupting sunday school to doing community service to playing little league baseball . +in a wonderfully executed performance by ian michael smith , simon birch is convinced that he's god's instrument , and there must be a reason he's so small . +joe doesn't quite buy it , but he sticks by simon ; the two tough it out through the worst of times and are each other's only true friends . +early on , the two meet up with ben goodrich ( oliver platt ) , rebecca's new boyfriend , and although the bond isn't immediate , ben and the two boys develop a liking for each other . +both platt and judd give solid performances that lend their characters a deep likeability . +the audience cares about them as much as they do about joe and simon , a testament to the acting jobs of both . +finally , jim carrey gives a cameo as the adult joe in the present day , and his few minutes here are relatively more impressive than his entire performance in the truman show . +mark steven johnson's sense of drama and writing is fantastic . +the script is loosely based on john irving's novel , a prayer for owen meany , but it's so far off the source material that irving actually requested the credits be changed from 'based on' to 'suggested by . ' +along those same lines , it's almost unfitting to compare the two ; johnson uses tension , humor , atmosphere , and suspense to create an original drama of forrest gumpian proportions . +by no means has he developed a project of similar popularity - gump made over 300 million dollars while birch ought to pass out of sight in a few weeks - but the winning idea remains the same . +simon birch is a different look at a different life , and one that will most likely be studied in film school classes in decades to come . +in the present , however , it's an enjoyable little picture that everyone ought to take a look at . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv193_5416.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv193_5416.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ae8f162038fba2d962878135c76522c3243b9913 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv193_5416.txt @@ -0,0 +1,19 @@ +on the basis of this film alone , i never would have predicted that , in two years , quentin tarantino would become the country's biggest hotshot director . +reservoir dogs has hints of the tarantino brilliance that emerged in pulp fiction , but is a much less substantive , more conventional crime story than the big pf . +here's what the two movies do have in common . . . +--scenes of intelligent , amusing dialogue with no relevance to the plot --a story that jumps back and forth in time rather than going in a logical , chronological sequence --graphic yet necessary violence --an engaging crime story --dialogue liberally spiced with swear words and racial/gender slurs --three of the same actors ( harvey keitel , tim roth and steve buscemi ) --a mexican standoff ending , although this one is considerably less optimistic than pf +reservoir dogs is an entire hour shorter than pulp fiction because it's only got one story to tell rather than three . +crime lord joe cabot ( veteran actor lawrence tierney ) has assembled five criminals who have never even met each other to pull a diamond store heist . +the five are instructed not to reveal their real names or personal details or anything the cops could use if one of them was captured and interrogated . +instead , they are all given code names off the color chart -- mr . white ( keitel ) , mr . pink ( buscemi ) , mr . orange ( roth ) , mr . blonde ( michael madsen ) , mr . brown ( tarantino ) and mr . peach ( tarantino's chin ) . +most of the movie's running time is spent with mr . white and pink waiting at a warehouse for the others to arrive . +mr . orange , meanwhile , is on the floor , dying from a gunshot wound . +the police had arrived at the scene of the crime way too soon , leading white to believe one of the five was an informant . +the story's background unfolds through a series of flashbacks , of the crime itself and the meetings between joe and the criminals prior to the crime . +eventually , blonde arrives with a police officer hostage , and what follows is a truly brutal , uncomfortable torture scene . +let's just say picasso would be inspired by what blonde does to the cop's ear . +a lot of the time , reservoir dogs seems like your typical gangster heist-gone-wrong movie , but there are a few sequences that are uniquely tarantino . +the opening scene in the coffee shop starts the movie off on a high note the rest of it doesn't live up to , as the criminals plus joe have a conversation on , among other things , tipping philosophies and their interpretations of madonna's " like a virgin . " +another scene involves roth's lengthy manufactured story about running into a group of cops and a police dog in a bus station bathroom while carrying a giant bag of marijuana . +neither of these have much plot relevance but are given ample time to develop , like the captain koons gold watch speech in pulp fiction , only here these sequences are more enjoyable than the rest of the movie . +reservoir dogs is good but it's no pulp fiction . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv195_14528.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv195_14528.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..7f0342e4fd2aca467cb23aa50d5b7de1072d7f93 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv195_14528.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +there exists a litany of differences between a successful action movie and a successful suspense movie . +action movies are typically devoid of plot other than a simple byline which can string together several explosive sequences , while suspense movies hinge on plot and subtlety and the ability to bring everything full-circle . +for fans of both genres , however , realism is key . +action fans want to know that the weapons and methods their heroes are using are authentic , and suspense fans want everything to fall into an explainable framework by the movie's end . +on this advice , director john frankenheimer ( the island of dr . +moreau ) strives for realism in an interestingly dynamic balance of suspense and action for his latest thriller , ronin . +the depth of intrigue in ronin is quite amazing , considering the fare that's fallen into the same category over the last few years . +the script , written by j . d . zeik in his big-screen debut , approaches levels of complexity that had people spinning away from mission : impossible two years ago . +a certain number of people will be lost by this , but afficianados will appreciate it all the more and return multiple times . +frankenheimer masters the script with poise , and tells us a dark but stoically realistic tale of a group of post-cold war mercenaries working to earn their paycheck . +his ability to convey feeling and character while promoting explosiveness and tense atmosphere works well here , and ronin becomes a better movie because of it . +robert de niro headlines this cast of noteworthies in a performance that is the most outstanding of his in quite some time . +he takes command and offers much gravity as the ex-spy sam , a man who's called to france to help a shady operations controller named dierdre ( natascha mcelhone ) recover a package . +the package becomes the central motivator for the entire cast , especially once the requisite double-crossing begins , and its role is skillfully penned by zeik . +at times , however , zeik's tale becomes almost too reminiscent of mission : impossible - de niro might easily become tom cruise , the package might become cruise's computer disk . +fortunately , the focus here is almost entirely on the package , whereas in mission the script was more concerned with the double-cross and why it happened . +the action content is impressive , and it lives up to the hints given in previews . +the only fans who will be disappointed are those who expect full-blown combat scenes and instead are forced to suffer through moments of slowness . +ronin does take a degree of intelligence to follow all of the nuance from start to finish , but even the uninitiated will be able to keep a grasp on most characters mand subplots . +the suspense tapers off considerably by the end , a bit of a drawback because of its height at the movie's open . +considering these factors it's good to see that ronin was a project that turned out well , and it's another good bet this month . +since quality is usually sparse during the early fall months , it's definitely worth the visit . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv197_29328.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv197_29328.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4dab4c8c571e424e079ed066d187516d71158c1c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv197_29328.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +damn those trailers . +had it not been for the advertising of this film , which reveals far too much about its contents , i would have been glued to `under the sand' . +as it is , the film retains some value , thanks to an excellent performance by charlotte rampling , and a more mature francois ozon in the director's chair . +marie ( charlotte rampling ) and her husband jean ( bruno cremer ) lounge on the beach . +she takes a nap while he goes for a swim . +when marie wakes up , jean is nowhere to be found . +she contacts authorities , but they can't find him either . +did he disappear to start a new life ? +was he killed by accident ? +did he commit suicide ? +marie still asks herself these questions a year later , and in order to move on with her life , she must find some answers . +it's a fine premise , and this little movie uses it to the limit . +the film moves at a leisurely pace , a bit slow , but relaxing . +it's a very visual story , and you can pretty much just sit back without reading the subtitles . +this is mostly thanks to the excellent camera work by antoine heberle and jeanne lapoirie , who shot the film in a dreamy haze , and the lead performance by rampling . +rampling is so expressive in her portrayal of marie , you connect with her character instantly , despite that she's delusional . +the scenes where she interacts with her husband , who she still believes is alive , are heartbreaking . +she can't quite get over him . +they've been married for twenty-five years . +the other actors , particularly jacques nolot , are excellent too . +the sex in the film is rather unneeded , but compared to ozon's `criminal lovers' , it's the disney channel . +likely to cause some discussion afterwards , `under the sand' is a fine movie going experience . +while it's hard to recommend as entertainment , it's a fine adult alternative about how we deal with loss . +ozon seems to ask what you would do , and that's certainly a hard question to answer . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv198_18180.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv198_18180.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..88c5c73751d14825b93edb594e66c0c46762fb33 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv198_18180.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17 @@ +bob the happy bastard's quickie review : +rush hour +so what's the problem with 48 hours clones these days ? +they always try for the same thing that eddie murphy and nick nolte had . +that was the problem that plagued these clones , not to mention the actual sequel : another 48 hours , a complete waste of film . +but , at last , someone has a different take on the matter , and it's director brett rainer . +rush hour features jackie chan in his first u . s . action movie , playing a chinese detective who's being flown to the us to investigate the kidnapping of the chinese consulate's daughter . +of course , the fbi is upset that he'll be interfering in their investigation , and stick him with an lapd office with a big mouth- of course , that's chris tucker . +what makes rush hour work so damn well is the chemistry between the energetic chan and the absolutely hilarious tucker . +tucker mouths off to chan at every given opportunity ( " i'm michael jackson , you tito . " ) , and chan delivers a few zingers of his own , as well as some terrific fight scenes . +the story's pretty much your average fare , but with a decent twist involving the main villain , a highly clouded figure named jun tao . +at least it's entertaining , and the concept is excellently realized . +a particular fight scene in a chinese office , where chan and tucker duke it out with the bad guys , is funny and energetic at the same time . +and the finale's a real treat as well . . . chan +delivers yet another fantastic stunt for the fans with a 10-story drop . +rush hour is just the sort of film you'll get a kick out of on any night of the week . +just make sure you don't look for anything culturally different and you'll be fine- drunken master ii this ain't . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv199_9629.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv199_9629.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3f203eedc2deb75bcf2b50529af5b9a908d02ca0 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv199_9629.txt @@ -0,0 +1,53 @@ +this sunday afternoon i had the priviledge of attending a private screening at the sony astor cinema in new york city , of james cameron's most heralded film , titanic . +postponed from last summer , with an escalated budget that makes it the most expensive movie in history , this was one film i was eager to preview . +so , is this movie going to sink or swim this holiday ? +my best guess . . . . it will sink , though with many awards attatched to its hull . +no doubt , titanic is the most elaborate disaster movie ever made . +it boasts the most amazing effects that i have ever seen done to date . +to see a ship fall apart , with actual people running across the ship , flying across the deck , and falling to the water , is just amazing to look at . +the effects are so stunningly realistic , you would swear you were looking at actual footage . +but titanic is more than a disaster movie , and that's where the problem lies . +there is a love story attatched that nearly ruins the entire premise . +i'll give a capsule summary of the story without spoiling anything for you : +the film begins with a modern day excavation of sorts of the sunken titanic . +we see actual footage of the sunken ship , as cammeron had set up special cameras to film the wreckage on the ocean floor . +bill paxton leads the expedition , in search of sunken treasure . +what he finds instead , leads him to a mysterious old woman who recounts her tale of the titanic voyage . +we meet rose ( kate winslet ) , a young woman , who comes from an upper-class family . +rose is to be wed to a man she does not love . +we meet jack ( leonardo dicaprio ) , a young man , who comes from a poor financial background , and wins a ticket aboard the titanic , in a poker game . +the two meet under interesting circumstances , and the love story begins . +add in a jealous fiance , and a not-so-nice law officer played by david warner , and you have a story that , well , gets a bit overplayed and oversappy . +i must add , at this point , that the most likeable character in the movie is played by kathy bates , as a woman with " new money " who is a lot less uptight than the other rich folk on the ship . +she is a pleasure to see on screen . +when the ship does hit the iceberg at exactly 1 : 40 into the film , and eventually sinks , you never really feel for any of these characters . +the film is just loaded with unlikeable rich snobs and other folk you never really get a grasp on . +the effects are tremendous . +from the roars of gears and pumps in the engine room , to a doomed ship cracking at the seams , this is an effects picture that looks and sounds like no other . +we saw titanic in dolby digital surround , and by far , it is the best sounding movie i have ever seen . +my friend commented it was the best sound mix he has ever heard . +when people are in the water , at film's end , you are surrounded by the voices of lost soles . +titanic runs far too long . +the movie is 3 hours and 15 minutes in length . +and , while most of the first 2 . 5 hours runs very fast and well-paced , the final 45 minutes almost comes to a sudden stop , and you realize that this sappy love story has to finish itself out before the movie finally ends . +don't get me wrong about titanic . . . . it's +not a bad as i am making it out to be . +it really is an exceptionaly well-made film . +the costumes and sets are incredible , and true to the time period . +the ship is painstakingly created exactly true to form , as we see actual pictures of the modern-day wreckage , transformed into the movie depiction . +this film will certainly win on effects , costume , set design and sound . +cameron has certainly made his best film to date . +unfortunately , titanic is not a best picture candidate . +it just doesn't have a strong supporting story . +it's an exceptional disaster film with sappy filler inside . +it just doesn't have the emotional impact that i suspect mr . cameron was shooting for . +i predict that titanic will open to likeable reviews . +it is a film worth seeing . +i predict that it will only do moderately well at the box office . +with its extreme running time , and lack of enough robust to get substantial word-of-mouth , i expect that it will do even better on home video . +this will certainly be the definitive ac3 movie for all you home theater enthusiasts . +titanic opens december 19th , and is released by paramount pictures and twentieth century-fox . +i give titanic 3 stars ( . +that's not bad . +ron epstein +riginally posted in home theater forum === diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv200_2915.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv200_2915.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5f51bcd26f995441380e2cd4d459fc3c4a9abdca --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv200_2915.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ +a common complaint amongst film critics is " why aren't there more literate scripts available ? " +quiz show gives signs of hope that the art of writing isn't dead in hollywood and that we need not only look to independent films for thoughtful content . +paul attanasio's script takes what could have been a tepid thriller ( the quiz show scandals of the late 50s ) and delivers a telling parable about the emptiness of the post war american dream and the golden bubble that surrounds and protects tv networks and their sponsors . +the film is riddled with telling symbols ( e . g . +a '58 chrysler , a radio announcement of sputnik ) but is never heavy handed . +deft direction by robert redford and keen performances by ralph fiennes , john turturro and rob morrow dovetail perfectly with the carefully honed script . +redford departs from the usually overlight , " cable tv quality " sets and camera work so common in recent 20th century period pieces . +quiz show perfectly captures the colors and textures of the eisenhower years . +although i was only 4 years old when the " twenty one " scandal broke , enough of the 50s icons survived throughout my childhood for me to recognize the authenticity of redford's almost tangible palette . +from plastic covered furniture to carefully coifed contestants , the images ring true from that era of rampant consumerism , of a generation that had gone through 15 years of depression and world war without " disposable income , " before the manifestation of its american dream . +the film deftly weaves several themes together , from assimilation and exclusion of jews from " the good life , " to the lengths that a scion of a literary family will go to to match his father's fame . +though the 50s audience that is " rocked " by this scandal may initially seem naive to us , they should appear all too familiar , with our current national passion for the rise and fall of icons like michael jackson or tonya harding . +charles van doren and herbie stemple were the overnight mega celebrities of their day . +the tv audience is almost a fourth main character , always at the center of the decisions being made on their behalf . +at the film's end , the credits roll past slow motion footage of that same 50s tv audience , mindlessly laughing at some piece of fluff . +like the distorted mirror that captured a blurred swastika at the end of cabaret , this " mirror " may reflect an image we're not all that comfortable with . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv202_10654.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv202_10654.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3093e6d3df6bac864e0a66dcd3b9261b17d92864 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv202_10654.txt @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +steven spielberg's " amistad , " which is based on the true story of a group of africans who revolted on board a slave ship , then were captured and taken to america where a legal dispute ensued over who " owned " them , is concerned with several different aspects of this story . +first , the film addresses the issue of the inherent evils of slavery . +second , it deals with the historical involvement of several american politicians in the case , including president martin van buren and former president john quincy adams ( anthony hopkins ) . +last , and most importantly , it examines the cultural confusion experienced by the africans who were forced into slavery and the damage done to their native culture in africa by the slave trade . + " amistad " succeeds at least partly with all three of these elements . +i have to admit that i was a little skeptical as to how much i could really get out of another " anti-slavery " movie . +having seen several other movies and documentaries about slavery , i doubted that there was much i didn't already know about it . +fortunately , i turned out to be wrong . +for one thing , spielberg's camera never once gets near a southern plantation and instead sticks to the slave ships and the slave traders' operations in africa , so " amistad " was dealing with a different part of the history of slavery from the very beginning . +and some of the images here are , in fact , much more harrowing than what we usually see in movies about slavery . +one scene in the middle , in which the crew of a slave ship dispose of some of their " excess " slaves by throwing them overboard to drown , has to be one of the most disturbing film images of the year . +spielberg digs farther into the evils of slavery than i was expecting he would , and in fact he probably goes about as far as a movie director can without getting an nc-17 rating . +the stark suffering of the africans is contrasted sharply with the shallow luxury of the politicians , such as president van buren and queen isabella of spain , whose naval officers were involved in the legal dispute and who was only a small child at the time . +exposing politicians as narrow-minded , opportunistic hypocrites is fairly standard stuff , of course , but spielberg and writer david franzoni do it well enough that it still comes off as something more than just a simple exercise in audience manipulation . +the film also examines the contentious nature of the slavery issue at the time , such that john quincy adams ( and probably other politicians like him ) , who clearly disapproved of the practice , was reluctant to get involved in the case until it was appealed all the way to the supreme court . +the biggest success of " amistad " is probably the characterization of cinque ( djimon hounsou ) , who emerges as the de facto leader of the kidnapped africans and struggles to communicate with baldwin ( matthew mcconaughey ) , the lawyer who represents them in court . +through cinque , we are given a window into the native culture , as he and the displaced africans try to explain to the prison guards what they need for a proper burial of a dead tribe member , or find an illustrated version of the bible and try to understand the story of jesus christ . +cinque sees the dispute with a clarity and simplicity that , again , contrasts with the technicalities and mechanics of the legal process and of the political squabbles . + " what kind of country is this , where laws 'almost' work ? " he asks baldwin in bewilderment , when he learns that the case must be re-tried before the supreme court . +spielberg's direction tends a little bit towards the manipulative side at times , such as when he adds a heavy orchestral swell to cinque's angry outburst in the court room . +still , there isn't enough of this for it to be a serious problem . +the main flaw in this film , which prevents it from earning four stars , is that it seems like spielberg and franzoni can't quite handle all of these issues at the same time , so instead they settle for addressing each one separately and simply editing the results into the same movie . +this summer's contact , for example , dealt with several issues at once , but each of them was somehow present in almost every scene and , most importantly , all of them were resolved at once . + " amistad " tries to pull it all together in the end with a speech from adams , but it somehow feels a little forced , and in any case the speech itself , which lasts almost fifteen minutes , wears out its welcome about halfway through . +perhaps the best way to describe it is this : " amistad " is three four star films edited into one . +almost every individual scene works , but the final product is lacking the necessary focus and coherence , and thus is less than the sum of its parts . +however , i can't honestly say how it could have been done differently , and in any case the story comes through with enough raw emotional power that it is still a very good film , and thus i recommend it to anyone who can handle the disturbing imagery . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv203_17986.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv203_17986.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8af4539c5062bbc16e2735d8a01869ceaca2d310 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv203_17986.txt @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +he has spent his entire life in an awful little apartment , raised and cared for and imprisoned by his domineering mother . +she inspires his love and his fear , and instills in him a similar love and fear of jesus . +he has a rudimentary grasp of language , mouthing monosyllables and repetitions of his mother's phrases . +he is taught that the world outside is fatally poisonous ; his mother dons a gasmask whenever she goes out the door . +he is 35-years-old in body , but a child in mind and spirit . +he is the premise for bad boy bubby , a defiantly original australian movie about a man called bubby ( nicholas hope ) who has spent his entire life in an awful little apartment , etc . , etc . then one day his father ( ralph cotterill ) appears . +his father is a shabby down-at-heels priest who appears to have permanently misplaced his religion . +unsurprisingly , he is not thrilled with the way " his " boy has turned out . +he is , however , rather pleased at renewing his acquaintance with the mother ( claire benito ) , and , more to the point , her ample breasts . +soon they are copulating on the dingy couch , while bubby crouches , confused , in the next room , acutely aware that the mother who had devoted all her attention to him has a new interest . +bubby's relationship to the world may be warped , but it is at least stable . +the father's arrival disturbs his precarious balance , causing an oedipal conflict which ends--freud would be pleased--in violence and , as a result , freedom . +bubby intuits from his father's arrival that the air outside is breathable : he leaves the apartment , his past , his world , behind . +so far , so good . +the first thirty minutes or so of bad boy bubby , which bring us to this point , are quite brilliant . +the movie is at its best when its stays within the constraints of bubby's hermetic two-room universe . +it follows through unrelentingly on the implications of its premise : bubby is used by his mother for sex , he unwittingly suffocates the pet cat with cellophane , he is terrifed by the notion that jesus will beat him senseless if he sins . +it is grim and savage and appalling , but also strangely tender--de heer , having imagined a life as bizarre as bubby's , does not exaggerate for comic or grotesqe purposes , but simply empathizes . +he observes what it might be like . +the intensity of these opening scenes , with their minimalist mise-en-scene , immerses us in a claustrophobic environment which seems to be a decayed stratum of our own world , and owes much to david lynch's eraserhead , not least the ambient industrial white noise of the soundtrack . +for thirty minutes , the movie maintains the feel and mood of a reality that does not seem far removed from our own . +then de heer lets bubby out , brings him into contact with our world , and the film never quite recovers . +our unlikely hero finds himself in port adelaide , where he wanders the streets and meets people , where he suffers and learns and survives . +he is seduced by a young woman from a salvation army band ( how an anti-social half-wit with no sense of hygiene manages to get laid mere hours after his escape is not the sort of question the film encourages , wisely ) ; he is given free pizza by a sympathetic waitress ; he insults a traffic cop and is punched in the stomach ; he shares a few beers in the back of a truck with a rock group ; he is imprisoned and raped ; he becomes a translator for mentally handicapped people whose speech is impaired beyond comprehension ; he is loved by a motherly large-breasted nurse ( carmel johnson ) . + . + . +it goes on , by turns inventive , silly , tasteless , endearing , and sometimes all of these things at once . +de heer never seems to be sure how bubby should interface with the real world : the tone shifts , uneasily , from fable to realism to satire and back again . +the scenes which try to touch base with a believable version of reality are the weakest ; the film is best understood as a kind of parable , and , indeed , the religious implications of bubby's experiences are foregrounded : icons of jesus on the cross hang from the mother's walls , bubby dons a priest's collar stolen from his father , a church organ-playing atheist lectures him on the necessity of unbelief , the woman who redeems him is named angel . +the manifold stresses of our world do not shatter bubby's mind , do not fragment him into psychosis ; rather , the world accomodates him , and heals him . +although de heer's touch is at times overbearing , bubby's salvation is touching ; what seemd at first a harsh lesson in the damaging effects of the social construction of reality becomes a na ? ve humanist tale of improbable hope . +a hapless rock group write a song about bubby and sing it for him and so give him the gift of community . +he returns the favour when he steps on stage one night and becomes their frontman , turning the fragmented impressions of his experiences into performance art , and turning the band into a popular draw . +innocence triumphs . +bubby becomes a holy fool , an idiot savant , and graces us with wisdom . +it's a strange turn of events , but by now we shouldn't be surprised , because bad boy bubby ain't like other movies . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv204_8451.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv204_8451.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b39558eb7485d88de658e79da3cba4ef982a25ab --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv204_8451.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18 @@ +being that it is a foreign language film with no known names with a select number theaters showing it , " shall we dance " won't be seen by that many people . +and that's a shame - this is a funny , enchanting , and goofy movie full of laughs , surprises , and wonderful dance sequences . +the surprising thing about " shall we dance " is the universal appeal of the story . +a us version is in the works , and it's no wonder - it's not really all that culture specific . +although there is a narrated set-up that adds some extra resonance to the proceedings ( about the view the japanese culture has about ballroom dancing ) , the movie is so rich in character and appeal that this added layer isn't at all necessary to understand or enjoy the film . +the only important unexplained japanese-specific reference that may leave some a bit puzzled is that 1000 yen is roughly $10 ( when you see the film - and you should see this film - you'll know why ) . +a middle aged company man realizes that achieving all the goals he set for himself in life ( a house , a child , and good marriage ) still doesn't translate into a fulfilled life . +after glimpsing a melancholy beauty looking out from a dance studio window while on the train home from work , sugiyana ( koji yakusho ) decides after some trepidation to take up ballroom dance lessons in order to meet the woman who has stirred something in himself . +after finding the weekly fees for private lessons from the elegant and beautiful mai ( tamiyo kusakari ) too rich for his blood , sugiyama opts for groups lessons simply to be near her . +we then meet the players in this gem of a movie , who all have their own reasons for joining the class . +later on , we meet aoki at the dance studio ( naoto takenaka ) , a co-worker and all out weirdo and one of the laugh riot highlights of the film . +the story , laughs , and touching scenes evolve as the movie goes along . +it's a pleasure to watch such a wonderful film that is propelled almost solely by the characters and performances . +it's difficult to explain the charms of the film without revealing too much - the movie abounds with little revelations that subtly shape the characters , and in the end , each one is that much fuller and more understood by the time you leave the theater . +it's one of those movies that only the french seem to make anymore - no big plot , no special effects , no gunplay , no tragic consequences , no forced examinations of the nature of love , and no insights into the nature of evil . +just a warm , funny , endearing film that will charm the pants off of you . +when was the last time you left a theater feeling all warm and fuzzy inside ? + " shall we dance " will do that to you without any treacly aftertaste . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv205_9457.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv205_9457.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d318cc9f8bd2c56c578f048334fba4fb7a391c64 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv205_9457.txt @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +when i first heard of contact , the hype was building it up as a sci-fi blockbuster . +now , with that in mind , coupled with the knowledge of jodie foster's involvement in the project , i thought " what in the world is foster doing in a sci-fi blockbuster ? ? ? " . +as it turned out , my expectations were completely nullified and turned topsy-turvy . +robert zemeckis , back from the euphoria created by his last film , forrest gump , once again proves his mastery in fusing tales of adventure with along the endearing lines of human spirit . +don't get me wrong , contact is sci-fi ? but with a definite difference . +based on the late carl sagan novel of the same name , the story delves itself in questions on science and god ; fact and faith . +allie ( foster ) is a radio astronomer . +she spends her time listening to the stars , via ultra-huge communication dishes in search of intelligent life beyond the solar system . +her passion for `long-distance communication' is the result of her younger days being spent avidly in front of a ham-radio system ( a hobbyist radio communication device ) which her late-father bought for her . +a scene which particularly strengthens the audiences' view of the passion is when she asked her father whether she could contact her late-mother through the ham-radio system in which her father replied " not even the most powerful radio in the world can do that , now " . +allie's research is based on the seti project ( search for extra terrestrial intelligence ) , in which she listens to radio emissions from other galaxies in the hope of finding one which would suggest intelligent manipulation . +her work has never been off the scrutiny of the us government , which considers it a waste of taxpayer's money and politically unviable , her supervisor ( tom skerritt ) pulls the plug on seti . +undaunted , allie managed to gather a loyal group of `believers' and eventually found funding from a large private corporation . +the following months were treacherous to their hopes and research as they are contantly pressured by the government but all that changed when one day , she caught an emission of a seemingly intelligent repeating sound-wave . +the news of her find attracted hordes of alien believers , cultist , the media and of course , the government . +the situation became intense upon her discovery of pictorial plans on building a form of transport which were embedded within the repeating sound emission . +as the world join forces to build this transport , allie is desperate to be the one to go . +she enrols herself among a few hopefuls , to represent the world when the transport is ready for operation . +her eligibility for the spot failed when she is questioned on her beliefs in the existence of god by the president's spiritual advisor ( mcconaughey ) ; allie , being an atheist , a result of her belief in fact and science , refuses to budge upon questioning . +at this point the movie plot thickens considerably as she is romantically involved with the president's spiritual advisor . +a strong point which propelled the movie is the depth of its main characters played by foster and mcconaughey . +from the very first meeting scene , it is obvious that the two of them was sort of kindred spirits but they were worlds apart in almost all aspects , foster being a person drawn to science and facts and mcconaughey being one who believes in faith , hope and the power of the unseen . +the meeting of their worlds , added with the situation which they are put into makes the entire storytelling process near flawless . +many people who read the synopsis of this film would find it a tad too ridiculous , but by actually immersing yourself in it , gives you an entirely different perspective ; one which is free from bias and pre-conceptions . +zemeckis and his team of screen writers have done a remarkable job in telling this tale through film . +contact works by not delving in controversy but rather , touches the thinking audience , urging them to ponder upon the questions raised in the film concerning fact and faith ; whether one can actually find compromise within . +i consider contact as one of the must-sees for this year . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv206_14293.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv206_14293.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e84628269bacf3889ff33700c8f61a8581ecb801 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv206_14293.txt @@ -0,0 +1,56 @@ +you've got to love disney . +no matter what they serve up , it is a guaranteed success as long as it's animated . +kids have to go see the movie . +then they have to get the toys . +oh , the video came out ? +got to buy it , or risk little billy's temper tantrums for the next month . +all of this culminates in the childhood equivalent of a pilgrimage to mecca : a visit to the magic kingdom . +stay at the disneyland hotel ! +buy a disney t-shirt ! +eat an ice cream mickey mouse on a stick ! +it's both a vertical and horizontal monopoly when you think about it . +dale carnegie should have had it so good . +what's most amazing is that all this success is in spite of a severe lack of originality . +you see , disney animated features these days have two components : theme and plot . +the theme changes with each new movie ; the plot does not . +the plot is a mold into which the characters of some ancient fable are dropped , and try as they might to rise above the characters of previous features , they are nearly always destined to do no more than the same . +however , while the success of a disney animated feature is generally a given as far as box-office receipts , merchandising dollars , and glimmers in the eyes of little children , critically they are as varied as anything else that hollywood has to offer . +luckily , disney's latest animated offering , mulan , manages to be engaging and refreshing , even while rife with formula . +the film starts with the invasion of ancient china by the huns , led by the imposing shan-yu ( miguel ferrer ) . +soon , china's emperor ( pat morita ) mobilizes his armies and decrees that one male from each family in the country shall serve to fight in china's defense . +when the fa family is served notice , it is the elderly father , fa zhou ( soon-tek oh ) who must answer the call , as there are no other males in the household . +fearing her father will surely be killed in battle , fa mulan ( ming-na wen ) disguises herself as a man and sneaks off with the royal orders to join the chinese army . +mulan , based on a chinese epic poem , is a classic tale of the triumph of the ugly duckling . +mulan herself is a disgrace to her loving family , as she has a difficult time fitting into the traditional woman's role , and in a very amusing scene where a matchmaker attempts to assess her value to a potential husband , we see that " grace " is not one of her strong points . +very early on , we are presented with the high importance of bringing honor to one's family , and by botching her chance at gaining the favor of the matchmaker , mulan fails at that task . +by leaving home to fight in her father's place , she may not only spare his life , but bring honor , too . +as is the case with most disney musicals , the songs are first rate and pervasive throughout the film . +i'm not sure if they will get much airplay , but at least one of the songs will no doubt receive recognition come oscar time . +both lea salonga , who provides the singing voice for mulan , and donny osmond who sings for shang , the captain of mulan's army unit and obligatory love interest , are more than competent , although salonga's voice translates much better to animation . +you have to hear it to understand . +interestingly , the musical numbers which are so often done with big flourishes are surprisingly muted in mulan . +there is no significantly big number , which is customary as the second or third song in a disney film , but this does not detract significantly from the rest of the movie . +it is , however , an expectation which has been built by disney's own formulaic history , and some viewers may feel as if something is missing . +artistically , the animators have chosen to adopt the more subdued pastels of chinese artwork , and although this may not live up to the vibrance so associated with many of the other disney works , it helps to contribute a more authentic , and therefore more credible , nature to what otherwise may be seen as a typically " disneyfied " ethnic tale . +there are also a couple of visually standout scenes , one involving the charge of shan-yu's hun army , which utilizes the same computer-enhanced imagery disney animators have employed since the chandelier in beauty and the beast . +the other scene worth mentioning is so quick you might miss it . +when mulan resolves to take her father's place , she dons her father's old battle armor , and unsheathes a sword . +as she does so , you can see her reflection in the polished metal . +it just left me thinking , " that was really cool . " +a wonderful range of performances delight the audience throughout the film , varying from the straight , such as soon-tek oh as fa zhou , to the comical , such as harvey fierstein as yao , a gruff , pugilistic member of shang's conscripted army . +even more outrageous is eddie murphy as mushu , the diminutive guardian dragon sent to look after mulan . +although an obvious attempt to relive the chemistry brought forth by robin williams in aladdin , murphy nevertheless distinguishes himself with his own winning performance . +i found the choice of b . d . +wong as shang a little strange ( you may remember him as martin short's wedding planner assistant in the father of the bride ) , but they used robbie benson for the voice of the beast in beauty and the beast , so i guess anything's possible . +in any event , wong performs admirably as well . +one character which provides a significant amount of humor is grandmother fa . +she deserves recognition not only because of the levity she brings to the movie , but also because she is voiced by two very remarkable people . +june foray , who supplies grandmother fa's speaking voice , is a venerable voice actress who may be best known for her work as rocky the squirrel and natasha fatale ( as in boris and natasha ) . +marni nixon , who provides grandmother fa's singing voice , is the same vocalist who dubbed the voices for anna in the king and i , maria in west side story , and eliza in my fair lady . +with this in mind , hearing grandmother fa is like listening to a little piece of history . +mulan is the latest disney animated feature to get away from some of the eurocentrism which for so long dominated disney films . +in an effort to be culturally sensitive ( and to avoid a " miss saigon " -type debacle ) , disney has also wisely chosen to employ many asian-american actors for both lead and supporting roles . +in addition to the actors already mentioned , the cast includes such ubiquitous talents as james hong , gedde watanabe , james shigeta , and george takei . +i guess clyde kusatsu wasn't available . +at a running time of slightly under an hour and a half , mulan moves quickly and provides solid entertainment for both children and , happily , adults . +this is the kind of disney feature that makes you wonder what they will do next , rather than hope that the next one is better . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv207_29284.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv207_29284.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a459a9c757ae5d1464cfc91232e047b0c4ad69c3 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv207_29284.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +with three pre- to mid-teen children and an aging father-in-law to care for--cooking and cleaning and laundry , drop-offs at little league practice and pick-ups from ballet practice--margaret hall's life is rife with complications . +and with her naval officer husband stationed somewhere in the north atlantic , virtually impossible to reach by telephone , margaret leads the crazed life of a single parent . +but margaret's hectic world is about to get a lot more complicated . +her teenage son beau , a talented trumpet player with strong prospects of being accepted into wesleyan university's music program , has fallen in with the wrong crowd . +his mother drives from their idyllic , lakeside community of tahoe city , california to the sprawling urban metropolis of reno , nevada , with its imposing concrete superstructures and seedy neon-lit nightclubs , to confront the 30-something man who has befriended beau . + " stay away from my son " margaret warns darby reese . +her words , however , appear to fall on deaf ears as reese turns up drunk at the family homestead later that evening , urging beau to join him in the boathouse . +there are words and advances and some pushing and shoving and beau runs back into the house , passed his startled mother , as the crack of a wooden railing giving way breaks the cold blue silence and an intoxicated reese tumbles out of sight . +the next day , on her morning walk , margaret discovers reese's lifeless body lying crumpled on the shoreline , a boat anchor impaled in his chest . +with her maternal instincts working overtime , margaret quickly ferries the body out into the lake , weighs it down , and dumps it overboard . +but margaret's life is about to get a lot more complicated . +soon after the body is discovered , snagged on a local fisherman's line , margaret is paid a visit by an attractive-seeming blackmailer in a red nova . +alek spera threatens to hand over compromising videotape of beau to the police unless margaret comes up with $50 , 000 by 4 o'clock the next day . +but margaret's life is about to get a lot more complicated , for alek turns out to be something she never expected . +based on elisabeth sanxay holding's novel " the blank wall , " " the deep end " is a well-crafted thriller written and directed by scott mcgehee and david siegel ( " suture " ) . +it makes the most of a talented but not particularly well-known cast--goran visnjic plays alek with a suave likeability , jonathan tucker shines as the conflicted beau , peter donat is amusing as grandfather hall , and josh lucas has an equally small but effective role as the hapless darby reese . +the film is also lovingly photographed by giles nuttgens and features an evocative score , courtesy peter nashel . +but it owes everything to british actress tilda swinton . +swinton , whose pale-faced ethereal beauty has graced many of derek jarman's films ( " caravaggio , " " edward ii , " " the last of england " ) , plays margaret hall in " the deep end " and , like charlotte rampling in this year's " under the sand , " turns in a commanding and accomplished performance . +margaret is a devoted mother who is willing to risk everything to protect the ones she loves , and swinton captures every frustration , every fear , every subtle examination and every fervent realization and every nervous oscillation of her being . +the role calls for an extremely wide range of emotions none the least of which is simply playing a mother beset with a multitude of domestic responsibilities . +many can relate to that , of course ; it's the murder cover-up and the blackmail and the fear of losing one's son that swinton so gracefully , so graciously , makes resonate with the truest of colors . +the end is deep all right , and there isn't a single shallow moment in tilda swinton's canon . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv208_9020.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv208_9020.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8fd24b546a146498e763992662d120f8dde9520e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv208_9020.txt @@ -0,0 +1,43 @@ +i hate to burst your bubble , but after all the star power , mega bucks , screenwriters , directors , and cool trailers , men in black is not the best movie of the summer . +it's pretty good in it's own right , yes , but i would probably split the " best movie " honors among face/off , spawn , con air , and maybe event horizon . +it's main problem is that it's quickly forgettable , and i can't remember one truly good scene from it . +from con air , it was the scene out in the desert when they were digging the plane out from the dirt . +in spawn , it was the " living room hell " conclusion at the end . +in event horizon , it was the video of the event horizon crew being taken over by hell's forces . +and all of face/off was pretty dang good . +but as for men in black , the only scene i still recall is when will smith is squishing all those giant roaches . +i remember it not for it's humor but because i am hate roaches with a passion and was pretty disgusted . +and yes , i did see mimic , which is something i'll touch on in a later review . +back to men in black ( is it just me , or does that sound funny ? ) +i remember first hearing about men in black back when i was a comic geek in the 7th grade and read magazines like wizard , etc . ( for those of you who aren't comic-geeks , wizard is basically to comics what car and driver is to cars , what the new yorker is to high society , what boy's life is to boy scots . +okay , that one was pretty pathetic . ) +few people know this , but men in black is based on a very obscure comic book that was , while not honest-politician-rare , very hard to find . +this was after the release of the high-grossing batman forever , and it said that tommy lee jones and chris o'donnell were being considered for the roles ( in the comic book , there were no black men in black . +kind of weird , huh ? ) +all i can say is , thank god they didn't cast chris o'donnell . +i know i can't be the only person on the planet who thinks he's an annoying , preppie little snot . . . +sorry . +my apologies to o'donnell fans . +i actually had a 7th grade teacher who was a big comic collector and was set to buy some of the comics from him , anticipating rather craftily that , if the movie was a big hit , it would drive up the price of the comics rather nicely . +he decided not to sell them to me , because they were " innappropriate " . +hmm . . . . +so now you're probably wondering why i've wasted about 5 paragraphs with lame anecdotes from my junior high years . +good question . +i'll move on to the movie now . +as you probably already know , will smith and tommy lee jones ( agents k and j , respectively ) belong to a top secret agency known as divison 5 , or it's nickname mib ( men in black . ) +men in black is a reference to the black suits and sunglasses the agents wear , and they're mission is to investigate reports of alien landings and keep the aliens under control while they're here on earth . +not to get too technical or spoil the plot for the 6 people in the world who haven't seen this movie , but a basically-big-roach-type-bug lands in a redneck farmer's yard , inhabits his body , and attempts to destroy the entire universe . +not bad , eh ? ( i have no idea why i just typed that . +i'm not even really paying attention anymore . ) +the special effects are good yet dissapointing in men in black . +i found their main headquarters to be boring , as were the " cool weapons " they had . +the noisy cricket just plain sucked , no matter what anyone said . +and the movie definitely surprised me in tone , although it probably shoudln't have . +it's director , barry sonnenfield , is known for " black humor " , directing both addams family movies . +this movie was basically a " black comedy " , not an action/sci-fi like i expected from the trailers . +don't get me wrong on what i think of this movie . +it's not bad , i gave it * * * . +it was mostly entertaining throughout it's run , and had a very good ending , although i think i was the only person in the theater not amazed by it . +my diagnosis for this picture : a good weekend rental , but not worth a movie ticket . +of course , the movie is now long gone from theaters , but that's beside the point . +i think . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv209_29118.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv209_29118.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..367cd552c803e79d6e6e7bced36b43184b3f1f94 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv209_29118.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10 @@ +susan granger's review of " osmosis jones " ( warner bros . ) +if the farrelly brothers taught anatomy & physiology in school , no one would cut ever class . +this hip , live action/animation story begins as a monkey snatches a hard-boiled egg from frank , a zookeeper ( bill murray ) , who grabs it back , drops it , then gobbles up the contaminated morsel , explaining , " if it hits and ground and you pick it up within 10 seconds , you can eat it . " +like " fantastic voyage " ( 1966 ) , the pseudo-science animation then takes over when his body's immune system contacts traffic control as an ingested virus hits the digestive system : " be on the alert for illegal organisms ! " +eager to right " a stomach evacuation mistake " he once made , a cocky , clever , courageous white blood cell ( chris rock ) declares , " this is a crime scene ! " +and teams up with a conscientious " phi beta capsule " 12-hour cold remedy called drixenol ( david hyde pierce ) to chase down and destroy the deadly " red death " virus ( laurence fishburne ) that's determined to take frank down in 48 hours , beating ebola and e . coli to a medical record . +watch out for mucus mudslides , chaos in cerebellum hall and the detritus from booger dam ( runny nose ) , along with comic turns from molly shannon and chris elliot , plus the voices of william shatner and brandy norwood . +peter and bobby farrelly , along with writer mark hyman and animation directors piet kroon and tom sito , have turned their penchant for gross-out comedy , encompassing flatulence , festering sores and " popping a pimple without a permit , " into a funny , farrelly-funny family film . +on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , " osmosis jones " is a wildly imaginative , original , explosive 7 . +and perhaps , as they're laughing , kids will learn where to find their uvula , along with nuggets about nutrition and hygiene . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv210_9312.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv210_9312.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1d679e5ade616bca0b05af1d2f3c84f7e575828d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv210_9312.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +i must say from the outset that i have never been much of a kurt russell fan . +i've seen some of his films ( silkwood , backdraft , unlawful entry ) and while he gave adequate performances , i have never been impressed with his work . +breakdown , then , is something of a surprise . +russell gives a fine performance , as do most of the cast , one that is not upstaged by the action orchestrated in the second half of the film . +to say that he holds the film together would not be completely true , but he does it no harm . +russell plays jeff , one half of a married couple travelling with his wife amy ( kathleen quinlan ) cross country to san diego to start a new job and a new life . +while journeying through the desert their car breaks down and , left helpless and stranded , jeff waves down a passing truck driver ( j . t . +walsh ) who offers to take them to a nearby diner to call for a tow truck . +because of a nasty incident earlier with a couple of ruffians , jeff decides to stay with the car while amy gets help . +that , it seems , is the last time jeff ( or anyone else ) sees her . +breakdown has been compared to several movies : george sluizer's the vanishing ( the original , hopefully , not his appalling hollywood remake ) , steven spielberg's duel and any number of hitchcock films . +as with these , breakdown does not , for the most part , stray down the conventional path of the american action-thriller . +jeff does not become a gun-toting vigilante on the hunt for his wife , but instead becomes a scared , confused everyman who has no idea what the hell is going on . +when we do find out what has happened to amy , it does come as a slight disappointment , if only because it's too early in the film ; i for one could have done with an extra twenty minutes or so of mystery and bewilderment , but this affects the film little . +russell , as mentioned earlier , is very good in his role , and kathleen quinlan is nowhere near as annoying as she was in apollo 13 . +j . t . +walsh , as the possibly evil truck driver , is terrific ; he is one of the best of the fine batch of character actors hollywood doesn't seem to know what to do with , but director jonathan mostow is on the right track here . +the reason he makes such a great villain is that he actually looks like a real person , one anyone would be able to trust , which makes the plot that much more believable . +breakdown is what hollywood doesn't make enough of , a great thriller with believable characters and scenes that do , indeed , have viewers on the edge of their seats . +one of the most genuinely exciting films i've seen in a long time . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv212_10027.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv212_10027.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4796bd77b860802c2380db54e6630fc7a08a1b23 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv212_10027.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17 @@ +ingredients : neophyte lawyer , legal situations , corrupt insurance company , +synopsis : rudy baylor ( matt damon ) is an ethical kid fresh out of law school who must juggle three legal situations at the same time . +rudy's girlfriend is attacked by her violent husband ; rudy's elderly landlady wants to arrange her will so that her children are excluded , and ; the family of rudy's friend with leukemia is suing the corrupt insurance company that wouldn't pay for a bone marrow transplant . +rudy is new to being a lawyer and is thoroughly outgunned , but luckily he is aided by a sleazy ambulance chaser ( danny devito ) who has failed the bar exam six times as well as by the kindly presiding judge ( danny glover ) . +jon voight plays leo f . drummond , the intimidating and arrogant leader of the all-powerful insurance company's team of lawyers who will do anything to oppose justice . +will rudy defeat leo ? +will he enjoy being a lawyer ? +opinion : the good news is that this movie has a happy ending , and it features a guy trying to do the right thing . +director francis ford coppola does this film a little differently than the stereotypical law movie . +in the typical lawyer movie there's one big case and the movie focuses on solving it , and somewhere along the line surprise witnesses and motives turn up before the good guy wins ( after lots of gripping courtroom drama ) . +however , coppola's movie is deliberately more low key . +'the rainmaker' plays out like a personality sketch of young rudy as he gets emotionally involved with and tries to save various little quirky side characters . +in the background rudy's voice narrates his feelings and makes half-cynical jokes about the legal profession in general . +two factors combine to make this movie less heavy than it can be . +first , rudy's time is split juggling three cases , rather than concentrating on a single high-stakes case . +also , rudy's use of voice narration in place of acting makes the film lose some of its dramatic edge . +the end result is an entertaining low key law movie where the good guys win , and rudy narrates his way into coming of age . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv213_18934.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv213_18934.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0d3bfe8c73ced67c896fe2fb24dc80d54a525cb8 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv213_18934.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ +in one of my many videos i have attained from the local library , casablanca was my third classic in some weeks . +the others being citizen kane and vertigo ( yes , i am trying to see as many of afi's greatest movies ever made as i can ) . +but , casablanca stood out from the rest for me : it was actually watchable . +what most hail as the greatest american film ever , casablanca isn't so much a love story as a political frenzy with a love triangle thrown in . +it seems that star humphry bogart spend about 85 percent of the movie with various leaders of the nation instead of with ingred bergman . +that annoyed me , as did the ending . +why didn't the plan turn around ? ! ? +surprisingly , i enjoyed the film . +i liked bogart's character and his acting ( not over the top as most actors in his era ) . +i once read about if you had a choice to be in a movie , which one would it be , and a women said casablanca . +at first i was thinking to myself " why ? " +then , as i watched the film again , i understood why . +the movie is very well done and the script top-notch , although i doubt i understood more than half of the political mumbo jumbo . +casablanca is , in my mind , no classic ( like solaris ) , but it is a good film and stylishly shot . +hey , hollywood , how about this : a remake with harrison ford and anne heche ? +now that would be a classic . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv214_12294.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv214_12294.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2b1e9a9d218fdfedfe51439a7b16077c5fe88871 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv214_12294.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +capsule : suprisingly more of a comedy than a straight action flick , which isn't necessarily a bad thing . +not exactly oscar caliber , but one helluva bullet-riddled good time . +extended review : you know , i remember when hitmen were evil , murderous scum . +alas , the times are a-changin' . +in a recent string of movies , hitmen are suddenly wise- cracking , fun-loving killers-with-hearts . +this brings us to hong kong director kirk wong's first american feature , the big hit . +oddly enough , about the same time last year a similar film , grosse point blank , was released . +advertised as a quirky comedy with hints of action , it turned out to have a suprising dosage of it . +the big hit is quite the opposite . +it was hyped as " the new film from producer john woo " , so one would it expect lots of stylized killing and action . +however , there's a sore lack of it , which is about the only thing wrong with the big hit . +the film starts out with mel smiley and his cohorts doing a job on a white slaver . +mel , played by mark wahlberg in a dopey , milquetoast role , is a killing machine ; he flips , spins , even breakdances whilst popping caps . +sadly , he doesn't get a chance to do much of it . +except for the beginning set piece and the last 20 twenty minutes or so , the film is in comedy mode . +the action , at least what there is of it , is prime cut stuff . +wong , after numerous hong kong features , makes quite a nice u . s . debut . +however , his pacing is a bit off , with the action sequences only bookending the movie and not lasting long enough . +they start off electrifying and fresh , but just kinda stop . +normally , this would hamper a movie to the point of being unenjoyable . +luckily , we have ben ramsey's screenplay , a bitingly funny piece of work . +the only problem is there might be too much humor , one joke makes you laugh so hard you miss the next few . +some of best gags include an oriental film maker down on his luck and one of mel's hitmen pals that has just discovered onanism . +the only problem is how some of the minor characters are handled , some being there only for a laugh , which sometimes works , sometimes doesn't . +overall , the big hit may have it's flaws , but it makes up for them in a stylishly directed , gut-wrenchingly funny joyride . +definately one of the better ways to spend two hours . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv215_22240.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv215_22240.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..386ba52dfc104f4ac4e19cb1251ed91a49a3f7cb --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv215_22240.txt @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ + " when will the devil take me ? " he asks rhetorically in lulling voice over . +the spoiled title character of _onegin_ ( pronounced oh-negg-in ) is waiting on death to relieve him after a lifetime of rapacious behaviour . +martha fiennes' debut feature is ( quite literally ) filmed poetry ( it's based on an epic russian poem by alexander pushkin ) , a profound study of regret , of how we confuse shame with guilt . +when we first meet eugene onegin ( ralph , acting for his sister ; another brother , magnus , composed the score ) , a philandering aristocrat from st . petersburg , he has just inherited his uncle's estate . +with plans to sell it , onegin pays a summer visit to the manor , which is located in an underpopulated russian countryside , and not long into the trip he meets a neighbouring family of blue bloods . +smitten with olga larina ( headey ) , he befriends olga's fianc ? , vladimir lensky ( stephens ) , while olga's sister , tatyana ( tyler ) , romanticizing his flippant attitude ( he's a nineteenth bad boy ) , falls for onegin . +in one sweaty , inky torrent of passion , tatyana writes him a love letter . +he is at least intrigued by the note but rejects her affections , it is implied , because he can . +soon after , tragedy strikes , and onegin makes himself scarce . +when we catch up with him , six years later , he has just returned to st . petersburg , where at a grand ball he discovers that an old friend ( donovan ) has married a more womanly and wordly tatyana . +this time , onegin finds her irresistable . +what is most amazing about ralph fiennes' performance is his subtle physical transformation from dashing snob to miserly grouch . +overwhelmed by a top hat , the onegin who pines for tatyana seems smaller in stature than the one who brushed her off , an ebeneezer scrooge trapped in christmas past . +the actor has been constricted playing heroes for too long now-there's room to breathe in a role that's made up of shades of gray like " onegin " . +petula clark sang of a universal phenomenon in " parking lot " : " you don't know what you've got ? til it's gone . " +onegin's about-face on tatyana speaks for those of us ( read : most of us ) who need confirmation that someone or something is wanted by others before we want it as well . +what the character feels is not jealousy but remorse , embarrassment , even , at having let her go . +out of identification we feel empathy for onegin , a callous bastard . +tatyana's emotions echo a thousand ditties , but that makes them no less vital . +she changes , too , from a girl in crush to a woman with divided loyalties . +tyler acquits herself surprisingly well among her uk co-stars , filling in sketchy gaps by expressing base sentiments in a series of wanton stares . +they both have faces , mr . fiennes and ms . tyler , capable of conveying archetypal russian misery . +_onegin_ could have added up to little more than a distinguished episode of " masterpiece theater " , even with its current cast of thoroughbreds intact , were martha fiennes not at the helm . +an mtv background ( she cut her teeth directing rock videos for xtc and others ) has positively influenced her sense of pace ( though , thankfully , not her shot lengths-no spasmodic cutting here ) ; at just over 100 minutes , _onegin_ clicks along like a brisk walk through valleys of despair . +the film has an atypical period look , as well . +absent are the sumptuous tableware and antique furnishings that stand in for plot and character in those drippy merchant ivory productions . +the sets are almost expressionistically bare , echoing the loneliness of the protagonists . + ( cinematographer remi adafarasin often allows space to engulf them ; i'm reminded the climax , which unfolds in a sea of white . ) +martha fiennes has a clear command of cinema , and her spare , often painfully human visual presentation of " yevgeny onegin " is arguably the most lucid translation of pushkin's difficult text yet . +ms . fiennes may be the most exciting female presence behind a camera since jane campion . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv216_18738.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv216_18738.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6d8bf97a250d6c671d0ec5a06203789137263aa7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv216_18738.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +bruce barth's mellow piano plays in the background as conflict erupts in a little country town of florida . +ulee's gold feels like another fonda creation- on golden pond : it has a soft , calm surface with a tempest brewing underneath , the cinematography creates a place of gold , yellow , and olive colors , the music is stirring and tranquil . +both deal with the hardships of family life . +peter fonda gives his undoubtedly best performance in victor nu ? ez's new film and patricia richardson ( home improvement star ) shows she is worthy of big screen attention . +nu ? ez is probably independent film's greatest asset , along with john sayles , and he proves his talent with a slow pace and undulating , heavy tension . +peter fonda's performance borrows from his father henry fonda's in on golden pond- there is a great vulnerability that he gives the character ulee jackson and just like his father , peter fonda is quiet , emotional , and weary in this exceptional role . +ulee jackson , the film's protagonist , is struggling . +pressure is mounting at the wrong time . +he is a beekeeper and this is his " busy " season . +he has to deal with his two granddaughters' needs and erupting hormones , he is forced to pick up his daughter-in-law in orlando who is strung out on drugs and take care of her , and he is faced with a challenging task : unsettled business his son , who is now in prison , has left behind . +he finds his daughter-in-law , helen , with the two men his son robbed a bank with . +she has apparently told these two men that the money that resulted from the robbery is with her husband . +that is why he got caught- the police found him with the money . +now the two men are demanding they get the cash , or they will come after ulee's two granddaughters . +ulee promises he will bring it to them and takes a deranged helen back to his serene little home where her two children that she abandoned scrutinize her with contempt . +ulee is a man who lost his pals in war- he was the only man in his platoon to survive . +he refuses help from anybody and does not respond to affectionate gestures . +he is a bitter , closed-off man whose only passion is his beekeeping , his granddaughters , and his dead wife . +connie , his next door neighbor , finally gets through to him with friendly favors . +she is a nurse and helps helen get through her turmoil with drugs . +ulee's gold is the story of a man who believes he is fine as he is- until the truth is revealed painfully to him : he is cold and unfeeling . +of course , in the end , ulee softens up , but his journey is absorbing and we have fallen in love with his tiredness and weariness . +what is admirable about the movie is peter fonda's winning turn as ulee and the story that feels like nobody's fool but , in the end , ends up in a class of its own . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv218_24352.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv218_24352.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..961b7cef24be40bcf6798f253b29f4f354a4d257 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv218_24352.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +when you go to the movies as much as i do , you unfortunately end up seeing certain movie trailers one too many times . +such was the case with frequency . +every time i went to a screening , there was the frequency preview . +it looked awful . +it looked cheesy , sappy and ridiculous . +it looked like a flop . +well , whoever put that trailer together should be fired , because in terms of pure entertainment , frequency is one of the best of the year thus far . +frequency boasts a compelling story line . +an occurrence of freakish solar activity allows police detective john sullivan ( james caviezel ) to speak to his fireman father frank sullivan ( dennis quaid ) through a ham radio , despite the fact that frank has been dead for 30 years . +john is able to give his father information that prevents his death in a warehouse fire , but by doing so causes other changes . +somehow , a serial killer's reign of terror , which in the original timeline had been stopped at three murders , extends to ten victims . . . +including john's mother . +this is director gregory hoblit's third film ( the other two being primal fear and fallen ) . +with all three , he's managed to attach himself to great scripts ( this one by toby emmerich , whose only previous movie experience was as a music supervisor on numerous new line films ) and add equally great direction . +also , he apparently likes to have his films wrap up with a kick-ass ending . +frequency is no exception , the ending is unpredictable and incredibly satisfying . +hoblit is three for three , and i hope he can keep it up . +now everyone can argue logic this and logic that all you want with the sci-fi elements of frequency . +but the fact of the matter is that time travel has never been achieved . +who's to say how something works and how it doesn't when it's never happened ? +is it because we've become accustomed to time travel " laws " from other places like " star trek " and the back to the future trilogy and " quantum leap " ? +yes , if you sit down and think about it , certain plot elements in this film probably won't make any sense . +most films are like that . +don't let that dissuade you from seeing this fantastically entertaining film however . +when frequency was over , it made me wish i had seen it with my father so i could have given him a hug ( okay okay , shut up ) . +when you break it down past all its sci-fi elements and serial killer antics , frequency is simply a movie about a father and his son and the bond that they share . +it's touching , it's sincere , and it's what ultimately makes this movie work . +[pg-13] diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv219_18626.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv219_18626.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..23f6afac3a3c57bf44e05711caf0bc6f41a36c5c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv219_18626.txt @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ +it must be tough to be a mob boss . +just ask paul vitti ( robert deniro ) , a man who finds his job as mafia head to be rather stress inducing . +i can believe it , too - one can't even begin to fathom the turmoil he must go through when he's forced to choose between an ice pick , baseball bat or sledgehammer to torture victims with . +suffering from reoccurring panic attacks , paul decides he needs to consult some professional help . +and who better than billy crystal . +after appearing in bottom-of-the-barrel flops , father's day and my giant , crystal finally finds a reliable costar and some very promising material here . +playing vitti's private shrink , the two very different stars strike an unorthodox , but interesting relationship that carries this enjoyable comedy on a steady wave of laughs from start to finish . +casting robert deniro as paul vitti is something of an in-joke , i think . +placed in this mobster's shoes , deniro gets to spoof characters he himself played in films like the godfather , part ii and casino . +it's obvious he's having a lot of fun doing so . +the man behind the camera is harold ramis , whose credits include ghostbusters ( as writer and star ) , and his best directing effort , the bill murray vehicle , groundhog day . +ramis has a knack for drawing laughs because he simply knows what's funny , and here he manages to accentuate the strengths of nearly all the actors . +the only character who weakens the payoff is crystal's bride-to-be ( lisa kudrow ) . +playing the same dumbed-down role as she does in friends , kudrow is amusing , but doesn't fit into this comedy mold as well as the director may have hoped . +the supporting cast sparkles . +joe viterelli is hilarious as jelly , vitti's pea brained right-hand man , and chazz palminteri is a show stopper playing a fellow mobster who's in desperate need of the definition of `closure' . +the movie manages to maintain consistent chuckles throughout , putting the emphasis on 3 or 4 really big laughs that will have audiences grasping their sides . +the situation is just too cute to resist . +it's unfortunate that the language gets somewhat out of hand . +but hey , if you're in the mafia , using obscenities probably comes naturally . +and near the end , seeing billy crystal attempt to walk and talk like a mob boss is truly a special treat . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv220_29059.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv220_29059.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0b14c7bc64d4515ad1900209131bc53b00e7446f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv220_29059.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +the caveman's valentine starring samuel l . jackson , ann magnuson , aunjanue ellis , tamara tunie screenplay by george dawes green , based on his novel directed by kasi lemmons + * * * for more film , dvd and books about movie reviews , plus annual coverage of the toronto international film festival , visit _film freak central_ - http : //filmfreakcentral . net +| now with search engine * * * +a strange mixture of _shine_ , _basquiat_ , _angel heart_ , and grant morrison & dave mckean's graphic novel " arkham asylum " , _the caveman's valentine_ is a feverish tale of a homeless madman-cum-detective who , on the morning of february 14th , discovers a " valentine " just outside his new york cave : one of ella fitzgerald's strange fruit , stuck in the crotch of a tree--a young male model murdered and frozen to a branch . +believing at first that his imagined nemesis stuyvesant , shooting evil rays into his mind from atop the chrysler building , is responsible for the murder , romulus ( samuel l . jackson ) is put on the trail of an avant-garde photographer in the mapplethorpe mould , david leppenraub ( colm feore ) . +his minor sleuthing interrupted by the occasional delusional fit and bouts with an ecstasy of creation ( romulus was a brilliant julliard-trained pianist prior to his psychosis ) , romulus uncovers clues and harasses suspects on his way to convincing his police-woman daughter ( aunjanue ellis ) that even though he's a nut , that doesn't mean that he can't solve a high-profile society murder . +every moment an exhausting workshop of ideas , and every character the same , _the caveman's valentine_ is a concept so " high concept " that it suddenly became clear to me that the film fits into the comic book genre of entertainment , with romulus's " caveman " a slightly more mundane version of todd mcfarlane's urban noir hero , spawn . +with a long-vanished wife ( tamara tunie ) acting as a spiritual guide , the occasional social caste commentary , the secret base in a cave , a divergent genius personality with a network of informants and supporters , and a wickedly colourful arch-enemy , the film piles on the lurid comic book details and dizzying slapdash colours to such a lavish extent that i was vaguely surprised that the blue police cars weren't inscribed with " gotham pd . " +that being said , _the caveman's valentine_ can only really succeed as a heroic fantasy , a frank miller graphic novel that has the audacity to portray the blood staining a field of virgin snow expanding to form the shape of a heart . +the difficulties with the film spring from the misunderstanding that it somehow adheres to the conventions of a thriller or a police procedural when , in fact , _the caveman's valentine_ is a superhero fable that takes on the cause of the homeless ( again like mcfarlane's spawn ) while attacking the entrenched ruling classes in government and the arts . +it is no small detail that our hero , romulus , is not only named for a member of the ruling class who lived his life ( in legend ) without knowledge of his royal birth , but also that our romulus has turned his back on the comforts of the literati in favour of a mystical existence living in a cave in a park . in the romulus mythology , signs of romulus' royal blood is brought by twelve vultures , while in the film , the call to action for our hero comes in the form of not the carrion birds , but of the carrion itself . +whether or not romulus of _the caveman's valentine_ will found a nation , or , in the case of novelist george dawes green , upon whose novel his own screenplay is based , a franchise , the fact remains that _the caveman's valentine_ is easily the most misunderstood film of 2001 thus far . +it , along with m . night shyamalan's _unbreakable_ , is a mature cinematic extrapolation of the graphic novel format which has , since miller's seminal " the dark knight returns " , redefined the comic medium as one suitable for mature ruminations on psychologically sticky topics . +readers of sam keith's brilliant " the maxx " comic series ( or of mtv's short-lived animated adaptation of the same ) are already familiar with the idea of a homeless man placed in the position of knight errant and king of his own twisted demesne . +the failure of both " the maxx " tv show and of _the caveman's valentine_ ( not forgetting the initial backlash against _unbreakable_ ) suggests that the public may not be ready for america's surprising contributions to dark fantasy . +luxuriantly lit , brashly saturated , and comic-panel framed with a virtuoso grace by cinematographer amy vincent ( _death in venice , ca_ ) , while inhabiting robin standefer's ( _practical magic_ ) mesmerizing sets , _the caveman's valentine_ is an unremittingly gorgeous film . +kasi lemmons , following up her brilliant 1997 debut , _eve's bayou_ , which played on similar themes of manufactured realities and mysticism , fulfills much of her immense promise with a tale of seraphs and lost boys , artists and suffering . +_the caveman's valentine_ is an elegant and piquant expression of hope for justice in a tilted landscape . +clearly not for every taste , when approached with the correct paradigm , it is one of the most stunning and intensely fascinating films of the year : a redefinition of the hero archetype for a post-modern audience with urine-stained wool trench coats in place of blue tights and red capes . +_the caveman's valentine_ is a fine and a courageous film , crazy enough to suggest that the delirious yammering of an idiot savant is the best and truest paladin of order in the chaos of eliot's rat's alley wasteland . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv221_2695.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv221_2695.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2248e61f330d72801a719e256f4f4a98517c86ac --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv221_2695.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ +expand the final fifteen minutes of home alone into a feature-length film and you've got baby's day out--an agreeably amusing children's comedy about a bumbling band of kid kidnappers who are unwittingly outwitted by an innocent infant . +the plot tracks a trio of crooks-posed-as-photographers ( mantegna , pantoliano , haley ) who steal nine-month-old bennington august cottwell iv , aka baby bink , from his old-money home . +but the plan goes awry when baby crawls out an open window and into the streets of downtown chicago ! +following the path of his favorite story , called " baby's day out , " baby rides a bus and visits the zoo and winds up at a skyscraper construction site . +while baby stays unscathed , the crooks fare worse for the wear . +the stooges get hit by boards and dropped from roofs and , of course , suffer multiple crotch injuries . + ( john wayne bobbitt should probably steer clear of this one . ) +like he did in planes , trains , and automobiles , john hughes again demonstrates his mastery of the simple set-up and extended execution . +here , he's aided and abetted by a director , patrick read johnson , whose choreography could rival a coen brother . +best bit : baby crawling across a busy city street . +baby's day out has only two emotions--awww and ouch--and the actors play them accordingly . +forget the cartoon concern of lara flynn boyle or cynthia nixon , disposable as mom and nanny , respectively , the ones to watch are the ones who are wincing . +joe mantegna is a great head stooge , barking lines like " that little doo-doo machine is my retirement money . " +brian haley has a great scene with a gorilla , while joe pantolianto plays curly to mantegna's moe . + * he * is funny . +needless to say , twins adam and jacob warton are adorable beyond belief . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv222_17395.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv222_17395.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2e8451beccec464ac7307ddc16d315eb4a5bf0f0 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv222_17395.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +waiting at the train station near the beginning of fury , joe says : `after all , we're human . ' +in the context of events to transpire , joe's line is prophetic , foreshadowing the internal conflict of the protagonist in the latter half of the film . +does being human necessarily imply humane behavior ? +through the baseness of human character exemplified in the formation of a mob , fritz lang prompts the viewer to consider whether our inclination towards impulsiveness supersedes our civility . +expressing his abhorrence towards the rise of nazism in his homeland , lang takes great care in creating a sense of discomfort during the scenes of mob hysteria . +in the scene prefacing the lynching , the mob achieves critical mass at the bar . +deputy meyers is brought in as an exalted informant , but when he is unable to augment the mob's myth of joe , he is quickly renounced from his position as town gossip . +we see in a shot where two bar patrons are arguing that the deputy looks around nervously at the growing monster and then carefully slips out of the bar . +what is quietly horrifying is the realization by both the audience and the deputy that the crowd no longer exists within the confines of reason and has succumbed to what the barber referred to as impulse . +what once was excitement to the deputy has turned into fear with the realization that he is now powerless . +to the audience , the deputy's quiet exit concurs with their own sinking feeling of uneasiness as the mob's delirium crescendos . +lang educes this discomfort not through movement of the camera , but rather its stillness . +the shot's composition places the audience equidistant and directly across from the pair of arguing patrons and the deputy effectively becomes a mirror to our own apprehensions . +as the intensity of the mob closes around deputy meyers , it does so around the viewer as well . +the stationary camera in this shot heightens our fears because when the deputy escapes , we are deserted by our reflection and the viewer becomes the sole proprietor of sensibility amongst a swarm of irrationality . +because the camera does not track the deputy's movement , we are left with an amplified perception of desertion and vulnerability . +as the bar scene progresses , the camera pans 180 degrees to reveal the fury of the mob . +this shot is unique because it is a point-of-view shot where the audience , not a character in the film is the subject . +while a long , or dolly shot may objectively reveal the size of the mob , panning from the mob's belly distorts the audience's spatial reference and exaggerates the claustrophobia of the scene ; we feel we are at the epicenter of something infinitely large . +we see close shots of people's faces , contorted by their rage . +with the pivot of the pan being in the center of the mob and angry members within a short radius of the pan , lang offers the viewer a sense of what it feels like to be the subject of a lynching . +in this shot the audience is at the mercy of the mob ; lang's camera makes us feel vulnerable and powerless as joe must have felt in the jail . +in some greater sense , it must have been what lang felt when he saw his countrymen overcome with unjustifiable hatred towards their own humankind . +lang's observations of his fellow man succumbing to mob behavior left him with an indelible image of malevolent human behavior . +as joe faces his peril , trapped in his burning cell , his dog rainbow rushes to be by his side . +lang makes rainbow a martyr to contrast his humanity against the recklessness of his human counterparts . +using his camera to create shots that elicit disturbing images of mob mentality , lang depicts man's volatility and `impulse' towards inconceivable cruelty . +reprising joe' s line at the train station , we are induced to question why our primeval impulses so easily transcend our humanity . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv223_29066.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv223_29066.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..264291774ecb296eed51716047331284344db949 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv223_29066.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +because the press screening of " planet of the apes " was one day past last issue's deadline , i was afforded the opportunity to see the film a second time , listen to audience reactions and read a heap of reviews before writing this piece . +the chief complaints of those who disliked the futuristic adventure appear to be that the movie focused on visuals instead of substance , that the story was thin , that mark wahlberg's character was colorless and that the surprise ending sucked . +to those people i would like to say ? what the hell did you expect ? +this is a tim burton movie , boys and girls . +tim burton movies have great art direction and thin , clunky stories . +for the blissfully nasty , disjointed and underrated " mars attacks ! " + ( jonathan rosenbaum of the chicago reader and i were two of the only critics in america to praise the movie ) burton reportedly tossed vintage " mars attacks ! " +trading cards onto the floor and based his story on the ones that landed face up . +burton's re-imagining of the 1968 story of an astronaut that lands on a planet where apes rule men looks great . +the apes , courtesy of make-up magician rick baker , are dazzling and ape city is a wonder to behold . +like astronaut leo davidson ( wahlberg ) , the film hits the ground running , whisking viewers through a head-spinning series of solid one-liners and engaging vignettes and establishing a sense of thrust that carries us through the more traditional fight scenes that come later . +as for wahlberg , consider what burton does with his character . +from his start as a filmmaker , burton has shown his fascination with colorful misfits ( pee-wee herman , the joker , ed wood , the ack-acking martians , etc . ) and lack of interest in standard issue heroes . +so leo davidson spends most of the movie getting the living shit kicked out of him before the biggest guilt trip in history is dropped on his shoulders . +as for lack of color , remember , leo only launches into space to get his monkey back . +he doesn't want to lead humanity and he isn't looking for romance from a pretty , but dull human ( estella warren ) or a dynamic ape ( helena bonham carter , terrific as an equal-rights activist ) . +as a man who just wants out , wahlberg is focused , subtle and sly . +the surprise ending provides the requisite shock ( and some more dandy visuals , particularly of the approaching authority figures ) , but admittedly isn't nearly as satisfying as the one in the original . +for the original ending to work , we only had to make one simple connection , for this one , we have to write a whole new screenplay . +the 1968 " apes " boasted a handful of great scenes , cool looking monkeys , a deliciously hammy performance by charlton heston ( who appears uncredited here as an aged chimp on his deathbed , re-delivering a classic line ) and a killer ending . +but viewers had to suffer through numerous dull stretches punctuated by social and political messages delivered with the grace of a wrecking ball . +the 2001 " planet of the apes " offers a different set of great scenes , much cooler looking monkeys , fine acting from wahlberg , bonham carter , paul giamatti and tim roth , and a not so good ending . +it also gives us another chance to experience the skewed vision of tim burton and that's nothing to complain about . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv224_17661.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv224_17661.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1a45af2dbda1348d511326b1eab4cf500f719e66 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv224_17661.txt @@ -0,0 +1,49 @@ +in 1977 , something never though possible happened . +the film star wars was released , with extraordinary , never seen before techniques of special effects . +the film set a new standard for special effects in film . +not only did it set a standard for the special effects , it set a standard for film itself . +the plot is one of the most creative i heard ever . +the legend of star wars starts long ago with the jedi . +the jedi were warriors who were wiped out by the dark side . +darth vader is the leader of the dark side . +ben obi-wan kenobi , played by sir alec guinness , was one of those jedi who is still alive today . +darth vader was once a jedi , until he turned to the dark side . +years after the killing of the jedi , darth vader is still around causing trouble . +r2-d2 and c-3p0 are both what we call " driods " , or robots that are of assistance to humans . +while an attack on the ship that princess leia , played by carrie fisher , is aboard , she inserts a message to r2-d2 , who is also on the ship . +to obi-wan kenobi pleading for help . +the princess is captured by vader , but r2-d2 and c-3p0 get away on an escape pod that eventually lands them on the remote planet of tatooine . +the jawas , or small creatures who sell droids , pick r2-d2 and c-3p0 up to sell . +they are bought by luke skywalker's ( mark hamill ) family . +while luke is cleaning the droids , the message from princess leia is found . +luke finds this obi-wan kenobi , and learns that obi-wan was a friend of luke's father , who is now dead . +luke also learns his family was a jedi . +after luke's family is killed by tropps from the dark side , ben decides to put luke through training to stop the dark side and destroy them once and for all . +ben wants to create a new jedi . +first , the two must find princess leia and serve her . +han solo , played by harrison ford , and his sidekick chewbacca , played by peter mayhew , are consulted about providing a ship to complete the tasks necessary . +after meeting up with leia , the film really picks up . +luke continues his training as a pilot and to become a jedi , ben kenobi confronts darth vader , and many other interesting events occur . +star wars is an amazing epic . +the plot is so original and amazing , i cannot believe it . +the special effects , especially for its time , are wonderful and realistic . +the space scenes in particular are the most fun to watch . +the ships flown by all are very unique and creative . +the costumes are also out of this world . +the scenery is so different from anything i have ever seen before . +there are a variety of different very memorable set pieces that will stay with me forever . +the entire premise of star wars is amazing . +the creatures and droids that we see throughout the film are one of a kind . +even the human characters are different . +every character is extremely likable and different from characters from other sci fi films . +the acting on everyone's part is great , especially that of sir alec guinness's . +even though the concept is not realistic at all , it is pulled off very nicely . +the acting , setting , effects , costumes , and sound make it work . +if any of these were messed up , star wars would have come off as one huge joke . +the ending works very well , and left it very open to the sequels that came afterward . +in early 1997 , a special edition of star wars was released . +the film was re-mastered so it looked better than it did in 1977 . +a few creatures were added here and there , and even an entire deleted scene with han solo and jabba the hutt ( seen in return of the jedi ) was added to the film . +think that's enough ? +on may 19 , 1999 , star wars episode i : the phantom menace will be released , followed by two more films that will reveal what went on before a new hope . +with this , star wars is bound to become the greatest tale told in our time . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv225_29224.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv225_29224.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2582491ef84e99eedbceeb2bbc2ef12cd4f3759e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv225_29224.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +if you want some hearty laughs , then rat race is the movie for you . +this unpretentious little comedy , which sneaks into theaters today with very little hype , will have you bouncing in your theater seat . +and while the film fits neatly into the low-brow , slapstick school of comedy , one refreshing aspect is its lack of mean-spiritedness . +the plot follows a group of people chosen at random by an eccentric las vegas casino owner ( john cleese ) who must race from vegas to a bus station locker 700 miles away in silver city , n . m . +inside the locker is a duffel bag containing $2 million . +the first one to open the locker , gets the bag and the money . +what the group of participants doesn't know is that cleese's donald sinclair ( " i can do anything i want - i'm eccentric ! " ) is staging the race as a betting game for a group of high rollers at the hotel . +the participants include vera ( whoopi goldberg ) and merrill ( lanai chapman ) , a newly reunited mother and daughter ; disgraced pro football referee owen templeton ( cuba gooding jr . ) ; italian tourist mr . pollini ( rowan atkinson ) ; randy pear ( jon lovitz ) and his family ; the bumbling con men duane and blaine cody ( seth green and vince vieluf ) ; and cynical young lawyer nick shaffer ( breckin meyer ) . +various amusing encounters and mishaps befall the participants en route to silver city . +screenwriter andy breckman adds a nice touch by not having the racers try to sabotage one another . +the most side-splitting situations involve vera and merrill's encounter with the squirrel lady , a nice nutsy cameo by kathy bates ; owen's commandeering a charter bus full of lucille ball look-alikes on their way to a lucy convention ; the cody brothers misadventures with a hot-air balloon , a flying cow and a monster truck ; and the pear family's stopover at a barbie museum , which turns out not to be what they think it is . +the pear family situation is a fine example of the way breckman's script builds the laughs . +without going into detail , this bit segues from the museum to hitler's touring car , to eva braun's dark lipstick , to lovitz burning his tongue , culminating at a ceremony honoring world war ii veterans . +rat race's cast is first rate . +cleese is wonderfully devilish and madcap ; lovitz is , at first , a bit whiny , but his character grows on you ; gooding is having a fine romp ; and dave thomas almost steals the show as cleese's deadpan assistant , a man " born without a personality . " +the film is directed by jerry zucker , who knows something about comedy . +along with his brother , david , and friend jim abrahams , he was responsible for such hits as airplane ! +and ruthless people . +a throwaway subplot , which is good for some laughs , features cleese and his buddies , betting on a series of outlandish situations , including one dealing with a hooker and pepto-bismol . +this is a fun little feature . +the only letdown comes at the finale , which is too touchy-feely and sweet , almost negating what came before it . +rat race is a summer sleeper , but it will keep you awake , as will the laughter of those watching around you . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv226_2618.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv226_2618.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a88d9084c204743e5a2834763479838cd61ed77b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv226_2618.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +i had a chance to see a sneak preview of city slickers ii on campus last night . +i went in with the expectation of a film with the similar flavor which made the original such a success : personal growth and insightful humor about life . +i came away somewhat disappointed in this regard , getting some of the latter and not much of the former . +the basic plot revolves around billy crystal , who plays mitch robbins , turning forty . +he's now become the station manager of the radio station in which he worked in the original . +he's given a job at the radio station to his best friend , played by daniel stern , out of sympathy while stern's character works through his divorce . +his loser younger brother ( john lovitz ) comes to mitch's house to bum a money and place to live , all while mitch and his wife try to celebrate his birthday . +during the celebration , mitch discovers what appears to be a treasure map in curly's ( the cattle drive leader in the original played by jack palance ) old hat . +after a business trip to las vegas , crystal , stern , and lovitz stay a few extra days to go off in search of the treasure . +on the way , they run into curly's twin brother , duke , played by ( you know who ) jack palance . +first of all , the cinematography was beautifully done , especially the outdoor scenes in the desert . +the scenes are such that i would like to see some of those sights filmed myself . +there is some character development during the film . +the actors remain true to their characters and play them well , without overplaying the jokes . +the movie is a good basic adventure , with enough plot twists to provide for an ending that is difficult to predict . +the movie is paced well , but with a couple slow spots in the middle and towards the end . +humor-wise , the film has a good number of jokes which maintained my interest throughout the film . +there are memorable moments like when stern is bitten by a snake , but there are fewer jokes to laugh at in the sequel ( surprise , surprise for a sequel , right ? ) . +however , the slight bitter aftertaste i have with this film has to do mainly with the film's manipulation of the audience . +the film tries to pull your heart-strings too much regarding how close the characters are to each other , like when mitch had decided to suck the snake marrow out of his best friend's butt . +this is done again when the gang meets up with some members of the cattle drive group from the original . +there were also some parts which appeared unrealistic , like whether the stampede would start in the way it did or why they didn't worry more about water while tromping around the desert . +some strenuous stretches of the imagination are required here . +since the objective of the gang is to find gold and get rich ( unlike finding themselves in middle age like in the original ) , i also found it harder to empathize with the characters during their journey . +overall , i'd say that the film is an entertaining and humorous adventure with some story-line deficiencies making it less worthy than the original . +it may be worth the full price of admission , but a matinee would be a better bargain . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv227_24215.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv227_24215.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3016699175c68a7a60bcdcb39c95e3f3bf11c3b5 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv227_24215.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +the " submarine " genre of movies seems to be one of the most intriguing and compelling types of storytelling there is . +think about it . . . +these films are completely based in reality , yet only a handful of people have ever been on one , making them fascinating to the general public . +they aren't like movies that take place on a plane or a train , as anybody can get on one of those . +and they aren't like movies that happen in outer space either , because no one's done any of that stuff yet . +when a new one comes out , you don't hear anyone say " ugh , another submarine movie " like people tend to say " ugh , another boxing movie " . +look at modern movies that involve submarines : das boot , the abyss , the hunt for red october , crimson tide . . . +all are well regarded as top-notch entertainment . +gladly joining that bunch is u-571 , which stars matthew mcconaughey as the executive officer of a u . s . naval submarine during world war ii . +we learn he has been denied a recommendation for his own command by his superior ( bill paxton ) . +mcconaughey's crew then receives orders that they will be boarding a disabled german submarine to steal the enigma , a german communications encoding device that has stumped allied intelligence . +the mission goes horribly wrong however , and as a result , mcconaughey and only a handful of his crew ( as well as a captured german ) become trapped aboard the u-571 in enemy waters . +the first great thing about u-571 is the film's opening sequence . +the german crew of u-571 are under attack , which sets the events of the rest of the film into motion . +it's tense , exciting and fascinating . +and i applaud the filmmakers for not copping out and instead keeping the entire sequence in german with english subtitles . +most movies with a scene this long would have panicked and had the german crew speaking english right away . +once the plot gets moving , u-571 gives us action sequence after action sequence , making the audience wonder " ok , now how do they get out of this ? " . +the stakes keep raising ( much like in executive decision , an excellent action-thriller ) , and even though the audience knows how the film will end , it's a lot of fun getting there . +i only have two minor complaints about the entire film . +the first comes from the scenes which follow the opening sequence . +while their purpose is to introduce us to the characters and to get the story going ( which they do ) , i feel as though it could have been done much quicker , and less conventionally . +i mean , did we really have to see the ship's crew at a wedding ? +because of that , you now know exactly what's going to happen to the groom ! +my other gripe would be during the film's finale . +there's an explosion which ends the film that is one of the weakest looking cgi effects since the president's plane crashed into the ocean at the end of air force one . +i cannot stress this enough . . . +until a cgi effect can be made to look like a model effect , stick with using models . +yes , u-571 is historically incorrect and there are surely some specifics in the plot that people who have been onboard a submarine will tell you " that couldn't happen " , but the overall point of this film is entertainment . +it succeeds fantastically . +[pg-13] diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv228_5806.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv228_5806.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d2c075788ca8311506bc01d1f1487c3dc723f879 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv228_5806.txt @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +we share the descent into darkness of a talented boy pianist . +years later we see his subsequent resurfacing ; in the mid 80's a damaged man walks out of a rainstorm and back into the world . +the movie charts the causes of his mental breakdown . +based on the life story of david helfgott , this australian film is a rich exploration of the pressures drilling in upon a child-genius , compounded by the looming shadow of a domineering father . +in the 1950's helfgott emerged as a child prodigy . +the film traces his relationship with his father , whose encouragement comes at the cost of demanding david have no life beyond that of the black and white keys . +david is offered places in the usa , but his father refuses to let him leave australia . +the effect this has upon helfgott is cleverly told via a single reverse tracked shot ; david is sobbing on the front doorway of his music teacher's house . +he is well lit via the external house lights . +his teacher isn't home . +we pull back and see that the dark front room's window has it's curtains open . +there , in a pool of blackness , is a grand piano . +david's fall over the dark cliff has begun . +instead of being told in a linear mode , shine jumps around in time , ala " pulp fiction " . +this narrative device works well ; we see david as a boy , teenager in london and mental-patient in various snippets . +the film then neatly loops back for its uplifting conclusion . +adult-helfgott's return to the light is told in linear fashion . +the lead role is played by 3 different actors , with the teenage-david ( taylor ) and adult-david ( rush ) standing out . +whilst rush is known for his tv work in australia , i think this is his first major cinema work . +his david , whilst clearly damaged - he keeps quoting his " daddy " in a babbling word torrent , cuddles strangers and grabs women on the breasts - is both touching and funny . +taylor's teenage-david is the more sympathy producing role . +we are mute witness to his gradual breakdown as the pressures just keep on building . +his father wants him to play the very demanding rachmaninov's 3rd , whilst his teacher wants to start him with a simple mozart . +technically this is a beautiful film and a lot of thought has gone in to the production . +i particularly like the use of slow motion and sound effects . +one scene has adult-helfgott happily babbling in a car in the rain . +the sound of the windshield wipers fades up over his voice . +with a clever subtlety , the wiper sound appears to morph into a rhythmic thumping , but of the same beat . +the image dissolves and we realise the thumping is the slow motion applause of a crowd . +but it's us being clapped . +we are young-david walking up to the stage for our first public show . +the music , as you would expect from a film of this subject matter , is critical . +and it works very well . +the 'miming' of the actors piano playing is faultless ( apparently rush didn't mime ; he really did play ) +helfgott's life is certainly not without it's sympathetic people . +indeed his return to the 'normal' world is accelerated by his chance meetings with two very special women . +his ultimately uplifting story is a magic piece of theatre craft . +it shows that with the 'help of god' we can all find our way back home . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv230_7428.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv230_7428.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0f94f90c2b096e9d3d5f7d06510a774108965e20 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv230_7428.txt @@ -0,0 +1,15 @@ +well , i'll admit when i first heard about this film ( which was before dante's peak ) i could just smell what 'twister' had started . +so now it seems that we're in a full fledged return to the '70's disaster film era . +with 'twister' , 'dante's peak' , 'volcano' and soon 'flood' and james cameron's extremly expensive 'titanic' +i'll say first off i enjoyed 'volcano' much more than i did 'dantes peak' . +part of that is just being biased as i usually enjoy anything that tommy lee jones appears in . +i've been reading a lot about the movie being 'cheezy' or 'hokey' and really didn't see or think that once during the entire film . +i get bored easily and this film didn't bore me for a minute . +another thing , and boy am i bitching today ! , that bothers me is when critics and such go on about " well thats not really possible . " +you know what ? +i couldn't give a bloody damn if it's possible or not , really i couldn't . +it's a freaking movie and i don't want reality thrown in my face . +i want to be able to see the impossible , the all might " what if " to many reviewers have seen one to many movies ! +the special effects are the second star to this feature . +they are so amazing that i found it hard sometimes to believe they were indeed fx and la was was not burning to the ground . +they did an incredible job and come oscar time ( if they remember ) some notice better be thrown there way . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv231_10425.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv231_10425.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e40fb7d4b749d41950ff090a3a478458ffe354e0 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv231_10425.txt @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ +note : some may consider portions of the following text to be spoilers . +be forewarned . +during the three years since the release of the groundbreaking success pulp fiction , the cinematic output from its creator , quentin tarantino , has been surprisingly low . +oh , he's been busy -- doing the talk show circuit , taking small roles in various films , overseeing the production of his screenplay from dusk till dawn , making cameo appearances on television shows , providing a vignette for the ill-fated anthology four rooms -- everything , it seems , except direct another feature-length film . +it's been the long intermission between projects as well as the dizzying peak which pulp fiction reached which has made mr . tarantino's new feature film , jackie brown , one of the most anticipated films of the year , and his third feature film cements his reputation as the single most important new american filmmaker to emerge from the 1990s . +things aren't going well for jackie brown ( pam grier ) . +she's 44 years old , stuck at a dead-end job ( " $16 , 000 a year , plus retirement benefits that aren't worth a damn " ) as a flight attendant for the worst airline in north america -- and she's just been caught at the airport by atf agent ray nicolette ( portrayed with terrific childlike enthusiasm by michael keaton ) and police officer mark dargus ( michael bowen ) smuggling $50 000 from mexico for gun-runner ordell robbie ( samuel l . jackson ) , who has her bailed out by unassuming bail bondsman max cherry ( robert forster ) . +the loquacious ordell , based out of a hermosa beach house where his horny , bong-hitting surfer girl melanie ( bridget fonda ) and agreeable crony louis gara ( robert de niro ) hang out , operates under the policy that the best rat is a dead rat , and he's soon out to silence jackie brown . +meanwhile , the authorities' target is ordell , and they want jackie to help them by arranging a sting to the tune of a half-million dollars . +only through a series of clever twists , turns , and double-crosses will jackie be able to gain the upper hand on both of her nemeses . +although jackie brown marks mr . tarantino's first produced screenplay adaptation ( based on the elmore leonard novel " rum punch " ) , there's no mistaking his distinctive fingerprints all over this film . +while he's adhered closely to the source material in a narrative sense , the setting has been relocated to los angeles and the lead character's now black . +in terms of ambiance , the film harkens back to the 1970s , from the wall-to-wall funk and soul music drowning the soundtrack to the nondescript look of the sets -- even the opening title credit sequence has the echo of vintage 1970s productions . +the opening sequence featuring ms . grier wordlessly striding through the lax , funky music blaring away on the speakers , is emblematic of films of that era . +the timeframe for the film is in fact 1995 , but the atmosphere of jackie brown is decidedly retro . +of course , nothing in the film screams 1970s more than the casting of pam grier and robert forster as the two leads , and although the caper intrigue is fun to watch as the plot twists , backstabbing , and deceptions deliciously unfold , the strength of jackie brown is the quiet , understated relationship developed between jackie and max ; when they kiss , it's perhaps the most tender scene of the year . +tenderness ? in a quentin tarantino film ? +sure , there've been moments of sweetness in his prior films -- the affectionate exchanges between the bruce willis and maria de madeiros characters in pulp fiction and the unflagging dedication shared by the characters of tim roth and amanda plummer , or even in reservoir dogs , where a deep , unspoken bond develops between the harvey keitel and tim roth characters -- but for the most part , mr . tarantino's films are typified by manic energy , unexpected outbursts of violence , and clever , often wordy , banter . +these staples of his work are all present in jackie brown , but what's new here is a different facet of his storytelling -- a willingness to imbue the film with a poignant emotional undercurrent , and a patience to draw out several scenes with great deliberation . +this effective demonstration of range prohibits the pigeonholing of mr . tarantino as simply a helmer of slick , hip crime dramas with fast-talking lowlifes , and heralds him as a bonafide multifaceted talent ; he's the real deal . +this new aspect of mr . tarantino's storytelling is probably best embodied in a single character -- that of the world-weary , sensitive , and exceedingly-professional max cherry , whose unspoken attraction to jackie is touching . +mr . forster's nuanced , understated performance is the best in the film ; he creates an amiable character of such poignancy that when he gazes at jackie , we smile along with him . +much press has been given about the casting of blaxploitation-era icon pam grier in the lead , with the wags buzzing that mr . tarantino may do for her what his pulp fiction did to bolster john travolta's then-sagging career . +as it turns out , ms . grier is solid in the film's title role , although nothing here forces her to test her range . +i do have to take exception to the claim that this film marks her career resurrection , though -- she's been working steadily over the years , often in direct-to-video action flicks , but also in such recent theatrical releases as tim burton's mars attacks ! +and larry cohen's original gangstas ( where she first teamed up with mr . forster . ) +of course , it's true that her role here was a godsend -- a meaty a part as this is rarity for * any * actress , let alone one of her age and current status in the industry . +while jackie brown may disappoint those looking for another pulp fiction clone , it marks tremendous growth of mr . tarantino as a director whose horizons are rapidly expanding , and whose characterizations have never been better . +and while the film's narrative doesn't really warrant a running time of 155 minutes , it's filled with such sumptuous riches , ranging from the brashness of the vivid soundtrack to entertaining , inconsequential conversations between the characters , that there wasn't an unengaging moment . +with an impressive trio of feature films under his belt , it'll be interesting to see what he tries next . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv232_14991.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv232_14991.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a2ce796d2c1ead945f23557b613598deafee8b62 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv232_14991.txt @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ + " last night " could have an " aka " tagged on the end of it that says , " it's the end of the world , and we feel fine " . + " last night " is about just that . +the last night of planet earth's existence . +the world is going to end at precisely midnight , january 1st , 2000 . +how scientists were so accurately able to predict when this catastrophic event would occur is never explained . +nor is the event itself . +throughout the entire movie , no explanation is given as to why this is happening . +in doing this , mckellar ( who also wrote and directed the film ) seems to be trying to transcend the genre . +he's attempted to make a film about people , and how each of them deals with their last night of life . +the film contains no science fiction elements , which allows the viewer to concentrate on the feelings and actions of the characters . +mckellar is largely successful in his attempt to rise above his material . +the film is set in toronto , and follows several people in their various escapades on the last night of existence . +there's mckellar , who plays a man who just wants to be alone when the moment occurs , but keeps getting interrupted by a woman ( sandra oh ) in search of her husband . +her husband , played by david cronenberg , is spending the day working at the gas company , informing people that they will attempt to keep providing gas right up until the end . +finally , there's mckellar's friend , played by callum keith rennie , a man who has spent his final months trying out every sexual perversion you can think of . +mckellar has crafted a gang of the some of the most interesting characters i've seen in a film in months . +these people all felt real to me , especially the character played by sandra oh . +we can see her desperation , her utter need to be with her husband in the final hours . +rennie is good , too , as the man who wants to literally try everything before he dies . +he exudes such charm and likeablity , it's not surprising that we're rooting for him to get what he wants . +but for me , the biggest surprise in the movie is mckellar . +i knew that he was a talented director , but i had no idea he could act as well . +his insistence to be alone , much to the dismay of his parents , is something that most people would find difficult to understand , but as played by mckellar , we can understand his reasons . +he doesn't buy into the whole notion that just because everyone's going to die , he should immediately find some companionship . +he realizes the relationship would be forced , and they would only be together for the sake of being together . +mckellar gives a brilliant performance , and i hope he alternates between directing and acting . +my only quibble with the film is that we never find out why the world is ending . +i really wanted to know , and my need to know was hanging over the film at all times . +i appreciate the fact that mckellar didn't want the material to rule the film , and that he wanted the movie to be more of a study in human behavious . +however , in not telling the audience what the cause of earth's destruction is , he's left a big question that is in their minds throughout the film . +another problem is we never see anybody panicking . +i would imagine if the world was ending , and there was nothing to be done about it , a large segment of the population would be going out of their minds . +instead , we are treated to shots of a giant crowd partying like it's new year's eve . +i just didn't buy the fact that everyone had completely accepted their fate . +no one had the urge to " rage against the dying of the light " . +despite these small problems , " last night " is one of the best movies of the year . +as opposed to the moronic " armageddon " , " last night " treats the subject at hand with maturity and believabilty . +and bruce willis never shows up to save the day . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv233_15964.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv233_15964.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..35348855f8d92ed05d002bcf52dda58bd5f0fa23 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv233_15964.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ + " a bug's life " may not be " toy story , " but it's more close than " antz " was . +i really liked " antz , " basically because , yes , it is clever and witty and intelligent ( and it has the temerity to take a chance and put woody allen in the lead , perhaps the year's most inspired casting ) , but there was , in fact , something missing from it , and i'm the first to admit that . +maybe it's that it never totally lets go and takes off into real innocent fun - it's too obsessed with its orwellian message to become totally engaging , and if it weren't for woody allen , it would have been just a really clever good-not-great flick . + " a bug's life " has a similar premise , and it also has disney to insure that it's g-rated and not totally over kids' heads like " antz " was ( not a bad thing , believe me ) , but what it also has is a tone that's completely innocent even when it's also remaining perpetually clever . + " antz " is still the more witty film , and i love it for it , and " a bug's life " is more for general consumption , but it's also more entertaining . +it broadens its horizons , and when it really moves from the ant colony , it really shows us a whole new world we've never seen before , and it's take on the evolution of bugs is a lot better than the one in " antz . " +it's also light and clever . +the visuals are , instead of earth tones , bright worldly colors , and still gives the amazing visual technology of " antz " at least a worthy contender . +the characters are also nicely realized - though watered-down for broad consumption , they still carry more wit than the contemporary disney animated films . +the lead character , flik ( voiced by dave foley ) , is nothing more than a slightly-less neurotic z from " antz , " but foley makes him nearly as engaging as allen made z . instead of gene hackman playing the villain , we get the much more menacing kevin spacey as the lead grasshopper , the nicely-titled hopper . +and for the romantic lead , we don't get spacey sharon stone , but intelligent and hard-to-get julia-louis dreyfuss , who doesn't even come around until the very final frames . +not that the plot's really any better than the one in " antz " - it's basically yet another redux of " the seven samurai , " with an ant colony under the control of giant grasshoppers forcing them to produce a product for them or else . +when flik , a bone fide inventor , creates a time-conserving apparatus that accidentally destroys the season's donation , he puts them all in risk , and is sent away so that he won't screw anything up with the pretense that he is searching for help to fight the grasshoppers . +he runs into a group of " warrirors " who are , unbeknownst to him , a group of carnival bugs , and they agree to help under similar false pretenses . +these bugs are an equally wonderful assortment to anything in " toy story " : foppish walking stick slim ( david hyde-pierce ) , german caterpillar heimlich ( joe ranft ) , quick-tempered and insecure male ladybug francis ( denis leary ) , pretentious praying mantis manny ( jonathan harris ) , his assistant butterfly hypsy ( madeliene kahn ) , spider rosie ( bonnie hunt ) , and two fleas , tuck and roll ( michael mcshane ) , who speak in undiscernable jibberish . +the writers lightly touch on each bug's place in bug society and the malleability thereof while making a wisecracks at everything they can , and blowing the audience away with wild visual treats . +grasshoppers jumping in unison seems like a menacing earthquake . +a small bird becomes an ominous mortal threat , whose usual mild-mannered squeal is a scream of death . +the bug city is a modern-day metropolis , complete with fireflies temping as traffic lights and a fly sitting on the curb , holding out a cup , with a sign lying next to him that says " kid tore off wings . " +and a rainstorm is like a giant flood , with each drop acting like a small bomb dropped at millions of miles per hour . +around this , the pixar animators stage several large set pieces , like a resuce mission halfway through that is as wild and entertaining as anything this year , and a wonderfully exciting action piece at the end , a chase scene at night through the labyrinthine branches of a small thicket . +meanwhile , each character gets the spotlight to be completely idisyncratic and interesting , something " antz " couldn't do , and by the end , over the end credits , " a bug's life " pulls it's final punch , out clever-ing " antz " with a series of incessantly hilarious faux-bloopers that come just at the right time , when those who leave immeadiately after the final frame of a film have left , and you can brag that you were one of the elite who stayed and got the full money's worth of entertainment . +still , it's no " toy story . " +that film , maybe above any animated film i've ever seen , encompassed almost true perfection in story , character , and wit . +it proved that it didn't need to brag about it's cutting edge technology to really soar ( it's the least visually striking of the three computer animated films thus far , but is still the most satisfying ) , and created a perfect world of idiosyncratic delights and innocent fun . +yet " a bug's life , " as well as " antz , " are still amazing films , and prove without doubt , that if you're gonna make a computer animated film , send it to the guys who created these three flicks , evne if they're not working under the same roof . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv234_20643.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv234_20643.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4083f4865dc80ffa1d5b6af3d27363c6945e3951 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv234_20643.txt @@ -0,0 +1,33 @@ +when i saw the trailer for " the sixth sense , " i didn't expect much from it . +my snap judgment was that it was a watered-down version of " the shining " or possibly a late-entry in the glut of angel-related movies/tv shows of a couple years ago . +but all the buzz motivated me to give it a shot . +it turned out to be one of the most satisfying movie experiences of the year . +bruce willis plays child psychologist malcolm crowe . +at the beginning of the movie , he is admiring an award the city has given him for his work , but he is soon confronted by vincent , a patient malcolm failed years earlier ( donnie wahlberg-former new kid-in an impressive cameo ) . +a year passes , and malcolm is treating another child with the same symptoms vincent displayed . +cole sear ( haley joel osment ) is a withdrawn kid who is called " freak " by the other boys in the neighborhood . +weird things seem to happen around cole-his mother ( olivia williams ) leaves the kitchen for a moment and returns to find every cabinet and drawer open even though cole hasn't moved-and cole seems to know things that a kid his age shouldn't-for example , that there was once a gallows in his school . +he steals religious icons from churches to build a chapel in a pup tent in his bedroom . +the trailer gave away the movie's first major plot twist . +if it hadn't , the first hour of the movie would be more engrossing because we wouldn't know what's wrong with cole . +if you're lucky enough to have not seen the trailer , stop reading this review right now and go see " the sixth sense . " +anyway , since the trailer gave it away , i figure it's fair game to discuss here . +once malcolm gains cole's trust , cole reveals his secret : he sees ghosts everywhere . +dead people wander around not knowing that they're dead , invisible to everyone except cole . +malcolm gradually begins to realize that cole is telling the truth . +the box office success of " the sixth sense " has generated a lot of press about how horror movies rule the box office this year and lots of theories about why that's so . +i hate to burst anybody's bubble , but " the sixth sense " isn't really a horror film . +at its core , " the sixth sense " is a touching story of how a troubled kid and an emotionally-scarred adult help each other to move past their problems . +some scenes with the ghosts are wonderfully creepy , though . +one that really got to me : the ghost of a boy says to cole , " i'll show you where my dad keeps his gun " ; when the ghost turns , we see the bullet wound in the back of his head . +osment gives the best performance i've ever seen from a child actor . +it's hard enough to find a grown-up in hollywood who can give a subtle , realistic portrayal ! +although willis gets top billing , cole is really the protagonist of the story , and osment truly brings the complex kid to life . +if only willis' work were as impressive . +accustomed to delivering catchphrases rather than dialogue , willis is stiff and awkward as malcolm , his most challenging role to date . + ( this is a bad omen for his next movie , " the story of us , " which chronicles the ups and downs of a marriage ) . +writer/director m . night shyamalan has a light , poetic touch that goes to the heart of the viewer without seeming sappy or trite . +he's also a skillful storyteller , as the movie's ending demonstrates . +only when the final secret is revealed do you realize that shyamalan has been hinting at it throughout the movie . +look for a cameo by the director as a doctor who treats cole . +bottom line : osment should get an oscar nomination , and you should go see this movie . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv235_10217.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv235_10217.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..9ed85db80c266dcfdbc6c459264aa1af768d8431 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv235_10217.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +near the end of frank capra's holiday classic , its a wonderful life , george bailey ( jimmy stewart ) is feeling down . +he has devoted his life to others , and never fulfilled his dream of leaving his small supburb town , bedford falls . +standing upon a bridge above stormy waters , he looks down , contemplating suicide . +he has potential he hasn't fulfilled -- yet , he has done so much for others . +as a young chap , his ambition was to leave his hometown of bedford falls . +but times and ambitions change . +things happen , and he's stuck . +his guardian angel is there , and shows him that . . . it's +a wonderful life . +in a whirlwind tour of the town , george sees what life would be like without him . +he learns the moral lesson , that to live is a gift . +his earthly problems are solved . +the climatic scene is a marvel . +frank capra's film is a centenial classic -- watched and re-experienced by every generation . +wonderful life is one of the few pictures of times gone by that seems as fresh , maybe fresher , then it did when it was first released . +many films of the thirties through seventies have aged poorly . +but this one is a near flawless example of how well a perfect script and timing can mesh with first-rate acting , wit and suspense , glorious music , and terrific set peices . +the only even slightly dated scenes are those at the begining in which god has a long chat with clarence , george's guardian angel . +they aren't all that bad , but they remain corny and a little out of place . +nevertheless , this is one film that deserves its place in time , cinema history , and our hearts . +it can be equally appreciated by anyone of any age . +here is one genuine masterpeice , a classic that reaches heights and ambitions near perfection . +this crackling good mixture results in a film which is at once funny , exciting , moving and uplifting . +the film itself is almost a reversal of the life of george bailey -- there isn't too much to it , but capra and the gang ( various screenwriters , composers , actors ) plumet the material to its fullest potential . +the result is a film -- though not at first intended to be pigeon-holed as a holiday film -- that will always be remembered , celebrated , and loved . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv236_11565.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv236_11565.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f79072c35e1531e2d0a0165c0bcf9dbde8a56a50 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv236_11565.txt @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +jerry springer has got nothing on " wild things . " +john mcnaughton's new thriller tackles more tawdry themes in less than two hours than springer's notoriously sleazy talk show broadcasts in two weeks -- bisexuality , threesomes , poolside catfights , slutty rich bimbos , even redneck gator-wrestling , they're all part of the movie's raucous , complex storyline . +but even trash tv topicality can't drag " wild things " down -- this crazy campfest plays like something you'd find late-night on the usa network , only infinitely more palatable and with a solid ensemble cast . +despite a smattering of needless scenes ( most of them sexual in nature ) , there's wicked fun to be had here . + " wild things " would be a guilty pleasure , only there's no guilty feeling involved in having a good time with it . +high school guidance counselor sam lombardo ( matt dillon ) is well-liked in the town of blue bay , especially by pretty , popular kelly van ryan ( denise richards ) , whose family name is among the florida yachting enclave's most financially prominent . +hoping to take her crush to a physical level , kelly seductively slinks into lombardo's house after washing his jeep for a fundraiser , but , the very next day , tearfully admits to her trollop mother ( theresa russell ) that she was raped . +before long , blue bay detectives ray duquette ( kevin bacon ) and gloria perez ( daphne rubin-vega ) are listening to similar allegations from kelly's rebel classmate suzie toller ( neve campbell ) . +lombardo , who maintains his innocence , hires neck brace-sporting , opportunistic lawyer ken bowden ( bill murray ) to defend him in court . +the previews give away the following revelations , so if you haven't seen any of the movie's spots on the television or in the theater , you might want to skip to the next paragraph . +while cross-examining suzie on the witness stand , bowden gets her to break down and admit that the alleged rapes never took place -- that kelly had concocted this entire scheme because she was angry that lombardo was sleeping with her mother and not with her . +to pay lombardo for the damages , kelly's mother breaks her daughter's trust fund and gives him $8 . 5 million . +but lombardo , kelly and suzie are actually all working together , and plan to take the money and run as fast as they can . +duquette and perez , however , begin to suspect that there's more afoot to the case than just false accusations . +if there's a major drawback to " wild things , " it's that it's oversexed to a fault . +the much-talked-about hotel room menage-a-trois between dillon , campbell and richards is a turn-off . +it's also cut short ( sorry , guys ) , and should have been cut shorter -- the movie grinds to a halt for pure titillation once too often . +what we don't see is far more effective than what we do . +another example of this is kevin bacon needlessly going the full monty in a shower scene . +er , no thanks . +also , bacon's duquette feels simultaneously underdeveloped and overwritten . +daphne rubin-vega , from broadway's " rent , " tries to compensate for a superfluous character . +theresa russell is just plain wooden . +and when , in the end , all is out in the open , ask yourself if certain scenes involving these three were really necessary . +but what keeps the movie from being throwaway junk is an engaging chain of surprises ( some predictable , some not ) that never seems to end . + " wild things " has more twists than a crate full of corkscrews , and most are so gleefully , over-the-top nasty that you can't help but be charmed by their absurd showmanship . +a great deal of amusement also comes from watching bill murray in a supporting part that appears to have been written for his sly comedic talent ; murray's a stitch , especially when pulling up beside the van ryan limo after winning lombardo's case and flipping them off . +and don't leave when the closing credits hit the screen , or you'll miss the film's best part -- four bonus flashbacks that smooth over plot holes while offering a few more tiny turns , plus a final scene that caps everything off with a great stunner of a bombshell . +speaking of bombshells , denise richards , who plays almost every scene in a blue bikini top , does the teen tease thing with a malicious allure that she was never allowed to flaunt in " starship troopers . " +matt dillon flexes his sleepy-voiced sex appeal , and pulls off personality changes with chameleonic precision . +neve campbell , lovely as ever except when sporting a blond wig , gives suzie a vengeful vulnerability that makes her the most interesting member of the conspiring trio . +re-edited and toned down a bit , the dynamics between these three actors could have carried the film to greater lengths . +but what we're given works well enough . + " wild things " is highly entertaining and , indeed , very wild . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv237_19221.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv237_19221.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..88abb999b30aca3e3e399fd842fd31894e38986d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv237_19221.txt @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ +the happy bastard's 30-second review +big daddy +happy gilmore as a father ? +of course ! +that's the latest scenario presented by adam sandler in the new movie big daddy , a movie that's passable but isn't really considered some of sandler's best work . +he doesn't actually play happy gilmore in the movie , but a variation of him . +he's sonny coufax , a man who's living off a settlement he got for a cab running over his foot and his one-day-a-week gig as a tollbooth man ( tollbooth willie ? ) . +his girlfriend ( kristy swanson ) is fed up with his lifestyle and demands a change before she leaves him . +enter a 5-year old kid , who's mysteriously dropped at his doorstep and intended for his preppy roommate ( jon stewart ) , who's off in china on a business trip . +from there , coufax basically acts as the kid's father , teaching him different things like peeing on the side of a building and tripping up skateboarders with sticks . +he even manages to use the kid in a sort of con game to get the attention of a beautiful law office worker ( joey lauren adams ) , but , somehow , he also garners the attention of social services , who aren't particularly pleased with coufax's actions , as he pretends to be his roommate to keep the kid . +the reason i say it's not really sandler's best work is because it gets really sappy towards the end of a movie , showing some odd feelings that somehow didn't really belong in a sandler vehicle . +i mean , it fits the movie's tone and everything , and sandler handles it well , but it's just oddly placed , that's all . +fortunately , it doesn't destroy the goofy glee path it's been following and it still makes you feel good . +sandler does a good job here , as he does in most of his movies . +rob schneider , however , is irritating as his friend , an immigrant delivery boy who can't read . +stewart , in his minor time on screen , is great , and adams remains a joy to watch . +look for steve buscemi as well as a homeless bum . +he's a hoot . +directed by dennis dugan ( director of happy gilmore ) , the movie remains a good couple of hours to pass the time with . +again , there are faults , but , hey , everyone needs to get emotional sometimes . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv238_12931.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv238_12931.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..dde6e5b56606eb416501071cc4665b6c53bcaf72 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv238_12931.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ + " six days , seven nights " is a summer movie that gets the summer movie experience deliciously right , a commendable achievement considering the season thus far has been littered with some pretty uneven fare . +here's a genuinely fun fluff piece that knows it's fluff , recognizes it's fluff and is admittedly proud to be fluff . +of course , the casting of harrison ford in the broadly comedic lead role plays a sizeable part in the movie's success ; ford is such a concentrated dramatic actor that it's easy to forget what a funny guy he can be . +as his female counterpart , anne heche also deserves a big pat on the back for her sweet , goofily charismatic performance . +the age difference ( ford's 56 , heche's 29 ) matters not -- these two click in a charged way that's hard to come by . +the story is a no-brainer -- ford stars as gruff but loveable island aviator quinn harris , while heche is career-minded but loveable new york magazine editor robin monroe . +robin , on a tropical vacation with fianc ? frank ( david schwimmer ) , gets assigned to supervise an emergency photo shoot in nearby tahiti , so she reluctantly hires quinn to fly her there . +the plane crashes during a terrible storm , and they immediately find themselves stuck in a deserted paradise with few ideas on getting back to civilization . +a series of unpleasant , often hilarious catastrophes leaves little choice but for both members of this unlikely odd couple to fall for each other . +meanwhile , back at the resort , frank is tempted himself by quinn's shapely female tagalong ( jacqueline obradors ) . +that subplot obviously exists to get us rooting for the quinn-robin pairing , and while it makes for a few good laughs early on , it eventually becomes a contrived distraction from the far more engrossing misadventures of quinn and robin . +and since the film spends most of its time with the castaways , this flaw is only a minor inconvenience . +director ivan reitman keeps the pace brisk . +at a slim 101 minutes , " six days , seven nights " never wears out its welcome , where a lesser film could have felt like it was as long as its title . +michael browning's clever screenplay allows for plenty of notable one-liners ( my favorite , taken in context , is " you mean _arrrgh_ pirates ? " ) , and though it essentially boils down to one mishap after another , they're all quite engaging . +even the movie's more " serious " moments are played with a wink . +heche has been under undeserved fire over whether or not her private life with ellen degeneres would affect the " believability " of " six days , seven nights " ' heterosexual pairing . + ( so she's a lesbian . +so what . +deal with it . ) +of course it doesn't , and here , her naysayers are proved wrong in a big way . +in fact , her chemistry with ford is what really makes the film click ; these opposites attract with the utmost , endearing electricity . +at one point , when the two are discussing the likelihood of romantic interest , heche asks ford how old he is . +after several wrong guesses ( " forty-five ? +_fifty_ ? " ) , he whispers his age to her . + " you still look good , " heche stammers . + " i still _am_ good , " ford replies . +she's good too , and together , they make " six days , seven nights " one memorable ride . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv239_3385.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv239_3385.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..dbf2b70cca6e530d656c0098d26ef0f7b59b5af8 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv239_3385.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +the release of dolores claiborne into wide release this weekend adds another entry into the long list of film adaptations of stephen king's work . +this slow-moving character study provides some outstanding acting performances by the principals , but suffers from a tepid conclusion , inconsistent direction , and may not have wide commercial appeal . +when the maid , dolores claiborne , is found brandishing a rolling pin standing over the bloody and dead body of her employer , it seems like an open-and-shut murder case . +upon hearing of the death via a mysterious fax , dolores' estranged and bitter daughter , esquire magazine writer selena st . george , returns from new york back to her tiny island village childhood home . +as the two clash horns , the story behind the mysterious death of dolores' abusive husband two decades ago , ruled an accident despite the protests of detective john mackey , is revealed . +did dolores kill her husband ? +and did she kill her employer ? +dolores claiborne is certainly more of a character study than a suspense thriller . +consequently , it is fortunate that their cast includes some of hollywood's finest character actors , such as bates , leigh and strathairn . +kathy bates plays the film's title character , and gives a sensational lead performance . +dolores claiborne is essentially a showcase for the talent of bates , as her character has a huge amount of screen time . +she dominates the screen , producing a character that is compelling and arresting , as we watch the character go through two decades of history via flashbacks . +kathy bates' performance is award-calibre stuff . +the rest of the cast is also very good . +jennifer jason leigh plays the perpetually sour , bitter helena st . george well , and christopher plummer seems to be enjoying himself as dolores' ever-present nemesis , the determined detective john mackey . +david strathairn is particularly interesting and suitably smarmy and despicable as dolores' husband , joe st . george . +judy parfitt is fine as dolores' tyrannic socialite employer , vera donovan--it would have been interesting to see , say , meg foster in this role . +child actor ellen muth is also worth noting as the young selena during the flashback sequences ; she is very impressive . +the direction of dolores claiborne by taylor hackford wildly varies throughout the film , ranging from some parts which are quite clever in their own right , to parts which are embarrassingly hokey . +the segues between flashbacks and the present are very hit-and-miss in terms of effectiveness . +the pacing of the film tends to be numbingly slow , which tends to undermine any suspense which might be built up . +however , the cinematography by gabriel beristain is wonderful--i particularly like the chilling ice-blue hue permeating the present-day scenes , contrasting well with the many nova scotia ocean shots--and danny elfman provides a surprisingly understated score for the film . +it would seem that the commercial potential of dolores claiborne is limited . +none of the performers in the film could be classified as a big draw , and its pacing may be a turn-off to those expecting a gripping suspense film filled with twists and turns and car crashes and axe-wielding psychopaths . +although being essentially the only film in its genre in release now , it may also be hurt by the negative perception of king works , even with the recent critical success of the shawshank redemption and the stand . +dolores claiborne suffers from a very unsatisfying conclusion , and moves very slowly . +however , the performances are uniformly excellent , particularly kathy bates , and the film has its moments . +on my four-star scale , i give dolores claiborne three stars . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv240_14336.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv240_14336.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d58ae12f475c30ecf2294c29c6bf65a213623279 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv240_14336.txt @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +seen september 13 , 1998 at 4 p . m at rotterdam square mall cinema 6 , theater #2 , with chris wessell for free using my sony/loews critic's pass . +[theater rating : * * 1/2 : good seats , average sound , picture unstable] + " rounders " is exactly the kind of movie parents don't want their kids to see . +it's not that it's a drunken orgy of sex and violence , but because it's a film that flat-out says you can make a career out of gambling . +and to take make things " worse " it proves this through its original , fascinating story . +there have been countless crime films both past and present that evoke the " noir " mood , that is , the dark , shady atmosphere where the vices of the world become more fascinating on screen than they would in real life . +this film starts off in the tradiational noir style , introducing us to the underworld of modern gambling where the stakes are high and so is the price for losing . +matt damon stars as mike mcdermott , a 20-something law student in present-day new york city who tells us how the game of poker is really played . +damon narrates throughout the film , but the entire opening scene is voiced-over so perfectly to completely and totally define the setting . +mike's about to go up against teddy kgb ( malkovich ) , a russian gangster who looks like a serial killer . +but then again , he practically is one and the film does everything to convey that sense - the look in his eyes , his slow movements , his intricate mannerisms - all combined with the classic noir cinematography of isolated brightness within the darkness of the underworld ( literally ) . +damon in the flesh might seem a little out of place with his expensive clothes and perfectly-groomed features , but his narration is what brings it all together . +he never sounds like he's reading from a script , nor that he's trying to embellish anything , it just comes natural to him . +the screenwriters use the right words and phrases to describe the mood , from the smell of the air , to the logic involved in reading the other guys' faces and cards , and all without sounding remotely trite . +immediately we get the sense that poker isn't for gamblers , but for near- geniuses with nerves of steel . +the game is a quiet war , with strategies just as complex and the same sense of honor among the soldiers . +the gangsters mike plays against are the same ones that might kill someone for scratching their car , but when it comes to the game of poker , all respect is due to the winner because he is truly the better man . +the film does an excellent job in establishing its atmosphere during the first act . +it concentrates so much in this aspect that the background and the progression of the story stumble a bit . +we learn only a little about mike , both past and present . +presently we know he has a girlfriend named jo ( gretchen mol ) who he constantly argues with over his gambling . +they go through a few break-up/make-up cycles until mike's childhood pal and fellow rounder " worm " ( norton ) is released from prison . +it's not at all surprising worm owes thousand of dollars to the mob , but what is surprising is how the film is able to take such a predictable element and execute it the way it does . +technically , the plot isn't unlike many children's sitcoms in which the " good " kid's " bad " friend gets the good kid in trouble and yet the good kid remains friends with the bad kid . +what this film does is use a different medium to tell that story . +mike and worm have been in over their heads their entire lives , but both share a passion for out-thinking the other player who is trying to do the same to them . +where as worm prefers to go the sleazy route of cheating ( hence his jail time ) , mike always takes the cards he's dealt and works with them . +sometimes they pay off ( i . e . +his ability to pay his way through law school on his gambling money ) , but other times they don't ( i . e . +the fact he takes himself out of the game and works a steady job after dropping $30 , 000 on a single hand ) . +once things start happening the film is able to expand and develop its plot into an intricate web of detail and mood . +mike and worm bob and weave through all kinds of games at all kinds of places , from socialites' mansions , to taking the tourists at atlantic city , to outwitting the gangsters that control it all . +everything they come into contact with is a big poker game in that everything's a battle against the cards destiny deals . +one scene demonstrates this perfectly in which mike is told by a judge ( martin landou , in a perfectly cast and performed role ) that destiny is everything and yet nothing at the same time . +matt's good at gambling but he's also got potential to be a great lawyer . +he could go professional as either , but with one he could lose everything or win big , but with the other there's stability but not much risk involved . +can someone who's gambled his entire life really cash in his chips and leave ? +if the film had been just a subtle lesson in poker-playing , then the ending is our test . +everything is told from mike's perspective , but we're finally able to recognize some things on our own . +this makes the final , against-all- odds showdown seem like just that . +it works just like the game it revolves around - showing us some of the cards , but still evokes the element of the unknown , and the consequences thereof . +what separates " rounders " from most other films about games is the fact the challenge and the skills are more important than winning in the end . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv242_10638.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv242_10638.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..255ac1495b3fdeda89e6686f899f20a7b6e469d1 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv242_10638.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ +ingredients : pouring rain , small flooded town , damn about to burst , bad guys going after millions of dollars +synopsis : at one point in the story townsperson karen asks hero tom what happened to her church . +he replies something like : " the church is flooded but at least the floodwaters put out the big fire . +well , the fire wasn't that bad , since , while the church was burning , looters apparently thought it was safe enough to break through all the priceless stained glass windows . " +in hard rain a small town is nearly deserted due to flooding . +everyone has had to evacuate because it's raining , and now floodwaters are rising so high that buildings are being submerged and the nearby dam is about to break . +enter a working class smart-alecky new armored car driver named tom ( christian slater ) . +suddenly his security truck carrying over three million dollars gets stuck on the flooded street and is waylaid by armed looters . +tom has no choice but to grab the bag full of money , hide it , and swim for his life . +this makes for an action movie full of jet skis , speedboat chases , and gun battles , as tom tries to evade and outsmart corrupt cops and armed looters until the national guard can answer his distress call . +he is befriended and aided by a spunky churchgoing young woman from town named karen ( minnie driver ) . +but unknown to tom and karen , the national guard never heard tom's initial distress call . +will tom and karen survive the natural and manmade disasters ? +opinion : don't expect thought-provoking issues or dramatics . +there's not much more to this movie than hiding , running , swimming , shooting , and saving handcuffed heroes from drowning , but that's what makes it escapist and fun . +relax , take your shoes off , and break out the popcorn . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv243_20728.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv243_20728.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..505d1ea09bf4ec7d66af8de187303afc5a8c6421 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv243_20728.txt @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +although many people have compared this new gangster comedy to the hit hbo drama 'the sopranos , ' analyze this is witty and entertaining enough to be a good movie in it's own right . +billy crystal plays wiseguy shrink ben sobol , who new 'patient' happens to be gangster boss paul vitti ( de niro . ) +ben wants nothing to do with vitti , as he's about to get married to laura macnamara ( kudrow ) and having a gangster as a patient wouldn't really help . +but ben is soon drawn into vitti worlds , and reluctantly helps vitti to sort his life out . +all done in a comic fashion , of course . +although never brilliant , analyze this is also never rubbish , which makes for a fun ride . +billy crystal , who hasn't had a good role since city slickers way back in the early '90's , is given a role that lets him fully exploit his wiseguy act . +he's pretty funny while he does it , and although his character is a little close to his character in city slickers , he's pretty funny . +robert de niro is hilarious as vitti , playing it dead straight but coming off as really funny . +he's a serious gangster unaware that he is a comic gold mine . +lisa kudrow , barely seen as crystals' estranged wife to be , basically reprises her phoebe role from t . v series friends , which is getting rather tiresome , and doesn't come off well on the screen . +the supporting cast is apparently made up of the entire cast of casino and goodfellas , and are all funny caricatures , especially vitti's bodyguard jelly ( joe viterelli . ) +the film genuinely plays like a proper gangster movie , but with laughs instead of hard ass talking . +it sometimes gets a little bloody for a light hearted film , but it strangely fits in . +spoofs are made of famous gangster movies , including a nice parody of the godfather . +the italian tunes playing throughout the soundtrack contribute to the fun . +there's also some odd plot points : fbi guys appear and suddenly disappear for no apparent reason . +it is true that analyze this has had a somewhat chequered production history , and perhaps the plot points were expanded in a earlier version of the script . +unfortunately , this is hollywood , so we will never know . +harold ramis , best known as egon from ghostbusters , has a deft touch with directing comedy , as shown in the immortal groundhog day , and the less immortal caddyshack . +all the comic potential in a scene is dug out and presented to the audience . +the script , written by ramis along with peter tolan and ken lonergan , starts off funny , remains funny for the most of the film , but sadly peters out somewhat during the last twenty minutes where it wrongly enters more serious territory . +the film is short , however , and just before audience interest is waning the film suddenly goes into a rather rushed and unsatisfying ending and the credits roll . +analyze this is a good comedy , and is certainly worth watching . +robert de niro sobbing is reason enough to watch it , even though it does seem forced , or like a parody ( although i think this was intentional . ) +crystal is his most likeable in years , kudrow is given as little screen time as possible , which is a good thing , and de niro is just awesome . +it's no goodfellas , and it probably won't be remembered as much as groundhog day , but analyze this is a well done comedy that won't leave you feel cheated . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv244_21649.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv244_21649.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d8e921de710841342fafb6cf04efc1612ea7c219 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv244_21649.txt @@ -0,0 +1,33 @@ + " being john malkovich " is the type of film we need to see more . +today's films are either blockbusters that entertain us with tiresome formulas , or those that have similar themes . +malkovich falls under none of these categories , and it's quite refreshing to see that occur . +this strangely provoking story , is actually somewhat understandable . +john cusack plays a puppeteer trying to make it to the big time . +his wife ( cameron diaz ) supports the both of them by working at a petstore , which explains the obscure pets they keep in their apartment . +when cusack finally realizes he needs to get a job , he finds an ad for a filing clerk . +when he reaches the building , he arrives at a 7 1/2 floor . +it's there that he discovers a secret portal that leads to being john malkovich for 15 minutes at a time . +meanwhile , cusack meets a business partner ( catherine keener ) , in which he falls madly in love with her . +the only problem is , she has no interest in him what so ever . +the whole portal thing , isn't just a toy , in fact , it becomes cusack's dream . +being inside malkovich's mind , gave him the opportunity to basically control mlakovich , like a puppet , and to fulfill his fantasies . +i don't want to give away too much , but cusack becomes too attached with his discovery . +in my opinion , this idea is absolutely brilliant . +it's really quite scary to think that someone could become you , control you , be you . +it makes you wonder why we act like we do , and why sometimes we blurt out things or act out something out of the blue . +even if the script is super sharp , i can't help but find the ending displeasing . +it could have lead up to something more , or at least an amusing conclusion . +it tried to explain a mythology about the portals , that made it seem rushed . +other than that , i had a very enjoyable time . +the acting was quite delightful as well . +john cusack has finally been given a chance to prove his ability , and he does it well . +he's by far the most underrated actor due to a lack of popularity , but i'm hoping that will change . +cameron diaz was her usual charming self , although i felt that part was wrong for her , but she pulled it off . +john malkovich himself continues to creep out people with his eerie facial expressions and tone of voice . +who else's mind would be better to explore ? +the director , spike jonze , who appeared in last month's three kings really catches my attention with this project . +i knew he was bizzare , but not to this extreme . +he too is likely too receive media attention . + " being john malkovich " isn't an excellent film , but it is definitly entertaining and will eaisly become a cult favorite . +what's even better is the film's puzzling message . . . am +i nick lyons ? diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv247_13142.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv247_13142.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d09c40180da79e049605db21979c98481d123877 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv247_13142.txt @@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ +perhaps it's time for me to say a little about my reading habits . +i really do like to read , and i've enjoyed many books in my lifetime . +my problem is that i'm a slow reader , and not very dedicated -- i'll enjoy portions of a book and then set it down for months at a time ( it's taken me the last six weeks to get through the first one hundred pages of anna karenina , even though i'm loving the book ) . +in addition to this , i typically don't read anything created after the 19th century . +the only reason i bother with this bit of information is because i feel bad admitting , time after time , that i haven't read any of the books on which these films are based ( the only exception , i believe , is great expectations ) . +however , i don't think it should be necessary to read the book beforehand in order to judge the quality of the film . +needless to say , i haven't read the elmore leonard novel out of sight , on which steven soderbergh's new film is based . +i can't say how faithful of an adaptation it is , or if it lives up to leonard's vision . +i can say that it's a terrific film , with sharp acting , great dialogue , and pumping full of energy and style injected by soderbergh . +it's certainly a nice distraction from 1998's lineup of brainless blockbusters , all hopelessly wishing that size mattered . +out of sight proves that it doesn't . +i had originally written george clooney off as a one-note actor , incapable of depth but occasionally showing a little flair . +after seeing his latest performance in this film , i've changed my mind -- this guy can act , but he also has that forceful presence that most certainly will make him one of those $20 million superstars . +here , he plays jack foley , a middle aged guy who robs banks for a living . +he does it because it's fun , i think , but the film opens with him getting caught because his car won't start . +he goes to jail -- which is interesting -- only to break out five cinematic minutes later with the help of his friend , buddy ( ving rhames ) . +we're then introduced to karen sisco ( jennifer lopez ) , a u . s . marshall who , conveniently , is waiting with a shotgun as jack escapes . +fortunately , they take her hostage , and she and jack spend some quality time in the trunk together as buddy drives them to safety . +the central conflict arises when both jack and karen become obsessed with one another , though their respective jobs make them superficially incompatible . +we soon learn that the film is not told in sequence ( and , since this is a gritty crime comedy , flashbacks of pulp fiction should arise ) . +at first , i kind of felt that it was a gimmick , but i guess it was a gimmick in pulp fiction , too . +it's a fun gimmick , though , and soderbergh treats the material with enough humor that everything comes off naturally . +i've only seen a few of soderbergh's films ( i was impressed both with kafka and sex , lies , and videotape ) , but i think he's excellent at what he does . +he's an artist without making it obvious , and without being pretentious , which is always admirable . +he uses tricks , yes ( lots of freeze-frame stuff here ) , but it all adds to the smooth and quirky currents in the film . +as i said , clooney is terrific , and he's matched by lopez . +lopez is , of course , beautiful , but she can act , too . +i can sense that she's honing in on her skills , for she comes off more natural here than she has in any of her previous ventures ( not that stone gave her much help in the loathsome u-turn ) . +the two actors have arresting chemistry with one another -- the best scene in the film , by far , is the seduction scene . +the brilliance of this scene is also due , in part , to soderbergh , for he cuts back and forth from their quiet discussion in a bar to the physical act which takes place a few minutes later . +the scene is a series of soft nuances and glances , layered upon light dialogue , and the result is one of the better love scenes in recent cinema -- meaningful and engrossing . +the supporting cast is strong , led by the always-reliable ving rhames . +dennis farina , who plays karen's father , is good , as is don cheadle as the profoundly stupid villain . +steve zahn , who plays jack's nearly-brain dead accomplice glenn , steals all of his scenes ( and that's in a film where every scene is already at a high level ) . +all of the actors are helped by the dialogue and the intelligently-constructed script by scott frank . +out of sight is certainly a light film , although there are a few heavy moments that will linger in the memory . +overall , i can recommend it simply as great entertainment . +not every film has to change your life , and it's nice to see a movie that uses the art to tell a great story and simply to entertain its viewers . +as for the book , this film is good enough to make me believe that there might be something in the text worth looking at . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv249_11640.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv249_11640.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a9898406cc5cabd524ad305b8f63b8111e0b677c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv249_11640.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +upon arriving at the theater during the opening credits , i took my seat and prepared myself for what appeared to be " hellraiser meets the crow " . +but as soon as kiefer sutherland began speaking the narrative monologue , describing " the strangers " and their reasons for contacting human beings , i was hooked . +there was something especially compelling about the nature of his voice . +i knew from the start that i was going to witness the actions of his character rather than the actor attempting the character . +sutherland played the role as a true veteran . +upon the completion of his monologue , the camera arrives on sutherland in such a fashion that you can only wonder how long alex proyas spent on cinematography . +i would imagine , for a film of this caliber , that maximum hours of work were spent where they were needed the most . +the film flowed beautifully . +as i was being taken through the intricate regions of the " dark city " , a clever plot began to unravel , to the point where the last time i had seen such clever plot twists were in " the usual suspects " . +not to mention a series of special effects that would make james cameron literally turn green with envy . +but if you're not exactly the biggest sci-fi fan , caveat emptor . +get ready for the atmostpheric darkness of " 12 monkeys " or " the crow " without the boredom or depression . +the concept of the plot is as mindstretching as " 12 monkeys " was , however , so be prepared and be sophisticated . +and imagine a picture that finally does justice to the comic-book-gone-feature-film fad that hollywood has recently become abusive of . +dark city simply puts " spawn " to shame . +in fact , during the climax of the film i couldn't help but feel the strong presence of an " akira " -esque explosion throughout the general feeling of the movie . +so my initial predictions were wrong . +this film is anything but the meloncholy of " hellraiser " parts one through five . +i'm never one to base a film entirly on special effects , so know that when i give dark city +it's actually because the film contained all of the neccessary ingredients to keep me entertained and awake from storyline to plot twists to camerawork to even ( tsk , tsk ) special effects . +not since contact have i recieved such deep insight into the way the human mind operates and never this year have i been so blown away . +the best film i've seen all year , and easily one of the best i've ever seen diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv253_10077.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv253_10077.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4424cbcee087503527149f7b533ec693fc96d9e2 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv253_10077.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10 @@ + " good will hunting " is two movies in one : an independent take on the struggle of four boston pals and a traditional hollywood , " prodigy child " film complete with upbeats , downfalls , sporadically moving situations and plenty , plenty of shtick . +unusually directed by gus van sant , " good will hunting " overcomes the banalities of its story by affirming the emergence of fresh , new talent . +the film stars matt damon as will hunting as a mathematical , rebellious whiz kid inadvertly discovered by a college professor ( stellan skarsgard ) , who places him under psychological supervision with robin williams . +in a nutshell , that's it . +the core of the " good will hunting " is damon , who infuses the script ( co- written by " chasing amy's " ben affleck ) with just the right amount of warmth , sensitivity and humanity to accentuate his position as a refreshing multi- talented performer . +but it's the acting that hits the mark , and damon hits all the right notes , flying over robin williams' deja-vu role ( " awakenings " was written all over this ) as a devastated shrink who has closed all contact with society due to his wife's tragic death . +damon effortlessly blends the carelesness of a gregarious , confused thug with the absorbing ingeniousness of someone like einstein . +his rich , complex character is the pulp of " good will hunting . " +everything else pales in comparison . + " good will hunting " exposes the lack of profoundness of deliberately schmaltzy storytelling , but , unlike " little man tate " or " phenomenon " , it doesn't set up its story in a black and white , point a to point b be manner , but as the saga of an extraordinary individual whose feasibility for success doesn't automatically signify he must make easy , familiar choices , like the protagonists in the aforementioned . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv254_6027.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv254_6027.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..75c4243eee35430d99bdc96f413db9dc2c1de439 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv254_6027.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +curdled is a deliciously dark and witty black comedy , but its humour won't appeal to everyone . +to be specific , let me give you an example . +do you know in pulp fiction where jules and vincent go on brain detail after marvin and his head accidentally get separated ? +if you thought that was completely tasteless and unfunny , don't see curdled . +on the other hand , if you found that sequence to be pretty funny , you have the sense of humour that curdled is aimed at . +our film's heroine , gabriela , played by angela jones , is a woman obssessively curious about murder and serial killers ; she even keeps a scrapbook of news articles . +luckily for her , miami is being plagued by a serial killer rampage - her scrapbook is getting pretty big . +the killer's nickname in the press is the blue blood killer , because he preys on older rich socialite women , and he's played by william baldwin ( this is not a spoiler ) . +one particularly striking m . o . +on the blue blood killer is his propensity to decapitate his victims . +gabriela is watching television one day when she spots an advertisement for a firm whose line of work is perfectly attuned to her interests . +she immediately quits her job , and signs on with pfcs , which stands for post-forensic cleaning service . +no points for guessing what they do . +her workmates are confused by gabriela's fascination with murder ; to them , it's just a day job . +there's a hilarious locker room scene where they debate whether decapitated heads can talk , and what they would say . +gabriela's partner , elena , played by mel gorham , is particularly perturbed by gabriela's wide-eyed fascination , and becomes really upset when gabriela volunteers them to clean up the blue blood killer's latest scene - they're the messiest , you see . +unbeknownst to them , the last victim left something on the scene which would id the blue blood killer , so he's also heading over there . . +the comparison to pulp fiction earlier on was not accidental - quentin tarantino executive-produced this film , which began life as a short film he saw at a film festival . +apparently tarantino was so impressed that he helped braddock convert this into a feature-length film . +there are other parallels - the star of curdled is angela jones ( the top billing goes to william baldwin , but really , jones is the central character ) , who's probably best known for her role as esmerelda villalobos , the death-obssessed taxi driver in pulp fiction . +that role was written specifically for jones based upon her similar character in the aforementioned short film , curdled jr . +jones is great in curdled - she's wonderfully funny and maintains an amusing wide-eyed naive curiousity about murder without compromising her character's innocence or likeability . +she can express so much with one lift of her eyebrow . +it's a great performance . +reb braddock's direction is extremely sharp and clever , toeing the line between black humour and bad taste . +the best scene in the film is an outrageously funny sequence involves jones and dancing - any more than that would be a spoiler . +the opening credit sequence is also inventive and amusing . +of course , it's impossible to really take this stuff seriously , but then again you're not really supposed to - braddock knows the audience is in on the joke , and makes it a fun little romp as a result . +the one drawback of curdled is that it was based on a short film , and it feels like it ; the material is just stretched too thin in order to fulfill a feature length running time , and some parts just seem to drag . +while its running time is already a short 94 minutes , it could really stand to lose twenty minutes or so to give it better pacing . +curdled seems destined to be a nice cult film for miramax . +it'll be interesting to see if it will appeal to mainstream audiences as well . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv255_13683.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv255_13683.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8df0a0cf59d0ead44d03252e40f5d90eac57ce41 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv255_13683.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18 @@ +it is often said by his fans that hal hartley movies are an acquired taste . +indeed . +while perhaps less dangerous than tequila shooters or bungee-jumping , they require no less amount of physical stamina and concentration . +i felt rewarded at the end of henry fool ; this movie creeps up on you-at a slow 139 minutes , i mean creeps-and despite the final shot's ambiguity , i left completely satisfied . +henry fool ( " used to have an ? e' " ) arrives at garbageman simon grim's house , claims the vacant basement apartment , and almost instantly inspires simon ( urbaniak ) to take up writing-henry ( martin donovan look-alike ryan ) is an ex-convict , a once-great author who has been " exiled and marginalized " by the publishing community because of his criminal activity . +simon's poetry turns him into a local sensation , as it causes mute women to sing , high-school girls to swoon , and councilmen to rile against its " pornographic " content . +meanwhile , henry seduces both simon's dependent mother ( porter ) and immature sister ( sundance queen posey ) with philosophical babble ( which is by turns brilliant and inane ) and breathy animal lust . +these story elements result in climaxes both inevitable and unpredictable ; the teacher-student relationship formed between henry and simon eventually reverses itself . +henry fool is sprinkled with hartley-ian flourishes : simon drinks milk from " udderley's " ; the big teen hang-out is called " world of donuts " ; simon wears his garbageman's uniform throughout ; the editing style is decidedly elliptical . . . + ( which is key to the conclusion's said ambiguity ) . +the performances by the three leads are abrasive at first , self-consciously " quirky " ; the introductory scenes are a chore . +these people do grow on you because they convey genuine passion , a belief in themselves , and because they have long-term goals ; henry and simon may drink a lot of budweiser and hang out on the streetcorner , but they aren't pop slackers . +the story is rather classical : the tutor is a better talker than a doer , raised on books ; the timid tutee has innate talent his master only dreams of . + ( shades of film school . . . ) +the finished film is epic in its proportions for a story so small , and the final third does test one's patience , yet henry fool is tight , hardly excessive in its length . +how refreshing to see a movie this long in 1998 devoted entirely to character . +and unless i nodded off , not a single building exploded . +this , hartley's seventh feature , is contemplative about " the artist " ; fortunately , we never get a sampling of simon's work , and it's a testament to the actors and the screenplay that by the end we can surmise what sort of thoughts would pour from these writers' pens . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv257_10975.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv257_10975.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..cd5930f02d750f5606ff0f6b53f7e5a4cb06e463 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv257_10975.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +that's the question i asked myself when venturing nervously into " the wedding singer , " the latest film to star the saturday night live alumnus . +does he draw laughs from his sad , puppy dog expression and don't-hate-me-for-being-a-simpleton observations ? +or do fans giggle when he screams at the top of his lungs at people ? +or is it just the fact that he sings songs with silly lyrics that bowl audiences over ? +well , there's a little bit of all of that in " the wedding singer " and while i exited the theater still not one hundred percent sure of mr . sandler's thing , i did have a surprisingly good time . +that's because , in a nutshell , " the wedding singer " is one of the sweetest movies you're ever likely to come across . +that's right . +sweet . +the humor in the film runs the gamut from dumb to mildly amusing to laugh-out-loud hysterical but the tone ? +well , it's just lovely . +i have to admit i was half-expecting farting armpit humor , gratuitous nudity , superfluous , cloying subplots , and some nasty , unnecessary violence . +instead ? +well , i've said it before . +sweet . +the year is 1985 and sandler plays robbie hart , the eponymous wedding singer , a job aspiring rock stars often settle for . +when robbie's fianc ? e dumps him at his own altar , robbie gets depressed and turns to a plucky waitress called julia ( drew barrymore ) who has some problems of her own ( she's marrying a hunky junk bonds dealer who , unbeknownst to her , isn't that big on monogamy ) . +it isn't giving anything away to say that robbie and julia fall in love . +aww . . . +sandler and barrymore are a good match and they're assisted by some terrific cameo appearances , including steve buscemi and jon lovitz , whose individual scenes are perhaps the funniest in the film . +writer tim herlihy ( with uncredited assistance from carrie fisher ) keeps the story bubbling along to its predictable conclusion . +it doesn't all work but it's handled with such light-heartedness that robbie and julia coming together generates more smiles than groans . +herlihy and director frank coraci have done a great job of recreating the sights , sounds , and affectations of the 1980s . +the soundtrack--an ever-present force in the film--is packed with wall-to-wall hits of the period , new wave upon new wave of songs from billy idol's " white wedding " to the smiths' " how soon is now ? " +to culture club's " do you really want to hurt me ? " +the mix of music and fashion would make " the wedding singer " a great double feature with " boogie nights . " +if you grew up listening to the cure and a flock of seagulls and the psychedelic furs , then " the wedding singer " is bound to put a nostalgic hop in your stride . +if you're a fan of the lovable , laughable adam sandler , well . . . +let's just say that " the wedding singer " might well be the only film in recent memory to make * me * want to rent " happy gilmore . " diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv258_5792.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv258_5792.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..95d605e6872e88ed782350a7d948e999bbdcbcfb --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv258_5792.txt @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +jarvis cocker of pulp once said that he wrote common people after noticing mike leigh box-sets on the video shelves -- he had a feeling that economic deprivation was becoming a tourist experience for the well-off . +maybe it's a classic case of displacement : it's easier to see jarvis' own lyrics ( obsessed with acrylic and wood chip on the wall ) as a fetishization of lowlife , rather than leigh's films . +but it's worth being reminded that drab interiors and a couple of working-class characters don't make for a guarantee of 'authenticity' , let alone a good film . +it's the triumph of secrets & lies , then , that it goes beyond gestures of sympathy for the common people into a probing of just what it means to seek 'authenticity' and honesty in everyday lives . +following her adopted mother's funeral , hortense , a young black optometrist , sets out to find her birth mother , and is disturbed to find out that she is white . +it is cynthia , a factory worker who lives in a shabby house with her perpetually moody daughter roxanne . +cynthia's younger brother maurice is a successful photographer who has not seen his sister for ages , largely because of his wife's animosity towards her . +hortense calls up cynthia , who initially breaks down in tears and refuses to see her . +but their mutually suspicious meeting gives way to a warm friendship eventually . +cynthia invites hortense to come along to a party , which maurice is hosting . . . +secrets & lies has a simple enough theme at its heart -- as one character puts it , " best to tell the truth , isn't it ? +that way nobody gets hurt . " . +but if the film delivers much more than a trite message , it's because we are also shown how hard it can be to face up to ugly truths , even while the evasions and unspoken grievances slowly choke us . +hence , cynthia's difficulty with acknowledging ( first to herself , then to others ) that hortense is her daughter . +one of her first reactions to seeing hortense is a sincere denial that she has ever " been with a black man " , before a long-suppressed memory seizes her . +at the party , cynthia's pretense that hortense is her factory co-worker leads her to ever more convoluted lies , as agonizing as they are funny . +little lies seep into every corner , like maurice pretending that he's " just dropping by " when he visits cynthia after much deliberation . +maurice's job as a photographer gives the film opportunities for side comments on the main theme - a sad-looking bride that maurice coaxes to smile , a couple who pose awkwardly with a prominent wedding ring and argue about his spectacles . +one of the most startling images is of a beautiful woman with large scars on her face : she says she needs the photo to look " as bad as possible " to collect insurance money , yet the short scene leaves you wondering about what untold story lies behind the scars . +there are occasionally hilarious moments , as when cynthia attempts to give her daughter some unwelcome advice on contraception , " i've got a dutch cap floating about somewhere upstairs " ; or when cynthia stares at her own rather pedestrian legs and tells roxanne , " if you've got it , flaunt it , is what i say . " +as played by brenda blethyn , cynthia comes close to being a caricature , with her nervous , somewhat disconnected way of talking . +but she's really just right for the role of someone who inspires sympathy and yet strains the tolerance of those around her , precisely because she's so needy of love , perhaps . +indeed , the whole cast gives warmly rounded , detailed performances . +the script was developed partly through improvisations , and the fusion of cast , script and director shows best in the party scene - seemingly everyone is talking at the same time , and yet many subtle observations are being made throughout . +in a very different way , but also using a long single shot , the scene of hortense and cynthia's first meeting in a lonely caf=8a achieves a touching intensity , all the more for their reticence and unspoken feelings . +the film's climax - with all the secrets and lies finally spilled out in ibsen-esque revelations , and everybody hugging each other - is the one thing that seems false about this film . +however , it's a film that truly earns its happy ending after the misery and repression of the character's lives . +when cynthia says near the end , this is the life , innit ? , you get the sense that , following the cynicism of his last film naked , leigh has rediscovered that life can be sweet after all , without comforting illusions . +the flying inkpot's rating system : * wait for the video . + * * a little creaky , but still better than staying at home with gotcha ! + * * * pretty good , bring a friend . + * * * * amazing , potent stuff . + * * * * * perfection . +see it twice . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv259_10934.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv259_10934.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..fafb91ccfcddb54a716196b956b47bd4b8b0a9e2 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv259_10934.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +richard linklater's " slacker , " made in 1991 for a budget of only $23 , 000 , immerses itself in the twentysomething , college-town culture of austin , texas . +most of these characters are either unemployed or work jobs that are apparently too menial to be worth mentioning . +their lifestyle is a sort of passive resistance to the idea that people should go out and actively pursue a career after graduation ; they seem content to sit around spouting off about the inadequacy of american democracy , the pervasiveness of slave morality , the subtle messages in pop culture , and such . +ask them what they've been doing lately , and they'll more likely than not reply , " oh , you know , just hanging out . " +linklater uses an interesting technique to examine these characters : the camera follows one person for a few minutes , then someone else walks by and the camera follows that person , who walks into a diner just as another person is walking out the door . + . + . + . +it's certainly a lot of fun listening to these characters talk : some of them are clearly very intelligent and have some genuinely insightful ideas , some of them are just plain weird , and some of them think their ideas are a lot more profound than they really are . +the opening monologue , delivered by linklater himself to a taxi driver , tosses around ideas about alternate realities that nicely set up the meandering structure of the film . +other characters along the way offer observations about everything from dating relationships to the history of anarchist philosophy , while groups of pseudo-intellectuals kick around ideas about the nobility of sitting around and doing nothing or the subtle bribery-based morality in " scooby-doo . " +for the most part , however , the best moments are the ones involving the slightly unhinged types . +near the beginning , a paranoid man follows a pedestrian for several blocks , warning him about government conspiracies involving everything from global warming to secret colonization of mars . +another man seems to be collecting televisions , keeping at least fifteen sets running at the same time and playing tapes of a graduate student who recorded himself having a nervous breakdown and destroying the camera . +and in a scene that drew a big laugh from everyone present when i saw the film , a man tries to achieve closure after a failed relationship by reciting poetry on a bridge and then throwing a typewriter into the creek below . +the only problem with " slacker " is that it starts to run out of steam towards the end . +since linklater only spends a few minutes with each character , the introduction of the new characters gets repetitive after a while . +there are only so many times you can hear , " hey , what's going on ? " + " not much , what are you up to ? " + " nothing really , just hanging around , " before it gets on your nerves ; the film might well have benefited from a slightly slower pace and a little bit more characterization . +and the dialogue in the second half of the film is by and large not quite as interesting as that in the first half ; a jfk buff , for example , seems like a pale imitation of the previous conspiracy theorist , and many of the characters just generally aren't as weird or unique . +instead of depicting a city populated by mostly normal people and then showing us the strangeness that we might not have noticed at first , linklater shows us the oddballs first , then stops and reminds us that ordinary people live there too . + " slacker " is a good film and a wonderfully offbeat and entertaining comedy , whatever its flaws , and its status as a cult classic is well-deserved . +i just can't help but think it might have been even better if linklater had slowed down a little bit and filmed these scenes in reverse order . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv260_13959.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv260_13959.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b9ac5eaf2ac93db4b5ab816a195b5c3def27f45e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv260_13959.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ + " a breed apart " casts rutger hauer as a crazy , bird-loving recluse who picks his feathered friends over kathleen turner . +a bit hard to swallow ? +that's only the first of many improbabilities in this film . +hauer stars as a man obsessed with keeping the birds on his island safe , while boothe plays a guy hired to steal a couple of rare eagle eggs by a rich egg collector . +turner is the woman caught between the two men . + " a breed apart " isn't a bad movie , exactly . +indeed , i found myself rooting for both the hauer and boothe characters , even though their goals couldn't be more different . +the problem with the film is that there are just too many inconsistencies . +for example , early on in the film , hauer physically assaults two drunken rednecks shooting at " his " birds . +later on , the rednecks come back for revenge with four other people , and hauer kills a few of them . +i have a tough time believing that the police wouldn't get involved at that point . +another problem is the silly love-triangle that develops . +i didn't care one way or the other who ended up with turner . +i was more interested in finding out which of the two men would be victorious in their respective missions . +however , despite this uninteresting sub-plot , turner did manage to give a great performance as the woman who reminds the two men that sometimes there's more to life than money and birds . +as for hauer , he's an actor i've always admired . +he has a penchant for picking strange and unusual characters . +and this one is no exception . +he's frequently seen riding around his island on a white horse , wearing pirate's clothing , and holstering a cross-bow . +despite all his eccentric mannerisms , though , hauer always manages to let the human side of his character shine through . +for example , there's a scene in which he barks at turner and her son because they came onto his island a day early . +he comes off as crazy loner in that scene , but a few minutes later , he is apologizing to turner , and we believe his intentions . +soon after , we find out he's a vietnam vet , and his actions become fairly clear to us . + " a breed apart " isn't a great movie by any means , but it does contain good performances by all three leads , and it's worth seeing for that reason alone . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv261_10954.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv261_10954.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..52728d8c1a4ec1430edd95bb94f5b493a0d546a4 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv261_10954.txt @@ -0,0 +1,43 @@ +titanic is so close to being the perfect movie it's upsetting that it isn't . +the film , which cost $200 million+ to make and could of put 20th century fox into a lot of finicial trouble if it 'sunk' ( pun intended ) is a labour of love for cameron , who wrote and directed the film . +we all know that big budget dosen't mean great film ( see waterworld ( 1995 ) ) but titanic is far superior to kevin costners waterlogged epic . +but sadly , titanic just misses the mark of masterpiece ( although it is one of cameron's best films ) +the film starts with present day explorers searching the runied titanic . +they find a safe , and inside a picture of a woman . +the woman in the picture ( an old winslet ) tells the explorers that the picture is of her . +the explorers invite her over , and she then tells her story of titanic . +in the flashback , dicaprio plays poor boy jack dawson , who , after winning a poker game , wins two tickets to board the grand ship titanic , leaving liverpool to go to america . +also boarding the ship is rich woman rose dewitt bukater ( winslet ) who is being forced into a marriage with a man she dosen't love at all , cal hockley ( zane ) so her family can remain rich . +she nearly commits suicide on the ship , but jack comes to the rescue , saves rose , they fall in love , and cal gets jealous and eventually tries to kill them . +oh yeah , and the ship sinks . +and that is the main problem with the film , and which stops it from being a work of genius . +the story and script ( both by cameron ) are both weak . +the story is full of cliched characters , ( the creepy man who the nice girl has to marry , the poor boy with heart , the stuck-up mother ) and poor dialogue ( the script consists of lots of in-jokes of how the boat won't sink , and most of the dialogue is pretty basic ) it's a shame really , as the audience does have to sit through 3 hours of this film . +without good dialogue , a film could become a very long , very boring film ( like camerons own terminator 2 , 1992 ) but , luckily , there are some redeeming features that make the story and dialogue problems just disappear . +firstly , there's cameron's direction . +there are some great sweeping shots of the titanic , and some clever fades between the flashback titanic and the ruined titanic . +but the scenes cameron directs especially well are the disaster scenes at the end . +there is a lot of mayhem and panic , all done very well by cameron . +it's a scary sight , watching bodies fall from great heights into the watery depths below . +thanks to cameron's direction , then , the audiences attention is held for the full 3 hours 15 minutes . +to support the directing are the excellent cast , working very well with their underwritten characters . +dicaprio is good , although he only looks 16-17 years old . +his performance of a over excitiable , yet also well mannered boy is excellent , and he also has some funny lines . +winslet is great also , and her transistion from a well mannered rich girl to a rebelous young adult is pretty smooth . +zane is deliciously evil as cal , saying every line with a sneer and a flicker of the eye lash . +the audience really does come to hate him . +he may be playing the same character he plays in every film he's in ( like dead calm , 1988 ) but he does it really , really well . +also worthy of note is kathy bates ( edward scissorhands , 1990 ) as a loud mouthed american . +finally , the icing on the 'great things' cake are the special effects . +cameron is a whiz with effects ( just watch aliens ( 1988 ) , terminator 2 and true lies , 1994 ) and they are used very well throughout . +the sweeps of the ships are awesome , although digital domain , who did the effects , cannot animate human movement too well . +the humans seem to move to 'smoothly' , there's just something odd about them . +you can tell that they have been animated on a computer . +of course , the ship sinking scenes are awesome , with bodies flying all over the place , and the scene where the ship splits in half has to be seen to be believed . +titanic is one of the only films where effects have reinforced the film . +titanic , then , is a wonder of directing , acting and cgi , but not writing and story . +again , like most of camerons films , the editing is loose ( cameron edits himself ) , and the film could of come in under three hours with a few more cuts . +titanic , then , although not the godfather of movies it could of been , is a wonderful attempt at creating a work of genius . +enjoyable , scary , and even sad , titanic is a film cinema was invented for , filling the screen with incredible images , and assaulting the ears with awesome sound . +a superb film , but sadly not perfect . +overall rating= ( diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv263_19259.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv263_19259.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..83a75301bfd91fb022371c889fd583f23cd658c5 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv263_19259.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +american pie acknowledges a cold , hard fact that most movies don't : it is very difficult to get laid . +its four virgin heroes are jim ( biggs ) , a chronic masturbator , kev ( nicholas ) , who desperately wants to deflower his girlfriend ( reid ) , oz ( klein ) , a lacrosse player whose approach requires some fine tuning , and finch ( eddie kaye thomas ) , a germphobe ( his crass nickname is hilarious , but i won't spoil it here ) who pays a classmate to spread rumours about the size of his member . +jim , kev , oz and finch attend a high school in suburban michigan full of so many impossibly beautiful women it's no wonder they're horny all the time . +after a party at their studly friend stifler's ( seann william scott , in the film's sharpest performance ) house leaves them sexually unsatisfied , the quartet make a pact : to " lose it " by graduation-specifically , prom night , which is only a few weeks away . +american pie is in the tradition of bachelor party or revenge of the nerds . +almost every conversation these characters have revolves around makin' whoopee . +all women are there to be ogled . + ( alyson hannigan's perky music student is the only memorable female of the bunch . ) +situations abound that defy logic only to arouse and/or amuse its core audience , adolescent boys . + ( to arouse : nadia's ( shannon elizabeth ) internet striptease-an unexpectedly raucous ( and guiltily pleasurable ) sequence . +to amuse : jim's lusty encounter with a hot apple pie . ) +what differentiates american pie from those dirty eighties comedies , aside from a very nineties obsession with bodily fluids * , is a cast that's light years more appealing than that of , say , just one of the guys . +two more standouts : klein and " sctv " 's eugene levy . +klein plays a kind-hearted athlete for the second time in a row , after alexander payne's underappreciated election . +i hope to see more of this warm actor with the disarmingly honest face very soon . +levy's is the most crowd-pleasing performance , and indeed , it's nice to see him back on the big screen in a role that makes wonderful use of that expressive brow . +american pie also wants to emulate the teen flicks your parents _would_ let you watch growing up . +it skillfully employs a broad mix of pop tunes , much like john hughes' movies did , and even pays homage to the breakfast club a couple of times , most evidently when the prom band covers simple minds' " don't you ( forget about me ) . " +the picture ultimately has a healthy , if obligatory , attitude towards safe sex-even at their most libidinous , american pie's protagonists first whip out a condom . +the filmmakers prove that socially responsible raunch is possible . +for its familiarity and for its charming leads , i recommend american pie , but the buzz on this film had me expecting something . . . fresher . +as far as the new teen cinema goes , it's at the top of the heap . + * don't say i didn't warn you about the party scene . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv265_10814.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv265_10814.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b211b5fcf19bf821c20e02920c4f374e8e01fb03 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv265_10814.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +one way of telling if a film is good or not is by the length . +if a film is only 90 minutes , but feels like 300 minutes , then it's crap . +but if a film last 2 1/2 hours , and feels like 90 minutes , then it's excellent . +boogie nights falls into the latter catagory . +the director , anderson , delivers a funny , hip , yet sometimes violent film , which flies along . +mark whalberg , a . k . a +marky mark , plays eddie adams , a seventeen year old with a certain 'gift' in the midriff area . +jack horner ( reynolds ) is a adult film director , who decides that eddie would be great in the adult movie business . +after running away from home , eddie joins jack , changes his name to dirk diggler , and starts making erotic movies . +in the movie business , dirk meets a whole load of characters ( which the film introduces very quickly and slickly ) such as scotty ( phillip seymour hoffman ) , rollergirl ( graham ) amber ( moore ) and floyd ( phillip baker hall ) , and little bill ( william h . macy ) all the characters are well written , well played , and the audience gets to know them pretty well , thanks to the excellent script . +we learn about ambers grief about not being able to see her child due to a divorce , rollergirls hard time at school , and little bills wife , who sleeps with everyone except her husband . +but the best thing about the excellent boogie nights is paul andersons direction and writing . +the direction is fast , thrilling , and never holds up . +there are some great shots , some lovely steadiocam and handheld camera sequences , and lots of other neat directional touches . +the writing is fabulous , with some intelligent dialogue , some funny dialogue , but none of the dialogue is crap , like most hollywood films ( such as the lost world : jurassic park ( 1997 ) , or tommorow never dies ( 1997 ) . ) +boogie nights really is a spectacular feat of direction and writing , on par ( and sometimes betters ) quentin tarantino's films resevoir dogs ( 1992 ) and pulp fiction ( 1994 ) +the soundtrack is also excellent . +like american graffiti ( 1973 ) , the film features some great old songs on the soundtrack , which heightens the atmosphere , and gives the film an extra lift . +also , the costumes are great . +the clothes really do look like what people wore in the seventies and eighties . +the film , although excellent , does have some flaws . +firstly , wahlberg , although excellent , cannot do highly scenes which require him to be angry . +in both scenes where he has to act angry , his acting is so 'off' , the scenes tension and anger is lost . +but the rest of the cast are excellent . +burt reynolds is brilliant , julianne moore shows real emotion , and william h . macy is great aswell ( but he always is . ) +another flaw with the film , though , is that the ending seems a bit tacked on . +it seems anderson saw the film was going on a bit , and needed to wrap up quickly . +it's a shame , really , as the rest of the film is perfectly paced . +but they're small niggles really . +boogie nights is an excellent film . +superb directing , writing , acting and music , all combine to make one spectacular film . +whatever you do , do not miss out on boogie nights . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv266_25779.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv266_25779.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..31a02b8ab70359198ad89100ac71019de313ca3e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv266_25779.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +it's ironic that the best films in cinema history are invariably the original director's cut of the film . +films such as aliens , the abyss , the wild bunch , blade runner , and terminator 2 are all prime examples of a filmmaker's integrity , later chopped up or mucked with by the studio . +the advent of the dvd format has provided a more accessible way to get these original cuts to the public and provide to film freaks like myself the ability to become further enraptured by the extension of such classic films . +the dvd release of the original international version of luc besson's 1995 masterpiece the professional , which is known as l ? on around the world , is a prime example of how a good film can become an instant classic as a director's cut . +for years , i have heard of an " international " version available only in laserdisc format , which has eluded me for years . +i even bought a laserdisc player from my uncle don for 100 bucks just to watch certain directors' cuts - including l ? on . +but after countless searches in laserdisc stores , i could never find it . +until now . +the film follows the story of l ? on , played by jean reno , a professional hit man for an italian mob crew run by danny aiello . +he lives next door to a ferociously independent 12-year-old girl named mathilda - played by then newcomer natalie portman , whose father is involved in drugs and crooked cops . +one day , a crew of the cops - lead by gary oldman in an over-the-top performance - kills her entire family while mathilda is out buying groceries . +taking pity on her , l ? on hides her in his apartment when she returns to save her life . +mathilda learns of l ? on's hit man profession and decides to follow in l ? on's footsteps as a " cleaner . " +she then falls in love with him and manages to reawaken emotions within l ? on he has kept locked away as part of his profession . +at this point , the differences in the american version and the international version really kick in . +the international version contains an additional 24 minutes of footage that pertains directly to the relationship of l ? on and mathilda , footage that american censors deemed " too explicit . " +i assume that american censors feel that defining character development is too much for american audiences to handle . +the best part of this extra footage is that gives better understanding of both mathilda's and l ? on's motivations pertaining to later actions involving oldman and his crew of bad cops . +there's even a previously unseen cameo by the great french actor jean-hugues anglade - star of queen margot , besson's la femme nikita , and killing zoe . +with these additional scenes replaced , l ? on and matilda's relationship brings you emotionally closer to the film and draws stronger bonds between the characters that were murky in the american version . +the most ironic thing about the international version of the film is that with the inclusion of the missing scenes , the film becomes primarily a heavy , emotional drama punctuated with big action scenes at the beginning and the end of the film . +the film betters reflects the serious drama of french cinema but is laced with pieces reflecting the brutality of american cinema . +my advice to everyone out there is to throw away your copy of the professional , throw down twenty bucks , and pick up this newly restored cinematic masterpiece . +director/writer : luc besson producer : luc besson , claude besson starring : jean reno , natalie portman , gary oldman , danny aiello diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv267_14952.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv267_14952.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..83dc4f5f6e43236b7299ea29668c6f864669af5a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv267_14952.txt @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ +while it was part of former yugoslavia , my country , croatia , used to be almost completely ignored by western films in general . +words " croatia " and " croatians " were unheard , even in movies whose plots actually took place on croatian locations . +the rare exception was the dogs of war , 1980 adaptation of frederick forsyth's bestselling novel , yet that rare occasion only added insult to the injury , by mentioning croatians in most unflattering context . +in a single line they are referred as a bunch of mean people , probably terrorists , who happen to remove parts of arm dealers' stomachs when they are unsatisfied with the quality of merchandise . +same line also illustrates the milieu where the movie takes place - dark and violent world of shady international deals with the blurred boundaries between business , politics and crime . +the movie protagonist , shannon ( christopher walken ) is a mercenary who spent the best years of his life fighting numerous little wars all over the globe . +his latest job is a intelligence mission for powerful mining corporation that demands information about political climate in west african nation of zangaro . +shannon arrives in that country only to find oppressive regime of president kimba , bloodthirsty madman whose brutality crushed any opposition and scared almost any westerners away . +after being arrested and tortured by kimba's secret police , shannon leaves country with a help of british journalist north ( colin blakely ) . +upon return , he is approached by mining company again , but this time they want him to plan and execute the coup d'etat against kimba . +shannon reluctantly agrees and assembles small group of his surviving mercenary friends who begin meticulous preparation for another small war . +thing that separates the dogs of war from conventional action movies , especially those made in 1980s , is its authenticity , almost close to documentary . +it shouldn't surprise anyone , because the author of the novel , frederick forsyth , made reputation by blending fiction with real life , thus creating interesting , exciting yet very believable plots for his books . +those plots were also responsible for few very successful 1970s thrillers , and one of them , zinnemman's the day of the jackal , is now considered a classic in that genre . +this one deals with soldiers of fortune , ancient tradition that was resurrected in great turmoil of 1960s and 1970s and filled the void left by vanishing colonial empires . +unlike wild geese , that used it as a pretext for conventional action adventure , script by george malko and gary de vore ( author whose death last year became real life mystery ) is serious , and instead of action puts emphasis on characters and prosaic details of their work . +the movie doesn't try to romanticise the mercenary profession nor glorify mercenaries as some kind of superheroes ; they are simply shown as deadly yet expendable tool of powerful forces with questionable agenda . +christopher walken played in many movies , yet very rarely we can see him in a leading role . +his performance in this film perhaps isn't breathtaking , yet adequate . +his notoriously expressionless face is perfect illustration of the disillusioned , world- weary man whose alienation from the " normal " way of life becomes complete and only remaining ideal is loyalty to the shrinking circle of friends . +although the movie doesn't lack capable actors , their roles are miniature compared with walken's , and only colin blakely as cynical reporter has opportunity to portray his character . +however , those who look familiar faces would find them plenty in the dogs of war - tom berenger , paul freeman , jo beth williams , victoria tennant ( in brief cameo ) , and biggest surprise is ed o'neill ( of married with children fame ) as shannon's reluctant colleague . +this was the first major production for john irvin , and it shows why he earned the reputation of capable , yet second class director . +with the good script he can make very good movie , with the bad script he can make real mess . +luckily , the dogs of war had a good script . +irvin's direction was very ascetic and it gave the movie almost documentary feel . +the only distraction is dramatic music of geoffrey burgon , used on the wrong places . +in the final battle scene , where we can see mercenaries at work , irvin shows us that modern warfare means superior firepower and tactics , unlike 1980s ramboesque fantasies that rely on macho superheroes . +unfortunately , by making battle realistic irvin made it somewhat less attractive and his sloppy editing also didn't help . +but , despite those shortcomings , this movie remains interesting and rare combination of action thriller and gritty , realistic political drama . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv269_21732.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv269_21732.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6e6a8198a45e6d4f819cc0205fbbcdd2b6f105b9 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv269_21732.txt @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +this is a film about secrets , some that are innocent like those of a cute little farm girl , frances boyd ( ashley ) . +others that are between a married couple that is impacting their relationship , like the problems of infertility affecting this upwardly mobile couple , geoffrey gaines ( stephen ramsey ) , the medical researcher working for a big corporation called fex and striving to get a patent for his experiment and become recognized in his field , and his artist wife , lillian ( miriam healy-louie ) , who reluctantly stands behind her husband suppressing her natural artistic tendencies in order to make the marriage work . +and , still other secrets that have a greater implication for the world and are deadly in a political sense , of science carried out by the big corporations like it was a business run for the bottom line . +receiving a summer grant to study " chemo-electric therapy , " geoffrey and his wife are hoping that a summer spent away from the intensity of the big city will bring back the romance that is dwindling from their marriage and that the casualness of the country atmosphere will give them more time together , as their three-year marriage has become shaky because he is more interested in his work than he is in her . +he has slyly managed to keep his work as secretive as possible by locking himself in the lab , which is off limits to her , as he secretly goes about conducting experiments on rats and mice , convincing her that what he is doing is to benefit humanity with possible new treatments and cures to illnesses . +his main argument is , that this is what the public wants , they don't want to hear about how some animals had to die because of these experiments , they just want the benefits of science . +that he is depicted as a monster creating another monster , much like frankenstein was created , is the argument skewed by the director against his bad science ( science as a business ) as opposed to the good science ( science that cares about the small farmer ) , which is represented by the handsome and almost perfect gentleman , alex vine ( david ) , a young ecologist who chooses to work in the field , trying to get the farmers to go back to organic farming . +he is hired by the university to monitor the dangers of pesticides and all the chemicals the farmer is almost forced to use to survive financially , as it is doing irreparable harm to him and the consumer because of all the health risks attached to this new way of farming , methods that have just come about in the last thirty- years and are being pushed by the big companies to enhance their profit margins . +the third view in all this is the artist's , represented by lillian , who points out that the artist's work is shown in public and scrutinized constantly , " why shouldn't the same be true of the scientist ? " +she argues that the artist is the watchdog for the public , questioning what is good or evil in society , something that bad science has completely ignored . +geoffrey , impatient to get ahead with his research , feels bogged down by the bureaucrats in his firm who fail to provide him with the three chimps he needs to experiment on , as he contacts one of the company's higher ups to argue his case , but decides he can't wait any longer for their help , so he sets an animal trap in the countryside and catches chester , the gorgeous pet dog of frances , a dog that means so much to her and her family because he saved her life . +while out in the field with the bloodied trapped dog already in the back seat of his car , he is spotted by alex and one of his co-workers , and nervously invites them to dinner with his wife , afraid that alex will spot what he is doing , as he rushes away from the area . +in the dinner scene that was , unfortunately , flatly done , but was nevertheless the heart of the film , as all the main characters get a chance to speak out from the point of view they represent as they eat meat , a means of getting protein that the radical scientists have eschewed since they became so politically correct about everything . +the scientists engage in a rational argument , highlighting their different points of view , while lillian reacts in an emotional way , siding mostly with david's view but coming at it from a much different angle . +it was as if the actors were puppets on strings that the director controlled and they just spewed out their generalized philosophies . +that the director's point of view is absolutely right , is beside the point . +the point is that the characters lost their humanity and became one-dimensional characters . +geoffrey was likened to a hideous monster , alex vine was likened to his last name , the one who holds fast to the ground ensuring that the plant has stability , while lillian was likened to the muse of poetry and art , the inspiration for goodness and beauty . +alex has been spending a lot of time together with lillian , as these two seem to share the same views and are physically attracted to each other , but when the time is ripe for an affair to take place between them , lillian changes her mind and decides not to go up to alex's apartment . +geoffrey is already suspicious of alex and considers him an enemy , and the marriage seems to be coming apart and all his cunning tricks to possess her are no longer working , as it is now impossible to see any good in him and there becomes no reason why she would remain with him . +the relationship has disintegrated way beyond the point of her just feeling lonely . +the dog is discovered by alex and her in a deplorable state after geoffrey is seen by them electrically shocking it , and mercifully the dog dies . +the only thing left for her to do is walk out of the marriage , but she also fails to respond to david's loving gesture for her to stay with him , instead opting to head back to the city . +the farmer whose dog was tortured to death comes into the scientist's lab and knocks him cold while he was in the middle of a phone conversation with one of the higher-ups who told him all the animals he needs are on the way . +what is progress ? +what can one expect out of life ? +is the small farmer about to become extinct ? +the answers to these questions can best be answered by either good science or art , which are both closely related to the american natives vision of a world entrusted to mankind so that he can respect it and take care of it and enrich it with his creations to benefit mankind in a peaceful way . +that this work fails to be subtle and polarizes opinions , leaving no room for deeper arguments , is the shame of this decent and smart film , that tried so hard to say what it felt it had to say but said it so loudly without trusting its audience to catch on to its message by not making everything seem so black and white . +no telling said a lot about the harmful trends it sees science going in ; it probably said too much and would have been better off if its vision was more poetical and less didactic . +there is something about listening to a lecture that turns off the rebel in me , as i don't like being hit in the head with the truth but prefer to have it presented in the form that leads to inspiration or told metaphorically . +that is not to say that i found the film without considerable merit , that inspite of its shortcomings , it was worth seeing because of its visual statements , though they were also not too subtle , they were at least effective in setting up the intense mood that the film needed to show that there is a mental war going on currently , of those who believe one way is right and others who differ with them , and that anyone who is neutral must be considered an enemy because of their indifference . +the stakes in this ecological struggle are that high . +perhaps the most powerful visual statement in the film , was the dead cow from pesticides shown in the opening scene . +it was the image that lillian spent her time painting all summer and had the same affect for her as did the animal faces in picasso's guernica had for him . +both artists envisioned the horrors that man could do against the world , and represented this unspoken pain on the faces of the animals so that anyone who cares to really see what is going on , will not mistake which side of the fence he or she should be on . +the pain that lillian feels , as she forgets about her desires to raise a family , and she stares at her painting of the cow and the song , " make the world go away " blares out from the background , after she has learned that frances' beautiful and loving dog has been brutalized by her monster of a husband , all in the name of science , had a raw power to it that personalizes the dangers of bad science . +perhaps , the most pertinent question the film asks , requires an answer that must be resolved by the farmers and the consumers who are most caught in the changing world and its new way of doing business , as the question becomes , can science be happily married with art ? diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv270_6079.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv270_6079.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c8cd3a78e311e411491f3f6115eda2bc322ac6bd --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv270_6079.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10 @@ +this british import follows the ( mis- ) adventures of a group of heroin crazed scottish youths . +there is marc renton ( who narrates ) , spud ( the dim-witted one ) sick boy ( the sean connery obsessive ) , and begbee ( the violence obsessive ) . +powered by a top rate , but not top name soundtrack ( iggy pop , sleeper , elastica , lou reed . . . ) the film follows renton who gets clean , gets back into heroin and gets clean again . +some of the wit in this movie is sharp and pulp fiction-esque , and some is just dumb & dumber gross ( the bed sheets ) and stupid ( the bb gun ) although the film starts out on a comic note , it takes a sharp term in the middle , and becomes almost depressing . +the film is based on an irving welsh novel bearing the same title . +i can honestly say that this is one of the best movies i have ever seen . +it is an obscure gem that has been over shadowed in the us by such movies as mission impossible and id4 . +the film is hard to follow with the heavy accents of the actors . +this is a very original film , as far as films go today . +it definetly deserves multiple viewings ( partly because of the slang and accents ) jeremy dennison mr . orange@centuryinter . net diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv271_13837.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv271_13837.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5d521a949a6e759e6b37d2c899618b105c3108b4 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv271_13837.txt @@ -0,0 +1,49 @@ +you may not have heard of lucas , or if you have , you might not think much of it . +probably because it stars corey haim , or maybe because it's about a little geek who collects insects , or maybe because it doesn't feature slick one-liners or the chart topping soundtrack albums that were almost a requirement for teen films in the 80's . +however , you have been missing out on a true masterpeice , the best film of 1986 , and the best film about adolescent life ever made . +corey haim stars as lucas bligh , a tiny 14 year old with scruffy hair , thick glasses , and an interest in insects and other outdoor life . +one day he stops by the tennis courts and sees what must be an angel to him . +her name is maggie , a 16 year old who certainly is a beauty , with lovely red hair and a sweet , innocent complexion . +maggie seems to be a little disturbed by this little kid watching her , but somehow he interests her , and soon they are talking and getting to know one another . +they gradually become good friends , and spend the summer together doing various things , such as studying insects ( namely locusts , who come out of hiding once every 17 years ) , playing tennis , and listening to a symphony orchestra through a manhole cover . +lucas is obviously in love with maggie , and while she is charmed by him , it's clear that she would never consider him anything more than a very good friend . +this is not clear to lucas , however . +he still beleives that maggie is his soulmate , and he dreads the impending start of school because he knows what's about to happen . +we soon find out why in a painful scene where lucas is humiliated by the jocks during a pep rally . +they throw him on stage , right in front of his beloved maggie . +surprisingly , he turns the tables on the jocks with some clowning around , but he takes it too far , and is embarassed in front of the entire school . +the next scene is brilliant . +maggie follows lucas outside of the pep rally . +she tries to talk to him as if nothing happened . +he rails back against her , in a cruel unfair fashion . +in lesser movies this would've turned into a confrontation between the two characters . +but maggie is written smarter than that . +she understands what lucas is feeling and knows exactly what to say to console him . +next we are introduced to another great character named cappie ( charlie sheen ) . +he is a jock with a typical cheerleader girlfriend . +what's interesting about him is that he sticks up for lucas and protects him from the other jocks . +of course anyone with a brain can tell what's gonna happen next . +cappie will cause conflict in maggie and lucas' relationship . +this begins in classic scene in the school laundry room when cappie and maggie are alone . +she's been assigned to show him how to operate the washer/dryer so he can clean his shirt . +maggie is charmed by cappie's tender undertsanding demeanor , not to mention his shirtless body . +this scene is so delicate and sweet , but cappie still has a girlfriend , preventing either one from acting on their desires . +desperately trying to puncture the tension , cappie begins to kick basketballs around the room . +it's not long before cappie does break up with his girlfriend ( in the films only subpar scene ) . +lucas finally figures out what's going on when he tries to pick maggie up for the dance . +this causes him to take severe actions to prove himself to maggie and himself , such as try out for the football team . +the last third of the film revolves around this attempt . +while the idea seems cliched , the way it is executed is not . +there are many surprises during the last half hour which lead to an ending so emotionally involving it should make the most heartless of cynics get choked up . +dave grusin's memorable score , played at the perfect moments , certainly helps . +lucas is filled with great performances . +forget everything you know about corey haim . +back in 1986 he had talent , and that is proven here as he delivers a perfect fully 3-dimensional performance filled with anger , humor , and pain . +kerri green is very appealing as maggie , showing us why she cares about lucas so much and why he is so attracted to her . +sheen's cappie is almost too good to be true , but sheen makes him beleivable , especially when he explains the reason why he protects lucas . +there are other wonderful minor characters such as ciro popitti's ben , a friend of lucas , whose diminutive stature does not mean he will take crap from the jocks . +also turning up in a few key scenes is winona ryder as rina , the girl who admires lucas from afar . +when people talk about the great teen angst films of the 80s , you hear john hughes this and john hughes that . +lucas seems to be lost among the crowd of his so-called classics . +but hopefully , like with heathers and say anything , lucas can begin to find it's own loyal following and help people realize there were more to the 80s than anthony michael hall and molly ringwald . +it deserves more than that , but i don't want to be greedy . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv273_29112.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv273_29112.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a4979eeee3963ca2bbe1c36ad43b3a81352f2998 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv273_29112.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +felix ( sami bouajila , " the siege " ) lives a contented life with his boyfriend daniel ( pierre-loup rajot ) in the little town of dieppe in northern france . +when he is laid off from his job , after discovering the address of the father who abandoned him before he was born , he decides to journey to marseilles , in the south , to find the man he never met in " the adventures of felix . " +writers/directors olivier ducastel and jacques martineau made their debut with the musical comedy " jeanne and the perfect guy , " embracing that typically american genre . +their second effort , " the adventures of felix , " once again borrows from america with a tale of a young man who hits the road to find himself . +felix is happy with his life in dieppe , but when the ferry company he works for falls prey to the economics of the chunnel , he is out of a job and at loose ends . +when he goes through his late mother's papers he learns that the father he never knew is living in marseilles , hundreds of miles away . +felix makes the snap decision to journey to the south , puts together a supply of " cocktails " for his hiv virus , kisses daniel goodbye and heads off on foot . +he refuses to use trains and wants to avoid big cities as he hitchhikes across france to find his destiny . +along the way , a series of chance encounters with various strangers teaches felix that family is not always made up of blood relations . +on the road , he witnesses a race-related mugging that turns into murder and , frightened for his own safety , runs away without telling the police . +following this harrowing experience , he has his first chance meeting that begins the unconscious construction of his ideal family . +his journey brings him to rouen , and the film's first title section , " my little brother , " where he meets jules , a young art student who becomes smitten with felix . +they steal a car and develop a chaste , brotherly affection before felix must move on . +he next meets elderly mathilde ( patachou ) , in the chapter titled " my grandmother , " and soon learns that she , too , has a fondness for the same tv soap opera that felix has grown addicted to . +she wants him to stay with her , but he must continue on his way to find his father . +in the weakest chapter of felix's road trip , titled " my cousin , " he meets a railroad worker ( philippe garziano ) and has a brief sexual encounter before heading off , once again , toward marseilles . +he next helps a stranded lady motorist , isabelle ( ariane ascaride ) , and shags a ride with her and her three kids ( each with a different daddy ) in the sequence titled " my sister . " +he is torn by the inner turmoil of not going to the police about the murder he witnessed and isabelle comforts him just as a sister would . +on the final leg of the journey titled " my father , " he meets an older man , a fisherman ( maurice benichou ) , who enlightens him about the real facts of life and family while they fly felix's kite , just like a father and son . + " the adventures of felix " has a number of things going for it as we follow felix on his journey of discovery . +first and foremost is the charming performance by sami bouajila as felix . +he is a likable guy , fighting his hiv with his doses of " cocktails , " and lights up the screen as he makes the long walk , often with dance and song , to find his father and himself . +as he encounters each member of his new family , promising each that he will send a postcard when he arrives at his final destination , he grows a little bit more spiritually and emotionally . +bouajila does a terrific job holding center stage on the screen . +the cast of characters making up felix's new-found family are nearly as charming as the star , each in their own way . +patachou , especially , is wonderful as the grandma character and a kindred spirit to felix . +ariane ascaride , along with her kids , gives a perf that really makes you think of her as the sister that the young man never had . +only the " cousin " chapter lacks the emotional depth of the rest and feels like a perfunctory addition to felix's " family . " + " the adventures of felix " does not reinvent the road movie , but it does provide a charismatic telling of a young man's journey to find himself and , to his surprise , his discovery is dramatically different than he expected at the beginning . +it helps that cinematographer matthieu poirot-delpech's crisp lensing compliments the story perfectly as felix moves across the french countryside . +i give it a b+ . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv274_25253.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv274_25253.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..cd601e2a1d28ded293f3d0ded561f13c6ede1da2 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv274_25253.txt @@ -0,0 +1,56 @@ +i know that " funnest " isn't a word . + " fun " is a noun , and therefore cannot be conjugated like an adjective . +but that's the word that came to me right after viewing " chicken run . " +no wonder : this is the kind of movie that reduces you to childish expressions , like " that was the funnest movie i've ever seen ! " +so to hell with webster's -- " chicken run " is one of the funnest movies i've seen in a while . +i can't remember the last time i've seen anything funner . +the chickens at tweedy's farm are up to something . +living in a concentration camp-like atmosphere , they are led by one plucky hen called ginger ( voice of julia sawalha ) who continually comes up with plans for escape -- and always gets caught , subsequently spending day after day in the coal box . +one night , a brash american rooster flies in over the fence , calling himself rocky ( mel gibson ) , famous flying rooster and circus performer . +rocky promises to teach the chickens how to fly , and the situation grows more desperate as the nefarious mrs . tweedy ( miranda richardson ) decides to abandon the farm's egg-selling plan for a pie-selling plan . +she orders a huge pie-making machine , cackling , " chickens go in ; pies come out . " +what sort of pies ? +chicken pies , of course . +co-director nick park and his studio , aardman animation , produced three oscar-winning short films : " creature comforts , " " the wrong trousers , " and " a close shave . " +the latter two were the second and third installments of a trilogy starring the delightful team wallace & gromit , a man and his dog famous for getting themselves into increasingly peculiar adventures . +part of what made the " wallace " films brilliantly entertaining was park's uncanny ability to make an old story seem new . + " the wrong trousers , " for example , pulled out a lot of old hitchcockian suspense tricks , and " a close shave " owed a great deal of inspiration to classic detective stories . +but in the hands of park and his team , the stories felt fresh and inspired , and not the least bit contrived . +now teaming with co-director peter lord , park has created a similar creature in " chicken run . " +the plot is largely lifted from " the great escape " ( watch for a quick reference to the ball-bouncing scene ) , with some spielberg-inspired action sequences providing the excitement . +thing is , the film doesn't feel like it's been lifted from somewhere else ; " chicken run " feels fresh , alive , like nothing else ever done . +part of it is the original idea : who in the world came up with the idea to make a prisoners-of-war movie starring chickens ? +park and lord milk the incongruity for all it's worth : the characters treat their situation as if it were dead serious , and to them , it is . +but they're * chickens * , so it's funny to us . +another thing that helps " chicken run " ( and most of park's films ) succeed is the animators' subtle way of giving nods to the very films they're cribbing . +there are references to " the great escape , " obviously , and " stalag 17 . " +the chase sequence inside the chicken grinder parodies both " raiders of the lost ark " and " indiana jones and the temple of doom . " +there's even a nod to " the blues brothers , " if you can believe it , and the filmmakers even get in a little light-hearted ribbing at the expense of their star voice actor , taking a couple of very subtle jabs at mel gibson's nationality and film history . +the " braveheart " reference is a hoot if you catch it . +when you consider just how fine a line resides between a funny parody and a redundant one , " chicken run " is downright brilliant in its execution . +consider this : since july of last year , i've seen dozens upon dozens of " blair witch project " parodies , on television , on the radio , and online . +out of all those , maybe one or two were amusing , the rest tiresome . +why ? +because once you got past the thought that " they're parodying that 'blair witch' movie , " most of the parodies had nothing to offer -- no insight , no original idea , no greater purpose . +they were only funny if you had seen the movie ; otherwise , you got nothing . +conversely , " chicken run " doesn't lean on its parodies -- the film references are never the sole focus of any scene . +if you've never seen " indiana jones , " the chase sequence is still fun . +even if you have no idea who mel gibson is , rocky remains an interesting character . +park , lord , and screenwriter karey kirkpatrick realize that an audience does not need a parody shoved in their faces before it's understood , and as a result , " chicken run " is filled with visual and verbal jabs that are never too obvious , but not quite vague either . +enjoyment of this movie doesn't require knowledge of film history , but if you've got it , " chicken run " is that much richer . +the voice cast turns in uniformly lively performances , and the characters they play are given so many subtle nuances that it's hard not to fall in love with every one of them . +ginger is perfect , spunky and opinionated , but with a soft heart that forbids her to leave her companions behind , and julia sawalha ( known as the cute mousy girl on " absolutely fabulous " ) nails it . +she has warm , human chemistry with gibson , whose rocky hides his personal doubt under a brash gung-ho veneer . +the characters' inevitable romance doesn't feel contrived , but sweet . +poor mr . tweedy ( tony haygarth ) suspects the chickens are organizing in some way , but his limited intellect prevents him from figuring things out , and his overbearing wife certainly isn't any help . +jane horrocks delivers a lovely voice characterization as tragically optimistic babs ( a hen that runs away with most of the best one-liners , all while perpetually crocheting a sweater ) , and two supply-trading rats that seem to have walked straight out of a monty python sketch nearly steal the show during the lively central swing-dancing sequence . +they even come up with an inspired riff on something that's baffled scholars and theologians alike for decades : the chicken vs . egg dilemma . +one might have expected this inevitable joke to come off as wearisome , but as with most of " chicken run , " it comes as a delightful surprise . +the film manages to cross all barriers ; it should be accessible to both children and adults , brits and yanks , rats and chickens . +the animation is first-rate . +remember that this was all done the old-fashioned way , with actual humans moving clay figurines around on a tiny set bit by painstaking bit , and you see just how truly remarkable " chicken run " really is . +this movie possesses that same quality that makes pixar studios' animation great : precise and unwavering attention to detail . +as in such top-notch family fare as " a bug's life " or " toy story 2 , " " chicken run " has something to offer in nearly every frame . +certainly a passive viewer can enjoy it as a straightforward story with a worthwhile moral and some surprisingly touching scenes , but a active , attentive viewers will enjoy it even more because they'll catch all the details . +anyway , the movie's just a boatload of fun . +funnest damn movie i've seen all year . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv275_28887.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv275_28887.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..aba144db895222ab7f7e2d8747248deb931faaa9 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv275_28887.txt @@ -0,0 +1,43 @@ +after the press screening of " moulin rouge , " i stood in the lobby of the theater listening to the reactions of my friends and colleagues . +everyone seemed a bit numb , understandable after sitting through a barrage of often-incongruous sounds and images . +a pal of mine simply said that he loved the film and could hardly wait to take his wife to see it . +another enthusiast immediately began to analyze the production , while a woman who flat-out hated the movie gave him the skunk eye . +when one fellow quietly stated " i've never really been a fan of musicals , " the statement surprised me because , even though the story is told almost completely through song , i didn't think of it as a musical . +there is so much going on in " moulin rouge " that " musical " seems too small a term to cover it . + " moulin rouge " is the kind of creation that sends critics scurrying off to the big tub o' adjectives in search of proper words to describe the experience . +australian director baz luhrmann , the man behind " strictly ballroom " and " romeo + juliet , " fills the heads of viewers with unique camerawork , opulent imagery and songs ranging from " the sound of music " to " smells like teen spirit . " +sumptuous and beautiful , vulgar and overdone , " moulin rogue " travels through the looking glass while an ethereal stereo loaded with 50 years worth of catchy tunes operates on the " random " setting . +oh , and it has a story as well . + " it was 1899 , the summer of love . . . + " christian ( ewan mcgregor ) is a penniless young writer newly arrived in paris , " to write about truth , beauty , freedom and love , " where he encounters a group of bohemians , led by henri de toulouse-lautrec ( john leguizamo ) . +christian meets satine ( nicole kidman ) , a courtesan from the legendary moulin rogue , and his world transforms from black and white to technicolor . +at once fragile and vivacious , the dazzling red-haired woman sweeps him off his feet without even trying . +christian instantly falls in love with her and satine finds herself smitten with him as well , which is quite a hindrance for someone in her profession . +working with the bohemians and moulin rogue impresario harold zidler ( jim broadbent ) , christian writes an opus modestly named " spectacular spectacular . " +zidler quickly finds a backer , the wealthy duke of monroth ( richard roxburgh ) , but there's a catch ? the duke also wants the hand of the fair satine . +as if all that isn't enough , satine has a cough , and while a cough in the real world probably indicates a cold , it rarely turns out to be anything that simple in movie land . +like a teeter-totter , " moulin rogue " moves up and down between the ridiculous and the sublime . +one of the loveliest moments comes as christine and satine commune outdoors at night , becoming part of a defiantly unrealistic parisian cityscape straight from a book of fairy tales . +together they dance , while serenaded by the man in the moon ( alessandro safina provides the vocals ) , apparently transported from the classic georges m ? li ? s silent film to guard the nocturnal sky . +other scenes merely traffic in everything-and-the-kitchen-sink overload . +the cavorting of toulouse-lautrec and his comrades gets strained at times and some of their overt comedy , accompanied by cartoon sound effects , is overly reminiscent of the frenzied farce that sitcoms like " bewitched " beat into the ground . +of course , sensory overload was exactly what baz luhrmann had in mind . + " we never heard from baz to turn it down , " one of the actors told the los angeles times . + " it was always , 'more ! +more ! ' " +the director even sent a note to his cast reading , " i dare you to make me say you've gone too far . " +the musical numbers reflect his attitude . +one knockout piece , the " elephant love medley , " incorporates the beatles' " all you need is love , " u2's " in the name of love , " dolly parton's " i will always love you " and elton john and bernie taupin's " your song . " +need more ? +how about " diamonds are a girl's best friend " spiced with portions of " material girl ? " +luhrmann's cast offers a wide variety of approaches that , together , add up to something messy , but often wonderful . +ewan mcgregor is extremely likable as christian , emphasizing the sincerity of the love-struck poet . +mcgregor's singing voice is robust and adds vigor at just the right moments . +once labeled the " ice queen , " nicole kidman melts that characterization with a sizzling , yet tender , performance . +she handles the songs adroitly , although her voice sounds a bit thin in the upper range . +veteran character actor jim broadbent is suitably larger than life as ringmaster zidler ? wait until you see him perform " like a virgin . " +as the buffoonish duke , richard roxburgh proves to be the film's weakest link , although i'm sure he was simply following instructions . +i suspect " moulin rogue " will be one of those love-it-or-hate-it films . +while i didn't completely love it , i most certainly liked it a lot . +over the course of a year , i see well over 300 movies , and most of them look like xeroxes of each other . + " moulin rogue " is an original , and an original , even a flawed one , is a thing to be cherished . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv277_19091.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv277_19091.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6c26fc8a238f28287039c30ba845ac148dc7f69b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv277_19091.txt @@ -0,0 +1,19 @@ +`oh behave ! +felicity shagwell is one shagadellic babe . +do i make your horny ? +female fembots with breasts that require gun controlling . +anything that resembles bananas and two balls of icecream . +the nut-biting finale between mini me and austin . +all that body hair is a real turn on , it's a pity more leading men don't wear it on screen . +anything that vaguely resembles sausages and eggs . +fat bastard . +the love scene between felicity and fat bastard , that redefines sex . +the wrongly implied love scene in the tent that redefines anal sex . +the love scene between austin and ivana humpalot , that redefines chess and oral sex . +the love scene between dr . evil and frau farbissina , that redefines weird sex . +the love affair between austin and felicity , that does not happen , because his mojo goes missing . +the relationship between dr evil , himself and mini me which redefines a solo love affair . +the unique relationship between dr evil and his son scott www . com . zip , that says a lot about our relationship with our children nowadays . +weanies , johnny , richard , dick etc . ' +this movie is every bit as silly and crazy as the first . +there are moments that will make your sick , which are probably best forgotten , but overall mike myers has redefined what it means to be an international spy and leading man . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv278_13041.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv278_13041.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f46e6c93d93871d9bce52466b58a35dc58a4ae4f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv278_13041.txt @@ -0,0 +1,64 @@ +written by john grisham and robert altman ( as al hayes ) +directed by robert altman +some time ago , a young director was given the opportunity to direct the screen version of a popular novel . +the novel was a summer smash , topping best-seller lists across the country and already drawing speculation as to which popular actors of the day might play the leads . +the only problem : the novel wasn't very good . +it was far more pulp than pulitzer . +but the director realized that , no matter how pedestrian the prose , this book really grabbed people - that the author , while not a great writer , was a fantastic storyteller . +so he took on the project , convinced he could make something happen on screen . +the director ? +francis ford coppola . +the book , of course , was mario puzo's the godfather . +the rest , as they say in showbiz , was history . +by bringing up the godfather , i don't mean to suggest that robert altman's the gingerbread man is destined for that level of greatness . +but the parallel does suggest that it is possible to create great cinema from questionable source material . +can you get any more questionable than john grisham ? +depends on whom you ask . +but there's no question that grisham's work grabs people . +like puzo , grisham is a better storyteller than a writer - unlike fellow hack michael crichton , who is a good idea man but who can't tell a well-constructed story from a can of spam . +so something in grisham's unpublished story of a cocky savannah lawyer who gets involved in a deadly family squabble drew the attention of robert altman , who at 73 years old remains one of america's greatest living filmmakers . +the result is a gripping thriller that , while falling short of classic cinema , deserves its place in the altman canon . +>from its opening shot to the closing credits , the gingerbread man is permeated with a sense of dread , with a fear of the natural destructive forces of the universe . +this terrific sense of mood is a classic altman touch . +witness said opening shot : we see an aerial view of coastal georgia with its writhing , undulating landscape while the soundtrack grumbles ominously in our ear . +we roll over the hills into the town of savannah , then zoom in close on a red sports car speeding over a bridge while its driver chatters oblivious on his cell phone . +right away we know that the driver of that car is in for a few surprises . +pay attention , boys and girls - this shot was not conceived by john grisham , but by altman . +this is what a great director can do for questionable source material . +the sports car belongs to rick magruder ( kenneth branagh ) , the aforementioned hotshot attorney who specializes in police brutality cases . +magruder has just won a high profile case and celebrates that night with a catered party at his office . +outside after the party he meets one of the waitresses , mallory doss ( embeth davidzt ) , just as she realizes her car has been stolen . +driven by southern chivalry , a driving rainstorm and his unspoken attraction to the fragile waitress , magruder offers her a ride home . +there he learns more about mallory's life than he bargained for . +her car was stolen by her schizophrenic father dixon ( robert duvall ) , a ted kyzynski-style whacko who has been stalking and terrorizing his own daughter . +magruder , perhaps influenced by mallory's decision to strip off her wet clothes in front of him , is sympathetic to her plight , and offers to help her get her father committed - right after he sleeps with her , of course . +this simple offer of help leads magruder down a dangerous path with a black end . +he succeeds in having dixon incarcerated in a mental hospital , and for a moment all appears well . +but then dixon's crack team of homeless commandos bust him out of the lockup - and suddenly magruder finds himself , mallory and his own children in danger . +the cops won't lift a finger to help a liberal attorney . +his only allies are his faithful assistant lois ( daryl hannah ) and his bumbling private-eye sidekick clyde ( robert downey jr ) . +if this predicament wasn't bad enough , hurricane geraldo is bearing down on savannah and throwing the world into chaos . +altman may provide the atmosphere , but branagh's performance holds the gingerbread man together . +an accomplished actor when he isn't directing himself in vanity productions , branagh does a fine job of making rick a sympathetic hero while casting doubt upon his motives . +is his offer of help to mallory an act of kindness , or of egotism ? +magruder is so sure of his place in the world that he never considers that he has bitten off more than he can chew until he has to swallow it - and by then it's too late . +as the plot unfolds , magruder learns that none of us are as secure as we think we are . +and life is never so bad that it can't get worse . +if you're familiar with altman's work , you'll recognize several of his signature techniques . +characters are not introduced in establishing shots , but rather are allowed to wander in the background of scenes until their importance becomes apparent . +crucial scenes are shot from the outside through windows , making the audience unwitting voyeurs of the action . +dialog overlaps and the actors seem to slip naturally into an improvisational style . +and of course there's my favorite altman technique - the obligatory nude actress shot . +thanks to altman , here are some of the actresses i've had the pleasure of seeing naked : sally kellerman , julianne moore , madeline stowe , even frances mcdormand . +and now i can add embeth davidtz , who looks quite healthy in the altogether . +the naked actress shot has become as ubiquitous to the altman film as the director cameo was to the hitchcock film . +is it old-school sexism , or a clever in-joke ? +you be the judge . +but back to the picture at hand . +in the hands of a mere mortal , the gingerbread man would have been a routine thriller , no better or worse than the countless others we've all endured . +in the hands of a master like altman , it becomes an exercise in existential doom , in its own way far more successful than scorsese's cape fear remake , which tried for the same result . +what may prevent it from enduring with altman's greatest work is a weak third act - in fact , there really is no third act in grisham's story , so it appears that altman had to throw in the hurricane just to jazz things up . +but there are true moments of riveting suspense , and great performances by branagh , davidzt and downey jr - more than enough to see you through . +that polygram so hated this picture that they tried to steal final cut from altman , and then buried the marketing campaign when he won it back , should tell you how utterly clueless of quality most studios are . +they probably wanted it to look more like a time to kill . +and that , my friends , should make you very afraid . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv279_18329.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv279_18329.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..41976cf59cc00ddb23d41ac557011278a5db77f8 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv279_18329.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +october sky is a rare oddity in cinema : a self-proclaimed " uplifting " film that is actually uplifting ! +based on the autobiographical book by homer hickam , rocket boys , october sky tells the struggle of four boys reaching for their dream . +it's 1957 , and for the boys of coalwood , west virginia , there's not much hope of a rosy future . +coalwood is a coal mining town , and , except for the few lucky ones who manage to escape on a football scholarship , most of coalwood's boys are destined to work in the mine . +but , in october 1957 , an event happens that sparks one boy to dream . +the launch of the soviet satellite sputnik sets homer hickam ( jake gyllenhaal ) to dream a future of rocketry and space travel . +of course , homer's parents ( chris cooper and natalie canderday ) aren't quite sure what to make of their son's unusual interests . +homer gets his strongest encouragement from miss riley ( laura dern ) , a teacher in his school who also informs him about the scholarships offered to the winners of a national science fair . +and so , with stars in his eyes , and thoughts of scholarships in his head , homer enlists the help of three other boys ( william lee scott , chad lindberg and chris owen ) and begins to build a rocket . +but , do these four backwoods boys even have the slightest hope of escaping their destiny ? +there is a lot that could have gone wrong with october sky . +nearly every sequence flirts with becoming syrupy and cliched . +however , miraculously , october sky avoids nearly all of these pitfalls , making the exact right moves at the exact right times . +a film emerges which manages to be powerful and moving without slipping into the gauzy haze of nostalgia or sliding down the sugarry slope of sappiness . +jake gyllenhaal is outstanding as the kid at the center of this film . +>from the outset of the film , he is immediately likable , and never seems too corny or brainy as to alienate the audience . +unfortunately , while october sky focuses on homer , the other three kids get the short end of the stick . +they remain little more than placeholders reading " insert friend here " . +of the adults in the film , chris cooper is the most fully realized character . +the film never paints him as merely the villainous parent standing in the way of his child's dreams , but , instead , shows the multihued portrait of a man who wants the best for his family and town , but is too stubborn to realize what that is . +director joe johnson deserves much credit for successfully navigating the many obstacles that october sky manages to dodge . +however , there are still a few occasions when he allows things to proceed just a step too far . +scenes which were natural and inspiring start to become contrived and artificial . +however , these lapses are minimal , and johnson quickly steers the movie back on course . +the problem with many so-called " uplifting " films is that they attempt to force their mediciney goodness down your throat . +october sky never resorts to that level , and yet , manages to become a truly uplifting film purely on its own merits . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv280_8267.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv280_8267.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f43f5f3c9e74571f09ee7a178e5802358f9ffc31 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv280_8267.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6 @@ +this three hour movie opens up with a view of singer/guitar player/musician/composer frank zappa rehearsing with his fellow band members . +all the rest displays a compilation of footage , mostly from the concert at the palladium in new york city , halloween 1979 . +other footage shows backstage foolishness , and amazing clay animation by bruce bickford . +the performance of " titties and beer " played in this movie is very entertaining , with drummer terry bozzio supplying the voice of the devil . +frank's guitar solos outdo any van halen or hendrix i've ever heard . +bruce bickford's outlandish clay animation is that beyond belief with zooms , morphings , etc . and actually , it doesn't even look like clay , it looks like meat . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv281_23253.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv281_23253.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c21b5c20c6476561001403b4a5eefbdfcfe6bbee --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv281_23253.txt @@ -0,0 +1,33 @@ +while watching boiler room , i was constantly reminded of last year's masterpiece fight club . +both films consist of a predominately male cast . +both films follow young men as they illicitly fight the traditional system for their own desires . +and both films are seen through the eyes of one narrator , who eventually realizes that these men have to be stopped . +while boiler room writer/director ben younger does not get his point across as well as david fincher does for fight club , he does contribute another impressive work to a series of films aiming to represent the new generation . +a generation which has seen the internet prosper and where everyone wants to be a millionaire . +paying homage to oliver stone's 1987 classic wall street , younger is almost modernizing the tale by using younger , hipper actors to play the greedy villains as opposed to the older , more experienced types . +as is true in real life , younger minds are becoming richer and richer from their knowledge of more standard technology . +boiler room dismisses the notion of ingenuity and shows that greed and desire for power come in all ages . +another similarity with fight club is that both films are not action flicks . +some people are convinced that an all-male cast automatically means there must be gory violence , here is proof that this is not true . +if you want to see an action movie starring ben affleck , go see reindeer games this weekend . +if you want to see a smart , insightful film with excellent acting and a clever script , see boiler room . +giovanni ribisi gives an outstanding performance as the film's narrator , seth . +after dropping out of college and running a lucrative gambling center for college students in his apartment , seth is offered a high paying job by a wealthy man ( nicky katt ) . +he agrees to take the job ( in which you are guaranteed to become a millionaire within three years ) of selling stock to well-off americans from the mid-west over the telephone and begins to fit in quite well with his co-workers . +learning tricky techniques to deceive innocent people into buying shares of a good in production , seth figures this is too good to be true . +after stumbling into a room at the wrong time , he knows there is something no good about this company . +at this point , seth is left with the ultimate choice ; continue with the american dream and make millions or tell the authorities that something fishy is going on . +ribisi is believable as seth especially when he shares scenes with ron rifkin , playing seth's dad . +the two have perfect chemistry as a troubled father and son trying to impress each other and simultaneously impress themselves . +the transitions from anger to sympathy that these scenes contain are the standout segments of the entire film . +the supporting cast of greedy co-workers is also flawless . +ben affleck shines in a short but sweet performance as a recruiter for the company , nicky katt is fabulous as the ostensibly friendly boss who eventually becomes extremely jealous of seth , and vin diesel gives his best performance of his career as the foil character of nicky katt . +the energy of the cast as a whole makes boiler room well paced and never boring . +the only major error in the film is that nothing major happens . +there is no big plot twist or climatic point to make the film more memorable . +due to the lack of a major event , boiler room never finds a suitable genre to fit into . +the movie is not intense enough to be a thriller , the romantic segments involving seth and abby ( nia long ) are not properly finalized , and the dialogue isn't funny enough to make it a comedy . +in having trouble to characterize the movie as a whole , boiler room is slightly confused at times . +it doesn't seem to know which category to fit itself into . +one satisfying concluding scene could have changed the whole film for the better . +otherwise , the movie is fun to watch thanks to its lively cast of young actors . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv282_6653.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv282_6653.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..65432514f2b92f12ce226a74deaf967765a04f5c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv282_6653.txt @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +ok , let's get one thing straight right away : maximum risk is no battleship potemkin ( although it does have some russians in it ! ) , but it's not too bad , really . +it's the new film from ringo lam , the latest hong kong filmmaker to defect to hollywood , and stars that minor league schwartzeneggar from belgium , jean-claude van damme ( who , you will recall , also starred in john woo's maiden hollywood effort , hard target ) . +in lam's film , van damme plays alain moreau , a french cop ( at least his accent makes more sense here than it did in hard target ) who discovers that he was separated shortly after birth from a twin brother who was adopted by russians . +these russians defected to the united states and moved into a black neighbourhood in new york ( where , i suppose , they thought they wouldn't be noticed ) . +this brother , mikhail suverov ( played in his few scenes by . . . well , +you know ) , becomes deeply involved in the russian mafia and the fbi ( almost the same thing , i guess ) , and is killed in france ( in the movie , things happen so fast that you don't have too much time to think about how weird this all is ) . +moreau does what any good surviving twin brother would do and goes to new york to find out why mikhail was killed , and why everyone in france who knows anything about him is also being killed ( we wonder the same thing ; i still do ) . +in little odessa , he meets mikhail's girlfriend , alex ( natasha henstridge , last seen in species ) , who helps him solve the mystery and adds immeasurably to the mise-en-scene ( she has very nice breasts , and we get to seen them briefly in this movie ; it was rated r in the us but is pg here , so they must have seen more of her breasts than we do ) . +this film lacks the gloss and high production values of such other action movies as broken arrow , the fugitive , hard target , or anything starring arnold , but that works to its benefit , i think . +after all , one thing that's been missing from woo's hollywood films is that certain hong kong funkiness that we all know and love ( well , some of us do ) . +movies like this shouldn't be too pretentious , and that is part of the problem with some of these other films : they try to be too " big " in terms of special effects and sheer spectacle . +maximum risk has its share of car chases and explosions , but they don't overwhelm the movie or detract our attention from the narrative ( not too much , anyway ) . +the emphasis throughout is on the characters and their interactions ( even if , at times , they don't make a hell of a lot of sense ) . +in fact , one of the more interesting aspects of the film is a minor character , a rather overeager new york cabbie ( frank van keeken from tv's " kids in the hall " ) , who begins as something of a joke but becomes an important part of the story . +unfortunately , by the time we have come to really get interested in him , he . . . well , +you'll see . +the movie also features some set pieces of the type that we have come to expect from lam and his hong kong compatriots . +one is a fight in a russian sauna , with lots of sweaty , muscular male flesh ( this one will appeal to certain parts of the audience more than others ) , bullets in heads , and vodka . +another , my personal favorite , is a fight in a meat packing house , featuring pig carcasses and a chainsaw . +and even the predictable car chases are more hong kong than hollywood , as they trash those quaint french cafes , vegetable carts , and , well , french people that , we all know in our hearts , deserve trashing just for being so damn quaint . +of course , the movie does have its share of silliness . +for example , while beating the crap out of an obnoxious russian thug who obviously deserves what he's getting , alain stops long enough to look at his own reflection in the cracked mirror with which he has been whacking the guy on the head . +in an unnecessarily dramatic moment , he apparently is shocked at what he sees , at what he has become . +but what has he become ? +a tough cop who beats the hell out of a guy who tried to kill him ? +doesn't sound too unreasonable to me , considering the genre . +but let's face it , any time van damme tries to be dramatic , he looks silly . +so maximum risk is a little different from most other action films . +while watching it , i was surprised , and a little disappointed , in the relative lack of pyrotechnics . +but watching some of these other action films is sort of like experiencing a sugar rush ; after the initial excitement , there's not much left . +although it's short on spectacle , lam's film leaves a better and more lasting impression , i think . +i'm more impressed by it now than i was while watching it , and to me , that's a good sign . +go see maximum risk , but don't expect a typical hollywood action movie ; expect a sort of funky hong kong-hollywood action movie . +the flying inkpot rating system : * wait for the tv2 broadcast . + * * a little creaky , but still better than staying at home with gotcha ! + * * * pretty good , bring a friend . + * * * * amazing , potent stuff . + * * * * * perfection . +see it twice . +dr t . white teaches film at the english language and literature department of the national university of singapore , but we don't hold this against him . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv283_11055.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv283_11055.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ffe3e944c9884e6ad328103ca7fe36d0f1f23cb4 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv283_11055.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +trailing the success of brit humour in the movie industry with the likes of the semi-dramatic the commitments and the nearly slapstick a fish called wanda , the full monty is one film which delivered the depth of the former and the humour magnitude of the latter . +the film opens with a narrated documentary reel showing the improving economic and living standards of sheffield in the 60's , then cut to the harsh reality of the present . +sheffield has become some sort of a semi-slum with the only visible increase in anything was the amount of layoffs from steel-factories ; a once flourishing industry . +gaz ( carlyle ) spends most of his time in the worker's club , a sort of place where jobless people sit around to wait for job offers . +he and his `plump' friend dave ( addy ) as well as their former foreman gerald ( wilkinson ) have been sitting around the club for months without any `call for duty' . +what seemingly was just a passing hard time for gaz suddenly transformed itself into desperation when he cannot afford the 700 pounds of child-support money to his ex-wife . +suddenly finding himself facing the possiblity of losing custody of his son , he goes on to concoct an enterprising wild-idea to get the money he desperately requires . +dave and gerald too have problems of their own . +on top of his lack of employment , dave is also faced with the paranoia of his wife leaving him because of his current financial state as well as his`plump' appearance while gerald have been cheating on his wife by not telling her of his layoff for as long as 6 months , leaving home for `work' when he was actually a long-standing member of the worker's club . +there we have it ; people with real problems and a not-so-practical solution for them . +gaz manages to get the support from them and sure enough they managed to get a few other poor jobless blokes to join in their gag : to perform a strip-act at the local pub . +in gaz's own words while looking at an add for a strip-act featuring hunky `beautiful' men , `if women are willing to pay for this , they sure as well will pay for real-men' . +the full monty is very simple in nature and not a trace ambitious at all . +it is a small film which delves in the harsh-reality of unemployment and the desperation it drives people to . +it also is a very light movie to watch despite the theme it delves in because it has a lot of human-factor going for it . +never for once , was it trying to be manipulative at all , the full monty was true to itself all the way . +while the hilarity level of this film soared unexpectedly high , audience will find that they are in no way being cheated of a laugh , something lacking in many comedy films ( wannabes ? ) from hollywood . +other than carlyle , who acted as the psychotic begbie in trainspotting , the rest of the actors were definitely very new to me on-screen . +however , the acting presented in this film is more than satisfying . +carlyle's work here is a stark contrast to his character in trainspotting , implying real acting skill and flexibility on-screen . +kudos to the people involved in this film , especially to director peter cattaneo for being able to put together an excellent film which is has so much potential in ending up as your just-another-striptease . +already a critical and financial success for such a small film , the full monty is a humble film which deserves applause throughout . +while titanic managed to feast the eyes and soul in an epic way , the full monty gives one the same satisfaction ? ? . in +half the time . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv285_16494.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv285_16494.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c5f0208f9935d29f607c478b8e163fe89220ccb3 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv285_16494.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +you've got mail is a timely romance for this impersonal , computer-driven decade . +two people who've never met confide in each other via e-mail without revealing their true identities . +nora ephron's contemporary update of the shop around the corner retains the basic plot : two people who despise each other unwittingly become enamored with each other through their anonymous correspondence . +ephron , who co-wrote the film with her sister , delia , as well as directed it , knew what she was doing by reteaming tom hanks and meg ryan as the at-odds couple . +ryan is kathleen kelly , owner of a small children's bookstore , while hanks is joe fox , who heads up a chain of mega bookstores ( think barnes & noble ) . +their charm and chemistry are the glue that binds this film , even through some of the script's rough spots . +for the ephrons invested so much effort in their protagonists that they give short shrift to the talented supporting cast , including parker posey , greg kinnear , jean stapleton and steve zahn . +yet no one is really going to complain because the ephrons know their audience - and what the paying public wants is hanks and ryan . +and the two are kept busy . +one , the other or both are in nearly every scene . +hanks has his decent guy routine down pat , yet each time he does it , it seems effortless , spontaneous and fresh . +ryan smoothly moves between spunky and vulnerable , with a sexy touch of winsomeness added to the brew . +their scenes together sparkle , even though they lack the nostalgic romanticism of sleepless in seattle . +and the shadow of that earlier hit hangs over you've got mail like dried-up mistletoe . +the sparks created by the earlier movie are , by necessity , not evident here . +true , these are two people seeking true love , but you've got mail is more comic and less poignant than its predecessor . +the ephrons' script is witty and sharp . +however , as a director nora ephron is a bit uneven . +some scenes drag , while others , especially when hanks and ryan are revealing their souls via e-mail , are crisp and tidy . +also , the script gets sloppy toward the end with characters merely disappearing from the story . +a nice , romantic soundtrack adds to this date-night special . +overall , you've got mail is a lush and cute outing , taking advantage of the star appeal of its two leads . +it's a nice holiday movie , one for holding hands and snuggling . +committed to lifelong learning through effective communication diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv287_15900.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv287_15900.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..27550d836cc389bfb8220b3e9468b48505baf334 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv287_15900.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +written by mark rosenthal and lawrence konner +starring charlize theron , bill paxton , david paymer +as reviewed by james brundage +i'm beginning to get fed up . +over my four years as a critic , the thing which has kept me going is the moderate balance of films . +the good balances the bad . +i try to see both in equal proportions . +but disney's mighty joe young remake marks the fourth week in which i haven't seen a truly terrible movie . +it's a backwards machismo , i suppose , the urge to see the things which you so loathe ; but i need to see a bad film every once in a while . +and , you know what , mighty joe young doesn't qualify . +far from being bad , mighty joe young is actually a family fun movie . +it's enjoyable , appropriate , cute , cuddly , and all of those other things that i've been seeing in every movie since a bug's life . +mighty joe young tracks a 2 , 000 pound gorilla in the wilds of africa that is taken to a reserve in . . . +california ? + . . . +for safe-keeping . +okay . +a little unrealistic , but who ever said a kid's movie had to have the slightest hint of realism . +the first half of the movie is a gorillas in the mist-esque hatred of poachers woman-of-the-wild motif . +the second half is a straight up parody of king kong , awestruck onlookers and all . +mark one down . +i'm feeling relaxed . +it is , as a point of fact , an extremely un-creative movie . +but , as a vetern , i can say quite honestly that creativity doesn't count for as much as it should . +so that saves mighty joe from my wrath , although my colleagues and cohorts and surely bashing this film at this very moment . +this is not the film to take a girl on a date to . +it's not the film for you . +it's the film for you and your family . +when you're right alongside your kid , all of the normal rights and wrongs slip away . +the same thing happens when you watch a horror movie or an action flick . +it becomes fun . +all you have to do to enjoy mighty joe young is shut up and watch . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv288_18791.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv288_18791.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8803c27ac3ba9f063be4159fe404ec0c1261ed2a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv288_18791.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +notting hill's trailer is awful : a laughless , schmaltzy montage . +the movie was desperately marketed to the anti-phantom menace crowd , the same lovelorn females who ignored the love letter . +and it apparently worked . +perhaps the presence of julia roberts-whose allure beyond those perfect teeth still escapes me-had a lot to do with notting hill's opening weekend success , but the film's staying power is based on word of mouth . +allow me to spread some more good buzz for notting hill . +grant stars as william thacker , a travel-bookstore owner who works and resides in a tiny english district called notting hill . +into his shop one day wanders famous actress anna scott ( roberts ) . +a common thief , some spilled orange juice , and some stilted conversation leads to their first , highly impetuous ( or is that improbable ? ) , kiss . +days later , william sneaks into her hotel suite under the guise of a magazine journalist , and so begins a passionate , albeit surreptitious , affair . + ( aside : notting hill's portrayal of press junkets is deadly accurate . ) +only anna's celebrity-or william's lack thereof-threatens to drive a wedge between them . +richard curtis has tapped into fantasy we all have considered , and for at least its first half-hour the picture's " beauty and the beast " -like scenario is ( romantic ) escapism of the highest order . +as with groundhog day or pleasantville , while watching the high-concept comedy notting hill one constantly imagines him/herself in the lead ; it's william's ordinaryness that entices the spoiled and bored anna . +curtis ( who previously penned four weddings and a funeral ) is also smart enough to know that the unlikely couple's situation is not enough to fuel two hours' worth of entertainment , so some of notting hill's finest moments revolve around william's eccentric friends and family . +by now , dear reader , you've probably heard a lot about rhys ifans' performance as william's imbecilic welsh flatmate . +yes , he's a crowd pleaser , a walking sight gag , but his character is not nearly as involving as the wheelchair-bound ( and appropriately named ) bella ( mckee , the anguished waitress of naked ) or max ( tom mcinnerny ) , her lousy chef of a husband . +in the movie's best sequence , william , anna , and company sit around bloated from max's latest concoction and hold a contest : the last brownie on the table goes to the diner with the saddest life . +the scene ends only as a british writer would end it . +if anything , fantastic bits like these dull the main plot's dramatic impact . +roberts and grant , especially , are appealing , but their relationship is convolutedly interrupted too many times ( four weddings' suffered similar flaws ) , and william and anna ultimately only have one thing in common : they're lonely . + ( worth noting in roberts' and grant's favour : the ubiquitous " i'm just a girl , standing across from a boy , asking him to love her " episode is not nearly so syrupy as it appears in clips , and it features some of the best emoting either actor has ever done . ) +notting hill is nonetheless enjoyable ; on the visual side of things , i especially appreciated michell's playful changing-of-the-seasons number . +if only ( and this is a surprisinly minor gripe ) he had lopped off the egregious epilogue ; for a story that thrives on what we bring to it , the filmmakers work too hard to tidy things up , leaving our imaginations in the lurch . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv289_6463.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv289_6463.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..230f1742790c4a9a8e7ad603b548f38324010073 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv289_6463.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +[note that followups are directed to rec . arts . movies . current-films and rec . arts . movies . startrek . current +only , not to rec . arts . sf . movies . +-moderator] +star trek : first contact a film review by michael dequina copyright 1996 michael dequina +star trek : first contact ( pg-13 ) anyone familiar with the series of star trek movies knows of the " even-odd pattern " --the even-numbered installments of the series are good while the odd-numbered ones are , well , not-so-good . +the pattern continues with the new star trek : first contact , an energetic sci-fi adventure that ( coincidentally ? ) is the eighth entry in the hugely popular series . +in this first trek feature to feature only cast members from the late star trek : the next generation television series , captain jean-luc picard ( patrick stewart ) and the rest of the 24th-century crew of the starship enterprise--commander will riker ( jonathan frakes , who also directed ) , android lt . cmdr . +data ( brent spiner ) , lt . cmdr . +geordi laforge ( levar burton ) , lt . cmdr . +worf ( michael dorn ) , dr . beverly crusher ( gates mcfadden ) , and counselor deanna troi ( marina sirtis ) --travel back to 21st-century earth while doing battle with the borg , a race of cybernetic beings that share a collective mind with the borg queen ( alice krige ) . +the borg intend to alter history and assimilate all of humankind into their race--starting with the earth-orbiting crew of the enterprise and a 21st century stowaway ( alfre woodard ) . +this is an interesting plotline that is sure to mesmerize trekkers everywhere and engage everyone else , but , unfortunately , it only makes up the star trek half of the script by brannon braga and ronald d . moore . +the other half of the title--first contact--refers to a subplot that takes place on 21st-century earth , where riker , troi , and laforge meet legendary scientist zephram cochran ( james cromwell ) , who is about to embark on the first warp speed flight in human history , which directly leads to the first contact with extraterrestrials . +while this story does tie into the main plot and pays off interestingly in the end , it is nowhere near as involving or exciting as the borg battles on the enterprise . +not helping matters is the tiresome cochran character , an eccentric whose drunken schtick starts out funny but becomes too one-note after a while . +in the end , though , the first contact subplot doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the film as a whole . +the story is typical sci-fi fantasy , but the conviction of the cast--most notably the always-phenomenal stewart--makes you believe and care . +frakes , making his feature directorial debut , keeps the action swiftly rolling along and delivers the action goods , even upping the violence a notch ( this is the first trek film to bear a pg-13 rating ) to greater effect . +st : fc has a bigger budget than the last trek outing , the middling star trek generations , and it definitely shows on screen--the production design and especially visual and makeup effects are outstanding ( in particular those involving the borg queen ) . +braga and moore's mostly sharp script will please both trek devotees and the rest ; the references to the borg storyline in the tv series , the continuity with the previous film ( e . g . +the ongoing saga of data's emotion chip ) , and a fleeting star trek : voyager crossover will make trekkers squeal with delight , but such points are made easily accessible to those less familiar to the trek mythos . +paramount was reportedly worried about the staying power of its trek franchise with the next generation cast now carrying the helm . +based on the entertaining success that is star trek : first contact , i'd say the studio has nothing to worry about ( at least not until this cast retires and the crew of the wan star trek : deep space nine takes over . . . ) . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv290_11084.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv290_11084.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3b3378b2e2f6d7367729550b8cdd26a546abc4a5 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv290_11084.txt @@ -0,0 +1,50 @@ +slavery is bad . +after hundreds of years , we've finally figured that one out . +this almost universal belief is the both the strength and weakness of director steven spielberg's latest " serious " film . +during the late 1830s , a portuguese slave ship carries a cargo of black men and women kidnapped from their home on africa's west coast to cuba to be sold into slavery . +fifty-three of them are stuffed into the " la amistad " ( from a spanish word for " friendship " ) by their new spanish owners . +freeing himself from his chains , senge pieh ( djimon hounsou ) , renamed cinque by his masters , leads a bloody revolt . +after killing most of the crew , the africans force the remaining sailors to return them to their home - or so they think . +instead the ship heads up the coast to the united states . +the amistad is boarded by an american naval ship and the revolutionaries are put on trial in connecticut for murder and piracy . +the legal question becomes are they free men fighting justly for their freedom or are they property . +if they are property , who do they belong to ? +their masters ? +the spanish government ? +salvage rights of the officers who captured the ship ? +the us government ? +the defendants are pawns in several games . +abolitionists theodore joadson ( morgan freeman ) and lewis tappan ( stellan skarsgard ) want to free them , but tappan sees them primarily as a means to further the cause . +their lawyer roger baldwin ( matthew mcconaughey ) views the case as a simple one of property rights and a chance to make his share of legal fees . +south carolina senator john c . calhoun ( arliss howard ) pursues the case for the political advancement of the southern states . +president martin van buren ( nigel hawthorne ) is willing to force the result towards his own political ends . +when the verdict looks to free the africans , van buren replaces the judge with one more sympathetic to his wishes . +even that doesn't work and the new judge frees the kidnap victims . +at the urging of calhoun , the president then appeals the case to the supreme court , populated by a majority of slave-owners . +this little-known ( try finding it in any history text book ) incident from america's past would have gone down a darker path were it not for former president john quincy adams ( anthony hopkins ) who is persuaded to argue the case before the supreme court . +the slavery issue is easy pickin's for spielberg . +much like his " shindler's list " ( which followed " jurassic park " as this follows " lost world " ) , the moral sides are not difficult ones to choose . +nazis and slave traders : both treat groups of others as less than human . +it's not hard to see who the bad guys are . +without that question to ponder , the director's job is more difficult . +he has to make the story interesting . +spielberg succeeds for the most part . +the visual aspect of the film is beyond reproach . +where the movie falls down is a bit more subtle . +there are very few _people_ in the tale . +in fact , cinque is the only character who is fleshed out . +tappan and joadson are " abolitionists " : symbols but not humans . +van buren is a weak politician but nothing else . +the rest of the " slaves " barely exist other than dressing for the set . +like many other films about people of color , almost all the major players are white . +the film's salvation lies in the acting strength of everyone involved and the powerful presence of hounsou . +the former model's first major role is a winner . +without speaking more than five words of english , he conveys more emotion than most actors with a thousand lines of dialog . +the other stand-out is hopkins who seems to be making a career out of portraying american presidents ( he also played the title role in " nixon " ) . +the impassioned speech by the doddering old man who phases in and out of rationality is among the best court-room drama ever on the screen . +there are some other great moments . +especially impressive are the african's struggle to understand what is going on in the strange land . +their interpretation of the bible based solely on the pictures and their own experiences is poignant . +as grand as the epic is , it would have more impact had it focused more on the experience from the point of view of the africans . +more humanity in the fight for humanity would have made it a four-star film . + ( michael redman has written this column for a real long time and is just now getting around to seeing some 1998 films . ) diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv291_26635.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv291_26635.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1e028520dabb907ec0eb3f2e348a4070620f78aa --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv291_26635.txt @@ -0,0 +1,33 @@ +reflecting on " bedazzled , " a lively comedy about the devil who seeks to possess the soul of a pathetic loser , one sinful thought remains in my mind . +if hell means having to spend an eternity with elizabeth hurley ( who portrays the fiery demon ) , then use that pitchfork and point me the way . +with her pouty lips , irresistible british accent , and wild display of haute couture , hurley crackles with naughtiness and fills your mind with temptation . +it's practically impossible to turn this beelzu-babe down . +her next target is elliot ( brendan fraser ) , a tech support geek who is clumsy , awkward , and just too eager to please . +to aptly picture him , you would have to remember a saturday night live skit featuring " steve the copy guy " who effortlessly irritated his co-workers with his unpolished social skills . +eugene , thus , is loathed and feared by his co-workers , who do their best to stay out of his way . +yet , beyond his annoying mannerisms , he's a lovable oaf . +he wishes that he could get closer to allison ( frances o'connor ) , a co-worker with whom he is infatuated but who has never taken notice of him . +however , the odds of him getting together with her are about the same as a snowball's chance in hell . + " dear god , " he prays . + " i would give anything to have that girl in my life . " +guess who then shows up ? +she makes an offer that is too hard to refuse . + " seven utterly fabulous wishes for one piddling little soul . " +there's even an escape clause . +if elliot's wish doesn't go exactly the way he likes , he need only 'beep' her ( one guess as to what the three-digit number is ) and he gets to start over . +the remainder of the film consists of elliot's various fantasies that incorporate his personal desire to have enormous amounts of wealth , power , fame and allison's love . +but when he makes sweeping statements such as " i want to be very , very powerful and very , very rich and married to allison " , he'll soon learn that the devil is in the details . +for example , ( and we've seen this several times in the trailers ) , he is granted his wish , but finds out that he's a columbian drug lord and that allison , while married to him , has her eyes on someone else . +apparently , the devil is just as eager to skew his fantasies as she is to possess his soul . +his other wishes also end up with some strange but funny twist that short-circuits his new life . +soon , elliot wishes that he had never made that deal . +given the mischievous nature of the devil , " bedazzled " has many amusing moments . +a lot of the credit goes to fraser who turns in a great comic performance . +he ably assumes various personas . +his funniest segment is when he wishes that he could be the most sensitive man in the world . +allison becomes so frustrated with him that she practically urges him to take advantage of her . +hurley also heightens the humor quotient , especially in the transitional scenes when fraser waits to start his next wish after bailing out of the previous one . +it's clear that she's having a good time with it all . +yet , while the filmmakers work hard at creating funny scenes , they conspicuously avoid developing the allegorical underpinnings between good and evil that could have added more heft to this story . +but that would be playing with fire . +what they've got works , so you can easily accept it for the pleasant little comedy that it is . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv294_11684.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv294_11684.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..15acd8cd98ffbfb60f33d1b0ef263e0171e286eb --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv294_11684.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +since their film debut in 1984 with the tightly wrought texas thriller " blood simple , " joel and ethan coen have been one of the most eclectic , original , and downright fascinating creative teams in modern hollywood . +their films are highly stylized , deeply embedded in a particular time and place , and their characters are more often than not everyday people who get caught up in highly unusual circumstances . +in " the big lebowski , " their first cinematic offering since the multiple academy award-winning " fargo , " the action takes place in los angeles during the gulf war , and the hero of the story is jeff lebowski , aka the dude . +the dude is played by jeff bridges -- one of hollywood's most underrated actors -- in the best stoned performance since sean penn stumbled through the halls of ridgemont high . +the dude is a simple man who has never quite made it out of the sixties . +he has shaggy , shoulder-length hair , a grizzled goatee badly in need of a trim , and he wears mostly stained tee-shirts , long shorts , and gellies without socks . +he smokes a lot of pot , drinks a lot of white russians , and is more than content to spend the majority of his time bowling with his two buddies , a slightly psychotic vietnam vet named walter sobchak ( john goodman ) and donny ( steve buscemi ) , one of those guys who always wants to be part of the conversation , but never quite makes it in . +one day , the dude is confused with another jeff lebowski ( david huddleston ) , this one being a millionaire philanthropist whose trophy wife , bunny ( tara reid ) , owes a lot of people a lot of money . +the main plot and all its accompanying side-plots and coenesque diatribes are far too complicated to get into here . +suffice to say that the dude becomes deeply involved with the big lebowski when bunny is kidnaped and the dude is asked to be a courier for the ransom money . +by the time all is said and done , walter has become deeply involved , as has the big lebowski's daughter , maude ( julianne moore ) , a feminist performance artist , a pornographer named jackie treehorn ( ben gazzara ) , and a group of german nihilists led by peter stormare , who was so great as the silent but deadly kidnaper in " fargo . " + " the big lebowski " plays like an amalgam of all the coen brothers' earlier efforts . +it shares their previous films' strong sense of time and place , as well as their send-ups of movie genres and political and cultural ideologies . + " lebowski " has the same kind of crazed caricatures that made " raising arizona " such a hoot ; it has surrealistic dream sequences ( one of which involves a busby berkley-like dance number ) that characterized the ending of " barton fink " ; and it has the same kind of cartoonish look and feel that pervaded " the hudsucker proxy . " +the film was shot by veteran cinematographer roger deakins , who has worked with the coens on three other films , " barton fink , " " the hudsucker proxy , " and " fargo . " +deakins always gives the coens' films a distinctive visual style , and here he does a brilliant job of capturing the bright colors of seedy los angeles in the early nineties , whether that by the obnoxious blue bowling suit worn by the dude's main competitor jesus quintana ( john turturro ) , or the strikingly manic dream sequences , one of which involves the dizzy spectacle of watching a strike from a bowling ball's point of view . +if " fargo " was the coen brothers' most restrained effort in years , " the big lebowski " marks their return to over-the-edge filmmaking . +it is overflowing with style and attitude , which helps make up for the scattered plot fragments that never quite come together in the end . +the coens fill the screen with lighting , set design , music , and hilarious performances from all the leads , especially bridges and the always reliable john goodman , who shows real comic timing in his untimely 'nam-inspired outbursts and his intense dedication to his adopted judaism . +with joel directing , ethan producing , and both writing , the coen brothers seem limitless in their capacity to turn our world inside out . +their talent lies not in their ability to reflect the norms of reality , but in their potential to dig out the darkest corners of life and bring them to light . +the coens rejoice in the oddballs of the world , and they put them center-stage to show that it's not just guys like the dude who are nuts , but the entire planet . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv295_15570.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv295_15570.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..eb1af55fc43f3d06c0323aa64f32ad2a081b0c7d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv295_15570.txt @@ -0,0 +1,19 @@ +lean , mean , escapist thrillers are a tough product to come by . +most are unnecessarily complicated , and others have no sense of expediency -- the thrill-ride effect gets lost in the cumbersome plot . +perhaps the ultimate escapist thriller was the fugitive , which featured none of the flash-bang effects of today's market but rather a bread-and-butter , textbook example of what a clever script and good direction is all about . +the latest tony scott movie , enemy of the state , doesn't make it to that level . +it's a true nineties product that runs like greased lightning through a maze of cell phones and laptop computers , without looking back . +although director scott has made missteps in the past , such as the lame thriller the fan , he's generated a good deal of energy in pictures like crimson tide and top gun . +that vibrant spirit is present here , shown in well-timed and carefully planned chase scenes that give the movie an aura of sheer speed . +enemy of the state also features an unprecedented use of amazing cinematography -- director of photography daniel mindel throws a staggering amount of different views , angles , lenses , and film stocks at the audience that goes a long way toward involving the audience in the movie . +enemy is truly a visual experience , and that's only one of the reasons it's such a fun watch . +the movie lights up with an aging senator visited by nsa deputy chief thomas reynolds ( jon voight ) . +reynolds wants a new communications act passed to allow the government free reign in the use of surveilance equipment , but the senator plans to bury the bill in committee . +reynolds has the senator offed , but not before the murder is caught on a naturalist's camera . +by an extremist chain of events , the tape ends up in labor lawyer robert dean ( will smith ) 's posession , and it's not long before he's running from reynolds' cronies . +it's only with the help of an ex-spook named brill ( gene hackman ) that dean is able to get to the bottom of things . +the acting is top notch , and the three principles - smith , hackman , and voight - are generally more mature and excellent all around . +smith puts aside the wisecracking act and becomes a normal human being ; voight tones down the amount of sneer he puts into his character for greater ominpotence ; and hackman is simply over the top in the mysterioso role . +smith's regular joe comes off particularly well , as he runs from authorties for reasons that he knows not . +the supports are also in fine form , lending credibility to the main roles and advancing the plot in key areas . +this is , for the holiday crowd , the hot ticket ; as well as anyone looking for a serving of genuine action in a market that is otherwise lacking . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv296_12251.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv296_12251.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..bd62c02d10e7470f4bbbdddb6b863eb732e322f8 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv296_12251.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +this film is based on the campy tv show from the 1960's under the same appellation . +mind you , most people ( including yours truly ) who will see this movie will not have seen any episodes from the original series . +the movie is really a stand alone in that regard . +the family robinson . . . lost in space . +plot : set in the year 2058 , the family robinson is chosen to sail out into space in search of other planets that might contain the natural resources earth needs in order to survive its future . +a colonization process , if you will . +they are joined by able pilot west ( leblanc ) , and evil uninvited stowaway ( oldman ) , who does not want to see the trip conclude on a successful tip . +eventually , their trek goes awry , and all are " lost in space " . + " how do get back to earth ? " +is the question that infests the rest of this sci-fi epic . +critique : this film reminded me a lot of the fifth element ( 6 . 5/10 ) from the summer of 1997 . +it's a film with a lot of flash , but very little actual substance . +admittedly , there isn't an annoying character like chris tucker from the other film , but this film does run a little too long , and did lose me in regards to its complex time-travel / multi-dimensional story line . +having said that , the special effects in this movie were amazing , and the overall look and feel were also way above average . +you really felt like you were in the future , and riding through space with these poor souls . +unfortunately for this chosen family , their 10-year old son is the smartest one in the group , and the father is too wrapped up in his work to notice the rest of his family ( ever heard that one before ? +yawn ! ) . +the acting is ok , and i was especially surprised at the solid performance by tv friend's matt leblanc who shows us all that he's definitely more than just a pretty face . +on the down side , the family riff-raff that cuts through most of the picture is lame and time-consuming ( even though we gotta give them credit for " trying " to develop characters in a sci-fi pic ) , the story line is hard to follow , the evil character in the movie actually tells people that he's " evil " , and the movie goes on for about 20 minutes too long . +on the slick side , many of the special effects are really cool ( the sequence in which the family is " paralyzed " during the hyper-drive is awesome , and the animated monkey that joins the family halfway through the flic is mucho cool ) , the credit presentation at the end of the film is slamming , and the adventures that they fall into are somewhat thrilling ( i will also admit that " somehow " they got me to semi-tear up near the conclusion of this picture . . . . very +odd . . . . . ) . +overall , if you're a big sci-fi fan , check this movie out for the special effects and challenging narrative , and if you're not , i would still suggest seeing this movie , but then you could probably wait until it comes out on video so that you forward past some of the boring parts . +little known facts : this film will always be remembered as the movie that knocked titanic ( 7/10 ) out of the top spot at the box-office after 15 straight weeks at number one . +garry oldman is british , and was once married to uma thurman for about six months . +mimi rogers was tom cruise's first wife . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv297_10047.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv297_10047.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c8d9f201286370300db93998bf09e12f27e71057 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv297_10047.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +1992's alien3 marked not only the death ( by suicide ) of its popular protagonist , ellen ripley ( sigourney weaver ) , but , in many ways , the alien franchise itself--box office receipts were anemic , thanks to poor audience word of mouth ; and the critics who rallied around the first two installments , 1979's alien and 1986's aliens , savaged david fincher's slog of a sendoff ( myself included ) . +hence , weaver , director jean-pierre jeunet , and the others behind alien resurrection faced a two-fold challenge--not only somehow resurrect ripley , but also rescue this once-profitable series from the scrap heap . +despite the odds , they have succeeded , even if the entertaining new installment does not measure up to the excellent first two . +writer joss whedon devises a quick , easy , and painless answer to the dead ripley problem--clone her , which is what shady military scientists do using some blood left behind on fiorina 161 , the prison planet of the third film . +that done , the _real_ challenge presents itself--what do with her . +alien introduced ripley as smart and resourceful ; aliens simultaneously toughened her up and made her more vulnerable , exploring her maternal side ; alien3 saw her undergoing the seven stages of death . +what could be next ? +whedon comes up with a clever spin : since the original ripley died while impregnated with an alien queen , the blood used for the clone is also " infected " with alien dna . +so the new ripley is , indeed , new--a human/alien hybrid blessed with heightened instincts and strength , a psychic bond with the deadly species , and a more predatory attitude . +unfortunately , that is where alien resurrection's clever streak in writing stops . +the alien series is known for having stronger stories than most creature features . +but the story in resurrection is more of an afterthought . +the movie begins with a plot involving some military types attempting to train aliens to do their bidding , but once the creatures break free , it is once again ripley and a ragtag crew ( this time a bunch of interstellar smugglers , including tough waif call , played by a game winona ryder ) trying to exterminate them . +and the alien ripley scenario is ultimately not exploited to its full potential ; i would have liked deeper exploration into the quandary of becoming one of the species she has spent her entire life trying to destroy . +while the settling into tried-and-true formula is a little disconcerting , the formula is tried-and-true for a reason , and jeunet tackles the proceedings with giddy abandon . +the alien , after all these years , is still terrifying , and a new breed that is introduced is no less so . +the violence is appropriately grisly and extreme , and the action set pieces are suspenseful and exciting , most notably an extended underwater sequence . +the film is absolutely mesmerizing visually , thanks to the solid work done by production designer nigel phelps and cinematographer darius khondji . +as technically adept as jeunet's direction is , perhaps his ( and , for that matter , whedon's ) greatest contribution is the infusion of humor into this notably downbeat and serious series . +a sense of humor may seem to go against everything this horror show stands for , but the self-awareness of the excess just adds to the fun . +no , alien resurrection is not the great film that ridley scott's alien or the even greater film that james cameron's aliens was . +but after the dauntingly slow gloom and doom of fincher's alien3 , jeunet's resurrection is a welcome return to its roots as a wild , reckless thrill ride . +that is what made the alien series so popular in the first place , and that is what will keep the series popular in any future installments . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv298_23111.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv298_23111.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..9f5c7582ed787af1f042bf90e9122e36ca794c27 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv298_23111.txt @@ -0,0 +1,47 @@ +most sequels don't do what they're supposed to do like " toy story 2 " does . +far too many of them end up re-hashing the original and adding very little . +is it any wonder that most sequels fail to live up to their predecessors ? +thankfully , " toy story 2 " is a wonderful exception . +i can't remember the last time i saw a sequel as consistently fun and inventive as this one . +it's yet another sign that pixar , the acclaimed animation studio behind " toy story " and " a bug's life , " is still at the top of its game . +woody and buzz are back in the sequel to the 1995 hit " toy story , " and things have changed a bit since the last one ended . +woody ( voiced by tom hanks ) is preparing to leave with his owner andy for cowboy camp . +in his absence , he has assigned buzz lightyear ( tim allen ) , now comfortable in his role as a toy , to take charge . +unfortunately , woody's trip is ruined when he is accidentally put into the family garage sale , and is stolen by an over-zealous toy collector ( wayne knight ) . +off to save him are buzz and members of the old " toy gang , " including mr . potato head ( don rickles ) , rex the nervous dinosaur ( wallace shawn ) , hamm the piggy bank ( john ratzenberger ) , and slinky dog ( jim varney ) . +while in captivity , woody makes a startling discovery : he is actually part of a collection of toys based on a 1950's children's show entitled " woody's roundup . " +he meets the show's other characters , which include jesse ( joan cusack ) , his cowgirl sidekick , the wise old prospector ( kelsey grammer ) , and bullseye , his trusty horse . +they have all been anxiously awaiting woody's arrival , as once their set is completed , they will be sold to a japanese toy museum , and finally escape storage forever . +this means woody now faces a difficult choice . +with his friends coming to rescue him , does he go with them and spend a few more years with andy , or does he go to japan and be immortalized forever ? +as in the original film , " toy story 2 " contains first-rate animation , and pixar studios has done a remarkable job improving on the impressive work they did there . +reportedly , the film was originally slated for a direct-to-video release , but after seeing the improvements that had been made , disney rightly decided to release it into theaters . +the film is well worth seeing on the big screen . +the colors are bright , the textures sharp , and even the human characters look more " human . " +the animation is consistently seamless , with the action fast and furious and the facial expressions believable . +there are so many impressive sequences that i'd find it impossible to list them here , but i was particularly wowed by a scene where buzz and his cohorts must get across a busy intersection to get to al' s toy barn , the store owned by woody's captor . +pixar's rendition of the family dog is also nicely done , with fur so realistic you almost feel you could reach out and touch it . +the voice work is also perfectly complementary , and as with the first movie , does much to help further character development . +tom hanks and tim allen again disappear into their roles as woody and buzz , making you forget who is doing the voice . +it was woody and buzz up there , not tom and tim . +all the cast members from the original reprise their roles , and each is excellent . +several new voices have been added , with joan cusack , kelsey grammer , and wayne knight doing fine work . + " toy story 2 " is strong in characterization , and is able to expand on what we saw in the first movie . +woody faces difficult choices , while buzz is confronted with a new buzz who hasn't yet realized his status as a toy , forcing him to see what he used to be like . +the new characters are also developed quite well , especially jesse , who narrates a sarah mclachlan-aided flashback illustrating how she was loved , then forgotten by her owner . +it may be computer-animated , and it may have sappy music , but it's downright touching . +the script , despite having a story and screenplay each credited to four different writers , is endlessly clever and inventive , especially considering that it's a sequel . +the reason " toy story 2 " works where other movie sequels fail is that it refuses to just capitalize on the original's success by re-doing the same story and using the same characters . +not this one . +we get character change , new characters , and new issues brought up . + " toy story 2 " is also remarkable for the way in which it keeps reinventing itself . +there is always another clever idea waiting just around the corner here . +the humor is sharp and witty , with something to amuse both kids and adults . +there are funny asides to films such as " star wars " and " jurassic park , " among others , new takes on classic toys like barbie and rock 'em sock 'em robots , and appearances from other pixar efforts " a bug's life " and the 1997 short " geri 's game . " + ( geri himself makes an appearance as a toy repairman who fixes woody's broken arm . ) +the action is fast and furious , and the chases ( in the street , in a toy store , in an elevator , on a baggage carousel , and in an airplane ) keep getting bigger and better . + " toy story 2 " never grows stagnant , because there is always something new to hold your interest . +the more you pay attention to it , the more rewarding it is . +it's rare to see a film like " toy story 2 " come along , because it's the kind of film that's almost impossible to dislike . +it's created purely to entertain , and though i enjoy a thought-provoking drama as much as the next person , it's nice to see that films are still trying to do exactly what movies first tried to do : send us out with a smile . +it's a fair bet that the whole family will have smiles on their collective faces after seeing " toy story 2 . " it's the rare sequel that manages to expand on , and live up to , the original . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv300_22284.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv300_22284.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1544c894ad6149927ba6d6737b8d888737eb3ad9 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv300_22284.txt @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +it is simply amazing how " the green mile " developed in its three hour running time . +based on the stephen king series of the same title , the film starts out painfully slow , with underdeveloped characters and idiotic dialogue . +however , as the plot begins to progress , the film turns into pure perfection with outstanding performances and wonderful direction . +frank darabont , who masterfully followed a prisoner's story in " the shawshank redemption " , this time follows the perspective of a prison guard , paul edgecomb ( tom hanks ) . +through edgecomb's experiences on a cell block known as the green mile where death row prisoners wait and repent , the audience sees good and evil on both sides of the law . +from an evil prison guard to an evil prisoner , " the green mile " is successful in creating sympathy for kind-hearted hard working guards and hard thinking prisoners . +the plot follows edgecomb and four other guards as they meet a variety of prisoners and after having strong relationships with each eventually are forced to execute them . +the performances by veterans and new comers to back up these original characters are superb . +the ensemble acting in the film is perfect . +hanks , david morse and barry pepper as guards are wonderful and are fitting for their roles . +they are the characters we most relate to because of their calm less extreme roles . +they are given the positions to make rational decisions at difficult times and they are the ones who fulfill the demands of the audience . +the more unique characters perfectly create friction on the green mile and make the story interesting and exciting . +some particularly note worthy roles of the unique characters include doug hutchinson , sam rockwell , and michael duncan . +hutchinson , playing percy wetmore , a cowardly guard who hides his true feelings by tormenting others gives the greatest performance of the movie . +every time he appears on the screen , the attitude of others is very uncomfortable and the creepy expressions he is able to create are effectively terrifying . +it would come as no surprise if hutchinson was nominated for an academy award as best supporting actor , not only because he did a wonderful job as wetmore , but also because he stole every scene he was in away from veteran oscar winner tom hanks . +rockwell , an independent film veteran , plays his role as wild bill wharton to perfection . +as a prisoner who taunts and harasses the guards at all hours , he really gets under your skin and irritates you for having to watch him torture others . +this irritation he creates makes his performance so believable . +the last noteworthy performance belongs to duncan , as the enormous convicted killer john coffey who happens to hold the power of curing the ill . +duncan does a wonderful job playing a frightened child-like behemoth , very similar to lennie small in of mice and men . +his desire for love and the extinction of hate evokes the most compassion because it is very obvious that he is suffering for no just cause . +his pain creates pain for the viewer . +however , it takes over an hour for duncan to be introduced completely in the film . +the film opens with a ridiculous present day setting which contains a scene that jabs at " the jerry springer show . " +the scene , containing one old man complaining about how all guests on the show are inbred and rednecks . +not only is this observation entirely pointless and out of place , but it is also hackneyed beyond all belief . +as the film flashes back to 1935 , graham greene is quickly executed without any introduction . +his death seems very rushed and without any knowledge of who he is , the scene is neither sad nor convincing . +greene is not even given a final word , like some of the other characters , and we don't even see him walk the infamous green mile . +however , as the film begins to specifically introduce more characters , such as coffey and eduard delacroix ( michael jeter ) as well as the five prison guards , the film becomes more interesting . +the speed in " the green mile " is perfect . +if time was a matter of concern and the film was edited to the two hour mark , it would have been unsatisfactory because we would not be able to know the characters as they are or as they treat others . +the three hour running is perfect for plot development and by the end of the film , a great amount of love or hate is attached to each character . + " the green mile " is so good following the rough beginning , that when the pivotal moment at the very end finally comes , it is almost impossible not to feel some sort of sadness for every person in this scene . +fighting back tears was a difficult task that i barely succeeded in doing . +if you survive the first third of " the green mile " sit back and enjoy the remainder for some priceless entertainment . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv301_12146.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv301_12146.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0a6370e4821d84aa0ad3e71284849ba062b050b2 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv301_12146.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +the jekyll and hyde story told from his maid's point of view is , in a word , " dark " . +you wouldn't expect something bright and cheery based on robert louis stevenson's novel , but the film is surprisingly dreary and dismal . +jekyll/hyde ( john malkovich ) is terminally depressed and desperate . +mary reilly ( julia roberts ) is a victim of monstrous child abuse and the anti-woman sentiment of the times . +director stephen fears' version of the london slums makes us marvel that anyone survived them . +the lighting level is exceedingly low throughout the movie : it almost appears to be filmed in black and white . +the direction and cinematography are brilliant and liquid . +scenes flow into the next scene like honey oozing off a strawberry . + ( except there's no red , of course . ) +the look is so moody and melodramatic that you'll be shocked when you leave the theater . +i saw it at a matinee and took quite a while to adjust to the sunny skies afterward . +often the jekyll and hyde archetypes are viewed as splitting a whole person into components of good and evil or perhaps cerebral and emotional parts . +here the doctor is intellectual and perhaps good , but certainly powerless . +his alter ego is forceful and totally without conscience . +two parts that make up a whole . +neither are capable of functioning without the other and once separated , disaster is inevitable . +the differences between the two characters would be more effective if it were accomplished by demeanor and attitude . +when we finally see the transformation , the special effects thrust the story into the realm of science fiction , not the psychological horror that the tale demands . +roberts and malkovich are skillful in their roles . +both are suitably melancholy , fitting in with the rest of the film . +the only flash of life and color comes from glenn close ( and her lips ) as the madam of a whorehouse where hyde lives , and surprisingly , jekyll apparently frequents . +life and color maybe , but this is not close's best role . +she seems little more than a cardboard cutout character . +a beautiful film in its own dreary way . +you'll appreciate the filmmaking craft , but don't expect to leave in an upbeat mood . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv302_25649.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv302_25649.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..da8803c99bb38f4b0d34ee86d5a9e457cd67d26f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv302_25649.txt @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ +aggressive , bleak , and unrelenting film about an interracial couple , steve and sam ( damon jones and elexa williams respectively ) , who are viciously attacked in a parking garage one night by a gang of skinheads . +the skinheads beat steve , then force him to watch as they brutally rape his girlfriend over and over again . +when sam kills herself later that evening , steve decides that the skinheads must be taught a lesson . +waiting seven months for the thuggish skinheads to forget about the incident entirely , steve shaves his head , dresses in combat boots and suspenders , tattoos his flesh with nazi symbols , and tries to infiltrate the gang . +as he gets closer and closer to the people who committed the horrible crime against his girlfriend , he begins to learn just how vicious these people really are and starts to question his own motives for violence . +randolph kret's script , based on two real life incidents that affected not only his life but the life of the film's producer shaun hill , is an affront on violence and intolerance . +the film causes its audience to be subjected to such brutality and ignorance that one can't help but be disgusted by the events presented within . +i've seen it said that this is the film fight club should have been , but david fincher's film was trying to define a generation . +kret's film is a wake up call to a generation and his message is a powerful one . +if fincher is the kubrick of our generation , then kret is our d . w . +griffith ( thematically speaking ) . +there is not a single likable character in the film . +the skinheads are obviously the most repulsive characters in the film , not only because of their beliefs but because they are in a constant state of fury ( not just against other races but within their own circles ) . +the african-american characters in the film are constantly shown as sexually assaulting drug abusers who are always on a joyride looking for someone to accost . +even gay men get in on the act , locating the skinheads' lair and beating them severely with lead pipes and other blunt objects . +the main character steve is also unlikable because of the person he becomes just to seek out revenge . +what all of this comes down to is the simple message that violence begets violence , and the constant clashes between factions will do nothing but continue the endless cycle of violence inherent in our society . +the cast of this film is absolutely remarkable . +damon jones shows a raw energy that many actors can't seem to summon these days and his performance seems nothing less than powerful . +his initial reaction to hearing about his girlfriend's suicide is one of the most affecting scenes i have ever seen in a film . +david lee wilson , who plays ( appropriately enough ) david lee is accurately evil as the second in command skinhead who also makes extra money performing oral sex on other men ( an irony that seems lost on the other skinheads ) . +wilson's character is pure hatred and he brings out this hate perfectly . +sadly , actor dave ward , who portrays the character of crew , will not be able to follow up his excellent performance as he was the victim of a vicious act of violence himself at the hands of a fellow actor during an incident of road rage . +ward showed immense promise and he will be greatly missed . +note : it is a shame that the filmmakers had to add a disclaimer to the end of the film stating that neither they nor the musicians contributing music for the film condone racism . +the message about hatred couldn't be spelled out any more clearly than it is here , but there are those who would probably find this film much more akin to a training video than a condemnation . +there are no " winners " at the end of this film either . +no character gets his or her comeuppance and the ending leaves us almost right where we began . +where american history x had redemption for most of its characters , no such victories are in store for pariah's band of twisted souls . +it is this bleak ending that carries the film's most powerful message : the message that , despite what you may be able to momentarily do to put your own mind to rest , evil will still be with us ( and in many forms ) and there is very little than can be done to eradicate it entirely . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv303_27520.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv303_27520.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c3f52f2f9c9a2c1b5c6a478122fb0fa735d8bfea --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv303_27520.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +gothic murder-mystery yarns are not a new conceit . +in fact , they've been around in books and on film for many , many years . +without the proper handling , they come off as old-fashioned , bland , and outdated . + " the gift , " directed by sam raimi , is a tried-and-true effort that surprises very little , and includes everything from a wide array of suspects and red herrings , to mansions in the deep south with moss trees out front , to the eventual discovery of a waterlogged corpse found in a nearby pond . +it's fairly obvious who the killer is ; in fact , i predicted who it would be before the movie began and was correct in my preliminary suspicions . +the film ultimately shouldn't work , but it does , thanks to a sparkling cast that fills each character with so many memorable nuances , the most fun to be had is in simply watching the people interact with each other . +annie wilson ( cate blanchett ) is a recently widowed mother of three sons who makes her living giving psychic readings to the residents of her backwater southern hometown . +some of her mainstay clients include valerie barksdale ( hilary swank ) , who is severely abused by her husband donnie ( keanu reeves ) , and buddy cole ( giovanni ribisi ) , an unstable mechanic who is confused by the nightmares he's been having about a mysterious blue diamond that is somehow linked to his father . +for annie , she does not give the readings merely for money , but uses it as a way of seeking solace in finding the good in everyone's future . +her late grandmother ( rosemary harris ) told her as a child that it was a gift she was given , and she should always remember that . +when annie's eldest son is involved in a fight at school , she meets the nice-guy school principal , wayne collins ( greg kinnear ) , whom she finds herself attracted to . +but wayne is engaged to the wealthy jessica king ( katie holmes ) , whom annie immediately gets a negative vibe about . +at a party with her best friend linda ( kim dickens ) , annie stumbles upon jessica in a compromising position with lawyer david duncan ( gary cole ) . +soon after , jessica has disappeared , leaving everyone in a frenzy over what could have possibly happened to her , and annie starts to have nightmares and apparitions linking jessica with the vicious redneck donnie barksdale , and the pond behind his home . + " the gift " may be cliched on a sheer storytelling level , but the performances and tight direction from raimi ( who has redeemed himself for his embarrassing last film , 1999's " for love of the game " ) lift the picture up several notches . +slowly enveloping the viewer into the many intriguing characters and their individual plights , the disappearance of jessica at the 30-minute mark divulges the movie's true intentions and transforms the proceedings into a taut , at times frightening , horror-mystery . +at the center of the film is the exceptional cate blanchett ( 1999's " the talented mr . ripley " ) , who turns annie wilson from what could have been little more than a run-of-the-mill protagonist into a very exact , down-to-earth , realistic person with valid troubles and a caring attitude towards those around her . +blanchett takes the unextraordinary material and runs with it , giving the entire film a truly classy aura that it otherwise might not have had . +we follow her at every turn because she is so mesmerizing , both as a character and an actress . +blanchett isn't the only bright performer , as she is ably supported by one of the best casts of the year . +in her first role following her oscar win for 1999's " boys don't cry , " hilary swank is excellent as the confused valerie , who seeks guidance from annie , but is too scared to take her biggest advice of all : to leave the grossly abusive donnie . +as donnie , keanu reeves ( 2000's " the watcher " ) makes an utterly convincing backwoods meanie , so much so that it is difficult to believe he is an actor at all . +for the often-criticized reeves , whose acting abilities have never been the best , this is the biggest compliment he could possibly get , and it is also one of the better performances he has given . +giovanni ribisi ( 2000's " the boiler room " ) is heartbreaking as a mentally slow young man who sees annie as his only friend , and wants her to do nothing but help him understand why he is being plagued by bad dreams about his dad . +in the small , but pivotal role of the sleazy jessica king , katie holmes ( 2000's " wonder boys " ) has turned in yet another stunning supporting turn . +her promiscuous role of jessica is one she has never played before , and she is radiant in her few scenes . +finally , kim dickens ( 2000's " hollow man " ) makes her usual strong impression as annie's spicy best friend , linda . +the other notable aspect of " the gift " is its moody atmosphere that lays such a thickly foreboding air over every scene it's almost suffocating . +thanks to cleverly construed editing by arthur coburn and bob murawski , and the successful use of different eerie sounds effects and a very good music score by christopher young , the movie not only achieves a scary undercurrent , but one that is filled with dread . +helped along by a strong screenplay by billy bob thornton and tom epperson , which makes the most of its setting and delightful cast , " the gift " is that rarest of thrillers that actually thrills , and offers up a fair share of chills , too . +it may not be groundbreakingly original , but it sure is an entertaining ride for the duration of its running time . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv304_28706.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv304_28706.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b1a6e73a43897c6e10edf2dac849e62dc64d48a4 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv304_28706.txt @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +one of the best things about my job is that , every so often , a film still catches me by surprise . + " spy kids " certainly did . +an adventure story aimed primarily at children , the movie is smart , zippy fun . +the production neither panders nor talks down to its audience . +the brother and sister at the center of the tale are believable , likable kids and their parents are ? get ready for this ? intelligent , capable and loving . +bathroom humor is kept to a minimum and the numerous well-staged action scenes avoid excessive violence . +what a relief it is to be able to review an all-ages film on its artistic merits and not its ethics . +consider the other pg rated " family friendly " movie in theaters now . + " see spot run " has a mother going out of town , leaving her son with an idiot neighbor . +body function humor abounds , including a slapstick bit that has the adult male lead repeatedly falling in dog poop . +what really disturbs me are the jokes that bookend the film . +the story begins with a police dog capturing a mobster and biting off one of his testicles in the process . +at the hospital , the doctors explain that they replaced the testicle with a metal ball and joke that the victim is lucky the dog didn't bit off the other one , because two metal replacement balls would clack together . +of course , the movie ends with the dog biting off the remaining testicle and shows prisoners laughing at the criminal as he clacks past their cells . +somebody clue me in ? when did genital mutilation become funny ? + " spy kids " is a welcome antidote to the repellent " see spot run , " using imagination instead of cruelty and crudeness . +carmen ( alexa vega ) and her younger brother juni ( daryl sabara ) live in a beautiful seaside home with their parents , gregorio ( antonio banderas ) and ingrid cortez ( carla gugino ) . +mom and dad are a sultry couple devoted to their children . +what the kids don't know is that they are also former spies . +once agents from different countries assigned to " erase " each other , they instead fell in love , married and retired to raise a family . +needless to say , they get drawn back to the business . +shortly into their first joint mission , they are captured and end up in the headquarters of fegan floop ( alan cumming ) , a foppish hybrid of willy wonka and pee wee herman who hosts juni's favorite tv show . +but there is evil behind the scenes , as inventors prepare an army of robots disguised as children . +papa gregorio has the device necessary to radically increase the efficiency of the creatures and the bad guys will stop at nothing to get it from him . +back at home , " uncle " felix ( cheech marin ) shows up to reveal mom and dad's secret to the kids . +after a brief respite at a safe house filled with enough cool gadgets for a dozen sharper image stores , carmen and juni set off to find their parents and save the world , zooming through the sea in a submarine pod that looks like a goldfish , while a slew of wicked people ( including teri hatcher ) chase them . +during the course of their adventures , they get to use jet packs , electroshock bubblegum and super-computer sunglasses . +they watch as secret agents are transformed into bizarre creatures with silly putty faces and used as background characters on floop's tv show . +they deal with guards that have huge thumbs where their arms , legs and heads would normally be ( why are the guards so ineffective ? +because they're all thumbs ! ) +they move from one colorful locale to another , including a nifty virtual reality room reminiscent of the holodeck from " star trek . " +the storyline is silly and convoluted , but even at its most dense , it is easier to follow than either " mission : impossible " movie . +director robert rodriguez ( " from dusk to dawn " ) maintains a frenetic pace , with the whole film clocking in at a mere 86 minutes . +a bit less action and a little more character development would have been nice , but he does provide enough quiet moments for viewers to become fully invested in the family . +alexa vega and daryl sabara make an agreeable brother and sister team , squabbling the way kids do , but coming together when it counts . +antonio banderas and carla gugino are even better as the parents ; they quickly establish and maintain a great lusty chemistry while keeping their tongues properly in cheek during the action scenes . +even the usually irritating alan cumming has some nice moments ? a virtual cloud-backed chat between his character and juni is one of the best segments in the film . +had rodriguez added a few more scenes like that , i would have enjoyed the film more ( and i definitely could have lived without the glaring product placement for a certain mc-ubiquitous company ) . +regardless , " spy kids " is a hoot , offering fun for adults and children alike . +and just think , they managed to do it without sacrificing a single testicle . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv306_10364.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv306_10364.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a57e24132339770273026d6e0d3ebe703309723e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv306_10364.txt @@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ +in essence , good will hunting is an ordinary story told well . +taken as a whole , there's little that's special about this tale -- it follows a traditional narrative path , leaves the audience with a warm , fuzzy feeling , and never really challenges or surprises us . +but it's intelligently written ( with dialogue that is occasionally brilliant ) , strongly directed , and nicely acted . +so , while good will hunting is far from a late-year masterpiece , it's a worthwhile sample of entertainment . +like scent of a woman , which was released around this time of the season five years ago , good will hunting is about the unlikely friendship that develops between a world-weary veteran and a cocky young man . +the formula for the two films is similar -- both of the principals learn from each other as they slowly break down their barriers on the way to a better understanding of life and their place in it -- but the characters are different . +al pacino's slade was a larger-than-life individual ; robin williams' sean mcguire is much more subtle . +and matt damon's will hunting uses pugnaciousness to supplant the blandness of chris o'donnell's charlie . +will is a troubled individual . +as a child , he was the frequent victim of abuse . +an orphan , he was in and out of foster homes on a regular basis . +now , not yet 21 years old , he has accumulated an impressive rap sheet . +he has a short temper and any little incident can set him off like a spark in a tinder box . +but he's a mathematical genius with a photographic memory and the ability to conceive simple solutions to complex problems . +while working as a janitor at mit , he delights in anonymously proving theorems on the math building's hall blackboards . +then , one evening , his anonymity is shattered when professor lambeau ( stellan skarsgard ) catches him at work . +will flees , but lambeau tracks him down . +unfortunately , by the time the professor finds him , will is in jail for assaulting a police offer . +the judge agrees to release will under two conditions : that he spend one day a week meeting with lambeau and that he spend one day a week meeting with a therapist . +eventually , once several psychologists have rejected the belligerent young man , sean mcguire , a teacher at bunker hill community college , agrees to take the case . +after a rocky start , the two form a rapport and will begins to explore issues and emotions he had walled up behind impregnable armor . +and , as will advances his self-awareness in sessions with sean , he also learns about friendship from his buddy , chuckie ( ben affleck ) , and love from a harvard co-ed named skylar ( minnie driver ) . +the script , by co-stars matt damon and ben affleck , is not a groundbreaking piece of literature , and occasionally resorts to shameless manipulation . +the characters are well-developed , however , and there are times when the dialogue positively sparkles . +at one point , will comments that a session with sean is turning into a " taster's choice moment . " +later , will gives a brilliant , breathless diatribe against the nsa that has the rhythm of something written by kevin smith . + ( note : since smith co-executive produced good will hunting , it's not out of the question that he had some input into this scene . ) +director gus van sant ( drugstore cowboy , to die for ) culls genuine emotion from his actors , and this results in several affecting and powerful scenes . +there's an edginess to some of the sean/will therapy sessions , and the offscreen chemistry between matt damon and minnie driver ( who became romantically linked while making this film ) translates effectively to the movie -- the will/skylar relationship is electric . +likewise , the companionability of damon and affleck is apparent in the easygoing nature of will and chuckie's friendship . +many of the individual scenes are strong enough to earn good will hunting a recommendation , even if the overall story is somewhat generic . +matt damon , who recently starred as the idealistic young lawyer in the rainmaker , is solid ( although not spectacular ) as will . +minnie driver ( last seen in grosse pointe blank ) adds another strong performance to a growing resume ( and it's refreshing that she was allowed to keep her british accent rather than having to attempt an american one ) . +the outstanding performance of the film belongs to robin williams , whose sean is sad and wise , funny and somber . +arguably the best dramatic work in the actor's career ( alongside what he did in the fisher king ) , williams' portrayal could earn him a best supporting actor oscar nomination . +adequate support is provided by ben affleck ( chasing amy ) and stellan skarsgard ( breaking the waves ) . +like most of what comes before it , the ending of good will hunting is completely predictable . +but meeting expectations and following a familiar path aren't always bad things in a movie , provided the film accomplishes those goals with a modicum of style and an attention to detail . +good will hunting does both , and , as a result , earns a rating commensurate with the " good " in the title . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv307_25270.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv307_25270.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b12662ea0df2d185a0cf50b495a3572141bd4d4d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv307_25270.txt @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@ +clue is an unfairly ignored comedy , very similar to 1976's murder by death . +this big screen version of the classic board game ( what's next . . . +chutes and ladders : the motion picture ? ) is filled with slapstick antics and silly dialogue . +the plot , for what it's worth , has all the characters from the game ( in this case , the names from the game are used as aliases ) meeting in an isolated mansion to confront mr . boddy ( lee ving ) , the man who's been blackmailing them all . +when he turns up dead , everyone ( including the audience ) must figure out whodunnit . . . +and in what room , and with what object . +while not as witty as neil simon's murder by death , clue definitely has it moments . +it has so many moments in fact that i use a lot of the lines from the film when i'm joking around with my friends . +to this day , whenever someone says the phrase " well , to make a long story short " i have the follow up phrase " too late " ready to go . +the cast ( all very good comedic talents ) play well off one another , while the late madeline kahn ( as the dark and sultry mrs . white ) sometimes steals the film away from the rest . +and colleen camp , as the french maid yvette , displays some of her natural talents as well . +clue is available on dvd from paramount home video . +it includes the film in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1 . 85 : 1 ( and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions ) and features the original theatrical trailer . +a french language audio track is also available . +the trailer holds up well considering most previews from that time do not , and it even includes a scene not in the film itself ( a scene that should have been in the film , as it's a good joke ) . +also , the trailer is scored to the music from airplane ! , which was an interesting choice . +when clue played in theaters , it ran with the gimmick of three different endings . +if you wanted to see all three , you had to go to the movies three separate times . +so when the film was released on home video , rather than releasing three separate videos , all three endings were included on one tape . . . +the first two endings being " what if ? " +endings and the third ending being the actual ending . +now for the dvd release you get two choices . +you can watch the film as it was presented on home video or you can select to watch it with one of the three endings randomly chosen for you . + ( note : there's an easter egg hidden in the disc pertaining to this . +after watching the film with a randomly selected ending , when you return to the menu screen you will be able to highlight the large magnifying glass and select it . +when you do , a secret menu opens , allowing you to watch any of the three endings by themselves . ) +now while i applaud the effort of paramount here , as they clearly tried to do something special with the disc , it just doesn't work well . +first , why not give the viewer the choice of what ending we want to watch ? +maybe someone like myself who's seen the movie hundreds of times would like to sit down and show it to someone with the second ending only . +i'm no technical dvd expert , but i can't imagine that being too hard to accomplish . +secondly , the delay between when the film itself ends and one of the endings begins is too long and too obvious , thereby becoming a distraction right when you definitely don't need a distraction . +finally , the back of the dvd case states " and now , with this special dvd version , you can see all 3 surprise endings " . +i have no idea why they would word it that way , since that's not a special feature in the slightest . +the video has been out for fifteen years now ( good lord , has it been that long ? ) and it's played on television with all three endings all the time . +these are merely minor complaints however , seeing that i've watched the home video version hundreds of times and have no problem watching the film as such on the dvd . +the picture and sound are wonderfully improved over my worn out vhs copy , and i'm thrilled that paramount agrees with me that clue is a film worthy of being preserved on this great digital format . +[pg] diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv308_5016.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv308_5016.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6e92af80526095a5e263f70b2b78b15d8fad1747 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv308_5016.txt @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ +the dream team is a thoroughly entertaining comedy featuring four loveable characters who just happen to be slightly insane . +billy , played by michael keaton , is an extremely temperamental mental ward patient whose short fuse and violent tantrums tend to get him in trouble . +christopher lloyd portrays henry , an obsessive-compulsive who requires that everything be neat , orderly , on schedule , and by the books . +he thinks he's a doctor so he walks around wearing a suit and carrying a clipboard on which he constantly scribbles notes and files reports . +jack , played by peter boyle , thinks he's jesus . +and finally , there's stephen furst as albert , a chubby catatonic who speaks only in baseball and television phrases . +the dream team follows the misadventures that beset the four-some when their psychiatrist , dr . weitzman , takes them out of the hospital for a field trip to yankee stadium . +during a pit stop , they get separated from weitzman and are left to fend for themselves in manhattan . +the movie's charm derives mostly from the camaraderie and chemistry between its delightful cast . +the four leads in the film play off each other quite effectively ; they never miss an opportunity to argue , bicker , or insult one another . +henry and jack , for example , fight over who's going to get to ride in the front passenger seat on the way to the game . +the actors in the dream team have a lot of fun with their characters and with each other . +michael keaton is well cast as billy ; he gives his cynical character considerable complexity . +as the divinely jack , peter boyle succeeds in keeping his one-dimensional character funny and fresh . +although stephen furst's catatonic character is cliched , the actor makes him sympathetic and endearing . +while keaton , boyle , and furst are good , it's christopher lloyd who really makes the movie special . +lloyd gives yet another outstanding comic performance . +his body language ( for example , the way he walks ) and his facial expressions are perfectly suited to his compulsive character . +lloyd's brilliant performance yields a pathetic , moving , and memorable character . +the dream team is a solid comedy with more depth and drama than you might expect from its simple premise . +the characters are so appealing that you can excuse the film for its often outlandish and unbelievable plot . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv309_22571.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv309_22571.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b04a8d6b7b6bd73088795ed9dd71ab25c399adc7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv309_22571.txt @@ -0,0 +1,58 @@ +people who enjoy science fiction are often faced with unpleasant surprises due to the improper labelling of novels , stories , comic books or movies . +often science fiction aficionados find material , previously labelled as science fiction , to be pure fantasy or supernatural horror , or rather simple techno-thriller . +in such cases , mistakes are understandable - genre boundaries are never clearly marked . +but , i believe there are really few cases when a movie labelled as science fiction actually happens to be straight historical epic . +such thing occurred in former yugoslavia some fifteen years ago , when national distributors gave such treatment to the right stuff , 1983 film directed by philip kaufman . +the mistake of the distributors could be explained with the fact that the official poster of the film features men in space suits . +but the right stuff film isn't even fiction . +it was based on the non-fiction book by tom wolfe , covering the early years of american space program . +the plot of the film begins in 1947 when few people heard of edwards air force base , major test site for experimental planes . +the major aim of test flights is to determine ability of manned aircraft to reach 1 mach speed and thus break the sound barrier . +many pilots tried to achieve that goal and many paid with their lives for such bravado . +but one quiet pilot , chuck eager ( played by sam shaped ) succeeds and thus gives example for whole new generation of test pilots , determined to enter history books by breaking new speed records . +ten years later , soviets have launched " sputnik " marking the beginning of the space age . +in order to regain national prestige , us government decides to be the first to send man into space . +best air force , navy and marine pilots are recruited into program , but not yeager , because he lacks college education and desired all-american image . +in one of critics' polls the right stuff was named as one among top 10 films made in 1980s . +such high position could be explained with the fact that kaufman's film looks quite atypical for its time . +with more than three hours of length and epic scope it looked more suitable for 1950s and 1960s - age when hollywood used to make films larger than life . +but the real reason lies in the fact that it was made by truly remarkable and talented filmmaker . +philip kaufman created reputation in 1970s by using all the opportunities of that golden age in order to create original , memorable movies . +the right stuff was the last of them , swan song of an era when producers allowed directors to spend big bucks on unusual , risk-taking " artsy " projects . +the right stuff is unusual because it lacks many standard elements of hollywood film . +the plot is almost non-existent and not very coherent ; the story , featuring many interesting incidents and anecdotes , shifts focus from the old generation of test pilots , embodied in yeager , to new generation of the astronauts . +the film also lacks conventional protagonist - yeager ( who also appears in small cameo ) remains the true hero of the film , but equal time and exposure is also given to other astronauts and their wives , making this movie into ensemble piece . +that gave opportunity for kaufman to use multitude of great acting talents , until that specialised only for bit or character roles . +sam shepard is great as yeager , war hero whose greatest achievement - breech of the sound barrier - remained obscured in history books , probably due to his own modesty . +on the surface , he lacks personality compared with his hyped and more fortunate astronaut colleagues , but shepard gives texture to this character with subtle gestures and phrases . +shepard's performance is followed with great acting by ed harris as clean-cut marine ( and future politician ) john glenn . +young dennis quaid is more than fine as arrogant fighter jock gordo cooper , and this arrogance is mirrored in his friend and most tragic figure of virgil grissom , superbly played by fred ward . +always reliable character actor scott glenn provides some comic relief as navy aviator and ( arguably ) first american man in space alan shepard . +kaufman left room for female talents to excel too - barbara hershey , pamela reed , veronica cartwright and mary jo deschanel are great as pilots' wives . +royal dano is also impressive as menacing figure of preacher , but the most memorable performances belong to donald moffat as vice-president lyndon b . johnson and jane dornacker as nurse murch . +great acting talent assembled for this film was mirrored with kaufman's superb direction . +most notable of all is the methods kaufman uses in order to suggest the passage of time . +the beginning of the film shows test pilots living in the middle of desert , as virtual unknowns , far away from strict rules and discipline . +everything seems natural -yeager can indulge himself in horse riding just few yards away from the fastest and most precious aircraft in the world . +in that setting , it's quite normal for important technical problems to be solved with simple chainsaw and for the test pilots not to report their ribs being broken before most important flights . +but the times are changing ; ww2 alliance with ussr is replaced with cold war , and " natural " pilots like yeager must be replaced with more disciplined , conventional pilots . +their entire lives become focus of media frenzy , and their job is subjected to strict rules , meticulous plans and they must fight the bureaucrats , publicity-seeking politicians and uncaring scientists ( like former nazi rocket expert werner von braun , played by scott beach ) only to preserve their most basic human dignity . +this contrast is underlined with the beautifully edited sequence - while yeager conducts his final and most spectacular test flight in absolute obscurity , " mercury " astronauts receive fame and fortune , although some of them even before going in the space . +those contrasts and similar effects are achieved with kaufman's superb use of poetic movie language . +editing is great , and photography by caleb deschanel provides many memorable scenes like the funeral in the desert or astronauts in their suits walking in slow motion ( the same image would be copied in many latter films ) . +although kaufman enjoyed support of nasa and american military , which provided authentic locations and period equipment , he still had to use special effects in order to simulate space flights . +those effects are excellent and they can still fool the audience accustomed to cgi and real footage of earth from outer space . +another fine contribution of this film is " oscar " -awarded musical score by bill conti ; i still tremble from excitement every time i hear it . +it is accompanied with the use of holst and debussy . +some of the songs used in the background also provide authentic atmosphere of the historical period . +this film is great , and its cult status is well deserved , but there are some minor flaws . +some of the " mercury " astronauts aren't fleshed out enough ( although being played by fine actors , like lance henriksen ) . +film also lacks proper closure . +on the other hand , most logical conclusion of the film - landing on the moon - would require this film to be more than six hours long . +also , some critics were prone to attack this film as too amerocentric and hard on russians , who were portrayed as evil monsters , just in line with most virulent cold war rhetoric of reagan's america . +in some of contemporary interviews , kaufman defended that approach by claiming that he wanted to make film as authentic as possible , and in order to do that , he portrayed russians not as they were in real life , but as they were perceived by americans in early 1960s . +time has passed ; now we don't see astronauts as heroes . +in this age of widespread satellite communications and routine space missions , those men and women in space suits are seen as mere maintenance workers . +few young boys want to be astronauts when they grow up . +but this film , sentimental reminder of the times " when future began " , perhaps could encourage at least some of them to follow " mercury " astronauts' footsteps seek new frontiers in the sky . +and even if they decide to stay on earth , they could still appreciate the right stuff as an extraordinary piece of cinema . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv310_13091.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv310_13091.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..913011b3e82877e4764f1f471001900d6cc30dc4 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv310_13091.txt @@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ +i find most of television so intensely boring that i simply never turn on my set , unless i'm watching a movie . +i don't even have cable , so i went to radio shack to buy an antenna specifically for the purpose of watching " the x-files " every sunday night . +it's the only show that's worth an hour of my time each week ( though , since i don't watch reruns , i'm glad that i have six months of the year to avoid television altogether ) . +i am an avid fan of the show , and have been for about three years now . +and i love gillian anderson . +the x-files is the film that continues the story where the season finale left off . +the film is like a two-hour episode , except that there are a lot more special effects , the plot is thicker , and the resolution is more satisfying . +this is a terrific film , both for fans of the series and for those who have never seen it ( i imagine that viewers unfamiliar with the show will find the film to be solid and riveting entertainment ) . +i expected to like it more than any episode i've seen , and my expectations were met . +actually , the film takes a few risks in its story and plot devices , but , thankfully , the makers managed to do it right . +when the finale ended , the fbi branch known as the x-files had been destroyed , and our heroes , mulder ( david duchovny ) and scully ( gillian anderson ) were left stripped of five years of hard work . +the film picks up soon after ; and mulder and scully have been reduced to field agents investigating a bomb threat in a federal building . +but wait , i'm getting ahead of myself . +the film actually opens in the ice age , about 32 , 000 years prior , during which a couple of prehistoric guys get attacked by a vicious alien . +the alien's blood infects them ( fans of the show will certainly remember the black cancer ) , and the story jumps into modern times , during which a young boy is also infected with the cancer . +it turns out that the bomb was planted to kill the boy , and mulder and scully uncover the cover-up despite the fact that scully has resigned from her position in the fbi . +soon , they find out that the whole thing has to do with aliens . +as i've written before , it's not easy to write plot summaries for films like this , because everything needs to be a surprise . +fans of the show will know what to expect , and i seriously doubt any of them being disappointed with the film . +director rob bowman has done a great job expanding the eerie feeling of the show to the big screen , making small adjustments and minor changes to utilize the possibilities that film allows over television . +there are some truly suspenseful and well-created scenes here ( late in the film , when they're in the alien spacecraft , you'll see one of the better action sequences in recent cinema ) . +the special effects are very good , and the production design by christopher nowak is fantastic . +what i find interesting is that the x-files is actually a great way for series neophytes to get into the story . +our heroes are given subtle introductions ( we're not expected to know them on the outset ) , and the film explains enough of the story that prior knowledge of the series isn't required to understand the film . +there are , of course , little elements that the makers have included as payoff to the fans , but i'll keep those as surprises . +it takes a lot of thought and understanding of the series to create a film using roots as complicated as the ones that the series provides , and then create a coherent film that anyone can understand clearly . +the series is strong for a lot of reasons . +it's original ( though it has many ties to " the twilight zone " and owes some homage to hitchcock ) , and impressively eerie for a television show . +what really makes the series shine , however , are the actors . +duchovny has so much presence , and is just a fun guy to watch . +he has that confidence that will someday make him into a bankable leading man . +anderson is equally good , and paralyzingly beautiful ; she's also a strong actress . +both performers have acted in little more than their series , however , though i think they'll both get their chances to prove themselves very soon . +i enthusiastically recommend the x-files , both for fans and non-fans . +1998 is a summer filled with disappointing blockbusters , and this film should satisfy where most of the others leave you completely dry . +it's an intelligent film , and takes you places that you might not have been ( or , at least , might not have seen so many times that they feel familiar ) . +the x-files is impressive in concept , as well : fans of the series are likely to be highly critical , and to take the premise beyond the series is a risky move . +it's nice to see a risk pay off for a change . +actually , it's nice to see a risk at all . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv311_16002.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv311_16002.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ae76046da49c8af4b1d2c0e028786cd5ca7d2394 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv311_16002.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ + " the celebration " is one of an elite kind of films that is completely absorbant . +you know , where you sit down to watch it , and no matter what you've heard about it before , you just can't help but be totally drawn into its story and shocked by every single turn that occurs . +i prefer films like these because these are what the best kind of films are like . +i don't really feel there are to be any real " rules " for cinema ; a film can do anything , as long as it makes it work . +but i do ask that all films have one thing in common : they create experiences . +when i watch a film , no matter what kind of film it is , i want to be able to take certain memories along with me . + " the celebration " is great because it's chock full of those . +it creates a world so completely realistic that everything that occurs is as memorable as the little instances of life that catch your attention and stay with you for the rest of your life . +and then it makes things just a tad bit farscial , just to make sure you're paying attention , which you are because what transpires is just so goddam interesting that if you were to ever feel bored , then you're of your attention span needs a bit of a tuning-up . +the story takes place at the extravagant home of an aging patriarch ( henning mortizen ) , who has just turned 60 and is having a party thrown for him . +all his friends and family turn up , and for the first half hour , we get introduced to everyone , simplistically and realistically ( no aggravatingly condescending posing for the camera deals here ) . +the eldest son , christian ( ulrich thomsen , looking a bit like a young malcolm mcdowell ) , is the first to be seen in the film , walking to his father's home . +his brother , michael ( thomas bo larsen ) , drives by , pulls over , greets him , then kicks his family out of the car , forcing them to walk to the estate , just so christian can be comfortable . +we then meet helene ( paprika steen ) , their sister , a woman who always seems to be stressed-out , who invites the driver of her car ( gbatokai dakinah ) , an american , to to come join her at the party she's going to . +once they're all there and settled in , the party begins , and as custom , the eldest son has to make a speech to his dad , so christian stands up , at the head of the table , and reveals the film's punchline : his father raped all his children at a young age . +but since this is a family/friends affair , his confession becomes more detested than the supposed truth , and is simply brushed off despite his efforts , and what transpires is sorta like jerry springer crossed with jean renoir , and it's all terribly interesting to watch . +twists occur , and soon the film has taken on a nearly-farsical nature , but still seems realistic because the people involved really feel like they could reach such ends . +the most notorious thing about this film , which has been getting the most notice , though , is that the director , thomas vinterberg has shot it in a completely awkward fashion . +as a member of the danish filmmakers clan , dogme 95 , a group that has vowed to oppose " the auteur concept , make-up , illusions , and dramaturgical predictability " so that they may " purge film so that once again the inner lives of the characters justify the plot . " +i have not seen " breaking the waves , " the other notable film by a member of this group ( lars von trier , to be exact ) , but " the celebration " works exquisitely in this department . +it feels like reality , like you're actually watching real people and not actors , and as a major pointer , has been shot on video . +as a result , it looks more like the home movies you never dare shot of your family than an actual film , but always wanted to . +we see key moments in people's lives that they wouldn't dare show to the world , and it captures the farscial comedy of life so accurately and acutely that this style , as ironically-showmanship as it really is , works perfectly for the nature of the film . +the key , though , to this film , and the reason it's not just a cool danish import , is because this film is not about revealing the truth as much as it is about the way people react to such an explosive truth . +throughout the film , we see a completely realized debate over the truth and the effects it has on the lives of those who have learned to live with lies , a debate so three-dimensional that it could easily blow oliver stone and his the-truth-at-all-costs reasoning out of the water . +of course it was not right for the father to rape his children , and of course , they couldn't have fought back then , and of course this has created scarring suppression inside them . +and yes , it's thearapeutic for one to release the truth years later , when they know it could easily destroy the one who emotionally destroyed them earlier . +but then again , the father , after all , is not a totally bad guy , and we can see the emotional complications that arise thanks to a performance by mortizen which is just so great and touching that while we do believe that he could have raped his children years earlier , we also see a man who has also learned to live with what he's done , and deep down , feels true guilt that is only now beginning to surface . +the final scene , involving mortizen and everyone else , is utterly devastating , thanks to him and thomsen , whose performance is utterly flawless and equally emotionally complex . +everyone else is flawless as well - the actors never seem to be stepping into the shoes of their characters as much as they do walking comfortably in them . +the actors or writers have not made the mistake to judge these characters in the slightest : there are no whites or blacks but instead all grays , exactly like life . +as such , " the celebration " may be the one truly bizarro film of the year : a work of art so eerily close to reality that it's utterly disturbing and utterly fascinating . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv312_29377.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv312_29377.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..37064c2910b9b739da736d48c86fdab15e301172 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv312_29377.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12 @@ +synopsis : shrek ( myers ) is an ogre living in contented solitude deep in the heart of a forest , until his home is invaded by fairy tale creatures fleeing the rule of the evil lord farquaad ( john lithgow ) . +farquaad agrees to relocate the pests , on the condition that shrek rescues princess fiona ( diaz ) -- whom farquaad desires to wed -- from a far-off castle . +grudgingly , shrek sets out , joined in his quest by an unwanted companion , donkey ( murphy ) . +review : one memorable aspect of disney's " aladdin " was that it finally gave robin williams a character -- the genie -- to best take advantage of his comic talents . + " shrek " does the same for eddie murphy ; ironically , though , murphy's ideal vessel turns out to be an ass . +all the same , " shrek " does represent murphy's best comic outing in years , and as donkey he steals all the best lines . +for instance , after getting belted with pixie dust while trying to conceal his nature as a magical creature , donkey soars into the air and scoffs , " now i'm a flying talking donkey ! " +and despite its many contributors , the script for " shrek " is full of such comic gems . +myers is delightful in more of a straight man role , and lithgow also gets some great moments ( watch for a hilarious repartee with the gingerbread man ) . + " shrek " takes great pleasure in lampooning fairy tales and nursery rhymes of all sorts , and reserves a few delightful knocks at disney in the bargain . +things do go somewhat astray during the film's middle segment , which concentrates too much on the main characters at the expense of some of the terrific fairy tale satire which is the movie's greatest strength . +but even then , one can always sit back and enjoy the beautiful computer animation , whose remarkable use here represents yet another dazzling leap forward for the technology . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv313_18198.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv313_18198.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e10513e6f3d04484f8e94f402a928cbe9c2845c0 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv313_18198.txt @@ -0,0 +1,52 @@ +matthew broderick and high school comedy . +the two terms have been practically inseparable since ferris buehler took the day off in 1986 . +now it is 13 years later , and broderick has another high school comedy , election , to show the world . +ferris buehler's day off showed an educational setting that was similar to a pile of marshmallows . +it was light , fluffy , tasty , and sparkling clean . +but election is far different . +this production is a dark , and frighteningly realistic one that does so much more than entertain for the 103 minutes it occupies ; it shocks as well . +jim mcallister ( matthew broderick ) is the type of teacher that makes american high schools proud . +he is a kind , caring , younger man who has built his life around carver high school . +in turn , carver high school has provided a home for him . +jim has won teacher of the year no less than three times in his 12 year span , and is a well respected social studies teacher among the student body . +tracy flick ( reese witherspoon ) is an intelligent , outgoing , and , to quote the film , " super nice " young girl . +she is involved in numerous extracurricular activities , always has her hand up first in class , and is extremely popular among most of the student body . +so , it is a natural progression when she decides to run for school president . +the metzler family is an extremely wealthy one . +the father , dick ( holmes osborne ) , owns a cement company . +the mother , jo ( jeanine jackson ) , is an ideal housewife . +and the two children , paul ( chris klein ) and tammy ( jessica campbell ) , are both students at carver high school . +paul was the quarterback of the football team before he injured himself , and is definitely a candidate for most popular person in school . +tammy is a lesbian who , to say the least , is going through a period of self discovery . +for reasons of revenge , hatred , and sexual envy , jim convinces paul to run against tracy for school president . +he claims that in a democracy you need choices , and having tracy run unopposed creates a dictatorship of sorts . +so paul agrees and the race is on . +but then , in an effort to spite the two candidates , tammy announces that she is running as well . +her campaign is straightforward : people only run to put it on their college applications , then they do nothing . +well , " i don't even want to go to college , " she says . +in election , there are no " good guys " . +almost everyone has their own agenda . +no matter how deeply hidden , the production digs it up and exploits it for the audience . +tracy is the type of person that you remember from high school . +she is the girl that would be labeled " most likely to achieve anything she wants " in the yearbook , and everyone secretly envied her because of that . +jim is a teacher that takes the trust that students give him as a privilege , and uses it to his own amoral advantage . +everyone , including the principal , a former teacher , all the candidates , and even paul's girlfriend are two sided characters . +that is much of this film's beauty , it doesn't have the typical good guys that hollywood likes , instead it is a realistic portrayal of the real world , specializing in revealing the type of sexual perversions that people usually keep to themselves . +matthew broderick couldn't have been any more perfect for this role . +his character is often similar bill murray's award winning role in the 1998 film , rushmore . +of the two acting jobs , broderick's is far superior . +but even he is overshadowed by the young reese witherspoon . +the hatred that she causes the audience to develop towards her , is simply indescribable . +broderick and witherspoon are simply at their best when they are playing off each other in various scenes . +one such moment occurs when she approaches him in his car as he is leaving school one day . +you can see her self pride in her eyes as she presents him a list of signatures , making her an eligible candidate . +and his subtle disgust with her is apparent , although he tries to mask it between the lines and attempts to put on a happy face . +the supporting cast is one with little hollywood experience . +but that is far from apparent as everyone takes control of their part . +however , the real treat is jessica campbell in her confused role as a young homosexual girl . +this is never more apparent than the scene where she delivers her speech announcing her so-called platform for presidency . +she is just marvelous as her hatred towards what she thinks to be an unjust system is expressed . +if ferris buehler made you feel good about american high schools , and gave you an innocent laugh or two , then the movie achieved its goal . +but don't you dare think that election's goals are similar . +it is just as real in its portrayal of high school , as its characters are in the real world . +there certainly is no pile of marshmallows here . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv314_14422.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv314_14422.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..836f3f705b885b6eea2f06209f9ff663a41bfe1e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv314_14422.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +the rocky horror picture show 'special edition' ( 1975 ) +starring : tim curry and susan sarandon +cult films are never mainstream . +the casual viewer of a cult film will look at it and be repulsed and confused , yelling out 'what the hell is that ? ' . +fans of these sorts of movies will be laughing at every other second at all the 'hidden jokes' they missed the first time around while normal movie watchers will look at them like they're insane . +the rocky horror picture show , recently re-released in a 'special edition' to video , is the mother of all cult films . +period . +like some other cult films , most notably little shop of horrors , the rocky horror picture show is a musical with a twisted edge to it . +this movie begins out innocently enough- a couple get engaged at a friend's wedding and get a flat tire in the middle of the night while it's raining . +they go to a castle to try to use the phone . +little do they know that the castle is owned by dr . frank n . furter , a mad transexual transvestite scientist who has recently created a creature he will use for personal reasons . +the acting is pretty good overall . +tim curry ( home alone 2 , legend ) is over-the-top as frank n . furter . +it's interesting to see that this movie was one of future oscar winner susan sarandon's ( dead man walking ) first film- she plays janet , the girlfriend of brad majors . +even the singer meatloaf is in it ! ! +the songs are all very good yet twisted in their own way . +a sampling of titles range from damn it , janet to touch-a touch-a touch-a touch me . +all the actors sing their songs with no dubbing from other actors- kind of a bad thing . +barry bostwick ( brad majors ) tries to sing as does susan sarandon , but tim curry is clearly the most professional having extensive stage experience . +meatloaf sings like meatloaf . +the new special edition contains two original movie trailers of the film as well as two songs deleted from the original version . +sadly , the songs are tacked after the credits- kind of defeats the purpose . +if you want to see a different film , watch this one ! ! diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv315_11629.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv315_11629.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..7474a6b4d6d67204b1ea090ff93a94e76eda6a63 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv315_11629.txt @@ -0,0 +1,56 @@ +confession time : i have never , ever seen gone with the wind . +i don't know why , really . +haven't wanted to check it out on video , haven't been at home the nights it was on network tv , and it was too far to drive the last time it was on the big-screen . +so right up front , i'll admit that i don't know what the heck i'm talking about , but here goes . . . +is titanic the gone with the wind of the 1990's ? +maybe that's going a little bit too far . +as good a job as leonardo dicaprio and kate winslet do in this movie , they're no clark gable and vivien leigh . +but . . . +the parallels are there . +gwtw was the first movie to take real advantage of the most revolutionary technology available -- technicolor . +titanic takes revolutionary steps forward in seamlessly integrating computer graphic design with actors . +gwtw places america's greatest tragedy in the background of a classic love story , titanic does the same with the atlantic's most legendary tragedy . +they both have strong-willed redheaded heroines , they both exploit the class differences between the aristocracy and the slaves/steerage bums , they were both incredibly expensive and popular . . . +ok , maybe that's not enough parallels . +so titanic's not in gwtw's league . +no matter . +titanic is a great movie in its own right , complete with spills , thrills and ( especially ) chills . +much has been made of the humongous cost of the production , and all of the care than went into making the huge luxury liner come alive again . +the money was obviously well-spent . +the costumes look great , the sets look great , the cgi graphics look great . +i especially liked the expensive little touches , like spending tons of money on authentic titanic china only to break it all on the floor as the ship sinks . +but writer/director/producer james cameron's real challenge in writing/directing/ producing titanic wasn't just costuming and set design and special effects . +cameron's major headache was keeping the audience interested in a tale where everybody knows the ending going in . +he succeeds masterfully . +cameron does two things that work incredibly well . +first , he shows us modern-day salvage operations on titanic ( that's just " titanic " , not " the titanic " , mind you ) . +the first glimpse we get of titanic is the ship in its present state , corroding slowly away under the hammering pressure of the north atlantic , from the window of a minisub piloted by treasure hunter brock lovett ( bill paxton ) . +television coverage of the exploration of titanic intrigues 101-year-old rose calvert ( gloria stuart ) , who survived the wreck in 1912 . +stuart does a phenomenal job in a brief role , narrating the story of her experience to a stunned paxton and his roughneck crew . +secondly , cameron keeps the storyline focused almost exclusively on the rose character , and the romantic triangle between rose ( winslet ) , her bastard millionaire fiancee cal hockley ( billy zane ) and the irrepressible young artist jack daswon ( dicaprio ) . +the way that big-budget disaster movies usually go wrong is to have an all-star cast , so we see the impact of the disaster on a wide group of people . +cameron wisely chooses to stick with rose and jack , while paying scant heed to the celebrities on board . +the supporting cast is professional , but mostly anonymous -- other than kathy bates as the unsinkable molly brown , there's no moment when you stop and say , oh , yeah , i know him , what's he been in . + ( although i would like to have seen colm meaney in a white star uniform , or even as the ill-fated engineer . ) +the love story itself is rather conventional . +i think some reviewers found it weak , and that may be a fair criticism . +the performances are the key here . +zane has the meatiest part in the movie , and he plays the arrogant , condescending steel millionaire to the hilt . +he's smooth , he looks great in a tuxedo , and he's a convincing enough jerk that the winslet-dicaprio relationship looks plausible . +at the moment when he sees a little girl too frightened to get aboard a lifeboat , you can hear the wheels in his mind turning , saying not " can i save this little girl ? " , +but " can she help me get on a lifeboat ? " +dicaprio is a revelation . +i hadn't seen him before in anything , and didn't know what the heck to expect , really . + ( honestly , i expected a bad irish accent , but cameron evidently decided that was a bad idea , so dicaprio plays a poor american artist who wins a ticket in a poker game . ) +dicaprio exhibits an infectious joy at being alive , and being on the titanic , that it's hard not to like him . +from the moment that the ship leaves port until it hits the iceberg , dicaprio has to carry the movie and keep our interest , and he never falters . +winslet's character grows up a lot during the movie , and so does her performance . +at first , she's not required to do anything but wear period clothing and look drop-dead gorgeous . +we know from the narration that she's monstrously unhappy with her arranged marriage to zane , but there isn't any expression of these feelings until she encounters dicaprio . +winslet and dicaprio develop a chemistry that manages to propel the movie along until the ship hits the iceberg . +it's at that moment where winslet's character really comes alive . +faced with real danger , she drops her spoiled-rich-girl mannerisms and does a splendid job . +as rose and jack race around the doomed ship , looking for shelter from the freezing water and cal's fiery temper , winslet turns in a superb acting performance , mixing courage and compassion and anger with sheer shrieking terror . +of course , the most interesting character is the ship itself . +cameron has clearly fallen in love with titanic , and shows her in every mood -- as a deserted wreck , down in the boiler room , up on the bridge , down in the hold , at the captain's table , down in steerage -- and manages to bring the great ship back from the dead . +cameron's greatest gift is that he allows us to fall in love with titanic as well . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv316_6370.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv316_6370.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3de4a850552bf28b5445010e8741a2e4362a4ff7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv316_6370.txt @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +if he doesn=92t watch out , mel gibson is in danger of being known as someone other than mad max . +of course there are still a few big guns in this film , but there=92s some accomplished acting too . +although gibson continues to shed his rough and gritty anti-hero skin as his career progresses , here he explores a new genre : the businessman as action hero . +in ron howard=92s latest film , gibson plays tom mullen , a gazillionaire airline owner whose son is snatched from the junior science fair by kidnappers . +mullen at first agrees to pay the ransom , but when things fall apart he rethinks the situation . +a veteran of numerous hard-nosed business negotiations , the tycoon realizes that in order to get his son back alive , he has to play his hand differently . +the casting is what puts this film over the top . +the trio of gibson , the kidnappers' mastermind ( gary sinise ) and fbi team leader ( delroy lindo ) play off of each other wonderfully . +sinise is perfect as the driven scheming sleezebag is right on the mark . +his speech to mullen over a walkie talkie about h . g . wells=92 morlocks and eloi reveal his vision of= +society . mullen and the other glitteratti frolic up on high while sinise and the other lowlifes dwell below , feeding off the unsuspecting . +gibson=92s character is an all-american hero with a few flaws . +his cowboy= +tactics tend to work , but they are also what got him into this situation to begin with . +in a round about way , if he weren=92t known as a man who i= s willing to buy his way out of trouble , his son wouldn=92t have been kidnapped . +as sinise says " you=92re a payer . +you did it once and now you=92re going to do it again . " +one of the nicest elements of this film is that most of the characters actually have personalities . +lindo calls home to talk to his kids , obviously shaken at working this case . +even the kidnappers are real people , arguing about the ultimate fate of sean mullen and feeding him candy bars . +gibson=92s break-down on the balcony of their penthouse apartment is especially effective . +it=92s one of the best filmed representations of a man=92s world falling apart that i=92ve seen . +it=92s not all perfect . +the shoot 'em upending , while emotionally satisfying seems tacked on to be just that rather than to provide a powerful resolution . +as well crafted as the scene is , we=92ve seen it before . +mullen=92s wife ( rene russo ) has several good moments , but occasionally just seems to be there . +while adequate , brawley nolte ( sean ) doesn=92t provide much to the film other than occupying space to build the story around . +but you=92ll ignore these problems as each minute of the movie builds on the previous one . +forget about the large coke , you won=92t want to leave for that five minute break an hour later . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv317_24049.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv317_24049.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..51dc94aae3259da654b7a4557818c6a5fa3da5e7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv317_24049.txt @@ -0,0 +1,48 @@ +john cusack is the kind of actor who seems to effortlessly slide into his respective film roles . +so effortlessly that people tend to forget he's there , much in the way people rarely recall many of the great character actors ( anyone who can put the name james rebhorn with that actor's face is invited to treat themselves to a product from one of my sponsors ) . +example : the other day my mother asked me ( the expert , of course ) if there were any movies out worth seeing , never mind that our tastes couldn't be more divergent--- i'll never forget the day she recommended that i go see a night at the roxbury for god sakes , and to be fair she was mightily pissed at me for telling her that go ! +was a lot of fun ( which it is ) , so i didn't see this as anything more than a futile attempt at conversation . +i muttered , with a little trepidation , that she might enjoy high fidelity . +she responded with her usual query , " whose in that one ? " +this is a question whose answer that seems to immediately conjure up the kind of movie you went to see . +if the reply is julia roberts you probably assume it was something wispy and light , a sylvester stallone movie and you picture a bloodbath with few words and much involuntary bicep flexing , and a woody allen movie means hyper articulate white people ( usually of the jewish faith ) fretting about in some upper east side palace . +anyway , when i answered " john cusack " , she replied with a rather stunned " who ? " , as if it was unreasonable for her to know whom i was referring to . +now i know for a fact that my mother has seen several cusack movies , most recently being john malkovich and pushing tin , but i suppose it's understandable that she would not recognize the name , after all , for most , names are tougher than faces . +i showed her a picture of cusack's mug in the paper hoping for an " oh - him , yes he's quite good " instead i got a " no - i don't know him " . +at this point i was way beyond frustration into a realm of nose hair yanking anger ( yes , filmic ignorance is all it takes to get me into the nose hair pulling zone ) , till i realized something : i doubt that much of america would recognize cusack's relatively bland visage , or even the name which is rather bland compared to the coolness of a brad pitt or tom cruise , one-syllable names that glide off the tongue with the velocity of a speeding car . +cu-sack . cu-sack - no , not quite as cool . +i'm sure that twenty years from now cusack will forever be referred to as " the guy from ( add in the cusack film of your choice ) " . +he's not a brand name , and his movies usually aren't big moneymakers , but in his own unassuming way he's kind of a genius . +with his pleasant , common man looks , and charming semi-articulate blatherings he has become one of the most likeable romantic leading men of the 90's . +from the sure thing to say anything cusack has merged the talents of early tom hanks and early jack lemmon . +despite the fact that nearly every character he plays is a variation of the character before it ( the schlumpy every man ) , he's a constantly enjoyable screen persona , like albert brooks or woody allen . +and he knows how to chose scripts , while the stephan baldwin's and val kilmer's seem to put them selves in everything ( the former actually had the insight to follow up oscar winner usual suspects with a pauly shore vehicle , and judging from his latest projects it looks like he still has yet to fire his agent ) , cusack generally picks rewarding projects ( save for the unwatchable hot pursuit , a 1988 film also featuring a young ben stiller ) . +high fidelity is his second collaboration with hit or miss english director stephan fears ( the grifters , the hi-lo country ) , and it's a hit . +it was also co-written by cusack , and some of his collaborators on the terrific comedy , grosse point blank . +it's not quite as entertaining or as funny as that film , but as it progresses in its meandering fashion , the movie cast something of a spell over me . +high fidelity begins as a hipster ode to the non-committal rob , a vinyl record store owner , who opens the film by breaking down the fourth wall with much abandon and educating us in his " top 5 break ups list " . +this is something cusack does the entire film a la ferris bueller's day off . +at first the talking-directly-into-the-camera-schtick had me vaguely annoyed , mostly because it reminded me so much of the film body shots which used a similar conceit , but it began to grow on me due almost entirely to cusack's witty delivery . +he's the kind of guy we don't mind talking directly to us . +gradually the film settles into a shampoo-like tragi-comic character study , of a guy who must confront himself and his personal failures in order to figure out the true person he is ( yes it's all very existential ) . +though that plot-line is mostly enjoyable , the thing i liked the most about the film is how much pleasure it offers in introducing us to minor characters , all of whom ( now this is really something ) are terrific enough to warrant their own films . +the best of which is jack black ( of the very funny show tenacious d , a program that sadly went the way of bruce willis' hair ? ? ? unfortunately that annoying smirk remains ) , an ardent record store employee who bullies customers into buying exactly what he wants them to buy . +he's the kind of guy i'm sure we've all met before , a blowhard who thinks he's always right and will do anything in his power ( be it yell , argue , insult ) to hoist his opinion onto others . +but i like this guy , because of how black plays him . +the actor is portly with a round baby face and crazy eyes , but despite his size he leaps to and fro like a manic speed freak ( which might be a bit of a redundant description , seeing as how all the speed freaks i know are manic ) . +he's the kind of supporting character who would be impossibly annoying comic relief in most other films . + ( look at what that hack jan de bont did to poor phillip seymour hoffman in twister ) . +but fears and black never let that happen . +the character , for all his shucking and jiving is steeped in reality . +he's over the top , but in a way we can all probably relate to . +catherine zeta-jones , in her brief role , gives a vivid portrayal of a women completely enamored with her own " charm " . +tim robbins registers in an even tinier part as a new age-type , a character played entirely for cartoon yuks , but still manages to work its desired comic effect . +the one exception in the acting department is a bit of a doozy , the main love interest played by danish actress iben hjejle ( mifune ) , who completely obliterates any trace of a danish accent , replacing it with a stilted american phonation . +i give her kudos for attempting such a contradictory role , but instead of being likeable , she comes across as rather robotic , and as such it's hard to see why cusack's character would be so obsessed with her especially when he has a beautiful , intelligent writer ( natasha gregson wagner ) potentially waiting in the wings . +this reminded me of say anything , where the charming cusack was paired with the charmless ione skye , and in midnight in the garden of good and evil where the poor bastard had to put up with alison eastwood ( whose unbelievably more wooden then father , clint for those " special people " whose wheels turn a little slower ) . +in fact cusack is rarely paired up with a personality that matches his , though i'd bet that if laura and natasha switched roles , the result would be more effective . +high fidelity works almost entirely on the strength of its characters and performances . +fears' direction is somewhat stilted , and the script is sometimes a little too ( and this is a word i'm beginning to hate to use but alas i must ) quirky for its own good ( i think i'll blame that on scott rosenberg , who judging from what he did with beautiful girls , con air , and things to do in denver while your dead , has his fingerprints all over the most irritating bits of this movie ) . +but cusack really does deserve an award , for being so damn ? ? ? cusackian . +i'm afraid that his talents are so understated that he may have to wait till his hip needs replacing to be offered such an award worthy of his considerable talent . +his character , rob ( whose sort of like an older , more bitter lloyd from say anything ) is funny and tragic without being pathetic , and that cusack can do all this , and still not imprint himself onto the minds of most audiences , is something of an achievement . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv318_10493.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv318_10493.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..151d0fe849b9800d44b9b50a2ec957bab55a3edf --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv318_10493.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +only a year after the initial release of " scream , " the horror send-up from veteran horror director wes craven and screenwriter kevin williamson that seemed to breathe new life into the slasher genre , the inevitable sequel " scream 2 " has arrived in our theaters . +while the tongue-in-cheek , parodic element is still noticeable in this film , it's really a sideshow to a broader commentary on violence and the media and a more conventional horror story . +the first film , while often violent and gruesome , was mostly lacking in genuine scares because almost every scene was played for camp value and the discussion of the quirks and cliches of horror movies was nearly constant . +the premise of " scream 2 " is that a series of copycat killings begin when a movie called " stab , " based on a book written by opportunistic reporter gail weathers ( courtney cox ) about the events in " scream , " is released and two audience members are killed during the opening screening . +i had heard about this scene before i went to see the film and was surprised to find this sequence largely lacking in camp comedy . +its conclusion , in which a bleeding , wounded woman stumbles in front of the screen and dies in front of an audience that cheers on because they think it's a publicity stunt , is more surreal and disturbing than anything else . +the satire in " scream 2 " thus takes on a broad focus and gradually evolves into an exploration of media perceptions in general . +although resident horror film geek randy ( jamie kennedy ) is back with fresh dialogue about sequels ( and , interestingly enough , how they are usually inferior to their predecessors ) , the characters in this movie are drawing from other entries in the pop culture encyclopedia as well . +everything from " friends " and " saved by the bell " to " showgirls " and " terminator 2 " is referenced here ; horror is only one of many genres available for lampooning , and there aren't any " wes carpenter " jokes this time . +more importantly , this film portrays characters willing to go to disturbing lengths for media attention as well as characters whose perceptions have clearly been warped by what they have seen on tv and film . +the killings are clearly an imitation of the previous murders from " scream " ( in fact , the culprit even plans to use the influence of horror movies as a courtroom defense ) , weathers exploits the situation for her own notoriety , and one man seems willing to save the heroine's life only if it will earn him an interview on the today show . +understandably , " scream 2 " does not go so far as to actually blame the movies , but rather shows that those who do imitate horror movies are already sick and twisted . +couple that with the fact that several of the characters , most notably the lead character sidney prescott ( neve campbell ) , are fairly well-developed and that there are some genuine moments of spine-chilling suspense , and what we have is a pretty darned good horror movie in its own right . +we don't just get the horror of scary masks and graphic gore - we also get the horror of sympathetic characters who seem helpless as their friends are slaughtered ( and , in one case , a significant character who was an audience favorite even bites the dust ) and whose lives have been reduced to constant fear of a crazed murderer lurking around the corner . +while i have not seen any of his other work , it's easy to see why craven is generally touted as the most sophisticated " slasher film " director , as he clearly cares about something more than just the actual acts of slashing . +unfortunately , " scream 2 " occasionally reverts to the time-honored horror tradition of throwing logic out the window . +for example , several characters seem quite clearly dead and inexplicably turn up alive later - there has been a running gag in both movies about the villain being able to pull off this particular trick , but it also happens with other characters and in an even less believable fashion . +there are also a few scenes in which the killer suddenly appears behind the next victim in a situation such that ( s ) he clearly would have been seen moving in that direction . +as for the question of whether or not " scream 2 " is yet another sequel not as good as its predecessor . + . + . +well , it's hard to say . +i gave the first " scream " 3 1/2 stars as well because it worked pretty consistently as a light-hearted send-up . + " scream 2 " bounces all over the place stylistically , but it does a better job delivering the genuine scares and asking the questions about media violence that were only hinted at in the first installment . +i'm not sure which is the better movie , but i did leave the theater convinced of one thing : sequels , however much randy might argue , do not necessarily suck . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv321_12843.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv321_12843.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f785646aace81ed7d3cf976d499b9bc4c0da4097 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv321_12843.txt @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +it must be some sort of warped critical nightmare : the best movie of the year would be a summer vehicle , a jim carrey vehicle at that . +and so it is . +_the truman show_ is the most perplexing , crazed , paranoid and rib-tickling morality play i've seen since i-don't-know-when . +don't credit carrey . +it starts with andrew niccol ( gattaca ) , who created the script ten years ago . +the story , replete with sublte religious and philisophical undertones , is about a man who discovers that every day of his existence has been televised for a mass audience . + ( ironically , it was within these past ten years that " reality-based " television have become a predominant fixture into our culture . +who knew ? ) +one-upping niccol , it was when unlikely candidate-director peter weir took the helm that things fell into place . +weir had the nearly impossible task to create the unimitible tone , deftly mixing capra with kafka , throwing george bailey in a universe inhabited by rod serling . +it was weir's first stroke of genius to create seahaven : a suburban paradise/prison that would make spielberg cower in shame . +for example , bystander-extras would walk around the block incessantly with flowers along with the latest issue of _dog fancy_ . +the nicest touch are the plethora of subtle hints for truman to _not_ leave the island . +credit weir for his second stroke : the casting of carrey . +carrey seems to be the type of character actor who would always turn " on " and act goofy whenever the camera is near . +not here . +his performance is so subverted you sometimes wonder if he is ever aware the camera is on . +and although carrey does not deserve an academy award nomination ( just as well , the academy rarely honors goofy comedians , excepting robin williams ) , he stretches enough to alter his hyper-silly image considerably . +playing one who has the cameras constantly invading his most intimate moments turns to be quite the role of jim carrey's life . +no pun intended . +better in a smaller , more pivotal role is ed harris as christof , who mixes the right amount of his apollo 13 " work the problem , people " character with dustin hoffman's megaglomaniac producer in _wag the dog_ , and then only slightly svengalian . +it is clear that he is torn between the nielson ratings and truman's well being . +yes , in his own misguided way he loves truman as a father to a son , and has provided the best universe he could provide . +he thinks . +rounding out the cast is natascha mcelhone ( mrs . +dalloway ) as carrey's true " forbidden love " , sylvia , very effective in another pivotal small role . +laura linney ( congo ) and noah emmerich ( copland ) have the unfortunate task of playing truman's wife and best friend ; their sitcom-ish dialogue allow little room for any authentic character development . +the exception is at the very beginning , where they speak into the camera , wholeheartedly believing that their participation is truly good for truman , and for society in general . +there are other little problems with the script . +are we to assume that toddler truman had no recollection of hearing the construction of such a gigantic dome during his formative years ? +was there any reason as to why in one scene , it rained solely on truman , even though it never had to ? +how is it they hire hundreds of extras , and none of them could drive a boat , and yet truman , fearful of water , is helming a sailboat effortlessly ? +and couldn't christof have turned off the wind , to strand truman at sea ? +these little contrivances , however , do not hold a candle to the overall effect of the work . +the audience gets the feeling that it is watching the actual show , and we are drawn to truman's mundane existence for no other reason than it is there . +the final result effortlessly combines the emotional happy ending of a mainstream picture with a gnawing discomfort that hits you square in the gut . +upon leaving the theater , i was looking up in the sky , wondering if it was nothing more than a gigantic dome . +just checking . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv322_20318.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv322_20318.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..092978b5028ed1c3dfb4ec08ac39b542a9466551 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv322_20318.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18 @@ +now , lets first look into the history of shark films . +there was the unforgettable jaws . +the exciting jaws 2 . the rather flaky jaws 3d and sometime in the late 90s another film of the same genre that i can't seem to recall ( about the son of jaws returning to wreak revenge or something like that ) . +now , with the magic of cgi , one shark is simply not enough ; in deep blue sea , there are 3 big , mean and really smart ones ! +russell frankiln ( jackson ) visits aquatica ( a sea-bound research center ) , where a research is being conducted on the extraction of a hormone substance found uniquely within the shark brain that can cure and reverse the effects of alzheimer's disease . +the substance is small in quantity and because of this , lead researcher dr . susan macalaester genetically alters the shark dna and grows them twice the size with brains as big as humans , naturally producing more of the much treasured hormones . +as sure as the sun sets in the west , a shark breaks lose and wreaks havoc within the facility during a hormone extraction procedure . +with the flexibility offered by cgi , the sharks get more full-length screen time as their predecessors did in those remote-controlled rubber suit days . +gone are the days of people getting pulled under the water with the water turning red right after . +this time , we get to see the entire gobbling action , with floating limbs and all . +so-so acting , expected in most of your average action film . +jackson ( fresh from his jedi master role in the phantom menace ) , takes on the dark-side force of a different kind and fits well with his wise-cracking lines . +ll cool j's cook role as preacher , does for this film what steven seagal's cook could only dream to achieve in his two under siege films . +deep blue sea does not offer any of the psychological thrills that jaws has to offer . +it does however , prove to be a refreshing follow-up within the genre , full of visual thrills , suspense and believe it or not  humour ! +its like jurassic park under water . +nothing too stressful , pure entertainment . +renny harlin , you are forgiven ( for making cutthroat island ) . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv323_29805.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv323_29805.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8e83b7eca8bc6fddb5914351a6439b6a0e8a680a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv323_29805.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +this is the best british gangster film since the long good friday . +jon bennet ( played by andrew howard ) is an extremely good assassin . +as such he is probably an evil man but it does not worry him . +he has become an unquestioning weapon . +he is in the employ of a kingpin ( david calder ) far more evil than he is . +but even assassins have innocent pasts . +he runs into an old from school days and he is married to a mutual girl friend from school . +complicating matters is that they live near where he had a recent job and their young daughter may have seen him at the crime . +a big piece of what makes this film work is the depiction of the kingpin . +calder is a familiar actor in britain , though not frequently seen in the us . +he was seen in the world is not enough . +here he creates one of the best screen villains in recent years . +he is at once seductive and repellent like a beautiful venomous snake . +his lair is underground , apparently in a sewer , where he lives like the king of sewer rats . +it is the kingpin who pulls the strings that will control bennet's life . +paul sarossy who directs spent most of his career as a cinematographer and like the kingpin's lair , he has molded images of class and style out of the darkness . +by using semi-darkness and letting the colors of deep blue and black dominate every scene he makes the film visually as ominous as anything in this nether world . +this is a world that is cold and unfriendly . +sorossy creates a world of violence much more by what we hear than what we see . +this is a film with a great deal of physical violence occurring just out of reach . +we see very little but we hear a great deal more and we imagine more than that . +the screenplay is by peter waddington based on the novel by neil cross , but it is sarossy's film all the way . +it creates indelible images of evil . +i rate it an 8 on the 0 to 10 scale and a low +3 on the -4 to +4 scale . + ( i do hope they do not use the tagline " don't mess with mr . in-between . " ) diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv324_7082.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv324_7082.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0d32561caeb974d2842c68d4a1aeec5130b4de5d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv324_7082.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +produced by robert lantos & stephen j . roth +directed by douglas williams +mpaa : not rated ( though from language , violence , medical-gross-outs , and sexual content , i'd put it at pg ) +though made in canada , " overdrawn at the memory bank " traces its roots to the bbc school of film production . +using , for the most part , cheap computer and video special effects , chyron text , wildlife documentary footage , and sets that are sometimes obviously faked up , it nonetheless manages to tell a good enough science fiction story that by the time you're twenty minutes into it , you should be hooked . +raul julia plays aram fingal , a drone data processing worker for novicorp whose active imagination and predilection for hacking gets him into trouble with authority . +caught watching " casablanca " on his desk monitor , fingal is sentenced to " doppling " rehabilitation--he is to spend forty-eight hours in the body of a baboon . + ( how exactly this is supposed to rehabilitate him is anybody's guess . ) +as it happens , thanks to a visiting schoolboy's prank , his body is temporarily misplaced , and his mind has to be shunted into the central computer to keep him alive until they can find it . +as time ticks away before his memory cube self-destructs , the frantic search for his body is on . . . while +fingal first creates a virtual reality fantasy world , then finds there's no better way to hack the system than from the inside . +during the chaos , computer technician apollonia james ( linda griffiths ) maintains contact with fingal through a datalink , manifesting several different times to offer advice or warnings . +over the course of their interactions , interest on both their parts grows into a budding romance . +given that " casablanca " is fingal's favorite film , and the basis for his fantasy world , a great deal of the movie is homage to " casablanca " . +in fact , the humphrey bogart and peter lorre characters make appearances ( played by julia in a dual role and louis negin , respectively ) in a bar called " the place " . +julia's portrayal of bogart is passable , and avoids becoming the " schweethaat " -spouting parody seen in cartoons . +negin's peter lorre is quite credible , and easily the best peter lorre i've ever seen who wasn't the real thing . +the two of them , as characters created by fingal's imagination , serve as aspects of his personality , driving him on in his quest to hack the computer system . +those aren't the only casablanca characters to put in appearances . +the sydney greenstreet character also happens to be around . . . as " the fat man " , the alternate aspect of the film's main villain , the novicorp chairman ( donald c . moore ) . +while fingal's body is lost , the fat man tries to stop him from hacking the system . . . with +less than salutory results . +it's interesting to note the futuristic slang words that are thrown about left and right during the film , in the best golden-age science fiction tradition . +words like " dopple " , " psychist " , " computech " , " cinema " , and " reconst " are apparently in common use . +and while people of today may well laugh at fourteen years past's idea of futuristic data processing clerks , some aspects of this film are surprisingly perfectly in keeping with the way we think of " virtual reality " today . +as cyberpunk films go , this may not be a staple of the genre , but it's definitely recommended viewing . +the special effects are very primitive , placing this production in the realm of low-to-medium-budget television . +the music is completely electronic-synthesized , which fits the low budget but isn't really out of keeping with the genre . +however , the writing quite makes up for it . +there are some very funny moments , and quite a few little in-jokes that one needs to have seen " casablanca " to appreciate properly . +all in all , i give " overdrawn at the memory bank " a . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv325_16629.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv325_16629.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..79b0138651cf85f2daba6fb3d38a011b38ffdf7f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv325_16629.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +i remember hearing about this film when it first appeared at cannes over a year ago , picking up the grand jury prize at the festival . +'holocaust comedy receives standing ovation' , the headlines read . +intrigued by this statement , i looked up information on the film and found that , sure enough , life is beautiful is in fact a comedy about the greatest atrocity of the last thousand years . +even though the movie was extremely well-received by critics and public alike , i couldn't help but be disgusted at this notion ; human tragedy is not something i feel should be celebrated . +only now do i see the error of my ways . +after finally viewing the film for myself after avoiding it for some time , it became clear that it is not , as the headlines proclaimed , a " holocaust comedy " ; on the contrary , life is beautiful does not even really depict the graphic events that took place in nazi deathcamps . +rather , it focuses on the relationship between a father and his son , who he is trying desperately to shield from the horrors of their situation . +roberto benigni ( who also wrote and directed the movie ) stars as guido orefice , a chaplin-inspired clown and all round jolly guy who , as the film opens , is vying for the affections of an attractive school teacher ( nicoletta braschi , benigni real life spouse ) . +through the course of the first hour or so , we see guido striving to get the attention of this " beautiful princess " , as he calls her . +employing the magic of laughter , the italian comedian wins her heart and together , they raise a young boy named giosue ( child actor giorgio cantarini ) . +life treats them well until hitler's minions rise to power , and the family is whisked away to a german camp , where guido becomes convinced that he must upholds his son's innocence no matter what the sacrifice . +granted , it contains some uproariously funny moments both in and out of the concentration camp , but it does not pull a " hogan's heros " and make light of the slaughtering of some six million innocent jews . +somehow , it achieves hilarity without disrespecting it's gravely serious subject . +so , we've established that life is beautiful is not a " holocaust comedy " . +but , there is another complete misrepresentation of this material that really disturbs me . +the film , despite critic's declarations of it being a " triumph of the human spirit " , is no such thing ; not in my eyes , anyway . +some have called the story an " affirmation of the beauty of life " , but i say it is a very dark and bleak statement about man's capability of denial masquerading as an endearing comedy . +the film's ending has been recognized as the most entirely uplifting moment of any film released recently , but i found it to be truly discerning and upsetting . +essentially , life is beautiful is quite possibly the greatest hoax in the history of film . +however , i am not denying the movie's greatness . +believe me , it's fantastic . +i'm just saying that i think benigni did something different than what most people are interpreting it as . +but perhaps i'm reading more into the movie than is really there . +maybe the film's brilliance relies on the idea that the viewer can interpret the meaning of it in any way they see fit . +in fact , maybe roberto benigni has made a film that is the sole argument for the old saying that you get out of a movie exactly what you put into it . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv326_13295.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv326_13295.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c87711d1036d25c31a1000374a5e21c8039b2ed3 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv326_13295.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +most movies seem to release a third movie just so it can be called a trilogy . +rocky iii seems to kind of fit in that category , but manages to be slightly unique . +the rocky formula of " rocky loses fight/rocky trains/rocky wins fight " is carried out to the letter . +also the 'tradition' of showing the last five minutes or so from the past rocky film is used as well . +this movie begins with a series of clips showing how famous rocky ( sylvester stallone ) has become . . . +even showing a brief appearance on sesame street ! ! +then it moves on with rocky being in a fixed fight with thunderlips ( hulk hogan ) . +a mysterious bad-ass known as clubber lang ( mr . t ) trash-talks to rocky about his stupid decision to retire from boxing and that he " pities the fool " for not coming out and fighting him outright . +rocky's trainer ( burgess meredith ) tells rocky not to fight , but the italian stallion doesn't listen . +naturally , he gets his ass kicked . +somewhere along the line after this several things happen . +rocky's longtime trainer dies , causing rocky to train with his former opponent apollo creed . +rocky's wife complains to her husband that he should fight . +the final fight ensues between clubber and rocky . +guess who wins ? +the winner's name rhymes with 'smocky' . +the movie is entertaning mainly because of clubber lang's over the top performance . +the dramatic aspect has been toned down considerably since rocky ii and now action seems to be the strong point of the film . +which is good if you like fighting scenes . +the last match is quite decent actually . +if you liked the previous films , rent this one . +it's well worth seeing if you are a fan of the series . +but if you can't stand rocky shouting " adrianne ! ! ! " +one more time , see something else . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv327_20292.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv327_20292.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..86beed309e5ca14566eb0e99490746b514d12f49 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv327_20292.txt @@ -0,0 +1,67 @@ +review : a dog of flanders is the story of an adorable little boy named nello and his trials and tribulations in 19th century flanders . +living with his grandfather jehan ( jack warden ) in poverty , nello finds happiness in his life in spite of difficult times ( they are renting a spare one-room cottage , and the greedy , malevolent landlord who owns it threatens to throw them `out of the house' if they don't pay the rent ) . +nello also has a rather creative talent for drawing some of the most beautiful pictures that i have ever seen , in either a movie or in real life . + ( his hero is peter paul rubens , the great flemish painter of the 17th century . ) +not that these are the only things that make nello's life happy , however . +he has a dog of flanders , whom he names patrasche , who is a heroic rin-tin-tin of the 19th century , whom he rescues from his cruel , unkind master . +in addition , he even has a best friend ( and future sweetheart ) in the lovely , wealthy aloise , whose father strongly disapproves of her hanging out with `lower-class' nello . + ( he thinks he's not good enough for her , and he would hate the idea of the two kids marrying . ) +but then , he was a poor guy himself before he married ( as mentioned later on in the film ) . +one day , nello encounters a mysterious , yet kindhearted artist named michel la grande ( played wonderfully by jon voight ) , who tells the boy to keep drawing from his heart , and that perhaps one day he might land a career in being an artist . +and every christmas , there is a contest on which is the most beautiful painting of the year ; the winner getting a lot of money . +eager to save his home ( and his aging , dying grandfather ) , nello willingly decides to become an artist , asking aloise to pose for him . +one night , the two travel to a circus , where they have their fortune told ? one of the film's most delightful scenes ? that great happiness is destined for them . +she gives the kids a ring , whom nello places on aloise's hand . + ; ) afterwards , the two kids have a rollickingly good time dancing around in front of circus performers . +unfortunately , things are not all `la-dee-dah' in this tale . +aloise's father finally becomes so angry with nello that he forbids him to ever see aloise again . +bad enough that they can't see each other ( although we know nello and aloise , don't we ? ) , but that's only the start of nello's troubles . +aloise's farm is burned down , and nello is wrongfully accused ( by the landord of his cottage ) for starting the fire in order to take revenge on being forbidden to see aloise . +this decreases nello's reputation around the town , save aloise and her parents , and a kindly miller , william , who is very sweet to nello every time he drops by . +matters get much worse for nello when his grandfather dies , and he has to pay for his funeral . +but then things really get nasty when the landlord exiles nello from his own home ( for not paying his rental ) ? permanetly . +this means that nello and patrasche have to starve and walk out in the cold , freezing wind . +worst of all , the painting that he has desperately been working on during all this time , `the portrait of the princess' , fails to win the prize at the festival . +now nello and patrasche are really depressed , and close to freezing to death . +will nello be able to find any happiness in his life ? +will patrasche save the day ? +will nello make the fateful trip to join his mother and grandfather in paradise ? +a dog of flanders is a delightful , heartwarming family film that is sure to entertain kids of all ages . +even older ones who consider themselves too `sophisticated' for kiddie fare will be surprised to hear that this film is for grown-ups , too . +there have been other movies of this ilk ( boy and dog ) , and while this one falls into that category , it is mostly a story about overcoming difficulties and finding a good home for yourself . +move over ? or rather , roll over ? old yeller , this dog of flanders is a heartwarming delight . +the cinematography , courtesy of walther van den ende is beautiful , and really adds to the powerful drama of the film . +it also gives a feel of being in flanders ( the whole film was respectably shot in flanders ) . +the music from richard friedman is also remarkable ; an evocative , poignant score that recaptures music from the 19th century . +the opening song over the credits is very beautiful ( i hope the soundtrack is available ! ) , and there's a brief excerpt of `cheer up , charlie' from willy wonka and the chocolate factory ( sung by aloise , to nello , in another delightful scene ) . +the cast is first-rate : jesse james and jeremy james kissner , who play nello , are some of the most endearing , adorable young stars i have ever seen in my whole life ( so are the girls who play aloise , madyline sweeten as the younger , and farren monet as the older ) . +not that they are the only good stars , however . +jack warden is ideal as jehan , eliciting just the right amount of humor and compassion required for the character . + ( the scenes involving him and nello are heartwarming , touching ones . ) +also , bruce mcgill is charming as the kindly miller william . +he's another one of my favorite characters in the film . +but jon voight , as i mentioned before , is the perfect choice for michel . +he brings a mysterious , yet gentle performance that makes us all feel good again when he reassures insecure nello that he * can * win the contest . +but what makes this film fun to watch is how well-defined the characters are , and the pace of the story ( best of all , it has a happy ending ? though i will * not * give it away ; sorry ) is strong and powerful enough for us to identify with the characters . +for the first time since the beginning of 1999 , there comes a film which doesn't rely on popular formula stuff , such as big-budget special effects , commercial rock soundtracks , or any of that stuff . +this one relies on telling a fully character-oriented story , with just the right amount of heart , humor , and drama . +that , to me , is what makes a dog of flanders all the more delightful . +eleanor o'sullivan of `the home news & tribune' noticed this , and was kind and generous enough to welcome it : `for want of a better word , a glow surrounds a dog of flanders . +its heart is in the right place and it engages you . +you can guess where the film is going because this is well-traveled territory , but with pros like voight and appealing young performers like kissner , an often-told story is well worth a revisit . ' +in addition , there were a couple of other enthusiasts , such as chicago-sun times and the washington post ( you should read their reviews ; they're really positive ) . +other critics , however , were not so kind . +stephen holden of `the new york times' had more than a share of beatings to lay upon a dog of flanders via pen writing . +he found the film to be a `sea of sugary bromides' and condemned mr . voight's character as `hopelessly wooden ? adopts an accent even more indeterminate than the one he came up with for anaconda . ' +in addition , `entertainment weekly' slam-dunked the film , condemning it as `the worst family film of the year . ' +there have been so many other bad reviews like this , too . +my suggestion : disregard the critics . +they just have a big problem with touching family films , and one should never pay attention to them . +this dog of flanders may only be a little `family' movie ( it probably won't be a big hit in the style of titanic , but then again no other film has been since then ) , but that is not a bad thing in and of itself . +this is a story that is sure to warm your heart , and that is what really matters about a dog of flanders . +it is also one of the better family films around this year . +none of the other films i have seen this year ( though they were good ) have been so low-key and touching . +if you're looking for family-style entertainment , look no further than this charming boy-and-dog yarn . +go see it while you still can , for as i mentioned , it might not be a big bow-wow at the box office for a long time . +see it while you can . +there is really no need to compare a multi-million dollar blockbuster such as star wars : episode i ? the phantom menace or tarzan , or even the iron giant with a tender , sweet little family movie . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv329_29370.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv329_29370.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..430a4cbd4dc142de458a7e3292b445e02d6c23d8 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv329_29370.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14 @@ +synopsis : retiring detective jerry black ( nicholson ) becomes involved in the case of a murdered girl , and promises her parents that he will find the killer . +he purchases a gas station on a route he believes the killer takes , and there befriends lori ( wright penn ) and her young daughter . +as jerry and lori fall in love , can he do what must be done to fulfill his pledge ? +review : at first , " the pledge " appears to be just another standard , if well-executed , crime drama . +it is anything but ; in its final hour , it turns the corner and becomes a riveting , terrifying study of its lead character , jerry black . +penn pays attention to all the trappings of the serial killer genre , but they are just window dressing . +his interest here , unequivocally , is jerry , a man so haunted by his pledge that it consumes the entirety of the his existence . +at first , we see this only in small hints ; some of his habits change , for instance , and he suddenly takes up smoking in a big way . +but then , when jerry buys the gas station and befriends lori , the true extent of his mania draws horrifyingly into focus . +nicholson is fantastic , portraying black with rare subtlety and animus ; jerry's gradual descent into obsession is like a car wreck , a thing horrible to look at but impossible to turn away from . +penn coaxes good supporting performances from much of the rest of his cast , too . +only eckhart disappoints as jerry's replacement , stan ; he never seems entirely convincing , too much a tool of the plot . +penn's direction is astounding , each frame looking as though it is parched -- of water , perhaps , or of sanity . +it all builds up to a shattering , devastating climax which lingers uncomfortably in the mind long after the house lights have come up . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv330_29809.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv330_29809.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e9d1de72e1fac6fdb530e46ffdbc595a50542b8b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv330_29809.txt @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +one never quite knows what one is going to get with a mamet film . +his american buffalo is a set-bound piece that has very little plot . +sometimes he will tell a story that really moves . +heist is mamet doing his most entertaining work . +unlike his the spanish prisoner , there are no lapses in credibility . +heist is probably the best mamet thriller since house of games . +it is the kind of plot with which you are never sure who will double-cross whom , and frequently it is mamet double-crossing the viewer . +watching the film's team getting around security the viewer is frequently asking himself either " what the heck are they doing ? " +or " why didn't anybody think of that before ? " +appropriately enough heist opens with a very clever jewelry store job . +it is so clever that one wonders if mamet really thinks up all these ideas himself or if he has help from professional magician and con expert ricky jay , now a regular actor in mamet films . +this is a robbery that works like a well-oiled machine . +there is just one problem and it is enough to get joe moore ( played by gene hackman ) filmed on a security camera . +now joe has to get out of the business . +it was coming time anyway . +joe's team including bobby blane ( delroy lindo ) , fran moor ( rebecca pidgeon ) , and pinky pincus ( ricky jay ) is going to split up and go separate ways . +but crime boss bergman ( danny devito ) is pulling the strings and he says that joe and his people have to manage one more robbery . +and he has to take along a young kid , the short- fused jimmy silk ( sam rockwell ) . +immediately it is obvious that there is more going on than meets the eye . +much of what distinguishes heist is mamet's dialog . +remarkably it serves a double purpose . +the robbery team sounds at once very professional and at the same time it has mamet's special feel for dialog . +hackman has lines like " everybody needs money . +that's why they call it money . " +mamet's timing is perfect in the direction but terrible in the production . +the plot is coincidentally a lot like the plot of the recent the score , which is , in fact , a very similar story . +both are good films , perhaps for some of the same reasons . +but at least on a high level they are much the same story . +the other problem with the timing of heist is that it involves airport security and clever ways to get around them . +i saw the film at the toronto international film festival on september 12 , 2001 . +that made the subject matter just a little too timely . +my understanding is that the release will be delayed . +my biggest problem with the film is that rebecca pidgeon's acting at times seems very poor . +it is some kind of mamet trademark i do not understand to have women talk without inflection , as if they are just reading the words for the first time . +it is an irritation and distracts us from what is otherwise a very good thriller . +it is one i rate an 8 on the 0 to 10 scale and a high +2 on the -4 to +4 scale . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv331_8273.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv331_8273.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4685ae96141eeac5e6bd2166861c5729bcffb0fb --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv331_8273.txt @@ -0,0 +1,41 @@ +'contact' shows why jodie foster is one of our best actresses . +see contact with your family . +it is a movie for all ages . +--a review by stuart cracraft +contact starring : jodie foster , matthew mcconaughey , john hurt director : robert zemeckis star +after a predictable mit phillip morrison powers-of-10 zoom-out start ( which can be surprising to those not familiar with prof . morrison's work ) , contact picks up steam , gradually , building , by-the-end , an irresistable juggernaut and a very good movie that does not as is so often the case fall out-of-balance in terms of too much pandering to the technological " geek " side . +by the end , the audience is left with what good science fiction is supposed to do : evoke a sense of wonder about the universe and evoke questions in your mind about what's out there . +this movie does not let technology overshadow characterization and in this sense it is unusual amongst high-tech movies . +however , except for jodie foster ( elie arroway ) and john hurt ( s . r . +hadden ) , who are both actors of exceptional caliber , the supporting cast are not especially impressive . +hurt certainly has had better roles ( stephen ward in scandal ) . +this one , as the multi-billionare hadden , does not do his acting skills justice . +this is clearly a foster movie by one of the great hollywood lights of our generation . +foster's radiance has never been more strong than in the scene where she finally meets the vegans on their terms . +early scenes take a long , long time to build up to this . +the movie's pacing is very good and subtle . +the panoramas of the radio dishes at arecibo and ceti in new mexico and puerto rico are beautiful . +the politics of foster's character attempting to obtain funding for research at these places are trite and predictable however . +one of the most entertaining , but very short scenes , is when foster is confronted by rob lowe , during a cabinet-level presidential meeting to discuss the alien invitation . +there were real sparks in this scene between foster and lowe and it would behoove them to consider other vehicles in which this dynamism could be explored . +it is the only scene in the movie in which there were tremendous dynamics between two characters . +everything else was very one-sided ( e . g . +foster ) . +lowe can stand up to foster and it showed in that scene at the cabinet table . +the core scene of the movie is set on a surrealistic beach on a far-away world in the starsystem of vega . +it feels a lot like science fiction writer john varley's scenes in his book steel beach , where the female protagonists encounters an immensely superior intelligence , in one case a computer manufactured by mankind itself , and in foster's case , an illusion drawn from her memory . +in another sense , this immensely moving scene evokes gene roddenberry's star trek pilot the cage , later the menagerie , when jeffrey hunter and susan oliver have their memories manipulated to create new worlds in which they live and encounter aliens . +the concept is not new , by any sense , in the world of science fiction . +but the beach scene , which is the centerpiece of the film , as is the whole film , is driven by foster . +freed from her needs to direct by director zemecki , foster is able to let it all hang out in the characterization and the lead she provides to her supporting cast . +as the movie gains speed , foster's acting intensifies and the audience really does experience it with her . +it is certainly oscar-caliber acting , unquestionably . +the supporting cast does well and zemeckis throws in some humor with some president clinton cameos , cleverly manipulated , george stephanopolus-style , to seem very forrest gump . +in fact , zemeckis et . +al . +got in trouble for the usage of some of the footage seen in the movie , vis a vis clinton . +but the audience i attended this movie with just had some good chuckles at clinton's walk-ons . +the much-discussed tension between science and religion in this movie is not particularly insightful to those who have already gone through this course though it is helpful to those in the audience who have not . +also , the near-final scene , in a senate judiciary hearing room is disappointing . +contact is a fitting memorial to the memory of carl sagan , science popularizer , and sometime pedantic gadfly of the halls of academe . +perhaps now , sagan can be said to be with his dragons of eden . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv333_8916.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv333_8916.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..37e01ffcd3696faa7f125248ca9466932493fdf4 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv333_8916.txt @@ -0,0 +1,51 @@ +in the company of men made a splash at the sundance film festival because , in a year plagued by brothers mcmullen-style , earnestly shallow gen-x angst pictures , it seemed to be actually about something . +it angered people , started arguments outside the theater , riled things up . +it ignited a spark of excitement in what otherwise has been a disappointing year for independent film . +having endured my share of the hype , i waited calmly for men to reach the hinterlands wherein i reside , and then checked in to see what all the fuss was about . +does men live up to its press ? +well , yes it does . +and it may make you think twice before you consider dating anyone your office . +for the uninitiated , newcomers aaron eckhart and matt malloy play chad and howard , two corporate drones who are dispatched by their nameless company to a remote branch office for a six week assignment . +chad and howard are archetypes , examples of which you can no doubt find in your own place of business . +chad is the blond golden boy , genetically engineered for success , the natural charmer who seems to glide effortlessly up the corporate ladder . +howard is chad's boss , but he is weaker of will , the clumsy practitioner of office politics who has achieved his position through dogged persistence rather than raw talent . +we first meet them awaiting their flight in a drab airport lounge . +there chad suggests a scheme worthy of a shakespearean villain : he and howard will find a vulnerable single woman at the branch office , woo her simultaneously , win her love , and then dump her . +the reason ? +both men have recently been dumped themselves , and chad sees an easy route to revenge against the fairer sex . + " it'll restore a little dignity to our lives , " he says . +howard , helpless against the force of chad's will , agrees to the plan . +they quickly spot their prey in the form of christine ( stacy edwards ) , a fragile deaf woman working as a temp . +chad moves in for the kill , flashing his golden boy smile , plying christine with lunch , then flowers , then dinner . +howard follows suit , though his efforts are in contrast ham-handed and desperate . +flattered to have the attention of two eligible men , christine dates them both . +you can guess which one she falls for . +soon a tragic lovers' triangle develops : christine loves chad , chad loves himself , and howard loves christine on the grounds that , since she's handicapped and shy , she just might be wretched and lonely enough to settle for him . +adult social interaction never really progresses beyond the level of junior high , does it ? +in chad , writer/director labute and actor eckhart have created one of the most chilling monsters ever committed to film-hannibal lector may eat human flesh , but chad is an eater of souls . +his evil is as subtle as a viper's , and as easy as his smile . +we watch in stunned disbelief as he back-stabs coworkers , humiliates his subordinates , and works his deadly venom into christine's heart . +his character would be a joke if he wasn't so chillingly real- all of us have worked with a chad , and some of us may be him . +he's the guy who takes your job and then laughs at you for your weakness . +if one of his co-workers should happen to go postal and walk into the office with a bag full of handguns , he had best have his escape route clearly in mind . +politics is his game , and the modern cubicle-filled office is his playground . +men wears the guise of a black comedy , but it functions best as allegory . +the most controversial moment in the film happens when chad humiliates a black temp by asking him how badly he wants to succeed in the company , then forces him to prove it in a manner i won't describe . +the scene is charged with racism and fraught with peril . +could it happen in the real world ? +probably not . +taken as allegory , however , it is representative of the treatment of the meek by the powerful in all facets of society . +maybe it's just the english major in me , but chad , in his motiveless cruelty towards christine and his careful manipulation of howard , can be seen as a symbol of unbridled capitalism , of greed without conscience . +the entire film is a metaphor for social darwinism- only the strong will survive . +the marvel of labute's multi-layered script is that it can disturb each member of its audience in an entirely different way . +but does the film work as entertainment ? +its darned funny in spots , particularly in the men's room scenes , which demonstrate the lengths to which guys will go to hold a conversation while engaged in the most basic of bodily functions . +it works less well as drama , since by necessity the characters in an allegory tend to be flat ciphers . +stacy edwards gives a measured dignity to christine , and succeeds in making us care for her , but by the end of the film we still know nothing about her . +likewise , chad and howard are simply the sum of their actions . +by the end of the film you'll feel as if you've met a genuine monster in chad ; perhaps we can also classify men as a horror film . +certainly those expecting a conventional hollywood resolution to the story will walk away disappointed . +but the picture is often mesmerizing , and the script is a work of fine craftsmanship , which makes it well worth your time . +like all good films , it offers a myriad of parallels to the outside world . +while watching chad in his moment of triumph , i couldn't help but think that bill gates must have felt the same sort of cold , merciless satisfaction when he finally stuck it to steve jobs . +there may be a little bit of chad in all of us , but some of us have taken chad-ness to the level of art . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv334_10001.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv334_10001.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f24767063825798e1486cc4329eb85ea592d0e89 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv334_10001.txt @@ -0,0 +1,45 @@ +the booming introduction music finishes , and the camera sweeps over red mountains . +we see two figures looking over a barren , and very red landscape . +they kiss , then walk on . +one of the characters ( schwarzenegger ) slips , and falls . +the glass on his mask cracks . +his face scruches up , and his eye's begin to pop . . . . . +then doug quaid , played by schwarzenegger , wakes up . +it's all been a dream . +he wakes up next to his beautiful wife , played by stone , and the film begins . . . +total recall is a typical sci-fi film wrapped around an intresting ( if far fetched ) plot . +quaid , who has never been to mars , keeps on having dreams of the planet , which has now been colanised . +one day , while riding on a train , he's see's a ad for a company called 'rekall' , which implants memories of a holiday , instead of you actually going there yourself . +quaid chooses the 'secret agent on mars' memory , and then the s * * * really hits the fan . +the implant goes wrong , and quaid really thinks he is an agent on mars for about two minutes , until he goes back to normal and can't remember a thing . +however , everyone he knows ( his workmates , his wife ) turn against him , saying how 'blabbed about mars' and 'blew his cover on the mission' a strange man , called richter , played by ironside , wants to kill him . +quaid , now hopelessly confused , follows the advice given to him , by a 'friend' . +he get's his ass to mars . +mars is ruled by cohagen , played by cox , who charges people for air . +against him are the rebels , who are mainly mutants . +the rebel's need quaid to defeat cohagen , because quaid knows ( but can't remember yet ) about a reactor that produces air . +eventually , quaid kills cohagen , turns on the reactor , saves the planet , and goes away with a beautiful girl , just like the guy at rekall promised him . +throughout this plot , there is huge explosions , thousands of deaths ( and i mean a lot of death ) swearing , sex , and everything else that make's a good verhoeven ( director of basic instinct and starship troopers ) movie . +naturally , there's some pretty imaginative deaths , with arms getting ripped off , someone getting drilled , and heads exploding . +as you can tell , it's violent stuff . +but it's done so stylishly , and of course arnie tones it down with a one liner , that's it excusable . +the acting is variable . +arnie , of course , is useless , but he goes has some good lines , and in the first twenty minutes , he even act's like a normal bloke , not like some action hero . +stone , of course , is useless , making a pretty poor wife , and a pretty poor action hero . +but , she does sex scenes alright . +ticoton ( most recently seen in con air ) , again , is ok , doing some good action , but getting her emotions all wrong . +one minute she hates quaid , the next she loves him , and she never gets this tranisition right . +so , the good guys are awful . +but , the bad guy's are excellent . +cox is basically reprising robocop , but he's still great in this , and he delivers the best line in the whole film near the end . +ironside is superbly evil , with an utterly emotionless face . +the supporting cast are fine , and not even the comedy sidekick ( this time in the form of a taxi driver ) is annoying . +one disappointing aspect , though , are the special effects . +ilm and dreamquest do some good work ( such as a subway station scene ) but the model work is not so good . +some of the model heads look appaling fake , and quatto is a major disappointment . +another irritating thing is the product placement . +there are a lot of plugs ( and a good mars today gag ) however , the sets look great , and the special effects at the end of the film aren't too bad either . +there's also a good soundtrack running through , by jerry goldsmith ( the omen , poltergeist , star trek : the motion picture ) +overall , then , total recall is a hugely violent , yet hugely enjoyable , action fest , with a reasonable plot thrown in there too , some great bad guys , and some imaganitive death . +for a schwarzenegger movie , this is not bad at all . +in fact , it's very good . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv336_10143.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv336_10143.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..05ea3cd9c4b86887f78880896fe1e24b938c5f2f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv336_10143.txt @@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ +scream 2 isn't quite as clever as its predecessor , but it fills the gap with a cutting wit . +death -- even gruesome , bloody death -- can be funny if handled the right way ( some will be offended by this statement , but you need look no further than pulp fiction for an example ) . +and , while there's plenty of horror to go around in scream 2 , the latest '90s slasher flick incarnation , there are also a few laughs to be had . +scream 2 is a slice-and-dice movie for those who don't take their horror too seriously . +the success of the original scream took everyone in the industry by surprise . +the unexpected blockbuster , whose gross soared over the $100 million mark during its six month release window , opened just about a year ago and turned into one of the most profitable horror films of all time . +a sequel was inevitable ; fortunately , nearly the entire creative team has returned for scream 2 , including director wes craven , screenwriter kevin williamson , and actors neve campbell , courtney cox , david arquette , jamie kennedy , and liev schreiber . +as stipulated by one of the " rules of sequels " uttered by a movie- obsessed character in the film , the body count in scream 2 is higher than that in the original . +paradoxically , there's a lot less gore . +there is blood , of course , but nothing excessive by slasher-movie standards , and there are no depictions of spilled entrails . +craven has remembered that scares are more important that graphic displays of human insides and bodily fluids . +a second strength of scream 2 is that it features a gallery of legitimate characters rather than a group of cardboard cut-out stereotypes lined up for slaughter . +after all , we've known some of these people for two movies -- it's almost impossible not to care about them at least a little . +scream 2 opens approximately two years after the original . +as in the first picture , there's a slick , self-mocking prologue . +this time , the victims are jada pinkett and omar epps , whose characters are visiting a local theater for a preview screening of the movie stab ( which is based on the " true life " events of scream ) . +some of the smartest dialogue comes during this sequence as pinkett bemoans the lack of african american participation in horror films ( it's surely no coincidence that , in addition to pinkett and epps , scream 2 features two black characters ) . +shortly thereafter , she and her boyfriend have been gutted , signaling the beginning of a series of copycat murders . +craven lets loose a burst of tongue-in-cheek creativity for the " movie within a movie " sequences . +they give him an opportunity to openly parody scream -- an act that he accomplishes with great panache . +stab features heather graham in the " casey becker " role ( played in the original by drew barrymore ) and tori spelling as " sidney prescott " ( neve campbell ) . +sadly , we only see a couple of scenes from stab . +it would have been a little more fun , i think , had craven used joe dante's approach from matinee and shown lengthy excerpts from his satirical production . +following the prologue , we are re-introduced to sidney prescott , who has left her sleepy hometown to go to windsor college . +her friend randy ( jamie kennedy ) is a student there as well , and he's just as knowledgeable about horror films as ever . +once the double murder at stab becomes big news , the media converges on windsor , looking to interview the original victim . +at the head of the flock of vultures is gale weathers ( courtney cox ) , who has a little surprise for sidney . +she has brought cotton weary ( liev schreiber ) , the man sidney falsely accused of murder , with her . +also arriving at the college is deputy dewey ( david arquette ) , who is there to act as a big brother to sidney during this latest round of tribulations . +in addition to the survivors from the original scream , the field of potential victims is well-populated . +there's a blond co-ed named cece ( sarah michelle gellar , who has now appeared in two of williamson's movies -- this one and i know what you did last summer ) ; sidney's requisite boyfriend , derek ( jerry o'connell ) ; a local newswoman ( laurie metcalf ) ; gale's new cameraman ( duane martin ) ; a british drama teacher ( david warner ) ; and several sorority sisters and would-be sorority sisters ( portia de rossi , rebecca gayheart , elise neal , marisol nichols ) . +ultimately , there are lots of attractive corpses . +from the stab scenes to lines like " brothers don't last long in situations like this , " craven and williamson are clearly having a lot of fun with scream 2 , and the movie is enjoyable , if a little overlong ( the livelier first hour is better than the second ) . +their resolution to the obligatory " whodunit ? " +is less of a letdown than it could be , and knowingly offers a wink and nod at past unmasking scenes . + ( " nice twist , " quips the killer . + " didn't see it coming , didya ? " ) +one senses , however , that , by the end of this picture , the overall concept of a hip , self-referential slasher film has been played out . +supposedly , there's going to be a scream 3 , but , if the film makers don't come up with something radical , we could end up with a classic case of sequel overkill . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv337_29181.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv337_29181.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a2f948c411017bd714655b8cea59c724661edb26 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv337_29181.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +when 17 year old beau hall ( jonathan tucker , " the virgin suicides " ) gets in a car accident after drinking with his 30 year old companion , club owner darby reese ( josh lucas , " session 9 " ) , his mom , margaret ( tilda swinton , " the war zone " ) pays reese a visit to convince him to leave her son alone . +instead , reese travels out to their lake tahoe home and lures beau out to the boat house where beau learns that his mother was right about reese . +the next morning margaret discovers darby's dead body on their beach and , suspecting the worst , weights it down in a distant part of the lake . +but her troubles are just beginning , as she soon learns with the arrival of blackmailer alek spera ( goran visnjic , " practical magic " ) in " the deep end . " +the incredibly pale , red-headed scottish actress swinton immerses herself into the role of the reserved american super-mom whose life revolves around serving the needs of her three children and live-in father-in-law jack ( peter donat , " the game " ) . +she shows great strength while allowing other emotions to glimmer through - discomfort at challenging reese in his gay disco ( named the deep end ) , near panic at having to dive down to his body to retrieve car keys , or even wry humor when an attempt to get help from jack becomes hopelessly miscommunicated . +gradually her loneliness becomes apparent ( her husband's a naval officer , usually away at sea ) when her attempts to email him her concerns about beau are deleted and later , when a most unusual , yet chaste , romance turns tragic . +it's a terrific performance . +the stendahl syndrome-like script , adapted from elisabeth sanxay holding's 40's noir novel 'the blank wall' by directors scott mcgehee and david siegel , would be unbelievable if not for swinton and her costar visnjic . +alek spera is a wrong side of the tracks loser who arrives after reese's body has been discovered . +he shows margaret a videotape of beau having sex with reese and demands $50 , 000 or he'll turn the tape over to the reno police . +subsequent visits will turn his mind set upside down and backwards , though , as he comes to admire and even love the woman he set out to blackmail . +there's yet another problem , though - his partner nagle ( raymond barry , " dead man walking " ) is a harder cored criminal who won't let up until his share of the money is delivered . +visnjic's dark , brooding turn has an interior shading to it that makes us believe he's a victim of circumstance and environment . +his turnaround is palpable as he witnesses margaret's inherent decency and her workaday surroundings . +also outstanding is tucker as beau , who has a terrific character arc and pas de deux with his mother . +initially beau's the typical sullen teen . +'you're blowing this out of proportion , ' he says of her concerns about reese , not comprehending that his mom has enough insight to have divined the true nature of the relationship . +as his mom gets in deeper and deeper trying to cover up a crime he didn't commit , beau becomes suspicious of her actions and apparent new companion , turning tables . +his early black eye becomes her later split lip . +while the two can never be completely honest with each other , their love for each other comes through strongly . +the directors ( " suture " ) have a firm grip on their material and cast . +the story builds perfectly with bold strokes amidst a myriad of subtler underpinnings . +water imagery is constant ( an early shot of weirdly rushing green is revealed to be a young boy cleaning out an aquarium ) . +giles nuttgens ( " fire " ) cinematography , which won the 2001 sundance festival award , is crisp and startlingly clear . +the tahoe locations and production design by kelly mcgehee and christopher tandon provide a dual personality for the film , contrasting the calm , well off existence of the lake against the gambling city of reno . + " the deep end " is a complex story of domino deeds and shifting relationships . +take the plunge . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv338_8821.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv338_8821.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f0a25e223ee455b1311f93a5ca02048fd805c72d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv338_8821.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18 @@ +leonardo decaprio ( what's eating gilbert grape ) and claire danes ( tv's my so called life ) star in director baz luhrmann's modernized version of william shakespeare's classic , romeo & juliet . +surrounded by a superb supporting cast , in-cluding paul sorvino ( goodfellas ) , brian dennehy ( tommy boy ) , pete poslethwaite ( the usual sus-pects ) and john leguizamo ( executive decision ) , decaprio and danes shine throughout the film . +the story starts off at a gas station , where the " montague boys " meet the " capulet boys " and square off with one another . +symbolizing the swords of shakespeare's day were their weapons , like the " rapier-9mm " or the " longsword- shotgun . " +instead of killing each other right away , they shoot around , just like in sword fights of old . +another great thing about the film was the performance of harold perrineau as romeo's best friend . +mercutio , who in shakespeare's novel was quite a stud , was portrayed as an afri-can-american cross-dresser whose violent na-ture , was a definite plus . +miriam margoyles , a virtually unknown actress was astounding as juliet's nurse , even though she was never given a name . +she was the only one who could keep juliet out of her fantasy world . +verona was the home of the rival families in shakespeare's version , only slightly changed in luhrmann's . +now known as verona beach , the capulet's ( led by sorvino ) and montague's ( led by dennehy ) are now rival corporate dynasties . +and their small family skirmishes were now huge gang wars . +one slight problem with the film was the difficulty to comprehend the dialogue , since it was spoken in old english . +sub-titles could have helped in the beginning of the movie , but toward the end , it became easier to understand . +this excellent movie poses another prob-lem : what genre is it ? +romeo & juliet contains so much drama , yet enough comedy and action to be placed in either of those categories . +with the same award-winning formula that was used by quentin tarantino in reservoir dogs and pulp fiction , romeo & juliet is a sure fire modern masterpiece . + , diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv339_21119.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv339_21119.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..055490ff41a58006620def4504e2d87351be01e1 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv339_21119.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +voices . . . . . trey parker , matt stone , george clooney , minnie driver . + " south park : bigger , longer and uncut " is undoubtedly crude , offensive , mean-spirited movie , that comes off as a politcally correct movie too . +if your canadian , a strong christian , fat , gay or anything else , you will be offended . +but when you watch this movie , there is no doubt that you will laugh . +based on the wildly popular comedy central tv show , south park stars cartman , an overweight , foul-mouthed kid , with attitude , and a sweet side . +kenny , a poor kid who gets killed in every episode , and talks with his coat hood covering his head . +stan a regular , sometimes boring kid who has problems with women . +and kyle a lonely jew who talks to his poop . +the movie opens with a funny , but messageable song , that all of the people of south park sing . +cartman , stan , kenny and kyle are very excited to see the new terrance and phillip ( beavis and butthead types ) movie " asses of fire " . +but when the kids get up to the movie to get the tickets , they learn the movie is rated r , which of course means that anyone under the age of 17 cannot get in without a parent or legal guardian . +the kids do not understand this , and they pay a homeless man to buy their tickets . +while in the movie , laughing at the movie , terrance and phillip cuss repeatedly entertaining the kids . +they kids then go out and cuss themselves , getting in trouble and causing kyle's mom to go against the mpaa . +while doing this kenny learns a thing or to , by proving to cartman he can light his fart on fire . +kenny does so , dies , and goes to hell , to find out that satan and saddam huiessan ( homosexual lovers ) , are about to take over the world , if terrance and phillip die . +>from here on , nothing more should be said to keep the rest a surprise . +but believe me , this isn't your regular south park tv show , and should not be seen by anyone under 14 or more . +this film contains extreme profanity ( over 130 " f " words and a collection of others ) . +but beyond being bad in a tasteless type way , south park : bigger , longer and uncut has many messages that are embedded inside it . +but i bet you will not leave the movie , for at least laughing one time or more . +and enjoying yourself . +take it from me , south park : b , l , and u , isn't as good as you'd hope , but it is good for some laughs . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv340_13287.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv340_13287.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..af6b89a7582ecdb6eeb51635bdbaaa9397c7be01 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv340_13287.txt @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +why do people hate the spice girls ? + ? what exactly have they done wrong , other than perhaps offend the fashion police ? + ? so what if they are not " great " singers---they ain't singing opera , folks , its pop music ! + ? who exactly is a " great " singer ? +judging by that opening paragraph it is obvious that i like the spice girls . + ? they do what they do--sing some catchy tunes--and they do it pretty well . + ? they are able to carry that into their first film , " spice world " . + ? " spice world " certainly isn't a great filmgoing experience . + . + . +what it is what the spice girls are all about : fun , songs , and a lot of " girl power ! " +drawing from a number of different films ( like the beatles' " hard day's night " ) " spice world " chronicles the week heading up to the girls' first concert at london's albert hall . + ? they get to tool around london in a big ol' bus ( driven by meat loaf ! ) and generally have fun . + ? in order to through a semblence of plot into the film , there is an evil tabloid publisher played by barry humphries , better known to americans , for about 15 minutes , as dame edna ( remember her ? ) + ? he wants to sabotage the girls' concert so he can sell papers . +of course , the point in a movie like " spice world " isn't plot . + ? the center of the film is the spice girls themselves : ginger ( the recently departed geri haliwell ) , posh ( victoria adams ) , sporty ( melanie chisolm ) , scary ( melanie brown ) , and baby ( emma bunton ) . + ? each one has their own personality and , perhaps the best part of the film , look like they are having some honest-to-goodness fun , something that can't be said for a lot of people in films today . +along for the ride are richard e . grant as their manager , clifford , and various other characters making quick cameo appearances ( including teriffic british actors like richard briers and stephen fry ) . + ? and , every once and a while , roger moore pops up as the chief to spout odd koans ( added bonus : he gets to , in the words of craig kilborn , dance , dance , dance . ) +watching this film was fun , for the most part . + ? there are a few slow segments , but overly , director bob spiers keeps things moving at a quick pace , with plenty of hummable spice girls songs in the background . + ? his camerawork is fairly pedestrian , though the final concert number is done quite well with effective use of editing . + ? +the look of the film promotes the high fun , with the design of the spicebus being quite original and eye-catching . + ? add in wall-to-wall spice girls music and this film is lovable romp . + ? if you don't like the spice girls , you won't change your mind with this film . + ? but , if you find them at least tolerable , get ready to sit back and chill because the spice girls are here to entertain you . + . + . +and do it quite well . + ? + " spice world " ( 1998 ) . + ? directed by bob spiers . + ? written by kim fuller . + ? music by the spice girls . + ? with geri halliwell , victoria adams , melanie chisolm , melanie brown , emma bunton , richard e . grant , claire rushbrook , roger moore . + ? distributed by columbia pictures . + ? running time : 92 minutes . + ? rated : pg . + ? available on home video . +---- 29 june 1998 diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv341_24430.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv341_24430.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1c4352c238205b4ae980866413273d6c9d388cd8 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv341_24430.txt @@ -0,0 +1,51 @@ +more than forty years ago , the " sword and sandals " genre of historical epic ruled the box office . +during the 1950's hollywood sought to give audiences a reason to turn off their televisions and go out to the movies by offering the grand spectacle of the roman empire in cinemascope . + " ben-hur . " + " cleopatra . " + " the robe . " + " sparticus . " + " the fall of the roman empire . " + " quo vadis . " +sometimes brilliant , sometimes campy , the roman epic was the technicolor funeral pyre of classic hollywood . +since then , epics have appeared infrequently ( " the last emperor , " " braveheart " ) and some of the best have been small-screen affairs produced in the 1970's ( " roots , " " shogun " ) . +yet , the phrase " we who are about to die salute you " has been absent until now . + " gladiator " begins in germania in a . d . 180 . +roman general maximus ( russell crowe ) has conquered yet another group of barbarians for his emperor marcus aurelius ( richard harris ) , and he is eager to retire to his plantation in spain where his wife and son are waiting . +however , the emperor is worried that his decadent weakling son commodus ( joaquin phoenix ) will prove a poor successor , so he wants to make maximus his heir as a transition toward rome becoming a republic again . +when commodus hears the plan , he strangles his father and orders maximus and his family murdered . +maximus escapes from the executioners , but he arrives home too late to save his wife and son . +a caravan of slavers pick up the wounded hero and carry him off to north africa . + ( why the caravan happened to be cruising by maximus' place is never explained . ) +an african named juba ( djimon hounsou ) treats maximus' wounds . +proximo ( oliver reed ) , a gladiator who won his freedom , purchases maximus and juba as fodder for the arena . +of course , maximus proves as able a gladiator as he was a soldier , and his fame spreads . +when commodus reopens the coliseum , proximo brings his troupe of warriors to rome to compete . +our hero wins the hearts and minds of the cheering crowds and finds that he has an ally in commodus' sister lucilla ( connie nielsen ) . +the similarities to " braveheart " are obvious : an evil king , a determined warrior seeking revenge for his murdered family , the aid of a lovestruck princess . +also , like mel gibson's epic , " gladiator " has a primarily visceral appeal and is driven forward by the hero's anger . +it's a simple tale of good versus evil . +maximus has all the manly virtues : nobility of purpose , courage in battle , loyalty to king and country , physical stamina , and devotion to family . +commodus is his opposite in every way : a sniveling , selfish coward who is intended to disgust the audience . +the opening night crowd in my theater was about 70% male , and that seems appropriate . + " gladiator " is a guy movie ( would the opposite of a " chick flick " be a " dick flick " ? ) . +there's much pumping of testosterone and chopping off of body parts in gruesome battle sequences . + ( those easily offended by gore should stay away . ) +lucilla is the only female character , and what sparks there are between her and maximus are dampened by his devotion to his dead wife . +joaquin phoenix gives an astounding performance . +in the scene where commodus kills his father , phoenix shows the pain of a son who has never had his father's love or pride . +throughout the picture , phoenix manages to give depth to a character who's scripted as a caricature of evil . +i've been a russell crowe fan since " romper stomper . " +this role doesn't offer him the complexities of his parts in " l . +a . confidential " and " the insider " -- essentially his job is to grunt heroically -- but his voice , which has a richard burton resonance textured by a clint eastwood rasp , is perfect for the genre . +the late oliver reed gave us the best work of his career in his last role . +i hope it will be rewarded with an oscar . +my only major quibble with " gladiator " is its stylized look . +several scenes are tinted . +we've seen a lot of the tinted look lately , particularly in " payback " and " the matrix . " +i don't get the appeal of the style , which makes feature films look like tv ads . +in " payback " it was merely annoying , but in " gladiator " it bleaches the color out of the grand spectacles that are the raison d'etre of the roman epic . + ( perhaps it's meant to gloss over the imperfections of the computer-generated shots . ) +also , the battle scenes are filmed in a strange herky jerky style that seems to be slo mo and fast forward simultaneously . + ( it reminds me of the way the flash runs in the comic books , leaving a half-blurred trail of images of himself behind . ) +with a more realistic look , " gladiator " could be even more satisfying than " braveheart " because it has a tighter script and a more fulfilling conclusion . +bottom line : a rousing action film enriched by fine performances but tarnished by stylistic choices . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv343_10368.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv343_10368.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..7d4e34fe6ebdb90c5f1bc24ee8ced57d123bf216 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv343_10368.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ + " it's not good to know too much about someone , charlie , " charles warns his niece , charlie ( margaret welsh ) , with a devilish grin . +charlie is infatuated with her namesake uncle , her " soul mate " as she calls him since her mother gave her his name . +there's a lot to know about charles , not the least of which is that he strangled 3 widows back east . +mark harmon , who looks like anything but a killer but specializes in playing them , plays charles , the merry widow murderer in the 1991 hallmark hall of fame remake of the 1943 hitchcock film , shadow of a doubt . +and to avoid any questions about his guilt , we see charles in action in the opening scene with his last victim . +the story takes place in the early 1950s in the small town of petaluma , california , where charles heads to avoid the police . +john gay's script uses most of the original screenplay by sally benson , alma reville , and thornton wilder . +karen arthur's direction is certainly no match for the great master , but on an absolute scale , the movie maintains a high level of suspense . +when supercilious and deceitful charles comes to pay a visit of indeterminate length with his sister and her family in petaluma , they don't know about his nefarious activities . +he showers them with elaborate gifts to buy the love they had already given him anyway . +two mysterious and exceedingly clean-cut writers for a magazine show up to take pictures of the family for a spread on the " average american family , " but their interest is focused on uncle charles , especially on taking his picture and learning about his background . +charlie , who first welcomed her uncle's visit , begins to feel more and more uncomfortable with him and suspicious of the disingenuous magazine reporters . +the picture advances with a delicate power using small details such as the newspaper article that the uncle tries secretly to remove and that charlie discovers . +the beauty of the story is the pas de deux between uncle and niece as they try to out psych each other . +she wants him to leave , and he doesn't want to go , what with a local , rich widow as a prospective victim . +will charles kill charlie first , or will she get him out of town . +harmon is wonderfully creepy and smug , and welsh is tough but trapped . +with a deft touch the director sets up each scene , several with thunderstorms , and tom neuwirth's sepia-toned cinematography makes the movie feel as if it were filmed in the 50s . +my only quibble is the director's awkward staging of the final scene on the train . +is hitchcock's version better ? +of course . +is this one worth watching as well ? +actually , yes . +shadow of a doubt runs 1 : 40 . +it is not rated but would be pg for adult themes and would be fine for kids around nine and up . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv344_5312.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv344_5312.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..fb656ab26805d4295a336c298a725d850d11865e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv344_5312.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +do you want to know the truth about cats and dogs ? +do you ? +well , as this movie shows us , they make good companions but pale in comparison to the joy and fulfillment romantic relationships can bring . +unfortunately , there's a giant roadblock set up in our culture that only certain people can get through while the rest of us mill around outside , feeling sorry for ourselves . +a checkpoint beautiful kind of thing , and janeane garafolo's character abby relates to it well . +like a certain oversized teenage movie critic , she is intelligent and has a great sense of humor but strikes out with the opposite sex because she sees herself as physically unattractive , and the men seem to be backing her up on that . +meanwhile , her gorgeous neighbor nora ( uma thurman . . . +uma being the only woman's name worse than nora ) attracts men like flies . +as abby tells her , " you burp and they think it's cute . +you barf and they line up to hold your hair back . " +but nora's down on herself for being too shallow and superficial . +we all have our prwhen a man calls in to veterinarian abby's talk radio show wanting to know how to get the roller skates off his basset hound . + ( oh come on , any idiot knows how to handle that problem ! ) +he likes her personality and professional demeanor and asks to meet her in person . +abby , though , knows her body doesn't match her personality and that she probably won't have a chance with him once he sees her . +so she gives him nora's body description and stands him up . +nora happens to be in the studio the next day when the dog man comes by and abby asks her for a big favor . +she goes along with the masquerade and the three of them head out for a night of fun , abby assuming the role of a goat cheese farmer named donna . +the dog man finds out even though this girl is beautiful , she's not quite as intellectual or confident about herself in person , but he doesn't suspect anything , realizing he's not living in a " three's company " episode . +the charade continues , with abby furthering the relationship over the phone ( including a decidedly unnecessary phone sex/masturbation sequence ) and nora furthering it in person , while eventually finding herself attracted to the dog man . +like sleepless in seattle , this comedy/romance is predictable all the way through , but we care enough about the characters that we root them on and will the romance to blossom . +the truth about cats and dogs isn't quite as entertaining as i was expecting it to be , but it handles well a theme i could identify with . +the thing is , i find janeane garafolo rather attractive . +she's no uma but i'm sure in real life she'd have no problems attracting men . +i , on the other hand , couldn't attract a man to save my life . . . +and am rather proud of that fact . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv346_18168.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv346_18168.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b2387bcca9646d630d3ad41fe80f26c7af529f5b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv346_18168.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +ultra low budget but extremely inventive horror film about a group of friends vacationing in a cabin who accidentally awaken an evil force in the woods via the necronomicon , the book of the dead . +bruce campbell stars as ash , who eventually becomes the sole survivor and has to battle both the demons from the woods , and his friends who have become demons ( including his own girlfriend ) . +the results shown on screen are amazing considering the film's tiny budget , constant location changes , and a filming schedule that was sporadic over two years . +followed by two sequels : evil dead ii ( 1987 ) and army of darkness ( 1993 ) . +the dvd release of this film from elite entertainment contains the film in it's original aspect ratio of 1 . 33 : 1 . +the disc contains two versions of the film's audio : a stereo 2 . 0 track and a newly remastered dolby digital 5 . 1 . +included are two separate running commentary tracks : the first features writer/director sam raimi and producer rob tapert and the second track features the film's star , bruce campbell . +campbell's commentary is informative and extremely witty , as he has a story to tell for virtually every scene in the film . +such informative tidbits include : the original title of the film was going to be book of the dead ( and in fact when the film premiered in 1981 that was it's title ) and when they were asked to change the title to the evil dead , everyone thought it was the worst title they had ever heard . +also , there's a scene early on in the film where the group sits around and listens to a tape recorder which they've found that's explaining about the demonic forces in the woods . +for that scene , it was written for the characters to be smoking marijuana , so being the wacky kids that they were at the time , they decided to actually smoke marijuana for the scene . +almost all of that footage became unusable because many of the actor's had never smoked before , and as a result they became " confused " and were unable to perform the scene . +i wish the entertainment factor was as high for the sam raimi/rob tapert audio track . +the two people you'd think would be more enthusiastic in talking about this film instead barely have much to say at all . +don't get me wrong here , when they do speak it's entertaining to hear , but there are many instances where both are silent for long periods of time . +sometimes after one of those long silences rob will ask " have anything to say sam ? " +to me , that's not a good sign . +also , it seems like sam raimi doesn't remember much about the film and it's production . . . +well , compared to rob and bruce anyway . +also included on the disc is a photo gallery ( which includes pictures from the film's " gala " premiere ) and about twenty minutes of raw footage from the film . +this raw footage really shows you how much a film can be improved upon using simple audio techniques . +overall , the evil dead is a good low budget horror film , superior to many films in it's genre . +and the collector's edition dvd release is well worth your time if you're either a fan of the film or just a fan of the filmmaking process . +all special edition dvds should be this thorough and entertaining . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv348_18176.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv348_18176.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0ae59df98c5e215f2bac0d040e12b7e05e95ffa3 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv348_18176.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ +bob the happy bastard's quickie review : +the matrix +what's worse than y2k ? +how about a fully digital future where nothing is real ? +that's what computer programmer neo ( keanu reeves ) slowly learns as he enters the dangerous world that is the matrix , a movie directed by the wachowski brothers ( the guys behind the hip thriller bound ) . +before you groan at the presence of reeves in the lead role , hold on . +there's actually a story with depth here . +it seems that a group of hackers is out to stop the system that is the matrix , led by the bald but brilliant laurence fishburne and assisted by carrie ann moss , who looks quite cool in leather , i must say . +neo ( reeves ) is pretty much a key player in this fight , although he really doesn't look it at first . +could this amateur be " the one " as fisburne thinks he is ? +credit the wachowskis for putting together a great story that allows suspense to build , something that few special effects-laden films seem to do these days . +there's plenty of effects to go around , of course , but at least there's a backbone to build them on as well . +reeves is surprisingly good in his role as neo , particularly in a fight scene with fishburne that comes across as goofy , yet great . +i wish the villains weren't quite so " generic " ( leftover g-men from looking for a sweet sci-fi actioner with plenty of stop-motion swooping camera angles and , of course , a motherlode of a helicopter explosion . +now the wachowskis are headed into horror films with their next project . +bring it on . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv349_13507.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv349_13507.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1bdfc0d9a84978250f74af261a57568afdf7ee4b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv349_13507.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5 @@ +martin scorsese's kundun , which chronicles roughly the first twenty years of the life of the currently exiled dalai lama , has been criticized for its lack of narrative structure . +personally , i don't think it needs one : it works perfectly well as a study of tibetan buddhist culture and how communist china . +scorsese views the dalai lama the way many tibetans probably do , as a larger-than-life symbol of buddhist spirituality and political leadership : the only glimpses into his head come from several interesting yet oblique dream sequences , but his portrayal is appropriate for a film that concentrates on the political and spiritual rather than the personal . +the set design and cinematography are outstanding , and while scorsese occasionally seems to get carried away with the spectacle , it helps to augment the cultural contrast when the dalai lama travels to china to meet chairman mao . +political art sometimes succumbs to the temptation to start shouting slogans , kundun does not : it succeeds in delivering its message in an artistically interesting way and without being overly manipulative . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv350_20670.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv350_20670.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..83ac3999af4f205a1aa3b755af636814e3c12f78 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv350_20670.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ +synopsis : upper middle class , suburban family man lester ( kevin spacey ) realizes that he is just going through the motions : he is unable to feel passion ; he is soulless , cynical , and no longer able to feel the edge between success and failure . +everyone else around him has similar symptoms . +lester's unassertive daughter jane ( thora birch ) is too lethargic to change her world , yet all too ready to whine and complain . +his wife carolyn ( annette bening ) is reduced to keeping up appearances and reciting commercialist slogans . +and these are people with a big house and a decent standard of living . +the only person who seems able to appreciate beauty and freedom and life is the person most deprived of it : a dope-dealing teen from across the street who is practically imprisoned by a domineering , bullying father . +when lester embarks on a mad scramble to feel the edge again , the fact that he has quit his job to feel what it's like - - and his newfound interest in exercise to impress a teenage girl - - ruffle a lot of feathers in the family . +will lester regain his ability to appreciate life ? +opinion : people say it all the time : you never appreciate good health until it's gone . +likewise , people raised in fabulously pampered prosperity can become unhappy and spiteful over the dumbest , most inconsequential problems , simply because they have no clue how good they have it . +sometimes it takes a near fall - - accidentally or through deliberate fasting - - to move out of apathy and reclaim your ability to challenge the world . +the deprivation/appreciation cycle is a major theme of american beauty . +american beauty is a non-formula , intelligent and articulate movie that offers fantastic performances by everyone in the cast , especially kevin spacey , who is simply gosh darn amazing this movie . +the thing i like about american beauty is that there is no sentimental music , no hospital scene nor any overly dramatic hokum . +the movie entertains and offers brilliant performances just as is . +if you are in the mood for a thoughtful , non-formula flick , i highly recommend american beauty . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv351_15458.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv351_15458.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3cc0e5550b1f4a85d6423e41ac042718a2f36783 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv351_15458.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +though it is a fine piece of filmmaking , there's something about elizabeth . . . that +left me a bit cold , and i think it is something that bugs me quite often in films , particularly these days ; i just didn't care about the characters . +to me , the first and foremost job of a filmmaker is to create characters ( be they imagined or historical as the case may be ) that the audience gives a hoot about . +and though elizabeth works well on many levels , it falls short of excellence because of that very reason . +elizabeth takes place in england in 1554 , as queen mary , half sister of elizabeth and a monarch on the side of catholicism is dying . +before she dies , though , she cannot bear to sign a document which would condemn her half sister to death because of her heretical protestant beliefs . +as a result , amidst much anger within the council , elizabeth becomes the queen of england . +the film chronicles her rise to power as she fights for a unified church of england and tries to bring order to her personal and political life . +much of the film deals with elizabeth's love for lord robert , a mysterious man who thrusts his lordship onto many a woman as he continues to proclaim his love for the queen . +there is much ado about her lack of a husband , and political pressures from spain and france enter into the equation . +the problem with the film lies with this as its centerpiece , as love interests are such a character driven element . +i didn't much care about the characters ( perhaps aside for elizabeth who is played quite well by blanchett ) and so i didn't have much interest in who would join her in her nuptials . +the cast is rounded out well with the marvelous rush who plays the queen's most loyal advisor , sir francis , and attenborough as a well-meaning but old-fashioned lead council . +why then , you must be asking , do i recommend elizabeth ? +simply because it is the result of a perfect pairing of director and cinematographer . +kapur and his cinematographer remi adefarasin ( neither of whom i have heard ) create a beautifully realized piece of filmmkaing from the technical side . +the light streams through each frame as in any painting from the period and beautifully captures the realistic light sources that would have been found in churches , cellars and castles in 16th century europe . +each frame is rich with color contrasted with blackness or blown-out white light from windows . +the costumes by alexandra byrne deserve a mention as they are such an inportant aspect of each shot . +indeed , elizabeth is one of the most visually beautiful films of the decade , ranking with kundun and braveheart . +watch also for the incredibly " godfather-esque " mass murder scene . +it made me think in retrospect of the similarities between the two films . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv353_18159.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv353_18159.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ad50b91e0c7b6f4db2f47bfed3d2dcd90f8ee2ce --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv353_18159.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ +with the abundance of trite , recycled movies in the late '90s , there is a tremendous demand by movie lovers ( never mind movie critics ) for movies that present the wide film audience with something truly original : perhaps audaciously , perhaps purely thematically . +for the former , you need look no further than director tom tykwer's incredible german thriller run lola run , a movie that may make some viewers need a cooling off period afterwards . +lola , a contemporary goth-girl with blazing red hair receives a desperate phone call from her boyfriend manni one day . +it seems that because she was late delivering something he lost a bag containing a hundred thousand marks , and if he doesn't deliver a hundred thousand marks within the next twenty minutes , he will be killed . +this gives lola twenty minutes to come up with 100 , 000 marks , or her boyfriend dies . +so she runs -- not just jogs , sprints -- in hopes that somehow , someway , she'll be able to obtain the money and save a life . +>from there , as critic steve rhodes described it , run lola run plays a bit like " sliding doors on steroids . +with a non-stop techno soundtrack , wierd camerawork , all kinds of insane zooms and a truly breakneck pace , anyone that is bored with run lola run has to be smoking something . +indeed , the movie is often outrageously exciting , as well as bitterly ironic and subtly serious . +very much like titanic , run lola run is an achievement with filmmaking much more than it is an achievement in film . +the way the movie is made , for pure visual style , tykwer's movie is breathtaking ( literally , sometimes ) . +thematically it does leave something to be desired ; it toys around with some intriguing ideas but does occasionally seem as if there is little substance behind all of the flash . +while you are watching , this will not matter . +running a breezy 81 minutes , this is one movie i wished was longer because it was so damn good while it lasted . +it is the equivalent of a roller-coaster in the amount of thrills and fun that it offers . + ? 1999 eugene novikov‰ ; diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv354_8132.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv354_8132.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..818d33c3824fdd37eb22f1301b1100dfd031f75d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv354_8132.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +i was anxious to see this for a long time . +a friend of mine recommended this to me because he has a crush on neve campbell , and he wanted to prove that she's as hot as he thinks he is . +he proved it for me all right , but the reasons i enjoy this film go way beyond that . +scream treads on familar ground , horror movie with , as star neve campbell puts it , " some stupid killer stalking some big breasted girl who can't act who's always running up the stairs when she should be running out the front door . " +it's very familar , your typical horror film . +so why , you may ask after watching it , does it seem so new and original ? +because it treats itself as if it hasn't been done before , and thus the viewer is disilusioned into believing that it is not old , familar tired stuff . +this raises another question : how does it do this ? +simple : the characters . +they're not your typical stupid horror film victims who don't know what the hell to do when being chased by a guy in a ski mask and a machette . +they are horror fans , they know how stuff happens in a horror movie , they know what to do and what not to do , and that makes it scary , and even funny at certain times . +you can tell this just by watching the opening scene where casey becker ( drew barrymore ) is making popcorn , getting ready to watch a video , and some guy who sounds like a killer calls her up to play a game with her that involves horror movie triva that , if she gets it wrong , will get her and her boyfriend killed . +she knows what to answer when he asks her horror film questions , she just can't answer his final question , " what door am i at ? " +and that gets her killed . +that scene works because in a normal horror film , half the things that happen in that scene would never happen . +the plot is typical horror stuff : sidney prescott ( an impressive neve campbell ) , an attractive young high school student who's mother was killed a year ago tommorrow , is being stalked by a killer who's previously murdered one of her classmates ( casey , naturally ) , and everybody in this small , california town is a suspect , including sidney's boyfriend , billy loomis . +but as i said before , these people know how horror movies work , and that's what makes it so appealing . +that and the references to horror movies , like when casey says , " the first ( nightmare on elm street ) was scary , but the rest sucked . " +which is obviously director wes craven ( who does a good job of poking fun of the genre that made him a legend ) patting himself on the back as he directed the first nightmare movie and none of the others , and when tatum , sidney's friend , mentions the director , wes carpenter , which is obviously an homage by writer kevin williamson to not only craven , but also director john carpenter . +the cast is well chosen , neve campbell pulls off a good heroine ( and unlike most horror film heroines , she * can * act ) , drew barrymore does a good janet leigh impression for what little time she has in the film , and david arquette is impressive . +also good ( and funny ) in his role is henry winkler ( " the fonz " ) as the school principal . +i took half a point off for the unnecessary ( albeit limited ) appearance by friends' courteney cox as reporter , gail edwards , sidney's rival because she covered her mother's disappearance . +i hate that show , i hate those actors . +they're untalented , overexposed , and overpaid , imho , and i would think wes craven is smart enough to know those actors are overexposed enough , but i suppose he isn't . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv355_16413.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv355_16413.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ffce9d56a7fef5cf243227fb19ecc641688b0aa0 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv355_16413.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +to paraphrase a song title from an earlier disney movie , mulan is a whole new world . +the mouse factory's latest feature is a treasure , featuring magnificent animation , a strong story and finely drawn characters . +mulan is the story of a fiesty , head-strong young woman who , unlike other disney heroines , isn't seeking her prince charming , +mulan's motivations are simple ; to save her father , serve her country and find a place for herself in a world in which females have no say . +the story of mulan takes place in ancient china at a time when the huns have invaded the nation . +the emperor has called for a conscription , one man from each family to join the army and defend the nation . +mulan's crippled father is called , but mulan sneaks off , steals his armor and takes his place . +mulan is a saga of courage and self-discovery . +yet , despite the grim backdrop of war , it is a lively tale of self-reliance and brain-over-brawn that even the smallest child can appreciate and enjoy . +the movie utilizes a strong corps of asian-american talent as the voices for the main characters , including the wonderful ming-na wen ( the joy luck club ) as mulan , b . d . +wong as shang , mulan's commanding officer and later love interest , pat morita as the emperor and the veteran soon-tek oh as mulan's proud , but loving father . +also adding to the proceedings is eddie murphy as mushu the dragon , sent by mulan's ancestors to watch over and help the young woman . +his fast , wise-cracking , hip-talking mushu may seem out of place , but it's a crowd pleasing performance , especially for the youngsters . +the movie features only a couple of songs , fewer than most previous disney animated flicks , but mulan's are winners . +the music by matthew wilder and lyrics by david zippel fit nicely into the plot . +the overall score by jerry goldsmith also is a plus . +mulan is a treat , more powerful than hercules , with more heart than the hunchback of notre dame . +at about 85 minutes , mulan moves rapidly , and will hold the attention of youngsters from beginning to the end . +mulan will set a new standard by which future animated efforts by disney and other studios will have to work hard to attain . +also , it is hoped that the success of mulan , and there is no doubt that it will prove to be a popular vehicle , will spur an interest for more movies with oriential or asian-american themes so as to provide more substantial roles for the talented performers who gave their voices for this production . +it would be nice to see them on screen as well as hear them . +committed to lifelong learning through effective communication diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv356_25163.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv356_25163.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..bdd798a5eec1bad81f6535a52770402691d6cd60 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv356_25163.txt @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +as a revolutionary war hero in the patriot , mel gibson provides another macho man performance for hollywood audiences . +you know the type : his shirt is always shredded , his face always scarred , he has a soft spot for his loved ones and a " to kill " list for his enemies . +oscar-hungry director/executive producer roland emmerich did not intend to , but he made the stereotypical action hero for the 18th century . +as gibson delivers lines like , " before this war is over , i am going to kill you , " schwarzenegger in commando or stallone in cobra immediately come to mind . +oddly enough , the patriot is as much an epic three-hour-tear-fest like gladiator , as it is a ninety-minute guilty pleasure . +at times absorbing , at others enjoyably insipid , this is good , bloody summer fun . +i probably would have despised this film had it not been released over the july 4th weekend . +some of the images are so zealously americanized ( the flag is used as a lifesaving weapon for example ) , that independence day seems the only appropriate time of year to wholeheartedly accept it . +like emmerich's id4 , this is obvious propaganda where the americans are the hapless underdogs motivated by freedom for all . +sure it's predictable and melodramatic , but for a moment after leaving the theater , i was dumbfounded with patriotism . +and isn't that the point of the patriot ? +gibson plays benjamin martin , the lionized french and indian war veteran , who , at the beginning of the film , is emotionally suffering after his loving wife passed away . +he is left to father seven children at his south carolina estate along with black servants ( not slaves ! ) . +as the revolutionary war rumbles miles away , martin swears to keep his family close and away from the battlefields . +but when the oldest son enlists anyway and another is murdered by a wicked redcoat colonel ( jason isaacs ) , martin quickly decides to save the day ( or save the fate of america as presented by emmerich ) . +forming a band of aggressive farmers and using guerilla tactics considered unfair in the art of war , martin becomes the number one target of the british army . +the best parts of the patriot are the scenes in which martin and his rugged militia men outsmart the british armies left and right . +every time the farmers attacked the unsuspecting enemy , to see the disbelief on british general cornwallis' ( tom wilkinson ) face was priceless entertainment . +and as the tension gradually formulates with the running time , a final battle is inevitable . +as for the numerous battle scenes , they are expertly done . +clearer and more realistic than those of gladiator , the gruesome images are what give this film an r rating . +you really get a sense of how warfare was performed during that time period . +everything is performed in an orderly ( but still quite gory ) fashion - one side shoots , then the other side , then the remaining soldiers charge . +it's organized , strategic and , according to martin , ineffective . +there is a very interesting contrast between the traditional battle style and martin's take-no-prisoners method . +what drives martin to these supposedly unfair actions , are the originally brutal tactics of colonel tavington . +played wonderfully by jason isaacs , tavington is the type who loves to glare down from his horse at civilians , who nervously avoid eye contact . +this character is viciously evil ; he kills women and children and then laughs about it on the way home ; even his eyes are evil . +his portrayal has sparked some controversy in britain , some claim that he falsely represents his countrymen as " cowardly " and " sadistic . " +i disagree with this accusation . +tavington does not represent his country ; his unnecessary executions shock his own colleagues and even anger his general . +besides tavington , the redcoats remain stick figures that are neither glorified nor patronized . +and stick figures make the easiest enemies in these kinds of movies - why give the audience a reason to love the bad guys ? +heck , why not spend the entire film glossing up the good guys ? +the patriot is three hours of fictional fireworks . +with an action hero seeking revenge and a comic book villain ready to take him down , it's a lethal weapon for the colonial times . +god bless america ! +and god bless the patriot ! diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv357_13156.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv357_13156.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..56b76f3a3917b1b403c1dcd0ebaaca70146a858b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv357_13156.txt @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ + " if there's a beast in men , it meets its match in women , too . " +starring sarah patterson , angela lansbury , tusse silberg , david warner directed by neil jordan written by jordan and angela carter , from a story by carter cinematography by bryan loftus +in recent years , there has been a trend in the field of fantasy : writers have been revisiting the fertile world of myth and fairy tale and reclaiming that world , investing it with new life and energy . +in modern times , fairy tales have become disneyfied and debased ; they have become trite adventures involving leering witches , friendly dwarves , and cuddly talking animals . +but in their original forms , fairy tales have a dark , wicked edge . +crows tear out the eyes of cinderella's sisters , a gorier fate then they receive in the animated version . +hansel and gretel relish cooking the witch in her own oven . +writers have become fascinated by the bloodier , morally ambivalent aspects of fairy tales , and are now modernizing the old stories while simultaneously going back to their roots . +before this trend was in vogue , angela carter--whose stories always have a dark , wicked , subversive edge--had been reinventing fairy tales for years . +in the company of wolves , she and neil jordan retell the story of red riding hood , enlivening it with werewolves , rolls royces , and a visit from satan . +the story is structured as a dream , occurring in the mind of rosaleen ( sarah patterson ) , an adolescent girl about whose 'real' life we learn very little . +within the dream , there are a number of inset stories , most told by dream-rosaleen's grandmother ( angela lansbury ) , and these tales gloss the central story in intriguing , suggestive ways . +the result is a surprisingly successful example of a sinister , contemporary fairy tale . +i say " surprisingly " because there are so many ways this film could have gone wrong . +and there are ways in which it does . +the performances are mediocre , except for lansbury's--she finds the right note for the prim , apple-cheeked granny , the wise and stern teller of cautionary tales . +the soundtrack , synth-heavy , reminded me of bad 80s horror movies , as did the special effects in the shapechanging scenes . +probably state-of-the-art at the time , they are now laughable . +but jordan succeeds at what i consider the trickiest aspect of the film : he transcends the poor acting/music/effects and conveys a sense of the fantastic , of otherness . +one of the problems in adapting full-blown fantasies is that fantasy is often best left to the imagination of the reader , rather than being subjected to the 'realism' of the screen . +part of me would love to see an adaptation of 'the lord of the rings , ' but , on the other hand , i know that any filmmaker's recreation of ents , hobbits , and balrogs is inevitably going to be really lame compared to what i picture in my mind . +this makes jordan's accomplishment here seem mighty impressive to me : he imbues the company of wolves with a genuine sense of magic and mystery . +the somewhat ruritanian dreamworld becomes a kind of ur-reality . +the sunshine is exceptionally warm and abundant . +the nights are quiet and misty and eerie and ghostly . +the peasant village is rustic and cozy , the woods old and hoary . +this archetypal realm is the setting for a smart , subtle , literate script , a script which is as good as you'd expect from jordan ( himself an accomplished fiction writer ) and carter . +for carter , the cauldron of story is a witches' brew , bubbling over with primal ingredients : mist-shrouded forests , ancient graveyards , virginal girls and wise women , wolves with glowing eyes . +she adeptly blends them all together . +there is a symbolic richness to the film ; everything is permeated with a sense of significance . +the point of it all , i think , is to represent a girl's rites-of-passage on an unconscious , primordial level . +a night-journey through the forest , from the village to the grandmother's home , is the crux of the company of wolves . + " don't stray from the path , " rosaleen is told , again and again , and the path is both literal and figurative : the path through the forest and the path of life . +staying on the path is the conventional approach suggested by rosaleen's elders . +carter and jordan , never conventional , explore what goes on when you leave the path . +those who stray will supposedly meet with a dark fate . +this fate is literalized in the dream as werewolves , but the werewolves connote many things : death , sex , knowledge . +if straying from the path leads to death , then it's not a good idea--but if that's what you have to risk to get sex and knowledge ( and therefore power ) , then maybe it's worth the risk . +when you leave the path , the world becomes a dangerous , ambiguous place , but it's full of potential . +and it's certainly more interesting than the disney version . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv358_10691.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv358_10691.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1a58fe8eb13008e5c93db492dbec2266119db33a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv358_10691.txt @@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ +contrary to the title , " the boxer " is not another rocky story only this time spliced with some cold hard politics . +it's actually three movies in one : a political film , a boxing film , and a love story . +all of these work in their own respects and have some pretty decent balancing betwixt the three elements of the story , but somehow it seems kind of cliched and unoriginal . +we've seen it all before , and we're just not blown away with it like we should be . +oh well . +it's still an excellent irish story . + " the boxer " of the title is danny flynn ( jim sheridan staple daniel day-lewis ) , an ex-ira member who gets out of a belfast prison after 14 years , and finds out that his troubles are far from over . +first off , the ira is having a small civil war between its leader joe hamill ( brian cox ) , and one of its sub-leaders , harry ( gerard mcsorley ) , both having opposing views on getting many of their members out of jail . +while this is going on , danny and his old drunkard buddie , ike ( ken stott , who played the chief inspector in danny boyle's " shallow grave " ) , re-open an old gym which allows the two opposing religios sects , protestant and catholics , to work together . +danny not only begins teaching kids how to box , but has stayed in great shape whilst in prison , and is ready to start boxing real people again . +and danny runs into his ex-love , maggie ( " breaking the waves " 's emily watson ) , who hasn't seen him since he went in . +they don't easily start up their romance again because she's the wife of a prisoner whom she married during danny's tenure in prison , and also has a son , liam ( ciaran fitzgerald ) , from him , whom liam is hoping will get out soon . +but the two are slowly re-drawn to eachother again , and this begins to complicate things . +the political story is nothing really special but works in itself . +we've seen it many a time before , but it's at least interesting , sometimes emotional , and even riveting at times . +there's a big riot towards the middle of the film which is frightening in its brutality and honesty . +the boxing story is very minor to the story , but does represent people coming together to fight eachother fairly , and even with good sportsmanship . +there are only a few boxing scenes , but they're never like " raging bull " /let's-strip-down-the-sport-to-its-bones brilliant . +they're more realistic , and instead of bone crunching , we hear the sound of the gloves hitting eachother , which is slightly unerving at times . +and i didn't know daniel day-lewis was in such good shape . +but the backbone of the story is the love one . +because these characters are given such horrible circumstances , and since the two leads have such great chemistry together , we really feel for their plight . +as the film goes on , and circumstances get worse and worse , the characters have to make real human decisions , and we can sympathize with them as humans not characters . +this is how you write a love story - take note , hollywood . +these elements are pretty much equally balanced , with each of the parts of the stories working hand-in-hand with eachother . +i loved how each of the different parts of the plot mattered , and sometimes spilled over into the next . +it made sure that we didn't just care for one of them . +i'm not saying they're all equally great , because the love story really carries the film , but at least they all work out respectively . +the acting is amazing , with day-lewis and watson giving excellent performances and showing great chemistry . +i'm not sure if they're oscar-nominee bound , but they're very good . +in the supporting roles , billy cox is greatly sympathetic as the ira leader losing control of his daughter and his workers . +but the film is stolen acting wise by ken stott as ike , who is just a great scene stealer . +the direction and co-writing by jim sheridan ( with the other co-writing credit going to terry george ) is excellent , rounding out the characters well , but not pacing everything greatly . +i noticed that the first half was very leisurely ( yet fascinating ) , but the second half whirls by at a quick pace , and ends much too quickly . +more time could have been spent thinking up the ending , since it does seem quite sloppy . +though " the boxer " is a good film , it never achieves the greatness that it should . +sure , it's a masterpiece compared to most of the hollywood drivel we usually get , but on it's own , it just could have been better . +but it still works out , gives us a great love story combined with a political and boxing drama , and features great acting . +even if it could have been better , this'll do . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv359_6647.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv359_6647.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..380aacf4b142934e4ddf251a153d300cd90460d3 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv359_6647.txt @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ +you don't want to be like mike . +mike has been doing badly . +embarrassingly bad . +he broke up a six-year relationship six months ago to move from n . y . to l . a . and he's still not over her . +as a result , his jokes fall flat when he tries to impress , and he's a comedian . +well , an unemployed comedian , one of hollywood's little fish , and it has gotten so bad he's asked for an application at starbuck's . +actually , the starbuck's thing gets even worse . +and worse . +you won't fail to like mike , however , played endearingly by jon favreau . +swingers revolves around mike's half-hearted and awkward efforts to get back in the social swing of things . +to this end he is enthusiastically assisted by his equally underachieving twentysomething actor friends , such as trent ( vince vaughn with the film's most animated performance ) , who has the gift of gab bordering on the disturbing side of motivational speaking , gun-toting sue ( patrick van horn ) , and rob ( ron livingston ) , who once played hamlet but now longs to work as goofy in disneyland , but doesn't succeed because of his lack of " theme park experience . " +together they talk about women - how to make eye contact , which involves avoiding it , and when to call so as never to appear desperate , two days being " industry standard . " +after talking the talk , they walk the walk , strutting like the cool swingers they aspire to be , always to laughable effect . +to get mike out of his funk , his friends persistently convince him to get outside , whether it be to a quickie night trip to a seedy vegas casino or a cutthroat hollywood party with the beautiful people or a 50s swing lounge . +everywhere they encourage mike to look for a replacement " honey " and then keep vigil over his progress , or lack of it . +like dotty doting parents , mike never leaves their company without being the recipient of their confidence cheerleading ( " you're money , mike , and the honeys know it . " ) or equipped with their eccentric dating philosophies , such as an analogy of flirting with the bear and the bunny . +with the unwavering support of friends like these , maybe mike's not doing too badly after all . +favreau also doubled as the film's screenwriter , and he proves he has the gift for creating engaging characters and witty banter that goes beyond today's bon mot . +there is a reassuring honesty to the friendships , even when it hits its low points and the friends commiserate . +when mike gets the gumption to look for love , you will join his cheerleading section as well . +swingers is light , unassuming fare , sweet candy you will want to bust your gut with - laughing - again and again . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv360_8398.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv360_8398.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..827f49179ece692b610c7e18be36992f9e42d092 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv360_8398.txt @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +america has finally gotten what it's needed for years : a compassionate sincere president with impressive ethics and charisma . +regretfully it's only a movie . +president james marshall ( harrison ford ) is fed up with terrorist activities . +teaming up with the russian government , he orders a strike force capture of alexander radek , a reactionary general ready to re-unite the soviet union under his fascist reign . +during a celebration dinner , marshall announces to the world that he will send troops to fight oppression wherever it exists . + " it's your turn to be afraid , " he declares . +returning home on air force one , he gets the chance to demonstrate his words personally . +ultra-nationalist militants loyal to radek and lead by ivan korshunov ( gary oldman ) hijack the plane threatening to kill a hostage every half hour until the general is released . +marshall has a chance to escape in a jettisoned capsule ( which clinton says doesn't exist in real life ) but refuses , preferring to stay and fight . +director wolfgang peterson ( " das boot " , " in the line of fire " , " outbreak " takes the over-used " die hard " theme and gives us something new in a film that combines brilliant acting with hold-your-breath intensity . +if you can take your eyes off the screen , steal a look at the audience . +everyone is totally engrossed . +the two actors do what they do best and they are probably the best there are at it . +oldman has become typecast as a psychotic sadist and no wonder -- he does it so well . +when he engages the teenage first daughter in sensitive conversation about his family and the next minute threatens to blow a hole in her forehead , you know that he's over the edge in the manner that people with a cause can become . +you are convinced that young alice could end up terminated at any time . +when korshonov executes passengers , there is a frightening reality to it . +the guns in this film are deadly weapons , not cartoons . +harrison ford has done one role for several years . +his mastery of the man in the suit propelled into desperate action is in top form here . +marshall is a medal of honor recipient who now has a desk job . +realistically , he's a man afraid , but not afraid to act . +ford is one of the few actors that could make us believe that the president of the united states could be an action hero . +indiana jones in the oval office . +he and oldman's archetypes match up perfectly . +the other roles also go to accomplished actors . +glenn close as the determined but unsure vice-president is the picture of an executive forced into a position that she's not quite ready for . +dean stockwell as defense secretary eager for the authority ( " i'm in charge here ! " ) +is her political nemesis and turns in a good alexander haig performance . +of course the politics are all wrong . +a cowboy president ( even down to his name ) with big guns shoots his way through problems . +much like the american collective memory of jfk's camelot , the image is wondrous if you don't look too deep . +the pulls on the patriotic heartstrings would be too much in any other film , but they work here . +no matter what political spin you put on the story , the movie is an outstanding one . +i left the theater feeling that there is hope for the country's future : not a common belief nowadays . +now if we only can get ford to run for president . +just because one actor didn't work out as chief executive doesn't mean that a different one couldn't . + ( michael redman has lost count of how many years he's been writing this column -- 21 years . . . 22 years -- while watching the sunflowers outside his window swaying in the cool breezes . ) diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv362_15341.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv362_15341.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3c6154c8ec1c8338ea17d5d5fb043989f4378b90 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv362_15341.txt @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +elizabeth is a potent historical drama set in england in the mid-1500s . +it is a time when stately royal ceremonies are as commonplace as public burnings . +internally , the catholics wage war against the protestants . +meanwhile , spain , scotland and france strategize their next moves in the struggle for power . +little does england know that a young woman named elizabeth ( cate blanchett ) will be their greatest hope for survival . +the film charts elizabeth's tumultuous struggle to gain true power over her kingdom . +as a protestant , she is the last person any of the catholic royalty would want to be queen . +but her half-sister queen mary ( kathy burke ) , deathly ill and unable to conceive a child , pleas with elizabeth to take over the throne . +mary gives her her blessing on only one condition : that elizabeth renounce her faith and uphold the teachings of catholicism across the land . +once declared queen , elizabeth immediately finds herself under assault , both by her own subjects ( including the duke of norfolk , played with steely-eyed grace by christopher eccleston ) and by forces abroad . +slowly but surely , the neophyte ruler takes england by its reigns and forges a new path for her kingdom . +elizabeth is surrounded by a keenly drawn cadre of subjects and advisers . +her closest ally is the mysterious sir francis walsingham ( geoffrey rush , in a perfectly subtle performance ) . +also on her side is sir william cecil ( sir richard attenborough ) , her well-meaning but misguided chief adviser . +with few people she can trust , elizabeth must prove her self-worth any way she can , even if it means being the iron-fisted ruler she secretly despises . +blanchett deserves an oscar for her performance as elizabeth . +she portrays the young queen with just the right balance of gawky self-consciousness and shrewd charisma . +though not a classical beauty , blanchett is able to entrance the viewer with just a coy smile or an impish smirk . +she is at home with her character's playful tendencies , particularly in one scene where elizabeth dances unabashedly with childhood friend and lover lord robert dudley ( joseph fiennes ) . +whether fending off unctuous suitors or " playing " the houses in court , blanchett's elizabeth radiates a confidence which impossible to dislike . +almost as interesting as the character of elizabeth are shekhar kapur's visual delights . +he and cinematographer remi adefarasin have crafted a film with a rich color palette that is a feast for the eyes . +rolling green hills , extravagant ceremonial galas , dark and foreboding corridors -- all are depicted with a real sense of artistic appreciation . +the castles and cathedrals of europe have rarely been doted on so lovingly as they are here . +though writer michael hirst's script gets a little murky at times , and his injections of humor get a little overplayed , elizabeth pulses with the right amount of dramatic and cinematic verve to make it just deserving of a theatrical viewing . +as a whole , the story survives because elizabeth's struggle is one which deserves attention . +by the time she makes her shocking ( but very sensible ) final declaration , we're ready to bow to elizabeth as our own queen . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv363_29332.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv363_29332.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..956ed85965ddbc55fcd91311cef62525e3c7e5f3 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv363_29332.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +making his directorial debut , actor jon favreau brings along his swingers co-star , vince vaughn , for this tale of two mugs on a career trajectory to nowheresville . +favreau , who also wrote the script , is bobby , vaughn is ricky . +by day they are construction workers . +they also are wanna-be contenders , but neither has had much success . +their last bout pitted them against each other and was a draw , leaving bobby's record at 5-5-1 . +these two l . a . not-so-wise guys also work for max ( peter falk ) , a mid-level mobster , who is patient and understanding with bobby , but who hates ricky's guts . +max has an easy job for bobby ; fly to new york and make a simple delivery to a gangster named ruiz ( a smooth and silky sean combs ) . +bobby , because of his lifelong friendship with ricky , pleads with max to give his pal another chance and let him tag along to the big apple . +against his better judgment , max agrees . +of course ricky , a motormouth who inserts both feet everytime he speaks , nearly screws up everything . +while bobby tries to stay calm and professional , ricky begins swaggering and throwing money around as if he was john gotti or tony soprano . +the constrast in styles and the chemistry between favreau and vaughn is what makes made so enjoyable to watch . +favreau with his hound-dog face and slow-burn personality could be a modern-day oliver hardy , only much wiser . +vaughn is like someone vaccinated with a phonograph needle , he just keeps yakking and yakking , unaware of the havoc he creates . +yet despite bobby's constant aggravation and agitation with his partner , a bond of affection and loyalty binds them . +the contrast between the two friends is interesting to watch . +bobby is button-downed , tightly-wound , always waiting for the next shoe -courtesy of ricky - to drop . +ricky is mostly oblivious to the problems he creates and is genuinely surprised when he comes under attack for his faux paus . +in new york , the two lackeys are like fish out of water , stumbling from one situation to another , trying to keep alive . +combs is elegant , cool and low-key menacing as the gangsta they are sent to meet . +falk is amusing in his small role , while famke janssen nearly breaks your heart as bobby's lowlife girlfriend . +more than anything , made is a movie with heart . +it is loud , obnoxious and very talkative . +but the cameraderie between bobby and ricky holds the key to its interest . +favreau does a commendable job in his directorial debut . +he is a player to be watched as he can only improve with experience . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv364_12901.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv364_12901.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8b9729464be70736ed5aea32317db193e59cc9ba --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv364_12901.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +set in the wild west , this carry on centres around the arrival of the rumpo kid ( sidney james ) and his cronies in stodge city . +his dodgy dealings and summary shootings aggravate judge burke ( kenneth williams ) so much that he asks sheriff albert earp ( jon pertwee ) to drive rumpo out of town . +instead , the rumpo kid shoots the sheriff dead . +therefore , judge burke sends for a law marshall to come in and clean up the city . +due to a misunderstanding , an english sanitary engineer called marshall p . knutt ( jim dale ) is assigned , without knowing it , as the law marshall for stodge city . +he arrives at the same time as annie oakley ( angela douglas ) who is seeking revenge for her father , the sheriff's murder . +when marshall arrives at stodge city , he soon becomes aware of the misunderstanding and due to his rather limited intellect , he is manipulated by the rumpo kid and always ends up getting things wrong . +in the end , there is a head-to-head between rumpo and marshall . +with the rumpo's past experience , it would seem that marshall is out of his depth , but using his sanitary skills and learning the ways of the west from annie oakley , he at least stands some chance ! +sid james , with an american accent , is perfect as the rumpo kid , a part which suits him down to the ground . +jim dale provides one of his best carry on performances as the stupid sanitary engineer , and angela douglas is very effective in her role as the revengeful daughter . +other regulars that appear in this movie include charles hawtrey and bernard bresslaw ( in his debut ) as big heap and little heap respectively . +big heap is the local indian leader and the crazy casting of hawtrey for this part is very amusing , as is his performance : - he steals every scene he is in even though he does not enter the film until thirty minutes past . +joan sims provides useful and amusing support as belle , the local bar owner who takes a fancy to the rumpo kid . +however , the part of doc played by peter butterworth and sheriff albert earp played by jon pertwee are not really necessary , and pertwee's performance is rather poor . +kenneth williams uses a new voice but struggles with the weak part of the 'judge' . +even so , this carry on was sid james and kenneth williams' favourite . +a very different carry on film , in that it is played more seriously by the actors and possesses more realism than any other carry on . +the death count is the highest of any carry on film . +sets , costumes and action sequences are all very commendable . +the songs that are included in the movie ( the title song and annie's song ) are very impressive . +a strange but therefore very interesting carry on film . +not the best of its kind but it is certainly the most distinctive film of the series . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv365_11576.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv365_11576.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..14af0a18a1081c13169eaed42ffbf06ff2e80ef7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv365_11576.txt @@ -0,0 +1,55 @@ +for example , in happy gilmore , sandler plays a rookie golfer trying to beat a self-confident jerk of a pro . +if the star were any other comic , that would be enough motivation to drive the movie , but with sandler , the rookie also wants to win the prize money to help his grandma keep her house . +that extra motive doesn't make happy gilmore a funnier movie . +it doesn't really add any genuine emotional depth , either . +in fact , the motive is almost totally irrelevant to the movie . +but sandler's philosophy seems to be , if it's a token gesture , why not make it a nice gesture ? +that is endlessly refreshing . +in the wedding singer , sandler is right on track . +the fact that he's a wedding singer is only superficially relevant to the story . +what kind of a wedding singer he is is even less important . +david spade could have filled the role with cynicism and sarcasm . +he could make fun of the fat , ugly , or embarrassing people he meets at weddings , and the story would be intact . +but sandler instead brings a mature goodness to the character . +he seems to really enjoy the people at weddings and treats them as though they were his own family . +robbie hart ( sandler ) doesn't just sing at weddings ; he also gets the loners to join in and have fun , and he smooths it over when someone does something embarrassing . +he is exactly the man you would want at your wedding . +the day comes when robbie has his own wedding , and he is stood up by his heavy-metal bride ( the movie is set in 1985 ) . +robbie takes it hard . +he doesn't sleep , he doesn't eat , and he gets punched out at work when he sings " love stinks " at a wedding . +julia ( drew barrymore ) , who waitresses all the weddings in town , gives him a shoulder to cry on and an ear to talk to . +eventually , robbie starts rebounding toward julia . +he really likes her , but she's engaged . +her fianc ? is a self-confident jerk ( do i see a trend - nope , just a formula ) who doesn't deserve her , but robbie is too depressed to fight for her hand . +julia seems to like robbie too , but she can't leave her seemingly safe and stable fianc ? for the off-chance that robbie might be serious about her . +you know the story . +you've seen it a million times before . +there's always a new way to tell it , with new lovers , new chemistry , and new details , but it's the same story . +and sometimes , it works . +the wedding singer works . +first of all , the chemistry between sandler and barrymore is effective . +actually , it's not so much the chemistry between the two as it is each one's own romantic tension . +sandler captures the forlorn sleepwalking look of a jilted man , struck with an unattainable love . +barrymore is charming as the girl next door looking for someone serious to settle down with . +sparks don't fly when they kiss , but they both seem right for each other . +second , their love is mature . +they are not driven by passionate sexual attraction - they're a cute couple , but neither sandler nor barrymore is centerfold material . +instead , they are both looking for someone meaningful , someone to settle down with , someone to grow old with . +at a wedding , robbie comforts a kid throwing up in a dumpster while julia sits by . +the repulsing situation is taken in stride , as if the two were already parents , caring for their sick child . +the ? 80s soundtrack and references play a big part in this movie . +other critics liked this movie in part because of the '80s soundtrack . +i liked it in spite of the soundtrack . +often , the music and references felt forced . +for example , robbie tells his ex-fianc ? to " get out of my van halen t-shirt before you jinx the band and they break up . " + ( ha ha ha . +get it ? +david lee roth did leave van halen ! ) +or how about when sammy ( allen covert ) , robbie's chauffeur friend , shows up at a party wearing a michael jackson jacket and - get this - a single silver glove . + ( that's exactly what mj used to wear all the time ! ) . +unfortunately , making fun of generalizations about a past era is too easy to be rewarding . +that's not to say the movie isn't funny . +screenwriter tim herlihy has written for sandler before ( billy madison and happy gilmore ) , and the two make a good combination . +herlihy knows what sort of jokes sandler is good at and has tailored the script to his straight-faced , smart-aleck style . +let's hope herlihy and sandler stick together for a few more projects because this movie really won me over . +with barrymore's charm and sandler's heart , it was hard to go wrong . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv366_10221.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv366_10221.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..22f9e612bd003b0ec9f698893893995b1687d692 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv366_10221.txt @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ + " when it's cold , molecules aren't moving . +everything is clean . " +these are the essential words of mikey carver ( elijah wood ) , a young teenage boy living in 1973 new canaan , connecticut in the ice storm . +when mikey delivers these words to a bored science class , it is unlikely that anyone realizes how much they parallel mikey's life and the lives that surround him . +his father jim ( jamey sheridan ) is rarely seen and his mother janey ( sigourney weaver ) is having an affair with married neighbor ben hood ( kevin kline ) . +ben's wife elena ( joan allen ) suspects the affair , but doesn't say anything . +meanwhile , ben's 14-year-old daughter wendy ( christina ricci ) continuously lures mikey and his younger brother sandy ( adam hann-byrd ) into sexual explorations . +tobey maguire plays paul hood , the 16-year-old narrator of the story who also happens to be the least prevalent character . +we start the film with an interesting outlook on family from paul . +he compares family to the fantastic four comic book , and even goes so far as to say that family is everybody's own anti-matter ; something everybody will return to eventually , and the farther you go , the deeper you'll return . +the ice storm is a character piece that explores a dismal time both in america , and in the individual lives portrayed in the movie . +everything parallels everything else . +the young teenagers trying to discover who they are thru drugs , sex , and alcohol is really almost identical to the parents trying to figure out the purpose in their own lives using the same methods . + " when it's cold outside , the molecules aren't moving . +everything is clean . " +everything is clean because nobody will admit what's going on . +even the president is on tv denying his wrong-doings . +how can you expect anything more out of a couple of suburban families riding the coattails of sexual revolution ? +all the sex and drugs is so obviously empty , and i think that's the point of the film . +at first viewing , the entire movie might seem empty , but then why shouldn't it parallel itself ? +you don't get to know the characters very deeply , but i think that's because nobody in the movie knows each other either . +we sadly watch two families go about their lives nearly oblivious to one another . +at first glance , you might think emotion is lost in the ending scenes because you haven't gotten to know the characters well enough to sympathize - then you realize that just might be the point , and then you do feel the pain . +the acting by all is quite good , but i particularly liked elijah wood . +he doesn't seem to be receiving as much recognition as the others , but i still found him to possess quite a real sense of being . +christina ricci is being acclaimed for her part as the misguided teenage temptress who looks for something more to her life in the pants of every available boy . +still , i say hats off remain to wood , joan allen's subtle but believable performance as a lonely , unappreciated wife , and the always excellent kevin kline . +tobey maguire did a fine job , but his character which , perhaps , was the most intact , sensible person in the story , seemed a little lost . +he was needed , but perhaps he should've been used more . +the ice storm is being hailed by many as one of the best films of the year . +i hate to say that i don't agree , but i don't . +in fact , i can think of many other films that i would rank higher than this one . +even so , it is a very good film . +it takes a lot of retrospect to fully appreciate it's art , but when you finally start seeing things in it that you didn't before , you start to grow even fonder of the characters and the story . +perhaps this is one to see , ponder , and then watch again with different eyes . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv368_10466.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv368_10466.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c15c1ce3249a5818052a46f082463c03071fd54d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv368_10466.txt @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +titanic is , without a doubt , the best movie i've seen all year . +and believe me , i'm not an easy critic to impress : the english patient was too long , men in black was over-hyped , and several of the " big summer releases " were dead in the water . +thank god this film got delayed until december . +it's my christmas present . +titanic is in the tradition of the old hollywood epics of years-gone-by , and it is truly a stunning film . +while watching this picture you are completely mesmerized , never taking your eyes off the screen , nor checking your watch to see how much longer it's gonna last , despite its 3 hour plus running time . +as a friend of mine , who's a true titanic-buff , said " if someone doesn't like this film , it's because they didn't want to . " +truer words are hard to come by . +of course , it doesn't hurt that this film comes from one of my favorite directors , james cameron , who is unarguably the greatest action director of all time . +if you wish to argue that point with me , look at his list of credits : the terminator , aliens , the abyss , terminator 2 , true lies , etc . still care to disagree ? +not only has cameron helmed the directorial duties of this film , he also wrote , produced , and edited it . +and to show his true faith for the project , he renenged all directing fees and percentage points to ease the budget costs . +it's obvious he truly loves titanic . +the film opens with footage , both real and fake , of an underwater excursion by special submarines to the bottom of the atlantic , where a team of explorers lead by bill paxton are searcing for a diamond called the " heart of the ocean " , which , according to bill paxton's character , would be worth more than the hope diamond today . +their search turns up , dissapointly , no diamond , but instead a drawing of a young woman wearing the diamond . +this picture is broadcast on cnn and is seen by a 101 year old woman named rose , who claims to be the girl in the picture . +she is flown out to sea to meet bill paxton and to tell them about the diamond . +almost all of the rest of the movie is her narration of the past . +rose's narration shows us how she was an unhappy young girl , engaged to a rich man named cal hockley ( billy zane ) that she didn't want to marry . +her mother is pushy and obnoxious , and cal hockley is arrogant . +they are boarding the titanic , which is sailing to america , and this is where she is to marry cal . +meanwhile , a young man named jack dawson ( leonardo dicaprio ) and his italian friend ( danny nucci ) win two 3rd class tickets aboard the titanic in a poker game . +they are overjoyed , and rush aboard just as the boat is leaving . +for them , this is their ticket to america , to a better life . +for rose , she is sailing to her doom . +the first hour and a half or so of titanic tells the story of how rose dewitt ( kate winslet ) and jack dawson fall in love . +it's the classic wrong-side-of-the-tracks story , and does sometimes resort to a few cliches . +but as i said above , the love portion isn't sappy and doesn't " weigh the film down " , as some critics have said . +it's sweet , and it didn't make me restless at all , despite the fact that i usually hate love stories . +of course , it might help that cameron introduces some pretty interesting characters to help keep our eyes glued to the screen . +most of these people actually were passengers on the titanic back in 1912 , including the enigmatic molly brown ( played by the talented kathy bates ) , the captain of titanic ( bernard hill ) , and so on . +all of these characters add an extra depth to the film , and make it that easier to watch . +of course , things really start to get going after the hour and a half mark , where the titanic strikes the iceberg and begins a slow sink to the bottom . +the sinking is depicted realisticly , and the effects are truly amazing . +it is not told in a heroic fashion sense either , as people are portrayed as panicking , pushing others aside to get on the limited lifeboats , and drowning and dying horrible deaths . +the best part of the movie , in my opinion , comes at the very end , when we flash back to the future . +the crew , who at first had been skeptical of rose's story , now are totally aborbed by her . +rose goes out onto the ship's ledge , and we then learn a secret about her that catches us off guard . +we then see a dream of rose's , in which she returns to the titanic and is dancing with jack dawson . +most people i talked with after the movie saw this as only a dream . +however , i think it symbolized more ; i think it meant that rose had died , and is going to a sort of heaven , which would be the happiest part of her life : her and her one true love , jack . +if anyone has seen the movie and would like to voice an opinion about this , e-mail me at venom8@hotmail . com . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv369_12886.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv369_12886.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..79d53831daf097906bd19f48516b1fec35ad36fe --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv369_12886.txt @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +sometimes you just have to tip your hat to a film . +sometimes you just have to jump on the bandwagon and enjoy the ride . +i saw the truman show with an audience full of teenagers , most of whom were no doubt drawn by ace ventura himself and hoping to see his latest take on fart jokes . +surprised , they may have been , when they realized that this picture actually had something to say . +but by the attentiveness of the crowd i'd say they were won over - as was i . i can't tell yet if truman really is that good , or if it only seems that good in comparison to the awful mountain of crap spewed forth from the bowls of hollywood so far this year . +time alone will make that call . +but by the end of the film we were all on truman burbank's side . +we were concerned for his well-being , and wanted him to win . +that we felt as we did is a tribute both to the film and to jim carrey , who has achieved legitimacy at last . +the truman show is a film best viewed cold , with as little foreknowledge as possible about the plot . +unless you're under a media blackout , however , you probably know the basics . +carrey stars as truman burbank , a capra-esque everyman insurance agent living with his beautiful wife meryl ( laura linney ) in the south florida island town of seahaven , which looks like michael eisner's idea of the perfect american small town . +truman would seem to live the perfect middle class lifestyle , complete with a working wife , a best bud , friendly neighbors and interesting co-workers . +there is tragedy in his past - his father drowned in a horrible boating accident , leaving truman with a dreadful fear of water , and of travel in general - but overall , life is good . +but then one day as truman leaves his house for work , a klieg light falls magically from the sky . +this curious event may lead truman to discover what the rest of the world already knows : that he is a prisoner on the world's biggest soundstage , that his wife , friends and relatives are all actors paid to interact with him , and that his life has , for over 10 , 000 days , been broadcast as the world's most popular television program . +what makes the first hour of truman so enjoyable to watch is the magical verisimilitude painstakingly constructed by niccol and weir . +the soundstage , we're told , is " only the second man-made structure visible from space . " +truman's movements are tracked ceaselessly by 5 , 000 cameras scattered throughout the town : button cams , dashboard cams , mirror cams , wife cams , big cams and small cams . +weir cuts the film so we're never quite sure if we're watching truman through the camera of director weir or through the camera of the show's omnipotent creator christof ( ed harris ) who oversees the show from a control room built into the man-made moon in seahaven's sky . +the second act offers a plethora of clues for truman as to the truth of his existence . +his best friend marlon ( noah emmerich ) always has a six pack of beer with him . +his wife seems to exist in an eternal commercial in which she is always endorsing the latest hot household product . +he sees the same people walking in the same set patterns all over town . +one wonders why he didn't pick up on any of this earlier , but christof has an answer for this : " people tend to accept the reality with which they're presented . " +nevertheless , truman begins to grow restless , and dreams of escape to fiji , where an old college sweetheart ( natasha mcelhone ) supposedly lives . +this convincing reality of television as progenitor of reality is a magical and provocative concept ; the best thing jim carrey does is stay out of its way . +by underplaying truman , he allows the subtle manipulations of the film to take over . +there is a particularly poignant scene in which truman confides his fears to marlon , and marlon answers with best-friend sincerity , " i'd gladly step in front of a bus for you . " +but that line was fed to marlon through an earpiece by christof . +the abject cruelty to which truman is subjected to hits home - and from that moment , we're on his side . +the truman show derives much of its success from playing to our own secret paranoid fantasies - haven't we all , at least once , doubted our place in the world , doubted the sincerity of those closest to us ? +ultimately , however , the picture rises above its own artifice to raise some real questions about the relationship of humankind and our creator . +what does god really think of us ? +does he resent our abandonment of paradise ? +who exactly is watching us , up there in the sky ? +if you enjoy the picture as much as i did , credit weir for allowing the magic of the screenplay to work . +as for carrey - well , truman burbank is the kind of role that jimmy stewart was born to play . +carrey is no jimmy stewart ; to his credit , he doesn't try to be . +he just tries to feel the way you or i would , if we suddenly found out that the whole world was watching us . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv370_5221.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv370_5221.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..660ed617227b1e59caf3479053c6aa684f6e116b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv370_5221.txt @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +i didn't realize how apt the name of this movie was until i called the mpaa ( the motion picture association of america - the folks who decide what's g , nc 17 , pg , r or x ) to ask why the preview was rated r . so that we can make some sense of their response , let me tell you about the movie itself . + " the celluloid closet " is a documentary about how homosexuality has been portrayed in the movies over the past several decades . +it's brilliant , funny , naughty and extremely poignant . +it tore at my heart to watch a gifted lesbian screenwriter explain that , as a rule , gay audiences hunger for any hint of homosexuality on screen . +regardless of how veiled - or how sordid - the presence of a gay or lesbian person allows others to lessen their sense of isolation and makes them feel as if they're not quite so invisible as america seems to want them to be . +the movie itself is rated r - and for good reason . +it contains scenes of bloody , violent gay bashing and graphic , uninhibited , sex . +as with any movie , i appreciate knowing about these things ahead of time , so i can decide for myself whether to see the movie with a friend , a date , my 11 year old niece , alone or not at all . +but , that's the movie . +now back to the preview . +prior to this film being theatrically released ( it was originally filmed as a documentary for hbo ) i had seen the coming attractions trailer for it at least six times . +there was no nudity , no violence , no bad language , nothing that i could see that would be offensive or inappropriate for a general audience ( okay , whoopi goldberg did refer to someone " boning " someone , but the last i knew that wasn't one of the seven words you can't say on tv ) . +except for a scene of two fully clothed men kissing . +hmmmmm . +when i inquired about the rating on the trailer , a very nice woman at the mpaa quoted from " the handbook " that a trailer approved for all audiences could contain " no homosexuality or lesbianism and no going down on someone . " +hello ? i was in the office and it was the middle of the day . +bravely , i pursued . + " i've seen that trailer , oh . . . +probably half a dozen times , " i gulped . . . + " and i don't remember that scene . " + " well , " she chirped . + " it's there . +our little eyes are trained to see that . " +no really . +in the words of dave barry , " i am not making this up . " +they are " trained " to " see that ? " +when someone who was shocked at the rating the first time and made a note to watch it carefully the following five times or so managed to let it slip past her ? +gosh , i certainly don't mean to question the mpaa , or " the handbook " . +i would , however , like to suggest that it's they who are in the closet on this one . +and the light ain't good in there . +but , having seen " the celluloid closet , " and being one of a handful of straight people involved in a primarily gay and lesbian weekly bible study ( email me and i'll give you the details ) , none of this was any big surprise . +the point of the movie was that homosexuality , even in the politically correct 90s , is ridiculously perceived as a threat to a mostly heterosexual society . +a point well made in this candid and honest film . +now , i could go off on the mpaa's ruling that a trailer must contain " no homosexuality or lesbianism " and ask how that is defined , particularly in light of some of the things , both sexual and non-sexual , that i've watched straight people do in trailers . +i just don't feel the need to go there , because it seems so obvious . +i'll instead suggest that the mpaa re-evaluated their evaluation criteria . +let the ratings reflect not subject content , like " sex " and " violence " . +let them reflect attitude content . +in the future , i'd be interested in knowing whether the movie is rated d for disrespectful or s for stereotyped . +then i'd truly be able to make an informed decision about how i spent my time . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv371_7630.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv371_7630.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f3604261e0cd025fff596cac8a8ca16e9c8e970c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv371_7630.txt @@ -0,0 +1,45 @@ +118 minutes ; not rated ( though i suspect it would be rated pg for adult themes and language ) +mamoru oshii is a name that probably isn't very well-known to most american audiences , but perhaps it should be . +oshii was the director of last year's best-known japanese animated film import , _ghost in the shell_ , and is known among fans of japanese animation , or anime , for making films with a deep philosophical bent . +one of these films was the first theatrical venture for the patlabor animated series . +in its many incarnations--graphic novels ( " manga " ) , two different runs of made-for-video episodes ( original animation videos , or oavs for short ) , and a television series running to nearly fifty episodes--patlabor has proven to be one of the most popular series ever in japan . +set in the very near future ( though it was a somewhat farther away near future when the series was first conceived ) , this atypical giant robot anime features the characters , rather than the machinery , as the primary focus . +as a whole , patlabor is the story of an exciting time for japan . +as the prologue to each episode of the television series explains , giant industrial robots , known as " labors " ( an interesting play on words , considering that " robot " is derived from the czech word for labor ) , have come into widespread use in japan toward the close of the twentieth century . +with the rise of labors , however , has come a new menace--labor crime . +this led to the creation of the two special vehicle divisions , using patrol labors to fight labor crime . +the patlabor story centers around the second special vehicle division , sv2 , who , through no fault of their own , have acquired a bad reputation for destructiveness . +sometimes utterly hilarious , sometimes almost deadly serious , the patlabor series explores the interpersonal relationships of the special vehicle crewmembers , and also looks at the effects of technology on modern life . +those who are unfamiliar with the patlabor story and characters may find themselves slightly confused coming into the movie , although there is ample background exposition provided for new viewers . +the story , as has much of patlabor before , centers around the controversial babylon project , a gigantic seawall that will , on its completion , allow the reclamation of thousands of square miles of land from tokyo bay . +this project has been an almost constant target of environmentalist terrorists , most notably the house of sea organization . +however , the threat in this case comes not from any terrorist , but from someone who is already dead . . . +shinohara heavy industries , the premier labor manufacturer in japan ( if not the whole world ) , has just come out with a new operating system that increases labors' movement speed and efficiency by 30% . +this hyper operating system , hos for short , has very quickly been installed into well over 90% of the nation's labors . . . including the patrol labors of sv2 . +since that installation , dozens of labors , including a heavily-armed military model , have begun to go on berzerk rampages for no apparent reason . . . and the only factor they all had in common was that they were all running under the new hos . + ( some wags have compared this to windows 95 . ) +it's up to asuma shinohara , labor command officer with sv2 and the son of the president of shinohara heavy industries , to find the source of these problems before more labors--including sv2's own--fall victim to them , and before hos drags his father's company down with it . +as was the case with _ghost in the shell_ , if you just want a no-brainer actionfest , this might not be the movie for you . +_patlabor : the movie_ is more of a psychological thriller , a technological suspense drama . +it is closer , perhaps , to a chrichton novel than to an action movie ( crichton novels that have been made _into_ action movies notwithstanding ) . +there are long , thoughtful montages of dialogueless footage as two investigators make their way through slums and derelict housing in old quarters of tokyo , similar to sequences from _ghost in the shell_ . +this movie is fraught with symbolism--in fact a large part of it is based on christian symbolism . +patlabor's near-future setting is , aside from the giant robots tromping around , very similar to our own present day . +the film uses this setting to make its central point : is progress moving too fast for humans to keep up ? +are history and culture falling by the wayside like the old buildings that are being torn down and replaced with new ? +this is a question just as applicable to today as it is to patlabor's alternate-1999 setting . +as far as the technical aspects of the film go ( referring to the subtitled version , as that's the only one i've seen ) , the film transfer is clear , almost phenomenally so . +the animation quality is incredible , though the character design is different from what most patlabor fans will be used to . +the oavs and tv series were more cheerful , better-suited to humor ; the movie , however , makes everyone look a great deal less cute , and emphasizes that this is going to be , for the most part , a deadly serious storyline . +as far as cinematography goes , there are many interesting moments in _patlabor : the movie_ . +i don't think i can recall ever seeing a fish-eye perspective used in any other animated film ( save for _ghost in the shell_ , another oshii film ) , or indeed , in many other movies at all . +the cinematography is well-suited to the storyline , emphasizing what it needs to , though a couple of scenes ( where characters' features are exaggerated in anger ) may seem slightly strange to western audiences . +the audio track of _patlabor : the movie_ is in glorious hi-fi stereo , and should be used to demonstrate home theater systems--it _is_ that good . +even without headphones , sounds from either side of the screen can be clearly heard to _come_ from that side . +giant robot footsteps are deep and booming . +the sometimes-understated , sometimes-blaring score is crisp and clear , and always right on the mark , enhancing the moods created by the animated scenery . +as far as the subtitles go , i have to say that they're among the most easily-readable subtitles i've ever seen for _anything_ . +large enough that they don't strain the eyes , but small enough not to conceal too much of the screen . +although it does have several action sequences in it , most notably the climactic conclusion , _patlabor_ is foremost not an action movie . +although it is a superbly-realized film , it relies in large part upon prior familiarity with some of the characters to carry the story , and that could detract from some people's enjoyment . +my . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv372_6552.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv372_6552.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..57ed5c0909aabad39b9a65d655fbd51fdf61432a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv372_6552.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17 @@ +okay , let me first say , this is a beavis and butthead movie . +if you do not like beavis and butthead , do not go to see this movie ! ! ! ! ! +however , if you do like them , i recommened you get out right now and go see it . +the movie starts off with the boys wondering what happened to their tv . +they notice that it has been stolen and they vow to find it . +this wind their way through america searching for dallas ( she is a woman ) . +they look for her because as they are searching for the tv , they find a drunk who wants them " to do " his wife . +well , of course they think he wants them to score with her when actually he wants them to kill her . +and the fun starts their . +this movie is a mix of funny gags that anly beavis and butthead could pull off . +it is quality entertainment that only fan of beavis and butthead would enjoy . +i enjoyed this movie alot because mike judge knew how to keep pace . +even when they were crawling through the desert and i thought the movie started to lag , he manages to keep the laughs coming . +if you expecting changes from the show keep looking . +the same character , the same voices , the same everything from the show and that's what makes it good . +you might think with a movie from a tv show , you can change a few things . +often times this spells disaster for films because the film makers veer away from what made the show popular in the first place ! diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv373_20404.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv373_20404.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0c8f756b0a088ae2eaa1def87fbf7e0f0197c0ed --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv373_20404.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +taking a few tips from the pulp fiction school of filmmaking , go is the new feature from the director of the cult hit swingers . +the story centres around a group of people , who include brit simon ( askew ) , and checkout girls claire ( holmes ) and ronna ( polley ) and the misadventures that they get into , split into three chapters . +everything from sex to drugs to violence is covered in a film with a much blacker edge in comedy than swingers . +although qt's touch is evident in nearly every frame , go is entertaining enough to forget about the similarities and just enjoy the rollercoaster ride . +liman , who also photographed the film , has a deft touch with the camera , and the film looks good . +the film also seems to have benefited from a budget , with the night-club scenes in particular looking pretty good . +there's a twisted sense of humour running throughout which ensures that even the darkest scenes get a smirk . +the young cast are talented and help bring the story to life . +holmes , one of the dawson's creek cast ( a show i'm not particularly fond of ) displays much talent here , and despite her largely limited screen time manages to make a three dimensional character and never becomes a caricature . +askew is slightly successful , being rather obnoxious . +no doubt the filmmakers intended this to make the audience cheer when what happens to him , but instead of 'funny annoying' he's just annoying . +he drags down slightly one of the funniest chapters , but the talent around him in that particular tale more than makes up for it . +the real standout is sarah polley as the drug dealing checkout girl : her refreshing and deeply enjoyable performance makes the heavy going stories she is involved in much more entertaining . +also entertaining timothy olyphant as the rather sinister drug dealer , who gives an nice evil performance . +the script , written john august , is sharp and witty , with good dialogue and some funny jokes . +it starts off rather slow however , but in about twenty minutes the script has found it's footing and just keeps getting better . +the stories are largely satisfying , although occasionally there's too much attention on one detail but not on another . +also , some of the endings seem a little forced and lucky . +still , the cast have a meaty script to get into and obviously enjoy it . +it could of tried a little harder in some parts however , and these parts lag . +because this is a gen-xer movie , the obligatory rave soundtrack must accompany , and go's one is pretty decent . +unlike other gen-xers movies , go never allows the music to substitute for plot or dialogue , which is a plus . +go is a very easy movie to absorb into , and the audience really starts feeling for these characters . +thankfully , they never become two dimensional characters who are bent and twisted throughout the movie to fit into the stories mechanics ( like the heroine in 10 things i hate about you . ) +they are who they are and they stay that way . +go is great fun , and a worthy follow up from the director of swingers . +ignore the fact that it steals from pulp fiction and very bad things , and just sit back and enjoy the rollercoaster ride . +erm , go to go , i guess . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv374_25436.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv374_25436.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1c59d211982cb95a0a7cc3f5d069b251cf4c2574 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv374_25436.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +garry shandling makes his long overdue starring film debut as an alien from a planet populated only by genetically created men , who are looking to take over the earth by propagating their own species there . +shandling is chosen for the mission , is given the name harold anderson , and is set up as a banker in seattle . +after a few disastrous " mating " attempts , he figures his best bet will be susan ( annette bening ) , a former alcoholic who eventually tells harold that she won't have sex again until she gets married . +the leader of harold's planet ( ben kingsley ) tells him to marry her , and harold is soon exposed to all the " joys " of married life . +despite its title and premise which seem to imply that this is some jerry lewis vehicle from the late 1960s , what planet are you from ? +is a very funny movie . +the plot ( which the film wisely doesn't linger on the specifics of for too long ) is of course nothing more than framework for the jokes , most of which work very well . +the material may be considered crude and tasteless by many , and i might have thought so as well had shandling not been the lead . +but he brings a sort of pathetic charm to the role , and it's his performance that makes the film truly funny instead of just offensive . +plus if you think about it , what planet are you from ? +could have very easily gone the gross-out route ( considering that shandling's character is given a detachable penis that vibrates and hums when he gets excited ) . +we never see anything though , it's all implied , which gives the film a touch of class amidst its crudeness . +i'm glad to see that someone in hollywood still understands the concept of " less is more " . +the talented supporting cast certainly adds to one's enjoyment of this film . +annette bening ( oddly playing a merged version of her real estate salesman character from american beauty and her ditzy spiritualist character from mars attacks ! ) +does a fine job keeping up with shandling and makes a good catalyst for his brand of humor . +she even manages to pull off a potentially disastrous scene where she has to perform a rather goofy rendition of " high hopes " for a lengthy period of time . +ben kingsley , john goodman and greg kinnear all fare well in their performances as well , and linda fiorentino . . . +good lord , there should be some sort of law stating that no woman can be that sexy . +everything about her character in this film oozes raw sexuality . +what planet are you from ? +is available on dvd from columbia tristar home video . +the disc gives you the choice of either watching the film full frame or in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1 . 85 : 1 ( and enhanced for 16x9 televisions . +also included on the disc as extras : a decent making-of featurette , an isolated score track , talent files for the cast and crew , and the film's original theatrical trailer ( as well as trailers for wolf , men in black , bugsy and as good as it gets ) . +when i first saw that the disc featured an isolated score track , i actually laughed . +how great could the music for a silly little comedy be for it to get it's own isolated track ? +well as it turns out , it's a mighty fine score from carter burwell ( fargo , the hudsucker proxy ) that i enjoyed listening to again while i typed up this review . +kudos to columbia tristar for adding that feature to the disc . +what planet are your from ? +was unjustly ignored in theaters , and i hope it finds its deserved audience on home video . +this fine dvd is certainly a great way to see it . +[r] diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv376_19435.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv376_19435.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..9b562223d0d72d611456daba7a55fb247e08c315 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv376_19435.txt @@ -0,0 +1,33 @@ +i recall the trials and tribulations of my high school years . +it was a period that would mercilessly force me to exit boyhood and thrust me into the unwelcome arms of adulthood . +but of all the experiences that i collected throughout those tender years , i can honestly say that the toughest and the scariest thing that i had to cope with was my raging hormones and my crazed curiosity about girls and sex . +yes , more scarier than my seventh grade english teacher and even scarier than the bullies that constantly hounded me , trying to deal with my personal wonderment about sex was like trying to fight an invisible monster . +for all teenagers , it's almost like a rite of passage . +and what we did was sometimes downright nasty , sometimes funny , and sometimes shocking . +and all of that is terrifically and shamelessly brought to light in what might be the funniest movie this summer . +`american pie' is a comedy about four sexually frustrated seniors that enter into a pact to lose their virginity by the end of the school year . +just how great are their hormones raging ? +one of them notes , after watching disney's the little mermaid , that ariel is soooo hot . +the four schoolmates are kevin , oz , finch and jim . +kevin is the only one with a steady girlfriend , but doesn't want to have sex until the time is just right . +but what is the perfect time ? +there is just no way to know , and that frightens him . +oz is the big jock who decides that the way to score with the girls is to listen to them and to be more sensitive . +he joins up with a jazz choir and discovers that getting in touch with his feminine side has some tremendous advantages . +finch is the phobic hermit who doesn't stand a chance with any girl . +so , he pays someone $200 to start spreading rumors about his prowess . +suddenly , girls are lining up to go out with him . +but among these friends , it is jim that is the most curious and the most fearful . +when he has a chance to romp with a pretty exchange student , his inexperience comes shining through . +he has much to learn , and will do anything to seek out this kind of knowledge . +this may include watching scrambled porn channels or experimenting with mom's apple pie in a scene that is completely shocking , raunchy , yet unbelievably funny . +the one thing that i want to say about this film is that it well deserves its `r' rating . +there is stuff in here that is completely gross in the same manner that `there's something about mary' was gloriously ribald . +in fact , at first this film received a sinful nc-17 rating before a couple of more cuts finally brought it down to a teen-accessible rating . +but i guess after seeing the no-holds-barred coarseness of south park , this seems tame by comparison . +teens and anyone who can still remember their acne years are the ones that will laugh hardest . +but unlike many teen sex comedies , there is a genuine intelligence at work here . +these are four normal boys who have a natural curiosity about sex . +their plans of action are thoughtful and they think about the consequences . +they know what they want , yet temper it with responsibility . +but almost always , it's impossible to know how to fight the invisible monster , and it's these episodes that make `american pie' such a carnal delight to watch . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv377_7946.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv377_7946.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2b1275a35fea04e965dd4298068a617d46f1c79c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv377_7946.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +full metal jacket , very much like every other hard-hitting film about the vietnam war , is an shocking , emotional depiction of the war that effected almost everyone in america . +this film is more like platoon than any other in the way that it chronicles the struggles of a young man ( private joker , played by matthew modine ) during his tour in the vietnam war . +however , full metal jacket gives the audience an insight into combat life very rarely seen before : boot camp . +these sequences are considered to be the best part in this three act film , even though i found the later portions to be equally stunning . +as in platoon , full metal jacket gets off to a quick start . +the opening sequence is the initiation for the recruits , which is getting their heads shaved . +from there , they find themselves standing at attention and receiving their orders from the extremely hard and punishing sergeant hartman , played extremely well by the former drill instructor r . lee ermey . +apparently , the solution was found for the perfect man to play a drill instructor in the movies , because ermey depicts his character extremely well and will make you thank whomever that you were never subjected to such horrible situations . +private joker gets off on the wrong foot with the sergeant , as does the large bodied private leonard lawrence ( vincent d'onofrio ) , whom is dubbed 'gomer pyle' by sgt . +hartman . +the film is continually narrated by private joker , in which he explains his visions on what is going on . +the entire corps , although repeatedly hammered by sgt . +hartman , continues on . +private pyle , however , seems to be the rag doll for the drill instructor . +he continually absorbs the worst punishment and humiliation , and it basically does not stop . +that is , until sgt . +hartman comes up with a new plan . +he will punish the rest of the soon-to-be-marines for pyle's goof-ups , even after joker was assigned to help him out in the best way he can . +pyle then receives punishment from his fellow recruits , and things take a turn for the worst . +pyle proves that not everyone is emotionally , physically , and mentally cut out for the life of a marine . +after graduation , joker is sent over to the height of the action in order to document the war , which is his service . +he is not a member of the infantry , and it is unclear if he will ever actually find himself in combat . +when he sets out on a documenting mission , this question becomes very clear from the start . +joker joins up with a platoon , along with his hometown friend cowboy ( arliss howard ) , and follows their everyday actions , interviewing and filmming them along the way . +he also soon finds himself in a position in which he must fight , or die . +again , as in the tradition of vietnam war films , full metal jacket can be debated as to whether it is an anti-war film or not . +a few of the more powerful scenes toward the end will leave you to decide . +full metal jacket succeeds extremely well in documenting the life of a young man in vietnam , as have others in the past . +this film , in different ways , also can be viewed as more powerful than others . +that , again , is up for debate and depends on your opinion . +one thing is for sure , however ; no one ever wants to experience the absolute hell that these soldiers are subjected to . +unfortunately , many did . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv378_20629.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv378_20629.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c92171e802efc939cae824824172684e826ac478 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv378_20629.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +oliver stone's latest feature is the last one standing in the long line of biographies of american presidents . +it's a three-hour long saga about the life of one of the most hated and misunderstood leaders of the 20th century . +stone doesn't hold back anything as he digs deep inside politics and legal maneuvers of the white house . +the director holds nixon responsible for everything he has done . +at the same time he creates a very human character , a brilliant and tortured man that is caught in the dirty game of politics , which is here pictured as a wild animal . +he is simply trying to tame it . +but the occasional switch to the raging sky and the clouds swiftly fleeing over the white house as events run ahead of the president's ability to control them . +stone doesn't in any way apologize for nixon . +he blames not only nixon's own character flaws but also the imperial presidency itself , the system that , once set in motion , behaves with a mindlessness of its own . + " nixon " is a modern shakespeare story - a saga about a ruler destroyed by his fatal flaws . +there's something almost majestic about the process : as nixon goes down in this film , there is no gloating , but a watery sigh , as of a great ship sinking . +sir anthony hopkins is staggering and plays nixon with incredible honesty and understanding , creating a very emotional picture of the 37th american president . +joan allen's magnificent and captivating performance is certainly worth an oscar statuette . +she is strong and loyal as mrs . nixon . +the rest of the cast is equally magnificent , including : james woods , j . t . walsh , paul sorvino , ed harris and bob hoskins . +everyone does a serious and demanding job , no one are disappointing . +stone never loses focus and his direction is steddy , honest and determined . +he is displaying the historical facts and at the same time concentrating at the human element . +at times he is showing to black and white showing flashbacks from nixon's youth and childhood . +the flashy editing by brian berdan and frank corwin , robert richardson's rich cinematography and john williams' musical score create a hectic and bizarre atmosphere . +the film's only fault is that it's a bit tiering and overloaded with too much political material and legal maneuvers . +still it's an honest and captivating - a solid piece of movie making . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv379_21963.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv379_21963.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..bb90e8fb9b3969090a1a9b1e824e67760711d80c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv379_21963.txt @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +in tim burton's `sleepy hollow' , there is a mysterious headless horseman who decapitates residents of the small town of the same name . +he rides a beautiful black steed and carries an imposing sword that cauterizes the wound of his victims with an immediate swipe . +burton's update on washington irving's classic tale of `the legend of sleepy hollow' offers us the mystery of the horseman , when the screenplay should have merely settled on the aspect of the horror . +writer andrew kevin walker ( `seven' ) throws in perhaps too healthy a dosage of sherlock holmes , but the visual treatment of the film is absolutely entrancing , as burton offers foggy locales and detailed costumes that are gorgeous and stirring to examine . +as `sleepy hollow' opens , we're greeted with a juicy cameo from martin landau , who won an oscar in burton's `ed wood' . +landau plays a prominent citizen of sleepy hollow , who , on a fateful carriage ride through the forest , is decapitated by an unseen horseback rider . +after two more murders haunt the residents of the quaint little town , constable ichabod crane ( johnny depp ) is sent in to investigate . +landlord baltus von tassel ( michael gambon ) explains to crane that the heads have been severed from the carcass and mysteriously taken in each separate case , and that they believe the murderer is a dead hessian trooper ( played briefly by a wonderfully jarring christopher walken ) who has risen from the grave after being decapitated in the western woods . +crane is not a man of great superstition , and is determined to root out the human culprit with his assortment of gizmos and gadgets ( things i was not surprised to find in a tim burton movie ) . +first and foremost , `sleepy hollow' is a fun horror film . +as with virtually all burton movies , we are treated to a wonderful score by composer danny elfman , who has once again poured excitement and imagination into an atmospheric soundtrack that accentuates the gothic mood perfectly . +the horseman f/x are stylish and impressive , particularly in perfectly blended battle sequences involving actual actors . +but why did i enjoy `sleepy hollow' as much as i did ? +although enjoyable , it was not the numerous beheadings and the plentiful gore that spurted left and right . . +it was the light comic touch that burton applied . +the film has the sweetness of a candy apple , usually channeled through depp's wonderful performance as the lovable geek ichabod crane , who is no longer a mild-mannered school teacher but still attains his cowardly qualities . +this is certainly not the only alteration that's been made . +as the film progresses , it becomes apparent that walker is more concerned with the mystery of the murders than the murders themselves . +the momentum is slowed considerably once crane begins piecing the mystery together , because for the audience , it's not an issue we particularly wish to be solved . +it's more effective for the headless horseman to be an elusive demon than an elusive demon with an ulterior motive . +still , we are still captivated by the breathtaking technical detail and burton's keen eye to capture our attention . +the costuming is exceptional , and the dialogue is crisp and effective throughout ( it's recognizable that the script was refined by award-winning playwright tom stoppard ) . +the supporting cast exhibits more color and playfulness than many . +a blonde christina ricci is in fine form as von tassel's daughter katrina , and an unlikely romance between she and ichabod is surprisingly consistent . +walken , michael gough ( who appeared in burton's `batman' films ) and miranda richardson are all enjoyable in tackling their separate roles . +i suppose the strengths behind `sleepy hollow' lie within the central trio : director burton , constable depp and the headless horseman who hunts him down with ruthless accuracy . +all of this is not to be taken seriously , of course . +`sleepy hollow' is a lavish , frightening and altogether amusing reworking of a classic tale that many people cherished as children . +if you've got a decent head on your shoulders , you'll have the good sense to gallop off to the theater and enjoy it one last time . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv380_7574.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv380_7574.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..79849eed8d8f324b89c3e19ac4f2069ca3215777 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv380_7574.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +ok , i admit i had a bad attitude about this film from the start . +a romantic comedy about the trials and tribulations of single working parents ? +with a couple of incredibly cute kids thrown in for good measure ? +yuck . +but it's not really too bad . +it has a lot working against it , for me at least . +in addition to the above , it is typical of a lot of recent movies in that it is really just a glorified made-for-tv movie , but longer and with bigger stars , and you have to pay to see it . +it does win you over , though , even if it is painfully predictable . +just think about it : two single parents , with their cute kids , are thrown together due to a missed field trip . +through a day of near disasters , they cont inually meet , get in one another's way , cause trouble for one another , and generally insult one another at every opportunity . +in fact , they hate each other so much that we know that they are , or soon will be , in love . +the only people who hate each other more than lovers are married couples . +so this film is predictable , just as the screwball comedies of the classical hollywood cinema were predictable ( and the screwball genre is obviously hoffman's model for this film ) . +will they get fired from their yuppie jobs ? +will they make the big soccer game that is so important to their kids ? +will pfeiffer realize what a jerk her ex-husband , a drummer for bruce springsteen , really is ( aren't they all ? ) ? +will they finally kiss ? +well , what do you expect ? +but there is a certain amount of satisfaction in having our expectations fulfilled , especially when it is done with as much humour , along with a lack of sticky sentimentality , as it is in this film . +pfeiffer and clooney have a certain chemistry together that is surprisingly charming , and the kids are neither shoved into the background nor allowed to steal the show . +one word of caution , though . +this film is being billed in some places as a " family " movie . +don't let that stop you . +however , i think most kids , especially boys , would be pretty bored by this move . +after all , nobody gets killed and there are no explosions . +all in all , a good , non-offensive date movie . +the flying inkpot rating system : * wait for the tv2 broadcast . + * * a little creaky , but still better than staying at home with gotcha ! + * * * pretty good , bring a friend . + * * * * amazing , potent stuff . + * * * * * perfection . +see it twice . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv381_20172.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv381_20172.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..df7927b518a429eefec4fe61da63a64a9c57745e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv381_20172.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +bowfinger is a good movie about the making of a very bad one . +the screenplay , written by co-star steve martin , skewers everything in hollywood from cheesy science-fiction movies to chop-socky fight sequences , and all in a crafty and accomplished manner . +anyone who knows of , or has had any association with movie-making should thoroughly enjoy this clever comedy for it's entire duration . +the central premise behind the film is an inspired and promising one . +bobby bowfinger ( martin ) , a cheapskate and small-time hollywood producer , has always dreamed of making a successful motion picture but has never attained the proper tools to do so . +a new script , an alien invasion story entitled chubby rain , has caught bowfinger's eye . +after confronting a big-name producer named jerry renfro ( robert downey jr . ) in a restaurant , an agreement is made to finance the movie . +but first , bowfinger must get renowned action star kit ramsey ( eddie murphy ) to sign in on the project . +kit turns the offer down immediately , but bowfinger still has the intent to shoot the film . +after emptying out his life savings , the hapless producer tells the remaining cast and crew that ramsey is involved , and then prepares to film the movie without the star's knowledge . +the actors confront ramsey on the street , saying their lines as hidden cameras peek through bushes to capture the footage . +the unknowing star , who is terrified of aliens and being abducted , is brought to believe there is actually pod people after him . +when the conditions become even more treacherous , bowfinger is forced to hire a kit ramsey look-alike named jiff ( also murphy ) , a sweet-natured dork who runs for coffee in-between shooting vital scenes . +these include attempting a suicide run across an 8-lane freeway , and one of the `hot' scenes involving supporting actress daisy ( heather graham ) removing her blouse . +bowfinger takes it's sweet time getting started , but when the plot switches into high gear , great things happen . +certain scenes are so precisely executed , perfectly framing moments that are absolutely fall-down funny . +no , hilarious . +standouts include the chase through a parking garage in which ramsey , who's supposed to be being followed , keeps checking behind him to investigate a strange tapping noise ( it's actually bowfinger's dog in high heels ) . +and just try not to laugh in the climactic kung-fu sequence , featuring jiff in an excerpt from another bowfinger classic entitled fake purse ninjas . +while the entire 97-minutes of bowfinger isn't always on target , individual scenes may have you rolling in the aisles . +masterful comedy director frank oz ( dirty rotten scoundrels , in and out ) , who has never made a bad movie , ensures a quality final product and is aided immensely by martin's sharp-edged script . +however , the real on-screen star is eddie murphy . +this is the actor's finest work since his breakthrough into the hollywood market in the early 80's . +murphy excels at every corner , not only succeeding with presenting believable paranoia in the eyes of kit ramsey , but in creating a likable buffoon in jiff as well . +these three talented comic minds have squeezed every morsel of potential out of this premise , and the reward is a virtually guaranteed helping of hearty laughs . +steve martin generates the power behind bowfinger , but murphy fuels it . +this is a summer-time comedy that , unlike something such as american pie and south park , doesn't break any rules . +but it's still just as uproarious , or perhaps even more side-splitting than anything we've seen this season . +the supporting cast , including christine baranski as a work-loving actress and jamie kennedy as the cameraman , all perform well within their limits . +the only presence that demands real attention when placed next to martin or murphy is the beautiful heather graham , as the young film star who has plans to sleep her way to the top . +graham , attempting to further her stardom after appearing as the new powers' girl in ap2 , displays a cheerful but naive persona that nicely corresponds with the wackiness of the screenplay . +i wouldn't be caught dead buying a ticket for chubby rain , but watching how it all came about is certainly entertaining enough . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv383_13116.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv383_13116.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..768d37cc581ee349864a4689edcb634277458c05 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv383_13116.txt @@ -0,0 +1,66 @@ +i think the first thing this reviewer should mention is wether or not i am a fan of the x-files . +first , let me assure you that no prior experience with the series is required to fully enjoy this movie . +the producers are not stupid , making a movie just for fans of the series is not profitable . +you have to reach for a larger audience . +therefore , the movie is quite user-friendly . +altough , non-fans will only fail to understand certain emotions behind the looks many characters exchange . +but fear not , duchovny and another man later on provide more than adequate background info on what is going on . +you will never feel as if you just walked in on the third act of some great opera . +in any case , the answer is no . +i am not a fan of the x-files , i only watch it when nothing else is on and i prefer millennium . +however , since the fox network as been so kind as to air several key episodes for several weeks before the movie's opening weekend i took that opportunity to test the movie . +i taped all of these episodes and watched them only after seing the movie , i am glad to report that i learned nothing new . +everything you need to know is explained to the viewer by duchovny and others . +i know i am going maybe a bit too far to make my point but everybody should get the chance to experience this movie . +warning : major spoilers follow ! +please do not read , to fully enjoy this movie you must not be able know what is coming , what exactly is over that hill and what that weird " hummm " sound is all about . +you have been warned . +the x-files is what a summer should be . +exciting , scary , great special effects ( unlike other summer movies the effects do not take over the movie and are only there when it is really necessary ) and good performances . +this is coming from a guy who thinks david duchovny is the human equivalent of a wooden plank . +from start to finish , this movie does not let go of you . +when i compare it with last summer's movies the best way to describe it would be : take the excitement and great score from face/off and the deadly use of sound from event horizon . +this flick is scary , not in a b movie kind of way where you always know where and when the critter will jump at our heroes . +in fact , the first time the critter in this movie makes an apperance it is totally out of the blue . +you might as well bring ear plugs because this thing is louuuudd ! +the last time a monster scared me that much was when i first saw aliens as a six year old kid . +you know , when you are affraid to put you feet on the floor because the creature might be under the chair , or when you keep trying to cover your throat with your shirt ? +so yeah , the x-files is scary . +and guess what ? +you never even have to see the monster but your imagination works overtime and it sure beats having to watch a flawed , computer generated , babyzilla , it looks like you could walk right through it not even scarier than your grandma in undies type of monster . +do not think that the x-files is a monster movie . +in fact , the creature is there for maybe three minutes total . +no , the x-files is definately a mulder episode of the series . +scully is at his side , of course , but gillian anderson gets maybe half the screen time . +she has a couple of good scenes with duchovny , but she gets kidnapped during the last half hour of the movie so she does not get to do much . +no , this is mulder's time in the spotlight . +by now , you have heard of the scene where mulder " showers " independence day . +if you have not then i will not spoil it for you , let's just say that due to recent events mulder should be " showering " godzilla instead . +to those of you wondering if mulder discovers that the truth is indeed out there . . . who +cares ! ? +if he did find it the series would over anyway so what are you complaining about ? +the dialogue in interesting and the director is marvelous . +the camera is almost always looking over the shoulder of our heroes so we feel as if we are right there with them when they open a door or climb a hill . +the script is spotless , every thing that happens happens for a purpose . +if you are confused by something , do not worry because it will all become clear later on but , and i cannot stress this enough , pay attention ! ! ! +unlike most summer movies , the dialogue is twice as important as the effects . +miss one vital piece of information and , like most people who talk during movies , you will go home and tell all your friends how this movie made no sense . +also , to those people who need to go to the bathroom during movies . . . don't ! +the person who watched the movie with me had to go twice and twice she missed an important conversation . +there is no time to take a breather between scenes because , again unlike most summer movies ( godzilla anybody ? + ) the x-files does not need to fill scenes between the suspense and the action with useless subplots , every scene is crucial and serves a purpose . +who needs to see the blond chiouaoua have a " big emotional scene " between godzilla attacks ? +so far this summer i have seen only one movie who ranks higher on my list of movies i'd recommend and that is the truman show but it only wins by a nose . +but the truman show is not what i would call a summer movie , the x-files is . +what more do you ask from a summer movie other than the chance to be excited ? +cool effects ? +it's good some . +pulse pounding ? +hell yes ! +strangely enough , i think that fans of the series will hate this movie while non-fans will have a good time . +it does not provide answers to the show's many questions , the status quo remains nearly the same and , no , mulder and scully do not get together . +rating : four and a half out of five stars for the best movie yet this summer , several jump right out of your seat thrills , many " whoah , i never saw that one coming ! " +moments , four " holy shit , where the hell did that come from " and one heck of an ending . +you may wonder where this movie lost half a star . +well , i swore never to give a movie the full five stars so i had to find something about the in his ice truck , the tracks it leaves in the snow behind him go on for several miles but then they just stop . +it's pretty obvious the film's makers drove the truck for several miles to give the appearance that mulder had been driving for a long time , but in the end it looks like mulder just dropped from the sky and started driving . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv384_17140.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv384_17140.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..61d2ce1001f09057fae0c98193c48789b4815db7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv384_17140.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14 @@ +i know it already opened in december , but i finally got around to seeing rushmore last weekend , and it was one of those rare oppritunites that i got to leave the theatre feeling proud about paying the expensive ticket price . +as the final scene closed out in happy slow-mo fashion , i felt happy to have been priveleged enough to watch such a good display of filmmaking . +jason schwartzman , his face oddly intriguing behind those large braces and glasses , steals the show as max fischer , the most well known rushmore academy student who gets terrible grades , but compensates for it by organizing most of the school's clubs and organizations ( i . e . +the fencing team and writing and producing school plays ) and often pulling outrageous stunts , one that eventually earns him an expulsion . +this stunt , building an aquarium on the school's baseball diamond , is a plot to steal the heart of widowed elementary teacher rosemary cross ( olivia williams ) . +he funds this aquarium with the help of millionare herman blume ( a very oscarworthy bill murray ) , who eventually finds himself falling in love with miss cross . +rosemary and herman begin dating-and the fun begins ; herman and max go at it head to head in a battle for miss cross . +herman manages to destroy max's bike , while max cuts herman's brakes , and it goes on like this . +but eventually max realizes he is too young for miss cross , and he can't stand in the way of two people in love . +the academy of arts & sciences really messed up this year ; they completely overlooked rushmore ( and , if you ask me , it wasn't an accident ) . +it maybe wasn't best picture material , but it certainly deserved a screenplay nod ( instead of elizabeth ) , and bill murray's absense from the ballot is a complete snub . +the entire mood of the film is one reason it is so good ; at one point it's fun , and the next scene can turn serious and dramatic . +the cinematography gives the movie an important feeling , as well . +i hope rushmore can overcome its' oscar snubs , and be enjoyed by intelligent film goers . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv385_29741.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv385_29741.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..71a0ac1fff25ffcc88b4fc2c9fd5cadd0bcc44c1 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv385_29741.txt @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +capsule : this is a film that avoids easy answers . +wilhelm furtwangler , then the world's greatest orchestra conductor stayed in germany and cooperated with the nazis . +what were his views , was he a war criminal or a secret resistance fighter ? +how much did he know about crimes against humanity ? +the us government investigated him after the war and this film is a dramatization of that investigation . + , high +2 ( -4 to +4 ) +in my opinion one of the best films of the last few years is istvan szabo's sunshine , a film that covers the fortunes of a jewish hungarian family under the reigns of three different regimes , hungarian aristocrats , nazis , and communists . +szabo's follow-up film , a german production , is much more limited in scope . +it is about the post-war investigation of who criminally supported the nazis and who opposed them . +ronald harwood's screenplay ambiguously looks at the investigation of a great classical music conductor who stayed on in germany when the nazis took power and became the most popular conductor of the third reich . +maj . steve arnold ( played by harvey keitel ) has been assigned by his superiors to investigate wilhelm furtwangler ( stellan skarsgard ) , perhaps europe's greatest classical music conductor . +when other artists fled germany , furtwangler remained behind and conducted for the hitler and his henchmen . +after the war is over arnold assigned to interview furtwangler and members of his orchestra and if appropriate to prosecute him for war crimes . +he secretly is told by his commanding officer to find furtwangler guilty . +from there we follow him and learn a little about arnold and something about furtwangler and his orchestra . +as he interviews members of the wartime orchestra arnold starts noticing odd peculiarities that may or may not point to a conspiracy against his investigation . +there is a certain sameness to the responses that he is getting . +perhaps any cooperation he is getting has been in some ways managed . +if so , perhaps he can never come to the truth . +in large part the film is about mind games that arnold uses to manipulate his interviewees and especially furtwangler . +where the script has problems is that in the end it is so ambiguous . +it has no obvious resolution and not much of a final act . +when it is over whether anything has been established is open to interpretation . +perhaps that is better than so many films that make it all to obvious what the audience should believe , but it is like watching a murder mystery and never finding out who the killer is . +we are given clues to something but they are never tied up . +in the end we just know more about both arnold and furtwangler . +the film is basically a stage play . +the visual is not very important . +corners are cut visually including touches like filling windows with photographs to avoid having to shoot on location . +as with a stage play , what this film centers on the dialog , and that is intriguing . +i rate the film an 8 on the 0 to 10 scale and a high +2 on the -4 to +4 scale . +[there is one piece of sloppiness few people but me would notice . +at one point we clearly see arnold's desk calendar say " jan 16 tues . " +a quick mental calculation told me that combination could occur in 1945 and then not again until 1951 . +the events had to take place in 1946 or 1947 . +a possible date could be obtained from any world almanac . ] diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv386_10080.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv386_10080.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..789a773d4ddd13e05bae68b62f740ad14a53b4dd --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv386_10080.txt @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ + " gattaca " represents a solid breakthrough in the recent onslaught of science-fiction films -- it's a genre picture that doesn't rely on alien creatures or loud explosions to tell its story . +the movie takes place in a futuristic world where babies are created through genetic tampering and not sexual reproduction . +this allows parents to predetermine what kind of eye color , intelligence and life span they'd like for their child , and also eliminates most pesky chances of health defects . +those made the old-fashioned way are labeled as " in-valids " and confined to the lower rung of society . +vincent freeman ( ethan hawke ) is one such person , born not too long before the genetic process was perfected and forced to grow up in a home with his petrie dish-molded younger brother anton . +fed up with being second-rate and enchanted by dreams of one day traveling through space , vincent leaves home and takes a janitorial position at the gattaca aerospace corporation . +everyday , he watches as " superior " folk make his fantasy a reality . +determined to do the same , vincent meets a dna broker ( tony shalhoub in a funny cameo ) who sells fake identities to in-valids . +his counterpart for this scam is jerome morrow ( jude law ) , an ex-athlete left paralyzed in an accident and confined to a wheelchair for life . +for a price and the promise of a caretaker , jerome supplies vincent with his identity , as well as blood , skin and urine samples for all of those pesky on-the-job tests and physical examinations -- this future is one where employees clock in by pricking their fingers instead of punching a time card . +because of his drastically improved status , vincent is quickly propelled to a high position in gattaca , and catches the eye of comely co-worker irene ( uma thurman ) on the way -- obsessed with her own minor heart defect , she's enamored by his flawless persona she doesn't know is a lie . +but on the figurative eve of his upcoming planetary departure , the mission director is murdered . +two ardent detectives ( alan arkin and billy bathgate's loren dean ) determine the killer is on the inside of gattaca , and the sole clue they find at the crime scene -- one of vincent's eyelashes -- threatens to blow vincent's cover and derail his goal . +even if " gattaca " were dramatically empty , it would still boast a sublime set of production credentials -- the film's look is dazzling without ever being flashy . +first-time director/writer andrew niccol ( he also wrote the screenplay for the upcoming jim carrey drama " the truman show " ) demonstrates a keen eye for the stylish ; his collaboration with cinematographer slawomir idziak , production designer jan roelfs and costume designer colleen atwood result in a sophisticated composition that emanates classy , retro ambiance . +an opening credits sequence -- where skin , nail and hair fragments fall in slow-motion through a colored camera lens -- displays these combined talents uncannily . +niccol even utilizes voice-over narration ( a device almost always poorly-employed ) in an effective way . +when it comes to acting , the movie is also flawless . +ethan hawke does magnificent work , proving his ability to carry a film and reaffirming his enormously high charisma level . +his chemistry with thurman is a bit on the icy side , but needfully so , adding to the setting's clinical chill . +as the bitter jerome , jude law has a star-making presence , and it's his scenes with hawke that give the movie its fine emotional core . +in " gattaca " 's series of final shots , the fates of vincent and jerome are superimposed over each other , and the effect is sad , lyrical and beautiful . +things get a little strange as the movie nears its climax , when vincent's relationship with his brother comes back into view . +the big dramatic culmination is a swim race , which is somewhat silly albeit beautifully photographed . +still , the single most surprising aspect of gattaca is its use of backdrop -- it's successful sci-fi without showy special effects , it's a crisp thriller with character-driven thrills , it's a futuristic fable without blood and guts . +even its murder mystery is relegated to a secondary subplot , ensuring that a smart story about smart people and smart science takes center stage . +although it's portrayal of the upcoming century is grim , " gattaca " serves up one of the most thought-provoking societal forecasts ever depicted on film . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv387_11507.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv387_11507.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6d622719beed16094eefb2835fb49a45ebe10327 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv387_11507.txt @@ -0,0 +1,15 @@ +there was a huge crowd - so many over 100 people could not be admitted - at a premiere screening of " the nephew " ( first screening with a major general audience admittance ) . +this was a movie premiere at the santa barbara international film festival . +pierce brosnan ( 007 ) , produced his first movie with beau st . clair . +it was a constantly mind-moving and personal movie with lovely scenes of ireland . +chad ( hill harper , beloved ) is a cute 17 year old mixed race ( african american and irish ) nephew , who's irish mother died . +he comes " back to ireland " , living with the curmudgeon uncle , tony egan ( donal mccann ) . +he meets pierce brosnan's character , mr . o'brady ( or just brady ) , because he falls in love with the beautiful daughter . +there are many scenes ( ah , character scenes ) to laugh at , others pull some tears . +the three mentioned above were at the premiere in the flesh , with the director eugene brady . +after the movie they took questions . +the movie was very good , it not fantastic . +the nephew has not been " picked up " in north america but has been in the rest of the world . +the nephew is generation secrecy of a " titanic " proportion . +let's hope the rest of america will be able to see the nephew . +contact given in the program guide : " print source : irish dream source , inc . , tel : ( 310 ) 449-3411 " diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv388_12009.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv388_12009.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..92a581db182c4b0d8fa8e289f267bddf676c7a6e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv388_12009.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +available in an all new video edition from arrow entertainment ( $29 . 95 ) , with an introduction by david carradine , written & produced by wayne j . keeley +f . w . murnau's career ended sadly and prematurely . +the german director of such classics as " sunrise " and " the last laugh " died in a car accident shortly after signing a deal to make american pictures at paramount . +murnau was reportedly a giant man , well over six feet , a towering figure probably incapable of anything but a grand entrance . +which brings us to " nosferatu : a symphony of horror " : surely he felt a kinship with his title character , the looming vampire embodied by intimidating max schreck ; in one of the most indelible images in film history , silent or otherwise , schreck rises from his grave , gnarled hands outstretched , and he's so big that part of his head is cropped by the top of the frame . +the plot of " nosferatu . . . " +is lifted--unauthorized--from bram stoker's " dracula " . +the british hutter is an eager real estate man assigned to visit and discuss future living arrangements with count orlock of transylvania . +he leaves behind girlfriend emily , only to discover orlock's secret--he's a bloodsucker--and struggle to return to england before the nosferatu reaches his lady love . +in addition to schreck's performance , the cinematography and effects are outstanding . +arrow video's digitally remastered version of the classic is something of a mixed-coffin . +the cover art features a red-tinted , hairy , goateed vampire staring straight at you , his fanged mouth agape , while the bodies of two sexy , writhing women entice you below . +trouble is , murnau's monster is pale-faced , bald , pointy-eared , and non-goateed , and there isn't a single sexy , writhing woman to be found in his movie . +this sort of misleading packaging makes little sense when one recalls the countless number of ghouslish scenes in the film from which cool cover art could have been extracted . +additionally , notifying the viewer that this is in fact murnau's film seems like afterthought since his name and the genuine title are written in small print below our goateed vampire . +that said , a good mastering job has been performed on the film itself . +the original elements are not in the best condition--non-studio silents were unlucky in their preservation-- so we're still dealing with a slightly washed out , scratched , jittering image . +but at least the day and night scenes are tinted sepia and blue , respectively , especially helpful to an audience who may question nosferatu's waltzing around during what seems like sunlight ( it took a lot of light to expose stock in the twenties ) . +the title cards have been redone , and they are legible , accurate , and digitally altered to flicker--a very nice touch . + ( even the opening copyright warning flickers ! ) +the score has been replaced by music from type o negative , a hard-rock group , arguably gothic , and their songs underscore the film nicely-- certainly the coolest video a band can ask for . +when our hero , hutter , first steps onto the doomed carriage to count orlock's castle , we hear a well-timed " now you're dead ! " +from lead singer peter steele . +david carradine makes an appropriately vampiric host ; he fiddles with a blade and cane while introducing the film . +after the feature , which runs about 63 minutes , is included a new music video from type o negative , the black-and-white fang-fest " black no . 1 " . +of course , " nosferatu : a symphony of horror " is the main attraction , and while my latest viewing raised questions ( why is the woman called emily in the title cards but " mina " --as bram stoker called her--in hutter's letters ? , for instance ) , it made me realize how much this movie has inspired and been stolen from . +coppola's 1992 " bram stoker's dracula " owes a great stylistic debt to murnau's masterpiece , but the one thing it couldn't thieve was the original's abstract charms . +this latest incarnation from arrow will probably- -like the rescored " metropolis " a few years back--turn a silent film into more palpable entertainment for the latest generation of film freaks . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv389_9369.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv389_9369.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c01712d313ab1f803cc990d7d2b0cb54b9dd73de --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv389_9369.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +when i left the theater after seeing david lynch's " lost highway , " i remarked to a fellow movie-goer , " i feel like someone just sucked my brains out through my nose and put them back in through my ears . " +in his first feature film in five years , lynch delivers a film second only to his debut picture " eraserhead " on the weirdness scale . +you won't " know " what happened when it's over , though there are certainly enough clues with which to make some reasonable guesses . +it is difficult to describe the plot of this film , because it depends partly on how you interpret it . +i can , however , describe what we see on the screen : l . a . jazz saxophonist fred madison ( bill pullman ) and his wife renee ( patricia arquette ) , whom he clearly suspects of infidelity , receive a series of videotapes apparently filmed inside their house while they were asleep . +they are , naturally enough , more than a little frightened and confused , and it doesn't help matters any when " mystery man " ( robert blake ) approaches fred at a party and proceeds to call himself on the telephone at the madisons' house in a scene that is at once hilarious and unnerving . +the next morning , fred finds another videotape which , to his ( and our ) surprise , shows him brutally murdering renee in their bedroom . +he is convicted of her murder and sent to death row , where he inexplicably disappears one night and is replaced by a young mechanic named pete dayton ( balthazar getty ) . +the perplexed prison officials release dayton , whose life begins to intersect with fred in a number of ways - most notably his affair with alice wakefield ( arquette again ) , a blonde who is otherwise renee's spitting image , and another encounter with the mystery man . +i would be giving away a little too much to reveal any more , but suffice it to say that lynch doesn't offer any neat wrap ? ups , nor does he put a lid on the metaphysical confusion : the cinematic demons of " lost highway " are out in full force from beginning to end . +this description might make " lost highway " sound like a giddy exercise in haywire surrealism , but in fact , while there are traces of lynch's weird sense of humor , this film is anything but giddy most of the time . +on the contrary , lost highway is a dark and perplexing mystery that takes lynch's previous excursions into murder and intrigue one step farther . +the film does not revolve around a character investigating a mystery ; rather , the character * is * the mystery . +there are recurring and at times deeply disturbing images of suspicion , distrust , and infidelity thoughout the film that seem to indicate a deluded , fractured psyche at the root of all the bizarre goings-on here . +we , the audience , are left to puzzle out whose psyche it is that is driving this ( probably fred's , in my opinion ) and what , in that case , the other characters and events are meant to represent . +all of this proceeds , appropriately , in lynch's typically slow-paced , idiosyncratic style . +as is often the case , lynch relies on sound , imagery , and mood more than on dialogue and action to tell his story , and in " lost highway " it works perfectly . +there are scenes when the camera lingers on fred's blank expression as he drifts uncomfortably down a hallway , or on his pained face in his prison cell while the haunting strains of this mortal coil's " song to the siren " can be heard faintly in the background ; nothing is technically " happening " in these scenes , yet they present a vivid picture of a man losing his grip just as effective as , if not more so than , the hysterical screaming found in most movie presentations of insanity . +lynch's direction and director of photography pete deming's darkly lit cinematography serve to create a nearly suffocating atmosphere of tension and fear that are exactly what is needed for this story . +well , most of the time , anyway - i have to admit that i was a bit bored at times during the section of the film with pete dayton as the protgaonist , which is less inherently interesting and mostly keeps the viewer's attention because of its tie-ins to the original mystery . +the main characters in this " reality " - dayton ( a well-meaning but none too intelligent 24-year-old ) , a sleazy gangster ( who for some reason has two names but otherwise is pretty much a stock character ) , and his porn-star girlfriend ( the blond arquette ) - are nothing you couldn't find in any of the two dozen " pulp fiction " wannabes ; fortunately , the reappearance of the mystery man as well as some other typically lynchian elements , such as the strained , awkward conversations between pete and his parents , help to preserve the film's spooky , unnerving tone during this stretch . +lynch's typically graphic and disturbing portrayals of fringe sexuality , while relevant to the themes of jealousy and adultery , are also somewhat overdone here . +it's not exactly exploitative - like almost everything else in this film , the sex is thoroughly weird and creepy and is unlikely to provide any cheap lurid thrills - as much as it is unnecessary and frankly kind of dumb by the seventh or eighth time arquette takes her clothes off . +that said , these minor flaws don't prevent " lost highway " from attaining its place as one of the darkest , most unsettling films to hit the screens in recent years . +it is a one-way ride down the lost highway of a disturbed mind , and as such it is gripping , intense , and brilliantly effective . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv391_10802.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv391_10802.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..715f3a9d39c22310d233b0c69533ec827768af77 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv391_10802.txt @@ -0,0 +1,56 @@ +i'm not really sure what to think about " crash . " +on the surface , it's a cold , boring , unerotic porn with name starts , a name director , and some cool camerawork . +i mean , it left me completely bored , unsatisfied , and generally kinda weirded out . +but then again , not every film's supposed to leave you entertained . + " crash " is structured to play like a porn flick , but with significantly more plot and dialogue . +while we see several extremely taboo scenes of weirdo sex , we also have a skimpy little plot going on ( mostly towards the beginning ) , and maybe just a hair of characterization . +not to mention the acting is generally pretty good , and we don't really see a lot of the actors completely exposed . +but what makes it supremely different from a porn is the fact that this is not an erotic experience . +this film does not posess the erotic hypnotism of " henry and june " or the just plain horniness of , say , " deep throat " ( not that i've seen it ) . +if one was to be made completely hot by this film , it would probably mean they were also into the whole " auto eroticism " thing . +the film leaves you cold erotically ( and maybe in many other ways ) , but what it does is present a group of people who live on the edge . +the film opens up on a woman , catherine ( deborah kara ungar , of " the game " ) , pressing her bare breast up against a car in a public air hangar . +suddenly , a man enters the frame and begins to take her from behind ( the film doesnt' show all this though , even if it is nc-17 ) . +the next scene has a film director , james ( james spader ) , having sex with a camera woman ( alice poon ) in an office on the highly-populated set of his movie . +the next scene has the two coming together , revealing to us that they're husband and wife , and them sharing in one another's escapades . +while the two are arguably freaky people , we at least know they love to live on the edge . +soon afterwards , james is driving down the road at night , reclessly of course ( he's reading something ) , when he drifts into the other lane , and then hits another car face on . +james is not killed , but the passenger in the other car flies into his seat ( obviously dying ) , leaving the driver , helen remington ( holly hunter - in a porn ? ) , also alive . +the two go through therapy together , and when getting out , they run into eachother again . +when james gives her a ride home , they almost get into another accident , and immeadiately afterwards , they go to an unbusy parking lot , and have a little quickie , as they were aroused by the accident . +you wouldn't think there would be many people who shared this same kind of fetish , but they run into a freaky guy named vaughan ( elias kosteas ) and his crutch-carrying girlfriend , gabrielle ( rosanna arquette ) , who are also into it . +vaughan is into living on the edge as they are , but he takes it to another level : he loves to recreate famous car crashes . +in one scene , he and a friend , colin seagrave ( peter macneill ) recreate james dean's car crash without any padding or safety belts , and suffer some concussions , but nevertheless get a rush ( and the attention of the police ) . +soon , these five are all having sex with one another , be it straight , gay , or lesbian sex . +while this is admittingly all a bit comical ( the film is almost like a black comedy ) , the film does do a pretty awesome portrayal of people who's main fetish is living on the edge . +i'm sure somewhere there are people who get aroused by car accidents , but i personally don't see a connection between car crashes and sex . +the main connection cronenberg shows us that both give a definite rush . +his car crash scenes are quick and exciting mini-masterpieces : we're at first not sure if they'll take place , but everytime it looks like it may occur , we gasp . +then when it happens , we hold our breath . +the same thing happens with sex , although not in the same fashion . +these people are merely taking it to another level . +the only problem with the film is that it's a tad redundant . +a normal porn lasts from an hour to an hour and a half . +this goes on for about 100 minutes , and it just seems a little too long . +the sex and car crashes are far between one another , and the time between them are a tad on the boring side . +there's no characterization , although it could definitely be argued , that hey , it's a porn , and we're not here to sympathize . +but still , they coulda cut it down a bit . +but the film is saved with its presentation , as well as some other elements . +the atmosphere is very dark and forboding , creating a kind of cool weird feeling . +and there are several scenes are just amazing . +one scene has catherine and james having sex , while she softly asks him questions about being with a man , which sounds almost erotic the way she says it . +a sequence involving one character's death is filled with all the edgy disjointment that the film needs . +and the final shot is shot perfectly , creating an image of a car crash , and a couple having sex in front of it , despite the fact that she's wounded . +the acting is also pretty good , especially for what is almost a porn ( ousting linda lovelace as best actress in a porn ) . +while james spader is pretty boring ( he's usually pretty intense ) , deborah kara ungar is amazing . +she speaks all her words in almost zombie-like hushes , and when she's having sex , she has a blank look on her face , not showing the viewer whether she's enjoying it or not . +in one scene , she actually looks dead while someone is having sex with her . +holly hunter , who gets extra credit just for appearing in something like this , is pretty good , and so is rosanna arquette ( who adds a kinda cool kinkiness to her role ) . +but the film is stolen by elias kosteas who plays his character so intensely that he almost upstages everyone . +he often speaks as he is out of breath , showing a definite affinity for his way of life . +he has a great deal of energy in several scenes , especially one scene where he's taking photographs of a picture , and a later scene where he's getting a freaky tatoo . +he and spader share sexual chemistry in several scenes , foreshadowing a later scene . +kosteas is a little known actor ( his biggest role was casey jones in " teenage mutant ninja turtles " ) , but here he shows a deniro-like presence , hinting that he's capable of bigger roles . +while i hardly enjoyed " crash , " it's still a pretty intriguing portrayal of a group of people who , if the exist , are some of the strangest and most bizarre people in the world . +these people are able to share a rush between two completely different entities , and the film , which doesn't exactly pain them in a negative light , is sucessful in bringing them to light , even if it leaves the viewer unnerved and generally freaked out . +despite the hardcore nature of the film and the subsequent nc-17 rating ( there's also an r-rated version , but i wouldn't even go near that thing ) , anyone looking for a quick turn-on should just rent a regular porno . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv392_11458.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv392_11458.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..63a128d9d3788fc23a91a6988024ae4907a7b048 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv392_11458.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ +the first thing you notice about this movie is that it's cold . +placed in minnesota and north dakota during the winter , many of the scenes take place outside with long scenes of snow-covered ground against a background of white . +just what we need as bloomington struggles out of the endless long cold night . +as with most coen brothers films , this features outlandish characters in nefarious schemes , each of which works out in the oddest way possible . +a car salesman hires a couple of hoods to kidnap his wife so that he can collect the ransom from her father . +along the way everything that can possibly go wrong does . +in brief scenes of vicious violence , people get shot through the head , in the back , face , chest and various other areas of the anatomy . +there is also one of the most unpleasant body disposal scenes yet seen on the screen . +remarkably enough , most of the movie is played for laughs . +even more remarkably , it works . +the only likable person in the film is the very pregnant sheriff ( frances mcdormand ) who hunts down the killers while eating at every possible opportunity . +with every good film the audience gains new knowledge . +here you learn _two_ things . +everyone in minnesota speaks in an annoying whining accent that would drive you crazy . +and don't do violent illegal business with low-life amoral degenerate scum-sucking losers . +oh yeah , if you get shot in the face , using a brightly decorated napkin to stop the bleeding just makes you look goofy . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv393_29327.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv393_29327.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..782ba73664184f5115aaefa44912818b74961768 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv393_29327.txt @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@ +plot : odin is a great high school basketball player . +he's dating a hot girl and the coach loves his ass . +in fact , the coach even admits to having fatherly feelings towards him . +unfortunately , the coach's real son , hugo , isn't too pleased to hear that . +in fact , he doesn't like hearing about any of odin's triumphs , as they generally supersede his own . +so what does he set out to do ? +well , let's just say that he starts to mess with people's heads and one thing leads to another thing which leads to . . . well , +you'll see . +critique : a very powerful , thoroughly depressing , well-acted " non-teen " movie starring a bunch of teens . +credit director tim blake nelson for creating a modern day version of this shakespearian classic , set in a realistic high school environment , with the basketball championships as the backdrop and an impending sense of doom as it core . +you also have to give it up to all of the actors in this film , who turn over some very convincing performances , taking you through all of their characters' ups and downs . +hartnett especially should be applauded for taking on such a despicable character , a dude who you just want to grab by the throat and beat the shit out of ( sign of a good actor , if you ask me ) . +phifer also comes to play in this movie , with a nice blend of charisma , fear , love and anger spread over his character . +i was always on this guy's side and definitely felt sorry for him as things moved along . +julia stiles was also good , but her character wasn't much different from others that she's played recently . +i was however very surprised with martin sheen's showing , since i hadn't taken him too seriously as an actor over the past few years . +his character is definitely over-the-top in this film , but i appreciated his fervor , his rage , his ultimate and blind desire to win above all . +a great example of a workaholic man who cannot see the trees from the forest . +i did have a few reservations about the movie though . +first of all , what was with all of the gangsta hip-hop music used in pretty much every other scene transition ? +it was cute at first , but became a little too obvious and annoying after a few times . +the film was also edited pretty choppily . . . like +some scenes were cut out and no one " cleaned it up " afterwards . +i also didn't like the fact that hartnett's character , the man behind much of the nastiness that goes down in this film , was infallible . +in other words , pretty much everything he says or asks of someone , happens automatically and without any goofups . +i mean , i know the guy is smart and all , but i would have appreciated a little more " realism " under some of the circumstances . +but overall , the movie will devastate you . +it's not a " fun date movie " . +it's not a movie about the high school basketball team and how its black star falls for the white girl from the other side of the tracks . +it's about jealousy , love , envy , fury , passion , revenge and pretty much any other negative thought that's ever passed through your head . +is it worth seeing ? +oh , most definitely ! + ( pun intended ) it's a moving picture with great performances , no shakespearian speak ( thank you , god ! ) and an outstanding directorial job by nelson . +the final scene alone is enough to send a massive chill down your spine , and i was especially impressed with the director's choice of music near the end . +in fact , the whole sequence was quite reminiscent of the final showdown scene from taxi driver , and i guess that's saying something right there . +where's joblo coming from ? +10 things i hate about you ( 7/10 ) - election ( 7/10 ) - hamlet ( 6/10 ) - love's labor's lost ( 8/10 ) - natural born killers ( 9/10 ) - save the last dance ( 7/10 ) - shakespeare in love ( 5/10 ) diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv394_5137.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv394_5137.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e612209ace9a813c8dcc47311c1660aba10bb343 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv394_5137.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +defending your life is an imaginative vision of the afterlife from the twisted mind of writer-director albert brooks , who also stars in the comedy . +after dying in a car crash , on his birthday of all days , brooks wakes up in judgement city , a satirical rendition of purgatory where higher beings evaluate the lives of newly deceased earthlings . +brooks has five days to convince two judges that he's worthy of passing on to higher plains of existence . +enter rip torn as the slick lawyer who defends brooks in court against prosecutor lee grant . +during his " trial , " brooks must view episodes of his life on a movie screen , and these scenes are both hysterically funny and painfully poignant . +it's impossible to resist chuckling ( and cringing ) at brooks as he and torn try to explain away his cowardly behavior on earth . +torn , in particular , is in vintage comic form , and he walks away with the picture . +the movie also features meryl streep , appealing as the love-interest , and shirley maclaine , who pops up in a hilarious cameo . +while the film is uneven , many of its gags are price less . +take , for example , the food in judgement city : it's always the most delicious you've ever tasted . . . +and it's also calorie-free--so chow down ! diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv395_10849.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv395_10849.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0ff61c8ec8a77c783f3942ca247d8c81c1b97951 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv395_10849.txt @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@ +jake kasdan , son of one of the best screenwriters around , breaks into filmmaking by writing and directing this hard-to-categorize detective story : part mystery , part comedy , part character study and part romance . +for the most part , kasdan manages to combine the genres successfully and create a captivating film . +daryl zero ( bill pullman ) is a modern day sherlock holmes . +the parallel is present down to his love of music ( though zero plays the guitar rather than the violin ) , and his addiction to drugs ( amphetamines , rather than morphine ) . +he even titles his cases with such sherlockian epigrams as the case of the mismatched shoelaces , the case about the man who lied about his age , or the case of the hired gun who made way way too many mistakes . +however zero's observance of the fine art of detachment , though it makes him a brilliant private investigator , makes him somewhat of a self-imposed outcast in society . +he could do nothing without the legwork of his trusty assistant dr . watson , i mean steve arlo ( ben stiller ) . +arlo is not happy with his job . +he is thrilled to be around zero's brilliance , but his bizarre behavior , and strange requests , are frustrating to the former lawyer . +and they're even more so to his girlfriend , jess ( angela featherstone ) , who is fed up that her boyfriend's boss means more to arlo than her . +this is the situation when a new case comes knocking . +gregory stark ( ryan o'neill ) hires zero to find his lost keys . +it seems that he kept a safety deposit box key on the ring , and the box apparently contains some incriminating evidence . +now , stark is being blackmailed , and needs to reclaim his key before the nightmare can end . +to solve this case , zero reluctantly crawls out of his shell . +however , this is when he is vulnerable . . . and +this time he falls for charms of a wily paramedic , gloria sullivan ( kim dickens ) , who may be involved in the blackmail scheme . +for the first time , zero has to question his own objectivity , as he finds his client less and less sympathetic . +zero effect is weakest in its obviously " wacky " scenes depicting daryl zero's odd behavior . +such scenes might be appropriate in an out-and-out satire , making zero an ace ventura-ish character . +however , there's a much meatier movie in here . . . it just takes a while to get out . +that's not to say that there's not a place for humor in this film . +in fact , some of the best scenes are ben stiller's wonderfully underplayed comic moments of absolute disgust and frustration with his employer . +however , the over-the-top scenes never quite gel with the rest of the film , and they aren't funny enough to stand on their own . +once the investigation is underway , however , zero's brilliance really begins to shine . +his lightning quick inferences are as fascinating as many of sherlock's own . +as the mystery begins to unfold , zero's deductions lead the plot in interesting directions , but never lose the viewer . +zero effect works well during its romantic scenes as well . +zero's relationship with gloria is low-key , but it hits all the right notes . +however , we are always kept distant from gloria's character . +she's given plenty of development , but we never understand what she is thinking . +perhaps that may be intentional : to place the audience in zero's zone of detachment . +but , on the whole , it is frustrating . +bill pullman , when he's not spacing out , creates a vibrant character in daryl zero . +there's one moment when zero briefly connects to the world which he has managed to detach from for many years , and it is shockingly moving . . . expressing a seriousness that heretofore was unassociated with the character , but one which fits in well . +and , although it is sometimes hard to take a detective called " zero " seriously , it is at this moment that the viewer understands the meaning behind the name . +although zero effect is a bit awkward in places , it is a strong debut for kasdan , and shows great promise . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv396_17989.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv396_17989.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4ec55a22c49ac9510f4a4263cbe033e999251965 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv396_17989.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +well i'll be damned , what a most excellent surprise . +not to be confused with the campy and far inferior 1988 remake starring ex-porn star traci lords , this more recent attempt at remaking the 1950's drive-in schlockfest not of this earth is a real gem and was quite possibly the best sci-fi flick of 1995 . +once again , b-movie king roger corman is behind this effort ( he directed the original ) but this time he appears only in the role of executive producer . +the rest of the crew and cast are relative unknowns . +it seems criminal that the film was released direct to video in most countries , because it's an absolute must-see for sci-fi fans and a treat for anyone who enjoys decently acted and written thrillers with a kooky bent . +the plot in brief . +paul johnson ( michael york ) is an alien posing as an eccentric millionaire who , though needing to kill people to live , is visiting earth for far from selfish reasons . +his race is dying of a mysterious blood disease and he desperately is trying to find a cure , the key of which lies in the blood of humans . +he visits and soon puts under his spell the respected blood physician dr . rochelle , whom he hypnotises into doing secret research on his behalf . +he also has the doctor convince smart and sexy nurse amanda ( elizabeth barondes ) to move in with johnson as his private nurse so as to give him the blood transfusions which he constantly requires . +but before long , amanda and johnson's sleazy chauffeur release that johnson is a lot more than just eccentric . +i must admit , my first glimpse of the video cover for not of this earth was not encouraging . +british actor michael york has appeared in some real stinkers in past few decades , a far cry from the quality fare of his younger days such as caberat ( 1972 ) . +but his performance here as an alien in human disguise is nothing short of outstanding . +the weird twitches and bizarre modes of speech , the dapper clothes and cool spectacles , the unexpected pathos which he invests in his character . +york is by turns hilarious , menacing and tragic . +this is a tour-de-force and quite simply the best performance i've seen from him . +and while obviously made on a modest budget , the film boasts enormous strengths . +the casting is spot on , the acting is terrific and the script is intelligent , witty and consistently engaging , cleverly updating the original . +the balance of horror and humour is just about perfect , a marked contrast to the earlier remake from 1988 . +the film doesn't drag for a second of its 90 minute running time thanks to tight editing and the sure hand of little-known director terrance h . winkless . +and it doesn't matter one bit that the special effects are cheesy - this is schlock after all , even if it is high class schlock . +in fact my only criticism of the film is that things get a tad weak towards the end . +tighter direction could have given the climax more urgency and a few of the characters act rather illogically given their life-threatening situation . +but these are minor complaints . +just see it . +not of this earth is one of the biggest sci-fi surprises in years . +and michael york : in one cool swoop you've made yourself a b-movie legend , dude . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv397_29023.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv397_29023.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2a20a48e8844a32695d83c5813b9d95c60eb0513 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv397_29023.txt @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@ +in 1998 , director brett ratner and his stars , jackie chan and chris tucker , breathed new life into the buddy-action film genre with the cross-cultural " rush hour " - to the tune of about $250 million . +you don't mess with success , so the team is back again , and better , in " rush hour 2 . " +the combo of the terrific physical talents of chan and the non-stop motor mouth of tucker made for an ethnically unusual duet in " rush hour " that played well to audiences around the world . +the formula worked so well , in fact , that the sequel was inevitable . +i'm never thrilled with the idea of a follow-up to a successful original since they rarely meet the previously set expectations . +surprisingly , " rush hour 2 " wastes no time getting down to business and turns out to be better than the flick that spawned it . +the script , by jeff nathanson ( utilizing the characters developed by ross lamanna in the first film ) , wastes no time getting to the point right from the start . +terrorists have bombed the us embassy in hong kong , killing two american translators , and chief inspector lee ( jackie chan ) is handed the job of solving the crime . +concurrently , his friend james carter ( chris tucker ) arrives on the island for some much needed r&r and expects his friend to spend some time and show him the sights . +instead , lee drags carter into the case and the duo get involved in stopping a conspiracy to counterfeit hundreds of million of us dollars . +the makers of " rush hour 2 " are working at a distinct advantage over the original . +we , the viewer , are familiar with the two lead characters and the already-existing chemistry that chan and tucker developed so well the first time around . +that chemistry was a high point ( and probably the saving point ) before and , now , the pair wears their friendship like a comfortable suit . +little time is wasted in getting to know the key players so the screenplay capitalizes on those things we liked best in " rush hour . " +first and foremost to me , in " rh2 , " is the immense pleasure in watching jackie chan's artistry in fight choreography . +the 47-year old martial arts master has a renowned reputation for doing all of his own stunt work and , here , he does not disappoint . +chan's use of props when battling bad guys continues as he pulverizes his opponents with whatever item comes to hand , such as a trash bucket . +his moves look every bit as good as they ever did as he fights four or five nemesis at once on bamboo scaffolding , on the tail end of a yacht , in a hong kong massage parlor and , for the finale , in a las vegas casino . +like harold lloyd or buster keaton , chan takes pride in putting his physical self on the line in pursuit of his artistry and is a joy to watch . +chris tucker reprises his role as the motor mouthed la cop , carter , who teams , again , with lee to put down the bad guys . +when he is unceremoniously pulled from his vacation to help his colleague and friend with the big case , he still looks to have some fun . +when lee goes into a karaoke bar , the lair of chief bad guy ricky tan ( john lone ) and his hoods , carter takes the spotlight on stage with a credible michael jackson riff . +the comedian made the move from the improv stage to the big screen and , with jackie chan , has a franchise to hang his coat on to pay the bills . +the combo of chan's flying feet and fists with tucker's fast mouth make a duet more endearing than riggs and murtaugh in the " lethal weapon " films . +the supporting cast is here to move things along efficiently . +john lone , as ricky tan , is a suave villain who is the real power behind the throne of american bigwig steven reign ( alan king in a walk through performance ) . +lone doesn't chew scenery or make pronouncements to " get lee and carter , " but gives the chief bad guy elegance . +zhang zi-yi ( " crouching tiger , hidden dragon " ) continues to display her martial arts skills as ricky's taciturn henchlady , hu li , who carries on an ongoing battle with carter . + ( carter has a problem , through most of the film , with hitting a woman , but this falls aside with their eventual one-on-one melee at the conclusion . ) +roselyn sanchez is knockdown gorgeous ( and resembles sandra bullock ) as undercover agent isabella molina - she doesn't add much to the equation but is terrific to watch . +director ratner and the original " rush hour " production team have assembled a crew of skilled craftsmen to work behind the camera . +cinematographer matthew f . leonetti has had a long career of shooting action flicks and gives " rh2 " the fluid camera movement the genre film needs . +production design by terrence marsh spans continents and gives the right look , whether it is in a hong kong karaoke bar or a high stakes las vegas casino . +the rest of the techs are of the same high quality . +i'm surprised to even say that " rush hour 2 " is the most entertaining of the summer blockbuster movies . +it takes the best of the first film and kicks jurassic dino butt in its fun , frolic and fast pace and is the best mainstream thing out , so far , this summer . +i give it a b . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv398_15537.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv398_15537.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..461037ca7b1a6cb201b2528df07b1a7ebe293564 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv398_15537.txt @@ -0,0 +1,49 @@ +shakespeare . you hardly understood it in high school . +why would you want more of it now that your english grade doesn't count on it ? +if this is your attitude , then i'll say right off the bat that kenneth branagh's hamlet is probably not for you , and you might as well stop reading right now . +if , however , you are a lover of the bard , or at the very least are open-minded about a challenging script , read on , for there is something rotten in the state of denmark . +namely , the king has died , and his widow the queen has wed the king's brother , claudius , but prince hamlet suspects foul play . +his suspicions are confirmed when the ghost of his father appears and relates the story of his murder at his own brother's hands . +hamlet , enlisting the help of his friend horatio , conspires to capture the conscience of the new king to expose his treachery . . . . and +the game is afoot . . . . +the first things you notice about this production are the sets and costumes . +with external scenes filmed at blemheim palace in england ( also the one of the sites for the recent the avengers ) , the grandiose quality of the setting is immediately established . +interior scenes are similarly graced with intricate and flamboyant rooms and chambers . +the hamlet castle's grand throne room is an impressive piece of work incorporating high ceilings , mirror-panel doors , and bridges which connect opposite sides of a second-story loft . +costuming is equally grand , drawing upon both history and imagination . . +not quite the denmark of the 1600's , the characters' attire is something of a cross between that era and turn of the century russia , very effectively giving the film more of a timeless feel . +it is not surprising that tim harvey and alexandra byrne were nominated for best art direction and best costume design oscars , respectively . +in addition to directing , kenneth branagh also plays the title character . +as the revenge-driven royal heir , branagh provides a riveting performance of emotional highs and lows . +from the anticipation of seeing his father's ghost , to the melancholy of finding the burial site of his childhood jester , to his eventual wrath , branagh delivers in spades . +every scene truly revolves around hamlet , as much a tribute to branagh's acting and directing as to shakespeare's manuscript . +hamlet seems to be a who's who of shakespearean-trained actors , so watching them perform the craft for which they have much love is a delight in itself . +julie christie , as hamlet's mother gertrude , and derek jacobi as his murderous uncle claudius both fill the classic roles superbly , as do many of the supporting players . +kate winslet as hamlet's lover ophelia , does an outstanding job demonstrating the character's plummet to the depths of dispair and madness . +richard briers as ophelia's father , polonius , and michael moloney as her brother , laertes , are equally convincing . +nicholas farrell as hamlet's trusted friend horatio , and timothy spall and reece dinsdale as the two-timing rosencrantz and guildenstern round out the excellent core cast . +hamlet also seems to be a film in which someone tried to stuff as many well known actors as possible . +in some cases , this made for interesting scenes . +billy crystal is surprisingly good as the gravedigger who unearths the skull of yorick , whom hamlet knew quite well . +crystal proves himself able to deliver the lines with both the timing of a classic actor and the verbal countenance of a comedian , and the result is a very funny scene . +however , charleton heston , whom many might think would butcher shakespeare , is the biggest surprise of all . +as the player king , the leader of a troupe of traveling actors , he is absolutely breathtaking when narrating the story of priam and hecuba . +part of his monologue is overlaid with a visual enactment of the story ( with sir john gielgud and judi dench ) , but this is most unfortunate , for it robs heston of some of the attention which he deserves at this time . +his off-camera speaking , while gripping , sort of downplays the scene to a narration done by any other well-voiced actor . +i wish branagh had chosen to allow us to envision in our own minds the scene which heston lays out , and let the venerable actor have the attention . +unfortunately , there were some casting choices which led to poor distractions . +jack lemmon , an excellent actor , just can't do shakespeare . +as marcellus , the guard who sees the elder hamlet's ghost , lemmon sadly underperforms and is shown up left and right by those around him . +gerard depardieu , another talented actor , is wasted when given little more than the utterances of " yes , my lord " and " no , my lord " in the role of reynaldo . +richard attenborough has a ( literally ) walk-on role , showing up at the eleventh hour as the english ambassador . +i think he had two lines . +then there is rufus sewell as fortinbras of norway . +when i went to see dangerous beauty earlier this year , two ladies behind me kept commenting about how handsome he was . +if bulging eyes are your idea of handsome , well i guess comic actor marty feldman was some kind of sex symbol to you . +hamlet is a complicated tale of treachery and revenge in which triumph and defeat become one . +branagh attempts to help us out with some of the intricacies by visually representing some of the more elusive stretches of dialogue by presenting them as flashback-type images . +this only works about half the time , and i wonder if it would have been just as well to do without them . +you don't have to be some kind of genius to appreciate shakespeare , but it is quite difficult to understand unless you have the time to read or hear it carefully and repeatedly . +the alternate method of comprehension is that with which most of us are familiar , the high school english course . +in it , you are hopefully fortunate enough to have an educator willing to help you with the plot points and nuances essential to understanding a play written in the rigmarole known as the king's english . +or i suppose you could just read the cliff notes . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv402_14425.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv402_14425.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8be74f2c57a1fc5808d8ad3338ce62be3298ef54 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv402_14425.txt @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +in some respects , rush hour is the ultimate exercise in cliched filmmaking . +the hero is the renegade cop that prefers to work alone . +the cop in question cannot solve the case until he gets in trouble . +all chinese people are somehow involved in the criminal element . +the duo must always be completely mismatched . +the hero has to say some smart-assed comment before ( and after ) shooting someone . +however , that doesn't necessarily make for a bad film . +rush hour is jackie chan's first major hollywood film since the dismal the protector ( 1985 ) . +proving once again that hollywood can learn many things from foreign film markets ( ie : hong kong ) , jackie chan is given much more free reign than before . +still , some die-hard jackie chan fans may be disappointed , as even chan himself has voiced displeasure over the length of the fight scenes ( which he views as too short , according to one interview ) . +this film takes a familiar theme of east meets west . +jackie chan is lee , the straight laced inspector who is imported to help deal with a kidnapping case , while chris tucker is carter , the loudmouthed , destructive cop that is `promoted' to the fbi to help him . +or , at least , so he thinks ( also another classic notion in action films : the fbi must always get in the way of our heroes ) . +despite the necessary conventions of action films , rush hour is some of the most fun you'll spend and hour and forty minutes watching . +jackie chan continues to be one of the most exciting martial artists on the big screen , continuing to perform his own stunts and dazzling audiences with his flashy kicks and punches . +chris tucker , familiar from his whiny , annoying role in the fifth element is more palatable , complementing jackie chan's straight-laced character . +however , jackie chan still maintains his comic-slapstick edge , as expected of him and his films . +perfectly downplaying the `fish-out-of-water' routine through his character's attempts at mixing into american culture , he makes up for the down time his character experiences . +when he is in action , however , you'll be amused and dazzled . +still being inventive in the use of objects to beat people up ( in this case , a steering wheel , a serving tray , and a barstool ) , jackie chan proves to be the pioneer of slapstick kung fu . +chris tucker's character may come across as irritating , yet is also humorous . +since he's not a physical actor to the level of jackie chan , he uses his main weapon : his mouth ( hence , the tagline , `fastest hands in the east meets the fastest mouth in the west' ) . +while dialogue is not necessarily shakespeare , it is appropriate for the film and still very funny . +while not necessarily poignant , attempts at character development and growth between characters come off surprisingly well . +lee's `knowledge' of american pop culture ( `that's the beach boys ! ' ) +when contrasted against carter's lack of knowledge of chinese culture makes for an interesting scene where lee teaches carter the kung fu disarming trick , while carter teaches lee hip-hop dance moves . +while rush hour is not at the same level as police story 3 and 4 ( known in north america as supercop and jackie chan's first strike , respectively ) , it more than makes up for the poorly received films operation condor and mr . nice guy . +with its appropriate mixture of high kicks and lots of laughs , it makes for a fun film . +as well , it is a true departure from jackie chan films , as it is missing one common element : a whiny female co-star . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv403_6621.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv403_6621.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ba697afbebfad43e61726f3a6db78465db073e57 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv403_6621.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12 @@ +my fellow americans is a movie that at first glance looks to have little substance ( or a movie that we've all seen a million times ) , two lifetime rivals thrown together and then the fun begins . +this is exactly what happened in this movie , but fortunately , they managed to do it in an interesting and funny way . +the movie starts with a quick ( and i do mean quick ) glance of two presidents russell kramer ( jack lemmon ) and matt douglas ( james garner ) . +william haney ( dan aykroyd ) and ted matthews ( john heard ) are the new president and vice president . +there is a scandal that arises involving a kickback from a contractor and haney is positive that he buried that years ago . +he finds a scapegoat in kramer and now everyone wants kramer and douglas dead . +this movie was exceptional for many reasons . +one being that they found people ( lemmon and garner ) that have good chemisty together . +they worked very well as a unit and they mirrored each other perfectly , one being a ladies man and one being the old man ( i'll let you fiqure which is which ) . +also , they found people that know their parts as govenment officials well . +it seemed to me that garner played almost exactly the same role that he played in the distinquished gentleman ( except then he was a congressman ) . +experience counts for a lot ! ! diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv404_20315.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv404_20315.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..00d9d8ab876d4637dce119506e7452e3f141840f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv404_20315.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +in , " the muse " albert brooks plays steven phillips , a hollywood screenwriter who after winning a humanitarian award for his work is dumped by his studio . +they claim that he's lost his edge and his agent is quick to agree with them . +he knows that he needs to write something fresh and original and quick or else his career will be over . +so he turns to his " best " friend , jack ( jeff bridges ) another screenwriter who's enjoyed success after success . +on the way over to jack's house steven sees jack helping an attractive woman ( sharon stone ) into a cab and begins to think : is he having an affair ? +when confronted , jack relunctently tells him that this mystery woman is , in fact , a muse , a mythological figure who is believed to have inspired all creativity , and has helped him garner his success . + " she doesn't do any actual writing , " he is told , " but inspires you . " +steven is excited by what he's hearing and asks jack to call her up to see if she'll take steven on as a new client . +jack arranges a meeting between the two and suggests that steven bring her a present , preferably something from tiffany's . +after the meeting the muse , sarah decides to take on steven , but at a price : she wants a suite at the four seasons and wants steven to perform odd tasks for her ( like bringing her salads in the middle of the night . ) +steven's wife ( andy macdowell ) sees him at a food store and questions him about why he has tampons in his wagon . +steven confesses everything and , although at first suspicious , she later allows sarah to move into their guest room and eventually into their life . +the only question for steven is if the muse is worth all the trouble he's going through for her . +and that's a question only time will tell . + " the muse " is albert brooks' sixth film as writer/director/actor ( he co-wrote with monica johnson ) and although it's a good movie it's not up to the level of his best works ( " defending your life " and " mother " ) . +the problem lies in the script , and for a movie that relies on its dialogue for its humor , there aren't nearly as many laughs as they are chuckles despite a few good one-liners . +it has a great premise but doesn't deliver up to it's full potential . +but , i like albert brooks in this film and i think that we can all identify with steven phillips a little bit . +he may whine and complain , but he just wants to support his family and be happy . +and i like sharon stone in this movie too ; it's a nice change of pace for her . +and i also enjoyed the cameos featuring the likes of rob reiner , james cameron and martin scorsese . +and although " the muse " doesn't have as much to say about hollywood as robert altman's " the player " i still left the theater feeling good . +and that's something i wish i got out of more movies . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv405_20399.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv405_20399.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..7217436869422d716e5290c7f142790d565e1c5a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv405_20399.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +plot : good ol' texan kid suddenly gets to play first-string quarterback on his high school team's football team , in a town where football is considered religion . +the coach is just about the biggest a-hole you'd ever want to meet , who will do practically anything to win . +the good ol' texan boy does not approve of said man's methods . +critique : a fun football movie . +this film was obviously geared towards the teen market , with mtv behind its production , a big tv star actor in the lead role , rockin' hip music galore , and plenty of t&a . +having said that , i enjoyed the look and feel of the movie , thought james van der beek gave a solid performance , loved the slick sounds , and yup , loved that t&a ! +i actually thought this was a comedy going in , but overall , it plays more towards the dramatic , than a comedy . +i also enjoyed jon voight's performance as the stubborn dick coach , as well as many of the other character players on the team . +this is not a classic film by any stretch of the imagination , but it might teach some kids the hard lessons behind the " fun " game of football , or just allow them to have a good time for about an hour and forty-five minutes in the movie theatre ( or in the comfort of their own home , depending on where you watch this stuff . ) +all in all , i would definitely watch this movie if you like football , play football or want your kid to succeed in high school football . +you could also watch it if you like teen flicks with a lot of cute guys and girls running around doing their stuff . +and did i mention the t&a ? + : ) +little known facts about this film and its stars : james van der beek actually started acting after a concussion stopped him from playing football in real life . +he is the oldest of three children , and his father is a cellular phone salesman while his mom runs a gymnastics studio . +he's born in connecticut and received $200 , 000 for his role in this film . +actor scott caan , who plays football player " tweeder " in this film , is the son of famed actor james caan in real life . +that's right , he's sonny's son ! +actress amy smart , who plays van der beek's girlfriend in this movie , also played the main star's girl in the 1999 film outside providence ( 6 . 5/10 ) . +screenwriter w . peter iliff also had a part in writing the screenplays for the 1992 harrison ford film , patriot games , and the keanu reeves surfing flick , point break . +director brian robbins might be best remembered as the " cool dude " from the tv series " head of the class " . +his name was eric mandrian and he generally wore a long , black trench coat on the show . +the book mox ( james van der beek ) is reading on the sidelines in this movie , hidden inside the team's playbook , is " slaughterhouse-five " by kurt vonnegut , jr . the high school fight song played at the pep rally is the texas a&m war hymn . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv406_21020.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv406_21020.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..87d8162d798765317d468b8c7b8e76c0c75c8628 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv406_21020.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +the film starts out with a creepy opening sequence to which has the now classic and creepy score by writer/director/producer john carpenter who in my mind is a brilliant director , he really is . +he wrote this film , he directed this film , he produced this film and he made the excessively creepy score to this film . +i think he is and always will be famous for this classic which after 21 years has not lost it's popularity or it's ability to scare the wits out of people . +i think i have seen 'halloween' over 100 times and each time i find something new and brilliant , and each time i am scared even though i know what is going to happen . +i own three different versions of the film : a vhs regular version that came with a limited edition 20th anniversary t-shirt , a boxed edition vhs in a hardcover case digitally re-mastered with the original theatrical widescreen presentation , in a nifty plastic picture decorated box with a numbered snow-globe . +in other words i am completely and utterly obsessed with the film . +it has changed horror movies forever and spawned six sequels with only 2 , 4 , and 7 being truly good . +it also spawned several cheap imitations of the film that were offensive in some ways to a true halloween fan . +since i heard about halloween being released on dvd in a limited edition of 30 , 000 copies , i knew i had to buy one no matter what ! +i did and man to me it's the best dvd ever manufactured with the brilliance of the film . +no words can describe the dvd . +in 'halloween' michael myers is a evil person whom killed his sister in cold blood 16 years ago in 1963 . +now in 1978 grown up and in a mental hospital michael myers escapes to go back to his hometown of haddonfield , illinois , followed by his past doctor sam loomis . +the person michael is targeting is laurie strode who is played by jamie lee curtis in her film debut . +why is he stalking her ? +check out halloween ii it explains it all . +on this unholy night on october 31 , 1978 laurie strode and her two friends are going to have the time of their lives , which is trying to stay alive . +the whole film is filled with terrifying moments most coming from just seeing michael myers walk . +nick castle who played the shape in the first movie did an incredible job , and no other person in any other halloween flick can do what he did . +what john carpenter did in 1978 is made a ground-breaking new film , with scares , wit , and style . +the movie is flawless if not perfect . +no other movie or sequel has lived up to this one , and in my opinion never will . +'halloween' will be like 'psycho' and still be extremely popular even almost 40 years later . +i just hope someday 'halloween' will be released in a new dolby soundtrack with the 4 extra scenes on the dvd edition . +'halloween' isn't just another slice-and-dice horror flick , it's an intelligent , horrifying and best film experience ever made . +see 'halloween' and be scared . . . . then +watch it again ! +reviewed by brandon herring october 7 , 1999 . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv407_22637.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv407_22637.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f6c1833578b11d7df54b42378474442cf0aaf67a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv407_22637.txt @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ +i have to admit that i disliked this film initially . +it certianly isn't for every taste , and it's sheer torture to sit through if you're in a restless mood . +that said , if you are in the right mood , it's absolutely incredible . +this was my second favorite movie of 1998 , and would have been a shoo-in for first in almost any other year . +perhaps the big turn-off for many was this film's unconventionality . +i'd be hard-pressed to compare it to any other film that i've seen - it is very , very artsy , incredibly slow - and amazingly , it works beautifully . +on my second viewing , i realized that the film follows the three act structure ( i didn't think it had any sort of structure at all when i first saw it ) . +the first act serves to set up the characters - sort of . +it exists even moreso to set a mood of tension and restlesness , and perhaps even feelings of boredom . +and then it is shattered by the intense violence of the second ( which encompasses most of the movie ) . +the majority of the film is one extended battle scene , intercut with brief flashbacks and voice-overs . +the artsier elements do not detract from the action , but add to it - they succeed in briefly letting the viewer peek into the minds of the soldiers , only to be suddenly yanked back into reality when the battle resumes . +the battle scenes are amazing ( second only to " saving private ryan " in my opinion ) . +they're brutal , horrifying , and at times beautiful due to the amazing cinematography . +the second act is as immersive , brilliant , and haunting as any film that i have ever seen . +the only problems come during the first and third acts . +malick takes a little too long to get the film started . +although the initial scenes - which consist of two soldiers' experiencing a near-eden-like paradise while going awol , and the preperations for battle - are effective and necessary , hints of pretentiousness sink in . +the film is just a tad too artsy near the beginning , and a lot of people that disliked the movie probably gave up on it because of this . +the final act is effective at winding the film down , but the problems from the first persist - it's a bit too long , and comes over as pretentious at times . +that said , there are two sequences ( one where a soldier gets a devastating note from his wife , and another where one of the main characters is killed ) that are nothing short of incredible . +the performances are phenominal all around . +the two standouts are nick nolte and newcomer jim caviezel , both of whom should have been nominated for oscars . +nolte is riveting and intense as the colonel in charge of the operation . +his character is hard , mean , and somewhat reckless with the lives of his men , and yet nolte somehow manages to evoke sympathy for him . +caviezel is forever questioning the nature of war , his place in it , and if there's any deeper meaning to the hell that he's going through . +he is absolutely perfect - genuine , sympathetic , sincere , and yet strong when he needs to be . +although restricted to a relatively small role , sean penn is also very good as the company's pessimistic seargent . +as to how it stacks up to " saving private ryan " - it was my second favorite movie of 1998 , " ryan " was my first . +it's really hard to compare the two - they are so , so different - so i won't , beyond saying that spielberg's film had more of an impact on me . +however , the two are comparable from the standpoint of quality ( i can easily see why someone would " the thin red line " above " ryan ) . +i highly recommend both of them , and consider them to be the two best war movies ever made . +all in all , " the thin red line " is filmmaking of an incredibly high order . +it's slight faults are easily offset by the sheer brilliance of what is done right . +it's a real shame that it tanked at the box office - films this unconventional , powerful , and thought-provoking don't come along very often . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv408_5297.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv408_5297.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..15f5a5efedd439d30bc0d37e063300c4306756c6 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv408_5297.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17 @@ +it was a rainy friday afternoon in columbus when i persuaded a friend to see a matinee performance of mst3k : tm . +he had never seen any episodes of the show , and i have watched a scant few , due to its unsocial airtime on comedy central and the uneven nature of many of the episodes . +for those of you not familiar with the premise , dr clayton forrester ( beaulieu ) wishes to take over the world by finding the worst film ever made and unleashing it upon an unsuspecting public . +to achieve this , he ( in the words of the tv series' theme , which is missing in the movie ) " bumped [mike nelson ( nelson ) ] on the noggin and then shot him into space " , and is monitoring nelson's reactions to the movies he is forced to endure . +rather than succumb to the sheer awfulness of many of the movies , nelson spends his time making wisecracks with the help of his two robot companions , tom servo and crow t . robot . +the format of the show consists of nelson , servo and crow making their comments while silhouetted against the movie being watched , and breaks every 20 minutes or so for segments set on the satellite of love , the ship on which our heroes are marooned . +only two things are different in the movie : the absence of forrester's sidekick , tv's frank , and the slower pace of the jokes . +this latter change is presumably deliberate to avoid the viewing audience missing some of the best lines while laughing from the previous joke . +for their big screen outing , the producers have chosen " this island earth " , a 1954 classic , and one of the first sf films to have a special effects budget larger than the average grocery bill . +unfortunately for that film ( but making it ideal mst3k fodder ) , acting and dialogue appear to have taken a back seat to the effects which , by today's standards , are less than impressive . +nelson & co . make jokes about everything from japan's dominance in the world market , to star trek , to the state of disrepair of seattle's kingdome , and most of them work . +unfortunately , the segments set outside the satellite's movie theater seem out of place and aren't particularly funny , but at least they're fairly short . +the big question about this movie though is : why ? +i presume it was an attempt to gain a larger following to keep support behind the series ( rumours of its impending demise circulated for some time before the plug was eventually pulled a few months ago ) , but the format gains nothing from its transition to the big screen -- there are no special effects to dazzle you , no action sequences to keep you on the edge of your seat , and no use of digital surround sound . +so , it seems pointless to spend $8 per person to see this movie when in a few months it will be out on video and you can watch it for $3 , and not have to sit in a room full of popcorn addicts . +nevertheless , mst3k : tm provides more laugh-out-loud opportunities than any film you're going to see this year , and i thoroughly recommend it to anyone with a pulse . +given its uniqueness , i hesitate to grade it against other films , but it fulfils its claims and so in the class of " unsubtle comedy films whose laughs come at the expense of bad b-movies " it does well . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv409_29786.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv409_29786.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..77b761d95b00a262d2c13a4aa5fd02b53228baa4 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv409_29786.txt @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ +the uncompromising nudity bared throughout petrice chereau's intimacy has already garnered much notoriety , but it's in the naked faces of fearless actors mark rylance ( angels & insects ) and kerry fox ( welcome to sarajevo ) that the tender ache of emotional resonance is discovered . +with sharp , intelligent eyes that reflect experience and maturity , rylance and fox are refreshingly detached from the false glamour of hollywood idols . +their sex scenes together are bracing in their raw honesty , in the acceptance of flesh and messiness . +less apparent , but no less remarkable , are the astute observations of behavior revealed through those carnal beats of haste and hesitance , often without a single line of dialogue . +not aiming for the spiritual poetry of in the realm of the senses or the philosophical transgressions of crash , chereau keeps his sexual odyssey firmly grounded in terms of straightforward character development . +that may be the very reason why intimacy seems unerringly impressive but never particularly significant on more than a tactile , sensory level . +the themes of human isolation are barren and obvious , a science project devoid of any especially groundbreaking hypothesis . +intimacy does manage to stand out from lesser portraits of " human interconnectedness " and pinter-esque rummages through psychological dirty drawers ( okay , kill me ) . +shallow though it might sound , it's amazing how much is filled in through an inspired cast , perceptive camerawork , and imaginative ways of treating the love scene . +those ingredients are too assured and confident to merely dismiss as icing on the cake , especially since they are the substance of the cake itself . +adapted from a pair of short stories by british novelist hanif kureishi , intimacy weaves desperate lovemaking between two strangers in london . +every wednesday , jay ( rylance ) and claire ( fox ) meet in his cluttered , dank apartment for an hour or two of sexual release from their uninspired lives . +he's been head bartender at a posh restaurant for over six years . +she's a mystery to him but her glum workaday appearance reveals a similar dissatisfaction . +they're both married , but his relationship has curdled into an embittered separation . +as the weeks draw on , jay obsessively takes it upon himself to uncover claire's personal routines . +in his attempt to gain a fuller semblance of who she is , he opens wounds that hadn't existed before by single-handedly corrupting the fantasy . +if it weren't for a few unnecessary subplots involving jay's brother and his bevy of disgruntled co-workers , this minimalist premise might be described as a modern fable on the perils of wish fulfillment . +chareau's restless camera ( once again wielded by superb and ever-attentive cinematographer eric gautier ) is less appropriate here than in his family transit-oriented those who love me can take the train . +the scenes that linger are the still ones where rylance and fox separately , pensively attempt to carry on with their makeshift household routines . +these are often captured in lingering , unblinking wide shots that view them stranded amidst their drab workplaces and homes . +separation proves haunting in a melancholy series of intercut shots as rylance and fox undress on opposite sides of the room , crawling across the floor to meet in the center . +despite being as restless as a fly during the hyperactive restaurant scenes ( all the better to blend in with a hustling crowd of gabby trendsetters ) , you'd be hard pressed to find a single uninteresting image . +intimacy takes an interest in its sordid world of the lower-middle class , with lonely pubs and busy shopping streets -- it also understands the people who inhabit those spaces , viewing them with sympathy scraped raw . +an evaluation would be incomplete without highlighting the great timothy spall ( the robust scene-stealer of many a mike leigh collaboration ) . +as claire's cuckolded husband , this jocular heavyweight plays out his handful of bitter pill scenes with the unforced menace and self-effacing embarrassment of his imposing bulk . +bangs in his eyes , his mouth forming into quizzical pouts and dry smirks , he may seem the fool in his barroom encounters opposite a sarcastic , gleaming mark rylance ( whose jay has arrived on the scene looking to stir up some trouble ) , but spall is no one to trifle with . +his overreaching best pal demeanor suggests a mind abuzz with secret passageways of guile , his pointed questions only na ? ve if you choose not to read into their crafty insinuations . +in his unassuming way , spall's carefully etched interpretation of hostility buried under a mountain of surface propriety may become one of the most criminally underappreciated performances of the year , but maybe also one of the best . +he's that good . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv410_24266.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv410_24266.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f2bde37b64add2e27c0282e6aa8c1773d760f6f1 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv410_24266.txt @@ -0,0 +1,47 @@ +george little ( jonathan lipnicki ) wants a little brother . +after mr . and mrs . little ( hugh laurie and geena davis ) visit the orphange , they decide to adopt stuart , a talking mouse ( voiced by michael j . fox ) . +george isn't so fond of his new brother when stuart arrives at the little house , and neither is snowbell the family cat ( voiced by nathan lane ) . +george and stuart eventually bond while preparing for a remote control boat race , but snowbell wants stuart out of the house ( he's unable to live with the taunts of other neighborhood felines saying it's ridiculous that a mouse has a pet cat ) . +stuart little is a mix of live action and computer generated imagery ( cgi ) . +the character of stuart , while obviously a computer generated image , grows on you as the film progresses and you'll soon see him as much more than a mere special effect . +there is also a great deal of animal training involved with this film , as many of the " supporting cast " are actual cats ( with computer animated mouths so they can speak ) . +it's fascinating to watch these cats give performances without an actual mouse to interact with . +stuart little is a charming family film . +there are some great laughs in the movie ( with a script co-written by the sixth sense's m . night shyamalan no less ! ) , +some moments that can only be described as " too cute " ( the boat race sequence is what won me over ) and even the majority of the one-liners ( common nowadays in children's films or films featuring nathan lane ) are tolerable . +kids and parents will love this one . +stuart little is available on dvd from columbia tristar home video . +there are two different dvds on sale : one contains the film in full frame , and the other presents the film in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1 . 66 : 1 . +both versions feature choices of either dolby surround or dolby digital 5 . 1 audio . +both versions also contain the following extras ( and hang in there with me here . . . there's a lot of them ) : a full length audio commentary track by director rob minkoff and animation supervisor henry anderson , a full length audio commentary track by the visual effects supervisors , an isolated score track , an interactive trivia game , an interactive featurette that goes step by step through eight of the effects in the film , a making of documentary that originally aried on hbo , and a stuart little read-along story ( which you can read yourself or have stuart read for you ) . +there are also three music videos , and six theatrical trailers ( called thecatrical trailers . . . +get it ? +it's funny ! ) for stuart little and five other columbia tristar releases : the adventures of elmo in grouchland , madeline , the nuttiest nutcracker , muppets from space , and baby geniuses ( the only bad thing about this entire dvd . . . +i did not want to be reminded of the awfulness that is baby geniuses ) . +dvd-rom features are also on the disc , including web links and a demo of the stuart little cd-rom game . +but wait . . . +there's still more ! +there's a section called " basement treasures " where you will find the auditions of the film's animators , six deleted scenes which you can select to view with or without commentary from the director , a visual effects gag reel , a production gag reel , and an incredible eight minute storyboard sequence detailing the original concept for the boat race scene ( with commentary from the director ) . +the first commentary track features director rob minkoff and animation supervisor henry anderson . +they give insightful and detailed thoughts about the film's production . +minkoff likes to point out scenes where other screenwriters came in and polished up the script , namely writers like scott alexander and larry karaszewski ( who wrote the people vs . larry flynt and ed wood ) and lowell ganz and babaloo mandel ( who wrote splash and multiplicity , among others ) . +anderson is very appreciative of the animators who worked with him and often points out which animator worked on each scene as they occur . +the second commentary track features visual effects supervisors john dykstra and jerome chen who discuss more specific details of the effects in the film . +movie fans will enjoy the informative first commentary track , serious animation buffs will love the second one . +now i know this is slightly off topic , but it is related specifically to this dvd so i must voice this now . +one of the music videos on the disc is for a song called " i need to know " by a group called r angels . +this video features four mid-teenage girls ( the singers obviously ) having a slumber party . +the girls ask a ouija board " i need to know . . . +who to do , who to do , who to do " as the song begins . +they then sneak out of their house , and along the way they strike a pose and their slumber party pajamas are magically transformed into middle class streetwalker outfits . +then they head to a party and dance suggestively with the guys while singing lyrics like " i'll be your pleasure all the time . . . +just say the words that you'll be mine " . +um . . . +what the hell ? +what does this have to do with stuart little ? +how is this in any way a song suitable for a kids movie , let alone a video suitable for a kids movie on dvd ? +when the video concludes , the words " to be continued " appear . +oh i can't wait to see who they've slept with when the toy story 2 dvd comes out . +kids won't care about most of the special features on this dvd , but those of us who can sometimes be turned into a " kid at heart " thanks to a winning family film sure appreciate them . +this is the way to do dvd , a good movie loaded with great features at a reasonable cost . +the di$ney people could learn a lot from columbia tristar . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv411_15007.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv411_15007.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..9cca577502b0e79b78437de4a1beaca56c56364e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv411_15007.txt @@ -0,0 +1,57 @@ +countries and legal systems that take the rule of law principle seriously , had forbidden judges and juries to make judgements in all matters that could involve them personally . +luckily , movie reviewers aren't burdened with such legislation . +otherwise , small pool of very special movies would be forever ignored by this reviewer . +in case of star wars , 1977 science fiction epic by george lucas , the consequences would be even more severe , because that film is very special for tens of millions , if not hundreds of millions of fans . +in any case , objectivity is something seldom seen in star wars reviews , because undisputed majority of reviewers rate it as one of the best , if not the best film of all times . +those who don't usually have some difficulties in hiding their artistic snobbery . +the author of this review must also concede his inability to use cold , objective standards in reviewing this film . +like so many previous reviewers , i must note that i watched star wars for the first time twenty years ago , and that i remained enchanted by the experience ever since . +perhaps it was childlike fascination with , until then unimaginable , wonders that happened long time ago , in a galaxy far away . +or perhaps it was the rush i felt minutes before the opening shots , with my expectations already pumped up by serialised comic books and novelisation i had read before . +anyway , watching of star wars was one of the most important movie going experiences of my life . +and it was also unmatched for many years to come , because very few movies managed to have such a strong impact on me like george lucas' epic . +star wars wasn't just important movie for me ( or the millions of fans who probably share the same sentiment ) . +it was the defining moment in the history of modern cinema . +until than , american motion picture industry was in a limbo ; social turmoil in 1960s practically destroyed the old hollywood , and new authors filled the void , mostly by using hollywood's financial and technical resources to create serious , " personal " or " artsy " movies . +as a result , audience , traumatised of dark reality of vietnam and watergate , didn't want to see the same dark and serious content on the silver screen . +george lucas with its science fiction epic was among the first to come into rescue . +the audience responded with unprecedented enthusiasm , and huge financial success of the movie , later backed by supplement industry of toys , books , comics , role playing games and other merchandise , slowly began to change the face of hollywood . +serious , adult movies with artistic ambitions faded into oblivion , and were replaced by industrial products of " blockbuster " philosophy . +one of the biggest casualties of that trend was the science fiction movie genre . +until 1977 , science fiction movies were mostly in b-production domain . +in late 1960s , bigger budgets for science fiction didn't look so strange anymore , thanks to the great success of 2001 : a space odyssey . +but the same success coincided with the surge of pesimism , and hollywood science fiction was as bleak as the rest of its production - mostly dark , dystopic movies . +however , in 1977 star wars showed once and for all that this genre can be inspiration for popular movies , even among the audience that usually doesn't like it . +as a result , seriousness in cinematic science fiction began fading away , although some good , dark and cult quality sf and continued to be filmed until early 1980s . +after that , science fiction continued to be considered a synonym for family entertainment . +ironically , the man responsible for star wars was in its time considered to be member of " new hollywood " generation of young movie authors who made " artsy " and " personal " films in early 1970s . +george lucas established himself with the dystopic sf movie thx 1138 , and nostalgic drama american graffiti . +both movies were considered " personal " in its time , despite latter one becoming very popular . +in a sense , star wars is an also very " personal " film , and the thorny way to the final production shows that commercial considerations were against it , not for it . +but unlike many " personal " movies of the era , its " personality " was in line with the wishes of the general audience . +the plot , set " a long time ago , in a galaxy far away " , begins in a time of civil war . +the evil empire is threatened by rebels who want to restore the old republic . +in order to quash any opposition , the empire had built death star , superweapon powerful enough to destroy whole planets . +the information about death star , acquired by rebel intelligence , is being transported by princess leia organa ( carrie fisher ) when her ship gets intercepted by imperial cruiser . +princess is arrested by imperial warlord darth vader ( played by david prowse and voice by james earl jones ) , but the information is being sent to nearby desert planet of tatooine via two humanoid robots - c3po ( anthony daniels ) and r2d2 ( kenny baker ) . +those two robots are sold to the family of luke skywalker ( mark hamill ) , young restless man who wants to leave his farm and become space pilot . +his adventure begins when r2d2 escapes , because the information must reach mysterious local hermit obi wan kenobi ( alec guiness ) . +old man is actually the last surviving jedi knight , member of the ancient order that defended republic through the use of mystical force . +after some hesitation , luke agrees to join obi wan in his mission to save the princess , while the old man would teach him the ways of the force . +their small band comes to the colourful spaceport of moss eisely , where they hire the spaceship owned by rogue pilot han solo ( harrison ford ) and his furry sidekick chewbacca ( peter mayhew ) . +critics who don't like the movie , especially those who can't forgive lucas for his contribution to the quashing of " new hollywood " , are prone to point the lack of originality . +on the surface , they might be right ; lucas himself admits that he found a lot of inspiration in the lore of old hollywood - westerns , wwii aviation movies , old sf cliffhanger serials of the 1930s and 1940s ; yet the most obvious element would be akira kurosawa's samurai classic the hidden fortress . +on the other hand , those who had spent last two decades studying the movie to death would say that the inspiration for star wars went even further - into collective subconscious of western civilisation ( hinted by some mild tolkien references ) . +the others would find the author's element within the story - star wars could be seen as an anti- establishment film ; young , long-haired , easy going , nature-loving heroes are fighting against old , uptight and oppressive forces who use supertechnology in most demonic purposes . +even out of its historical or social context , star wars is an impressive as a strictly technical piece of the seven art . +george lucas' direction is very good , with the clever editing and a well-paced segments between action and dramatic buildup . +characters are well-drawn and deliver all the necessary ingredients , both for the space opera and hollywood blockbuster . +we have a " coming-of-age " hero , damsel-in-distress ( somewhat toned down due to the popular feminist trends of the time ) , reluctant helper , benevolent mentor , diabolical villain and , finally , comic relief in form of two non-human characters . +some of the actors are very good - alec guiness in his most famous role to date , james earl jones whose voice is enough to cause unease , peter cushing as an incarnation of pure evil in human form . +unfortunately , the same can't be said for the main leads - among the main trio of mark hamill , carrie fisher and harrison ford , only the last one had the character three-dimensional enough to launch his further acting career . +the thing that looked like the most important segment of star wars phenomena during its initial release was the new level of special effects technology . +often comparisons with 2001 : space odyssey , another ground-breaking sf film , were citing the sheer number of effects as a proof of the lucas' superiority over kubrick . +however , the special effects by john dykstra and john stears are indeed impressive , even after two decades ( although 1997 special edition did improve them significantly ) , yet they aren't the most remembered trademark of the movie . +that honour should definitely go to the " oscar " -winning soundtrack by john williams , whose work on star wars is probably the brightest gem in his brilliant career . +newer generations of viewers might be somewhat deprived of the enchantment that still holds those lucky enough to witness star wars original release . +yet , even if they are immune to the george lucas' magic they should watch this film nevertheless , perhaps only to become familiar with something that is essential part of contemporary culture . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv412_24095.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv412_24095.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a95d6353b6ffeda1aba692e1af7b121f4be541c7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv412_24095.txt @@ -0,0 +1,33 @@ +frequency n . , +the number of times a specified phenomenon occurs within a specified interval as the number of repetitions of a complete sequence of values of a periodic function per unit variation of an independent variable ? etc +don't worry . +when watching the thriller frequency , you won't have to know what the heck frequency means . +the premise , although it may sound complex , is very basic on the big screen . +a new york cop , john , ( jim caviezel ) finds a radio in his house , which allows him to communicate with his new york firefighter father , frank , ( dennis quaid ) who died thirty years ago . +immediately john warns his father that he will die trying to stop a fire in an abandoned warehouse . +when frank takes his advice and survives the accident he wasn't supposed to , the two eventually realize that by changing that one moment in the past , they have created a whole new future in which a serial killer murders john's mother and nine other women . +it is now up to john and frank to use their special connection and save thirty years ago to make present time a better place . + ( i told you that wasn't confusing ? ) . +overall , i was very pleased with frequency . +it's occasional sappy moments perfectly synchronized with its suspenseful serial killer scenes . +i usually don't buy those cheesy " i love you dad " segments in movies , but this one surprisingly satisfied me . +maybe because the plot is so creative and universal that i believed that this is how most people would act when talking to a dead relative . +frequency's creepy premise left me thinking once the film ended , what if ? +what would i do ? +would i help my own family or save a historical figure from being assasinated ? +or stop some kids from shooting other kids ? +or buy stock from yahoo ! ? + ( a character in the film does the latter with humorous consequences ) . +frequency also reminded me of the fantastic back to the future . +both share that " change the past slightly , and you'll change the future heavily " warning . +the changes between the present and the past , such as different newspaper headlines or people disappearing and reappearing in photographs , are very similar . +both are also wonderful feel-good family films that can attract to a number of generations . +the only difference worth noting is that frequency's final scene doesn't set up a possibility for a lucrative sequel already in the making . +there are some problems with the film though . +first , there is a major flaw in the story towards the end that is somewhat distracting ( email me if you have seen the movie and want to know what i think it is ) . +the plot must have confused even the filmmakers who frequently ( no pun intended ) switch from 1969 to 1999 while telling the story . +another problem is that the supporting cast , including noah emmerich and andre braugher , are underused . +while in the film , which is not enough , the aforementioned actors steal every scene they are in . +frequency was a pleasant surprise for me and the audience i saw it with who cheered at the end . +even if you know what is going to happen or if you think the preview ruined the movie for you , like it almost did for me , check this movie out . +you may be surprised as well . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv413_7398.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv413_7398.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..132af00398e4347b2b4fd97bab327b1a13ff45e9 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv413_7398.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ + " psycho meets the exorcist with no holds barred " . +a blurb like that sounds like desperate publicity for some low budget , third rate rip-off . +but no , this tacky plug comes from the poster for suspiria , perhaps italian horror director dario argento's most consistently successful film . +what impresses most in re-watching this surrealistic , supernatural thriller is that argento's directorial flair and stylish visuals are matched by a near-fully coherent narrative . +screenplays have always been his achilles heel ; confusing subplots , gaping holes , totally illogical incidents and reactions . +no question : argento has always been a better director than a writer . +fortunately , he gets the plotting pretty well right with suspiria , taking his cue from a book by thomas de quincey called " suspiria de profundis " . +the film's storyline suffers from no major lapses in logic , provided one can accept the premise of a ballet school being a front for a coven of witches . +jessica harper plays an american who travels to germany to further her studies in dance . +arriving at the school late at night in driving rain , she sees a girl leave and run into the storm in a clearly distressed state . +what happens next - and i don't make the comparison lightly - is a murder sequence that for intensity , shock value and sheer directorial flair ranks alongside alfred hitchcock's infamous shower scene in psycho . +it's quite possibly a homage to hitchcock , but with its baroque sets , graphic gore and brilliantly chaotic musical accompaniment by the gothic rock group goblin , this stunning sequence remains very much argento's own . +though nothing else quite equals the intensity of suspiria's opening 15 minutes , the film continues to be never anything less than engrossing as harper begins her own investigations and slowly comes to realise this is no ordinary ballet school . +we meet an assortment of slightly sinister characters , most notably the head ballet teacher played by alida valli in another one of those delicious sour-old-matriarch-from-hell roles she does so well . +several more violent murders ensue , including a startling scene in a deserted square where a blind man is . . . well , i wouldn't want to spoil things now , would i ? and the film's climax , staged amid secret corridors and hidden rooms , has a gothic ghoulishness that's most impressive . +the english language versions of most argento movies usually suffer trimming , and not just for the violence - deep red and phenomena , for example , have been appallingly hacked about . +fortunately , the cuts to suspiria ( about 7 minutes in this version ) have not adversely affected the film . +the dubbing of the italian actors into english is quite competently done , too , excepting one appalling and unintentionally hilarious effort with a conversation between harper and a professor about the history of witchcraft in the region . +and the soundtrack ? +it is interesting to imagine what power the film would have lost if it had been scored by someone else . +as it stands , the use of goblin's music in suspiria is outstanding . +apparently , argento played the soundtrack on location while filming so the actors could hear the music as they acted out their parts . +a stereo video player adds greatly to the viewer's overall experience . +even better , see suspiria in a cinema , where you'll get the added bonus of widescreen . +and the colours ! +deep reds , eerie blues , a superb use of shadow and contrast . +the cinematography of luciano tovoli , whose more recent credits include reversal of fortune and single white female , is uniformly superb . +a nod also must go to production designer giuseppe bassan for his wonderful baroque interiors . +these kinds of settings are crucial to the atmosphere of argento's more surreal excursions , the other most notable example being inferno ( 1980 ) on which bassan also worked . +suspiria is the film that broke dario argento into the major league of european directors , and it is fully deserving of its cult status . +the gore is at times a little excessive and overstated - that's always been one of argento's shortcomings - but overall this is a fascinating , compelling example of italian horror . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv414_10518.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv414_10518.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..34e49f37431d0a1ceb9823affc20e3240a393fa3 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv414_10518.txt @@ -0,0 +1,49 @@ +jackie brown entered theaters with little fanfare and a lot of expectation . +even though advance publicity on this one was fairly limited , the audiences waited for the showings with heightened anticipation . +this is , after all , the first movie quentin tarantino has directed since the highly touted pulp fiction . +to say he has been inactive in between would be to tell a falsehood , since he has been involved in such projects as destiny turns on the radio , desperado , four rooms , and from dusk 'til dawn . +he was also called in at the last minute to help punch up the screenplay for crimson tide . + ( i'm willing to wager the debate over which silver surfer is the only true silver surfer was penned by him . ) +tarantino contributed on and off screen to these films , but never took the director's helm . +nearly four years since gaining notoriety on the hollywood scene and making john travolta a star once more , tarantino returns with a film he can call his own . +the film opens up with an homage to the graduate , with jackie brown ( pam grier ) on one of those airport people movers as the credits are displayed in front of her . +jackie is a flight attendant for air cabo , which flies back and fourth between los angeles and cabo san lucas . +this makes jackie a convenient cash courier for gun dealer ordell robbi ( samuel l . jackson ) who is currently keeping his money stashed in mexico . +however , while bringing fifty thousand dollars back into the u . s . for ordell , jackie is apprehended by fbi agent mark dargus ( michael bowen ) and atf agent ray nicolet ( michael keaton ) , who catch her not only with the money , but with a bonus of a couple of ounces of illicit drugs . +jackie didn't know they were in the package with the cash , but that's of no consequence to the authorities , who threaten jackie with a couple of years hard time if convicted . +of course , dargus and nicolet are just using the sentence to get jackie to turn over the big fish , ordell . +ordell uses honest bail bondsman max cherry ( robert forster ) to get jackie out of jail , but while max is immediately attracted to her , jackie is more concerned about her immediate safety , since ordell killed the last one of his operatives who got picked up by the police . +sure enough , ordell shows up at jackie's apartment that evening and tries to silence jackie for good , but she " borrows " max's pistol and manages to turn the tables on ordell . +instead of closing the irony circle and relocating a bullet from the pistol's chamber to ordell's head , jackie proposes a deal . +since ordell wants to get his money out of mexico , jackie will get back up to her old tricks and be a courier for him once more , but this time for a more substantial fee : fifteen percent of ordell's half million dollars . +with a gun in his face , how can ordell not agree ? +by itself , this premise might have been interesting enough to carry the film . +however , we are also introduced to a number of double crosses which make us pay attention and think . +jackie claims to be bringing the money in for ordell , but she's also making a deal with the feds as well as with max . +the film throws us off every once in a while by leading us to believe the deal we thought was authentic is actually a sham , but it is in no way done to the extent that we feel jerked around . +instead , it's actually a nice departure from the predictability which is prevalent in so many of today's movies . +at least this film has a little imagination . +most of the performances in jackie brown are above par . +pam grier , of whom i had never taken notice before , plays jackie with a mix of confidence and vulnerability which makes her character believable . +samuel l . jackson has a kind of mesmerizing quality about him as he handles himself in situations where you know he is in total control . +robert forster is thoroughly likable because he comes across as such an honest guy , trying to do his best . . +never mind that he belongs to a profession where sneaking into a guy's apartment to zap him with a stun gun is simply a matter of course . +he's just so down-to-earth , the nature of his job really doesn't occur to us , even when we're shown him bringing a handcuffed woman to prison , or when we see the tools of his trade . +in supporting roles are robert de niro as louis gara , a recently paroled friend of ordell's , and bridget fonda as melanie , one of the girls ordell keeps around town . +unfortunately , de niro is basically wasted as his lines are few and far between , and then they are mostly clipped sentences . +in this film , he's not really de niro , but stereotypical de niro , uttering things like , " little bit , " and " pretty much . " +fonda , on the other hand , plays the slightly spaced-out melanie with satisfactory relish and cuteness , such that even when she is annoying louis , we are taking her side . +as is characteristic of any film in which tarantino has had a hand , the dialog is quick and snappy . +it grabs our attention and is actually interesting , and in many respects , this makes jackie brown a film which needs few visuals ; the lines are a form of art in and amongst themselves . +don't count tarantino out when it comes to using the camera , however . +there's a scene where max is unwittingly watching a dry run of a money exchange , and he's not really sure what's happening , but by composing the scene just so , his realization of what's going on is felt simultaneously by the audience . +we look at the screen and think , " gee , that's clever , " and then think the same thing about how the film induced us into that wonderful feeling of catching on . +although tarantino isn't afraid to drag out a shot for dramatic effect , it unfortunately works to varying degrees in this film . +there are shots where a character is simply driving , and we watch this person and somehow get an idea of what is going on in his or her head . +this is a tribute to both direction and acting . +however , there is at least one other scene where we follow jackie through a mall , and she is looking for something ; desperately looking for something . +we get the idea of the frantic nature of her search , but we follow her for so long that we end up not really caring about what she's looking for , but instead hoping she'll just stop . +overall , viewing jackie brown is time spent well . +some flap has already been made about the language used in the film , but it's really not much worse than many of the other movies out there today . +in fact , one might even be able to say that the way in which these " offensive " words are employed almost cause them to parody themselves and therefore transcend their own offensiveness . +go see the film and see what i mean . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv415_22517.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv415_22517.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..09cfc47604fe5a4eeb500d8b475195390613cd64 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv415_22517.txt @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +directed by : pixote hunt , hendel butoy , eric goldberg , james algar , francis glebas , gaetan & paul brizzi conducted by : james levine composed by : ludwig van beethoven , ottorino respighi , george gershwin , dmitri shostakovich , camille saint-saens , paul dukas , sir edward elgar , igor stravinsky rated : g scripture references : 1 samuel 16 : 23 , ephesians 5 : 19 , 1 chronicles 15 : 15-16 +in 1940 , walt disney released a filmed experiment . +fantasia was a blend of two art forms : classical music and animation . +while it was not immediately popular with the audiences of its day , it has since become recognized as something of a classic . +according to the program notes , it was mr . disney's intention to have fantasia be a continual work in progress . +sixty years later , thanks to the ongoing efforts of walt's nephew , a new fantasia is being released . +it was not only worth the waiting , it is evidence to just how far animation has come during the past half-decade . +with seven new sequences and one old favorite , fantasia 2000 exhibits an imagination and respect for its art form that is absent from most other feature films . +like the original , fantasia 2000 will more than likely bore the very young , although there is more narrative appeal in this newer version and the segments appear to be substantially shorter , perhaps a nod to the shorter attention span of the studio's primary audience . +ranging from the silly to the sublime , each segment is preceded by a short , humorous introduction or interstitial by a guest celebrity host , steve martin ( bowfinger ) being the first and most effective . +these are quickly forgotten as conductor james levine leads the chicago symphony orchestra through the musical program which , along with the images drawn by the disney team of animators , is thoughtfully and beautifully brought to a stunning synthesis . +fantasia 2000 is being released exclusively in the giant-screened imax theaters , making for a unique viewing experience . +there is enough variety in the program to provide something enjoyable for everyone and surely , people will exit the theaters with their own personal favorites . +for me , that would have to be the jazz age story of four unconnected and discontented people living in nyc who , unknowingly , help each other realize their dreams . +drawn in the style of caricaturist al hirschfeld and inspired by george gershwin's rhapsody in blue , the music and images are blended perfectly resulting in a product greater than the sum of its two parts . +children will like the short piece set to carnival of the animals by camille saint-saens . +here , a goofy looking flamingo irritates the rest of the flock with his yo-yo playing antics . +they will also giggle as donald duck , playing noah's assistant , tries to load the animals into the ark to the familiar strains of pomp and circumstance by sir edward elgar . + ( while the depiction is not biblically accurate , it is entertaining and might be excuse enough to familiarize ourselves with the true record by reading what is written in genesis 7 . ) +a positive note is that the studio has avoided any segment which is as perversely dark as nihgt on bald mountain upon which the original film ended . +there are some images based upon fantasy such as the flying whales in respighi's pines of rome or images which have their roots in mythology such as the ethereal creatures which tell the story of nature's cycle of life , death , and rebirth in igor stravinsky's firebird suite . +but the stories they tell are uplifting , containing nothing too frightening for our younger children . +the darkest segment , spiritually speaking , actually belongs to the only holdover from the original fantasia , mickey mouse in the sorcerer's apprentice by paul dukas . +but overall , the emotions evoked from fantasia 2000 are positive ones , being full of hope and promise . +music has an impact which can be undeniably felt , capable of leading the listener to emotional peaks and inspirational highs simply not attainable through other mediums . +it is no wonder that the levites , as the priestly tribe of the old testament , were also the appointed musicians . +if fantasia 2000 is able to introduce a new audience to music which inspires and exalts , it will have done an incredible service . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv416_11136.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv416_11136.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4b6ee809300f1a35b20625740b4d4feedf6fa076 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv416_11136.txt @@ -0,0 +1,13 @@ +ingredients : little orphan boy , rural grandparents , mountains , native american lore +synopsis : in this loving film portrayal of an idyllic and pivotal time that a young boy spends with grandpa and grandma , the self recollections of an unseen narrator focus on his world view as a tennessee orphan boy learning of his heritage through his grandparents . +the setting is after the first world war , during the great depression years . +a nine-year-old orphan named little tree ( joseph ashton ) is taken in and taught the wondrous ways of the woods by his caucasian moonshiner grandpa ( james cromwell ) and his native american grandma ( tantoo cardinal ) in the wilderness of the mountains of tennessee . +here little tree learns an almost magical appreciation for nature and farm life - - and experiences beautiful and wondrous things such as the sunrise . +everything is miraculous to a child . +but it all comes crashing down for the boy when the u . s . government forcibly takes custody away from grandpa and grandma , and forces little tree to attend the notched gap boarding school , a kind of internment camp where multiracial cherokee kids are indoctrinated to dress , pray , speak , and think like white people or face solitary confinement and corporeal punishment . +through his childhood experiences , little tree learns lessons about love , race , life , death , people , nature , and folk wisdom . +opinion : this excellent , excellent family movie . +it is one of those priceless screen gems that nobody knows about because it's not highly advertised . +you won't find any formula schlock , cutesy characters , canned spirituality , sequel teasers or commercial tie ins , but you will find the education of little tree to be a refreshing , impeccably acted , original , wonderful , and touching film . +take the whole family and bring a box of tissues for the tearjerkers . +this one's as good as old yeller . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv417_13115.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv417_13115.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..063d8e51b5e13d606f409be962f0d65f74e8785d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv417_13115.txt @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ +disney cements their place in the forefront of feature animation with the release of their latest animated adventure , mulan . +while it adheres a bit too close to the disney formula to be perfect , it is nonetheless an entertaining film for both kids and adults . +fa mulan ( ming-na wen , singing : lea salonga ) wants nothing more than to be a dutiful daughter and honor her family . . . it's +just that she doesn't quite fit in with the chafing customs of her time . +while most girls her age are trying to quietly and demurely seek the approval of the local matchmaker ( miriam margoyles ) , mulan would prefer speaking her mind . +but there is trouble on the horizon . +the evil huns , led by shan-yu ( miguel ferrer ) , are invading china . +the emperor ( pat morita ) has decreed that each family must donate one man to serve in the army . +the only male in mulan's family is her father , fa zhou ( soon-tek oh ) , who , old and with a bad leg , honorably accepts his fate . +mulan , on the other hand , decides to save her father's life . . . by +secretly masquerading as a man and taking his place on the battlefield . +mulan , under the assumed name of ping , appears at camp where she , along with the other bumbling recruits , yao ( harvey fierstein ) , chien-po ( jerry tondo ) and ling ( gedde watanabe ) , are trained in the art of war by captain shang ( b . d . +wong , singing : donny osmond ) . +but she's not alone in her tasks . . . in +typical disney fashion , she has three animal companions : her horse khan , a lucky cricket crickey , and a pint-sized " guardian " dragon called mushu ( eddie murphy ) . +much like the gargoyles in the hunchback of notre dame , the humor in mulan is lukewarm and doesn't flow well with the rest of the more serious story . +sure , some occasional comic relief is welcome , particularly in a film geared for the younger set , but mulan overdoes it . +the overdose of humor turns what could have been a powerfully great film into a good , but schizophrenic experience . +but , that commentary aside , this is a very well made film ( which makes the formulaic additions all the more regrettable ) . +the animation is on par with some of disney's best . +the story itself is interesting , and the action scenes are awe-inspiring . +the musical score to the film is enjoyable , though , as has been the case with disney's recent work , the songs are mostly forgettable . +at least , we're only subjected to four of them this time around . +mulan boasts the highest death toll of any disney cartoon to date . +most of the killing is off-screen and it's all highly depersonalized ( there's nothing to compare with the death of mufasa or bambi's mom ) . +there's nothing graphic , and the film resides snugly inside a g rating . +children will probably have more questions about the restrictive ancient customs than of the slaughter of armies . +it's ironic that a film concerned with bucking tradition is hampered because of its strict adherence to disney tradition . +if the filmmakers had the guts to lessen the humor , ax the compulsory songs , and remove the obligatory ( and somewhat unrealistic ) romance , they could have had a classic on their hands . +instead , they merely deliver a very good time at the movies . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv418_14774.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv418_14774.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..69b6a982ab97a06e6baa2914c97e99a810de239e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv418_14774.txt @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ +capsule : the world will come to an end at midnight . +everyone knows it and must make a final peace with the last hours of their lives . +this is an intelligent science fiction film with no special effects , just personalities and ideas . + , high +2 ( -4 to +4 ) +- it is the last night of the planet and several different people are reacting each in their own way to the end . +the film covers 6 pm to midnight . +the main character is patrick played by david mckellan who also wrote and directed . +- reminiscent of on the beach . +but much more so of a story richard matheson wrote , " the last day . " + ( p . s . +on rereading the 1953 matheson , this film is almost a loose adaptation of that story . +the similarities may be mere coincidence , but they are numerous and they are very striking . ) +- us release may be problematical . +the title is lackluster and non-memorable , though very appropriate when you know about the film . +also provincial americans may not care about the end of the world coming to toronto . +they probably would feel it would not affect them . +perhaps a pbs release would be possible . +- patrick's family has declared it christmas and are hurt that the ( adult ) children will not spend the whole evening with them . +- grocery stores mostly looted . +it seems though that one of everything is left . +- some people continue business as usual , some want sex , some react with religion , some riot . +some people are in total denial . +- much comedy , much drama . +- very canadian cast . +- it does not get dark . +it is just always daytime . +- radio playing " last night i didn't get to sleep at all . " +how appropriate . +- david cronenberg as a kind of bland functionary manager at the gas company . +genvieve bujold as french teacher visiting former student . +- science fiction film with no special effects , cost about two million dollars . +- the person you have been thrown together with by chance becomes the most important person to you for the rest of your life . +- why would it be so precisely at midnight ? +what about other time zones ? +what is the nature of what is destroying the world ? diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv419_13394.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv419_13394.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5cc7a4c6ad441a9dbe42736e99bf8cf91bfb0cd0 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv419_13394.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +the rich man's wife is one of those movies like final analysis or body double , where the story and characters are so one-dimensional and contrived that you know you shouldn't be enjoying yourself . +but somehow , the movie just tries so hard that you begin to forgive it and get into the swing of things . +not that it's bad , it's just that it's been done before ; and better , in my opinion . +i realize that this is going to sound pretty bizarre , but it's probably the best analogy that i can come up with right now ; you know how when you see a spider or something in your toilet , striving helplessly to get out , and instead of just flushing him , you end up kind of rooting for the little guy ? +that's basically how i felt about this movie . +i mean , it's not very good , but it's not completely bad either . +the wife of the title is josie potenza ( played nicely by halle berry ) . +she is married to tony ( christopher mcdonald . . . you +know , the guy who looks like joe piscapo ) , a really stressed-out businessman who drinks way to much and doesn't give josie the attention she deserves ( * cough , cough * ) . +thus , she is driven into the arms of another man , jake golden ( clive owen ) . +near the beginning of the film , josie decides to try and work things out with tony by dumping jake and going on a vacation to a remote cabin in the woods . +once there , however , tony has to leave almost immediately due to business details ( i'm still not quite sure what line of work he's in ) . +making the best of her situation , josie stays there and begins making the rounds at the local bars . +one night , she meets a stranger named cole ( peter greene , finally getting a meaty role ) . +they have dinner together , and eventually , both josie and the audience start to realize that cole is homicidal . +after learning that she is not happily married , cole offers to " take care " of the problem . +managing to escape from the psychotic maniac , josie returns home and starts a reconciliation with her estranged and very wealthy husband . +but then one night , cole shows up . . . +and here is where the fun begins . +from this point on , it's going to be a no-holds- barred cliche-fest , ripping off every movie from strangers on a train to the usual suspects . +this is why most critics panned this movie when it first came out . +and for the most part , they're right ; the rich man's wife has nary one original bone in it's body . +but who cares ? +if you're looking for good ol' dumb suspense movie , you can't do much better than this . +and if you suspense buffs aren't already sold , it has a killer of an ending too . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv422_9381.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv422_9381.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0d28cabd494770fa77a83ac5d63367ce329cd7dc --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv422_9381.txt @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +billed as a " feminist sex fantasy " , this spirited , imaginative and thoroughly engaging film by the award-winning canadian director cynthia roberts , is destined for extreme reactions . +camille paglia enthusiasts will no doubt champion this heart-felt tale of the title character bubbles galore ( nina hartley ) , a porn-actress-turned-porn-producer who faces an uphill battle in her quest for sexual and economic independence . +however , those in the andrea dworkin camp , will no doubt loathe the film's decidedly pro-porn stance . +political considerations aside , however , this is a delightful lesbian love story as the film takes us on a whirlwind tour of bubbles' romantic entanglements with a naive and virginal young porn starlet dory drawers ( shauny sexton ) . +in the backdrop , however is bubbles' loyal assistant vivian klitorsky ( tracy wright ) who pines longingly for the affections of her bubbly boss . +this femme-butch-femme triangle is what provides the film with considerable humanity * and * sensuality . +in addition to the romantic aspects of the story , bubbles is being stalked and terrorized by her ex-boyfriend godfrey montana ( daniel macivor ) , a slimy porn mogul who wishes to make her life as miserable as he can possibly make it . +when his plans to sabotage her latest film fall through , he snaps and psychotically decides to kill her . +these proceedings are presided over by a most heavenly presence . +god herself - yes , in the world of this film , god , is most definitely a " her " - and a chorus of undulating , scantily-clad angels , have their most watchful and lustful eyes on the events as they unfold , adding a lovely fantasy element to this frothy concoction . +this bright , colourful and deliriously sexy film is chock-full of great performances . +making her dramatic debut , after appearing in over 300 triple x adult films , porn star nina hartley takes command of her role with considerable assurance and a screen presence which puts many other contemporary 'straight' actresses to shame . +hartley has overwhelming star power , and one wonders why other non-triple-x producers haven't used her bountiful talents . +it is also interesting to note that hartley appears in the recent release of " boogie nights " , a film which takes a far more traditional doom-and-gloom approach to the porn industry . +making a cameo appearance in the role of god , former porn actress annie sprinkle , a true artist in her own right - gives the entire film an earthy , sensual glow and certainly solidifies and , by her very appearance , downright justifies the themes of the movie . +the other performances are equally solid . +daniel macivor appropriately chews up the scenery as the villainous godfrey and tracy wright lends able support with her complex role . +shauny sexton , an erotic dancer and pin-up model , makes an impressive screen debut . +overall , bubbles galore is a film which wears its politics on its sleeve and very proudly indeed . +at one point , the title character declares that " instead of trying to save women from the sex trade , we should be working to ensure that the sex trade is a safe place for women to work " . +the direction by cynthia roberts is daring and subversive . +roberts is not afraid to plunge the otherwise straight-ahead and simple narrative into extended and extremely avant-garde montage sequences . +the love scenes between the women are especially beautiful . +the musical score by nicholas stirling blends cool jazz and lounge stylings , while the skilful cinematography by harald bachmann terrifically captures a blend of garish 70's porn and psychedelia . +amazingly , this film appears to have received a good deal of its funding from a variety of canadian government cultural agencies . +this speaks volumes towards the importance of state funding for culture , as one cannot imagine such an entertaining , original and vital film being made in a traditional setting where conformity and formula rule the day . +bubbles galore seems to be making the film festival rounds and does not , at present , appear to have any traditional distribution in place , so keep your eye on the alternative film listings for this one . +it's funny , sexy and subversive . +and it shouldn't be missed . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv423_11155.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv423_11155.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..22e767966ce541f4a384d28ac92a59644b65ca0e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv423_11155.txt @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +seen at the 21st portland international film festival +film title : supermarket woman director : juzo itami country : japan 1997 cinematography : yonezo maeda music : toshiyuki honda cast : nobuko miyamoto , masahitko tsugawa , shiro ito , yuji miyake , akiko matsumoto super features : typical itami film . . . +funny and pointed in its own way . +if you don't care how and what the food you buy goes through in your local supermarket , then this film is not for you . . . . +maybe it is better to ignore it , as this strong and biting satire , as only juzo itami can deliver , will give you an insight as to what some foods go through . +having , in the past , made films that pulled every punch imaginable , from the family traditions ( the funeral ) , to taxes ( a taxing woman & a taxing woman returns ) , to the diabolical gangsters ( minbo ) , to hospitals ( the seriously ill ) , juzo itami , this time takes on the supermarkets' own war , to get the consumers . +and while this film has its funny side , in the crazy situations that it creates , it also shows another side , which is very much the attitude of a corporate structure that is more concerned with its profits than it is with any customer . +goro has a supermarket . +and a competitor comes into the neighborhood , trying to take him out of business by providing less expensive prices for everything that is sold in the supermarket . +bargains galore , its name , has in mind the closure of goro's humbler venue , so that in the end it can mark up its prices in any way it can . +goro hires hanako , a housewife whose talents seem to be better suited to management , than they are in anything else . +hanako , as she gets familiar with the operation , discovers many of the tricks of the trade , done by many of the elders in charge of each section of the market . +and the procedures , are not always " fresh " food , but a new packaging and a new date , to try and convince the customers that quality is on the shelves . +hanako's ideas take hold , starting with a few of the women that work in the supermarket , being that they do not even shop there at all . +and hanako discovers along the way that a few giveaways here and there make a bit of a difference . +if not cause some serious problems in the running of the store . +a price error , forces them to give away eggs for very low prices , and causes the store a few hassles , but , it brought the people in , and everyone knows that these customers will buy a few other things . +as the operation gets stronger , the competition also has trickery up its sleeve , and it has been undermining much of the operation by paybacks to one of the store managers , as well as the meat and fish elder supervisors . +eventually these people are found out , and hanako has to tread slowly and carefully , until in the end they all have a showdown . +and here , the truth and honesty win out , and even one of the elders decides to stay rather than go to work for the corrupt opponent . +in the process , they also find that " freshness " ( with some very funny jokes on this word as well ) becomes a much more important tool than they imagined . +with some very nice performances , in this hectic , and fast paced film , this film gives us a sitting of two hours that is satisfying in many ways , although a failed love story between goro and hanako does not come off much , even though towards the end it is suggested . +but this would take away from the satire and its strengths . +with food gags all over the place , the film lets you have it . +and what fun it is . +worth seeing . + ( editorial ) the director of this film , juzo itami , died shortly after the film was finished , and he left behind a legacy of comedy and satire that is rare , and uncompromising . +we would wish that he had been able to make one about film making , of which he must have had a few stories to tell , but we will have to do with much of the japanese society , and its many errant ways . . . . +not to say that these things do not happen anywhere else . . . . +america is no less guilty of any of these subjects at all , should anyone have the guts to tackle it . . . +we could learn something along the way , too . . . . +worth seeing , specially , is a taxing woman and its follow up a taxing woman returns . +the funeral is also good , although not as funny as the later films . +tampopo is also very enjoyable . +all four of these films are available in video , which means your best local site for foreign film may have them . . . +ask for it . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv424_8831.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv424_8831.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..01ca8a833a17a80355f531fed09e62510c09214a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv424_8831.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17 @@ +i can sum up first strike in one word : awesome . +never in my life have i seen an actor as insanely dedicated as jackie chan . +for the simple reason that he has performed his own stunts in his every movie he's ever appeared in , he should be awarded greatly . +the same tom and jerry formula that was used to make chan's rumble in the bronx and supercop so entertaining can be found here as well . +however , first strike was probably the most exciting out of the three , for the simple reason that practice makes perfect . +his last two movies were almost like practice and this one was great . +like rumble , this film is about the mafia , the former kgb . +now chan must do battle in the freezing arctic temperatures of the ukraine against a group of very large bad men . +the trailer for the film sums it up quite well . +first strike is action-packed , but the fight scenes are so fast and furious , they almost have a witty , italian-like humor to them . +jackie chan is a regular comedian . +well , he's no eddie murphy , but he can really crack you up . +for example , he is hanging off a roof and he humorously taunts his foes to come and get him , as he claims to be the korean 007 ( that's secret agent james bond ) . +even the plot to this film improved above the others , as a sort-of twisted nuclear-weapon smuggling deal is botched and jackie takes the blame . +but never fear , as the chinese mafia aids him in uncovering the truth behind the incident . +with some of the most high-flying stunts and side-splitting comedy , first strike is a sure-fire hit that's guaranteed to draw some major , world-wide attention . + , diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv425_8250.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv425_8250.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c6d793a146bb4f5add22265c4724dece3aa7b76a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv425_8250.txt @@ -0,0 +1,15 @@ +as a devout atheist and an avowed believer in aliens , i have some idea of how ellie aroway ( jodie foster ) feels . +but because my reasons for not partaking in religion are different than hers , i can't say that i do exactly . +her reason is that she needs solid proof : there is no proof that god existed , so therefor she does not believe . +ellie also believes in aliens , and has spent most of her life trying to prove they exist . +how can she say she doesn't believe in god because of the lack of proof , and then say she believes in aliens , which are gereally less believed in than god without sounding like a hypocrite ? +that's the catch-22 . +when aliens from the star vega fax her some plans for a device to transport someone to them ( okay , well , they didn't really * fax * them . . . ) +ellie wants to be the one to go , but because of her atheism she is denied the position . +how dumb is that ? +she discovers the transmitions , then she isn't allowed to go . +well , because of a bomb and a psychopath ( jake busey ) , she * does * end up going , but not in the way that we would've thought . +contact is based on a novel by carl sagan , who died during the filmmaking . +it is the best alien movie since close encounters of the 3rd kind , and will end up being the best film of the year . +its views of science and religion will no doubt aggrivate some , but will stimulate more . +i'm glad at least one movie of the '90s can portray aliens in a psitive light , rather than a bunch of slimey beasts who will eat your insides and then put on your body . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv426_10421.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv426_10421.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..78d72b533213f5e865ba14d3a0b8b86628f2dfee --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv426_10421.txt @@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ +by now i figured i'd seen every alfred hitchcock film at least a half-dozen times -- not that i'm complaining . +to call him the " master of suspense " is an understatement . +the paradine case ( 1947 ) , admittedly one of hitchcock's lesser movies , turned out to be one i'd missed . +this one , like all hitchcock films , is well worth savoring . +the story opens with the rich mrs . maddalena anna paradine being arrested in her home for poisoning her blind husband . +as mrs . paradine , alida valli plays an aloof but alluring woman of the world . +to franz waxman's stark and moody music , we see the prison guards divesting her of her luxurious garments and jewels . +stripped of her fine raiment , she becomes a commoner again , which , as it turns out , was what she was before she met her husband . + " a brief skirmish , and you'll be lunching at the savoy again , " anthony keane , her ultraconfident attorney tells her in their first meeting , predicting a fast and easy trial . +gregory peck plays the successful and debonair barrister . + " she's no murderess , " he argues simplistically , smitten by her beauty . + " she's too fine a woman . " +his attitude upsets his beautiful and increasing jealous wife , gay ( ann todd ) . +unlike most hitchcock movies , which are centered on the thriller and the mystery , this one is more a romantic melodrama . +typical is the scene in which gay flings her head back and shakes her hair while bathed in light . +she deflects her husband's affections as she fears that he is beginning to fall in love with his client . +the dramatic music then comes up high as the camera dwells on mrs . paradine's portrait nearby . +in the relatively unsatisfying first half , little happens other than domestic squabbles and overtones of intense adulterous desires . +to the sound of sweeping violins gay tells anthony that he must get mrs . paradine acquitted because , if mrs . paradine dies , his heart will go with her . +if she is freed , he will be able to forget her . +as part of the soap opera , a mysterious louis jordan plays mr . paradine's valet , who has had some not to be discussed relationships . +charles coburn plays anthony's legal partner , sir simon flaquer . +and charles laughton , who looks like coburn , is judge lord horfield . +this being proper british society , they will all dine together at the judge's house not long before the case begins . +court tv junkies will probably pick up the many differences , some subtle and others not , between the american and the british judicial systems . +one , for example , of which i was not aware is that the barrister cannot speak to his own client during the recess if she is the process of testifying . +one sometimes wonders what the academy is thinking when they make their oscar nominations . +as the judge's wife , lady sophie horfield , ethel barrymore got a nomination for best supporting actress -- the film's only nomination -- for an inconsequential part with which she did little of merit . + ( so the big question is when does hitchcock make his obligatory walk-on ? +at 37 minutes into the film , he leaves a train station carrying a large musical instrument case . +don't miss it . ) +in the second half the story finally comes alive when it gets into the courtroom . +the great master shows his hand there as the tensions build as rapidly in the second part as they lay fallow in the first . +watch how the camera angles are sometimes from the back and other times from way on high to set the exact tone for the trial's action . +as anthony explains it , the simple case has only 3 possibilities : mr . paradine poisoned himself , mrs . paradine did it , or the valet did it . +the end includes many devastating revelations and some nice twists so it is too bad the first half is so languid . +the paradine case runs 1 : 53 . +the picture is in black and white . +it is not rated but would be pg for mature themes and would be fine for kids around nine and up if they are interested . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv428_11347.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv428_11347.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3845460ff2e464662d89a0f3678af4767c0c7f38 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv428_11347.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18 @@ +on april 12th , 1912 , the most astonishing shipwreck in the history of the world occurred . +on that fateful night , the titanic sunk . +now , more than 50 years later , a film has been made . +and what a film that is . +james cameron's newest movie is a landmark in storytelling , emotion , and special effects . +it starts in the present , where bill paxton and his band of scientists explore the depths of the ship's wreckage . +exploring an old chest , paxton comes across a nude drawing of a young woman . +the drawing is televised and the woman ( gloria stuart ) whose portrait the painting is of comes forward and slowly but surely , the ship's story is told . +leonardo dicaprio stars as jack dawson , a young man with a sketch book , a heart of gold , an intelligent mind , and not much else . he wins his ticket aboard titanic in a poker game , and is the perfect match for rose dewitt bukater ( kate winslett ) . +she grows to love jack , but seems unable to escape the slimy clutches of her arranged fiance' , cal hockley ( billy zane ) . +the film takes its time , and by doing so , makes us care about its characters , and shows us the full aspects of human emotion . +the leads shine ; there is no bad performance ; in fact , these do not seems like performances at all , but genuine people , trapped on the doomed vessel , facing certain death . +watching this film , i was amazed at how vivid and real these situations feel : the time rose and jack spend together at a third-class-party ; the naivety that jack feels when he skecthes rose nude ; the terror felt by all onboard , as certain doom turns people into both cowards and heroes . +this , the most expensive movie ever made , $200 million , is destined to make its profit back , and then some . +it also has more emotion and warmth than any other film this year . . even this decade . +it is also yet another first : the first $200 million dollar romance , and every critic in this country will agree that it was indeed , money extremely . . very + . . well +spent . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv430_17351.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv430_17351.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..66b29673e75936a34d04b35bbc0598147b2d23fe --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv430_17351.txt @@ -0,0 +1,13 @@ +synopsis : an attractive mute makeup artist , working on an ultra-cheesy slasher movie in moscow , witnesses the production of a brutal snuff film and is subsequently chased by really bad russians . +meanwhile , the artist's sister and boyfriend clumsily try to save her . +comments : mute witness came as a surprise to me the first time i watched it . +drawn by the clever artwork on the video box , i rented the film expecting a complete turkey . +mute witness , however , was original , offbeat , and well-made . +it's one of those cool little finds that no one seems to know about . +i've subsequently found it at most video rental places i visit , and it may be seen , on occasion , on the independent film channel . +the first hour of mute witness is extremely tense , as billy , the quite believable mute heroine , sees members of the russian mob brutally kill a prostitute while filming an illegal snuff film . +the rest of the film takes good advantage of billy's vulnerable position as a mute foreigner in moscow being pursued by powerful criminal figures . +to throw a curveball into the fray , billy's sister karen and her filmmaking beau become bizarre figures of comic relief to offset several violent sequences in what are some genuinely funny scenes . +a disappointingly trite ending and occasional comic blunders are the only two things which mar this otherwise suspenseful film . +look for alec guinness ( obi-wan kenobi from the first star wars trilogy ) in a small role as the evil reaper . +definately check this movie out ; although , as a word of warning , it does contain several scenes of rather grisly violence which certainly aren't for the squeamish . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv432_14224.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv432_14224.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..00062fb31da1e0ee0ad9d1b41fb36d7da09cf9f7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv432_14224.txt @@ -0,0 +1,51 @@ +based on the relatively unknown ( in comparison to spider-man ) marvel comic book , blade tells the story of half-vampire half-human ( played by wesley snipes ) who was born of a vampire's latest meal . +now swearing vengeance against all vampires , blade hunts them all . +his latest challenge is his biggest though . . . he +must stop the vampire deacon frost ( played by stephen dorff ) from summoning the blood god and turning the rest of the world into vampires . +admitedly , comic books are one of the least appreciated mediums , often viewed as juvenile by most standards , even seen as illiterate by some . +judging by a series of poorly recieved ( financial and critical ) comic book based films ( such as batman and robin , steel , barb wire , the crow : city of angels , and the list goes on ) , one would come to the conclusion that comic books are the worst medium to translate into film . +to some degree , i agree with this sentiment . +having read comic books since the age of nine ( i'm 21 right now ) i can count the number of good comic book based movies ( not including japanese manga ) one hand : 1 : the crow ( 1994 ) , 2 : batman ( 1989 ) , 3 : superman , 4 : the mask , and now , #5 , blade . + ( " men in black " is not on this list because it is an extreme deviation from the original comic book ) +why is this ? +for the most part , it is because the filmmakers understand +the comic book medium and come up with an appropriate atmosphere to match . +the crow and batman comics call for a dark gothic atmosphere , which the director provided . +the mask features a wacky superhero with off the wall antics , which the casting and cg effects reflect . +superman +is not over the top with colour and flash , and the film reflects this . +blade uses common notions of vampires and incorporates them into the film , creating an appropriate atmosphere . +this is in stark contrast to joel schumacher's contrived vision in batman and robin , reflecting the dated atmosphere in the 1960's television show . +batman and robin proved that the director failed to realize one fundamental fact : comics have grown up , and so has the audience ( i'm working on a scathing review of batman and robin and will post it up when i'm ready ) . +which brings me back to blade . +although he may be a familiar character to some , due to his appearances in the spider-man animated show on fox , one will find no single trace of the warm-and-fuzzy vampire hunter as depicted in the cartoon . +the film depicts a vicious vampire killer that +uses every single means at his disposal to reach his ends . +the end results are not pretty by any means . +the story elements work very well -- for a comic book story . +screenwriter david goyer ( who also wrote the crow ) incorporates interesting elements of vampire lore , using science to explain many of the ideas often dismissed in vampire films . +this is presented through karen , a hematologist portrayed by n'bushe wright . +this leads to inventive use of standard medical treatments to kill vampires . +add this +to the neat little gadgets that blade uses ( including a titanium sword complete with an " anti-theft device " ) , and one has an interesting premise . +however , the film works best as an action film . +actor wesley snipes has +an extensive background in martial arts ( most of which comes from capoeira , a brazillian form incorporating flashy kicks ) , choreographing every single move . +proving that quick , flash cutting edits are no substitute for choreographed fight sequences ( see batman and robin for a +good example of that ) , wesley snipes dazzles the audience with some incredible fight scenes . +regardless , this film is far from perfect . +the film suffers from at least one major plot hole , regarding the summoning of the blood god . +the ritual requires that a number of pure blood vampires are standing on +marked squares , yet one of them is viciously murdered , allowing the ritual to pass ( and the murdered vampire is later shown standing on the square ) . +obvious continuity errors also surface , especially during a scene where deacon frost takes a drag on his cigarette and is not exhaling it in the next frame ( there is no trace of smoke either ) . +much of the special effects are not that spectacular either . +while vampire disintegration scenes are intriguing to watch , other cgi ( computer generated imagery ) effects are almost slapped together , which is surprising when given the amount of time the film was given to be released ( the film's release date was pushed back multiple times ) . +scenes with computer generated blood look extremely fake , knocking the believability factor down a few notches ( but then , i'm really hard to impress ) . +the film's r rating comes from gory violence , but the lack of +realism made me wonder why it got such a rating ( for realistic violence , +watch " saving private ryan " ) . +the overuse of cgi in films has made me yearn for the days of director george romero and makeup wizard rob bottin , both pioneers in the art of gore without extensive use of cgi . +still , scenes involving non-cgi special effects do surface ( and look much more impressive ) , such as one particularly gruesome scene where a vampire tries to use blade's sword without deactivating the " anti-theft device " . +wesley snipes is the saving grace behind what would have otherwise been a muddled mess . +while not talking much , he is a grand physical presence , leaving other comic book superheroes in the dust . +a decent ( by comic book film standards ) storyline also helps . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv433_10144.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv433_10144.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1726b2f6add2c0aa0cefcb0962b433ec12e168b0 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv433_10144.txt @@ -0,0 +1,71 @@ +quentin tarantino seems to have a knack for giving his stars big careers . +after his pulp fiction , many actors began receiving many offers for jobs . +john travolta made his come-back and is now one of today's most bankable stars . +bruce willis proved his acting chops and is now considered an actual actor . +jackie brown , on the other hand , boasts quite a well known cast , except for the main lead : pam grier . +most likely you have heard of her and seen her in films , but she's never really had a breakthrough performance ( her first film was in the roger ebert-written beyond the valley of the dolls ) . +that is , until now . +jackie brown is a highly anticipated feature film from quentin tarantino , whose last film was the huge hit pulp fiction . +after mediocre acting jobs , tarantino returns to what made his name a household one : directing and writing . +jackie brown is the result , and it is fantastic entertainment . +despite excellent direction from tarantino , the cast steals the film , giving one good performance after another . +pam grier gives a stunning performance as jackie brown , and she is supported by an incredible mix of talent--samuel l . jackson , bridget fonda , michael keaton , robert de niro , and robert forster . +more than likely , you will see a few of these names in the oscar pool come oscar nominations . +describing a quentin tarantino film is very difficult , as you really can't say much or you spoil it for everyone else . +i will tread lightly . +jackie brown opens with an impressive shot of jackie brown ( grier ) in a blue outfit walking through the airport . +the camera tracks along with her , and ends up revealing her occupation . +we are also introduced to ordell robbie ( jackson ) , who sells illegal guns to interested buyers . . . +for a hefty price . +ms . brown carries the money from buyer to ordell in order to keep the cops away . +however , an fbi agent ( keaton ) and a local l . a . cop ( michael bowen ) are out to find ordell and catch him while taking the money . +they try to reach him through beaumont livingston ( chris tucker ) , one of ordell's buyers , but he mysteriously ends up dead . +they try again through brown , but she is hesitant to admit to any wrong-doing . +but after unknowingly carrying some drugs for one of ordell's friends ( fonda ) , she is caught and sent to jail . +ordell pays her bail through a bail bond agent , max cherry ( forster ) , and then wants to find out what she told the cops . +after she claims to have said nothing , she reveals the fact that she will tell them about ordell in order to stay out of prison . +ordell doesn't like this , but they both come up with a scheme to throw the feds and cops off their track . +this scheme seems to be going as planned , but unexpected occurances may or may not foul up their goal . +revealing more would spoil the fun of jackie brown , and that's the biggest reason to go see a tarantino film . +tarantino seems to have a fascination with hitmen and unusual predicaments ( and slang terms ) , but they are always done very well and believably . +his hitmen are normally cruel , but pleasant , in that nasty sort of way . +they talk like normal people , except for when doing business , and they are rude to their girlfriends . +of course , this is a tarantino film , and you know you can expect some awkward situations to arise . +and perhaps the biggest flaw with jackie brown is the slow middle section in which the pace begins to drop . +of course , tarantino fixes this by moving onto the climax of the film , adding a lot of his reservoir dogs-style storytelling to it . +things are told from one person's perspective , and then from another , and then from another , each time learning more and more . +this all leads up to a very interesting conclusion , which decides who is on whose side . +on the technical side of jackie brown , quentin tarantino directs it with the same style as he did with his 1994 film . +however , this time around it isn't as nearly as impressive or original . +the writing , on the other hand , is quite good , although i do find tarantino's use of slang terms offensive . +the story jumps back and forth in time as in pulp fiction , but it's much more easy to understand . +his previous film needed a second viewing in order to understand the time differentiation , but jackie brown is very simply to follow , especially considering that the time is given during the " leaps " in time . +perhaps this is a result of the screenplay being written from the novel " rum punch " by elmore leonard . +the dialogue is pretty much intelligent , and all the characters are fully realized . +the cinematography is very well done by guillermo navarro ( who has worked with tarantino on previous films ) and the editing is very good . +and as with pulp fiction , the music is a highlight , bringing back memorable songs from the 70s and 80s . +the acting side of jackie brown is unforgettable . +the performances are incredibly rich , with hidden meaning behind every characters' actions . +nothing is quite as it seems , and you can't really tell which side one person is on . +the real treat , of course , is pam grier who gives an astonishing performance as jackie brown . +her poor living conditions are superceded by her superior wits , which play an important role in the film . +watching grieg , i could tell what was going through her mind , even if i didn't know what she was thinking . +her face portrays a lot of emotion that you can tell when she is sad , happy , or in deep thought . +bridget fonda gives a very good performance as a druggie couch potato . +i didn't even realize it was fonda until i saw her name in the final credits ( her performance actually reminded me of heather graham's in boogie nights ) . +michael keaton comes across very well , as does michael bowen . +chris tucker has a small , but effective performance . +samuel l . jackson is very good , but it seems to me that he was replaying his jules winnfield character from pulp fiction ( although much less cynical ) . +but no matter . . . +jackson is very strong in his role . +robert de niro is actually a little annoying at times , but overall he does a good job as one of ordell's perspective clients and friends . +robert forster gives one of the best performances in the film , as he has one of the most developed characters . +he is present throughout most of the film , and he holds his own against jackson and grier . +jackie brown is rated r for language , sex , violence , drug use , and some offensive remarks . +as a film by itself , jackie brown is a terrific piece of entertainment , with a complex plot to draw viewers in . +however , one can not help but compare it to tarantino's pulp fiction , and expect great results . +when compared , it comes up short , but not that short . +it's a worthy effort , with terrific acting and some impressive writing from elmore leonard and tarantino . +perhaps the best thing about jackie brown is the discovery of pam grier as a major hollywood actress . +i can't remember seeing her in anything ( except for a small role in mars attacks ! ) , but hopefully she will get many more roles from this one . +expect to see her name floating around the oscar nominations ( and hopefully she will even be able to nab one ) . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv434_5793.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv434_5793.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..7872a90e70985ed6093cc879d75129d31ecb2dc3 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv434_5793.txt @@ -0,0 +1,41 @@ +the makers of jurassic park & the director of speed conjure up a storm ! + ( reviewed at eng wah's new jubilee cineplex at ang mo kio ) + " unlike earthquakes , their fury is precise . +unlike hurricanes , their reach is unlimited . +unlike fires , there is no way to combat them . +unlike floods , their terror is sudden . " +- excerpt from twister production notes +i'm sure many of us living in this part of the world have never seen tornadoes ( or twisters ) before . +i for one , have only seen the devastating effects and footage of tornadoes from news reports on tv and personally , i feel tornado-caused destruction comes no where near the destruction caused by hurricanes and earthquakes . . . . . . . . that is until i saw twister . +the destruction caused by twisters may be precise ( not widespread but it moves very fast and its path of destruction is unpredictable . +it will suck in cars , houses , livestock , etc . . . . . +basically anything in its path that is not firmly rooted to the ground and in twister , you'll get to see all this - close up ! +twister tells a tale about a group of storm chasers . +these people are basically out-of-their-mind and for the sake of obtaining data on twister-occurrences , they risk their lives by literally chasing tornadoes , trying to get as close as they can . . . . . that +is if the tornado does not suddenly decide to change its path towards them ! +jo ( helen hunt ) is the leader of this pack of kamikazes . +while they are gearing up for the mother-of-all-storms as predicted by satellite recon , bill ( bill paxton ) , a former co- leader of the team returns to settle some divorce papers with jo . +apparently , bill has left his rogue-ish days for greener and more practical pastures - as a television weatherman . +he catches up with his old-self and follows the pack like the good ole days , bringing his wife-to-be melissa ( jamie gertz ) along , a city-bred woman toting around with a handphone . +jo has finally implemented bills initial idea of a device called dorothy which measurement's of a twister may lead to a better understanding on how tornadoes are formed so that a more reliable early-warning system can be implemented . +the problem is , the device has to be placed very near the twister , and in its path ( which is practically unpredictable ) of destruction in order for it to function . +to add to their current challenge , there is another group of storm chasers that is corporation-funded led by jonas ( cary elwes ) and they too have a similar device . +thus begins the race ; jo's cheap government equipment with beaten-up vehicles against jonas's high-tech computers and satellite link-ups with their sleek , black all-terrain vans . +plot wise , there are not really anything to shout about . +twister is as predictable as any summer box-office hit can get . +there is the danger of the twister , the competition with jonas^os more well-off team and of course , the settling of differences between jo and bill ( this part gives the film its human substance ) . +helen hunt , bill paxton and the rest of the actors/actresses give only average performances and all of them take back seat to the main thespian in this movie - the twister itself ! +thanks to the impressive digital effects by ilm ( lucasfilm's industrial light and magic ) , we get to see the terror and destruction caused by tornadoes up close ; from stripping barns and houses to lifting up livestock ! +jan de bont once again proves his visual abiility ( thanks to his years of experience as a director of photography for action films ) for action sequences . +like his previous film speed , the tornado sequences ( which are essentially the action sequences ) are well visualised and edited . +audiences will be holding tight to their chairs everytime a tornado comes on screen ! +the surround sound effects sure does help a lot in stressing the terror of a twister ! + ( the cinema must at the very least support digital sound to fully appreciate this ) twister is definitely an effect-dependent movie . +now that id4 fever has begun to reside , and people are getting bored of watching will smith whoop et's ass for the umpteenth time . . . . . . twister is your sure bet of 7 bucks well spent ! +watch it in a good theatre . . . please . +the flying inkpot's rating system : * wait for the video . + * * a little creaky , but still better than staying at home with gotcha ! + * * * pretty good , bring a friend . + * * * * amazing , potent stuff . + * * * * * perfection . +see it twice . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv435_23110.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv435_23110.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..375a8614ce000beb3059338df24344be2336b4c7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv435_23110.txt @@ -0,0 +1,55 @@ +there are times when the success of a particular film depends entirely on one actor's effort . +often a single performance can turn what might have been a rather mediocre movie into something worthwhile . +when one of these comes along , i usually try to think about how many other people put work into the movie , that there is no way one person could possible carry the entire project on his shoulders . +but sometimes there is simply no other explanation , and such is the case with " the hurricane . " +this biopic about falsely convicted boxer rubin " hurricane " carter would normally be called " norman jewison's 'the hurricane , ' " as per the tradition of referring to a film " belonging " to a director . +but though he does decent work , jewison cannot claim ownership of " the hurricane , " because there is one reason this film works at all , and his name is denzel washington . +washington plays carter , a boxer who in 1967 was convicted of a late-night shooting in a bar . +jailed for 20 years , he maintained that he had never committed the crimes , but remained in jail after a second trial and countless appeals . +the situation changed when a group of canadians moved to washington and worked on freeing carter . +through the efforts of that group and carter's lawyers , he was eventually freed when their case was heard in federal court and the judge ruled that rubin carter had been unfairly convicted . +the film details carter's childhood , which had him in and out of jail because of the efforts of a racist cop ( dan hedaya ) . +when he finally got out of prison for good , carter became a rising star as a middleweight pro boxer , seemingly having his career on track , until the police framed him for multiple homicide . +despite the efforts of political activists and celebrities , he remained imprisoned . +flash forward to 1983 , when lesra ( vicellous reon shannon ) a young african-american boy , living with a group of canadian tutors , reads the book carter wrote while in prison . +the book , entitled " the sixteenth round , " opens young lesra's eyes to the injustice that was carter's life , and he vows to help free the incarcerated boxer . +lesra convinces his canadian friends ( deborah unger , liev schreiber , john hannah ) to work with him towards his goal . + " the hurricane " leans on denzel washington . +he must carry virtually every scene by sheer force of will , and he does so brilliantly . +it's probably accurate to say that washington does not embody rubin carter , because he plays a character far stronger and nobler than any real person could hope to be . +it would perhaps be more accurate to say that washington embodies the character of rubin carter--a fictional personality invented solely for the film . +the actor's work is masterful ; washington throws himself into every moment , refusing to keep the audience at arm's length . +we feel everything he feels : the humiliation of having to return to prison after fighting so hard to make something of his life , the pain of having to order his wife to give up the fight , and the utter despair he feels when coming to the conclusion that all hope is lost . +washington's is a performance of weight and emotional depth . +he doesn't merely play angry , happy , or sad ; he feels it at the deepest level . +his work is masterful , and for half of this film i realized that the scene i was watching would not have been nearly as affecting as it was if it had been in the hands of another actor . +norman jewison directs the film , doing a reasonably good job of pacing and shot selection . + " the hurricane " moves quickly , with no scene drawn out much further than necessary and the narrative galloping along nicely . +jewison handles his multiple flashbacks well ; the audience is always aware of just what the time and place of each scene is , and nothing is terribly confusing . +his boxing scenes , constructed with clear inspiration from " raging bull , " get inside the action very well , and they are believable as real sports footage . +jewison puts together a particularly nice scene by utilizing a pretty cool trick : carter is sent to solitary confinement for 90 days when he refuses to wear a prison uniform , and jewison , assisted by some wonderful acting from a game washington , shows how carter gradually starts to lose his mind during the constant solitude , and eventually we get three rubin carters arguing with each other in one cell . +jewison's best achievement in " the hurricane " is succeeding at showing how carter becomes an embittered man during his hard-knock life , and how he is able to break out of that bitterness and learn to trust people again . +sadly , though , the film's chief failures lie with the screenplay , as with most of the good-but-not-great efforts to round the pike this winter . +there is much to interest a viewer in " the hurricane , " but it seems that every time the film gets a chance to take the most clich ? d route possible , it does . +take a look at the supporting characters , for example , who are drawn up as either entirely good or entirely evil . +carter and lesra ( played nicely by shannon , who deserves credit ) are the only real people here ; everyone else is a stereotype . +the canadians are good . +the cops are bad . +the canadians spend most of their time dolefully grinning at each other in their lovey-dovey commune ( and it is a commune , despite the film's failure to make that clear ) , while every racist cop ( especially dan hedaya's ) melts in out of the shadows and glowers at every black person that enters the room . +much of the dialogue comes off as rather hokey ( " hate put me in prison . +love's gonna bust me out . " ) , and the big courtroom climax during which everyone gets to make an impassioned speech could have been lifted from a made-for-tv lifetime special . +it's too bad . +the cast is game , the director does his job , and the subject matter is interesting , but the script takes the safer , slightly more boring route far too often . +i wanted a real reason for the cop to hold a grudge against carter other than " he's a racist pig . " +i wanted more evidence that these canadians are real people with faults and virtues instead of a bunch of saintly crusaders looking for justice . +in short , i wanted to see the film through a less distorted lens . +criticism has been levied against the liberties " the hurricane " takes with the truth of what really happened to carter , and much of it is deserved . +for example , the film gives us a boxing scene showing carter pummeling defending champ joey giardello , only to be screwed by the judges , who ruled giardello the winner . +most accounts of the fight , however , have carter losing fairly . +furthermore , much of carter's criminal past is conveniently left out of the film , and just why he was convicted again in his second trial is never really explained . +of course , " the hurricane " works mainly as a fable , so digressions from the truth can be excused at least partially , but even dismissing such issues don't remove one fact : " the hurricane " is a highly flawed film . +only one actor could have made a schmaltzy , predictable picture like this work as well as it does , and it's a good thing " the hurricane " has that actor . +carter has been quoted as saying , " denzel washington is making me look good , " but he's not the only one . +washington makes this film look good . +denzel washington's " the hurricane . " +sounds pretty good to me . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv436_19179.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv436_19179.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d326566295040ae26ff6cff4c7bcc561516485b3 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv436_19179.txt @@ -0,0 +1,66 @@ +contact is a nobly intentioned but ultimately unsatisfying adaptation of carl sagan's only novel . +it details the circumstances surrounding the first clear sign of intelligent life in outer space and their effects on the life of a young and idealistic radio astronomer named ellie arroway ( jodie foster ) . +we first meet ellie at a giant radio telescope in puerto rico , where she is part of the seti ( search for extraterrestrial intelligence ) project . +her research is quickly killed , however , by her highly political david drumlin ( tom skerrit ) , who disdains " pure research " in favor of science with " commercial applications . +she goes in search of private funding and is turned down at every step until she pitches her project to a corporation run by the mysterious s . r . +hadden ( john hurt ) . +then , with that money just about to finally dry up , ellie is sitting out in the desert near the very large array in new mexico when she hears over her headphones a very powerful pulsing radio signal . +in the movie's most exciting and believable sequence , ellie and her coworkers determine that the signal has to be coming from the star vega . +at first the signal appears to be just sequences of prime numbers , then it turns out to be a tv signal of the berlin olympics bounced back to earth from 50 years before . +further decoding , with hadden's help , reveals another layer to message , containing detailed plans for a massive and complex machine . +it appears that the machine is a transport that will allow one person to travel to the aliens' home world . +of course , the big question becomes " who gets to ride it ? " + ( right after " who's gonna pay for this thing ? " ) . +to boil it down , ellie gets denied the seat in the machine because she bluntly acknowledges her atheism , while drumlin gets to go because he rather insincerely professes his deep religious faith . +drumlin is killed and the machine destroyed when religious fanatics bomb the launch platform ( apparently to keep " godless science " from talking to god , or something like that ) . +then hadden reappears with startling news . +he has secretly constructed a second machine off the coast of japan and has reserved the ride for ellie , in whom he has taken a rather paternal interest . +ellie boards the machine and is transported through some kind of wormhole to a dream-like place that looks a lot like waikiki beach before they built the hotels , where she meets the aliens who take the form of her late father ( david morse ) . +when she returns home , no one believes her . +she was not even gone for one second , they say , even though she remembers being gone for 18 hours . +her story is officially discredited , although believed by a large segment of the public ( who don't even have to know that her computer records of the trip contain nothing but static . + . + . +eighteen hours worth of static ) . +there is a lot to like about contact so i will highlight those points first . +ellie arroway is a well-rounded character portrayed by one of the best actresses currently working . +neither the character nor the performance has the same depth as clarice starling in silence of the lambs , but that's a tough standard to meet . +ellie is interesting in that she is woman defined by a strange array of father figures . +her real father is an idealized movie dad who does nothing in the film but love his daughter unconditionally . +drumlin comes across as a distant stepfather to whom ellie is like an irritating teenager who wants to use his toys to get into trouble . +hadden obviously has affection for ellie , but in the end he seems to see her as his creation , nothing more than his favorite piece on the chess board . +even palmer joss ( matthew mcconaughey ) , ellie's love interest , takes a paternalistic interest in ellie , seeing her as a misguided person who needs protection from her own impulses . +the film is technically impressive , especially in the scenes where the message is first received and during the destruction of the first machine . +the part of the film dealing with the message has the best presentation of real science in a film since the andromeda strain . +the film falls apart when dealing with its central theme , the dichotomy between science and religion . +this is a very real debate but contact boils it down to a simplistic level that never really touches on the actual issues involved . +the film presents science pretty well ( until the end ) so the real problem stems from it presentation of religious faith . +religious people are presented as shallow caricatures . +rob lowe plays a ralph reed clone named richard rank ( very subtle , guys ) , the voice of the religious right . +another religious figure is the fanatic who blows up the first machine ( jake busey ) . +the only really fleshed-out religious person , palmer joss , is supposed to be a minister of some sort , but his actual faith is left pretty vague . +i can't even say for certain that he was supposed to be a christian . +all we know is that he dropped out of the seminary and obviously has no qualms about pre-marital sex . +the film drops the science ball at the very end , when ellie appears to assert that there are some things even scientists must take on faith . +in a day and age when the theory of evolution is denounced by the religion right as an atheist " religious " doctrine , this is exactly the wrong message to send . +in a movie dealing with issues of science and faith , the last thing you want your scientist character to do is abandon the principle of scientific skepticism . +what ellie should have said was , " you shouldn't believe me . +not without evidence , and i don't have the evidence . +i know what happened but you shouldn't take my word alone . " +that is the voice of science speaking . +the character of david drumlin is another problem with this film . +his attitudes toward pure research project seem out of place for a person in his position . +also , his profession of " faith " before the selection committee is so nakedly and transparently insincere that only a pack of idiots should have fallen for it . +the last big problem is with the use of real personalities in various roles . +the media figures , such as bernard shaw and jay leno aren't so bad , in as much as their participation was voluntary . +the use of bill clinton , however , should give anyone pause . +first of all , lifting the image of a sitting head of state and inserting him into a fictional story line , thus using his words outside of the context in which they were spoken , is just plain creepy . +also , using the real president places this film between 1993 and 2001 , forever dating it . +people watching this film in the future will say , " hey , this never took place during clinton's term . " +this bit of unreality will jar people out of their suspension of disbelief . +also , the level of technology portrayed in the film is too advanced to take place before the first decade of the next century . +better to have had a fictitious president played by an actor or no president at all . +the film does raise an interesting question , although it never develops it in a satisfying way . +if we were picking an emissary to send to an alien culture , would an atheist be automatically disqualified just because ninety percent of the population of the world professes a belief in god , or at least some form of supernatural creator ? +personally , i would hope not , since religion is basically an opinion , a form of ideology . +i would not want any form of ideological test for such an import task . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv439_15970.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv439_15970.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..77766118ad0e897f949dd8ea9721c56c3d4fa35f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv439_15970.txt @@ -0,0 +1,50 @@ +after hearing reviews for woody allen's upteenth movie in history , " celebrity , " range from terribly boring to just so-so , my heart lept when the opening images of the film closely resembled that of " manhattan , " my personal favorite from my personal favorite director of all time . +woody allen's films almost never rely on visual flair over textual flair , so when one of his films closely resembles the one time that these two entities fit hand-in-hand ( " manhattan " really is one of the best-looking films i've ever seen , beautiful black and white photography of the city's best areas , etc . ) , a fan can't help but feel visibly moved . +the film opens up , with the usual credits with plain white font over black backgrounds , and an old ironic standard playing on the soundtrack , but then the screen fills with a gorgeous dull gray sky , with the word " help " being spelled with an airplane . +beethoven's 5th blasts on the soundtrack . +the city seems to stop to take notice of this moment , and it's all rather lovely to look at . +and then we cut to a film crew , shooting this as the film's hilariously banal key moment in the film , where the lead actress in the film ( melanie griffith , looking as buxom and beautiful as ever ) has to realize something's wrong with her life or whatever . +it's a terribly stale scene for a woody allen film , with the great opening shots or without , and my heart sank and i soon got used to the fact that once again , a new film of his was not going to be as great as his past works ( though , for the record , last year's " deconstructing harry " came awfully close ) . +what the hell has happened to him ? +the man who once could be relied on for neurotic freshness in cinema has not become less funny , but his films have become less insightful and more like he tossed them together out of unfinished ideas . + " bullets over broadway , " though wonderful , relies on irony to pull a farce that just never totally takes off . + " mighty aphrodite " is more full of great moments and lines than a really great story . + " everyone says i love you " was more of a great idea than a great film . +even " deconstructing harry " is admittingly cheap in a way , even if it does top as one of his most truly hilarious films . +if anything , the reception of " celebrity " by everyone should tip allen off to the fact that this time , it's not the audience and critics who are wrong about how wonderful his film is : it's him . + " celebrity " is , yes , a good film , but it's only marginally satisfying as a woody allen film . +instead of creating the great woody allen world , he's created a world out of a subject he knows only a bit about . +and he's fashioned a film that is based almost entirely on his uninformed philosophy of celebrities , so that it plays like a series of skits with minor connections . +it's like " la dolce vita " without the accuracy , the right amount of wit , and the correct personal crisis . +woody , becoming more insecure in his old age , choses to drop the woody allen character in on the world of celebrities , and then hang him and all his flaws up for scrutiny , and does this by casting not himself but brit actor kenneth branagh in the lead . +much has been said about his performance - dead on but irritating , makes one yearn for the real thing , blah blah blah - but to anyone who actually knows the woody allen character knows that branagh's performance , though featuring some of the same mannerisms ( stuttering , whining , lots o' hand gestures ) , is hardly a warts-and-all impersonation . +branagh brings along with him little of the woody allen charm , which actually allows for his character's flaws to be more apparent . +woody's a flawed guy , and we know it , but we love him anyway , because he's really funny and really witty and really intelligent . +branagh's allen is a bit more flat-out bad , but with the same charm so that , yes , we like him , but we're still not sure if he's really a good person or not . +his character , lee simon , is first seen on the set of the aforementioned movie , hits on extra actress winona ryder , then goes off to interview griffith , who takes him to her childhood home where he makes a pass at her , and she denies him . . . sorta . +we then learn , through flashbacks , that lee has been sucked into trying to be a celebrity thanks to a mid-life crisis and an appearance at his high school reunion . +he has since quit his job as a travel journalist and become a gossip journalist of sorts , covering movie sets and places where celebrities congregate , so that he can meet them , and maybe sell his script ( a bank robbery movie " but with a deep personal crisis " ) . +as such , he has divorced his wife of several years ( allen regular judy davis ) , and continues on a quest for sexual happiness , boucing from girlfriend to girlfriend and fling to fling over the course of the film . +after griffith comes his escapades with a model ( charlize theron ) who is " polymorphously perverse " ( glad to see allen is using new jokes , ha ha ) , who takes him for a wild ride not different from that of the anita ekberg segment of " la dolce vita . " +following are his safe relationship with smart working woman famke janssen , a relationship that almost assures him success , and his continued escapades with ryder , whom he fancies most of all . +his story is juxtaposed with that of davis , who flips out , but stumbles onto happiness when she runs into a handsome , friendly tv exec ( joe mantegna ) who lands her a job that furthers her career to national status . +while lee is fumbling about , selfishly trying to ensure his own happiness , davis becomes happy ( " i've become the kind of woman i've always hated . . . and +i'm loving it . " ) +without doing a thing . +the result is a film of highs and mediums . +the mediums are what take up most of the film , with sitations and scenes which don't exactly work but you can't help but pat allen on the back for trying . +but other places are really great scenes . +the opening . +the sequence with theron , which is so good that i wished it hadn't ended . +a banana scene with bebe neuwirth ( droll as ever ) . +and , perhaps the best sequence : a romp with hot-as-hell teen idol , brandon darrow , played by none other than leo dicaprio , who is so un-dicaprio-esque that if any of this fans could sit through this film , they'd never look at him the same way . +he ignites the screen with intensity , and spares nothing in showing his character as narcissistically tyrannical , and totally heartbreaking for lee , who comes to him to talk about his script that he has read , and finds himself on a wild all-day ride with him . +they go to atlantic city to watch a fight , they gamble , and they wind up in his hotel room , where darrow gets it on with his flame ( gretchen mol ) and he lends him one of the leftover groupies . +allen's writing in these scenes are so good that just for them , i'd almost recommend the film . +almost . +but what i really liked about this film is despite the fact that it's a mess , despite the fact that what this film really needs is a good old fashioned rewrite by allen himself , it's still a smart and insightful film . +though some of the jokes are either stale or misplaced ( some seem too cartoonish , even for this environment ) , allen still manages to get across that this film is not exactly about celebrities , as it may seem to be ( if it were , it'd be extremely out-of-touch ) , but about those who want to be celebrities , and how they equate celebrity-hood with happiness . +we never get close enough to the actual celebrities to see if they're really happy ( they may appear to be on the surface . . . ) , but we do get close enough to lee and davis' character . +lee is obsessed with the phenomenon , while davis takes is at arm's length , and never gets too involved in what it is , and soon becomes one herself . +besides , it's witty , and it does have the one thing that no other film has but allen's : that great woody allen feel . +it may be not exactly fresh and lively or totally brilliant in its depiction of its subject , and yes , as a part of woody allen's oeuvre , it's merely a blip ( no " annie hall " but it's no " shadows and fog " either ) , but it goes to prove that no one can make a film like him , and only he and maybe godard could possibly take a totally horrible metaphor , like the one in the beginning , and make it work not once but twice . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv440_15243.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv440_15243.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..54b6e0baee789bad6b85acfe4a0d197cb3f7e982 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv440_15243.txt @@ -0,0 +1,47 @@ +an astonishingly difficult movie to watch , the last temptation of = christ may be scorsese's most important film , and yet his most = impossibly abstract as well . +scorsese presents the life of jesus = christ , through nikos kazantzakis' novel , which details the life of = christ from approximately 20 until the day of crucifixtion . +jesus of = nazareth ( dafoe ) is a carpenter , who opens the film making crosses , so = that he can escape the fate he is subjected to , his destiny on earth . += yet , he soon learns his evil ways for aiding in the deaths of others , = and subjects himself to a desert in exile , in hopes that he can reach = god . +before leaving , he asks for forgiveness from mary magdelene = ( barbara hershey ) , a prostitute who is also a childhood friend of jesus . += =20 +after going to the desert , christ learns his true purpose in life , = and what he must do . +aided by judas ( keitel ) , he sets off on teaching = the world his message . +along the way , he meets john the baptist , the = rest of the prophets , and tries to teach the world his message . +christ = is also confronted by internal demons and self-doubt , as he tries to = find his true purpose throughout the entire film . +during the story , = judas is the closese ally of jesus : his betrayal , argues the film , was = not out of hate , but out of love , in order to allow christ to die . +=20 +he is eventually captured , and crucified as per the bibile . += however , as he is about to die on the cross , he is saved by a girl , who = brings him to his marriage with mary magdelene . +the girl is a guardian = angel who is from god , and who has saved him from his death . +jesus goes = on to live a life as a man , as a carpenter , and does not die on the = cross . +on his deathbed , in the final moments of his life , he is visited = by the prophets , and by judas , who denounces his master for " not keeping = his end of the bargain . " +judas reveals the angel to truly be the devil , = and the life jesus had lived to be the ultimate selfish act . +jesus = escapes from his deathbed , and asks his father for forgiveness , for = succumbing to his last temptation . +visually and aurally , the film is absolutely breathtaking . +no other = director has even come close to realizing jerusalem during the time of = christ's life to the screen . +peter gabriel contributes a score than is = simply astonishing , with pulsing rhythms that capture the viewer . +the = performances are simply exquisite , with dafoe leading the way with a = mesmerizing turn as jesus . +keitel , although his accent is a problem , is = passionately brilliant , fighting through language to bring the character = to life . +the visuals are also amazing . +scorsese frames his movie in a = harsh tone , leaving the impression that jesus truly is a man who is = having human frailties . +the film , though , has many trouble spots . +paul schrader's script is = one . +schrader uses modern-day new york english to tell the story , along = with new york words , new york mannerisms , and new york slang speech . += the film also does not focus on the godly aspects of christ . +there is = no underlying message behind the man's words . +the film fails to capture = the glory and splendor of christ . +had it faithfully explored that = aspect , than the dichotomy of jesus' soul , his frailties and doubt mixed = with his unmistakable glory , would have been simply spectacular . +the = message of christ is confused between love and violence , and the film = merely tells us jesus is great , instead of showing us his greatness . +the film is also overlong . +it just drags in the middle , with = nothing truly happening . +christ is a confused figure , in the sense that = the audience doesn't know who he really is . +schrader forgets to give = jesus a message , to show that he truly is the messiah , to give him the = divinity . +without that , he is a rambling prophet , who the audience = themselves do not believe . +there are several moments of accidental = hilarity , and most of them occur when jesus is attempting to preach . += there are moments of brief awe and power , followed by moments of = confused hilarity . +that said , the controversial temptation sequence is something to = behold . +it is a step in an unexpected direction , one that leaves the = audience puzzled , until the arrival of the disciples . +it is a simply = breathtaking scene , with jesus about to die as a mortal . +it is truly = one of scorsese's finest moments . +it is unfortunate that scorsese = couldn't make a film about christ as powerful as that one scene . +=20 diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv441_13711.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv441_13711.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..58cb5990e4651015a681aeec56494ab727b49f80 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv441_13711.txt @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +call me crazy , but i don't see saving private ryan as the film of the summer . +a good movie , yes , with chillingly realistic battle scenes and emotion to spare . +an utterly riviting movie on par with steven spielberg's best work , no . +personally , if i was spielberg , i wouldn't go back to the world war ii era one more time after schindler's list and the indiana jones movies . +i'm guessing steve has a thing for nazis ; i really wouldn't be surprised if a velociraptor ate one of the swastika-wearing dudes in the next jurassic park movie . +all lofty pretenses aside , saving private ryan is the goriest movie this side of a 1980s slasher flick . +the difference is , it's easy during friday the 13th to laugh off a spear sticking out of kevin bacon's chest while blood spurts like crazy , but it's damn hard to sit and eat reese's pieces while soldiers suffer machine gun bullets to the head and have their intestines spilled out onto the battlefield . +and believe me , there's plenty of it . +a 30-minute sequence at the beginning of the movie has an army captain ( tom hanks ) and his soldiers landing at omaha beach to join countless other americans who are already under fire . +lives are lost in seconds as the purposefully confusing and jarring scene goes on and on , and all the young men in the audience find themselves never , ever wanting to be drafted . +cut to some bureaucratic defense office , where a hundred women pound out sympathy form letters to the families of the casualties . +one woman happens upon an interesting detail -- three brothers in different platoons were killed in combat , and their mother is getting the telegram today . +i guess it's an interesting conversation piece to everyone but the mother , so the army chief ( harve presnell ) sends hanks on what is essentially a public relations mission , to find the fourth ryan brother and send him home . +that way , the army saves the postage on yet another telegram to mrs . ryan . +one good thing about saving private ryan is that the soldiers who are headed to rescue ryan know it's a mission designed to make the army look good . +they question the worth of risking eight soldiers' lives to save one , and hanks' character admits he doesn't give a damn about ryan ; he's just following orders . +if this was a john wayne movie , things would be different . +there'd be a phony , " let's go get that boy , gosh darn it ! " +attitude that would sugarcoat the reality of war . +by doing things this way , spielberg admits the instincts of self- preservation and complacency that every normal person has . +it makes saving private ryan a lot more powerful than an testosterone-driven stallone movie mission . +the movie's pattern is to have long battle scenes followed by quiet scenes of semi-introspective conversation among the soldiers . +hanks is painted first as a nails-tough army man careful to hide his true self from the other men . +it's not that way for long . +edward burns , the guy you get for your movie when ben affleck isn't available , is the impulsive one . +jeremy davies plays the translator who is seeing combat for the first time , and so on . +none of the characters are fascinating or natural born heroes , but was spielberg's obvious intention . +i wondered when i heard saving private ryan was three hours long , how were they going to fill three hours' time searching for one person and still make it interesting ? +there are a few false starts ; hanks finds one private ryan in ted danson's company ( apparently , danson joined the army after " ink " was canceled . ) and breaks the bad news before learning it's the wrong ryan . +and of course the movie's far from over when hanks does locate ryan ( matt damon , the other guy you get when affleck isn't available ) . +that's when the movie turns into more of a conventional war flick , although body parts and limbs still fly like never before . +saving private ryan is worth your time , but it's definitely no schindler's list . +the battle scenes are intense and realistic , but some of the attempts at sincere emotion aren't . +the movie's bookends are particularly cheesy and out of place , when an old private ryan goes to the cemetary with his family and bawls his eyes out , whining , " tell me i've led a good life . +tell me i'm a good man . " +spielberg was apparently following the james cameron line of thought that any three-hour movie about the past should be framed by a self-contained prologue and epilogue that takes place in the present . +much more effective are subtler scenes , like the one where several of hanks' men are rifling thrugh a bag of dogtags from dead soldiers , and they make light of what they're doing by pretending they're playing poker . +this while an airborne division marches by , their eyes full of that mound of dogtags . +by not explicitly pointing out that it symbolizes the random poker game that life and death can be in war , the audience gets the message . +and even if it's not a classic , saving private ryan is definitely one of the better war movies out there . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv442_13846.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv442_13846.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..7b8eed91c953d6ef2c4b4c5b07a02b3c48b678b2 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv442_13846.txt @@ -0,0 +1,56 @@ +seen august 8 , 1998 at 6 p . m . at rotterdam square cinemas ( rotterdam , ny ) , theater #6 , by myself for free using my sony/loews critic's pass . +[theater rating : * * * : good seats , sound , and picture] +war is a topic that can't help but be glorified any way it is portrayed by the media . +movies , documentaries , and even history books have a way of making the darker side of humanity exciting since the most general aspects are focused on , such as strategy , politics , and victory . +it's easy to forget war , in its most basic form , is a battle of armies out to slaughter each other . +forgotten more easily is the fact that each soldier , no matter what his rank or importance , is a real flesh-and-blood person and not just a number . + " saving private ryan " is one of the few films that dares play up this aspect , especially in its unapologetic , realistic delivery . +it proves there's a huge difference between battling and killing . +the film opens with one of the most graphic , disturbing scenes in recent memory . +it's world war ii , d-day to be exact , and the u . s . military is invading omaha beach where the nazis are more than ready for them . +spielberg uses many techniques to create for a total sense of reality . +instead of positioned cameras , the footage here seems to have been shot by camera operators running alongside soldiers as if they were just as scared . +there is no sense of stability , but of constant , anxious , and confusing motion , giving us the feeling of being in the middle of the battle , and just a vulnerable as the poor troops . + " poor " is a proper word to describe how pathetic and yet innocent the men fighting are . +there is little to no dialogue throughout the loud battle and no prologue to define any characters . +we don't get the feeling these are handsome actors playing heroic roles , but that these are men about to kill and be killed for reasons beyond their understanding . +the nazis are not portrayed as enemies to be hated , but as people that must be destroyed because they're there . +in the movies , the good guys can run through a firestorm of bullets and bombs and not get a scratch , but in reality that wouldn't happen . +the men have nothing to shield or protect them besides some metal flanks and dead bodies . +they are sitting ducks and we realize this through the perspective of the well-secured germans who can actually see who , what , and where they're shooting , unlike the americans who must fire in a general direction to avoid getting their heads blown off . +perhaps the film is flawed by not providing any backstory on the war itself and who the men really are , but that seems to be part of the theme . +the film seems to rely on the audience's sense of patriotism , that the american military is " right " and good and that the nazis are " inherently evil . " +the battle scene eventually focuses on a group of men who have miraculously survived and made their way close to the enemy stronghold ( a whole 50-foot progression ) , and begin to inflict some damage . +i have to admit that once the first glimpse of victory over the nazis sprang up , i couldn't help but feel some sense of joy and relief . +to triumph against all odds is a cliche to be sure , but there's nothing cliche about the graphic , detailed , atmosphere here because it really happened . +one of the most surprising aspects of the film is how little story construction there is , and yet the events that take place make sense and are interesting . +the plot is practically irrelevant since the film is more concerned with the reality of the war and the soldiers we meet . +tom hanks stars as captain miller , a relatively average man who happens to be the leader of a platoon . +he's never obsessive or any such generic , cartoonish characteristic that might dominate a character like this . +he doesn't want to be there any more than his men , but when he is given a mission he intends to carry it out . +the mission the film is concerned with is , as the title states , saving private ryan . +through a series of command started by an ordinary clerical worker , it is brought to a general's attention that three brothers from iowa have been killed in action and their mother will receive notices of each's death simultaneously . +when they learn a fourth brother is stationed somewhere in europe , they make it a top priority to have him returned safely to his mother . +it's easy to sympathize with this situation , after all , no one should have to lose all their children at once . +but finding one man in this war is , as miller puts it , " like trying to find a needle in a stack of needles . " +the saving of private ryan isn't just a dramatic device , but a thematic one . +his salvation represents the sense of innocence the country , the world even , was trying to convince itself it still had . +when miller's company hears of the mission , they scoff at the idea assuming he is dead , but miller isn't so quick to shrug it off . +he knows the only thing that can really save soldiers from death is hope , and now he has the opportunity to make someone's sense of hope a reality . +the mission to find ryan gives miller's group a destination , but not direction . +along the way many things happen to them , both good and bad . +a few battles are fought , not to be major accomplishments for the war , but because they encounter german soldiers and have no other choice . +the act of killing itself becomes one of the film's major philosophical metaphors . +the soldiers don't mind killing other soldiers in blind battle , but when they come across a lone survivor who begs them to let him go , they can barely stop themselves from killing him in cold blood as some kind of vengeance for their losses . +unfortunately , death is a fact of war , and most films try to avoid it when it comes to the main characters , but here spielberg doesn't want us to think these men are invincible . +in fact , only a small amount of color and personality is sketched into each man , and the performances are good enough to make this method work . +although the characters are somewhat typical , the actors maintain control over the material at all time . +whether they're arguing with each other , telling stories of back home , or fighting the germans , they never go overboard and always seem believable . +sure , there's a zinger here and there , but war doesn't change the fact boys will be boys . +if and when one dies we too can feel the loss , even though we hardly knew them . +the final act brings the story full circle with another tremendous , violent battle sequence . +private ryan has been found , but facing four to one odds , can the americans defeat the germans and keep ryan alive ? +that's not a premise for thrills , it's symbolic of everything the film has worked for . +it would be wrong to say the film has either a happy or sad ending , it ends the way it must end . +i remember reading a " calvin & hobbes " comic strip where calvin asked his dad something like , " dad , how do armies of men killing each other solve problems ? " + " saving private ryan " is the adult version of that question . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv443_21118.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv443_21118.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d3447a915ba37d6ccecbf6794503c0a50d664dc7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv443_21118.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +'lake placid' is definately not your typical creature attacking people movie , ok so maybe it is , but this one is enjoyable , and clever . +actually it comes off more of a comedy than a horror film . +well the ending is kinda scary , but in most horror/comedies they are . +i will admit that 'lake placid' isn't an oscar worthy film , but it does come off as an inventive movie that is original and funny . +bridget fonda plays a palentologist who after finding out her boyfriend is cheating , is forced to go to lake placid and investigate a tooth , after a man is bit in half . +she gets there but really doesn't understand why she is there . +bill pullman plays a man also investigating what happened , along with the sherriff and a rich croc obsessed man , they go out and find what is going on . +what they find though isn't great . +a huge and i mean huge crocodile is living in lake placid , over 150 years old , he has migrated here for who knows why . +they have to fight against the croc and try to trap him so they can study him and see where he came from . +betty white plays a woman who lives on the shores of lake placid , and well you'll have to see the movie to find out . +her character is very funny and foul-mouthed , which is surprising to hear betty spew words and phrases that are pretty bad , but funny . +to me the movie came off as a spoof of jaws . +with the opening sequence , and some others , it is not original and is . +when you watch this movie , you definately notice the smartness and cleverness of it . +david e . kelly who is the mastermind of the practice and ally mcbeal , writes this movie with ease and surprisingly does a great job . +the characters have smartmouths , two foul , and some great one-liners . +but believe me , don't take 'lake placid' too seriously or you won't like it . +but it is a movie that can be enjoyed as a fun 'popcorn' type movie . +but i guess it rates above the 'popcorn' rating . +sit back , watch the movie , laugh , scream , and whatever you want . +even though the movie is r , and i put violence and gore . +there's really not that much gore , but what there is might seem kinda gross to some . +'lake placid' is a smart , clever , funny , and scary movie that i enjoyed and i think you will too . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv444_9974.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv444_9974.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2632bb311a5bed991105e3be5d55eb7330c72fa8 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv444_9974.txt @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +a lot of times a three-star film will be my favorite . +they're usually the kind of movie i can watch most often too . +they're usually not too deep , allowing for semi-brainless relaxation , and at the same time , not too dumb . +men in black is a four-star three-star film . + ( hope you could follow that one ) +men in black doesn't wait to get to the fun . +just minutes into the film we are introduced to agent kay ( tommy lee jones ) , introduced to an alien , and introduced to the the awesome memory-diminishing tool that all mib agents use . +after all , you can't have alien witnesses running around with that kind of knowledge can you ? +men in black is , of course , the organization which " moniters all extra-terrestrial activity on earth " . +nypd officer james edwards ( will smith ) , is on a routine foot chase when suddenly the no-good punk he's chasing starts leaping up buildings and blinking more than one pair of eyes . +the alien delivers the simple message that the world is going to end , and with that , dives off of a roof . +naturally nobody believes his story . + . + . +nobody that is , except for the top secret organization that not even the government is aware of . +edwards then meets agent kay , the man who never seems to crack a smile , and is introduced to the mib . +edwards winds up joining the team and is stripped of anything that can point back to him ( birth certificate , drivers license , and even the literal removal of his fingerprints ) . +james edwards no longer exists . +meet agent jay . +agent kay takes the rookie jay under his wing as they go about " regular " duties . +eventually a far more treacherous event comes into play . +a " bug " has landed on earth and is going to wipe out mankind if these two don't ( or can't ) stop it . +the plot isn't exactly clear , but we know it has to do with a galaxy as big as a jewel or marble being sought after on earth , and that is crucial that the mib find it before the " bug " does . +barry sonnenfeld , who also did the addams family films , directs this nicely . +it's fun , it's funny , it's action-packed . +a nice summer blockbuster as it rightfully turned out to be . +this is one of those movies that is just " fun " and can't really be summed up any nicer or clearer . +will smith and tommy lee jones both do great jobs and both are a blast to watch . +definitely one of the best films of the the summer of '97 , men in black comes highly recommeded from me ! diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv450_7890.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv450_7890.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..785a8402471f774a8161c8ff11a8fcce2aee4838 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv450_7890.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +scarface , a remake of the 1932 film of the same name , is a very gripping and , as far as i know , a true-to-life story of how power and violence lead to corruption . +al pacino , as tony montana ( for whom the movie is named ) , also provides a brilliant performance as a cuban refugee who comes to america with less than nothing and becomes one of the most highly respected and feared drug lords in miami . +oliver stone also penned the screenplay in one of his earlier writing roles . +the film begins by disclosing the story of now fidel castro ordered thousands of cubans to set sail and head for the coasts of the united states . +many of these cubans had criminal records , such as tony montana , a cocky , fast-talking man who has the look of crime . +nearly right after his arrival in miami , tony is thrust into the gangster life when he participates in a cocaine buy that goes awry . +along with his friend and partner , manolo ( steven bauer ) , tony rises in the gangster ranks when he forms a friendship with frank lopez ( robert loggia ) , a high-roller in the organized crime field . +tony also begins to fall in love with elvira ( michelle pfeiffer ) , who at the time was frank's lover . +of course , sooner or later in this industry , betrayal and corruption amount into a force greater than anything else , and tony is one of the ones who fall victim to this force . +this is not before he becomes one of the most respected , and often feared , men in miami . +tony gets to the point where he cannot trust anyone , and everyone he knows basically feels the same way towards him . +no one can trust him , and basically , no one does . +scarface , although incredibly violent , is one of the best crime films of its time and stands out as another great performance for al pacino . +although he did not receive any recognition from the academy for his performance , it truly is a very good one . +in fact , his accent and facial movements alone are enough in my mind to win at least a nomination ( although he did get a golden globe nomination ) . +another element that stands out when someone mentions this film is the profanity . +a figure tagged to the film boasts that the word " fuck " and it's uses are uttered 206 times throughout the film , which is apparently a record . +the thing is , the vulgarity fits rather well with the movie . +as odd as it sounds , it's true . +in the end , scarface is a very powerful film that hits home hard . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv451_10690.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv451_10690.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6703e1cdad1d4376ccf6a3b97c4b4783e0f1b98c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv451_10690.txt @@ -0,0 +1,47 @@ +trekkies , roger nygard's energetic and hilarious documentary , brings viewers into the world of the star trek conventions . +the beauty of the film is that it is good old fashion fun for trekkies and non-fans alike . + ( the film generally writes off the trekkies vs . trekker polemic as not worth arguing about . ) +the good-spirited movie trekkies easily forces even the most cynical viewer into fits of uncontrollable , loud giggles , yet the picture treats its subject matter with respect and a certain awe . +denise crosby , who played tasha yar on " star trek : the next generation , " serves as the host . +in the opening credits the movie reminds us that trekkies are the only fan group listed in the oxford english dictionary ( oed ) . + ( the oed cites a february , 1976 caption in the " new yorker " as the first recorded usage of the word . ) +unless you've been to the conventions , i posit that you have no idea of the dedication of some of the fans . +one pointed out , apologetically , that the stripe on his new uniform was slightly inaccurate . +others talked about how many star trek conventions they had attended , several dozen being typical and hundreds not unheard of . +my personal favorite fan is sir speedy photocopying worker barbara adams . +arguably the most famous of all the trekkies , she wears her uniform every waking hour as many die-hard fans do . +her claim to fame is that , as a juror on the whitewater trial , she wore it in court as well . + " every day i would walk past the reporters with a vulcan-like stoicism , " she says , describing her way of dealing with the crowd of reporters who became obsessed with her obsession . +she doesn't quite understand all of the uproar . + " i'm an officer of the federation 24 hours a day , " she reminds us . +her fealty to her hobby approaches that of a religious faith . +along with the laugher the show evokes , there is an equal measure of sincere appreciation for people with such loyalty . +and their infectious joy provokes a certain envy of their enjoyment . +few other avocations could give this much satisfaction . +these people are having the time of their lives . + ( for the record , i'm not a star trek fan although i have seen some of the movies . ) +the film interviews the various star trek series's stars as well as its fans . +the stars had thought the convention idea was a lark and would soon fade , but over twenty years later , the conventions are still going strong . +filled with anecdotes , the show talks about the happenings at the various conventions . +at one , the actor who plays q was so sick that he thought he would have to cancel . +after appearing briefly , he drank some water and left . +they decided to auction off his half-empty glass , joking that it had the " q virus . " +the guy who won the bidding immediately drank the water and screamed to the crowd that he now had the q virus too . +with dedication comes a certain amount of stupidity . +not just flitting among people , the documentary takes the time to let you get to know the trekkies . +one guy is a trekkie cross-dresser , another dresses her cat , and then there is the dentist . +the dentist has his entire office made up to look like a star trek set . +he , his oral hygienists , his receptionist , his wife , and his kids wear the outfits all of the time . +it appears that his workers are permitted to take them off when they go home , but not his family . +for variety , he and his family do change characters from time to time . +he says his patients like it . +well , there was this one complainer , but he had a problem with his bill anyway . +there are summer schools for klingon with ph . d . linguists to teach the language . +hamlet is now available in klingon , albeit perhaps not at your local bookstore , and they are working on translating the bible . +they even sell united federation passports that are real enough that trekkies have used them to fool customs , even u . s . customs . +the movie bogs down only briefly when it tries to argue the series's larger meaning about diversity and humanitarian concerns . +sandwiched in-between the levity , the switch in tone doesn't work . +the incessantly up-beat film ends with a singing elvis impersonator . +he fits right in . +trekkies runs a breezy 1 : 26 . +it is not rated but would be pg for brief sexual references and would be fine for all ages . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv452_5088.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv452_5088.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e11258cbdaddb442b9c975d8d2928da01105b524 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv452_5088.txt @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ +if you're the type of person who goes on the submarine ride every time you visit disneyland , you're going to love the hunt for red october . +you'll also love the film if you enjoy cat and mouse military tactics , or if you're a sean connery or alec baldwin fan , or if you admired director john mctiernan's earlier films , die hard and predator . +in fact , the only people likely to be disappointed with the hunt for red october are those who have read the book , since films almost never live up to the novels which inspired them . +the hunt for red october is an epic thriller , adapted from tom clancy's best selling novel . +set in an era before glasnost , the movie revolves around a top-secret soviet submarine , called the red october . +the nuclear sub has a revolutionary propulsion system , which makes the vessel silent and allows it to escape sonar detection . +the red october embarks on its maiden voyage under the command of captain marko ramius , played by sean connery . +ramius has strict orders just to test the submarine , but he has other ideas . +he takes the sub and its crew and disappears into the atlantic ocean . +is he planning to start world war iii ? +cia analyst jack ryan doesn't think so ; he's convinced that ramius plans to defect to the u . s . ryan , played by alec baldwin , is given three days to prove his theory and find the missing sub . +the characters in the hunt for red october are paper thin , but the performances , thankfully , are rock solid . +baldwin and connery anchor the film with their customary vigor . +sam neil gives a sturdy performance as connery's somber first officer . +it's ironic to see neil and connery playing russians , since they are both best known for their roles as british agents , connery as james bond and neil as reilly , " ace of spies . " +the large cast also includes scott glenn , james earl jones , tim curry , and joss ackland , plus richard jordan as the smooth u . s . national security adviser . +the special effects are remarkable , but more than anything , the hunt for red october is distinguished by its water-tight plot . +screenwriters larry ferguson and donald stewart have gracefully navigated red october through a story line full of twists and turns . +they keep us involved in the action by unveiling plot strands at just the right moment . +the movie doesn't get as sweaty or breathless as die hard , because it would rather tell a good story than hit you over the head with non-stop action . +the finale is rousing and suspenseful , but essentially , the hunt for red october is a superior potboiler . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv453_10379.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv453_10379.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..19d8db0d382bcd1017a0b84df66feaf24e3f47af --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv453_10379.txt @@ -0,0 +1,48 @@ +i was pleasantly surprised by this film . +with a budget topping $200 million , i was quite skeptical about whether throwing all that money toward one of the twentieth century's greatest tragedies would make a film exciting enough to see . +how much could you dress up the sets ? +how many models and computer effects could you use ? +how much more action could you pack into a ship that sinks ? +oh , if i've just given away part of the plot for you , go back to school . +after having viewed titanic , however , i found it to be a well-paced , well-designed , and overall well-made movie . +there have been many films made about the maiden and final voyage of the ocean liner titanic , but this latest offering from director james cameron is the best i've seen . +titanic tells its story in two time periods . +it starts out in the present , when ocean explorer brock lovett ( bill paxton ) and his team are exploring the wreckage of the titanic on the floor of the atlantic , searching for a priceless diamond necklace which supposedly went down with the ship . +what they find instead is a drawing of a woman wearing the necklace , which is broadcast on the news . +the woman in the picture recognizes herself and phones lovett , who has her flown out to his exploration vessel on the high seas . +there she tells her story to lovett and his team . +in 1912 , rose dewitt bukater ( kate winslett ) , a young lady belonging to society's upper class , boards the titanic for the ship's first atlantic crossing , from southampton , england to new york . +she is engaged to cal hockley ( billy zane ) , an heir to old money , and a snob in every sense of the word . +on board , rose feels the stifling trappings of high-society's expectations , and resolves to escape from it all by throwing herself off the titanic's stern , but is saved from her self-proclaimed fate by jack dawson ( leonardo dicaprio ) , a passenger in third-class ( " steerage " , as it's referred to ) , who talks her out of jumping . +although for rose the attraction is not immediate , a love affair soon develops between the two , which endangers rose's social standing as well as her engagement to the jealous cal . +the story sounds very simple , and perhaps even unexciting , but through solid performances by the leads and good direction by cameron , a good movie comes through . +dicaprio is marvelous as the young , but worldly-wise jack , playing the role with the confidence usually found in older actors . +his is a character that is immediately likable , as he knows what he wants out of life and is charmingly able to handle a variety of situations . +girls are going to swoon over him . +winslet also proves herself a good actress , delivering her lines convincingly , and the quality of performances between winslet and dicaprio makes the relationship believable . +the only problem with winslet is that she does not carry herself in accordance with her character's upbringing . +simply by judgment of her gait , i was distracted from the fact that she was supposed to be an upper-crust debutante . +rather than demonstrate the poise one would expect her character to possess , she sometimes looks positively clumsy , and it unfortunately detracts from her otherwise great acting . +billy zane is cast well as the aristocratic snob cal , since he has a certain look that immediately makes you want to hate him . +his features are such that even when he smiles , there's something mistrustful about him , and when he scowls , he is evil incarnate . +he's something like a porcelain version of peter gallagher , but a cheaper model . +like dicaprio and winslet , zane slips comfortably into his role and plays it well . +backing up zane is david warner as lovejoy , cal's personal assistant ( or " man " as they said at the turn of the century ) . +no matter who else is in the cast , you can always count on a good performance by warner , who seems to be made to play the distinguished gentleman with a gaze of steel and will to match . +additionally , there are a number of smaller fictional and non-fictional roles thrown in for color , such as kathy bates as " the unsinkable " molly brown , danny nucci as jack's friend fabrizio de rossi , eric braeden as john jacob astor , and even bernard fox as colonel archibald gracie . +nice to see dr . bombay getting work . +also scattered about are some of the other steerage passengers who are basically in the movie so you can feel sorry for them when they die . +this by itself may have been largely compulsory in a film about the titanic , but it transcends this status by putting these characters in direct conflict with the ship's crewmembers who strive to maintain order and assure that the first-class passengers are placed aboard the lifeboats before anyone else . +in this way , titanic possesses a depth not usually found in action pictures . +you don't just get a love story with a tragedy as a backdrop , but a very real account of class struggle as well . +as i mentioned before , the budget for this film was tremendous , and it certainly showed in the set dressing and special effects . +the interiors of the titanic are nearly breathtaking with their elaborate trimmings and intricate detail , and one has very little doubt that the layouts are authentic . +with regard to the exteriors , i would dare anyone to point out a film in which a vessel has been recreated with such meticulousness or on such a scale . +cameron actually built a scale model of the titanic in a water tank , but only had room for 90% , and therefore had to computer-generate the remaining 40 feet . +could've fooled me and everyone else in the theater , as the splicing is seamless . +also of note in this film is the way the audience is presented with the anatomy of the disaster right at the beginning . +we are told of where the iceberg struck the ship , how the flooding occurred , the way the ship sank , and why it did so in that manner . +these technical details serve as a guide for later on when the action starts happening , and allow us to view the sinking with informed analytic detraction , in addition to the more conventional placement in the midst of mayhem and confusion . +in all , james cameron's titanic is a good blend of love story , history , and action . +the fact that the film runs longer than most at about three hours is almost unnoticed as the viewer's attention is held alternately by those three main elements , from the movie's intriguing beginning to it's satisfactory ending . +in box office receipts , titanic the movie will undoubtedly live up to the unsinkable expectations of titanic the ship . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv454_2053.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv454_2053.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3b4991a117ba3bc47f050fc0b8ff92f68c6df45e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv454_2053.txt @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +it was easy to fear the worst . +begin with a classic 1960's television series , add a big budget and an a-list star in the lead role , and stir . +script , you ask ? +who needs one , kid . . . +we've got ourselves a formula . +that was my fear : a bloated monster without any sense of direction . +then , much to my amazement , everything that could possibly go wrong . . . +didn't . +the fugitive is as lean , taut and tense as anything the action genre has produced in the last several years . +under the direction of andrew davis ( 1992's under siege ) , the fugitive grips you by the throat from the outset and never lets go . +expect box office to go through the roof , deservedly , and expect an academy award nomination for tommy lee jones . +the premise is a simple one . +dr . richard kimble ( harrison ford ) is wrongly convicted for the murder of his wife after struggling with the real killer , a man with an artificial arm . +after an escape attempt by some other prisoners during a transfer goes awry , kimble finds himself on the run . +his one goal : to find the one-armed man ( andreas katsulas ) before u . s . marshall sam gerard ( tommy lee jones ) finds him . +where the fugitive surprises the most is the script , by jeb stuart and david twohy . +in a genre where one is almost always asked to allow leaps of logic , the script repeatedly astonished me with its intelligence , its attention to detail and its respect for the audience . +in an early sequence , kimble sneaks into a hospital to shave of his beard , slick back his hair and change into a lab coat . +on his way out , a police officer jokingly tells the man he doesn't know is kimble to zip up his pants . +it's a small moment , but it punches home the urgency of kimble's situation , and exactly what a man concerned about not being recognized might easily forget . +later , while trying to lose himself in a parade , kimble thinks to drop his overcoat , the most likely way he'd be recognized from behind . +it's these details which convince us that when a colleague of kimble's tells gerard that he's too smart to be caught , he may just be right . +credit must also be given to the special effects and stunt coordinators . +the bus crash which allows kimble's escape is a spectacular sequence , as is a leap from a dam into the water below . +the action is crisp and brutal , and never romanticized . +special kudos go to director davis for maintaining a relentless pace which underscores the single-mindedness of the two leads . +and what a pair of performances those leads are . +tommy lee jones is nothing short of brilliant as gerard , because he manages an incredibly challenging feat . +for the first third of the film , there is really no * villain * per se ; kimble is on the run , and gerard is out to find him . +it would have been very easy to turn gerard into a malevolent , vindictive inspector javert , but that never happens . +instead jones plays him as a sharp , committed man who's just doing his job , so that when he responds to kimble's comment , " i didn't kill my wife , " with a matter-of-fact , " i don't care , " we know exactly what he means . +it's not his job to determine guilt or innocence . +it's his job to bring in a fugitive . +this is a well- written character played with relish by an actor at the top of his form . +the only unfortunate thing about jones' stunning turn is that it's likely to overshadow harrison ford , and that's a shame . +for his entire career , ford has been underappreciated as an actor due to his pigeonholing as an action hero . +however , he does a fine job with the less flashy part of kimble , always keeping at the forefront the advantage this man has because of his intelligence . +the fugitive could only work to its fullest if the two protagonists always seemed to be on equal footing , and ford is up to the task . +this summer has been loaded with action/suspense films , and most of them have been doing brisk business . +however , it's time for clint , sean , and various dinosaurs to step aside . +the chase is on . +my advice is to catch it . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv455_29000.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv455_29000.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a546765b38ab864bc444b9fae29cd78a014902b2 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv455_29000.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +pollock starring ed harris , marcia gay harden , tom bower , jennifer connelly screenplay by barbara turner and susan j . emshwiller , based on the book " jackson pollock : an american saga " by steven naifeh and gregory white smith directed by ed harris + * * * for more film , dvd and books about movie reviews , plus annual coverage of the toronto international film festival , visit _film freak central_ - http : //filmfreakcentral . net +| now with search engine * * * + " how do you know when you're finished making love ? " +-jackson pollock to a life magazine reporter on recognizing when you've completed a painting +jackson pollock's " making love " quote is famous , but in practically the same breath , he said a more constructive thing , " it's like looking at a bed of flowers--tear your hair out over what it means . " +it took him sixteen words to do as whole dissertations have tried and failed : equate god and abstract art and offer a kind of backhanded comfort to those confused to the point of resentment by the concept . +the biopic _pollock_ , actor ed harris' directorial debut , reflects the second soundbite in how it accepts pollock's creations as part of the order of things , and should similarly disarm haters of fine art . +arguably more than any other living actor , harris , who also plays _pollock_ , embodies the archetypal working stiff , and his blue-collar demystification of pollock's labour-intensive art , both as performer and director , makes for unpretentious cinema . + ( from what i know of harris , he , like pollock , was not born gifted or lucky ; instead , a strong work ethic is the seed of his success . ) +granted , it's possible that _pollock_ will alienate those same viewers perplexed by the imponderable " purpose " of pollock's splatter series : the common thread between them is a lack of editorializing . +the movie _pollock_ is all purposeful gazes and silent exchanges dotted by tantrums , but the motivations are left to our own perceptions . +and it is a sympathetic yet not altogether forgiving film , as illustrated by a disheartening conclusion . +_pollock_ encapsulates the period in which he fought a losing battle against personal demons ( alcoholism , depression , and the general attendant miseries of an artist ) while finding a place of subconscious expression . +a brief introduction to pollock's raging drunk side segues into his getting accosted by a fellow new york artist , lee krasner ( marcia gay harden , awarded a best supporting actress oscar for this brilliant portrayal ) , who works from the outside-in , pre-intellectualizing every stroke of her brush . +in a scene after they have moved in together and established adjoining studios , she asks what he hopes to achieve on his latest canvas , grilling him about the interplay of cubism and surrealism until he says , " you paint the fucking thing , " and leaves in a huff . +by the time they wed , she has become his de facto manager ; it is form marrying function and chaos marrying discipline , a most harmonious collision . + ( krasner denies him a baby , indicating that it would upset the balance . ) +such a union is destined to implode , and i hope i'm not ruining the _pollock_ experience by saying that it does . +while it is never depicted as a very romantic matrimony to start--pollock and wife channel their passions elsewhere--their symbiosis leaves each other picked dry after several years , and it comes down to krasner suffering one of pollock's conniptions too many : " you are killing me ! +you are killing me ! +you are killing me ! " + ( aside : harris' own wife , amy madigan , is unrecognizable and exceptional as gallery diva peggy guggenheim . ) +pollock himself moves on to dalliances with younger women like ruth klingman ( the scorching jennifer connelly ) , hoping , one supposes , to catch the revitalizing whiff of youth . +i love jackson pollock's stuff and i am enamoured of harris' _pollock_ as well . +it's scrappy and observant ; no coincidence that its minor failings are the occasional invasive flourish , such as jeff beal's hummable but no less lamentable score--i can't imagine that pollock , or anyone , would paint to this music , which puts filling soundtrack voids ahead of complementing the images . +one of my favourite sequences is an eerily quiet re-enactment of hans namuth shooting that famous pollock footage in east hampton , long island ; the mounting tension is almost comic , as namuth keeps interrupting pollock's process to reload his camera or take a dinner break . +a more seasoned director might've been too arrogant to admit that not all artists or mediums are created equal . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv456_18985.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv456_18985.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..7d383b47ca27ac48828bc24fa706c9a3692e302a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv456_18985.txt @@ -0,0 +1,33 @@ +it's been a long time since walt disney has delivered us a classic along the lines of the little mermaid or beauty and the beast . +sure , there have been delightful outings like last years hercules . +but nothing entirely groundbreaking . +with the release of the studio's newest feature length film , a remake of edgar rice burrough's creation tarzan , disney has plunged into new waters with both maturity and animation techniques . +it's no classic , but this new tarzan represents exactly what a family film should be . +the plot is loyal to the original storyline , as tarzan's parents are forced to abandon their ship which has caught fire , and find shelter in the jungles of africa . +but , they are killed ( offscreen ) by the snarling cheetah sabor , leaving baby tarzan alone and unharmed in his crib . +found by kala ( voiced with effective gentleness by glenn close ) , a kindhearted mother and member of a gorilla pack , tarzan is taken into the primate group and raised as one of their own . +we follow the young boy through the years , as he partakes in various adventures with his loud mouth gorilla friend terk ( a very brash but funny rosie o'donnell ) and clumsy elephant tantor ( wayne knight ) . +of course , in any disney film we are given some kind of goofy sidekick or humorous chum for the hero . +in tarzan , these characters fill that space rather inconspicuously . +gags that were magnified in other family films are kept quite minor here . +most of the characters are amusing without being forced . +as tarzan grows to manhood , the suspected antagonist stumbles into the picture . +here , the notorious bad guy is the big game hunter clayton ( brian blessed ) , who's accompanying a hapless professor ( nigel hawthorne ) on an expedition through the jungle . +of course , there's the professor's daughter , jane ( nicely vocalized by a cheerful minnie driver ) who will help supply the romantic quotient of the movie . +the thing that blew my socks off about this version of tarzan is the stunning animation . +directors chris buck and kevin lima have applied a breathtaking 3-d element to the movement of the athletic title character , and the fast-paced editing is absolutely a marvel . +as tarzan carries jane through the treetops , narrowly escaping a pack of nasty baboons , he slips and slides like a daredevil snow boarder or star surfer riding the big wave . +your eyes can barely keep up ; it's a fantastic accomplishment . +the subject matter here is also a notch or two above animation average . +there are important questions raised about tarzan's place in the world , and all are handled exceptionally well by the screenwriters . +there is no shred of doubt left to ponder afterward , which is a surprising plus that i wasn't expecting to find here . +suffice to say , this film will have both adults and children thoroughly entertained . +the grown-up tarzan is voiced by tony goldwyn , who made a name for himself as the `big mean jerk' from ghost . +goldwyn is effective playing someone who's not aware of his world's dangers . +glenn close is also memorable as his gorilla mother , and lance henriksen ( from tv's millennium ) is terrific as the silverback father unsure of how to accept the presence of a human child . +as the movie's villain , there is nothing particularly special or catching about the character of clayton . +it helps that brian blessed supplies his voice with game enthusiasm , but he is nothing compared to james woods' hilarious hades from hercules . +a burley guy with a big gun who just wants to capture the gorillas does not quite constitute for an all-together noticeable screen presence . +still , this is one great thrill-ride that disney has constructed . +i never expected rice burrough's work to be transformed so successfully from live action to animation , nor with so much emotional depth . +parents , along with all the kiddies , are going to find much to like in tarzan . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv458_8604.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv458_8604.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d7aed3b027ad05ff020985d1073cc3441794a936 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv458_8604.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +it shows that america remains ambivalent over the nature of its political system . +no major surprise , when j . s . mill in his victorian classic on liberty could not make up his mind over liberal democracy either . +the americans are wrought by the archetypal paradox under which they exist , the supreme contradiction between the right of the one and the right of the majority . +small wonder that hollywood's most compelling movies have oft been on the struggle of the individual-underdog against some larger collective oppressive - witness braveheart , born on the fourth of july , rocky , first blood , clear and present danger , jfk , the list goes on . +there's little of that in singapore - we are barred access to playboy and penthouse both on and off line , though the government's been long worried about the younger people getting " americanised " and advocating individual rights and parliamentary opposition . +the people vs . larry flynt locates the political debate within the greatest social taboo in america - sex . +does pornography have a right to exist and circulate ? +larry flynt , the publisher of hustler magazine , thinks so , and obviously so too the u . s . congress which last month threw out a bill to curb pornography on the net . +but even with such actions , americans remain undecided . +the oscars apparently shunned the movie because it was an embarrassing and sensitive livewire . +what they have ignored is actually a great picture . +woody harrelson as the lead character reprises his role as a to-hell-with-morality , to-hell-with-the-law , and to-hell-with-the-system anti-christ that we last saw in natural born killers . +and he is outrageous and convincing as a nihilistic atheist who nonetheless loves his ex-stripper wife dearly . +the latter is played with abandon , conviction and sensitivity all at once by courtney love , who is the real star of the show and really snubbed of an academy award best actress nomination , if not of the award itself . +edward norton plays their jerky lawyer . +the relationship between harrelson and love brings out another great paradox - superficially they are immoral outcasts who've had it coming ; woody gets shot and becomes paralysed from the waist down , and courtney dies of aids . +god's damnation . +but in the powerful love they have for each other , each standing by the other in turn , the two leads highlight the question how much is the nihilist still a moralist and ( in the american context ) a christian , if they can love and care , and feel just like anyone else on a personal level . +friedrich nietzsche once talked about how the atheist must uncover for himself the full consequences of atheism by ridding himself of all moral-christian influences . +to go beyond good and evil . +this is a great picture , no doubt , and i love it personally . +because it is moving , funny , ends with open american optimism blah blah . +but i like it and admire it because it comes from a fine american tradition that dares to raise difficult questions , and call into doubt ideas and doctrines that otherwise are used as catchphrases . +there are times when movies go beyond the story they tell and reflect something of hidden realities . +this movie is not so much about larry flynt , but about americans and american society . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv459_20319.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv459_20319.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c06608a5f108d60d09b6d70fd60130de57af3148 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv459_20319.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17 @@ +the ring is probably one of the creepiest movies i've seen in years . +but then again , i've always had this phobia of asian born horror films . +i remember when i was a kid i was scared as hell with those green faced , long-haired floating ghosts donning their white gownseuuugh . +the ring really brings back those memories and its grips me long after the movie has ended . +unlike the horror films coming from the west , i'm pretty much used to the gore and visual effects , so much so , they become rather bland nowadays . +there's really no scary movie from the west for a long time . +if you have something in mind , please tell me . +this japanese flick is supposed to be based upon stories written by `the stephen king of japan' , which is also ( i heard ) televised over the air in japan . +the film revolves around a mysterious videotape which will bring death for sure to the person who watches it , one week prior to viewing . +a journalist and her husband , stupid enough , tests the so call `urban legend' and ends up having a week before she meets her doom . +she and her husband then goes on a search for the origin of the videocassette , to get to the root of the whole curse with the hopes of freeing themselves . +the ring plays on the senses like no other horror film today . +visual subtlety , minimal music and an intriguing plot puts the audience within an aura of suspense throughout the entire film . +very well done indeed , especially for a film that does not have a single trace of violence and gore . +now , thats something budding horror film-maker wannabes should consider looking into . +just an idea of how visually powerful the film is , it is in japanese and subtitled in chinese ; both of which , i can't understand at all ( ok , i had a friend who gave me a gist prior to watching , but he revealed very little ! ) . +the twists in the plot , leading to an unforgettable climax ( will definitely leave an impression on the audience ) will have you at the edge of your seat . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv460_10842.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv460_10842.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2cca6942f120aaf257dff62c7a96f6b5b6f48865 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv460_10842.txt @@ -0,0 +1,46 @@ +deep rising is one of " those " movies . +the kind of movie which serves no purpose except to entertain us . +it does not ask us to think about important questions like life on other planets or the possibility that there is no god . . . screw that , it says boldly , let's see some computer generated monsters rip into , decapitate and generally cause irreparable booboos to a bunch of little known actors . +heh ! +them wacky monsters , gotta love 'em . +of course , since we can rent about a thousand b movies with the same kind of story , hollywood must give that little extra " oumph " to get people in theaters . +that is where deep rising fails , which is a good thing . +confused ? +let me explain : +despite all them flashy effects and big explosions , deep rising is still , at heart , a good 'ol b movie . +luckily , it's a very good b movie . +the worst cliches in movie history are a b movie's bread and butter . +therefore , things that would destroy a serious movie actually help us have a good time while watching a movie of lower calibre . +of course we know there's a big slimy creature behind that door , that one person will wander off to be picked off by said monster and we always know which persons or person will make it out alive . +we just don't know when or how horrible it will be . +i went to see deep rising with my expections low and my tolerance for bad dialogue high . +imagine my surprise when i discover that deep rising is actually , well , pretty darn funny at times . +a funny b movie ? +well , that's new . +these flicks are not supposed to make us laugh . + ( except for a few unintended laughs once a while . ) +and before you know it , treat williams , wes studi and famke jansen appear on the big screen . +hey ! i know them guys ( and gal ) from a couple of other movies . +cool . +familiar faces . +so far so good . +our man treat is the hero , he'll live . +wes is a staple of b movies , he is the token victim . +we know he'll buy the farm but he will take a few creeps with him on the way out . +famke is the babe , 'nuff said . +there is also a guy with glasses ( the guy with glasses always dies ) a black person ( b movie buffs know that the black guy always dies , never fails ) and a very funny , nerdy guy . + ( ah ! +comic relief . +how can we possibly explain having to kill him . . . let +him live . ) +after the first fifteen minutes i felt right at home . +i know who to root for and who i need to boo too and a gum to chew . + ( please kill me . ) +suffice it to say that for the next hour and a half i jumped out of my seat a few times , went " ewwww " about a dozen times and nearly had an orgasm over all the explosions and firepower our heroes were packing . +i'm a man , we nottice these things . +all in all , i'd recommend deep rising if you are looking for a good time and care to leave your brain at the door . . . but +bring your sense of humor and excitement in with you . +the acting is decent , the effects top rate . +how to best describe it ? +put together the jet ski scene from hard rain , the bug attacks from starship troopers , a couple of james bond like stunts and all those scenes from friday the thirteenth and freddy where you keep screaming " don't go there , he's behind you " and you end up with deep rising . +for creepy crawly goodness , tight t-shirts , major firepower and the need to go to the bathroom every fifteen minutes from seing all that water . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv461_19600.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv461_19600.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..91fd15f901077aebaf3c876b9175b4a3f8393a20 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv461_19600.txt @@ -0,0 +1,54 @@ +vampire films , as well as other horror films , are usually dumb and predictable b-movies , meant to scare us by cliches and simple shocks . +it is therefore interesting to watch neil jordans recent film that is not only visually stunning , but has also a plot worth making movies about . +based on anne rice's novel , " interview with a vampire " is a long , dark trip to hell . +the film opens with gothic quire and dark streets of present-day san francisco . +the camera slowly find particular window . +a shape of a young man is visible in the darkness . + " so you want me to tell you the story of my life ? " . +the mysterious man is louis ( brad pitt ) , a two-century old vampire , telling his story to a fascinated interviewer ( christian slater ) . +his tale opens in 1791 louisiana , just south of new orleans , where louis falls victim to the vampire lestat ( tom cruise ) . +given a choice between death and eternal life as one of the undead , louis chooses the latter , a decision he will forever regret . +everlasting life and eternal youth , promised to him by lestat , turn instead into never ending suffering , damned to eternal hunger for blood and longing for peace . +louis cannot kill with the impunity of lestat , but , to sate his hunger , he must feed , and the blood of animals is not enough . +eventually , he pierces the neck of a grief-stricken young girl named claudia ( kirsten dunst ) , whom lestat then curses with his unholy form of resurrection so that she can be a surrogate daughter to both himself and louis . +for a while , they are one " big , happy family . " +but all things end , and claudia's growing resentment of lestat fuels a bloody confrontation . +when luis and claudia break loose from lestat , they travel to paris , where the euro-vamps santiago ( stephen rea ) and armand ( antonio banderas ) , who introduced them to a bigger world of the damned . +director neil jordan ( " the crying game " ) together with the talented director of cinematography philippe rousselot and composer elliot goldenthal has created an incredible atmosphere . +as the film begins , there is an incredible palette of colors , beautiful sunrises , lush golden fields , green forests , inky-blue clouds and blending sun . +when luis is " born to darkness " , everything suddenly changes to dark velvet , lit only by the silver moonlight . +the beautiful production design by dante ferretti , wonderful costumes and art direction by malcolm middleton re-create the multiple historical periods in the film . +from the renaissance new orleans and the beautiful rococo paris of the 18th century , to our present days . +the casting is likewise good , involving some of the most famous and beautiful stars of hollywood , ireland and spain . +the controversial casting of tom cruise as lestat is incredibly effective . +cruise is energetic , sinister , charismatic , wild and bloodthirsty . +cruise's lestat likes to seduce young women before exacting his dark red sustenance . +with alarming swiftness , the victims switch from sexual excitement to outright horror , as his murderous purpose becomes clear . + " . . . kill them mercifully , but do it . +you are what you are . . for +do not doubt , you are a killer ! " +that is how lestat is teaching luis . +but behind that furious facade is anger and loneliness that he carries through the centuries and tries to smother with nightly rampages . +brad pitt is equally convincing as the " vampire with a human soul " . +antonio banderas and stephen rea are effective , but since they play more or less secondary characters , their performances are almost invisible . +the greatest performance in the film comes suprisingly from the young kristen dunst , who manages to create an incredibly emotional and believable character . +the world is changing around the little child , but she does not . +she remains unchangeable - a child for all eternity . +only her wise , dark eyes reveal her age . +ironically the film's only miss is the script . +anne rice's novel is a very interesting read , and her script is rich , colorful and emotional , but it is also tiering and too melancholic , at times resembling a soap opera : +claudia : " . . . . is that what i should do ? +let you go . . my +father , my luis , who made me . . . who will look after me , my dark angel , when you are gone ? " +luis : " everything will be alright . . " +claudia : " do you really believe that ? " +and then they hug emotionally . +moments like those displayed above and luis' self-pity is a bit tiresome . +however rice's script is otherwise strong and well structured , bringing up humor and comic episodes , that were more or less hidden in the book . +when lestat finds claudia's dead dressmaker , whom she has killed , he cries out : " who will make you that dress now ? +be a little practical . . . . never +in the house ! " +moments like that are both entertaining and appealing . +neil jordan's direction is beautiful and sensual as he plays with interesting issues like eternity , homosexuality , love and loneliness . +his gothic saga is not meant to scare , but to display these issues differently . +wrapped up in mystery , his new , original picture brings vampire-films to a new height . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv462_19350.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv462_19350.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a92dc02b69f417c00ada8122801d921d0892dcd5 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv462_19350.txt @@ -0,0 +1,61 @@ +this has some major spoilers for the film , so be forwarned . +the won't appear till later in the article , so you're safe for now . +eyes wide shot ( 1999 ) running time : 2 hours 39 minutes 2 . 35 : 1 theatrical aspect +starring : tom cruise ( dr . +bill hardford ) , nicole kidman ( alice hardford ) , sidney pollack , leelee sobieski , todd field ( nick nightingale ) directed , co-written , produced by : stanley kubrick inspired by : " traumnovelle " by : arthur schnitzer +this is an interesting film . +i must first off state , that you musn't believe any of the rumors of the film . +cruise is not a cross dresser , kidman doesn't shoot heroin , and there's not any scene between the two that would suggest that they were aided by a sex therapist . +the look of the film is to suggest that it follows the translation of the inspired book from the film was written . +the translation , " dream novel , " makes you thing that the film should have been titled dream film . +there is a noticable amount of graininess to the film . +rather than complain about it as some may and already have , see it as a style of shooting . +i would gather that kubrick got on another lighting kick shooting this and shot with as much natural light as he could . +this and the film looks like it was pushed another two stops to add more grain and brighten it slightly . +as an auteur and stickler for details , kubrick seemed to be a bit lax on this one . +the film looks great , but there are a good deal of bloopers/flubs that occur . +you see lots of boom shots ( in reflection ) and you see the camera at least twice . +16 months for this ? +wow . +reflection is the biggest killer for this film . +their apartment and almost everything in the film casts reflections and the crew can be seen in these , some quite glaringly . +one more topic of heated discussion : i saw the " austin powers " version , and to be perfectly frank , unless you know where the overlays are supposed to be , you'll probably not see them . +two girls standing next to each other look a little suspicious , but i can wait for the unrated version on video to see it the way it's supposed to be . +spoilers below : +the film itself starts with ( cruise ) bill and ( kidman ) alice getting ready for a little x-mas soiree . +they go to a quite elegant party in what seems to be a storagehouse for lighting equipment , which is actually an apartment owned by pollack . +bill runs into an old friend from medical school who is now the party's entertainment . +soon after , bill and alice are flirting with others at the party , thinking that the other has not noticed . +bill is called to help with a partygoer who has had a bit too much of a good time . +the next day , bill and alice , casually smoking marijunana in their bedroom discuss the previous nights flirtations . +they both discover that they both knew about the flirting . +bill starts talking about what women can provide in a relationship , and gets alice extremely angry . +in her hazy state , she tells of an opportunity she almost acted on to cheat on bill , not caring about the possible aftereffects . +bill gets called away when one of his patients dies , and goes to console his daughter . +when his patient's engaged daughter makes a plea for his love and affection , he is struck with images of an affair that never occured between his wife , alice and a naval officer . +he sees " opportunity " as a betrayal to his wife , and before they can continue , they are interrupted . +as he strolls home , he encounters a hooker . +seeing another " opportunity " arise , he follows the hooker home . +they toy around , but before the act ensues , alice calls his cell phone . +he breaks the date with the hooker , and heads back out into the night . +he passes a lounge and notices that his old medical school buddy is playing , so he heads in . +when he meets the friend , the friend reveals that for extra scratch , he plays these strange parties , while blindfolded . +bill is intrigued and wants to go to one . +nick reluctantly sets him up with directions and a password . +what follows this is a short meeting where bill obtains a costume for this party and meets a young girl , leelee sobieski , and her father . +the young girl has drawn his eye , but her young age , and the prescence of her father deter this from happening . +he gets to the party , which is to say the least , a strange affair . +after partaking in some strange " religious " right , women and men pair off for the orgy to end all orgies . +a woman warns bill in disguise , that he should leave before he is exposed as a fraud at the party . +he is detained after a second warning , where he is outed for not being in the group . +after getting home , he hides the evidence of his evenings events . +unable to carry on in his day , he tries piece the events of the previous night together . +in the process , he finds that nick has disappeared , his life is possibly in danger , and the woman that warned him has died . +i'm trying to save a bit of the film here , it's worth sitting through to get to this point . +this is only about 100 minutes at this point . +this is a strange film , because despite the events that occur , the film has a strong family message behind it . +it will be hard to pidgeonhole this film as a certain kind of a film . +it's got sex in it , it has nudity , drugs , and many more immoralistic values . +but they all serve to show why they are bad in one's life . +i recommend this film highly on many merits . +cruise and kidman are rarely together for longer than 5 minutes after the opening scene , and the secrecy that shrouded the film should hopefully be apparent as to why it was kept once you see it for yourself . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv464_15650.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv464_15650.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..822963142602dd2bde61a550058c1f510e50f049 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv464_15650.txt @@ -0,0 +1,33 @@ +swashbuckling adventure that can be enjoyed by both children and adults . +steven spielberg may not have directed ( he only executive produced ) but his touch certainly is evident in this movie . +and he knows a money making winner when he sees one . +the mask of zorro has the hallmarks of a blockbuster : big action , funny comedy , and the pacing of a rollercoaster . +hopkins plays don diego de la vega , otherwise known as zorro . +a fighter for the people , he is eventually captured by don rafael montero ( stuart wilson ) , who also , unintentionally , kills his wife . +the film cuts to twenty years later , where vega still wants to montero dead . +however , he's far too old now , and trains up thief alejandro murrieta ( banderas ) to become the new zorro . +banderas motive ? +to avenge the death of his brother , who was killed at the hands of captain love ( matthew letscher ) who rather tastefully keeps the head in a jar , in one of the more graphic scenes in this family movie . +with the scene set , the movie goes on full blast , with sword fights a-plenty and witty one liners . +banderas and hopkins have a marvellous chemistry as the two zorro's , playing each other off with ease . +hopkins seems to come off a little better , but banderas does some excellent work . +as the bad guys , wilson and letscher seem one dimensional , but they go through the bad guy shtick in an above average way . +the audience does hate them , which can't be bad . +catherine zeta-jones also pops up as hopkins daughter , and although she provides little more than the usual female lead , she delivers a charming , but one note , performance . +the chemistry is excellent between banderas and jones . +there's a delightful little scene where banderas and jones have a sword fight , and every swipe an item of clothing gets slashed , until jones clothes fall off all together . +the director , fresh from the enjoyable goldeneye ( 1995 ) handles the film perfectly . +the action is well done and fast paced , the comedy put across well . +the cast help a lot , but the direction is still outstanding . +although the film is very long , the plot keeps chugging along , and there's barely a dull moment . +however , the film is a little over indulgent , and it could have been trimmed . +it manages to hold the attention , thankfully , and the adventure and charm holds right up to the last reel . +screenwriters john eskow , ted elliot and terry rosio have unfortunately written an cliched and one dimensional script . +although they've bought zorro up to date with big explosions and wild action , the plot itself is barely existent . +there's lots of little sub plots hanging around , but there's nothing substantial to bring them all together . +the main story seems to be the fact that rafael wants to 'buy' california using gold stolen from the guy he's buying the land off . +this sets up for a temple of doom type plot where we see peasants slave driven into getting the gold from little mines . +however , this doesn't seem to appear until nearly over a hour into the film , so the film is never quite sure where it's going . +in the end however , zorro provides action and comedy in spades . +it suitable for everyone , so put the guilt behind , and put some more money into spielbergs bank account . +you won't regret it . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv465_22431.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv465_22431.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..edb0d257dd04d7cdae31678271c6e1f32b393039 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv465_22431.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ + " rebel without a cause " is such an important film in american history because it is a true analysis of youth in america that everyone of all ages can relate to . +everyone feels that they are different in some way , that they don't belong in some places and " rebel without a cause " successfully shows on screen these universal emotions . +no matter what generation you belong to , these feelings are present . +this is why james dean is admired by america , because in this film he represents us all and his actions are actions that we would also execute . +in our minds , we just try to do the right thing just like dean's jim stark does . +not only does " rebel without a cause " display these universal emotions for all to relate to but it also shows that america has suffered a uniqe pattern in its social structure . +each generation looks at its past generation without a strong connection . +this is because times change and in response people change . +no matter how popular you were once , as your generation grows older , newer breeds look at you in a different light . +this is why stark and his friends never could form a strong relationship with their parents . +even if their parents insisted that they were also rebellious and troublesome in the past , the teens could not believe this . +in one humorous scene , stark , his girlfriend judy ( natalie wood ) , and his pal plato ( sal mineo ) pretend they are adults . +they use upper class british accents and in their conversations they make it out to appear that kids are no good and should be ignored . +this scene shows that what was once cool in a past generation is the complete opposite in another . +speaking on behalf of my generation , i feel that dean has lost a lot of his coolness from our perspective as the years have grown by . +the only ones who seem to still lionize him are those members of his generation . same +goes for brando , redford , even deniro . +i can only imagine how vaguely matt damon , ben affleck , and brad pitt will be viewed at the mid point of the twenty first century . +will dean even be remembered when these newcomers are forgotten ? +any film that sparks this kind of thought is certainly a milestone in american film . +even if " rebel without a cause " has some ridiculous scenes ( the game of chicken - did people really act this way ? ) , an unbelievable conclusion ( how did everyone end up at the abandoned mansion at the end ? ) , and a silly romance ( wood declares her love for dean after talking to him for a couple hours ) it still is a fabulous film . +the acting is so believable that it is no wonder that dean was considered the epitome of cool . +now , however , the coolness is fading . . . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv466_18722.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv466_18722.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8b3f6e972a7f717bf55309b84d80a008a73d8330 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv466_18722.txt @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ +david mamet has long been my favorite screenwriter and director . +with his distinctive , more often than not ingenious dialogue , and his laid back style of direction nearly all of his movies are absolutely irresistible . +some of them tend to be thickly layered , deceptive productions that require the audience to look at the film in a less superficial manner than the plot seems to require in order to discern its concealed message , or sometimes even a concealed storyline . +and although the real plot in his new project the winslow boy is slightly more conspicuous than in some of his other endeavors , it is still a brilliantly complex , consistently riveting motion picture about honor , about sacrifice , and about the difference between what is commonly known as justice and what is right . +oh , and it's rated g . +incidentally , this is the first time that mamet has decided to adapt someone else's work ; namely a play by terrence rattigan , set in the 19th century . +he casts nigel hawthorne in the lead role as arthur winslow , a rich , aging man who finds out that his 14 year old son ronnie has been kicked out of the naval academy for allegedly stealing a 5 shilling postal note . + " did you do it ? " he asks his boy . + " no father , i didn't , " ronnie answers . +that's enough for arthur , who , with his oldest daughter ( rebecca pidgeon ) , immediately starts a crusade to bring his son's case to court . +they enlist the help of sir robert morton , a notorious attorney to help them achieve that formidably daunting task . +it all seems fairly frivolous , and no matter how you look at it , the winslow case is not the trial of the century . +but arthur is determined to keep his family's word clean and he is willing to go quite far to make sure of that . +soon enough , sir robert morton along with the rest of the country becomes equally wrapped up in the proceedings . +so do we . +all david mamet does for the script is tighten and hone the dialogue , but his style is still fairly apparent . +the characters still talk in his trademark staccatto lines and there is still tension present in conversations that no ordinary writer would be able to make tense . +but this is not mamet's norm , and it's refreshing to see mamet deviate from his world of crooks , gangsters as con men , wonderful as those films were . +nigel hawthorne's performance is nearly flawless . +his delivery is that of a dignified yet not pompous man who seems to be getting beaten at his own game . +we pity the man , but we also like him . +rebecca pidgeon , david mamet's wife , who gave a fairly awful performance in the spanish prisoner is at the top of her game here as arthur's oldest daughter , a flailing feminist who gives her all to the winslow case as a way for making up for her lack of success in the women's suffrage movement . +the winslow boy is a wonderful movie that avoids cliches such as a seemingly inevitable courtroom scene and shoots higher -- it wants to make a real impact rather than a phony one . +be honest : did you feel anything profound at or after the courtroom scenes in films like a time to kill ? +if you wanted to but didn't , this is a movie for you . +it is the epitome of subtlety : it's powerful without being too emotional , sad without even trying to be depressing . +david mamet can churn out some great scripts , but in this movie he proves to those who ever doubted it once and for all that he is a hell of a director too . +he is almost a national treasure . +his films deserve their own genre . + ? 1999 eugene novikov‰ ; diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv467_25773.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv467_25773.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..cc8d813fbd652a87c64fd8442ca3bb98b62b5d18 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv467_25773.txt @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +catherine deane ( jennifer lopez ) is a psychologist who has been hired to participate in a project where she can enter the minds of comatose victims and try to interact with their subconscious in an attempt to wake them up . +she has been experiencing moderate success with a young boy in a coma , but the boy's parents aren't happy with the apparent lack of progress and the toll of her job is having adverse affects on her regular life . +as if trying to assure the boy's parents wasn't hard enough on her , a new development arises that furthers the strain on deane's mental faculties . +a vicious serial killer named carl stargher ( vincent d'onofrio ) has been kidnapping women , locking them in an automated cell that drowns them slowly in a matter of days , then soaking the corpses in bleach to turn them into life-sized dolls . +just after kidnapping his latest victim and locking her in the cell , stargher has a traumatic experience that triggers a schizophrenic virus in his brain and causes him to sink in an eternal catatonia . +the police , led by fbi agent peter novak ( vince vaughn ) are able to locate stargher by some clues he left while dumping his previous victim's body , but they feel all hope is lost for his current victim due to his vegetative state . +in a last ditch attempt , they ask deane and the scientists that created the project to undergo the frightening task of entering stargher's mind to try and find the location of the victim locked in the deadly cell . . . +a cell which will completely fill with water in the next 40 hours ! +initial reports about this film described it as a cross between the silence of the lambs and the matrix . +while it does share some characteristics with both films ( particularly the first forty minutes , which seem almost like a condensed version of lambs ) , the cell also seems to contain elements of dreamscape and brainstorm . +the buzz around this project is that first-time feature film director tarsem singh ( who won many awards for his video of r . e . m . 's " losing my religion " ) wanted a script that he could fashion images out of instead of a cohesive story , and a good portion of this film supports that theory . +despite the borrowed elements from the aforementioned films and a script that contains several logically questionable moments , the cell does feature some remarkable imagery . +all of the sequences where we delve into someone's mind are incredibly beautiful ( including the dank mind of stargher , whose thoughts are reminiscent of an h . r . giger painting come to life mixed with a tool music video ) , proving that singh is as adept at filming strange and wonderful images as his acclaim would lead us to believe . +the first sequence that takes place in stargher's mind is by far the best , featuring one of the most ingenious traps i've ever seen in a film ( involving a horse , which no one seeing this film will probably forget ) , a zoo-like display of stargher's victims which are animated like marionettes , and stargher himself in a giant purple cape that spans the walls of his mental throne room . +if the film had continued within this dirty monstrous world i would have deemed the film brilliant , but alas , the sequences only become more silly as they go along ( despite a painful nipple ring removal later in the film ) . +the cast is basically just an excuse for there to be some moderate plot semblance during the parade of images , but at least vincent d'onofrio turns in his usual bizarre and psychotic performance ( magnified by ten , thanks to the environment in which the film has been placed ) . +in my opinion , d'onofrio was one of the best creepy actors i have ever seen in a film , but his film choices as of late have been so completely awful ( i . e . - +the newton boys , feeling minnesota , the thirteenth floor , and the velocity of gary ) that i have begun to rethink my initial assessment of him . +the character of stargher is an excellent role for him though , and will probably lead to a bit of typecasting for him . +detractors of violence and disturbing images will want to stay far away from this film , as it contains heavy doses of both . +besides the nipple ring removal i mention above , there is also stargher's penchant for hanging suspended off of the floor by the rings that pierce his back and legs ( prior to his catatonia and capture ) which will have audiences recoiling . +a sequence where catherine enters stargher's mind and finds him recreating the disemboweling of his first victim is also pretty disquieting . +one moment also features a character having his intestines slowly removed from his body by an old fashioned hand cranked spit-like device . +as a narrative film , the cell is sorely lacking . +as a collection of images though , the cell is extremely well done . +although the latter sequences in the film contain fewer disturbing imagery than the first half , singh has done what he supposedly set out to do : make a film solely for the purpose of stringing some remarkable images together . +unfortunately , a well-written script should have been considered too , because without it the cell just seems like any other music video we could see on mtv ( provided , of course , that mtv allowed for the use of graphic violence and language in music videos ) . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv468_15228.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv468_15228.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..cefd7ffcaafc6f985da003866f20eca18617d8f2 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv468_15228.txt @@ -0,0 +1,33 @@ +when casting the key part of the voice of moses , most people's first candidate would probably not be the controversial actor val kilmer ( the saint and the island of dr . +moreau ) , but he was dreamworks's choice in their first traditionally animated movie , the prince of egypt . +the selection of kilmer proved to be a wise one , but the biggest risk dreamworks took wasn't in the casting department . +the radical departure was that they decided to use the medium of animation to make a biblical epic , a la cecil b . demille , to move our hearts and minds rather than to tickle our funny bones . +in the press kit producer penney cox says that they wanted to make a film for adults based on sophisticated themes but one that did not exclude children . +animated movies for adults that are appropriate for kids and that are not comedies , now that is something fresh . +let me admit up-front that i was quite skeptical as to whether dreamworks could pull it off . +dreamworks's antz seemed to be a movie not quite appropriate for any age group . +the prince of egypt may be harder to market than antz , but it is much more satisfying . +like antz and unlike the more modest casting of pixar's a bug's life , the prince of egpyt has half of hollywood doing the voices . +danny glover is the voice of jethro , jeff goldblum of aaron , steve martin of hotep , helen mirren of the queen , michelle pfeiffer of tzipporah , martin short of huy and patrick stewart of seti . +you can figure out for yourself who does the voice of god . +the movie , which is weakest in the story department , is a cliff's notes version of demille's the ten commandments . +the script by kelly asbury and lorna cook has an obsession with touching briefly on every classic event in moses's life . +demille took over three and a half hours in order to do it justice . +at less than half of that , the prince of egypt rushes through so much material that it doesn't establish sufficient depth for us to bond with the characters . +we meet moses when the queen finds him floating in his little basket . +we watch him grow up and become best bud and a chariot racing partner to ramses ( ralph fiennes ) , the future pharaoh . +moses is a free spirit and a practical joker until he finds out his true identity as a jew . + ( " all i've ever known to be true is a lie , " moses complains . ) +after finding out his real identity , he sees for the first time the oppression of the jewish slaves that are all around him . +after leaving egypt , moses comes back to ask ramses to let moses's people go . +this leads to the classic scene of the parting of the red sea , which is one of many places where computers were used to enhance the traditionally hand-drawn animation of the most of the production . +it is the absolutely stunning visuals that make the movie so compelling . +drawn with a rich palette of luxurious roses , blues and golds , the picture looks sumptuous from its first frame to its last . +the construction of the temple is shown in blowing dust , and other scenes are shot with the glow of a rising sun . +the most original visual sequence in the film occurs during a dream moses has . +done with an explicit two-dimensional look , the colorful images painted on the temple walls come to life to tell their own animated story . +even though it has its weaknesses , the prince of egypt is a noble attempt to carve out a new genre -- serious animated movies for adults that are acceptable for the entire family . +this awe-inspiring movie deserves to be seen . +the prince of egypt runs about 1 : 30 . +it is rated pg for thematic elements and would be fine for the whole family . +how old a kid would need to be to be interested depends on the child , but those over 8 will probably like it . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv470_15952.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv470_15952.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6ed77115ed54b3ba5a08c47fd453574880d41330 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv470_15952.txt @@ -0,0 +1,49 @@ + " love is the devil " is a challenging film , munundating its audience with wild imagery and a plot structure that disallows a plot , perhaps in an attempt to get us to know the artist's psyche rather than the artist's lifeline . +watching it , i was enthralled with the look of the film , the way the director shot everything like it was looking through a bizarre , personalized filter . +everything looks like it is not how life looks like but how painter francis bacon , the film's subject , looked at it personally . +but while i was engrossed , i stumbled upon my thoughts halfway through the film , awakened from my trance by some inner distraction , and began to try and follow what's going on . +exactly what was i looking at ? +watching this film , i wasn't sure if it was the most insightful film i had ever seen or the most vacuous . +directed ( and written ) by john maybury , " love is the devil " is stylish masterpiece for the senses . +everything looks originally bizarre and perplexing . +the camera angles are ferociously askew , and the close-ups are uncomfortably too close . +the editing is deft , occasionally cutting away to something bizarre every couple seconds , but other times holding on a shot for so long that you wonder if the audience is not supposed to be voyeurs , or rather , intruders to bacon's world and psyche . +as such , there is no real story . +i've not heard much about francis bacon that i didn't read prior to the film , but what i learned was this : he was a painter in england who reached his peak during the 60s and 70s , drawing hideously bizarre drawings of carnage and the like . +he was one of the first to really come out of the closet , and in interviews , he was notoriously drunk yet incredibly witty . +as played by great shakesperean actor derek jacobi , he's like a foppish and self-absorbed cross between oscar wilde and nero . +he lives life the way he wants to live it , to the disatisfaction of those who have the privelege of being really close to him . +it's as if he were taking delight in the destruction of others and maybe himself ( " champagne for my real friends , and pain for my sham friends , " he says one night at the bar he frequents ) . + " love is the devil " chronicles the latter part of his life . +bacon , well-known in his mid-life , awakens one night when he hears a man tumble through his ceiling window and land on the floor . +he walks in , unafraid of what he finds , and discovers a thief , george dyer ( daniel craig ) . +bacon gives him an offer : if he spends the night with him , he can take anything he wants in the morning . +george agrees to this , and off to bed he goes , but ends up staying with him , for whatever reason . +the film shows their lives together , at least in reference to one another . +while creating bacon's world of friends ( like " high art , " this film minors in showing a certain group of people who radiate a connection that is not shown but is understood ) , the film shows the relationship of bacon and george as it remains rather stagnant . +bacon is haughty and bizarre ; george is simple and doesn't understand bacon in the least , especially not his paintings . +while watching this , that's basically all i thought was there . +the film has a hypnotic feel , free of any restraints of form , and is shot so uniquely that i felt my attention was almost entirely on the way this film was made rather than what it is about . +once the film is over , it's easier to piece it together . +i kept on thinking about this film , wondering what the point to all of it was . +someone doesn't merely make a film of all style and no substance at all , and if they do , they do it by accident , but still allow some substance to creep in . +thinking about it , i remembered how the two fed off of eachother . +i thought about how bacon was a masochist , in love with cruelty ( in one scene , he watches a boxing match with a orgiastic delight , and lets out a squeal of pleasure when blood from the one boxer's head splashes across his face ; in another scene , he masturbates to the odessa steps sequence of eisenstein's " battleship potemkin " ) , and perhaps he drove george too far in his delight for pain . +he drove him over the edge , and for him that was love , even if it wasn't for george . +i guess that explains the title . +a bit . +that's great and all , but i almost wish the film was devoid of any meaning . +i wish it hadn't reduced itself to making some point about humanity , about how love is the most selfish thing in the world ( and it is , if you look at it a certain way ) . +or maybe if it had avoided any meaning about humanity and merely drove itself into being the one film that was truly inside one man's twisted pysche . +it's almost always best to obtain insights from looking at one man's uniqueness than it is forcing universality down an audience's throat . +that way you don't reduce your film to something it's just not . +i can't say i totally enjoyed " love is the devil , " though . +despite all of the things i respect about this movie , it's still rather uncomfortable to sit through . +even at a normally trite length of ninety minutes , the film still seems like an arduous task to sit through , especially after an exhausting first hour . +though hypnotic , it still almost seems gimmicky and even redundant at times , as if it were taking advantage of one man's truly bizarre nature but not doing anything deeper with it . +as such , i respect the way the film looks . +it's beautiful and painstakingly crafted so that , along with " what dreams may come " and " dark city , " it's the year's most visually stunning film . +in fact , if a better script had been forged , i'd almost compare it in visual power to a peter greenaway film , complete with similar haunting images that stick in the mind forever . +and with a dymanite performance by derek jacobi , it has the comic and distanced tone that it needs . +i just wish it had been more than mostly style and just a hair bit of substance . +then i would have had something to hold me over even now . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv474_10209.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv474_10209.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..42c45751cabe6d6bb4c0507e909bf286634e4fe9 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv474_10209.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +let's face it : the $100 million-plus smash that was " goldeneye " was not a good film by any means , and as a bond movie was only marginally better than , say , " a view to a kill " or either of the timothy dalton pictures , by virtue of nice pacing . +but it did revive the series , and granted the producers some new directions in which to take the it ( ie . +the new " m " is a woman ) . + " tomorrow never dies " is the picture " goldeneye " should have been ; it's also the most entertaining bond outing since " the spy who loved me " . +the new picture opens with china considering war with britain after a standard military operation is misconstrued as a hostile threat from an english submarine . +as an attack occurs , the front-page headline is already being prepared , courtesy of carver media . +carver ( pryce ) the man is a deluded magnate , a sort of hybrid of ted turner , bill gates , and peter sellars' german scientist from " dr . +strangelove " ( physically , pryce even recalls sellars in his kubrick days ) . +it's up to james bond to take him down , with assistance , of course , from a wealth of gadgets ( including a multi-purpose cell phone ) , and beautiful women . +enter michelle yeoh , fresh from " supercop " , as a chinese secret agent with her own agenda ; with effortless grace , she cat burgles , dispatches baddies seemingly with the ease of preparing pasta , and refuses the advances of our philandering hero . +they make a great team . + " tomorrow never dies " is a surprisingly entertaining and efficient film , given that at the helm is none other than the director of " turner & hooch " . +spottiswoode has crafted some breathtaking set pieces , each much more intricate and impressive than , for instance , the tank scene in " goldeneye " . +moreover , brosnan has at last settled into the role some feel he was born to play ; last time out , the fate of the franchise rested on his shoulders , and there was noticeable discomfort in his body language . +returned in brosnan's eyes has some of the playfulness he demonstrated for so many years on tv's " remington steele " , as has his deadpan wit . +and though carver's motives are muddy ( when carver explains that " genius is insanity with some success " , screenwriter fierstein is taking a lazy shortcut ) , pryce makes an agreeable , memorable villain . +in the future , they should pursue actors as talented and experienced as pryce to breathe life into these cardboard figures . +there a few too many explosions in " tomorrow never dies " , perhaps so many they qualify as dialogue . +and it could have used a sharper script , though i was amused by the double entendres , none of which i will reveal here . +as it stands , the plot suffers many holes ( i'm not taking about implausibilities ) , and the dialogue tends towards the hackneyed . +now that the elements are in place : modern special effects and stunt work , cool pierce brosnan , kickass female allies . . . +it's time to put them to use in something truly special . +there's no mistaking , however , that " tomorrow never dies " is ideal holiday escapism , and for the first time in perhaps years , you'll walk out wanting more bond movies . +-reviewed december 17 , 1997 diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv475_21692.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv475_21692.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3b8cb2b3b49d146173750efb4308afcc688e3778 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv475_21692.txt @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +rated : r for strong language , sexual dialogue , drug use , crude humor , violence and brief nudity . +starring : ben affleck , matt damon , linda fiorentino , salma hayek , alan rickman , chris rock , kevin smith , jason mewes , jason lee , george carlin , alanis morissette . +running time : 130 minutes +being a huge fan of kevin smith , i was expecting a lot out of his newest project 'dogma' . +it might just be kevin's best work to date . +it's very funny with smart and foul-mouthed dialogue while unexpectedly it has a serious undertone to it and besides going against god and jesus christ , it actually tries to tell people that there is such a thing rather than that there isn't . +in 1994 a little $27 , 000 movie premiered at sundance . +this little film was called 'clerks' and this little film went on to become a huge video sensation . +you really can't meet a person on this green earth who has not seen 'clerks' . +it was hailed by critics as one of the best movies of the year and soon a sequel is coming . +in 1995 kevin made another movie 'mallrats' that flopped horribly , thought it was not the best movie ever made it was a pretty good little flick . +it was panned by critics but hailed by audiences and in 1997 'chasing amy' came out and was kevin's biggest success to date . +now in 1999 we get a great little movie by the name of 'dogma' . +wow ! what a cast . +ok here is the plot in this movie : linda fiorentino plays a regular woman who works at an abortion clinic . +one day at her house metatron ( the voice of god ) appears at her house much to her surprise and tells her that she must stop two fallen angels ( matt damon and ben affleck ) from getting back into heaven by ways of a church . +ok now get this , she is told to find two prophets : one who talks a lot and one who doesn't , however she gets jay and silent bob instead ( who give us great performances ) . +now on her way to new jersey with jay and silent bob to try and stop the two angels the 13th apostle falls out of the sky ( chris rock ) and helps guide her to find these angels . +salma hayek plays serendipity who also helps her out along her way . +azrael ( jason lee ) who is a demon is trying to help the two angels out so that they can win . +bethany ( linda fiorentino ) has to now use the help of all these people to try and stop the angels before they cheat their way back to heaven leading to a violent and bloody end that will make you think twice about your faith . +what a movie , it is everything rolled into one : an offensive , offbeat , smart and sassy comedy that surprisingly has a great message at the end , and ends up being a feel-good movie . +who would have known kevin had such a soft side on him that could make us know that he is a faithful person himself . +now for those of you who get offended with this movie really should not take it to heart . +yes it may target the catholic community and bash them a lot , but it also seems to rather than go against god and heaven , it actually goes with god and kevin gives a message that there is a god . +this review may sound confusing at first but really the only way to understand it is to see this excellent movie . +kevin goes to new lengths in this hilarious comedy and gives us some great characters with not too much background or study and rather we start to know the characters as we watch the movie . +of course the best ( and funniest ) of them all is the only duo in history that have made me fall out of my chair laughing and that my friends are jay and silent bob . +probably the best characters in movies that i like . +the star-studded cast is amazing and has some other cameos by george carlin , jeanne garafolo and so may more that we start to lose track after a while . +the script was written by kevin smith with many f'words in there of course and a strong emphasis on sexual talk but he also seems to concentrate on what is important rather that what isn't and makes us laugh at the same time as we think . +chris rock gives a hilarious performance and gets into his character very well , with some classic lines . +linda fiorentino is just perfect for her role and makes us believe that she really is who she is . +of course jason mewes and kevin smith do a great job as jay and silent bob with some priceless lines from jay ( as well as silent bob ) . +alan rickman , jason lee , salma hayek round out the cast with matt damon and ben affleck in the starring roles . +being oscar winners for the classic 'good will hunting' they give great performances here again but matt damon seems just a little held back and to me did not give it all he could . +ben however was all out and got very much into his character as well as the story . +the movie's only big flaw is that it has a few unfunny lines and some slow parts to go along with it . +however the direction by kevin and the script by kevin as well as the priceless performance by many of the cast members , 'dogma' stands as a new classic and i think i can safely compare it to 'clerks' . +while being funny at times , in the end it becomes a serious movie with an important message that some may not agree with but can't deny it . +'dogma' will offend people , especially deeply religious people , but for those of you who are open minded and want to see some very funny material then this is the movie for you . +all kevin smith fans must see ! ! diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv476_16856.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv476_16856.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f42b3f87d1fd78846a920f220208d6d0805760fd --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv476_16856.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +one of the most popular subplots in the entire science fiction genre is time travel . +that concept , although many purists doubt its scientific credentials , spawned many interesting novels , comic books and films in the last century . +however , the big grand-daddy of time travels , h . g . wells' novel the time machine , wasn't written with the intention to speculate about that concept or its consequences . +the author , h . g . wells merely used it as a convenient way to express his socialist views and condemn the great social gap between the rich , idle capitalist class and impoverished labour . +whatever intentions wells had , the future generations of readers were less impressed by his political messages . +instead they were fascinated by the idea that the strange new worlds could be explored without traveling trough space . +the novel became one of great classics of science fiction genre and it natural for filmmakers to use it as inspiration . +first of them was george pal , who in 1960 directed film which would , through the years , become genre classic of its own . +the plot revolves about george ( rod taylor ) , victorian scientist who discovered the way to travel through the fourth dimension - time . +at the eve of the new 20th century , george gathers his friends in order to present them his invention - machine that would enable him to travel through time . +they are skeptical , but that doesn't prevent george from carrying out his plan and traveling into the future . +at first , he travels slowly , seeing london as it changes through the years and three world wars . +finally , after witnessing world war three , he travels far into the future , hoping that he would cease to witness wars and senseless destructions . +when he finally reaches year 802 , 701 ad , at first glance , new world looks like utopia - humanity consists of young , beautiful , but idle eloi , people who are fed , clothed and taken care of by unseen machines . +but , weena ( yvette mimieux ) , eloi woman , tells george about another side of the coin - in the night , her people is preyed upon by morlocs , humanoid creatures from the underworld . +the time machine became the cinematic classic for the very same reason the novel became the classic in science fiction literature - the fantastic concept was a brilliant way for the authors to talk about burning issues and fears of their respective times . +for h . g . wells it was frightening threat of class struggle ; for george pal and his screenwriter david duncan , who produced the film in the worst days of the cold war , it was the constant and more imminent threat of nuclear holocaust , underlined with the negative references to war throughout the movie . +even the modern audience , which would be tempted to discard the film as old-fashioned , could find some values in its universal messages , fit for each era . +compared with the genre films of today , the time machine is even better , and could serve as a good example how to make intelligent , thought-provoking films . +of course , since this is hollywood product after all , the time machine delivers such concepts in the form of classic adventure , sometimes sacrificing plausibility for the sake of attractiveness . +for example , it is hard to imagine that someone would be able to understand perfect english million years in future ; same is with morlocs degenerating into mutant monsters , while eloi remain undistinguished from the people of today . +some of the final scenes , that turn victorian scientist into an action superhero , are also rather unconvincing . +but , on the other hand , the film is very well directed , cleverly paced and the special effects , although definitely old-fashioned , are more than adequate for this kind of picture . +the acting is good , with rod taylor in one of his most remembered roles , while in the same time alan young brings rather memorable performance as george's trusted friend filby . +yvette mimieux , who plays weena , on the other hand , would be remembered more by her looks than by the complexity of her role . +however , despite all those flaws , the time machine is a very good piece of cinema , something that connoisseurs of quality science-fiction films sorely miss these days . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv477_22479.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv477_22479.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..35ca3768457976a641b04fb910f19a4248d0d53b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv477_22479.txt @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +if this keeps up , jane austen ( sense and sensibility , pride and prejudice ) may have to apply for posthumous membership to the screen writers guild . +yet another novel of hers has made the transition to the silver screen . +mansfield park is a turn of the century ( 18th century going on 19th ) story about love among the classes as well as an examination into proper society and family ties . +ten year old fanny price ( hannah taylor-gordon , jakob the liar ) , taken from her mother and father and the poverty in which they dwell , is sent to live with her aunt and the privileged class at mansfield park , under the stern patriarchal hand of her uncle , sir thomas bertram ( harold pinter , mojo ) +spending her days reminded of her lower status , she also invents and writes fanciful stories during her private times . +fanny eventually grows to become a beautiful , intelligent , and engaging heroine ( quite unlike the original character which ms . austen originally penned in her novel . ) +writer/director patricia rozema ( when night is falling ) is responsible for the textual changes . +from a purely dramatic perspective , the revision makes perfect sense and improves the film's audience appeal . +what ms . rozema has done is to infuse the main character with much of ms . austen's own personality by including excerpts from the author's journals , giving that dialogue to fanny . +the result is a central character that is immediately appealing . +as the grown fanny , australian actress frances o'connor ( all about adam ) does wonderfully textured work . +at times , ms . rozema has fanny address the camera directly to communicate many of the novel's more introspective observations . +this is a difficult device to work seamlessly into a period film and it is to ms . o'connor's credit that it works as well as it does . +the central theme which gives the story its legs in an old one . . . +whether it is better to marry for love or for social standing ? +fanny has fallen in love with her cousin edmund ( jonny lee miller , plunkett & macleane ) who appears fond of her as well . +his attentions are soon divided as the stylish and socially acceptable mary crawford ( embeth davidtz , bicentennial man ) enters the picture along with her equally acceptable brother henry ( alessandro nivola , inventing the abbotts ) who eventually sets his romantic sights upon fanny . +while mary and henry are evidently less than sincere in their affections , their presence does provide the movie and the main characters with the necessary conflict that keeps our interest until the film's appropriately austen-like ending . +other thematic devices include a awkwardly inserted reference to the source of the wealth of mansfield park . . . +the slave trade . +there is also a hint of both lesbianism and incest but neither is carried very far and is soon forgotten . +the motivation for marriage remains the primary thematic thrust . +fanny's cousin , maria bertram ( victoria hamilton , persuasion ) is an example of one making a poor match , marrying a well-to-do fool who is able to make her comfortable , but never happy . +fanny's own mother , trapped in her chosen life of squalor warns fanny by admitting that her situation is due to the fact that she " married for love . " +fanny , given those two terrible examples , and faced with the same choice is understandably indecisive as to which way to lean . +the spiritual answer , of course , lies in the middle of those two extremes . +marriage is not a cold , calculating decision based upon self-preservation . +neither is it a senseless decision made in the warm afterglow of a passionate embrace . +in the purest sense , marriage forms an insoluble union whereby two people agree to function as one . + " and said , for this cause shall a man leave father and mother , and shall cleave to his wife : and they twain shall be one flesh ? " +matthew 19 : 5 [kjv] +love and logic can be combined . +god's word contains both . +so does a marriage based upon his truth . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv478_14309.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv478_14309.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..9f26d5e8090fb170b4fe18de289bf1d6cb382857 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv478_14309.txt @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +saving private ryan ( dreamworks ) running time : 2 hours 48 minutes . +starring tom hanks , edward burns , tom sizemore and matt damon directed by steven spielberg already being hailed as the 'greatest war movie ever made , ' saving private ryan is an harrowing , saddening and riveting movie . +it may not be the greatest war movie in my opinion , but it's certainly one of the best war movies made , and one of the best of 1998 . +tom hanks stars as a captain who's troop has to find private ryan ( damon ) who has a ticket home because his three brothers have been killed in action . +action , drama and even some humour occur as the troop journeys through wartime france to find him . +after the disappointing amistad ( 1997 ) spielberg has returned to form with this excellent movie . +i'm not the war movie genre biggest fan , but i found this film to be gripping , and very scary , thanks to the excellent cast , direction and terrifying battle scenes . +tom hanks is superb , straying away from his usually soppy dramatic roles , such as in forrest gump ( 1994 ) . +this time , he plays the role with gritty realism , and is much better for it . +occasionally he overacts the sentimentally , but he generally delivers a fine performance . +edward burns , looking a lot like armageddon's ben affleck , also delivers a top notch performance , moving away from his roles in films such as she's the one ( 1996 ) tom sizemore makes less of an impact , but is still watchable , and matt damon reinforcing his position as one of the finest young actors working today . +spielberg directs very well , putting the audience right in the heart of the action of the battle scenes . +and what battle scenes they are ! +they're truly terrifying , yet the audience cannot drag their eyes away from the screen . +the battle scenes are filmed with a jerky hand-held camera , and the panic and confusion felt by the soldiers is emphasized by this technique . +the gore and violence isn't spared either , which body parts flying , and blood spurting . +this film is certainly not for kids and sensitive adults . +other factors help saving private ryan be a masterpiece of 90's film making . +the cinematography is excellent , and the music score by john william's is also superb . +it is never intrusive , and adds to the drama on-screen . +but while they are thousands of good things great about private ryan , there's one major flaw that detracts the genius of the film : the writing . +it is unusually flat , with many of the speeches strangely weak . +the film never really makes any profound statements . +this is not a major gripe , as private ryan is a film of action , not words . +still , the script could of been a lot better . +thankfully , the actors help partly to rectify the situation with their great delivery of their lines . +saving private ryan , in the end , is an excellent film , but not the 'greatest war movie' due to it's weak acting . +this film should be viewed by everyone who has the stomach for it , as it's rewarding and extremely worthwhile . +it really shouldn't be missed , and dreamworks skg has finally found it's first hit movie . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv479_5649.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv479_5649.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d8fafc70dceb76890ab2742afa896d8a1e884ce7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv479_5649.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +50's `aliens vs . +earth' idea revamped ! +if you have been following the movie news over the net , you could not have escaped the hype over id4 . +it promises to be the summer film of the year and it has all the elements necessary . +id4 opened in the us on 2nd of july , and up till now , only after a week of release , it has nearly touched the us$100 million mark , a phenomenon last observed when jurassic park was released back in 1993 . +the premise of the movie is disgustingly simple : earth defends itself against the aliens , a typical and highly popular 50's hollywood theme which manifested itself in many films produced in that era . +the movie opens via star wars , however unoriginal it may be , it worked . +the aliens have sent a large mother ship ( supposedly to be 1/4 size of the moon ) to attack earth by deploying attack ships 15 miles in radius to all the major cities on earth . +the us president ( pullman ) does not know of the aliens' intention but soon finds out when david ( goldblum ) a scientist , discovers that the aliens are counting down to a synchronised attack on all the major cities . +capt . hiller ( smith ) , a hot-shot f-18 pilot are one of the hundreds assigned to take out the hovering alien attack ship over washington dc . +his squadron came under heavy alien fire after discovering that their weapons were useless against the invaders , he crash lands after a spectacular 1-on-1 chase over the grand canyon , one of the many highlights of the movie . +id4 features many characters and we are shown the impact on them as the story progresses . +acting on the whole was ok although i thought that bill pullman was a bit unsuitable for the president role but he did make a very rousing speech before sending his troops into battle ( do we smell a bit of braveheart here ? ? ) . +no prizes for guessing how id4 ends , its just plain obvious . +id4 borrows heavily from star wars , return of the jedi , alien and in some parts of the movie , i could even sense a bit of x-files on screen . +if i were to critically review this movie , id4 is full of plot holes , corny dialogue , and ridiculously dumb aliens . +however below that wafer-thin plot and on-screen flaws , id4 scored well in playing with the appealing idea of the entire world giving up their petty differences to unite themselves as one force against the alien invasion . +an idea which will have the audience strongly rooting for the united front throughout the movie , thus maintaining a screen-viewer interaction that virtually render any holes in the movie acceptable , no matter how ridiculous . +id4 was produced under a modest budget of us$68 million , a film of such magnitude would have easily been another waterworld but director roland emmerich ( universal soldier , stargate ) and producer dean devlin assembled a team which did their own special effects rather than commissioning it to ilm or any other special effects company . +some of the effects are not too good but most of it are very believable , especially the epic standoff between 150 f-18's and 250 alien saucers , reminiscence of the classic space battle featured in return of the jedi . +id4 is a movie for all . +though there are many explosions and implied deaths , there are no gory scenes of human destruction , thus young kids should be able to take it . +sit back and don't be too critical , chances are you will be absorbed into the movie just as i was . +if you are not planning to watch any movies this year , please , at least make time for this one . +this film is best watched on the big-screen . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv482_10580.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv482_10580.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e397fd7c0397bda3290f119aee2d7395565a9129 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv482_10580.txt @@ -0,0 +1,43 @@ +sometimes i find 19th century british costume dramas a little hard to relate to . +it's not the time or the distance , it's the rules and conventions of a social class that deserves resentment rather than sympathy . +yet somehow , the movies are all well made and i always get caught up in the story . +the wings of the dove fits the pattern . +kate ( helena bonham carter ) and merton ( linus roache ) are in love . +merton , a newspaper writer , would like to marry kate . +but kate's " job " , if you will , is to be a member of the british upper class . +her father lost all of her family's money , but a wealthy aunt agreed to take care of her until she married a nice rich man . +naturally , a newspaper writer's wages don't count as " rich . " +kate leads him on , but she always ends up giving him the cold shoulder , ultimately because he's not marriageable . +kate's american friend millie ( alison elliot ) stops in for a visit on her way to venice . +at a party , millie catches a glimpse of merton and likes what she sees . +kate realizes that if merton were introduced to millie , he might forget about her . +it appears that she is trying to spare him from the heartbreak of their inevitable breakup . +merton sees what kate is doing and resents her for it . +he is still in love with kate , and will accept no substitute . +the three of them , along with a fourth friend ( elizabeth mcgovern ) end up on holiday in venice together , where their interactions are quite complicated . +let's sum up : millie has fallen for merton . +merton has no feelings for millie because he is still in love with kate . +kate loves him but can't marry him , so on the one hand she's trying to match him up with someone who will make him happy , but on the other hand she's jealous of them as a couple . +a clear solution presents itself to kate when she realizes that millie is very sick - dying , in fact . +at this point she decides that merton should marry millie until she dies . +millie will leave her money to merton , who will then be rich enough to marry kate . +she lets merton know of her schemes and , since it will help him win kate , he reluctantly agrees . +kate leaves venice so that the two m's can be alone together . +merton finds that pretending to love millie is a lot like actually loving her . +he's not sure he can separate the two . +kate finds that she's not so sure she really wants her merton falling in love with and marrying anyone else . +the brilliant scheme proves to be painful to all involved . +without revealing the details , suffice it to say that the situation ends badly . +the title refers to the object of merton's vain hope that something might lift him from his predicament . +one is left with feelings of regret and despair . +what started as such a promising relationship was damaged by greed , anger , and jealousy . +an interesting thought struck me after the movie was over , and that is that the wings of the dove almost fits the story line of a film noir . +a couple conspires to cheat someone out of their money so they can live happily ever after . +their involvement in the deception makes each less attractive to the other , and after a few things go wrong , the whole idea seems like an awful life-ruining mistake . +i wouldn't call the wings of the dove a film noir , but the comparison is interesting . +as i have acknowledged before , i am not a wonderful judge of acting , but i liked the performances from roache and elliot . +roache successfully conveyed his character's ambivalence toward millie : near the end , he hugs her , at first staring into space , as if he's thinking about his plan with kate , then giving that up to fully embrace millie . +millie's part didn't require as much range , but elliot gave her the necessary bubbly personality that made her irresistible . +i will probably file away the wings of the dove in the same low-traffic corner of my mind as sense and sensibility and persuasion . +their settings are far removed from my personal experience - geographically , historically , and socially . +still , the movies are well made and the stories inevitably win me over . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv483_16378.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv483_16378.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d26e0b9372bc5974b0fb8ac884e3e4eab45531ce --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv483_16378.txt @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ +earlier this year , the movie holy man opened to a meager box office receipt and to indifference from audiences and critics . +a real charmer of a movie , it's possible that the subject matter was too hip or trendy to attract any real audience . +now , at the end of 1998 , comes waking ned devine , a comedy which inspires the same vein of easygoing laughter . +there's no substantial difference between the two other than a more refined atmosphere -- they strike all the same chords -- but still , ned devine is a movie worth seeing . +the plot is interesting and robust : the latest lottery winner is ned devine ( jimmy keogh ) , of tullymore , ireland . +ned's prize is over six million pounds , but the shock of winning killed the poor old man , and the check remains unclaimed . +enter jackie o'shea ( ian bannen ) and michael o'sullivan ( david kelly ) , the only two residents who are aware the winner is in their village . +the two men eventually find the ticket , and decide that if michael can convince the lotto authorities that he's actually ned , the entire town can reap the benefits ; their only adversary is an ancient old woman ( eileen dromey ) who sees more profit in reporting the fraud . +ian bannen and david kelly truly shine as jackie and michael . +jackie , stocky and large , is the brains behind the operation ; michael , scrawny and short , is the method man . +the two contrast each other delightfully , and at the same time remain sympathetic to the audience . +every viewer is sure to like both of them . +there are other minor subplots included as well , such as an unlikely romance between a local girl and the town pig farmer . +this appears quite inconsequential until the end , and even with a startling revelation it's a tad bit unnecessary . +overall , waking ned devine has a predictable outcome , and plot twists are never really taken seriously . +the ending , a very hilarious and very ironic twist of fate , somehow fits with the twisted sense of humor the movie exhibits throughout . +the kirk jones script is indeed off-the-cuff . +in a way , waking ned devine is exactly like the class of people it presents : warm , friendly , outgoing , and jovial . +it's the perfect kind of comedy , a real gem of a tale that sets up a trivial plot outline by which to introduce a sympathetic cast of characters and a string of jokes . +there's nothing remotely serious or grounded for more than a moment or two , because the spirit of ned devine is a lighthearted one . +indeed , it's one of the year's best feel-good movies -- 91 minutes of unrestrained joy that no one should miss . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv484_25054.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv484_25054.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..464be7bdef3bd283864e3a96bc1eed92c7a123be --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv484_25054.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17 @@ +susan granger's review of " the perfect storm " ( warner bros . ) + " more people die on fishing boats , per capita , than working in any other job in the u . s . . +every journey a fishing boat makes can be an all-or-nothing risk . +it is life at its most exhilarating and its most terrifying , " says director wolfgang petersen ( " das boot " ) . +and that's just what he captures in this true story of struggle and humanity aboard a swordfishing boat , the andrea gail , sailing out of gloucester , massachusetts , in late october , 1991 . +early in bill wittliff's screenplay , based on sebastian junger's best-seller , we meet the crew of six . +the veteran captain ( george clooney ) is frustrated because he can't find fish on the grand banks , yet a rival skipper ( mary elizabeth mastrantonio ) brings in huge hauls . +his right-hand man ( mark walhberg ) needs money to build a new life with his girl-friend ( diane lane ) . +there's a devoted dad ( john c . reilly ) with an estranged wife and son , a free-spirited jamaican ( allen payne ) , a lonely guy ( john hawkes ) , and a last-minute replacement with a bad attitude ( william fichtner ) . +the skipper's convinced he can change his bad luck streak in remote flemish cap , and he does . +but then trouble begins . +there's a rogue wave , a man overboard and the ice machine breaks - with 60 , 000 lb . +of fish that could spoil . +but that's minor compared with a deadly monster storm approaching which a boston meteorologist describes as " a disaster of epic proportions " that also threatens the lives of a coast guard helicopter rescue team trying to save three people stranded on a sailboat on the high seas . +it's formulaic and there are cliches , but the walls of water , created by fluid dynamics simulating real-life phenomena , are awesome . +on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , " the perfect storm " is a terrifying , suspenseful 8 . +hang on for the white-knuckle thrill ride of the summer ! diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv485_26649.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv485_26649.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e4eac3695f9feaf2a4b41f154f6166e654a045b8 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv485_26649.txt @@ -0,0 +1,19 @@ +just in time for halloween and christmas , the reissue of the nightmare before christmas couldn't be more appropriate . +with all of the attention thrown to " family films " in recent years , namely those starring pocket monsters and nickelodeon characters , it's high time we raised the intellectual level of children's fare as well as the animation achievements of the movie studios . +with that in mind , it was refreshing to revisit an animation classic on the big screen that still retains the originality and freshness it had seven years ago . +nightmare is the story of one man's quest to discover his true purpose in life -- to look beyond the accolades of his peers , the achievements of his years , and the praise of his ego . +jack skellington , the pumpkin king of halloweentown , is the main dude behind the halloween holiday for kids everywhere . +but during his reign as pumpkin king , jack has somehow lost his understanding of his place in the world and the magic he creates with his halloween holiday . +after the completion of one particular halloween season , jack walks with a heavy heart and ends up discovering in the woods outside halloweentown a grove of trees with doors to all of the other holidays in the world . +imagine his surprise to discover christmastown , a far more impressive and uplifting holiday than halloween , surrounded by happy elves making toys , and with good cheer all around . +upon his return to halloweentown , jack decides to combine halloween and christmas together by kidnapping " sandy claws , " employing all the residents of halloweentown to build toys for children . +he then aims to take over the role as primary joy-provider and gift-bearer to the children of the world , in the hopes of rediscovering the zest for life he once had . +alas , the co-mingling of halloween and christmas creates disastrous results involving shrunken heads , psychotic wooden ducks , a sleigh pulled by a phantom dog with a lighted nose , and a large , sinister , singing bag named oogie boogie +tim burton -- the man behind such great films as ed wood , beetlejuice , pee-wee's big adventure , and edward scissorhands -- is the creative force behind nightmare . +originally , burton authored a poem that became the basis of the storyline , and he was jointly involved in the production design of the film ( though many mistakenly assume he directed the picture ) . +the stamp of burton is clearly everywhere in the film -- with bold colors , imaginative character design , and it's simple yet compelling story . +the direction of harry selick , who also directed james and the giant peach , is strong , offering intimate views of the strange collection of characters . +also memorable are the songs in the film , written by former oingo boingo lead singer danny elfman , the next john williams of film composing . +the nightmare before christmas is intended for both the kid and adult in everyone . +it's not just child's play for the holidays ; it's a movie about how to be truly happy in a tough world , saying that all you need to do is just be exactly who you are , without compromise . +what better message is there for christmas ? diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv486_9799.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv486_9799.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0ceb8758d7a1d63cd83e2ef6411d51342ed0d7e9 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv486_9799.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +every once in a while a movie comes along that completely redefines the genre : with dramas , it was citizen kane , with arthouse it was pulp fiction , and with comedy it was , well , that jim carrey guy ( okay , so he's not a movie , but he did have a huge influence on the genre . +not to mention an expensive one . ) +sometimes a movie even combines them all into a big , sprawling motion picture event , as did forrest gump four years ago . +with action films , it was aliens , whic was released to much hype seven years after it's equally-innovative parent , alien ( 1979 ) . +directed and written by james cameron ( t2 : judgement day , the abyss , true lies ) , the authority on action films , it was a masterful encore to his sci-fi thriller the terminator ( 1984 ) . +while the original alien film was a dark , enclosed horror film that featured one alien slowly massacering a horrified crew , james cameron took the big-budget action film with aliens , which featured multiple aliens doing basically the same thing , although on a much-larger scale . +and boy , did he take that route ! +i'd say at about 165 mph or so . . . +the film opens 57 years after the original , with lt . ripley ( weaver ) being found in her ship in a cryogenic state by a salvage vessel . +if you'll recall , at the end of alien ripley , the only surviving member , cryogenically " hibernated " herself after expelling the rogue alien from her ship . +unfortunately , she thought she'd only be out for a couple of weeks . . . +once she's returned to earth , ripley is quickly interrogated by " the company " , who quickly dismiss her and her stories as lunacy . +in truth , they believe her , as they soon approach ripley with an offer to travel with some marines to a new colony planet as an " alien advisor " . +it seems that the colony planet was a once-breeding ground for the nasty aliens , and now all communication with the planet has been lost . . . +it doesn't exactly take a genius to guess what happens next : ripley agrees , and before you can say " big mistake " , she and the half dozen marines , plus the slimy corporate guy ( reiser ) , who has more than it looks like up under his sleeve , are off to the colony . +when they arrive , they find the planet in ruins . +only one survivor is found , a little girl , newt , who confirms that , yes , the aliens were here and that she only managed to survive by hidding in the ventilation system . +and soon enough , the marines come under attack from the aliens . . . +what happens for the next hour and a half or so is what completely sets this movie apart from any other standard alien sci-fi movie : the action scenes . +cameron directs them so skillfully , and so suspensefully , that you're literally ringing your hands by the time the finale rolls around . +which features , in my opinion , the best fight scene ever recorded on film , as ripley straps herself into a huge robot and battles the nasty queen alien to the death . +many people will tell you that this film , while being a great action film , has no real drama and is all cliches . +well , they would be wrong , my friends . +if this film had no " drama " , then why was sigourney weaver nominated for best actress at the 1987 academy awards ? +that's right , best actress . +you know that any action film that has an oscar nomination attached to it for something other than technical stuff like editing and f/x has got to be good . +in short , aliens combines all the right elements ( great action and f/x , drama , a good plot , good dialogue , and great villains ) into what could arguably be called the best action film of all time . +then again , maybe not . +movies rise and fall from glory and , sad to say , aliens was wrestled from it's throne of best action movie by another cameron film , t2 : judgement day , in 1991 . +so who will be the next king ? +well , let's wait until december 19th and see yet another james cameron film-the highest budgeted film of all time-titanic to make that decision . +i can't wait . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv487_10446.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv487_10446.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5e08bd3198d0956fa6203cc3f765ac96d8585e29 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv487_10446.txt @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +in 1995 , brian singer and christopher mcquarrie dreamed up a simple concept : the audience isn't stupid . +from that , they went on and created the most plot-driven , intricately pieced movie in the last 25 years . +the result : the usual suspects , one hell of a movie that redefines the word plot twist . +the story is convoluted , and is really confusing to read , although easy to follow on screen . +special investigator kujan ( chazz palminteri ) grills " verbal " kint ( kevin spacey ) , a crippled con-man who is the lone survivor of an la boat explosion that claimed more than 20 victims . +kujan wants to confirm that his nemesis , the rogue cop keaton ( gabriel byrne ) , is actually dead . +kint relates the majority of the film in flashback , beginning with the fateful day when five shifty guys meet in a police-station lineup in new york city . +along with dour keaton , kint encounters cheerfully sociopathic mcmanus ( stephen baldwin ) , mordantly sarcastic hockney ( kevin pollak ) , and fenster ( benicio del toro ) , whose speech is virtually incomprehensible . +together they plot to steal a small fortune in gems from " new york's finest taxi service " --crooked cops who provide escort service for visiting drug kingpins . +what follows is a shell-game of violence and betrayal , all hinging on the identity of a mysterious villain called keyser soze . +the film is brilliantly compact : its the shortest 90 minutes you'll ever spend in a movie theater . +the cast is exceptional . +palminteri shines , he is brutally honest , a true cop , one who is going after the whole story because its there . +byrne is terrific , his brooding character , his seriousness is needed to supplement the hysteria of benicio del toro , who is a riot as fenster . +del toro is brilliant , his lines are a jumbled mess , you can't understand a word the man says , but it sure is damn funny . +baldwin is also very good , he is careful , methodical , and cold , a chilling character with a nasty streak of hot-blooded sarcasm . +pollak is also terrific as usual , a very good character actor . +however , this will be forever known as the film that launched kevin spacey . +spacey is simply breathtaking , he is a force on screen , giving a magnetic performance that jars the senses at the end of this twisting maze . +spacey's performance will be remembered for years , for it is the best of his career , it may be the best supporting actor performance in the last 50 years . +verbal kint is a clever storyteller , weak , oppressed , and gleefully evil to the bone , yet pitiful , one who draws sympathy . +the film is a good one , a decent film until the last 10 minutes . +what this film boils down to is the greatest ending in cinematic history , for me at least . +the revelation of keyser soze , the closing gunfights , it is something wondrous . +you have to see this movie about 10 times to believe what they do . +kudos to mcquarrie and singer for giving the audience a delightful , fast-paced , furiously plot-driven movie with quirky characters , phenomenal acting , and some hilarious moments stuck in the middle . +mcquarrie refuses to believe the audience is dumb . +without furnishing too many details , he concocts his story and lets it run , hoping the audience gets it at the end . +we do . +this might just be the finest cinematic puzzle ever created . +kudos also to singer and john ottman , who created the score . +they both create what is a true film-noir setting , carefully setting up this intricate puzzle until the final , jarring ending . +there are flaws : more questions raised than answers , lack of character development , and no strong female characters ( save one ) . +however , the plot , and that stunning ending , make up for all the flaws and more . +if you haven't seen the movie , rent it . +watch it . +then rewind the tape , and watch it again . +trust me , you'll be amazed . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv488_19856.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv488_19856.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..7f89eaa207788feafb11124a2eec15559beeca56 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv488_19856.txt @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +it has happened again . +a movie that is well scripted , well acted , and well directed . +it is involving , suspenseful . . . +it even has an unexpected twist at the end that packs a punch like a blow to the solar plexus . +but in order to accept its premise one must also accept a spiritual lie . +the sixth sense is that movie . +starring bruce willis ( armageddon ) as a child psychologist and haley joel osment ( forrest gump ) as a troubled youngster , the sixth sense is more spooky than scary , though it does contain disturbing images designed to startle . +eight-year-old cole sear ( osment ) sees dead people . +not just in dreams . +and not just as lifeless bodies . +he sees them walking around like regular people . +and he sees them all the time . +dr . malcolm crowe ( willis ) is trying to help him . +he recognizes in cole many of the same attributes as one of his earlier patients whom crowe failed , resulting in that patient shooting crowe before turning the gun on himself . +if crowe could manage to find a way to help cole , he believes he just might be able to put his own demons to rest . +but first he needs to gain cole's trust . +the boy is so frightened by what he sees , he has closed himself off emotionally , being unwilling to tell anyone . . . +not crowe , not even his own mother ( toni collette , clockwatchers ) . . . +about his " secrets . " +crowe begins to spend more and more time with him , even as his own marriage starts to dissolve around him , his wife anna ( olivia williams , rushmore ) becoming cold and distant because of his neglect of her and his preoccupation with the boy . +bruce willis underplays his role , allowing the excellent script to do most of the work of building character development . +crowe moves from treating a troubled boy who won't communicate , to treating a troubled boy who is having hallucinations , to wondering if perhaps there isn't some truth behind what the boy sees . +mr . willis does a serviceable job , letting the focus remain on the story instead of on his familiar action hero screen persona . +eleven-year-old haley joel osment manages to impress us with his performance . +he demonstrates an amazing amount of self-composure as well as an ability to play nuances in a complex character as if he were a seasoned pro . +it is fine work for one of such a tender age . +keep your eye on this young man . +the supporting cast is also quite effective . +toni collette , as the confused , frightened , and frustrated mother who can't understand what is happening to her child ; olivia williams , as crowe's once loving wife who is shutting down emotionally due to the lack of attention from her husband ; and donnie wahlberg ( ransom ) as crowe's ex-patient , now grown , who illustrates his doctor's failure to help him in the most vivid terms imaginable . +twenty-eight year old m . night shyamalan ( wide awake ) directed his own script , maintaining a proper tension throughout the film and crafting the storytelling so expertly that the film's full impact is not reached until its final moments , when a surprising revelation forces a reevaluation of all that preceded it . +it is a rare movie which manages to pull that off and mr . shyamalan , as the one responsible , is certainly to be commended . +in giving the sixth sense a favorable " three star " review for its craftsmanship and artistic merit , i must also point out that , spiritually speaking , the film is highly misleading . +there is no scriptural foundation upon which to base a belief in ghosts or the " living dead . " +the concept of death being a doorway to another plane of existence is a devilish lie that has been around as long as man himself . +the first lie recorded in the bible was devised by the serpent who assured eve , " thou shall not surely die , " a direct contradiction of god's admonition . +that same lie has been perpetuated ad infinitum throughout the ages . +scriptures do speak of a time when the dead shall rise but that wonderful demonstration of victory over death will not commence until after the second coming of christ . . . +an event which has not yet occurred . +therefore , the dead remain in a state of oblivion , having no consciousness , until that long-awaited time when the final trump shall sound . +and then , you'll need six senses to register all the joy and rejoicing that will resound throughout the heavens . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv489_17906.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv489_17906.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a0974ce20f6dc42897940f10050f3327c135e05b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv489_17906.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +in the grand scheme of mel gibson movies , payback was better than conspiracy theory , but not as good as braveheart or lethal weapon . +in other words , it's a decent couple of hours of entertainment , but 20 years from now if a they compile a list of mel gibson's greatest hits , payback probably won't be on it . +gibson plays a crook who gets double crossed by his partner after they heist a payroll . +mel's partner needed the money to pay off a mob debt . +so he puts a couple of bullets in mel , leaving him for dead , and goes on to pay off his creditors . +but , mel isn't dead ( it would be a real short movie if he was ) and he certainly isn't happy . +to make matters worse , he wants his money back and is willing to go to any lengths to accomplish this feat . +his ex partner has already used it to pay off the mobsters , so mel goes after the mob to get it back . +payback is often a very violent film . +to its credit , there are a few scenes that could have been very graphic , but the director ( i'm not sure which one -- more about that in a second ) made the choice to let the audience use their imagination instead of subjecting us to the usual gratuitous gore found in many films . +the film appears a bit disjointed in places , which is understandable considering producer / star gibson wasn't thrilled with how the film turned out and wanted parts of it re-shot . +when the director refused , another one was brought in to do the re-shoot . +so as a result while the final product is apparently better than the original ( although personally i would love to see the original version for comparisons sake ) it does get a bit of a choppy feel to it towards the end . +it's always tough to make a film where the main character is a villain , unless that person has some redeeming qualities . +in this case , gibson's character has few redeeming qualities . +but hey , its mel , so even when he is killing people in cold blood we are still rooting for him . +my guess is that if that you put some other johnny bananas actor in this role , the audience would not be quite as responsive . +gibson is gibson , whether he is playing a suicidal cop or a stone cold killer , he does a good job . +he almost guarantees that no matter what else happens in the rest of the movie at least the audience is going to get one good performance . +this time out mel is surrounded by a good supporting cast , including maria bello ( as his love interest ) , william devane and kris kristofferson ( as mod bosses ) . +the man who steals the show and unfortunately doesn't have a real big part is james coburn ( as yet another mobster ) . +if i had one big disappointment in this film , it would be that coburn didn't have a bigger role . +in the end , payback is a fairly solid action thriller , just not in quite the same league as some of mel gibson's other work . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv490_17872.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv490_17872.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..314301ddeb794859edeff432d7122af1a9045cd8 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv490_17872.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +the thought-provoking question of tradition over morals is the subject directly at the core of " leila , " a powerfully articulated and subtle drama from famous iranian director dariush mehrjui , that is his first motion picture in a prosperous thirty-year career to gain u . s . distribution , thanks to first run features . +although unfamiliar with mehrjui's previous directing efforts , perhaps the reason for this is that , while the predicament at hand is no doubt exclusive to its own country , the heartbreaking and solely truthful emotions of the characters can easily be understood by all viewers . +set in modern-day iran , " leila " begins on the birthday of the title character ( leila hatami ) , after a brief prologue in which we are shown the first encounter between leila and her future husband , reza ( ali mosaffa ) . +as leila and reza set off to visit his parents , and then hers , where a birthday celebration has been planned , things seem rosy for the couple on the outside , but for leila , life isn't quite as sweet . +earlier , on that very same day , leila had gone to see her physician , and has ultimately discovered that she holds very little chance of ever conceiving a child . +when all of the conditions are ruled out , and leila passes up the possibility of adoption , reza firmly and lovingly tells her that he married her , and doesn't care at all about having children . +nonetheless , leila is ashamed that she will never be able to give him a baby , which is the societal norm , and her self-esteem is not helped at all by her domineering mother-in-law ( jamileh sheikhi ) , whose hopes to carry on the sacred family name vanishes once hearing the news ( reza is her only son ) . +bluntly explaining to leila that reza has always wished for children and , in a country where polygamy is an accepted tradition , she suggests that he take a second wife to bear a child with . +leila hesitantly agrees , and while she and reza are able to shallowly laugh afterwards about the hopeful womens' inadequacies , reza finally does meet a woman whom he claims to like , even though he refuses to go through with the marriage if leila doesn't give her full blessing . +there are no easy answers to be found within " leila , " a film that thoughtfully examines the central character's unfortunate plight , as well as the inner workings of leila herself , told through matter-of-fact narration . +almost completely taken over by her own shame , she has no option but to agree to her forceful mother-in-law's requests , even though she is unsure of how she will react if reza really does end up marrying another woman . +maybe because " leila " is from iran , the film will unquestionably be shocking for american audiences , since the concept of polygamy is looked upon by the characters as a more or less everyday occurrence . +leila , however , is unable to come to terms with the idea quite as easily , but feels it is her duty to make her husband happy , no matter what the circumstances . +one of the strongest aspects of the film is in its portrayal of the relationship between leila and reza , who married only three months after their first meeting , but obviously love each other very deeply . +it is this relationship that is the key ingredient to making what follows the opening scenes all the more powerful , and director mehrjui has succeeded just about as well as possible . +although seemingly unimportant at first glance , an early sequence where leila and reza are eating dinner and both are laughing , nearly uncontrollably , actually is one of the most vital moments in the first half , as it unmistakably sets the boundary for their unrequisite love for one another . +ditto for another scene in which reza gives leila a large stuffed animal for her birthday , and then reveals a beautiful necklace he has also gotten her . +these " small " moments are the perfect contrast for the solemn , outraging sequences in the latter half , in which reza drops leila off at the side of a busy road , and then zooms off to go on a date with another woman . +left there to ponder her quickly diminishing marriage , foolishly unbeknownst to reza , leila prays each time that the date will not go well , so she will be able to keep her husband to herself for a little while longer . +refusing to stay over at her parent's house , the film inevitably leads up to the second wedding night between reza and another woman , and in a sequence of extraordinary sorrow and potency , leila finds her whole being emotionally torn apart , as she is closed up in an upstairs bedroom as the marriage proceedings are going on down below . +despite her initial agreement to such a thing , leila realizes how much she has been betrayed by reza , whom she believed cared for her as much as she did of him . +sure , the whole second marriage was his mother's idea , but if he really did believe what he initially had told her about not wanting any children , then he could have still easily backed out , couldn't he ? +in the pivotal role of leila , who appears in every scene , leila hatami is nothing short of remarkable , injecting her character with an equal measure of startling strength , unavoidable vulnerability , and utter despair . +unlike most american films , in which everything always has to be spelled out for audiences , hatami says much more with just an elusive expression on her face than could possibly have been conveyed by words . +every bit a perfect match for hatami is ali mosaffa , as reza , a man who , i believe , does hold an unbreakable bond with his wife , but is too naive to realize what he will be doing to leila if he marries someone else . +for all of its strong aspects , " leila " isn't a perfect film . +on a technical level , i found many blatant punctiation and spelling mistakes within the subtitles that need to be fixed . +and concerning the plot developments , the final five minutes ring false when compared with everything that has come before . +mehrjui's decision to use an extremely stylized approach to the ending was the wrong choice , particularly in his almost comedic way of wrapping up the character of the spiteful mother-in-law , played memorably by jamileh sheikhi . +despite these minor missteps , " leila " is an important motion picture that should definately be sought out upon its limited may 16 release at new york's cinema village , and then on may 21 in la . +the thought-provoking questions that the film deals with is balanced evenly with its uneasy morales , and when the climax arrives , leila's self-worth is startlingly stripped away to reveal a victim led into complete devastation , to which there is no return . +it's difficult to not consider how leila's culminating interior demise could have been so simply avoided , had the other characters taken a second out of their own selfish lives to consider what leila , the major pawn in the unforgivable scheme , was going through . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv492_18271.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv492_18271.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..419b909a0c0d35d25ca0dd66e978c0b16e1d40d1 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv492_18271.txt @@ -0,0 +1,48 @@ +it's an interesting premise . +our reality is only real to us because it is what we perceive to be real . +in truth , our entire existences are lived out in our minds as we are fed information through electronic inputs directly to our brains . +what we see , what we do , everything around us is nothing more than a computer-generated construct interlinked with the minds of others through a vastly powerful artificial intelligence . +our bodies , severely atrophied , are kept alive for the sole purpose of generating heat and electrical energy for a dominating order of machines which control the planet . +the sci-fi realm has been waiting a little while for something new to come along . +the matrix isn't it - the idea of a war between man and a sentient computer network , a sham world , the ability to plug one's brain into a computer , has all been gleaned from such sources as the terminator , dark city , and a few star trek episodes ( both classic and next generation ) . +what is new is the ability to weave all of these various elements together and succeed in producing a film that is both entertaining as well as thought-provoking . +keanu reeves plays a computer whiz nicknamed neo , who is plucked out of the artificial world ( known as the matrix ) by a group of renegade humans who are clandestinely fighting to expose the fallacy of the computer-generated existence and free humankind from the oppression of the machines . +the group's leader , morpheus ( laurence fishburne ) , has chosen neo because he believes neo is " the one " who is destined to lead the attack against the artificial intelligence . +>from the beginning of the film , we are kept on our toes trying to figure things out . +this , in a lesser movie would be annoying , but the matrix presents itself in an intelligent manner which makes the puzzle rather interesting and even fun . +what is reality ? +what is a sham ? +the film turns our very perception of life on its side . +more than once , we are also presented with the question of whether we would rather know the harsh truth of reality , or live a life of relative bliss , oblivious to the true nature of our surroundings . +as viewers , this is intriguing enough , so imagine what it would be like for neo . +and who to better play a bewildered person than keanu reeves ? +reeves , whom i've never really cared for as an actor , is competent in roles which require a lot of straightforwardness , and little subtlety . +he was good in speed , for example , but laughably poor in a walk in the clouds . +neo is actually one of those roles which reeves slips into rather nicely , so much of my expectation was happily for naught . +in a couple of places , the script even capitalizes upon his wooden nature , and this is a heavy credit to writers/directors andy and larry wachowski . +i mean , since bill and ted's excellent adventure , what movie could you say really " utilized " keanu reeves ? +more interesting than reeves is fishburne , who's morpheus nearly runs the gamut of emotions , and convincingly so . +very surprising for a sci-fi movie . +fishburne also maintains a certain demeanor about himself throughout , as if he always knows what to expect . +this helps to further the aura of his character's proficiency and extensive knowledge . +hugo weaving as agent smith , one of the artificial intelligence's anti-intruder programs , is also good playing his deadpan , no-nonsense , kick ass role , which requires him to show emotion at the appropriate time . +unfortunately , when weaving speaks for more than a few sentences in a row , the nature of his character's speech pattern becomes a little more laughable than impressive . +carrie-anne moss plays trinity , morpheus's number one assistant who becomes somewhat of a love interest for neo . +although her character is somewhat inconsistent , moss nevertheless delivers an above par performance when fishburne isn't in the picture . +there were few expenses spared when it comes to the special effects . +many methods of imagery are employed , from modeling to bluescreen to computer graphics . +of special note is the use of the " freeze and turn " effect where the entire scene is frozen , turned , then continued from a new angle . +this is accomplished by using a large number of still cameras employed in a semi-circle , with motion picture cameras placed at the two ends . +the motion cameras film the action , and at the appropriate moment all the still cameras fire at once . +place each still image in a film sequence and you get a nearly seamless transition from the first motion camera to the second . +pretty slick . +the matrix drips with style . +from the clothing to the music to the action , we're watching an exaggerated version of what we're used to . +much of it seems like the combination of two genres of the hong kong action film - there's a lot of kung fu , there's a lot of gunplay . +when a character is letting go with an automatic weapon , much is made of the empty cartridges falling to the floor in slow motion . +there's also the element of the japanese action cartoon ( called anime by aficionados ) , especially in the way the sequences are filmed in sweeping pans and emphasized actions through special effects . +combined , it's really like no live-action film i have ever seen . +the film is not without its faults . +some of the scenes and ideas are " borrowed " a little too liberally from other films , and one component of the ending is decidedly disappointing . +some of the lines are also pretty bad - in one instance , a supporting character incorrectly delivers a famous saying , and it wasn't meant to be a joke . +however , these shortcomings detract little from what is an overall solid action sci-fi film that for once does more than merely entertain . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv494_17389.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv494_17389.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..eaed7984d825d9d51762dab98729491e77666f68 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv494_17389.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +i want to correct what i wrote in a former retrospective of david lean's war picture . +i still think that it doesn't deserve being the number 13 in the american film institute's list of the 100 greatest american movies . +and i think that lumet's " 12 angry men " , wilder's " witness for the prosecution " and kubrick's " paths of glory " would have been better choices for the best picture oscar in 1958 . +but i can't deny the importance of " the bridge on the river kwai " - cinematically and in its contents . +the film is set in burma in 1943 . +a bataillon of british soldiers in japanese war captivity is forced by the japanese to build a strategically momentous railway bridge over the river kwai . +but the british commanding officer , colonel nicholson ( alec guinness ) , insists - corresponding to the geneva conventions - that his officers needn't work as simple workmen . +struggling toughly , col . nicholson forces the japanese commandant , col . saito ( sessue hayakawa ) , to give way in this respect . +afterwards col . nicholson assiduously commits himself for the building of the bridge . +he considers it an opportunity to raise his men's morale , and he wants to prove superior british capabilities to the japanese . +but the british high command sends a few soldiers who shall destroy the bridge , among them the american shears ( william holden ) - an escapee from the japanese prison camp - and the british major warden ( jack hawkins ) . . . +a flaw of the picture is the clich ? d characterization of the japanese people . +they are presented as if they were intellectually inferior to the british - as if the japanese were incapable of building a bridge . +and the film doesn't consistently question the military spirit as kubrick does in " paths of glory " . +lean seems rather fascinated by the military hierarchies . +this is also perceptible in the conversations between col . nicholson and col . saito . +in this regard it is symptomatic that shears , who doubts the military logic , is a somehow unpleasant person in the film . +the audience is supposed to applaud col . nicholson's perseverance concerning the question if his officers shall work on the bridge or not . +the spectators are supposed to neglect the risks col . nicholson takes for his men . + ( the plot by-passes these risks . ) +that means , the picture isn't perfect . +but it has a lot of virtues as well . +it shows the " madness " of war and what war can produce in people's minds . +it shows how col . nicholson becomes possessed by the idea of being a hero and that others ( like shears ) get cynics . +and " the bridge on the river kwai " is an interesting study of characters with clashing interests . +these points and the sometimes ironic dialogue make this film an anti-war film ( despite the inconsistencies in the treatment of this theme ) . +david lean's effective and atmospherically perfect direction creates a high suspense , especially in the dramatic ( though not wholly plausible ) showdown . +alec guinness does a magnificent job of bringing col . nicholson to life and making him such an interesting character . +the other actors deliver very good performances as well . +jack hildyard's fine color cinematography and the apt score are also helpful . +i like this extraordinary film despite its weaknesses . + ( c ) karl rackwitz ( klein k ? ris , germany , 1999 ) diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv495_14518.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv495_14518.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e70f6adadcd17328ef41ee3c079c87faa382b283 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv495_14518.txt @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +of the major horror sub-genres , vampire movies are easily the most adaptable . +think about it . +frankenstein movies haven't changed all that much because they still need that mad-scientist-in-bavarian-castle setting . +if you made a frankenstein movie today , you'd have to have the monster be a virus or something -- and outside of michael j . fox , there aren't any actors that could play a virus convincingly . +movies about mummies would still have to be set in egypt . +there's not much you can do with werewolves except take them to london or paris , unless you want to have a teenage werewolf or something . + ( and there's that michael j . fox thing again . ) +but you can have vampires do anything , and you can place them in any genre you want , just about . +you can have traditional vampire movies ( bram stoker's dracula ) or have the anne rice version ( interview with the vampire ) , or play it for laughs ( vampire in brooklyn ) . +you can put vampires in locales from sunny southern california ( the lost boys ) to squalid mexican dives ( from dusk till dawn ) to your local high school ( buffy , the vampire slayer ) . +were it not redundant , you could have a movie about a law firm full of vampires . +any day now , i expect we'll see a movie about a vampire third baseman who has to decide whether to play a day game in order to break the home run record . +or , you can insert the vampire legend into a hong kong action movie -- and when you do that , you get blade . +wesley snipes has the chow yun fat role in this movie -- the silent , expressionless hit man who destroys everything in his path . +in this case , the everything happens to be vampires that explode into cgi shards instead of dead , bleeding corpses . +snipes has less to say here than as the fugitive in u . s . marshals , but does a demonstrably better job here as a half-vampire wreaking vengeance on the bloodsuckers . +blade is a silent , brooding presence , laying waste to vampires without a shred of remorse . +he is as cold as his silver-bladed sword , as single minded as his garlic-filled bullets . +yet , he's not without quirks : blade drives a battered muscle car and has to glean rolex watches from his vampire victims in order to stay solvent . +like any good hong kong movie , blade is heavy on the chopsocky action . +for some reason , blade spends a lot more time using his kung fu artistry than using the traditional anti-vampire weapons of garlic and silver . + ( blade dismisses a man-portable arc lamp as being too heavy , although it looks to be a more efficient tool to dispatch vampires . ) +unfortunately , the guiding hand of john woo is absent from this film , relegating blade to the status of the replacement killers , which it most strongly resembles . +the replacement killers is the last movie i saw that i didn't review -- mostly because it made no impression on me , and i couldn't remember anything other than noise , violence , and the intensity of fat's performance . +blade has a little more going for it , and has the vampire myth to draw from -- but other than that , it's the same kind of movie -- exciting , with well choreographed action scenes , but with no resonance . +with a stronger villain ( stephen dorff is ( pardon the pun ) curiously bloodless as the head vampire , leaving us to wonder what denis leary might have done with the role ) , a wittier script , and a strong supporting cast , blade might have been able to rise beyond the level of commonplace summer entertainment . +as it is , blade is an average action movie that serves to do nothing but remind us that the summer movies just keep getting dumber and the vampire movies just keep multiplying . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv496_10530.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv496_10530.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3646de2416e8472c7893362350a3f9d737458edc --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv496_10530.txt @@ -0,0 +1,47 @@ +when quentin tarantino made " pulp fiction " , he was not only making the greatest film of the 90s ; he was also making what i believe to be the most influential movie of all time . +but before you send me hate-mail for not giving that title to " citizen kane " , hear me out . +much like " citizen kane " , " pulp fiction " has changed movie making forever . +but i think the latter has had a tad more impact . + " pulp fiction " has actually ushered in a new era of film making . +it has altered the way films will be viewed . + " fiction " has spawned so many imitations , i've lost count . +sure , some have been excellent ( " bound " and " the usual suspects " spring immediately to mind ) , but any serious movie-goer recognizes " pulp fiction " as the original neo-noir of the 90s . +in this review , i hope to change all the people's minds who have criticized it for it's excessive profanity and violence ( which , by the way , isn't really that graphic ) . +the most brilliant aspect of tarantino's masterpiece is the screenplay . +it is filled with so much classic dialogue ( the " quarter pounder with cheese " speech will go down in history ) , it should be required reading for any film student , if it isn't already . +the story ( told in unorthodox non-linear format ) centers around three main episodes , all of which eventually intertwine . +the first , titled " vincent vega and marcellus wallace's wife " , deals with a very loaded john travolta ( i forgot to mention the cool heroin shoot-up sequence ) taking mia wallace ( a star-making performance by uma thurman ) , his bosses wife , out on a date to a cool 50s restaurant called jack rabbit slim's . +they talk for a while ( with the occasional " uncomfortable silence " ) , mostly about a guy called tony rocky horror . +after giving marcellus' new bride a foot massage , he was thrown off a building and into a greenhouse , giving him a " speech impediment " . +they also partake in a cool dance contest and end up twisting to the chuck berry classic " you never can tell " . +i won't reveal the rest of the story , but i'll definitely say that it turns out to be a real bummer of a night , despite the cool trophy they win . +the second story ( the least of the three but still four stars ) stars bruce willis ( proving he can play someone other than john mcclain in the " die hard " flicks ) as boxer butch coolidge . +previously in the film ( like i said , it's told in non-linear form ) , he had made a deal with marcellus wallace that he would take a fall in a match . +as it turns out , he not only doesn't take the fall , but he ends up actually killing his opponent . +he takes a cab to his half-witted girlfriend's apartment , and to make a long story short , ends up going back to his own place to retrieve a gold watch , sort of a family heirloom explained by christopher walken in a hilarious flash-back sequence . +on his way home , he bumps into ( literally ) marcellus . +the two winde up prisoner to two hillbilly sex murderers , which results in the infamous " gimp " scene , which is very reminicent of the " squeal like a pig ! " +scene from " deliverance " . +the last ( and best , in my opinion ) of the episodes features john travolta ( again ) and samuel l . jackson ( in the best performance of any supporting actor ever ) as two slightly off-kilter hitmen trying to rid themselves of a bloody car . +they seek help with a friend of jackson's ( played by the q-man himself ) , desperately in need of a stress ball . +they end up calling a " cleaner " of sorts , played by the god among men harvey keitel , to help them out . +in the end , the story brilliantly loops around itself , actually ending where it began . +if you haven't already seen the film ( or even if you have , for that matter ) , i suggest you invest your money in a copy of the letterbox collectors edition . +it features two previously unreleased scenes and the original film restored how it was originally meant to be seen . +earlier today , i bought this version and watched it a few hours ago . +what the pan-and-scan did to this movie is inexcusable . +that version cut out , like , half the movie . +what i have missed in the past years of viewing this flick is amazing . +for instance , when travolta and jackson are in the apartment near the end , the widescreen version allows you to see that several things on the walls make crosses . +this might help explain the divine intervention that takes place . +just a theory . . . +one of the things that pisses people off so much about this movie is that tarantino borrowed alot of scenes from other movies ( i . e . + " psycho " " kiss me deadly " , " deliverance " , etc . ) . +but why shouldn't he ? +it's not like he out-right and blatantly stole . +give the guy a break . +in case you haven't already noticed , i believe " pulp fiction " is a supremely excellent film and one of the best of all time ( up there with such greats as " casablanca " and " the godfather " ) . +trust me , you will not see a better film come out of the 90s . +and besides , it's one hell of a ride . +note : if anyone knows how i could get a " bad motherfucker " wallet , please e-mail me . +any help would be greatly appreciated . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv497_26980.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv497_26980.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2153607bc5fdee757824da6d80d9a0a34df182b8 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv497_26980.txt @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ +there's some movies i enjoy even though i know i probably shouldn't and have a difficult time trying to explain why i did . + " lucky numbers " is a perfect example of this because it's such a blatant rip-off of " fargo " and every movie based on an elmore leonard novel and yet it somehow still works for me . +i know i'm in the minority here but let me explain . +the film takes place in harrisburg , pa in 1988 during an unseasonably warm winter . +john travolta plays the local big-shot tv weatherman who is idolized by the townsfolk as if he were john travolta himself and not the bumbling russ richards . +russ is married to crystal ( lisa kudrow ) , a blonde bimbo if ever there was one in the history of cinema . +she's a selfish , nasty bitch full of lust and desire but somehow she got the job of the lottery ball girl - not exactly the most intellectually taxing job on the market . +crystal's cheating on russ with their collective boss dick ( ed o'neil ) , the tv station manager . +she doesn't seem to genuinely like either of them , but it's all she can do in this one-horse town . +much like " fargo , " this movie tells the story of a man who's going broke and has to pull off a huge scam to get rich quick . +he enlists the help of his english friend gig ( tim roth ) , the local stripclub owner who tells him how to fix the lottery . +along the way a subplot involving a two-bit thug named , accurately , " dale the thug " ( michael rappaport ) gets mixed up in the process . +there's also a bookie that somehow gets thrown in the mix once the deal goes down . +i'm not going to elaborate much further on the plot and story because it continues to unwind and take twists and turns you're not expecting . +this is a farce , which is basically a straightforward , adult-oriented comedy but doesn't go as far as a classic black comedy should . +where as " fargo " was sometimes shocking and disturbing while being funny , " lucky numbers " is just funny because you can't take these characters in these outrageous situations seriously . +it's all a big cartoon basically , but it's funny and i can respect that . +travolta is great in his role and even though he's not a really likable character , he's trying to be a nice guy despite the fact he's a creep . +he's like a gangster with morals who genuinely feels sorry for the guys he has to kill . +crystal is just the opposite , she's constantly arguing and using whatever brain cells she has left to look out for herself . +kudrow is perfect in this role since she's spent 8 years on tv as the dim-witted phoebe on " friends . " +here is character is basically a very evil incarnation of phoebe . +i have to admit i was honestly surprised and pleased by how the plot unraveled and the methods each of the main characters use to try to get their share of the money . +like " jackie brown , " ( an elmore leonard adaption ) , the story is about a circle of 10 characters all after the lottery money that has been won illegally . +the screenplay does a fine job in balancing the characters and slowly revealing their motivations and hidden agendas while at the same time keep russ richards the main focus . +more and more characters are introduced and since the film has such an iconic , cartoony atmosphere you can take on faith just what makes the minor characters do what they do . +the ending itself is great . +it's surprising and funny and makes you feel good . +you realize this film has packed in about 10 different movies' worth of stories into two hours' time and didn't fall apart ( although many other critics might beg to differ ) . +i liked it , and i could see it again - isn't that what makes a movie good ? diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv498_8832.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv498_8832.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d94c14d2ad1e6b887ac8c045bbf2d90085d5e221 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv498_8832.txt @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ +this summer , one of the most racially charged novels in john grisham's series , a time to kill , was made into a major motion picture . +on january 3 of this year , director rob reiner basically re-released the film under the title of ghosts of mississippi . +based on the true story of 1963 civil rights leader medgar evars' assassination , ghosts of mississippi revolves around the 25-year legal battle faced by myrlie evars ( whoopi goldberg , sister act ) and her quest to have her husband's obvious assassin and racist byron de la beckwith ( james woods , casino ) jailed . +so she turns to assistant district attorney and prosecutor bobby delaughter ( alec baldwin , heaven's prisoners ) to imprison the former kkk member . +ghosts sets its tone with an opening montage of images from african-american history , from slave-ship miseries to life in the racist south of the 1960's . +but all too soon , the white folks take over , intoning lines like " what's america got to do with anything ? +this is mississippi ! " +as beckwith , james woods , with his head larded with latex most of the time as an old man , teeters between portraying evil and its character . +meanwhile , goldberg turns in a very serious and weepy performance as the wife who wouldn't let her husband's death rest until she got the conviction . +both deserve serious oscar-consideration . +this brings us to the dull performance of baldwin . +let's face it , trying to match matthew mcconaughey's wonderful acting in a time to kill is basically impossible . +and baldwin is living proof of this , as no emotions could be felt . +it seemed as if he actually had to struggle to shed a single tear . +either poor acting or poor directing , but something definitely went wrong . +another strange mishap was the fact that goldberg's facial features didn't change , as she looked the same in the courtroom as she did holding her husband's dead body 25-years earlier . +yet woods' was plastered with enough make up to make him look like goldberg's father . +at least the make-up was realistic . +with some emotional moments in the poorly written script , ghosts of mississippi lacked in heart , when its predecessor , a time to kill , brought tears to everyone's eyes . +don't get me wrong , the movie wasn't all that bad , but if you've seen grisham's masterpiece , then don't expect this one to be an excellent film . + , diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv499_10658.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv499_10658.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5ec69cac99eeda02f73f98a535a8bf77c9a9c8bd --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv499_10658.txt @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ +towards the middle of " the sweet hereafter , " a crowded school bus skids on an icy road surface as it rounds a bend , careens through the steel guard rail , and disappears out of sight . +then , in long shot , we see the vehicle slowly sliding across what looks like a snow-covered field . +it pauses for a moment before the " field " cracks under the bus' weight and the bright yellow vehicle vanishes in an effortless moment , a single smooth second of time . +compare that scene , if you will , to the last eighty minutes of " titanic , " when the behemoth sinks slowly and spectacularly to its watery demise , and you'll appreciate the futility of comparing greatness in films . +the scene in " the sweet hereafter " epitomizes all that's right with independent canadian director atom egoyan's film . +it's not sensational . +we don't see the inside of the bus with its payload of screaming , terrified children being bloodied and battered about . +the bus doesn't explode or break into a thousand tiny pieces . +it simply leaves the road and silently slips beneath the surface of a frozen lake . +it's a horrifying sequence made all the more so by calm and distance . +using a non-linear approach to his narrative , egoyan shifts back and forward in time , connecting us with the inhabitants of the small british columbian town who have been severely affected by this tragedy . +fourteen children died in the accident , leaving their parents and the town itself paralyzed with grief . +the catalyst at the center of the film is ambulance chaser mitchell stephens ( a wonderfully moving performance by ian holm ) , who comes to sam dent to persuade the townsfolk to engage in a class action suit . +stephens , who " doesn't believe in accidents , " functions as a concerned , involved observer , scribbling details in his notebook and providing the parents with an opportunity to reach some kind of closure in the harrowing aftermath . +while stephens' initial drive may be financial ( one third of the total settlement if he wins ) , his involvement provides him more with an outlet to come to grips with his own loss . +his self-destructive , drug-addicted daughter has been in and out of clinics , halfway houses and detox units for years . +egoyan's attention to detail and ability to establish mood are so impeccable that even the sound of a kettle boiling resonates like a plaintive cry . +mychael danna , who composed the shimmering music for " the ice storm , " contributes another memorable score that shivers and tingles . +equally impressive is paul sarossy's cinematography , capturing the imposing canadian mountainsides and low-hanging fogs as splendidly as his shadowy interiors--in one scene a bright wall calendar serves to illuminate portions of a room . + " the sweet hereafter , " while undeniably grim , urges the viewer to grab onto life with both hands and not let go . +it's a film of generous subtlety and emotion . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv502_10406.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv502_10406.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5abb52d26aeb71cc3c8c337fab470bed3af0911f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv502_10406.txt @@ -0,0 +1,49 @@ +the postman delivers but not first class +the postman a film review by michael redman copyright 1997 by michael redman +[warning : my opinion of this film is definitely in the minority of reviewers perhaps because it hits so many of my cinematic buttons : post-apocalypse stories , hope in a desperate situation , grassroots uprisings and kevin costner . +even worse , i thought that " waterworld " was watchable . +read the following with those particular grains of salt . ] +it's the year 2013 and things have fallen apart . +due to a world war in the late nineties , the resulting three-year winter and a devastating plague , life in the former united states has been reduced to isolated primitive fiefdoms . +although this is the future , it looks like a western . +as the film opens , kevin costner ( his character's name is never revealed ) is wandering the utah wastelands with only his mule bill for company . +giving extraordinarily bad shakespearean performances in exchange for food and lodging , costner is an outsider in a land of outsiders . +running into even worse luck , he is forcibly conscripted into the racially pure holnist army of general bethlehem ( will patton ) . +the rag-tag retro-futuristic cavalry is the descendent of militia groups and is even called the " clan " +after a brutal boot camp , he ( and you can see this coming a mile away ) escapes . +taking shelter in a wrecked postal truck , he liberates the uniform and mail bag from the skeleton in the cab who no longer has a use for either . +once he reaches oregon , land of beautiful women , bright youngsters and rock and roll ; he pretends to be a representative from the " restored congress of the united states of america " . +this scam gets him inside the walled towns where the promise of mail delivery renews optimism in the hearts of the inhabitants . +food and other opportunities come his way in the form of spirited abby ( olivia williams ) who wants him to father a child because her husband is sterile . +shortly her husband is killed by bethlehem and she and the postman ( as costner is referred to for the rest of the film ) become a reluctant item . +although the postman knows he's running a fraud , the concept of renewed communications sets the kids' imagination afire ( especially ford lincoln mercury ( larenz tate ) , his second-in-command ) and they form a new pony express dedicated to getting the mail through . +the revived postal service doubles as an army to fight the holnists' tyranny . +the postman has become a symbol for hope in a rube goldberg manner . +although the movie appeals to my sensibilities , there are so many things wrong with it that they can hardly be counted . +it's derivitive of costner's own " waterworld " and clint eastwood westerns . +there's little here that we haven't seen dozens of times before . +the film is often down-right corny . +a scene where the postman is on horseback and grabs a letter from the hands of a bright-eyed child is embarrassing in its slow-motion banality . +the film's final few minutes should have been left on the cutting room floor . +despite the film's excessive three hour length , several things are never explained . +what was the war about ? +how did civilization change so rapidly ? +everyone has horses : where did all they come from ? +the " law of eights " that bethlehem lives by seems to have its origins somewhere beyond the film , but where ? +are we to believe that the rest of the world is in the same shape and hasn't made their way west to help or conquer ? +there is some jumbled symbolism here that doesn't appear to make sense . +the tale is obviously saying that communication can defeat evil in much the same way that the internet has the potential to topple governments , but beyond that there are some oddities . +the evil army is called " holnists " which sounds coincidentally like the new age " holism " , but why ? +is it another coincidence that it takes place in 2013 , just one year after many ancient prophesies ( including the ending of the mayan calendar ) predict a new world for mankind ? +why is the general named " bethlehem " ? +there seems to be some reason for that , but what ? +sometimes the movie feels like a joke . +an army of postal workers armed with guns ? +considering the headlines of recent years , it takes a tremendous leap of faith to cheer for these guys . +it's even more difficult to accept those re-powering the federal government as the heroes . +given the current climate of the country and the distrust of big government , it's asking a lot for the audience to get behind the film's nationalism . +even with its numerous flaws , the movie all comes together , if only for those who have the same weaknesses that i have . +it's doubtful that " the postman " is going to find much of an audience , but a few of us are going to have a good time . +besides we're all awaiting the fall of civilization caused by the year 2000 millennium computer bug . + ( michael redman has written this column for over 22 years and would like to announce that the " michael redman " arrested near indianapolis last week for accepting an illicit package from federal express is , to the best of his knowledge , not him . +perhaps this similarly-named person should have used kevin costner's postal service . ) diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv503_10558.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv503_10558.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a8197eea10ddd0a10bb560d46b35c8d6382b1964 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv503_10558.txt @@ -0,0 +1,48 @@ +there are certain people in the world who have some talent that very few people have , but they chose not to take advantage of this for some personal reason . + " good will hunting " is about one of those people . +the will hunting of the ( horrible ) title ( let's face it , this film would be a bitch to title ) , played by co-writer matt damon , is a mathematical genius . +he can do almost any mathematical connundrum in about the time it takes to brew a cup of irish cream cappuccino . +and he works at mit . . . as the janitor . +one day , the professor of one of the most challenging courses , proffessor lambeau ( " breaking the waves " 's stellan skarsg ? rd ) , puts a big problem on the board for his students to attempt to complete . +the next day , it's already done on the board , but no one in his class claims to have done it . +so lambeau puts another problem on the board , this time one that took he and his colleagues over two years to prove . +and , duh , it's done again . +of course , they catch the guy who did it red handed - will . +before lambeau can find will again ( he ran away when he caught him ) , will has gotten into a fight with a bunch of punks on a basketball court , and struck a police officer , so lambeau gets him out on probation with two agreements : a ) he work with him on math , and b ) he get some therapy . +after going through some therapists whom he psyches out in one way or another ( for a hypnotist , he fakes being under his spell , then launches into an impromptu performance of the 70s classic , " afternoon delight " ) . +finally , lambeau's old college roomate , sean mcguire ( robin williams ) , a psych professor , agrees to treat him , and the two begin a rocky relationship , as sean tries to get will to open up . +turns out will had a rough childhood , being abandoned , and placed in foster homes and what not . +it also turns out that will does not want to do simple mathematics all his life ; he wants a challenge . +and that is to hang out with his buds ( including the other co-writer , ben affleck ) , and do honorable jobs , like construction . +is it right to make this genius follow in the footsteps of einstein and kasinsky ? +should this guy be forced to do something he doesn't want to do ? +this appears to be one of the million questions in this film , which is jam-packed with greatness , but does not have the totally brilliant whole it should . +i'm not saying " good will hunting " is a bad film at all . +it's a very enjoyable film with tons of great moments , and lots of great things about it . +the acting is amazing , with two oscar-nomination-worthy performances from damon and williams , who have amazing chemistry together . +we also get some great support from stellan skarsg ? rd ( great name ) , ben affleck , and from minnie driver , who plays will's love interest , skylar . +there are tons of individual moments that i adored . +i loved all the comedy in the film , especially a scene where damon proves a schmuck out of a college student who is quoting a historian to impress some chicks , his various attempts at therapy , and of course , my favorite scene in the entire film , the one where he delivers a long , exstensive rant to some nsa agents about the downside of working for them . +i liked the relationship between some of the people , like will and skylar , will and sean , sean and lambeau , and will and his friends . +there are scenes between them which are just amazing to watch . +and there are even moments in the film which are so honest in their portrayal , that i felt rightfully uncomfortable . +like the break-up scene between will and skylar , will and sean's first meeting , a bar scene between sean and lambeau , and a scene where sean tells in detail how he doesn't regret meeting his first wife , who would later suffer a slow , painful death , and leave him lonely and slightly bitter . +however , the main flaw of the film is there's too much of everything , and not enough of it either . +the film tries for deeper relations between the characters , but they're sometimes either overwritten or underwritten . +take for example the relationship between sean and will : the film gets an interesting father/son as well as doctor/patient relationship going with out any problems , but when it tries to show them as equals , it falls on its face . +we hear how they went to the same town , and there are even scenes where the film shows how hypocritical both of them are at times . +but this never takes off like the other parts of their relationship do . +also , will's relationship with his best friend , chuckie ( affleck ) , has a nice climax , but not enough rising action . +we see them joking around , but when chuckie arrives at a decision between the two of them , it seems more like a superficial reasoning than a more selected one . +their relationship never goes beyond " just best friends , " and his decision just seems to be a generalization of any two best friends instead of something more . . . human . +maybe it was just me . +and it also goes for a parallelism with the relationship between sean and lambeau , but that , again , is underwritten . +and , of course , as in most films like this , the girl/boy relationship is pretty underwritten . +we never understand what they see in each other , so when skylar confesses that she loves him , it seems more like it's there for plot details that anything else . +minnie driver is interesting , though , and breathes life into her character . +the writing is a bit at fault here , but what makes all this worthwhile is the little moments in the film where it acheives true awesomeness . +sure , it feels overstuffed , but it's extremely enjoyable . +the dialogue that affleck and damon have written is amazingly fresh , and seems extremely human . +i think that they should get a nomination for their script chiefly because of the dialogue , which is amazing . +while this is probably director gus van sant's most conservative film ( you'd hardly know it's the same director of " to die for , " the only van sant film i've seen , really ) , it's still a pretty remarkable film , albeit a tad overrated ( what's this " best picture " deal ? ) . +and if a film puts a smile on my face despite posessing a lot of flaws , i have no problem with reccomending it to anyone . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv504_29243.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv504_29243.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..098e6d184eb71f4179821801c48d0205603e3e08 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv504_29243.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +i guess it's a credit to jackie chan and the general likeability of the franchise that rush hour 2 could not be ruined even by the nauseating " comedy " of chris tucker . +i'm a fan of jackie chan in just about any medium , and this movie lets him not only do his impressive-as-ever martial arts schtick , but show off his comic timing as well . +it would have worked better if he was the only name above the title . +the plot is your basic martial arts flick clothesline for stunts and special effects . +this time around , the evil smugglers are led by ricky tan ( john lone ) , who makes his fortune by shipping counterfeit money into the united states ( i'm still not sure how you can make a fortune doing that : is there a place where one can exchange fake bills for real ones ? ) . +the only way to tell the phony money from the genuine article is to set it on fire and see what color it burns . +of course , it's up to hong kong detective lee ( chan ) and trash-talking lapd detective james carter ( tucker ) to take the bad guys out and the authorities , to the extent that they even exist , stay out of their way . +rush hour 2 turns the tables on the first film in that here it's carter who gets the two of them into trouble and lee who winds up having to get them out . +i guarantee that my rating would have been at least a half of a grade higher had anyone other than chris tucker been cast as the foil for jackie chan . +he refuses to shut up . +not only did his voice feel like a jackhammer on my head , but his jokes just aren't funny , a pathetic mixture of sub-par eddie murphy fasttalking blather and wannabe chris rock white-man-black-man jokes that wind up being more offensive than funny . +i realize that in a movie like this some of the biggest laughs come from letting the actors ad lib beyond what the script dictates , but didn't anyone realize how irritating tucker's incessant ranting and raving was ? +if this is all the comedian has to offer then i don't care to see any more of his films . +fortunately , chan makes for a marvelous straight man , and he redeems the fledgling comedy completely . +it's not often that one actor can so completely save a movie , but there is no other name for what he does ; whenever he's on screen , rush hour 2 comes to nearly breathtaking , often hilarious , life . +much of it hinges on the dubious value of how cute it is to watch chan try to be a " player , " but who cares ? +i can think of few high concepts that are funnier . +the movie ends with outtakes that , as usual , show that chan isn't perfect , and that it does , indeed , take him a few tries to get some of his incredible stunts to look seamless . +chris tucker botches some lines as well , and his mistakes are funnier than anything he says in the whole movie . +a lot of people have pointed out rush hour 2 isn't very different from its predecessor in tone or style . +but i liked the original , and i like the sequel , though a certain sidekick seems to have done his best to ruin it . +director brett ratner ( the family man ) keeps it moving at an entertaining pace and manages to keep the laughs coming despite the fairly miserable hit to miss ratio of the jokes ( i guess sometimes the shotgun approach works ) . +it's not great jackie chan , but it's jackie chan , and that's enough . +up next : jay and silent bob strike back diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv506_15956.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv506_15956.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b18f9711bebb480990c871c2e26b50c9787a193a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv506_15956.txt @@ -0,0 +1,59 @@ +much ballyhoo has been made over this new version of " lolita , " made in a time when one would think that a faithful adaptation of the infamous novel could be made , over its use of pedophilia , and as such , it's important to address it straight-forwardly , before any other ideals such as goodness and themes can be discussed , as this film has been in film limbo for a number of years , lying around in vaults san a distributor , and having critics waiting to either hail it a masterpiece or call it anticlimactic horseshit . +when seeing this film , after all the hoopla , keeping in mind that there are people , namely me , who are fans of the novel , who have been eagerly awaiting this flick since its creation . . . well , +you just have to wonder why no one really picked it up for distribution . +what's even worse is that seeing this " lolita , " especially the first time and if you're familiar with anything " lolita , " is admittingly very anticlimactic . +this is a real pity because when you really sit down to watch this film , ignoring all the crap that has preceeded it , it's really quite a film , perhaps the best film by director adrian lyne ( although , really , look at its competition : " flashdance , " " fatal attraction , " and " indecent proposal " ) , at least besides " jacob's ladder . " +i've seen this " lolita " twice : the first time , i wasn't so blown away . +it seemed overly dramatic and surprisingly unaffecting . +the second time , not really thinking about how i've waited for what seems like forever to see it and how i'm seeing it on a tv set on a premium cable channel and not a giant movie theatre , it really affected me emotionally . +the story itself is a surprisingly heartbreaking one , which is why it's such a good novel , and why this is such a good film . +the story of a pedophile obsessed with a young 14-year old girl named dolores a . k . a . lolita is great because it's not trash for the perverted but because it's about human obsession with things that are out of one's reach . +its protagonist , the comically-named humbert humbert , is not your average pedophile , but a seriously wounded human being who embodies how we are all destroyed by our sick obsessions and idosyncrasies . +the character of lolita is almost a symbol of the forbidden apple in christian mythology , something that will destroy us but that we can't live without . +these ideas are all worked into this film nicely , but done in a way that is not heavy-handed at all , but instead lyrical and emotionally devastating . +the focus of this film , and the reason for making it , it seems , was to really penetrate the emotional depths of the novel and bring them to life on the screen in beautifully dramatic images , and scenes which are blatantly over-stylized . +the tone of the book is a comical one , but it's also a tragic one , and humbert , telling the story from his perspective , blows every single thing out of perspective . +humbert exists in a fantsy world of his obsessions and desires , and this reflects the way the entire film has been designed . +we get a sense that perhaps it's by doing this that humbert has really trapped himself into a fate that will ultimately leave him haggard and destroyed . +he weeps uncontrollably and never lets himself get over his original 14-year-old love , and allows himself to embody her as lolita . +he lets his feelings for her navigate all his decisions , and by the end , he has nothing but overly-dramatic feelings for her . +the story recognizes the extreme of this , almost out of a test , seeing if the readers will really sympathize with someone who is socially deemed a pervert , and one almost wonders while reading the book if the author , vladimir nabokov , wrote the book as a means to bring into focus his own sick obsessions , and perhaps bring them to peace . +the weirdest thing about this film is that by the end , when humbert has reached the finale of his obsessional journey , we can easily sympathize and even identify with him . +the opening and final images of the film are the same , and who hasn't done a similar action , that is wandering about without any sense of reality or anything else but a deep sadness in us ? +this is the second time the novel has been adapted for the screen , the first time being filmed in - shock - 1962 , by stanley kubrick , who couldn't possibly have brought the novel to the screen with as much faithfulness as lyne has been able to do , but did the next best thing : he economized for everything and came up with a droll black comedy about obsession in general . +in that film , he used the traps of society as benefits . +the studio demanded the final scene , that of a heinous murder , come first in the film so to portray humbert first as a murderer and second as a pedophile . . . and +when you see it , it gives the film depth of a man trapped by obsession . +the censors wouldn't allow anymore than a couple glances and subtle dialogue to show the , um , relationship between humbert and lolita , so kubrick decided to play it as comedy , but still allow the tragedy to seep through . +looking at these two versions , especially after reading the novel ( and we all know that when we've read a novel and see a film adaptation , we are bound to be angered by any size differences ) , it's really impossible to compare them . +they both go for different things , and one has a lot more room to be as sexually frank as the novel was . +and although it's true that several scenes are similar , and are thus up for comparison , overall it's unfair to say which one is better and which one is worse . +i have never been one for saying the level of greatness of a film adaptation of a novel is deemed by how faithful it is , and i won't say that here . +however , this film is pretty amazing , mostly because hey , i loved the book , and this film nearly reminded me of it . +it doesn't have nearly as much wit ( a couple comical scenes , and even a lot of good chuckles , but just not totally witty ) , but it does have the same emotional toll that the novel had . +some of that is in the casting of the two leads . +jeremy irons , with his deep , soft british voice and gentle look , is an amazing humbert . +he's droll in a very unique way , and , well , no one can look distraught the way he does . +he brings a wonderful sympathy to the role that goes beyond pathos and really comes up as being easy to identify with the audience . +and when he looks at lolita with love , and she looks at him with lust , you know that he's her prisoner for as long as he lives . +and dominique swain , who plays the title character , is rather incredible . +she pulls off the tough role even better than sue lyon did in the original , wonderfully balancing the qualities of seduction , bratiness , and self-centeredness that marks the character . +it's easy to see why she surrenders to humbert : she loves the attention , and knows that she can have her way with him at any time . +when he denies her something , she blackmails him effortlessly ( a scene involving a rocking chair and a little foot action is damn near classic ) , and when he stands up to her , she weeps and runs away , leaving humbert to follow her . +there are two other minor characters in the film , one who's a road block in the beginning , and the other who's a reappearing threat to the relationship . +the former is charlotte , lolita's mother , played by melanie griffith . +in the book , charlotte is a monster of a woman : overbearing , constantly scolding her child , overly-religious , and ultimately selfish . +and she's the one obstacle humbert has to overcome to obtain his goal , at least in the beginning . +as played by shelly winters in the original , she represented all these qualities ; as played by griffith here , she's about half of them . +it's annoying to watch a film and play a game where you try to see who could have done the role way better than the one on screen without mentioning the actor who played them first . +and even though griffith is not really bad , persay , she's nothing more . +the other is clare quilty , the writer who is also trying to seduce lolita , and succeeds , but at a price . +langella takes a totally different direction than the one peter sellars took in the original . +quilty was a comic character in the original : a threat in the form of many forms , popping in states of rambling , german , proning , and eventually drunk . +langella takes the other route , allowing all of the creepiness to be unearthed , and the result is a character who exists in shadows and low shots , and who meets a wonderfully ironic ending , the exact opposite of what we thought of him . +as you can see , most of these are not improvements or mistakes done on the part of lyne and his screenwriter , stephen schiff , but just parts of a whole new look at the novel , at least cinema-wise . +this version is beautiful , and perpetually saddening . +the camera movements are stylized , and each shot is breathtakingly rich . +the acting is for the most part wonderful , and when we watch it , we really get a sense that for humbert , who is telling the story , the only two people on earth most of the time were humbert and lolita . +more importantly , it takes us right up the brink of emotion , then jumps right over it . +by the end , with humbert sadly driving recklessly in his car , following what he says is the only part of his life he doesn't regret , we feel that we all lose to something we can never have . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv507_9220.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv507_9220.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b8c3cfd3f909dba036038e1aa0cfd5242b230769 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv507_9220.txt @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +capsule : side-splitting comedy that follows its own merciless logic almost through to the end . . . +but not without providing a good deal of genuine laughs . +most comedies these days have one flaw . +they're not funny . +they think they're funny , but they are devoid of anything really penetrating or dastardly . +occasionally a good funny movie sneaks past the deadening hollywood preconceptions of humor and we get a real gem : ruthless people , for instance , which established a microcosm of a setup and played it out to the bitter end . +liar liar is built the same way and is just about as funny . +this is one of the few movies i've seen where i was laughing consistently almost all the way through : instead of a couple of set-pieces that inspired a laugh ( think of the dismal fatal instinct ) , the whole movie works like clockwork . +jim carrey playes a high-powered lawyer , to whom lying is as natural as breathing . +there is one thing he takes seriously , though : his son , and we can sense the affection that they have for each other right away . +but his wife is divorced and seeing another man , and now it looks like they may move away together . +the son goes with them , of course . +the movie sets up this early material with good timing and a remarkable balance of jim carrey's over-the-top persona with reality . +then the plot springs into action : after being snubbed ( not deliberately ) by his father at his birthday , the kid makes a wish as he blows out the birthday candles : that for just one day , dad can't lie . +he gets the wish . +what happens next is sidesplitting . +everything turns into a confrontation : when cornered by a bum for some change , he shouts , " no ! +i'm not giving you any money because i know you'll spend it on booze ! +all i want to do is to get to the office without having to step over the debris of our decaying society ! " +he can't even get into an elevator without earning a black eye . +and what's worse , he's now gotten himself into an expensive divorce settlement that requires him to twist the truth like abstract wire sculpture . +carrey , who i used to find unfunny , has gotten better at his schtick , even if it's a limited one . +he uses it to great effect in this movie . +there is a scene where he tries to test his ability to lie and nearly demolishes his office in the process ( there's a grin breaking out across my face right now , just remembering the scene ) . +he can't even write the lie ; his fingers twitch , his body buckles like someone in the throes of cyanide poisoning , and when he tries to talk it's like he's speaking in tongues . +equally funny is a scene where he beats himself to a pulp ( don't ask why ) , tries to drink water to keep from having outbursts in the courtroom ( it fails , with semi-predictable results ) , and winds up biting the bullet when he gets called into the boardroom to have everyone ask what they think of them . +this scene alone may force people to stop the tape for minutes on end . +the movie sustains its laughs and also its flashes of insight until almost the end . +a shame , too , because the movie insists on having a big , ridiculous climax that involves carrey's character flagging down a plane using a set of motorized stairs , then breaking his leg , etc . a simple reconciliation would do the trick . +why is this stupid pent-up climax always obligatory ? +it's not even part of the movie's real agenda . +thankfully , liar liar survives it , and so does carrey . +maybe they were being merciful , on reflection . +if i'd laughed any more , i might have needed an iron lung . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv508_16006.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv508_16006.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3dc1593813f5a9c5a9667384eb159d5857716105 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv508_16006.txt @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +maybe the most important thing about this movie is that it's not handled like the hallmark hall of fame movie of the month , because it very well could have been a manipulative tearjerker , broadcasted on abc on a monday night , starring kelly martin and yasmeen bleeth , respectively . +because it's not handled like the greatest story ever told is precisely why it's so great . +underneath the to-die-for cinematography , the brilliant acting , and incessantly wonderful direction is a film of modesty , not sure whether or not this story is totally great but with the balls to run with it , tell it in a certain original way . +it doesn't merely go from plot point to plot point . +it goes from character to character . +it obsesses itself with the depth and the style of it all , and makes the story of a world-reknowned cellist who contracts ms and dies prematurely into the story of two sisters , both musicians , who have a totally unique relationship . +it's that their relationship is the center of the story that makes this film transcend any cornball , shamelessly tired tearjerker qualities it could have had and makes this , unlike " patch adams , " effortlessly emotional and real . +in short , this movie is just awesome . +it merely tells its story really well , and that's something that just has to be commended these days , when most stories are botched because they're not told by great storytellers . +director anand tucker tells this story well . +he overdramaticizes everything , but still keeps it real . +the film tells the story of hilary and jacqueline du pr ? ( rachel griffiths and emily watson , respectively ) , two sisters who are first seen in childhood ( played by auriol evans and keely flanders , respectively ) as the very best of friends . +they are also both musicians , hilary a flutist and jackie a cellist , and when it all begins , both are considered child prodigies , but hilary is seen as the better of the two . +jackie , a bit jealous , works and works at her playing skills , and soon the tables are turned . +when they both hit adulthood , hilary strives for a comeback , while her sister is playing in famous halls around the world , but instead of fame , captures the heart of a hapless , joyful conductor , kiffer finzi ( david morissey , in a semi-star-making turn ) . +they marry , after a short courtship , and move to a lovely country house , making jackie incredibly jealous since her cello playing becomes a symbol of her current life : when she plays , she has the eyes of the world , but when she stops , she's alone . +she enters into a shallow relationship with an equally famous pianist , daniel barenboim ( james frain ) , in hopes that she may overcloud her sister , but she eventually begins to lose it , and runs away to hilary's country home , where she hopes to gain admittance by hilary to sleep with her husband , since no one she sleeps with gives her any pleasure . +it's all terribly melodramtic , as you can see , and by the time jackie has contracted ms ( in a brilliantly edited scene that surpasses the breakdown scene in the semi-smiliar " shine " in technical and emotional devastation ) , it would have been the time that i could easily call the sign for melodramatic overload if it hadn't been handled in such a way . +the key thing here is that it's not about her gradual death and slip into insanity but rather that it's about her tumultuous relationship with her sister , which , i might add , is perfectly realized . +their relationship is the most down-to-earth complex entity of the year : they love eachother more than anyone else in the entire world , but they're also completely jealous of one another . +when a young jackie surpasses her playing abilities , she tries in vain to make a comeback but can't , and almost seems to marry to get back at jackie for her success . +when jackie lands on top and sees her sister marry a wonderful man , she is jealous of her lifestyle to the most extensive brinks that i've ever seen in a film ( only two sisters who truly love eachother would dare share the same man ) . +and the whole time , their love for eachother is never doubted or even tested . +another thing i really liked is emily watson's performance . +i usually make it a note to never overpraise an actor for playing either a drunkard or a lunatic or someone with a mortal disease ( or any combination of the three ) . +my reasoning for this is that it's a fucking easy job . +the worst case for this very year may be thandie newton in " beloved " : sure , she's good , but what's so tough about playing a woman who stumbles around , slurs her words together , and acts like a three year old inside a 20-year old's body ? +hell , i could play that if i had a pair of breasts . +in that same exact movie , though , is a performance by kimberly elise where she has to be the rock that holds the family together as her mother slowly goes insane , her brothers run off never to be seen again , and her mother's lover is scared off . +she has to actually deal with real emotions , something much harder than mere stumbling about . +but the academy of arts and sciences loves loves loves overpraising performances like newtons . +if you don't believe me , look at jack nicholson's performance in " as good as it gets " : great performance , but easy job . +this isn't so for watson , though , because her insanity comes from real emotions , not just a plot point . +and thanks to the opening sequence , where we see her and hilary as kids , we understand the motives behind all her actions , and by the time she actually contracts ms and begins to loose her sanity and her life , we've already understood that this is the last straw for a woman plagued with terrible neuroses . +rachel griffiths , who would have otherwise been the understudy to watson's protagonist , actually matches watson step-for-step , because as watson grows insane , and demands unspeakable things from her , griffiths holds her own , and has to deal with what she is able to give her sister who needs emotional help from her . +griffiths , an otherwise unknown actress ( and watson being famous from " breaking the waves " and " the boxer " ) , is absolutely brilliant , just as absolutely brilliant as watson is , and if the academy and all the other critics groups , who've already deemed watson's performance the best of the year , glance over hers because she's the one who doesn't get to go insane ( read : she gets the boring role ) , then the scream of hysteria you hear will be from me . +after all , griffiths has the thankless job of keeping things real - the tom cruise role in " rainman " ( the one who should have gotten oscar consideration and not hoffman ) . +she does , and if anyone deserves accolades from the academy this year , it's griffiths . +together , the two actresses work extremely well , though , and both have to go through deep emotional hell , the likes of which haven't been seen this year . +if it hadn't been for an otherwise not-totally-great final section that deals way too much with jackie and not enough with hilary ( when the two had gotten equal treatment for the entirety ) , i'd say this is one of the top ten best films of the year . +it's so close to perfection , in its structure , its treatment of its subject , and its beautiful technical specifications ( cinematography nomination , without a shred of doubt in my mind , and maybe film editing ) , that it's nearly a shame that it's not the flawless gem that it should be . +but , hey , as it is , i can hardly complain . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv510_23360.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv510_23360.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8e2876d53da6da6ea7f2b953f33dbea02a471ee5 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv510_23360.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +are we victims of fate in life or can we create our own destiny ? +director/writer brad anderson seems to be saying yes to both questions in his witty film " next stop wonderland " . +the two main characters , alan and erin , spend the entire movie in each other's orbit , catching glimpses of one another , yet not quite connecting until the inevitable conclusion . +is it fate that keeps them near each other and ultimately puts them together ? +does this predestination carry over to all aspects of life ? +as the film starts , erin castleton ( hope davis ) , a melancholy 29- year old late shift nurse , is ending her live-in relationship with her boyfriend ( hoffman ) . +rather , he is ending it with her . +arriving home from work , erin finds her boyfriend parked in front of their apartment , car packed with his belongings . +in a fumbling , amusing and self deluding ramble , he instructs erin to watch a videotape he's made detailing why their relationship is doomed to fail and why he's leaving . +it's obvious he lacks the courage to confront her directly as he rails on about accomplishing something with his life and taking a stand , all the while backpedaling his way out of their relationship . +he then flees the scene with the grace of an inept thief . +erin's mother ( holland taylor , in a surprisingly effective , small role ) , fearing that her daughter will be without a man in her life , takes out a personal ad for erin . +to erin's embarrassed horror , the ad describes her as a " frisky , cultured , carefree professional with a zest for life " . +eventually , erin responds to the tidal wave of responses , which makes for some of the most humorous , telling moments of the movie as she meets prospective suitors and " poseurs " . +alan , a plumber and aspiring marine biologist , first spots erin as he's cleaning the inside glass of a fish tank at the boston aquarium . +wearing a wet suit and goggles , he follows erin from window to window , separated by the glass as erin , oblivious to his gaze , enjoys the fish . +later , we see him on a train as she sits on a platform outside , mere feet away . +the movie spends it's entirety having their paths circle each other without crossing . +there are several subplots involving alan . +one concerns his attempts to get on the job track at the boston aquarium , thereby escaping his apparent fate to carry on the family plumbing business . +another subplot involves his father's desperate attempts to force fate's hand by gambling away his life at the dog track . +a distracting focus is put on alan's debt to a loan shark and the manner in which he pays it off . +the movie tries too hard to make alan a likable guy . +thankfully , his dream- guy persona is counterbalanced by erin's distant , yet fundamentally hopeful , personality . +the film moves along at an unhurried pace , albeit too much so in the latter third , as we wait for the two to meet . +co-writers anderson and lyn vaus throw a couple of possible red herrings into the mix as the two find other possible relationships . +the films shifts into a much slower gear as we wait for these romances to blow over . +when alan and erin eventually do meet , we see that perhaps they both were destined for each other as they share a lingering , almost subliminally knowing , gaze . +it's a sweet , measured moment . +the disappointment comes in the fact that we've come to know the pair , yet we don't get to view their impending romance . +the film's inherent belief in the subtle persistence of fate and the wonder it can bring to one's life makes " next stop wonderland " a quiet pleasure in a cinematic landscape littered with explosions , shallow characters and overdone special effects . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv511_10132.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv511_10132.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..66989f53dc5dbf9b6003e6d97ffbae77b3176e53 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv511_10132.txt @@ -0,0 +1,45 @@ +i'm an avid fan of the " alien " saga , so this review is obviously a tad biased ( at least i admitted it ) . +of course , that doesn't mean that i'm gonna be giving this a four-star review or something , because " alien : resurrection , " the fourth film in the cool-as-hell series is not an absolutely amazing film , much like the first two were . +however , it's a very good film which never fails to entertain , and consists of yet another mutation in the style of the series . +in short , i had a good time . + " alien : resurrection " leaves off 200 years after the last one , where our heroine protagonist , ellen ripley ( sigourney weaver ) , the science fiction genre's answer to job , had killed herself after discovering that an alien was inside her body , waiting to pop out like it did to john hurt in the first one . +of course , the last one wasn't very great or anything ( i liked it , though not as much as the first two ) , and more importantly , it wasn't financially successful ( a tawdry 55 million bucks ! ) . +so back we are , with ripley back as a clone , which means we get another little satirical look at cloning ( not that that's a bad thing , but it's becoming a cliche ) . +so she's cloned aboard an even more futuristic-looking ship called " the auriga " by some doctors ( including the necessary bad government guy , dr . wren , played by j . e . freeman , as well as the little-seen dr . gediman , played by none other than brad douriff ) , mainly because they have a version of her with the alien still inside her . +once you get past the fact that you can't figure out where they got her blood ( although i think it might have been from the blood samples taken by charles dance in the third one ) , the film's okay . +also on board are a band of mercenary pirates , including michael wincott , ron perlman , kim flowers , raymond cruz , dominique pinon ( a jeunet sytable ) and . . . winona ryder , who plays analee call , who turns out to have a bit of a secret ( i won't state it , but unless you've been shacking up with salinger for the past two years , you probably know all about it - although it's nicely covered up ) . +there's a bit of a non-sexual-yet-slightly-homoerotic relationship between her and ripley , but it's never really deepened enough . +oh well . +well , as you might have guessed , the alien and its spawn escape and run around the ship . +and it pretty much does away with most of the people on the ship ( including some shocks - dan hedaya , for instance , who's death is comical yet sad since , well , he's dan hedaya ) , and the remaining people ( about 7 or 8 ) are left to try and escape and stop the aliens from doing any major harm since the ship is heading quickly towards earth . +of course , the plot is all balderdash , and just an excuse for some good old " alien " -brand fun . +the real focus of the series seems to be on style , not really substance ( although there's always a bit of it , most notably in " aliens " with the relationship between ripley and the little girl ) . +what's interesting about the series is that each film is stylistically different in its approach . + " alien " is a claustrophobic exercise in quiet frights . + " aliens " is a wild , tense thriller . + " alien 3 " is a bleak , moody piece of semi-noir . + " alien 4 " is kind of like an off-beat french film , filled with lots of humor , and cool scares . +jean-pierre jeunet ( without his usual directing partner , marc caro ) creates a ship filled with the kind of scares films like " das boot " has , with echoes hinting at a possible threat . +the chills in the film are really cool , especially with the music , which is sometimes turned down completely for certain scenes ( there's the most tense surgery scene since " face/off " towards the beginning ) . +and not every chill turns into a bloody mess or anything like that . +this all combined with some good old humor makes this as interesting visually and stylistically as the others . +there are even a couple scenes which just stick out afterwards as being brilliantly executed . +one is the aforementioned surgery scene . +another one takes place between call and ripley , which is just awesome . +the underwater chase scene and the ladder scene afterwards is one of the most tense , thrilling , and jaw-dropping scenes in the entire saga ( with a small allusion to jeunet's earlier film , " delicatessen " ) . +and the way they do in the final alien is hysterically cool ( with a lovely allusion to " goldfinger " ) . +but the best scene in the entire film ( i'm sure i'm not the first to mention it ) takes place when ripley sees all the variations on her as they cloned her ( she has a an " 8 " tatooed on her arm ) . +it might be the most emotionally stimulating scene in the entire saga . +the screenplay by joss whedon is not a great piece of work , as it never really deapens a lot of the characters . +however , it does make us care about most of them , so that when there's very little of them , and it looks like one or more of them may become alien chow , we are pretty scared . +and , yeah , there are some very funny lines ( ripley : " who do i have to fuck to get off this boat ? ! " +johner : " well , i can get you off . +but not this ship . " ) +the acting is good all around , with stand-out performances from ron perlman as the male chauvenist pig johner , and leland orser ( the poor bastad in " se7en " who performed the " lust " sin ) as an anxiety-ridden wannabe woody allen who has an alien inside him . +winona ryder is good , but not amazing like she usually is ( although she meshes well with the film ) . +of course , and as usual , sigourney weaver steals the show . +playing a variation on the ripley character ( less emotional , and more rude and bitter ) , she pulls it off while still being utterly lovable . +she's not going to get an oscar nomination like she did for " aliens , " but she's just awesome . +overall , it's a thrilling , entertaining film which doesn't really amaze like the first two , but is much more amazing than the third installment . +the style is the best part of the film , which isn't really a bad thing , but it being the best part takes away from a lot of the depth the film occasionally tries to apply . +but it's entertaining as hell , and it's definitely fit for the " alien " series . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv512_15965.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv512_15965.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ceede8f074038357bc94ec8b4715684dfd58eb98 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv512_15965.txt @@ -0,0 +1,46 @@ +it may seem weird to begin a film about glam rock with a sequence that includes a spaceship , a green ovular pin , and the birth of oscar wilde , but if one really strains , they can see that perhaps maybe these connections are not half off . +wilde's philosophy was that everyone should be true to their own human nature , and the result of his following this philosophy was that he was imprisoned , loosing his family and his career . +the glam rock movement in the early 70s in england had a similar take and came to a similar demise . +the main difference was by placing makeup on their face and acting out on their deepest fantasies and inquiries about life ( mostly dealing with androgony and sexuality ) , they became less and less like themselves and more and more like everyone else . +and that's why the movement seemed to end as soon as it began . +it's been said that todd haynes' " velvet goldmine , " the film that chronicles what it was like to be a part of the movement , not only from those who experienced it but by those who created it , steals a lot from " citizen kane , " and that's true . +in the film , a british journalist in the 80s , arthur stuart ( christian bale ) , is asked to go back and find out what happened to 70s glam rock star brian slade , a fictitious rock star , who faked his own death on stage , bringing the end not only to his career but to the entire glam rock movement . +structure-wise , this totally steals from " kane , " not only from the set-up ( he interviews three people , and the story is a result of their flashbacks ) , but in other things , like the beginning ( death , then newsreel ) , and smaller details , like the bitter ex-friend in a wheelchair and the bitter ex-wife as a washed-up lounge singer , found in a bar after hours . +this is no " kane , " and it really doesn't aspire to be : it doesn't attempt to be the deep outlook of something gone like " kane " did , and it doesn't really uncover anything poignant about humanity . +instead , it uses the flashbacks as a form of contrast between the magic that was the glam rock era and the boredom that was life after glam rock for those who were participants . +the 80s scenes are dry and deliriously melancholy , equipped with a performance by bale that is perhaps appropriately dull and unengaging . +but the 70s scenes are engaging , though , not to mention addictively campy . +they radiate with gorgeous cinematography that nicely accentuates all the vibrant colors of the era , and a feel that's so eerily lighthearted that when combined with the then-footage , they become not only a symbol of decadence , but of times when everything seemed so simple . +instead of creating the world the way it was , haynes paints their own world as if it were a narcotic fairy tale : the glam rock movement was full of so much freedom and liberation that after you've experienced it , everything else seems so mundane . +there's no outside world to speak of , secluding these people inside a protective globe that will eventually crack . +haynes focuses his story on the tale of blade and the other fictitious rock hero , curt wild , and their relationship that created , molded , and then brought down the movement , reducing everyone else who contributed to it as merely that - contributors . +blade - played with reserve by the pouty jonathan rhys meyers - and wild - played with anarchic wildness by ewan mcgregor - are little more than thinly disguised recreations of david bowie and iggy pop , respectively , complete with the creation of a ziggy stardust persona named maxwell demon and the confirmation that the two rock stars may have very well not only have been one-time partners in music , but also partners in bed . +through discussions with slade's ex-manager cecil ( michael feast ) , ex-wife mandy ( toni collette , reinventing herself as an american blonde dish who fakes a british accent when with slade ) , and finally ex-partner wild , journalist stuart begins to remember his own experiences in the era , like his discovery of his rebelliousness cum conformity , including the moment when he began questioning his own sexuality ( when he opens up his first slade record , he finds a naked and green slade lying on a crimson blanket ) , and finally running away from home to be part of the london scene , finally resulting in leading a boring job in america . +haynes demonstrates that he's quite the visual auteur , molding scenes that are like long heald breaths , such as a seemingly long sequence juxtaposing a slade/wild concert of them performing a brian eno cover , " baby's on fire , " with scenes from a decadent drug party ; and the film's most wow-inspiring sequence , the first concert scene of wild with his band , the ratttz , where mcgregor lets loose so much anarchic steam that his wild iggy-esuqe movements ( including stripping naked ) and screams that the film captures that perfect moment when one discovers a major talent , and another ( slade ) discovers his idle . +even the brief music videos , spoofs of bowie's , have a rare visual flair that's pure camp , and which would cause ken russell to drool . +the best sequence , though , may be the beginning , following the prelude , a sequence which acts as the middle ground for both the actual being of the movement and the post-movement era . +in it , stuart and his mates are going to the infamous slade concert where he fakes his own death , where he kills off his alter ego maxwell demon in what appears to be a real assasination , which brought about the end of the era in one swift fake bullet . +with brian eno's famous " needle in the camel's eye " playing in the background , the scene has a detached exhileration - the song doesn't seem to be played in quite the same way the other songs are . +it has a distance that's hard to put a finger on , and it seems to represent that all this is coming to a quick and sad ending , and when one sees slade in the dressing room before the show , docked in a silver frock with wings and blue hair , depressingly staring into the mirror , it comes off as a none-too-obvious prophecy of the finale in the beginning of the film . +this movie's not so much about plot , but more about the way it is presented , making this one of those films which is classified as being " style over substance , " a statement which prompts many critics to line up for attack . +however , for the most part , the engaging part of this film is not the story but rather the way in which haynes creates this world , by using his sets , costumes , cinematography , and especially the music to play as characters in his film . +the music is especially notable . +the soundtrack , which is wall to wall , consists of old school glam rock tunes by the likes of brian eno , t-rex , and roxy music , as well as covers by slade's band ( with vocals by thom yorke , and occasionally rhys meyers himself ) , and even newer music by shudder to think that sounds uncannily bowie-like . +the cast is rather impressive , but no one really walks away with the film , and no performances are extremely good . +although eddie izzard , as slade's manager ( who challenges slade's first manager to an arm-wrestling match to see who gets control of his career ) and michael feast as the first and tragic manager come off greatly , and collette and mcgregor have their moments , rhys meyers and bale are noticably sub-par , neither putting a lot of effort into their respective roles . +some of it is at fault with the actual construction of the film by haynes . +rhys meyers' brian slade remains merely a metaphor for the glam rock era , dying when he turned into a retro-garbo , resorting to a life of salinger-ism , and found in the mid-70s to be lying around , sniffing coke off the ass of a party girl . +in fact , no one in this film is really seen as a person , rather than just as a symbol or composite of a type who thrived during the era . +bale's character is an especially tough sell : bitter and depressed by flashbacks to his young adulthood , he's not an extremely personal character , and his cliched experiences ( being hounded by the record store guys for buying a record put out by a " poof " ) never help us communicate with him . +nevertheless , rhys meyers and mcgregor have the excuses that their characters are not really characters but rather the results of an era that has left them , and others , bitter , part of which helps the film work , since this is a major piece of eye candy . +at the prime of the movie , they at least look the role of fashionable leaders - slade with his perpetually-changing , androgonys persona , and wild with his topless and unpredictable image , which clash and fuse into an unstable union . +their story - of how slade was so influenced by wild that he adapted it into a similar who-cares attitude crossed with camp - is engaging , without the personal background . +the story of stuart , though , is a tougher sell because he's the everyman , and when you can't totally identify with the everyman , your story's in slight trouble . +as a cultural rock piece , " velvet goldmine " is rather good , but it is merely good . +it never totally takes off , although it has moments where it absolutely flies , but then comes back down . +it's really nothing more than a bunch of really great moments , surrounded by material that could really be much better . +the beginning is captivating but slow , the middle is fantastic , and the ending is not only shallow but worse than that , it drags ( the final half hour not only does it not bring the story to any real conclusion , it could probably stop at any point ) . +and did anyone really figure out what the mystery is that arthur unearths ? +it almost seems like there was no point in the entire investigation other than to unearth the past , which is commendable but not totally so . +still , it does what the oliver stone pic " the doors " didn't do right , becoming very insightful to what happened , using the visual style to hit most of the right notes of contrast between what made the era so great to those who lived during it and why after living through such an era that everything else seems half-assed ( i suppose the message is : " live life , but after you've lived it , what else is the point when you'll be forced to live with regretful memories ? " ) . +the really superb achievement of this film is that during its flashbacks , it successfully creates for the audience what it must have felt like to be in that era , but with the added perk of knowing the result of all that goes down . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv513_6923.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv513_6923.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2d2064e271bcdbdc6081e17c30019f560e06d536 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv513_6923.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17 @@ +when i first heard that romeo & juliet had been " updated " i shuddered . +i thought that yet another of shakespeare's classics had been destroyed . +fortunately , i was wrong . +baz luhrman has directed an " in your face " , and visually stunning piece with this film . +it revolves around the two rival families , who in this version each run multi-million dollar enterprises . +these rival companies/families are the capulet's and the montague's . +the younger generation of these two families have formed gangs , who despise one another . +as the storylines goes , romeo montague ( played by leonardo dicaprio ) and juliet capulet ( claire danes ) meet at a fancy dress party , and it is love at first site . +i never believed love at first site was possible until i saw this film , the scene in which romeo's eyes meet juliet's through the fish tank is one of the most memorable . +of course , they cannot publicly reveal their love , for their families are arch enemies . +so they marry in secret , this is where things begin to go wrong . +the story , as with all good shakespeare , ends in tragedy . +the cinematography is spectacular to say the least , and the soundtrack provides the perfect atmosphere in which to " lay our scene " , as the film says . +there is very little to criticise . +the performances are convincing , and several of the film's younger stars may find that it provides a launch for their careers . +the modernisation of the script is ingenious and clever . +despite the well known storyline , this latest version still manages to cause tears among many members of the audience ( especially the younger generation ) , and this is certainly a great credit to the film . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv514_11187.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv514_11187.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..976bb31815191fd3c761ff8436ed00c80e4448bb --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv514_11187.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +krippendorf's tribe is a formula comedy . +done poorly , formulaic comedies might seem to signify the downfall of american cinema . +however , every now and then , one emerges , like krippendorf's tribe , that actually works . +professor james krippendorf ( richard dreyfuss ) , the renowned anthropologist , is in trouble . +his university gave him a hefty grant to discover a lost tribe in new guinea . +however , he found . . . nothing . +his wife has recently died , and he has spent the remainder of the grant money in raising his three kids : shelly ( natasha lyonne ) , mickey ( gregory smith ) and edmund ( carl michael lidner ) . +tonight , he is expected to lecture on his newfound tribe . +rather than break the news ( and face the consequences of misusing his funds ) , he invents a tribe : the shelmikedmu ( named after his kids ) . +however , one lie begets another as he is not only required to deliver filmed proof of the shelmikedmu , but his research becomes a popular phenomenon . +soon , professor krippendorf is caught up in an elaborate ruse in which he films mockumentary footage starring his children as the shelmikedmu tribal members . +his efforts are hampered by the boasts of an over-eager colleague , veronica micelli ( jenna elfman ) , and the intense scrutiny of a rival anthropologist , ruth allen ( lily tomlin ) . +krippendorf's tribe does seem to require a little suspension of disbelief . +no one seems to question the way his field documentaries seem to be shot with multiple cameras , or that his newly discovered tribesmen have startlingly blue eyes . +luckily , as the film builds momentum , that suspension of disbelief is easy to come by . +though there's some mild humor in the krippendorf family trying to pass themselves off as a lost tribe , the real humor of the film is in how james gets trapped in his ever increasing snowball of lies . +the double meanings to many of the shelmikedmu appearances are enjoyable , and the comic timing required for some of the film's latter scenes is superb . +richard dreyfuss is terrific as the hapless professor who soon loses control of his own imaginary tribe . +jenna elfman's position as a romantic lead seems a bit forced at times , but she plays the part with extreme affability . +even the kids , who in films like this tend to be a bit on the precocious side , are endearing and humorous . +yes , the film does veer occasionally into some rather lowbrow humor , but it has the best excuse of all : it's funny . +it may not go down as an all-time classic , but it certainly delivers what you expect from a comedy : plenty of laughs . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv515_17069.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv515_17069.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..54e06bb17b33bd707ca5a53013649756ddc1fe59 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv515_17069.txt @@ -0,0 +1,15 @@ +not since 1996's shine , which starred geoffrey rush as pianist david helfgott , has a movie so defiantly laid bare the lives of world-class musicians . +in fact , if one were to watch these films together , it would almost certainly stand as a convincing argument that a life of music naturally leads to all varieties of social ills . +yet hilary and jackie , the sophomore effort from director anand tucker , has something more to say -- it softly but strongly explores the complex relationships of sibling rivalry and love in a very compelling tale . +emily watson and rachel griffiths are the leads in this tale , playing the sisters du pr ? . +both musicians from childhood , hilary ( griffiths ) is renowned flutist while jacqueline ( watson ) is easily as skilled on the cello . +the two comepete for and win many honors as children and as young women , both together and seperate . +their careers as musicians surpass and then bow to one another's , and although their lives take very different paths -- hilary settles down to marriage and a family while rachel skips across the globe on a world concert tour -- they are bound together by their deep family love . +the performances of watson and griffiths are excellent in style and substance . +they contrast each other wonderfully , and while watson's portrayal of jackie du pr ? is at times eccentric and perhaps unsympathetic , both characters are charged with emotion . +the frank cottrell boyce script , which is based on the book by hilary and piers du pr ? , brings a great deal of depth to these characters as well . +the script is also to be commended for its well-polished dual nature . +cottrell boyce adopts a style which one might expect to see in a mystery thriller ( which was in fact the case with david koepp and robert towne's script for mission : impossible ) and skillfully molds it to the story of two rising musicians on different courses to fame . +the latter parts of his script are controversial to say the least , and the rather depressing ending takes the wind out of an envigorating story . +some will leave this movie feeling disenfranchised . +nevertheless , hilary and jackie is a movie that reaches an upper echelon of contemporary cinema through solid fundamentals and is a decent watch all around . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv516_11172.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv516_11172.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..71fb977549e33eaacf45f6d14a978ca09dd0ba38 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv516_11172.txt @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +luckily , some people got starship troopers . +some people knew it was supposed to be silly . +for those of you who didn't , how could you miss it ? +from the very beginning , when we see an interactive internet-like promotional video for the armed forces of the future , it should be obvious this film is to be taken lightly . +i guess without blatant one-liners and home alone style slapstick , some people just don't recognize such goofy humor . +such a dry approach to such intentionally campy humor must have left some disillusioned . +first thing to do before seeing this movie - lighten up . +meet the equivalent of " beverly hills 90210 " meets " mighty morphin power rangers " . +four close friends are now graduating high school and are ready to join the armed forces , which , in the future , means fighting for the whole galaxy and not just your country . +johnny rico ( casper van dien ) is ready to join the infantry , mostly because his girlfriend carmen ibanez ( denise richards ) has enlisted to be a pilot . +dizzy flores ( dina meyer ) has enlisted as a trooper , and it's possible she's joining merely to follow rico , whom she's always had eyes for . +if you saw these three on the street , you'd automatically start searching for the fashion designers and photographers , for never has a movie's cast looked so much like the cut-out cover of " seventeen " magazine . +the lone non-supermodel , carl jenkins ( played by doogie howser himself , neil patrick harris ) is the brainiac who gets into the military intelligence division , the top secret department that pretty much leaves doogie - er , carl out of the picture . + ( good call - now we can put all our drooling efforts into only the most deserving of characters ) . +right off the bat , rico becomes the star of the show , far surpassing all the other soldiers and becoming squadron leader in a short period of time . +but a horrific accident during a standard training exercise ( which follows all to closely to his breakup with carmen ) leaves rico ready to call it quits . +with his bags packed and his civilian clothes back on , johnny is ready to walk off base and catch the next flight home . +well sorry , rico suave , but there's no place like home , especially after gigantic alien insects have destroyed it . +that's right , the planet is being attacked by a colony of arachnid-like alien beings that a can of raid just isn't going to destroy . +with a sudden change of heart ( and clothes ) , rico is back in the game , following his fellow starship troopers off to fight a mean group of daddy long legs . +what starship troopers really is , is a spoof of all that it even remotely touches on - the soap opera like love affairs of high school , the love for sci-fi and thirst for gore shared by this same age group , etc . nothing is taken seriously . +it's almost as much a satire on young adults as clueless , but with its sly and futuristic approach , it's not as recognizably so . +it's a spoof so subtle that many won't recognize the spoofery . +if you deem this as sci-fi/action , you're wrong . +it's sci-fi/action/comedy , with the comedy being on the level of such cult favorites as evil dead 2 . starship troopers just may be on the road to cult status as well . +gore is a factor heavily brought up in reviews of this film , but the gore , too , is meant to be cheesy . +yes , it's graphic , but it's also brutally phony , and that's what makes it such great fun to watch . +not since the old " mr . bill " skits on " saturday night live " has torture and mutilation been such a joy to watch . +people were laughing out loud every time a body was severed in half or a head was viciously decapitated . +perhaps it brings back fond memories of the severities we inflicted upon our sisters' barbie dolls as young children . +with the actors resembling ken and barbie so closely , it's a good chance this is the case , whether we're fully aware of it or not . +starship troopers has it's slow parts , but it's truly an alternative to your typical sci-fi/action flick or lame juvenile comedy . +aside from the intentionally cheesy gore , the special effects are quite astounding . +when the spaceship passes a meteor , it's quite an awesome spectacle , visually crisp and captivating . +if you're looking for brainless fun , this is the epitome of your search . +a beautiful cast , awesome special effects , fast-paced action , campy acting , and a whole lot of gore . +this is brainless heaven . +just remember not to think . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv517_19219.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv517_19219.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ed20d9af375eb1349d5e0c8be21d8c0a0996dc6e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv517_19219.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12 @@ +the happy bastard's 30-second review +notting hill +a cute romantic comedy from the writer of the hit comedy four weddings and a funeral , notting hill stars julia roberts as anna scott , a very popular actress with a $15 million asking price for movies . +one day she wanders into a travel book store owned by a simple london resident ( played by hugh grant ) , and sparks somehow begin to fly . +sure , there are points of turmoil , such as putting up with grant's slightly disgusting ( but very hilarious ) roommate spike , anna's pesky ex-boyfriend ( alec baldwin in a humorous cameo ) , and , on top of all that , those damn press . +it's a fresh sort of complexity to see in a romantic comedy , very different from , say , a stubborn father or " not the right time " like as seen in usual flicks . +roberts is terrific as the astonishingly beautiful actress , and grant is surprisingly good as the straightforward guy still trying to get a hold of what has actually happened with this girl . +in short , a sweet romantic comedy that has a lot of good laughs , particularly provided by spike . +one tee-shirt really says it all about him . +in an attempt to turn on a woman , he shows the front of the shirt , which says : " you are the most beautiful woman in the world . " +on the back ? + " fancy a f * * k ? " diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv518_13331.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv518_13331.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..94db4011c212f3372eaf083270d7af40bab4ec46 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv518_13331.txt @@ -0,0 +1,46 @@ +first , i am not a big fan of the x-files tv series . +i have nothing against it particularly , i just don't happen to watch it . +having said that , i can now say that i liked the x-files pretty well . +for us non-fans , there's nothing big going for it , but there are a lot of little things . +the movie opens on an ice cave in north texas in 35 , 000 b . c . +two proto-humans enter the cave and find a space alien cocooned inside . +the alien breaks free and kills one man in a struggle while the other is seemingly captured by the bloody ooze from the alien . +the movie jumps to the same cave today where a boy ( lucas black , from sling blade ) is captured by the same black ooze . +we then cut to fbi agents scully and mulder ( gillian anderson and david duchovny ) , who have been pulled off of their previous assignment ( investigations into the paranormal ) and put onto the bomb squad detail . +a caller has threatened a federal building in dallas , texas . +on a hunch , mulder checks out the building across the street , and , wouldn't you know it , he turns out to be right . +the fbi finds the bomb in time to evacuate but not in time to defuse . +five people die in the blast , and when mulder learns who the victims were , a light bulb goes on over his head . +the two agents team up to investigate , against fbi orders , the links mulder has made . +their search leads them back to the north texas cave , all across the country , and even to antarctica as they get closer and closer to " the truth . " +the plot , and " the truth , " are uninspired . +i got the feeling that what i learned was supposed to shock and amaze me . +it didn't . +the possible existence of aliens on earth has been explored so many times before in movies that one could hardly count them . +but the point of the x-files is not what the truth is , but the extent to which it has been hidden . +it's a slightly more interesting angle , but it still raises expectations about that " truth " too high . +if this were the whole film , i would say the movie was mediocre , perhaps even boring . +but there are other qualities that make me like this movie well enough to recommend it . +the pacing of the film was brisk enough to hold my interest . +before the audience can get tired of one location , the agents follow a hot tip to another location , and so on and so forth . +the locations are not all computer-generated sets , either . +there are some artificial settings , but the desert night of nevada , the edge of suburbia in texas , and the endless fields of snow in antarctica ( actually somewhere in north america . ) +make this fantastic film feel more real . +ward russell's cinematography is very good . +the overall look is dark and ominous , appropriate to the intended tone of the film's plot . +russell is able to make something as innocuous as a cornfield look foreboding . +when the movie is set in darkness , the picture quality is still rich and detailed . +finally , and specifically , there is an incredible shot at night in which the camera crosses the tracks in front of a fast oncoming train . +i don't know if the shot is faked in any way , but it looks dangerous , and it looks great . +the movie's soundtrack is also used to convey the dark tone of the film . ( skip +to the next paragraph if you have yet to see the movie - there is a spoiler in the following sentences . ) during the opening prehistoric sequence , a howling wind dogs the soundtrack , never giving the characters or the audience an escape from the lonely terrible sound . +in one of the movie's most effective sequences , metallic doors suddenly slam open to release a cloud of buzzing bees . +the visuals of the scene are good , but what makes it so surprising and frightening is the sound . +there was no question as to who the movie's stars would be . +even so , duchovny and anderson are an interesting pair of actors and a good combination . +both are easy on the eyes and together , they have some good timing , banter , and energy . +there is a hint of chemistry between them , but it never gets in the way of their professional relationship . +they are like a couple of kids out exploring the empty lot at the end of the street . +there might be some romantic interest , but for now they're more interested in their environs than they are in each other . +no single element really makes this movie outstanding - not even the sense of paranoia that makes the tv show so popular . +but enough things were done right that the x-files is one of the more interesting summer adventures to come along . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv519_14661.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv519_14661.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..091d0ab8947066c38d6fce9dd4995d114ed205e7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv519_14661.txt @@ -0,0 +1,97 @@ +many people will not find much to like in what dreams may come , the new film by visionary director vincent ward . +most will come to see the computer animated landscapes and vibrant colors . +but little do they know ( as i so plainly found out ) that this has quite a complex story to tell . +walking out of the theater , i could see the audience's disgust . . . +one member even had to be awakened after the film ended . +don't believe the previews that you see . . . +this is definitely not a film for everyone . +this is quite possibly one of the most adult-oriented films to come out in recent years . +kids will get bored with the slow plotting and the complex storyline . +the plot is just as fluid as the heaven that ward presents to us . +it goes back and forth in time , as if it has no boundaries . +think of the film city of angels . +now add a more complex screenplay and a more unique vision . +both films deal with the afterlife , but i doubt what dreams may come will do well at the box office . +costing around $85 million to make , the film would have to do extremely well in order to make it's money back . +but due to it's story , i doubt it will . +for everyone who thought titanic's story was too simple and cliche , here is proof that if james cameron had written a more complex screenplay , it may not have done nearly as well . +but don't get me wrong . . . +i hope the film does do well . +it's a vision of pure visceral enjoyment that hardly ever gets put to the screen . +i doubt most of us could have thought of this place , even in our own mind . +what dreams may come is the second best film of the year when it comes to visuals . +the only film that surpasses it is dark city . +full of rich , shocking colors , we get to see a heaven that most of us would probably die to get to . +but don't do that , because you'll end up going to hell . +what dreams may come begins with two boats colliding on a lake . +chris " christy " nielsen ( robin williams ) is startled by the sudden jolt , but is even more startled by the beauty of the woman in the other boat . +annie ( annabella sciorra ) spies chris , as well , and both eventually bond and get married . +annie is an artist , whose paintings are colorful , lush , and surrealistic . +chris is a doctor and loves annie more than life itself . +they also have two children , marie ( jessica brooks ) and ian ( josh paddock ) . +but one day , the two children are killed in a car crash , and it almost destroys annie . +she tries to commit suicide , but fails , and is then put in an institution . +chris copes with the problem by realizing they aren't around anymore , and nothing will change that . +just as annie gets her life back in order , chris is killed while trying to save the life of a car crash victim . +chris goes to heaven , or his version of heaven , rather . +guided by albert ( cuba gooding , jr . ) , chris explores his new surroundings with pure delight and joy . +that is , until he realizes how miserable he is without annie . +prior to heaven , he would try to comfort annie , but the more he was around , the more pain she felt . +chris decides to leave her alone . +little does he realize what will happen next . +i'm not about to say , because the plot point is crucial to the rest of the story ( many critics , however , give it away ) . +certainly , chris dying is crucial to the plot , but they tell you that he dies in the previews . +story is not necessarily important for this movie to work , because it deals with the afterlife . +however , strangely , virtually nothing is heard of god or the devil . +a couple of comments here and there , but the story maintains its focus on chris and his search for the love of his life . + " we're soul mates ! " +chris exclaims . +heaven , in movies , is almost always depicted as a glowing city of white , purity , and love . +usually , it also looks like it rests among the clouds . +but what dreams may come goes a different route . +it shows us a heaven that most of us have never seen before . +chris' heaven is his memories brought to life . +his thoughts can make anything real , and he makes the paintings annie drew become his heaven . + " i've never seen anyone use real paint before , " albert says . +equally good as the depictions of hell which cast away the normal stereotypes of fire and brimstone . +instead , it's a state of being . +in one gloriously horrific scene , chris and his " tracker " ( max von sydow ) arrive at a sea of faces . +thousands of heads are stuck above ground , their bodies somewhere else . +mostly dead silent , some quips are made , almost as if to lighten the mood . +it's truly a frightening sequence . +production designer eugenio zanetti is definitely going to be up for an oscar nomination . +using state of the art computer technology , worlds are created for exploration . +sometimes , some scenes play out as if they are only there for the visual impact . +it's not necessary to be there , but we appreciate seeing it . +costume designer yvonne blake ( who also appears in the film ) has done an incredible job providing some interesting and colorful costumes . +cinematographer eduardo serra , whose work was last seen in the luscious wings of the dove , has a difficult job , as most cinematographers do working with special effects . +but serra's entire universe is a computer generated image , and he does a masterful job . +writer ron bass , adapting from the novel by richard matheson , provides a very fluid screenplay with no real set plot . +the story is extremely vague in its details , allowing viewers to think for themselves about the meaning . +and director vincent ward puts it all together into his final vision . +what dreams may come is a good example of german expressionism which may just turn off a good portion of the audience . +your average movie goer more than likely isn't used to expressionistic techniques . +the film will also definitely draw attention from religious people , but they shouldn't take it too far . +it is , after all , just a movie . +robin williams has continuously impressed with his dramatic performances , while his comedic roles have been suffering . +his comedy is perfection when he makes up his own stuff , but when is confined by a screenplay , he isn't quite as effective . +but drama is really his strong point , and you can see that here . +it's doubtful he'll get another oscar nomination , but i wouldn't really mind if he did . +the real surprise here is annabella sciorra who impressed last year with cop land . +this may be her breakout role and may garner her some much needed attention . +it's also quite possible that she could get an oscar nomination . +however , the academy doesn't like to award performances for these types of films . +cuba gooding , jr . has been better , but he's certainly not distracting . +max von sydow is underused , as are jessica brooks and josh paddock . +a treat for some movie goers is to see werner herzog appear ( if they even recognize him ) as chris' father lost in the sea of faces . +it's not hard to see why herzog would be attracted to this film , considering he thinks that audiences are starving for great images . +overall , it's williams and sciorra's film . +what dreams may come is rated pg-13 for thematic elements involving death , some disturbing images , language , and some partial nudity . +the film is definitely aimed at a more adult audience . +some will find the plot distracting . +some will find the visuals absolutely glorious . +and some will find both . +the only real problem with the film , that i could see , was that it slows down considerably during the midsection , just after we have been immersed in the visuals and before the search for annie begins . +by the way , some controversy even surrounded the title , which was mistaken for a sexual term ( " what " becomes " wet " and you should understand ) . +in actuality , the title is from a soliloquy in hamlet . +just thought i should let you know . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv520_12295.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv520_12295.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c1ac4ae3a1b63a5c0ad85af4d1686a54f345549b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv520_12295.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +when i was growing up in 1970s , boys in my school used to divide into two groups , based on their action movies preferences . +the first one , myself included , liked movies that featured spectacular car chases , lots of machinegun fire and huge explosions . +the latter one preferred hong kong martial arts flicks , probably because they could ( or , to be more precise , thought they could ) imitate its stunts in the real life . +decades later , while refining my own cinematic taste , i began to appreciate and actually like those movies , probably because of overexposure to shoot-em-up idiocy of 1980s ramboids . +yes , most of the kung fu and other " martial arts " flicks were cheap , they had predictable and formulaic plot , and asked very little of production values aside from martial arts skills . +but , in the same time , those movies had their own rules and in the hands of capable director could become a terrific guilty pleasure and source of relaxation . +the best of those movies , one that passed the test of time and managed to keep its own cult status after quarter of century was enter the dragon . +made in 1973 in a joint hong kong - hollywood venture , it was intended to bring bruce lee's skills and kung fu philosophy to the western audience . +it succeeded , but it is still debatable whether by its own merit or by the unfortunate and mysterious death of bruce lee that immortalised the myth about that actor . +lee plays a quiet shaolin monk who is a martial arts expert . +he is approached by interpol official who asks him to join tri-annual martial arts tournament that is held on a remote island , owned and controlled by han , renegade shaolin monk . +interpol suspects that the martial arts business is just cover for narcotics , gun-running and prostitution operations and lee must find the evidence necessary for authorities to intervene . +lee accepts the mission because of personal reasons - o'harra , han's brutal bodyguard was responsible for the tragic death of lee's sister years ago . +the island is also destination of two colourful martial arts experts from us - williams ( played by jim kelly ) is black activist running from the racist police , and his friend roper wants to make money in order to pay gambling debts . +the plot of enter the dragon was in many ways influenced by james bond ( the 007 franchise itself would return favour by using kung fu elements in the man with the golden gun two years later ) . +the main hero was faced against a power-hungry megalomaniac on a remote island , alone against whole army of bad guys . +on the other hand , lee was more believable hero than bond ; deprived of guns and super-tech gadgets , he had to rely only on his personal skills in order to survive . +in the same time , the plot , although extremely thin , allowed him even some internal battles - between the natural instinct to avenge his sister and his own anti-violent philosophy . +the latter provided some opportunities to evaluate lee's acting skills and some new elements to his impressive screen presence . +although two other main actors - john saxon being the obligatory good white guy and jim kelly being the obligatory black good guy - were intended to share top spot with lee , they served as nothing more than a comic relief . +it is a real shame to see kelly , definitely the worse actor than saxon , to steal the scenes from him only because his lines , being the worst possible blaxploitation cliches , sound so damn over the top . +other actors , not including shih kien who turns han into typical , although not very convincing bondian villain , are nothing more than fist fodder for bruce lee ( among them is young jackie chan ) . +fighting scenes are still impressive today as they were 25 years ago , although they mostly lack gore associated with that genre . +in many way they are also more realistic ( they were personally staged by lee himself ) , demanding only a blow or two to incapacitate or kill the opponent . +i'm not a martial arts expert nor the martial arts fan , but comparing those scenes with typical scenes today i simply can't avoid to appreciate the difference from today's movie fights when masses of bloody pulp manage to get up from the floor and win in the end . +so , despite all the obvious flaws that preclude this movie of being top 100 of all times , enter the dragon is a incredibly entertaining piece of cinema and the martial arts flick that can be enjoyed even by those who don't like that particular genre . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv521_15828.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv521_15828.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5b60026fe1c9608f76a797b2fd5a90ee0a71df84 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv521_15828.txt @@ -0,0 +1,58 @@ +one of the sweetest tales to ever be made , it's a wonderful life isn't perfect , but its good natured charm and beautiful performances light up the screen with glorious results . +probably the greatest " feel-good " film of all time , it's a wonderful life aims for the heart , and strikes with a golden arrow . +on christmas eve , george bailey ( stewart ) is being prayed for by many in the small town of bedford falls . +you see , george is in trouble , and he has always helped others who needed it . +this one time , however , god answers his prayers , and sends down the lovable guardian angel clarence ( travers ) to try and save george . +clarence has got his own problems , however . +clarence is an angel without his wings , and each time the bell rings , the wings pass him by . +the bailey case is a way for him to earn those magical wings and become a true angel . +but before clarence can save george , he first has to go through a cliffs notes version of george bailey's life . +we see george sacrificing his hearing to save his brother's life , sacrificing his college education to save the family business , sacrificing his dream of living far away to support his brother , and even sacrificing his life to make sure his brother is happy working somewhere else . +when the bank his family owns is in trouble , george gives away his honeymoon money to make sure the bank isn't sold to the evil mr . potter ( barrymore ) , who wants nothing less than to get the baileys out of bedford falls . +one christmas , potter gets his chance . +uncle billy bailey ( mitchell ) loses $8 , 000 of the bank's money . +without the money , the bank must close down . +george is stuck in a tremendous bind , and contemplates suicide . +clarence , the faithful servant , is there just to pick him up , and to show him what bedford would be like without george . +this is all a lead-in to the very famous last scene , where george finally sees what true happiness is about . +it's a wonderful life does have its faults . +the movie is beginning to feel dated in the details , especially in the treatment of women and men . +the sex roles in the film are weirdly out of place in the 90's , like something out of a revisionist look . +all the men drink too much and slap their wives too much during some portions of the film . +there are , however , endearing moments in all of this . +capra puts in just enough humor mocking the sex roles of the 50's to make the movie remarkably enjoyable . +the story is hackneyed , and the ending feels , well , a little too sugarish . +there's this uneasy feeling of sugar over everything , especially the sequences where george is either in trouble , or helping somebody . +it's a little too nice for my liking , at times . +there is , however , enough humor , enough wit , and enough of jimmy stewart to get the movie through the middle part , which would be the most difficult . +but watching it's a wonderful life is never boring or difficult : it's always interesting , right until the finale , which , for all its sugar , makes delightful sense and is beautifully done . +capra does have his monumental cliches , but the actors relish them and overplay everything to perfection . +donna reed is perfect as the loving , obeidient wife , and lionel barrymore is gloriously grump as mr . potter . +everyone else is magnificent , including bert and ernie ( ward bond and frank faylen ) . +there is a general sense of goodness , as if everyone in the film knows that they are making a great film , and they relish that . +stewart , however , is the king of all of this . +he is sometimes awkward , especially when saying " merry christmas " to all objects , animate or inanimate . +but he is james stewart , and he's lovably delightful throughout the film . +have i complained ? +i shouldn't have . +this is a really good movie . +no , this is a great movie . +better yet , this is a phenomenal movie . +there is a reason classics are invented : to make sure that people will always have great movies to aid them in their quest for living life . +this is one of those films . +it is a " feel-good " movie , something people complain a little too much about . +but capra's reworking of " a christmas carol " is the greatest christmas movie of all time . +there , i've said it . +i have to admit , the first time i saw this , i saw it with my family , including my 11 year old kid sister . +they all loved it . +they loved george , his wife , his troubles , and the beautiful ending . +is it a little too sugar-coated ? +maybe . +no matter . +this is a film that should be watched time and time again , with families around a coffee table , and eggnog on the plate . +it is a film that just makes you feel good about life , family , and hope . +it is the perfect christmas film , flaws and all . +it is frank capra's greatest acheivement , and that really does say a lot . +for about 121 out of 129 minutes , this movie is flawless . +the rest can be excused : no film is perfectly flawless . +i can't get over how much i love this movie , and how much you will , after watching it , digesting it , and sitting with your family , appreciating how special life really is . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv522_5583.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv522_5583.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d7d905cc8e54f2d830175cbcd3f1a898542b1c1a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv522_5583.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +of circumcision , psychic wounds and the family sitcom +the opening segment is something of a foretaste of this film . +there's a guy's voice telling us how he tries to imagine what his biological parents look like , and on the screen we see images of a variety of oldish men and women . +as his imagination plays o n , he ( and we ) picture these motley characters in a mix-and-match shuffle of unlikely marriages , businesswomen with bums , matrons with paint salesmen , the images coming on in a faster and faster frenzy . +it's not just a witty , funny summing up of the film 's themes - you might not guess it yet , but it sets the pattern for the way the story goes on . +what starts out as a step in a fairly sensible direction , gets taken on a road trip , put through a detour or two and finds itself freewheeling towards an immin ent crash . +that may not sound so different from the average family sitcom , and the general idea of the film doesn't , at first , seem so wildly distant from standard-issue hollywood comedy : man who was adopted as a child ( ben still er ) sets out on a journey to meet his real parents , along with his wife ( patricia arquette ) , his baby , and a pretty psychology-researcher ( tea leoni ) in tow . +various mix-ups , shenanigans , oddball characters and , yup , disasters follow . +but if you think you've been here before , the dialogue and the direction ( by david o . russell , who made spanking the monkey ) take it into another dimension . +the dreaded t-name seems an inevitable reference point ( what with a drug overdose scene and the casting of arquette from true romance ) but really the point is that the foot-massage master hasn't got a monopoly on plot twists and fast , funny , irreverent lines , or on the absurdities of ordinary speech . +whether it's about circumcision , psychic wounds , oral sex , carjacking , the beauties of the armpit area , or ronald reagan , the script never seems to run out of hilarious invention . +the best thing is how these words aren't just there for the punchlines , but are great precisely because they're said in character , like tea leoni's neurotically-charged psychobabbler who's able to say under assault , " it's understandable if you find this threatening " . +the cast is excellent throughout , and , rather than singling out anybody , kudos are due to the fine ensemble acting , with the sometimes frenetically overlapping dialogue and the sense of a dozen different reagents colliding to the point of fission . +there are some elements of a woody allen film in this ( not to mention the hand-held camera and loose , improvisational feel of some scenes ) . +like allen , russell's interests are in the volatile sexual politics of couples and the neurotic obsessions in both pare nts and children ( and everybody , really ) . +still , if you're expecting a privileged moment of revelation and emotional outpouring a la " murphy brown " / " frasier " / fill-in-the-blank-american-comedy , well , it won't happen . +the film sets up expectations like these , with the lead character's search f or his origins and his hopes of self-healing , only to knock them down . +if the conventional sitcom structure is to put a slightly loopy family in catastrophic conditions only to rediscover their essential lovey one-ness , flirting with disaster's charact ers embark on a journey to seek that essential state but find themselves only plunging into more weirdness and dysfunctional chaos the further they go . +and that , the film suggests , is the essential family state - and you better learn to love it . +somehow , this is perversely feelgood cinema , right up to its manic end . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv523_16615.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv523_16615.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4446bae171e54bf32e2972779b1728a0dbec5be7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv523_16615.txt @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +nosferatu the vampyre ( germany 1979 ) +a film review by mike watson copyright 1999 mike watson +this extraordinary re-telling of bram stoker's " dracula " by german filmmaker werner herzog deserves the most prominent of places in cinematic vampire lore . +inspired by f . w . murnau's 1922 silent film of the same name , herzog's film is a work of exquisite bleakness , an oddly touching tragedy with a beautiful and uniquely haunting quality that lingers long afterwards . +the original full-length english and german language versions of nosferatu have at last received a video release by u . s . distributor anchor bay entertainment , and in gorgeous widescreen prints . +until now only a shortened english language version of the film was available on video , and only in europe . +both of these re-releases restore the film to its full length , but viewers should still be wary of the english version due to its often stilted dialogue . +apparently the english dialogue coach herzog had on the set during filming was incompetent , and some of the voices also seem to be dubbed . +the german version with english subtitles remains the definitive one . +everyone knows the story of dracula . +or do they ? +his story has been so bastardised on film over the years that a brief reminder of the basic plot certainly won't hurt . +jonathan harker is a young lawyer sent to the gloomy castle dracula in transylvania to do business with a creepy count ( played by klaus kinski ) who wants to buy a house in harker's hometown . +upon seeing a photo of harker's wife ( the radiant isabelle adjani ) he instantly falls in love with her . +locking harker up in his castle , he sets off on a long journey to meet this woman whose beauty so bewitches him . +upon divining his identity as a vampire , adjani seduces the count and lures him to his death one morning as the sun rises . +that is a story familiar to millions , but herzog has elevated stoker's tale into the realm of - and i use this term a tad reluctantly - cinematic art . +nosferatu is as much a meditation as it is a film , shot through blue-ish and white filters and peopled with characters who perform as if they were half hypnotised . +the film's surreal , dream-like quality is utterly mesmerising . +there is much to enjoy , but i'll limit my praise to a few key points . +holding the film together is kinski's remarkable performance as count dracula . +past screen portrayals , including bela lugosi's famous turn , have largely been one dimensional and tended towards camp . +but kinski . . . oh boy , this is something far more compelling . +aided by a startling make-up job , he portrays dracula's vampirism not simply as pure evil but as some sort of loathsome disease . +this man is dreadfully lonely . +he lives in utter solitude , shunned by the locals for his hideous appearance and reputation for bloodlust . +kinski's portrayal of the count is both creepy and deeply affecting . +when he dies , you almost feel as if this man's tortured soul has been freed at last . +then there's the unforgettable soundtrack , largely composed by german group popul vuh . +it is so eerily beautiful and evocative that it's quite impossible to imagine the film without it . +popul vuh are longtime herzog collaborators and play an ancient-sounding kind of spacemusic using piano , chants , and exotic instruments . +when i first saw this film some years ago i was so impressed i tracked down and bought a number of their albums . +the one i still listen to the most is " tantric songs " , from which most of the music in nosferatu is taken . +it's a testament to the music's depth that it is as powerful without the pictures as it is with them . +the album is still available on the highly respected ambient and world music label celestial harmonies . +this is a timely re-release by anchor bay . +after francis ford coppola's unscary and woefully overblown version of bram stoker's tale in 1992 , it is a joy to go back to herzog's film and see the amazing things he has done with what is now a century-old story . +to some aficionados , nosferatu is quite simply the greatest vampire film ever made . +without a doubt , it is an unmistakable classic of the genre . +don't miss it . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv524_23627.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv524_23627.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4ab9d34fa98dcaa7e2a9a41ba5dc41717f1d5679 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv524_23627.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +even if i did not know that director and co-writers james wong and jeffrey reddick of the creepy final destination helped create the hit television show the x-files , i would have inevitably made a connection . +the similarities are very apparent from the inexplicable phenomenon- like plot , to the mysterious characters , to the overall dark , ominous settings . +it would have been perfectly fitting to see fbi agents mulder and scully investigate this case , they witness stuff like this on a weekly basis ( in fact mulder and scully would have been a much more welcome change to the bland one dimensional fbi agents seen in this movie ) . +another more important similarity , is that both succeed in entertaining and thrilling at the same time . +this is a great accomplishment for a teen horror movie , especially when compared to some of the trash , of the same genre , released in the last couple of years ( urban legend and i still know what you did last summer are classic examples from the bunch ) . +what helps final destination is its unique premise . +unlike your average horror flick in which some invincible psycho with a knife chases blonde cheerleaders , the villain presented is unusual , it's the grim reaper . +this being already has predestined when and how you will die . +according to the brief history lesson given in this film , everyone was meant to die at a certain time , some people at 100 , others at 17 , whatever death chooses . +what is unique about death is that it's already dead , so you can't really kill it . +the only way to defeat death is to cheat it ; the question is how do you do that ? +this dilemma is what faces alex and a group of teenagers . +alex has been having some dreams that the airplane which will take his class on a trip to paris will crash , leaving no survivors . +alex begins to realize that his dreams are a little too real and eventually gets himself and six others kicked off the plane right before it takes off . +shortly after , the plane does indeed crash leaving some of the seven survivors confused and others feeling immortal . +however , death isn't through with them yet . +it gradually kills off the seven one by one , leaving those currently still alive frantically trying to trick death again . +the plot allows for some of the most creative , original death scenes i have seen in a while . +some scenes build up the perfect amount of tension until an elaborate climax , others are so unexpected they will leave your jaw wide open in shock . +creativity and originality are two adjectives lacking in most horror films nowadays but final destination is not like most horror films . +sure , it has your traditional share of jerks and outsiders ( ali larter's character is particularly annoying ) , but the shocks , from the beginning to the end , are extremely entertaining . +also director wong has the sense not to take the movie too seriously . +he knows its just another entertaining guilty pleasure that won't win any academy awards ( not even a golden globe ) . +the myriad of inside jokes and gags ( the characters are named after famous horror directors , one character who plays a jerk is named carter , like x-files creator chris carter , and a song by john denver , who died in a plane crash , plays whenever death is near ) show this movie is a bunch of guys having a good time making a movie . +and from this , i had a great time watching the movie . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv525_16122.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv525_16122.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6b74c302ee06210a85683e8694c99e2389187c44 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv525_16122.txt @@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ + " take a number , fill out a form , and wait your turn . " +starring kati outinen , kari v ? ? n ? nen , sakari kuosmanen , elina salo ; written & directed by aki kaurism ? ki ; cinematography by timo salminen +it might be possible to call drifting clouds a satire or a black comedy , but that would imply a sense of anger , of vitriol , of energy ; drifting clouds is what you get when the rage and vitality are gone . +it is the sad , slow story of lauri and ilona , a married couple caught between the wheels of capitalism as it grinds inexorably onward . +he loses his job as a tram driver , because everyone drives cars nowadays . +within a couple of months , she loses her position as a head waiter , when her restaurant is bought out by a chain and the entire staff replaced . +a conversation early in the film reveals a lot about their situation . +lauri has surprised ilona by buying her a tv , which she greets with little enthusiasm . +she notes that they haven't finished paying for the bookshelves or the couch yet . +he says that in four years the payments will be done and then they can buy some books for the shelves . +it would pass as deadpan humour if it wasn't spoken with such resigned weariness . +this sets the tone for the rest of the movie . +there is humour and idiosyncracy at the periphery , but at the centre there is frustration and futility , and sorrow for the ways in which the logic of profit reduces people , until their worth is equated solely with their earning capacity . +there is an element of political commentary in this critique of the mechanisms of capitalism and the stultifying social environment it creates , but in drifting clouds the political is subsumed by the personal : the movie is about two people and what happens to them , and nothing else matters . +lauri and ilona live lives starved for friendship , respect , culture , passion . +they go to the movies , and walk out past old posters for l'atalante and l'argent , but the movie they have just seen is a pointless , violent , unfunny comedy . +their house and workplaces are uniformly unpleasant , painted and upholstered in lifeless colours ( ugly greens , dull reds , insipid blues ) , full of inelegantly functional objects and appliances . +the art design is impeccable in its tawdriness , and director aki kaurism ? ki often matches the colour of characters' clothes with the background colour and/or lighting , so that it seems as if they are almost physically fading into the environment . +there is no suggestion of sexuality in the relationship ; ilona and lauri sleep in separate beds and their gestures of affection lack the heat of desire ; their lives are now bound by something more complex and desperate than love . +their downward , downsized , downtrodden lives have a momentum that is almost comic , as one setback succeeds another , bottoming out when lauri stakes all their remaining money on the spin of a roulette wheel . +it must have been tempting to play the story for more laughs , more farce , more deadpan wit , but the film's great strength is the sober , empathic manner in which it observes lauri and ilona's misfortunes . +irony would be an injustice . +situations and settings are broad and exaggerated--this is not realism--but they are not distorted . +the emotions are authentic . +if it is difficult to laugh at anything that happens , despite the droll performances , the laconic humour , that's because kaurism ? ki brings such compassion and understanding to the manifold indignities that are suffered . +he shows us how humiliating it must be for a woman of thirty-eight , who has worked long and hard to win a respectable position , to be forced to accept a job as a dishwasher in a two-bit restaurant ; how humiliating it must be for a man nearing 50 to confront his wife's former employer , demanding the rest of her wages , only to have the crap beaten out of him , unable to land a single punch , when the employer and his cronies refuse to give him the money . +all this is observed keenly , with great economy : every cut , every line of dialogue , is judicious . +if most films are novelistic in their telling , this one brings the focus and concentration of a short story to bear . +but what is gained in nuance and acumen is rather undermined by the sense that the material barely accommodates the 96-minute running length . +i have seen many movies far less profound , less humane , less necessary than drifting clouds , but they filled me with an urge to watch them again , and this one did not . +it does not need to be seen twice : its every detail and implication can be absorbed in one viewing . +it is not a movie that will be seen by a large audience , because it cannot be pitched to one . +there is no selling point . +it is all understatement , restraint , melancholy . +the characters are unremarkable , their best years behind them , their dreams dissipated ; it takes all the effort they can muster just to pay the bills . +this does not make them less fascinating , merely less marketable , which is a shame , because this is a movie which should be seen , precisely because it pays attention to people and emotions that most movies prefer to ignore . +it engages us and touches us and resolves--surprisingly , and movingly--into something resembling a happy ending . +the only thing greater than the ill-luck that governs the characters' lives is their refusal to give in to despair . +their persistence is rewarded with what might be called a " feel-good " ending elsewhere , but not here , because this ending differs in kind from most such endings : this one has truly been earned . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv526_12083.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv526_12083.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8c196dccf9723d30b28298be62b1992821259a17 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv526_12083.txt @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +ingredients : london gal , fate , true love , running joke about monty python's spanish inquisition +synopsis : american actress gwyneth paltrow with dark hair , playing a londoner ? +believe it . +sliding doors is a love 'what if' story . +the gimmick is that it's really two stories : the film follows the life of helen ( gwyneth paltrow ) down two directions . +in the beginning , likeable gal 'helen' ( gwyneth paltrow ) gets unexpectedly fired from her advertising job . +so she goes into the subway train station meaning to return home early to her apartment and her sleeping live-in lover gerry ( john lynch ) . +helen doesn't know it , but she is at a fateful junction in life : 1 ) if she enters through the sliding door of a london subway train her life takes one path with one future 2 ) if she stays on the platform her life takes another path with a different future . +the film shows what happens in both paths , switching back and forth between intertwined , parallel stories . +in story one , helen meets a charming and talkative monty python fan named james ( john hannah ) on the train . +arriving home early , she discovers that her live-in , gerry ( john lynch ) , is having sex with his former lover lydia ( jeanne tripplehorn ) . +this leads to a life where helen moves out . +helen's winsome new friend james helps her recover from a broken heart , and encourages her to start her own business . +in story two , helen experiences a different fate . +she misses the train , never meets james , and doesn't get home early enough to discover gerry's infidelity . +in this new life , helen takes up odd menial jobs , and faces the constant sneaking suspicion that all is not right with her relationship with gerry . +will the truth of the heart finally work its way through a number of problems and setbacks in both scenarios ? +opinion : rejoice all ye monty python fans , gwyneth paltrow fans , and watchers of quirky romance flicks . +at last here's proof that there's still creativity in 1990s filmmaking . +sliding doors is refreshingly different from anything this year . +not only is it a well-acted , heartwarming film , but it's also easily gwyneth paltrow's best recent performance . +when helen ( paltrow ) screams that her unfaithful boyfriend is a 'shagging wanker , ' ( a british phrase better left untranslated ) she sounds like she knows what she's talking about ! +nor does sliding doors go overboard with formulaic true love or other stereotypes . +nobody scrambles around in danger , screaming , " i will find you no matter what , my darling ! " +when helen finds herself on a boat in the starlight with james , she doesn't take the easy way out and leap into his arms , since she's supposed to be recovering from heartache . +and handsome live-in boyfriend gerry isn't the stereotypical screen hunk ( either a stud or a snob ) . +instead he's a nervous and indecisive , almost helpless hunk . +another example : when one of the protagonists lies wounded in a hospital , sliding doors gives us neither the 'hospital miracle' nor a maudlin tragedy but surprises us with a third variation . +in other words , all of the characters seem non-stereotyped , human , and local . +there are minor inconveniences . +since sliding doors switches back and forth between two possible fates , it's occasionally difficult to distinguish between the two . +distinguishing between the two stories isn't a problem in the scenes containing paltrow , who sports two different hairstyles . +but in scenes containing only lydia and gerry , who look the same in both stories , it's slightly confusing . +also , quite a few snappy comebacks referring to american pop culture ( seinfeld , woody allen , etc . ) are spoken by the british characters . +but these seem slightly forced , given that the remaining dialogue is predominantly british slang . +possibly an attempt by the screenwriter to balance the british so that american audiences can feel more comfortable ? +sliding doors is a charming , quirky , original , happy romance with a little 'philosophy of fate' thrown in . +monty python and the meaning of fate , anybody ? diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv527_10123.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv527_10123.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..65f55946465662bbf05e59818075ece4875e3929 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv527_10123.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +sick : the life and death of bob flanagan , supermasochist +by fernando vallejo +starring bob flanagan and sheree rose . +interviews by kathe burkhart , kirby dick and rita valencia . +produced and directed by kirby dick . +running time : 90 mins . +this film is not rated . +the central themes of " sick : the life and death of bob flanagan , supermasochist " are pain and love , and its subsequent effect on a person's life . +its protagonist , bob flanagan , who died at the age of 52 , suffered from cystic fibrosis , a mortal disease which debilitates the lungs by saturating them with thick coats of mucus , preventing him from normal breathing . +the movie is about much more than recouperating ( or attempting to ) from this disease . +an audacious , fabulously triumphant docudrama , " sick " chronicles the life of flanagan and his vicious , unthinkable acts of sadomasochism conducted with his mistress of 15 years , sheree rose , who amazingly provided much of the footage for the film . +flanagan's idelogy crosses the realms of rebelliousness and becomes transcendental , similar to terry zwigoff's brilliant 1994 " crumb " , which also explored the dysfunction of an artist by painting not a sympathetic portrait , but a realistic one . +both crumb and flanagan revelled in their defects . +but flanagan was not only a man content on enduring the pain via lungs , he inflicted acts of pain on himself at a very young age , courageously defying god ( he was an irish catholic ) and turning his body into a work of art , which he unraveled in museums and lectures . +behold these works of physical art . +among them is a metal ball inserted inside his anus , and , --the most disturbing scene of the decade-- , nailing his penis to a board . +flanagan was a man of great intelligence , wit and humor , as well as adopting a sense of candidness scarcely seen in modern filmmaking . +not only did he approach his disease with humor , peforming burlesque acts in front of an audience , he was also revitalized by his approachment . +most with cystic fibrosis do not make it past their earlier twenties ( there's also a subplot involving a female devotee who knew death was awaiting her . + ) +but the most outstanding thing about " sick " is flanagan's relationship with sheree . +brimming with honesty , sensual stimulation and unapologetically sad moments of pain , their powerful bond lifts " sick " into a rare cinematic high , where we forget we are in an auditorium and become a part of these people . +the last scene , where we see the hero murmuring the last words to his wife in a hospital bed , as he struggles for his last moments of life , is raw , tender , hideous . +it goes a step beyond cinematic intimacy . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv528_10822.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv528_10822.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ef422f84212e8de36a4b3e910448d97c30a99f4c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv528_10822.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +studio expectations must not have been high for " great expectations " -- the film's release date was pushed from late december to late january at what appeared to be the last minute , therefore putting any academy awards chances it has off until this time in 1999 . +it's actually a smart move , because while this updated take on the charles dickens tale isn't quite oscar fodder , it * is * strong enough to be distinguished from the cinematic dumping ground that usually makes up the first five or six weeks of any given year . + " great expectations " also demonstrates how to modernize a classic story right , especially after the excruciatingly wretched excesses of baz luhrmann's " william shakespeare's romeo + juliet . " + " great expectations " opens somewhere in 1970s florida ( the original story is set in 19th-century england ) , as eight-year-old finn ( jeremy james kissner ) meets a trio of people who will have a profound effect on his life in the future . +there's icy , 11-year-old estella ( raquel beaudene ) , a pseudo-playmate of finn's ; ms . dinsmoor ( anne bancroft ) , estella's auntie who's quite off-kilter over a past romance that never took off ; and a mysterious prisoner ( robert de niro ) whom finn saves the life of . +finn , who lives with his sister's affable boyfriend ( lone star's chris cooper ) , fancies himself an aspiring artist , and proves his prowess by whipping up an unusual portrait of estella using only ms . dinsmoor's lipstick , eyebrow pencil and the wallpaper from her dilapidating mansion . +flash forward into the '90s ( after a brief stop in the '80s ) , and finn ( now played by ethan hawke ) , despondent over a strange hot-and-cold relationship with the elusive estella ( gwyneth paltrow ) , receives quite a bit of money from an unknown benefactor ; it's enough cash to send him to new york to focus on a career in art . +there , finn seems to gain everything he could ever want -- wealth , prestige and a high place in the glamorous art world . +when estella resurfaces -- albeit with an aloof fianc ? ( hank azaria ) -- finn also sees the chance to renew their mutual attraction . +but she's not the only ghost from finn's past that's going to be paying him a visit . +comparisons with the afore-mentioned " romeo + juliet " seem inevitable since these films are the only ones in recent memory to plop classic drama into a current setting . + " great expectations " is a much better venture , though , because it treats its source with even-handed respect , where " romeo " was never quite sure whether to be a spoof , a homage or both . +the movie is a visual banquet thanks to emmanuel lubezki's sexy cinematography ; notably , he captures a revisited fountain kiss between the two leads with a luscious , erotic charge that's steamier than the film's ( surprisingly muted ) love scenes . +the eclectic rock soundtrack compliments the on-screen action beautifully , especially new songs by tori amos , mono and duncan sheik . +acting credits are first-rate , often hiding the screenplay's occasional slip-ups . +hawke is sincere and solid as a leading man ( something we also learned from " gattaca " ) , and his finn is quite a likeable guy . +paltrow's estella , on the other hand , is rather underdeveloped . +while the actress is at her icily seductive best , we're not told very much about her character , and as a result , it's often hard to understand why finn would appreciate her beyond a physical level ( but , oh , * what * a physical level ) ; sometimes , we root for finn although we don't quite understand why she's fueling his fire . +robert de niro is nice and sophisticated in the benevolent kind of role he rarely gets to play ; on the other end of the acting spectrum is bancroft , a macabre , throaty delight who mambos and sucks down cigarettes with an eerie enthusiasm that would make norma desmond jealous . +alfonso cuaron's visually elegant direction helps to distract from the dry moments that pop up more frequently around the movie's climax . +another problem is predictability ; you can guess your way through the plot even if you aren't familiar with the story . +despite its script flaws , though , " great expectations " is undeniably romantic without being corny or gloppy . +and frankly , it's nice to see a film that embraces softened sensuality other than explicit sexuality . +perhaps that renovated release date , awfully close to valentine's day , will end up helping " great expectations " ' seemingly average box office chances after all . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv529_10420.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv529_10420.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..90db18829a586c6f911e59d830255ba03921d0cc --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv529_10420.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +seen december 28 , 1997 at 8 : 45 p . m . at the crossgates mall cinema 18 ( guilderland , ny ) , theater #8 , with matt perreault and my sister jena for free ( matt paid using pre-paid passes ) . +if there's ever been an exception to the perils of excessive cliches and non- stop action , the james bond films are it . +and if there's ever been a james bond film that not only proves this , but does so by pushing it to the extreme , " tomorrow never dies " is it . +opening sequences almost always make or break action films . +when done properly , not only are they actually exciting , but they foreshadow things to come . +this film starts off on the right foot by establishing the kind of atmosphere that could only be found in an action movie , but with a sense of the self-aware , enclosed universe where james bond movies take place in . +first there's a high-tech , slightly complicated scene involving a british warship crossing into unfriendly , chinese waters . +there's definite tension as there seems to be an unknown , but certainly hostile , third party involved who is manipulating both sides . +when the scene ends in tragedy , it's clear there's some kind of powerful conspiracy going on , and who else to call on for such a case but james bond ? +the film uses good judgment in the way it introduces us to bond ( brosnon ) . +as the enemy was portrayed as evil and mysterious , bond is clearly ( and obviously ) depicted as an out-and-out hero . +he single-handedly takes out a small army of terrorists , and then must escape in the nick of time by flying away in a fighter jet while the co-pilot tries to strangle him and a terrorist in another jet tries to shoot him down ! +this might sound like the kind of cliches films like this are notorious for ( over- ) using , but it works here because the film knows how to get our attention quickly . +it's not about the payoff because it's obvious bond will escape , instead , it's the way it processes the action sequences by going over the top and not apologizing for it , all the while creating for witty , hysterical comedy . +it seems less emphasis is placed on the villains in thrillers anymore , because of political correctness , and just plain copping-out on behalf of the filmmakers ( even the term " villain " sounds passe ) . +what the film deserves kudos for is its ability to create a villain as heinous as they come , yet making him seem completely plausible . +jonathon pryce delivers a perfect performance as the arrogant , cunning elliot carver , a media mogul whose goal is to take over the world , that is , through his massive media empire , not through nuclear weapons . +through some interesting detective work , bond and the english ministry of defense believe carver is behind the trouble brewing in the southern asian seas as a way to create and accurately cover his own news . +not only is that an original idea for a conflict , but one which could carry over into reality . +surprisingly , this is about as detailed as the story allows the specific plot to become . +the film's hook is the action , and of course those cool gadgets and we get plenty of that here as bond goes out to investigate carver and finds himself in a jam or two along the way . +the story works much like bond himself - always on the run and concentrates more on the individual conflicts than any general plot . +somehow a chinese agent , wai lin ( yeoh ) , bumps into bond a few too many times and they find themselves working together . +the chemistry between brosnon and yeoh is rigid , but also works because of this , not in spite of it . +the two are constantly on the run from carver and his goons , yet the film manages to balance the stunts and special effects with its clever story . +although " tomorrow never dies " is far from perfect , it is quite an impressive film in terms of its ability to be so cliche and cartoony and not make plausibility an issue . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv530_16212.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv530_16212.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5aa104c24408bfbd97795115d207db676386e165 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv530_16212.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +james jones , one of the major novelists from the middle of the twentieth century , has written a number of fictional works about the effects of war on the individual . +a veteran of world war ii , and a witness to the pearl harbor bombings , his novels are not only grounded in realism but poetic in nature . +they are reminiscent of stephen crane in their blunt eloquence , a trait which lends itself to razor-sharp focus . +but perhaps none matches the scope of his autobiographical novel , the thin red line ; now a cinematic masterpiece from director terrence malick . +the book's principal cast , some thirty characters , has been trimmed down for this rendition , but it still retains its most endearing value . +each of the roles has an everyman quality , emphasizing jones' examination of world war ii on the american soldier . +there's a definitive chain of command present , and this also plays on the motivations of the cast . +but most importantly , and perhaps intrinsic to the novel but not to the movie , a dynamic and effective voice-over is used . +malick has several characters relating their thoughts , giving the viewer a greater perspective of the issues at stake . +the issues at stake are many and one . +told from a limited third-person perspective ( as opposed to a top-down , omniscient view ) , the movie entails the struggle of an american infantry company ( " c-for-charlie " ) to take a hill during the conflict at guadalcanal . +the south pacific island is seen by the top brass as the key position for american armed forces to hold if they want to win the war . +and want to win the war they do . +in an excellent performance , nick nolte plays c-for-charlie's commanding officer , lt . col . gordon tall . +he's an aging soldier who embodies the win-at-all-costs mentality , if only to impress his superior ( john travolta , in a questionable cameo ) . +this philosophy is opposite that of captain bugger staros ( elias koteas ) , who dearly values the life of each and every one of the men under his command . +at the front are the privates and corporals ( adrien brody , james caviezel , ben chaplin , et al ) , lead by 1st sgt . +welsh ( sean penn ) , who must actually execute the suicide orders handed down to them . +the thin red line is filled with intense , visual poetry , but it's nearly three hours long . +although the interest level is high throughout the first two hours , the climax comes forty-five minutes before the end of the movie ; it goes without saying that the movie drags on the back end . +the thin red line will doubtless be compared to 1998's other masterpiece of war , saving private ryan a countless number of times . +but to do so is to belittle both films , for although similarities abound , so do differences . +director malick has a story to tell , and for those interested in listening , this can be a very outstanding movie . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv531_26486.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv531_26486.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6ba00327a63c7301e91dfb65ead94862aa35b924 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv531_26486.txt @@ -0,0 +1,45 @@ +an energetic , visually stunning , but intellectually hollow recreation of the mysterious life of jeanne d'arc . +in history jeanne d'arc is lost in an ocean of mystery and controversy , which creates the perfect launching pad for talented and creative directors , who can basically alter the story as they wish . +she came in a time where people desperately needed a saint . +a hero that could rescue them for misery and deliver peace and happiness . +director/writer luc besson ( 'nikita' , 'leon' ) portrays his version of the peasant girl who commanded the armies of france and was burned at the stake for witchcraft . +besson tries to recreate the person behind the legend . +he tries not to show her as a saint or a villain . +he shows her as a human being . +in a time where blood was almost pouring from the sky , and the air smelled of rotten flesh , it is hard to keep your sanity . +the only support and hope is in god . +at the age of 13 , jeanne ( milla jovovich ) watches her own sister murdered and raped by the english soldiers . +this terrible event makes a lasting impact on jeanne's mind . +god is no longer her support . +he has become her obsession . +she starts seeing visions and signs that command her to raise an army and free france from the siege of the english tyranny . +with the help of the wise yolande d'aragon ( faye dunaway ) and charles vii ( john malcovich ) , whose grand royal ambitions and life are at stake , jeanne raises an army and marches towards the english walls . +after this the film stays mostly on the battlefield , where besson demonstrates his ability to direct amazing action sequences , only occasionally resorting to a calmer tempo . +the movie is filled with dreamy , symbolic images of pure artistic craftsmanship , that create a surreal and occasionally paranoiac atmosphere . +the film is lost in time and space , hysterically jumping back and forth in jeanne's thoughts , imagination and conscience . +besson's visual style permits the audience to enter the medieval age , feel the smell of fresh blood and the adrenaline pumping in your body in the heat of battle . +but the film is far from being flawless . +the script needs a lot of polishing . +except for jeanne , there are no real characters . +and although a grand star cast is assembled , their characters are nothing more than props , not more alive than the costumes that they are wearing . +as for the maiden of lorraine herself , she is portrayed as a simple girl , too small for her divine task . +in the latter part of the film , we see her as hysterical , confused and on the brink of madness , with her past purity and innocence for ever lost . +jovovich handles the part with more panache than one might expect . +but though her screen time is incredible excessive , both malcovich ( 'being john malcovich' ) and dunaway ( 'titus' ) surpass her rather overacted and simply unprofessional performance . +and even hoffman manages to breathe some life into his dreadfully small part . +besides casting jovovich , besson's only mistake is his extreme sense of patriotism that in the end ruins his so gloriously crafted painting . +there are some viscously evil englishmen that murder , pillage and betray with a smile on their faces . +and some incredibly brave and noble frenchmen , represented by the " three musketeers " of this story -- the brave gilles de rais ( vincent cassel ) , the wise aulon ( desmond harrington ) and the strong la hire ( richard ridings ) . +though all those actor perform well , their characters are nothing more than symbols -- banners that proclaim the glory of france . +and thus , there is no sense of realism in this film . +'the messenger' has muscles instead of brains . +there is some relief in the end , where besson lays down his armor and starts thinking . +dustin hoffman's appearance helps and the film ends elegantly and surprisingly effective with a climax worthy of praise . +jeanne's character is unlocked , but whether god was in the picture or not , is never quite explained . +was she a confused peasant girl driven by her own hunger for revenge ? +or was she truly a messenger of god ? +the film poses as many questions as answers and nothing is completely obvious . +bess o messenger' is nothing more than a fairly good film . +it is not much that you remember of it after you leave the theater . +maybe the sound , the dreamy sequences , but certainly not the dialogue . +it is an elegant and adrenaline pumping history lesson for the mtv-generation , that although presents some interesting material , works better when it's on the battlefield . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv532_6522.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv532_6522.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..52035bde2fa62d15ec736a1f117f927b8b573d52 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv532_6522.txt @@ -0,0 +1,43 @@ +i'm not quite sure what to say about mars attacks ! , which is obviously the work of a deranged genius . +when tim burton's twisted alien invasion comedy really works , it's breathtaking and hilarious in equal measure . +and when it doesn't work , it's just dull . +i'm not even sure it works more often than it doesn't , but where it counts -- that is , when this gleefully evil invading force from the red planet gets down to the business of blasting us to kingdom come -- mars attacks ! +is brilliant . +mars attacks ! +is based on a rather unsavory series of trading cards released by topps in the 1950s , and it takes its cues from the same sources as this summer's independence day -- old alien invasion flicks , disaster movies , and big-budget special effects extravaganzas . +but unlike independence day , which was a painfully middle-of-the-road appeal to the hearts , minds and wallets of america , mars attacks ! +has a fully developed and very personal sense of wonder about it . +the big difference is that while independence day celebrated the resilience of human beings , mars attacks ! +portrays us as the greedy and hapless schmucks that we are . +the title sequence is just splendid -- an incredible swarm of flying saucers rises out of the canals of the red planet and then storms earthward through the solar system in formation . +the spinning metal saucers are dead ringers for the invading forces of movies past , and their first appearance on the big screen in combination with danny elfman's thundering , theremin-driven score is absolutely jaw-dropping . +it's so overwhelming that , i swear to you , i had trouble breathing . +the movie lays low for the next 40 minutes . +we get a glimpse of the alien leader , resplendent in a purple-sequined cape , when a television message is broadcast to the people of the world -- naturally , the only way to communicate with earthlings is to preempt our regularly scheduled programming . +but mostly , the first act is spent developing characters , setting up mildly comic situations , and drawing a quirky but dishearteningly drab picture of america according to tim burton . +it's a good thing that the most compelling personality in the movie belongs to the aliens , because burton's just not interested in making more than caricatures out of his human stars . +anyone who comes to mars attacks ! +expecting to see a lot of one favorite actor is bound to be disappointed -- with few exceptions , these characters are dispatched as the film progresses . +jack nicholson is a lot of fun as the president of the united states but fizzles as a sleazy las vegas hotel developer . rod steiger does an amusing enough take on dr . strangelove's buck turgidson , glenn close brings some star power to the role of the first lady , and martin short is a presidential aide who meets the martians in the white house's " kennedy room , " a secluded nook where he unwittingly tries to seduce an alien dressed up as a big-haired , pointy-breasted sexpot ( lisa marie , the burton flame who played vampira in ed wood ) -- in an earlier scene , it's made clear that the aliens studied human sexuality in the pages of an old issue of playboy . +sarah jessica parker hosts her own tv show and michael j . fox is her newsman husband . +the octogenarian sylvia sidney has a funny part as the old woman who cackles , " they blew up congress ! " +and plays a decisive role in the defeat of the alien menace . +jim brown and tom jones are the film's vegas-based heroes , and director barbet schroeder ( reversal of fortune ) has a funny cameo as the unfortunate french president . +also on hand and underutilized are annette bening , pierce brosnan , pam grier , lukas haas and natalie portman ( the latter two also show up in woody allen's everyone says i love you ) . +the real stars , of course , are the computer-generated martians , and they're fantastic . +with bare brains glistening atop their grinning skull-faces , round egg-eyes with red pupils darting this way and that , these animated invaders are malevolence incarnate -- joe dante's gremlins are the closest equivalent in recent memory , but burton's little monsters are more inventive . +the film's raison d'etre are the scenes of crimes against mankind -- the most famous monuments of the world crumble under the alien assault , easter island is turned into a bowling alley , and the nasty little buggers perform hideous medical experiments on captured humans . +the sheer level of mayhem is staggering , especially when the aliens make their first attack , blasting human beings into iridescent skeletons . +parents are urged to pay special attention to the pg-13 rating -- it's earned . +the special effects vary from charming to astonishing to deliciously cheesy , and at least a couple of shots of mass destruction seem to have been engineered specifically in response to independence day , although mars attacks ! +was in production long before that film's release . +cinematographer peter suschitzky , who makes the most of wynn thomas's wildly imaginative production design ( thomas helped define the spike lee style ) , actually took time off from his mars attacks ! +regimen to shoot crash for david cronenberg . +cronenberg's movie will almost certainly be more somber -- it won't be released in the u . s . until early next year -- but mars attacks ! +is surely a similarly elegant nightmare . +this is not a nice movie . + ( and which studio executive was duped into giving burton $70 million to make it ? ) +by setting the film's final scenes in the nearly empty , holocaust-ravaged america that independence day conveniently avoided , burton's invasion epic suggests that the world we've got may not be worth saving until many of the people on it are dead . +the victims of his invasion are naive , greedy , or disastrously self-absorbed -- and a good thing , too , since the movie's wicked charm is dependent on our ability to take this invasion partly as a wish-fulfillment fantasy . +the surviving cast members are the innocents and the entertainers , who triumph by determining that the alien invaders -- the ultimate elitists -- are actually susceptible to the kitschiest strains of american pop culture . +ultimately , this messy masterpiece is the year's funniest comedy and a weird , winking affirmation of the power of the people . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv533_9821.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv533_9821.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8b654227ea2e1d50145c23fa698fb95b6459d483 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv533_9821.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +capsule : trippy , hyperspeed action machine from hong kong's accomplished tsui hark . +van damme and rodman have nice chemistry , the stunts are eyepopping , and stuff gets blowed up real good ; what more do you want ? +i admit i was all set to loathe double team ; it reeked of cheapjack timing-oriented marketing ( stick dennis rodman in a movie , quick , while he's hot , and do something about jean-claude van damme's flagging career while we're at it ! ) . +surprise -- double team transcends its dumb roots and turns out to be a mess of fun . +bring some friends , get some pretzels , and have a blast . +van damme is jack quinn , an ex-agent who is brought back in for " one last mission " -- you'd think any spy worth his shoe phone would run like hell when he hears those words . +but van damme's character has a pregnant wife who's also a sculptor , and some unpleasant pressure gets used to get him to come through on this mission . +he's been assigned to take down an old enemy , a terrorist named stavros ( mickey rourke , looking oddly subdued ) , who may be back up to his old tricks . +in the first showdown between quinn and stavros , the movie wears its ambitions proudly on its sleeve : nonstop action . +an amusement park , a hospital , a private " retired spy " 's retreat , most of rome , various houses , planes , cars and other modes of transport , and the coliseum ( ! ) +all become arenas for some of the most bone-rattling shoot-outs and punch-outs filmed . +they are better seen than described and are reason enough to see the film : one jaw-dropping scene has van damme taking on a man who uses a switchblade with his * feet * . + ( van damme is a good , dextrous athlete and fighter , but he is often upstaged . ) +there are other nice touches . +stavros and quinn both want the same thing : to retire in peace with their families . +that ambition ties them together in various ways , and also humanizes them a bit . +one of the things about hk action movies is that there's always some form of human element , and that's carried over into this movie as well . +it gives weight to scenes that would otherwise be forgettable . +also good is dennis rodman , playing a weapons dealer named yaz -- a character who sticks out like a fistful of broken fingers and who is funny just standing there . +rodman is natural on screen ; he's fun to watch , especially when slinging bad guys like basketballs , and deserves to get a movie of his own , based on what's seen here : a lightweight , fast-moving entertainment that showcases all of its pieces excellently . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv534_14083.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv534_14083.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..18b5c8a317c6dd38af4d7f6b84b37ce3478316a9 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv534_14083.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +the heartbreak kid ( reviewed on aug . 26th/1998 ) +starring charles grodin , cybill sheppard , eddie albert +in " the heartbreak kid " , charles grodin plays one of the most unbelievably obnoxious characters i've seen on screen in a long time . +he's a guy who spends virtually the entire running time of the movie bullshitting his way from one situation to another . +i doubt he ever expressed any genuine feeling at all during the film . +as the film opens , he has just gotten married , and is on the way to miami beach for his honeymoon . +halfway there , he begins to resent his bride . +by the time he arrives at his hotel and has met the cybill sheppard character , he is ready to divorce his wife . +as played by grodin , this character is the type of person that nothing will ever be good enough for him . +the phrase " the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence " was practically written with him in mind . +however , if he finds something he really wants , he will pursue it for as long as it takes . +the only problem is , once he has it , he immediately loses interest . +the end of " the heartbreak kid " is both hilarious and sad for that very reason . +charles grodin is at his smarmy best here , and sheppard is quite appealing as the object of grodin's desire . +however , the real scene stealer is jeannie berlin , daughter of director elaine may , as grodin's whiny bride . +she owns every scene that she's in , and makes you almost want to root for what the grodin character is trying to do . + " the heartbreak kid " was written by neil simon and it shows . +simon loves to deconstruct and analyze human relationships , and he's at the top of his game here . +as maddeningly obnoxious as the grodin character is , he's the type of guy that everyone knows . +the character of george costanza on " seinfeld " seems to have been modelled after him . +the only problem with the film is that it's not that funny , and it's billed as a comedy . +as much as i could see the realism in the characters , it would have been nice to have a chuckle here and there . + " the heartbreak kid " is not a date movie . +it has an extremely negative view of relationships , so seeing it with a girlfriend/boyfriend , could be hazardus to your health . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv536_27134.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv536_27134.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a0093ec54e9b16e4d091741911c2ffc04258c155 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv536_27134.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +i'll be the first to admit i didn't expect much from the emperor's new groove : more celine dion-esque song-and-dance numbers , cuddly characters that become cross-promotion devices in mcdonald's happy meals , and hollywood stars trying to gain credibility by adding a voice-over job to their resume . +i was dead wrong about all of those things . +the emperor's new groove is funny . +damn funny . +and the cute characters in the film are the dangerous ones . +the script is fast and furious , with no singing and dancing . +the animation is clean and would give walt a warm feeling all over . +the humor is dry and aimed at both the cynicism and the goodness in all of us . +the story is ridiculously weird and comes off as a strange acid trip involving talking , cross-dressing llamas and schizophrenia . +here's the plot ; try to follow along . +set in a mythical kingdom , the film follows the adventures of kuzco ( david spade ) , an arrogant and egocentric emperor . +when kuzco fires his power-hungry advisor , yzma ( eartha kitt ) , she and her " assistant " kronk ( seinfeld's patrick warburton ) change him into a llama . +kuzco then gets stranded in the jungle and must rely on pacha ( john goodman ) , a llama-herder whose home was to be replaced by kuzco's water world theme park , to save him . +then the fun starts . +for the next sixty minutes , the audience is treated to something unheard of in disney films these days : imagination . +yzma , voiced by the talented singer eartha kitt , looks like a cross between norma desmond , joan crawford , and a really old vegas showgirl . +the dialogue between her and her oblivious assistant kronk is quick , sharp , and feels like an episode of seinfeld ( which would make sense ) . +david spade and john goodman's character interactions make you feel like you're watching an old hope/crosby film . +spade is beyond dry with his humor and shoots below the belt on several occasions , and i laughed out loud several times . +needless to say , that is an extremely rare thing in disney screenings these days . +the best part about the emperor's new groove is how audacious the film is . +the sheer weirdness factor is very high . +cross-dressing , schizophrenia , duality of soul , people being turned into every animal on noah's boat , llama cpr , homoerotic tendencies , an emperor with his own theme song and singer , michael jackson dance moves , and a guy that can communicate with a squirrel are only a few of the oddities that make the film a true orginal . +simply put , the emperor's new groove is one of the best children's films out for this holiday season . +kids will enjoy the adventures , and parents will enjoy the story and dialogue . +that's a tough thing to pull off in a single package , but this emperor manages to do it . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv540_3421.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv540_3421.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d9406b051bea6a987e6a4af3b5693abab309425a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv540_3421.txt @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +i am starting to write this review before going to see strawberry and chocolate , cuba's oscar nominee for best foreign film , directed by tomas gutierrez alea ( who also directed the sometimes and in some circles critically acclaimed memorias del subdesarrollo-- " memories of underdevelopment " . +i saw memorias as part of a cuban cinema class back in the late '70s ; it merged the politics of the cuban revolution with mundane elements of the human condition . +i knew then that memorias was probably a state-sanctioned political missive , and now expect strawberry will follow suit . +fellow internetters , primarily in the newsgroup dedicated to cuba ( soc . culture . cuba ) , have mentioned that strawberry is a harsh criticism of the revolution and its current state of affairs . +i have jumped to the conclusion that strawberry is nothing more than a veiled attempt at espousing the party line--it probably looks like political criticism , but it ain't so . +having some first hand and extensive anecdotal knowledge of castro's repressiveness , i can't conceive of his tolerating honest and adversarial criticism of the revolution , and i can't imagine his letting anyone even suggest his failure as a leader of a failed movement . +as kids say these days , duh ! , the revolution's current state needs no criticism ; its physical and spiritual crumbling is self evident . +the proper questions to put relate to castro's legitimacy . +i bet the film takes castro's power for granted , and that this or any other movie , produced under cuba's state control , cannot question his right to run cuba's political show ( ongoing now for more than 36 years ) . +that's why i just can't believe strawberry is an honest criticism of the regime . +let's see what happens after the room goes dark and the screen lights up . +i saw the film--twice . +i was right ; castro remained intact . +strawberry negotiates the relationship between a young " dialectic materialist , " as he describes himself , and a homosexual photographer ( diego ) in 1979 cuba . +the young man ( david ) is the son of peasants ; a symbol of the revolution's reason for being . +grateful to the revolution for the opportunity to receive a university education , he studies political science instead of literature , his avocation , because he perceives it is his duty . +therein lies a likely unintended irony , since cuba has no need for political theoreticians . +cuba's government is castro . +diego's lifestyle is the antithesis of revolutionary life . +he enjoys the finer things--tea , opera , art . +he does not do " voluntary work " for the revolution . +his small apartment is a sensual oasis . +the moniker " bourgeois " figuratively hangs over his head during the early parts of the movie . +however , he is a " revolucionario " in his own way . +the supporting roles are filled by : an aging busybody with a heart of gold and a troubled psyche ; david's roommate , who rally takes the communist party line to its expected extreme ; david's ex-girlfriend , who dumped him for another guy , yet wants to bed him before she leaves for italy with her husband ; german , a gay sculptor whose work diego is attempting to exhibit , and who strikes a faustian pact with the government . +gutierrez alea and co-director juan carlos tabio do a fine job at almost showing that homosexuals can be revolutionaries too . +heck , towards the end of the film you begin to think the guy deserves a medal for his patriotic fervor . +he really loves the revolution ( as supposedly does everybody else in cuba ) and wants to make it better by exposing and correcting some of its flaws . +real criticism is missing though . +this movie is political window dressing . +luis aguilar leon's op . +ed . +piece on fresa in the miami herald ( 10 march 1995 , at 21a ) did not color my judgment ; it presaged my intuition . +aguilar leon expressed my sentiment about this film's political angle best : like many artistic manifestations in cuba , strawberry and chocolate sprang from a totally manipulated environment . +as art critic ivan de la nuez well states in the latest issue of the magazine postmodern notes , the silenced artists are those who refuse to accept " the charade in which artists can provoke up to a point , while the institutions legitimize themselves by forbidding them to go beyond that point . " +although terrible propaganda , this is otherwise a fine film . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv541_28835.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv541_28835.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8098e3d76265267b888f2ee45c71b54e16b2039b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv541_28835.txt @@ -0,0 +1,51 @@ +capsule : this is a 1950s or 1960s style heist film , set in the present . +robert deniro stars as a risk-adverse safecracker who wants to retire form crime but takes one last job at the request of a personal friend ( played by marlon brando ) . +edward norton plays a hotshot young sharpster who is also in on the crime . +the plot is mostly straightforward suspense with little nonsense . + , +2 ( -4 to +4 ) +i am sure i must have seen almost the identical plot before . +this is a heist film made for an adult audience who probably wanted a crime film like they had seen in theaters when they were teens . +there are no superhuman acrobats taking nosedives off of buildings like in entrapment . +there is no rock score . +there are no ballet- like martial arts . +this is just a basic heist film with a decent and distinctly credible and un-flashy script . +nick ( played by robert deniro ) is a safecracker who has managed to be successful by never taking risks . +if a job is not a safe bet ( pun intended ) , he backs out . +sometimes even the safe bets turn out not to be so safe . +when one job very nearly goes wrong nick is unnerved enough to decide that it is nature telling him that it is time to get out of the game . +he returns to his home in montreal where he owns a jazz club , and decides to manage it full time . +he proposes to his girl friend diane ( angela bassett ) . +she has one condition . +he must stay retired from crime . +but before the deal can be cemented , max , a montreal kingpin and personal friend , has one last supposedly easy job for nick . +nick wants no part particularly because the heist will be right in his hometown of montreal . +more and more details seem to complicate the job . +nick's partner in the crime is to be a smart , but uncontrollable young crook , jack ( edward norton ) . +jack treats a locked front door like a welcome mat , even at his associates' homes . +the young crook is a know-it-all who seems good at everything he does but at avoiding rubbing people the wrong way . +together they plan to steal a priceless historic artifact from the montreal customs house . +the script by kario salem , lem dobbs , and scott marshall smith works like an episode of the old " mission impossible " television series . +we see pieces of the heist being put together , last minute changes , and things that go wrong , much like a good episode of " mission impossible . " +this team might not be bad choices to write scripts for the tom cruise " mission impossible " films . +the complications are , however no more and no fewer than are needed to make the story believable . +the telling is cold and noirish , which is just what it is supposed to be . +director frank oz , the voices of yoda and miss piggy proves surprisingly good at directing a serious crime film . +the score has a more than adequate cast with little flashy or scene-stealing acting . +edward norton probably has the flashiest role and even that is low-key by today's standards . +he plays what is nearly a double role . +jack pretends to be a brain damage victim to be hired for a job in the customs house . +one nice ( ? ) +character i have not mentioned is stephen ( jamie harrold ) . +stephen is a master hacker who lives in his mother's basement in a house with a lot of screaming in both directions . +he seems like the last person the risk adverse nick would want to depend upon . +the film itself remains low-key up until the time of the climactic heist . +then the pace really picks up . +before that the plot even stops twice for jazz interludes . +though oz never lets the music steal time from the story the way woody allen does in sweet and lowdown . +on the subject of music , the score of the score is by howard shore . +it adds tension to the suspense scenes , but never seems to have much of a melody . +angela bassett is the one misused celebrity in a totally minor role that should have been played by a less famous actress who needed a break . +she has nothing to do in the film but demand that nick give up crime and to look like an attractive reward if he does . +speaking of being attractive the score seems to be attracting an older audience who learned to appreciate much the same sort of film in the 1950s and 1960s . +it does the job . +i rate it a 7 on the 0 to 10 scale and a +2 on the -4 to +4 scale . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv542_18980.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv542_18980.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a6e5cf4985448f008f10c5c8149051d0a4369316 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv542_18980.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12 @@ +don't let the following quirks of this review , fool you into believing that this movie is anything short of an ultimate labour of love . +but one can see the humour of roberto benigni when you see that ? +life is beautiful , even though i'm a short , ugly looking man with an obnoxious laugh . +life is beautiful even though i haven't amounted to much in life , except working out the finer intricacies of waitering . +i'm a lucky sort of a guy , especially when a beautiful woman strips away my venner of superficiality to find a new age , sensitive guy with the biggest heart in the entire world underneath - life is beautiful ! +i'm a jew , but life can still be beautiful . +the nazis put me in a concentration camp , but life is still beautiful . +i love my son very much and that's what matters , and that's what makes life beautiful . +my ability to entertain somehow convinces my son that living in a concentration camp is somewhat beautiful ? +i get shot for my efforts and the woman i love , but hey that's life and that's still a beautiful thing - so by jove don't give me any crap about it ! +by far the movie with the biggest heart this decade and well deserves every nomination and award that it has achieved . +well done , there should be more film directors and actors like you roberto benigni . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv543_5045.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv543_5045.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..48b4e2986472190ef797e1d00bf6a12ee89ef849 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv543_5045.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +getting it right is a far far cry from the teenage sex comedy you might expect from a summer movie about male virginity . +the film was directed by randal kleiser , who brought us such bubble-gum classics as grease and the blue lagoon . +but thanks to kleiser's surprisingly good direction and an intelligent script , getting it right is a pleasantly quiet , moving , and memorable film--one geared strictly toward a sophisticated , adult audience . +getting it right stars jesse birdsall ( emily lloyd's boyfriend in wish you were here ) as gavin , a painfully shy 31-year-old hairdresser who lives at home with his parents and who--gasp--is still a virgin . +gavin has no problem whatsoever making small talk with the elderly women who clamor for his services at the hair salon , but expose him to a single 30-year-old beauty and he's a mess . +much to gavin's surprise , the woman who finally brings him out of his shell and robs him of his virginity is joan ( lynn redgrave ) , a rich , married , and lonely 45-year-old . +getting it right is the simple story of gavin's awkward and haphazard efforts to get it right ; that is , to find the right woman to fulfill his life . +getting it right is one of those rare movies that devotes itself entirely to in-depth character development . +gavin's self-conscious voice-over narration of his experiences firmly thrusts us into his psyche . +we observe his fascinating metamorphosis from shy and passive introversion to assertive and self-confident maturity . +birdsall's superb , understated performance as gavin is the real backbone of the film ; he seems convincing and authentic throughout . +the charm of getting it right also lies in the wide array of people who inhabit or invade gavin's life . +despite her limited screen time , redgrave makes quite a splash in the movie as gavin's middle-aged seducer . +for a supporting character , joan is unusually and impressively complex , thanks in large part to redgrave's magnificent performance . +gavin is also pursued , or perhaps plagued , by minnie , the totally neurotic daughter of a rich aristocrat . +after minnie and gavin meet at a party , she takes great pleasure in disrupting his safe and simple life . +helena bonham carter is delightfully pathetic and kooky in the role , and sir john gielgud , with his tongue in his cheek , embodies the height of arrogance as her father . +gavin's eventual love-interest is jenny , the adorable twenty-year-old single mother who assists him at the beauty salon ; london stage actress jane horrocks' fine performance yields a touchingly sweet character . +peter cook , the great british satirist , appears briefly in the film as gavin's uptight employer . +the scenes of gavin's home life with his parents are also a treat . +gavin's over-protective mother ( pat heywood ) , whom even woody allen would find overbearing , almost steals the movie . +her life seems limited to just two activities : treating gavin like a 10-year-old and preparing exotic but inedible meals , such as scalding hot curry and baked chicken with chocolate sauce . +gavin and his father's attempts to avoid eating her meals are extremely amusing . +getting it right , for the most part , is very well-crafted , except for two minor shortcomings . +first , the movie is about 15 minutes too long , and consequently it loses momentum at times . +second , the film includes an altogether extraneous subplot about the domestic problems between gavin's best friend , harry , and his unfaithful lover , winthrop . +overall , however , getting it right is quite memorable for its humor , depth , sophistication , and outstanding acting . +director kleiser and screenwriter elizabeth jane howard ( adapting her own highly acclaimed novel ) deserve praise for finding just the right tone for this tale of growth , maturation , and self-discovery . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv544_5108.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv544_5108.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8a9f25601b3646bac4dec0cf72d993527e1f1adf --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv544_5108.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18 @@ +no matter what you suspect , this isn't your usual action thriller . +the usual suspects is an intelligent crime mystery story from up-and-coming director bryan singer . +it's one of those movies that , after everything is revealed rapid-fire at the end , you immediately want to rewind and watch again because earlier scenes take on a new light . +plot twists a-go-go are what you get here -- i gave up trying to figure out the mystery of keyser soze after awhile and just sat back and waited for them to reveal it to me . +keyser soze is a name you'll hear at least a hundred times if you watch the usual suspects and for good reason . +it's not only the name of the mysterious ( and possibly even mythical ) crime boss in the movie , it also sums up the movie -- " keyser soze " in latin means " an intelligent crime mystery story from up-and-coming director bryan singer . " +or maybe i shouldn't have bought a foreign-language dictionary from the same company that makes those 99-cent encyclopedias sold in supermarkets . +at the movie's opening , a group of known criminals are brought in for a police lineup , including mcmanus ( stephen baldwin ) , keaton ( gabriel byrne ) , fenster ( benicio del toro ) , buckney ( kevin pollack ) and verbal ( kevin spacey , winner of the best supporting actor academy award{symbol 153 \ f " times new roman " \ s 10 \ h} for his performance in the movie ) . +verbal is so-named because he frequently rambles on about anything or nothing . +he also earns his name as the movie's narrator , spouting memorable lines like " the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist " ( although , obviously , he does exist -- what else could explain kris kross having a comeback in 1996 ? ) while being interrogated by police detective chazz palminteri ( any actor with multiple z's in their name is okay in my book ) . +we see the story unfold as spacey retells it . +the five felons , upon being released from the lineup , get their revenge on the police by exposing a corrupt taxi service -- whereby elite criminals pay to be smuggled through town in cop cars -- and stealing all the money and drugs in the car . +it's a definite case of male bonding for the five criminals , who later find out they were brought together by the unseen keyser soze , who sends a minion to them with an offer they can't refuse . +namely , they have to destroy soze's main competitors in organized crime by infiltrating a ship , shooting a bunch of people , burning all the drugs and stealing $91 million cash . +spacey does a terrific job of bringing his seemingly unintelligent " cripple " character to life and baldwin , byrne , palminteri and the rest make for a good supporting cast . +the usual suspects is one of those movies that deftly mixes scenes of violence and explosions with an underlying sense of mystery and suspense , keeping the viewer guessing until the very end -- and then still leaving a few details open for scrutiny and discussion . +i suppose all that would be cleared up if i really had rewound the movie and watched it again instead of changing the channel and wondering in disbelief what the hell kris kross was doing on mtv . +a different mystery , i guess , which may turn into a _murder_ mystery if that video ever comes on again . . . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv545_12014.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv545_12014.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..9d4befbbe22606399b403f4cc6c59069acad7c36 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv545_12014.txt @@ -0,0 +1,44 @@ + " dangerous beauty " is a really nothing more than a grandiose soap opera set in venice circa 1583 . +it is beautifully filmed , wonderfully acted , and certainly nothing short of entertaining , but it lacks any true fundamental seriousness . +dealing with themes of forbidden love , religious intolerance , subordination of women , sexual freedom , and the roles of pleasure and sin in a high-cultured society , it still feels like brightly lit fluff . +the director , marshall herskovitz , doesn't want to follow the dark and dangerous trail this story could lead down , so he opts for a more genial , livelier , and relatively shallow interpretation . +the film takes place during the renaissance , a time when venice was the pleasure capital of europe . +at this time , venice was its own republic , and it thrived on being the central juncture of east-west commerce . +the film is told almost entirely through the viewpoint of the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie of venice , so we rarely get to see how the rest of the society lived . +however , there is an abundance of detail concerning the lives and livelihoods of the upper classes , their hedonistic lifestyles and constant merriment . +the story centers on veronica franco ( catherine mccormack ) , a lower class woman who falls in love with marco venier ( rufus sewell ) , the son of wealthy aristocratic parents ( jeroen krabb ? and joanna cassidy ) . +unfortunately , the culture of that time period did not view marriage as an act of love -- rather , it was more like a business transaction , where rich families married their sons and daughters to each other in order to secure power , wealth , and ensure that outsiders couldn't get in . +veronica , despite her charm and good looks , is certainly an outsider . +after a short love affair , marco breaks her heart with the news that he cannot marry her . +however , because she is beautiful and intelligent , veronica has a chance to enter marco's world , albeit not as his wife . +she decides to become a courtesan -- a class of women who were as well-educated as they were ravishing , and sold their sexuality to wealthy men for the privilege of wining and dining with the elite . +a courtesan was not a mere prostitute ; they were afforded a special place in society , and they were greatly revered , respected , and often envied . +at one point , a character mentions that some rulers obtain more political advice from their courtesans than from their lieutenants . +veronica goes through the transformation with the help of her mother , paola ( jacqueline bisset ) , who was once a famed courtesan herself . +once she enters the lifestyle , veronica finds that it suits her quite well . +she is allowed to read all the books she wants , she is given the opportunity to publish her poetry , and she has the richest and most powerful men in the republic throwing themselves at her feet , including the awestruck marco . +their relationship develops into a playful bantering , with veronica utilizing her newfound power by constantly rejecting marco's advances . +in many ways , their relationship is sad because marco is married to a women he is unable to love , and veronica is consumed by multiple relationships with men she is unwilling to love . + " love the love , not the man , " as her mother told her . + " dangerous beauty , " which was based on a factual book by margaret rosenthal , flows along as smoothly and serenely as the grand canal running through the heart of venice . +it has multiple plot lines -- including veronica's adversarial relationship with a court poet ( oliver platt ) , her role in obtaining france's military assistance in venice's battle against the turks , and even the dreaded shadow of the plague and the encroachment of the spanish inquisition -- yet it is never confusing or overbearing . +much of the film's success is due to the glowing performance by catherine mccormack in the lead role . +known chiefly for the small part she played as the lover whose murder raised mel gibson's ire in " braveheart " ( 1995 ) , mccormack shows the true gifts and inarguable talent of a leading lady . +she has the kind of exquisite classical beauty that would be treasured in a courtesan ; her character is intelligent , witty , and both sensual and vulnerable , all of which mccormack easily transmits with a single flash of her eyes . +the rest of the roles are also filled well , including rufus sewell whose performance here and earlier this month in " dark city " have assured him a solid place in hollywood . +he has the same kind of unusual good looks and charm of ray liotta , and he seems perfectly at home in period dramas . +oliver platt plays a variation of the comic relief role that he has come to inhabit like a second skin , although the film deals his character a cheap blow at the end by having him improbably join the inquisition and turn into the bad guy . +platt is a good actor , but he's just too hard to hate . +jacqueline bisset proves that she is every bit as stirring as she ever was , and even fred ward turns up in a small , but moving performance as marco's uncle . + " dangerous beauty " is marshall herskovitz's sophomore directorial effort , after the overlooked 1993 film " jack the bear . " +partnered with edward zwick , herskovitz has spent most of his time as a producer on television ( " thirtysomething , " " my so-called life " ) and in the movies ( " legends of the fall " ) . +his directing style can be best described as transparent -- it never gets in the way of the story , yet it has no discernible flourish or particular distinctions . +he could have approached the film in any number of ways , including overdosing on the sexual aspect , which he wisely avoids . + " dangerous beauty " contains just enough bare flesh and ribald sex to make it appropriately erotic , but not so much that it seems exploitative . +herskovitz is also aided by a strong supporting crew , including the luscious photography by bojan bazelli , whose previous efforts include the highly-stylized thriller " kalifornia " ( 1993 ) and abel ferrara's dark sci-fi film " body snatchers " ( 1994 ) . +bazelli captures the film in strong , bold colors , and be brings sixteenth-century venice to life in wide , panoramic shots that are often enhanced with digital imagery . +however , the real details are found in the production design by norman garwood ( " brazil , " " the princess bride " ) and the costumes by gabriella pescucci ( " the age of innocence " ) . +the only problem with " dangerous beauty " is that it doesn't stick with you . +it's a good story well-told with interesting characters , but it's easy to shrug off once you've left the theater . +the only sequence that has the chance to be truly indelible is veronica being pulled in front of the hypocrisy of the inquisition and threatened with the death penalty for her transgressions , but it never quite comes off because it's simply too melodramatic and conventional . +herskovitz tries with all his might to make it a nailbiter , but somehow its outcome is a foregone conclusion , and like the rest of the film , it carries no real weight , despite the potential severity of the subject matter . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv546_11767.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv546_11767.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..7e96df494883c23f8d68cd4170506bf41c3dbe6d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv546_11767.txt @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@ +imagine this scenario : you and any of your family members are scudding through one of those long , excruciating cross-country car trips , far from the city and into the deserted rural routes . +so far , the trip is idyllic when , abruptly , your car malfunctions and you are stranded in the middle of nowhere . +it is not an easy situation , but a perfectly plausible one , the panorama in which breakdown musters it's throbbing suspense and skillfully executed tautness . +it is not easy to cobble a distinct and gripping thriller nowadays , but breakdown doesn't bungle into rudimentary plot holes or cliches and it derives a masterful , titillating climax that by it's finale , engrosses a viewer with total absorption . +the plot is somewhat reminiscent of 1988's the vanishing . +kurt russell and kathleen quinlan respectively play jeff and amy taylor , a massachusetts couple en route to california for a brand new job . +when they stop for gas somewhere in the arid southwest , jeff is confronted by a pugnacious driver , who later , will be an important player in the plot department . +minutes later after that , their brand new , strikingly red , jeep grand cherokee unexpectedly stops . +jeff cannot detect the car's problem , so he allows amy to take a ride with red ( j . +t walsh ) , a heedful truck driver who will convey her to the nearest town , where jeff will meet her at a local diner . +it is facile for the film to turn into a pseudo-suspenser , but instead it opts for maximum fervor . +jeff manages to re-start the car himself , but when he arrives at the diner , she is nowhere in sight . +disconcerted , the coffee shop's bartender informs jeff where to search for his wife , a town about twenty miles from here . +there , trouble arises . +and i shall not reveal anything else , since that would be spoiling the fun of what's head . +there are many involving , tight scenes in breakdown but the final climactic period which includes a magnificent chase with three cars and a huge truck , will have you feeling as if your legs are made out of pure foam . +it is a pleasure to be part of a classic confrontation of good vs evil , and rooting for the good guys , in this case jeff . +kurt russell is one of the few top-notch hollywood actors which doesn't overblow his acting , and gradually gains reliance on his role as it progresses . +so you can assume his alteration in breakdown is letter-perfect . +suffice it is to say he undergoes a transformation , from a jolly man , to a guy frantically pursuing a loved one . +not many well-paid actors can deliver these type of performances , but russell is one of them . +as an everyday man , he pulls it off extremely convincingly , what also surprised me more was his rigorous physicality , which he effectively practices almost all throughout the films 93 minutes . +although the film is blotted with a couple of portentous action sequences ( very well done ) yet the tightness is generated by the subtle circumstances this man is presented with . +faced with an enigma about his wife's whereabouts , the movie succeeds by conveying us in realistic territory with veritable characters , including the cryptic villains , who in essence , make the movie what it is . +what's most impressive however , is the feature debut by writer/director jonathan mostow . +mostow , hitherto directed the showtime thriller flight of a black angle , alleviates the contrivances and generics of the script by gingerly pursuing the trajectory of the plot , efficiently letting the tone and the mood of the story generate that nail-biting suspense sought for in a well- made affair . +contrary to most american thrillers , he doesn't rely on visual flair , but on aesthetics and substance . +after breakdown , he should gain vast notoriety . +the villains in the movie aren't your routine out-of-this-world idiosyncratic psychos that are harming for no particular objective . +the baddies in breakdown , all well acted , are normal , seemingly inoffensive townspeople who beneath their trustworthy layer , conduct an amoral business of corruption and murder . +the movie smartly portrays these men as loathsome rednecks , and , of all things in the world , it is becoming rather easy to root for villains ( jon voight in anaconda ) in today's movies . +worth a special mentioning is j . t walsh ( who previously worked with kurt russell in executive decision ) as the leader of the gang , he renders a deliciously wicked performance , temporarily stepping out of the minor roles he is known for . +alfred hitchcock used suspense--and action-- not only to stimulate , but as a way of aiding his audience's fascination in his stories , which were slowly realizing man's biggest fears . +breakdown yields exactly that . +it magnificently taps into the psyche of an ordinary man , acting like an ordinary man , looking like an ordinary and some sort of superhero . +despite one or two iffy moments even hitchcock , i think , would approve of breakdown . + ( 1 : 33 ) diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv547_16324.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv547_16324.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e4b3c2a8bb0aa5db5a5858386b1d981cc954fa09 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv547_16324.txt @@ -0,0 +1,19 @@ +steve soderbergh's " sex , lies , and videotape , " which won the grand prize at the cannes film festival in 1989 , arguably began the resurgence of independent films . +made on a shoestring budget of $1 . 2 million , with then relatively unknown actors , it is a provocative , thoroughly original drama . +the film mostly focuses on the four central characters , all in their late 20's-early 30's . +ann ( andie macdowell ) , an unfulfilled housewife , is married to john ( peter gallagher ) , an insensitive lawyer , who , unbeknownst to her , is having an affair with her younger sister , cynthia ( laura san giacomo ) . +complicating matters even worse is graham ( james spader , who won best actor at cannes ) , john's old college buddy , who comes to stay at their house . +ann is absolutely won over by him , even though she clearly has stated that she has very little interest in sex . +that is the set-up for the last hour of the picture , and since the film is entitled , " sex , lies , and videotape , " it is best to keep the rest of the story developments at bay so that they will come as a genuine surprise . +director steven soderbergh has proven to be a wildly offbeat filmmaker , ranging from the independent , to the mainstream ( 1998's " out of sight " ) , to the downright kafkaesque ( 1997's " schizopolis " ) . +he is the type of director who obviously takes a lot of chances , and believes in the work that he does , and , " sex , lies , and videotape , " is probably his most confident , and maybe even best , to date . +the performances are superb from all four leads , but macdowell stands out in what is probably the main character . +she is always a very winning actress , but this is probably her most three-dimensional role that she has had ( with a close second being altman's 1993 mosaic , " short cuts " ) . +the other parts are perfectly cast as well , from spader's ominous graham , to gallagher's self-involved john , to giacomo's outspoken cynthia . +the final act of the film , especially , comes right out of left field , and turns out to be both shocking and oddly touching , and it would be criminal to give away the film's secrets . +suffice to say that , through one powerful sequence , ann is able to somewhat come out of her shell , and john learns a valuable lesson about honesty , as well as deception . +the film has one fault , however . +the characters are almost all emotionally cold and isolated from one another , and often unlikable . +if there had been a few extra scenes with gallagher , it probably would have helped , since his relationship with macdowell isn't quite as explored as i would have liked . + " sex , lies , and videotape , " although minorly flawed , is still easily a brave and adult motion picture that is far more mature and honest about its subject matter than the usual film . +soderbergh clearly knew what he was doing while he was making it , and the final product certainly proves this . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv548_17731.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv548_17731.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..45e3e0c4e609d8f565b2198c68c6baaefa136676 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv548_17731.txt @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +synopsis : private detective tom welles is hired by a wealthy widow to uncover the origins of a snuff film owned by her late husband . +after uncovering the authenticity of the film , welles descends into an underground world of perverse pornographers seeking vigilante revenge on the filmmakers . +comments : 8 mm is one of the more disturbing mainstream movies i have seen in a long time . +though it doesn't present a snuff film ( a movie which documents a person's murder for real , usually during or after some form of sexual act ) as explicitly as the cult classic mute witness and violence as shockingly as , say , natural born killers , 8 mm stays in your head long after you see it . +it is not fun to watch ; see something else if you get upset by realistic , sadistic violence . +this film's violence and perverse sexuality skirts closely into nc-17 territory . +for those with strong stomachs , however , 8 mm is an intelligent , worthwhile thriller , especially during its second hour . +nicolas cage , after a couple ho-hum movies , returns to material which allows him to utilize his strong acting abilities . +as tom welles , a private detective and caring family man to a wife and newly-born daughter , cage skillfully and convincingly portrays a decent man whose unwavering energy slowly transforms into obssession and violence as he is pulled into a nightmarish world of underground pornographers and brutal sexual deviants . +serving as a guide to this world is joaquin phoenix , who plays a struggling songwriter named max california . +california , despite his name , is a surprisingly intelligent and complex character , and phoenix does a very good job at slowly pulling the audience to sympathy for the character . +the real star of the movie , though , must be peter stormare . +stormare played the " really , really evil guy " in fargo , and his character , dino velvet , in this movie seems about ten times more evil and unpredictable . +his performance is very chilling . +8 mm's success may hardly be surprising . +it was directed by joel schumacher , who , hopefully , saw this film as an apology for the absolutely dreadful batman and robin . +before directing the last two batman duds , however , schumacher was responsible for several well-made horror flicks : lost boys , flatliners , and falling down . +8 mm certainly joins the rank of these minor classics and is perhaps most reminiscent of falling down in that both films present an average man who self-destructs before the audience's eyes . +8 mm was written by andrew kevin walker , who also penned the academy award-winning thriller seven a few years back . +like seven , 8 mm is full of dialogue which haunts you well after leaving the theater . +welles is searching for answers . +how could anyone possibly drug and then slowly , methodically , sadistically kill a teenaged girl to make a film ? +when confronting one of the perpretrators at the end , the murderer responds that there are no reasons . +he just enjoys it . +that , walker seems to suggest , is where the real terror lays : not in the crime itself but in the fact that rational motives do not exist . +a couple minor faults led me to my four-star rating ( five stars is the highest rating i give ) . +one , i found it a little difficult , early on , to accept the fact that a hardened private detective would get physically disgusted when first seeing a snuff film . +yes , snuff is a horrible thing , but a detective of welles' caliber has probably encountered awful things before . +second , some of the clues welles gathers are too convenient . +he discovers , for example , the victim's diary in her private bathroom , despite the fact the the police , the fbi , and her own mother have all investigated the room before . +finally , the closing scene seemed trite and improbable considering the rest of the film . +despite the above criticisms , 8 mm is an engrossing story . +one of the best scenes in the film occurs toward the end as a crazed welles , who no longer seems like a hero , brutally beats one of the pornographers responsible for the snuff film . +he pulls a gun on the man and , for a relatively long amount of time , struggles to decide whether or not to kill him . +he then leaves the building and calls the victim's mother , in the middle of the night , to basically see if she would support the action . +the entire scene is tense , unpredictable , and emotionally charged . +rarely , anymore , do horror films or thrillers provoke suspense in me as 8 mm , with scenes like this , did . +8 mm is most certainly not for the faint of heart . +this is a graphic , oftentimes unflinching , look into the darkness which resides in both ordinary and extraordinary people . +if you're prepared for a film of this nature , i give it an enthusiastic recommendation . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv551_10565.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv551_10565.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..46bbf1e17f5282eb4b2e18ceaac24b976771a342 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv551_10565.txt @@ -0,0 +1,45 @@ +after the simple looking little spacecraft lands in a automobile wrecking yard , out steps a steel-gray , human-like creature with aquamarine eyes and clad in a muscular suit . +spencer , the boy who observes this , having seen his fill of science fiction flicks , figures this thing must be a robot from outer space . +with the exception of disney and a few others , most studios view children's films as a way to ship a cheap and unimaginative product and thereby make a quick profit . +star kid stands out as that rare kids' film that is undoubtedly low-budget but is also highly imaginative . +remember , the robot ? +it wasn't one at all but rather a " phase one assault cyborsuit . " +the cyborsuit is actually a prototype combat enhancer developed by the trelkins and jettisoned for latter retrieval when they are under attack from the invading broodwarriors . +the significant twist in the story is that spencer gets to go inside the cyborsuit , and the cyborsuit , nicknamed cy , has plenty of spunk . +cy keeps questioning the kid about everything including words like " cool . " +upon hearing that " command , " cy starts rapidly decreasing the temperature in the cyborsuit until spencer screams for him to stop . +and when cy speaks , we see spencer's view , the backside of cy's lips and eyes . +as 12-year-old spencer , joseph mazzello from the jurassic park film series gives a remarkably good performance as a wimpy and initially tongue-tied kid . +even when enclosed in his powerful new cyborsuit , he has his fears but he learns to overcome them . + " if you run away , things don't get better , whether it's bullies , spiders , or girls , " his science teacher advises him after he has difficulties dealing with all three . +turbo ( joey simmrin ) , the school's chubby bully , beats up on him , spiders frighten him , and , most embarrassing of all , he can't speak when in the presence of his would-be girlfriend . +with his cyborsuit on , he learns some bravery that transcends his time inside cy . +spencer lives with his dad and his older teenage sister stacey , played by a smart-mouthed ashlee levitch , who looks like a younger sarah jessica parker . +stacey derides her brother , whom she barely tolerates , by referring to him only as " the fungus . " +this whole setup for spencer's downtrodden and delightfully funny life makes his acquisition of some superhuman powers a source of mirth and empowerment . +the beauty of mazzello's performance is that you can vicariously experience his fear and share in his enjoyment when he goes after the bully to teach him a lesson he'll not soon forget . +the ensuing mayhem has some of the home alone antics , but the slapstick is kept tightly under control by writer and director manny coto so that one never feels embarrassed to be laughing . +the romantic angle is handled ever so delicately . +when cy wishes to know if spencer wants to mate with the object of his desire , michelle ( lauren eckstrom ) , his eyes open wide in revulsion . + " mate with her ! " +spencer exclaims . + " pllllleeeeease , i just like her that's all . " +the show has many funny twists . +in one , cy sees a man in a barney-like costume and begins firing at him , thinking he is an alien life-form . +soon things get way out of hand , and cy and spencer have to beat a hasty retreat . +as proof positive of the show's class , it actually contains tasteful bathroom humor -- thought that was an oxymoron in a kids' picture , didn't you ? +cy cannot allow spencer to leave the cyborsuit , and what happens when he needs to urinate becomes both sweet and hilarious . +the director's staging of this sequence is one of the film's more charming moments . +oh , and eating is pretty funny too . +spencer , whose idol is the comic book character " midknight warrior , " gets to face the challenge of a lifetime when a broodwarrior comes to capture the cyborsuit . +spencer's valiant battle gives him a chance to find his mettle . +and the action sequences in the battle manage to be quite respectable for a kids' show full of inventiveness and lacking the usual repetition . +for a family movie mixing humor , fantasy , and action , star kid delivers . +although it's probably not the sort of movie you'd want to see without kids , with them you'll have a magical time with a relatively straightforward but well developed story . +you'll be rooting for and laughing with spencer and his buddy cy all the way through . +star kid runs 1 : 41 . +it is rated pg for fantasy combat . +although the basically cartoonish broodwarrior might scare the littlest kids , i saw none of this in evidence in our packed screening , so i would say the show is fine for kids five and up , and possibly the younger ones . +my son jeffrey , age 8 , got really excited about the picture . +he called it " an especially good movie " and gave it * * * * . +when i asked him to tell me his favorite characters , he mentioned almost everyone in it from the boy to the cyborsuit to the bully . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv552_10016.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv552_10016.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d0990979d152b92f7d2ea2e37e5994b8968b56ce --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv552_10016.txt @@ -0,0 +1,59 @@ +note : some may consider portions of the following text to be spoilers . +be forewarned . +like its own opening shot , from out of the darkness boogie nights triumphantly explodes upon the film scene with stunning authority and clarity , persuasively heralding its helmer paul thomas anderson as a bonafide major talent . +a sprawling epic set in the heart of the disco era and focused upon the ascension and decline of a troupe in the adult film industry , boogie nights is an astonishingly ambitious feature film which is completely effective both as an utterly entertaining joyride and as a strikingly impressive piece of filmmaking . +the film follows a soft-spoken young man , eddie adams ( mark wahlberg ) from torrance , through his induction into the erotic picture business to stardom , and later , to a harrowingly precipitous drop . +as boogie nights opens , he's toiling as a dishwasher in a trendy san fernando valley nightclub , and living at home under the thumb of a tyrannical mother who denigrates him at every opportunity . +recruited by fatherly jack horner ( a rejuvenated burt reynolds ) , a successful porn filmmaker , eddie abandons his old life in favour of a new one as dirk diggler , pornstar . +wholeheartedly embraced by jack's troupe , including the maternal amber waves ( julianne moore ) , reed rothchild ( john c . reilly ) , buck swope ( don cheadle ) , rollergirl ( heather graham ) , dirk and his " one special thing " are quickly propelled to the top of his field , fulfilling his mantra of being a " big bright shining star " . +his lack of discipline , however , incites a chain of circumstances which sees dirk and his friends unravel as a new decade is ushered in . +the element of boogie nights which literally commands attention is the bravura direction by mr . anderson , whose fascination and prowess with the camera is obvious . +from the terrific tracking shot throughout a nightclub which opens the film and introduces the players through to the showy sequence in the camera follows a female partygoer diving into a pool , mr . anderson's accomplished command of the camera is without question . +while novice directors often demonstrate an unfortunate lack of restraint in terms of flamboyant camerawork which ultimately proves to be aggravating , impertinent and self-congratulatory ( case in point : marc rocco's unforgettable perpetual-motion helming of murder in the first ) , in boogie nights every zoom or pan by mr . anderson , be it slow and deliberate or energetically sharp , is purposeful and potent . +it's a rarity and a delight to discover such a confidently assured work so early in a filmmaker's career -- boogie nights is only his second feature film , following up his debut feature from earlier this year , hard eight -- and although it's somewhat derivative ( his storytelling style is reminiscent of robert altman , while in terms of visuals he's clearly influenced by martin scorsese ) , at least he's borrowing from some of the best , and it's entirely effective within the context of this film . +while boogie nights is astonishingly polished from a technical perspective , in terms of sheer entertainment value it's also rollicking good fun , with a wickedly deadpan sense of humour . +the film perfectly captures the essence of the disco period in terms of music , clothes , hairstyles , dance , idioms , and culture , aided immeasurably by impeccable production design by bob ziembicki and costume design by mark bridges , and boogie nights convincingly catapults the audience back to this recent , pre-aids-scare period in american history where uninhibited , free-wheeling lifestyles abounded . +while much of the film's humour pertains to the characters' obliviousness of now-outdated aspects of their lives then prevalent in society -- a prime example is part-time salesman buck swope's demo of a stereo system with an eight-track tape , and inviting a prospective customer to get 'freaky deaky' with the music -- it's elicited with an undercurrent not of ridicule , but of wistful reminiscence , and some the throwback elements in the film are strangely wondrous . +a giant ensemble disco dance production number in a nightclub is funny , to be sure , but oddly magical , and the sequence which lovingly explores eddie/dirk's bedroom , completely adorned with posters and elements of iconic 1970s figures ( farrah fawcett , cheryl tiegs , bruce lee ) is breathtaking . +ably supported by a well-selected collection of period music ( all of which purportedly came straight from mr . anderson's personal collection ) , there's a clear affection for the era in boogie nights . +it's the period aspect and the playfully comic nostaligism of boogie nights which has been played up in its marketing campaign in deference of the pornography element of the storyline ; the film's promotional trailer markedly avoids any explicit reference to the adult film industry which unites its characters . +after the debacle with 1996's milos forman film , the people vs . +larry flynt , another finely-crafted work which was knocked off the market prematurely due to controversy regarding its pornography-related storyline , the new line marketing team faced a unique challenge with boogie nights in terms of attempting to deemphasize the relatively risque erotic picture element of the story in order to increase salability to the general public . +however , while boogie nights delves into the world of the adult film industry of two decades ago , it's hardly a lurid or seamy film -- given the subject matter , there's very little nudity , and virtually none of it can be construed as gratuitous -- and boogie nights smartly depicts erotic filmmaking not as a hotbed of carnality , but simply as a business . +the glimpses on the sets of jack horner's shoots reveal that while the films he makes are intended to titillate , there's a candid matter-of-factness in terms of sex ; his cast and crew are professionals who are merely doing a job , and it's refreshing that the obvious cliches of depravity and sinful lechery often linked to dismissive portraits of adult filmmaking , such as coercion or debauchery , are avoided . +if anything , boogie nights is more interested in the process of adult filmmaking than the adult films themselves . +jack horner's dream is an honourable one -- he genuinely aspires to make a great film -- and to some degree boogie nights is reminiscent of ed wood ( albeit lacking a certain wistful innocence ) . +in both films , the world of quickie low-budget filmmaking is explored , and both jack horner and the version of ed wood by tim burton , scott alexander , and larry karaszewski share similar mindsets -- jack's retort of " there are shadows in light , baby " to his cinematographer's complaint about poor set lighting echoes back to ed wood's " it's not about the little details , it's about the big picture ! " +rant when it is pointed out that his graveyard set for plan 9 from outer space appears patently false . +in boogie nights and ed wood , the aspirations of the respective filmmakers' prove to be bemusing , not in their intentions -- there's nothing inherently silly in the goal of making an 'artistic' erotic picture -- but in the degree that they miss the mark . +much like the humour lacing ed wood , the laughs involving jack horner are double-edged ; after viewing a hilarious excerpt from one of his latest films which hybridizes the james bond and porn genres , when jack breathes " this is the best work i've ever done " , it's genuinely funny , but given his utter sincerity , also possesses a tinge of sadness . +mr . anderson is at this point clearly a greater talent as a director than a screenwriter . +while boogie nights shows great inventiveness in staging , there really isn't any clever dialogue in the film , though a valid point certainly can be made that none of the film's characters particularly lend themselves to thoughtful verbal exchanges ; when one considers that the film's * protagonist * literally doesn't say a single insightful thing throughout the entire 152 minute running time , it's no wonder why the playfully inane " how much can you bench ? " +banter between dirk and reed constitutes one of the film's finest exchanges . +and while mr . anderson creates a rich collection of fascinating characters , it's problematic that some of the the threads given to the film's characters are simply stale material -- julianne moore's child custody battle is fairly cliched stuff , better suited for a less risque and uninspired tv-movie version of her character's story , and far less interesting than the thread dealing with her woefully hackneyed filmmaking ambitions . +still , even if he doesn't always know what to do with his characters , mr . anderson most definitely captures their essences , and his resolutely nonjudgemental affection for them is infectious -- misguided , even aimless , hopelessly naive , self-destructive , insufferable : i loved them just the same . +in any case , it's hard to pick nits with a screenplay which contains one of the most audacious and inspired ( and ultimately best-executed ) scenes of the year : a scene where dirk diggler and reed rothchild are dragged along by their loose-cannon compadre to the home of drug baron rahad jackson ( a mesmerizing alfred molina in an unforgettable performance , even if it's a small one ) in a suicidal drug deal scam , only to find that the millionaire is a crazed eccentric ( the part where he stops the deal to listen to the crescendo of night ranger's " sister christian " on his stereo system is sheer brilliance ) flanked by an armed bodyguard . +if this scene already wasn't tense enough with these elements , mr . anderson introduces a chinese boy that wanders through the scene , who for no discernable reason is tossing firecrackers around the room , pushing the scene to a new , surreal level of delightful giddiness . +there are some other interesting touches in boogie nights . +mr . anderson recycles the use of long methodical chimes on the soundtrack from hard eight ; here , it accompanies the violent intercut sequences which depict the prostration of various characters to frightening effect . +similarly , a painful scene where crew member scotty j ( philip seymour hoffman ) breaks down in tears in the driver's seat , sobbing " i'm so stupid " after being rebuffed by dirk after an awkward but heartfelt advance is strikingly played out exactly as a later scene with dirk in the driver's seat after a particularly tumultuous and traumatic evening . +boogie nights is exceedingly well cast , and each of the actors rise to the occasion ; the ensemble cast is uniformly good . +while most of the acting accolades will no doubt go to mr . wahlberg ( fulfilling upon the sparks of promise he demonstrated in some of his earlier films ) and mr . reynolds ( terrific as the father figure and stable anchor of the film , ringing true in every respect ) , a handful of other performances which might otherwise be overlooked deem mention . +mr . reilly demonstrates here , as he did for brief glimpses in ulu grosbard's georgia , a genuine aptitude for comedy -- many of his scenes in boogie nights are among the very funniest in the film . +i'm not sure how much of his performance as reed was scripted and how much was done on the spot , but he plays the quintessential second banana character to a tee . +mr . reilly is the best part of the big disco dance production number , and it's wickedly funny to watch his reed join in with dirk after the fact in threatening the new stud on the block during a macho altercation . +worth the price of admission alone is the glimpse of him getting down in the recording studio while the dirk character is laying down a numbingly bad ( and dead-on period ; it sure sounds like bad early 1980s to me ) demo track " you got the touch " in a vain attempt at a musical career . +mr . reilly plays his vacant character with utter conviction which is convincing and effective . +ms . graham , with her long dirty blonde hair , innocent demeanour , and huge hazel eyes , looks like a disney animated heroine come to life -- or in this case , a disney animated heroine who came to life , made a wrong turn , and ended up on the new line lot in a film focused on the late 70s / early 80s adult film industry . +consequently , it's a bit incongruous to see this cheery sweet-faced starlet whizzing about the set on her roller skates , but in a scene where she's lounging in a limousine prowling the streets , garish red lipstick messily smeared on , giving the camera a hilariously pouty come-hither look , all one can do is gulp . +her role in the film sadly needs more fleshing out ( err -- in a figurative sense ) -- she's essentially a glorified extra -- but she does score impressively in her key scene which is unnerving in its sheer primal ferocity . + ( if only mr . anderson had filmed the scene so that we could actually see the expression of rage and anguish on her face , though ! ) +and a cautionary tale for the strict and prudish : as a teen , ms . graham's parents forbade her to take a part in the twisted cult classic heathers ; since then , her most notable roles have been as a junkie ( gus van sant's drugstore cowboy ) and now a porn starlet . +draw your own conclusions . +perhaps the most quietly touching performance in boogie nights is that of mr . cheadle , who lends dignity to his role as a character in search of his identity , and whose quest is comically manifested by a series of changes in his sense of fashion . +his relationship with his cheerfully supportive new wife jessie st . vincent ( an interesting melora walters ) is wholly compelling has genuine sweetness , and although his general longing for acceptance from others is perceptible , it's no more so than in the bank scene where his loan application to open a stereo store is rejected due to his background in the porn industry . +while the scenario is familiar , the wounded look in cheadle's eyes makes the scene unforgettable . +luis guzman's most famous work is possibly in brian de palma's carlito's way , and here he plays a variation on the same character : maurice t . rodriguez is a hapless but good-natured nightclub owner who's a hanger-on to jack's group , ingratiating himself into the clique and constantly hounding jack , with little disguise made of his desperation , for a part in one of his erotic pictures . +jack's eventual acquiescence to maurice's request leads to one of boogie nights' biggest comic payoffs . +boogie nights is a stunning achievement due to the virtuoso direction by mr . anderson , who immediately asserts his presence in the film industry as a presence of note with this work . +striking a fine balance between humour and drama , and exceptionally well-crafted , there's no doubt that boogie nights is among the very best films of the year . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv553_26915.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv553_26915.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4b1a36e24b58049f6758b5ec37598ad44fe6bed8 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv553_26915.txt @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +bruce willis and sixth sense director m . night shyamalan re-team to tell the story of david dunne ( willis ) , a stadium security guard who has been having some problems at home that are affecting his relationship with his wife and child . +on a return trip from new york where he was trying to get a job , dunne is in a horrible train accident that he is the only survivor of . +to make things even stranger , dunne has also escaped the accident completely unscathed . +a comic book art dealer named elijah price ( samuel l . jackson ) , who was born with a degenerative bone disease that causes his bones to be so brittle that they break constantly , has been seeking out someone like dunne his entire life . +price felt that there had to be someone exactly the opposite of him . . . +someone whose bones would be so strong that they would never break . +price contacts dunne and convinces him to come down to his gallery for a talk where he suggests that dunne could quite possibly be something akin to a superhero from the comic books price used to read when he was a child . +dunne doesn't believe him at first , but price assists him in discovering his " powers " and helps him hone his craft until he discovers what his true calling really is . +writer/director m . night shyamalan had a tough act to follow with his sleeper hit the sixth sense . +how exactly does one follow up on one of the biggest and most popular thrillers in recent years ? +for shyamalan , the answer must have come as easy to him as nuclear physics does to kindergartners . +does this new film measure up to his breakthrough box office smash , though ? +the answer to that question is not a very easy one , either . +as far as pacing goes , the sixth sense seemed almost interminable . +it wasn't until the surprise ending was revealed that i realized the film was actually intentionally ( and perfectly ) paced in order to give the audience ample time to re-connect all of the information they had seen once the climax had been reached . +for unbreakable , shyamalan gave the film a much more satisfying pace which , in many ways , blows away the film that had come before . +the story moves along at a steady pace and shyamalan's direction is excellent , with the camera almost constantly moving . +there are tons of great shots in the film , not least of which is a conversation that opens the film between willis' character and another train passenger . +the shot seems as though it were filmed like we were watching the two talk from between the train seats and the camera steadily glides back and forth between the two actors as they speak . +also very impressive is the film's score by james newton howard ( who also scored shyamalan's sixth sense and the similar film stir of echoes , as well as this year's dinosaur ) . +several of the scenes are driven by a very catchy beat and help to increase the tempo of the film . +one of the best examples of this is a scene in which dunne goes into a train station to " exercise " his powers . +the music , in combination with the stellar visuals , really go a long way towards making this an incredible movie . +if there was any one soundtrack i would make a must purchase this year , this one would be it . +the film also boasts some great performances , including a precocious child actor trying to vie for the oscar throne left vacant by haley joel osment . +willis turns in a great performance as the sad sack dunne , who just can't seem to figure out why he's been depressed for the last few years . +his character almost seems pathetic when we first meet him , but he eventually grows into his own under elijah's tutelage . +jackson is one of the better actors of our time , and here he turns in yet another great performance as the ever injured elijah . +though his hairstyle is absurd , jackson seems to infuse such a great deal of pain into his role that the mortar board hairdo can easily be overlooked . +robin wright penn's role seems slightly underwritten , but she still manages to get across the intense hurt of her character's need for love from her husband and her desire to make things work again . +spencer treat clark , as the dunne's young son jeremy , shows that shyamalan still has a knack for picking young actors , and he turns in one of the most competent performances in the film . +out of all the characters , jeremy's is perhaps the most emotional , and clark does a great job with the role . +where the film does lose points though , is during its " surprise " ending . +shyamalan has said in interviews that he was going to do an ending that blew away the one presented by the sixth sense , but i found myself saying " that was it ? ! " +when unbreakable revealed its own ending . +it's not that the ending is bad , it's just that the ending doesn't quite have the emotional punch that the other film's did . +plus , it almost seems like it sets itself up for sequels ( and i won't reveal the ending here , but you'll understand what i mean when you see it ) . +essentially , what all of this means is that shyamalan has made another good film with unbreakable . +the only real problem is that the ending doesn't quite fill the shadow left by its predecessor . +as long as it isn't held to the standard that sixth sense set ( which it ultimately will be ) , it should be a remarkably well liked film . +one thing seems clear , though . +shyamalan definitely has an affinity for comic books that he would like to share with the world and many comic book fans will also delight the vision he presents in this film . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv554_13151.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv554_13151.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..fc8d161a5bd5d60dca14fc7e70dc20eafac46544 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv554_13151.txt @@ -0,0 +1,46 @@ +there's good news and bad news about mulan . +the positive is that disney has found a happy medium between the heavy-handedness of pocahontas and the hunchback of notre dame and the childishness of hercules . +on the other hand , the studio is pulling out all the stops on plot cliches and cheap laughs , several steps down from the days of the little mermaid and beauty and the beast . +but mulan is a step in the right direction and disney's best animated feature since the lion king . +after giving native americans a turn in pocahontas , disney has decided to turn a movie over to the asians . +mulan is set in feudal china and features the ever-popular heroine who marches to a different drum and wants to do more with her life than get married . +that's what we find out when young mulan ( voice of ming- na wen ) screws up her appointment with the matchmaker by letting a rogue cricket splash coffee all over her . +cartoons . . . +meanwhile , word comes from the emporer that one man from every family must join the army and help fight the huns . +since mulan's a girl , that means her decrepit old father must go . +she pleads with the soldiers to have mercy on dear old dad , but that kind of groveling and desperation brings shame on her family . +that's chinese culture for you . . . +so imagine how embarrassed the family is the next day when they find mulan has stolen her father's uniform and sword and run off to join the army in his place . +the movie in a nutshell is about the stuggles of being a woman in the army . +it should have been called g . i . +chang . +mulan calls on her ancestors for help . +they decide to summon the large stone dragon in the backyard to protect her , but a mini dragon named mushu screws it up . +voiced by eddie murphy , mushu continues the tradition of cute talking animal sidekicks who do more slapstick harm than good for their human charges . +murphy's performance is a direct descendent of robin williams in aladdin -- lots of wisecracks and ad-libs and even an introductory song about how much fun they're going to have . +you ain't never had a friend like mushu . +speaking of songs , mulan doesn't have too many of them , which is a plus with a story like this . +disney songs about war probably wouldn't go over too well ( " heigh ho , heigh ho , it's off to war i go . . . " ) , and the ones they do have aren't memorable . +the best of the bunch , sad to say , is " be a man , " the requisite basic training montage song . +yes , even in medieval china , they had to run through that web of car tires before they were ready for battle . +sung by donnie osmond ( a bad sign if ever there was one ) , " be a man " accompanies footage of mulan's platoon going from screw-ups to heroes . +it makes me wonder , has there ever been a musical montage in a movie that's ended badly ? +i only wish real-life problems could be solved in two minutes with a peppy montage . +for the curious , mulan does pass for a man in the army despite looking like a girl . +all she does to transform herself is cut her hair to a sexy shoulder-length , talk macho and slap guys on the butt , as was male custom a thousand years ago in china . +the deception fools everyone but the audience , who thinks she might be able to pass for a 12-year-old boy , at best . +but she does manage to strike the biggest blows to the hun army , led by a big , evil-eyed attilla-looking monster . +as a villain , the head of the huns is menacing , evil and entirely forgettable . +i saw the movie yesterday and i don't remember the man's name . +otherwise , mulan is a good movie . +the animation of the characters themselves isn't as rich as it could and should be , but there are some amazing battlefield shots . +eddie murphy pulls off some good one-liners , as do other star voices like harvey fierstein and pat morita , the quintessential asian movie star . +hell , george " mr . sulu " takei does a voice in mulan . +you get the sense disney said to themselves , " alright , let's get out there and find us some chinese americans in hollywood . +who can you think of ? " + " well , there's mr . myagi . . . " + " good . " + " and mr . sulu . " + " perfect . +we've got ourselves a movie now . " +soon disney really _will_ be able to paint with all the colors of the wind . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv555_23922.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv555_23922.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..23964fe7b59a3aa056e54533643f5b460dc2734f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv555_23922.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +harmless , silly and fun comedy about dim-witted wrestling fans gordie and sean ( david arquette and scott caan ) who idolize current world championship wrestling heavyweight champion jimmy king ( oliver platt ) . +when king is screwed out of his title by a corrupt promoter ( joe pantoliano ) , gordie and sean take it upon themselves to find their fallen hero and restore his glory . +my biggest fear about ready to rumble was dispatched early on , as the filmmakers are quick to show that wresting is indeed choreographed ( but not fake , mind you ) . +the hook of the movie is that gordie and sean are just too stupid to realize that . +arquette and caan are suitably over the top with their performances , which is exactly what a movie like this requires , and oliver platt ( one of my favorite actors ) is a riot as the drunken washed-up ex-champion . +many have scoffed at the idea that platt should be playing a heavyweight champion wrestler with an unbeaten record , but for me it just added to the " silly factor " of the film , thereby increasing my enjoyment of it . +one casting complaint however : rose mcgowan as a sexy dancer ? +please . . . +if rose mcgowan is sexy then i'm marilyn manson . +given the current state of the actual wcw , if oliver platt were appearing as jimmy king right now on wcw programming , he'd be the most popular guy they have . +on a similar note , the " plot line " of the wresting portions of the film are more entertaining than anything the wcw writers have been able to come up with in the last two years . +although one does have to ask . . . +why would any wrestling promoter fire the head wrestler of a company who is both unbeaten and extremely popular with the fans ? +director brian robbins ( you'll remember him as eric from tv's " head of the class " ) just knows how to make good dumb movies . +this movie fits in nicely with his previous efforts good burger and varsity blues . +and screenwriter steven brill ( the epic mighty ducks trilogy , late last night ) manages to keep things both sophomoric and clever at the same time , with almost all the jokes of the film getting a laugh out of me . +the only exceptions to that were : 1 ) a scene involving a van full of singing nuns and 2 ) any scene involving the old woman wrestling fan . +those moments made me cringe and/or groan . +as an added bonus though , the audience is treated to outtakes from the film as the final credits roll . +[pg-13] diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv556_14808.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv556_14808.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..bc310224b7936539249b6c85fea9de454a7edffb --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv556_14808.txt @@ -0,0 +1,41 @@ +steven spielberg is now considered as one of the hollywood deities , because of the rare capability to deliver both huge commercial hits , like jurassic park , and " oscar " -awarded critical triumphs like schindler's list . +however , in the 1970s spielberg built his reputation by creating works of art that could slip in both categories . +one of them is close encounters of the third kind , extremely popular and influential science-fiction spectacle . +unfortunately , it had a bad luck to be released in the same year as star wars . +although both films have a lot in common ( ground-breaking special effects , brilliant score by john williams ) their future was different ; one became an unstoppable cult phenomenon , and another almost forgotten and stuck forever in its shadow . +when spielberg began work on that project , he was already established as a bright new hollywood star due to his previous commercial hit , jaws . +together with other young directors of his " new hollywood " generation , like kauffman , carpenter , hill and millius , he exploited the great creative freedom of 1970s , when even the mainstream producers dared to experiment . +ironically , it was spielberg himself whose later commercial success would established new unwritten rules of " blockubuster " philosophy . +but in the mid 1970s , many things were different ; spielberg was young and eager to use hollywood resources for his very personal and artistic movie . +although very personal , spielberg's screenplay was partly based on the book " ufo experience " by dr . j . allen hynek and in many ways inspired by the popular urban mythology of extraterrestrial visitors to earth that began to grow in the world after ww2 . +spielberg was not only inspired by the mythology , but his movie also gave the mythology itself a huge boost , unmatched until the contemporary era of x-files and the roswell anniversary . +that was partly because he made the movie very realistic using the authentic ufo-related incidents as the element of the plot . +the story begins with one of such incidents - team of international scientists come to the sonorra desert in mexico to find the u . s . navy planes of who went missing decades ago during the famous flight 19 . +such events coincide with the ufo incident witnessed by roy neary ( richard dreyfuss ) , power company worker from muncie , indiana , who later becomes obsessed with his experience . +because of his obsession he loses his job , family and sanity , but his loss is nothing compared to the experience of jillian guiler ( melinda dillon ) , single mother whose son becomes the victim of alien abduction . +in the meantime , the scientists decipher the strange signals from outer space and u . s . government , in co-operation with the french , led by lacombe ( francois truffaut ) begin with the preparation for ultra-secret project . +when the news of the poison gas leak in the middle of wyoming reach neary , he finally sees some sense in all his visions and begins the perilous journey toward the centre of endangered area . +there he is joined by jillian who shared the similar visions . +two of them must break through military pickets and reach their destination to find whatever is there . +spielberg here shows great mastery by using the very same techniques of jaws to make completely different effects . +the slow , gradual yet very disciplined series of dramatic incidents - " close encounters " - is set in order to bring the viewer to the great revelation in the finale . +but , instead of the fear and horror we had to endure during the jaws , we are now overwhelmed by the sense of boyish wonder . +throughout the movie the viewer knows that something big , magnificent and wonderful is about to happen , and great magician spielberg delivers his promise in the end . +the last sequence , with its , even in this age , impressive special effects by the great virtuoso douglas trumbull , would leave many mouths open . +one of the great virtues of this film is its optimism . +aliens , who almost always get portrayed as the monsters in science-fiction cinema , are here benevolent and harmless creatures and the first contact between them and humanity is a beginning of something wonderful . +it is very ironic , when we consider that the two classic sf movies that visually inspired spielberg actually told quite different story - howard hawks' thing and byron haskin's war of the worlds presented extraterrestrials as the threat to the mankind . +spielberg's humane approach and faith in the future also lies in great contrast to the pessimistic mood of its era ; the only hint of the contemporary gloom is post-watergate portrayal of government as conspiratorial towards the public . +but , even such government is much more harmless compared to the murderous and chain-smoking men in black that became the stereotype thanks to x-files and its more cynical and disturbing visions . +there lies the main , and probably the only flaw of this great picture - lack of conflict , and consequently , lack of drama . +the movie has few excitements or even action scenes ( especially the last that may be an interesting homage to hitchcock's north by northwest ) but generally , almost everyone - neary , jillian , government , aliens - are the good guys . +despite such shortcomings , the actors were good and manage to bring multidimensionality to their simple roles . +richard dreyfuss is very convincing as a ordinary , yet nice guy , who sinks into insanity only to rediscover himself in a grand finale . +melinda dillon was , on the other hand , nominated for " oscar " as a struggling mother , yet she was overshadowed by teri garr as neary's long-suffering wife ronnie . +apart from visual wonders of this film , spielberg's semi-official composer john williams again excels by his beautiful music , this time using the simple melody both as the element of a plot , and as the basis for his score . +the aliens , who are the main subject of this film , were visually very convincing . +too convincing , one of my acquaintances in the ufo-researching circles said . +according to him , the depiction of extraterrestrials as grey-skinned little people with big eyes was so accurate , that it managed to freak out powerful government figures interested in suppressing the truth about ufos . +so , they later approached spielberg and ordered him to make another movie with alien , this time designed to be anything but the real life . +the result was e . t . , for many years the biggest commercial hit of all times , yet less inspirational for ufo enthusiasts . +anyway , whether the viewer believes in existence of extraterrestrials or ufos , close encounters of the third kind remains the great movie , and one of the rare uplifting experiences in modern cinema . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv558_29507.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv558_29507.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e07593691397e4ac42df0d91777aa56ae48ef579 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv558_29507.txt @@ -0,0 +1,33 @@ + " the endurance : shackleton's legendary antarctic expedition " +in 1914 , as the great war descended upon europe , sir ernest shackleton began his third expedition to antarctica , this time to be the first to cross the ice-bound continent on foot . +28 men set sail on the brigantine endurance and they would not be heard from again for nearly two years . +director george butler , using film footage and photographs from the historic journey , tells their remarkable story in " the endurance : shackleton's legendary antarctic expedition . " +the expedition started out as a merely incredibly difficult quest to traverse , on foot , the vast wasteland of antarctica . +as the intrepid ship and crew entered the weddell sea , the entry to the cold , cruel continent , they did not plan on the dense pack ice bringing the voyage to an abrupt halt as the endurance became trapped within sight of land . +for months the ice thickened and compressed until the ship was crushed , stranding the men on the flow , propelling them away from their goal and , eventually , into their lifeboats for safety . +shackleton , faced with a desolate situation , made the decision to lead the three tiny boats to the relative safety of uninhabited elephant island . +once on this " safe " haven , shackleton next turned his sights to saving his crew and returning them to civilization . +he and five of his men leave the island in an open boat to make the 800 mile journey on the world's roughest sea to get help from the nearest inhabited island of south georgia . +miraculously , the six land , after 17 days at sea , on the uninhabited side of the target island and are forced to trek across treacherous , snow covered mountains , covering 22 miles in just 36 hours . +this ordeal is followed by several attempts by shackleton to get back to elephant island to rescue the remaining crewmen . +in the end , he is successful and everyone made it back home alive , only to be swallowed up by the ravages of the war . +the title of this fascinating documentary , " the endurance , " is more than just the name of ship that carried the crew of brave men to the edge of the world . +it is also the description of the stamina and ability of every one of the men who survived 19-months of the toughest , most grueling conditions on the face of the earth . +the name of the film is a tribute to every member of the crew and to the ship that sheltered them for many month of frigid antarctic weather . +it also describes the focused mental state of shackleton who never gave up on himself or his men . +with astonishing foresight , shackleton brought australian cinematographer and photographer frank hurley along on the journey . +the filmed footage and photos are remarkable as they capture the ordeal of the men , day to day life , the affection all felt for their loyal sled dogs , the slow destruction of the endurance and the preparations to get off of the pack ice flow . +after the sinking of the ship , the remaining film stock , with the exception of a still camera and three rolls of film , had to be discarded so the continuing chronicle of the incredible journey gets less photo documentation as the ordeal plods on . +considering hurley was using relatively primitive photo technology in one of the world's harshest environments and captured so much on film is a feat unto itself . + ( hurley created his own account of the shackleton expedition in his 1919 documentary , " south , " an interesting companion piece for " the endurance . " +if shackleton's original idea , document his trek across the frigid southern continent , had been successful , it would have been considered a super human feat . +as you watch the story of " the endurance " unfold , you realize that the disastrous obstacles the sir ernest and his men faced and overcame were even greater accomplishments than the first intent . + ( shackleton's amazing 800-mile journey in an open boat is fodder for a rousing adventure story all by itself . ) +there are a couple of minor nitpicks with this fine work , though . +actor liam neeson narrates the story , but his voice is too soft spoken and lilting for the dramatic tale . +the nature of the ordeal also concentrates most of the visual material , both film and photo , in the documentary's first half . +as the crew's adventure takes more drastic paths , hurley had less and less film stock available to chronicle the awesome events . +helmer butler and his team fill in the blanks , but the treasure of " the endurance , " its film footage , is mostly relegated to the early months of the expedition . +i can't think of a true-life adventure that shows , better , the triumph of man over seemingly insurmountable odds . + " the endurance , " based on caroline alexander's book , is an eye-opening documentary that goes where few men have gone before and , even more remarkably , all 28 survivors lived to tell about it . +i give it a b+ . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv560_17175.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv560_17175.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..65e95572d3bc1b7c93592a8893e700ba2ec9b0e7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv560_17175.txt @@ -0,0 +1,56 @@ +oh god how many john grisham lawyer films we have been munundated with ! +in a perfect world , " a civil action " would be a breath of fresh air . +it's cynical about lawyers in a way that grisham isn't . +it's romantic in the exact opposite way a grisham book/film isn't . +and , the capper , it has no distinct ending , and the law in hollywood films is that above all else , you must have an ending . +even if it's based on a true story , a true story which hasn't yet ended , you must supply an ending , a false one , but an ending nevertheless . +hell , " a civil action " is even more sly and more witty than any of the grisham works put together ( and that includes " the firm , " the only novel of his that will ever be regarded as a classic ) . +yet it's also oddly and slightly unsatisfying . +weird . +this is , in fact , a steve zallian film , not just the work of a hack , and zallian is the director of the much-admired " search for bobby fischer " ( didn't see it ) and writer of none other than " schindler's list . " +in short , i like this guy , and am a sucker for the way he tells his stories . +after all , apart from the obvious it's-a-holocaust-film and it's-a-spielberg-film , isn't " schindler's list " just a damn brilliant film , not so much a holocaust film as it is a wonderful character study . + " a civil action " is the same way : it's narrative is split between being a lawyer film and being a character study . +and it's here that the film seems to go a bit wrong . +the main complaint of this film is that while , yes , it's an engrossing lawyerly tale , it has no real ending , and that's not necessarily the problem with the film . +it's that it's just kind of unsatisfying . +if this were a great film , it would feel complete , and still end basically the same way . +but this film just seems to end , and i don't want to be stupid and suggest an alternate ending should be tacked on : imagine , if you will , being one of those the film is about , looking forward to this film , and then discovered the truth has been through a surrealistic and unpleasant hollywood filter , just so the many won't bitch about what is , essentially , genuine . +but the fact that it just ends is not , in all actuality , what is wrong with it . +it's rather that zallian has chosen , in the last half hour , to adandon the traditional lawyer story , and chose the other part of his story , the one about the lawyer , one jan schlictman ( john travolta ) , who's shown in the opening and throughout most of the movie as a heartless but brilliant lawyer , brilliant because he's manipulative and he always wins . +it wishes to make it all about jan in the end , but the truth is , his change , although nicely done , is not full . +we see him suffering from a personal crisis , and travolta does do a pretty good job in depicting his change of heart , but in the end , we don't fully believe it . +and i think that the problem is when he has made his decision , the film choses an odd angle to go at , a noble one , but one that gives the film's conclusion that of incompleteness . +in the opening of the film , we see him doing his old schtick , manipulating courts , winning cases effortlessly , and then discussing on a heard radio interview how great he is at his job and how much he cares for his cases . +in short , he's full of bullshit and we know it . +in the film , he takes a case that is hardly desired : a town where several of the children have died mysteriously of lukemia and the source of the illness seems to be from a local factory that may or may not have been dumping waste into the river . +point one , it's not of the usual criteria ( jan points out , wickedly , that dead or wounded children aren't nearly as sympathetic as those struck down in the midst of their success ) . +point two , it has been through several lawyers . +after turning them down , jan changes his mind ( a muddled scene - he stops his car on a bridge , looks out . . . is he feeling a sense of overachievement ? ) , and he and his team of lawyers ( tony shalhoub , zeljko ivanek , and accountant william h . macy ) head out to the town to do battle with the town's company . +they spend millions of dollars examining the land , test the water , what have you ( this is where stephen fry , a possible oscar nominee for his brilliant performance in " wilde , " pops up thanklessly ) , and in the meantime question the parents of the dead children , and then , unsuccessfully , the workers at the plant . +they also find themselves clashing with a brilliant lawyer for the company , the eccentric jerome facher , played by robert duvall ( more on him later on ) . +as we progress , we get so involved in the way the story is being told , which is engulfing everything around it , including the individual and brief stories of some of the townspeople ( one of the best is a bit with james gandolfini as an employee of the plant living across the street from kathleen quinland , who lost her child , who begins to have a personal crisis ) . +things begin to go downhill for the lawyers in the second half , as they are up against impossible odds : the judge ( john lithgow ) is not only a strickler , but a pal of facher ; the employees of the plant are either afraid or to loyal to testify ; no concrete evidence is being found , depsite the money spent to find it ; and they are quickly running out of money . +as macy mortgages everything he can , including their homes and their office , he slowly loses his sanity ( his meatiest role since , oh , " fargo " ) , and we the audience begin to feel a real loss of hope for our protagonist . +in fact , the last half hour is such a change from the rest of the film and so unresolved that it has been widely panned as not being up to par ( owen gleiberman , especially , criticized the film for not being overly-dramatic . . . i +suppose like a grisham novel ) . +this wouldn't be so if the change in jan had not been handled the way it is : instead of having a change of heart and automatically being perceived as good , he's seen as being still full of bullshit . +because he doesn't take stock in the cares of his partners , and causes them all to lose their money and noteriaty in the lawyer field because he wants to help the people of the town , he is instead seen as being of good nature but not sure how to bring that out . +the final half tries to redeem this , as must have been the point of making this in zallian's mind , but what follows is a series of scenes where we merely see him making personal stands for his beliefs , and though he has changed considerably from the opening moments when he's seen speeding back and forth from the town that wishes to employ him ( and thusly receiving two speeding tickets ) , we still feel that the big change in his life is that he's not rich and esteemed anymore ( the film's final title card is witty but in all actuality shallow ) . +the fault is not that there is no closure to the court case ( it's still going on , you know ) , but that its personal story feels like it needs either another chapter or another angle in the final one it has . +we need to feel like the character has really made a big change in his life , and that the story is how a story of strife like the one of the town could inspire such a whopping change in his personal life . +it only feels like half of that . +maybe even less . +and it's not travolta , who does a great job here ( though never to be a truly memorable performance of his ) , but rather zallian , whose final chapter needs a rewrite . +up to then , though , it's an engrossing drama , one of the best of the year in fact , and one of the best lawyer films , period . +the reason is because it recognizes that a court trial is not about those being defended or prosecuted , but rather it's about the lawyers , the knights who battle eachother . +we learn that the company is almost positively to blame for the deaths in the town , but the reason it can't be blamed is because it has the best prosecution you can find . +and duvall's facher is such a brilliant character and he does such a magnificent job at portraying that man that it's almost easy to overlook how subtley great he is . +facher is seen as an elderly man , a goofy eccentric , carrying a broken brown bag with stickers on it , eating lunches out of paper bags , and making a point to take time out of his day to listen to the radio , and scold anyone who interupts him . +but look deeper and you see a master at work : his evil and manipulative nature are hidden under the eccentricities that others don upon him , and it's difficult as hell to clearly generalize him in any way . +that's why i liked this film : it's hard to put a pointer on . +you can never see exactly where this film will land , and even when the credits roll , you still aren't sure what to make of it . +call it the zallian effect . +same thing happened with " schindler's list " ( not that i'm comparing oskar schindler to jan schlictman ) . +each film is so greatly crafted that you can't help but get involved in its broad storytelling , interesting characters , and , most peculiarly , the wit that comes along with it . +if only it felt totally complete ( like , say , " schindler's list , " though at this point it may be unfair to make comparisons between the two ) , it might have been one of the best films of the year , and along with that , a full breath of fresh air . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv561_9201.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv561_9201.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..66fd3cd30212ffe3fcde95339e74e7c1e4b460eb --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv561_9201.txt @@ -0,0 +1,33 @@ +the seasoned capt . dudley smith ( james cromwell ) questions his new protege , ed exley ( guy pearce ) about his political views when it comes to police work . + " would you plant evidence to get a conviction if you knew the person to be guilty ? +would you shoot a man in the back if you knew that it was the only way to make sure he got what he deserved ? " +exley , squeaky clean , innocent , and pent with the desire to perform his new duties with integrity and honesty quickly answers with a pointed 'no . ' +stunned , smith pleads , " then , for the love of god , don't be a detective . " +la confidential is a dandy piece of filmmaking that brings us back to the classic times of hollywood in the 50s . +organized crime was the biggest concern , corruption existed everywhere , and every cop had his own way of getting the job done . +there was " hollywood " jack vincennes ( kevin spacey ) who gets most of his information from the editor of a sleazy tell-all/show-all tabloid , sid hudgeons ( danny devito ) . +sporting dark sunglasses and a white sports coat , he isn't afraid to flash his tinseltown style . +detective bud white ( russell crowe ) has only a narrow-minded view of the law , and he uses excessive force to exact his unique kind of interrogation and brutal justice . +and then there is golden boy exley , wide-eyed and ambitious but extremely naive . +a horrible multiple murder begins to draw these three men together , each of whom become inexorably connected in their search for truth , action , and personal vindication . +almost immediately , an arrest is made . +but something doesn't seem quite right . +new developments become sinuous as the story begins to draw us deeper into the labyrinth of corruption and crime within the department . +suspicion and questions begin to mount . +odd alliances are created . +and as layers of the truth become revealed , the story grows more complex and intriguing by the moment . +when the mystery expands , we see other seemingly guilty characters enter the lives of these three cops , including a high-priced hooker ( kim basinger ) and a shady millionaire ( david strathairn ) . +all of the characters' levels of involvement are not immediately clear . +we watch with riveted fascination to learn more about why they are there and their stake in the case . +we sense a cross-pollination of clues that brings us , the audience , closer to the truth . +we hope that the three detectives can throw away their spite for one another and can pull their resources together in order to untangle the intricately created web of mystery . +absorbing and affecting , this movie has all the necessary ingredients to create a terrific gourmet serving of film noir . +it boasts mysterious figures in control , double-crosses , hard information from sleazy sources , dirty politicians , corrupt cops , haunting women , and hard-nosed cops experiencing moral ambiguity . +the underlying mystery is compelling . +the look and feel of the movie is gorgeous . +the entire cast is crisp and wonderful to watch ( i wouldn't be surprised if cromwell received an oscar nomination for his performance ) . +and , the dialogue is rich and memorable . +the best line of the movie is spoken when a key player dispenses advice to one of the detectives unsure of what to do . + " don't start trying to do the right thing , boy-o , " says he . + " you haven't had the practice . " + " l . a . confidential'' triumphantly achieves the rare gift of complexity and coherence while satisfying our desire for a good old-fashioned movie . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv562_10359.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv562_10359.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b3d1ba336512569048fc81a1b862bdea2444e7c7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv562_10359.txt @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +aliens ! ! well , that is what this movie is about . +computer generated aliens . +ok , the movie is not just about computer generated aliens . +it's about computer generated aliens and a secret organization known as mib . +if one wasn't green and running around the other would not exist as it's known . +the computer graphics in this movie are spectacular , they make you want to believe that aliens like the ones depicted exits . +since seeing this movie i have to agree concede that denis rodman is an alien , he simply has to be . +well , in all seriousness the aliens created here are not only of the monster variety but are also of the soft , squishy and cuddly kind . +just adds something of a lighter note to the movie where it could have become very dark . +along with aliens comes the humor and in a pretty decent way . +j , well soon to be j , a smart ass cop ( played by will smith ) runs down what he thinks is a would-be villain and gets some attention from the mib and k in particular . +k aims to recruit our poor j , but that is not the whole point of this movie . +the main duty of the mib is to police the extra terrestrials on earth who have chosen it as a home or a refuge . +that's also the main point of this movie : protect the earth from the scum of the galaxy . +some of the scum from space is awfully bad and just down right nasty . +color commentary abounds when forced to deal with alien scum and none other than will smith and tommy lee jones are there to deliver the punch . +the dialogue is witty to say the least . +this wittiness lets the movie flow well from scene to scene developing the characters to the extent needed for this movie . +tommy lee jones ( as k ) and will smith ( as j ) provide both the action and the comedy beautifully . +the characters they play don't seem to be wrong in any way nor does their performance as them . +i would have to say that k is more amusing than j , but what's one without the other . +both roles complemented each other very well and the script seemed to be written for these two actors . +the story also goes deep enough to provide a proper background so the audience is not totally clueless . +altogether good performances were put in by all the cast and the director blended everything marvelously with the necessary special effects to create a good movie . +a movie well worth seeing if you are up for some lighthearted and witty humor . +as most movies have their good things they also have their bad things . +the character development in this movie was not all that grand because it didn't need to be . +but if there was more character development and if there was some development of the alien characters that might have added quite considerable to the movie . +especially the evil alien , he did need some work . +though this could have been worked on , the movie was what it proposed to be a rather shallow and witty comedy . +that was achieved rather well , with some interesting commentary and observations . +a movie worth a view , but keep in mind what the movie is and if you are not fond of will smith's form of humor then i wouldn't go . +originally written after original release . +totally rewritten december 26 , 1997 diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv563_17257.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv563_17257.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8cd3692e3621cb02379970ac90bee6033321128a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv563_17257.txt @@ -0,0 +1,64 @@ +in the opening shot of midnight cowboy , we see a close-up of a blank movie screen at a drive-in . +we hear in the soundtrack human cries and the stomping of horses' hooves . +without an image projected onto the screen , the audience unerringly identifies the familiar sound of cowboys chasing indians and can spontaneously fill in the blank screen with images of old westerns in our mind's eye . +even without having seen a cowboys and indians movie , somehow the cliched images of them seem to have found their way into our mental schema . +but do cowboys really exist , or are they merely hollywood images personified by john wayne and gary cooper ? +exploring this theme , director john schlesinger uses the idea of the cowboy as a metaphor for the american dream , an equally cliched yet ambiguous concept . +is the ease at which salvation and success can be attained in america a hallmark of its experience or an urban legend ? +midnight cowboy suggests that the american dream , like image of the cowboy , is merely a myth . +as joe buck migrates from place to place , he finds neither redemption nor reward in his attempt to create a life for himself , only further degeneration . +during the opening credits , joe walks past an abandoned theater whose decrepit marquee reads `john wayne : the alamo . ' +as joe is on the bus listening to a radio talk show , a lady on the air describes her ideal man as `gary cooper ? but he's dead . ' +a troubled expression comes across joe's face , as he wonders where have all the cowboys gone . +having adopted the image of a cowboy since youth , joe now finds himself deserted by the persona he tried to embody . +joe's persistence in playing the act of the cowboy serves as an analogue to his american dream . +he romanticizes about making it in the big city , but his dreams will desert him as he is forced to compromise his ideals for sustenance . +by the end of midnight cowboy , joe buck loses everything and gains nothing . +just as the audience can picture cowboys chasing indians on a blank screen , we can also conjure up scenes from pretty woman as paradigms of american redemption and success . +but how realistic are these ideals ? +joe had raped and been raped in texas . +the scars of his troubled past prompt him to migrate to new york , but he does not know that his aspirations to be a cowboy hero will fail him there just as they had in texas . +alongside the dream of success is the dream of salvation . +the ability to pack up one's belongings and start anew seems to be an exclusive american convention . +schlesinger provides us with strong hints as to joe's abusive and abused past with flashbacks of improper relationships with crazy anne and granny . +we understand that joe adopts the fa ? ade of a cowboy , a symbol of virility and gallantry , as an attempt to neutralize his shame . +he runs from his past only to be sexually defiled this time by his homosexual experiences in new york . +in the scene at the diner which foreshadows joe's encounter with the gay student , joe buck spills ketchup on himself . +standing up , we see the ketchup has made a red stain running from the crotch of his pants down his thigh . +schlesinger visually depicts the degeneration of joe's virility by eliciting an image of bleeding genitals , signifying emasculation . +beyond the symbol of castration , the scene may also connote the bleeding of a virgin's first sexual encounter , a reference to joe's first homosexual liaison . +the fact that the idea of a bleeding virgin is relegated only to females furthers the imagery of joe's emasculation . +it is ironic that joe has trouble prospecting for female clients , but effortlessly attracts men . +joe believes his broncobuster getup is emblematic of his masculinity ; new yorkers see his ensemble as camp and `faggot stuff . ' +there are two predominant images of new york . +the first is that new york is the rich , cosmopolitan city where hope and opportunity are symbolized by the tall skyscrapers and the statue of liberty . +the other new york is travis bickle's new york , a seedy , corruptive hell on earth . +joe envisions new york as the former , but is presented with the latter . +mirroring the irony in which joe envisions his cowboy attire as masculine , he mistakenly buys into the fable that new york is filled with lonely women neglected by gay men . +joe thinks he is performing a great service for new york , but the city rapes him of his pride and possessions . +the people steal joe's money , the landlord confiscates his luggage , and the homosexuals rob him of his dignity . +what has become of joe's american dream ? +schlesinger responds to this question with the scene at the party . +joe gets invited to a shindig of sorts and at the gathering is exposed to a dizzying array of food , drugs , and sex . +at the party , all of joe and ratzo's desires are made flesh ; joe flirts successfully with women and ratzo loads up on free salami . +contrasting joe's daily struggles , shots of warhol's crew display wanton indulgence . +there is an irreverence in the partygoers' attitude ; we see a shot of a woman kowtowing to nothing in particular , orgies breaking out in the periphery , and drugs passed around like party favors . +the party makes a mockery of joe' s ideals . +joe believed that hard work and persistence were the elements for success in america ; scenes of the party and his rendezvous with shirley suggest that it is the idle who profit from joe's toils . +the american dream , schlesinger suggests , is merely a proletarian fantasy , for those who are content no longer dream , but become indolent . +as joe heads to miami , all that was significant of the cowboy image has left him . +his masculinity is compromised and his morality is relinquished . +for joe , nothing is left of the cowboy hero and commensurately , he surrenders the identity . +tossing his boots into the garbage , he returns to the bus for the last leg of his journey to miami . +the final shot of midnight cowboy shows joe inside the bus , more introspective , taking only a few glances outside the window . +instead of the frequent pov shots of joe excitedly looking out of the bus on his way to new york , schlesinger sets up this final shot from the exterior of the bus looking in through the window at joe . +reflections of the palm trees ratzo so raved about run across the bus' window with joe hardly taking notice . +the scenery of miami no longer exacts the same excitement from joe as before . +the world seems smaller to joe now ; the termination of his journey coincides with the termination of his american dream . +no longer does joe aspire to be the enterprising gigolo ; he resolves to return to a normal job and resign to basic means . +midnight cowboy presents two familiar incarnations of the american dream . +there is the frontier fantasy that if you are brave enough to repel a few indians , you can set up a ranch out west and raise a beautiful family . +then there is the jay gatsby dream that a man of humble stock , with perseverance , can make a fortune in the big city . +joe's attempt to realize these dreams robs him of his innocence in texas and morality in new york . +during his search for an intangible paradise , joe ends up raping a girl and killing a man . +an allegory of chasing the promise of the american dream , joe buck's progressive moral atrophy is a warning against the pursuit of illusory icons . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv564_11110.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv564_11110.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..32db957be586b52288c19996991cdf43e59fb77a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv564_11110.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +metro i've seen san francisco in movies many times . +there was 1994's interview with the vampire and most recently the rock . +now , yet again , san francisco is the setting for this movie . +eddie murphy stars as inspector scott roper of the sfpd . he is their top hostage negotiator , and the very best at what he does . +when his best friend on the force is killed by joe ( michael wincott , in a terrific performance ) , a psychotic , demented jewel thief , roger makes it his mission to capture the guy before he strikes again . +meanwhile , roper tries to rekindle a relationship with his british ex-girlfriend veronica , while helping to rear a new up and comer from swat who's an expert sniper and marksman ( michael rappaport ) . +despite the obligatory cop movie scenes ( does every cop/new partner movie have to start the same way ? ) +where the sgt . +assigns roper a partner , roper confronts the sarge , etc . , this film is still one heck of an explosive ride . +a scene involving a cable car has to be seen to be believed , and boasts some amazing car stunts . +eddie murphy shines in this tailor-made role , and for once , his character shows depth and concern . +when confronting joe in prison , you can feel the anger drip from every word . +michael rappaport is basically throwaway . +he serves no purpose , except to be buddy to murphy and get disabled in the final reel so that eddie can save the day . +typical action escapist fare . +michael wincott offers the best performance as the crazed killer and jewel thief joe . +never before have i seen such a villian written like this where i could actually believe that he was serious and take him seriously . +maybe i just thought that this role was different due to wincott's perfectly raspy voice . +i don't know . +what i do know , though , is that although metro is basically a typical action retread , it manages to cover new ground and shed new light on tired old cliches' . +the film is a triumph , and an entertaining one at that . +it doesn't meander or trail off from its main character . +an enjoyable two hours , metro is enjoyable , witty , action-packed , and fun , and makes for a great action movie that's perfect for all of us that need an escape from reality . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv565_29572.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv565_29572.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d59d633f11f90de5f9f48df2155628d18ddc23b0 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv565_29572.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9 @@ +susan granger's review of " hearts in atlantis " ( castle rock/warner bros . ) +timing is everything , and the timing just seems right for this poignant psychological drama that combines the coming-of-age nostalgia of " stand by me " with the mystical power of " the green mile . " +based on stephen king stories adapted by screenwriter william goldman and directed by scott hicks , it's set in 1960 in harwich , connecticut , where fatherless 11 year-old bobby garfield ( anton yelchin ) lives in a boarding house with his resentful , self-centered mother ( hope davis ) . +he's devoted to his neighborhood friends ( mika boorem , will rothhaar ) but his pivotal relationship is with a strange , new tenant , ted brautigan ( anthony hopkins ) who opens the world of literature to him after his selfish mother refuses to buy him a birthday gift and hands him , instead , a library card . +knowing he's longing for a schwinn bike , ted offers to pay him $1 a week to read him the local newspaper and keep his eyes peeled for signs of the malevolent , ominous low men who are chasing him to exploit his special powers . +the story structure consists of one long flashback , framed by the present , featuring the adult bobby ( david morse ) , minimizing the supernatural elements while emphasizing the human drama hopkins' mysterious character is genteel , sensitive and benignly seductive . +the only explanation is that he's a psychic who is wanted by the fbi to aid in their hunt for communists and even that seems appropriate , given the inexplicable state of the world right now . +the production values and performances are solid , particularly hopkins - arguably the finest , most versatile actor of our era - and the children with whom he forges a firm bond . +on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , " hearts in atlantis " is a wistful , enigmatic 8 , evolving with subtle power to an emotionally effective catharsis . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv566_8581.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv566_8581.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..af4805fdc572cd0752a00860ebfc5a60e3a37705 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv566_8581.txt @@ -0,0 +1,19 @@ +note : some may consider portions of the following text to be spoilers . +be forewarned . +floating life , australia's first-ever submission to the academy of motion picture arts & sciences for consideration in the best foreign language film category ( its dialogue is in cantonese , english , and german ) , marks a special accomplishment by clara law . +a compelling , at times poignant film , it manages to maintain its truthfulness while teetering between comedy and melodrama . +floating life centers around a hong kong family's sense of dislocation and loss of identity after moving to australia in order to avoid the communist takeover of hong kong , and is divided into clearly defined vignettes , each chapter labelled with title cards pertaining to houses , which serves to emphasize the film's theme of family . +the film opens with mr . and mrs . chan ( edwin pang , cecilia fong sing lee ) and their two teen sons ( toby wong , toby chan ) leaving the bustling , claustrophobic metropolis of hong kong to join their second daughter bing ( annie yip ) in australia . +with their spacious , immaculately-white new house and the vast abundance of neighbourhood greenery , the chans initially find this serene new land a strange and wonderous one , and - with neurotic bing cooly remarking about the possible dangers of australian life ( killer dogs , poisonous spiders , dangerous ultraviolet rays ) - a frightening one . +this sets up a wonderfully amusing scene early in the film where the four immigrants , aimlessly ambling about their new suburban neighbourhood , are sent scrambling by the yelps of a little white puppy . +the tone set up early in the film is broadly comic , and one expects floating life to depict the clash of cultures as the chans struggle to acclimatize themselves to the new ways of australian life as they integrate themselves into australian society ( a scene where the two teen sons meet up with a sunbathing neighbourhood girl is left dangling ) , but the film suddenly veers towards an introspective and melodramatic tone . +floating life shifts its focus away from the exploits of the new immigrants and towards bing's domineering of her newly-reunited family , setting out a set of stringent and oppressive rules which create tremendous tension within the household and threaten to fracture the family . +meanwhile , elder daughter yen ( annette shun wah ) , happily settled in germany with her husband and young daughter , begins to suffer an identity crisis , manifesting itself with her claims to her patiently exasperated husband that their new home is cursed with bad feng shui , and further exacerbated upon hearing of the familial conflict down under . +among the dramatic threads of floating life , this is perhaps the most effective and engaging , with an interesting set of characters and a storyline which generates a genuine emotional punch . +the one misguided vignette in floating life involves eldest son gar ming ( anthony wong ) , left behind in hong kong to resolve various affairs on behalf of his family and to await his immigration papers before rejoining his parents and brothers in australia . +emotionally detatched and aimlessly drifting , his is an uncompelling character , and consequently subsequent attempts to draw out pathos are uninvolving and ineffective . +his desperate search for emotional fulfillment is depicted by philosopical droning on the exquisite peak of an orgasm , which quickly becomes tedious . +ms . law's film cheerfully embraces melodrama - each of the major vignettes feature excessively emotional climaxes which i couldn't help but find reminiscent to wayne wang's acutely unsubtle the joy luck club - but despite the director's rather clear attempts to tug at the heartstrings , i couldn't help but be touched by a powerful and affecting soliloquy delivered masterfully by cecilia fong sing lee which truly packs an emotional wallop and , in dramatic terms , is certainly the highlight of floating life . +floating life at times spreads itself too thin ; given the myriad of characters involved , it could either stand to delve into each vignette a little deeper , or narrow its focus to a select group of key characters . +however , it is a fine film , with a thoughtful and insightful screenplay by clara law and husband eddie ling-ching fong , and some superb acting by a cast consisting almost exclusively of non-actors ( special note is to be made of cecilia fong sing lee , annette shun wah , and a short but dazzling performance by an actress who portrayed gar ming's girlfriend from vancouver ) . +floating life is ultimately about the ties that bond a family together , which are able to withstand great distances and new environments . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv568_15638.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv568_15638.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5c2ce070d72e70e008ce43eb2032aad943894fed --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv568_15638.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8 @@ +eric rohmer's " pauline at the beach , " is one of those small , deliberately paced , but charming foreign films in which not much happens plot wise , but a lot happens to the characters emotionally . +the film takes place during a few weeks of august at the normandy coast , and centers on six different characters , primarily pauline ( amanda langlet ) , a wise beyond her years 15-year-old who has come to stay for the summer with her older cousin , marion ( arielle dombasle ) . +on the first day at the beach , marion runs into an old high school flame ( fedoore atkine ) , and although he wants to rekindle their relationship , she is more interested in an older , more seductive womanizer ( pascal greggory ) , who is also secretly having an affair with a candy vendor ( rosette ) . +while pauline watches as an outsider at what is happening between all of the adults , she forms a relationship of her own with a young teenage boy ( simon de la brosse ) . + " pauline at the beach , " is not a film in which big dramatic things occur , and there is not a clear-cut , tidy conclusion to the story . +instead , it is a picture that simply observes its characters in every day life , and the surprises come from little character details . the film is quite talky and slow moving , and so it is pretty safe to say it isn't for those who are only a fan of action movies , but is a treat for those viewers who often like to venture outside of the big-budget genre and see a good art film . +this is the first film by acclaimed director eric rohmer ( 1969's " my night at mauds , " and 1971's " claire's knee " ) that i have seen , but his direction is assured and intelligent , as is the screenplay , which he also wrote . + " pauline at the beach , " is a film worth seeing . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv569_26381.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv569_26381.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..085a2f8e891e217cdc725ca4a2a1db57a0844799 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv569_26381.txt @@ -0,0 +1,51 @@ +after a rather disappointing " mary railly " , stephen frears is now officially back in business with a comeback worthy of praise . +this is one of the best surprises of this season -- a sweet , small budget comedy with a big heart . +in fact it's not even a comedy . +it's a drama or even more precise -- a clever satire on human relationships and needs . +based on a 1995 critically acclaimed novel by british author nick hornby , ``high fidelity'' is a wry and likable story about a man's quest for fulfillment and happiness . +rob gordon was a dj . +it seems that he could make everything spin -- except his own life . +now he owns championship vinyl , a little musical store , somewhere in new york . +when he suddenly gets dumped by his girlfriend , a gorgeous blond attorney , life suddenly looses every purpose . +decimated , humiliated and on the verge of a mental ( and emotional ) breakdown , he starts meditating over his life and the way it could have been -- about what's right and what's important . +he starts " categorizing " life , dividing it into " top 5 lists " . +and the most important is the " top 5 list " over the most painful breakups of his life , starting with 5th grade , when he found his young girlfriend with another boy . +though you might think that people change , grow more mature with age , it just doesn't seem that way and all rob's relationships were different versions of that first . +where did he go wrong ? +was it he that screwed up ? +or maybe life just stinks ? +while he is lost in his own self-pity , he must think of the " top 5 list " over his needs for the future , find the right elements and mix his life together . +with clever parallels to the cult of celebrity , music and with incredibly direct narration , it addresses the average audience member , in other words -- people like you and me . +although a lot of this honor should be addressed to the screenwriter ______ and frears , the director , the acting is equally important as the written word . +and here john cusack should absolutely be mentioned . +he is simply superb . +it is as much his movie as it is frears' . +the film would not be the same without him . +cusack -- whose character is sadder , wiser and 35 -- brings intelligence and warmth to post- mod irony . +most of his dialogue is delivered directly to the camera -- not an easy task -- but cusack pulls it off . +his interpretation feels so emotionally right , so incredibly realistic and precise that frears' message simply can't be ignored or overseen . +the other members of the cast do an equally remarkable job . +both ______ and jack black are fabulous . +even catherine zeta jones appears in a role where she actually acts , not just looks beautiful . +however , the most unexpected pleasant surprises is provided by todd louiso who delivers a spectacular comic performance as rob's co-worker and friend dick . +this is such an impressive achievement that it's almost worth a oscar-nomination . +he is simply a joy to behold . +otherwise , everyone are in their place , and at the right time -- all part of frears' colorful blend . +pretty much like edward norton's " keeping the faith " , this film doesn't follow any formula or belong to any genre -- it's dramatic , tragic , sarcastic , comic and even cynical , but never bitter or angry . +it's a little bit of everything , pretty much like life itself . +nothing seems unreal or staged . +it reflects reality as a mirror . +as you watch it , you go through the same emotional problems as the main character . +you feel and think and reflect . +this effect has become a rarity nowadays . +although it's primarily about the perils of love , ``high fidelity'' is secondarily about pop music . +rob owns championship vinyl and his employees , timid dick ( todd louiso ) and overbearing barry ( jack black ) , are fellow music snobs . +music is the language in their lives , the measure by which they define themselves and mark the significant events of their lives . +and so does the movie . +it is as much a musical film as anything else , as rob's journey is wonderfully portrayed through carefully inserted musical fragments . +in the end , you have gained something while watching it . +it's not the film of the century or even of the year . +it's not an special effects extravaganza . +it doesn't require big explosions or digital creatures to succeed . +it's a small movie about the big things . +and even though it does not contain heavy philosophy , you feel as if you have experienced something of significance , and you will experience that nice warm feeling for quite some time . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv570_29082.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv570_29082.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0b0814cbce97fadcc944e19730b8b40fd8badca1 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv570_29082.txt @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +plot : a group of asbestos cleaners get a job removing the gunk from an old insane asylum . +as each day passes , the crew members begin to discover things about the place and themselves which set other things in motion . +saying anything else about the plot would be a crime . +have fun . . . +critique : " i feel like shooting myself in the head " are the first words that came out of my mouth after seeing this movie , a good indication as to what kind of film to expect here . +this ain't your average " happy go lucky " kind of picture . +this is a deliberately slow-paced mystery-horror film drenched in atmosphere , with a very creepy insane asylum ( in which most of the film takes place ) , very few clues up-front and lots to talk about afterwards . +will it bore some people to sleep ? +you bet it will ! +is it made for the scream audiences of the day ? +absolutely not ! +i guess you can describe this film as a horror movie for the " cerebral crowd " . +a film that patiently unwraps itself frame after frame , giving away very little with each step and each sound , unwinding itself until its final scenes offer up a world of revelations and plenty more to discuss later . +i've always loved movies that have me talking about them afterwards like the shining and lost highway and this film fits right into that group . +in fact , i guess i can pussyfoot around the actual word all i want but the best way to describe this kind of movie is a " mindfuck " . +if you feel like watching a movie that moves very slowly , gives you a handful of characters with divergent backgrounds , tosses a few very ambiguous and supernatural cookies your way and is extremely disturbing once you put it all together , well , then this movie is definitely for you ! +it's the kind of film that you actually have to see twice to fully appreciate ( damn , i missed that whole " peanut butter " thing ! ) and one that will likely creep the shit out of you if watched alone in the dark . + " brrrrrrrrr . . . now +what was that sound in the basement ? +honey , can you go check ? " +and one thing this film doesn't have , unlike its hollywood-ian counterparts like the haunting , is special effects . +in fact , that's one of the greater things about this movie : it feels real because it looks like it's actually taped on video with very credible actors in very credible circumstances ( i did some research and it was , in fact , shot on digital video . . . ah-ha ! ) . +another great thing about it is that it's actually very gory and somewhat violent in theme , and yet we rarely see anything of the sort on the big screen ( it's mostly implied , kids ! ) . +and as clich ? d as it might be to say . . . it's usually much scarier when stuff is left to our imagination or implied in movies as such . +other films that this one reminded me of include henry : portrait of a serial killer and the blair witch project , with that same real sense of dread , brooding and terror . +the film does however move awfully slow and if you really don't get " into " it completely ( you really need to concentrate here ) , you will lose the motion of the story and the pent-up tension might be released . +but overall , this film is yet another great example of the horror genre making a very cool comeback this year with no tight tanktops in sight . +and with david caruso acting like the king hotshot like only he can , how can you go wrong ? +definitely not a film for everyone but a must-see for anyone looking to throw themselves into the psyche of the disturbed ( count me in ! ) . +stanley kubrick would be proud ! +oh yeah . . . so +where's that gun again . . . ? +where's joblo coming from ? +the blair witch project ( 4/10 ) - blair witch 2 ( 7/10 ) - the haunting ( 3/10 ) - the house on haunted hill ( 7/10 ) - lost highway ( 10/10 ) - the pledge ( 6/10 ) - the shining ( 9/10 ) - the sixth sense ( 8/10 ) - unbreakable ( 8/10 ) diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv571_29366.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv571_29366.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..fcf1bc861c2a706e20056ea411ec5753ec2e966a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv571_29366.txt @@ -0,0 +1,46 @@ +hedwig and the angry inch ( 2001 ) john cameron mitchell , miriam shor , stephen trask , michael pitt , theodore liscinski , michael aronov , andrea martin , maurice dean wint , ben mayer-goodman . +animation by emily hubley . +adapted from the stage play by john cameron mitchell and stephen trask . +music and lyrics by stephn trask . +written and directed by john cameron mitchell . +91 minutes . +rated r , stars ) +had " hedwig and the angry inch " came out in the '70s , right after david bowie's " ziggy stardust , " it likely would now be regarded as one of the most popular rock musicals of all time . +released in the 500 channel , sensory overload world of 2001 , however , the big screen adaptation of the acclaimed off-broadway musical must do battle with countless other productions clamoring for attention . +i almost missed it . +every august , the major studios try to squeeze the last few dollars out of summer moviegoers by dumping all of their shakier offerings on the marketplace at once . +i was so busy trying to keep up with national releases like " summer catch " and " bubble boy " that i passed over any independent film that looked like it would only have a short local run . +but an e-mail from a reader asking why i hadn't reviewed the movie prompted me to make a late evening trip to the theater . +thank goodness for readers like him . + " hedwig and the angry inch " is a gender-bending glam-rock spectacular packed with great songs . +stylistically , the hook-laden tunes are reminiscent of bowie , " bat out of hell " era meatloaf and " the rocky horror show , " without ever seeming like imitations . +as with " tommy , " " hedwig " tells a story of isolation , pain and defiance , but without the bloated feel of that beloved , but overrated rock opera . +writer-director-star john cameron mitchell and composer-lyricist stephen trask have cooked up a real winner . +mitchell stars as hedwig , a singer from east berlin touring a chain of u . s . coffee shops with her pan-slavic band , the angry inch . +while the patrons of the run-down restaurants look on in shock , and sometimes horror , hedwig boldly tells the sad story of her life in song . +she was once a boy named hansel ( ben mayer-goodman ) , living with his mother ( alberta watson ) and listening to rock and roll on american armed forces radio . +life is an exercise in duality for hansel . +a wall splits his hometown into two parts . +mother describes love as the emotion that comes when you find your other half . +as hansel grows up , the duality becomes more pronounced . +after initially mistaking him for a girl , a gi from the states ( maurice dean wint ) falls in love with hansel and wants to marry him . +alas , hansel will never pass the mandatory physical . +mother helpfully suggests a sex change , but the operation goes bad , hence the references to " the angry inch " ( yes , i know this part is squirm-inducing , but stick with me - it's worth it ) . +several years later , mr . right is long gone and hansel becomes hedwig , decked out in a farrah fawcett-style wig and fronting a band made up of korean women . +hedwig finds a new love in tommy ( michael pitt ) , a beatific lad with a unique take on christianity . +but tommy does hedwig wrong , stealing her songs and becoming a superstar . +cut to the present . +tommy gnosis' stadium tour is thriving and hedwig is suing him . +despite warnings from her manager ( andrea martin ) that she could easily be labeled a stalker , hegwig and her new band , the angry inch , continue their coffee shop tour , shadowing the thief by playing whatever city he is in . +if this sounds like a bizarre premise for a rock musical , take a few seconds and consider the plotlines of " tommy " and " rocky horror . " +as hedwig , john cameron mitchell does a magnificent job taking a character that could have simply been a caricature or an icon and turning her into a compelling human being . +mitchell has world-class style and vocal chords to match . +even though the backstory is unusually strong , mitchell never forgets that the production is first and foremost a rock musical . +everything is propelled by one terrific song after another and , trust me , these are full-fledged rock songs , not the over-processed fluff that passes for rock in most musicals . +while mitchell remains in the center of the stage throughout the film , there is much of interest on the sidelines . +miriam shor does fine work as yitzhak , hedwig's lover and bandmate , conveying a great deal through expressions alone . +decked out in a bandanna and a surprisingly convincing beard , she makes a mighty attractive man . +as always , " sctv " veteran andrea martin is a welcome presence onscreen and michael pitt is beguiling as tommy , the angelic-appearing little rat . +artist emily hubley adds to the magic with a string of dandy animated sequences that charm the eye while underlining the central themes of the musical . + " hedwig and the angry inch " surrounds a weird , funny and touching story with a knockout series of songs performed by an exceptional cast . +true originals do not come along very often ? don't let this slip out of town without seeing it . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv572_18657.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv572_18657.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ddd1d1d772463bf80ea23af471cf405017e2cb3c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv572_18657.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +with many big-budget science fiction films , great ideas are often wasted by bad scripts , cheesy plot twists , and , terrible acting . +the fifth element , the abyss , and godzilla had great concepts squandered by bad acting , writing , or both . +at first glance , the matrix , larry & andy wachowski's sci-fi/kung-fu/shoot-em-up spectacular , looks like a prime candidate to join the list of high-concept bad movies , especially with dopey keanu reeves in the leading role . +but despite high levels of cheese and gaudy dialogue , the matrix works . +it's an uncanny blend of action and surreal fantasy that borrows from dozens of other films ( most obviously the terminator films , star wars , and total recall ) , but remains refreshingly original and interesting throughout . +reeves plays neo , a computer hacker who stumbles into an initially bewildering set of encounters with " trinity " ( carrie-anne moss ) , a rival hacker who has supernatural powers and stunning good looks , a unseen , omniscient cult figure known as " morpheus " ( lawrence fishburne ) , and a trio of creepy men in dark suits who act like irs agents from hell . +neo quickly learns that the world he has known all his life is not what it seems . +moreover , he discovers that the grim , bleak world he is introduced to has been waiting for him to save it . +neo is reluctant to assume the role of messiah , with grave doubts that he is actually " the one " prophesized to come and save the world . +reluctant or not , what follows is a mix of hong kong-style slow-motion shootouts , surreal dream sequences , high speed chases , and comic book kung-fu fights . +the film also raises interesting philosophical questions about reality . +how exactly do you know what is real and what is in your mind ? +and if the real world were much harsher and grim than a fantasy one you were living in , would you want to face the true world or continue to live in a more comfortable illusion ? +unfortunately , the matrix doesn't provide many answers to the questions it raises , but at least it puts some ideas behind all the explosions , shoot-outs , and flying roundhouse kicks . +perhaps stealing the entire show in the matrix is australian actor hugo weaving , who plays agent smith , the leader of the creepy agents in sunglasses and suits who seem capable of being anywhere and doing anything to stop neo and friends from destabilizing the matrix . +weaving's stony appearance , deadpan voice , and chilling comments put a grim human face on the haunting , evil technological force that controls the matrix . +like robert patrick as the shapeshifting t-1000 terminator in terminator 2 : judgement day , weaving is more frightening than any monstrous alien or homicidal robot because , despite his power and seeming invincibility , he looks ordinary , even scrawny . +weaving embodies his role with a memorably chilling presence . +the film features some truly breathtaking special effects and stylish cinematography . +it seems to be deliberately kitchy , with stylized fight sequences directed by hong kong stunt specialist wo ping that reportedly required months of martial arts training by the actors . +in a few scenes , the posing and posturing is unintentionally funny . +just seeing keanu reeves engaging in serious kung fu is a bit jarring . +however , with the comic-book style and tone of the film , you can sustain willing disbelief long enough to enjoy the ride without losing patience . +the matrix isn't a classic . +its open-ended and confusing conclusion raises more questions than it answers . +it fails to resolve many of its own plot twists and philosophical questions . +it also relies on some conventional sentimentality to save the hero - the kind of shmaltzy feel-good goo that most of the film avoids . +reportedly , the producers have high hopes for the film being the first in a trilogy and have already begun work on the story for the sequel . +unfortunately , audiences deserve a little more than a vague sense that the story will continue in the future . +the matrix is an fun , enjoyable diversion , like a big puff of cotton candy at a carnival . +just don't be surprised half an hour later when you still feel a little hungry . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv573_29525.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv573_29525.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..969bc0be8f60ecdd5f359447fa6d1e1266320181 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv573_29525.txt @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ + " the deep end " uses a color palette of rich earth tones surrounded by a vast array of blues . +alluring , attractive blues , but also icy and foreboding . +after taking in their beauty , the eye seeks out the reassuring browns and greens , like a tired swimmer searching for the safety of land . +the production works that way as well ? it pulls you in initially as a crisp , thoroughly-modern thriller , with clipped exchanges between defiantly non-communicative characters . +but the real draw of the film is the submerged humanity of two key players as " the deep end " gradually reveals the melodramatic core beneath its ironic candy coating . +spoiler alert : the following reveals the basic storyline . +i believe the plot points are incidental , because the real rewards come in exploring the mindset of the main characters , but still , you should proceed at your own risk . +with her husband tom , a naval officer , often away at sea , margaret hall ( tilda swinton ) holds down the fort , taking care of the children , beau ( jonathan tucker ) , paige ( tamara hope ) , and dylan ( jordon dorrance ) , while her father-in-law jack ( peter donat ) hovers in the background , always watching . +the story opens with margaret leaving the family home in lake tahoe to storm a male strip club in reno . +it seems that beau , her eldest , is having an affair with darby reese ( josh lucas ) , a disreputable sort 12 years his senior . +margaret demands that darby leave her son alone , only to have the man smirk at her and announce he'll be glad to steer clear of beau ? for $5000 . +back at home , she tries to talk about it all with her son , but the kid won't even confirm that he's gay , let alone discuss the issues she has with his boyfriend . +he does , however , get attentive when she reveals darby's $5 , 000 offer , even as he maintains his sullen demeanor . +late in the evening , darby shows up outside , tossing pebbles at beau's window like a schoolchild . +the two meet by the water at the boathouse , where something important happens . +i won't reveal what ; suffice to say we become aware of a significant fact that margaret does not . +all of this happens in the first few minutes of the movie , by the way . +within a day or so , margaret's life becomes even more complicated when a suave man named alec goran visnjic ) turns up with an explicit videotape documenting the sex life of beau and darby . +he and his associate are willing to destroy the tape , once margaret coughs up $50 , 000 . +oh , what's a mother to do ? +end spoilers +written , directed and produced by scott mcgehee and david siegel ( " suture " ) , " the deep end " is based on elisabeth sanxay holding's 1940's novel , " the blank wall , " which was also the source of the 1949 film , " the reckless moment . " +i've neither read the book nor seen the movie , but i understand that the filmmakers changed some details . +in holding's story , the " scandalous " relationship is between an older man and margaret's teen-age daughter . +switching the gender makes the tale seem more contemporary , and it also raises questions about margaret's motives . +many reviews of " the deep end " describe margaret as a mother ferociously protecting her son , but i wonder . +consider this : margaret lives in a meticulously kept upscale home . +her husband is absent most of the time and seems to be regarded as a larger-than-life figure . +her father-in-law is constantly present , almost as if he is monitoring for his son . +and when her husband does call , margaret is careful not to tell him about anything disturbing that is going on with the family . +so is margaret a mother who accepts her son's sexual orientation and is simply trying to shield the young man from a lover she fears will take advantage of him ? +or is she caretaker of a museum of upper middle class complacency , desperate to maintain the status quo so that everything will be postcard perfect when the old man returns from the sea ? +you sort it out . +regardless , the resonance of " the deep end " comes from two actors . +goran visnjic , best known from the tv drama " er , " is striking as a blackmailer unlike any you've seen before . +he engages margaret in a mesmerizing dance of protocol , chivalry and simmering eroticism . +but the star of this show , without a doubt , is the remarkable tilda swinton . +watch the shadings , depth , resource , vitality and understated sexuality she gives margaret and try to imagine the film without her . +days after my second viewing of " the deep end , " i can still vividly picture her negotiating with villains , trying to connect with her son and diving into icy blue water . + " the deep end " is an exceptional film and tilda swinton is the best part of it . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv574_22156.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv574_22156.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4c248866e605d4b3d0041e603a24bc0ad09fbf5d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv574_22156.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +warning ! : may contain some mild spoilers and offensive material . +rated : r ( ! ) for sexual content , crude and sexual humor , and some nudity . . + ( a mild r rating ) +starring : rob schneider , oded fehr , eddie griffin , arija bareikis , amy poehler , norm mcdonald . +running time : 88 minutes + " deuce bigalow : male gigolo " is simply a hilarious good-natured comedy that may offend some , but underneath all it's crude humor and sexual content is a sweet little love story that is surprisingly involving . +it isn't any kind of cinematic classic , but it's a very very funny comedy that keeps us entertained until the end credits which themselves are funny too . +it has all it needs to be a breezy entertaining comedy : the acting is up to pace and some of the performances quite funny , the screenplay is witty and smart , and the whole story is sweet and cute . +deuce bigalow ( rob schneider ) is your typically average guy : he cleans fish tanks for a living and gets an average of 10 bucks for it . +though one might call him a loser , deuce gets a job he would never thought he would get . +he gets to clean the tank for a male gigolo ( oded fehr ) and gets offered to watch over his place while he goes on a trip . +trying to be like him he hangs upside down from a pole and accidentally pushes off the fishtank and burns his cabinets . +the thing is now he has to try and find $6 , 000 dollars in three weeks to make sure everything looks right again . +so he decides to go " man-whoring " and to his luck gets the oddest people on earth : an over-weight woman who decidedly wants to eat everything in site , a woman with narcolepsy who sleeps all the time , a woman who has sudden screaming outbursts , and a woman he can't stop thinking about . +he charges $10 but he is willing to negotiate . +from now on he is considered deuce bigalow : male gigolo . +with non-stop laughs an a abundence of crude humor " deuce bigalow : male gigolo " is sometimes like last years hit " there's something about mary " that is offensive but very funny . +the screenplay by harris goldberg and rob schneider himself is a smart , clever and witty screenplay that seems to have been written with care to make is so hilariously funny . +the characters in the film are all actually likable especially " jabba lady " with her big body but soft heart . +there are actually times in the movie where i fell out of my chair laughing so hard that my stomach was killing me . +even though i thought " toy story 2 " and " being john malkovich " were the funniest of the year " deuce bigalow " follows right behind them . +the directing by mike mitchell is fantastic and shows he took time on the film . +rob schneider gives a surprisingly endearing performance and when his romance develops with one of his customers kate ( arija bareikis ) it is a sweet romance that we get involved in and actually like being involved in it . + " deuce bigalow " is a good-natured film worth all the merit it can get . +its not a classic or a masterpiece , it's just a comedy that we don't feel bad about watching . +sure it may come off as offensive and may come off as dumb sometimes , but you cannot deny that it isn't funny . + " deuce bigalow : male gigolo " is no disappointment . +its a fast paced , entertaining sweet and hilarious comedy that may be destined to become a cult classic . +fans of schneider will not be disappointed and fans of crude but nice comedies will not either . +for some reason the film garnered an r rating but with no " f words " or extensive use of sexual content or explicit nudity i was really wondering why the film was r . a mild r to put it to the least , but even if your under 17 or above at least 13 this film is good enough for you to see . +don't try to be one of those people who make so much of a film that they do not like it , just sit back , laugh and enjoy the movie . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv576_14094.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv576_14094.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..323ef8f34ae96c8bd1bbe280796ca6bb4ee8cd7c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv576_14094.txt @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +as fairy tales go , cinderella has to be one of the most famous . +almost everyone knows it , well at least in north america . +so it is natural that someone will try to make a movie out of it . +it has been done before with varying results . +this version of the story is both similar to the original and different at the same time . +the basic story remains unchanged but , one thing that seems to vanish with this version , and that is all the fantastical elements of the story . +there is no fairy god mother or anything even remotely of that nature . +after the fantastical elements are stripped away what is left is a realistic believable rendition of the cinderella story and an interesting love story at the least . + . +unlike in the fairy tale , the prince plays a much larger part than just that of the masked ball at the end . +the ? prince' , who happens to be the crown prince to the throne of france , meets 'cinderella' , known as danielle , on a few occasions , most coincidentally and he becomes smitten with her . +although this seems to be a far cry from the traditional story it allows for the main plot to proceed with enough room for some imaginative story telling . . +the story takes place in a renaissance setting ; in france , with leonardo da vinci providing some comic relief on more than one occasion . +this addition of leonardo da vinci , was quite successful in that it added some color to the movie , since some of the roles are a bit stereotypical . +for example the role that was scripted for the prince leaves a few things to be desired . +for instance the character seems to be a bit too unstable and fickle , a crown prince should not be anything remotely like that . +especially since he is portrayed to be in his mid twenties at the least and almost ready to take the throne . +the characters of danielle ( cinderella ) played by drew barrymore , and that of the evil step mother , played by anjelica huston , are well developed and well played by the two women . +although the part of danielle is a bit stretched it is not too unlikely and not totally unbelievable . +the nuances of the character are brought out well by drew barrymore and from watching the movie it seems like she had fun making the movie . +as a contrast the part of the evil step mother is clearly seen from the very beginning and is almost clique . +but , anjelica huston seems to add a certain flair to the role that makes it suit the movie nearly perfectly . +the actual story is fairly predictable since it is after all the basic story of cinderella , but there are more than enough twists in how the story is told to make it interesting and enjoyable . +the acting is of high caliber and seems deserved of praise . +all in all this movie takes you back into history , into a seemingly magical fairy land . +but , don't get me wrong there is nothing but reality , it is just refreshing to watch a movie that is not based in a familiar setting with everyday familiar things happening . +so although the story is basically familiar the world it is set in is not , and that adds a dimension to the film which in this humble reviewers opinion makes it worth seeing diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv577_28549.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv577_28549.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..9b850361dea37a2c18059ebbd1d5d43ee63c2884 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv577_28549.txt @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ +it stands as a moment one will not soon forget : a giant , green ogre flips through the pages of a cliche fairy tale , narrating it with every bit of dull inspiration that the story holds . +this leads one to believe that this serves as the prologue to shrek , dreamworks' second computer animated feature , but in a pricelessly hilarious bit of cinema , a page of this tale serves as that ogre's toilet paper . +from this opening moment , one can infer shrek's defying of all expectations regarding it as a standard , disney-esque fairy tale . +although rampant moments of hilarity dot shrek , the true charm of the film lies in the bold elements of friendship , courage , and acceptance , excelled by outstanding direction , stunning actor voice work , and most importantly , a witty screenplay with more going on than meets the eye . +while shrek features an abundance of humor related directly toward adults , positive friendship values aimed at younger children fulfill the storyline : shrek , the previously mentioned ogre , holds a position of absolute nothingness within his community . +the jolly green giant meets a fellow outsider , known only as the donkey ( his species ) who talks , and although he remains reluctant to warm up to him for a good portion of time , shrek eventually comes to a mutual understanding with him by acknowledging their common state as outcasts of the world . +the pair team up to retrieve princess fiona from a castle guarded by a dragon for the powerful lord farquaad , learning quite a bit about each other and themselves along the way . +their friendship exhibits the core theme of the need for someone to lean on , exemplifying to any child who may witness the film that acting as an honest companion can unquestionably affect someone . +shrek and donkey endure as supposed freaks of nature due only to their differences from others but cling to each other for support and guidance along their journey . +courage demonstrates itself within two major storylines : along the journey to rescue fiona , donkey's immeasurable cowardice reveals itself . +whether he encounters walking over a shaky bridge or living alone , donkey withholds fears that he continuously puts aside without self-acknowledgment . +but the yapping donkey must face his phobias when presented with the giant , fire-breathing dragon guarding fiona ; either he dies from terror or he triumphs with courage . +he wisely chooses courage by pretending as if no dangerous situation actually faces him , allowing the donkey to overcome a horror that likely only continued due to his insistence of them . +secondly , upon shrek's and donkey's redeeming of princess fiona , the ogre finds the princess has plans for whomever saves her : to satisfy her desire for a ( human ) knight in shining armor . +throughout this storyline , shrek faces his deep , perpetual misgivings of inhering as an ogre and struggles to determine how he will reveal his true identity to fiona . +an ongoing struggle occurs between himself and his reluctance of the truth , but eventually , shrek courageously conquers his fear by telling the forbidden secret to fiona . +children can realize from donkey and shrek that fear remains only as complicated as one makes it ; if one sets his/her mind to overcoming something in particular , endless possibilities exist . +after the friendships and courage prevail , the three central characters at the heart of shrek must take one more stretch of development : acceptance . +surprisingly , fiona holds a dark secret of her own : due to a spell cast upon her years ago , she transforms into an ogre by night . +in this storyline , fiona must learn to hold acceptance for herself , and she must realize what beauty truly means : to simply act as one's self . +upon fiona's learning of shrek's desire to pursue a relationship with her , fiona , knowing that acceptance of herself serves as the only platform for her love with shrek to work , gives in to her inner demons of self-ridicule and hatred . +any child can pull from fiona's transformation the meaning of beauty and the meaning of self-acceptance . +on the technical side , shrek triumphs . +directors adam adamson and vicky jenson pace shrek in a consistent and satisfying manner , evenly distributing the lessons learned by the central characters . +these central characters spring to life thanks to brilliant voice work from mike myers ( shrek ) , eddie murphy ( donkey ) , and cameron diaz ( princess fiona ) . +myers creates his shrek as a lovable and troubled ogre whose green color not only serves as a skin color but perhaps his envy of other , " normal " beings . +murphy succeeds with his donkey through recreating the high-strung persona that so many know the actor to have off screen . +cameron diaz exudes charisma and innocence as fiona , giving the princess/ogre a sense of power that many female characters in animated films lack . +while the direction and voice work certainly elevate shrek , the ultimate factor in the film succeeding lies in the screenplay , written by ted elliott , terry rossio , joe stillman , and roger s . h . +schulman . +the script never underestimates the intelligence of the viewer , combining the three previously spoken of elements with humor for adults and children alike . +capping it off with a constant tongue-in-cheek feel that pokes fun at classic disney animated features , the fresh and entertaining screenplay delivers . +with shrek , dreamworks executive jeffrey katzenberg has certainly one-upped himself by creating an instant animated classic that will live on for ages to come . +the smaller children will laugh and cheer ; the adults will laugh even harder and leave understanding much that their children did not . +a film that breaks stereotypes and creates a definite standard of its own , shrek can certainly endure as one for the ages . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv579_11605.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv579_11605.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8867f39e555edf318a947ba4238f20ca9ddc979e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv579_11605.txt @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +in 1994 , an insider's look at a scandal-ridden run for the democratic presidential nomination ( closely based on clinton's 1992 campaign ) was written anonymously ( former newsweek writer joe klein later claimed true authorship ) . +now , the book , primary colors , has been made into a movie , directed by mike nichols , and , in light of recent presidential scandals , seems to be more relevant than ever . +but the film is more than a diatribe against , or a paean in praise of , the president . +it is a fascinating look at the political machinery , and the ethical quagmire , that surround modern politics . +jack stanton ( john travolta ) is the governor of a small southern state running for the democratic presidential nomination . +he is charismatic , but has several flaws which threaten to doom his campaign , and strains his relationship with his wife , susan ( emma thompson ) . +the film is told from the point of view of henry burton ( adrian lester ) , grandson of a civil rights leader , who is swept away by stanton's ideals and helps to organize the campaign . +he joins political strategist richard jemmons ( billy bob thornton , looking an awful lot like james carville ) , and campaign advisor daisy green ( maura tierney ) . +governor stanton's past repeatedly pops up to haunt him , a fact that his chief rival , lawrence harris ( kevin cooney ) , consistently uses to his advantage . +to help clean up the stanton campaign , jack and susan bring in an old friend , libby " the dustbuster " holden ( kathy bates ) . +the acting throughout primary colors is superb . +it would be worth seeing the movie for bates' wild performance alone . +she enlivens the atmosphere with energy in a truly boisterous performance . +travolta does a fair clinton impersonation as governor stanton , although his accent does stray a little . +emma thompson delivers a strong performance as his suffering wife who can't let anything show that might hurt the presidential run . +the problem with political movies is that they tend to alienate over half of their audience by promoting one side or the other , or else the movie is vague to the point of boredom . +primary colors treads lightly on this issue . +though stanton is clearly portrayed as a democrat , and there are a few minor barbs thrown in the way of republicans , the movie touches on few actual political issues . +in fact , most of the " bad guys " are fellow democrats on the same road to the white house . +rather than issues , the film is primarily concerned about scandals and spin control . +although the film strays into some obviously non-clinton territory , it is difficult to completely separate it from reality ( particularly when certain scenes seem to highlight the president's current troubles ) . +primary colors' chief problem is its length . +it runs about 15 minutes too long . +there are some scenes which could have easily been cut . +for example , midway through the film , the candidate gives a speech to an assembly of laid off machinists . +the scene's only apparent purpose is to establish stanton's character , which has already been done in similar scenes earlier in the film . +the extra length isn't long enough nor tiring enough to be annoying , but it mars an otherwise excellent film . +republicans , democrats , and political agnostics should all be able to find something to like in primary colors . +it's a funny , and at some times shocking , look at the modern political process . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv580_14064.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv580_14064.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ed3804e44619481014feab908290394ef2715508 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv580_14064.txt @@ -0,0 +1,41 @@ +this movie was one of the first american films done by director paul verhoeven . +he has done films since then such as basic instict and starship troopers . +all of his movies have one main thing in common- they don't skimp on the violence . +in a verhoeven movie a guy doesn't get shot once in the chest- he gets shot many times all over the body . +robocop takes place in detroit in the future . +things are pretty bleak . +the company ocp rules the city with an iron fist and is moving in on running the police force . +peter weller plays a cop who goes on a mission with his partner , nancy allen . +peter weller goes in an empty room alone and gets killed . +meanwhile ocp has a failed demonstration of a ed-209 model robot crime fighter . +someone comes up with the idea of having a cyborg robocop so they use any parts worth scalvaging from peter weller and make him into the robocop the movie is titled after . +the plot of this movie generally runs at a decent pace . +it drags a bit towards the end with robocop wanting to finish everybody off , but plot twists keep it exciting . +the acting is bad from weller when he is human , but very good when he is robocop . +nancy allen does a decent job . +this movie doesn't leave itself open for a sequel exactly . +but they made one anyway . +enter . . . +robocop 2 starring : peter weller and nancy allen directed by : irvin kershner +detroit is in a more bleak state than it was in the first film . +ocp is trying to develop an improved 'robocop 2' that will be more than a match for criminals . +most of the police force is on strike due to ocp taking it over , leaving robocop to be the police force in the city . +this film is pretty bizaare . +it has a 13 year-old drug-lord who curses as much as eddie murphy , even more violence than the original , and some more humor . +the plot of this movie is pretty large , almost too much so . +there are three or four plot lines weaving around that don't really match up . +the effects are still decent though . +this sequel isn't more of the same really , just a darker version robocop dealing more with drugs than with armed criminals . +if you liked the first one , watch this . +but be dissapointed . +so later comes . . . +robocop 3 starring nancy allen and robert john burke +ocp is now owned by a large japanese company . +robocop joins a band of rebels to counter-attack the evil empire , i mean ocp . +the japanese send a cyborg-ninja to deal with robocop . +among other things . . . +this movie is easier to follow than the last one . +which means the plot isn't quite as crowded . +this movie isn't anything special though . +just more of robocop blasting things up in a more kid-friendly way . +really not reccomended . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv581_19381.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv581_19381.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..66bef9f3ffc0ecffa1fad2badc99f19a39e78461 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv581_19381.txt @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +eyes wide shut isn't the masterpiece many were hoping to see in stanley kubrick's final film , but it is an impressive achievement ; a mesmerizing , haunting , adult psychodrama about marriage , fidelity and sex . +it's a stanley kubrick film from beginning to end , consistently exhibiting the auteur's trademark penchant for long , continuous takes , his unparalleled deftness behind the camera and his uncanny ability to extract gorgeous performances from his exhausted cast ( indeed , eyes wide shut attained infamy even before its release for its notoriously laborious shoot : kubrick , a renowned perfectionist , reportedly held his cast " hostage " on the set for nearly a year ) . +in an uncharacteristic maneuver , kubrick cast two big-name stars in the lead roles , namely real-life husband and wife tom cruise and nicole kidman . +they play bill and alice harford , a volatile couple who , during the course of a couple nights , ponder the validity of the idea that a husband and a wife must be faithful to each other . +he is an m . d . , she's unemployed and we are introduced to them as they are getting ready to go to a fancy party . +at the affair , they are both propositioned and both nearly succumb to the temptation to play around with someone else . +when they return to their lavish new york apartment kidman ( after smoking a dash of weed ) inquires whether her husband had sex with two models who approached him during the night . +he ( truthfully ) says that he did not and asks what happened with that hungarian guy she was dancing with . +they proceed to argue until alice tells her spouse a lustful story : evidently some time ago , she had a thing for a young naval officer . +she admits that she was ready to give up her whole future with bill and their young daughter if this guy wanted her even for one night . +bill is jolted by alice's story and we anticipate his reaction , but at that moment he gets a phone call and has to go " show his face " at the house of a just-deceased patient . +this turns out to be the beginning of a long and eventful night on the town . +the daughter of the dead patient hits on him but he wisely turns her down . +he almost does the dirty deed with a kindly hooker who approaches him on the street . +then , through a series of coincidences , he winds up at a gothic mansion where a ritualistic ( and frankly , creepy ) orgy takes place , with costumed people performing various public sex acts on each other . +erotic dread mounts as cruise ( who's not supposed to be there ) wonders the spacious halls watching the " action " until he is discovered to be an outsider . +much hoopla has been raised over the fact that warner bros . digitally edited the orgy scene . +with the help of a computer , they put in cloaked figures to block some of the actual sex acts ( they can still be seen , just not in all their glory ) in order to avoid the dreaded nc-17 rating . +european viewers will see the film as kubrick envisioned it . +roger ebert calls the american version the " austin powers version , " and many others have bashed the alterations . +i am of the potentially controversial opinion that the figures only supplement the scene's mystical atmosphere . +the first thing one notices about eyes wide shut is how it looks . +this is an artful , distinctively gorgeous production , shot in dark , moody hues and featuring some elaborate , beautiful scenery . +from the giant mansion used in the film's centerpiece to the decor at the christmas party to the harford's apartment , this film is always a pleasure to look at . +to boot , a great soundtrack makes it more atmospheric still . +at the core , behind the graphic , controversial content and unappealing mood , this is a good-natured movie that emphasizes the importance of fidelity . +it looks at sex as almost perfunctory by portraying it as unnerving rather than erotic . +it's something superficial and yet something necessary to achieve a deeper relationship . +at the end , it seems , bill's eyes are wide open to the special kind of love he and his wife have for each other , more meaningful than anything he could ever hope to find on the streets of new york . +kubrick elicits wonderful performances from both cruise and kidman . +tom is completely convincing as dr . harford , a man who seems guided solely by destiny , with no control of the course his life will take . +nicole projects a quiet intensity as the jittery yet aggressive wife and her performance is stunningly effective : she's headed for an oscar nod . +the movie has some help from a similarly strong supporting cast , at the head of which is director-cum-thespian sidney pollock , enigmatic and articulate as harford's mysterious friend . +eyes wide shut is not perfect : the last hour could have used a slightly more scissor-happy editor and both cruise and kidman are too good- looking for me to believe that either would have a very strong temptation to philander . +still , this is an important work from a great director , and while it may not be on par with some of stanley kubrick's best it is a worthy final film , a complex exploration of jealousy and faithfulness . + ? 1999 eugene novikov‰ ; diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv582_6559.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv582_6559.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ca0c8ec0fa2b149222c97e9aab849f7504f2f8ca --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv582_6559.txt @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@ +note : some may consider portions of the following text to be spoilers . +be forewarned . +milos forman's first film since the ill-fated valmont , columbia's the people vs . +larry flynt , is a vastly entertaining ( if not particularly enlightening ) biopic of hustler publisher and self-made millionaire larry flynt , who became an unlikely champion of freedom of speech rights in the united states in the late 1970s and early 1980s . +the film unweaves its tale in a chronological order : we open with young and dirt-poor larry flynt and his brother jimmy , peddling jars of water in true entrepreneurial spirit out in the rural outback of kentucky . +cut to forward in time , where the two flynt brothers , now young men , are running the struggling hustler go-go clubs in cincinnati . +the strip clubs are in a dire financial state , and in a last-ditch effort to salvage the operations , flynt decides to go to a print shop and churn out a promotional newsletter . +this evolved into the adult periodical _hustler_ magazine , creating larry flynt a vast financial empire , and the rest is history . +what sets flynt apart from other publishers is his struggles against those who would have him cease publication of his adult material , and who railed and preached against him - flynt spent time in incarceration and was paralyzed by an assassination attempt - and his driven , single-minded insistence to buck the system and fight for his freedom of expression , regardless of personal cost . +the people vs . +larry flynt also weaves in the bittersweet story of flynt's true love , althea leasure , whom he meets as a dancer in his club and later marries , and who devotedly stands alongside him throughout his trials and tribulations . +considering the serious nature of the film's theme - the importance of the united states' first amendment - the people vs . +larry flynt is surprisingly and wonderfully light-hearted and humourous . +much of the comedy is elicited from larry flynt's outlandish stunts at his courtroom appearances - some of his chosen apparel is hilarious - and for the most part these elements of the film work far better than some of the more dramatic points , such as an uninspiring flynt monologue set at a free speech rally in front of an enormous american flag dealing with the subjectivity of obscenity . +the film's focus is on the flynt's many battles over first amendment rights and freedom of speech , but the heart of the people vs . +larry flynt is the touching love story between flynt and althea . +larry flynt is shown as being occassionally gruff , harsh , and overtly aggressive with his friends and colleagues , but with althea , we see his loving , affectionate side . +there's a scene where flynt tenderly takes his ill wife on a ride on his wheelchair that is heartbreaking . +ultimately , the emotional power that the film hits at its conclusion comes not from his achievements from his battles against censors , but from the strength of flynt and althea's love for each other . +woody harrelson is entirely engaging in what must be certainly a career-topping performance as the irrepressible larry flynt . +harrelson plays flynt with the right mixture of outrageousness and confident stubborness to make him endearing and entirely sympathetic to the audience , and a very compelling protagonist for the film . +courtney love plays althea leasure in a startling turn , completely raw and impulsive . +it's a very solid performance , brash and naturalistic , and love is extremely compelling ; it's difficult to take your eyes off her onscreen , and her chemistry with harrelson is dead-on . +edward norton , as flynt's straight , level-headed lawyer is often upstaged by his flashier co-stars in the people vs . +larry flynt , much as his counterpart lawyer alan isaacman was upstaged by flynt during many of the courtroom scenes , but norton shines in his big scene where he addresses the supreme court in the climactic scene of the film . +one can sense the frustration that norton's character feels when harrelson's free-talking flynt sabotages trial after trial on him by openly speaking his mind , and this results in a heightened emotional punch when norton's isaacman has the opportunity to sway the supreme court judges . +milos forman keeps the film moving - although it runs over two hours , it never drags - and his direction of the film is very effective , eliciting a great deal of empathy for a subject which could be construed by some as extremely sordid and unsympathetic . +there's also a great visual technique which forman uses to indicate the passing of time in one shot , which is both clever and extremely entertaining . +two minor quibbles with the film - it certainly seems like the people vs . +larry flynt is in a rush to get to its main theme , with flynt battling against authorities and the system for his freedom of speech . +consequently , the first thirty minutes of the film , introducing and setting up the characters , seem unduly rushed ; perhaps it is merely due to the fact that these characters are so interesting , but i felt it would have worked better if this route was taken in a more leisurely fashion . +it also felt like there was a distinctive lack of insight into the inner workings of these characters - the film clearly shows what flynt , althea , isaacman , and rev . jerry faldwell did , and on a superficial level some of their motivations , but it never seemed like one could really understand the characters on a deeper level . +for example , why larry flynt was compelled by ruth carter stapleton ( president carter's sister ) to be born-again is a mystery to me . +then again , perhaps it was to him as well . +these two points don't detract greatly from the film . +the people vs . +larry flynt is certainly among the very best studio-released films of 1996 , and works both as a ringing political statement about the importance of freedom of speech and the depths to which larry flynt would go to advance the cause of free expression , and as a touching love story . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv583_29692.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv583_29692.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d81d3d17b3711bf2532244151edd186697ccb2d3 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv583_29692.txt @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +until i saw the night of the hunter , it had been a long time since i had gasped while watching a movie . +forget the others and the deep end ( which veered toward strained dramatics ) , the night of the hunter is by far the scariest movie i've seen so far this year . +even though the movie is nearly 50 years old and there's a not drop of blood to be seen . +luckily , the night of the hunter , charles laughton's first and final directing gig , has been restored by the ucla film and television archive and is being re-released in october 2001 . +so , there's still plenty of time to spill your popcorn all over the place . +robert mitchum stars as harry powell , a reverend with a nasty habit of courting and then killing widows for their cash . +his newest target is young mother willa harper ( shelley winters ) , whose murderer husband ben ( peter graves ) has hidden $10 , 000 somewhere . +powell finds out about the stash and decides to court mrs . harper after he's released and ben is hanged . +but finding the money isn't easy for powell , who must contend with his stepchildren ( billy chapin and sally jane bruce ) , who know where the money is , but aren't telling . +the hard part about seeing a classic now is the pop culture monster has usually drawn and quartered and then flaunted all the memorable moments , thus ruining the spontaneity and adventure when we finally watch it for the first time . +how many spoofs or salutes to the shower scene in psycho have we seen in other movies ? +what about the brilliant baby stroller sequence from battleship potemkin ? + ( no , i'm not blaming brian de palma entirely for this sampling problem . ) +yes , there are some visual elements that other directors seem to have borrowed from the night of the hunter . +powell's " love " and " hate " knuckle tattoos obviously influenced spike lee in do the right thing ( remember radio raheem ? ) . +and powell's black suit , with black tie and white shirt , could have shaped quentin tarantino's early visual style . +seeing the night of the hunter for the first time , i was amazed at how much it crackled with wicked wit and fright and how much intensity was intact . +you can now sign me up as president of the robert mitchum fan club . +he plays the role with a controlled malice that induces unease every time he appears . +he's like the senior class president with an evil streak . +if i ever need to stay awake , i'll just picture him crooning , " leaning . . . +leaning . . . . " +any actor who wants to play a character with a touch of evil should study his performance the way a rabbinical student studies the torah . +and credit must be handed out to laughton and cinematographer stanley cortez , who create a series of haunting , surreal shadowy images over the rural depression-era backdrop . +it's a testament to both men that they're able to invigorate what has become a hackneyed storyline ( kids harassed by evil guardians ) by sticking to the old maxim that we're more scared by what we don't see . +screenwriter and legendary film critic james agee does a beautiful job giving shape and substance to an array of supporting characters : the drunk birdie ( james gleason ) who's haunted by his wife , and the spoons ( evelyn varden and walt spoon ) whose marriage has become a verbal vaudeville act . +the only lapse is the movie's third act , when pearl and john run away from home and find a home with the motherly , bible-reading mrs . cooper ( lillian gish ) . +her showdown with powell is memorable -- a battle done with dueling hymns . +however , the whole segment feels a little rushed and underdone , but it's still a thrill seeing the queen of the silent film era handling a shotgun . +do yourself favor and don't miss this if it comes to a nearby theater . +note : a series of revealing , but overlong , outtakes preceded the movie . +the highlights included the legendary laughton ( who sounds eerily like mr . pitt from seinfeld ) running winters' lines with mitchum , and the adorable , tiny bruce having trouble descending a coal pile . +hours more of such footage exists , as laughton liked to keep the cameras constantly rolling . +screened as part of the 2001 new york film festival retrospectives ( feature story coming soon ) . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv584_29722.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv584_29722.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e7945add3f33a05803c6d3af6e4fcdf217f3d489 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv584_29722.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +jamaica is a hot vacation spot . +the exchange rate encourages delusions of wealth ( approximately 30 jamaican dollars to one american ) , the sea is a brilliant blue , the air is warm but lacks humidity . +and as tourism is unfortunately jamaica's biggest trade , foreigners enter and leave with a sense of relaxation . +life and debt takes a brassy look at life inside this impoverished country . +while normal documentaries take the sally struthers approach of underlying scenes of starving children with tearful music , this film guides the viewer with a sarcastic voiceover that brings the troubles home without begging tears to the surface . +the voiceover is written by acclaimed author jamaica kincaid . +it guides the audience along a tourist's journey and the story of the native inhabitants . +instead of telling you what you are already seeing on screen , it quips , " you don't see what happens after you flush the toilet . " +this engages a viewer to see and think about devastation instead of merely being told it is there . +this strong , sparse storytelling approach runs throughout the film . +stephanie black is also intelligent in how she chooses to disclose the problems faced by the locals . +this isn't just another talking head show of people moaning about their horrible lot in life . +people are interviewed from all sectors of occupation , from field to factory , as well as social theorists and the banking organizations that continue to invest in the country . +the variety of discussion perpetuates a compelling internal dialogue with any viewer , whether they are seeing jamaica for the first time or not . +of course , as can be expected , the united states is slammed , owing to its involvement with the international monetary fund and the world bank . +officials look moronic as they explain why their plans for jamaica's economy will help the country back on its feet , but only if they are willing to follow the advice word for word . +the next moment we see why and how each of these initiatives has failed , usually due to imports being cheaper than local labor or whether or not the soil is appropriate for the next agricultural trend the u . s . is forcing on the citizens . +admittedly , some of the back and forth between the business-minded organizations and the failures they produce gets repetitive , but it also drives home the impact ignorance can have on both sides of an international argument . +but jamaica isn't against the united states , and this documentary does not accuse the u . s . of being the sole perpetrator of its grief . +if anything , it begs for a better understanding of the nature of jamaican society before stepping in to change it based on foreign regulations . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv585_22496.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv585_22496.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..dd592109634d8fa6a64234b6bbaa4a69ac33dd21 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv585_22496.txt @@ -0,0 +1,45 @@ +denzel washington is among the many actors this holiday season to give very impressive milestone performances . +this perhaps may be washington's very best to date . +he joins matt damon and jim carrey in having the talent , this season , to become his character , copying mannerisms and personal styles perfectly . +his very believable performance makes the long and uninteresting " the hurricane " a much better film than it actually is . +when his rubin " hurricane " carter feels pain and is tormented by racism , he creates for the audience a great sense of sympathy , disgust , and maybe even some embarrassment from the fact that this is our very own country that is breaking laws to support silly prejudices . +the horrific true events carter suffered from all of his life are slightly more disturbing and terrifying because they only took place a few decades ago . +the powerful expressions of denzel washington alone , as his tortured carter , sum up the troubles of racism in america's history . +he is that amazing . +the problem with " the hurricane " is that when compared to washington , all of the other actors are not nearly as memorable in their roles . +mainly because the script focuses so much on carter , that it leaves little interest or room for the other actors . +this is , without a doubt , washington's movie but in order for any film to be completely satisfying , it must utilize everyone in the cast to their highest potential not just the stars . +denzel washington is the only reason to see this film for his inspirational and very depressing tour de force performance . +as rubin carter , we see a black man whose existence has been a punching bag for the white american court system . +>from the age of eleven to twenty one he was sent to a juvenile prison for a crime he did not commit . +then after a successful marriage and boxing career , he was harshly imprisoned again for life after being framed for a triple murder . +carter's second term in prison seemed almost inevitable when faced off against jealous , powerful white men who refused to let him succeed . +from these past experiences in jail , carter realized that he must make his case heard for all of america . +after several court appeals , an autobiography , and many public marches for his freedom , carter remained locked in prison . +it was not until a young black boy from brooklyn being educated in toronto read carter's book in the 1980's , that a serious battle for freedom took place . +the young boy and his three canadian guardians decide to dedicate all of their time to the case until carter is released . +the greatest scenes in the film are when carter begins to lose his mind after spending three months in isolation . +washington really shows the breakdown of carter when after swearing he would never go to jail again , he is unfairly framed at the height of his innocent career . +the devastation in washington's eyes show a man who has struggled to do the right thing his whole life only to be punished for it . +in the hole , carter attempts to maintain emotional balance but he cannot . +his anger is heightened to a point of no control . +we see multiple carters , a violent angry one , a silent passive one , and a mediator . +we see an emotional boxing match inside carter's head . +from this point in the hole to the end of the film , this fight continues . +it is very apparent at times which side is winning the battle and in some scenes there is a direct switch from angry to caring or the opposite . +when carter sees that white canadians want to help him get out of prison , the angry carter at first erupts . +white people have been trying to hurt him his whole life , this reminder leads to anger in his head . +however , as the film continues and the canadians continue to help carter we see the calm side him . +he realizes that society is changing . +that racism is decreasing and now carter wants to leave jail immediately and become a part of this world . +very rarely have i seen such determination to perfect his role as washington has done here . +if only the other actors had this same determination . +dan hedaya , ridiculously plays the man who sends carter to prison twice by forcing witnesses to lie and switching evidence around . +it felt like his character was taken straight out of a " scooby doo " episode ; he would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for those annoying little kids . + " the kids " in this film are the three canadians who are terribly underused making their relationship with carter underdeveloped and unbelievable . +the lawyers who help release carter also are underused , as is clancy brown as a kind prison guard ( the complete opposite of his character in " shawshank redemption " ) . +there is a great amount of talent in this supporting cast but it just never appears . +hedaya was superb in " clueless , " same for david paymer in " get shorty , " harris yulin in " ghostbusters " and liev schreiber in " the daytrippers . " +it is a mystery how this many actors signed on to such shallow roles . +on the other hand , it is absolutely no mystery why denzel washington agreed to play rubin " hurricane " carter . +this role is about as far off from shallow as you can get . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv586_7543.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv586_7543.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..de56cef609509bce8ad908ff92eb865d8ec81c24 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv586_7543.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +[note : after claiming otherwise , my appetite was indeed whetted by kenneth branagh's hamlet to search out other attempts to translate shakespeare to film in hopes of finding a better mousetrap . +as it happens , it didn't take long . ] +is there a more romantic director than franco zeffirelli ? +known mainly to american audiences as the man behind 1968's romeo and juliet ( required viewing for many high schoolers , and as much as most ever learn of shakespeare ) , he is also a favorite at the metropolitan opera , where his achingly beautiful designs further the already lush emotion of many a puccini aria . +last year he gave us his beautifully realized version of jane eyre , one of the twin peaks ( with wuthering heights ) of romantic literature . +it might seem peculiar , then , that zeffirelli ever had an interest in translating hamlet for the screen . +at first blush , hamlet is far removed from romance . +the hero , though a prince , is depressed , conflicted and confused . +the ostensible love interest gets little screen time , and her scenes with her prince are usually as an object of mockery . +the plot is full of political intrigue and the players are as cursed as the house of atreus . +it is zeffirelli's genius , however , that he is able to expose the romantic core of hamlet and give the sometimes dry tale an emotional embrace . +in this italian master's hands , romance is everywhere -- in a son's worship of his father , in the bonds of deepest friendship , in the private thoughts of young lovers , even in the mystery of castles by the sea . +after all , the story hinges on a ghost , and what could be more romantic than that ? +what seemed like a cheap way to sell tickets at the time turned out to be one of the most romantic gestures of all , namely , hiring then-reigning hollywood hunk mel gibson to play the lead . +who could believe that the man who made his mark playing mad max and a " lethal weapon " ( in the series of the same name ) would have the skill to succeed in the most famous role in the english language ? +franco zeffirelli , that's who . +and it is apparent in every frame that his instinct was right on the money . +what gibson brings to the role is a naturalness and ease which makes the whole story meaningful , not to mention comprehensible . +his line readings sound spontaneous rather than rehearsed . +his movements and gestures ( excepting his sometimes too active eyes ) are totally in keeping with the character . +this is a hamlet whose pain we feel , whose struggle we empathize with , and whose death we mourn as sincerely as horatio at film's end . +glenn close , the other big name in the production , also does well by the script and satisfies as hamlet's mother , gertrude -- though i must confess i'm still trying to understand the character as written . + ( zeffirelli's incestuous interpretation of hamlet's relationship with his mother doesn't help . ) +alan bates makes a believably evil claudius without resorting to the mannerisms of a hollywood heavy . +by and large the rest of the cast performs admirably and comfortably . +of special note are the cinematography by david watkin and the score by ennio morricone . +both support the realistic mood marvelously ( as do the sets and costumes ) , without any overstated effects that declare " this is important ; this is shakespeare ! " +i particularly appreciate that the words are often spoken without any music at all : the melody of a wonderfully wrought phrase is given its due . +perhaps it is difficult to call edited shakespeare " definitive . " +and there are certainly quite a few other filmed versions of hamlet that i have not seen . +but if you've ever felt the urge to overcome your fear of the bard , this hamlet is an excellent place to start . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv587_19162.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv587_19162.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..dfa3f2046ff814d6d69cbded5e807519aadcca86 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv587_19162.txt @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ +the happy bastard's quick movie review +me tarzan . . . you +happy viewer . +for a minute there , i thought i was going to be groaning over the release of disney's latest , another adaptation of a legend from the past . + ( remember the pathetic pocahontas ? +yikes ! ) +but guess what- disney , a company that's been on a roll lately with animated films , strikes again with another wonderful tale that pleases the eyes as well as the inner kid in you . +the story is pretty basic- tarzan is left orphaned and a female gorilla who's lost her young adopts him into her group . +as he matures into a much older man , tarzan still wonders just why he's so much different from the clan , and then arrives a hunter , a professor , and the professor's lovely daughter , jane- who meets tarzan rather quickly after getting in trouble with a group of feisty babboons . +from there , tarzan faces tough choices- should he stay with the ones that he grew up with or go join his own kind in england ? +the voicework here is pretty top-level . +tony goldwyn is very convincing as the ape man ; minnie driver adds a delectable touch to the already-beautiful jane ; nigel hawthorne makes for a pretty nasty hunter voice ; rosie o' donnell keeps the laughs rolling as tarzan's best ape friend terk ; and wayne " newman " knight has his moments as a panicky elephant . +the movie is superb throughout , mixing a great script with incredible computer-assisted visuals . +when tarzan tree-surfs ( a twist that was added on top of the same ol' vine swinging- and a great one , i might add ) , the camera twists and turns , allowing the trees all around to come to life vividly . +i couldn't believe my eyes- disney has come a long way since starting in a ballroom for beauty and the beast . +and the music's not half bad , either . +fortunately , there's no ridiculous singing characters here , just a great set of songs by phil collins that perfectly fit the mood . +there's some great action sequences here as well , including a wonderfully done chase between tarzan , jane , and the aforementioned babboons . +but , of course , it's not all action- there's a message here as well that has to do with family . +this is easily one of disney's best animated films of the decade and it's one i can't wait to put in my home library . . . that +is , if my vcr still works in the year 2000 . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv588_13008.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv588_13008.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..fcc1a3708588d1aa4e6b5ee987a75874e127aa11 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv588_13008.txt @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ +one of the funniest carry on movies and the third with a medical setting . +the main story is about dr . james nookey ( jim dale ) who is disliked by his superiors , frederick carver , head of the hospital ( kenneth williams ) , and dr . ernest stoppidge ( charles hawtrey ) who seems to dislike everyone . +they attempt to cause him as much trouble in the hospital as possible and all the blame is laid on nookey . +carver learns of a possible job opportunity from wealthy ellen moore ( joan sims ) on a distant tropical island and gets nookey trannsferred there . +when nookey arrives at this island , he meets gladstone screwer ( sid james ) who has lived on the island just about all his life . +screwer is in possession of a wonderful slimming drug made from natural ingredients . +dr . nookey returns with the drug to england and sets up a new slimming business with ellen moore's financial backing . +however , nookey and moore face opposition from screwer who goes to england to cash in on the drug , and carver and stoppidge who want to know the ingredients to create a rival drug . +the performances are all very commendable . +sid james has a slightly ambiguous character to play this time and he excels in his role . +kenneth williams , as usual , plays the unpopular and cunning head of the hospital . +joan sims is entertaining as the wealthy benefactor and jim dale should really head the cast with his excellent portrayal of bumbling nookey . +charles hawtrey plays an 'out-of-character' role as dr . stoppidge , the nasty and evil practitioner who wants to knock nookey off his perch . +some critics have said that this combination of hawtrey and stoppidge does not work well , but i think that it at least gives hawtrey a new part to play instead of the usual dimwit characters . +as a matter of fact , hawtrey is suitably cunning in the part . +other regulars in the movie include hattie jacques as the matron yet again ( but this part is probably her most boring 'matron' ) and barbara windsor as nookey's love interest and unofficial 'women's lib' campaigner , goldie locks . +both jacques and windsor play their parts well . +patsy rowlands appears briefly as miss fosdick , and there are very small cameos from wilfrid brambell ( from 'steptoe and son' fame ) and peter butterworth . +the jokes are mostly very funny , the story is quite appealing , and the regulars seem interested in what they're doing . +although it is another medical carry on movie and some of the jokes are borrowed from previous movies , it still comes out on top ( it is the best medical carry on ) because of the above factors . +a must-see carry on movie . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv589_12064.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv589_12064.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d0eaf10dc69ab8314550e8e7350c95839f0009fe --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv589_12064.txt @@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ +whenever writer/director robert altman works in a specific genre , he has the tendency to rewrite it on his own terms . +he made the west dirty in " mccabe and mrs . miller " ( 1971 ) , he parodied hard-boiled detective stories in " the long goodbye " ( 1973 ) , and he transformed a cartoon into flesh and blood with " popeye " ( 1980 ) . +the same holds true for his most recent film , " the gingerbread man , " which reinvents a genre that has developed at an exponential rate over the last five years : the john grisham movie . +by the time " the gingerbread man " was completed , there was very little evidence that it was ever based on a story by grisham . +there's no idealist young lawyer ala tom cruise , matthew mcconaughey , chris o'donnell or matt damon , and it doesn't feature a great showdown in a courtroom . +instead of being a grand ode to the powers of the legal profession , " the gingerbread man " is a rain-soaked , southern gothic noir thriller with wildly eccentric characters , a twisting plot line , black humor , a somewhat bleak ending , and even altman's trademark full-frontal female nudity . +the central character of the film is rick magruder , who is unlike any of grisham's other lawyer heroes . +he is older , experienced , and rich ; he drives a cherry-red $80 , 000 mercedes that never gets dirty , even in the incessantly pouring rain of savannah , georgia , where the story unfolds . +rick is in the midst of an ugly divorce with his wife , leeanne ( famke janssen ) , and he rarely gets to see his two children , jeff ( jesse james ) and libby ( mae whitman ) . +a reason is never given for the divorce , but it isn't hard to surmise that rick's womanizing had a large part in it . +whenever he's late to pick up the kids on his visitation days , leeanne always assumes it's because he's been " screwing around . " +after an office party celebrating another of his court victories ( he hasn't lost in eight years ) , rick becomes involved with mallory doss ( embeth davidtz ) , one of the catering waitresses . +he drives her home because her car has been stolen , and they end up in bed together . +rick finds out that mallory is being terrorized and stalked by her slightly psychotic father , dixon doss ( robert duvall ) , a grungy , stringy , bare-footed old man who leads a commune of other greasy old codgers . +it was actually dixon who stole her car that night , and when rick asks why , mallory replies that he always does " weird " stuff like that . +as another character puts it , dixon is " a few beers short of six-pack . " +rick ends up convincing mallory to have dixon brought to court and tried for competency . +he succeeds with information dug up by clyde pell , a private investigator friend ( robert downey jr . ) , and testimony from mallory's begrudging ex-husband , pete randle ( tom berenger ) . +dixon is put in a mental hospital , but his commune buddies succeed in breaking him out . +from there , the story delves into kidnapping , murder , double-crossing , and even a hurricane that adds an ominous cloud of constant violence to the action . +altman's cinematographer , changwei gu , gives the film a dark , soaked look . +if it isn't night-time , at least it's raining . +gu shoots the interiors , which are almost all dark wood paneling , with a minimum of light . +a great deal of the action takes place in the leafy georgia backwoods , which altman uses to create an acute sense of dread and vulnerability . +in the city there is danger enough , but when rick has to venture into the woods , you can almost feel him leaving all hope of civilization behind as he literally enters another world . +altman has worked in just about every conceivable genre , from westerns to epic dramas to comedies . +but , no matter what the genre , he is always sure to give it the altman stamp , which usually consists of all kinds of idiosyncratic quirks and little details that are often missed without repeat viewings . + " the gingerbread man " is no different , although his style is much more restrained here . +however , without those little touches , the film could have easily slumped into a routine action/thriller . +a great deal of the credit for the film's success can be given to the actors , especially branagh , who rarely works outside of period pieces and his own direction . +here , the british actor consistently maintains a serviceable southern drawl , while making an essentially contemptible character interesting and sympathetic . +rick is an extremely flawed man , but branaugh brings real humanity to his character . +without it , the entire film would fall flat because so much of it is reliant on the audience feeling rick's pain and frustration . +the supporting actors also put in fine performances , including embeth davidtz , who is probably best known for her heart-breaking role as the jewish maid in " schindler's list " ( 1993 ) . +tom berenger provides some gruff comic relief , and robert duvall spends most of his on-screen time just looking weird . +it doesn't seem like he does much because he has very little spoken dialogue , but watch him closely during the film's one courtroom scene : his entire performance is in his eyes and his body language , and few actors could have pulled it off without being either silly or overbearing . +while " the gingerbread man " isn't in league with altman's greatest works like " nashville " ( 1975 ) or " the player " ( 1992 ) , it is nonetheless a solid piece of genre filmmaking , which may prove a successful vehicle to restart his somewhat lagging career . +some critics love to stamp films like this as " commercial , " as if altman can only maintain artistic integrity if his films are aimed at a tiny audience and don't make money . +altman has done something much better : he took what could have been a generic movie , and by investing artistry and effort , he made it into something more . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv590_19290.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv590_19290.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f0b2a81c2053ada641f3845504b9fa9473613a35 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv590_19290.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ + " remember what the mpaa says : horrific and deplorable violence is ok as long as you don't say any naughty words . " +featuring the voice talents of matt stone , trey parker , mary kay bergman . +rated r . +filmmakers jump on real-life controversies faster than austin powers on felicity shagwell . +the debate on whether cinema is to blame for teenagers turning into hoodlums has only begun to heat up , and already someone's made a movie about it , and it's not , thank god , a tragic account of a family ripped apart by the effect violence in films had on a teenage boy . +instead we get a sharp , biting satire that takes no prisoners and leaves no conservative point of view unscathed . +based on a popular ( and controversial ) cable tv show , south park : bigger longer and uncut can finally break loose of the shackles placed on the show by television restrictions and take bad taste to brand new heights . +the movie is about a group of kids who sneak into a canadian r-rated movie and learn some naughty words . +when they exhibit their new knowledge to their moms , they decide to " blame canada , " wage war against the neighbor country and execute " terrence and phillip , " the flatulent actors in the obscene film . +the kids form an alliance they name " la resistance " ( with the accent on the third syllable of " resistance " ) to save their favorite thespians , in a hilarious spoof of ( tribute to ? ) +les mis ? rables . +in a subplot , one of the characters ( kenny , who else ? ) +dies and goes to hell where he meets satan . +satan and saddam hussein are lovers , you see . +satan is a benevolent soul , while our favorite eastern ruler can only think about sex . +apparently , too , if terrence and phillip are executed it will be the final sign of the apocalypse and satan can emerge from the deepest bowels of the underground kingdom to rule the earth . +aside from being a brilliant satire , south park is also an all-stops-out musical , with unforgettable numbers like " shut your f * * * ing face uncle f * * * er " and " cartman's mom is a big fat bitch " . +almost invariably it's funny stuff : often juvenile but always funny . +the same can be said for the rest of the movie : it's intelligent but delivered in a sophomoric manner ( i . e . +toilet humor , endless profanity , etc . ) . +not that there's anything wrong with that : vulgarity , when done right , is my bag , baby . +trey parker and matt stone , the twenty-somethings behind the film and the show , paint a bulls-eye on the motion picture association of america and proceed to be the first to start trying to hit it . +cruelly mocking the fact that the mpaa's rating system will allegedly tolerate grotesque violence as long as obscenities aren't uttered , the auteurs throw some nasty one-liner insults their way . +the ratings-a-plenty association isn't the only target of this unsparing banter : people who favor censoring movies over gun control are equally fair game , with the " blame canada " plot being a not-so-cheap shot at them . +the distinctively low-tech " cardboard " animation is oddly effective , even more so than the state of the art " deep canvas " technique aptly demonstrated in the recent tarzan . +it's more pleasant to look at , less intimidating up on the screen , and most importantly it doesn't detract from the film's concept as much as disney's admirably awe-inspiring work does . +the show's popularity has been waning as of late , and perhaps this movie is just the thing to boost its ratings . +perhaps not . +having seen the show on numerous occasions , i can say that it's not nearly as smart or as funny as this movie . +the series may be better off simply continuing on the big screen every couple years . +parker and stone have outdone themselves to the point where i am forced to ask : must the show go on ? + ? 1999 eugene novikov‰ ; diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv591_23640.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv591_23640.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..10961a78e4db450b8954023bb887bf46aa9df321 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv591_23640.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +for this review and more , visit clear illusions ( www . clearillusions . com ) +the majority of scary movies signal the fact that a character is about to meet their demise with cheesy music , worn out dialogue such as " i'll be right back , " or simply with the overall tone of the scene . +how about a classic john denver song as a death signal for a change ? +that's the kind of bursting originality that allows " final destination " to invade the viewer's mind , even days after seeing it , making one pause before ever entering a dark room , taking a shower , or even going to sleep . +the unique and horrifying thriller is the best thing to happen to the slasher genre since 1996's " scream . " + " final destination , " directed by james wong and penned by jeffrey riddick , glen morgan , and james wong , the latter two being writers for the t . v . +series " the x-files , " is a movie with wonderful ideas , and executes them effortlessly . +it's rare a film of this nature can grab an audience's attention these days , as the genre has seem to be completely worn out ? ? `but " final destination " has more in store for one than one can imagine . +unlike " halloween " 's michael myers or " nightmare on elm street " 's freddy kruger , " final destination " 's killer is of the supernatural , the dark one himself , death . +the intriguing premise is as follows ; a portion of a senior class is set to travel by air to paris for their class trip . +after boarding the plane , one of the students , alex browning ( devon sawa ) dreams of their plane exploding into flames just after takeoff , killing everyone on board . +once waking up , alex gets himself and six others off of that plane , all of who seem to be rather confused by the entire happening . +shortly after their departure , the plane takes off , and guess what ; it blows up in middair . +now , alex , and fellow survivors , who consist of friend clear waters ( ali larter ) , enemy carter ( kerr smith ) , carter's girlfriend terry ( amanda detmer ) , the goofy billy ( sean william scott ) and his brother tod ( chad donella ) , and teacher , ms . valerie lewton ( kristen cloke ) , are in extreme danger , as it seems they have cheated death by getting off of that plane , and now death wants them . +the number of survivors starts to peel back quite quickly as death goes around offing those who got off the plane ? ? `but who is next , and how will death get them ? + " final destination " is a film that is unbearably suspenseful ; always making the viewer frantic , as death will strike in the most unlikely of times . +john denver's " rocky mountain high " being played pretty much warrants another death ? ? `everyone on that plane learned the hard way . +although it's usually given whose life will be taken next , the intensity and unpredictability of the film never fades , because you don't know when death is coming . +like the characters in the movie , i was constantly nervous and shaky during " final destination " . +the slightest noise or movement nearby would send me a mile into the air ? ? ` and yes , the film is that intense . +the cast is surprisingly effective and up to par ; the best ensemble in this genre since " scream . " +the characters have multi-dimensional personalities for a change , and for the most part , you highly sympathize with them once death starts to come their way . +devon sawa and ali larter are the main focus of the film , and both actors follow up their well written characters with even better performances , that , like the " scream " movies did for their cast , will launch them into superstardom . +kerr smith and kristen cloke are also impressive , although the two don't posses as much screen time as the leads . + " final destination " is one exhilarating , exciting ride . +any age should be able to enjoy the complexity and eeriness of the film , and should find an edge to it that most slasher films lack . +for the blood loving moviegoer , " destination " contains buckets of blood , guts , and all that good stuff . + " final destination " is a film that is destined to become a cult classic among horror fans , and a sleeper hit at the box office . +hands down to the first film in years that has actually scared me . +by scare , i don't mean making me jump , or making me wonder if i'm in danger , but by scare i mean a film that stays locked in your mind , absorbing you , leaving one question that's constantly on your mind : is death coming for me ? +the bottom line : make " final destination " your destination . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv592_22315.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv592_22315.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8b1a91f7e69e06be5e10d6740b7f0830929e316b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv592_22315.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ +errol morris , critically acclaimed director of the 1997 documentary fast , cheap and out of control , vaults to new heights with mr . +death . +this film , an examination of the life and work of controversial execution equipment designer and revisionist historian fred a . leuchter , jr . , is sure to draw audiences out of their malaise , stunning even the more jaded minds among us . +don't let the film's cheesy dissuade you . +following this sideshow of horror-lab special effects we are plunged quickly into a non-stop exploration of the weirdness that is leuchter's life and mind . +morris follows the trail of leuchter's madness with appalling lucidity , revealing in a surprising and frightening way what most of us could have guessed to begin with : this leuchter guy is seriously messed up . +virtually raised within the american penal system by a father who worked within prison walls , leuchter seems to have come somewhat naturally into his profession ; designing and maintaining execution equipment for state penitentiaries , in spite of his lack of credentials . +after a moderately successful career making electric chairs and designing gas chambers and gallows , leuchter came to the attention of neo-nazi and revisionist historian ernst zundel , who was facing criminal charges in germany for publishing his `theory' that the holocaust never happened . +morris's interviews are surprisingly congenial , drawing the subjects into a carefree banter that gives them more than enough rope with which to hang themselves . +zundel speaks to the camera as though it were his mensch . +leuchter seems completely at ease , sometimes jovial . +part of this effect may be due to morris's new interviewing machine , called the interrotron , which is responsible for creating eye contact between the subject and the interviewer . +this was the first time morris had used the device , and the results are startling . +combine the irony of these interviews with leuchter's reenactments and reels of creepy stock footage of his trip to auschwitz and birkenau , not to mention a haunting clip of thomas edison electrocuting an elephant , and you've got one compelling and disturbing documentary . +while this film isn't for the feeble-minded or weak-hearted , it is a valuable addition to the cultural landscape . +aside from a few dragging minutes toward the end of the piece , morris has given us a fresh look at a dismal subject and i , for one , feel bettered by the experience . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv593_10987.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv593_10987.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d0cec6527de59ab67c9a267e53f7ce81fde09819 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv593_10987.txt @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ +summary five liberal iowa graduate students share a house and carry on a tradition of a large sunday dinner . +for a year now they have been inviting a guest for dinner and discussion . +on this occasion one of the roommates , pete ( ron eldard ) , brings home a stranger who picked him up when his car broke down . +the stranger is zack ( bill paxton ) who appears like a decent enough good samaritan . +nothing could be further from the truth . +after some dinner conversation it appears that zack is , among other things , a racist " you know my grandfather once said that if he knew you coloreds were going to be so much trouble we'd have picked the damn cotton ourselves " , and an anti-semite . +an argument escalates at the dinner table and leads to violence . +after zack assaults marc ( jonathan penner ) and pete , zack is killed . +the roommates are at odds with what to do . +marc , pete and paulie ( annabeth gish ) immediately wish to call the police . +luke ( courtney b . vance ) and jude ( cameron diaz ) suggest something different . +after more discussion they agree to dispose of the body and cover it up . +they do not want to be sent to jail for what they feel was a justifiable homicide . +when it is done the roommates realize that it was easier than they thought . +so easy in fact that they decide that every sunday their dinner guest would be someone who opposes of their views . +if they all agree that the guest deserves to die , they will poison them and bury them in the back yard . +the back yard fills up rather quickly , its' victims including ( among others ) a right to life extremist , an anti-environmentalist and a homophobe . +by the time the roommates get to their tenth victim they begin to question their methods . +are they giving the guests a chance ? +are they even giving them good food anymore ? +this film is what i like to call a " hidden treasure " . +this film is such a pleasant surprise . +a well written , devilish satire that is funny , sexy and original . +this film should be a hit , but i guess the fact that it apparently had no marketing wouldn't give it much of a chance . +i had never heard of it until i saw a copy at my video store . +stacy title does a wonderful job directing . +she somehow finds the time to give all of the characters enough screen time to develop a distinct personality . +>from the five members of the house to other key characters including sheriff stanley ( nora dunn ) , the local law closing in on the truth , and the dream dinner guest , norman arbuthnot ( ron perlman ) , a rush limbaugh clone who should be the roommates easiest kill . +perlman gives the films' best performance . +he finds the right note as the right wing big mouth who simultaneously offends and gains followers , and may just inadvertently talk his way out of death . +the other actors are convincing as well , as all of the roommates deal with their murderous ways . +some of the characters appear to be heading down the road towards insanity , while others grieve their decisions . +when friends ask me to recommend a movie , this is usually the first one i think of . +i am not saying that this is my favorite movie ( although it is in my top ten ) , but because the film was such a wonderful surprise , i have a fondness for it . +i also try to recommend films like this : ones that have not been seen by many people , but should . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv594_11039.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv594_11039.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d7d237dcf7ed973d4594264e02e21ed935e3c3b5 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv594_11039.txt @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +i can already feel the hate letters pouring in on this one , folks . +i loved the wedding singer . +but it gets worse . +if i so much as mention titanic in the same sentence . + . + . +hell , same paragraph as the wedding singer , i'm bound to be lynched . +well lynch me then , because i thought adam sandler and drew barrymore had the most convincing chemistry in recent memory , with titanic as the only exception . +right away , you're ready to discount my review , aren't you ? +you're thinking that i can't possibly know what i'm talking about . +after all , this is adam sandler right ? ? ? +well , there's more . + . + . +i actually got choked up , and more than once . +yes , the man who brought us billy madison and happy gilmore was able to bring sincere tears to my eyes . +but before you shrug me off as an imbecile , i urge you to see the movie and see for yourself . +the wedding singer is the story of robby hart ( sandler ) , a 1985 rock star wannabe whose soul achievement in life has been performing cover tunes at wedding receptions for the past five years or so . +but when his own wedding results in a no-show for the bride ( angela featherstone as linda ) , robby begins to re-examine his life , and wonder why true love doesn't exist for people like him . +in the process of performing at these receptions , robby meets a waitress named julia , played with wholesome sweetness by drew barrymore , whose reputation is anything but this character . +julia too is engaged , and when robby finds himself without a wife , his free time allows him to help her plan her own wedding , seeing as how her fiance , the " miami vice " loving glenn ( matthew glave ) , doesn't seem all that interested . +as the time goes by , we learn the reason glenn is do dispassionate about the wedding - he's merely marrying julia to prevent a breakup , something he wants to avoid even if he does sleep around with tons of other women . +it's obvious that robby is going to fall for julia and feel a strong need to rescue her , but what is a lighthearted romantic comedy for ? +this isn't sleepless in seattle , but i'd actually compare it to that before i'd compare it to happy gilmore . +while the wedding singer maintains some of that post-snl cornball humor , its sincerity and charm carry it a very , very long way . +sandler is great in his role , and yes , if you allow it , you can take him seriously . +barrymore seems perfect along side him , and although the two more likely represent gen-x moronism and party-girl ditzism ( respectively ) , the two go together like bread and butter as a mid-eighties couple . +one scene in particular , where julia ponders the future in a mirror , is so well done , i was on the verge of tears . +unfortunately , sandler is going to make a lot of people shrug this one off as a no-brainer , but it's got so much surprise substance packed inside that i'm encouraging everyone to go see it . +in fact , the entire theater applauded when the film ended , and laughs were so consistent , some jokes were probably missed due to the uproar . +the 1985 setting was milked for everything it was worth , and for those of us that are old enough to remember it , it was a bodacious trip back ( and done very well ) . +sandler shows a new side to himself while maintaining all his original charm ( or is it anti-charm ? ) . +while the wedding singer only deserves three stars due to artistic merit , grading it on pure enjoyability would give this one four stars . +it's hilarious , and it's touching . +it's got that great cheezy humor , but it also takes sandler to a higher level than anyone expected . +this is one to see again and again . +is it possible the wedding singer could be one of the sweetest romantic comedies of 1998 ? +my " magic 8-ball " predicts it is certain . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv595_25335.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv595_25335.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ec6cd387201094a5e5294bacb5033f24181aa501 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv595_25335.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +hollywood is a pimp . +a fat , cigar-smoking chump wearing a fur hat and 12 gold chains around its fat , hairy chest . +all of its stars and starlets are an evil brood of scum-sucking vampires looking for the next percentage take , the next summer blockbuster , the next casting couch to audition on . +pumping out comic-book adaptations , terrible sequels to mediocre films , and remakes of foreign films to the nearest american movie multiplex mall theater equipped with thin walls and bad sound systems . +how much longer can the works of peckinpah , fassbinder , fuller , castle , preminger , and lee be placed and forgotten in the wrong sections of the local blockbuster stores ? +how many more silver and weinstein films can we enduring in this stinky , decaying state of american cinema ? +but now , from john " i don't give a shit what you think about my movies " waters , comes the siren call to all frustrated filmmakers and aficionados : cecil b . demented , a warped and twisted tale of how far a filmmaker will go to create a personal vision of internal and social revolution . +stephen dorff , in a career-defining role , is cecil b . demented , a crazed director devoted to making the most radical underground film . +together with his film production cult , the sprocket holes - who wear tattoos of peckinpah , lee , fuller , castle , anger , fassbinder , preminger on various parts of their bodies as badges of honor , they kidnap a hollywood movie starlet , played with perfect ridiculousness by melaine griffith , and force her to take the starring role in demented's film . +with no budget and no contracts for extras , demented and his crew take to the streets for production of raving beauty , a crass terrorist film about an angry owner of an independent theater and her brood out to destroy the mainstream film business . +using " ultimate reality " - with real bullets , real people , and real terror - demented and his crew of misfits attack a mall theater , terrorize the maryland film commission and crash a movie studio shooting a certain sequel to a really annoying tom hanks film . +demented's crewmembers are maimed and killed , popcorn machines are used for target practice , and no one can have sex until the film is complete . +it's like bowfinger , only , you know , good . +the film moves with zigs and zags like the magic bullet of kennedy's assassination . +the zeal of demented's cause catches quickly and conveys the urgent message of " doing something , anything , for the accomplishment of artistic motivations . " +the crewmembers all hold the quirkiness common in water's previous films - pink flamingos , hairspray , polyester , pecker -- and speak in the choppy , jaded dialogue used frequently by waters . +it is as if water's script strips away the unnecessary dialogue common to most pretentious indie films and just delivers the goods . +cecil takes such warped avenues of expression that it seems like it might actually outdo itself . +you can see how a major studio might take this film , re-edit it , cut a deal with the remaining crew members who are still alive , and make a few sequels , a la the blair witch project . +but that's for the future . +overall , the ride is fantastic ; it's one of water's best films to date and this year's fight club for filmmakers . +director/writer : john waters starring : stephen dorff , melaine griffith , alicia witt , adrian grenier , larry gilliard jr . , mink stole , ricki lake , kevin nealon producers : john fielder , mark tarlov , anthony delorenzo , joe caraccio jr . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv597_26360.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv597_26360.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..15d3b966032b7f46b6619c90571da16c6b393a46 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv597_26360.txt @@ -0,0 +1,78 @@ + " say , any of you know how to madison ? " +--- brad " asshole " majors ( barry bostwick ) shows just how unhip he is after watching the kooky transylvanians wrap up their ode to the time warp in the cult classic the rocky horror picture show . +the story behind the rocky horror picture show is one of legend . +in the early 70's , stage actor turned first-time playwright richard o'brien decided he wanted to make a musical homage to the crazy b-movies he had grown up with as a child , set to a bunch of catchy rock tunes of his own design . +the result was the stage play the rocky horror show , which opened to fairly decent reviews in london in 1973 and was even hailed the best musical of 1973 by prominent drama critics in england . +the play was so successful that the film rights were immediately snapped up and production on the film began a mere year later , in october of 1974 . +the film version ( now titled the rocky horror picture show ) was released in 1975 . . . +and immediately tanked at the box office . +whether it was because fox wasn't quite sure how to market it to audiences or that audiences didn't quite know what to make of it themselves has never really been determined , but the one common bit of knowledge about the film was that it was a huge flop . +it seemed that the infectious spirit brought about by the stage version had not been infused into the film version and fox quickly had it pulled from theaters . +a year later , something entirely strange and magical happened . +prints of the film started to be distributed to theaters in small amounts and were circulating at midnight shows across the country , and it was then that a whole new audience found the film . +this new audience was prone to dressing up like the characters from the film , acting out segments in front of the screen as the movie played , yelling rude comments at the screen , and just generally having a good time . +word quickly spread about this new phenomena of interactive film and the rocky horror picture show's life as the ultimate cult film was born . +for the virgins out there who are unaware , the plot centers around a loving couple , brad majors ( barry bostwick ) and janet weiss ( susan sarandon ) , who come from a small town called denton . +brad and janet have just attended the wedding of two of their friends and decide that they also want to be wed . +they plan a trip to see the man who led to their meeting , dr . everett scott ( jonathan adams , who played the narrator in the original stage version ) , but their car gets a flat on the way to his home . +remembering a castle they had seen back a few miles down the road , they decide to walk there and see if the residents have a phone they might be able to use to call for assistance . +the castle is actually the home of a race of aliens from the planet transsexual ( in the galaxy of transylvania ) , who are lead by the eccentric fishnet-stocking wearing mad scientist dr . frank-n-furter ( tim curry ) . +frank-n-furter has masterminded the secret to creating life and has done so in the form of rocky ( peter hinwood ) . +as rocky becomes accustomed to his new environment , brad and janet find themselves at the mercy of frank-n-furter's mad schemes . +little do any of them know that the doctor's handyman , riff-raff ( original author richard o'brien ) , and domestic , magenta ( patricia quinn ) , are actually transsexual planetary protectors who have been sent to stop frank from spreading his alien evil all over the earth . +going back and revisiting this film after ten years ( 1990 being the first time i had ever seen it ) , it is amazing to me that this film ever got made or has had the staying power that it has . +if i had been a fox executive around the time of its release , i don't think i would have known what to make of it either . +for all intents and purposes it is a bad movie ( though bad in a really good sort of way ) , but sumptuous production design and a great deal of incredibly catchy songs really help to increase the likability of the film . +by the time the credits role , it is fairly easy to have gotten wrapped up in the film and its characters , and one really gets the feeling that richard o'brien definitely was a fan of the old cheesy b-movies his film is based on . +when i say that the wall-to-wall songs are catchy what i really mean to say is that , once you hear them , they will be ingrained in your head for all of eternity . +it goes without saying that the " time warp " is the most popular song in the film . +even people who have never seen the movie know of that particular song . +what those who haven't seen the movie don't know though , is that there are even more songs in the film that are just as worthy of acknowledgment . +my personal favorite is " over at the frankenstein place " , but " dammit janet " is also maddeningly catchy . +tim curry's vocals on the rocking tune " sweet transvestite " need to be heard to be believed . +the finale of the film , a big floor show staged by frank-n-furter and featuring most of the cast in garters and fishnets ( including barry bostwick . . . +frightening ! ) , features no less than four songs ( " rose tint my world " , " don't dream it " , " wild and untamed thing " , and " i'm going home " ) , all of which are immensely singable . +the film's true popularity and longevity resides in its audience participation though . +despite the catchiness of the songs , this movie would have been long forgotten about if it hadn't have been for the multitude of folks who dress up every friday or saturday night to rush out and be a part of their own little floor show . +watching this film at home is nothing compared to actually experiencing this in a theater with hundreds of rabid fans ( unless you don't mind inviting friends over and letting them shoot water guns in your home or letting them throw rice and pieces of toast all over the place ) . +note : director jim sharman brought back to the central characters of the film , in the form of a sequel , resulting in the very much forgotten film shock treatment , which picks up with brad and janet ( this time played by cliff de young and jessica harper ! ) as contestants on a game show in their home town of denton . +the two are menaced by the evil tv station manager ( also played by de young ) , who wishes to claim janet as his own . +o'brien returned as a writer/performer on the project ( as did quinn , campbell , and gray in performance capacity only ) , but the film had nowhere near the spirit of the original . +25 years later , this film is still the pinnacle of cult filmdom and is continuously screened at midnight all over the world . +as a lasting testament to the longevity of the film and its legion of fans , a brand new special edition 2-disc dvd set has been released that is the most comprehensive compendium of rocky horror to date ( even out shining the laserdisc special edition that was released for its 20th anniversary ) . +if you are one of those people who can't get enough of the film , this disc should be more than enough to satisfy your appetites . +in an attempt to recreate the interactivity of the film , fox home entertainment has released this wonderful 2-disc dvd set loaded with so many extras that it'll take a good eight hours just to take in the majority of it all . +the film itself is located on the first disc and has been given a beautiful transfer that shows it in its original aspect ratio of 1 . 85 : 1 ( enhanced for 16x9 televisions ) . +the film is presented in two different versions , the us theatrical version and the uk version which adds a musical number during the finale called " superheroes " . +for ambitious viewers , the disc also includes a hidden version ( located on the main menu by clicking left from the scene selection menu choice and highlighting a pair of lips in the lower left corner ) which presents the film in the manner it was originally supposed to have been seen . +originally , the film was to have been similar to the wizard of oz , with the first half of the it seen in black and white ( and not changing to color until the transylvanians are first revealed to brad and janet during the time warp musical number ) . +most reports , including a documentary on the disc , say that the color was supposed to appear when frank-n-furter first shows up in the elevator , but it does seem to work better where it was placed on this version , depicting the vast difference between the world brad and janet were used to compared with the one to which they are introduced . +the film contains a commentary track by show creator ( and faithful handyman ) richard o'brien and co-star patricia quinn which is fairly enjoyable ( and quinn immediately starts off by refusing to speak about sarandon nearly contracting pneumonia while having to walk around wet and half-naked on freezing cold sets , which she apparently complained about the entire film and in future interviews ) . +the two seem like old friends and have great stories to tell , but they also point out cast members that are sadly no longer with us anymore ( and there are quite a few ) . +fox has also tried to recreate the feel of attending the film in a theater with several audience participation segments . +the first feature ( and the most simple ) is a subtitle prompter which lets you know when to open up on people with your water guns or when the right time to throw your toast is . +the second feature is an audience participation track , which lets you in on what you might hear on a good night out at the show . +most of the comments are unintelligible because it is basically just a large group of people screaming their heads off , but every once and a while a comment can be heard that will invoke a bit of laughter . +the final participation segment uses a technology very much like the technology used on the matrix dvd , where a pair of lips will appear on-screen during certain scenes of the film ( mostly during the musical numbers ) that can be selected by pressing enter on your remote . +when selected , you will be taken out of the film and into a live participation version of the scene put on during one of the many screenings that occur all over the world . +once the segment is over , you are deposited right back into the film where you left off . +the first disc also contains a few dvd-rom goodies for those with that particular type of dvd player . +there is a timeline of the evolution from the stage play version to worldwide cult sensation , a video jukebox , a you don't know jack-styled trivia game ( which is about as bare bones a you don't know jack parody as it can be ) , and a bizarre mad-libs styled word game known as riff-raff's story lab . +links to the rocky horror websites are also available from the dvd-rom portion of the disc . +the second disc features even more goodies for the person who loves extras . +former lite-rock video channel turned music historians vh-1 have allowed some of their outtake footage from the " behind the music : rocky horror " special that they ran earlier in the year to be shown here , as well as a pop-up video for the meat loaf-sung " hot patootie " . +the " behind the music " segments are all very interesting , especially richard o'brien's jaunt through the castle ( which is now a hotel ! ) where the film was originally shot . +there are also extensions of the sarandon , bostwick , quinn , o'brien , and meat loaf interviews . +as far as extras for the film itself go , there are two deleted musical numbers that are also included here . +one of which is just the " superheroes " number available in the uk version , but there is also another rare musical number presented here called " once in a while " . +a series of alternate takes are also presented here , but none of them are really much of a revelation ( except for the undressing scene in which we see that patricia quinn is having a hard time unbuttoning barry bostwick's pants ) . +for the completist who must have every little bit of rocky horror paraphernalia , a misprinted end sequence and alternate credit sequence are also presented here . +rounding out the disc is a decent documentary called rocky horror double feature video show , two theatrical trailers ( proclaiming that the film is " a different sort of jaws " ) , a still gallery , and two sing-a-longs ( for " toucha toucha touch me " and " sweet transvestite " ) . +fox's special edition is the dvd set that rocky horror fans have been waiting for all their lives ( " you're lucky . . . +i'm lucky . . . +he's lucky . . . +we're all lucky ! " ) . +it's not just amazing enough that tons of classic italian films are finally getting their recognition in the u . s . , but even long standing traditions are finally receiving their due on the wonderful dvd format . +as with their excellent dvds of the abyss , fight club , independence day , and the sound of music , fox shows that they have most certainly made the commitment to provide the things that dvd lovers want . +i raise a toast to them ( cue the throwing of the bread ) as i cut out the lights , sit back , and watch those disembodied lips begin to sing about b-movie tradition . +[r] diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv598_16452.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv598_16452.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d9fa620ffb57a5f7c7fcc4e445c91cf1c00793b6 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv598_16452.txt @@ -0,0 +1,15 @@ +in " magic town " , jimmy stewart is in peak form playing a pollster who heads to a " perfect " town to gauge their reactions on the sorts of issues that only poll-takers care about . +however , as time progresses , and he finds himself falling in love with the town ( and a woman ) , he begins to see that what he's doing is wrong . +the plot is standard stuff , but that's not important . +in a film like this , it's the calibre of the actors that make or break it . +obviously , since stewart stars , that's practically a non-issue . +he's great in the film , as usual . +there's just something about him that always manages to be endearing , even when he's deceiving the town folk . +you're always on his side , and you desperately want to see all of his goals come to fruitition . +the film was directed by a longtime frank capra script-writer , and it shows . +this is the type of feel-good picture that capra is famous for . +by the time " the end " shows up on screen , everything has been wrapped up very nicely . +there are no loose ends , and virtually every character gets a happy ending ( those that deserve one , anyway ) . +in this age of cynicism , it's refreshing to see a movie so upbeat . + " magic town " is a delightfully entertaining motion picture . +if you believe all old movies are slow-paced , you'd be well-advised to check this one out . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv599_20988.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv599_20988.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..134b9b2f1fe8f0ae5f6a18f7e6a91aca680ff708 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv599_20988.txt @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +kevin smith is like a big kid . +his humor is that of a sophisticated juvenile's . +he grew up idolizing star wars and loves comic books , having also written a few . +he also has a cult following , mostly composed of teenagers , college students , and smith's own fellow adolescent-minded grownups . +smith is hilarious in person and in writing , but when he tries to be earnest and moralize , that is when he goes wrong . +kevin smith is a better writer than director , and he'll be the first to tell you that . +that might also be part of the reason why his moralizing comes across as so heavy-handed . +great directors show us their theses instead of having the characters sermonize them . +this was true in the overrated chasing amy , and it is true for dogma as well . +that is not to say smith's message is a bad one . +in dogma , smith tells us that problems arise when people believe beyond any doubt that their insight into god and god's desires is superior to anyone else's . +basically , dogmatism is bad . +changing the minds of the dogmatic is virtually impossible , and since the dogmatic believe that they have special insight , they also know what is best for you , whether you like it or not . +this is not exactly a new message in movies ( see inherit the wind ) , but i have no problems with recycling old ones , particularly since dogma's protesters are proving smith's point . +smith's own problem with delivering this message is that he beats us over the head with it like we are reading a dogma for dummies book . +but this is smith's personality , and his simplistic views neglect such adult issues as how does one interpret the bible ( or koran , etc . ) correctly ( or if there even is a correctly ) and how one settles disputes of heretofore dogmatic concerns . +the story concerns abortion clinic worker bethany ( linda fiorentino ) being chosen by voice of god , metatron ( alan rickman ) , to prevent the destruction of the universe by two fallen angels , bartleby ( ben affleck ) and angel of death , loki ( matt damon ) . +along the way , forgotten thirteenth apostle , rufus ( chris rock ) , stripper muse serendipity ( salma hayek ) , and slacker duo jay and silent bob ( jason mewes and kevin smith himself ) come to bethany's aid . +fallen muse , azrael ( jason lee ) , proves to be the behind-the-scenes manipulator for all the chicanery . +the logical but convoluted plot only exists as an excuse for the jokes and to make smith's points , and in itself , has little dramatic momentum . +among the supposedly outrageous claims made by the film is that god is a woman , jesus was black , and the bible was written by a bunch of racist , misogynistic white men . +of course , kevin smith does not necessarily subscribe to these ideas himself . +they are a metaphor for the fears and insecurities of the dogmatic . +smith says as much in his amusing disclaimer that precedes the movie . +when harvey weinstein asked smith to put it into the film before cannes , smith thought it might give validation to protesters' claims that the film was sacrilegious , but then he rethought it and turned the disclaimer into a joke . +the film's humor is uneven . +some parts are very funny as when bethany goes for a fire extinguisher when metatron makes a burning-bush kind of entrance . +but many of the film's jokes just bomb , as in virtually anything involving salma hayek's serendipity . +also , some of the jokes can be seen coming from a mile away . +still , smith keeps the zingers coming at a sufficiently rapid pace . +among the actors , fiorentino and rickman stand out by far . +fiorentino virtually by herself gives the film emotional weight . +damon and affleck are fairly lackluster . +rock and hayek exist in the film pretty much only as comic relief as are mews and smith . +but the latter duo fare much better because jay and silent bob , who recur in all of smith's movies , are much more in line with smith's brand of humor . +bud cort , george carlin , janeane garofalo , guinevere turner , and alanis morissette all make cameo appearances . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv600_23878.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv600_23878.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1591151d1eafbeb0ee7ad3853c3bf2f4de98abc9 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv600_23878.txt @@ -0,0 +1,62 @@ +review : ghost dog : the way of the samurai ( 1999 ) +cast : forest whitaker , henry silva , cliff gorman , john tormey , gene riffini , victor argo , tricia vessey , isaach de bankole' , camille winbush director : jim jarmusch writer : jim jarmusch +rating : good shot ( stars ) +languid , yet pointed and focused , ghost dog : the way of the samurai sublimely savages our cultural fascination with the mafia and the sleek , ultra-cool , cinematic image of the hitman . +juxtaposing the samurai's honor code of feudal japan against the tradition bound modus operandi of the american/italian mafia , it ceaselessly chips away with a sculptor's precision at the archaic foundations of both as they lumber , dinosaur-like , to function in the modern era . +director jarmusch gleefully plays the iconoclast , ripping into mafioso precepts with splashes of acidic wit . +using a palate of bleached colors , jarmusch lugubriously maintains a tone of desolation that belies the many sparks of laugh out loud humor punctuating the film . +he doesn't cater to audience expectations of hyper-colorized , stylized violence and gunplay where no one dies . +the action is presented in flat , brutal codas . +bullets have permanence . +death has consequences . +the movie rises beyond standard conventions to become a meditation on the concepts of honor and loyalty . +it is an anti-movie , of sorts . +there are few photogenic , empathetic characters for the audience to fall in love with . +this isn't a film that lovingly holds your hand . +there are dark , contemplative moments and the film firmly holds you by the shoulder , just so , asserting itself for all to see . +the fulcrum for the movie's thematic balancing act is ghost dog , a mafia hitman . +a twist on the stereotypical image of the mob enforcer , ghost dog is a hilarious contradiction in terms . +unlike the sleek , muscular killing machines one is accustomed to , we are given an inner city black man who is overweight and slovenly , replete with chapped , dirty hands and rumpled clothing . +he wears a hooded sweatshirt , which he often pulls over his head , giving him a monk-like appearance . +there are no acrobatic back flips and shiny super guns in his arsenal . +he uses old , worn weapons and simply goes about his tasks in economical , efficient and pleasureless fashion . +ghost dog is a disciple of the old ways of the samurai , distilling the essence of his life through the filter of a book , which he reads daily , hagakure : the way of the samurai . +life consists of simple pleasures for him : ice cream , warm rooftop naps and good books . +ghost dog lives , as it were , by the basic tenet expressed by his book ; one should start each day considering oneself as dead . +living atop an abandoned building , surrounded by his flock of pet carrier pigeons , ghost dog exists in a netherworld lacking creature comforts and friends . +he craves nothing more . +as he puts it late in the film , " i've seen all i want to see . " +he exists in a spiritual world of the mind , gaining moral sustenance from his readings . +ghost dog wasn't always as he is presented . +in several roshomon-like flashbacks , it's shown how ghost dog was assaulted by racist white males and beaten nearly to death until the timely intervention of a good samaritan , that " samaritan " being a foot soldier in an aging crime family . +ghost dog pledges his life to the service of the man , louie ( tormey ) , as repayment . +after years of loyal service , ghost dog is sent , by louie , to kill " handsome frank " , a made man within louie's organization who has run away with the crime boss's daughter , louise ( vessey ) . +ghost dog wordlessly executes his task , witnessed by louise , whom he spares , as she sits watching a betty boop cartoon , clutching a copy of the book , roshomon . +in a bit of synchronicity , louise loans the book to ghost dog . +upset that frank was taken out by someone not from the family , the mob bosses , in turn , put out a hit on ghost dog in a perverse twist of loyalty to their assassinated comrade . +the rest of movie holds the dated value systems of both the mafia and ghost dog up to the light of a new millennium with many acerbic asides as the two come factions come into conflict . +the theme of old cartoons flares up time and again , each time showing cartoon violence that is in sharp counterpoint to the reality of ghost dog's world . +each time a character is shown watching a cartoon , it's from the same era , betty boop , felix the cat , etc . , a reflection of days gone by . +near the end , louise is watching a cartoon that's a departure from the previously shown ones . +it's a bit of audacity on jarmusch's part that is nicely effective , despite it's surrealistic nature . +as ghost dog floats through his world , his life is touched by two people . +one is a sage little girl ( winbush ) who connects with ghost dog through their love of reading . +she comes to symbolize a melding of the old ways and new sensibilities , just as louise ultimately does . +by film's end , the fact that jamusch is so effective at illustrating the tenuous bond between the two is a testament to his skill as a writer . +the other person in ghost dog's world is an ice cream ( de bankole' ) vendor who only speaks french , yet intuitively shares a rapport with ghost dog . +the vendor is the literal stranger in a strange land . +jarmusch , through rapper/composer rza , underscores his film with rap and reggae music , which at first blush seems dichotomous , but its primal rhythms serve to strengthen the fundamental nature of the movie . +ghost dog seems to draw some type of strength from the rap music he listens to as he negotiates the streets in various stolen cars . + ( which , in and of itself , presents another paradox about ghost's dog's sense of honor . ) +the head mafioso is played by henry silva with a stone faced resignation . +of all the cartoonish mobsters , he is the only one who appears self aware of his state in the world . +gorman plays sonny , a lieutenant who respects the old ways , yet has a quirky affinity for rap music , a love comically shown in several impromptu displays . +ruffini seems the truest reflection of the mafia . +he is a husk of a man , assisted by two hearing aids , who barks out advice without truly hearing what he , or others are saying . +whitaker carries the film by using what truly great actor's use , his face . +ghost dog is reticent to speak , often going for long periods without doing so . +the fact that whitaker can convey such a wide range of emotion through a gesture or look is a remarkable talent . +although the film has a deliberate pace , some of the late night drives and walks taken by ghost dog dragged the momentum down . +truly tragic is how ghost dog misinterprets japanese honor in his final confrontation with the mob . +he reveals himself to be so desperate for spiritual guidance through the hagakure that he fails to truly adapt it to what is real and true in his world . +carried on the shoulders of a remarkable performance by whitaker , ghost dog rises beyond being a characterization or icon , into a figure that garners sympathy , if not a bit of pity . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv602_8300.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv602_8300.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..68fbbff662f82c8c30a2de9fe42ff0067fe9f36f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv602_8300.txt @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +everyone's heard about this movie , and more specifically , * the * scene . +everyone's heard the famous barnyard animal quote squealed ( no pun intended ) over and over . +and everyone's got to admit that they will never travel down a river again without thinking of deliverance . +good ! +that's what you're supposed to do ! +oh , if you are one of the ones who hasn't seen this yet , or you ( somehow ) haven't heard about what happens , here's your spoiler warning . +deliverance was a real shocker for it's time ( 1972 ) . +major advances were being made in films , and deliverance made its own advances when it introduced a new horror into the film industry . +when it was first released , it literally shocked the audiences . +it was something that , for the most part , had really never been seen on the big screen before ( among wide-release films with an r rating ) . +but by today's film standards and in today's world , such scenes as the one in deliverance can be reproduced in a way that isn't as shocking , although they can be even more graphic ( e . g . +pulp fiction ) . +pulp fiction did it in a way , and expanded on it in a way , that it could even be interpreted as funny . +but in 1972 , deliverance was no laughing matter . +the story centers around a group of four atlanta men who decide to take a rafting trip down a backwoods river in georgia while the river is still there and in its glory . +the initial leader of the group is lewis ( burt reynolds in his prime ) , a real outdoorsman and more of a daniel boone-type then any of the others . +joining him are ed ( jon voight ) , bobby ( ned beatty ) , and drew ( ronny cox ) . +the group's first objective is to find someone ( s ) to drive their cars down the river to the point where they will end their trip . +they make arrangements with a few mountain men , who accept $40 . 00 for the task . +drew also has the famous " dueling banjos " competition with a local who is , let us say , genetically challenged . +the men then set off down the river , with lewis , also the master at canoeing , leading the way . +everything seems to be going fine , until the two canoes split up , leaving the unexperienced ed and bobby alone . +they encounter two hillbillies , armed with a shotgun , who captured them . +ed is tied to a tree while bobby is sodomized by one of the men . +ed nearly receives the same cruelty , but lewis arrives just in time to fire an arrow through the rapist's back . +the other hillbilly gets away , and the men have to decide what to do with the dead body . +disposing of dead bodies is done rather frequent throughout this film . +while attempting to make a quick " paddle for it " , both canoes tip over . +drew , who was without a life jacket , was possibly shot and cannot be found . +lewis suffered a rather nasty compound fracture during the incident and is in serious condition . +this leaves ed and bobby . +ed decides to go out and look for the remaining hillbilly , alone , with the bow and arrow . +the question arises if he will be able to handle himself , as he horribly botched a first shot attempt at a deer , to which his comment " i wonder how anyone could kill a living thing " will have more meaning in the future . +deliverance is definitely a wild ride ( oops , i'm doing it again ) . +it is extremely tense at some points and very dramatic . +it's definitely one of those " must see " movies and should be considered one of the classics of its decade . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv605_11800.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv605_11800.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..beadd82c75adb716cf245256800c73aba8f1116d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv605_11800.txt @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +i've never been a huge fan of jeff bridges , but i loved him in the big lebowski . +the part of jeff " the dude " lebowski was reportedly written specifically with bridges in mind , and the fit is perfect . +the dude is an unemployed denizen of los angeles , a hippie slob on a bowling team with a soft spot for white russians . +he's enjoying a leisurely soak in the tub when two thugs break into his apartment demanding to be paid for the money his wife owes . +after much pleading he convinces them they have the wrong guy , but not before they urinate on his rug . +the dude assumes that these " collection agents " were after another jeff lebowski , a famous millionaire who also lives in l . a . so he goes to meet his namesake to ask for enough money to replace his rug . +the millionaire refuses , but calls him back when he discovers his wife has been kidnaped . +he wants the dude to act as go-between for the kidnapers . +dude and his friend walter ( john goodman ) take on the task , and get caught in an intricate web of kidnapers , millionaires , high schoolers , nihilists , artists , pornographers , thugs , and league bowlers . +comedy is perhaps the most subjective of genres , so take my recommendation as you will : for me , the big lebowski is very funny . +it is an incredibly successful comedy , the ratio of laughs to intended jokes much higher than in most films . +not only are the two leads ( bridges and goodman ) funny separately and together , but each supporting character is a refreshing comic figure . +all the characters end up as the butt of jokes , but the jokes are always deserved and never contrived . +each person may be a comic caricature , but there is always a respectful self-acceptance that lets us laugh at these people without condescension . +the characters are firmly established , and they never change their behavior for a quick , cheap laugh . +it's not what they do that's funny , it's who they are , which is why the acting is so important , and so successful , in this movie . +worth mentioning are john turturro as jesus ( that's jee-zus , not hay-soos ) , the greaser bowler who's in a lusty marriage with the game ; julianne moore as the post-post-feminist artist whose work has been described as " vaginal ; " steve buscemi as the eager tagalong bowler who is constantly rebuked and ignored by teammates dude and walter ; and sam elliott as the rambling , long-winded narrator . +aside from the performances , what makes all the characters funny and interesting is the astute dialogue . +people lose trains of thought , they interrupt , they boast , they repeat themselves , they repeat their friends . . . +they sound natural . +taken with fargo , the coen brothers' last film , it is evidence that the brothers are observant listeners and gifted writers . +ethan coen is not just good at directing actors , he's also good at technical directing . +he and cinematographr roger deakins created a beautiful world on film . +perhaps " beautiful " is the wrong word ; nihilists , carpet-pissers and thugs are not objects of beauty . +but the bowling photography and a series of viking/bowling fantasy dream sequences are lovingly photographed , as though the dude himself were in charge of immortalizing them on film . +all around , the big lebowski is great , solid comedy . +outstanding acting , writing , direction and photography all combine to make this a great comic success . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv606_15985.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv606_15985.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3928c3b4c6e16d94652b21623b8c804ec640d47b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv606_15985.txt @@ -0,0 +1,48 @@ +synopsis : captain picard and the crew of the starship enterprise disobey federation orders and defend a peaceful community of 600 , the ba'ku , from the evil admiral dougherty and ru'afro . +the enterprise crew , in the meantime , experience the rejuvenating qualities of the ba'ku homeworld : lt . worf grows a pimple , data sings opera pieces , picard scores with a ba'ku chick , riker shaves while sharing a bubblebath with troi , and the enterprise women note their firmer breasts . +comments : " star trek : the next generation " was a hugely successful sequel tv series to " star trek , " a science fiction series which developed a devoted fan following in the 1970s . +even though it still enjoyed high ratings , " star trek : the next generation " ended production after seven years so that the cast could replace the original " star trek " 's cast in paramount's film franchise centering on the voyages of the starship enterprise . +star trek : insurrection is the ninth " star trek " movie and the third to focus on the " star trek : the next generation " crew . +star trek : insurrection qualifies as one of those movies star trek fans , such as myself , would rate somewhere between " okay " and " good . " +after star trek v : the final frontier , a nearly awful movie almost as bad as the repugnant " star trek : voyager " tv series , " star trek " fans could probably swallow anything paramount throws out in the trek film franchise . +i don't wish to spend this review comparing insurrection to the eight other trek movies . +most people reading this probably haven't followed " star trek " anyway , so a comparison would seem tedious at best . +let me , thus , make my comparisons briefly so that it's out of my system : star trek : insurrection is not as good as the previous installment , star trek : first contact ; star trek : insurrection's comic tone may be best compared to star trek iv : the voyage home ; star trek ii : the wrath of khan is still the best trek movie . +okay . let's move to the movie itself . +star trek : insurrection infuses a basic science fiction premise , humanity's exploration and colonization of space , with a lot of lowbrow humor and witty oneliners . +this combination works well more often than it fails , but when it does fail , the humor really seems cheesy . +much of this film appeals to trek fans' nostalgic fondness for the starship enterprise's crew . +audiences unfamiliar with trek lore may miss the significance of some plot points and may even become confused at times . +star trek : insurrection begins with scenes of the tranquil life on the ba'ku homeworld . +forget the actors and special effects , the beautiful setting of this movie , with its snowy mountaintops and verdant valleys , steals the show . +this tranquility , however , is broken by data , an android , who reveals to the ba'ku that they are being secretly monitored by the federation and their alien allies , the son'a . +it seems that this world is a veritable fountain of youth , sustaining its inhabitants indefinantly in a young , healthy state . +the enterprise crew , led by captain picard , investigates data's actions and uncovers a conspiracy between the son'a and an enterprise admiral to relocate the ba'ku and plunder the planet's youth-restoring properties . +sound pretty heavy ? +it is , though this plot , anything but unique and groundbreaking , is undermined by the film's constant barrage of humor . +when going after data , for instance , picard sings an opera piece with him ( this is supposed to be cute and humorous ) . +in a much more funny sequence , work grows a large pimple on the side of his nose as a result of his exposure to the ba'ku homeworld , a pimple which his crewmates , try as they might , cannot avoid looking at . +the acting in star trek : insurrection is , for the most part , pretty good . +since they've been playing these characters for years , those portraying the enterprise crew reassume their roles effortlessly enough . +the terrific actor patrick stewart plays captain jean-luc picard and delivers a moral speech , picard's trademark , with his usual aplomb . +brent spiner , another fine actor , plays the android data well enough again and provides the best moments of comic relief in the film ( though the old android-wishing-to-be-human motif will tire some trek fans familiar with the routine from the tv series ) . +the supporting cast who appear in this movie alone are also pretty good . +despite many other critics' negative opinions , f . murray abraham ( the winner of an academy award for his performance in amadeus ) plays the major villain ru'afro well enough . +ru'afro reminds me , somewhat , of the baron harkonnen in the 1984 film version of dune . +like the baron , ru'afro continuously has his skin looked after : it is stretched and stapled by servants . +in one particularly memorable scene , ru'afro becomes very agitated , and his facial skin splits open and bleeds . +ru'afro is no khan from star trek ii--the best trek villain ever--but he is much better than the forgettable dr . soran from star trek : generations . + ( okay , i promise , no more comparisons . ) +donna murphy must also be noted as a ba'ku woman , anij , who picard falls in love with . +murphy is not a young woman with a supermodel body ; she is a mature woman with an attractive countenance . +this is the type of woman whom picard , for those who know the character well , would be enchanted with . +in fact , the chemistry between murphy and stewart works very well here . +a particular plot point involving anij's ability to slow time down , an ability which she shares with picard , becomes one of the most intriguing parts of the movie . +for as good as the actors and setting were , star trek : insurrection's special effects were surprisingly disappointing . +they proved adequate , sometimes barely , for a 1990s mainstream science fiction film , but they fell way short of the standard trek movie and paled in comparison to those seen in the trailer for star wars : the phantom menace ( a trailer which reportedly preceded many showings of insurrection ) . +the space battles involving the enterprise and sona ships , in particular , seemed trite and unsuspenseful , and the final confrontation between picard and ru'afro took place on a completely unconvincing interior of a satellite . +the new enterprise itself , only seen in this film and its predecessor , remains largely unexplored , though its exterior doesn't look quite right for a reason i cannot explain . +despite star trek : insurrection's frequent comic goofiness and occasional substandard special effects , i enjoyed the film . +it maintains roddenberry's largely optimistic view of the future and rejects the gritty violence of its predecessors , particularly star trek : first contact ( though , don't get me wrong , the dark tones of trek films like first contact can work very successfully ) . +i'd recommend insurrection as a matinee film for a saturday afternoon , especially for fans of trek or science fiction in general . +rated pg , i can't see this film being objectionable to the viewing audience , young or old . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv608_23231.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv608_23231.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ee8271df58d8c50ba036f3ab5eb345980e7d0487 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv608_23231.txt @@ -0,0 +1,45 @@ +magnolia left me relling from the theatre , staggering from the relentless assault of an adventurous director reveling in his craft . +at nearly three and a half hours , magnolia will strike some as a brute of a film . +it not only demands your attention , but challenges you to grasp the significance of seemingly unrelated storylines and hidden intentions . +it is delirious , depressing , heady , pretentious , surreal filmmaking . +it's also a movie that will polarize its viewers . +director paul thomas anderson takes a talented cast , wraps them in a net of interrelated stories and sets them spinning in a symphony of despair whose song doesn't let up until an oddly exhilerating , biblically influenced pseudo-climax . +the character's make up a modern day gomorrah in the soulless way in which they live their lives . +there is frank mackey ( tom cruise ) , a slithery snake charmer of men whose " search and destroy " seminars teach how to mentally rape a woman to get into her pants . +there is earl partridge ( jason robards ) , a dying media tycoon yearning to make amends for a lfe of callousness by finding his estranged son . +there is game show host jimmy gator ( phillip baker hall ) , a self absorbed tv icon who is hiding more than a few secrets from his public . +and there is police officer jim kurring ( john c . reilly ) , who cloaks himself in the codification of organized religion and the legal system , perhaps masking a man who needs rules to fuel his decision making process . +given equal weight are stories involving a coke-addled emotional cripple ( melora walters ) , a former tv quiz show champion ( william h . macy ) . +a materialistic , adulterous wife ( julianne moore ) , a child ( jeremy blackman ) victimized by a mentally abusive parent , and a caring , empathetic nurse ( philip seymour hoffman ) . +hovering over all these characters is a cloud of death , lies and despair . +it is not a pleasant movie . +there is not one bad note in the acting . +it is affecting and layered and wonderful . +there is a moment where tom cruise wordlessly implodes that rivals work he has done in whole films . +then he tops himself with a mesmerizing deathbed scene . +walters plays her character with red-eyed rawness and a fierce self-destructiveness that is anxiety inducing . +robards convincingly portrays a fading whisper of a man , who still hears a lion's roar when he speaks . +director anderson has apparently given the actors lattitude to emote . +the problem is that he stays on them too long . +julianne moore's character , linda , quickly escalates to a frenzied pitch of guilt , tears , screaming and remorse and never backs off from it . +after a few hours , it turns from interesting to chinese water torture . +quite a few scenes , such as the game show , go on just a bit too long and will be off-putting for those used to a pat 90 minute film where the main theme is reiterated several times just in case you missed it the first go around . +and just what is the theme ? +alienation ? +hopelessness ? +anderson challenges you to draw your own conclusions and he doesn't make it easy . +the film starts by showing three , strange and seemingly unrelated events . +it's a harbinger of the synchronicity to come . +at times , different stories reach reach key moments at the same time . +other times , stories seem to veer off into uncharted territory , regardless of what else is happening . +anderson is audacious enough to even have a group sing in the middle of the film ! +what's surprising is that it mostly works . +if you have doubts about anderson's intentions , i'll ask you to pay attention to the final frame . +despite all the sturm und drang , magnolia ultimately speaks to man's capacity for hope and attempts at redemption . +despite magnolia's needlessly long running time and its propensity for uneven editing as anderson plays the auteur , showing off fro the masses , i have to admire his guts . +this is truly adventurous filmmaking that spits in the face of conventional storytelling . +my rating : a bulleye . + ( stars ) +a side note : helping anchor the film is a perfectly matched soundtrack featuring aimee mann . +her lyrics often add depth to a scene thematically while the actual music is both morose and beautiful . +when she sings " save me " at the end , it enhances the yearning felt by the characters , just as " wise up " mirrors the anguish felt by all as they contemplate their lives . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv609_23877.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv609_23877.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..570320cf4694903e45ac10432861ca690969d0bb --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv609_23877.txt @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +a group of high school kids mix up with a group of hip-hop artists as a documentarian strives to discover why today's youth seem attracted to black culture . +the review +if black & white , the new film from writer/director james toback , is eventually remembered for only one thing , it will be the revelation that brooke shields , claudia schiffer , marla maples and mike tyson can act . +however , this partly improvised gem will be remembered for more than that . +black & white is a fascinating film ; it makes a statement about america's youth and hip-hop culture without getting heavy-handed overly serious . +featuring a cast of known commodities ( ben stiller , robert downey jr . ) and hot newcomers ( singers bijou phillips ) , toback's is a complex film worth seeing . +black & white has multiple storylines that are all related to each other , a la robert altman . +there is dean the basketball player ( allan houston ) who is asked to rig games for money by mark clear ( stiller ) in exchange for fifty grand a game . +this eventually spills over into the life of dean's long-time friend rich ( power ) , a gangsta who controls 20 city blocks of harlem . +rich has to deal with the imminent opening of a white-owned club on his turf . +meanwhile , the young white girls who like to hang around with rich and his homies get talked into being in a documentary by sam donager ( shields ) and her gay husband terry ( downey jr . ) . +others who make appearances are william lee scott as the young white punk will , joe pantoliano as his district attorney father , jared leto as a high school teacher , marla maples as the mother of one of hip-hop crazed teens , claudia schiffer as dean's girlfriend , and mike tyson as . . . +mike tyson . +the stories ebb and flow through the film , losing and gaining prominence over time . +friendships are lost , lovers are gained , and there is an occasional burst of violence . +originally rated nc-17 in the united states , black & white features a lot of sex between black gangstas and young white girls . +while the film was trimmed down to a tamer r rating , viewers will wonder what could be more explicit than what they are seeing . +the three-way sexual beginning of the film nicely warns viewers of what they are in for , and several audience members got up and left at that point . +the frequent sex is one of the film's few flaws as the titillation is overdone and at times completely unrelated to anything else going on in the film . +to toback's credit , the level of violence in black & white is almost nil . +these gangstas and hip-hop artists are given real problems and concerns , and only become gun-toting crazies when it benefits them to appear that way . +whenever a character finds himself on donager's handheld digital camera , he starts spouting off righteous tirades on america and proclaims his independence , but not everyone has fully bought into the idea . +charlie ( phillips ) is full of bluster about why she loves hip-hop , but admits that " in ten years time , i'll be way over this . " +these youth know they are going through a phase , and are simply enjoying it . +toback fills the spaces between these tirades with scenes that are lightweight and funny . +most of the humour comes from mike tyson , who provides the film's comic relief without really trying . +he is given big words like vernacular to say , and as rich tries to discuss a particular street problem with tyson , he frequently has to ask him to use smaller words and explain himself better , playing on tyson's image as a dimwit . +but tyson also gets the film's scariest moment . +as he is mercilessly hit upon by the very gay terry , tyson is a marvel to watch as he fights to remain calm . +the scene is entirely improvised , with downey jr . being told to just keep at tyson until he gets a reaction . +the reaction he gets , being slapped and then choked is astonishing , as downey jr's face turns a frightening shade of purple . +black & white is a film about hip-hop culture , and the film's omnipresent hip-hop soundtrack strongly supports this . +but toback keeps things from becoming too serious ; by moving from story to story as quickly as he does , toback keeps us from becoming attached to any one character's struggle . +thus black & white's message about hip-hop becomes secondary to the film itself . +toback just wants us to have fun and maybe learn a little about hip-hop along the way . +and we do . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv610_2287.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv610_2287.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..52ca833c1d76c7a57e6297153fb51284ef81ee6a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv610_2287.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +one year has passed since the last time we saw them , and but wayne campbell and garth algar are back but , they've moved out of their parents homes , and now have their own pad in an abandoned warehouse . +wayne's still hopelessly infatuated with his girlfriend , cassandra , and of course garth is still having his own , personal growing pains . +they guys are just finishing off one of their shows , and head off to an aerosmith concert where they run across cassandra and her new manager , a stereotypical industry slime not unlike the character rob lowe portrayed in the previous film . +again , the promoter is not only after the money that cassandra's talent can bring in . +the storyline quickly degrades to a parallel of the original , " guy loses chick , guy realizes mistake , and guy gets chick back . " +fortunately , there is more to this movie than this somewhat sheer plot . +the wit and humor in this film are surprisingly intelligent and fresh with many inside jokes on the film and music industries as well as just a lot of hilarious scenes of wayne and garth showing their true color . +highlights of the movie include a spoof of jurassic park , garth's seduction by a married woman , a surprise appearance by charleton heston , a 1960's batman setup in the guy's pad , and some pretty groovy chats with jim morrison and some " naked indian guy , " an unexpected lip-sync of ymca ( you could see that one coming a mile away ) and of course a hilarious parody of those badly-dubbed kung-fu movies we love to laugh at . +and if you've ever wondered why there's always boxes of watermelons , chickens , and people walking plate glass in the middle of streets , you'll find out here . +this movie also explores wayne and garth a little more . +garth has somewhat of a " coming of age " and wayne gets to learn a little about himself ( with a little help from our old friend , jim morrison ) . +a few old jokes from the previous movie are explored here again , but this time with a few twists to keep them fresh , and luckily , few , if any of them are overused . +overall , the movie has plenty of continuity flaws ( especially in the fight scent between garth and cassandra's dad ) , but these are easily overlooked as this is , after wayne's world . +the plot is flimsy but manageable . +there are a few special effects , but they are fairly seamless , and fill nicely into the plot . +the acting is good , for this sort of movie , but there are some very bright spots . +in the big picture , this movie is just plain fun . +there is lots of intelligent humor that makes this film special . +during the whole one hour and 40 minutes , i didn't even think about looking at my watch a single time . +silly , but riotous at times , this is an excellent movie even better than the original . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv611_21120.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv611_21120.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1cf596ad4eb3e383928e6db319181860a64d513e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv611_21120.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +john carpenter directed this stylish and gory vampire flick to which has it's good side and it's bad . +it's held up by some good performances and dazzling special effects leading up to an ending that's pretty satisfying . +james woods gives an outstanding performance that almost covers up the movie . +the good side : some neat scenes of vampires and violence . +the bad : no scares . +yes that's right , even though being directed by one of horror's most cherished directors , 'vampires' is the least bit scary , if not at all . +james woods stars as jack a vampire hunter out to stop the plans of the 'master' vampire valek played by thomas ian griffith whom wants vampires to walk in the daylight . +daniel baldwin plays his sidekick montoya , a wise-cracking guy who really isn't that funny . +in the opening scene jack along with montoya and the team of vampire hunters , find an abandoned house to which vampire occupy . +of course we all know sunshine kills vampires , and that is just how they kill these vampires : hooking them to ropes and dragging them outside letting them burn to death . +after throwing a party for what happened , the vampires that did not die come back to trash it . +they kill almost all of jack's team , leaving only a few alive . +sheryl lee plays a prostitute katrina who was bitten by valek , but not yet turned into a vampire . +she is rescued by jack and ? flees with them on their search for valek . +they have to fight they're way against vampires , leading up to a finale that is well-done with great special effects . +'vampires' definately could have been done better . +the make-up , special effects and story are first rate , but there is no scares or terror that the film could have had . +it to me had more humor than horror , almost being compared to 'fright night' with the mix of violence and comedy . +john carpenter does a great job of directing this film . +he eases through some tough times and saves the flaws , which are noticeable but forgettable . +the script is clever and funny , with many lines that make us laugh out loud . +i much enjoyed 'vampires' with a few exceptions . +it's one of those films you see but don't take to heart . +you enjoy the time you spent and go on . +the recently released 'psycho' is the same way , it's not as good as you'd hope but it is fun and entertaining . +'vampires' is a good horror flick with no scares but plenty of other content to please the viewer . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv612_5461.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv612_5461.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5f08f82567484590c17ba3ecf0d963f1b98b634d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv612_5461.txt @@ -0,0 +1,55 @@ +in the wake of the smashing success of " rumble in the bronx , " it's looking more and more likely that more jackie chan films will see american release . +rumor has it that one of these films will be drunken master ii . +the version i have is a copy from the laserdisc ; it's widescreen and bilingually-subtitled , as are most hong kong films these days . +availability over here in the united states is very limited ; these films must either be purchased via pirates or sought out from asian distributors such as tai seng . +the subtitling on the copy i have is slightly hard to read ; the letters are white and a bit small . +although the american release will almost certainly be dubbed , this review is of the subtitled version , so please keep that in mind if you're reading this review to help you decide whether to go out and see it . +to be fair , i must admit that i've never been very fond of " period-piece " martial arts movies--the ones set in some nebulous china of the distant or not so distant past . +perhaps it's because most of those i've seen were filmed on inferior stock , with either butchered dubbing or all-but-illegible subtitling , or perhaps it's because their plots all tend to be very similar to each other and , in many cases , all but nonexistant . +in fact , many of them get so wrapped up in their subplots that they seem to forget their main plot entirely until only a few minutes before the end . +or , for that matter , it might be because the jackie chan films with more modern settings ( armour of god , rumble in the bronx , etc . ) tend to have more spectacular stunts , often involving large motor vehicles and large explosions , whereas period pieces simply have the martial arts . +having said that , i must now turn right around and say that drunken master ii is a remarkable exception to all or most of the above , is one of the better martial arts films i've seen , and i quite enjoyed it . +surprised ? +well , so was i . +drunken master ii is about a young man named wong fei-hong ( played by jackie chan ) who is a master of the drunken boxing style of kung fu . +where he learned this style is uncertain , as his father , wong kei-ying ( ti lung ) is steadfast in his opposition to fei-hong's practicing it rather than some more normal style of kung fu . +apparently , fei-hong is some sort of figure from chinese folklore , rather like paul bunyan is for americans , but i've heard very little about this , and could quite well be wrong , so i'll leave analysis of that to the people who know it better . +one of my friends points out that the character of wong fei-hong is also featured in the " once upon a time in china " movies , but i have not yet seen those . +the plot of drunken master ii is somewhat hazy , as are the plots to many such films , but if you're watching a jackie chan film , odds are you aren't expecting something on the order of " war and peace " . +the story seems to revolve around those evil foreigners who are spiriting away ancient chinese relics ( and hence , china's cultural heritage ) while overworking , underpaying , and beating up chinese workers in a nearby steel mill . +however , this plot merely serves as a framework for the other main story of the film--fei-hong's perpetual struggle to win his girlfriend , supplicate his father , keep his ( pregnant ) mother ( played by anita mui ) from fighting , and keep from getting beaten up by evil foreigner thugs . +the macguffin that drives the plot ( s ) is a precious antique jade imperial seal which is being taken away by the evil foreigners . +in the beginning , fei-hong accidentally steals it while trying to recover an identically-wrapped box containing the medicinal ginseng his father was bringing back for a customer . +in the process , he clashes with another thief , who is himself trying for the seal but ends up instead with the ginseng . +after fei-hong narrowly avoids getting caught with the seal by the evil foreigners' lackies , thanks to some timely intervention by a general's son ( a cameo appearance by andy lau , who would later take on the starring role in drunken master iii ! ) , comedic chaos ensues back at the wong household when fei-hong and his mother attempt to come up with a replacement for the missing ginseng . +and so it goes . +and the plot thickens later on , such as when fei-hong's girlfriend maneuvers him into a kung fu match with a rival , or when fei-hong and the thief , now revealed to be a loyalist manchu officer trying to recover the seal and stop the evil foreigners , are attacked en masse ( another grand kung-fu movie tradition ) , but i think i've already spent more time on the plot than it really deserves . +let's move on to the real draw of jackie chan movies . . . the +action . +there's plenty of martial arts action to be found in this movie . . . of +course , in a kung fu film , that's to be expected . +however , this isn't just another kung fu movie ; this one has jackie chan doing the fight and stunt choreography , and jackie chan is a genius . +the primary martial arts " style " featured in the film is drunken boxing , a form of kung fu which attempts to draw the adversary off his guard by making it seem like the fellow using it is drunk . +further , for the purposes of this film at least , drunken boxers fight better when they actually _are_ intoxicated . . . but +there's a fine line between just drunk enough and drunk into a stupor . +under normal circumstances , the idea of someone staggering around looking sloshed but managing to fight effectively and even incredibly might seem rather stupid , but jackie pulls it off with flair . +the kung fu sequences are so intricate in their staging and execution that it is pointless to try to describe it on paper , so i'll just say that the fights--especially the big climactic fight at the end--in themselves make the movie worth watching . +another thing drunken master ii has going for it is the stunt work . +even without motor vehicles ( well , not counting a train ) , there are some remarkable stunts in this film . +among other things , jackie dives off a balcony into a table and crawls across hot coals ( not once , but at _least_ twice , if you count the outtake shown during the credits ) . + ( quicktime movies of these stunts can be found through the www movie database . ) +unlike in american films , these stunts are _not_ faked . +drunken master ii stars several veteran actors of the hong kong movie scene , including jackie , ti lung ( " a better tomorrow " 1 & 2 ) , and anita mui ( the " heroic trio " series , " rumble in the bronx " ) . +the performances are first-rate , especially when it comes to the comedy parts of the film . +the scene where fei-hong and his mother conspire literally behind fei-hong's father's back to cover up for the missing ginseng root is hilarious , as is the scene where fei-hong's mother , having just revealed that she is pregnant , is threatening to hurt herself ( in order to draw her husband's anger away from fei-hong ) . +jackie has developed his knack for physical comedy into a sort of mastery over the years , and he's in fine form all through drunken master ii . +as far as cinematography is concerned , it certainly works for this film . +it's nothing spectacular , but is at least a dozen times better than all those old kung fu movies of the 70s . +the picture is crisp and clear . +one thing i find particularly worthy of mention is that , at least in the copy i have , the screen was wider than any film i've ever seen on videotape before--almost a whole 1/3 of the screen was blocked out above and below . + ( watch this on a bigscreen tv or movie theater if you can . ) +it will be an utter shame if this film is eventually pan-and-scanned for american video release . +drunken master ii shows the full potential of " period piece " kung fu movies , and it's good enough to overcome even my usual distaste for such movies . +the plot does meander a bit , but that's to be expected in this type of film . +if you like this kind of movie , you'll love this movie , and if not , well , give it a chance anyway . +if nothing else , the martial arts and stunt sequences are by themselves worth the price of admission or rental . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv613_21796.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv613_21796.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3da229d384783becfb7398fd5499b1694d8a11d3 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv613_21796.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +at first glance , three kings looks to be just another war movie , the 90s version of all those favourite war movies with names i cannot remember . +the 90s version , it definitely is , just another war movie ? +not in your dreams ! +imagine pulp fiction approach to saving private ryan , thats three kings for you . +believe it or not , it bears the cool of the former and the stark humane meaning of the latter . +the story brings us to the twilight of the gulf war , with the allied troops victorious . +majpr archie gates ( clooney ) leads an enterprising bunch of grunts to a rather unorthodox post-war looting spree ; the millions in gold bars secretly stowed away by saddam in a desolate village in the desert . +as the rest of the troops are celebrating their victory and getting ready to be shipped home , this `wild bunch goes awol on an armed hum-vee ( the vehicle of choice of the us army ) . +they soon find out that they have much resistance , as they get tangled with the local rebellion against saddams forces . +frequently switching their modes between looters and robin hoods merry men , they become consciously attacked by their own morals . +as the film begins to roll , it seemed to have a rather `light mood to it . +`special effects such as when gates describes to his men how a bullet can kill simply paves the way for a light-hearted funny action movie . +three kings is much smarter than that . +as the conflict becomes more and more complex , the audience will be trapped in a limbo , trying to stay focussed on that light-mood/serious-mood that the film seem to portray . +i personally found this analogous to the same feelings of the main characters involved in the film ; trapped between their initial plan paved by greed and their own sense of humanity . +this simply made the entire experience of watching three kings truly brilliant . +action sequences are not shot as your old-fashioned war films nor anything like steven spielbergs in-your-face war violence . +they are carefully built to generate tension with just the right tight close-ups and pauses , right before the action starts . +not john woo for sure but more of sergio leones spaghetti western style ( tons of them starring clint eastwood ) . +great performances by clooney and wahlberg but the brilliance have to lie in the conception of this film ; the screenwriter and the director . +three kings ranks among the best films of the year , well , for me at least . +highly recommended . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv615_14182.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv615_14182.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..82de4e483fdfdd26d954c9c8367efb76c51d4eb3 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv615_14182.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +a miracle of filmmaking , " some like it hot " is a brilliant film , and maybe the foremost example of slapstick comedy brought to screen with clever sight gags and plot twists . +it is the pinnacle of writer-director billy wilder's career , a stunning feat considering the vast catalogue of films he had helped make . +jerry ( lemmon ) and joe ( curtis ) are two stage musicians who go from gig to gig , trying to earn enough money to feed themselves . +one night , as they're playing at a banned prohibition speakeasy , the place is raided . +as it turns out , the owner , spats columbo ( george raft ) was ratted out by toothpick charlie ( george e . stone ) . +several weeks later , on valentine's day , jerry and joe go to a garage to pick up a car and end up witnessing a gangland murder of charlie by columbo in a parking garage . +eager to escape , the duo are forced to take a job in florida with all expenses paid . +the only catch . . its a girls band . +so josephine ( curtis ) and daphne ( lemmon ) , make their way onto the train and go to florida . +on the way there , they meet sugar kane ( monroe ) , a bombshell singer who is looking for love . +jerry and joe immediately fall for the singer , but there's two problems : 1 ) they're in drag , and 2 ) millionaire osgood fielding ( joe e . brown ) falls madly in love with daphne . +what follows in pure hysteria , still complicated further by the arrival of spats columbo to florida for the " italian opera lovers festival " . +tony curtis is hysterical as joe/josephine , especially in his preposterous attempts to woo sugar . +marilyn monroe , in a wonderfully comic performance , is sugar , providing incredible timing and sex appeal , along with true sincerity . +the scenes , however , are all stolen by either brown or lemmon . +lemmon is hysterical as daphne . +cast as the less rational one , lemmon's performance is ridiculously crazy , it is disorder in the style all billy wilder's . +brown is particularly hilarious as osgood , as we are treated to the finest kind of comedic irony . +he manages to use lemmon's ingenious performance as a springboard for an even loonier performance as a completely eccentric millionaire . +every set-piece is flawless , as wilder brilliantly changes settings constantly , and uses every comic trick in the book to make his picture . +wilder's script is stunning , as he carefully combines gangsters , cross-dressing , romance , sex , music , gender roles , and social taboos in a riotous blend of wit and oddball craziness . +wilder manages to create scenes of utter hysteria , so pitch-perfect that the audience is dying of laughter with the last comic piece , the final line of this absolutely incredible film . +wilder's is dead wrong when he says nobody's perfect : billy wilder is , especially when he makes something this disastrously funny . +nobody's perfect but billy wilder . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv616_29319.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv616_29319.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0493786fe3f2abf4e85fdf62f2df4288644eca04 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv616_29319.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +a welcome cinematic trend over the past couple of years has been to make the works of shakespeare more accessible to the younger audiences who are the vast majority of moviegoers by contemporizing the bard and altering the settings to familiar surroundings . +a prime example of this is 1999's 10 things i hate about you , which was basically the taming of the shrew in a high school . +less successful was last year's adaptation of hamlet with ethan hawke as the heir apparent of the denmark corp . here the setting was the corporate world of new york . +now comes o , a faithful retelling of one of the most tragic of shakespeare's tragedies . +like 10 things i hate about you , the stage is a high school - a private prep school where odin james ( mekhi phifer ) is the on-court general , the basketball team's standout player . +julia stiles , featured in 10 things i hate about you as well as performing ophelia in hawke's hamlet , plays desi brable , odin's girlfriend , whose father also happens to be dean of the institution . +josh hartnett ( pearl harbor ) is on hand for the villainy , playing the scheming hugo , who sets the tragic wheels in motion . +o was actually filmed a couple of years ago , but was shelved because of the columbine high school tragedy . +the movie , directed by tim blake nelson - best known for his co-starring role in o brother , where art thou ? +- and written by brad kaaya , is very grim . +an air of tragedy weighs it down from the opening scene to the closing credits . +and that is how it should be . +of all of shakespeare's tragedies , othello is the most harrowing , not because of any body count , but because of the psychological havoc wreaked by iago , whose motivation in the sheer pleasure of his treachery . +kaaya's profane-filled script - after all , these are high school kids - does offer hugo a subtle motive of sorts . +the young man considers himself the basketball team's prime utility man who does a little bit of everything - pass , shoot , rebound - but is constantly in the shadow of odin . +plus his father , the team's coach - played with a ferocious intensity by martin sheen - showers more love and concern on his star player than on his own flesh and blood . +the script follows the familiar lines of the classic . +hugo begins dropping hints to odin concerning desi's fidelity , eroding the star's confidence in those he considers closest to him , affecting both his relationships and his game . +it all ends in blood , of course , which is why the movie was originally shelved . +the performances in o vary . +phifer is at first cocky and self-assured , emotions he handles with ease . +he also does quite well displaying odin's darker side ; his defensive sensitivity about being the only black at the institution , his growing distrust of those he loved , his rage and the erosion of his belief system . +hartnett is appropriately cool and machiavellian as he weaves his deadly web of lies and deceit , turning friend against friend , and lover against lover . +stiles seems a bit stilted , but occasionally also rises to the occasion , moving from adoration to confusion to fear of her young knight . +the film does contain a few missteps : a subplot involving hugo's theft of the school mascot is left hanging . +also desi's actions concerning michael ( andrew keegan ) , odin's former teammate and best friend who was kicked off the team because of one of hugo's machinations , is puzzling . +why she would continually be seen with michael - however innocent the circumstances - when she knows her man suspects the two of cheating behind his back . +it is irrational . +but these are minor carpings . +overall , o is a stylish and faithful adaptation . +if nothing else , it may encourage some people to read the original text , and that will counterbalance the severity of this feature . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv617_9322.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv617_9322.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8185b63ca90f00001608b5d8c367627734197a93 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv617_9322.txt @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ +there is a scene early in soul food , george tillman's comedy-drama about a large african-american family and the ordeals they go through during a crisis , that caught me completely off guard . +during a wedding , the groom is flirting with some tramp , and in an attempt to to prevent a scene , his mother in law , played by irma p . hall , comes to the rescue . +the way in which she does this makes me think irma p . hall is one of the greatest actresses around right now . +however , this is just one magical moment in a movie filled with them . +vanessa williams , vivica fox , and nia long star as three sisters who have each gone their own way in life . +williams is teri , a successful lawyer , who is frustrated by her husband miles attempts at a music career . +fox is maxine , the strongest of the sisters , which can be confirmed by the stability of her marriage and the wisdom of her son ahmad , who narrates the film . +long is bird , a hairdresser who is the last of the three to get married . +her husband lem is an intense passionate individual whose temper gets the best of him sometime but never stops loving . +at the center of everything is irma p . hall , as big mama jo . +every sunday , the family gathers together for dinner at mama jo's house . +there is lots of conversation , lots of laughs , and the occasional controversy . +mama jo presides over the family like all mothers should . +she is stern and disciplined , but also caring and forgiving . +everything is going fine , until a tragedy befalls mama jo . +all of a sudden , a chain reaction of events begin to destroy the family . +it gets so bad , sunday dinner is even cancelled . +without mama jo's guidance , there is noone to keep the family together , which frustrates ahmad . +miles and maxine's marriage begins to fall apart , as he focuses on his music and flirts with the troublesome faith . +lem's temper gets the best of him when his convict past starts to catch up to him . +and teri tries to prevent maxine's efforts to sell mama jo's house . +the third act of the film deals with ahmad's attempts to patch things up . +he decides to take over where mama jo left off , and tries to get the family back together for one more sunday dinner . +the acting by everyone in the ensemble is outstanding , with special notices to irma p . hall and brandon hammond . +hall gives a performance that deserves to be recognized by the academy . +her mama jo is one of the most memorable characters i have ever encountered in a movie . +brandon hammond is an actor with a bright future . +he is wise enough not to play cutesy and shows an admirable range and depth , and speaks the final lines of the movie on the perfect note . +tillman obviously based this movie on his own memories of growing up . +every scene in the movie is purposeful and convincing ( except maybe an odd flashback sequence ) . +the dialogue is beleiveable and funny . +and then there's the food . +tillman gives us several close ups of the soul food , and it indeed looks very tasty . +i can see why sunday dinners became such a tradition for this family . +soul food is one of the most purely entertaining movies of the year . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv618_8974.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv618_8974.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c060451e660193df510896aafcc864db5f547e18 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv618_8974.txt @@ -0,0 +1,62 @@ +director david fincher has such an eye for detail which is very rare in hollywood these days ( terry gilliam comes to mind as another one ) . +film is one of the best art forms because not only can you tell a story , but you can use the camera to capture the smallest detail and have it mean something . +but most directors seem to go for action with the slightest ounce of a story . +so whenever a director uses the camera to its fullest potential , the film almost automatically deserves a good review . +and when they add a fascinating story to it , you have nearly perfect entertainment . +fincher's the game is no exception to this . +the game is one of the most interesting and complex films to come out of hollywood in a long time . +fincher hasn't made a film since " seven , " his box office and critical hit which defied expectations and became one of the best movies ever . +so it is about time he made another film . +and what a ride it is . +the game isn't quite as powerful as " seven , " but in some ways it is better . +overall , the game could have used a little more clarity , or a little more uncertainty . +it walks a line of insanity and reality , but it never goes either way until the very end . +the outcome is satisfying enough for the preceding events , and it makes a lot of sense once everything is set straight . +unfortunately , unlike " the usual suspects , " we are never given enough information to figure out for ourselves what is happening , whether it be true or false . +however , this also gives the film a frightening aspect which the game uses to the fullest extent . +the game is told completely from its main character's point of view . +nicholas van orton ( michael douglas ) is a high-strung and isolated businessman . +he lives alone in his giant mansion , divorced from his wife elizabeth , and is celebrating his 48th birthday ; the same age at which his father committed suicide at , in the same mansion . +for his 48th birthday , conrad ( sean penn ) , the rebel of the family , gives nicholas a gift certificate to crs : consumer recreation services . + " it will make your life fun again , " his brother promises . +as skeptical as nicholas is , he is somewhat intrigued , and annoyed by the lack of information--something this businessman hates . +seeing a billboard in an office , he decides to visit the mysterious company . +jim feingold ( james rebhorn ) greets nicholas and guides him through the sign-up process , which consists of psych-tests , physicals , emotional responses , and other mind games . + " each game is suited to each person's emotional and psychological needs , " explains feingold . +one day , nicholas gets a call from crs and they explain that he failed the tests . +even more intrigued and now somewhat angered at the time he spent signing up , he starts asking around to see what people can tell him about the company . +what he doesn't realize is that the game has already begun . +the phone call is just the first of many strange events to be thrown nicholas' way . +how he finds out that he is involved has to be witnessed because it is amusing and fun and visually impressive . +the detail involved in fincher's shots is incredible and almost requires a second viewing just to appreciate the effort that went into them . +with " seven , " fincher had almost every single shot mean something . +he also has the unique ability to make you look at exactly what he wants you to . +compared to " seven , " though , the game is light and comical . +because of this film's sense of humor and self-awareness , nothing can be taken quite seriously . +so don't try to make much sense of what goes on in the game , because it doesn't want you to . +what does make sense is the final revelation--when everything becomes apparent and clear . +if taken as it is , the game's ending makes complete sense . +but if you try and critique every minute detail , then you get yourself into plot holes and incredibility . +perhaps that is the reason i docked the film . +while trying to remain realistic and plausible , the plot is too unbelievable to create any real tension on screen . +we don't really care if douglas' character lives or not because it isn't believable . +the ending requires you to have believed anything that has happened previously , but if you suspend disbelief and take the film as it is , you can accept the game as an emotionally and psycholically disturbing thriller . +michael douglas gives a terrific performance as nicholas . +douglas has played lonely businessmen before , but here he adds another level to his performance . +his character , who is normally level-headed and relies on facts , is forced to trust nobody . +can he believe the waitress he bumped into ? +what about his brother who got him involved in the game in the first place ? +douglas portrays this aspect of his character extremely well , and gives one of his best performances ( even better than his " falling down " persona ) . +the supporting cast is essential in this film , and casting was critical . +sean penn is always good , and he gives yet another credible performance as douglas' brother . +deborah kara unger ( from " crash " ) is the waitress he bumps into , and her performance is extremely good . +in fact , she almost steals the film from douglas . +james rebhorn portrays his character very well , and adds some confusion and desparation to douglas' predicament . +another good performance comes from armin mueller-stahl ( from " shine " ) as the book editor . +but considering that douglas is in every single scene of the game , he not only commands this cast , but makes this distant and lonely character come to colorful life . +the game is rated r for language , violence , some gore , and some nudity and drugs . +what is essential for this film to work is the writing . +john brancato and michael ferris have woven a confusing and compelling screenplay with witty dialogue , and some very funny moments . +this screenplay will probably get an oscar nomination for best original screenplay because it does almost exactly the same thing the usual suspects' did . +however , the visuals of the game are enough to make the viewer enjoy the vexing plot . +and if you can get yourself to believe everything occuring on the screen , you will be thoroughly entertained by one of this year's best films . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv619_12462.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv619_12462.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..229459e6280fb169af8fb3bc37c8c0f2aa5049f0 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv619_12462.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18 @@ +originally launched in 1978 , this popular film was re-introduced in 1998 to a whole new generation of moviegoers . +based on the mighty successful musical from broadway , grease was followed in 1980 with the less stellar grease 2 ( 6 . 5/10 ) , +starring a young michelle pheiffer in one of her first feature film roles . +plot : high-school musical set in the 1950's showcasing the relationship between the cool danny zuko of the t-birds ( travolta ) and the innocent and pure sandy olsen ( newton-john ) from australia . +the film follows the couple and their vivacious friends during their last year at rydell high through song , dance and humour . +critique : fun-loving , energetic and innocent look back at times much simpler . +this movie effectively juggles a thin romantic story line and the overall experience of the 1950's , with a superb soundtrack and some great dance numbers . +admittedly , i am somewhat biased in this opinion , since this film blasts me into my past as a rebellious youth ( grease was one of schmoe's first big-screen experiences , and every other scene sends me reeling into the times of my elaborate grease bubble-gum card collection ) , and the lesser responsibilities that i possessed at that time . +but apart from the nostalgic vibe , i was still extremely impressed by this film , as it continued to amuse me , despite my previous dozen or so viewings . +this film took john travolta from a dim-witted " sweathog " on tv's welcome back kotter , and transformed him into a movie-star of spectacular proportions ( saturday night fever ( 7 . 5/10 ) in 1979 confirmed that sudden popularity ) . +unfortunately for the rest of the cast , his popularity was not terribly contagious , despite their effective showings in this classic movie . +on the down side , some of the absolute innocence in this film might bore or turn people off ( like when sandy sings about " drinking lemonade " and " staying out until 10 " with danny in " summer nights " ) , and the plot isn't exactly the most elaborate story-line ever created , but despite these small reservations , this movie carries enough great music and high energy to keep anyone amused through its rapid 110 minute running time ( and believe me . . . i +am not a fan of the musicals ! ! ) . +make sure to look for a young lorenzo lamas in the static role of the brainless football player , as well as the national bandstand dance contest as one of the film's absolute highlights . +and don't forget to buy the popular soundtrack afterwards , so that you could listen to its peppy tunes whenever you're feeling a little blue . +little known facts : henry winkler , of tv's happy days' fonzie fame , turned down the part of danny zuko because he did not want to be typecast for the rest of his career . +both travolta and conaway were smitten by newton-john during the filming of this picture . +conaway eventually bowed out of the woo-fest , and married newton-john's sister a year later ( divorced after five years ) . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv620_24265.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv620_24265.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d7b3c0a2f505628fdf6b2891b76447612cd0135b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv620_24265.txt @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +set in the late 80's at the height of yuppie excess and based on the book by bret easton ellis ( who explored the same themes in another book which was also made into a movie , less than zero ) , american psycho puts a new spin on the yuppie " genre " that ellis helped to create . +christian bale is perfectly cast as patrick bateman , a high powered yuppie who hides a terrible secret from his fianc ? e and his colleagues . +it seems that bateman is a serial killer and , unfortunately for his contemporaries , his tenuous grasp on reality is starting to slip . +as he tries to balance his meticulous daily routines with slaughtering co-workers and prostitutes and hiding their bodies , his mental fabric slowly begins to unravel . +i was first introduced to the novel when i was still in high school . +i read an associated press article in our local sunday newspaper detailing the problems ellis was having getting his novel published due to the controversial violence in it . +as usual when anything is controversial i try to seek it out , but i soon forgot about the novel and didn't end up thinking about it again until i stumbled across it a couple of years later at a bookstore . +i picked it up and read it , but was ultimately disappointed because it left more questions than answers . +the movie has a similar effect , but at least it's less cryptic than ellis' novel . +for once , a film has actually turned out to be better than the novel it was based on . +both the book and the film open with bateman describing his fastidious morning preparations ( down to exactly what facial scrubs and exfoliating creams he uses ) but the novel seems to concentrate more on these excesses throughout . +the movie continues to touch upon these things but makes more of a point to immerse us in bateman's impending madness than to detail things as painstakingly as the novel does . +as a result , the film is immensely more entertaining . +lions gate seems to be the studio champion of controversial films ( having picked up kevin smith's catholic-rattling dogma ) and here with american psycho there is no difference . +screenwriters mary harron and guinevere turner had the unenviable task of trying to take a novel about yuppies filled with graphic violence and sex and make a marketable film out of it . +some cuts had to be made to the finished film to keep from getting an nc-17 , mainly involving a sex scene comprising bateman and two women , and initial reports said the film was unwatchable . +thankfully , it is watchable and harron and turner have made one of the most scathingly satirical films this side of south park : bigger , longer & uncut . +side note #1 : co-writer guinevere turner also makes an appearance in the film as an ill-fated acquaintance of bateman's who , after bateman suggests that she start making out with a female prostitute , proclaims that she's not a lesbian nor has any interest in it . +the ironic humor of the scene stems from the fact that turner ( the writer/director of the film go fish and who also assisted kevin smith with parts of his script for chasing amy ) is a lesbian . +it's a subtle in-joke and it's one i found to be pretty humorous . +despite having a rather high profile supporting cast of young up-and-comers ( including reese witherspoon ) , most of the roles are a waste and are the equivalent of extended billed cameos . +the real draw here is christian bale and his over-the-top performance as patrick bateman . +whenever i read a novel i always try to imagine what it would be like as a movie and who would be perfect to cast as the characters . +i always had a hard time trying to decide who i would cast as bateman , but i never thought bale would deliver a performance as perfect as his ends up being . +to say bale runs away with the character is a vast understatement and he proves that he's as adept at chewing scenery as al pacino or rod steiger . +one sequence in particular , involving bateman describing his love for huey lewis and the news' song " hip to be square " right before burying an axe in a co-worker's head , features one of the most eccentric and kinetic performances i have ever seen on film . +side note #2 : despite the fact that huey lewis' " hip to be square " and a pair of phil collins songs appear in the film , don't expect to see them on the soundtrack release . +huey lewis expressly requested that his song , featured in a rather large set piece in the film ( much akin to the use of " stuck in the middle with you " in reservoir dogs ) , not be included on any soundtrack release . +i'm assuming that collins requested the same . +on a similar note , whitney houston's cover of " the greatest love of all " is also involved in a scene comparable to the other two and it is very obvious that it isn't the houston version at all but merely an instrumental version culled from an unknown source . +apparently , houston wasn't as open about the use of her song as the others were . +a bigger controversy than the violence and sex has been brewing since the film's release : that of whether or not patrick has actually committed the crimes we have viewed during the course of the film . +don't look to the book for any answers because it will only serve to confuse you more . +several web sites have been dedicated to the subject but i'm still undecided . +there is evidence both for and against but the most scathing evidence against comes from a scene near the end of the film where bateman goes on a killing spree taking out cops , old ladies , and cleaning staff with equal gusto . +the scene seemed very dream-like and as absurd as the action films it suddenly seems to be parodying ( as an example , bateman blows up a police car very cinematically after firing several shots from a handgun in the general direction of the car ) . +i kept waiting for bateman to wake up and for the film to continue on from there , but bateman never does wake up and the whole sequence , though comic , throws the film off-balance ( which i suppose was the intention ) . +other than the few flaws i have mentioned , american psycho is an incredibly entertaining film ( although you may not leave the movie fully understanding whether or not what has just transpired actually occurred in bateman's reality ) . +i think this movie is destined for greatness as a cult film and deserves the spot it will take as such . +it may not change anyone's life , but it will certainly have an effect . +i know i will certainly hear " hip to be square " in a different context the next time i hear it . +[r] diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv621_14368.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv621_14368.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0692b1e389d7d7bb6f1ae93d410474dacf3fbf30 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv621_14368.txt @@ -0,0 +1,54 @@ +ever wonder what happened to gabe kaplan ? +you remember , he was the title character in that 70's sitcom , " welcome back kotter . " +always trying to help out the sweathogs , frequently trying to dodge mr . woodman , ever wary of his wife's tuna casserole . + " so , " you ask , " where is he now ? " +mr . kaplan actually spends much of his time these days playing professional high-stakes poker . +that's right . +i'm not sure if it's his main source of income , but from what i've heard , the guy occasionally comes away with $20 , 000 at a time . +and there you were , thinking i was going to tell you he was doing off-broadway theater . +you silly goose . +well , gabe kaplan isn't in the movie rounders , nor is the film about the actor come gambler's life . +but rounders is about poker , and gabe plays poker , and i thought that was kind of a neat connection . +sorry about the segue , or lack thereof . +matt damon plays mike mcdermott , a law student who also has a singular talent for the game of poker . +he's been playing for a while , and more than being proficient , he has caught the bug . +he goes to all the underground games in new york city , knows the regulars , and knows how to win . +in the beginning of the film , he's built up a nice thirty grand nest egg , which he takes to the speakeasy-type gaming parlor where the big boys play . +mike is there to make his bid into the upper echelon by staking it all against teddy kgb ( john malkovich ) , an oreo-munching cardshark with ties to the russian mafia . +mike has the potential to take a large pot and go to vegas and buy into the world series of poker , but instead he loses it all in a single hand . +months later , he's paying his way through law school by driving a delivery truck . +when mike's best friend and poker buddy worm ( edward norton ) finishes his jail term for hustling some students , he wants to pick up right were they left off , working as a team to part others with their betting cash . +although mike has stopped playing cards as a promise to his girlfriend and fellow law student , jo ( gretchen mol ) , worm connives mike into playing once more , and mike , bitten again by the bug , slides down that slippery slope , risking his relationship , education , and reputation as playing poker again becomes the focus of his life . +to make a film about gambling , a filmmaker will usually have to play up the glamorous side to get the audience behind the characters . +this is because few moviegoers will care a whole lot about some guy in a leisure suit or terry cloth shirt sitting at a folding card table with a stogie in his mouth . +rounders , however , seems to go more for the latter than the former . +the card clubs mike and worm frequent aren't very glamorous at all . +there's a basement , a lodge with elk heads on the wall , a goulash joint - these are the kinds of locales in which director john dahl sets his shots . +except for one brief instance when the two players visit atlantic city , the film is bereft of the flashing lights of the casinos or the pleasant color of the green felt table . +the reason rounders still captures our attention is because it is less about the game of poker than it is about the personalities which enjoy and are slaves to it . +we're given a nice set of interesting characters with clear motivations , and good actors to play them . +matt damon is very natural as mike , who struggles between his desire to play the straight and narrow by finishing law school , and answering what may be his true calling , playing professional poker . +ed norton's worm is truly a worm , always looking for the angle and playing everyone for what they're worth . +john turturro , who amazes me with his acting range , tones it down in this film by playing joey knish , a virtual poker prodigy in his time who now plays the underground games to make rent and child support payments . +he's both a friend and mentor to mike , and turturro's low-key performance is totally convincing , just as john malkovich's heavily-accented teddy kgb is imposing as an adversarial dragon mike must slay to prove himself . +martin landau is also thrown into the mix as one of mike's law professors , abe petrovsky . +while landau slips well into the role , his character , spitting out personal anecdotes about staying true to one's self , facilitates the channeling of the storyline toward a predictable ending . +perhaps the weak link in the otherwise formidable line-up of acting talent , however , is gretchen mol who just didn't seem to have much presence on screen . +she's a genuine peach to look at , kind of a cross between actress renee zellweger and singer jewel ( and i wouldn't be surprised if the three of them formed some kind of blond-haired triumvirate and attempted to take over the world ) , but her delivered lines seemed very flat , and i found myself looking for matt damon's reactions instead . +a good thing about rounders is that it doesn't get bogged down in the character development and statement making so much that it can't find time for humor . +the film is peppered nicely with scenes that both make you laugh and keep the pacing going , such as a sequence where mike and worm move rapidly around new york from one game to the next , in widely different locales . +one game in a cigar club had me in stitches . + " i love the sweetness of this dark maduro wrapper , " says one of the players , clearly more interested in displaying his pretentiousness over the cigar in one hand than in the cards in his other . +i was hoping mike and worm would really take these guys . +with all the poker being played , rounders had the potential to be very confusing . +you might think you know a lot about poker , but think again . +luckily , we're given a narration by damon during the more intricate moments to explain what's going on . +the narrations are more informative than intrusive , and apprise us of what the stakes are and why certain players want to do the things they do . +it's nice that as the characters develop , so does our comprehension of their world . +as a film about success and survival in the realm of underground poker , rounders delivers in spades . +wait ! +as a film about the culture of cards , rounders is an ace . +hang on ! +packed with great acting and great characters , rounders is a full house . +okay , i guess that's enough . +oh , by the way , if you ever want to get into a game with ol' gabe kaplan , be sure to bring a note from epstein's mother . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv622_8147.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv622_8147.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ad7c570de13bda5031a31354af2942726538ee39 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv622_8147.txt @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +did you ever wonder if dennis rodman was actually from this planet ? +or if sylvester stallone was some kind of weird extra-terrestrial ? +i used to think that about my 7th grade english teacher , ms . carey . +but after seeing this movie , they may have confirmed my suspicions . +as the story goes , at any time , there are over a thousand aliens living among us here on earth . +the men in black ( mib ) are the watchdogs that oversee the cosmic citizens , guardians of our beloved planet from nasty-tempered aliens , and secret service to the stars . +based in new york city ( where weird is the norm ) , the mib organization gives human form to our space-faring emigrants so that they may walk and live among us unnoticed . +but to enforce the laws of earth , the mib carry weapons that are powerful enough to meet or exceed destruction quotas in one single blast . +they carry other-worldly technology to erase people's short-term memory when common folk see the mib in action . +and their best leads on cosmic things-gone-awry are the supermarket tabloids . +little do we know that there are much stronger battles of good v . evil going on in the depths of space . +one of the aliens-as-human on this planet is an important diplomat that is carrying something very precious . +it holds the 'key' , literally , to universal peace . +a giant cockroach-like alien soon arrives on the planet and steals this 'key' . +in the wrong alien hands ( flippers ? +mandibles ? +tentacles ? ) , it can be used as a weapon . +therefore , it must be recovered and returned to it's rightful owners . +otherwise , to ensure universal safety , earth will be destroyed , along with the 'key' . +now , it's the mib who must prevent this catastrophe . +the mib agents on the case are " k " , played by tommy lee jones . +he is crustier than burnt toast and even more serious than al gore . +the stars in the sky no longer spark wonder in his eyes . +he is accompanied by a flippant rookie , " j " , played by will smith . +but , despite this shoot-em-up , protect-earth-from-destruction premise , this is nothing at all like a typical summer action movie . +and , this isn't an independence day knockoff . +rather , this is a stylishly offbeat sci-fi comedy that pokes fun at what the government always denies ? that there are real aliens that live here , and that the government does its darndest to cover them up . +but to give it some sense of excitement and to keep it within the parameters of the summer movie recipe , there must be some kind of earth-hangs-in-the-balance scenario . +yet , this movie is very appealing . +the abundance of wierdness ( talking aliens , pee-wee atomizers , a mortician who 'lives' for her work , and lots of yucky bugs and slime-splattering galore ) , is played straight , like as if this were normal ( of course , we are in nyc ) . +it gives it a deadpan feel , which makes it all the more funnier and odder . +jones plays the venerable seen-it-all agent with seriousness and maturity . +smith is likeable and makes a great comic partner to jones' straight man routine . +they click like dorothy's ruby red shoes . +the look and feel of the movie is made even better with direction from barry sonnenfeld ( the addam's family ) . +this guy has a knack for 'gothic' comedy , and successfully transfers his macabre sense of humor onto the screen . +and , an appropriate dose of special effects helps to bolster the oddness of their task without diverting attention from the human actors . +the story moves well , and before you know it , the end credits are already rolling ! +the result is 100 minutes worth of fun in the form of ewwwws and blechhhs , aaaahhhs and wows . +let the men in black protect and color your world . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv625_12440.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv625_12440.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b7d82690191bc5340e9cd61e9be983eea4fce2b6 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv625_12440.txt @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +one of the best movies i've ever seen . +i'd heard extremely good things about this movie , and though the previews didn't really intrigue that much , it was a movie i'd been anticipating for a few months now . +for some reason i'm not sure of - this movie was not that big a sucess over in the u . s . it was a definite hit with the critics , but didn't exactly set any box office records . +after viewing this incredibly well directed , written and acted movie , i can't help but wonder - why ? +the strength of this film is it's gritty realism . +the main characters are all human with individual flaws , no stereo-type hollywood heroes . +you may not agree with many of their actions in the movie or their approach to life , but that is what makes it so real . +i had expected this movie to be more of a drama than a thriller , but i was mistaken . +even the interrogation scenes moved at such a pace so that it felt just as thrilling as any car chase . +and the ending . . . . . . whoa . +i've never seen a movie in my life where everyone in it acts brilliantly . +the three male leads - guy pearce , kevin spacey and russell crowe are all just terrific . +the 'best actor' oscar talk surrounding this film should have netted one of them a statue , but there is one problem there . +how could they have chosen between these three actors ? +there is no way i could look at this film and say one of them was better than the other two . +it's impossible . +kim bassinger's performance is also a revelation . +i'd never been a big fan of hers before and always thought she was , well . . . what's the word - a twinky ? +that impression has changed , as she complemented crowe and pearce perfectly . +the depth to the story and characters is truly astounding . +no cardboard characters here . +the plot is full of twists and turns and some very clever sequences . +pearce's interogation of three seperate suspects is nothing short of brilliant . +i really can't fault this movie at all . +i was so glad to see fellow australian's pearce and crowe star in such a breathtaking movie . +i had been very familiar with russell crowe beforehand from his many australian films , but had not seen much of guy pearce . +i intend to change this next time i visit the video store : ) diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv626_7410.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv626_7410.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3264cd4cace230129793b1119de8671dd422b0b5 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv626_7410.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +this reviewer is ignorant of what hands were responsible for delivering the original version of the abyss in 1989 . +whether it was the meddling of studio executives , or the work of writer/director james cameron himself , the original cut of this underwater sci-fi thriller was entertaining enough but also quite seriously flawed . +the main problem was fairly simple : the film's climax was unworthy of its build-up . +someone at 20th century fox - and no doubt cameron himself - must have agreed , because in 1993 came the theatrical release of the abyss : special edition . +now available on video , it seems timely to re-evaluate what , in its newly revamped state , is now a near-masterpiece despite its borrowings from films like 2010 : odyssey two , alien and close encounters of third kind . +the plot is thus . +we meet the crew of an experimental underwater mobile oil rig designed by the hard-nosed lindsay ( mastrantonio ) and captained by her soon-to-be-divorced husband bud ( ed harris ) . +the rig and its crew are diverted from their normal duties when the navy seeks their help in investigating the mysterious sinking of a u . s . nuclear submarine . +requiring a dive part-way down a three mile deep trench , three navy divers arrive to command the operation , led by the edgy lieutenant coffey ( biehn ) . +but a series of strange sightings soon convinces at least one member of the civilian crew that whoever or whatever they're dealing with , as she memorably puts it , " aren't speaking russian " . +meanwhile on the surface a hurricane is brewing and , even worse , a series of incidents around cuba involving russians ships and an increasingly nervous u . s . navy sets off an international crisis of possible catastrophic proportions . +this crisis is mirrored in the confines of the now isolated underwater rig , with the trigger-happy and increasingly paranoid lieutenant coffey at odds with the crew about how do deal with the mysterious goings-on around them . +the human drama is often riveting , with the principal players performing with an intensity that recalls the fine ensemble acting in cameron's aliens . +the stunts , hardware , special effects and underwater cinematography are all outstanding . +and so they should be : cameron's technical credentials are well established . +but what ultimately makes the film so gripping is three intersecting plot strands : 1 ) the tension between old sparring partners lindsay and ex-hubby bud ; 2 ) the war of wills between the civilian crew and the navy divers as a series of escalating crisis' befall them ; and 3 ) the slowly unfolding revelation of what lies at the bottom of the three mile deep abyss . +the abyss : special edition is an improvement on the original film in two major respects . +one is that it further fleshes out the relationship between bud and lindsay , a relationship at times touching , at others incredibly intense and volatile . +the second improvement is the restoration of some absolutely crucial scenes towards the film's end , when the aliens demonstrate their control over water with a terrifying and extraordinary display of power to a world on the brink of nuclear war . +with the inclusion of these startling scenes , the story's climax is now given real weight . +why on earth were they left out of the original ? +this reviewer finds it utterly incomprehensible . +so then , we have 25 minutes of additional footage that's turned a decent underwater thriller into something quite magnificent . +i say " quite " because some flaws do remain . +the most grating is several moments of corny hollywood schmaltz - some new , some old - that may well have you reaching for the barf bag . +nonetheless , the abyss : special edition now stands this somewhat maligned film among james cameron's greatest achievements , alongside aliens and terminator 2 . see it and be moved , gripped and spellbound . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv627_11620.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv627_11620.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..83177e1b3ebd6caada66838998a7e1f2b6362596 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv627_11620.txt @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +i have a soft spot in my heart for pure , amoral sleaze . +i liked showgirls ( there , i said it ) . +i typically enjoy myself when sitting through that eszterhaz , sex-filled cinematic tabloid-ish trash . +wild things is the best sleazy film i've ever seen . +it's filled with great performances , graphic sex , three-way sex , rape charges , double-crosses , plot twists , genitalia of all genders , graphic violence , death , witty humor , and , best of all , denise richards . +criticizing this film for being disgusting , raucous , and just plain wrong is as fundamentally pointless as criticizing citizen kane for being disturbing , or titanic for being lofty and epic . +wild things is a film that succeeds in its endeavors , but i don't just admire it for this--i admire it for being so entertaining and such a fun time at the movies . +i must admit up-front , however , that i am directly in the center of the age group to which this film has been engineered to appeal . +i imagine that this shows . +it's hard to give a plot summary without giving away pieces that shouldn't be known . +i thought i had the whole thing worked out from the trailer , but i was wrong ; there are a lot of turns here . +i'll just say that the film takes place in blue bay , a rich little town in florida . +in blue bay lives sam lombardo ( matt dillon ) , a teacher who is accused of rape by two of his students , kelly van ryan ( denise richards ) , and suzie toller ( neve campbell ) . +kelly's mother , sandra ( theresa russell ) , immediately presses charges . +all of this happens fairly early in the film . +and right up until this point , i had the whole film predicted . +i was wrong , though , and every time i was proven wrong , i was shocked . +wild things isn't even remotely plausible , but it is so fun to see where the story takes us that the implausibility of every scene is meaningless , and often invited , just for kicks . +i remember first seeing the preview for wild things before the replacement killers . +i'd give the preview four stars . +it made me want to see the movie so much that i've been waiting for it anxiously ever since . +over the past few weeks though , i started to realize that there was no way the film could live up to the preview ( see independence day ) ; thankfully , i was proven wrong . +the preview for this film is one that needs to be studied by marketing analysts of every distribution company : not only does it make us want to see the film , but it doesn't give away any of the secrets . +but i'm not here to talk about the preview . +i'm here to talk about denise richards . +now , i found her mildly interesting in starship troopers , but in wild things she appeals to such a base instinct that every scene she's in demands attention in a way that almost no other performer can . +of course , this might have something to do with her oceanic eyes . . . and +flawless body . . . but +i thought she did a great job acting , too ( stop laughing ) . +no , richards is truly a find--she is talented , and always convincing in this film . +this mixed in with her insane physical appeal makes her a vital asset to any film she may grace in the future . +the other actors are good , too . +dillon is as suave as ever ( it's nice to see him bouncing back from albino alligator and in & out ) . +bacon does a good job acting all determined and stuff as a sex crimes officer . +neve campbell gives the most layered performance of all of them , though i won't pretend that any of these characters are deep and complex . +for a plot like this to work , all of these people have to be insane and basically contrived . +that's okay , because director john mcnaughton knows that he's making a self-consciously wicked film . +each scene--even the three-way sex scene--is observed with hilarity by mcnaughton , and the result is a sleaze-fest that's too smart to resist . +there isn't an inconsistent moment in wild things : every bit of it is alluring garbage , so trashy it's funny , and so entertaining it's painful . +i loved it . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv628_19325.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv628_19325.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b4230a6d9c506792eeea3ce27332968350d880e6 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv628_19325.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +tarzan chad'z = good ) 1999 , g , 90 minutes [1 hour , 30 minutes] [animated - adventure/drama] starring the voices of : tony goldwyn ( tarzan ) , minnie driver ( jane porter ) , lance henriksen ( kerchak ) , brian blessed ( clayton ) ; written by tab murphy , bob tzudiker , noni white ; produced by bonnie arnold ; directed by chris buck , kevin lima ; based on the story `tarzan of the apes' and characters created by edgar rice burroughs . +seen july 4 , 1999 at 7 : 15 p . m . at crossgates cinemas 18 ( guilderland , ny ) , theater #9 , by myself for free using my hoyts season pass . +[theater rating : * * * 1/2 : very good sound , picture and seats] +title : `tarzan' beautiful to look at , easy to follow . +review : disney continues its trend of producing animated summer blockbuster movies meant mostly for children but with enough wit and charm for adults to be interested and at least entertained by the story . +the basic premise is the same as every other `tarzan' story : a boy is raised in the african jungle by gorillas and becomes one himself never really understanding ( or even noticing ) that he's human and is a lot different from the animals he befriends . +the first third of the film shows how tarzan comes to be adopted by kala ( voiced by glen close ) , a female gorilla who lost her own child in a classic case of darwanism . +her mate , kerchak ( henriksen ) , is a mean , conservative leader of the pack of gorillas who make up tarzan's extended family . +he refuses to acknowledge tarzan ( voiced by alex d . linz during the childhood scenes ) as a son and often has to hold himself back from killing tarzan after he continually does dangerous , wild things that are the result of his own childish instincts . +i have a feeling children will quickly be able to identify with tarzan since all he really is is just a kid who wants to have fun and it's funny how the adults fail to comprehend this . +later , as the story transitions from tarzan as a child to a full-grown man ( voiced by goldwyn ) , he is encounter by a party of three humans from england : jane porter ( driver ) , a beautiful woman who is something of a zoologist and an artist , her father prof . archimedes q . porter ( voiced by nigel hawthorne ) who is also a scientist ; and their slick and cunning , yet barbaric safari bodyguard clayton ( blessed ) . +it's easy to tell where the story is going at all times but the screenplay doesn't seem like it was written hastily nor dumbed down for children's enjoyment . +sure there's a lot of cliche stuff here , like clayton's smugness and diabolical manipulation of tarzan and jane ; the goofy supporting characters ( voiced by rosie o'donnell [in full brooklyn accent ! ] and wayne knight - `hello newman ! ' ) . +there's also a lot of fun action such as tarzan's swinging through the jungle on vines and sliding down and around tree branches and trunks . +it's just like skateboarding really fast and doing all sorts of tricks ( those mcdonald's commercials really prove this point ) . +ultimately , you get exactly out of `tarzan' what you expect . . . +and i mean that as a compliment , so have high expectations . +pros : animation and sound are a feast for the senses , story is lighthearted , breezy and not dumbed-down , no stupid sing-along songs to get stuck in your head . +cons : surprisingly violent , should have been rated pg . +young children may not understand some of the more adult themes ( parents , be ready to have some heavy questions thrown your way ) . +running time is a bit short . +would you recommend this to friends ? +not to my friends , but to the movie-going public i would . +score : or with no 0 rating ) . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv629_14909.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv629_14909.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1a973f482ae6e72d07c6666a4835591f712aa943 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv629_14909.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +i've always been told that there are two things in life that are unavoidable - death and taxes . +oddly , i've never given much thought to either of the two . +maybe if i did , at least i'd stop getting collection notices from uncle sam . +yes , let me make a resolution to devote myself to better record keeping , hold on to all my receipts , and to do what it takes to have the satisfaction that my returns are mistake-free and will keep me from incurring penalties . +it seems that the issue of death may not be so different , at least envisioned here in this film . +as this tender love story goes , if you do good things and have a clear conscience when you die , you ascend to a place of great peace and beauty . +the dreams , wishes , and fantasies that you had when you were alive come true . +for those who die with a burdened soul , however , they wind up in that other place . +chris and annie ( a winsome robin williams and a radiant annabella sciorra ) seem like the perfect couple that deserve all that heaven has to offer . +their love for each other is strong and their bond is undeniable . +but tragic events eventually tear apart the fabric of annie's happiness . +and when chris dies after a terrible car accident , she commits suicide - a tortured soul who blames herself . +despair is perhaps the greatest sin , and she will wallow in her guilt throughout eternity . +chris , on the other hand , has made it to heaven , and upon learning of annie's fate , he journeys to hell to find her and to try to free her from her nightmare . +this film brims with imagination , containing a lush imagery that shows the arcadia that is heaven and the bitterness and frightfulness that is hell . +it seems that heaven and hell could very well be a product of our fantasies or nightmares . +it's shape and look is as infinite as our imagination . +as chris explores his new fantastic world and discovers things both amazing and wondrous , he also begins to learn more about himself . +certain questions baffle him at first . +why does his home in heaven ooze with paint ? +what is the significance of the asian stewardess ? +why does he have an all-too-willing guide ( cuba gooding , jr . ) to help him find annie ? +but as he slowly begins to realize the answers , it makes him stronger and gives him a greater chance to save annie . + " dreams " is both visually and tellingly beautiful . +alas , i have one regret . +the movie did well to gather more and more emotional speed , but the denouement was curiously unsatisfying . +it seemed as if it was racing to some kind of great finish , but its intensity seemed to wane in its final moments . +however , your eyes will still well up with tears and you'll find lots to savor . +the storytelling is purposeful and well constructed . +the journey is imaginative . +and i was surprised by how much i enjoyed this film . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv630_10057.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv630_10057.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..cd3451214b0c9849a845490a00e18e67b49a3025 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv630_10057.txt @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ +it was a crazy time in france , what with the french revolution right around the corner . +king louis xv would soon die , and his son would become king louis xvi . +such is the setting for beaumarchais : the scoundrel about the controversial playwright , spy and playboy pierre-augustin caron de beaumarchais . +beaumarchais was the author of the plays , " the barber of seville " and " the marriage of figaro . " +today people think of them as quaint and harmless operas , but , back in 1773 when the movie takes place , they were so scandalous that beaumarchais was thrown into prison more than once . +the movie beaumarchais : the scoundrel takes a light-hearted approach to its subject , resulting in an inviting motion picture . +one of france's most expensive productions ever , the movie was a huge hit when it opened there last year . +now in theatrical release in the united states , it eschews the seriousness of most art house films with a romping good story . +the secret of the film's success , other than the lavishness of sylvie de segonzac's costumes , has to be the performance by fabrice luchini as beaumarchais . +with his glistening eyes and his infectious smile , he mesmerizes the camera and the audience . +his wry little lips seem always to hint at some unspoken deviousness he is planning . +in a land where court intrigue determines one's destiny , constant scheming was a way of life for the aristocracy . +as our story starts , we learn that beaumarchais has bought himself a judgeship . +into his court comes a member of the nobility demanding an immediate sword fight . +beaumarchais , who has been having an affair with the man's wife , makes him wait until the current case on the docket is decided . +that over with , the fight is on . +with luchini's charisma , it is hard to root for anyone other than him . +audiences may remember him from the marvelous colonel chabert , in which he played the attorney . +although he does not have half of the good looks of his assistant gudin , played by manuel blanc , he dazzles the women and the viewers with his grace and style . +michael epp's warm and intimate cinematography provides a nice accompaniment to jean-marc kerdelhue's lush but realistic looking sets . +jean-claude petit's music , especially the hauntingly lovely flute solos , make for an enchanting time at the movies . +director jean-claude brisville , who wrote the script along with edouard molinaro , fleshed out a play by sacha guitry which , according to the press notes , was just a series of historic vignettes . +the disorganization of the play still comes through at some points in the movie , but the actors smooth it over with their good-hearted style . +typical of the scenes that come out of nowhere is the one in which a rotund benjamin franklin appears in a large pot of hot water , taking his bath . +one episode has beaumarchais working with a renegade spy who may or may not be a man . +another has beaumarchais using his personal fortune to aid the american revolution . +all of this may sound like a dull historical drama , but it is anything but . +the story plays more like theater of the absurd than a movie based on historical facts . +the radiantly lovely sandrine kiberlain plays marie-therese , the real love of beaumarchais's life . +but he is so likable that members of the audience may want to compete with her for him . +still , with his beguiling smile , one can never quite be sure if you should trust him . +the movie , on the other hand , can be trusted to deliver a high old time . +beaumarchais : the scoundrel runs 1 : 41 . +it is in french with english subtitles . +the film is not rated but would be an r for some nudity and sex , and should be fine for most teenagers . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv631_4967.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv631_4967.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..117df50d534659398a2e7986ee27331677224f9d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv631_4967.txt @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +what surprises me most about the long-awaited batman is that the movie centers not on the caped crusader but on the joker . +the dark knight actually has less screen time than his homicidal arch nemesis ! +i can hear batfans everywhere protesting : " first they had the nerve to cast michael keaton as batman , and now they think they can get away with making him second banana to the joker ! ! " +and , indeed , this situation would have been altogether inappropriate and intolerable were it not for the fact that someone at warner brothers had the savvy to cast jack nicholson in the role he was born to play . +nicholson deserves the top billing he is receiving in the posters and opening credits since his astounding , oscar-worthy performance as the joker is the highlight of batman . +nicholson shows no inhibition or shame as he pulls out all the stops to create a joker that makes cesar romero look like bozo the clown ( romero played the joker in the '60s tv series ) . +on one hand , nicholson's joker is extremely funny . +his murderous escapades and manic outbursts ( which include defacing paintings in an art museum and invading the television airwaves with hilarious pirate broadcasts ) bring humor and laughter into an otherwise dark film . +but on the other hand , his outwardly jovial disposition is only a mask for his intense contempt for all of mankind . +the joker's cruelty and demented , diabolical nature are truly frightening and sinister . +this guy is off his rocker , and he not only knows it , he flaunts it ! +but enough about nicholson as the joker : i'm sure most people are wondering about michael keaton as batman . +like many , i was outraged when warner brothers announced that keaton had been cast as the caped crusader . +but batfans need not worry because holy unconventional casting ! +keaton delivers . +he is convincing as the tormented millionaire , bruce wayne , and beneath his hard , black body armor , he is mysterious and formidable as the batman . +even though the screenplay only halfheartedly attempts to develop the character , keaton manages to give hints of the inner turmoil and emotional rage that drive wayne to don his bat gear and battle the low life scum of gotham city . +visually , batman is a knockout nothing short of a triumph for director tim burton and his production team . +the movie successfully captures the film noir look and bleak , gloomy atmosphere of such batman comic books as " the dark knight returns " and " the killing joke . " +burton's film is a feast for the eyes ; the $35 million budget is definitely on the screen . +the sets , costumes , and make-up are stunning and worthy of oscar nominations . +nicholson isn't joking when he boasts , " wait 'till they get a load of me ! " +his grimacing smile , green hair , and purple suits over orange shirts are colorful and outrageous . +keaton's wardrobe is equally appropriate . +batman's cape , mask , and body armor make him look threatening , frightening , and invincible bringing to mind not adam west's campy costume in the tv series but peter weir's outfit in robocop . +production designer anton furst's sets are a wonder . +gotham city is dark and foreboding , almost as if it were an expressionist vision of new york . +the batcave is cold , bare , and desolate . +the world that burton and furst have created in batman is a melancholy nightmare of violence and corruption . +the movie's gritty bladerunner/robocop look is a joy to behold . +the plot , on the other hand , is not as rousing . +the screenplay is not up to snuff in comparison to the stylized sets and superb acting . +it takes forever for what little story there is to finally kick into gear . +batman tries to walk a thin line between action and character psychology , but it fails to give us enough of either one . +as i mentioned earlier , the screenplay gives us plenty of the joker , but it never fully establishes batman's psychological motives and underpinnings . +in terms of action , batman is not as thrilling as you might expect . +burton seems more concerned with the visual and dramatic elements of the story . +more than anything , batman is a mood film . +while batman may not completely absorb and excite you , it will likely impress you with its success at bringing to life the style and spirit of the batman comic books . +thanks to its distinctive look , the movie like a good comic book transports us to another world . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv632_9610.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv632_9610.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1bafaf03b039071bc65303c2f9e7bf984517e32f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv632_9610.txt @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +casting " doogie howser " star neil patrick harris as mind-reading military intelligence is only one of the guilty pleasures of " starship troopers , " a hugely entertaining , mega-budgeted sci-fi yarn directed by paul verhoeven , who's making quite a recovery from his 1995 g-string epic " showgirls . " +sure , " starship troopers " qualifies as cinematic junk food , but that's forgivable when the junk food is this tasty . +everyone needs a high-calorie change-of-pace from fall's onslaught of costume dramas and other assorted oscar bait , and " troopers " does the job admirably despite its flaws . +for its first hour , " starship troopers " plays like a cheeky futuristic hybrid of " saved by the bell " and " g . i . +jane . " +in the distant years ahead , high school grad johnny rico ( casper van dien ) signs up for federal service along with his girlfriend carmen ( denise richards ) ; he gets accepted into the mobile infantry but she wants to travel to the fleet academy to become a starship pilot , so the couple is broken up . +but there's temptation awaiting both of them -- johnny's is in the form of an old friend ( dina meyer ) also in the infantry and still harboring a secret crush , while carmen attracts the eye of her flirtatious instructor ( patrick muldoon ) . +personal rivalry and sexual jealousy carry over into the final 65 minutes , when an impending alien menace begins making good on its threatening presence and obliterates part of south america , killing johnny's parents and destroying his home . +our weakening , lovesick protagonist is given new reasons to stick around the mobile infantry , and is dispatched with a group of fellow fighters to the aliens' home planet , where he will head up a ground assault to end the threat for good . +but the enemy is far smarter , more diabolical and numerous than the good guys give them credit for , and after an initial walloping , they must re-examine their strategy . +the exposition -- played like a futuristic soap opera -- is silly , but aware of its own ridiculousness enough to merit more smiles than groans . +once we get past the campy character introductions and the numerous ( but never boring ) training sessions , " starship troopers " really kicks into high gear . +its last half is all gruesomely violent action -- a fury of severed limbs , decapitations , disembowelments , brain removal , explosions and other jolt-inducers that are really going to please the 13- and 14-year-old boys lucky enough to dodge getting carded or caught on their way into this deservedly r-rated show . +the creature design and special effects are amazing as expected , and their interaction with the human actors are a realistic , imaginative high point . +it's nice to see intergalactic beasties that aren't too derivative of the titular menace from " alien . " +these monsters are appropriately terrifying sights , especially the arachnids , a spider-scorpion-crab combo that's all sharp talons and even sharper legs . +they attack in packs of hundreds , and it's a funny , scary sight to see these bugs take repeated hits and still crawl , jerk and struggle towards their intended victims in a determined , gooey mess . +it matters not that they actually have a laughable master plan in mind ( ask yourself if a species like this seems capable of carrying out such a plot ) ; these sequences of insect warfare are numerous , bloody and immensely satisfying . +the occasional dramatic moments -- one cast member's death , the final resolution to johnny's love triangle -- are botched , a testament to how " starship troopers " fails to create any strong , outstanding characters . +these bland ken-and-barbie archetypes serve the story adequately enough to keep any distractions at arm's length , but restrain the film from achieving a higher ground a la " star wars , " where even the slightest aliens had definite personality . +the acting is decent ( but never spectacular ) ; most of the performers hail from aaron spelling territory -- smallish roles on " beverly hills 90210 " and/or " melrose place " -- and it occasionally shows . +van dien , for example , is limited but perfectly likeable . +in smaller parts are the afore-mentioned neil patrick harris as johnny's best friend and jake busey ( gary's son ) as johnny's sidekick ; the latter excels at playing creeps ( see " the frighteners " or " contact " ) but seems off-kilter as a second banana . + " starship troopers " is based on the novel by robert heinlein , a sci-fi writer who hasn't exactly seen any recent adaptation justice done to any of his books what with 1994's howler " the puppet masters . " +but the overall familiarity to the " alien " trilogy -- and the promise of great gobs of gore -- could act as a crowd-drawer . +its own possible influence , however , might well work against it when the franchise continuation " alien : resurrection " opens in a few weeks . +we will know then which film to crown as the best summer movie of the fall . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv633_29837.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv633_29837.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a57cc8f35b2754cec18d1e963c88751a104fa727 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv633_29837.txt @@ -0,0 +1,41 @@ +historical epic as a genre was almost banished from hollywood in early 1990s . +for many critics , scholars and , most importantly , film producers , it was a thing of the past - something that could have attracted crowds only in the era of black-and-white television and non-cgi special effects . +but in 1995 , same as in the case of dances with wolves five years ago , there came the man who decided to use of all his energy and talents of actor , producer and director in order to revitalise that particular genre . +and , same as in the case of dances with wolves , he was awarded for his effort with " oscars " . +the name of the film was braveheart , and the name of its director and main actor was mel gibson . +the plot chronicles the life of scottish warlord and folk hero william wallace ( 1272 - 1305 ) . +in his time , english king edward i " longshanks " ( played by patrick mcgoohan ) has almost completely subdued entire british isles , including scotland , whose proud inhabitants are now subjected by " ius primae noctis " and various other forms of humiliation and oppression by english knights . +although english had killed his father many years ago , young scottish commoner william wallace ( played by mel gibson ) doesn't care about politics and wants only to have peaceful life with his new bride murron ( played by catherine maccormack ) . +murron's death changes that and wallace takes arms and , together with small but dedicated band of followers , begins guerrilla campaign that would systematically destroy almost every english garrison in the country . +through time , more and more people join his ranks and in 1298 wallace's rag-tag army scores surprising victory against english knights in the battle of stirling bridge . +but the newly won freedom is endangered by the internal squabbles between scots themselves , especially nobles under pretender robert the bruce ( played by angus macfadyen ) , who wouldn't like to have a simple commoner as a national leader . +braveheart was only the second film in the directorial career by mel gibson , so it wouldn't be fair to compare it to the better known genre classics directed by david lean or anthony mann . +however , even when we apply such criteria braveheart is more than decent historical epic that takes new and refreshing approach to the genre . +the most noticeable element of this approach is naturalism . +while older hollywood films set in medieval europe used to give fairytale-like vision of picturesque castles , splendid costumes and knights in shining armour , gibson shows us the extremely unpleasant world of poverty and feudal injustice where might made right and life was hard , short and brutish . +this general unpleasantness is especially underlined in the scenes of battle , where hand-to-hand combat is naturalistically displayed in all its gory details , never seen since verhoeven's ultra-naturalistic flesh & blood . +compared with this naturalistic approach , most of old hollywood epics look like stage plays . +braveheart also employs humour at the right places , not only to make bloody realities of medieval british isles more bearable to sensitive audiences , but also to underline its down-to-earth atmosphere , so different from previous historical epics . +what makes braveheart " larger than life " is his protagonist . +mel gibson obviously invested plenty of his energy and talent in bringing the mythical figure of william wallace and , as a result , character of 15th century poems is transformed into superhuman being that resembles late 20th century comic book hero . +wallace is more than superior to his enemies , both physically and mentally , yet he is able to show his sensitive , more vulnerable side . +naturally , when the character is based on epic poems , most of historical accuracy is going down the drain ( which was the case with almost every historical epic from hollywood in 1990s ) . +however , even those who don't particularly care about history or are willing to give poetic license to scriptwriter randall wallace might think that he went over the top in idolising wallace , especially in the second part of film when scottish superhero manages to seduce princess isabel ( played by sophie marceau ) and make her a child . +because of that the disbelief is hardly suspended , and final scenes aren't as effective as they should be . +mel gibson as an actor is truly wonderful , and he is also helped by small army of very good british and irish actors . +most memorable of them all is patrick mcgoohan , whose cold , calculated and evil medieval monarch is one of the most effective villains seen in contemporary cinema . +brendan gleeson ( who would later become famous for his role in boorman's general ) is also very good as wallace's trusted companion , as well as ian bannen is effective as leprosy-stricken king john balliol . +david o'harra is very entertaining as wallace's irish ally , and angus macfadyen brings a lot of anxiety into his conscience-stricken character of robert the bruce . +women in this film have rather thankless roles , especially marceau as one-dimensional french princess . +catherine mccormack as wallace's wife was more interesting , but she was eliminated from the picture early on . +from the technical point of view , the film is also very good . +photography by john toll brings a lot of scottish natural beauty to the screen . +on the other hand , the musical score by james horner employs too much of modern-day instruments for period piece set in medieval times . +although mostly welcomed by critics and audiences alike , braveheart was often criticised for homophobia and other forms of extreme conservatism . +the main reason for that was the fact that gibson , among many historical facts , chose to be faithful only to those related to sexual orientation of " longshank " 's son prince edward ( played by peter hanly ) . +he is not only presented as a villain , but also as one of the less competent in villain's camp - and portraying of homosexuals as villains or inferior to heterosexuals is almost unforgivable sin in " politically correct " hollywood . +to make things even more obvious , good guys in this film are the total opposite of effeminate and incompetent edward - rugged macho men of mountains who are more practical and efficient because they tend to employ conservatives' common sense instead of fashionable theories of ivory tower liberals . +however , although the message of this film might look right-wing , it owes more to leftist ideology of various national liberation movements in 20th century . +according to that ideology , oppressed classes ( workers , peasants ) are better suited to fight for national freedom because their members has less to lose in that struggle and , as such , they are more radical , less willing to make compromises and more efficient ; on the other hand , privileged classes ( aristocracy , bourgeoisie ) are more likely to betray the cause of freedom and be in cahoots with foreign oppressors in order to keep their privileges . +this marxist worldview is presented in braveheart without any subtlety . +in the end , whether the audience is patient enough to discover hidden meanings or simply wants to enjoy entertaining historical epic , braveheart is more than adequate choice for all fans of this recently resurrected genre . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv635_10022.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv635_10022.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..7af2504a5441184ff1e93a9b6cbeb7cea60534c2 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv635_10022.txt @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ +in one scene from " the people vs . +larry flynt , " the hustler magazine publisher appears at a self-staged free speech rally . +as graphic photos flash on a huge screen behind him , flynt strides confidently across the stage , delivering a rousing speech over what really constitutes obscenity . +the spectacle was reminiscent of the scene in " patton " where the general spoke in front of a giant american flag . +both scenes were stirring , larger than life , richly entertaining , and felt totally like contrived set pieces for big hollywood movies . +overall , that sums up " the people vs . +larry flynt . " +the film is a wildly entertaining hoot which , despite being based on fact , feels like a big , phony hollywood movie . +the son of a kentucky moonshiner , flynt ( woody harrelson ) ran away from home and ended up operating strip clubs in cincinnati . +there he met althea leasure ( courtney love ) , a bisexual stripper who became his fourth wife and the love of his life . +to bolster interest in his clubs , he started a sexually explicit newsletter that grew into hustler magazine . +flynt , along with the magazine's rag-tag management team , headed by his brother jimmy ( played nicely by woody's real-life brother , steak & shake commercial veteran brett harrelson ) , viewed playboy magazine with contempt . +they mocked its slick articles and airbrushed photos , striving to keep hustler focused on " what guys really want , " explicit photos that would make a gynecologist squirm , and extremely crude humor . +the film's prime example of hustler's attitude is a cartoon depicting characters from the wizard of oz in an orgy , giving the audience an opportunity to giggle at flynt's " naughtiness . " +director milos forman conveniently ignores the magazine's frequent attempts to derive humor from child molestation , racism , and endless scatological cartoons . +flynt's rag labored in well-deserved obscurity until he published nude photos of jacqueline onassis , which brought the magazine international attention , big money and the attention of conservatives . +an obscenity bust followed , the first in a long series of battles between flynt and the law . +lawyer alan isaacman ( edward norton ) enters the scene , hired by flynt's wife . +norton , an exceptional actor , is wonderful as the beleaguered lawyer trying to navigate the legal system while dealing with flynt's increasingly childish and bizarre behavior . +in court , we meet the sputtering conservatives , headed by citizens for decency leader charles keating ( james cromwell . ) +as keating blathers about flynt's immorality , the camera slowly moves in for a close-up of his name tag , inviting the audience to gloat at the notion of morality being trumpeted by keating , who was later convicted in a $2 billion s&l fraud . +flynt's other prime foe is rev . jerry falwell , who sues over a hustler parody involving him and his mother having sex in an outhouse . +tragedy strikes as flynt is shot by a would-be assassin , leaving him paralyzed from the waist down . +a dark period follows , as flynt and leasure hole up in an l . a . suite , strung out on pain killers . +flynt eventually kicks drugs , but leasure succumbs to addiction , and later , aids . +after watch falwell on tv , describing aids as a punishment from god , flynt directs his lawyer to take the falwell case to the supreme court , leading to the film's climactic courtroom scene . + " the people vs , larry flynt " is at its weakest when moralizing on free speech and lionizing flynt . + " if they'll protect a scumbag like me , then they'll protect all of you , " declared flynt . +he's right , of course , but the director forman cheats in portraying the opposition as little more than hypocritical buffoons . +he also cheats in casting woody harrelson as flynt . +harrelson is an attractive , charismatic man , and his strong performance paints flynt as a colorful folk hero . +even a cursory look at the real flynt , who is making the talk show circuit , and plays the judge in an early courtroom scene , shows a bloated , morose and bitter man . +an accurate portrayal of flynt would have made a more difficult film to watch , but a richer one . +despite its flaws , " flynt " is a fast moving , rousing movie with some terrific acting , especially by courtney love , whose vibrant performance will likely garner an oscar nod . +the story may be candy-coated , but it's still delicious candy . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv636_15279.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv636_15279.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3f55c8293dc2f9d33d619efeea8fc8d700365b60 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv636_15279.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +we all know the fate of " child's play , " which is the same for almost any film these days that does marginally well financially : sequel hell . +with the newest installment in the quasi-popular series currently out ( that would be " bride of chucky " - and it grossed 11 million in its opening weekend , which i think is the sign of the apocalypse number five ) , it's kinda fun to go back and see how it all began rougly ten years ago with the original , a task which is a retread for some , and for others ( namely myself ) a chance to see what all the fuss was about . +alas , the original " child's play " actually isn't that bad . +even seeing it in the tiny , claustrophobic , and mechanically-challenged theatre at my college wasn't the horribly dull experience i thought it would be , not just because of the nicely rowdy crowd ( which you almost need to watch a film like this - and if you don't believe me , try and watch this flick by yourself one day ) , but because as a whole , this isn't a bad movie . +it's not great , but it does have two things that many horror films like this one don't have : 1 ) a rather nifty premise , and 2 ) a sense of humor , both which save this from horror hell , which is precisely where , say , " i know what you did last summer " has recently gone . +the premise of " child's play " is that a serial killer named charles lee ray ( brad douriff ) is shot and almost killed by a chicago hard-boiled detective ( chris surrandon - see what happens to some oscar nominees ? ) , and before he dies , utters a voodoo chant that sends his soul directly into a kid's doll called chucky , a doll which has got to be the scariest-looking kid's doll i've ever seen . +the next day , a bum who's stolen it sells it to single-mother karen barclay ( catherine hicks ) , who then gives it to her young son andy ( alex vincent ) for his birthday . +of course chucky begins talking to the kid and trying to find a way to get out of the doll , but certain twists come up . +like the guy he learned voodoo from reveals to him that the only way to break the curse is to take over the body of the first person he told he was inside the doll , that being andy . +and soon enough , chucky is killing people either for revenge or for what seems like fun , and people are discovering that chucky isn't just a kiddie doll one by one . +the idea is a neat one , ripe for lots of comic terror , and luckily it utlizes a lot of that . +it plays with an idea stolen from a classic looney toons short that when someone knows that chucky is alive , they tell people about it , but when he tries to prove themselves , chucky does nothing , and everyone thinks they're crazy . +it plays with this , as well as the whole child-like thought that dolls and toys come to life , and even manages to cram in a couple really frightening moments . +even if there's an entire sequence devoted to cliches ( a woman alone in a house hears a noise , goes to investigate it , and finds nothing , but wait for the kicker a second later ! ) , +there's also a harrowing car ride with chucky trying to knife the detective from the back seat , and then trying to attack him when the car finally crashes , leaving the viewer with at least rather visceral exprience . +the ending is rather fun , as well , albeit a tad too drawn-out ( about four different endings , maybe five ) , and the characters are more intelligent than the average horror film line-up , making them easier to sympathize with . +if there's one horrible thing about many horror films , it's that the protagonists are morons who you can't help but shout obscenities at , and for the most part , " child's play " steers away from that . +and most of all , the chucky character is a good one , not just because he provides instant comic relief ( look ! +that doll's moving on its own ! ) , but because he's a generally scary character . +if there's anything really wrong with " child's play , " it's that it's too trite and has too less self esteem . +at almost 90 minutes , " child's play " features way too less to be a real classic of horror . +it throws itself into a simple three act set-up that renders it quick and almost forgettable if it weren't for the fact that the film deals with a psychotic doll . +if the film had more confidence in what it was presenting , it would really push the envelope and become even more than just a short bit of horror escapism , which is precisely why this kind of film is only memorable as a cheap little horor film . . . which +isn't necessarily a bad thing . +as such , " child's play " is content to be just the short , typical horror film , but saves itself via a sense of humor and a nice quasi-campy feel that makes it much more enjoyable than the average short , typical horror film . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv637_1250.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv637_1250.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..7164651ffbf077fa562519cdb815e47390aa0f35 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv637_1250.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +director : penelope spheeris ( decline of western civilization ii - the : metal years , dudes , & suburbia ) +cast : mike myers ( wayne campbell ) , dana carvey ( garth algar ) , : rob lowe ( benjamin oliver ) , tia carrere ( cassandra ) +summary : wayne and garth have a public access show called " wayne's : world . " +the show is a underground hit , until benjamin : oliver comes onto the scene . +benjamin wants to turn the : show into a big hit nationwide , possibly destroying the : essence of " wayne's world " in the process . +[expectations - medium] +long review =========== +i must admit being a bit reluctant going into this film . +i didn't believe that they ( mike myers and dana carvey ) could hold it up for an hour and a half , i figured that perhaps the first half-hour would be great , and the rest would be " fluff . " +however , i was really surprised about how well they were able to keep the laughs going for the virtually the whole film , with the exception of the ending . + ( which i won't discuss for obvious reasons , but it's not * that * bad . ) +story : the plot was quite thin , but it really wasn't that noticeable , because of the rapid-fire jokes that myers wrote in . +alot of the jokes are very similar to hot shots ! , in being very " parodyish . " + ( okay , bad term . ) +extremely witty throughout , although ( as in hot shots ) it got a bit repetitive in the middle . +acting : as in many comedies , the acting isn't really * that * important . +however , myers turns in a good performance as wayne , playing the character perfectly , ( although i still liked him better back on much music , in a more " canadian " type of mode . ) +carvey is okay as garth , but he lacks the spark myers puts into wayne . +tia carrere is mediocre as cassandra , playing it very stilted . +lowe is fine as ben oliver , but is nothing to write home about . +without a doubt , this movie is mike myers all the way . +direction : spheeris is a classic " music " movie director , making dudes , and decline of western civilization ii -- the metal years . + ( she also directed the boys next door , which is different , to say the least . ) +she is very capable , knows how direct a comedy , the correct camera movements it instill laughs , etc . one of the better jobs i can remember for a comedy . +overall : i would suggest to anyone that likes snl's skits to go see this film in the theatres . +however , my personal opinion , as in most comedies , is that they work just as well on video . +you definately have to be fan of music , and all forms of media in general to enjoy this film . +without a doubt , this is the best comedy so far this year . +it'll make tons 'o' dough for everyone involved . +let's just hope they make a thousand sequels . +[sorry , i had to get the lame joke in . . . +forgive me . ] diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv639_10308.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv639_10308.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8439a99f8d91efee54b8c867a6727bb55ad92a86 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv639_10308.txt @@ -0,0 +1,45 @@ +the bond series is an island in the film world ; where else would we look forward to cliches , and all of the other things that occur in most of these films ? +where else would pure escapism , a vulnerable hero , the " talking villains , " blatant product placement , predictable action sequences , and lots of promiscuity be hoped for instead of a significant change ? +i don't understand it myself , but that's what the bond series is based on . +for ( i think ) 18 films , we've mostly got the same thing over and over again , with some variation ( and a bit of change , most notably in the two dalton films ) . +but even i , a king of cynicism , can't bitch about it . +and " tomorrow never dies , " the ( again , i think ) eighteenth bond film , and second brosnan bond film , is no exception . +thank god ! +the plot , as in most of them , is pure balderdash , but seems to have a nice kind of edge to it . +instead of just plain billionaire psychotics , we get a rupert murdoch-esque media mogul/psychotic - elliot carver ( jonathan pryce , looking bitching with a white-haired cru cut , and always talking like he's out of breath ) , who has the admittingly ingenius idea of getting ratings by creating a war . +no , this is not " wag the dog " - he wants a real war , between china and england , and is stupid enough to put the coverage out before anyone else discovered it . . . in +comes bond . +james is sent all around the world , trying to do research on carver , fighting with his men , and running into ( on more than one occasion ) a chinese secret agent like him : wai lin ( michelle yeoh , asian action star extraordinaire . . . and +co-star of " supercop , " nearly stealing the screen from jackie chan in that one ) . +the two eventually , and predictably of course , begin working together , and yes , there is some sexual tension between the two . +luckily , their relationship is never strained , and she never gives into his cassanova-ness until the finale . +thank god again . +in every bond film , james bags , on average , three women ( sometimes more , sometimes less - the latter being more potent towards the aids-cautionary dalton ) , and he doesn't spoil this one ( though we never see them , of course - i mean , they need to stay around a pg-13 rating ) . +there's always one at the beginning with some chick we never see again , the big bond girl ( yeoh ) , and this time we have an almost-cameo by teri hatcher as carver's wife , paris , who , it seems , was once one of the girls he bags at the beginning . +yes , teri's very attractive , but she seems kind of dull . +of course , it's not really her fault ; her part is under-written , and she's only in a small part of it . +oh well . +and there are always the big henchmen , the guys who do the dirty work for the polished big villains . +this time we get a tall , arian-looking ( not to mention robert shaw in " from russia with love " -looking ) guy named stamper ( goetz otto ) , who is pretty awesome , although a bit stiff ( well , mostly his posture , really ) . +and for a bit of comedy , we get a cameo from vincent shiavelli as a german or austrian assassin who is ordered to do in bond at one point . +the government people have small parts , as usual , with q ( desmond llewelyn , looking near death , sadly ) getting only one scene ( in a more grouchy mood than usual ) , and m ( judi dench ) , getting more than m usually gets ( i mean , it is judi dench ) . +and for no reason whatsoever , except 'cause he was so good in " goldeneye , " joe don baker shows up again as wade , admitting he has no reason for being there , and is this time more annoying . +again , oh well . +the action sequences are not a let-down , although sometimes go on too long . +they pop up every now and then , mainly because they have to ( for the sake of the series ) , and some significant ones are the opening one , one in a garage with a bmw that runs on remote control , and a motorcylce chase ( on a bmw cycle , nonetheless ) through china streets ( or was it vietnam . . . the +plot's not really essential ) . +they're more high-tech , and feature much more laughs , which , yeah , i dig . +so what if they're distracting ; they're supposed to be ! +the acting , from most around is great . +yeoh is , actually , one of the better bond girls , mainly because she's so unique . +the better bond girls are more independent , and have a certain wily-ness to them . +pussy galore , with her homoerotic undertones and all , is one of the best , and diana rigg , who married bond at the end of " on her majesty's secret service " only to be killed , added some emotional depth . +yeoh is notable since she's so active , and has great chemistry with brosnan . +pryce is an awesome villain , being slimy and lovable at the same time . +and brosnan is , once again , the mack daddy . +the bond series is built on cliches , mainly because they're so fun and add to the escapism . +if you can remember the dalton years , and they're serious direction , you remember how unsuccessful they were , both financially and aesthetically . +the series would falter if bogged down with too much plot , too many themes , and too much characterization . +i don't really understand it myself , yet i'm one of the bigger fans of the series in the northeast united states . +having seen all of them more than once ( yes , i've seen this twice already ) , you can tell i adore them . +while it's not one of the best , like " goldfinger " or " from russia with love , " " tomorrow never dies " is nonetheless a truly awesome installment , even if not being as fully amazing as some of the better ones . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv640_5378.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv640_5378.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3b7140a9efdd82dfb5c0c47b4c680a82af295748 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv640_5378.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9 @@ +this sometimes-tedious and often-moving documentary charts the life and times of anne frank , the young diarist and most-famous victim of adolph hitler . +writer/director/producer jon blair has collected a staggering amount of historical material on both anne and the frank family . +we meet miep gies , one of the family's protectors who is still alive . +she recounts how she found the diary in the days after the germans captured the franks . +we watch otto frank , anne's father and surviving family member , in interview footage filmed before his death . +blair successfully combines these clips , footage , and other historical records to recount exactly what happened during that terrible period of european history . +as narrated by kenneth branagh and with diary excepts read by glenn close , anne frank remembered retells more than just anne's story . +we meet and learn about the * many * friends , family members , and acquaintances whose lives were touched by this young woman and her writings . +winner of the last year's academy award for best documentary . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv641_12349.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv641_12349.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..bd0d4d9d29d4a5f6a95dafe78677e9cb741d6126 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv641_12349.txt @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +john sayles' " men with guns " is about what happens to a society when brute force and constant threat of violence are the only means of gaining and maintaining power . +the film takes place in an unnamed central american country , where the men with guns are the rulers . +most of the country is divided into tiny segments - some are controlled by guerrillas with guns , some are controlled by army soldiers with guns , and all the spaces in-between are controlled by thieves , bandits , and terrorists . +all people not fitting one of those descriptions are defined only by their powerlessness . +however , like so many central american countries , this one also features modernity . +there is an unnamed capital city that bears all the hallmarks of contemporary civilization : skyscrapers , hospitals , televisions , highways , etc . but , it might as well be in another country because those who live in the comforts of the city have either decided to ignore the violence ravaging the rest of the land , or else they are simply ignorant of it . +the film's main character , dr . fuentes ( federico luppi ) falls into the latter category . +one of his patients , an army general , describes him as the most educated man he has ever met , and also the most naive . +fuentes is a true liberal , a caring man who thinks he can cure the ills of his country by fighting bacteria and ignorance among the indigenous indians . +with government assistance , he has trained a large group of eager young medical students and sent them into the rainforest to cure and educate . +this program was to be his legacy , and he repeats over and over that it was a good idea . +however , when he ventures into that same rainforest to visit his prot ? g ? s , he finds that things have not turned out as he has envisioned . +as he travels deeper into the forest , going from village to village , the story is always the same : the doctors were all killed by either the guerrillas or the army soldiers , usually for helping the other . +when dr . fuentes asks a village woman why the army killed one of the doctors , she replies simply , " because they had guns , and we didn't . " +rational science and all its attempts to cure have been wiped out by the men with guns , because others' sickness and ignorance helps them maintain power . +dr . fuentes picks up several companions during his journey , all of whom are characterized by their loss . +first , there is a young boy named conejo ( dan rivera gonz ? lez ) , who has neither a mother nor a father . +next , fuentes crosses paths with a thief named domingo ( dami ? n delgado ) , who deserted the army because he was tired of being jeered into committing murderous atrocities . +through his ordeal in the army , domingo has lost most of his self-respect , and defines himself only by his pistol . +along the way , the group also picks up padre portillo ( dami ? n alc ? zar ) , a priest who has lost his faith . +as domingo is running from the army , so is portillo - he has been labeled a guerrilla sympathizer , and ran away from the village in which he was preaching . +last , the group takes on a mute girl named graciela ( tania cruz ) , who hasn't spoken since she was raped two years earlier , her innocence and even her will to live forcefully taken from her . +sayles two major strengths as a director - characters and setting - are abundantly evident in " men with guns . " + ( like many of his films , sayles might have tightened this one somewhat in the editing room , but a longer-than-necessary running time is a sin almost always committed when the director is also the editor . ) +he creates fascinating , complex characters , especially dr . fuentes and domingo . +their uneasy relationship is also somewhat humorous in context of the film's overarching theme of violence as power - domingo's attempts to control fuentes with his revolver are constantly undermined by fuentes' belief that the revolver is unloaded ( at first it is , but later is isn't ) . +the setting is also as thick with detail as the rainforest itself . +sayles knows how to bring a location to life , whether it be an early twentieth-century coal mining town in " matewan " ( 1987 ) or a contemporary texas/mexico bordertown in " lone star " ( 1996 ) . +sayles is not a particularly inventive director - he likes to let his actors do most of the work - but he and cinematographer slavomir idziak ( " gattaca " ) successfully evoke both the beauty and the danger of the central american terrain . +sayles also maintains a strong sense of authenticity by filming everything on location in mexico , using all latin american actors , and having all the dialogue spoken in either spanish or native indian dialects . +the one exception is a couple of bumbling american tourists who work not only as comic relief , but as evidence of just how clueless the united states is about what is going on a few hundred miles south of the texas border . +it would not be a stretch to say that " men with guns " is a depressing film . +in fact , the two feelings it evokes most are hopelessness and failure . +in addition to loss , the main characters are also failures at something , whether that be dr . fuentes failure to change anything through medicine , or padre portillo's inability to stand up and be the martyr he always dreamed of being . +nevertheless , it is bleak material sayles has chosen , and he deals with it accordingly . +the last shot of the film does offer a hint of hope , even in a world where , as one character puts it , " nobody refuses the men with guns . " diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv642_29867.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv642_29867.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..cf0c181b6ee4ee1bd1289661fb8857144b03e2f7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv642_29867.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +plot : during a 10-week span in london in the fall of 1888 , jack the ripper , a man whose identity was never uncovered , committed five ritualistic , grisly murders of prostitutes . +this film is based on the graphic novel which assembled a theory behind the century-old mystery . +critique : awesome ! +i love dark movies , i love stylish movies , i love good mysteries and i love johnny depp . . . so +yes , i really dug this movie ! +the hughes brothers are back with a vengeance , out to show the world that they are directors to be taken seriously , and this movie , my friends . . . is +very serious ! +in fact , it's also very gruesome and bloody and morbid and creepy and black as hell . +it ain't for the kids , i'll tell you that much . +and if any of those recent hack directors of two-bit scream-esque slasher flicks want some advice on effective " kill scenes " , do not look any further , because each one committed to this film is a cinematic stunner , especially when compared to their generic slice-and-dice contrivances . +in fact , most of this film's structure is very creative , the actors , all solid , the atmosphere and " feel " of the picture , remarkably real ( gotta love those " unfortunates " ) , and the descent into darkness , well honed by the filmmakers . +you can almost taste the seediness off the screen and quickly come to appreciate the politics of the time . +but it's also an impressive mystery film , based on the true-life tale of jack the ripper , a man whose identity was never discovered . +the theory in this film is based on the graphic novel " from hell " written by alan moore and presents a compelling story , which despite being a little oliver stone-ish , did manage to tie up all of its loose ends quite nicely , and present us with an entertaining bowl of mayhem , sexual depravity , drug usage , insanity , murders and love ? +yes , the brothers even managed to slip a little " love " story in here , and despite not truly being developed , i guess it could've been much worse and taken up more time than was provided already . +that's right , there's no real need to put any " romance " in a film about a mass murderer ! +but that aside , you gotta give up the props to actor extraordinaire johnny depp , who once again possesses the strength in character and flawless acting abilities , to center this movie all the way through . +sure , he's just playing a less goofier version of his ichabod crane character from sleepy hollow , but he does it so well and even added a michael caine accent to his mixed bag of tricks in this one . +i was also surprised at how little heather graham annoyed me in this film ( i was sure that her presence would ruin this movie , but she was fine ) and how little the dreams/fantasies of depp's character had to do with the film's development ( from what i had seen in the trailer , i thought the filmmakers were going to make this the crux of the story , but thankfully , it wasn't ) . +on the downside , the film doesn't really explain the whole freemasons cult organization real well and lacks character development . +but then again , a story about the most mysterious serial killer of all-time is probably not the ideal spot for character refinement . +i mean , the less i knew about each person , the more suspicious i became of each one's motives , reasons , etc . . . +in fact , i was actually quite surprised by who was presented as the killer in the end , and that was in part , due to the distance to which i'd been held from the film's characters . . . or +am i giving the filmmakers too much credit for something that might not have been their intention ? +perhaps . +overall , this is an extremely creepy production , with glorious cinematography ( reminiscent of coppola's dracula and burton's sleepy hollow ) , a grim score and solid acting . +but it's not for everyone . +some may be utterly repulsed by the gory particulars of these tragic events , and even though the murders aren't shown as graphically as you might think , there's enough here to send the squeamish right out the doors . +but i for one love movies that blend their eclectic visual style with an interesting mystery and palpable , gothic atmosphere , and this flick is just that and plenty more ! +and god knows that i will certainly not be surrendering the burnt image of jack the ripper's haunting cape silhouette and gleaming silver knife from my mind anytime soon . . . brrrrr ! +where's joblo coming from ? +the crow ( 9/10 ) - dark city ( 9/10 ) - dracula ( 7/10 ) - jfk ( 9/10 ) - the nightmare before christmas ( 10/10 ) - the ninth gate ( 8/10 ) - the others ( 9/10 ) - quills ( 8/10 ) - shadow of the vampire ( 6/10 ) - sleepy hollow ( 8/10 ) diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv643_29349.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv643_29349.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..7f9e9efe1bc722b8b8f8b48754895a531b5d75ee --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv643_29349.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +in `enemy at the gates' , jude law is a gifted russian sniper made hero by a political officer named danilov ( joseph fiennes ) who uses him in a propaganda newspaper to raise the hopes of the soldiers and people of stalingrad . +it's world war ii , and the russian-german standoff in town could determine the outcome of things for the motherland . +law's vassili is the russian's top pawn to victory . +lots of war stuff happens . +an older , german version of jude's character played by ed harris shows up halfway into the proceedings . +he's equally talented , and the two men play a cat and mouse game trying to kill each other . +they constantly switch roles , as the war fades far into the background . +the cast also includes the terrific rachel weisz as a love interest for both vassili and danilov +the set-up is decent , and so are the production values . +boasting a wide range of grimy locales , greasy hair , and tattered costumes , the art direction prospers . +the actors , however , suffer the problem matt damon had in `saving private ryan' . +either their eyes , teeth , skin , or a combination of other features looked too white and clean . +with dirt and blood all around , the blinding teeth or bright eyes of these actors divert attention from the action . +that said , the players are mostly good in their roles , although i don't think ed harris was really trying . +maybe he realized his role struck a difficult chord in one-notedom . +while the film is technically about snipers , there are far too many predictable sniping scenes . +director jean-jacques annaud expects us to view each tense situation with jude and some cohort in a tight spot as edgy and exciting , but after about the sixth time , in which we realize that jude is not going to die , it's relatively pointless . +we get that he's talented , okay , let's move on . +that's the problem with `enemy at the gates' ; it just doesn't know when to stop . +witness the wasted seventeen minutes that could have been spent elsewhere . +reestablishing his title as the most beautiful ( and often talented ) man on film , jude law carries the movie . +without him , this costly production would have gone into the ground . +the story and acting are of good quality , but there's never a sense of authenticity or reality . +something about this war movie is undeniably modern , and it loses its feeling . +strange enough , the screenplay is based on the true story of a real russian sniper . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv644_17154.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv644_17154.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..453e122b654a3d3a9cdebf376b93e88e05649677 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv644_17154.txt @@ -0,0 +1,45 @@ +it's been a good long while since we had a good old fashioned thriller , where mostly everything goes right for the audience and wrong for the characters , but it's been even longer since i saw a thriller that actually * shock * cared for the characters , not merely judged them but actually allowed their human foibles , flaws , and strengths to emerge so radiantly . +i'd saw that it's been at least a couple decades , even as far back to the great hitchcock thrillers , though i'm hardly comparing " a simple plan " to , say , " rear window " or " strangers on a train . " +yet it's almost as good . +it's simple , yet strangely complex , and astonishingly rewarding , because instead of moving from plot point to plot point , and merely laying out they-might-be-caught overtones , it instead concerns itself with the moral corruption and depths of greed that its protagonists can go to , all without ever judging them as either evil or even immoral . +elegantly directed by sam raimi ( yes , the same ) , " a simple plan " concerns itself with the discovery of a crashed plane and within a bag full of millions of dollars by an upright , moderately financially stable working man ( bill paxton ) , his dim-witted brother ( billy bob thornton ) , and his drinking buddy ( brent briscoe ) . +without anyone around , and the possibility that no one would come looking for it , the three debate and debate but finally reach the decision that yes , they will keep it , but until any authorities or possible owners of the cash come looking , and so they generally don't flaunt anything they don't want to flaunt , they'll keep it stored away in the custody of paxton . +the possibilites of this circumstance are much diverse : a ) they could endlessly play cat and mouse with the authorities ; b ) they could try to fight off the rightful owners , who are either villainous or just ; or c ) they could fight amongst themselves . + " a simple plan , " though borrows a little from each of these . +a little tiff with the cops here , a subplot involving an alleged fbi agent ( a chilling gary cole ) there ) , and a bit of inside feuding over here . +but , as austin powers would say , that's not necessarily its bag ( baby ) . +what i most admired about this film , and what makes this a far superior and unique thriller is that it's successfully able to have its cake and eat it too . +it effectively involves some of the traditional thriller cliches , like the ones mentioned above , but at the same time , it involves itself more deeply with the way the characters become morally corrupt and what price they have to pay to have what they think is happiness in a black duffle bag . +so while steps are taken to neatly cover things up , and these subsequent steps go miserably awry , the film choses to never loose the sight that in covering things up to the extent that these characters have to , they are slowly losing their souls and their humanity . +in one early scene , paxton and thornton have to make a trip back to the plane to return some of the money so it doesn't look like it was all stolen ( not a bad idea ) , when thornton screws up ( as he does continuously throughout the movie ) , and paxton has to do some major covering-up ( read : homicide ) . +instead of a quick murder and immeadiate hands-washing , raimi shows a lengthy , painful shot from a low-angle onto paxton's face as he tries to sift through his emotions and reach a conclusion . +there's a similar shot afterwards of paxton watching the murder he's committing and taking in all the horror which is also wonderfully effective , but the previous shot is even better : more morally complex and more gut-wrenching . +in short , probably the best piece of direction raimi's ever done , demonstrating once again that sometimes the simplest way to do something yields the best results ( for further proof , watch " persona " 's " sex scene " and witness what may be the best scene ingmar bergman's ever done ) . +but the film hardly stops here ; it follows completely through and rarely loses sight of its characters humanity and the depletion thereof . +yet it also moves from step to step in such a graceful method that we never feel like the film is merely stamping out the plot points of the story . +when the time comes for paxton to start becoming selfish and thus diabolical ( with aid from his pregnant wife , played by bridget fonda , a pal to raimi ) , he does , and soon the horror of the situation is escalating to tragic heights . +there's at least two grand shootouts , and at least one of them may be one of the greatest shootouts in cinema history , and when they arrive , they don't come with masochistic delight but with cringe-inducing horror . +during the one , i was actually sinking into my chair , with the mantra " they can't do this , can they ? " +streeming through my head . +in fact , this film , which is getting many comparisons to the coen's [superior , but forget about it] " fargo , " has many similar moments of manic insanity , attributed to the major amount of subtlety and restraint with which the directors direct what , in other hands , would be over-the-top distractedness ( imagine , i suppose , robert rodriguez directing this . . . then +again , after seeing the " evil dead " films , i'd hardly assume raimi would be able to pull something like this off , although there are moments of the film which are easily dubbed " raimi " moments , a rifle-shot notwithstanding ) . +instead , raimi directs with maturity and a gentle touch , easily letting the story and characters co-exist , while still letting some of the more traditional raimi elements come out , like some offbeat comic touches . +most particularly , billy bob thornton's character , jacob , is a brilliant creation . +his dim-wittedness is often hilarious ( for most of the film , every line he uttered was greeted with howling laughter ) , but there's authenticity to the performance that strangely enough makes sure that we're not totally laughing at him . +the chuckles he gets are not necessarily ones of full-condescension because thornton is so damn real . +jacob's a multi-dimensional character , and while being stupid , we see that as not so much a flaw , but a strength to his character : his simplicity is endearing and many of the acts he commits are out of a strong inner strength and belief system , primarily towards the middle where his bud and co-conspirator begins to make some heavy waves concerning the money . +the final third of the film spends much time with him , and many of the touches upon his character , not only by thornton but also by screenwriter scott b . smith ( adapting his own book , by the way ) are just great . +i particularly admired a back story about an old high school girlfriend , told by thornton with such sincerity and acception that the cruel story is reversed to near-sweetness and further strength of his saddened character . +thornton is absolutely brilliant in this performance , by far the best performance he's ever given and further proof that he's the best character actor in contemporary cinema ( if you don't believe me , go back and watch his wonderful performance in " primary colors , " a performance that would have been nominated for an oscar if this hadn't been in the same year ) because he's easily able to slip into a character , and make him completely and utterly believable . +he brings so much weight to the film that , as it is with most character actors , it's difficult picturing anyone else in the role . +the rest of the cast is great too , from paxton's declining working man to chelcie ross' amiable town sheriff . +even fonda shows off her talents nicely . +and if i had any complaints about the film , it's that the plot is almost too simplistic , and that at times , it seems too much like an exercise , like a cruel test on humanity that still pays attention to the humanity involved . +and the occasional narration is , as it usually is , annoying ( narration should be used with extreme caution , especially when you're trying to set things up and/or express emotions - didn't raimi watch the first murder scene ? ) . +and , the thing that can most usually go wrong with a movie , the ending is basically amiss . +i won't reveal it , but it's way too cruel and too much of an outsider set-up , as if the appearance of a plane wasn't already too much of that anyway . +for a film that deals so much and so intimately with the humanity of the characters involved , this is the wrong ending . +imagine a character-controlled ending ; otherwise , it's like if in " crime and punishment " if the police had caught him instead of him breaking down and confessing . . . not that i'm at all comparing " a simple plan " to dostoevsky . +the ending does work , despite my protestations , but to me , there was something incessantly nagging and unsatisfying about it ; but if you had no qualms and were happy as a clam with it , then just ignore me and go about your day . +but despite my mere claims , make no mistake that i was completely and utterly edge of my seat throughout , and even sometimes curdling up by the situations that occured , not because of any kind of gore factor ( which is , thankfully for this , very minimal ) , but because the film places its characters in situations and gives them such painful things to overcome that i've frankly not seen much like it in quite awhile . +at least not since the previous worthy hitchcockian masterpiece . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv645_15668.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv645_15668.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..103906d8231634fd6d3664ca7bc64de763ea0c70 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv645_15668.txt @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ +some of my friends who went to live in usa complain about one thing - that country is very different from the one depicted in hollywood movies . +that is especially true for those who end up somewhere in that unexplored land between los angeles and new york where they find , to their big surprise , that the majority of people vote republican , go to church every sunday and usually don't tolerate liberal attitudes that are taken for granted in an average american film . +such rude awakening , however , can happen in another direction - conservative people are sometimes forced to discover unpleasant truths about world they live in . +something like that happens to jake van dorn ( george c . scott ) , successful grand rapids businessman who shares strong calvinist convictions with the rest of his community . +one day his daughter kristen ( ilah davis ) disappears from calvinist youth convention in california . +van dorn is worried because he doesn't believe that his daughter would run from home . +however , the truth delivered by private investigator andy mast ( peter boyle ) is even harder - kristen is spotted in cheap pornographic film . +infuriated van dorn is unsatisfied with the way mast's investigation is going , so he goes to los angeles to search for kristen himself . +unfortunately , he lacks experience and the quest , that brought him to the utter depths of sex underworld , is fruitless . +things change when he devises cunning plan and , while doing it , stumbles on sympathetic prostitute and part time porno actress nicky ( season hubley ) . +almost two decades after its release , hardcore is mostly forgotten by critics and film scholars . +it is a real shame , because very few movies in today's hollywood would dare tackle controversial issues that writer and director paul schrader explored in his second directorial attempt . +in late 1970s , it was totally different situation - films were expected to have mature , serious themes for the mature audience . +for schrader this film was nice opportunity to expand the subplot of his previous work , taxi driver - one that deals with the great generational divide that tormented the american society in 1970s . +on one side we have an old america that sticks to the puritan ideals of hard work and strict morals that made that country great . +but that america is obviously unable to cope with the new challenges brought by the social turmoil in 1960s and , instead of facing them , prefers to live in rural , conservative cocoons . +the new america , on the other hand , fares no better - ideals of the so-called " sexual revolution " , same as all other " revolutions " of the swinging sixties , degraded into exploitation and depravity . +instead of being " liberated " , baby boomers are stuck with their own inability to cope with the newly discovered freedoms . +schrader very cleverly brings the idea that those two americas , actually , aren't so far away - nice example is a brilliant scene in which van dorn , already described as an authoritarian and paternalistic capitalist , meets sleazy porno producer ; the latter one also turns out to be authoritarian , paternalistic and very dedicated to this job . +the difference between the two is simply in the line of work . +many contemporary critics actually accused schrader of promoting conservative agenda . +on the surface , it may look that way - audience is forced to sympathise with van dorn and his quest . +in the first scenes , he is portrayed as nice family man who actually doesn't deserve to experience parent's worst nightmare . +the scene in the porno cinema that reveals kristen's fate is extremely cruel ; pain and humiliation , brought by oscar-winning actor george c . scott , is of such intensity , that the audience feels sorry for him and simply must support his agenda . +van dorn is perhaps flawed , and the subtle hints lead to the unflattering truth at the end ; but the viewers simply know that his cause is just , and that prodigal daughter must be better off with her loving father than with the sleazy pornographers that only want to exploit her body . +on the other hand , schrader , who grew up in an environment very much like van dorn's ( his own parents wouldn't allow him to watch movies until he was 18 ) , knows better and tries to bring another side of coin . +even the people connected with sex underworld can show redeeming qualities - like nicky , who actually tries to improve her life , and sleazy detective who develops something like a conscience at the end . +unfortunately , schrader fails to erase the impact of the shocking scene at the beginning , and his attempt to reconcile the opposing sides of america seems lost in somewhat clich ? d finale . +the script is slightly flawed , and schrader as director doesn't show too much originality - his style seems too influenced by techniques that scorsese used in taxi driver . +apart from the scenes in grand rapids , those two films even look alike . +but the content might be more than interesting for today's viewer , especially those inspired by the current 70s revival . +until boogie nights , no hollywood mainstream movie ever dared to explore the phenomenon of pornography in 1970s . +hardcore , on the other hand , might serve as precious document , because it depicts sex film industry in the period often regarded as the golden age by connoisseurs - before the advent of video , when many of the porno filmmakers could afford to think of themselves as artists . +the view of such age and the industry is very unflattering , though , but for the film whose main character takes time to explain calvinist doctrines to the audience , that shouldn't be too surprising . +anyway , despite some flaws , hardcore remains very interesting and powerful piece of cinema . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv646_15065.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv646_15065.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..cfc3a8db3648a02a1a71e27926f8a46ab19bdfd4 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv646_15065.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +vampire lore and legend has always been a popular fantasy element , substantiated by not only the sheer number of movies about the subject , but also the proliferation of cults and sects of adherents . +and , unlike any of the more outlandish myths , the vampire holds some real-world probability ( one study claims 1 , 000 bloodsuckers exist worldwide , and places 50 in los angeles ) . +but lest the nasties be mistaken for simple comic book bad guys , john carpenter would like to remind us that they are - and always have been - a truly frightening element of the thriller genre . +and remind us he does in his latest film , vampires . +there was some question , as halloween weekend approached , of how well vampires would do in comparison to new line cinema's immensely successful blade , released in august . +the two films take noticeably different stands on the vampire issue , and don't even agree on some basic points of the slaying method . + ( for instance , blade's main weapons are silver and garlic , whereas main character jack crow's technique is a wooden stake to the heart . ) +blade also gives more of a face to the vampire civilization , while carpenter would like us to remain in the dark about how the pasties operate . +both have their advantages , and here , carpenter's style lends itself to a darker breed of suspense rather than the action movie that blade director stephen norrington delievered . +when it's all said and done , though , the vampires still kill and die with a bloody flourish ; the level for gore is indeed set to maximum . +this time , our hero is vatican-sponsored slayer jack crow ( james woods ) . +he's a cynical , battle-worn veteran , and the best of his bunch . +he and his team are responsible for cleaning out the american southwest , and after exterminating a nest one night , they run up against a super-vampire ( termed a " master " ) named valek ( thomas ian griffith ) . +valek kills all of jack's team except for his partner , tony montoya ( daniel baldwin ) , and as the two regroup , they learn that valek is the original vampire - now over six hundred years old . +apparently , valek and his minions have been sweeping the southwest for decades in search of a cross that will enable them to walk in the daytime . +so with the aid of a priest named adam ( tim guinee ) and a bitten hooker ( sheryl lee ) as bait , they track valek down for the final confrontation . +the script for vampires , written by don jakoby and based on the john steakley novel , is perhaps the wittiest piece of screenplay to see production all year . +crow , in particular , is a fun source of one-liners , and woods does every one of them with perfect stoicism . +baldwin , lee , and guinee are all fine supports , adding to the character pool , but the other true highlight of the movie is thomas ian griffith's bad guy . +griffith's intense expression is perfect for the role , and the only downside is that he's got to talk sometime . +luckily , he's got few lines , and manages to pull off a rather thrilling performance . +all said , fans will surely be impressed by this picture , and those who found apt pupil a bit limp will be excited by this one . +certainly a worthwhile visit to the theaters . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv647_13691.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv647_13691.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f5939e045870f73cce1f05fc950664ab22724446 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv647_13691.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +if the current trends of hollywood filmmaking continue , we are probably five or six years away from the moment when the 1980s would become the next golden age of movie nostalgia . +although some hollywood products already use the last decade as a background for their stories ( mostly in ironic way , like grosse pointe blank and romy & michelle's high school reunion ) , some time should pass before the good memories of that era overcome the bad ones . +until that happens , 1980s would be remembered as the decade of greed , when the revolutionary ideals of 1960s turned into its cruel , materialistic opposite and the money became the only thing that matters . +contemporary movies are good in illustrating what was bad for the people who had to live in those times . +one of such movies , one that probably brings the essence of 1980s to the screen , is william friedkin's to live and die in l . a . +the money isn't just the symbolic motive in the film , it is the major elements of the plot . +rick masters ( willem dafoe ) is an ex-convict who used his artistic abilities in order to become one of the best counterfeiters in l . a . being too intelligent to fall into police traps , and ruthless enough to eliminate anybody or anything that could jeopardise his career , masters managed to elude law for years and became well- connected . +richard chance ( william l . petersen ) is a secret service agent , adrenaline junkie whose life gets new meaning after his partner got killed by masters . +however , his plans of bringing the counterfeiter down meet one obstacle after another . +finally he sets up a final sting , but his superiors deny him the necessary money . +being frustrated , and against the reluctance of his new partner john vukovich ( bill pankow ) , he decides to get the money by robbing underworld courier . +their plan backfires with almost tragic consequences when their target turns out to be undercover fbi agent , but chance decides to carry out his scheme anyway . +like french connection , one of his previous masterpieces , this friedkin's movie was inspired by real life . +gerrald petievich , author of the novel that later served as basis for his screenplay , spent many years working as a secret service agent . +that turned to be useful for the portrayal of that law enforcement agency , not much utilised by hollywood . +secret service millieu was also cleverly used in order to bring the viewer into the decade of greed ; the beginning scene where the movie's hero works as a part of presidential security detail is a nice opportunity to hear reagan's speech that could illustrate the political and economical notions of those times . +ultramaterialistic and egotistical view of the world is shared by almost any character in the movie . +willem dafoe brilliantly portrays dangerous and intelligent psychopath , whose ruthlessness and lack of any moral fibber doesn't seem like affliction in the reagan years ; on the contrary , those qualities actually makes masters socially acceptable . +compared with him , and all the other side characters that want their " piece of the action " , two heroes on the side of law seem like losers . +instead of being a classical good guy , secret service agent richard chance ( portrayed by william petersen in his most impressive role so far ) is nothing more than a lunatic whose adrenaline addiction and madness work against his better judgement ; his sidekick , who should serve as those " better judgement " is a weakling and sentimental fool that gets suckered in the end . +in such surroundings of moral decay , the not so happy , yet surprising ending doesn't seem out of line ( although the very last shot leaves too much questions unanswered ) . +the dark atmosphere of l . a . - city of glamour and moral decay - is nicely captured by william friedkin's directing skills . +the tight and realistic scripts with memorable characters ( portrayed by such capable actors like john turturro , dean stockwell , debra feuer , darlanne fleugel and steve james ) gave opportunity for friedkin to use another gimmick that made him famous in his 1971 masterpiece - great car chase . +that scene alone , with lot of realism , thrills and surprise twists , is worth seeing the rest of the film . +the soundtrack , provided by now almost forgotten band " wang chung " , is also one of the more memorable of that decade . +in every case , to live and die in l . a . is one of the rare movies in which hollywood actually tries to tell some unflattering truths about the world and succeeds in it . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv648_15792.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv648_15792.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3ce282e9994c6be7e26b86885eedd02829466db3 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv648_15792.txt @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +jean-luc picard ( patrick stewart ) and the rest of the crew of the u . s . s . +enterprise are back for their third outing in the ninth film based on the 1960's series , star trek . +gone are kirk , spock and mccoy and in their wake in the very able and very talented cast from star trek : the next generation . +as usual , a crisis is brewing and it is up to the crew of the enterprise to make the galaxy safe again . +this time out the united federation of planets and an alien race led by f . murray abraham are trying to move some colonists off a planet against the colonist's will . +it turns out that this planet is the fountain of youth and the federation and their alien buddies feel that is should be used for the good of everyone and not just a few hundred colonists . +of course picard feels that this sort of treachery is wrong , so he disobeys direct orders and vows to help protect the colonists . +insurrection is a lighter movie than the last two star trek films . +the film focuses on the lofty question of whether the rights of society as a whole outweighs the rights of a small group . +in this respect it gets back to the roots of star trek by disguising social commentary as science fiction . +it doesn't do a bad job , other than it tries to inject too much humor into the story line . +many of the jokes are your typical inside star trek-fan-only jokes , while many of the others just fall flat . +the other criticism that i had with the story was that it ignores common sense . +there are only a few hundred people on this whole planet , why do they have to be moved ? +the explanation is that the planet has to be bombarded with deadly radiation so that this fountain of youth effect will be strong enough to help heal f . murray abraham's aliens who number only a couple of dozen . +so the basic story line is bad enough in that we have a few hundred being booted out for a few billion , at least that's plausible . +but in reality we have a few hundred being moved for the benefits of a few dozen , which makes no sense whatsoever . +the other little hiccup in logic is the inclusion of worf ( michael dorn ) , the trusty klingon . +worf was on star trek : the next generation , so they want to include him in the films . +no problem so far . +worf is now a character of star trek : deep space nine , so the writers have to find a way to have him show up . +in the last star trek movie , first contact , the included worf in a credible fashion , in this one , the writers are so lazy that the completely gloss over why he is even in the movie . +what little explanation they do give is so small that you would have missed it if you weren't hanging on every word on the screen . +my minor problems with the movie aside , star trek : insurrection does have an overwhelming number of good points as compared to its bad ones . +while many of the jokes do miss the mark , many are pretty good , even for non-trekkies . +the special effects are among the best for the star trek series . +the action is plentiful and well done . +this is a very good-looking movie . +it should come as no surprise to anyone who ever watched star trek : the next generation that the acting is first rate . +it is very obvious that these actors have been working together for over a decade . +they interact with each other with a skill that few other ensemble casts can muster . +most star trek fans probably will not be disappointed with this latest film in the series . +if you've always hated star trek , there is nothing here that is going to change your mind . +star trek : insurrection is not the best film in the series , but it is good enough to dispel the long standing tradition of the odd numbered films in the series being far inferior to the even numbered ones . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv649_12735.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv649_12735.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..95f4755b3585eddb7ea804c3abe9d17a160efa88 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv649_12735.txt @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +the promotion for fear and loathing in las vegas ? has made the film out to be a comedy , and for about the first hour or so it seems like it might be one . +it's 1971 , and the hippie movement has left behind quite a few wash-outs , among them journalist raoul duke ( johnny depp ) and his " attorney " dr . gonzo ( benito del toro ) . +these two spend most of the film in a drug-induced stupor , having strange hallucinations , trashing their hotel rooms , and either annoying or scaring almost everyone that crosses their path . +duke is first assigned to cover an outdoor desert motorcycle race in las vegas , but gets lost in a blur of drugs , beer , and flying dust , and ends up wandering around with no clue who won . +he leaves vegas briefly before he is sent back , in what can only be described as a strangely appropriate twist of fate , to cover a drug enforcement conference . +fear and loathing has been misinterpreted by some as glorifying the use of drugs . +it doesn't , even in the beginning--while the pair's antics are sometimes amusing and relatively harmless at first , the humor here is still fairly dark . +director terry gilliam views them with a rather satirical eye , and even when we're laughing , we're laughing at them rather than with them . +they spend most of their time paranoid , angry , or just plain befuddled , which is probably an understandable reaction to seeing the entire room suddenly fill up with giant reptiles . +the black comedy may be entertaining to watch onscreen , but it's probably not something most other audience members would want to experience first-hand . +all this aside , i was starting to grow a bit restless as the film drew near its one-hour mark , thinking to myself that i wanted something more out of this than just an off-kilter satire of drug culture . +thankfully , the script delivers it before too long , as duke , in a rare moment of lucidity , stops to recall how he was once an enthusiastic hippie , " riding the wave " of something that seemed special and important . +now it's six years later and the wave has finally broken , as he puts it . +materialistic culture is still alive and well and , for most of this film , right in his face in las vegas ; the " american dream " of which duke occasionally speaks is still just as shallow and phony as ever . +the social protesters have lost , and the more questionable aspects of the movement have turned ugly and left casualties such as duke to drift in a sea of drugs and disillusionment . +in many ways , fear and loathing is gilliam's most reality-based film ; all of his others , with the exception of the fisher king , have made use of some sort of fantasy or science-fiction plot elements . +yet it is his off-the-wall masterpiece brazil ? to which this film bears the most visual resemblance . +the protagonist of brazil found himself alternately surrounded by a plastic , soulless society and the constant chaos of totalitarian police inspections and terrorist attacks , and similarly duke's world is composed of the artificial , empty glam of las vegas and the bizarre anarchy of his drug hallucinations . +unlike the protagonist of brazil , however , duke is not a particularly admirable figure , and neither is gonzo . +during the latter half of the film , their trips turn nastier and the consequences worse , eventually building up to an incident an a diner in which gonzo crudely frightens and humiliates a waitress , while duke , though he doesn't seem to approve , doesn't do anything to stop it either . +by the time this scene takes place , they don't seem like hippies or peaceniks or protesters or anything of the sort any more ; they just seem like a couple of stoned jerks in a diner . +duke seems to realize at some level that he's become something he doesn't like , but he's either too apathetic or too defeated to do anything to change . +this film has taken a critical drubbing from many who view it as an essentially pointless film that simply throws one trip scene after another at the audience . +while gilliam may have overdone it in a few places , i think he and his co-writers deserve more credit than that . +there's plenty of substance here , particularly in the second half ; its observations about the broken and defeated rebels from the '60s and the objects of their rebellion just aren't usually very pleasant . +unlike , say , brazil ? or the fisher king , both of which feature a character who dares to let himself dream in a repressive environment , fear and loathing in las vegas ? shows us someone who's given up on his dreams and resorts to the quick fix of drugs . +in its own psychedelic , whacked-out way , it's sad and regretful , but i think it's also a bit of a kick in the pants , a challenge to find an alternative between chemically-induced withdrawal and the equally addictive drug of vegas-style materialism . +indeed , duke himself admits at one point that he's never learned to accept that you can get higher without drugs than with them . +i'm not sure if he's any closer to accepting it by the end or not , but i suspect the audience will get the idea . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv650_14340.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv650_14340.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a955602c280bfa894135b357fe78160fb797e262 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv650_14340.txt @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +james cmaeron's breakthrough feature was the first of his films to showcase his obsession with technology and more specfically technology run amok . +for those of you who do not know the plot : in 2029 machines have engineered a nuclear for the expressed purpose of wiping out the human race . +human survivors are systematically hunted down and destroyed . +however , some humans are fighting back led by the heroic john connor . +to stop connor , the machines send a terminator ( arnold schwarzenegger ) back to 1984 to murder connor's mother , sara ( linda hamilton ) , and thus prevent connor from ever being born . +in response , the humans send a protector , kyle reese , played by michael biehn . +images of machines and of humans' reliance on machines dominate the film . +even though the characters know that the benign oil drillers of 1984 will become the ruthless hunter killers of 2029 , humans continue to use the machines . +in the climax of star wars , luke relies on the force alone--his own spiritual power--to destroy the death star . +in the terminator , however , sara must use another machine--a giant hydraulic press--to vanquish her enemy . +cameron seems to be implying that this reliance on technology is inescapable--and he's not happy about it . +unabated technological growth brings about the terminator's other obsession : the apocalypse . +we have plenty of imagery regarding armageddon : thousands of human skulls line the streets of future la . +children watch the flames in a burning television . +when the terminator arrives in 1984 an almost biblical lightning storm precedes him . +even though the " future is not set , " there is no doubt about where the world is headed at the end of the movie : the machines will rise and the humans will have to struggle for their very existence . +all sara can do is await it . + ( cameron doesn't wimp out like he does in terminator 2 ) +the end of the world is the human race's own fault , too . +after all it is the humans that created in the evil machines in the first place . +back in 1984 , when the cold war was still in full effect , the film must have been seen as a very apt metaphor for nuclear war ( another obsession of cameron's ) . +these days , one can read a criticism of machine-like behavior in humans . +true , humanizing touches are put into paul winfield's and lance henriksen's detective characters , but the terminator is also able to move through the city undetected . +cameron also draw parallels between the mechanical efficiency between the terminator and reese when they first arrive in 1984 la . +from a technical standpoint the terminator is very well done . +arnold schwarzenegger is a perfect antagonist--unstoppable , merciless , obdurate . +we are not meant to empathize with this ultimate killing machine as we are in some of schwarzenegger's later works ( eg , commando ) , but fear him . +cameron and hurd's script basically depicts a one hour and forty-five minute chase , taking a few moments here and there to explain time travel and develop the romantic subplot . +while we do see the hackneyed dialogue cameron is now so well known for , there is also considerable suspense especially for the first time viewer who may be unsure of kyle reese's intentions . +cameron directs the film at a rapid , kinetic pace . +either the camera is moving or something within the frame is moving--usually both occurs . +the violence is not particularly graphic ( temple of doom's heart-pull scene outgrosses the terminator's ) , but it is brutally staged making it that much more effective . +for a low budget film , the terminator's special effects and art direction ( especially in 2029 la ) are remarkably well done . +special mention should be made of the stop motion effects work at the end of the film depicting the terminator endoskeleton . +it is some of the best stop motion i have ever seen . +one thing that doesn't hold up after all the years , however , is linda hamilton's hairdo . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv651_10492.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv651_10492.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8710514ca11383d638b38b2804390edabb8835c8 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv651_10492.txt @@ -0,0 +1,19 @@ +it might surprise some to know that joel and ethan coen , who have brought such unabated lunacy to our movie screens as " raising arizona " and " the hudsucker proxy , " made their feature film debut with " blood simple , " a grim and often gruesome tale of revenge , murder , and literally fatal misconceptions in rural texas . +it bears some resemblance , story-wise , to the coens' recent " fargo , " but even the darkly satirical humor and the enjoyably quirky characterizations that characterized that film are scarce here ; " blood simple " is pretty much cold and brutal from beginning to end . +the premise of " blood simple " is really just a slight variation on the standard love-triangle/revenge scheme : sleazy bar owner julian marty ( dan hedaya ) hires a shifty private detective ( m . +emmet walsh ) to kill his wife abby ( frances mcdormand ) and her illicit lover ray ( john getz ) . +things start to go haywire when walsh decides instead to fake the murder with photographic trickery but , upon collecting the money , becomes uncertain as to whether or not marty is capable of keeping his mouth shut about the scheme . +to reveal any more details of the story would be to give away too much , but what ensues is a series of bloody ( and i do mean bloody ) confrontations , each triggered by one or more characters misunderstanding what is actually happening . +every act of violence or deception in this film makes sense when seen through the perpetrator's eyes , but we , the audience , are made privy to the " big picture " and thus can recognize that each misdeed is somehow either unnecessary or directed at the wrong person . +this aspect of the story , along with the intense atmosphere of repulsion and brutality - one gets the sense that if guns and , in one case , shovels , were not available , some of these characters would claw each other to death - are the most effective components of the film . +the coens might have done well to title the film " fear and loathing in texas . " +some have labeled " blood simple as a modern-day noir , but , while i am not an expert on either genre , it seems more like a horror movie than anything else . +the coens seem much more interested in the plot twists and the atmosphere of confusion and paranoia than they do in the characters , and the final sequence is nothing more than a showdown between the one ( relatively ) innocent character and the only one of the murderers left alive . +that said , " blood simple " is a very good horror movie ; the fear and suspense here are genuine . +the coens also add plenty of quirky touches that nudge the weirdness meter upwards , such as when a character enters an empty room and accidentally steps on a gun , discharging it as it skitters across the floor , or when a murder attempt unfolds in a way such that abby mistakes her attacker for another character who has in fact been killed earlier in the film . +that said , " blood simple " is not exactly flawless . +for one thing , the motivations for the killings are still a little thin at times ; i can understand that the characters had tracks to cover ( or at least thought they did ) , but i found it a little hard to accept that all of them would so quickly resort to murder . +and although they at least didn ? t have anyone get hacked to death with a knife , the coens also aren't quite immune to horror cliches ; they indulge in a prolonged dead-guy-seems-to-have-come-back-to-life-but-then-we-find-out-it's-only-a-dream scene that had me rolling my eyes . +the film also ends so quickly after the final confrontation that i found myself wondering if they had simply run out of film . + " blood simple " is not quite the masterpiece of neo-noir that many seem to think it is , but it's a decent movie and it showcases the coens' ability to handle suspense and violence in a visceral but non-exploitative manner . +i would firmly recommend it to all " coen-heads " as well as anyone looking for something original in a thriller . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv652_13972.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv652_13972.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2139e7825a1b618241e7ee697b722ed5fd2fd0e9 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv652_13972.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +kirk douglas is one of those rare american actors who can say more with a simple glance than most can say with pages of dialogue . +all he has to do is look at someone with a raised eyebrow , and you instantly know what he's thinking . + " detective story " features one of kirk douglas's finest performances . +he stars as a new york detective that has his whole world fall apart in one night . +the film is based on a play , and this is quite evident , as most of the movie takes place in the one-room flat that the detective's work in . +the film opens with the douglas character getting ready to go home to his wife , but through a series of events , he never quite makes it there . +the bulk of the movie follows the case of a man named schneider , a surgeon who routinely performs abortions with a high fatality rate . +however , this schneider character has a connection in the past of douglas's wife ; a connection douglas himself is not aware of . +many secrets are revealed in the last half hour of this film . +secrets i would not dream of giving away . +with a name like " detective story " , one would assume the film would resemble an episode of " nypd blue " , but it doesn't quite work out that way . +however , we do see douglas at work on a few other cases throughout the running time . +lee grant ( virtually unrecognizable ) plays a meek jewish woman arrested for shoplifting . +her scenes with bendix , another detective , provide the movie with a few laughs . +the performances all around are fantastic . +douglas may be the leader of this ensemble , but he's not the center of attention all the time . +we get to catch a glimpse into other cases and other detectives working on those cases . +which brings me back to douglas . +he has a really emotional scene towards the end of the picture that really makes you feel for him . +we can see that this is a man who has spent his whole life trying to eliminate crime , but has finally realized that what he's really done is gotten back at his criminal father . +how he handles coming to terms with this is something really worth seeing . +kirk douglas is the kind of actor we don't seem to see to much of these days : he's a tough guy , but the human elements are never hidden too deeply underneath that gruff exterior . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv653_19583.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv653_19583.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b846a977711b838a7adbdab4ee359131c78c4292 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv653_19583.txt @@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ + " a man is not a man without eight taels of gold . " +starring sammo hung , sylvia chang ; directed by mabel cheung ; written by cheung and alex law ; cinematography by bill wong +eight taels of gold begins as a fish out of water story and at some point becomes a love story involving two people whose past choices prevent the fruition of their love . +neither aspect of the movie is entirely successful , but both are good enough . +and along the way there is one perfect scene , which is one more than you find in most films . +slim ( played by portly sammo hung , better known as a star and director of hong kong action movies ) is a chinese immigrant who drives a yellow cab in new york . +when the movie opens , we see him shouting obscenities at another taxi driver . +he does not seem particularly out of place . +in fact , he is about to return to visit his home in rural china for the first time in sixteen years , spending most of his life savings in the process , and it is there that he will become the proverbial fish out of water , as he realizes that you can never go home . +he brings with him some statue of liberty cigarette lighters , cheap sunglasses , and lobsters ( which have to be large , to prove they're american ) --the tokens of his success . +he also wears a gold chain and a gold watch , because without eight taels of gold , a man is not a man ( my dictionary tells me that taels are a unit of weight used in the far east , and i assume the phrase is a chinese proverb ) . +he loses most of this stuff--except the gold--when his van crashes into a river and he has to hitch a ride , so to speak , on a raft along the river which runs past his parents' village . +when he arrives unannounced , he almost induces cardiac arrest in his father . +all of this has the makings of a routine comedy , and the movie has its amusing moments , as when the villagers take turns giving slim gifts during a celebration of his homecoming , and they all give him birds , so by evening's end he is surrounded by turkeys , ducks , geese and other sundry fowl . +but eight taels is not a comedy--it is a sad , sweet story about the choices people make , and how they are sometimes irreparable . +director mabel cheung ( an autumn's tale , the soong sisters ) sees clearly what it is like to have lived half of your life in one country and half in a country on the other side of the world--what it is like to no longer have a place to call home . +slim does not belong in china , nor does he belong in america , where he can barely speak the language . +seeing water buffalo in the fields and rafts poled down the river and fireworks exploding gloriously in the sky over a small village , we come to know the world slim left behind , and it seems as if he too is knowing it for the first time , and wishes it felt more like home . +the condition of the expatriate is eloquently portrayed ; i , being one , was sympathetic . +on his way to his parent's village , slim hooks up with jenny ( sylvia chang ) , whom he knew when she was a girl nicknamed odds-and-ends , which is what he continues to call her , although she is now a mature , professional , attractive woman , to be married in the spring to an american-chinese man . +slim and odds-and-ends fall for each other . +that's predictable . +the manner in which their ( non- ) romance is played out is not . +the emotions involved are adult and complex , and the film avoids cheap solutions to their dilemma . +it's typical , for instance , that the fianc ? in this sort of plot be a colossal jerk , because it makes it easier to empathize with the unrequited lover . +but here the fianc ? is a decent , ordinary guy , and although slim would like to feel anger , he cannot . +the fianc ? has done nothing wrong ; the situation is the result of bad luck or bad decisions , take your pick . +eight taels has its share of flaws ( the early sequences in america and on the plane to china are especially weak ) , but it compensates with insight . +when odds-and-ends tells slim that her future husband wants to move to san francisco , she notes resignedly , " it's all the same . +wherever we go , we'll be in chinatown , " and her straightforward statement expresses much . +there is insight , too , in the understanding of the consequences of slim and odds-and-ends' decisions : he to move to america , she to marry a chinese-american . +both their choices were perhaps born of impatience , perhaps of a sense that the grass is always greener--and it turns out that both choices were wrong . +but they cannot undo them ; they must live with what they have done . +such is life . +the movie is tender toward these people , but it offers no false comforts . +everything that is right and true about eight taels comes together in one great scene , which is the culmination of the love story . +slim and odds-and-ends sit in a secluded spot and talk hesitantly , with the muted pop-pop of fireworks exploding in the night behind them , and it seems the conversation will lead to a kiss . +the exchange that follows , and what slim then does , is poignant and perfect : with clarity and understatement , we see two people's lives , their heartbreaks and virtues , summed up in a single moment . +yes , the film is flawed , but moments like that justify most of its inadequacies . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv654_18246.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv654_18246.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2a3b7bb364bdc2abe144ce78563b7e51a8421100 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv654_18246.txt @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +the summer movie season is always the biggest and brightest season for movies throughout the year . +we are introduced to blockbuster hits that are usually trashed by critics , loved by the people , and make tons of money at the box office . +this year , the tradition continues with an update on the universal 1932 classic , the mummy . +i have always been a sucker for this kind of monster movies , and i always seem to be the only critic who really likes them . +that tradition continues as well with this fun special effects extravaganza . +in the mummy , the up and coming brendan fraser stars as the adventurous explorer rick o'connell . +he teams up with a curious , clumsy librarian named evelyn , played by rachel weisz , to find the mysterious city of the dead , hamunaptra . +evelyn loves egypt , and would truly like to visit the city that people call a fable . +rick has claimed he has been to hamunaptra during a battle , and that's why she chose him to lead her there . +also tagging along on the journey to the city of the dead is evelyn's brother , jonathan , played by john hannah ( sliding doors ) . +now in hamunaptra , the three uncover " the book of the dead . " +the curious evelyn unlocks the book , reads from it , and now the body of the ancient egyptian imhotep ( arnold vosloo ) becomes alive and is out to kill the ones who opened and read from the book . +along with imhotep arising from the dead , the ten curses of egypt become in full effect , launching unbelievable forces against the three and another group who set out to find hamunaptra . +not only is imhotep furious with those who awoke him , he is also out to restore the life of his girlfriend that lost her life long ago in ancient egypt . +don't expect huge things out of the mummy , but just expect to have a good time . +this movie is extremely campy and plays out like an old horror film with beefed up special effects , which may turn off some viewers . +on the other hand , this type of film is one of my favorites , but that's up to you to decide . +there is one thing that definitely not campy or corny about the mummy though . +the state of the art special effects take you into a completely different world . +we are dazzled by faces rising out of the desert , swarms of beetles and locusts , and even creatures crawling under a human's skin . +these may have been in other movies before , but not like in the mummy . +as of now , the mummy holds the title for best special effects of this year , but all this could change when star wars episode 1 : the phantom menace is released into theaters across the country . +in the past , brendan fraser has played mainly comedic roles . +when playing " george " in disney's george of the jungle , he was mainly not known by anyone . +i would say that gods and monsters is the film that gave him a name , and now the mummy will give him a name amongst teens . +in the mummy , fraser gets to play an action hero , and i liked him in this sort of role over the comedic role , as in the films blast from the past and george of the jungle . +although brendan fraser is great , rachel weisz gives the best performance among the cast . +weisz really reminded me of a character from an old , horror film . +the way she acts , looked , and talked all reminded me of someone not from this time . +evelyn is probably the only character that was likable , considering that the other characters , like john hannah's , didn't get much personal attention . +in many films , when different genres are mixed , the mixing usually works , and i like it for the most part . +in the mummy though , not all of the mixing works . +there are some scenes that have a lot of potential horror , some with potential comedy , some with potential drama , and some with potential pure action , but the film tries to mix them together too often for the mixing to work . +the mummy could have gotten an " a " rating from me if it had gone purely with one of these . +i didn't mind the corny one-liners here and there during action sequences , but it certainly could have done without them . +the cinematography is amazing in the mummy . +particularly in one scene depicting ancient egypt , we are taken into a very fun portrayal of egypt , mummies , and the treasures left behind by the ancient egyptians . +the costume design in the film is also up there with the great cinematography . +from ancient egyptians outfits to original troops outfits , the costumes are always top notch . +the bottom line- with the mummy , the summer is off to its usually great start . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv655_11154.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv655_11154.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c9f22043602b70011c50f10165fb59f8a0645b7e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv655_11154.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +jacques tati's 1953 classic " les vacances de m . hulot " ( also known as " mr . hulot's vacation , " in english ) ought to be the textbook on how to do non ? dialogue comedy in film . +the characters hardly ever speak to each other directly , and the film operates on the paper ? thin premise that monsieur hulot , played by tati himself , is awkward and clumsy and generally manages to annoy the other guests at the beach resort hotel where he is taking a week's vacation . +yet the film had me beside myself laughing more consistently than any in recent memory . +part of the reason the film works so well is the clever setup for the various gags . +slapstick has often been regarded as an unsophisticated and even crude form of comedy , but i think part of the reason for this is that it often seems forced : you can only see movie characters start running after something and then crash face-first into a pole so many times before you start to wonder what all these poles are doing there in the first place or why these people don't watch where they're going . +in " les vacances de m . hulot , " the gags build upon each other and often start out relatively low-key . +in one sequence , for example , hulot is painting the side of his small row boat on the beach when , while his back is turned , the paint can gets caught up in the oncoming waves , washes away , then comes back up on the other side of the boat . +while crossing over to get the can , hulot steps in the boat and unknowingly cracks it . +when he actually takes the boat out into the water , it breaks in half , but the two halves flip up against each other , trapping him inside as the bystanders mistake it for a shark fin and panic on the beach ensues . +tati doesn't waste a single opportunity for humor ; scenes that might have yielded one joke in most comedies are good for at least four or five in this film . +it has been said that comedy relies on frustrating the audience's expectations , and " les vacances de m . hulot " succeeds brilliantly in that area as well . +tati accomplishes this largely through a sort of deadpan understatement . +when hulot goes into a separate room during dinner and starts playing a record at defeaningly loud volume , no fights or shouting matches ensue ; instead , the waiter calmly walks in and shuts off the power in the room , disconnecting the record player and leaving a puzzled hulot sitting in the dark . +tati also uses running gags to this effect , allowing them to keep running far longer than most comedy directors would ; more often than not , we can see them coming and think , " oh , he's not going to do that again , " but , lo and behold , he does . +for example , there is a recurring joke in which hulot's noisy , sputtering car engine wakes everyone in the middle of the night as an exterior shot reveals the hotel's lights coming on one by one . +then this image turns up again in the finale , which i will not give away other than to say that involves a lot more noise in the middle of the night than a car engine could ever produce . +the ending is one of two elements that really make this a four-star film as opposed to merely an above-average , clever comedy . +as much as i was laughing during this film , i was thinking to myself occasionally that tati had to top himself at the end to really make this work as a complete viewing experience ; suffice it to say that he did . +the other important aspect is that the film never seems disdainful of its characters . +it easily could have turned the tables on hulot and had the other guests exact some kind of revenge on him ; alternatively , it could have portrayed the others as humorless curmudgeons . +instead , tati seems to regard his characters with cheerful amusement more than anything else and invites the audience to like them , however strange or irritating they might seem . + " les vacances de m . hulot " is not subtitled , but the dialogue is sparse and for the most part not terribly essential to the flow of events . +anyone with a taste for this kind of absurd humor ought to make this film their next rental from the video store . +note : " les vacances de m . hulot " was not rated by the mpaa . +it would at most receive a pg rating . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv656_24201.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv656_24201.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a7386226335a85f5839bea9e17d1907361d5bfa7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv656_24201.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +i had lost all faith in pg-13 movies that are intended for teenagers and adults . +the last dozen or so that i have seen have all felt incomplete , as if the most crucial scene was deleted in order to obtain a more lucrative rating . +however , after seeing the creative frequency last week and now the exciting u-571 , my bias is beginning to go away . +both films are as innocuous for younger viewers as they are intellectual for older viewers . +even better , i didn't think either one of these films would be any good from first instincts . +everyone loves surprises . +u-571 looked like another action film using an actual war as an excuse to shoot torpedoes and bullets . +this may be true , but the action is so extraordinary that it is clear director/co-writer jonathan mostow completed his ultimate goal ; to blow the audience's socks off . +set during the early stages of world war 2 when the united states struggled to break the codes of the technologically advanced german u-boats , u-571 follows a small crew of american men who swipe the typewriter necessary to solve the enigma from an enemy ship . +there's only one problem : the american ship they came from and hoped to return to has been shot down stranding the men on a german submarine known as ( you guessed it ) u-571 . +it is now up to the mostly young and inexperienced sailors , led by an interim captain named tyler ( matthew mcconaughey ) , to return the typewriter to america without getting sunk by far superior german ships . +the film starts off very slowly with a somewhat weak opening action sequence and another uneventful half an hour to introduce several of the sailors ( most of whom die when the mission goes awry or just inexplicably disappear ) . +once the crew gets on the u-boat , the movie shifts to another level and never leaves this high energy level until the ending credits roll down . +as soon as the action starts , it does not stop and luckily , because it is so exciting , i didn't want it to stop . +this is not a movie for those wanting to avoid loud noises , from the wonderful , heart-pounding score to the constant yelling of panicking men , make sure you see this at a theater with surround-sound ? otherwise , do not see it all . +the best parts of u-571 are when tyler is forced to make impromptu decisions on how to escape seemingly impossible situations . +throughout the movie , several morals or characters are introduced to make tyler's job as stressful as possible . +germans gun down their own men , tyler's mentor captain dahlgren warns him that a captain has to be prepared to sacrifice even the most beloved soldiers for a victory , another sailor ( erik palladino ) threatens mutiny . +all of these examples , and several others , increase the chaotic atmosphere and the importance of tyler's every move . +they also make u-571 one of the most exhilarating movies i have seen in a while . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv658_10532.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv658_10532.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..93a319639698ce2c36052c809109eaebf584a096 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv658_10532.txt @@ -0,0 +1,51 @@ +finding the courage to face life full-on is a difficult task . +summoning up the audacity to fall in love is a harder job . +if you're a total jerk like melvin udall is , the odds are even more against you . +melvin ( jack nicholson ) is a successful romance author who is just the opposite of what you would expect someone in that profession to be . +a solitary man hidden away in his new york apartment with no human interaction and not even a hint of ever having been in a passionate relationship , he avoids the outside world as much as possible . +his obsessive-compulsive disorder rules his life as he uses several different bars of soap to wash his hands and refuses to step on a crack on the sidewalk . + ( there's a great scene when he has to cross a floor made of mosaic tiles -- _very_small_ mosaic tiles . ) +melvin has some great lines . +when his publisher's receptionist asks him how he writes women so well in his books , he responds " i think of men and i take away reason and accountability . " +don't get him wrong , he's not merely a misogynist . +setting his sights higher than that , he's also a homophobe , racist , anti-semite , xenophobe , animal-hater and intensely dislikes people who talk in metaphors . +when we first meet him , he's busy dumping a neighbor's dog down the garbage chute . +he's an equal opportunity bigot . +he does venture outside his apartment every day to eat breakfast at a local cafe . +melvin is such a grouchy curmudgeon that waitress carol connelly ( helen hunt ) is the only one willing to wait on him . +and she's none too happy about it . +when carol doesn't show up for work , melvin's routine is shot and he's determined to do something about it . +tracking down her address , he shows up at her place begging her to come back to work so that he can eat breakfast . +the fact that she's a poor single mother caring for a chronically ill son doesn't appear to phase him , he wants his food . +much more upsetting is that his gay artist neighbor simon bishop ( greg kinnear ) is brutally attacked during a robbery . +this doesn't upset melvin much ( " don't worry , you'll be back on your knees in no time " ) but when he is bullied into taking care of simon's dog , his life is turned topsy-turvey . +melvin is sequestered because he's afraid of what's out there on the other side of his apartment door . +he has to make sure it's ritualistically locked three times to keep the world on its proper side . +when he brings the dog home he reluctantly grows fond of it , talking to it and taking it everywhere he goes . +this little crack in his emotional armor opens him up . +hiding behind his need for carol to return to work so she can serve him , he pays for a specialist to treat her son . +he even develops a friendship with simon . +all three people are heavily damaged . +melvin has retreated from life in his apartment . +carol has devoted herself to her son , convinced that she has to give up her life for him . +simon is estranged from his parents and his friends disappear when he is hospitalized and his money runs out . +a more unlikely trio to form relationships , you'd rarely see . +and in the midst of it all , there are some wonderful moments . +melvin is hilarious in his grouchiness and touching as he attempts to be nice . + " you make me want to be a better man , " he tells her . +one of the best aspects is that even as he opens up , he is still a curmudgeon . +carol , afraid that his monetary contribution to the wellness of her son hides a hidden agenda rushes over to his apartment in the rain to explain in no uncertain terms that she will never sleep with him . +it only takes her a second to realize that she is delivering that statement while looking as if she just left a wet t-shirt contest . +there's hardly anything left to say about jack nicholson . +i don't remember ever seeing him in anything less than a stellar performance and his over-the-edge melvin is no disappointment . +nicholson may be the best actor working today . +hunt does a commendable job matching nicholson's energy . +she isn't afraid to be seen as something less than a babe and her portrayal of exhausted run-down carol struggling with seemingly overwhelming obligations is top-notch . +their on-screen chemistry is a bit odd . +each does a wonderful job with the character , but together , there's something a little off . +it's a minor problem : they do work well together , but that missing element is what prevents this from being a four-star film . +director james l . brooks ( " terms of endearment " , " broadcast news " ) has a movie that is picking up awards by the bucketsful ( nominees for all the top golden globes , winners from the national board of review , inevitable oscars ) and has a winner on his hands . + " as good as it gets " isn't exactly the quality that the title says , but it's pretty darn close . + ( michael redman has written this column for over 22 years and as soon as he finishes this one , he's off to an annual 12 night celebration typically held in freezing weather during a snowstorm . +this year it's in the sixties and raining . +that wacky el nino . ) diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv659_19944.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv659_19944.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..37b9a756512a8241234be90900aab32cbc901c6d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv659_19944.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +bruce willis stars as malcolm , an award winning child psychologist who discovers one night that one of his former patients is still suffering from inner demons . +the now grown man breaks into his apartment while he and his wife ( olivia williams from rushmore ) are celebrating his award , shoots malcolm in the stomach , then takes his own life . +almost nine months later , malcolm discovers cole ( haley joel osment , in a brilliant performance ) , another young man afflicted with the same turmoil as his former patient . +he takes on the child's case in the hope of redeeming himself for botching up the previous one , alienating his wife in the process . +he soon discovers that they boy can see and speak to the dead , and his life becomes forever turned upside down . +although the first hour is very slow , the sixth sense turns out to be a very powerful and moving film . +i was expecting this film to be mercury rising 2 , but was astonished to discover an extremely well plotted out little thriller with an outstandingly satisfying ending . +you'll find yourself mentally retracing your steps through the film to see if you actually saw what you think you did once the credits roll . +i must give m . night shyamalan a lot of credit for a brilliantly written screenplay . +the cast should also be given a lot of credit for making the movie as solid as it is . +a lesser cast could have made this film a joke . +bruce willis portrays his character perfectly , balancing his need to help cole and his agony over his strained relationship with his wife skillfully . +haley joel osment shines as nine year old cole , showing patience in his character that few young actors these days can pull off . +toni collette , looking markedly different from her pathetic character in muriel's wedding , gives a strong performance as cole's mother , who is trying to cope with both her son's " illness " and the passing of her mother . +finally , olivia williams deftly portrays a woman having to struggle with a husband who's not around and flirtations with a co-worker that could lead to a begrudgingly accepted end . +it's a shame that they show cole's abilities in the trailer , because the movie takes close to forty minutes to get around to doing the same , so we already know what's going on before most of the rest of the cast does . +in retrospect though , the forty minute set-up is essential to enjoying the end of the film , so i have fewer complaints now then i did while i was watching the film . +i'm glad that the run of teen-styled horror films has passed and filmmakers are starting to make more adult fare . +films like this , the similarly themed stir of echoes , and countless others to be released later in the year should make for a pretty entertaining close to 1999 . +[pg-13] diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv661_2450.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv661_2450.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..582d24ea44c82507e4b54e9937369634f2945ad9 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv661_2450.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +tone alone cannot sustain a film , but it can go a long way . +if i can find myself lost in the time and place of a story , it scores immediate style points . +when that tone is backed up by an outstanding story and great acting , the effect can be described best by an adjective i do not use lightly : " literary . " +what's eating gilbert grape ? +is such a film . +it's a rich , memorable and stunningly acted story of desire colliding with responsibility , staged in a manner which many viewers might find too prosaic , but which insinuated itself into my imagination with its confidence . +gilbert grape ( johnny depp ) is a young man living in rural endora , iowa , facing incredible responsibilities . +as the man of the house since his father's suicide , gilbert must support the family by working at the local grocery store . +he also must watch over his mentally handicapped brother arnie ( leonardo dicaprio ) and help care for his extremely overweight mother ( darlene cates ) . +gilbert seems destined to spend the rest of his life in the small town until the arrival in endora of becky ( juliette lewis ) , a free spirit passing through with her grandmother when their truck breaks down . +as he spends time with becky , gilbert begins to think about all the things he is missing . +slowly his resentment builds , until he realizes that he can no longer live his entire life for other people . +director lasse hallstrom ( my life as a dog ) and legendary cinematographer sven nykvist create a magnificent visual backdrop for peter hedges' screenplay , based on his own novel . +endora is a town on the edge of the world represented by the giant foodmart , a tiny insular community where everyone knows everyone else . +the midwestern sunsets and sprawling fields are beautifully photographed , and the atmosphere of the town is intensely real . +minor characters , like crispin glover as the town's mortician , are vividly realized , and there are echoes of the last picture show in mary steenburgen's desperately unhappy housewife . +one of the most perfectly realized scenes focuses on the grand opening of a burger franchise , attended by the entire town and accompanied by the off-key high school band . +not a single note in the depiction of endora rang false . +the same can be said of the character of gilbert . +it's testimony to the precision involved in his creation that he came together completely with one perfectly placed line , when becky responds to gilbert's description of his father with , " i knew someone like that once . " +gilbert is a man harboring an ever-growing bitterness about where he finds himself in life , a bitterness which reveals itself in moments of surprising cruelty . +in one scene , he allows local children to look at his mother through their window , displaying her like a side show attraction . +his entire life seems to be mocked by arnie's repeated chants of , " we're not going anywhere , " but instead of expressing his dissatisfaction he lets his anger simmer , and it becomes clear that he is following in his father's footsteps in this regard . +johnny depp expertly demonstrates the tension central to gilbert by playing everything below the surface , but he never gives in to one-dimensional blankness or simply regurgitates his naif roles in benny & joon and edward scissorhands . +depp's performance is overshadowed , however , by leonardo dicaprio's astonishing oscar-nominated supporting work as arnie . +he puts to shame such big name actors as john malkovich and dustin hoffman , whose mentally challenged characters never seemed completely real . +dicaprio is perfect to the last twitch and squeal , and anyone who has ever spent time with mentally challenged kids will be hard-pressed to spot a flaw . +darlene cates , a first-time actor , brings real pain to her scenes as gilbert's tortured mother , and laura harrington and mary kate schellhardt are solid as gilbert's sisters . +only juliette lewis doesn't quite click , playing a critical role with her now familiar dopey drone and too little genuine spark . +gilbert grape does seem to drift into its conclusion , but it never lost me . +thanks to a lovingly created setting and a marvelous cast , this 1993 release proves well worth the wait . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv662_13320.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv662_13320.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f1a97922a65895bd1e9e94f1f09a95c4d5560713 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv662_13320.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +hollywood has a . 750 +batting average with elmore leonard adaptations . +last year's touch was ill-conceived and just plain odd but get shorty , jackie brown and now out of sight all were highly entertaining movies . +steven soderburgh , master of sex , lies and videotape , now adds crime to his repertoire in this tale of bank robbery , prison , double-crossing , uncut diamonds and , oh yeah , true love . +george clooney is the protagonist , a risky choice after such duds as batman and robin and the peacemaker , but for once i didn't want to slap the taste out of his mouth . +he plays his role in out of sight as the suave cary grant-type perfected in hitchcock movies , the kind of guy to whom crime is just a profession like any other . +nowhere present is clooney's usual ain't-i-sexy sneer -- there's just enough leftover lightheartedness to fit in with the leonard style . +clooney is definitely a perfect successor to john travolta in get shorty . +clooney plays a man who's robbed about 200 banks without ever using a gun . +in the opening scene , he walks into one bank and robs it not only with ease but with charm . +of course , he gets caught , so it's not all good . +it's while doing time in a florida prison that clooney learns of one rich inmate's ( albert brooks in a frightful bald wig ) collection of diamonds in detroit . +clooney and cohort ving rhames plan the score , while protection artist and fight promoter don cheadle begins rival plans . +meanwhile , there's jennifer lopez . +unintentionally funny in selena and intentionally funny in anaconda , she's finally graduated to a worthy role as the u . s . marshal who happens to be driving up to the jail on the night clooney escapes . +rhames is waiting to give him a ride in a stolen car , and lopez makes it a threesome , her hostage ass locked in a trunk with clooney . +he's covered in dirt and has a gun to her neck , and it's a little cramped in there , but they manage to make a love connection anyway , probably because it's a movie . +the relationship between clooney and lopez is at the heart of the movie , and one of the details that elevates it beyond your normal noir-ish crime story . +the leonard movies are more obsessed with dialogue than crime , and this is no exception . +although they're not really germane to the plot , lopez's relationship with her father ( dennis farina of get shorty ) , rhames' relationship with his christian sister ( you could call her sister christian ) and a pop-in cameo by michael keaton all lend extra class to a movie already full of it . +out of sight spans at least three years but has a non-linear structure , focusing on the jailbreak / brooks score and flashing back to earlier times . +this is a movie with a brain , as smooth and calculated as the clooney and lopez characters themselves . +the entire cast does the material justice -- clooney and lopez coming into their own , and rhames and cheadle cementing their positions as two of my favorites . +here's hoping future leonard adaptations continue to carry the torch . +serving america for almost 1/20th of a century ! diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv668_17604.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv668_17604.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..992aa80804af38363e3a2ad06c358fe35e121e7c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv668_17604.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +in december of 1996 , a little movie called " scream , " was released , became a box-office smash , and resurrected films targeted at teens . +first , it was teen slasher movies that were the big fad ( both " scream " movies , " i know what you did last summer , " " urban legend , " etc . ) , but just recently , the popularity has switched over to the teen comedy genre ( a 'la '80s john hughes ) , starting with last june's " can't hardly wait . " +it may be the first week of april in 1999 , but so far this year we have been given a movie aimed at the 25-and-under market almost every single week : " varsity blues , " " jawbreaker , " " cruel intentions , " " simply irresistible , " " the rage : carrie 2 , " and " the mod squad . " +coming april 9 are two more of this type : " never been kissed " and " go , " and on april 23 , we've got the teen satire " election " and the teen horror-comedy " idle hands . " +jeesh ! +out of all of these moves , however , the one that is most similar to the latest incarnation , " 10 things i hate about you , " is this past january's mediocre , ho-hum " she's all that . " +although similar in plotting ( ok , darn near identical ) , " 10 things i hate about you , " a modern-day version of shakespeare's " the taming of the shrew " ( " she's all that " got its inspiration from " pygmalion " ) , is an infinitely superior film in every department , from the smart direction by first-time feature director gil junger to the charming and well-written screenplay by karen mccullah lutz and kirsten smith to the striking ensemble cast , who give the best group of performances in a teen comedy since 1985's " the breakfast club . " +and to top it all off , in the inevitable climax set at the prom , at least we didn't have to once again suffer through a goofy , inappropriate dance sequence ( who could forget , or want to remember , for that matter , this ludicrous development in " she's all that ? " ) . +the day wide-eyed , shy new student cameron james ( joseph gordon-levitt ) starts school at seattle-based padua high , he is swept away at the sight of the beautiful and popular sophomore , bianca stratford ( larisa oleynik ) . +although he doesn't know french , he purposefully learns some of it just so he can tutor her , but finds that her paranoid gynecologist father ( larry miller ) won't allow her to date until her bitter , unconventional older sister , kat ( julia stiles ) , a senior , decides to . +kat , of course , has sworn off the likes of boys , but cameron sets out to find someone that will be the perfect match for her , which is exactly what he finds in the form of the rebellious patrick verona ( heath ledger ) . +complicating matters , cameron's dorky friend , michael ( david krumholtz ) , decides to use a wealthy jock , joey ( andrew keegan ) , who also has his sights set on bianca , as a pawn so that he will pay patrick to get kat to go out with him , and then cameron hopes to steal bianca away from joey . +as you can see , " 10 things i hate about you " includes a huge number of characters , some of which i haven't even mentioned , such as kat's shakespeare-obsessed friend , mandella ( susan may pratt ) and bianca's materialistic comrade , chastity ( gabrielle union ) . +at a short , but well-used running time of 98 minutes , all of the characters are perfectly handled , satisfyingly developed , and , for the most part , are not treated as caricatures ( another flaw of " she's all that , " where the bad guys ( and gals ) ran around constantly saying , " you're vapor " ) . +since i could sympathize with the realistic depictions of the central characters , and since many of the comedic and dramatic scenes were surprisingly effective , i got completely caught up in all of the relationships and was thoroughly entertained . +aside from a good screenplay , it's the performances that can make or break a movie , and director junger has really hit the jackpot . +aside from joseph gordon-levitt ( " 3rd rock from the sun " ) , who gives his strongest performance to date here , none of the actors are that well-known , but it is this aspect that brings a particular freshness to the proceedings . +as the main character of kat , julia stiles ( last seen in the miniseries " the '60s " ) is marvelous and always believable , and certainly has a bright future ahead of her . +even though it is her role that is initially the most difficult and hard-edged , it was easy to identify with kat's way of thinking ( she is against the silly tradition of the prom and loves reading sylvia plath ) , and i completely admired her individuality . +no one , i think , could have portrayed her as perfectly as stiles does . +heath ledger , as the infamous bad-boy of the town , injects much life into patrick , and has a lot of chemistry with stiles . +one other actor of note is larisa oleynik who , with the help of screenwriters lutz and smith , is able to turn bianca into a person with multi-dimensions , even though she is accurately self-centered at the on-set . +in one truthful scene , cameron angrily asks her if she has always been so selfish , and bianca grudgingly realizes that yes , she has . +one off-beat element of the film , and a source of some hearty laughs , is the way that the school's staff act , which is strikingly unformal . +allison janney , as the guidance counselor ms . perky , who is writing a trashy harlequin romance novel , is comic dynamite , as is daryl " chill " mitchell as the english teacher , who reads shakespeare to the class in rap and , at one point , sends kat to the office because , for once , she actually thinks one of his assignments is really good . +although there are a few cheap laughs that are thrown into the film near the beginning , most of it actually works , especially in the humorous and witty dialogue exchanges and quirks between the characters . +in one very funny scene , chastity asks , " i know people can be overwhelmed , and they can be underwhelmed , but can people just be . . . whelmed ? " +at another point , bianca and kat's father ( a stand-out larry miller ) , who is constantly terrified that his daughters are going to get pregnant , only allows bianca to go to the prom on one occasion : before she leaves , she has to put on the heavy fat suit he has so she will get an idea of what it's like to be pregnant . + " 10 things i hate about you " once and for all proves that there is still life in the teen comedy genre , and this movie is probably more reminiscent of the great john hughes than any other film of the '90s . +it also helps that the movie has a perfectly-assembled soundtrack , mixing indie-rock with new wave '80s songs ( and with , thank goodness , no rap ) . +by the film's end , it actually had me rooting for certain characters to get together , and i was also quite pleased with how everything was wrapped up , especially in the final scenes involving kat and bianca , kat and her father , and a flawlessly-acted and moving sequence in which kat gets up to read the poem she has written for her english class ( this is where the title comes from ) . +luckily , i doubt i would be able to find ten things i hate about " 10 things i hate about you , " but the positive aspects of the film far out-number ten . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv670_25826.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv670_25826.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3a589e7cc1ed083a8f992014b26f458ca9ca5bb8 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv670_25826.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17 @@ +whenever studio executives try to combine the successful formula of two blockbuster films , the end result is always a mess of a script , acting , directing , and generally a waste of time for any audience with an average iq above 40 . +the latest movie morass from hollywood , the crew , appeared equally destined to fail , a strange combination of grumpy old men and goodfellas tossed together with the likes of richard dreyfuss and burt reynolds helming the ship . +the scary thing is that it's actually entertaining and a breath of fresh air in this otherwise stale month . +the crew works for several reasons . +the clever script is reminiscent of an old billy wilder movie , following four " past their prime " wiseguys from jersey who now live in the raj mahal apartment house in miami beach . +the wiseguys find themselves being evicted from their " golden paradise " by greedy landlords bent on raising rents for new beach bunnies and boys looking for beachfront property . +the four mobsters , bobby bartellemeo ( richard dreyfuss ) , joey " bats " pistella ( burt reynolds ) , mike " the brick " donatelli ( dan hedaya ) , and tony " mouth " donato ( seymour cassel ) decide to hatch a scheme to plant there a dead body heisted from the morgue in order to drive out the new tenants and keep their home . +this " simple plan " suddenly goes screwy , of course , and the boys become involved with a stripper named ferris ( jennifer tilly ) who wants her stepmother killed , a paranoid latin drug lord who's convinced a mysterious rival is out to get him , and a rat with its tail on fire . +the crew works as a strong comedic vehicle driven by a great ensemble cast of talented character actors and subtle leading men . +instead of concentrating on bobby's search for his daughter , the film gives equal screen time to all four wiseguys , balancing the production . +the acting talents of such screen veterans as dan hedaya , seymour cassel , and the great , great burt reynolds are brought out by each character's uniqueness and synergy within the wiseguy circle . +a strong supporting cast including jeremy piven as a philandering boyfriend/cop/partner and miguel sandoval as the paranoid drug lord provide the most laughs . +the film was produced by barry sonnenfeld and carries a hint get shorty with its energetic camera work by michael dinner , emmy award-winning director of the wonder years . +the quick script written by barry fanaro , screenwriter of kingpin , is carried by plenty of subtly dry humor and wit . +the crew is a prime example of how simple and dry-witted a comedy can get these days . +the great thing is that this comedy does not need to be punctuated by bodily fluids , phallus symbols in the head , or grandmothers giving head in a spa . +in the steady flow of " extreme " comedy these days flowing from hollywood like a broken water main , it's the elder statesmen like dreyfuss , reynolds , and hedaya that can carry a comic arc with only a few weapons of choice - a decent script and good acting . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv671_5054.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv671_5054.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2f05afec7565f0cf93e47e596c45f658e3efcf02 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv671_5054.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +along his carreer , mel gibson has collected several successes , not only from an economic point of view but also from an artistic point of view . +for all that , i think no one could guess the skills and abilities now disclosed in braveheart . +the australian actor decided to produce and direct a film about sir william wallace , a popular scotch hero of the 13th century , where he would also perform the principal role . +accepting so huge challenge , mel gibson run the risk of stain all his work of years , with a suppoosed failure , just to see recognized , by everyone , all his potentialities and , that way , to consolidate his position in hollywood . +it was , definitely , an enormous risk but i'm sure mel knew exactly well what he was going to face . +braveheart is , in fact , a magnificent and magisterial film . +for three hours we are completely absorbed by the narrative's rhyitm which never gives place to a single moment of monotony or uninterest . +the william wallace's story is the story of so many others brave liberty's defenders who fought and gave the life for that essential value , along the centuries . +seeing himself and his people victims of injustices and violent repression , william wallace dares to face the powerful edward i , king of england , in a war by the autonomy of scotland . +as the victories succeed the number of fighters with wallace goes growing up . +his courage and inteligence are admired by everyone , including the princess isabelle of wales , wife of edward's son . +however , william wallace was also surrounded by enemies and some of them were closer than he thought . +braveheart may not be an historically corrected movie but the nature of its message make us think about the importance that we give to liberty , nowadays . +mel gibson directs with a lot of brilliancy a brilliant cast . +patrick mcgoohan has a very nice performance as edward i , the king longshank . +the scene when he waits for the death and loses his voice is really good . +sophie marceau , as princess isabelle , has along the movie no more than fifteen minutes of performance but mel gibson gave to those minutes such a very special treatment that princess isabelle soon becomes one of the major characters in braveheart . +i also liked the performances of angus macfadyen , as robert the bruce , and , of course , mel gibson , as william wallace . +however , i think this time the mel gibson's work as director was much better than his work as actor . +the excellent music composed by james horner is another thing that helps braveheart to be the success that it really is . +when we join that music to the beautiful scotch landscapes , view by the camera of john toll , then we realize all the beauty of this film . +braveheart is , in my opinion , one of the best movies of 1995 ! +i've heard some people saying that mel gibson is gonna be a new david lean . +for now , let's see if braveheart equalizes the 6 oscars of lawrence of arabia . +it won't be easy ! +it's gonna be one more challenge for mel gibson . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv672_28083.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv672_28083.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..101ef6715d6c3c142d1f9c016e7fc225a90cfce8 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv672_28083.txt @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ +renown surrealist director , the 77-year-old frenchman alain resnais ( hiroshima , mon amour/last year at marienbad/m ? lo ) , has created a lighthearted musical played as an homage to britisher dennis potter and his pennies from heaven ( 1978 tv serial , 1981 movie ) and the singing detective ( 1986 ) . +the film follows potter's gimmicky style of having the characters jump into lip-synched old or contemporary french pop songs to express their private thoughts . +he also follows the kind of sweet and colorful musicals his fellow countryman jacques demy loved to direct , such as " the umbrellas of cherbourg " and " the young girls of rochefort . " +the tale has resnais's unique touches as a director to go along with his homage . +it is a satire about class differences and falling in love with the wrong person , and that there is a song in everyone's heart for every occasion . +what hinders this production is that the stars are not portraying particularly engaging characters , the songs are not memorable and stand little chance of being recognized by an american audience ( the exceptions might be the edith piaf and maurice chevalier numbers ) , and the farce seems more banal than daring . +yet it is not without its striking moments and charms , such as when jane birkin does a cameo and sings one of her own songs . +also , the glossy amberlike photography added a very french romantic feeling to the story , while the mood of paris as being a place for love to flourish above all else , which has always been embellished in movie lore , comes through with flying colors . +it also does a good job of showing you the way paris is in the 1990s and in the way ordinary people exist there . +it tells the romantic story of six parisians who become intertwined with each other in their ordinary lives as they search for happiness . +they are the attractive sisters odile ( sabine az ? ma ) and camille ( agnes jaoui ) , with the older businesswoman odile married and decidedly set on a bourgeois life of material comforts . +she is married to the glum and laconic claude ( pierre arditi ) . +she once went out with a businessman , nicolas ( jean-pierre bacri ) , who left her 8-years ago and now shows up in paris and asks her help to find someone to rent a flat for his family . +simon ( andre dussolier ) works as a real-estate salesman and is trying to find nicolas a flat , in his spare time he writes radio plays . +simon's boss is the much younger , unscrupulous and arrogant marc duveyrier ( lambert wilson ) , who inherited the firm from his father and is the real-estate agent selling a more luxurious and larger flat with a better view to odile , but fails to tell her that a building project is going up soon that will block her view . +screenwriters and actors jean-pierre bacri and agnes jaoui wrote themselves the best parts . +jaoui's camille is a university scholar finishing up a ph . d . +in history , using for her thesis the study of 'the yeomen in the year 1000 at lake paladru . ' +she works as a tour guide in the meantime and suffers from panic attacks , even though she appears to have outwardly perfect self-control . +on her tours for the last four years has been the much older simon , pretending to be doing research for his plays but really attracted to her , but not having the nerve to tell her this . +to his dismay , he finds out she is dating his mean-spirited but handsome boss , whom she meets when looking at her sister's new place and seeing him crying but not realizing that it was from a cold , not because he's so sensitive . +bacri as the classy nicolas , turns out to be now working as a chauffeur . +he is a hypochondriac with a history of depression who visits many doctors , until he finds one who tells him there is nothing wrong with him . +odile still pines for him , but he's married , telling her he expects his wife to arrive shortly . +love is 'the same old song' that makes the world go 'round , even when all the characters are liars and not exactly open to what their true motives are . +everything comes together in a bourgeois housewarming party for odile's place , as the characters reveal their true feelings and all their deceptions and neurotic impulses are either uncovered or about to be . +there's not a lot of bite to this satirical musical , but resnais has never made a bad film and is one of the best current french directors , if not the best . +this film is not one his great ones , but it still has enough pep in its light touches to be interesting . +it not only has an odd way for the characters to break into song but -- some males even sing in a female voice while some females sing in a male voice . +it is also interesting in the way it examines its characters' behavior as being similar in business as in love . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv673_24714.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv673_24714.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0a6d24831b15182055574d37bbbcf96339d9b6b8 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv673_24714.txt @@ -0,0 +1,73 @@ +in 1987 the stock market crashed , and oliver stone's wall street was released to critical acclaim and packed movie houses . +wall street lucked out in its timing ; the recent crash gave the film a resonation it might not of had , and though its kill-or-be-killed approach to business was exaggerated , that very ideology was keyed into the mind set of the quintessential reagan-era businessman . +stone constructed his film as a mythical good vs . evil tale relayed in the fast-paced milieu of the burgeoning stock exchange . +critics and audiences lauded wall street , elevating its status to that of a contemporary classic . +i'm proud to say that i will never be counted as one of them . +i found wall street to be just as axiomatic and pandering as the majority of stone's output with its thin caricatures , obvious sentiments , and a charisma barren performance by the young charlie sheen . +stone goes for broke in every scene ( the same could be said for nearly all of his works ) . +this approach tends to bury his purported message beneath a heap of good intentions . +he directs stock exchange scenes in typical hyperbolic mode with people shouting into phones as if they were in a plummeting airplane . +it's all an excuse for stone to ratchet up the emotion with false intensity , rather than explore what these situations are really like . +i have a feeling the brokers would be psychologically manipulative ( as they are presented in boiler room ) rather than laughably over the top . +these guys are salesmen after all , not televised judges . +more than anything i am baffled by why so many adore wall street . +the only possible solution i can muster is its release date . +and not just the timeliness of the " greed is good " subject matter : the film was plumped down in the eighties , a decade in which the one-joke comedy rose to an art form , and a group of glamorous brat packers smirked their way through inane high concept , low result movies . +in my mind , the eighties will forever be remembered as a decade with not only a proliferation of bad movies , but bad music , bad hair , and bad clothes . +maybe stone's after school special set in wall street was viewed as a welcome change of pace . +boiler room is an equally well-timed film with some similarities to stone's piece of crap . +they both feature a consequential father-son relationship , though boiler room's is much more subtle and touching . +and they are both concerned with the power of greed , yet the men in boiler room are akin to poseurs presuming to be big shots rather than the slippery-smooth , heartless gordon gecko figures of wall street . +boiler room is a message movie as well , though ( at least until the end ) doesn't shove it in our faces . +boiler room is about the pursuit of cash and the degrees to which people will go for that cash . +as i said , this film is indeed timely in a society where who wants to be a millionaire is the number one prime time show every day ( bringing about a revolution of prime time tv watching that hasn't been seen in quite a while ) ; not only do we want to be millionaires , we want to watch other people become millionaires ! +in our super-judgmental , power-oriented culture the desire for money supersedes everything ; when you have money , you have it " all " . +and seth ( giovanni ribisi ) wants it " all " the easy way . +he's a well-intentioned college drop out who gets lured into working for an illegally run brokerage firm ( the kind that sells junk stock ) whereupon he meets others just like him . +ben affleck is cast as jim , the company headhunter , who struts in commanding the room like a frat boy gordon gecko . +his job is to influence trainee's into becoming enthusiastic employees by giving a speech that subtly attacks their man hood . +it's ironic that he sells these pups the same load of b . s that they're told to dish out to prospective buyers . +affleck's character is obviously supposed to recall alec baldwin's similar character in glengary glen ross , and that proves detrimental to the actor's performance . +affleck shouts , curses and be-littles his rookie employees just like baldwin , minus the edge . +when alec played the scene he became the part , spewing those brutal lines as if they were his own . +by comparison affleck simply looks as if he were doing a really hammy line reading . +the brokers approach their job with the fervor of overzealous jocks : they storm to work like football players on the way to the big game . +rap music thumps on the soundtrack effectively illustrating who these guys think they are : intellectual gangsters . +they aren't above a rumble as a test of man hood especially during leisure time where the lumbering scott caan seems all too eager to use his fists in minor disputes . +we drink up this world along with seth , and watch him become seduced by it , just like we might be . +as in all cautionary tales , boiler room begins with seducing us into its illustrious world of profit and wrongdoing , then smacks us with the consequences of all the recklessness . +i know this story . +we all do . +but it can work if it's told with intelligence and energy , and that is how writer \ director ben younger tells it . +as a director of ( please excuse my french ) mise-en-scene younger has much to learn . +his style is sitcom bland . +but his writing isn't . +younger's script is well studied in the vernacular of this bunch ; his dialogue is like a junior david mamet . +despite the moderate camera work younger fills his phone-pitch scenes with tension that comes from just the performances and the tightly wound script . +the brokers \ hucksters counter every customer objection , gently bullying them into buying stock . +these moments are filmed like psychological action scenes : a tense confrontation between a victimizer and a victim who isn't aware that he is one . +with the exception of affleck's brief appearances , the performances are truly exceptional . +ribisi , who has the edgy looks of a character actor , is extremely potent here , working his pale angular face , and eerie , plaintive stare for all their worth . +he conveys child-like vulnerability ( his character seems to hide in a corner whenever things aren't going his way ) in some scenes , and in others he's ferociously cut throat . +the jekyll and hyde contradiction works well in the movie : ribisi is confident when it's just him and the phone , but cowardly in front of authority figures including his abrasive father ( authoritatively played by ron rifkin ) . +boiler room thankfully avoids wall street-like histrionics in the sales-pitch sequences ; the sales build slowly like a crescendo of intelligent psychological ploys . +those ploys are taught to seth by chris ( vin diesel ) , a kind broker who alternates between seth's friend and his mentor . +diesl shines in his minor role . +this week i saw the sci-fi opus pitch black in which diesel plays a completely different role in an equally effective manner . +in that film he has the kind of role that might have gone to arnold schwarzenegger in the 80's , and in boiler room he has the kind of role that might have gone to elliot gould in the 70's . +nicky katt is also memorable as a superior broker obsessed with what he can't have . +nia long , as the firm's secretary , ( a lone black women amongst many white men ) is ribisi's love interest in a part that at first looks to be as insignificant as most of the parts this talented actress gets , but develops into something more interesting . +the two make an oddly likeable couple . +long is smart and brash , and ribisi is charmingly aloof . +at one point he says to her " i'm just lookin' for some chocolate love " . +it's a terrible line but ribisi delivers it in such an innocuous child-like way , it becomes sweetly endearing . +unfortunately , towards the end , the boiler room turns a tad schmaltzy . +there is much crying , hugging , and sorrowful stares . +this is okay when taken in small doses , but younger's conclusion is constructed as a series of these boo-hoo moments , one following the other . +a particular misstep is his attempt to show the effect that seth's manipulations have on one of his poor victims . +it's not a bad idea but the execution is lacking , with those scenes feeling tacked on to further spell out the message . +that message being , " greed is bad " . +yes it's patently obvious , but boiler room conveys it by introducing us to a culture that i haven't seen much of in the movies : the disenfranchised twenty something entrepreneur . +and all wall street did was introduce us to a simplistic fantasy world of saints and sinners . +boiler room offers neither extreme . +it gives us what is in between , and for that i am thankful . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv674_10732.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv674_10732.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8f4aaa8f569a85ce707e68c2de7538a6e96fa77b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv674_10732.txt @@ -0,0 +1,45 @@ +look back at all the times in your life when there was a fork in the path to the future . +some sort of decision had to be made , and , for better or worse , it irrevocably altered the course of your existence . +>from time-to-time , everyone thinks about the roads not taken , and how things might have turned out if the choice had been different . +perhaps even more dizzying to contemplate is how a seemingly minor action -- catching the 10 am train , for example -- could have an equally profound , yet less obvious , impact . +maybe that's where you met your significant other , and , had you reached the platform just a few seconds later ? +film makers are no less fascinated by issues of destiny than anyone else , and that's why there's no shortage of movies about this subject . +the best of the bunch were probably made by the late polish director krzysztof kieslowski , who was obsessed with questions of fate and chance . +these themes weave their way through many of his movies , including decalogue , the double life of veronique , and the triptych of blue , white , and red . +however , they are most explicitly examined in a 1981 film called blind chance , where kieslowski presents the three different fates of one man after a minor action ( missing or catching a train ) changes the course of his life . +in his autobiography , kieslowski on kieslowski , the director describes his attraction to the concept this way : " [the idea is] rich and interesting ? that every day we're faced with a choice which could end our entire life yet of which we're completely unaware . " +while this approach has been the fodder for several notable dramatic films ( including , in a way , frank capra's it's a wonderful life ) , sliding doors is the first romantic comedy to plumb its depths . +the " road not taken " approach isn't just a plot device , either . +writer/director peter howitt expands upon both possible fates of a character after she just misses/catches a train . +the audience watches , with ever-growing fascination , how this one event impacts upon every aspect of her life : her future career , where she lives , whom she loves , and whether she has a family . +as her separate destinies diverge and then re-converge , she becomes two completely different individuals . +that woman is helen , played by gwyneth paltrow as a long , dark- haired brit . +one day , after losing her job as an advertising executive , she decides to return home in the middle of the day . +the scene of the pivotal moment is a train platform . +in scenario #1 , she just slips through the sliding doors before the train pulls out of the station . +on board , she meets the cheerful , talkative james ( john hannah ) , a monty python fan who is taken with her beauty . +minutes later , in her flat , she walks in on her lover , gerry ( john lynch ) , in bed with another woman ( jeanne tripplehorn ) . +in scenario #2 , she misses the train and , shortly thereafter , is the victim of an attempted mugging . +she doesn't meet james and fails to make it home in time to discover gerry's infidelity . +juxtaposed one against the other , while sharing many places , cues , and characters , the two stories proceed in parallel from there . +on one level , for viewers who enjoy pondering the workings of fate , sliding doors can be viewed as a deep and wonderful experience . +but , for those who just appreciate a romantic comedy characterized by solid acting , a script with a few twists , and a great deal of genuinely funny material , sliding doors still fits the bill . +one of its most obvious strengths is that it can satisfy many different types of audiences -- those who demand something substantial from their motion pictures , and those who could care less . +it shouldn't come as any surprise that the acting , at least from three of the four leads , is solid . +paltrow , who does double duty as two helens who are initially the same , yet gradually become much different , is the standout . +she plays both of her roles effectively and believably -- the shy , insecure woman who stays with gerry and the liberated , platinum-blond who severs the ties to her old life and embarks on a new career with a new man . +john hannah , known to most american viewers as the younger gay character in four weddings and a funeral , is instantly likable . +john lynch , taking a break from movies about ireland's troubles , does a good job presenting gerry as a inept , selfish philanderer . +only jeanne tripplehorn , who plays an over-the-top vixen , seems out of place . +her attempts at broad comedy are occasionally jarring , and it's occasionally difficult to see her lydia as anything more than a plot element . +one member of the supporting cast deserves special notice . +douglas mcferran , who plays gerry's best friend , russell , is an absolute delight , stealing every scene that he's in . +part of this is surely because he is given the best lines in the movie . +on one occasion , he has a marvelous monologue bemoaning how advances in the telecommunications industry have trapped men into a life of monogamy . +on another occasion , while laughing at gerry's plight with the women in his life , he comments , " being with you makes the wait for the next episode of seinfeld more bearable . " +but it's not all in the dialogue . +mcferran tears into this part with relish ; his performance becomes one of the most memorable aspects of a top-notch comedy . +this is the first feature film for peter howitt , and he approaches the task with unimpeachable aplomb . +the script is shrewd and inventive , combining wit , romance , and intelligent melodrama into a crowd-pleasing whole . +sliding doors grants more than just a good time at the movies , however . +for those who are so inclined , its central theme offers an opportunity to ponder some of the more philosophical questions about the workings of the universe -- all while having a good time . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv675_21588.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv675_21588.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..573f05e1962ab3b73b2a4d57218544a11b1ac73c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv675_21588.txt @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +three things i learned from " being john malkovich " : when getting on the elevator for your first day of work on the 7 1/2th floor of a building , always bring your crowbar ; don't stand in the way of your wife's actualization as a man ; and , whenever entering a portal into the mind of another human being , wear old clothes , because , hey , it's muddy in there . + " being john malkovich " is the most original film to come down the pike in a very long time . +wildly surrealistic , yet presented in a down-to-earth , funky style , this is the kind of movie that sticks in your head . +after savoring the sheer inventiveness of the storyline , you roll around the wealth of ideas contained within it . +from the ethics of relationships and politics of immortality to the very nature of identity itself , there's a lot to think about here . +just don't forget to have fun . +clearly , all parties involved in the making of the film certainly did , starting with writer charles kaufman . + " i wrote 'being john malkovich' without an outline , " he explains in the press notes , " blindly , with no sense of direction or purpose . +it's important to me that i don't have a map before i start . +this allows me to surprise myself , stay engaged , discover things , and , hopefully , allow the unconscious to surface . " +spike jonze ( mark wahlberg's na ? ve buddy in " three kings " ) takes it from there . +the white-hot director of the beastie boy's " sabotage , " an award-winning parody of '70s tv cop shows , as well as numerous other music videos and commercials , eschews typical mtv flash for his feature film debut . +jonze wisely realized that a storyline this unusual is most effectively presented in a low-key style . +his flat , matter-of-fact approach works perfectly . +and then there's the cast . +john cusack plays control freak craig schwartz , a street performer who periodically gets decked by parents objecting to his remarkably expressive , but decidedly erotic puppet shows . +over the years , his marriage to obsessive pet store employee lotte ( cameron diaz ) has devolved . +once passionate lovers , the two are now little more than courteous roommates . +financially strapped , craig takes a job as an entry-level file clerk at lestercorp , located on the 7 1/2th floor of a manhattan building . +navigating around dr . lester ( orson bean ) , his 105 year-old boss and floris ( mary kay place ) , lester's dotty secretary , craig tries to settle into his new position , but two things keep him distracted . +first , there's the beautiful and imperious maxine ( catherine keener ) , who delights in tormenting craig over his obvious lust for her . +and then there's the hole behind the file cabinet , which turns out to be a portal into the mind of actor john malkovich . +craig learns that anyone who enters the portal gets whooshed into the subconscious of malkovich , where they can experience life from his point of view ( with enough concentration , you can even influence his actions ) . +after 15 minutes , the visitor gets ejected and unceremoniously dumped in a ditch on the side of the new jersey turnpike . +then things get a little weird . +by the way , if you're concerned that i gave away too much of the plot , rest assured - - i barely scratched the surface . +one of the most satisfying aspects of the fable is that kaufman is not content to simply milk laughs from his bizarre set-up . +instead , he crawls into the dark premise as completely as craig crawls into malkovich , rummaging around and toying with the various philosophical implications of compromising another person's identity . +he also examines the consequences of the malko-visits to craig , lotte , maxine and , of course , john malkovich himself . +the performances are superb . +malkovich ( best known to mainstream audiences for his work in " dangerous liaisons , " " in the line of fire , " and as head psychopath in the guilty-pleasure " con air " ) tweaks his own image in a dandy self-deprecating turn . +far from his effete , vaguely reptilian persona , this malkovich is just another schlub , drinking with his pals and trying to get laid ( incidentally , charlie sheen also plays himself in a hilarious parody of his well-earned bad boy reputation ) . +as always , john cusack nails his part , handily pulling viewers along even as craig's actions become unconscionable . +the big surprises come from catherine keener and cameron diaz , both playing against type . +kenner , usually cast in icy subordinate roles , is terrific as a highly intelligent , extremely manipulative femme fatale . +cameron diaz , barely recognizable under a mess of brown , curly hair , sheds her perpetually sunny smile and draws big laughs as a woman thrown into extreme sexual confusion after taking a ride in malkovich . + " being john malkovich " stumbles towards the end , as jonze and kaufman try too hard to resolve the various subplots . +additional characters and increasingly complex explanations lead to a cluttered finale . +regardless , this contemporary " alice in wonderland " is a real treat . +i enjoyed watching " being john malkovich , " but only later , after reflecting on the film , did its resonance fully hit me . +at one point , craig says , " do you know what a metaphysical can of worms this portal is ? " +truer words were never spoken . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv676_21090.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv676_21090.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..321ae1d1d17fe855a765d010a4ea77f488d7c4fc --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv676_21090.txt @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +in my reviews i try to make gentle recommendations rather than telling you what to see or what not to see . +i realize that we all have different tastes and i cannot predict what my audience will like and what they will dislike . +but in the case of american beauty , i must make an exception . +if you haven't yet seen it , go see it . +now . +stop reading this review and head for your local multiplex , then after you've seen it , come back . +i'll wait here . +welcome back . +if you followed my advice ( and i see no reason why you should not have , do you ? ) , +i'm sure you've just had one of the richest cinematic experiences of your life . +american beauty is an extraordinary film , a powerful , jolting exploration of the dark side of the american dream . +it's humorous but it isn't funny because of the unrelenting ominous undercurrent that runs throughout the whole production . +mixing comedy and the darkest of drama was the way this film was intended , and by god , it works , making it one of the year's very best . +lester burnham ( kevin spacey ) has entered the mother of all mid-life crises . +he is living life without a purpose . +he is bored , depressed and sick of his sheltered , insignificant existence . +he barely ever talks to his family , has no sex life , is stuck at a dead-end job and thinks he has no reason to live . +but one day , when he and his equally troubled wife ( annette bening ) attend one of his daughter's ( thora birch ) cheerleading performances , he sees something that makes him come alive . +what he sees is the performance by his daughter's friend , the head cheerleader . +he develops a lust for the promiscuous young girl ; an obsession which soon becomes pedophilic in nature . +but for the first time , lester feels that he is actually living . +this crush is only the beginning . +lester proceeds to make more and more radical changes in his life , buying the car of his dreams , cursing off the boss and quitting his job ( " today i quit my job , told the boss to f * * * himself and blackmailed him for $60 , 000 -- would you pass the asparagus please ? " ) , +buying drugs from the voyeur-next-door ( ricky fitts , a teenager who mysteriously videotapes what he considers to be " beauty " ) and refusing to be docile in family affairs . +his new attitude further alienates his daughter , only reassuring her that her parents are nothing more than freaks of nature unjustly forced on her by the powers that be , and inspiring her to enter a relationship with her eccentric neighbor . +and the burnhams's neighbors provide american beauty with a significant chunk of its dramatic momentum . +ricky fitts ( wes bentley ) serves as the film's thematic center , providing the obscure , powerful meaning of the title . +colonel fitts , the father , is one of the most fascinating and complex characters in the movie , even considering his limited screentime . +kevin spacey has never been better , and this performance will certainly earn him a chance to put a little gold person on his mantel . +he never plays his droll character as a freak , rather , he effectively portrays him as a normal person led to drastic self-exploration by his dissatisfaction with life . +spacey is poignant and devastating in the role of a lifetime . +equally astonishing is young thora birch , who plays her potentially stereotypical rebellious teen character with suprising feeling and tenderness . +at two hours and ten minutes , american beauty didn't feel nearly long enough . +it's a complicated , unforgettable film that , like the ice storm two years ago , dares to explore the darkest reaches of suburban life . +powerfully and cynically , it dissects the notion of the pretty house with the white picket fence and appealing garden being the american dream . +it claims that this picture-perfect image is just that -- an image , and hiding behind it are lives much darker than common knowledge would have it . +the dark , deeply ironic ending , though given away by our narrator in the first few minutes of the movie , stays with you for weeks after it's all over . +american beauty is just the kind of uncompromising film hollywood needs every now and then to counterbalance the mindless drivel we see released ; even more so considering it's a masterpiece . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv677_17715.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv677_17715.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4c4078bface8fda3a5e66379c31d208d9a4f9b44 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv677_17715.txt @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +'pleasantville' ( 1998 ) taps into hollywood's lack of integrity with subtle messages that can be easily missed + ( www . pleasantville . com ) april 2 , 1999 ( friday ) +cast : tobey maguire , reese witherspoon , william h . macy , joan allen , j . t . +walsh , jeff daniels +mpaa rating : pg-13 for sexual content and thematic elements +genre : drama +in my opinion : +in short : it takes a lot of careful observation to see the true morals and lessons brought out in this film ; one can easily be misled as to what the real message is . +review : in a literally colorless world with an almost mechanical population , there is no room for transitioning variety or even the customary happenings of everyday life , such as rain , fire , or emotions . +the town of pleasantville has one adjective : pleasant . +there is no sadness , no fear , no danger , no discomfort , no love , and no hate . +put simply , it's a place alanis morissette could really work wonders for . +j one big note however is that it is only a 50's sitcom that airs in reruns on an " oldies " tv station ? or is it ? +i had waited months to see this movie and after doing so on opening day i was not disappointed . +i found it quite intriguing and delightful and went back 3 more times in the period it endured at the box office . +but it wasn't until months later , when i slipped in for a small showing in one of those crummy " dollar theaters " after not having seen it for so long , that my eyes were opened to such a deeper meaning and perspective than i had previously experienced . +it is a far too feasible misconception that this is a film which forwards the idea that a world without some " healthy " immorality is not a world at all . +instead , the actual message , which so far has not been recognized by many viewers that i know of , is that a world without immorality doesn't give one the ability to discern right and wrong for himself , because everything is automatically right . +there is no room for mistakes and growth and learning because there are no mistakes to be made , no space for growth , and never anything new to learn , and that is the key component to the entire purpose of the story . +now i'm not saying that's necessarily the way it was intended to be interpreted , but that is hands down the proper way in which it should be . +besides a hidden symbolic depth and themes that go beyond what we can absorb from previews , this film has elements of physical wonder and strength that make it just so great to watch . +the visual effects are indeed striking and what little color is revealed is impartially favorable . +after spending the bulk of the movie staring at black and white , it's hard not to identify and appreciate the fact that our own world allows for all that brilliance and more . +a truly intelligent addition to it all , however , is the charming and ardently attainable cast that operates together like clockwork . +that said , the plot goes as such . +david and jennifer are two very 90's high school twins with the typical " relationship " outline of don't-mess-with-my-life-and-i-won't-mess-with-yours . +they demonstrate the well-known teenage qualities of two of the common versions of adolescents today . +david is the shyer , subtler twin who would rather watch tv land than mtv , while jennifer is the wild , licentious one who spends her days at the mall and relishes in the pleasures of the offensive world of degradation . +but when a freak accident enchantingly plops them smack dab in the middle of pleasantville as two of the main characters , they are forced to depend on each other to make it back home . +nevertheless , jennifer works her magic and introduces the town to a more unrestrained approach to life , and while david frantically tries to stop her and get them back home , he realizes that change was exactly what the town needed . +and , as said earlier , not to flip the town around into some corrupt society , but rather to give people the choice to decide between good and bad and to reap the results of their decisions and learn from them . +not only were difficult choices being brought upon the town , but the simple accepted occurrences of ordinary existence also began to take place . +people got hurt . +they cried . +they became afraid and happy and thoughtful and started to think for themselves , and that's when their physical world turned colors as well . +this can be looked upon as quite a controversial movie , but to me the message is finally clear . +i hope after reading this people can be more open to the film than they had been in the past , and realize that without choosing how our own lives will be run , we'll never know what we could have done better . +until the next great movie i see , i remain sincerely , danielle flynn , imr diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv679_28559.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv679_28559.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3a8cf7e9d307496f83ce441765fe3f8124eafcd9 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv679_28559.txt @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +plot : a big-time momma's boy can't seem to leave his mother's crib and make good on the babies that he himself has produced in the world . +he visits his kids ( and their mommas ) every now and then , but his main goal in life is . . . well , he doesn't have any goals . +then one day , his mother gets an ex-gangsta boyfriend and suddenly he isn't as welcome anymore in his own house . +it isn't long after that , that his girlfriends start realizing what a jerk he really is and well . . . it's +either time to grow up or bow down ! +critique : first things first ! +this movie ain't about the " hood " at all , it's an intelligent film about love , relationships , family , friendship , maturity and growing up . +do not avoid this film because you think it's about gangbangers and stuff , because it isn't at all . +it's about you , it's about me , it's about your girlfriend , your mother , your problems and your inability to face up to your responsibilities and to , well . . . grow +up ! +this is an extremely well-written film , with some of the most developed characters that i've seen on the screen all year , with superb acting performances to match . +granted , the film does start a little slow ( and go a little long ) , but hang in there , because once you appreciate and get to know all of its characters , you will be glad that you did . +this isn't a kid's movie . +this is about the step that you need to take in order to pass into full " adulthood " and some might not appreciate the grander theme behind that step . +i certainly did , because i too passed , and am passing , through many of these very same things right now ( yeah , yeah , i still live with my momma ! ! ) and related to a lot of the events that went down in this flick ( oh yeah , and for the record , i'm not black but that made absolutely zero difference in this case ) . +but that's not even half the story . +you see , the film is damn funny , too . . . and +i mean , damn funny ! +i was crackin' up at almost every other scene , and they weren't " set-up jokes " like your typical comedies either , just day-to-day things that we could all relate to ( like the scene in which ving rhames is " drinking koolaid " in the kitchen and his infamously improvised " african squat f * * k " scene , which you just gotta see to believe ! ) +and there are the performances , too . +ving rhames , now here's a man who has already established an early lead in the race for best supporting actor at the end of this year . +damn dude , you scared the shit outta me ! +tyrese gibson , i have no idea where this guy came from ( an r&b singer and mtv vj , you say . . . hmmmm ? ) , but other than his uncanny resemblance to taye diggs , he nailed this part to the tee . +from scene one on , i was glued to his performance and sympathized with his character as he molded and shaped himself into the person that he hoped to become one day . +and everyone else , too . +gibson's girlfriend in the film , taraji henson , made me a backer with her many subtle touches , all of which helped raise her character several levels above the " typical " bitchie girlfriend that we've seen in many of these relationship movies . +but that's the thing that i liked the most about this movie . +everyone seemed real , the situations felt authentic , the characters all came across as people like you and me with issues and struggles and hopes and fears . +i liked this movie a lot because it was masterfully written , wonderfully acted and genuinely entertaining to watch . +and yeah , i even liked the whole homage to boyz 'n the hood that singleton pulled off in the end ( he called this movie a " companion piece " to that film ) . +a very solid follow-up to an ever greater original , baby boy is a film to be seen by anyone who feels like they never wanna grow up . +note : the guy who plays jody's best friend in this movie is omar gooding , cuba gooding jr . 's younger brother ( cuba starred in 1991's boyz 'n the hood ) . +where's joblo coming from ? +the best man ( 8/10 ) - brothers ( 5/10 ) - shaft ( 7/10 ) - summer of sam ( 7/10 ) - what's cooking ( 7/10 ) diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv680_10160.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv680_10160.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..7b13d73d2e08f5c0a5cb699235c6e230014fccfd --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv680_10160.txt @@ -0,0 +1,43 @@ +it is an understood passion and an understood calm . +bud white walks into the home of lynn bracken , a prostitute " cut to look like veronica lake . " +he's one of l . a . 's finest investigating the murder of fellow cop , and one of the leads takes him to her home . +it's understood that he is quiet thunder , a guy who's calm voice is more powerful than his arms . +it's understood that she's supposed to be beautiful , but underneath her face is pain and scraped out lines that say her life could have been so much more . +you know without having to be told . + " you're the first guy who hasn't told me i look like veronicca lake in under a minute , " she says . + " you look ten times better . " +he says it without thinking . +like he knows without her having to say anything . +white's face doesn't turn , it doesn't blush . +you see his eyes , and you believe him . +it's a perfect moment in a near perfect movie . +l . a . confidential is the best movie of the year . +it is grace and poetry ; a richly layered work of pure entertainment . +it is a portrait of police and morality as it works it's way through characters that are so real on screen that you believe that they might have a soul . +in a phrase , it is everything . +it is funny , it is exciting , has enough action and adventure and mystery and grace and suspense . +it is the pinnacle of a movie , a complete work , a flawless film . +it's hard to tell you about the plot , because it's about so much more than plot . +besides , there's too much to describe . +sure , it's about police and searching for corruption and who fights for the right reasons and the definition of justice . +but it's also about what you feel when you look into the eyes of the characters in the film . +director curtis hanson has perfectly framed each character , letting you see into them , rooting for them one moment , doubting them the next . +the actors work with their lines , but in this movie their most important weapon is their eyes . +you can tell what each person is feeling just by looking into their eyes for one moment . +russell crowe plays bud white , a muscle cop with a beef for wife beaters . +his movements are fierce . +when he strikes , you jump , when he's calm , you know it won't be for long . +his intensity oozes out of the screen . +you follow his character through the movie afraid of him , but in sympathy of him , because you know how good his heart is . +he's looking for a way to solve crimes , you're just never sure how he's going to do it . +his counter is ed exley , played with a chisselled face by guy pierce . +you feel for him , for his character , because of all the cops in the movie he's the one that's actually trying to do the right thing by going by the book . +you know that he must face the reality of breaking the book , and you love the way he gets there . +i've seen l . a confidential twice , immediately after it was over , i wanted to hit the rewind button and watch it again . +i didn't want the theater experience to end . +it's been a long time since i actually experienced a movie , feeling like i got something after i walked out . +that's why i love movies ; the great ones can be too rich and powerful to describe . +watch l . a . confidential : after you leave the theater , you feel like you just watched a classic movie . +that's why la confidential stands as the best movie of the year . +l . a . confidential ( directed by curtis hanson . +starring russell crowe , guy pierce , kevin spacey , james cromwell , and kim basinger . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv682_16139.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv682_16139.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..fd4fef38011db0e45b16612b2111b62b714aa2d3 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv682_16139.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +you don't have to know poker to like " rounders , " but it might help . +that a great deal of this sharp little drama is set in the back rooms of new york's cardshark underground astoundingly doesn't limit its accessibility , even for those who can't tell royal and straight flushes apart . + " rounders " ' success , then , is owed to its proficient cast and intriguing portrayal of a world not many viewers will be familiar with . +the dialogue may be filled with terms that only true players will grasp , but you don't have to speak the language to understand the words - a statement that pretty much sums up the effectiveness of the whole show . +matt damon , fresh off his " good will hunting " hot streak , is perfect for the role of mike mcdermott , a young law student with a tremendous gift for gambling . +but after losing all of his tuition money in a killer high-stakes match with russian poker aficionado teddy kgb ( john malkovich , deliciously hammy ) , he shifts his focus to scholarly matters , leaving his true area of expertise far , far behind . +things change , however , when mike's old buddy worm ( edward norton ) re-enters his life - it seems worm , just out of jail , owes a hefty sum to nasty thugs , and is counting on his friend's superlative skills to help him pay off the debt . +that " rounders " ' story quickly molds itself into a conventional , predictable tale of redemption doesn't hinder its potency . +director john dahl , infamous for his neo-noirs " red rock west " and " the last seduction , " gets extremely convincing mileage out of the been-there , done-that plot mechanics by trumping up the relationship between mike and worm . +damon and norton bring so much to their roles that they'd be worth catching even if " rounders " ultimately folded , but the movie ups its fascinating ante by contrasting their wildly different ways of winning . +any sequence where the two men sit at the table together is an unarguable highlight . +if only the other character interaction was as successful , " rounders " might merit consideration when it comes time to number the year's best films . +current " it girl " gretchen mol is sweetly appealing as mike's girlfriend jo , aware and weary of his seedy past , but her scenes with damon number too few to be very effective . +john turturro's aging mentor and famke janssen's tempting siren , both interesting sketches , are hampered by the same limited screen time . +and as a wizened judge , the great martin landau makes memorable a role that's mostly a plot device - he's on hand mostly to sort-of save the day and provide a voice for " rounders " ' moral . +that moral , by the way , is " our destiny chooses us , " and it's something of a surprise when " rounders " supports this solemn proverb by eschewing the conclusion you might expect ; mike does learn from his mistake , but neither the mistake nor the way he learns from it is what it initially appears to be . +in the end , " rounders " sees gambling as less a mere addiction than a potential art form , but the poker itself is only a metaphor for a much larger picture . +the road to true fulfillment lies within the realization and exercising of your natural passions , the movie espouses , no matter what they might be . +here , low-rent lowlifes like worm just aren't cut out for the cards . +screenwriters david levien and brian koppelman entertain and educate in their quest to vividly render a culture that's often generalized by movies ; even complete poker neophytes should cross the line from observers to participants when the movie gets to its concluding game scene . +inside every adventurous filmgoer , there is a desire to be taken someplace new and exciting , and that's the precise allure of " rounders . " +it ultimately matters not that a few of our tour guides feel partially-realized or that the journey itself is cluttered with sites we've seen before , because the final destination is a satisfying one . +in the end , " rounders " holds a winning hand . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv683_12167.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv683_12167.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e7d8293a9348772067939418add660a50a7b255c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv683_12167.txt @@ -0,0 +1,55 @@ +melvin van peebles' " sweet sweetback's baadasssss song " was a watershed moment in the history of american cinema and the black movement . +it was released less than a decade after the civil rights movement had begun and almost twenty years before the rodney king incident . +its violent and highly sexualized revenge tale of a macho black hustler fighting back against white oppression and winning was something that had never been seen on an american movie screen before . +in style , content , and how it was conceived and produced , " sweet sweetback " was a cinematic revolution , whether or not one agrees with its subject matter . +van peebles , a black american who first gained recognition by writing novels in france , built " sweet sweetback " from the ground up almost entirely by himself . +because no studio would dare fund such a film , he was forced to raise all the money himself . +the movie ended up costing about $500 , 000 , part of which was put up by none other than bill cosby . +van peebles cut costs by hiring non-union labor and taking on most of the film's responsibilities himself . +he wrote the script , scored the music , edited and directed the film , as well as starred in the central role . +he was also a brilliant entrepreneur who always found a way to make an extra buck . +for instance , when the mppa slapped the film with a dreaded x-rating , van peebles not only threatened to bring a lawsuit against jack valenti and the mpaa , but he also developed a little marketing scheme : he coined the phrases " rated x by an all-white jury , " which he put on the movie posters to help advertise the film . +he also printed the phrase on tee-shirts which he had no problem selling . +the storyline in " sweet sweetback " is deceptively simple . +it takes place in los angeles , and van peebles stars as the title character , a tough male hustler of few words who grew up in a brothel , and makes money by doing what he does best : having sex . +one day , he agrees to go with a couple of amiable white cops down to the station to make it look like they're bringing in suspects on a politically-charged case involving murder . +however , on the way to the station the cops arrest a young black revolutionary named mu-mu ( hubert scales ) , who they proceed to beat viciously . +acting out of complete impulse rather than political motivation , sweetback fights back and beats the cops to the brink of death . +the rest of the film follows sweetback as he evades the cops on his way to eventual escape in mexico . +although the repetition of watching sweetback run gets a little old by the end of the film , this plot allows van peebles' camera to roam the darker side of l . a . - the ghettos , alleys , and back-street whorehouses that other films had always overlooked . +van peebles' entire point in making the movie was to secure on celluloid a vision of the black experience in america that other filmmakers had ignored . +at the beginning of " sweet sweetback , " he offers this epigraph , which is a traditional prologue used in medieval times when a messenger brought bad news : " sire , these lines are not an homage to brutality that the artist has invented , but a hymn from the mouth of reality . . . " +van peebles wanted to make sure that his vision was one of reality , not of exaggeration . +of course , with today's abundance of rap and hip hop music that sings the same ode to black inner-city life , as well as films by spike lee , john singleton , and the hughes brothers , " sweet sweetback " doesn't seem all that revolutionary . +it is important to remember that this film must be viewed in the context and time period in which it was made . +at that time , " sweet sweetback " was so controversial that only two theaters in the entire united states would play it . +distributors were petrified of a film that , in van peebles' words , gave the black audience " a chance to see some of their own fantasies acted out - about rising out of the mud and kicking ass . " +of course , once it caught on , it caught on big . + " sweet sweetback " is now considered to be the film that kicked off the blaxploitation era , although van peebles disassociates " sweetback " from other movies like " shaft " ( 1972 ) and " the mack " ( 1973 ) , because those were financed by big hollywood studios . + " sweet sweetback " is also the only film deemed mandatory viewing by the black panthers . +however , even if when viewed from an african-american perspective , " sweet sweetback " is certainly not without its controversies . +when it was first released , an article was published in " ebony " magazine denouncing the film , while at the same time the black panthers used an entire newsletter to praise it . +there have been arguments that the victory for sweetback is really no victory at all - beating cops and then running away to mexico is nothing to be proud of . +others have pointed out that sweetback has little to say throughout the film ; he has no political motivations , and therefore the violence and havoc he wreaks is not rooted in fundamental beliefs , but in personal and selfish motives . +still others point to the clich ? black potency that stereotypes sweetback as being good at nothing but having sex , illustrated in a scene where he gains the respect of a white biker group by bringing their female leader to orgasm . +nevertheless , a movie like " sweet sweetback " cannot be made without conflicting points of view . +it is a revolutionary movie not because it's about one man's defiance , but because it put front-and-center black issues that had never been dealt with before . +until that point , american cinema was an almost exclusively white domain , and with the exception of sidney poitier , all black actors were relegated to specifically black roles that were important only in relation to whites . +the fact that " sweet sweetback " was a movie by black about blacks , was something new ( in the opening credits , van peebles lists the starring actors as simply " the black community " ) . +van peebles tells an interesting story that goes a long way toward defining the difference between " sweet sweetback " and all movies that had come before it . +when the movie first opened , he saw it in a theater next to an older woman . +near the end of the film , when sweetback is wounded by the police and stumbling through the southern california desert , she kept saying to herself , " oh lord , let him die . +don't let them kill him . +let him die on his own . " +it was so ingrained in her mind that death was imminent for any african-american in a movie who rebelled against white authority , that she couldn't even conceive of the possibility that the film might end with his successful escape . +and , of course , sweetback does escape , and the screen fills with the message : " watch out ! +a baad asssss nigger is coming back to collect some dues . " +beyond the political aspects , " sweet sweetback " is an entertaining picture , which van peebles always intended it to be . +he squeezed every drop out of his limited budget , and produced a film that , although dated now , was technically fantastic at the time . +he shot in rough , documentary-like fashion , while also utilizing almost every visual and aural trick his technology would allow him . +he makes good use of older techniques like split screens , freeze frames , reversed color schemes , and overlapping images . +the only time the film ever looks bad is during the night sequences , because van peebles simply did not have the needed equipment . +watching " sweet sweetback " more than twenty-five years after its initial release , one realizes that it still has bite . +arguments can be made that race relations in the united states have made quantum leaps since the early seventies , but there are still problems that are reflected in this film . +but there is more to the film than its racial aspect . +the legacy of " sweet sweetback's baadasssss song " is not only the plentiful amount of art and music told from the african-american perspective , but more importantly , the work of every artist who has fought to fund and produce that which is important to him . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv686_13900.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv686_13900.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a0aef4fcf89c84dd3bcdc1a5979213b4a8bbff05 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv686_13900.txt @@ -0,0 +1,13 @@ + " the fighting sullivans " contains a major plot development in the last ten minutes that every movie guide has seen fit to give away . +there was no dramatic tension for me while watching the film , as i knew exactly what was going to happen . +and that's the worst thing that can happen before viewing a movie . +because of this , i will tread lightly so i don't ruin it for anyone reading this review , and it would be very advisable to avoid all other material regarding this film until after you have seen it . + " the fighting sullivans " revolves around a family that consists of a mother , father , sister , and five brothers . +the brothers are very close , despite the occasional disagreement . +they are inseperable , and never stray from one another . +their friendship and loyalty is the foundation of this picture . +the first half of the movie follows the brothers as young children , and their various adventures . +when four of them get into a fight with some local boys , the youngest sullivan , who is inside a church at the time , comes running out to assist , but not before properly exiting the chapel . +if i'm being awfully vague about details , it's because what i have told you is essentially the first hour and a half . +all i can say is go watch this film , because it is a fine portrait of a family that sticks together , through the good and the bad . +and after you see the movie , you will understand why this review has been written the way it has . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv688_7368.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv688_7368.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..116c5aa82f6ec6c98aef76fb44a21bb31688ac96 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv688_7368.txt @@ -0,0 +1,19 @@ +time bandits , from director terry gilliam , is a very different fantasy action/adventure movie about a group of time-traveling dwarves , led by randall ( david rappaport ) , who have stolen a map of the universe . +this map contains time hole , that , if exploited , enable the men to travel back and forth through time . +the supreme being of the universe ( ralph richardson ) is the former employer of these treasure-seeking bandits , and he wishes desperately to regain the map . . +during the travels , he appears as a ghostly face , demanding that they return the map that they have stolen . +but , according to randall , they are just " borrowing " it . +kevin , a young boy who seems quite bored with his life , is unexpectedly brought into the schemes of the little men when they appear in his room , which has a portal for time traveling . +he joins up with the men and becomes part of their gang , following them on their robberies . +their first victim is napoleon ( ian holm ) , whom they rob during a battle that he is commanding . +from here , the group travels to the middle ages , meeting up with robin hood himself . +eventually , kevin is separated from the group and travels to an egyptian time where he is taken in by king agamemnon , played by sean connery . +kevin accidentally saved the king's life , and the king wishes to have kevin as his son . +but the group of bandits find kevin and transport onto the deck of the titanic . +meanwhile , the evil genius ( david warner ) is watching the group from fortress of ultimate darkness , attempting to find a way in order to bring the men , and the map , to him . +when randall learns of the fortress of ultimate darkness , which supposedly contains " the most fabulous object in the world " , the dollar signs seemingly appear on his eyes , as he is convinced that they must travel there . +once inside the fortress of ultimate darkness , it is unclear as to if any of the men will make it out alive . +time bandits is a fantastically made film that caters to the imagination of anyone . +with a terrific soundtrack , courtesy of george harrison , whom also was an executive producer , time bandits is sure to be a very surrealistic , time-traveling adventure with unforgettable characters that is sure to entertain anyone . +terry gilliam , however , does not utilize that greatly his trademark ability in moviemaking during this film , although this does not affect the film that greatly . +and finally , if you liked labyrinth , you'll love time bandits . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv689_12587.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv689_12587.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..384ea4a2c9880e97a075887db023fd79e77be13f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv689_12587.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +it seemed wholly appropriate that at a weekend screening of " the horse whisperer , " the start of the film was delayed some twenty minutes due to " projection difficulties . " +robert redford's film version of nicholas evans' best-selling novel was supposed to have been in theaters last december , going head-to-head with " titanic , " but is only now making its much anticipated debut . +this ( strategic ? ) +delay has allowed " the horse whisperer " to compete , sans fanfare , against some smaller , unassuming movies during a relatively slower time at the box office . +no matter . +redford's film stands head and shoulders above james cameron's ocean-going tragedy , especially in the writing and acting departments . +whatever the reasons for its postponement , " the horse whisperer " supports the old adage " better late than never . " +redford has taken evans' book and given it the big screen treatment . +while parts of " the horse whisperer " are epic in scope and vision , especially the aerial " travelogue " that maps out this great country of ours , its real strength lies in the subtleties it uses to paint the fragile alliance between man and beast . +when her daughter , grace , is involved in a terrible riding accident , hard-driven fashion editor annie maclean ( kristin scott thomas ) devotes herself to rehabilitating both grace and grace's beloved horse , pilgrim . +refusing to have the hideously disfigured animal put down , annie researches every possible source of information about equine cures before discovering an article about a faith-healing cowboy of sorts called tom booker ( redford ) , who has a way with horses and , perhaps , with people too . +undeterred by tom's initial reluctance to get involved , annie drives grace and a sedated pilgrim across country to meet him , and finally persuades tom to work with the uncontrollable animal . +redford's film unfolds slowly and lovingly , echoing the patience required in healing both physical and psychological wounds . +the film's a little long and , even if you haven't read the book , it's pretty obvious where it's heading--but these are minor complaints . +redford and thomas are strong and convincing as the couple drawn by a mutual affection for the great outdoors and each other , but it's scarlett johansson as grace who shines in a more difficult role . +dianne wiest , chris cooper ( " lone star " ) , and sam neill--better than i've seen him before--round out the respectable supporting cast . +and the director's respect for horses is clearly in evidence . +one word of warning , however : while brilliantly shot , the accident scene , involving an out-of-control truck , is extremely disturbing . +redford's canvas is huge and exquisite . +he doesn't hesitate to incorporate vast , sprawling vistas of the american northwest : spectacular , snow-capped mountain ranges , azure skies , and shimmering fields of wheat--all are resplendent in cinematographer robert richardson's viewfinder . +veteran english composer john barry was originally signed to score the film but left the project which is a pity , since " the horse whisperer " is " dances with wolves " by way of " out of africa " ( oscar winners both for barry ) . +fortunately , barry's replacement , thomas newman , contributes a fine score that nicely balances the majesty of montana with the delicate , human conditions--sonorous , string-laden passages that swell with pride playing counterpoint to more poetic , introspective movements ripe with nuance . + " the horse whisperer " is that rare kind of movie : it looks good , it feels good , and by golly it does you good . +the wait , it turns out , was well worth it . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv690_5619.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv690_5619.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d91263fbecaf401da521b8f07cd9c2521af599cf --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv690_5619.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14 @@ +charlie sheen stars as zane , a radio astronomer who listens for sounds from other lifeforms . +when he finally gets one , his boss destroys the tape and fires him . +naturally , zane is not ready to give up , and he comes up with an ingenious way to do this himself . +he is aided by a young neighborhood kid and they discover that the sound is coming from mexico . +so zane goes down there to investigate , and runs into a lady studying why the temperature of the earth has dangerously risen so suddenly . +zane is having marital problems at the time , and an offer by her to spend the night with him is very tempting . +hearing charlie sheen deliver the line , " i guess there is something to be said for celibacy " is the funniest thing i have ever heard in a movie since matthew broderick discussed asexual reproduction in wargames . +this is just the setup , and i don't want to give too much away , because a large part of the movies fun is the surprises . +charlie sheen , who has had a rocky career as of late , is in top form here . +he is funny , serious , and determined to accomplish his goal . +sheen's absolutely terrific performance is another big plus to this movie . +the story is ingeniously devised by twohy , who also wrote and directed the equally clever cable movie grand tour : disaster in time . +the films major flaw is a very slow pace , and not much happens in the earlygoings . +viewers may be growing restless for a while , but trust me if you stick around and keep your head in it , you will have a good time . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv692_15451.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv692_15451.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..98c9dca53adbcafec60e5a0bf40ecb1554213beb --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv692_15451.txt @@ -0,0 +1,74 @@ +making a sequel to a widely beloved film is a weighty proposition indeed , especially when the first film is considered by many to be a masterpiece . +when it comes to living up to expectations , a filmmaker is almost doomed to some degree of failure . +for a sequel to live up to or even surpass the original's greatness is very rare indeed . +and whereas " babe : pig in the city " misses equaling the greatness of its best picture nominated predecessor babe , it is a worthy companion piece . +more than that , it is a spectacular work of art that deserves to stand alone in its own right . + " babe : pig in the city " warrants the classification of being recognized with such classics like " the godfather : part ii " and " the empire strikes back " as being one of the greatest sequels ever produced . + " babe : pig in the city " picks up precisely where " babe " left off . +having won the sheep herding competition , farmer hoggett ( james cromwell ) and his pig are elevated to fame status . +a series of unfortunate circumstances and hilariously freakish events leads to mrs . hoggett taking babe from the small country farm into the big city . +in doing so , the film transports us into a wonderfully imaginative world that simultaneously mirrors and exceeds the creative design seen in the original . + " babe : pig in the city " flourishes where so many sequels fail . +most sequels simply rehash the events of the first film . +not " babe : pig in the city " . +this is a completely original tale that offers up a story drastically different than the first . +also , by not being content to utilize most of the old characters , this film gives us many new ones to enjoy . +in essence , it doesn't attempt to copy itself . +instead , it strives to achieve an originality of its own . +and it succeeds . +that's not to say the familiar is absent . + " babe : pig in the city " retains some of the best core elements and characters from the first film . +along with babe himself , ferdinand the duck comes along for the ride , as does mrs . hoggett ( one of this decade's best and most underappreciated comic characterizations , hilariously performed by magda szubanski ) . +the three singing mice also make the journey , chiming in with their cute high-pitched vocals . +the story structure is also similar as each segment is introduced with title cards read by the aforementioned mice . +from there , we are guided once again by roscoe lee browne's soothingly deep narrative . +composer nigel westlake also returns with his whimsical music style that is perfect for cinematic fables such as these . +but these elements are simply the frame that surrounds an entirely new painting . +while staying at the flealands hotel , babe encounters a veritable ark-full of new animals . +monkeys , kittens , and dogs of various breeds and sizes are some of the new " urbanites " that babe befriends , as well as some wonderfully comical pelicans that ferdinand the duck happens to encounter . +each character is distinctly unique , some of which are imbued with personal human-like struggles that are endearing and touching . +and while this world focuses largely on these animals , we are introduced to two new human characters as well . +mary stein plays the owner of the flealands hotel , an animal-loving young spinster who harbors these lost creatures much to the dismaying anger of her fellow neighbors . +stein's landlady is a wonderfully odd caricature . +we also meet fugly floom , an old soft-spoken clown who owns many of the animals in the flealands hotel , utilizing them as a part of the act that he performs at different parties and functions . +not having known who portrayed fugly floom prior to seeing the film , it came as an unexpected pleasant surprise to see who it was . +so as not to ruin this well-kept secret , i won't reveal the actor's identity here . +it was a treat indeed to see one of cinema's legends grace the screen again in what was a superbly gentle and heartwarming performance . +the greatest triumph of " babe : pig in the city " is the art direction . +simply put--it bleeds creativity , taking the look of the original film to a whole new level . +restricted primarily to a farm the first time around , this second installment creates an entire city , dazzling us with unique fable-like architecture . +but the stroke of pure genius by production designer roger ford is his use of our world's architectural landmarks . +designing a skyline that includes the statue of liberty , the sydney opera house , the brooklyn bridge , the hollywood sign and the eiffel tower , ford has created a singular city that encompasses all of our cities ( as seen in the film photo and pre-production drawing to your right ) . +added to that , many of this city's streets are the twin siblings of venice's gondola-trekked rivers . +the metropolis that has sprung from ford's vision is a wondrous sight to behold . +it is a world that you want to walk around in . +norma moriceau's costume designs belong in this world , vibrant in color and style equal to that of the ford's landscape . +most of the costumes are imaginatively cartoonish , with the most exotically grand design going to that of fugly floom's clown outfit . +andrew lesnie's photography captures these elements with various lighting moods that are beautifully effective in creating the film's multiple emotional tones . +much press fodder has been made over the weeks leading up to the release of " babe : pig in the city " . +reports stated that its original cut was branded with a pg-13 rating . +these reports were discovered to be false as it was assigned a pg rating . +but even so , to be anything harsher than the original' s g rating had many parents and fans up in arms . +by deleting a minimal number of shots , " babe : pig in the city " was eventually given the coveted g rating . +although appeased , many fans were still concerned that it would be too dark , fearing that the film may have come to be possessed by tim burton himself . +well , to coin a phrase , the reports of " babe : pig in the city " 's death at the hands of a dark , scary , felliniesque interpretation have been greatly exaggerated . +granted it has its moments of pseudo-morbidity , but all-in-all " babe : pig in the city " is the funny and charming adventure that everyone was hoping it would be . +whatever " dark " moments it may have can be attributed to director george miller ( the " mad max " trilogy , " the witches of eastwick " , " lorenzo's oil " ) . +having served as a producer and co-writer on the first film , miller moves into the director's chair for this one , putting his own unique sense of style into this budding franchise . +the story of " babe : pig in the city " is an enchanting yarn , but one that doesn't achieve the emotional or character depth of the original . +missing here is the attempt to broach such heady themes as personal identity , an individual's worth , challenging conformity , and one's purpose in life . + " babe " dealt with this weighty subject matter , creating a timeless fable . + " babe : pig in the city " should not have rehashed these themes , but i do wish it would have attempted to explore new ones . +this film is not bereft of moral or message as it parallels such issues as urban strife , class differences , sacrificial courage , and so on . +but this film's goals aren't as lofty as the first's , instead choosing to take a more straightforward approach , allowing its themes to take a back seat to an exciting , sometimes intense , fable adventure that is undeniably clever and inventive . + " babe : pig in the city " also decides against developing a relationship to the level of which was present in the first film , specifically the one between farmer hoggett and babe . +hoggett's love for babe , which grew ever so gently , is what gave that film its charming and endearing quality . +best exemplified in hoggett's dance for babe , this moving relationship was truly unique . +it is something that i wish would have been present again ( and could have through fugly floom ) , but was not . +please understand , these are not negative criticisms , per se' , but simply statements of what i see as the differences between " babe : pig in the city " being a very good film and the original being a great one . +but having said that , these observations are minor critiques at best . +as an overall piece , " babe : pig in the city " is a thoroughly enchanting and entertaining fable from beginning to end . +sure , it isn't a great film , but it is an excellent one that possesses elements of greatness . +it is a film that is magical with its charm and humor , exciting in its adventurous exploits , funny with its dry wit and cute voices , and breathtaking in its presentation . + " babe : pig in the city " may not be moviemaking at its absolute best , but it is on level of cinematic quality that is rarely achieved or seen in cinema . +as a result , if you choose to let this film pass you by , you will be missing of the year's best cinematic treats . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv695_21108.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv695_21108.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e9dcd23f7689ff265a482be1fc504e3403f747e7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv695_21108.txt @@ -0,0 +1,50 @@ +who would have thought ? +jim carrey does drama . +when i first saw the advertisement for the truman show , i thought , " what a hilarious idea for a movie ! " +however , it was an even better premise for a drama . +the truman show takes us into a world that revolves around one man . +that man is truman burbank ( jim carrey ) . +truman has no clue what is really going on in his world and frankly , cristof wants to keep it that way . +christof is the " god " of this made-up world . +he keeps everything running and gives the actors their roles . +there were a few attempts to tell truman about his world , but they failed and life went on as normal . +the opening parts of the film introduce to truman's world . +we see what he is doing at his current age , then we get a flashback at his past . +it may seem a tad boring , but it is so intriguing that you will fall in love with the film right from the start . +the film can be described in one word : weird . +it seems like such a simple idea , yet it is something that a majority of us would never think of , but andrew niccol did . +it seems like a warped idea , but it is andrew's idea and he did wonders with it . +jim carrey actually lived up to the hype . +the hype , whether good or bad , always focused on carrey's ability to do drama . +no one doubted how extraordinary this film could be , the only thing they doubted was carrey . +and he showed them all up . +jim carrey was snubbed at the oscars . +i do not think he was the best actor , but he deserved the nomination . +he plays truman burbank , the unsuspecting star of the most popular television show in the world . +he has lived a normal life for almost thirty years , but then strange things start happening . +he ventures into the wrong elevator . +a light crashes in front of him . +his father comes back and is then pulled away . +we are constantly teased with all of this and we know it is a show , but truman does not . +and it is just a constant progression that never gets sluggish . +carrey is able to shed his comedy to play a major role in a major drama . +laura linney is magnificent as the camera hungry wife . +she plays her role as advertiser and budding star to a point . +peter weir does not make the cast perfect , and their flaws eventually lead to truman's escape . +the story unfolds until the show becomes too big and everything crashes down . +despite carrey's greatness , the best performance in the truman show undoubtedly is turned in by ed harris , who plays the " god " of truman's world . +he displays the pressure he is under , the world he has created . +he becomes so paranoid that he believes he is a god and that truman has him to thank for his sham of a life . +the action moves at a good pace , and rarely gets sluggish . +but , the main point of the film is how it looks like a television show . +it really makes you think . +maybe your brother is an actor , maybe your best friend is in heated contract negotiations to stay on the show . +some of the best parts of the film are when truman ventures into the wrong elevator and sees cast members drinking coffee and talking . +or when truman tunes into the wrong station and hears orders being said for truman's arrival . +and when christof focuses in on truman and cues the dramatic music as marlon ( noah emmerich ) delivers his dramatic line . +all of these ideas are just perfect for the film and extremely innovative . +i was not only enjoying the film , i was overwhelmed by genius of it . +overall , the truman show is one of the freshest and innovative films to come out of hollywood . +jim carrey shows that he is not just a man of a million faces , but a legitimate actor who could go down as one of the best . +andrew niccol is responsible for the screenplay and peter weir pulled it off to perfection . +the truman show is a must see for anyone who likes movies in general because they will be thoroughly impressed by this creative film . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv696_29740.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv696_29740.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f29d8670e0f487af02ba835f7da86ed1d9d2a300 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv696_29740.txt @@ -0,0 +1,45 @@ +capsule : this is a harrowing look at a rarely dramatized chapter of wwii , life in a japanese prison camp . +to end all wars is a moving film about the struggle of prisoners to retain their humanity and their dignity . +the somewhat religious interpretation may not be to everyone's taste . + , +3 ( -4 to +4 ) +more than any other people the japanese seem capable of acting with one goal and not letting any other consideration get in their way . +this may be a holdover from the code of bushido when loyalty to ones master was the only law . +during world war ii , of course , the one goal was winning the war . +this led them to do some very inhuman things in pursuit of that goal . +when the japanese had captured prisoners , they were very much treated in whatever way would be optimum for achieving the one goal . +minimum resources were to be spent in maintaining prisoners in keeping with maximal positive output . +while the germans , not known for their kindness in those days , had a 6% mortality rate among captured prisoners of war , the mortality rate of japanese prisoners of war was 27% . +the best thing for the war effort was working prisoners nearly to death on the thailand to burma railroad . +that railroad was needed if japan was to attack india as it planned to do . +the best thing for the effort was not to waste much food on the prisoners so short and amazingly wretched food was the order of the day . +and just being in the jungle without proper medical aid took its toll . +in the public mind japan has never been held as accountable for war atrocities as was germany . +filmmakers have been reticent to tell the story , perhaps for fear of offending the japanese . +there are comparatively few films about the japanese pow camps . +certainly there was david lean's the bridge on the river kwai . +there were some low-budget british exploitation films and that was about it . +then there were tv series " a town like alice " and " tenko . " +lest the experience be forgotten we have a new film to end all wars directed by david cunningham and written by brian godawa . +it is based on the account of ernest gordan who survived the horror of that world war ii prison camp and went on to become for 26 years the dean of the chapel at princeton university . +the film while realistic shows the conditions in the camp as being considerably more brutal and sadistic than bridge on the river kwai portrayed them . +the story opens with six or so soldiers being marched into the prison camp only to be immediately placed in front of a firing squad . +it turns out to be a grim joke , one of many that the sadistic japanese play to amuse themselves . +beating and torture are commonplace events . +men already imprisoned tell the new arrivals to enjoy the last of their health ; it will not last long with parasites and disease almost inevitable . +however , unlike as in kwai , the prisoners want to avoid going to the hospital , called by the prisoners the death house . +so goes a war within a war with the prisoners trying to maintain their humanity and with the japanese trying to make them interchangeable and highly expendable cogs in a rail-laying machine . +this is more than just a battle of who will win the war but a battle of ideologies . +the japanese believe that the individual is nothing , that conformity to group's norms is all that gives a life meaning . +conformity is purpose . +before the film is over there will be some surprising revelations about the character of the prisoners and the character of those running the camp . +if this story showed nothing but sadism from the japanese it would be one kind of story . +if the british ( with one american , by the way ) and the japanese learned to respect each other it would be another kind of story . +it is neither . +it is a stirring and believable account of camp life . +the color has been distorted in the film to give a washed out yellow . +this serves a double purpose for cunningham . +it gives an effect of technicolor film that has been left in heat . +it also creates a distancing effect . +the only touch that seems a little out of place is the use of gaelic music . +this is a powerful and philosophical view of the prison camp experience . +i rate it a 9 on the 0 to 10 scale and a +3 on the -4 to +4 scale . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv697_11162.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv697_11162.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..deee2316e6fbeae921b1cdcd994219b4aa62935d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv697_11162.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +another 'independent film' , this comedy , which was brought by miramax for $5 million , is good fun . +favreau and vaughn ( the lost world : jurassic park , 1997 ) play mike and trent , two everyday 20somethings on the lookout for women . +the film just basically follows their plight on the lookout for lurve , and along the way we get to meet some of their friends , see their attempts at chatting up girls , and just basically get a insight into their lives . +and all of this is great fun . +swingers doesn't rely on huge special effects , or big name stars to provide entertainment . +no , it just has a great script and superb little known actors . +the script , by favreau , is great . +mike is always missing is girlfriend , who hasn't called him for six months , and every time he meets a girl , he always end up telling her about the ex . +the audience feels for this pathetic little man , thanks to the great script . +vaughn is 'the money' ( swingers speak for 'the best' ) as the womanizing trent , always on the lookout for a new girl . +some of his chat-up lines are awful , but he always seems to get the girl thanks to his 'hard man' nature . +vaughns character also gets the best laugh in the film , towards the end in a diner . +the conversations that go on between mike and trent are great , but it never quite reaches tarantino standards ( which i suspect the film was trying to reach . ) +there are some excellent , laugh out loud jokes in the film , and some superbly funny set pieces ( such as favreau cringe-worhy battle with a answer machine that always cut him off before he finishes his sentence . +embarrassing to him , hilarious to the audience . ) +mike & trents friends are also good , although there characters seem a bit underwritten , and we never really learn as much as we would like about them . +although this is primarily mike and trents film , it would of been nice to learn a bit more about their friends . +they just seem to wander aimlessly in the background . +but again , the lines they say are usually pretty good , and they do have some funny parts . +it's just a shame that they didn't have more meatier roles . +the acting is superb . +as said above , vaughn is superb as trent , he's definitely the best thing in the film . +favreau is also good , acting as 'the little man' very well , and the way he always feels sorry for himself is very funny . +graham ( boogie nights , 1997 ) has a small but good role as lorraine , a girl mike finally falls in love with . +she hardly features in the film at all , but she still manages to make an impact on the audience . +swingers , then , is funny , but it does have some flaws . +firstly , the running time is a bit too short . +the film comes to an abrupt halt , and i actually wanted the film to carry on longer . +it never really comes to a satisfying conclusion , which is a shame , as most films are too long ! +also , this type of film has been done too many times , such as sleep with me ( 1994 ) . +but these small flaws don't really spoil what is a funny , entertaining comedy . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv698_15253.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv698_15253.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..22791bbe89e0e0b7afc7dccfc6acf2f66ef7a678 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv698_15253.txt @@ -0,0 +1,49 @@ +a frequent error is the categorization of a terrorist as a soldier or a common criminal . +a soldier commits acts of violence sanctioned by one nation-state against another . +a common criminal commits acts of violence for personal gain . +a terrorist employs random violence as a means to a political end . +if the target nation does not affect the desired change in policy , the violence continues . +it is the fear resulting from the fact that the terrorist may strike at anyone ( even total innocents ) , anywhere , at anytime that gives the figure his label . +edward zwick's the siege explores the possibility of this kind of violence taking place right here in the united states . +you'd think the opening bit was ripped right from the headlines . +arab terrorists kill american citizens abroad , and the u . s . responds by retaliating against the sheik whom supposedly ordered the attack . +however , unlike the real-life tomahawk cruise missile strike against bin laden's camp and manufacturing facility , the film version depicts special operations troops kidnapping sheik ahmed bin talal . +in retaliation , the terrorists bring the fight to the new world . +unwittingly involved is fbi assistant special agent-in-charge anthony hubbard ( denzel washington ) , who works out of the bureau's new york office at one federal plaza . +while investigating a series of bombings in the big apple , he encounters cia agent elise kraft ( annette bening ) , also trying to uncover information . +generally , the fbi is charged with problems inside the u . s . , while the cia takes care of problems in the international realm . +even spies from other countries are off limits to the cia as long as they are in our country . +hubbard therefore finds it highly unusual that an agency spook is nosing around what he considers his territory , but as the two form a tentative professional relationship , hubbard becomes more and more aware of an increasingly complicated series of allegiances and possibly illegal actions involving terrorism and the united states government . +the original tagline for patriot games was , " there has never been a terrorist attack on american soil . " +however true , it was pulled before the movie's release because it sounded too much like a dare . +revisiting the scenario of foreign terrorists committing acts of violence in the united states , the siege is almost an invitation in itself , because it shows just what kind of turmoil could be produced if an effective terrorist network were to set up operations here in america . +admittedly , the terror wrought upon new york is a bit excessive ( who's going to believe that a few bombs are going to cause new yorkers to jump at the backfire of a bus or to curtail their shopping by two-thirds ? ) , but the basic premise is still valid . +i liked the fact that this film rises above the basic action-thriller fare of good guy g-men against bad guy terrorists by exploring some of the effects on society and law and order . +it provides a very possible hypothesis that violent activity on the part of a few arabs would escalate into a series of hate crimes against the arab-american population , and that in an effort to find the terrorists , the civil liberties of the minority may be violated by the government itself . +in fact , about halfway through the film , when the president authorizes the declaration of martial law within new york city , the liberties of all americans are put at risk . +although it may actually be a side effect of a terrorist campaign , the demise of social order in america is a scary thought and a goal which would not be beneath many international terrorist groups . +throughout , the film maintains a conflict between hubbard , who wants to use the fbi to pursue the terrorists within the letter of the law , and general devereaux ( bruce willis ) , who is in command of the army and of the mind that the greater good would be better served by suspending the law and pursuing the terrorists more forcefully . +what results is a fascinating debate over the appropriateness and constitutionality of the declaration of martial law and the invocation of the war powers act , utilizing philosophy and historical examples to make points on both sides . +it actually gets rather heady at times , but it's a credit to screenwriters zwick , lawrence wright , and menno meyjes that they don't underestimate the intelligence of the audience . +i don't know if it's his tone or inflection or something else , but denzel washington has a way of spitting out dialog that makes whatever he says sound great . +this , combined with his innate acting ability and his experience in playing the mid-level authority figure , makes his performance in the siege convincing and enjoyable . +annette bening gives one of the more assertive portrayals of a female character i've seen recently , and the chemistry she shares with washington is palpable . +it's somewhat unfortunate that her character's fortitude is broken at a certain point , but it allows us to watch bening play a little more range . +bruce willis is pretty much relegated to a tough-guy role , always standing straight , and with a permanent scowl fixed upon his face . +however , the tension that exists between devereaux and hubbard is a major drive behind the film's development . +notable is tony shalhoub who plays fbi agent frank haddad , a lebanese immigrant . +the role calls for evidencing both a kind of filial pride for his heritage , and contempt for those of his own race who might interfere with his integration into the american society . +difficult to say the least , shalhoub does it with a naturalness you can almost reach out and touch . +perhaps best known for his role as antonio the cab driver in the nbc sitcom " wings , " shalhoub gained notoriety for his dramatic abilities in the wonderful film big night . +whereas denzel washington seems to be edward zwick's favorite actor ( he directed washington in glory and courage under fire ) , james horner seems to be his favorite composer . +i therefore found it odd that zwick chose the prolific score-writer graeme revell ( seven films this year already ) over horner for the siege until i realized that this film contained a lot of arabian-themed music , and horner's record has shown more of a propensity for scores either neutral in ethnicity or irish-sounding at most . +revell does a good job at providing appropriate music to punctuate key scenes and allowing the score to enhance the movie as a whole . +it's nowhere near as intrusive as in some of the other films we've been getting throughout the year . +missteps in the siege can be found in a couple of the excesses it takes . +for example , it's pretty clear throughout that the film is meant to be more of thriller than an action flick . +unfortunately , there's a scene where the army just cuts loose against some arab immigrants in a blatant display of firepower and explosions , obviously meant for the sole purpose of being eye-catching . +in the middle of the city ( and against no real opposition ) , zwick even has the army use a cobra attack helicopter to shoot rockets into a building no farther than 50 feet from friendly troops . +verisimilitude really goes out the window at that point . +the film also gets a little preachy toward the end , focusing on the ability of different races to get along . +a noble gesture , the film just puts the message across a bit too obviously . +these flaws are glaring , but they don't detract too much from an otherwise good film that makes you think about issues you may not have considered since history class . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv699_7223.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv699_7223.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5fcd101449e0e0c5438534e21205034aa52eac17 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv699_7223.txt @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@ +very few people would be unaware of beavis & butt-head ( both created and narrated by mike judge ) . +they are the two animated mtv characters who have the most annoying laughter know to human kind . +you may have seen them on their television program , as they snigger and make lude remarks about women , anything related to sex , and the music film clips that they watch . +in beavis & butt-head do america the pair finally make their big screen debut , to the delight of some , and the deplore of others . +beavis & butt-head ( yes , those are their real names ) , are two very ugly teenagers with extremely warped minds driven by raging hormones . +they live their lives in front of the television . +the worst possible event occurs to the pair when their television is stolen . +this happens as they sleep , and when they awake it takes them a few minutes just to decipher that the television has gone . +beavis even tries to use the remote , though there is no television there . +the two spot a van outside and two sinister looking men carrying a television . +even at this point they have no idea what has happened . +they look around , seeing all the evidence , but are completely oblivious to the fact that these men have just stolen their television . +before the movie i knew that they were stupid , but i didn't realise just how stupid . +this is typical of their behaviour throughout the film . +eventually they realise that their television has been stolen , so they leave their sofa to go search for a television . +luck would have it that they stumble into a hotel room ( looking for a television ) where a man is awaiting two guys whose task it is to kill his wife . +this man , thinking that beavis & butt-head are the assigned killers , tells them that they can have $10 , 000 if they " do his wife " . +beavis & butt-head , being the ignorant fools that they are , think that he is offering them $10 , 000 dollars to have sex with his good looking wife . +they are taken to the airport where they fly to las vegas to " do her " . +to them , this is the best day of their lives . +not only are they going to lose their virginity ( one of their lifelong aims ) , but most importantly , they will have enough money to buy a big screen tv . +inevitably they become caught up in a huge crime , and unbeknown to them , are tracked across the country by the fbi . +oddly enough , it is their complete stupidity that spares them from being caught , as a result the fbi is convinced they are criminal masterminds . +they end up travelling right across america , visiting places such as the hoover dam and washington dc . +the irony is that although they visit so many grand and spectacular locations , their one time out in the big world away from their television , they are completely oblivious to it . +at old faithful they are far more fascinated with the infra-red operated urinals than with the geyser itself . +beavis & butt-head essentially have the journey of their lives . +they even get to meet the president . +but all they care about is getting their television back , and losing their virginity . +this is one of the many reasons that the film is so funny - it's unbelievable just how stupid they are , and how they can be so oblivious to everything around them . +the humour is certainly crude , but then beavis & butt-head are just that ; crude , lude and rude . +in the end you can't help but feel sorry for them , a pair of anti-social couch potatoes whose life is television . +in this respect , and also with regard to authority ( such as the fbi ) mike judge is quite critical of amercian society . +if you are easily offended , or find this pair particularly annoying , steer clear . +otherwise , it should keep you laughing the whole way through . +one note of warning : don't take friends who like to imitate beavis & butt-head . . . . . you'll +never hear the end of it ! diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv701_14252.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv701_14252.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d9bd7b4162ed01ca735c79f27c112135abebe45d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv701_14252.txt @@ -0,0 +1,50 @@ +seen september 5 , 1998 at 10 p . m . at the sony nickelodeon theaters ( boston , ma ) , theater #2 , with matt perreault for free using my sony/loews critic's pass . +[theater rating : * * 1/2 : okay seats , sound , and picture] +modern society is now inundated with more sex and sexuality than it ever has been before , from teenage sitcoms to nc-17-rated films about fetishes . +the biggest debate of the subject is whether or not it affects reality or just reflects it . + " your friends and neighbors " takes a different approach as it's a film that revolves almost entirely around sex and how can be used for both pain and pleasure even within a small circle of friends . +one of the most important aspects of the film that most be noted and analyzed before the film can really be dissected as a whole is writer/director neil labute's basic setup and some of the unique methods he employs to tell the story . +firstly , and most importantly is the fact the script tells a rather complex , detailed story of lust , betrayal , arrogance , hypocrisy , greed , and just plain stupidity between six different characters ( three men , three women ) , without hardly any supporting characters , ( a few have a line or two ) , mostly extras . +everything they do will somehow affect another character and ultimately come full-circle back to themselves , whether it be positive or negative . +but to just state this is arbitrary , and explaining and criticizing the process is difficult . +labute's ability to tell his story through a few characters is a remarkable feat , but what's specifically impressive is the fact the characters' names are never revealed until the end credits roll . +for the sake of this review , i will describe the characters and refer to them as their main characteristic . +another interesting accomplishment is the fact every scene takes place inside with limited focus . +we're always able to tell where the characters are ( someone's home , the gym , a restaurant , hotel room , etc . ) , but what the city they live in , what year it is , what the society is like , etc . is relatively unknown . +the film is a complete character study with the tight , intense drama of the theater . +no one plot dominates the story , which makes the first act a bit tedious for its lack of background . +we're simply dropped in on the characters' lives and are expected to figure out the rest . +the characters are a group of middle-class white people who are all successful at what they do , but they're only concern right now seems to be their sex lives . +first there's barry ( eckhart ) and mary ( brenneman ) , a married couple who are going through a dry spell not unlike many other couples in other situations who don't know what they're problem is . +barry is kind of a dorky businessman who loves his wife , and the sex they have , but doesn't have a lot of ambition - he just follows everyone else . +mary is a writer of some sort , but lacks aggression and emotion like her husband and is the meekness character , but ironically , doesn't hesitate to commit adultery just to feel something . +labute's script does a good job in characterizing mary and barry as individuals , but is very light on chemistry and connection between the two . +obviously , this is the theme , which is enhanced by the actors' good performances , but at the same time seems just a bit hollow . +another couple is jerry ( stiller ) and terri ( keener ) who live together and seem to have been involved with each other for a long time , yet they constantly argue over anything and everything . +their sex life is also fraught with problems and for some reason they continue to do it throughout their infidelitous relationship . +if only one aspect of the film could use improvement , it would be this area . +it's natural for a married couple to become bored with each other , but why would two people who can barely stand each other continue to have sex and live together ? +what did they ever see in the other person to begin with ? +labute never really answers , but since the film is more concerned with the payoff than the process , it still makes for good drama , tension , and manip ulation so intricate and deceitful it's fascinating . +two other characters act as catalysts , cary ( jason patric ) and cheri ( natassja kinski ) . +cary is an arrogant , hostile sex-maniac who defines the word " bastard . " +somehow he is able to bend women to his will , either through charm or just attitude , into getting his way . +he's the kind of guy everyone should stay away from as we realize he's secretly perverted , but somehow barry finds comfort in his company , although jerry is always nervous around him . +patric gives an outstanding performance , so much so that we want to know more about him despite how intimidating and unlikable he is . +cheri is a character labute uses as a catalyst to see how the other characters react to her . +she works in an art museum and at some point throughout the film , each character will engage her in almost the exact same conversation and her reaction is always different , from becoming involved in a relationship with one , to brushing it off as small talk with another , to being outright appalled by yet another . +she's a sweet woman , perhaps the most normal of any of the characters , and although her symbolism is obvious , her role as the outsider is the most relatable . +i will not reveal who cheats on who and how each character is specifically affected by the others' action , as that's the hook of the film . +the first two acts begin to set up the characters and each's scenarios , but it's often difficult to tell what they will do about it and with whom . +the result is sometimes surprising , other times predictable , but the actual course of actions is always fascinating . +for a while everyone has their fun , but ultimately each character's guilt , attitude , or ignorance will disserve them . +one of the most important things to note is how realistic the story is supposed to be . +since the characters only interact with each other there isn't much pop culture references , as almost everything has a deeper philosophy behind it . +are we to assume that these people are , as the title states , our friends and neighbors ? +i don't know of anyone going through the same situations as these people . +often times the film is not unlike a network melodrama , other times situations are like those not seen outside a porno movie . +but what this film does have that the others don't is repercussions in the end . +although the film creates its own reality , it goes to show that even the immoral aren't immortal . +in what way " your friends and neighbors " is supposed to work is open to interpretation . +it definitely has a lot to say about the price that comes with infidelity , but it could have been even better had it expanded on that theme more specifically . +still , it's an accomplishment in film-making because it has put a timeless theme into a modern perspective . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv702_11500.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv702_11500.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..053c9f1d270300045fc8a4618f62e1ea21ca89a4 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv702_11500.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +the characters in " palmetto " collectively sweat enough to fill lake erie , and it's just the right way to capture the film's ripe atmosphere of sensuality , tension and even farce . +this humid florida-set thriller nurtures a modestly absurd edginess that often winks at itself , which is very much a good thing since the actors and director are in on the joke . +as far as set-up is concerned , the movie is nothing we haven't seen before , but be patient -- " palmetto " spins some pretty wicked story twists that we really don't see coming . +it's not a classic by any means , but it sure is quite an engaging surprise . +harry barber ( woody harrelson ) is fresh out of prison , where he's served a couple of years for a crime he didn't commit . +even though he harbors animosity towards the obtuse local officials , harry's first order of business is to return to his home town of palmetto to be with his sculptor girlfriend nina ( gina gershon ) . +while searching for work , he catches the eye of rhea malroux ( elisabeth shue ) , the mysterious sexbomb wife of a palmetto millionaire . +rhea proposes a scheme that'll get harry $50 , 000 easy -- to play a small part in the staged kidnaping of her jailbait stepdaughter odette ( chloe sevigny ) . + " you do like risks , don't you , mr . barber ? " +rhea alluringly coos . +boys , form a line behind me . +part of " palmetto " 's success can be attributed to the performance of elisabeth shue , who demonstrates here that her oscar-nominated turn in " leaving las vegas " might merely be foreshadowing great things to come . +shue's a seductive , campy delight , and pulls off a barbara stanwyck-gloria swanson combo with admirable relish . +the other actors form a solid ensemble around her , including sevigny ( " kids " ) , tantalizingly slutty as a teen tease , as well as the ever-likeable gershon , cast a far cry from her extreme roles in " bound " and " showgirls . " +harrelson is still doing fine follow-up work to " the people vs . larry flynt . " + " palmetto " does have its share of grievances . +harrelson's narration is needless , i suppose , and gershon's nina cries to be meatier than she ultimately is . +one of the plot's unexpected angles -- that harry is asked by the police to become the press liaison for the very crime in which he's involved -- could have been played a little better . +there are moments when you question the tone , but it's never so unstable that it deserves the reproach it's been receiving from most other critics . +if " palmetto " didn't want to be laughed at , would it really have tacked on a climax that plays like a live-action " who framed roger rabbit " ? +although a few elements can be questioned , the movie works well on its own terms . +thanks to a juicy cast -- especially shue -- and the nifty material approach from director volker schlondorff ( you remember him from last summer's suddenly re-popular " the tin drum , " right ? ) , +everything runs smoothly . +and for fans of revelation-heavy endings , this film's got a few shocks in store that i won't even dream of revealing . + " palmetto " is a generous amount of fun to watch , and that's all you need to know . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv703_16143.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv703_16143.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..772848534d63e6ca24fba7ff6831a58e2bf10271 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv703_16143.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ + " you've got mail " is the very definition of a " cute " movie . +it's got cute stars , a cute story-line , and even cute pets . +despite this over-whelming cuteness ( or maybe because of it ) , i loved " you've got mail " . +i know , i know . +i'm supposed to be a film critic . +i'm not supposed to love transparent and formula pictures like this . +but darn it , somewhere along the way , " you've got mail " reeled me in , hook , line , and sinker . +the movie stars tom hanks and meg ryan as two somewhat unhappy new yorkers who meet in an aol online chat room and quickly become close friends , without ever knowing each others identity . +as the movie progresses , though , they begin to discover that they have a lot in common with each other . +meanwhile , in " real-life " , they are bitter competitors . +she owns a quaint little children's bookstore , he owns one of those gigantic super-bookstores that offer impersonal service and discount prices . +while his store threatens to run her store out of business , their online relationship grows stronger . + " you've got mail " is as artificial as movies come . +everything is nice and happy and by the end , all the characters have gotten exactly what they wanted out of life . +there are no real conflicts , no major disappointments , no unresolved issues . +nevertheless , i quite enjoyed it . +in fact , i can't remember the last time i had such a good time at the movies . +i think sometimes you have to be able to watch a movie and just get drawn into it . +the fact that stars hank and ryan are at the top of their game does not hurt either . +in particular , hanks is at his best here , turning his " charm-meter " up to 11 . +everytime he was on screen , he had my full attention . +and despite the fact that he was driving little bookstores out of business , i was rooting for him . +it was good to see hanks back doing what he does best : playing the affable everyman . + " you've got mail " certainly won't be winning any awards , but as an exercise in pure entertainment , it's as good as it gets . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv704_15969.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv704_15969.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..89dfa40c1c215035b493aecdc4b4587026ecb2c9 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv704_15969.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +with the sudden liberal emergence of personal privacy abounding in the news lately , what with that whole clinton thing going on ( you know , 100 million bucks to discover the president got boinked by an intern - oh , please , government , waste my taxes just a bit more , would you ? ) , +it's about time tony scott helmed the newest action pic disguised as an important if not slightly ignorant social statement . +with this and " crimson tide , " he's created two successfully chilly films that are interesting , exciting , even pretty smart , but never totally riveting as cinema , and the problem i think with each of these films is that each film is too obsessed with its message to ever be really satisfying , and too obsessed with looking all cutting edge to ever be totally smart . +that film dealt with a civil war inside a nuclear submarine over whether or not to follow rules or question them , and was appropriately scary and all , but never totally thrilling or overly brilliant . + " enemy of the state " is the same way : it's engrossing for its entire running time , and it's scary the way that it shows a man's decent into kafkaism , but it's too technical . +it's too cold and not as fascinating or exciting as it could be . +it casts will smith , one of the better big budget leading men in movies these days because he's charming and witty and never uninteresting , and hopes that his charisma can make up for his character not being well developed enough to really be a person . +i hate to do this , but last year's film " the game " got it damn perfect : it casts michael douglas as a deeply flawed human being , a man who is cold and has cut off everyone from his life , and then pulls everything he thought he had as a security blanket away from him and watched what happened . +the result was not only a film that was exciting and chilling , but also the best mindfuck of the entire year . +not that i want every kafkaesque film to be " the game " ( this year's " the spanish prisoner " succeeds with less thrills and chills ) , but it should be an example of what works and what doesn't . +will smith's character is , frankly , too perfect , at least too movie perfect . +he had an affair with another woman ( lisa bonet , ha ha ) , but his relationship with his wife ( regina king ) is basically fine regardless . +he has a kid , and he's raking in money as a lawyer , albeit a very good and reasonably moral one . +so he generally doesn't have any real problems as a human being , and is therefore boring . . . except that he is played by will smith , who embodies him with about as much will smith charm as he can without entering " id4 " / " men in black " territory . +he's a good dramatic actor ( just see the first half hour of " six degrees of separation " for proof of this , not that he isn't great the whole time ) , and here , he makes his character likable and sympathetic without any real strain on his character , which makes the film lack any real deep interesting qualities . +smith becomes involved in a mass conspiracy involving the assasination of a senator opposed to a government law that would create world surveillance , extinguishing privacy as we know it from the world , under the pretense that it would make crime easier to control , when he is passed a disk of the event caught on tape by an outside party ( a nature observer played by , uh , jason lee ) . +the government wants the disk , and is prepared to destroy his life to get it . +as smith's plight is dramatized , we are introduced to the masterminds who surveillance him , sitting in vans disguised as other businesses , staring at computers and pulling out tricks faster than a speeding bullet . +these guys ( played by jack black , jamie kennedy , and seth green ) are the most interesting part of this film because they're , well , fascinating : they're doing their jobs , which are evil , but the film doesn't view them as such , and they almost become our friends . +we like these guys for the sole reason that the film doesn't automatically judge them as the villains . +they're also scary because we get the idea that they're not fully aware of the impact their jobs have on the world . +it's as if they're obsessed with their jobs , not because they're evil , but because , hey , it's a fun job , and no one else can do it like them . +unfortunately , this also backfires a bit on the film : instead of being the flashlight in the darkened room that " the game " was , you see everything , and are thus not as freaked out because you know what is going on . +sure , you're chilled , but you're not exacty freaked out by what's going on . +but what do you expect from tony scott , the man who never met a five-second piece of film he ever liked . +he's a not-bad director because , hell , he is always interesting to watch ( if not occasionally moronic - exhibit a : " days of thunder " ) , but the reason he's not great is because he's too technical and calculated . +his shots are perfectly executed , and leave nothing to the imagination , and they're always making sure you're paying attention . +this is incredibly annoying , and it reduces " enemy of the state " to a mechanical mishmash of flashy images that never expand the mind at any great depths , but still manage to entertain without any real problems . +despite never actually becoming great , it's never actually boring and it's always intriguing . +watching the government set-up smith is endlessly fascinating , and since we care about smith's likeable protagonist , we are set-up for a good two hours worth of tom clancy-esque entertainment . +add the best big cast this side of the annual woody allen film ( everyone from gabriel byrne to dan butler pop up for cameos ) , and you've got a good old fashioned escapist drama which does all the thinking for you so that you never have to actually question the debate over personal privacy and so you can follow will smith's plight without a minute's worth of boredom . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv705_11059.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv705_11059.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5ec8130f872768833a46e045d9799e416f9a2c8c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv705_11059.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +mary norton's children's book series , the borrowers , has been made into several below-average television movies . +so , i wasn't too enthused as i entered the theater for the big-screen debut of the minute clan . +but i was in for a shock , the borrowers is actually a thoroughly delightful movie with plenty of good laughs and even some decent special effects . +the lender family is being thrown out of their longtime home . +their aunt , who owned the property , never left a will . +now , an unscrupulous lawyer , ocious potter ( john goodman ) plans to demolish the house and replace it with an ultra-modern housing development . +but the lenders are not alone in their house . +living under the floorboards is a family of borrowers , 4 inch tall people who make their living as scavengers from the human " beans " above . +the clock family of borrowers is as distressed as the lenders , especially once they discover the evil potter actually has a copy of the will which leaves the home to the lenders . +so it is up to the clocks ( pod ( jim broadbent ) and homily ( celia imrie ) , along with their kids , arrietty ( flora newbigin ) and peagreen ( tom felton ) ) to recover the will and save the household . +but when potter learns of the tiny people , he enlists the skills of exterminator jeff ( mark williams ) to kill off the clan . +there's plenty of attention to detail in the borrowers , especially in the furnishings of the clock family house , made out of lost board game parts and credit cards . +the background details are nearly as rich as the entertaining story . +the various predicaments of the clock family are clever and thrilling . +based on an original story , the screenwriters did a good job at imagining all the potential and unusual perils that could exist for a 4-inch tall person . +as the villain , john goodman's performance veers on the edge of being over-the-top . +but his performance suits the role well , and he does very well in the film's many slapstick moments . +with a nearly seamless mix of oversized sets , bluescreen shots and cgi , the special effects in the borrowers are very well done . +there are a few times when you can spot the effects at work , but none of them are so jarring that you lose the suspension of disbelief . +hopefully the borrowers will surpass the curse of being labeled a children-only movie , for it is surprisingly entertaining and fun to watch . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv706_24716.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv706_24716.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..97675104c2943e460eedda506f8b7632f4717c30 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv706_24716.txt @@ -0,0 +1,64 @@ +touchstone pictures and spyglass entertainment presents a birnbaum / barber production in association with a jackie chan films limited production jackie chan owen wilson " shanghai noon " lucy liu music by randy edelman co producers ned dowd jules daly executive producer jackie chan willie chan and solon so produced by roger birnbaum gary barber and jonathan glickman written by alfred gough & miles millar directed by tom dey +rated pg-13 for mild language , adult situations , drug use , martial art action and violence . +107 minutes . +super 35mm / panavision ( 2 . 35 : 1 ) +what can you say about jackie chan that hasn't already been said . +since the release of 'rumble in the bronx " back in 1996 ( the u . s . release ) , jackie has become a fairly recognizable commodity on america's video shelves . +having made over 80 films , jackie has finally succeeded in bringing his style of action-comedy to the west . +his latest release , " shanghai noon " , is a joyful tribute / spoof of the classic western . +and by adding jackie chan into the genre , the tag line for the film ( " the western gets a kick in the pants " ) rings true . +jackie stars as chon wang , a lesser imperial guard in the forbidden city of china . +the royal princess pei pei ( lucy liu ) is set to be married to the obnoxious son of a nobleman from another prefecture . +unwilling to follow her father's wishes , princess pei pei with the assistance of her english tutor , decides to escape to america . +but this is all a ploy devised by exiled guard lo fong , which will lead to the princess' kidnapping and ransom . +unable to take any legal action , the ransom demands are met and three of the forbidden city's bravest guards ( played by cui ya hi , rong guang yu , and eric chen ) are ordered to transport the ransom payment to lo fong in carson city , nevada . +chon wang pleads with the imperial court and is given permission to join the team , as he is looked upon as a buffoon . +on a train in the u . s . jackie meets up with bandit roy o'bannon ( owen wilson ) . +he is much less of a bandit than he is a glory hog , looking simple for the notoriety and fame that being a bandit will bring him . +with his gang in tow , roy attempts to rob the train , when one of his gang murders the chinese interpreter of the royal court , who also happens to be chon wang's uncle . +chon wang gives chase , foiling the attempted robbery , but also leaving himself stranded in the desert . +as the disgraced guard wanders through the desert , he again comes upon roy , who has been left for dead by his former gang . +buried up to his neck in the desert , roy pleads with chon to dig him out . +chon demands to know where carson city is . +roy directs him , and chon leaves . +but not before sticking two chopsticks into roy's mouth and telling him to dig himself . +chon soon finds himself confronted by angry crow warriors , a friendly sioux tribe , gunslingers , a horse that thinks and behaves like a dog and an indian bride ( brandon merrill ) , before once again running into roy . + " shanghai noon " is just good fun . +the chemistry between the cast is remarkable . +the performances are all acceptable within the whimsical levels of the film . +jackie's performance is as good as anything he's done before . +he's not called on to do much acting here , as the character is not written with any depth . +but jackie's natural charisma shines through , and his comic timing is so perfect , both physically and ( surprise ) verbally that once again he commands the screen whenever he is on . +owen wilson , last seen in the embarrassing remake of " the haunting " , gives a good natured performance as roy o'bannon . +his innocence is refreshing and fun . +a bad guy that's not really bad . +his scenes with jackie are some of the best bits of comic dueling since martin and lewis . +lucy liu as princess pei pei is given little to do in the script , but for a change does not play a nymphet or some other deviant . +the character is a noble woman of status and wealth , but finds a greater cause as a result of her own imprisonment . +the rest of the performances are all broadly drawn comic performances . +nothing here is realistic , mind you . + " shanghai noon " is first and foremost a light , jovial film . +and the performances match that style with ease . +the cinematography by dan mindel is gorgeous . +using calgary , alberta as the prime location . +mr . mindel is able to create a lush , romantic western feel to the film . +nothing here really looks like nevada , but the locations are so beautifully shot and staged , the film can be looked upon as a loving tribute to earlier films of the genre . +and as such , the script by alfred gough and miles millar plays fast and loose with history , but with reverence to past films . +homage to such films as " high noon " ( obviously ) , " red river " and most notably " butch cassidy & the sundance kid " all bring a sense of nostalgia to the film . +it is a comforting experience . +at a time when the western is considered either old hat or irrelevant , here is a film that embraces those old attitudes and ( dare i say ) clich ? s and manages to make them palatable and refreshing . +here is a film that is not contemptuous of the genre . +this is the purest " horse opera " since the days of george o'brian or john wayne . +director tom dey has crafted a loving tribute to hollywood's past . +in this , his first film mr . dey shows both a love of character and of craftsmanship that is refreshing to see . +nothing here really stands out , or takes one's attention away from the story or action . +and that is as it should be , when jackie chan is your star . +and what of the action and stunts . +well , while not up to a level of " drunken master 2 " or any of jackie's hong kong films , " shanghai noon " is miles ahead of anything jackie has done in an american film before . +his timing , choreography , and creativity are still as sharp as ever . +jackie even gets to recreate a few scenes from his earlier films ( obvious to those of us that have seen those films , but refreshingly fun for those unfamiliar ) . +finally jackie can honestly say , that he has made an u . s . , his way and incorporating his style . +to sum up , " shanghai noon " is a fun summer confection . +not too heavy and not too light . +a fun and entertaining film that the whole family can enjoy ( parents be advised there are scenes of smoking , drunkenness and peyote use ) . +an enjoyable and charming film that can and will be enjoyed again and again . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv707_10678.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv707_10678.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2337a8d12b49aabc2a9b6aded11c5f7d15a447d4 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv707_10678.txt @@ -0,0 +1,45 @@ +the reunion film is not an original idea in any way , shape , or form . +it's been done throughout film history over and over again , and has become one of the many sub-genres , like the prep school sub-genre , the angst-filled teen sub-genre , and the slasher sub-genre . +what makes " peter's friends " so remarkable is not how it doesn't follow the rules of this sub-genre , but how it follows it so well , and creates characters that i wouldn't mind hanging with . +what are the rules of the reunion sub-genre ? +well . . . . +1 . you need a group of friends , most of them married or at least dating , and sometimes even married or dating eachother . +2 . you need to have them brought back together over some sort of a crisis . +3 . they are not to have spoken together much since they split apart . +4 . the reunion has to come in intervals divisible by 10 . +5 . they all have to be slightly to highly neurotic . +6 . the reunion has to bring them together , seperate them with little crises , then bring them back together because , after all , they're friends . +7 . there has to be some sex or at least some making out either between the friends or with other people that are there or were invited . +8 . eightly , they're all unhappy or marginally so . +9 . there's some sort of sexual tension amongst some of them that's built up over the years . +10 . the friends are all wildly successful in the world of entertainment and the arts , sometimes internationally so . +11 . the film is filled with nostalgic radio hits from the time when they were friends , sometimes causing them to get together in dance/song . +since it follows these rules so closely , it will probably be ( and has been ) coined off as just a " british 'big chill . ' " +and in some ways it is . +both follow the rules , as i said , and both feature lots of bitching , big confessionals , and broken relationships . +but while " the big chill " was , at least to me , a tad too whiny and unsatisfying , " peter's friends " hits its mark , making this film funny , dramatic , and poignant . +the friends of peter's were all in the same theatre group back in '82 , performig wildly outrageous british acts for people far too stuck up to enjoy them ( the opening scene has them all dancing in tux tops and tutus ) . +after peter's ( stephen fry ) wealthy father ( richard briers , hardly on screen enough to register , but oh well ) dies , leaving a giant mansion to him , he has to decide whether or not to keep it . +not sure what to do with it immeadiately , he decides to throw a giant reunion party , inviting back all his old chums . +of course , all or most of his chums follow the tenth rule . +andrew ( kenneth branagh , also directing here ) is an actor who's unhappily married to a tv star , carol ( co-writer rita rudner ) . +maggie ( emma thompson ) is a successfuly publisher of self-help books , but looks like she needs them more than her customers , as she is lonely and unhappy . +roger and mary ( hugh laurie and imelda staunton , who were also married in " sense and sensibility " ) are married , and are the most successful creators of jingles in the uk , but have suffered a tragedy as one of their newly born twins has recently died . +and sarah ( alphonsia emmanuel ) is as promiscuous as ever , having a new boyfriend as of two weeks named brian ( tony slattery ) who's married and wants a divorce because of her , giving her doubts . +as for peter , things seem okay . . . +the film features lots of inner-friend jokes , and even some old theatre anecdotes ( which i at least find a lot of fun in , as i've done lots of theatre myself ) . +and there are big confessions , brawls between the friends , and by the end , almost everyone is unhappy , even though some have resolved their problems long before the end ( which i kinda dug ) . +the final twist would seem forced an anti-climactic , but for some reason , i felt the same way the rest of the friends did . +maybe it's because the people in this film are so likable that i just wanted to join their clique . +that's really what makes " peter's friends " so lovable : the way you just want to hang with a group of friends who can be so dysfuntional sometimes , but when someone's in crisis , can come together wonderfully for one another . +it's when you have a giant crisis like this and people want to selflessly help you out instead of subtely pushing you away that makes you realize you have true friends , and these people are true friends . +not to mention kenneth branagh is able to make the film seem nostalgic for the 80s ( a decade i grew up in , unfortunately ) without taking us outside of the 90s . +there are some 80s classics and anti-classics like tears for fears " everybody wants to rule the world , " but unfortunately no stupid/fun 80s songs ( i think if i ever did an 80s reunion film , i'd put some crap go gos song on , or at least some good old " come on eileen " ) , but this is the british 80s we're talking about . +oh well . +but anyway , the direction is pretty good , although nothing amazing . +branagh's forte is really making shakespeare fresh and magical , but at least he's very good with making a less ambiguous film like this . +the writing is good from rita rudner and martin bregman , with lots of good one-liners , and even some really bad but good puns ( to mock the fact that andrew lives in l . a . , peter , while cutting some logs , asks him is he has wood in l . a . , and andrew says , " no , but we have hollywood " - punishment like that ) . +the actors , as in most speaking movies , are better than their material , though , with some stand-out performances to the six friends , as well as the outsiders like slattery , rudner , and phyllida law as the old housekeeper of the peter's mansion . +a little note should be made about hugh laurie's performance , as he looks like he took some massive doses of prozac before doing this - i mean , i've never seen him actually act this dramatically . + " peter's friends " is a really enjoyable film which makes people like me pine for some sort of future reunion , although i don't know what kind i'll have ( like most people , i don't look forward to my high school reunion ) . +because of the way these friends are still able to maintain the same amount of care they have for one another and after such a long period of seperation , i just look forward to the day when i can have friends like that . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv708_28729.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv708_28729.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1be6f501a30258c51bd1d05a0174c96c32543a54 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv708_28729.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +once upon a time a solitary ogre named shrek ( mike myers ) was really annoyed to discover that his swamp had been invaded by three blind mice , seven dwarves and all the other fairy tale characters in the land , banished from their home by lord farquaad ( john lithgow ) . +unwittingly befriended by a non-stop talking donkey ( eddie murphy ) , shrek travels to dulloc to speak with farquaad , where he stumbles into a joust and comes up the winner . +his prize ? +to save princess fiona ( cameron diaz ) from a tower surrounded by molten flame and protected by a dragon so she can become farquaad's bride . +the ogre agrees to the task in return for getting his solitary lifestyle back in " shrek . " +it took four writers ( ted elliott and terry rossio ( " the road to el dorado " ) , roger s . h . +schulman ( " balto " ) and joe stillman ( " beavis and butthead do america " ) ) to adapt william steig's children's book . +the bad news ? +they've genericized an already simple plotline while heavily under the influence of william goldman's " the princess bride . " +the good news ? +there's so much wacky humor culled from both fairy tales and popular culture that this movie should keep you in stitches . +we get our first inkling that we're in for a real treat as one of farquaad's men , intent on rounding up magical creatures offers 'five schillings for the possessed boy ! ' after observing dreamworks' rendition of disney's animated pinocchio . +meanwhile within the castle walls , a gingerbread man being tortured +by farquaad spits icing and yells 'eat me ! ' +before breaking down and solemnly asking 'do you know the muffin man ? ' +shrek , a green giant with bobbly antennae-like ears , is a grumpy recluse who really yearns to fit in ( although who could put up with his habit of making candles from his own ear wax ? ) . +donkey is a hyperactive , endearingly stunted creature who can talk and , therefore , believes will make a great misfit pairing with the uncooperative shrek . +donkey proves his worth sweet talking the princess-guarding dragon . +the princess proves to be more than a shade offbeat after learning she's not getting the fairy tale issue rescue she's been expecting . +when fiona's true colors are exposed ( including opportunies for some tomboyish gross out humor ) , a spark develops between her and shrek . +the script's details are gleefully impish , constantly poking fun at disney from the theme park world of farquaad's dulloc with its turnstyle entrance and 'it's a small world' parody of an information booth to the blue bird which meets a most un-disneyish fate after duetting with fiona 'snow white' style . +popular culture is represented with film references to " babe " and " charlies' angels " via " the matrix . " +myers chooses his 'so i married an axe murderer' scottish brogue for shrek in order to give his voice some heft . +while this may prove distracting for anyone familiar with that film , overall it works more than not . +eddie murphy steals the show as the fast-talking , motown-singing donkey , proving once again his talent as a vocal performer ( is it another wink at disney that donkey is paired with a dragon , a creature murphy portrayed in disney's 'mulan ? ' ) . +lithgow's a good choice for the supercilious , height-challenged villain lord farquaad . +diaz is energetic but ultimately nondescript voicing princess fiona . + ( a better choice would have been minnie driver , who's proven herself a terrific vocal talent in such diverse animations as disney's " tarzan , " " princess mononoke " and the " south park " movie . ) +the computer animation looks terrific ( particularly donkey ) , although it won't elicit the types of oohs and aahs of pixar's work ( " toy story , " " a bug's life , " " toy story 2 " ) . +in keeping with its hip style , pop music is used , which like myer's voice may be initially jarring , but ultimately satisfies ( while surveying bridal candidates via a 'dating game' parody broadcast by snow white's evil queen's mirror , farquaad is told 'fiona likes pina coladas' - cue jimmy buffet ! ) . + " shrek " has good lessons for kids and humor targetted at every age group in the family . +while it may be derivative of the 1987's " the princess bride , " " shrek " addresses a new generation with similar sensibilities and doesn't suffer in the comparison . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv709_10529.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv709_10529.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3762bbbd1a5e4a008744b73ee88e519b4e399128 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv709_10529.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +some movies have such an impact that they linger in your mind long after the credits have rolled , making you think carefully and recollect on what you have just seen . +i finished mike figgis' " leaving las vegas " hours ago , and it is still as haunting as when i hit rewind on the vcr . +alot of people refer to this film as " that flick where nick cage plays that alcoholic dude " . + " leaving las vegas " is not so much a movie about alcoholism as it is a story about two people who except each other for what they are : a drunk and a whore . +ben ( nicolas cage in possibly the best male performance of the past twenty years ) is the drunk . +his family and friends have long since abandon him , and all he has left is his liquor . +in a scene early in the film , we see ben staggering into a resteraunt , looking for a " friend " of his to mooch some money off of . +he finds the guy ( richard lewis ) having dinner with a buddy and two chicks , trying to crack witty jokes that just come out stupid . +when ben approaches the table , you can clearly sense that everyone immediatly feels uncomfortable . +after lewis gives ben the money , he coldly says " i think it would be best if you didn't contact me again . " +now even though through the course of the film , some much more depressing things happen , this is when i felt the most for ben . +there was such a look of sorrow and dispare on his face , ( not to sound hokey or anything ) it almost brought a tear to my eye . +it turns out that ben was once a semi-successful hollywood player , and apparently a pretty popular guy . +now he spends his time getting robbed by hookers and trying desperatly to pick up women , not so much for the sex , but for the company ; for someone to talk to or spend time with . +once he is fired from his job , ben decides to burn all his belongings , collect all his cash and relocate to las vegas to slowly drink himself to death . +one night he runs into a prostitute ( a brilliant performance by elizabeth shue - how far she has come since " adventures in babysitting " ) named sera . +she is involved in an abusive relationship with her pimp , a scumbag who gets-off by cutting her . +they are both very lonely , self-destructive people . +they immediatly hit it off , both of them realizing that they need one another . +and it isn't even a sexual relationship . +they don't even have sex until , like , the last ten minutes of the film . + " leaving las vegas " is not a film about plot . +with the exception of what i have already revealed ( which all happens in the first thirty minutes or so , by the way ) , there isn't too much of a story to it . +it is more a film about people and how they react to one another . +from what i can see , this is basically a perfect film . +the direction is great ( with mike figgis doing a brilliant mix between the glamor of las vegas and the moody , smokey atmosphere of a film noir ) and it contains two of the best performances to come out of the 90s , or any other decade for that matter . +but don't go rushing out to see this movie without knowing what you're getting yourself into . +first off , if you are easily offended by frank sexual dialouge , stay away from " leaving las vegas " . +it is filled with lengthy discussions of orgasms , rape and various forms of perverted activities involving burbon ( that's right ) . +secondly , if you are not in the mood to see a very depressing film , don't see it . +however , if you are cool with those two things , you are in for one of the most memorable experiences you will ever have . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv710_22577.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv710_22577.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..7b1b918fe666d7c3c67a4eeeb49a2d55b91bb588 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv710_22577.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +`run lola run' , a german import that gained a stellar reputation at the sundance film festival , is a dazzling and kinetic film that deals with the subjects of fate and chance . +for a berserk and retroactive 81 minutes of non-stop movement , we follow a fiery-haired heroine named lola ( franka potente ) as she sprints to save her boyfriend from the clutches of drug dealers . +lola has roughly twenty minutes to somehow retrieve 100 , 000 marks in time to save manni ( moritz bleibtreu ) from being killed by the dealer . +but , in something of a pseudo- `groundhog day' approach , director tom tykwer gives lola three separate chances to best navigate her way toward the goal . +in these trio of episodes , we gradually learn the unique effects of fate , for even if tiny changes are made in lola's journey , the future can be seriously altered . +`run lola run' is an experience like `fight club' or `the matrix' , in that each film takes you through a super-charged wormhole of bending reality in surreal and exciting ways . +in addition , all three movies have a visual style that separates them from the rest of the pack . +`lola' is no exception , with stylish quick-flash camera work and cinematography that serves as scintillating eye candy from the get-go . +tykwer's world is a landscape of mood and color , with brilliant shades of red and pink ( including lola's fiery hair ) used as effective symbolism throughout . +with it's visual style and mind-blowing pace , `run lola run' is one of the more invigorating movies of the year . +even more so when considering the fact it's all stuffed rather nonchalantly into an 81-minute time period . +as a heroine , potente does little more than run wildly through the streets ( as the title suggests ) , but she has a certain flair and charisma . +her exemplary running form made me wonder if she is actually a track star . +meanwhile , bleibtreu does an equally fantastic job of bringing the dopey but passionate manni to life . +both actors perform beyond the call of duty . +the dazzling fun comes from predicting what each episode holds in store for lola , and the outcome is ultimately rewarding - several twists and turns are unique and unexpected . +the other characters lola runs into ( both purposely and inadvertently ) include her banker father ( herbert kraup ) and a friendly security guard ( armin rohde ) , but aside from the two leads , no one has more than a few minutes of screen time . +additional stars that couldn't possibly be ignored are cinematographer frank griebe and editor mathilde bonnefroy , who are both responsible for the film's eye-catching visual elegance . +`run lola run' is subtitled , so be prepared to meet the challenge of reading the lightning-fast dialogue - occasional sections of it are especially fast . +this is only one of the minor chores involved in watching . +the other is the sense that we never get to really recognize who the real people are in this hyperactive situation . +most are just chess pieces in tykwer's elaborate game of visual presentation , and he never really makes a significant move with any . +but , the average viewer is likely to be so absorbed in the action that few will realize the lack of potency in a few elements of the screenplay . +a few petty gripes aside , this film is a wild , exhilarating ride that turns maniacally on its wheel of originality . +most people believe foreign films are mainly boring , talky character studies . +perhaps `run lola run' will recharge their batteries . +not only does this film offer insight into some intriguing questions of fate and destiny , it also delivers a white-knuckle visual rollercoaster ride of overwhelming audacity . +like how the experience must have been for the persistent title character , `run lola run' is exhausting . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv711_11665.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv711_11665.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a49536122428201aecc4409dc4e010a42ae16e25 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv711_11665.txt @@ -0,0 +1,45 @@ +in " the sweet hereafter , " writer/director atom egoyan takes us beyond the tragedy of death into the tragedy of living . +he shows us how it isn't dying that hurts , but rather the pain of living in the hereafter of death , and dealing with the loss and grief that it brings . +on a cold winter day in a small , isolated town in british columbia , a school bus full of children slides off the highway and onto a frozen lake , where it cracks through the ice and sinks . +fourteen children die , and numerous others are hurt . +for the residents of this small town , all of whose children were on that bus , it is an earth-shattering event that resolutely alters their lives . +they have always relied on each other in the past to deal with heartache and pain , but it seems that this tragedy is more than they can handle . +alberta and risa walker , who own a local motel and lost their child in the accident , hire an attorney named mitchell stephens ( ian holm ) to bring a lawsuit against someone , anyone for responsibility . +the bus driver , dolores driscoll ( gabrielle rose ) , is a kindly woman who loved the children and , although she lives with a burden of guilt , is not held responsible for the accident . +the bus seems to have simply slipped on some ice , and there was nothing should could do to prevent it . +however , according to stephens , there are no " accidents " in life , and someone will pay for this tragedy , whether that be the manufacturer of the bus or the guardrail the bus broke through . +he goes through the town , approaching the parents who have lost children , asking them to join the class action suit and find vent for their anger . +and , for his work , stephens will receive one-third of the settlement money . +however , it is immediately apparent that stephens has little or no interest in the money . +he is driven by something else , something deeper that he shares in common with the grieving parents . +he has lost a child , too , but not in the same manner . +his daughter , zoe ( caerthan banks ) , who once almost died in his arms as a young child after a spider bite , has been in and out of drug re-hab clinics and detox stations for ten years . +she calls him on an irregular basis , begging him for money , but refusing to tell him what she needs it for . + " i don't know who i'm taking to , " he tells her . +in his mind , his daughter is dead . +the lawsuit is , to stephens , not only a way to mend the town's pain , but also his own . +however , not everyone in town wants it to happen . +billy ansell ( bruce greenwood ) , who was driving behind the bus when the accident happened and lost two children , wants nothing to do with it . +he has already lost his wife , and he buries his grief in an affair with a married woman . +he doesn't want to talk about the accident , and he sees the lawsuit as nothing more than the unnecessary opening of old wounds . +to him , the town should be able to take care of its own pain , and it doesn't need outsiders like stephens getting in the way . +central to " the sweet hereafter " is the tale of nicole burnell ( sarah polley ) , a teenage girl who dreams of being a singer before the accident turned her into " a wheelchair girl , " as she puts it . +aside from stephens , nicole is the most complex character in the film , and it is she who ultimately decides the fate of the town and how the lawsuit will turn out . +it is also her sad , haunted voice that we often hear on the soundtrack , reading robert browning's poem about the pied piper , and how when he led all the town's children away , one was left behind because he was crippled . +obviously , nicole is that child , and she feels somehow betrayed that the rest of the town's children left her alone by dying in the wreck . +her situation is further complicated because she is involved in a loving , but incestuous relationship with her father ( tom mccamus ) . +there is only one , fleeting scene that suggests this relationship , but it is somehow tied into the final act of the film . +of all the storylines in " the sweet hereafter , " this is the most complicated and unresolved , although its implications stretch throughout the entirety of the film . +egoyan knows that the kinds of questions he brings up have no simple answers -- if any at all -- and he doesn't condescend to the audience by trying to neatly wrap it up . +what egoyan has done in " the sweet hereafter " is really nothing short of miraculous . +in his adaptation of the novel by russell banks , he has made a deeply moving film about a lawyer by transcending the pettiness of law and driving headlong into the deeper meaning of what is loss , and how pitiful monetary and material possessions are when compared to human life . +egoyan has always been a talented , but distant and cerebral filmmaker whose work suffered only in that it felt so cold . + " the sweet hereafter " is quite the opposite ; egoyan's stylistic and narrative structures work brilliantly to heighten the impact of the natural emotion , and draw the audience into the tragedy . + " the sweet hereafter " seems to contain the combined emotional impact that all his other films lacked . +the film is filled with beautiful , subtle performances from all the actors , especially ian holm as the lawyer and sarah polley as the sad child who was left behind . +the beautiful , roving camerawork by paul sarossy and the haunting , melodic musical score by mychael danna ( both previous egoyan collaborators ) give the film a visual and aural cohesiveness with the thematic elements . +like his earlier films , egoyan weaves together multiple storylines that form a blanketing whole . +he works with time as a fluid substance , shifting back and forth between the past , the distant past , and the present with effortless ease . +the actual bus wreck itself doesn't happen until midway through the film , but by that time the event has built up so much emotion that egoyan can film it from a distance with no graphic detail , and still have it carry great , devastating weight . +because human life has become such a cheap commodity in movies , it is astounding that egoyan can convey so much heartbreak in such simple , direct terms . +certainly one of the best films of 1997 , " the sweet hereafter " is a deeply rewarding , mystifying , and ultimately human film . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv713_29155.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv713_29155.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3c4b720fd31d03417bd3a8caee6c7af44706ef07 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv713_29155.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ +in present day hanoi , three sisters reflect on their parents' relationship while trying to define their own in writer/director tran anh hung's ( " the scent of green papaya " ) " the vertical ray of the sun . " +youngest sister lien ( tran nu yen-khe ) greets the day with hai ( ngo quanq hai ) , the only brother whom she rooms and relentlessly flirts with . +their morning ritual of tai chi and lou reed precedes crossing the street to eldest sister suong's ( nguyen nhu quynh ) cafe , where lien works , for breakfast . +the three sisters lovingly prepare their mother's memorial banquet of traditional delicacies , prepared as much for look as taste , while giggling over the differences between the sexes . +after the family breaks from the banquet , we learn that suong's young son 'little monkey' is doted upon , but there's a distance developing with her husband quoc ( chu ngoc hung ) , who's leaving for one of his habitual botanical photography trips . +middle sister khanh ( tran manh cuong ) tells her writer husband she's pregnant before he leaves on a trip to saigon to research tuan , a mysterious man in his mother-in-law's past . +lien keeps crawling into hai's bed at night , causing him to fall out of it . +the initial serenity we witnessed starts turning into a soap opera before coming to full circle one month later , as the three women prepare their father's memorial banquet . + " the vertical ray of the sun " is a contemplative piece where strong passions exist underneath calm exteriors . +sly humor , self deceit and harsh truths all exist in the cyclic screenplay . +tran anh hung and his cinematographer mark lee ping-bin ( " flowers of shanghai " ) linger over and repeat the small gestures of everyday life - a wife washes her husbands hands , a woman makes water dance in a bowl , a man pulls his lover to face him before they part . +small spaces such as rooms , alleys and courtyards create intimacy . +the color green , symbolizing life and tranquility , is used heavily in the film's visual styling , lapsing into yellowish hues and blues . +writer/director tran anh hung's film recalls ang lee's " eat drink man woman , " another tale of three sisters of varying modernity coming together traditionally for a parent . +but while lee's more traditionally story-driven film resulted in radical changes for all concerned , " the vertical ray of the sun's " characters strive for peaceful harmony . +watching it is like trailing your fingertips in a stream on a cool spring day . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv714_18502.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv714_18502.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ec21721f91bf63d32cabd836064b76c400847221 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv714_18502.txt @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ +star wars : episode i - the phantom menace review +a review by jamey hughton stars ) +starring-liam neeson , ewan mcgregor , natalie portman and jake lloyd director-george lucas rated g +with all the hype that star wars : episode 1- the phantom menace has been receiving , it seems almost impossible to avoid interest in seeing the film . +the movie is easily the most anticipated motion picture ever , with a marketing campaign so strong it has brought colonel sanders , the taco bell chihuahua and pizza hut together . +can george lucas succeed yet again with transporting us back a long time ago , in a galaxy far , far away . . . . ? +yes . this star wars prequel may be the worst of the bunch , with amateurish dialogue and an overall lack of humanity . +but that doesn't mean it fails to comply on the basis of solid entertainment . +the phantom menace features the most eye-catching , jaw-dropping visual look in cinematic history . +the tremendous action sequences will have you clinging to your arm rest , and the special effects are nothing short of the best ( and most plentiful ) to ever be caught on film . +the vast digitized worlds and sheer imagination that was applied to this project is astounding . +the phantom menace is a delectable feast for the senses , even if it has some disappointing aspects . +after we're treated to the famous prologue in the sky , with john williams' thundering score , we meet qui-gon jonn ( liam neeson ) and young obi-wan kenobi ( ewan mcgregor ) , a jedi master and his trainee `padawan' . +they are on the ship accommodating the fleet headquarters for the evil trade federation , and have been sent to settle disputes regarding the taxation of trade routes to the planet of naboo . +oh , but enough about that . +the prime concern for this prequel is introducing young anakin skywalker ( jake lloyd ) into the picture . +as you already know , this seemingly charming lad is the boy who will soon become darth vader . +a spectacular pod race comes soon hereafter . +this particular race is the most exciting , energetic , high-octane action sequence that you'll ever see . +one of the delights of the series is meeting the newest set of strange alien creatures that lucas has devised , and the phantom menace is no exception . +i loved sebulba , the rat-like scoundrel whom anakin has to face in the pod race , and boss nass , the leader of the gungans ( who are a neighbouring species to naboo ) . +one character who has been subject to criticism is jar-jar binks , a member of the gungan race . +jar-jar speaks like roger rabbit on a hallucinogenic drug , and is there for the sole purpose of supplying comic relief . +yes , he is initially annoying , but i can admit to laughing over some of his harmless , goofy antics . +there is some lack of dramatic pull in this star wars entry , but the presentation almost makes you forget the plot and character lapses . +the final light-saber battle , between the jedi's and the horrific ( and terminally underused ) villain darth maul , is spectacular to behold . +jabba the hutt , yoda , c-3po and r2-d2 have cameo appearances . +lucas has not forget how to captivate an audience , even if his latest shows obvious signs of tiredness . +one can only wonder what the possible technology will present for the next two installments , episode's i and ii . +when they arrive , you'll know where to find me . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv715_18179.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv715_18179.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..49102ab57bf99932bbb28b89ef0d89b353a43d67 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv715_18179.txt @@ -0,0 +1,13 @@ +bob the happy bastard's quickie review : +i must admit , no doubt's single " new " is quite catchy . +it was bouncy and energetic enough to get me to go see this new film from director doug limon , the man who had brought us the humorous swingers a little while back . +the result ? +a movie that's just as good as that song , really . +it follows the lives of several individuals over the course of one weekend . +first we hear about a grocery bagger ( sara polley ) who runs into a monetary situation problem and ends up selling bogus drugs at a rave ( with bad results , as a drug dealer feels he's been swindled by her ) ; then comes the story of an english grocery store worker ( same store ) who heads to vegas for the weekend with friends , where sex , gunplay , and stolen car trouble come into play ; then we see the story of two gay movie actors ( played by scott wolf and jay mohr ) who deal with a cop's strange insurance presentation and hitting a girl ( sara ) with their car ; and , finally , we come to another grocery worker ( katie holmes ) who has a strange fascination with said drug dealer ( the one mentioned earlier ) . +really , it's all confusing to keep track of in review format , your best bet is to just , well , go . +the movie features some very good acting from all angles , and limon adds the same humorous energy he had with swingers to this particular product . +the dialogue is pretty snappy and the resolution is pretty well realized , not going for the sappy happy ending nor the dreaded bad ending . +think of it as a , well , ending . +the intertwining of stories is a particularly good element to the movie , as it's never really confusing and tells different sides of the story , like sliding doors kinda did . +however , it's better suited for the younger generation who want a little spice in their flicks , which sliding doors kinda isn't . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv716_10514.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv716_10514.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..556dc7f319c8356ebf251319bfe116b31b7c1fbe --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv716_10514.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +while watching " shallow grave , " i found myself periodically noticing thematic similarities to the coens' " blood simple . " +both are good films in which several characters , none of whom are the most conscientious to have walked the earth but still are not really evil , indulge in an act of deception that soon necessitates more serious crimes . +the body count rises , and before long seemingly normal people have blood on their hands . +both films are also flawed , but for different reasons . + " blood simple " is unrelentingly dark and moody , but its characterizations were a little hollow . + " shallow grave , " on the other hand , is nearly flawless for an hour and twenty minutes , and then the filmmakers throw away much of what they'd accomplished for a more standard , audience-pleasing ending . +the events of the film were sufficiently intense and disturbing that i honestly felt quite troubled by what i was witnessing on screen most of the time , yet there was a slight grin on my face at the end . +as the film begins , we are introduced to alex ( ewan mcgregor ) , juliet ( kerry fox ) , and david ( christopher eccleston ) , a scottish trio living in an apartment in glasgow . +they are all sarcastic and occasionally obnoxious , but other than that they seem like a fairly normal bunch . +a man named hugo moves into the apartment's remaining vacancy , and the next morning he is found dead of a drug overdose . +juliet is about to call the police when alex discovers that hugo had brought with him a suitcase filled to the brim with cash ( presumably from criminal activities ) . +the three eventually decide to keep the money and cover up the death ; after a drawing of straws , the particularly unenviable task of mutilating the body so as to make it unidentifiable and burying it falls to david , who had been the most reluctant to partake in the scheme from the beginning . +all of this transpires in the first twenty minutes or so of the film , and part of what makes " shallow grave " so brilliant for a while is that i honestly had no idea what was coming next . +other than the obvious question of why they don't report the death and simply hide the cash , which is not addressed , the plotting and characterization , while sometimes predictable , worked in a way that kept my attention and , on more than one occasion , gave me chills . +i will , therefore , attempt to continue this review in a way that doesn't give away too much of the plot . +broadly , the trio are in danger due to hugo's underworld connections , as two goons search for the money and kill several people in the process . +a police inspector ( ken stott ) is clearly suspicious and visits the apartment , asking pointed questions and trying to unnerve the three suspects by exchanging banal and weirdly humorous bits of dialogue with a junior detective . +david , meanwhile , becomes increasingly paranoid , moves into the attic , and develops an affinity for sharp objects . +director danny boyle effectively creates an atmosphere of mounting tension and suspicion in the apartment , and finally the three seem ready to turn against each other . +while i do not consider myself the " happy endings are automatically stupid " type , i thought that " shallow grave " really should have ended in tragedy - a realistic analysis of the story up to the last ten minutes of the film would indicate that all three characters were probably about to end up in prison , in the mental hospital , or in the morgue . +this could have been accomplished , quite credibly , but then boyle and screenwriter john hodge seem to flinch and opt for a more conventional " caper " ending in which we get a kick out of seeing who outsmarted whom , and nothing more . +granted , this isn't really a " happy " ending , but it's still pretty light-hearted compared to what preceded it . +i really shouldn't say anything more about the ending as far as details go , but let me add that it seemed not only shallow and lazy but also inconsistent with the rest of the film and not very believable . +yes , this ending made me crack a smile for a couple of minutes , but ultimately it left me feeling as if i'd been cheated . +still , " shallow grave " was brilliant most of the way through , and it does at least meet the minimum requirements for an entertaining thriller , and i am therefore awarding it three stars . +i guess i just can't help but think about that fourth star that boyle and hodge let slip away . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv717_15953.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv717_15953.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ff2feeb1f1df810da6ab673e35c6e0e591ebe691 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv717_15953.txt @@ -0,0 +1,61 @@ +since most movies about slavery shield us from the true horrors of what they're portraying , it's fitting to say that " beloved " come as a real shock as a film . +it's confusing , bizarre , and as tough a film to watch as any film i've seen all year , and that's not necessarily because of the three-hour running time . + " beloved " is challenging to watch , filled with tough and powerful poetry that takes us completely off guard , and instead of a straight-forward , hollywood-ized story about what happened to the slaves after they were freed , " beloved " comes off as a cry of anguish from all those who actually lived through what happened ( or , rather , toni morrison , who wrote the novel upon which this is based ) . + " beloved " tells the story of an ex-slave named sethe , played by oprah winfrey , who lives on a large farm in the north with her children . +when the film opens , her house is being terrorized by a poltergeist , which shakes things up , wounds the dog , and makes things generally uncomfortable for the family . +sethe is proud , though , and will not move . +her sons run away , leaving only her and her daughter , denver ( kimberly elise ) alone with the ghost which is there without any factual explanation . +a couple years pass , and the ghost remains , and one day , a man named paul d ( danny glover ) , another ex-slave who knew sethe years ago when they worked on a plantation together , arrives , asking for lodging . +he has been wandering around since he left the plantation , and when he enters the house , it turns red and becomes incredibly hot . +when he remarks about what he thinks is evil , sethe replies " it ain't evil . +it's just sad . " +some more time passes , and paul d has become a fervent member of the household , and the ghost disappears . +but when they return one day from going out , they discover a young woman sitting in the house . +her name is beloved , and as played by thandie newton , she has almost zero motor skills . +she stumbles around , half-grabbing onto things and knocking them over , and when she speaks , she lets out a low guttural sound that eventually turns into baby talk . +they let her into her house , and she begins to turn things upside down . + " beloved " acts like an incredibly difficult chamber drama paired with a ghost story . +most of the scenes consist of people arguing in one claustrophobic , low-lit room , with the occasional flash to the past , where we see images of such horror that we thank god for modern-day psychoanalysts . +sethe and paul d have lived through such hellish times that they are forever implanted with the memories of their slavehood on the old plantation , which includes such images as sethe being raped by the white plantation hands , with her nipples being licked , prompting her to cry out to paul d when reminiscing about it , " they took my milk ! " +worst of all was the month after her freedom , when she was allowed to live like a free person , working with other blacks on a farm , and then seeing that her old plantation owners have arrived to presumedly take her and her children back . +she runs to the barn near by , carrying her four children , and when her old owners burst in , they discover she has murdered one of them and is ready to murder the rest of them if they don't leave them alone . +when she is inquired about this moment by paul d in a moment halfway through the film , she says she doesn't regret it . +she killed her daughter so that she would not have to live through the horror she did , and she has convinced herself she did the right thing . +of course , beloved is really her daugher materialized , though we aren't flat out told that until later on in the film . +beloved represents the pain and suffering the slaves went through and shows how difficult it was for them to deal with their freedom after being tortured for so long . +thus , " beloved " becomes a sorta-redux of the andrei tarkofsky sci-fi classic , " solaris , " where a cosmonaut discovers that his wife , who commited suicide years before , has materialized when he is orbiting over a planet with a complex brain system . +that film spoke volumes about humanity and our memories , how we are constantly regretting what happened in the past , and when if it ever literally came back to haunt us , it would control us completely . + " beloved " moves along freely , without a lot of explanation , and for the most part , this is extremely respectable . +the most interesting films are the ones that don't explain everything for us , leaving gaps in the characters that we are supposed to fill in with how they act in the present tense . +sethe is never fully explained as a character , but we understand all her actions since she's being played by oprah winfrey . +it's been well over a decade since her last major performance in " the color purple , " but judging from these two films , i'll bet she's one of the best actresses working today . . . if +she was strictly an actress . +her talk show , which i suppose is a great entity , has prevented her from becoming a noteworthy actress , and that's a shame because she brings so much to this movie . +emotion . +sadness . +strength . +watching the strong sethe , who's so afraid of the past that she's built a rather strong protective coating around herself , break down when she discovers who beloved really is is what makes this movie really great . +she makes it real . +that's not to say this is a perfect film . +in fact , i'd wager to say that the fact that it's confusing and painful to watch is what prevents this from being the truly great film it is . +while oprah's performance is powerful and easily sympathetic ( and i'm dying to see her win at least an oscar nomination this february ) , the structure of the film , which doesn't show what happened to her children till halfway through the film , prevents us from really making a cohesive connection to the film . +it doesn't necessarily move as though they're memories of one particular character , and by the end , it has lost control over sethe , and as she takes to bed , we are unable to truly identify with her anymore . +but despite its tediousness , perhaps that's the point . +the distancing by the end of the film may be just part of the way it has been built from the start , since they figure she has crossed over from being identifiable , and it needs to get back with reality . +and for the most part , this film seems like the cry of pain from the slaves that it really wants to be . +jonathan demme's direction is bizarre , in nature with the story , and he creates the right mood , making it a tough film to sit through , making sure that the audience feels as uncomfortable as the characters . +there's more to admire here , like the way that the flashbacks pop up freely and without real organization , just like they would be in real life ; and the way that the ending leaves it somewhat open to more pain and suffering , but laced with a touch of optimism . +the acting , not only from winfrey , is amazing , and i anticipate not only she will get an oscar nomination . +everyone has been raving about thandie newton's performance , and how it should be rewarded . +however , it must be noted that out of everyone , she had the easiest part . +act like a baby . +throw things . +stumble around . +chew food with your mouth open . +i do think there's another performance worthy of oscar conisderation , but it's kimberly elise , as the daugher who has to stay sensible and sane , and has to carry the burden of her mother's loss of reality towards the end . +it's not that newton isn't great : she's as annoying and wacky as the role demands . +it's just that elise has the tougher job and pulls it off even better . +despite the fact that this film has winfrey written all over it , and not that of writer morrison or director demme , " beloved " has still not done well . +costing , i think , around ninety million dollars , it has since grossed about twenty-two . +unfortunately , this film is a little too intense for viewers , even for me , and i can stand almost anything ( i recently viewed the 2 1/2 hour long epic " caligula , " the worst film i have ever seen in my life , and did it in a mere 2 sittings ) . +although i respect " beloved , " i can't say that i really enjoyed it . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv718_11434.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv718_11434.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d705fc0b929514805783bfed1bf6c8143516e17a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv718_11434.txt @@ -0,0 +1,15 @@ +usually a movie is about something more than a soiled rug , but not the big lebowski . +the new offering from the creators of 1996's critical hit fargo , is to say the least , wildly entertaining . +originality has always been a strong trait in the coen brother's movies , and the big lebowski is insanely original . +it begins oddly enough when jeff " the dude " lebowski ( jeff bridges ) is mistaken for a millionaire , jeff " the big " lebowski ( david huddleston ) , who's wife , bunny ( tara reid ) owes money all over town . +two goons , out to collect on bunny's debt break into dude's house . +they attempt to collect the money that bunny owes them and one of them urinates on his rug . +the next day dude explains his situation to his bowling team ( steve buscemi & john goodman , respectively . ) +he is advised to go to the big lebowski and get him to pay for the defiled rug . +he does this , and shortly after gets tied up in a kidnapping caper . +this is a extremely funny movie with lots of belly laugh moments . +the coen brothers have assembled a great cast that play off each other perfectly . +also several great supporting roles , john turturro as a child molesting bowler named jesus . +the coen's script plays off perfectly and it all goes together to make it extremely entertaining . +i doubt this movie will be nearly as popular as fargo , but its off the wall moments make it so far the best of 1998 . +if you like anything else the coen brothers have done you will love this one , if not they give this one a try its a little different . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv719_5713.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv719_5713.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..192223b1f79ba41725cda7a1059364b886f6b1e9 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv719_5713.txt @@ -0,0 +1,41 @@ +with the opening scene of a young couple in a van pulling up , loading their guns , kissing each other and uttering what sounds like " rock and roll ! " + ( actually , it's " lock and load " ) , you can't help thinking tarantino . +and of course with its storyline of a crazy girl and boy in love who turn to violent bank robbery , the film unapologetically takes its place alongside all those other films from bonnie & clyde to natural born killers . +but if most of those movies have their roots in pulp fiction , exploring a modern myth of the doomed rebels on the run , normal life takes a much more psychologically realistic look at the phenomenon . + " inspired by true events " -- we've heard that one before , and yet in no other tale of violent couples has it seemed so solidly demonstrated . . . +or so strangely poignant . +for this is a story of real people whose lives take on a steadily unreal quality , who in their search for a normal life find themselves increasingly unhinged . +beginning with their final arrest , the film goes back to trace the relationship between chris ( luke perry ) , a policeman , and pam ( ashley judd ) , a factory worker . +they fall in love and marry , but pam's increasingly erratic behaviour ( going on spending sprees , slashing herself with a knife after an argument ) begin to trouble the solid and stable chris . +when chris gets sacked , they find themselves heavily in debt and near breaking up . +then , chris begins to rob banks . . . +luke perry accomplishes the not-inconsiderable feat of making us nearly forget that he was ever in beverly hills 90210 or buffy the vampire slayer . +moustached , with a tough paternal look and yet a voice and eyes that suggest sadness verging on exasperation , he is perfectly cast as the long-suffering husband . + ( it's another of john mcnaughton's coups of casting-against-type , after transforming robert de niro into nerd and bill murray into gangster in mad dog and glory ) . +but it is the character of pam who commands centrestage , and ashley judd rises to the challenge with great alternating currents of ferocity and tenderness , making pam into a fascinating yet often infuriating person . +if the performance falls short of greatness , however , it is perhaps because the role of the mad woman has been done so often before it is virtually a staple of cinema , whether it's in betty blue , tom & viv or georgia . +as in those movies , there's the danger that the performance seems mannered , a collection of screwy tics and tantrums designed for the oscar presentation piece . +judd doesn't entirely avoid this pitfall , but pam's 'craziness' is best and most movingly presented in counterpoint to the more 'normal' chris . +when pam reacts to her father-in-law's death by showing up at the funeral in rollerblades and blaring headphones , chris' face is the picture of pained restraint . +of course , it's the question of what is 'normal' that is asked in normal life . +mcnaughton constantly offers up the ironies of the aspirations for the average domestic life and its kinship with insanity . +it is the rational chris that loves guns ( " shooting is about precision , control " ) and the 'crazy' pam that loves astronomy and yearns for a dog ( who is then called chaos -- " chaos and you and me . . . +we're a real family " , she notes wryly ) . +it is chris' methodical mind and his knowledge of police procedure that allows him to be such a successful bank robber ( his well-planned disguise as a bearded , roaring man of terror is another piece of method in madness ) . +in the carpark where he sets out for his first robbery , a huge sign on a shopping mall stands out in the background : " buy-more " -- the perfectly respectable consumption-crazy american dream that has driven pam to her extravagant purchases , and both of them into desperate situations . +it's not a perfect film . +some of the dialogue is a touch too banal ( perhaps intentionally ? ) . +the use of the punk hardcore soundtrack in pam's crazed scenes comes rather too close to making emotional disturbance seem glamourous and sexy an image which only detracts from the rest of the film . +indeed , as in mcnaughton's seminal film henry : portrait of a serial killer , it is the avoidance of glamour or sensationalism , the denial of some of the standard thrills of the outlaw film genre , that gives this determinedly unflashy , moving film its great strengths . +mcnaughton has filmed this story with a quiet , coolly 'realistic' method that works far better than any nbk theatrics at unsettling the viewer . +the suburbs , with their miles of white-fenced houses and identikit malls , take on a sense of claustrophobic blankness . +in its very different way , this makes for as haunting a backdrop as the wide open spaces in terence malick's badlands . +while pam shares the yearnings of malick's heroes to escape from ordinary life , chris takes up crime precisely so that they can lead a 'normal life' - their little house on the suburbs is financed by his violent robberies . +but these are dreams defined by , constrained by , and even doomed by , the limitations of the 'normal' , conventional world . +pam's final scene takes place at the edge of the suburbs , where wild bushes grow -- symbolically the frontier , the outer limits of her society , but also quite literally the end of the road , where there is nowhere left to go but to the final tragic denouement . +the flying inkpot's rating system : * wait for the video . + * * a little creaky , but still better than staying at home with gotcha ! + * * * pretty good , bring a friend . + * * * * amazing , potent stuff . + * * * * * perfection . +see it twice . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv720_5389.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv720_5389.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2309106eed63fb61fb93d59464df9914e210d18e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv720_5389.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +it's not often that i laugh so hard at a movie that my head hurts . +but that's just what happened to me at uhf , weird al yankovic's big screen debut . +uhf is a television parody a la airplane , and like airplane , the movie is extraordinarily stupid . +but it's dumb in the best way a movie can be dumb : it's so silly and outrageous it's hilarious . +the movie stars weird al as george newman , a world class nerd with a hyperactive imagination , the type who fantasizes he's indiana jones and who uses hostess twinkies as hot dog buns . +george is basically a loser ; his daydreams and smart-alec attitude perpetually prevent him from holding onto a job for more than two weeks . +but george finally gets a chance to funnel his creativity into something productive when his uncle wins channel 62 in a poker game and makes him the general manager of the struggling uhf television station . +george revives channel 62 with innovative programming : shows like " wheel of fish " and movies like " conan , the librarian . " +as the station's ratings rise , it comes into competition with channel 8 , the leading vhf network-affiliate . +as r . j . +fletcher--channel 8's ill-natured , hard-nosed owner--veteran stage and film actor kevin mccarthy is flamboyantly sleazy ; he really hams it up with his snorts , grimaces , and scowls . +uhf satirizes anything and everything to do with television , including game shows , tabloid talk shows , children's shows , dizzy news women , and movies--everything from rambo to close encounters . +the funniest scene , the one that made my head spin , is a commercial for spatulas which has to be seen to be believed . +like most movies in its genre , uhf is hit or miss . +for every gag that works , at least one fizzles . +for instance , weird al's mock video of " money for nothing " by dire straits is only mildly amusing and brings the film to a grinding halt ( although it does have some nifty computer animation ) . +but the funniest bits in uhf are so hysterical that we can forgive the ones that fail ; we know another gut wrencher is on the way . +in fact , uhf hits the mark often enough to make it the most effective airplane-type movie since . . . +well , since airplane . +much of the credit goes to weird al's exceptionally inventive script and to the movie's winsome cast . +weird al seems a little stiff at the beginning , but because he's not afraid to look silly , he ultimately has a lot of fun with his character . +the real standout is michael richards as stanley , the dim-witted janitor who becomes the host of his own children's show : " stanley spadowski's playhouse . " +stanley's off-beat , mixed-up personality is a big hit with the audience and makes him an over-night star . +he is an endearing mixture of good-natured innocence , high-energy enthusiasm , and puppy-dog cuteness . +and above all , he's a good janitor who adores his work . +another highlight is a vintage cameo by the incomparable emo philips . +the cast also features gedde watanabe ( the chinese foreign-exchange student in sixteen candles ) as the karate master who hosts the hit series , " wheel of fish . " +also aboard for the ride is fran drescher , who plays pamela finklestein , channel 62's roving reporter . +unfortunately , as weird al's girlfriend , victoria jackson is wasted in a role that calls for nothing but whimpering , whining , and sulking . +her character is extraneous and should have been either further integrated into the story or cut from the script altogether . +while uhf is not an absolute must-see , it's definitely the ticket if you're looking for a wild and zany , whacked-out comedy . +the movie is good enough to see in the theaters , but it may work even better on television , the very medium at which it pokes fun . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv722_7110.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv722_7110.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e747987f47780bc46d9665d02705e4621c511f04 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv722_7110.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ + " a private matter " is based on the true story of sherri finkbine and the events in her life during the 1960s . +after becoming pregnant ( for the fifth time ) she learns that some tranquilizers she had taken have seriously deformed her unborn child . +she and her husband decide , with the help of her doctor , to have an abortion . +but this is the 1960s , and abortion is illegal . +her doctor has made arrangements to have the procedure performed withing the law , by claiming that the child is endangering the mother's life . +everything is about to work out just fine , until sherri has the uncontrollable urge to talk about her situation with a local reporter . +this sets off a media frenzy and immediately sherri is the most hated woman in the world . +she and her husband are fired from their jobs , reporters are surrounding their home at all times , and most importantly , no one in the country ( and eventually other countries ) will perform the abortion . +this causes emotion problems for all involved . + " a private matter " is a fascinating story and it's hard to believe that this only happened 30 years or so ago . +it's only flaw is that not once is there ever a satisfactory confrontation with sherri and any of her opponents . +one woman passing her on the street telss her to burn in hell , and when sherri appropriately yells back , " just tell me what i'm supposed to do , " the woman has no answer . +no one apparently had an answer , they just wanted to control what should have been only the choice of sherri and her husband . +this is an important film , telling an important story . +it's not just about not wanting another child , it's about not wanting a child who will cause severe changes in their family , none of which could be beneficial . +sydney pollack served as executive producer for this made for hbo movie . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv723_8648.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv723_8648.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2ba671cc0d0c87d0822e3e6e9e5ba8017b4f90e0 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv723_8648.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18 @@ +director jan de bont certainly knows how to make top quality action films . +you need look no further than die hard ( he was director of photography ) , speed and last years twister for examples of his hi- octane , edge of your seat thrill prowess . +speed 2 is no exception . +this time , the action takes place on a huge cruise liner , on which sandra bullock and jason patrick are trying to develop their relationship . +yep , that's right , no keanu reeves this time , but fear not , jason patrick is more than up to the job . +speaking of which , the job at hand is to stop completely bonkers terrorist , willem dafoe , from crashing the liner into a huge island , after stealing a diamond collection . +the reason for this act of destruction is revenge . +after years of working for the company that builds cruise liner computers , he contracts copper poisoning and is retired . +naturally , what entails next is a lot of running/jumping about and general high quality action as jason patrick does his level best to save the day . +thinking back on this film , you can't help , but admire it's structure . +the way , willem dafoe initiates his plan and throws red herrings to the crew and passengers . +the race against time to save the liner from crashing , and of course , the finale chase scence . + ( although this is ruined by an over the top , one too many stunt and explosion . ) +simple in construction , effective in it's execution , and the result , a clear and concise , highly enjoyable action film . +the acting is adequate , although it's darned obvious that sandra bullock is only in it to create a 'hot totty' appeal to the men ( and she does that perfectly ! ) , jason patrick fills the action hero role superbly and willem dafoe is just great as the crazed terrorist . +overall , speed 2 is a most enjoyable thrill ride . +not up to it's predecessor's high calibre but very good all the same . +there is plenty going on , some of the thrills are quite tense and it also proves that you do not need blood and guts to make a good action movie . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv726_4719.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv726_4719.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..619a25e4c71fdd40b23128076d4a5e388d6aa087 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv726_4719.txt @@ -0,0 +1,19 @@ +copyright 1996 graeme huggan carry on henry is all about henry viii and his eight wives ! +sid james plays henry , who no sooner has the film started , is getting rid of his present queen and hopes to find another one soon . +as part of his alliance with france , he requests the hand-in-marriage to the queen of normandy ( joan sims ) . +she comes to england in the hope of marrying henry but when he finds out that she loves garlic and has a reeking garlic breath , he is totally averse to the idea of marriage . +henry's court is very corrupt , with the cardinal ( terry scott ) trying to bribe cromwell ( kenneth williams ) and cromwell trying to bribe the king . +there is a state of crisis when the king puts marie the queen ( sims ) in the tower of london ready for execution . +the queen is pregnant but she has not liased with the king before , so fingers are pointed at sir roger de lodgerley played by charles hawtrey , who has a rather lecherous character to play this time . +the cardinal and cromwell decide to get a signed confession from sir roger by using all kinds of torture devices ! +owing to circumstances , sir roger is sometimes needed to sign that he is the father and sometimes that he isn't . +this is because of renewed threats by the king of france ( peter gilmore ) to come over himself , which in the end he does . +by then , henry has found himself a new queen , played by none other than barbara windsor ! +it looks like he has some explaining to do ! +there are stand-out performances by sid james as henry , joan sims as marie , and terry scott in an unusual role as the cardinal . +also there are cameos from kenneth connor and peter butterworth , who plays barbara's father . +the set and costume design is first class and the overall production of this film is good . +there is even an early appearance from david prowse , who later became the green cross code man and darth vader . +the film does have it's downsides though , as it is getting pretty routine for the carry-on team to stage historical films and the inventive streak of the script seems to run out pretty quickly . +there is also the absence of hattie jacques and bernard bresslaw , who could have helped the film along . +however , overall the film is funny and there are plenty of laughs and saucy jokes , so that is why i mainly recommend it to carry on fans only , but there is enough humour in the film to make it worth anyone's while to sit down and watch it . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv727_4978.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv727_4978.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..62dd436310c61c61db8d404c329c0c180439e1e1 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv727_4978.txt @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ +this " dumb " cowboy blondie who thinks he is a `darn' good loverboy , decides to leave his dusty ol' town somewhere in texas and go to new york . +he puts on his beloved cowboy attire and off he hops on the next new york coach . +when he arrives to new york , he immediately sets out to play mr playboy thinking he is the best `darn' `stud' in the whol'o' new york city . +obviously he fails . +he meets the 'cripple' rico ( dustin hoffman , who is terrifically good ) in a bar . +rico has a leg that is paralysed from the knee down , so he walks in a peculiar way . +rico is a thief and wants to get some money off this 'rich' dumb cowboy . +he cheats our cowboy out of $20 through a somewhat detailed routine and disappears . +soon , our cowboy runs out of money : he gets kicked out of his hotel , and starts getting hungry . +walking through the city , with " everybody's talkin' " playing in the background ( oh , and his prided techno transistor radio in hand ) , he spots rico in a cafe . +rico , half-scared , pours out all the money in his pocket . +60 filthy cents . +our cowboy , hungry , is forgiving . +he is glad he found someone he knows . +rico offers to make it up for him . +and he invites him to his place . +and what a filthy , cold place it is . +our cowboy falls asleep instantly in the ( junk ) bed . +when he finally wakes ( jumps ? ) +up , he finds rico looking at him . + " you wanna cup'a'coffee ? " +rico asks in his friendly , sleazy , somewhat-childish manner while he smokes on a ciggy . + " what're you ? +a goddamn faggot ? +what do you want from me ? +where are my shoes ? +what did you do to them ? " +but all his doubts turn out to be unfounded . +rico really has a heart . +together , they live in the junk apartment and almost freeze to death . +rico is convinced that the best place to be is florida , where the sun shines beautifully and there are lots of coconut trees . +but he falls sick and is convinced that his cure is to go to florida . + " we will soon be in miami " is the last sentence uttered in this film and what a shocking , moving end of a film it is . +the classic theme music : " midnight cowboy " helps bring about the feeling of attachment that most viewers will experience towards the end of the film . +whether the attachment is to the two main characters or to their dreams , is probably as debatable as whether it was the acting or the direction that makes this film so memorable . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv728_16133.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv728_16133.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..76e76aa75efe51cbc974197fe3ff5df5d70baee9 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv728_16133.txt @@ -0,0 +1,46 @@ +playwright tom stoppard and screenwriter marc norman took on an astonishingly difficult task : they wanted to write a script about william shakespeare that parallels shakespeare's works . +they also wanted to poke fun at the way all of us envision shakespeare : i mean , really , who doesn't think of shakespeare as a guy seething with so much passion that he can barely write a play without exploding into a passionate , introspective verbal couplet of iambic pentameter ? +stoppard and norman are men who love shakespeare , and they wanted to make a movie for everyone else who loves shakespeare . +and , despite the difficulty of their task , they have succeeded . +shakespeare in love is one of the smartest , funniest , most touching films of the year . +it's so rare that a picture with such high aspirations succeeds in all of its endeavors , but here we have a movie that defines success : it is at once charmingly acted and flawlessly written . +it could have been a smug , self-important movie that panders to die-hard shakespeare fans , but the appeal of this film is almost universal : if you've ever read a play by shakespeare , or know anything about his life , it's likely that you'll find grand entertainment in shakespeare in love . +joseph fiennes , brother of ralph , stars as shakespeare himself ; he's a delightful , irresistible lad , concerned mostly with women and detached from life's more serious problems ( debt , plague , etc . ) . +he's commissioned to write plays for various people : queen elizabeth ( judi dench ) wants comedies , while local slimeball philip henslowe ( geoffrey rush ) needs him to write a play so that he can pay off his debts to hugh fennymann ( tom wilkinson ) . +shakespeare , however , has trouble focusing on his work . +he begins work on a comedy about a boy named romeo and a girl named ethel . +this all changes , however , when he meets viola de lesseps ( a radiant gwyneth paltrow ) , a young heiress set to marry the financially-oriented lord wessex ( colin firth ) . +shakespeare instantly falls in love with her ; he first meets her when she pretends to be a man to try out for the part of romeo . +he discovers her identity and confronts her later ; she , of course , falls in love with him , although their love is doomed because she absolutely must marry the tyrannical lord wessex . +but she continues to act because she loves shakespeare's writing so much , and soon the production ( which later becomes romeo and juliet ) is set to be performed . +shakespeare in love is an amazingly good film , not because it works as great entertainment , but because it pays attention to detail and knows its subject matter . +i was instantly won over by joseph fiennes in the lead role : he has such searing optimism and energy ; he's clearly a man who admires shakespeare , and even in the shortcomings that he gives his character ( inability to turn away from women , attention deficit disorder ) , we sense a great deal of affection and care . +he practically overflows with passion in every scene . +fiennes is matched by paltrow ( whose english accent is so good that wonder where she actually comes from ) ; she is an actress who exudes strength and conviction in every performance i've seen her in . +the two performers work perfectly together , taking the passionate scenes as far as possible without making them melodramatic , and wringing the comedic scenes for every conceivable laugh . +of course , it doesn't hurt that they have a masterful script to work with . +stoppard , whose play rozencrantz and guildenstern are dead inspired an interesting film , is full of dry wit and boundless understated humor ( all of his plays have similarly dry humor ) . +the first intelligent step stoppard and norman took was harmonizing the events of the film with romeo and juliet . +one of the funniest scenes in the film is an imitation of the famous terrace scene from the play ; in the movie , shakespeare is bumbling about while viola is trying to fend off her nurse maid . +director john madden does a fantastic job dabbling in slapstick humor -- scenes like these would have seemed obtuse in the hands of a lesser director . +i'm going to have to see the movie again ; i'm certain there are numerous references that i missed . +in fact , i doubt it's possible to gather everything with just one viewing . +stoppard is a master of detail : you'll notice familiar lines placed throughout the film , not as lines of a play , but as dialogue , suggesting that shakespeare simply spoke like that all the time . +there's also a brilliant running joke in which shakespeare is in constant competition with christopher marlowe ( and the fact that marlowe is played by the openly-homosexual rupert everett is a joke in of itself ) , proposing a slightly twisted explanation to marlowe's mysterious death in a pub . +there's also a scene featuring a wide-eyed dog that is so funny that i hurt myself laughing . + " there's no dog in this play ? " + " no ! +no dog ! " +the ensemble cast is perhaps the strongest this year . +geoffrey rush is nearly unrecognizable as the detestable henslowe ; wilkinson is also hard to recognize , but has a great role as a thug who takes his part as the apothecary so seriously . +ben affleck , playing one of the actors in the company , shows great range , both in his accent ( his is almost as good as paltrow's ) and in humor ( he has some of the best one-liners in the movie ) . +colin firth , always stuck playing the sap , does a good job being hateful . +judi dench , however , has the best supporting performance as queen elizabeth : rarely has so much depth been conveyed in so few words . +my single , minor complaint about shakespeare in love is that i feel like i could have been more moved by the end . +the story is moving , but there are a few missed opportunities in the final scenes . +but my quibbling is not important . +what is important is that i acknowledge the quality of this picture , the sheer skill with which it has been written , acted , and produced . +shakespeare in love tries so many things , and nails every one of them : it's a film that both loves shakespeare and makes fun of him , a film in which the actors , writers , and director are all perfectly in sync . +it's also a movie that has the potential to introduce a lot of people to shakespeare's work in a positive way , without seeming condescending or superior . +i admire this film not only because it passes so pleasantly , but because it has lofty aspirations and succeeds in them . +not just any film can poke fun at shakespeare and get away with it . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv733_9839.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv733_9839.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..259cc6affe9584343adb41db6e9a80227b439269 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv733_9839.txt @@ -0,0 +1,50 @@ +i was born in 1970 , which makes me barely old enough to remember bell buttons , 8 tracks and disco . +however , since i was 17 years old i've seen more than my share of adult films . +i mention this only because i thinks its important to state up front that i'm not against pornogrpahy . +i've seen enough of these films to know the range of content and quality available . +director paul thomas anderson's boogie nights offers us a view into the world of porn during the period considered to be the golden age of adult cinema , the mid to late 70s . +this was the period when x-rated movies were real movies , shot on film , shown in movie theaters and even reviewed by legitimate critics . +this was an age when porn directors actually aspired to make innovative often educational films , films that attempted to tell a real story . +one of the more fascinating aspects of this film is how , like in an any other billion dollar industry , the creative visionaries tend to be ignorant to the trends that will soon make them obsolete . +in this case , the arrival of the now ubiquitous videocassette . +burt reynold's manages to resuscitate his career portraying such an auteur , known as jack horner . +horner's has a steady " family " of performers , some of whom live in his plush l . a . home . +but in the world of porn , performers are a commodity - the fresher , the better . +when horner scouts a fresh faced stud bussing tables at his favorite discotheque , he decides to add him to his stable . +it is a pairing that leads to a meteoric rise and fall for a young man reaching his prime and an old man rapidly speeding past his . +as directed by anderson , the camera moves through many of the scenes with an eerie omnipresence and an almost childlike curiosity to peer beyond the closed door . +boogie nights provides a voyeuristic peep into the underbelly of l . a . 's hardcore film scene . +but the peep show doesnut let us walk away when the titillation ends . +the downside of voyeurism is sometimes we end up seeing things we wish we hadnut . +by the film's final image , what we we once found titillating has now become a grim reminder of the vanity of fame and the high price of realizing your dreams . +boogie nights is not about sex . +it does not glorify porn or the lifestyles of the performers . +in fact , the film isn't really about pornography at all . +pornography is merely the setting to tell a compelling story about a lost and forgotten group of people who form their own sub-culture to find acceptance of who they are . +the film goes to brilliant , often hilarious and sometimes harrowing lengths to show us that the people who choose to produce or perform in these films are generally not all that bright and lack the basic tools to function in the mainstream world . +yet , like in the lauded tarantino films , these people still have their own moral code , their own concepts of integrity and their own needs to experess themselves creatively . +the characters we meet are like a road map of dysfuntion . +first stop , the den mother ( julianne moore ) in denial about her addiction to cocaine as she tries to retain custody of her son . +second stop , the cuckold crewman ( william h . macy ) who keeps discovering his wife having sex with anyone and everyone ( the wife is played in hilarious cameos by real-life porn star nina hartley ) . +but the driving force behind the plot is 17 year old eddie adams . +eddie is blessed with a natural endowment so famous that people actually pay just to see it . +with no real ambition of his own , he hooks up with jack horner to fullfill his destiny of fame . +his alcoholic mother , clearly dissatisfied with her own lot , abuses him verbally and drives him out of the house . +horner introduces him to amber waves ( moore ) who immediately adopts him , a nuclear family is born . +the surrogate relationship that develops between amber waves and her " babies " provides some of the films most poignant scenes . +clearly , she is not even fit to manage her own life , let alone nurture these lost children . +but the need to love and be loved is so strong , they easily ignore the dangers of the less subtle addiction she introduces them to . +even the viewer is somehow lulled into feeling like the love she offers is similar to being in a real family . +then again , perhaps its not so different from real families at all . +eddie adams , who later takes on the screen name " dirk diggler " , is skillfully acted by former pop-star , mark wahlberg . +i say " former " pop star because with this performance wahlberg can officially quit his day job . +this is bold and brave territory for such a young man . +he pulls it off marvelously . +wahlberg is a " big , bright star " with a big bright future . +boogie nights plays very much in the spirit of the people versus larry flynt , without the first amendment preachiness . +its intimate studies of character make it the superior film . +wahlberg's surprising performance is on par with woody harrelson's . +but in my opinion , boogie nights , is not the best film of the year . +i got the feeling that itus 2 1/2 hour running time could have been cut by 15 or 20 minutes without losing any of its resonance . +still , if the subject matter of this film intimidates you , thereus no doubt that once you start watching boogie nights you may still feel like its not your thing , but youull find yourself grooving to it anyway . . . ya +know , kinda like disco . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv734_21568.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv734_21568.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..9d6b14ce200c6e5254d16b8c7d28e6250a1524ac --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv734_21568.txt @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@ +i remember making a pact , right after `patch adams' , to not be easily be suckered by movies dripping with sentimentality . +but darn it , `music of the heart' is just layered with feel-good material and bright characterizations . +it's hard to dislike a movie that uses such skill with it's manipulation . +in addition , it's also a terrific family film . +this is the true story of violin teacher roberta guaspari , who fought the school board to keep the musical program active in a handful of inner city harlem schools . +it could also be described as `mrs . +streep's opus' . +yes , meryl streep brings her dramatic clout to the demanding role of guaspari , and that brings both good news and bad . +out of the gate , possibly because of her distracting star power and the rushed writing , it is relatively difficult to identify with roberta's character and grasp her academic point-of-view . +she is very strict with her students , but what insight does that create into the story ? +slowly but surely , we begin to recognize the intentions of the character , and show admiration for the thoughtfulness and human feeling that streep has once again applied . +one thoroughly interesting fact about `music of the heart' lies with the unlikely presence in the director's chair : horror veteran wes craven . +after leaving an impression with the `scream' films and the original `nightmare on elm street' , craven has attempted a precarious cross-over to drama . +at first , his inexperience with the genre is fairly obvious , but as the film progresses craven finds a surprisingly comfortable niche with directing this material . +it doesn't carry the heart-warming courage of `mr . +holland's opus' , but `music of the heart' is casually assured and filled with little morsels of dramatic truth . +the tag team of streep and craven works better than you would anticipate . +yes , oscar could come calling once again for meryl streep , but it's the solid ensemble cast that makes `music of the heart' work . +angela bassett displays her usual forceful stamina as janet williams , the principal at an inner city school who initially doesn't hire roberta because of her lack of experience . +blue-eyed adian quinn is endearing , as always , playing a new love interest . +gloria estefan also delivers in the tiny role of a supportive second-grade teacher , and the three lead actresses together produce a flaming fireball of estrogenic force . +it's like a schoolteacher's version of `thelma and louise' , in a restrained but effective manner . +the movie tackles more issues than just guaspari's teaching of violin . +there's some powerful moments between roberta and her two sons , who must cope when their father leaves them for another woman . +in it's dramatic build-up , the movie manages to produce some authentic moments of feeling and warmth . +it's a good movie for anyone to see , although missing out on the experience would not be a life-altering decision . +it's commendable of wes craven to be attempting such a difficult cross-over , and also for achieving his intricate goal . +watching this heartfelt chick flick about morals and musical instruments , who may ask yourself : this is the guy who directed `scream' ? +of course , when the third installment of that series comes around in february 2000 ( with craven directing ) , you may find yourself wondering : this is the guy who directed `music of the heart' ? +mission accomplished , wes . +thankfully , there is no layer of artificial sentiment covering the film . +in it's entirety , it's a wholesome and agreeable movie for the whole family , despite the periodic flaws that surface every once in awhile . +the child actors are cute and perform up to par , even if some of their problems are clich ? d and predictable in the extreme . +the mother who doesn't want her son to be learning `white man's music' , the unexpected casuality . . . +basically everything is there . +it doesn't strike the perfect chord , but `music of the heart' is highly convincing . +the uplifting true story of roberta guaspari could have been told better , but `music of the heart' is still edifying enough to properly divulge her morals . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv735_18801.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv735_18801.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a230cb746a3bb6b923f0e5d45df2a0874d3817c3 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv735_18801.txt @@ -0,0 +1,49 @@ +vannesa kensington : `austin , do you smoke after sex ? ' austin powers : `i don't know baby , i've never looked ! ' +and so begins our journey into the most anticipated sequel of the summer season . +austin powers 2 , the sequel to the sleeper hit of 1997 , is filled to the brim with uproarious sight gags and lurid toilet jokes that will make you keel over with hilarity . +the mind of mike myers is obviously a very bizarre place . +myers returns as the swinging 60's spy and his arch-nemesis , the bald headed dr . evil , who is given much of the spotlight here . +there's an early scene in which dr . evil and his son scott ( seth green ) appear on a jerry springer segment entitled `my dad is evil and wants to take over the world' , hosted by springer himself . +most of these talk-show gags , spoofing everything from oprah to regis and kathie lee , are no longer as funny as they once were . +happily , this is an exception , especially when a fight breaks out between dr . evil and the other guests . + ( sample dialogue- `come back here you mother #@%$^ ! ! +you want a piece of me ? ' ) +the audience was in stitches . +there are many good things about this sequel . +dr . evil is now assisted by mini-me ( verne troyer ) , a pint-sized clone who is the result of an experiment gone awry . +mini-me is the most perfect new character that any fan could ask for , and troyer does a terrific job of mimicking everything that his big brother does , pinkie and all . +mindy sterling returns as frau farbissina , evil's loud-mouth assassin sidekick , and here we are treated to a brief romantic liaison between the two in an underground bedroom chamber . +this works surprisingly well . +afterward , there's even a meeting at the coffee machine , where their awkwardness is expressed in a scene you would expect in any normal office environment . +oh , yes . . . +the plot . +after a short honeymoon with vanessa kensington ( elizabeth hurley ) that goes disastrously wrong , powers is back on the case to thwart the diabolical plans of dr . evil . +in the original , the subject of the day was cryogenic freezing that enabled the characters to hop between two time periods . +here , it's time travel . +dr . evil has this crazy plan to steal austin's mojo ( the source of his sexual powers ) , so he jumps through a time portal back into 1969 when powers is still is his freezing chamber . +there , he employs a grotesque 600-pound scottish assassin named fat bastard ( also myers ) to commandeer the mojo , so that our future hero is left completely shagless . +meanwhile , austin is informed of evil's wrong-doing by basil exposition ( michael york ) , and is supplied with his very own time-traveling device in the form of a volkswagen beetle . +once back in 1969 , powers meets a foxy cia operative named felicity shagwell ( heather graham ) , and learns of dr . evil's plans to destroy washington dc with a lazer on the moon . +in one of the many uproarious jabs at star wars , evil calls the moon base a `death star' . +if there ever was a movie that knew from the start it was a complete joke , it's austin powers : the spy who shagged me . +ap2 has many hilarious moments , much more so , than the original austin powers . +but what it doesn't have is the confident support system that the first boasted , and the jokes are now more scattershot and hit-and-miss . +while myers has a knack for delivering clever , inspired gags , he sometimes doesn't know when to call it quits . +the hilarious scene in the original involving mustafa ( will ferrell ) and his refusal to die is played out here in a disappointing and tired manner . +robert wagner , as dr . evil's #2 man , has only one scene early on in the film , where he lacks all the focus of the character . +one nice surprise is rob lowe , as the young #2 , who patterns wagner's voice and movements right down to a tee . +there are more recycled jokes from the predecessor , including kristen johnston as ivana humpalot ( an unfunny rendition of alotta fagina ) . +but myers has clearly put so much dedication into this project , and many bits are side-splittingly funny . +don't miss an extended visual gag in a tent , where the shadows leave much to the imagination . . . . +of the new characters , graham doesn't leave much of an impression . +her performance is merely okay , and she lacks the gung-ho enthusiasm that made elizabeth hurley so enjoyable before her . +and as for fat bastard . . . +well , he provides one or two hilarious moments , but all of the obesity jokes and bathroom talk go too far . +but my most severe complaint : mr . bigglesworth was only in one scene ! ! +but , with gritted teeth , i managed to get over that . +this sequel will not leave fans disappointed ; it's more often than not a laugh riot . +and , i look optimistically to the future , where i foresee more installments to the austin powers collection . +if myers can up the quota of fresh ideas , we should be in store for much more . + ( c ) 1999 , jamey hughton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +jamey hughton ( 15 ) has written a weekly column in the starphoenix , saskatoon , sk since november , 1997 . +he was a 1999 writing finalist in the canadian ytv achievement awards . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv736_23670.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv736_23670.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..40ff9e7d2e56907075645c493a58bcf36f9129c7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv736_23670.txt @@ -0,0 +1,55 @@ +the premise of the new teen-targeted horror film `final destination' causes a recollection of a memorable `simpsons' halloween episode . +after attempting to repair a malfunctioning toaster , lovably ignorant patriarch homer realizes he has created a portable time-machine . +after a trek into the cretaceous period , homer observes that any minor alteration made there will erupt into a starling chain of events and seriously modify the present world . +again and again , homer toys with the master plan and pays dearly for it . +the characters of `final destination' have also tampered with the blueprint schematics of their existence - their `design' . +someone is after them with the strict intent of correcting the mistake . +that someone is death . +you see , alex browning ( devon sawa ) and six others have cheated the grim reaper . . . . +but the dude has got some tricks up his sleeve . +for a high school excursion , alex's french class is traveling to paris by airline transport . +alex , tense and neurotic , has a shocking premonition after boarding : he sees the plane , and every passenger on it , spontaneously explode in mid-air . +in a panic of sheer lunacy , alex charges his way through the aisle and demands removal from the aircraft . +after a handful of others ( including one teacher ) follow and are denied admittance back onto the plane , the unwitting ? survivors' watch in horror as the plane actually explodes in the drizzling night sky . +the loony vision alex experiences does actually materialize . +but death won't be cheated so easily , and one by one , the survivors of flight 180 are offed in mysteriously gruesome circumstances . +the grisly murder count baffles the local officials and fbi . +before i delve into the meat of the review , i'd just like to confer . . . . +is that one helluva premise , or what ? +`final destination' , creepy beyond rational comprehension , probably reads more like an unsettling `x-files' episode than `the simpsons' - therefore , the surprise is minimal when you discover the mutual creators behind both are glen morgan and james wong . +on familiar turf , the task of establishing footing is not difficult for morgan and wong , and the opening 20 minutes of `final destination' reflects that . +unlike most thrillers , the set-up is crisp and cool . +you just deeply , sincerely hope that the momentum won't unspool , leaving us with a second-string effort with nothing but cheap , derivative shocks . +young viewers have a palpable reason to expect this kind of formula deterioration , what with `i know what you did last summer' and sequel , `idle hands' and -- a movie with a nifty premise that just plunged like an anvil -- `urban legend' . +after the set-up , when i remained slouched apprehensively in my chair , i started to really have fun with `final destination' . +low and behold , a teen thriller that is actually unsettling , actually suspenseful and -- yes -- actually intelligent . +some splotty logic and a heap of characteristic genre flaws aside , this film is among the most refreshing and all-out enjoyable horror movies to submerge since the cutting-edge `scream' in 1996 . +`final destination' stimulates the nerves and offers a exhilarating retaliation strike against all the blood-spattered slasher crap we've endured throughout the past few years . +not that the characters are that good . +sawa is game as alex , a connect-the-dots personality that we never fully comprehend . +in addition , the survivors are endearing geek tod ( chad e . donella ) , jocky control-freak carter ( kerr smith of `dawson's creek' ) , carter's ditzy girlfriend terry ( amanda detmer ) , the none-too-subtly named billy hitchcock ( seann william scott , supplier of lukewarm comic relief ) and a lone teacher - the emotionally delicate ms . lewton ( kristin cloke ) . +aside from alex , the primary center of interest is intended to be ali larter ( `varsity blues' ) , playing an abstract character named clear rivers ( what were her parents thinking ? ! ? ) . +the personality of clear is written with such a vague , nebulous definition that she resembles a walking flash-card saying `hello , i am the offbeat character designed to identify with the main character's plight ! ' +toss a few stereotypical fbi agents ( daniel roebuck and roger guenveur smith ) and a . . . . ummm . . . +`spiritual' mortician ( former `candyman' tony todd ) into the mix , and you have what could be another generic teenage frightfest with slicing , dicing and assorted disembowelments . +not so . +`final destination' has no slicing and dicing , or at least none dealt by a human killer , and the thought of death itself as the unseen stalker is unique and frightening . +the extra dimension of disconcerting irony rejuvenates the decaying ? murderer-on-the-loose' concept , with assistance from a shrewd , intelligently paced screenplay by morgan , wong and jeffrey reddick . +the plot twists are fun and clever without toppling into utter absurdity ( listen up , `reindeer games' ) . +but i suppose the most satisfying aspect of `final destination' is the murder scenes . +creative , resourceful and breathlessly inventive , the death sequences involve an unlikely string of events leading to a character's demise . +what will trigger the accident ? +will it be the john denver record , just put on to play `rocky mountain high' ? + ( yeah , sick humor ) . +will it be the leaking toilet ? +the falling fishing reel in the corner ? +the murders are startling and largely unforeseen , including one surprise incident that made the audience jump out of their seats and giggle nervously for roughly a minute afterward . +a sense of giddy unpredictability is added with this inventive approach . +it gets sorta tasteless and cheap sometimes , but who cares ? +it's fun . +in that simple regard , `final destination' is my cup of tea . +this stylishly executed thriller , although tagged with laughable circumstances and the occasional snippet of lame dialogue , is an immensely entertaining jaunt to the dark side . +after the show , it will also have an frightening impact on you . +when will your ? design' expire ? +is death waiting around the corner ? +the `final' effect is a major case of the heebie-jeebies . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv737_28907.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv737_28907.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d98691e5d8c83fe30a89ac0225bbf27b149b74e1 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv737_28907.txt @@ -0,0 +1,43 @@ +it is easy to see why the late stanley kubrick believed steven spielberg would be the perfect director for his a . i . +artificial intelligence , just as it is understandable why spielberg was attracted to the material . +for here we have another lost boy trying to find his way home , an outcast seeking family , themes very familiar from most of spielberg's body of work from sugarland express to close encounters of the third kind to e . t . +to empire of the sun to hook to saving private ryan , naming just a few examples . +a . i . is set in an undefined near future in which giant technological advances have led to the creation of robots who serve every purpose from housekeeping to fulfilling sexual fantasies . +it is an era when robots are treated merely as sophisticated appliances . +the last great leap in robotic evolution is the addition of emotions , and with the number of births limited by the government , many couples are yearning for children . +and professor hobby ( william hurt ) has the solution . +a robotic boy named david ( haley joel osment ) , who is programmed to love . +as a test , david is placed with henry swinton ( sam robards ) and his wife , monica ( frances o'connor ) . +their natural-born son has been cryogenically frozen until a cure can be found for his illness . +the first third of a . i . +deals with david's life with the swintons and how that is changed by the recovery and return of their son , martin . +circumstances force david to be cut off from the swintons . +he is abandoned and alone . +david , highly influenced by the fairy tale , pinocchio , feels that if he becomes a real boy he can rekindle monica's love for him . +the film's second act follows david's search for the blue fairy , whom he believes will be able to fulfill his wish . +during these adventures he meets and is helped by gigolo joe ( jude law ) , a robot who specializes in sex . +spielberg is at his top form in this sequence , offering a brutal " flesh fair " where robots are destroyed via sadistic methods for the amusement of paying customers . +here , is where kubrick's influence is strongly felt , as the movie explores the fear and distrust humans have for robots . +the savagery conjures up images from the late director's a clockwork orange . +at about two hours and 30 minutes , the film begins to falter during the last 20 minutes , a sequence that seems most spielbergian with images that appear to be borrowed from close encounters . +it is all very anti-climatic and jarring . +these scenes seem almost superfluous , as if from a different film . +a . i . is a dark fairy tale that deserves its pg-13 rating . +it is a story combining hope and intolerance , sacrifice and bigotry , and while it does not coalesce perfectly , the movie does offer some disturbing images . +but a . i . +is really a showcase for the acting talents of the amazing young osment . +if ever an actor deserved an academy award nomination , it is this lad , who brings a sense of joy and wonder to the role of david , a being created for the express purpose of loving . +he shines when with monica , beaming with love , as eager as a puppy to please . +after being left in the woods , he is confused , lost , hurt , focusing on one objective : to become a real boy and find his way home so he can redeem himself in his mother's eyes . +law is pleasant as the care-free robot who really doesn't understand david's quest , but is nonetheless happy to help him on his journey . +probably the toughest role is o'connor's monica . +playing an emotional fragile woman who sees david as a substitute for her lost martin , she grows conflicted after her boy returns and she begins to perceive david not as a second chance , but as a threat to her family . +she gives her character enough emotional chaos that you cannot fault her for her course of action . +many of a . i . 's futuristic sets are breathtaking , especially a mostly submerged new york , lost to the world by the melting of the polar ice caps . +a . i . is a flawed film , and you cannot get through the entire feature without pondering - even subconsciously - how it would have turned out with kubrick instead of spielberg behind the camera . +would it have been darker ? +more cynical ? +we will never know . +we can only judge what is before us on the screen , a collaboration of two cinematic giants . +a . i . +is a most interesting and thought-provoking examination of a future that is quickly gaining on us . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv738_10116.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv738_10116.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..90f0a64544fa88a833682c8e690dea1952c81dc9 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv738_10116.txt @@ -0,0 +1,56 @@ +here's a word analogy : amistad is to the lost world as schindler's list is to jurassic park . +in 1993 , after steven spielberg made the monster dino hit , many critics described schindler's list as the director's " penance " ( as if there was a need for him to apologize for making a crowd-pleasing blockbuster ) . +now , after a three-year layoff , spielberg is back with a vengeance . +once again , his summer release was special effects-loaded action/adventure flick with dinosaurs munching on human appetizers . +now , following his 1993 pattern , he has fashioned another serious , inspirational christmas release about the nature of humanity . +that film is amistad . +although not as masterful as schindler's list , amistad is nevertheless a gripping motion picture . +thematically rich , impeccably crafted , and intellectually stimulating , the only area where this movie falls a little short is in its emotional impact . +watching schindler's list was a powerful , almost spiritual , experience . +spielberg pulled us into the narrative , absorbed us in the drama , then finally let us go , exhausted and shattered , three-plus hours later . +aspects of the movie have stayed with me ever since . +amistad , while a fine example of film making , is not as transcendent . +the incident of the ship la amistad is not found in any history books , but , considering who writes the texts , that's not a surprise . +however , the event is a part of the american social and legal fabric , and , while amistad does not adhere rigorously to the actual account , most of the basic facts are in order . +several , mostly minor changes have been made to enhance the film's dramatic force . +on the whole , while amistad may not be faithful to all of the details of the situation , it is true to the spirit and meaning of what transpired . +one stormy night during the summer of 1839 , the 53 men imprisoned on the spanish slave ship la amistad escape . +led by the lion-hearted cinque ( djimon hounsou ) , they take control of the vessel , killing most of the crew . +adrift somewhere off the coast of cuba and uncertain how to make their way back to africa , they rely on the two surviving spaniards to navigate the eastward journey . +they are tricked , however , and the la amistad , which makes its way northward off the united states' eastern coastline , is eventually captured by an american naval ship near connecticut . +the kidnapped africans are shackled and thrown into prison , charged with murder and piracy . +the first men to come to the africans' defense are abolitionists theodore joadson ( morgan freeman ) and lewis tappan ( stellan skarsgard ) . +they are soon joined by roger baldwin ( matthew mcconaughey ) , a property attorney of little repute . +aided by advice from former president john quincy adams ( anthony hopkins ) , baldwin proves a more persuasive orator than anyone gave him credit for , and his central argument -- that the prisoners were illegally kidnapped free men , not property -- convinces the judge . +but powerful forces have aligned against baldwin's cause . +current president martin van buren ( nigel hawthorne ) , eager to please southern voters and 11-year old queen isabella of spain ( anna paquin ) , begins pulling strings behind-the-scenes to ensure that none of the africans goes free . +at its heart , amistad is a tale of human courage . +cinque is a heroic figure whose spirit remains unbreakable regardless of the pain and indignity he is subjected to . +he is a free man , not a slave , and , while he recognizes that he may die as a result of his struggle , he will not give it up . +effectively portrayed by newcomer djimon hounsou , whose passion and screen presence arrest our attention , cinque is the key to viewers seeing the amistad africans as more than symbols in a battle of ideologies . +they are individuals , and our ability to make that distinction is crucial to the movie's success . +to amplify this point , spielberg presents many scenes from the africans' point-of-view , detailing their occasionally-humorous observations about some of the white man's seemingly-strange " rituals " . +the larger struggle is , of course , one of defining humanity . +as the nazis felt justified in slaughtering jews because they viewed their victims as " sub-human , " so the pro-slavery forces of amistad use a similar defense . +the abolitionists regard the africans as men , but the slavers and their supporters see them as animals or property . +in a sense , the morality of slavery is on trial here with the specter of civil war , which would break out less than three decades later , looming over everything . +amistad's presentation of the legal and political intricacies surrounding the trial are fascinating , making this movie one of the most engrossing courtroom dramas in recent history . +four claimants come forward against the africans : the state , which wants them tried for murder ; the queen of spain , who wants them handed over to her under the provision of an american/spanish treaty ; two american naval officers , who claim the right of high seas salvage ; and the two surviving spaniards from la amistad , who demand that their property be returned to them . +baldwin must counter all of these claims , while facing a challenge to his own preconceived notions as the result of a relationship he develops with cinque . +even though attorney and client are divided by a language barrier , they gradually learn to communicate . +aside from cinque , who is a fully-realized individual , characterization is spotty , but the acting is top-notch . +matthew mcconaughey successfully overcomes his " pretty boy " image to become baldwin , but the lawyer is never particularly well-defined outside of his role in the la amistad case . +likewise , while morgan freeman and stellan skarsgard are effective as joadson and tappan , they are never anything more than " abolitionists . " +nigel hawthorne , who played the title character in the madness of king george , presents martin van buren as a spineless sycophant to whom justice means far less than winning an election . +finally , there's anthony hopkins , whose towering portrayal of john quincy adams is as compelling as anything the great actor has recently done . +hopkins , who can convincingly play such diverse figures as a serial killer , an emotionally-crippled english butler , and richard nixon , makes us believe that he is adams . +his ten-minute speech about freedom and human values is unforgettable . +one point of difference worth noting between amistad and schindler's list is this film's lack of a well-defined human villain . +schindler's list had ralph fiennes' superbly-realized amon goeth , who was not only a three-dimensional character , but a personification of all that the nazis stood for . +there is no such figure in amistad . +the villain is slavery , but an ideology , no matter how evil , is rarely the best adversary . +it is to spielberg's credit that he has fashioned such a compelling motion picture without a prominent antagonist . +amistad's trek to the screen , which encountered some choppy waters ( author barbara chase-riboud has cried plagiarism , a charge denied by the film makers ) , comes in the midst of an upsurge of interest in the incident . +an opera of the same name opened in chicago on november 29 , 1997 . +numerous books about the subject are showing up on bookstore shelves . +it remains to be seen how much longevity the amistad phenomena has , but one thing is certain -- with spielberg's rousing , substantive film leading the way , the spotlight has now illuminated this chapter of american history . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv739_11209.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv739_11209.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..627549ef09860815e4b47a107ede2c0c0c1ab89a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv739_11209.txt @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +you know you're in for a truly different cinematic experience the moment you realize steve buscemi has been cast as the movie in question's most normal character . +such is the case with " the big lebowski , " joel and ethan coen's first venture since their " fargo " nabbed nationwide acclaim and a mantlepiece of academy award nods . +there's no need to fear that the coens suffered creative burnout with that accomplishment , because " lebowski " is an effort that makes words like " strange " and " unusual " seem like an understatement . +thanks in part to delicious characterization and an all-encompassing sense of humor , the film is a smashing success . +the central oddball here is the dude ( jeff bridges ) , an unemployed cad whose ambitions appear to be zilch beyond smoking pot , drinking beer and going bowling ( are you college students already rooting for him , or what ? ) . +one night , a pair of thugs break into his house and pee on his carpet , a threatening act that's supposed to be carried out against a famous pasadena millionaire ( david huddleston ) who shares his birth name -- jeff lebowski -- with the dude . +once the dude realizes this coincidence , he visits the big lebowski in hopes to claim reparations for his soiled rug , and is back to his normal life with alley pals walter ( john goodman ) , a hotheaded vietnam vet , and donny ( buscemi ) , a mild-mannered surfer , before too long . +soon , though , lebowski's trampy trophy wife bunny ( tara reid ) is kidnaped and held for a hefty ransom , and he turns to the dude for help . +it seems bunny's troubles are related to a line of work she's kept secret from her husband -- she's actually an adult film star and is very in debt with a shady producer named jackie treehorn . +the dude , now on lebowski's payroll , accepts the offer and agrees to handle the money drop ; walter tags along and insists that the dude keep the cash for himself . +chaos obviously ensues , and the dude eventually finds himself in hot water with cops , crooks and lebowski's ultra-eccentric artist daughter maude ( julianne moore ) . + " the big lebowski " deserves to win the coens the same amount of acclaim that " fargo " did ; while that 1996 black comedy was certainly a better film , " lebowski " is at least as breathtakingly imaginative . +the movie boasts a mile-high absurdity level that sometimes threatens to topple over , but thankfully never does . +the coens ( joel directed , ethan produced and both wrote ) keep you in stitches as they unravel their exceedingly loopy tale , and must be commended for juggling a number of people and subplots one would expect to find in a robert altman flick . +whether we're watching bridges fend off a marmet in his bathtub or moore don viking duds and dance in a busby berkeley-esque dream sequence , " the big lebowski " is immensely lively . +there are those who will dislike this film , but not because it's boring . +the cast has a great deal of fun with the bounteous material they're given . +bridges exudes a likeable , surprisingly sweet presence ; his dude sure isn't the cleanest guy around , but you'd still follow him to another movie . +goodman merits 1998's first oscar consideration , as walter's manic temper is one of " the big lebowski " 's many highlights ; the same goes for moore , whose throaty , delectable performance as maude is a hilarious hoot . +john turturro may very well steal the movie with his two scenes as a colorful bowler from a rival faction . +sam elliott's rambling narration gets the film off to a solid start . +and some will recognize peter stormare -- " fargo " 's silent heavy -- as carl hungus , a porn star who's really a samurai sword-wielding german nihilist and has-been pop star . +only in its final third does the movie falter , with a couple of loose plot threads and some cast members who quickly disappear and never emerge for a curtain call . +these flaws are forgivable , though -- the coens have crafted a tale so rich with personality that it's hard to look at the final product with anything but a big grin on your face . +without a doubt , " the big lebowski " is the best film so far this year . +sure , we're only three months in and the competition ( " deep rising , " " desperate measures , " " the wedding singer , " etc . ) has been pretty bland , but it's still the gospel truth . +maybe during next awards season , " lebowski " won't be a far cry from " fargo . " diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv740_12445.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv740_12445.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..7d5b656e43915a9b70439d1727f9d580fb3879e7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv740_12445.txt @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +a couple of months ago , when i first downloaded the face/off trailer from the net , my initial reaction was a fourteen carrot gold 'yawn' . +followed swiftly by a press of my computers delete key , not wanting to waste six or seven megabytes of precious space on this piss-poor trailer . +then i started reading the first wave of reviews from the u . s . . . . . unique . . . excellent . . . . must-see . +well , i thought still skeptical , i suppose i might as well go see it when it gets here . +'here' , of course , was still three months away . +i'll admit , when i trotted off to see this film , the only john woo movie i had seen before was the fairly enjoyable but highly forgetable broken arrow . +i'd heard good things about his previous work with movies like hard boiled , but his films were definitely not on my must-see list . +that , let me tell you , has changed completely . +i knew this fact only five minutes into the film , after the brilliantly shot and acted opening sequence where sean archer loses his son blew me off my feet . +the acting throughout the film is staggeringly good for an action flick . +seriously . +i've never been a big john travolta fan , but he , like cage , perfectly suited his role in the movie . . . . . sorry , +make that 'roles' in the movie . +even travolta's great performance , however , paled in comparison to cage's character portrayals . +my favourite cage scene was definitely when he was crashed out in compardre dietrich hassler's hideout . +half drugged out of his mind , he sits there reclining back in a chair talking about his son's death from castor's perspective - " doesn't it just break your heart . " he mutters coldly . +now don't go thinking from the previous comments about brilliant acting that this is a drama focused movie - it's not . +that's what really makes this movie unique . +it's an action movie with brilliantly portrayed characters . . . . . not a common mix at all . +suspension of disbelief is paramount in this movie though . . . . . that's +the only way to overlook the fact that travolta and cage fire around 5671 rounds at each other . . . . and +never hit . +several action scenes are just so well choreographed that they just make wish that you could press 'rewind' and watch it over again . +the part where archer and troy have a stand off on either side of a double-sided mirror is just plain brilliant . +whilst cage's and travolta's performances would be enough alone to sustain most movies , the lesser characters are just as intriguing . +joan allen , who usually sticks to the straight drama movies , plays her part perfectly as archer's long suffering wife . +i like the fact that her character didn't end up toting a gun at the end of the movie . . . it +would have wrecked her potrayal . +gina gershon was surprising to say the least as castor troy's mistreated girlfriend . . . . . make that * one of * castor troy's mistreated girlfriends . +other movies would have used her character as just window dressing . . . a +sex object , but instead her character is very strong and independent . +dominique swain , who plays archer's daughter , also does a nice job , though her character is not as explored as much as allen's or gershon's . +faults ? well . . . there were some i have to say . +first , the movie's ending , whilst being very good overall , was a bit too drawn out for it's own good . +after the two combatants begin duelling again after the final boat crash you can't help but think - " geez , are you guys nuclear powered or what ? " . +there were certain bits that weren't handled properly , like where archer appears safe and sound on solid ground after jumping off the converted oil platform/prison - more explanation here would have been nice . +overall , this movie was not perfect . +but i thought it was about as close as an action movie has ever came to perfect . +many critics have claimed that this movie will change the way action movies are made . . . . . i +certainly hope so . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv741_11890.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv741_11890.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2b2f571a2339cda40e28e146f38b846554a669dd --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv741_11890.txt @@ -0,0 +1,19 @@ +those print and television ads trumpeting that " 'grease' is still the word " are right on the money . +to celebrate its 20th anniversary , this quintessential movie musical is getting the royal treatment reserved for classics like " star wars " -- a well-deserved , red-carpet rerelease . +that's fantastic , especially when considering of all the classic characters and scenes the film has served up -- who can forget aspiring beautician frenchie ( didi conn ) being serenaded by her tell-it-like-it-is guardian angel ( frankie avalon ) ? +or the hard-nosed principal ( eve arden ) reminding the student body to " be an athletic supporter " by rooting for the home team ? +or national bandstand emcee vince fontaine ( edd byrnes ) flirting with marty ( a pre- " empty nest " dinah manhoff ) ? +and these are all probably considered minor moments . . . +a very skinny john travolta and a very young olivia newton-john have the respective leads of danny zuko and sandy olsson , and their pairing still ranks as one of screendom's most effervescently charming . +for those eight of you who aren't familiar with the story , here's a brief recap : greaser bad boy danny and aussie good girl sandy are reunited for their 1959 senior year at rydell high after a brief fling during the summer ; both thought she was going to return to her native continent before school started , but both were wrong . +sandy tries to rekindle their relationship , but danny's too cool a cat to fall for her wholesome appeal in front of his t-bird buddies ( including jeff conaway ) . +so sandy hooks up with a gang herself -- the pink ladies , headed by sassy , sexy rizzo ( stockard channing , just superb as an independent woman well ahead of her time ) -- and danny , who still really feels love for her , attempts a compromise of ideals in order to win her back . +the drag race finale is yet something of a drag , and i never have thought much of " greased lightening , " the film's big " guy " number ( that choreography -- ack ! ) , but " grease " 's flaws amount too few to carp . +the movie's first showpiece is " summer nights , " where danny and sandy separately recount wildly different versions of their fun-in-the-sun romance . +not only is " nights " tremendously catchy , but it's also a smart look at how men and women see the same events with varying eyes . +there has yet to be a live-action musical sequence that rivals the one-two punch of " you're the one that i want " and " we go together , " " grease " 's euphoric cappers . +all this and some of the most pleasing moments come from the smaller , quieter moments ; the oscar-nominated " hopelessly devoted to you " is a lovely showcase for newton-john , and channing's lamenting ballad " there are worse things i could do " is one of " grease " 's most unjustly overlooked tunes . +the soundtrack is remastered ( though travolta still hits that awful high note at the end of " nights " ) and the restored widescreen allows us to see previously pan-and-scanned-out choreography , but nothing else has changed -- no computer-generated backgrounds , no outtakes or new musical numbers , no jabba the hutt cameos . +and it's a testament to " grease " 's timeless success that nothing needs to be changed -- it's the same all-around blast it's always been , with an appealing cast in a fun story told with great music . +to '90s viewers , " grease " will probably recall disco and bellbottoms as much as it made its original audience nostalgic for doo-wop and poodle skirts . +but regardless of what decade it transports us to , we can all agree on one thing -- without a doubt , " grease " is still the word . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv742_7751.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv742_7751.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..aa209cb8d9cf8446b19b3efa52e92dfd6d218fb8 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv742_7751.txt @@ -0,0 +1,19 @@ +the party is one of those classic slapstick comedies that will leave you , at times , cracking up . +the film takes place , for the most part , in real-time during an exclusive evening party that is attended only by the biggest names in hollywood . +hrundi v . bakshi , played very well by peter sellers , is a struggling actor who just came to america from his homeland , india . +hrundi tries out his acting talents , but it seems that he just isn't cut out for the job . +on the set of his current film that he stars in , hrundi seems to make everything go for the worse . +during the filming of this movie set in the 1800's , hrundi manages to annoy the director ( herbert ellis ) in any way he can . +this includes a pitiful acting job in many scenes , wearing an underwater watch in one scene , and accidentally detonating a massive set . +many of the hollywood producers and big names want hrundi out of the business forever . +and when the director makes a personal phone call to mr . clutterbuck ( j . +edward mckinley ) pleading for hrundi's ejection from hollywood , everything is pretty much over for hrundi . +clutterbuck writes his name down on a piece of paper to insure that hrundi will never again work in hollywood . +but when this piece of paper turns out to be the guest list for clutterbuck's exclusive party , hrundi is invited , and certain chaos is bound to occur . +of course , as predicted , hrundi causes lots of trouble . +each scene in which hrundi encounters a situation , usually one that he can't handle , is almost always very humorous . +and each scene with hrundi and the drunken waiter , who is alone hilarious , adds to the comedy in a great way . +the party can be compared to many other films of it's type , specifically the trio of naked gun movies and the airplane movies , but the party is a delightful movie that incorporates very well played out comedy into believable situations . +it also includes a number of memorable scenes ( can anyone say " birdy num-num " ? ) . +if you're in the mood for fun and enjoyable slapstick comedy , check out the party . +it's not going to be one of your all-time favorites , but if you enjoy this type of humor , you'll enjoy the party . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv743_15449.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv743_15449.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..868659abd84f990f27ed6d056e9674fb714319ac --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv743_15449.txt @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ +once again , the battle is dreamworks versus disney : earlier this year , the mammoth companies fought to the death with their end-of-the-world asteroid flicks , deep impact and armageddon . +here we are now , just a few months later , and they're at it again with dueling bug movies , antz and a bug's life . +what i find so astonishing is that both pairs of movies are so inherently similar in both story and execution . +i mean , come on -- what were the chances of two studios both deciding to bring out computer-animated films about bugs ? +as was the case with the meteor movies , disney has come out on top : though antz is a likable movie , a bug's life is far superior . +in fact , this movie made me realize what was wrong with antz : i became immersed in the world of a bug's life , while antz just made me scrutinize everything . +but it's not really fair to base an entire review on a comparison . +a bug's life is a remarkable film in its own right , and deserves to be seen apart from any other computer-animated film about bugs . +in fact , it's one of the best films this year : it's smart , subtle , and funny , but it's also perfect family entertainment and relentlessly entertaining . +i haven't had such a good time at the movies in months . +it tells the story of an ant named flick ( voice by dave foley ) ; he's a nice guy , but he's also a troublemaker . +the ants spend all season putting together the offering , a big pile of food that they provide for the grasshoppers . +just before the grasshoppers come , flick accidentally knocks over the offering , and ruins everything for the entire colony : the grasshopper's leader , hopper ( kevin spacey ) , is enraged , and tells them that the ants need twice the food by the end of summer , or they're all dead . +flick , feeling responsible for this , sets off to look for help -- he realizes that the only way to be rid of the grasshoppers is to fight them . +he heads to the city ( the city being a house a few miles away ) , where he finds a colorful bunch of circus bugs : a ladybug ( denis leary , who is spectacular ) , a black widow ( bonnie hunt ) , a caterpillar ( joe ranft ) , a butterfly ( madeline kahn ) , a rhinoceros beetle ( michael mcshane ) , and a stick ( david hyde-pierce , also giving a hilarious performance ) . +flick doesn't know they're actors , and they don't know that flick needs them to kill a bunch of grasshoppers , so they return to the colony with flick and find themselves in an unusual position . +the most obvious element of a bug's life is the quality of animation . +created by pixar , the same people who brought us toy story , a bug's life has some of the most amazing visuals i've ever seen . +the bugs seem to inhabit a three-dimensional space , and occasionally there will be a shot that is indistinguishable from live action . +this is a lush , colorful world , full of life and imagination : the way the animators insert the things all of us see in our daily lives ( matches , bottlecaps , tin cans , etc . ) and make them active objects in the bugs' world is innovative . +the film is also mercilessly exciting , particularly in a superbly-staged scene involving our heroes' escape from a bird ( a little bird never seemed so huge and threatening ) . +but the makers of a bug's life know where the importance lies : story and characters . +flick , with solid voice work from foley , is a great guy to lead the story . +but the real treat comes with the circus bugs ; they're such a likable group of characters -- the standouts are the stick ( hyde-pierce is so good ) , francis the ladybug , and the big fat caterpillar . +all of these bugs have more than a token personality , which makes the suspenseful scenes work because we care about the bugs , and it also keeps the tear-jerking scenes from seeming obligatory . +in my review of antz , i said that the film is a clever cop-out because it presents a bunch of little humans reacting to an ant-like existence . +in concept , a bug's life is basically the same movie , except that i was never given enough time to find things that i didn't like about it . +with such strong work in both animation and script , a bug's life is nothing but a joy to sit through . +it really is too bad that it had to come out so close to that other bug movie , but a bug's life is so good that i'm sure it will find its audience . +after a slew of endlessly violent and cynical movies , it's downright refreshing to sit through an innocent picture like this and laugh without feeling guilty . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv744_10038.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv744_10038.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..9315f02ceee05e40d228b668763b230d2e3bd8c9 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv744_10038.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +eight years after its release , disney has decided to re-release the little mermaid theatrically for 17 days ( and 17 long nights ) only . +coincidentally , it was reintroduced to theaters the same day fox's animated film anastasia was released . +you know disney , they can't deal with the threat of any other studio getting even a small piece of the crust of the kiddie entertainment pie , so when someone else wants to make a little money , they counter with an old " masterpiece " from their vault and , you know what , i went to see this 1989 cartoon rather than the brand new one from fox . +let no one say disney is losing its monopoly on the market . +they still have hotels on boardwalk _and_ park place . +believe it or not , today , november 25 , 1997 , at 5 : 05 p . m . , i saw the little mermaid for the first time . +it took me a few years to get over an aversion to this movie that was caused seven years ago , when i stayed with one of my mom's friends for a couple weeks . +they had a young child who listened to the little mermaid soundtrack constantly and , over that two week period , i heard every song from the movie probably a hundred times . +by the time i got back home , i promised myself i'd never see the movie . +but promises are made to be broken , especially when you're looking at a 17-day , limited engagement . +damn those shrewd disney marketers and their mind games . +the little mermaid is based on a hans christian anderson fairy tale , but it's disney-ized , which means lots of talking animals and bursting into song . +it also means the heroine is a total babe who shows off cleavage from a seashell bra at all times . +i never wanted so much to be a pair of shells . . . +the heroine , of course , is ariel ( voice of jodi benson ) , a 16-year-old mermaid who is going through that rebellious phase . +she skips her concert to explore a wrecked ship and hang out with a seagull that talks like buddy hackett , who tries to orient her to the mysterious world of humans . +she's also dealing with feelings she hasn't had before -- which comes when you get scales in places you didn't use to have them -- about a handsome prince ( no disney movie would be complete without one ) . +her father , king triton of the merpeople , strictly forbids such lusting after the ways of the " savage " humans , in a condemnation that reads as a not-so-subtle analogy about old- fashioned parents who forbid interracial dating . +what's a king to do , though ? +the girl's in love and even total destruction of her little shrine to the human world doesn't deter her . +ariel saves the prince's life when a hurricane rises up , and just has to meet him . +she makes a deal with ursula , the sea witch ( voice of pat carroll ) . +you know she's evil because she has a huge potbelly and one of the worst asses in cartoon history . +she also has octopus tentacles for feet ( something those dr . scholl's corn pads will not fix ) and offers to help ariel out . +she'll make her a human for three days if ariel will give up her pretty voice ; ariel has three days to make that prince kiss her , or else she becomes a slave to the witch forever . +and if she pricks her finger on a sewing machine or eats an evil apple , she'll fall asleep forever . +it's a simplistic plot , yes , but the little mermaid was a revolution in the disney world , coming after such lackluster efforts as the black cauldron and oliver and company . +it ranks as one of the best disney cartoons , certainly since the '50s . +all the elements are there -- memorable songs like " under the sea " and " kiss the girl , " cartoon animals like sebastian and flounder , an evil villain who still has characterization and charm , and a fair amount of humor that caters to adults as well as children . +the little mermaid is worth a big-screen ticket in 1997 , so hurry up , you only have five days left . +serving america for more than 1/25th of a century ! diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv746_10147.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv746_10147.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..da98eaefa9daf5ed3fa307c813d071077cc9e885 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv746_10147.txt @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ + ( dimension films , " scream 2 " 's distributor , has asked press to say extremely little -- if anything -- about the film's twisty plot . +that's no easy task considering the wit that deserves to be mentioned here , but i will do my best to be vague ( now , there's a first ) . ) + " the first one was [good] , but all the rest sucked , " said a cinematically-savvy teen in last winter's wes craven thriller " scream , " her statement referring to the films of the " nightmare on elm street " series but really putting down franchise overkill in general . +the comment certainly carries clout : for every truly great sequel , there appears to be a couple of duds , making one wonder if writers are better off sticking solely with fresh ideas . +but like it or not , along comes " scream 2 . " and believe it or not , it's a doozy -- a slick , sinister , madly subversive good time at the movies , as intent on sending up hollywood's sequel syndrome as much as its prequel poked fun at slasher conventions . + " scream 2 " is definitely that rare movie thing -- a follow-up that can stand along side its original with pride . +it's been two years since a pair of overzealous horror movie fans clad in edvard munch-esque get-ups carved their way through the young populace of woodsboro , california . +those surviving the ordeal have gotten on with their lives . +plucky heroine sidney prescott ( neve campbell ) is a drama student at the midwestern windsor college ; her pop culture-whiz pal randy meeks ( jamie kennedy ) has tagged along . +trash tabloid reporter gale weathers ( courteney cox ) has written a best-seller based on their ordeal , the basis of which has been turned into a ( very bad ) movie called " stab . " +and dewey riley ( david arquette ) , still suffering from wounds inflicted during " scream , " has left his job as a police officer for a while . +life is tranquil . . . +at least for a while . +several sudden murders bring sidney , randy , gale and dewey together again , but with suspicious eyes cast on each other and most of those in their surroundings -- if these four people learned anything from the past , it's to trust no one . +thus , the possible victim/potential killer list includes said quartet , as well as : derek ( jerry o'connell ) , sidney's new beau ; cici ( sara michelle gellar ) , a chatty sorority gal ; joel ( duane martin ) , gale's cameraman who's not too thrilled with her blood-soaked past ; hallie ( elise neal ) , sidney's sassy roommate ; debbie ( laurie metcalf ) , a local reporter who gives gale some not-too-friendly competition ; and mickey ( timothy olyphant ) , randy's good friend and fellow film student . +cotton weary ( liev schreiber ) , the man sidney wrongly accused of her mother's murder in scream , also shows up on campus -- but why ? +like the first scream , craven and screenwriter kevin williamson inaugurate things with a bang . +this time , it's an extended sequence that finds an african-american couple ( jada pinkett and omar epps ) attending a sneak preview of " stab , " making sly references about everything from sandra bullock to the lunchmeat non-roles of blacks in slasher cinema . +before tragedy ensues at the screening , the movie-within-a-movie setup allows for plenty of jokey moments , including a scene from " stab " which turns scream's now-famous drew barrymore prologue on its ear . + ( " b---- , hang up the phone and star-69 his a-- ! " +pinkett yells at the screen . ) +it's funny , creepy stuff ( i don't think i'll ever feel safe in a movie theater again ) that effectively foreshadows the ratio of smart scares and spoofy laughs down the road . +another flawless example of this is a riotous cell phone-assault of the killer on randy , dewey and gale in broad daylight ; it builds comedically and ends with genuine terror because of the emotional investment made on these delicious characters . +there are other superb set pieces , but explaining them risks ruining their effect . +there are more players this time around as to provide both a higher number suspects and a staggering body count . +it's something of a trade-in -- the new characters are too large in number to be as fully-developed as the original " scream " gang , but this movie packs in knowing performances ( especially by kennedy and cox ) and more death for your dollar . +it can be argued that , while the original might outclass it by a tad , scream 2 is both scarier and funnier . +it certainly doesn't skimp with shocks -- a major one being the killing of one cast member very near and dear to my heart ( i actually questioned craven and williamson's judgment here , considering how much this person has added to these films ) . +sometimes you wish that more could have been done with stab -- the two scenes we're shown are dead-on -- but for film fans , there are plenty of subtle nods to movies like " the usual suspects , " " aliens " and " the empire strikes back . " +still , " scream 2 " does so many things right , it's petty to quibble . +its penchant for parody is irresistible , discussions of the merits of film sequels and all . +the attractive , solid cast is a definite bonus . +and the denouement ( while not as shocking as " scream " 's ) is priceless ; the film's final revelation incorporates bits of a particular horror film prominently referred to in " scream " with one of the best bad guy motives ever put on paper . +all this and a " scream 3 " is in the works . +knowing the series' tendency for self-reference , perhaps one of its characters will again discuss the concept of sequel justice . +mentioning " scream 2 " 'll help them in their argument . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv747_16556.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv747_16556.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a604e416e228aa60ed85487db4e4040adaef9827 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv747_16556.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17 @@ +edward zwick's " the siege " raises more questions than it can convincingly answer or even clearly articulate . +its subject is the rising threat of terrorism in american cities . +denzel washington is anthony " hub " hubbard , who runs the fbi's anti-terrorism task force in new york . +his investigation into arab terrorist cells intensifies when suicide bombers take out a busload of people . +hub focuses on a mysterious cia operative ( annette bening ) , whose goes by both " elise " and " sharon . " +as the terrorist attacks continue and the body count rises , the question of martial law is raised . +enter general devereaux ( bruce willis ) , who opposes martial law at first but who , as soon as the president decides to send in the army , begins herding arab immigrants into a prison camp and attacking every link that hub uncovers in the terrorist chain . +hub listens as devereaux tortures and murders a suspect . +the future zwick and screenwriter lawrence wright offer is all too possible . +what would happen , they ask , if terrorism became as much a fact of daily life in new york as it is in cities like beirut and belfast ? +what would happen to our civil liberties if soldiers patrol our streets with machine guns ? +these questions " the siege " answers in realistic detail . +it implies tougher ones , though : what can be done to combat terrorism without sacrificing justice and freedom ? +if we encourage terrorism abroad ( from bening's character we discover that the cia trained the bombers ) , will it inevitably come back to us ? + " siege " avoids the tougher questions by endowing its hero , hub , with a uncompromising sense of clear right and wrong . +this comforting fantasy of sir galahad confronting the evils of the modern world is an escape from the thought-provoking issues the movie raises . +still , zwick deserves credit for at least addressing the issue with as much realism as he does where so many movies ( willis' " die hard " series , for example ) offer only a comic-book view on terrorism . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv748_12786.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv748_12786.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a6dde3015ba1ae17f5753c1f25b2cbcaaf8576d7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv748_12786.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +a movie that's been as highly built up as the truman show , with reviews boasting , " the film of the decade ! " +and " a breakthrough ! " +can only be leading up to letdown . +that's no doubt -- it seems any movie with critical acclaim makes you think you're going in for the ride of your life , that you'll end up changed on the other side , and you come out of the theater going , " eh . . . + * that's * what all the fuss was about ? " +so , naturally , the truman show was building up to what was going to be a dissapointment . +and i convinced myself , as i nestled into my uncomfortable movie theater chair , actually to try not to enjoy it . +let me tell you , that is an impossibilty . +the truman show is truly " the film of the decade " and " a breakthrough " and more . +and you will come out changed on the other side . +such a movie comes around only once in a lifetime , where you find yourself feeling everything that the character is feeling , and this , friends , is it . +jim carrey shows that he doesn't need to talk out of his butt to entertain us ; that he can be as dramatic as any of hollywood's leading men . +the film has a difficult premise to tackle , trying to set us up thirty years into the " truman show's " run , but tackle it it does , and perfectly . +with flashbacks actually being flashbacks on the television show , you get the sense that you are viewing a * real * prime-time hit . +and the way the camera constantly takes the forms it would in the " real " truman show is clever and well-done . +people , rejoice ! +this is the first oscar-worthy film of not only this year , but of the last five years . +not since " schindler's list " has a movie captured human spirit and true despair so well . +this is a classic in the making , and ( to borrow a line from esquire's review ) it stars jim carrey . +nothing in his career to date and nothing he can do in the future will ever be able to top his role as truman burbank ; mark my word . +for , as i said , this is the movie of a lifetime and the role is of the same calibre . +forget special-effect ladden summer fodder . +drop your romantic comedies in the trash . +toss your thrillers and teen flicks on the pile . +you need nothing more than " the truman show " to carry you through the summer , or for that matter , the year . +oh ! and in case i don't see you , good afternoon , good evening , and goodnight . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv749_17765.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv749_17765.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ece86b736d99da606d8a6fcf248573f004d3a715 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv749_17765.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +go's is a gloriously slick hip machine . +director liman ( who also photographed go ) and screenwriter august celebrate the drug/rave scene in l . a . , preferring to take ( comedic ) snapshots of troubled youth rather than critique them . +after more than ninety minutes of pill-popping , tantric sex , car chases , and attempted murder , go even has a happy ending . +this is the sort of film that gives members of the dove foundation splitting headaches ; as go wound down , i anticipated an anti-pill-popping-casual-tantric-sex-car-chase-attempted-murder sermon that ( blessedly ) didn't arrive . +a la tarantino's pulp fiction , go is comprised of three separate but related stories . +the basics are as follows : ronna ( polley ) is a bitter grocery store clerk facing eviction who turns to drug dealing for extra dough . +her co-worker , simon ( the improbably named askew ) , is a clubber from britain ecstatic about his first trip to vegas . +zack ( mohr ) and adam ( wolf ) are soap opera stars escaping a career-threatening conviction by assisting a peculiar cop ( fichtner ) in a drug bust . +perhaps because the innovative structure of tarantino's non-linear masterwork is by now old hat , the id-fueled go delighted me but rarely surprised me ( with the exception of that mind-reading cat ! ) ; +pulp fiction zigzagged down roads unforeseen , but we see go's wheels turning from its first flash frame to the last . +torontonian polley ( of the sweet hereafter ) refused to do publicity for this picture on the basis that she was " not pleased with " her turn as the ill-fated cashier . +in go , she delivers , hands-down , her best performance to date . +here's an ( overrated ) actress who agreed to appear on the poster , but not support her team at the junket or in interviews ; this sort of arrogance is commonplace for ms . polley , as anyone who has read of her political agenda in the canadian press will tell you . +if she doesn't want to be the ingenue of the moment , she should have said " no , " not go . +but i digress . +go is a fun film , so chipperly depraved one can't help but turn off his moral judgment for its duration and enjoy the ride . +in that sense , it's a departure from liman's last film , swingers , which at least lectured against self-absorption in the form of vince vaughan's trent and his subtle comeuppance in the story's clever epilogue ( which has been aped by mcdonald's for their latest commercial ) . +i wish i cared more about go's characters : like the techno music they listen to , the bands of anarchists on display here are at once absorbing and vacuous . +when the lights came up and stung my eyes , it was difficult to recall what about it entertained me . +yet entertain me it did . +go is light and frothy , featuring compelling if not endearing work by polley , timothy olyphant ( scream 2 ) , and especially fichtner , whose homoerotic behavior is milked for effective laughs . +fichtner is a character actor best known for playing backstabbers ( in heat , armageddon , and others ) ; his previously untapped comic abilities shine in go . +unlike much of the film , fichtner is unpredictable . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv750_10180.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv750_10180.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6c901e0998273b5d371d8c967da19ab72e484950 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv750_10180.txt @@ -0,0 +1,43 @@ +what's shocking about " carlito's way " is how good it is . +having gotten a bit of a bad rap for not being a big box office hit like pacino's previous film , " scent of a woman , " and not having as strong a performance as he did in that one ( he had just won an oscar ) , " carlito's way " was destined for underrated heaven . +that's what it is : an underrated gem of a movie . +and what a shame because pacino and de palma both do amazing jobs with it , and turn it into a great piece of a pulpy character study . + " carlito's way " deals with , well , carlito brigante ( pacino ) , a puerto rican ex-drug kingpin , who gets out of a long jailterm when his coke-addicted , curly-haired lawyer ( sean penn ) points out a legal technicality . +of course , carlito was actually awoken in prison , and has decided to go straight , even if he's really a crook at heart . +carlito , like barry lyndon , is a man who is trapped by fate at every turn , and can't escape into something he is not . +carlito's attempts at a clean , legal life are thwarted at nearly every turn . +when he first gets out , a friend of his ends up leading him into a big shoot-out , where he has to kill a couple people to survive . +he's constantly getting bugged by the government to see if he's doing anything illegal , and his lawyer finds himself neck-deep in a pile of shit , needing him to try and help him out , which includes him doing some prison breaking . +carlito , like ratso rizzo , wants to go to miami ( since , according to film logic , that's where it's at ) , but needs some funding . +being a legend , he is quickly able to get a nice job running a big dance club ( this is the 70s , by the way , and since some of this takes place in night clubs , we get to hear all sorts of 70s classics , including several k . c . +and the sunshine band tunes - my personal favorite ) . +he gets a bodyguard ( the great luis guzman , at his best ) , and is soon running a pretty good business , even if he's constantly attracting underworld young thugs , like benny blanco " from the bronx " ( john leguiziamo ) , who is more than once pointed out to be a young version of carlito . +on the other side , the symbol of promise and hope , is gail ( penelope ann miller - what happened to her ? ) , his girlfriend from before prison . +she's a goregeous ballerina , and a stripper , and soon carlito is trying to get back with her , and take her with him when he finally leaves for miami . +while this relationship is never fully defined or anything , we get a sense of love between them , and they have some truly interesting scenes between them ( she never gives him addresses or locales - he always has to track her down ) . +all of these elements clash together at the end , in a brilliantly executed , emotional climax , which is inevitable . +when i say inevitable , i mean we see it at the beginning and then backtrack , putting a great spin on it . +sure , it's going to eleveate some of the tension , but it gives the film a lot of depth , as carlito is seen trapped by fate . +what's amazing is the big chase sequence ( amazingly done by de palma ) has a lot of tension and thrills . +like " apollo 13 , " we know what's going to happen , but we're still thrilled by what happens in the middle . +it's also very emotional , thanks to a great script by david koepp , and amazing performances by pacino and miller . +de palma is famous ( or infamous ) for lots of violence in his films . +his earlier flim , " scarface " ( which starred pacino in the lead ) , has a ton of it , especially at the end ( and a nasty chainsaw scene towards the beginning which i'm still not over ) . +but de palma actually reigns in more quieter scenes . +to me , the best scene in the film is when carlito is on top of a building , looking down into the room where gail is doing ballet . +this is the most brilliantly done , and most emotionally stimulating scene in the entire film , and probably the best in de palma film history . +with a gorgeous soprano duet in the background , and rain pouring down onto a trashcan lid covering carlito's head , and a saddened , remorseful look on pacino's face , it's a tear-jerker ( well , for me , i dunno about you . . . ) . +the acting from all is great , especially from the three leads . +pacino was panned for his performance , chiefly because his accent wasn't puerto rican enough and , well , it wasn't as " strong " as his oscar-winning role in " scent of a woman . " +well , his " scent of a woman " performance was great and all , but it was nothing really but , as comic kevin pollack said , a " foghorn leghorn impression . " +in " carlito's way , " he's emotional , and strong , despite the fact that he's remorseful over his entire lifestyle , which he cannot change . +i felt more for carlito brigante than i did for the tango-dancing , insult-throwing blind guy in " scent of a woman . " +as i said , penelope ann miller is great , and she and pacino actually have very good chemistry . +and they're scenes are well-written , with some good clever dialogue which adds some interest to an otherwise bland relationship . +and sean penn is amazing as the coke-addicted rat attorney . +every scene he's in , he has great energy , and even measures up to the greatness that is pacino . +in smaller roles , john leguiziamo and luis guzman are great . + " carlito's way " is one of those films which you heard about briefly , but when you finally watch it , you're absolutely blown away . +it's a wonderful film , a highly underrated little masterpiece which was shelved after it didn't do so hot . +but trust me and check it out . +it's a great little film , and proof that the residential critics and mass populus are not always right . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv751_15719.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv751_15719.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..14fd34a86cb692e11b826ee8c2d1b6ad1fcc0cb9 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv751_15719.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +life is beautiful is a rare treat : a lighthearted comedy that tackles a very serious subject without committing the sins of being disrespectful , or , even worse , humorless . +it combines a charming romance with a dash of farce , stirs in a little poignancy , and ends up a very enjoyable movie . +it's an italian film , but don't let that discourage you . +subtitle-phobes will be missing a wonderful experience . +life is beautiful opens as a sweet romantic comedy , with the clownish , but good natured guido ( roberto benigni ) arriving in a rustic italian town to work as a waiter for his uncle . +the year is 1939 , and guido literally stumbles into the girl of his dreams , dora ( nicoletta braschi ) . +their romance seems to be picture perfect , with only one stumbling block : she's already engaged to another man . +can guido overcome the odds and win his girl ? +what do you think ? +however , five years later , things have taken a turn for the worse in italy . +the fascists have stepped up their race initiatives , which is bad news for the jewish guido and his new son giosue ( giorgio cantarini ) , who are rounded up and shipped off to a concentration camp . +unable to protect his boy in any other way , guido attempts to shield his young son from the horrors of the labor camp . +he pretends that everything is all an elaborate game , with points awarded for such tasks as hiding , being brave and being very very quiet . +as you can tell from the description , life is beautiful has two very different tones , but manages to excel at both of them . +as a romantic comedy , it is sweet and funny . +as a bittersweet tale of hope amid despair , it is touching . +roberto benigni's work here has been compared with some of the best of chaplin's , and it is easy to see why . +he is able to run the gamut of comic expression , from slapstick to farce , with a warm-hearted feeling that celebrates his downtrodden hero's " triumph of the underdog " spirit . +life is beautiful treads a thin line when it turns its attentions to the holocaust . +however , it is able to successfully navigate the minefield , without demeaning the gravity of the horrors involved , nor without losing its humorous edge that allows you to smile through the tears . +with life is beautiful , benigni has created a triumphant , but bittersweet comedy . +it's quite simply one of the most enjoyable times i've had at the movies this year . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv752_24155.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv752_24155.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..9888d4832541e546f9b2f4d3f2c562764cbc43aa --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv752_24155.txt @@ -0,0 +1,33 @@ +you've probably heard the one about the priest and the rabbi , but never with the same dosage of featherweight charm that is sprinkled over `keeping the faith' . +it's a fluffy comedy , thoroughly glazed with a sense of innocuous innocence and good cheer , regarding two moral topics -- love and religion -- and how a romantic triangle causes the two to collide head-on . +as youngsters , brian finn , jacob schramm and anna reilly were an inseparable trio . +while their friendship progressed , anna always had the compassion to shower them both with the same love and support , so neither would feel excluded . +but tragedy soon struck , as anna was forced to move away . +now adults , brian ( edward norton ) and jacob ( ben stiller ) hold similar but contrastive jobs . +the likable and kind-hearted father brian is a catholic priest , while the spry and outgoing jacob acts as a jewish rabbi . +on the basketball court , they refer to themselves as `the god squad' . +in the relationship field , brian abides by his catholic principle of celibacy , but jacob has reached the point where finding a jewish bride is practically mandatory . +everything changes when anna ( jenna elfman ) returns to new york to visit her childhood chums . +now a workaholic , she devotes endless hours per week to her business , but does find spare time to reminisce with brian and jacob - both ecstatic about seeing their elementary school sweetheart once again . +with these oddball ingredients tossed into one cocktail , there's bound to be some awkward romance between our three central characters . +predicting the outcome is not entirely difficult , but `keeping the faith' is open , entertaining and refreshingly relaxed as it travels en route from point a to point b . +edward norton has emerged as one of the finest , most flexibly versatile actors in hollywood - a success story sparked by his critically lauded debut in the 1996 thriller `primal fear' . +after shockingly bitter roles in `american history x' and , most recently , david fincher's vicious `fight club' , a quaint romantic comedy might seem like a peculiar choice . +not in the least . +norton slips into the director's chair for the first time with `keeping the faith' , and here his incisive , resourceful approach helps add additional craft to a surprisingly perceptive screenplay by stuart blumberg . +weighing every aspect , it is unanimously an impressive directorial debut . +in addition , norton pushes all the right buttons with the sheepish sweetheart brian , generating a thoroughly likable screen presence . +stiller ( the zipper guy from `there's something about mary' ) is firm and funny , boasting a fully-ripened comic maturity . +elfman's perky repetition can grow tiresome ( such is occasionally the case on tv's `dharma and greg' ) , but she seems perfectly rambunctious here . +the remaining cast members offer fine support , from anne bancroft as jacob's animated jewish mom to milos forman as an elderly priest quick to contribute intelligent advice . +`keeping the faith' is the perfect date flick . . . +though perfection is not a word to associate with the film in general . +there is turbulence during the process of lift-off , as numerous failed attempts at establishing the situation cloud the projected comedy ahead . +once the film does settle in , it is often funny and always cheerful . +stiller , norton and elfman have created three enormously lovable personalities . +we enjoy their interaction , understand their various dilemmas and feel humbled to realize everything rings perfectly true . +this is excluding the ending , which is acceptable and all , but seems to lack the charm and spontaneity of the preceding romantic entanglements . +nonetheless , a narrowly mishandled finale certainly won't wipe the smile off your face , nor anyone else's in the audience . +`keeping the faith' is a highly enjoyable romantic comedy , although one that is more observant while surveying the questions of love rather than religion . +aww , what the hell . +the quality is not quite heaven-sent , but this little charmer could revive our `faith' in a potentially tired filmmaking genre . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv753_10875.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv753_10875.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b4a291af977efe17b7ba9544052775026a0e9edc --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv753_10875.txt @@ -0,0 +1,33 @@ +naturally , at the core of leon gast's " when we were kings " is the fight itself , for what a fight it was . +thanks to the business savvy of don king , an ageing muhammad ali was pitted against the formidable hulk of heavyweight champion george foreman . +fans were treated to an 8 round battle of endurance and strategy , as much as brute strength , that immediately entered boxing lore . +with the benefit of the first-hand recollections of that old ex-pug norman mailer , this classic conflict is brought back to life . +but " when we were kings " tackles issues that are harder to pin down than the simple facts of a boxing match . +questions of political power and social justice appear throughout this documentary . +gast could hardly choose otherwise , considering the vocal , uncompromising politics of muhammad ali . +a member of the controversial black separatist movement the nation of islam , ali opens gast's film with a forceful swipe at the united states . +when ali hollers " damn america' , the audience knows the imprecation is heartfelt ; the brutal yet casual way it is uttered leaves no doubt that ali is speaking his mind . +his decision to buck the draft for vietnam is defended with the same admirable fury : " no viet cong ever called me nigger " , ali reasons . +despite showcasing ali's proud unequivocal politics , one of the most impressive features of " when we were kings " is the subtle way in which the documentary considers the difficulties inherent in the overarching philosophy of black unity and black symbolism that ali and his supporters champion . +listening to the film's numerous commentators , it is clear that the geographic location for this " rumble in the jungle " is etched more in the imagination than anywhere you could place on a map . +spike lee tells us that the event was a pilgrimage , a " coming home " to africa . +foreman reminds us that africa is the " cradle of civilisation " . +fair enough , but this homeland is a specific nation cursed with a less than inspiring reality . +it is the newly founded zaire and it is ruled by president mobutu , a brutal dictator . +while ali respects mobutu's ability to forge an independent african state , mailer notes that beneath the stadium in which the titans battled lay hidden the presidents well-stocked torture chambers . +mailer's insights are lost on most of the film's commentators . +george plimpton recalls that he always felt he was in the congo , rather than the newly christened zaire . +with admirable restraint , gast quietly suggests that for many the grandeur of myth and history all but obscured the reality of zaire' s squalid ruling elite . +mobutu is not the only dubious character to benefit from the heady symbolism of black power . +don king , resplendent in yellow kaftan and at ease with the " messiah " label attributed to him by a loyal disciple , passes himself off as the voice of a new black international solidarity . +understandably , foreman believes he has gotten a raw deal . +he may be , as one sympathiser notes , " blacker " than ali , but he is denied the iconic status shared by ali , the thuggish mobutu , and the tacky huckster don king . +africa , zaire , inspirational leader or vicious dictator , all is left undifferentiated , unconsidered , in this optimistic celebration of black unity . +little wonder that the people of zaire were shocked to find that ali's opponent wasn't white . +admittedly , these issues are only hinted at , rather than substantially explored . +the audience must consider the significance of these issues themselves , in their own time . +there is just too much to cover , too much that is truly worthy of celebration , for a protracted political analysis to be justified . +the excitement of james brown and b . b king in concert , for instance . +and of course there's always ali to consider , as he shamelessly , and hilariously , hams it up in front of the camera , shadow boxing and uttering one inspired rhyme after another - " we gonna get it on coz we don't get along ! " . +doubtlessly , considering the multi-faceted nature of the extravaganza they chose to cover , the makers of " when we were kings " faced numerous difficulties in deciding what issues , and what personalities , best deserved their attention . +fortunately , by refusing to simplify their complex subject matter , they have captured the richness and excitement of this unique event . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv754_7216.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv754_7216.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..7e769ed2f59cf23cc9822acdb70e0e374da50deb --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv754_7216.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5 @@ +kolya is one of the richest films i've seen in some time . +zdenek sverak plays a confirmed old bachelor ( who's likely to remain so ) , who finds his life as a czech cellist increasingly impacted by the five-year old boy that he's taking care of . +though it ends rather abruptly-- and i'm whining , 'cause i wanted to spend more time with these characters-- the acting , writing , and production values are as high as , if not higher than , comparable american dramas . +this father-and-son delight-- sverak also wrote the script , while his son , jan , directed-- won a golden globe for best foreign language film and , a couple days after i saw it , walked away an oscar . +in czech and russian , with english subtitles . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv755_23616.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv755_23616.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..09bdd50e2654d4dd77ca8e0f8731eeb0670543b9 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv755_23616.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +anna and the king strides onto the screen in full regalia , wearing a brilliant suit of sumptuous landscapes , deep , vibrant colors and an epic storyline . +it's true beauty comes from it's subtle ruminations on the politics of power , whether it's between governments , or the interplay between a man and a woman . +anna ( jodie foster ) is a widowed british schoolteacher with a touch of wanderlust trying to grasp her quicksilver feelings concerning the recent death of her husband . +with son in tow , she takes the employ of king mongkut ( chow yun-fat ) to tutor his son in the english language . +mongkut sees the strength of the british and correctly surmises that his country's future lies in opening itself up to the ways of the western world . +anna function is to help provide that link . +the core of the film , of course , deals with the blossoming love between anna and mongkut as it attempts to germinate in the unfriendly soil of a shifting political climate . +foster plays anna with equal parts clenched jaw and wide-eyed wonder . +she is assertive , yet , respectful of the king as she initially tries to impose her western sensibilities upon him . +it is one of foster's strongest performances since silence of the lambs in a role she could not have played earlier in her career . +she brings a mature self- awareness and determination that might not have come across from a younger foster . +it's a joy to watch her cagily bargain for her own measure of influence within the realm of mongkut's monarchy . +when she makes her entrance into a politically charged banquet mid-film , she exudes a hypnotic beauty that is deepened by her textured performance . +chow-yun fat's king mongkut is every measure of foster's anna , perhaps even more so . +this is the chow yun-fat that hong kong cinema has been in love with for nearly twenty years . +he is imposing , yet vulnerable , playful , but stern . +it is an impressively assured and nuanced performance . +precious time is stolen from the movie's 155 minutes running time by an unengaging subplot involving one the king's concubines ( bai ling ) and her love of a commoner . +it strikes with the subtlety of siam's fabled white elephant as it stomps through the leisurely paced story . +some may be put off by the action filled climax of the movie . +although a bit inconsistent in tone from the rest of the film , it fits within the established subplot of a perceived siege by neighboring burma , a country backed by the british . +anna and the king transcends being a predictable , traditional love story by avoiding mawkishness . +it shows a seduction of intelligence . +ever mindful of each other's positions , anna and king mongkut negotiate a maze of social customs , conflicting world views and lost loved ones to connect on a level that ultimately proves deeply satisfying , if not achingly bittersweet . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv756_22540.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv756_22540.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..260702d8b5ce6e0ecb60bc88d570d22fe42faa65 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv756_22540.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ +while screen adaptations of john irving's novels have been disappointingly uneven , the films have all shared one particular strength : key casting . +who can forget john lithgow as roberta muldoon , the transsexual quarterback of " the world according to garp , " or nastassja kinski as susie the bear in " the hotel new hampshire " ? +a lot of good casting decisions have gone into the making of " the cider house rules , " an adaptation of irving's poetic 1994 novel about a restless young man called homer wells . +among those sound judgments was the decision to have the splendid tobey maguire assume the pivotal role ; the decision to cast michael caine as his mentor and father figure , dr . wilbur larch , the ether-addicted head obstetrician of the st . cloud's orphanage , maine ; and the decision to offer jane alexander and kathy baker supporting roles as his head nurses . +then there are the brethren who populate the apple orchard where homer wells finds himself shortly after leaving st . cloud's , including delroy lindo , oscar ? -worthy as the foreman of the migrant work detail that drifts up and down the coast as the seasons take them . +there's kate nelligan as the matriarch of the cider house , and charlize theron as candy , the lovely , lonely wife of a wwii bomber pilot ( paul rudd ) sent away on a mission overseas leaving candy to set lobster traps with homer wells , a man who's never seen the ocean before let alone a lobster . +am i forgetting anyone ? +yes . +kieran culkin and paz de la huerta as dissolute orphanage residents who make you sit up and take notice every time they're on the screen . +but with " the cider house rules , " the good people decisions don't end with the cast . +irving has written his own screenplay in order to get it right this time ( last year's " simon birch , " loosely based on his " a prayer for owen meaney , " was a big-screen example of irving handled sub-standardly ) ; the author appears fleetingly as a stationmaster here . +rachel portman , a composer of such sweet and lyrical tenderness , provides a score that's absolutely right for the project--sweet , lyrical , and tender . +there's impressive new england photography by oliver stapleton too . +last but by no means least is " my life as a dog " director lasse hallstr ? m , who shows enormous skill in pulling this collective together and helping bring irving's marvelously touching story to life . +for the many beloved who pass away in " the cider house rules , " it's an extraordinarily life-affirming story . +and now , thanks to these talented individuals , it's an extraordinarily life-affirming film . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv757_10189.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv757_10189.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..244bcafbc20bce85d7ebe3b410bcb4b1391ff48d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv757_10189.txt @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +scream 2 has a titillating little scene that lays down the unwritten law of horror movie sequels quite well . +during a film-class discussion , windsor college students articulate what these inevitable laws are , and why sequels never live up to the originals . +a few rare exceptions are noted , but they left out one . + . + . +scream 2 ! +1996's surprise horror blockbuster scream became an instant hit and developed an obsessive coterie of fans which included almost every teenager in america ! +a sequel was unavoidable , but luckily the re-teaming of writer kevin williamson and director wes craven gives us nothing to fear in the way of lost entertainment . +in fact , at the risk of sounding sacrilegious to all the adorning fans of scream , i would say that scream 2 might even be the better film ! +sidney prescott ( neve campbell ) , the sinuous heroine who survived a series of murders in woodsboro , ca in the original scream , is now two years older and off to college , majoring in theater . +meanwhile , tv journalist gale weathers ( courtney cox ) , who covered the murders in the first film , has since written a book about the dreadful events ; a book titled " stab " , which has been developed into a major motion picture . +as scream 2 opens , a crowd of overzealous teenagers are piling into a crowded movie theater for the premiere of " stab " , and before long , a young couple are butchered to death , unnoticed in the midst of hysteria . +this marks the beginning of a new murder spree as an unknown " copycat " sets out to repeat what's been done . + . + . +and finish what hasn't ! +of course the killer is just as obsessed with movies as the killer in the first film , and yes , movies play a huge role in the bizarre psychological outlook the murderer holds as he/she goes about slaying an assortment of gorgeous twenty year olds , but this * is * a sequel , and without deviating from the original groundwork we are still given a fresh outlook on horror movies . +this is in large part due to williamson's deliciously written script , which will easily leave you satisfied . +as much as the film condemns the use of cliches , it is riddled with them , but it is done so effectively , and with skillful direction by craven , that you're not bound to complain . +i will note , however , that the " whodunit ? " +did wind up being the first person i suspected , but believe me , i kept changing my mind as i tried to stay one ahead of the movie . +all the actors outdo themselves here . +we're not talking oscar performances , but cambell , cox , david arquette as dewey riley , and jamie kennedy as randy all give surprisingly satisfying performances that go beyond their last outing . +the characters remain true to their roots , and yet show a clear sign of development over the last two years . +we can see how the events in the first film has affected them , but we don't lose any of the luster that made them such a delight to watch in the first place . +the nice thing about scream 2 is that it doesn't seem off-kilter from it's predecessor . +it's a natural , smooth , and believable ( as far as horror films go ) transition from film to film . +we skip two years , but there doesn't seem to be any holes or shortcuts taken in connecting the two flicks . +it flows so well that you feel more like you're reading chapter two of a book ( long chapters , eh ? ) +than just revitalizing a cast of familiar faces . +while main characters are usually the only connection in sequels , scream 2's entire plot structure correlates * completely * with the first , making for immediate fondness and absorption . +as i said before , scream 2 easily lives up to , if not surpassing , it's precursor . +the only reason scream will likely be hailed above scream 2 is because it was the first . +this doesn't mean that it overcasts the unique , whimsical humor or overall caliber of it's sequel , it just means that scream will forever be known as the movie that mocked it's own while maintaining it's sought-after qualities . +if ever a film followed it's original so well , it would be scream 2 , and it makes this a definite must-see for all those unbridled scream fans out there . +scream 2 fits snugly alongside scream , and will hopefully receive as many high remarks . +it would top off the series quite well , if it weren't for the fact that two movies don't really make a series . +it's unlikely to assume that a scream 3 won't appear in the next few years , but if they do decide to turn this into an undeniably acclaimed horror-trilogy , let's hope they can keep up the fantastic work . +like they say , don't mess with perfection . + . + . +but when a money-making smash-hit is almost guaranteed , who's gonna listen ? diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv758_9671.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv758_9671.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..201f4f2aa3a56abcc5b66f58f04b45205f9e93d0 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv758_9671.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +devotees of robert a . heinlein , be forewarned : paul verhoeven's starship troopers is less an adaptation of heinlein's novel than it is a literary satire . +the author's jingo-all-the-way militarism and his tendency to create plastic characters with plastic conflicts had me expecting a soulless , faceless parade of carnage from the film version . +and i suppose that's exactly what verhoeven delivers , with sometimes hilarious results . +heinlein's basic motifs are so faithfully rendered that their flaws become a source of amusement , while their strengths become the stuff of high-energy entertainment . +outlining the plot of starship troopers is a fairly silly endeavor , since it's basically a big bug hunt . . . aliens in broad daylight . +sometime in the future , humanity is threatened by giant , malevolent insects which have evolved into twenty-foot-tall action figures ( arachnids with super-impaling spikes , beetles that spew forth lava , dragonflies with guillotine legs ) . +among those who sign on to save the earth are a group of high school classmates from buenos aires : conflicted rich kid johnny rico ( casper van dien ) ; his math whiz girlfriend carmen ( denise richards ) ; dizzy ( dina meyer ) , who secretly carries a torch for johnny ; and carl ( neil patrick " doogie howser " harris ) , who not-so-secretly carries a torch for dizzy , and also has a talent for speaking telepathically to ferrets . +while carmen heads for flight school and carl joins military intelligence , johnny and dizzy become mobile infantry , their various battles intertwining with romantic sub-plots out of a third season episode from " beverly hills 90210 . " +so if starship troopers is another movie where one-dimensional characters wade through trite situations on their way to killing a bunch of aliens , what makes it any better than , say , independence day , a movie where one-dimensional characters waded through trite situations on their way to killing a bunch of slightly different aliens ? +for one thing , you sense that the film-makers are aware of the pulp nonsense they have as source material . +the very absence of major stars in the cast feels thematically appropriate , not just fiscally prudent . +if starship troopers had been turned into a tv-movie , aaron spelling would have produced it . +it's a story which requires emoting , not acting ; it's a prime time soap opera with big guns , played for all the dopey melodrama it's worth . +the no-name cast also plays into verhoeven's treatment of heinlein's most controversial conceit . +in this society , we learn , one can only be a full citizen after completing some sort of federal service , military for most . +verhoeven pays the notion plenty of lip service , then proceeds to skewer it with brilliant mock recruitment ads ( named after the world war ii-era " why we fight " series ) in which youngsters are indoctrinated into the joys of firearms , or the pleasures of stomping cockroaches . +these characters really are just " fresh meat for the grinder , " as one character puts it , which makes their lack of familiarity all the more fitting . +it's not that starship troopers is anti-military , because it never treats the true horror of war as anything but a great big , violent video game . +in fact , the characters are living the propaganda ( particularly johnny , who receives so many field promotions he may not remember his own rank by the time the film ends ) . +verhoeven is actually having it both ways -- he's making fun of gung-ho boosterism even as he fires his fresh-faced recruits into battle on a gung-ho booster rocket of visual effects . +if that makes starship troopers hypocritical , at least it's enthusiastically staged hypocrisy . +there may not be a person worth caring about in the whole film , but it moves like nobody's business . +verhoeven stages some thrilling action sequences , sending swarms of bugs after the anonymous grunts then having various body parts strewn about the screen like landscaping . +it is that rare special effects blockbuster which demonstrates a sense of pacing to match its budget ; i was caught up in the action enough of the time that i wasn't perpetually groaning over the absence of real human beings . +i wish i could find it in myself to work up more outrage over the callous way humans are dispatched in starship troopers , but it didn't work out that way . +that would be punishing verhoeven for getting to the heart of his material . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv760_8597.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv760_8597.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e033fa12e361d7733b7a7d57b56223321c9e9395 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv760_8597.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12 @@ +the " italian hitchcock " and acknowledged master of the giallo murder-mystery dario argento again offers us a fascinating turn on the formula in pheneomena . +this time the twist comes in the form of jennifer corvino ( jennifer connelly ) , a bright teenager with gift for telepathically communicating with insects . +sent to a girls boarding school in switzerland , she soon learns of a series of bizarre disappearances and at least one murder that has the school's population terrified . +a chance meeting with a brilliant entomologist ( donald pleasance ) leads the two of them to team up and solve the mystery with the aid of her remarkable gift . +phenomena is an imaginative , original thriller . +writer/director argento creates several sequences of surreal , haunting beauty here , including a masterfully shot sleepwalking episode and a striking scene when a swarm of flying insects descends on the school at jennifer's beckoning . +the plot takes some wonderfully bizarre turns and the killer's identity is genuinely shocking and surprising . +the director took a big gamble with a soundtrack that mixes elements as diverse as heavy metal band iron maiden , ex-rolling stone bill wyman , and argento's favourite gothic/electronic outfit goblin . +but it gels surprisingly well . +the film's opening music reccurs several times , an eerie and evocative score that perfectly sets the overall tone . +argento fans beware : the film was released outside europe in a terribly butchered form re-titled as creepers . +this deleted nearly half an hour of footage , mainly of key dialogue scenes . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv762_13927.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv762_13927.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..9b142160de1417a1c6313f945026312e68f1acc0 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv762_13927.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +what is freedom ? +how does one determine who is free ? +in 1839 , those questions were more difficult to answer then they are now . +yet , the mistakes of our forefathers must be examined in order to rectify current situations . +that is , in essence , what steven spielberg's gripping drama " amistad " is about . +through its various dramas , spielberg presents a case about a group of africans , who , after being seized from their home , were forced onto a ship and sent to the united states aboard " la amistad " . +on their way there , the slaves , led by cinque ( djimon hounsou ) , rebelled , killing off part of the crew . +however , the ship was still directed towards the united states , where the africans were brought to trial under murder . +in the court , various factions claim ownership of the slaves , and therefore try to seize them away . +the united states government , led by president martin van buren ( nigel hawthorne ) , and secretary of state secretary forsyth ( david paymer ) , try to ship the africans to spain , where an 11 year old isabella ii ( anna paquin ) wants them back . +the two spaniards who own " la amistad " want the slaves for themselves . +the american ship that found the slaves also wants them . +in the midst of this are two abolitionists ( stellan skaarsgard and morgan freeman ) , who want the slaves to be free . +they enlist the help of lawyer matthew mcconaughey , who tries to free them . +through various legal proceedings , the case appears before the supreme court , where it is argued by ex-president john quincy adams ( anthony hopkins ) . +the film itself is a visual wonder . +spielberg favorite janusz kaminski sets the film in a dark , somber mood when appropriate , and a visual setting when appropriate as well . +at times , the film is very slow , and very methodical . +however , spielberg is not at his finest here , because the courtroom scenes have a tendency to lag . +the film is , in essence , a courtroom drama , one whose events are oversimplified . +the characterization is also weak , displaying weaknesses in building up characters such as the lawyer baldwin ( mcconaughey ) , and especially morgan freeman's abolitionist . +but spielberg's finest work in the film , the opening scene , a scene of cinque's family , and the brutal voyage of the slaves to america , is altogether stunning . +it is this emotional force that carries the film . +mcconaughey is superb as the lawyer defending the africans , hopkins is sensational as the old adams , freeman is outstanding when used ( spielberg vastly under uses his supreme talents ) , and the rest of the cast is stellar . +the movie , however , belongs to hounsou . +his emotional intensity is brilliant . +spielberg manages to make even the slowest scenes sparkle with focus on hounsou , and the film's extraordinary power is simply captivating . +the film is flawed , for most of the supporting characters are merely cardboard . +but that doesn't matter . +the story is a gripping one , and one of extreme importance . +kudos to spielberg for finding it , finding the right men for the job , and letting the audience listen to the words of cinque . +a good job all around . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv764_11739.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv764_11739.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6343db0366f4e99c6c473d0a067bbc0fb323fb38 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv764_11739.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +i love this movie , and i've just seen for the umptenth time . +unfortunately , it is also completly unknown and very few have seen it . +it's my mission in life to spread the word : see this movie ! +fred , george , doug and howie are reaching middleage . +three of them have a wife , kids and a house in the suburb with a mortgage to pay . +only fred is still a bachelor . +together they take the local train every morning to work in town . +on one of their organized thursday evenings at a bar , fred tells them of his boss and the arrangements he has made to keep a mistress . +he has gotten an apartment in downtown where he can meet her but has told his wife that he needs the apartment to spend the night after staff meetings every thursday night . +since they always split everything four ways , they decide that they should get an apartment with a young woman as well , kathy . +however , kathy isn't completly honest to them . +in fact , she is a sociology student writing a thesis about the sex life of the suburban male . +with these four species she believes that she will make a very good paper . +ok , have one thing clear though . +the romantic rendezvous' between kathy and each of the men are completly innocent . +the script stays above the waist - or to be precise , above the neck . +noboyd claims that kathy is their mistress , the four guys call her their 'companion' . +the censorship board here in sweden considered it to be suitable only for people above 15 years , but that only shows how long ago 1962 was . +small children could watch this without being corrupted . +kim novak is as lovely as always in this movie , even if she seems to be a bit too old for a student . +james garner is the playboy just like in many other movies . +i liked howard morris the best as howard the accountant who has to diet to support his wife . +tony randall is funny as always . +1962 was more than 35 years ago . +how many accountants , copywriters or investment bankers can today afford to live in a house in the suburb with a lot of kids and a wife who does not work ? +this is the white middle class , i can't remember that i saw any blacks on the commuter train they use . +these are the people who can count on their kids to live an even better life than themselves . +perhaps this should also be a subject for a thesis in movie sociology ? diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv765_19037.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv765_19037.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..7e62397ad8ef4539454998249204c9b996eaa65e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv765_19037.txt @@ -0,0 +1,100 @@ +i remember seeing the trailer of the black cauldron on the pinocchio video . +it really scared me , and i didn't want to go see it . +however , after i heard about how wonderful it was , i wanted to see it . +i didn't get a chance to do so , until now . +the film , disney's 25th animated feature , opens with a menacing shot of a great black cauldron unshrouded by mist as a narrator begins to tell the tale : a long time ago in the land of prydain , there was a king so evil , that his spirit was captured in the cauldron . +it has been hidden for centuries , and whoever possesses it will have the power to conjure up an army of deathless warriors , and with them rule the world ? and destroy it . +then , we meet a farmer-wizard , dallben , and his young apprentice , taran . +taran dreams of being a warrior instead of being a `pig-keeper' ( they have a pig named hen-wen ) . +one day , as he gives hen wen a nice warm bath , the pig goes crazy , and dallben then realizes , after watching hen wen's thoughts through a bucket of water , that taran must hide hen wen in the forest . +an evil ruler known as the horned king is searching for the black cauldron , and only hen wen has the power to show its location . +taran leads hen wen into the forest , but of course , he loses her , and tries to go find her . +along the way , he meets up with a mischievous little creature named gurgi , who desires `munchings and crunchings' , much to his dismay ( besides , he stole an apple that taran was trying to use to bring back hen wen ) . +when he hears hen wen's squeal from far away , though , he races to her rescue ? only to see her get kidnapped by dragonlike gwythants . +taran chases after the gwythants and finds himself staring at the horned king's castle from far away . +taran climbs the castle walls , and brings himself into the castle , where he attempts to rescue hen wen . +he manages to do so , but he is himself captured and thrown into the dungeon . +there , he meets princess eilonwy ( and her magic bauble , another thing which the horned king was hoping to use to find the cauldron ) , and the two escape through the deep castle walls . +along the way , taran finds a sword in a burial chamber , and they rescue a comic bard named fflewdurr flamm , who has a harp whose strings break whenever he tells a lie . +the three manage to escape the horned king's castle , but not before taran realizes that his sword is magic . +as they rest in the forest , gurgi reappears , claiming to have found hen wen's trail . +he leads taran , eilonwy and fflewdurr , by way of `pig tracks' , to a whirlpool . +suddenly , they all get sucked under , and they meet the fairy-like fairfolk . +taran is reunited with hen wen , and informed that the black cauldron is hidden in the land of morva . +he then devises a crazy idea that if they can destroy the cauldron , it would prevent the horned king from destroying their world . +with the help of a grumpy fairy named doli , the four travelers manage to find themselves at a mysterious cottage . +it turns out to be no ordinary cottage ; three comically strange witches inhabit the place . +when taran tells them that they are searching for the black cauldron , they agree to let him have it ? in exchange for his sword . +taran agrees , much to eilonwy's horror , but at least they get the black cauldron . +but ? the cauldron can't be destroyed , only its evil powers can be stopped . +the only way to do so is for a living being to climb into it of his own free will ? never to return alive . +things take a turn for the worse when the horned king's henchmen capture taran , eilonwy , and fflewdurr , along with the black cauldron , and lead them back to the castle . +taran , eilonwy , and fflewdurr watch in horror as the horned king unleashes the supernatural powers of the cauldron to ressurect his army of deathless warriors ( this is the most horrifying scene in the film , because here , a dead army comes alive ? ) . +just when all seems lost , though , gurgi reappears , and rescues taran , eilonwy , and fflewdurr . +taran is about to jump into the black cauldron , but gurgi stops him , not wanting him to throw his life away . +gurgi then jumps into the black cauldron , and the deathless warriors decay . +taran tries to find a way to rescue gurgi , but he is forced to do battle against the horned king . +he kicks the horned king away , who is then magically sucked into the black cauldron , where its powers immediately destroy him completely . +taran , eilonwy , and fflewdurr manage to escape from the horned king's castle just as it self-destructs . +the witches then reappear and attempt to take the now useless black cauldron away , but fflewdurr stops them , saying that they `never give anything away , they bargain' . +in response to this , the witches offer taran his sword back , but taran instead has a new trade : the cauldron for gurgi . +the trade is made ; gurgi's seemingly lifeless body reappears before the heartbroken group . +as taran cradles him in his arms , though , gurgi stirs-he is not dead after all ! +the happy group then returns home , where hen wen ( brought home by the fairfolk once the dangers are past ) , dallben , and even doli , await their triumphant return . +as spectacular as it sounds , the black cauldron really suffered a lot in its past times . +before ron miller was fired from his position as chairman of walt disney productions , he had bought a novel by lloyd alexander called the black cauldron , a sword and sorcery tale for the studio . +bringing this book to the screen was the studio's fondest dream . +miller , who entitled himself as the executive producer , promised that they would do so after they had proved themselves on other projects . +when micheal eisner and his executives arrived at the disney animation studio , the animators were struggling to complete the black cauldron . +by this time , things had gone really rocky for the animation department . +many of the studio's old men had retired or died . +therefore , the animators suffered a hard time making this film . +originally budgeted at $25 million , the costs raised to $40 million because of constant changes on everything ? and when it was finally released on june 24 , 1985 , the black cauldron was greeted by praising reviews from some critics , but somehow the film flopped . +the film was rated pg and the film , although `disneyfied' from lloyd alexander's chronicles of prydain ( which is what this film is based on ) , was much more scarier and darker than disney's other previous efforts , such as the rescuers and the fox and the hound , which is probably why so many people considered it too scary and stayed away from it . +in addition , other critics rejected it for having `no heart' and `unmemorable' , compared to other disney animated features . +but whatever the real reason , the black cauldron was a financial disaster , grossing only $21 million . +the failure of the film grounded the studio's animation department , and exiled the animation team to annex buildings in nearby glendale , and it seemed like animated features would no longer become a part of the studio's reputation . +the next two disney animated features , the great mouse detective and oliver and company , although a little more lighthearted than the black cauldron , didn't do much better ( although oliver and company grossed much more than the black cauldron and the great mouse detective ) . +only with the little mermaid did the studio regain its reputation for successful animated features . +as for the black cauldron , it was rereleased in some cities for a temporary time under the title taran and the magic cauldron . +finally , the studio locked the film in the film vault and denied that it ever even was released . +because of all this , you might ask yourself , was the black cauldron really such a bad movie ? +the people who had seen the film didn't think so . +in fact , many people had calls to buena vista home video requesting for the film , but of course , they denied it . +for a while , it seemed like the black cauldron would never be released to video ? until september 1997 , disney released the black cauldron to video in the united kingdom . +few people imported the video from england and converted to ntsc ( including me ) and for those who hadn't seen the film yet ( i am included here ) , they got quite a treat . +but people who had bootleg copies of the black cauldron noticed that in the scene where the horned king raises his army of deathless warriors , about 12 seconds of ghoulish looking skeletons were slightly trimmed so that the film would get a u rating ( in the uk , the u rating means universal : suitable for all ages , kinda like their own version of g ) . +somewhere online , a team of diehard the black cauldron fans signed a petition that said , `bring back the black cauldron ! ' , and because of that , disney finally decided to release the video to the united states . +before that time , rumors online had been made that the video would be trimmed , like the uk video , so that it would get a g rating , and that they would add in songs . +those rumors were put to rest when the walt disney company announced that the black cauldron * would * be released in its pg rated version . +even still , when it was finally released to the us , some reaction was mixed . +some felt that it was indeed cut , but some felt that it wasn't . +but these where only minor criticisms which seemed laughable , since a film that was absent for thirteen years was finally available . +as for myself , when i saw the movie for the first time ( on converted ntsc video ) , i didn't expect much at all . +in fact , i had heard so many mediocre things about it , that i didn't think the film would ever be such a good film . +much to my surprise , when i saw the first few minutes of the film , i was asking myself , " this is the same film everyone saw ? +the one that flopped at the box office ? +the one that critics and filmgoers alike called " a bad movie " ? +this doesn't seem like all of the above . +instead , it's a classic in its own right . +the film has a wonderful cast of characters . +there's taran ( grant bardsley ) , an assistant pig keeper who would rather be a warrior than a pig-keeper , the story's hero . +the critics have said that taran is not likeable at all , but the opposite is true . +he is brave , loyal , and eventually learns a lesson about friendship later on . +there's a likeable character here ! +not that he's the only likeable character in the film . +there's gurgi ( john biner ) , a lovable little , uh , thing who remains loyal to taran , even though they don't quite hit it off at first . +but another likeable character is the bad guy comic henchman , a dwarf named creeper ( phil fondacairo ) , who is loyal to the film's imaginative and sinister villain , the horned king ( voiced gruesomely by john hurt ) , yet he also fears his neck . +the other characters , including the sidekicks , a spunky , but sweet princess named eilonwy and the comic bard fflewdurr flamm , and three comically wicked witches who hide a dark secret , although pleasant and likeable , aren't quite as well rounded as they should be . +the story itself is an adventurous one , a quest involving the mystical pig , hen wen , the black cauldron itself , and an army of deathless ones with everything : a hooking opening to a spectacular finale . +elmer bernstein's music also tells the story perfectly , in a dark , yet calming manner . +the animation itself is surprisingly good considering that this film was created in the darkest time of the studios . +even though there are some occasional effects that are not quite good , like the ground opening when the black cauldron rises out of the earth , the animation overall is top notch . +overall ? this film is an entertaining endeavor . +fans unfamiliar to the lloyd alexander chronicles of prydain will get a kick out of this one , except young kids . +there are some extremely scary scenes which are more darker than disney's other films ( although some consider the stampede sequence from the lion king and frollo observing esmeralda in the fires of hell in the hunchback of notre dame are just as scary ) , which is the main reason why this film is rated pg . +fans familiar to the lloyd alexander series will recognize the differences between the novel and the movie . +even though it doesn't have all of the ingredients of a true disney film , this film is a classic in its own right , and deserves a far better chance than what it has been given . +that better chance has finally come . +whatever reason about why the black cauldron was such a big failure seems to have disappeared , and the film has finally achieved its place among disney's most proudest achievements . +i can't help but think though , whatever would have happened if the black cauldron * was * a box office success ? diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv767_14062.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv767_14062.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0028c60e3fca8df0019ef8a8b41e0be1cfa5857c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv767_14062.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +is jimmy stewart the greatest actor of all-time ? +it's quite possible . +his career spanned over 40 years , and he acted in more movies than most actors ever could . +yet , when he is talked about in the media , he is generally thought of as an actor who played one type of role : the nice guy . +and that's really a shame . + " the naked spur " features jimmy stewart in a role completely different than what people would expect from him . +it's a western , which stewart specialized in around this period , and it casts him as a desperate man out to collect a bounty on a man who used to be his friend . +before he finds that man , though , he runs into two men who agree to help him , thinking he is a sheriff . +when the criminal is eventually caught , the two men discover stewart's secret , and decide they want a piece of the action too . +the rest of the film is a suspenseful journey in which each man suspects the other constantly . +also featured is the woman travelling with the criminal , well played by janet leigh . +we're never too sure who's side she's really on until the end . +leigh is an actress probably best known for her role as the " shower lady " from " psycho " , and that's unfair . +she gives a strong performance as a woman who is pulled between these two men . +stewart gives a performance unlike anything i've ever seen from him . +he usually keeps cool no matter what occurs , but here , he gets downright hysterical at times . +i think perhaps he took this role to prove to the public that he was more than just a " nice guy " . +his performance borders on psychotic at times , but i loved watching every second of it . +it's roles like this one that make me admire him as much as i do . +he was an actor unafraid to take chances , and even ruin his public image . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv769_8123.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv769_8123.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..17f177b74e5954ae06ab1f21dafbcefa5f43676c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv769_8123.txt @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@ +men in black is an explosive mix of science fiction , action , and comedy that hits the target in every possible way . +although another alien movie , men in black succeeds in every way that independence day didn't , and towers above many other movies of its type . +the brilliant acting , especially by tommy lee jones as agent kay , is also as good as it gets . +director barry sonnenfeld , who was behind the camera for the addams family movies and get shorty , has crafted a masterpiece . +the story behind men in black is just as interesting as you would want it to be . +the men in black , or mib , are a top-secret governmental agency that is not known to exist . +the mib are responsible for " saving the world from the scum of the universe " . +a though job , indeed . +the film opens with a truckload of illegal aliens ( the human kind ) being transported across the mexico border and into the united states . +presumably , these " aliens " are all migrant workers . +that is , until the mib show up and begin interrogating them . +agent kay selects a particular suspicious worker and takes him away from the other local authorities to discover that he is not an illegal human alien , but a real extra-terrestrial alien . +when the alien makes a run for it , agent kay is forced to eliminate the alien with one of the mib's very unique weapons , and after one of the local law enforcement officers witnesses this bizarre occurrence , agent kay is forced to use another very unique device on them . +the device , described as " out of state " , eliminates the memory of anyone it is used on . +>from here , we are introduced to james edwards , played very well by will smith . +edwards , a police officer , is chasing a fleeing criminal . +the criminal gives a very good chase , and at one point when edwards confronts him , the criminal pulls out a very different looking weapon that disintegrated when it hit the ground . +edwards continues to chase the very athletic criminal to the top of a building , where the criminal informs edwards that he must let him go , because someone is after him . +edwards doesn't take this seriously , but when the criminal shows very non-human characteristics and leaps off the building , he begins to wonder . +back at the police station , agent kay shows up to ask edwards a few questions . +he informs edwards that is was , in fact , a non-human that he was chasing , and that the gun he pulled out was definitely not man-made . +he has edwards identify the gun , and asks edwards to come to the mib headquarters the following day . +edwards arrives and finds that he is involved in a recruiting process , along with various other men who seem a bit more qualified than he . +after goofing up for half of the time , edwards puts on a show at the firing range , and agent kay notes the reason why he feels edwards should be the man to join the mib : he chased down the " criminal " on foot , which is something that no one is supposed to be able to do . +in the meantime , an upstate new york farm has a very close encounter . +edgar ( vincent d'onofrio ) , owner of the farm , investigates a strange crash landing and is attacked by the inhabitant of the flying object , which presumes to jump inside edgar and use his body as a human transport . +the " bug " , as he is called , is an intergalactic terrorist who has come to earth to attempt to kill two ambassadors . +and it up to the mib , with newly recruited agent jay ( formerly james edwards ) to exterminate the bug and save the planet from intergalactic war . +men in black delightfully combines fast-paced action with often hilarious comedy , which is usually from will smith , although tommy lee jones opens up his comedic personality in this film . +the special effects are also very well done and are not the entire source of the plot , as in another big alien film from the past summer . +screenwriter ed solomon , writer of super mario bros . +and the upcoming x-men film , has surely struck gold with this story . +all ages will enjoy men in black . +it is an extremely fun film that you will want to see again . +although it runs a very quick and speedy 96 minutes , the entire film from beginning to end is a non-stop adventure . +the ending of the film , which ties up a few loose ends for one of the main characters , is also very well done . +a sequel is already being planned , so there is more to look forward to ! diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv770_10451.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv770_10451.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..55ab5d42bee7456733a8217506b86e0c2986e812 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv770_10451.txt @@ -0,0 +1,41 @@ +ralph fiennes is carving out a nice niche for himself in the genre of period piece romances . +for his followup to the academy-beloved the english patient , he has once again turned to a love story , this time directed by accomplished australian film maker gillian armstrong ( little women ) . +despite some obvious overplotting , oscar and lucinda is a mostly effective and often affecting motion picture that touches our hearts while daring our minds to balk at its implausible coincidences . +the film opens in the mid-1800s , with parallel storylines in new south wales , australia and devon , england . +as the helpful narrative voice of geoffrey rush informs us , lucinda leplastrier ( cate blanchett ) is a headstrong young woman being raised in the australian outback . +meanwhile , half the world away , oscar hopkins ( fiennes ) has broken with his puritanical father over religious issues , and has gone away to school to study to be an anglican priest . +lucinda is fascinated with glass ; oscar is obsessed with theology . +lucinda is rich ; oscar is poor . +lucinda is forward and self-assured ; oscar is timid and uncertain of himself . +yet one characteristic unites these two diverse individuals -- the compulsion to gamble , whether it's on horses , dogs , cards , or the flip of a coin . +and fate has decreed that they will one day meet . +that day doesn't occur until 45 minutes into the film , when oscar boards a ship bound for sidney , australia , where he hopes to change his life and minister to anyone in need of his help . +another of the passengers is lucinda , who is returning from england where she was shopping for machinery to equip her newly-acquired glassworks factory . +at first , their relationship is that of a reverend and a confessor , but it doesn't take long for both of them to recognize a kindred spirit in the other . +a friendship is born , and , once they reach australia , it develops into something more potent . +but oscar is uncertain of lucinda's affection , and feels he must do something to prove himself worthy of her . +oscar and lucinda isn't beyond a little manipulation to get the desired emotional response , and there are times when the storyline curves in preposterous directions . +on more than one occasion , it's apparent that events are occurring specifically to funnel the characters into a position where there is only one possible route . +coincidence is a crucial plot device ; without it , this movie can't go anywhere . +the voiceover narration ( never one of my favorite techniques ) is too verbose and breaks into the story at undesirable moments . + ( however , without it , the final twist , which i will not reveal , would not be as poignant . ) +yet , despite these quibbles , i enjoyed oscar and lucinda . +storyline faults pale in the light of two such finely-realized characters . +thematically , the film is also strong . +the unifying motif -- that everything in life is a gamble -- is successfully delineated . +oscar and lucinda don't just wager their money , they bet their hearts , minds , and souls . +a card game they engage in shortly after they first meet could easily be considered a form of emotional " strip poker " where defenses are peeled away to reveal their shared , secret passion . +oscar does not see gambling as a vice . +in fact , he believes that the greatest chance one takes in life is betting one's immortal soul on the truth of a religious faith . +ralph fiennes , who normally plays strong , confident men , is very much at home as the fumbling , insecure oscar . +the actor brings a variety of nervous tics to the part , all of which subtly add to a vague sense of discomfort whenever oscar is on-screen . +as good as fiennes is , however , he is eclipsed by cate blanchett . +the actress , who appeared earlier this year as one of the leads in bruce beresford's paradise road , is mesmerizing as lucinda . +she gives this liberated woman her flash , and feeds the chemistry between the two lead characters so that it sparkles rather than fizzles . +effective support is provided by ciaran hinds ( the male lead in jane austen's persuasion ) as lucinda's close friend , tom wilkinson ( the full monty ) as oscar's mentor , and clive russell as a self-serving adventurer . +there's a real magic in the way armstrong develops the story , keeping things moving in unexpected directions without lingering too long on any one moment or sequence . + ( in fact , i wish she had devoted a little more time to the luminous middle act , which has oscar and lucinda together . ) +with the skill of a consummate storyteller , she weaves romance , friendship , passion , humor , and tragedy together into a complete package . +the characters , with all of their human foibles and neuroses , are wonderfully developed by fiennes and blanchett . +so who cares if the storyline is a little ripe and unwieldy ? +oscar and lucinda still offers abundant pleasures to reward the viewer . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv771_28665.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv771_28665.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b626e165317eded23d17f3627df4456b3d2f3c0d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv771_28665.txt @@ -0,0 +1,47 @@ +in october of 1962 the united states found itself on the brink of nuclear holocaust when u2 spy plane fly-overs of cuba revealed that the soviet union was actively deploying and installing medium range ballistic missiles 90 miles from the us . +president john kennedy ( bruce greenwood ) and his staff must face this major threat to world peace and stop soviet expansionism in director roger donaldson's dramatic recreation of the most dangerous crisis in american history in " thirteen days . " +one of the highlights to come out of made-for-tv movies was a 1974 entry called " missiles of october " that also recreated the historic event that almost embroiled the us , ussr and the world in an all out nuclear showdown . +that teleplay , starring william devane and martin sheen as john and bobby , showed the political tensions of the period that brought to the fore the danger the world faced in those two weeks in 1962 . +now , a quarter of a century after the landmark tv movie , director roger donaldson and producer kevin costner team together again ( the last time was for the taught spy thriller " no way out " ) to re-enact the events of that most dangerous time in america's and the world's history . +taken from the viewpoint of special assistant to the president kenneth p . o'donnell ( costner ) , donaldson and crew recreate that volatile event , once again , as the country is plunged into what could have been total nuclear war . +as o'donnell gets ready to head to work one october morning , he deals with the usual family crises and problems . +meanwhile , a u2 spy plane photo mission over cuba has produced some startling images - medium range nuclear missiles in the first stage of deployment . +suddenly , ken's routine day switches into crisis mode as the president and his key advisor bobby begin to muster the considerable forces of the us military to face the soviet threat . +where " thirteen days " differs most from " missiles of october " is , as expected , in the scope of the project . +there is a big difference , budget-wise , between making a television docudrama and one that goes to the big screen . +it shows as the makers of " thirteen days " craft a recreation of the cuban missile crisis that encompasses not only the political intrigue within the white house , it also depicts the events that took place as america girds itself for nuclear confrontation . +the cast , a true ensemble , is led , surprisingly , by bruce greenwood as jfk and not by kevin costner . +costner's o'donnell represents the family guy thing as the drama of the crisis has its impact on him and his family . +this puts a personal spin on the film as we see both the crisis and america's preparation for war and the pressure it brings to bear on those in the know . +kenny reassures his wife and kids that all will be okay and they will be safe , but he knows that , if the crisis comes to a head , his family will be no more . +the meat of " thirteen days " is in the big picture , not the microcosm of family , though . +this is where the film stands out as we see the workings of our government on the highest levels . +the story does not just cover the face-off between the world's two most powerful countries ; it also depicts the animosity between the president and the military/cia . +the disaster of the bay of pigs invasion the year before left a distrustful taste in the mouths of the generals and admirals who blame the kennedys for not backing the cuban expatriates fighting fidel castro . +the missile crisis becomes a struggle for power as the army/navy/air force want to flex their might and invade cuba , while jfk wants to end the confrontation peaceably but with america's dignity and world leadership intact . +while the internal battle for power rages in the white house , with air force chief curtis lemay ( kevin conway ) advising the president to bomb cuba into the stone age , our armed forces are set into motion to stop the soviets with a blockade of offensive weapons to cuba . +this is where the political intrigues of high office are replaced by exciting action . +when the first confrontation takes place between a us warship and a soviet freighter , the tension is palpable . +the most involving action sequence takes place late in the game as another u2 is sent up to shoot some snaps of the buildup and the fully prepared soviet forces launch an anti-aircraft attack on the hapless pilot of the spy plane . +this is a sweaty palm sequence to say the least , making you squirm in your seat as you try to help the pilot avoid those missiles . +the ensemble cast places greenwood as the first among equals with like weight given to all the principle players . +greenwood does not play act at being a caricature of jfk , foregoing the typical kennedy boston accent . +instead , he plays the man as a powerful figure who has to maintain the dignity of the office , directing his subordinates but giving them the latitude to make clear all of his options . +kennedy used this decision by committee method to good effect as his senior staff uncovers all the options available to the president . +costner , as ken o'donnell , is really a supporting cast member as a kennedy crony brought on board as a personal political favor . +costner plays o'donnell as if he crammed on old jfk speeches with a forced kennedyesque twang to his speech . +the rest of the players are first rate from start to finish with steven culp looking and sounding just like robert kennedy . +the rest of the familiar players in this drama are uniformly well cast , too . +standing out are michael fairman as the beleaguered us ambassador to the un , adlai stevenson , who was forced to become the challenging voice of the united states in the united nations and i remember the confrontation vividly . +the filmmakers capture the accusations laid down by stevenson with accuracy , using old style video footage to good effect . +dylan baker has the look and feel of the intelligentsia as the brainy secretary of defense robert mcnamara . +kevin conway gives his general lemay the right " bomb them to hell " attitude . +also notable is christopher lawford as navy pilot william ecker who , with his wingman , takes on the dangerous mission of a low-level photo recon into the heart of cuba , bravely challenging kenny o'donnell's admonition , " don' get shot . " +tech credits are superb across the board with an admirable depiction of the us armed forces being placed on a war footing . +it's an impressive production with the careful use of period aircraft and ships that gives the film a veracity fitting the event . +solid costuming by isis mussenden is subtle but has the look of the kennedys . +there is the usual array of vintage cars from the period to make things look right . +the special f/x of the u2 sequences are a nice crafting of computer imaging . +the cuban missile crisis is probably the most intense two weeks that the united states has ever faced in its survival as a world leader . +helmer donaldson and his fine crew and cast have given the depiction of this crucial event with the care and attention to details that make this one of the finest docudramas of the year . +i give " thirteen days " an a- . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv772_12119.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv772_12119.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b5f1220d8caf19bfa0ff86d3e542c0e3c4d78a6a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv772_12119.txt @@ -0,0 +1,43 @@ +true faith and its expression through organized religion is a difficult subject for a motion picture to tackle head-on , which is probably why so few of them do it . +even the most religious directors - like martin scorsese or ingmar bergman - usually address issues of faith in implicit rather than explicit religious terms . +so it's not hard to see why it took robert duvall fifteen years to get " the apostle " onto the big-screen . +as a matter of fact , even after fifteen years he still never managed to get financial backing , and he ended up paying for it with $5 million of his own money . +he also wrote the script , directed the film , and starred as the central character , a fiery texas preacher named euliss " sonny " dewey . +few filmmakers have the courage and sheer audacity to take on that kind of financial , technical , and creative responsibility single-handedly , and it's testament to what an intensely personal project this was for duvall . +and , thankfully , every bit of that personal investment translates on-screen into power and honest emotion . +sonny is an energetic , pentecostal preacher who has been speaking ( actually shouting ) from behind the pulpit since he was twelve . +he spends much of his time traveling about the country , evangelizing with other preachers at tent revivals . +unlike most hollywood characterizations of intense preachers , sonny is not a phony or a swindler , and the film's purpose is not to unearth hypocrisy and sin in either sonny or the church . +duvall makes it abundantly clear that sonny truly believes in what he says , although like all humans , he has weaknesses . +one of his weaknesses become apparent when he finds out that , not only does his long-suffering wife , jessie ( farrah fawcett ) , want to leave him for another man in the congregation , but the two of them have secretly plotted to remove him as preacher . +faced with the loss of two things he loves passionately- his church and his family - that same raw power that allows sonny to get entire congregations rocking and swaying transforms into a violent temper . +at his son's baseball game , sonny snaps and smashes his wife's lover in the face with a baseball bat , inflicting a wound that may be fatal . +not knowing what else to do , sonny disappears . +he throws away his identification , drives his car into a lake , and takes a bus to louisiana , hoping to start over again . +in the tiny , mostly poor coastal town of bayou boutte , sonny once again finds his calling . +after befriending a simple auto mechanic ( walt goggins ) and tracking down the town's ex-minister ( john beasley ) , sonny sets up his own church , the one way to heaven temple . +re-christening himself as " the apostle e . f . , " he quickly draws together an eager congregation , and together they realize real change in each other's lives . +but , always , sonny's past is lurking a step behind him , waiting to swallow his progress . +duvall has made his intentions in making " the apostle " clear . +in a recent article in " newsweek , " he wrote : " filmmakers hardly ever depict spirituality with such a strong emphasis on the holy spirit , and when they do , it tends to be patronizing - full of charlatans and snake handlers . . . +but what i really wanted to do was try to understand what these preachers go through and what they believe , and to portray it in an accurate way . " +the strength of duvall's convictions turn out to be the strength of his film - " the apostle " always rings true , even in the most painful moments , because we know he's being sincere with the subject matter . +after fifteen years of traveling the country , listening to all shapes and sizes of ministers and taking studious notes on what they said , duvall has captured the energy and vitality of what it means to be truly spiritual . +his sonny is a man who speaks directly to god and expects to be spoken right back to . + " i've always called you jesus and you've always called me sonny , " he says . +when neighbors call and complain that he is being too loud one night in one his rants with the man upstairs , sonny's mother ( june carter cash ) just hangs up on them because she knows there's no sense trying to interrupt him . +the main theme to emerge from " the apostle " is the fact that good can come from any situation . +sonny's act of violence toward another human being is inarguably a horrific thing , and duvall never shrinks from that fact . +however , that very same act of violence is what brings sonny to bayou boutte , where he finds people whom he desperately needs and who desperately need him . +in his short time in louisiana , he does a world of good , and when the police finally show up to take him away , he goes quietly , knowing that he deserves the punishment that is awaiting him . +and , as a scene during the final credits shows , he even turns his punishment into a positive opportunity for change and betterment . +it is that strength in sonny's character that makes him so appealing and magnetic to others - he is flawed , but he is powerful enough to overcome those flaws . +weak men are the ones who simply accept their weaknesses and lack the desire to better themselves . +watching duvall on-screen , it's not hard to imagine that he would have been a magnificent preacher if he had chosen that vocation over acting . +as sonny , he completely inhabits the character , and his performance is certainly the best of the year . +because he spent so much time absorbing the traits , methods , quirks , and personalities of real preachers , duvall was able to create a complete character who always feels indelibly human . +as a director , duvall feels that less is more . +his camera simply takes in what goes on in front of it , with very little intrusion . +there are no fancy crane shots or extended dollies or excessive close-ups . +duvall knew that the power of the film's characters ( enhanced by the fact that he cast mostly non-professional churchgoers and actual ministers ) didn't need to be artificially enhanced . +in this way , " the apostle " almost plays out like a documentary , not only in its technical simplicity , but more importantly , in its sense of reality . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv774_13845.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv774_13845.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..65b65ce8c00e78dca73ee301197355cbf5e5b606 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv774_13845.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10 @@ +almost a full decade before steven spielberg's saving private ryan asked whether a film could be both " anti war " and " pro-soldier " , john irvin's hamburger hill proved it could . +lost in the inundation of critical acclaim that greeted oliver stone's platoon , this excellent film was dismissed as " too militaristic " . +it's hard to understand exactly why---unless irvin , in assembling his motley collection of young men who for predictable ( and often naive ) reasons " chose to show up " for the vietnam debacle , ---has refused to present us with the stone killer , drug-stoked psycho and ruthless opportunist who have become to vietnam war epics what " the polack , the hillbilly and the kid from brooklyn " became to wwii movies . +hamburger hill , based on a true story , is not an easy film to watch . +there is a scene that will have graying anti-war activists squirming in their seats , or moved to genuine tears . +and the climactic final assault on the " hill " in question is visually confusing . +gristly realities are presented in brief flashes , as if the brain dared not acknowledged what it had encountered . +and in the mud and smoke officer and enlistee , veteran and " newbie " , black soldier and white , become almost indistinguishable from each other , as they do in the chaos of actual combat . +the acting throughout is solid with an absolutely stellar performance rendered by courtney b . vance as doc--in a role that will have many flatly disbelieving that this is same actor they cheered as " seaman jones " in mctiernan's red october . +if you've seen private ryan , you owe it to yourself to see hamburger hill--if only to determine that the all the valour and horror of spielberg's vision was as present in the ashau valley as it was at omaha beach . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv776_20529.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv776_20529.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..253d4de43d7805b6ba203c5dce7c52b7b9d024be --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv776_20529.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +dark city is such a rare treat : it ? s a stunning , hyperkinetic vision of a place where our reality is fused with noir , science fiction and the darkest nights in manhattan and london . +to boot , it is accompanied by an intense , well written and thoughtful story . +movies of this caliber and idea aren ? t made too often , and it ? s unfortunate that i waited this long to see it . +alex proyas , who ? s previous film the crow looked good but couldn ? t cover up the terrible acting or story , here shows a near masterpiece ; a combination of metropolis , edward hopper and phillip marlowe , fused seemlessly . +at times it moves beyond film into artwork . +it is the story of ? strangers ? , aliens from another planet ( and we know they ? re aliens because they shave their heads and wear overcoats ? one of the detractions of the film ) who experiment on humans to discover what makes them live , what makes up our ? soul ? . +these aliens are superior to humans because they have mastered the ? ultimate technology ? of shaping matter with their mind , called ? tuning . +they are aided by a human scientist , played by kiefer sutherland , who has ? betrayed his kind ? and at the start of the film watches as the entire city stops at exactly midnight . +during this time , john murdoch , played swiftly by rufus sewell , wakes in a bathtub in a room with a swinging overhead light ( a terrific visual effect - not only is murdoch confused , but so is the audience ) . +without a memory and a strange guilt that he may be a killer , he receives a phone call to flee , as the strangers are after him . +i don ? t want to proceed to much further with the explanation of the story ; one of the pleasures of the film is watching it develop , in a way regaining murdoch ? s ? identity ? along with him . +it ? s a pleasure to watch the characters develop through the cinematography . +murdoch ? s wife , anna , is introduced through a stunning beam of light : she is a lounge singer who sings into a bright spotlight . +shadows , outlines of men in hats watch , as she gently curves through the shine . +we see the outline of her body from behind , an hourglass , as she sings a slow , rhythmic song . +a great entrance . +however , a film such as this is only successful if the morals and themes behind it are strong enough to leave the viewer satisfied . +the city is nice to look at , but if it ? s a poor story then it ? s not worth watching . +blade runner was popular not only because it ? s visuals , but it ? s story and themes were thought out and provoked strong response from the audience . +it is discussed it and argued , therefore a success . +other science fiction films of recent times , such as the fifth element , are nice to look at , but are dropped and forgotten because the cookie cutter moral behind them is so flimsy . +we ? re left with ? love conquers all ? after finishing the fifth element . +dark city is not so easily explained away . +as the strangers discovered , locating the human soul and discovering what makes us survive is not such an easy task . +where is reality ? +dark city is certainly the best science fiction film of the 90 ? s , and ranks along with the best made in the 80s , such as blade runner and the two aliens films . +perhaps it ? s the best of the both decades ; it had the darkness of the aliens films , as well as the visuals and compelling story of blade runner , but moved beyond , i think , because the themes behind it were much stronger . +anyone who wants to make an argument for better science fiction films please feel free to write , i ? d love to hear it . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv777_10094.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv777_10094.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6882727b4d240b29c97a7c0a079ff3a72cce210a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv777_10094.txt @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +anyone who saw alan rickman's finely-realized performances in truly madly deeply and sense and sensibility will be unsurprised that the actor-turned-director is a bit of a poet at heart . +however , for those who recall him only as the maniacal villain of die hard and robin hood : prince of thieves , this recognition may be something of a shock . +nevertheless , " poetic " is an excellent term to describe rickman's feature debut as a director , the winter guest . +the film has a simple , unhurried rhythm that uses all of the available elements to fashion a successful whole . +the result is an occasionally haunting , sometimes magical , and always insightful human drama . +the winter guest isn't about resolving plot threads and advancing a story line ; it's about exploring relationships and examining life in all of its stages . +the winter guest does not tell a traditional tale , nor does it ascribe to a conventional narrative structure ? there is no real beginning or end . +instead , we are given an opportunity to observe one day in the lives of eight humans . +they represent both sexes , multiple generations , and a variety of relationships ? male and female ; young , middle-aged , and elderly ; friends , would-be lovers , and kin . +we see expectations fulfilled and disappointed , emotional boundaries eroded , and truths unveiled . +there is comedy and tragedy . +most importantly , much of what transpires during the course of the winter guest will find an echo in our own lives ? in this fiction can be found much truth . +the setting is small town in scotland on the coldest day of the year . +it's so frigid that the sea has begun to freeze over . +the onshore wind cuts like a knife and snow blankets the beach , giving the terrain an alien appearance . +it is against this backdrop that the relationships of the film are captured . +there are four pairings , and , although there is some interaction between the different twosomes , the winter guest's focus is on the dynamics internal to each relationship . +the first , meatiest pairing is that of elspeth ( phylida law ) and her recently-widowed daughter , frances ( emma thompson ) . +these two have a stormy relationship . +they love each other deeply , but both are stubborn and willful , and neither is willing to admit that they need the other . +much of their interaction is argumentative , but , during the course of a long walk to the frozen shoreline , they come to an unspoken understanding of how much each means to the other . +frances' adult son , alex ( gary hollywood ) , is a lonely young man who has been caring for his mother since the death of his father . +on this day , he meets a girl , nita ( arlene cockburn ) , who has secretly been spying on him for weeks . +although their first encounter is antagonistic ( she throws a snowball at him ) , both quickly become aware of an undeniable attraction . +once they retire to a place where they can be alone , however , things don't go exactly as planned . +lily ( sheila reid ) and chloe ( sandra voe ) are a couple of old friends who are frequent funeral attendees . +death is a topic of endless fascination for them , perhaps because they are so close to it , and they spend their spare time scanning the obituaries , looking for the next funeral or cremation in the area . +it doesn't matter whether or not they knew the deceased . +it's the ceremony that they're interested in . +sam ( douglas murphy ) and tom ( sean biggerstaff ) , a pair of schoolboy chums , are spending this cold february day cutting classes and hanging out at the beach , horsing around , building a small fire for warmth , and walking on the frozen water . +unlike lily and chloe , these two have their entire lives ahead of them . +they are young enough to still believe in magic , but old enough to recognize that the process of crossing into adulthood robs life of the simple joy that only children can experience . +the acting is strong and believable . +the mixture of veteran performers and first-timers is effective , with the most successful choice being the casting of real-life mother and daughter phylida law and emma thompson in the most prominent roles . +there is a chemistry in their interaction that would be hard to replicate with two different , non-related actors . +and , of course , the physical resemblance makes it that much easier to accept elspeth and frances as parent and child . +the winter guest began its life as a stage play in 1995 , with rickman as the director . +four of the film's principals , phylida law , arlene cockburn , sheila reid , and sandra voe , appeared in the theatrical version before moving to the film . +unlike several recent motion pictures adapted from plays , the winter guest has been successfully opened up . +the rough , bleak scottish countryside becomes as much of a character as any of the eight humans . +in fact , considering how important the climate is to every relationship under rickman's microscope , it could be argued that this is the single most important element of the movie . +if you appreciate character studies , the winter guest is a solid effort with enough power to stay with you after you have left the theater . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv778_17330.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv778_17330.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b3c3e2c3457f277dddea93e09d05f2f749744a20 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv778_17330.txt @@ -0,0 +1,33 @@ +i want to correct what i wrote last year in my retrospective of david lean's war picture . +i still think that " the bridge on the river kwai " doesn't deserve being the number 13 in the american film institute's list of the 100 greatest american movies . +and i think that " 12 angry men " , " witness for the prosecution " and " paths of glory " would have been better choices for the oscar for the best picture of 1957 . +but i can't deny the importance of " the bridge on the river kwai " - cinematically and in its contents . +the film is set in burma in 1943 . +a batallion of british soldiers in japanese war captivity is forced by the japanese to build a strategically momentous railway bridge over the river kwai . +but the british commanding officer , colonel nicholson ( alec guinness ) , insists - corresponding to the geneva conventions - that his officers needn't work as simple workmen . +struggling toughly , col . nicholson forces the japanese commandant , col . saito ( sessue hayakawa ) , to give way in this respect . +afterwards col . nicholson assiduously commits himself for the building of the bridge . +he considers it an opportunity to raise his men's morale , and he wants to prove superior british capabilities to the japanese . +but the british high command sends a few soldiers who shall destroy the bridge , among them the american shears ( william holden ) - an escapee from the japanese prison camp - and the british major warden ( jack hawkins ) . . . +a flaw of the picture is the clich ? d characterization of the japanese people . +they are presented as if they were intellectually inferior to the british - as if the japanese were incapable of building a bridge . +and the film doesn't consistently question the military spirit as kubrick does in " paths of glory " . +lean seems rather fascinated by the military hierarchies . +this is also perceptible in the conversations between col . nicholson and col . saito . +in this regard it is symptomatic that shears , who doubts the military logic , is presented as a somehow unpleasant person . +the audience is supposed to applaud col . nicholson's perseverance concerning the question if his officers shall work on the bridge or not . +the spectators are supposed to neglect the risks col . nicholson takes for his men . + ( the plot by-passes these risks . ) +that means , the picture isn't perfect . +but it has a lot of virtues as well . + " the bridge on the river kwai " shows the " madness " of war and what it can produce in people's minds . +it shows how colonel nicholson becomes possessed by the idea of being a hero and that others ( like shears ) get cynics . +and lean's film is an interesting study of characters with clashing interests . +these points and the sometimes ironic dialogue make this film an anti-war film ( despite inconsistencies in the treatment of this theme ) . +david lean's direction is really effective and atmospherically perfect . +his film is highly suspenseful , especially in its dramatic ( if not wholly plausible ) showdown . +the film is also well-photographed and has an apt score . +alec guinness does a magnificent job of bringing col . nicholson to life and making him such an interesting character . +the other actors deliver fine performances as well . +i like this extraordinary film despite its weaknesses . + ( c ) karl rackwitz ( klein k ? ris , germany , 1999 ) diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv780_7984.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv780_7984.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..82fc42e06c419d0d55199cd0e84690059d4bd5f9 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv780_7984.txt @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +note : some may consider portions of the following text to be spoilers . +be forewarned . +the teaser trailers for my best friend's wedding scarsely gave reason for hope - it looked like the sort of goofy , light-hearted comedy than might put julia roberts back in the limelight , but little more ; i'd frankly rarely seen a trailer place such an emphasis on people falling over for laughs so often . +it was then to both my surprise and my delight to find that my best friend's wedding was such a success - a strong , bouyant romantic-comedy with some decidedly unconventionally quirky comic aspects , featuring a triumphant performance from ms . roberts . +the heroine of my best friend's wedding is julianne potter ( julia roberts ) , a successful new york restaurant critic , and we open the film with a whimsical revelation to her editor george downes ( rupert everett ) that years ago , she had made a pact with her dear best friend and ex-lover michael o'neal ( dermot mulroney ) , a sports writer , that if they both hadn't married by the time they reached 28 , they had promised to marry each other . +both julianne and michael are both single , of course , and when george inquires about michael's age , julianne realizes that he's mere weeks away from his 28th birthday , and is quite distressed when she receives a phone call from michael later that day . +however , she finds herself even more distraught when michael's call is in regards to his impending marriage to heiress kimmy wallace ( cameron diaz ) , and when he asks julianne to fly down to chicago for the wedding , julianne suddenly realizes that she loves michael , and resolves to break up the wedding and steal the groom by any means necessary . +the setup for my best friend's wedding , then , is a fairly conventional one , and in many ways the film's storyline is formulaic - but only to a certain extent : the film was directed by p . j . hogan , whose first feature , muriel's wedding , had quite an offbeat tone for a traditional uplifting ugly-duckling story , and the same holds true for my best friend's wedding , which confidently combines traditional romantic-comedy elements with a really eccentric sense of humour . +the film is innundated with sly mischievousness which seems clearly the influence of mr . hogan . +for example , there's a heartfelt , emotional exchange between julianne and michael late in the film - with a trio of teenagers , inhaling helium and sounding every bit like alvin and the chipmunks , harmonizing in the background . +my best friend's wedding opens with an inspired opening credit sequence which sets the tone for the film , and there are scenes where actors spontaneously burst into song to good comic effect - it could almost be argued that this film is nearly as much of a musical as woody allen's everyone says i love you ; i'd even assert it's a more successful one . +my best friend's wedding keeps breaking conventionality with its characters as well . +in a typical romantic-comedy , kimmy would be portrayed as a snooty , conniving ice queen , and the audience would be cheering for julianne to rescue michael from her grasps ; this film is smarter than that - here , kimmy is sweet , sincere , and innocent ; julianne even admits at one point that had she not resolved to utterly destroy kimmy's life , she'd actually like her too . +the george character is almost a staple of recent film - the homosexual male friend of the heroine who acts as a confidant and provides the guiding voice of reason - but in my best friend's wedding , he gets to have a playful , mischievous and charming personality . +throughout the film , the formulaisms one often sees is romantic-comedy are given little twists , and the result is a film which is compelling all the way to its somewhat unorthodox conclusion . +there is a lot of smart writing in the well-paced screenplay by ronald bass ; we're given four interesting , vivid , and likeable characters , with some good dialogue and some genuinely charming and touching moments . +my best friend's wedding marks a strong career rebound for julia roberts , who turns in a top-notch , confident and reassured performance as julianne . +this isn't the sort of role one usually associates with ms . roberts - the julianne character's neurotic , fumbling characteristics are more in line with a meg ryan role - but ms . roberts works wonderfully in the film and demonstrates her aptitude at comedy here , remaining compelling and empathetic to the audience , if not entirely sympathetic , even when her deeds done to destroy the wedding plans of her best friend are less than honourable . +even better than ms . roberts though is cameron diaz , who turns in a shining performance in my best friend's weddding . +with a smile which lights up the screen , she effectively conveys kimmy's insecurity and utter sweetness in an endearing manner , and never hits a false note in the film . +she even sings - i won't soon forget her charming serenade of " i just don't know what to do with myself " . +rupert everett is given a very juicy role as george , and he makes the most of it with a hilarious turn which makes his character perhaps the most vivid and most memorable in the film . +his george is a bit of a devilish rogue , entirely affable , and mr . everett's performance is a delight to watch ; he's clearly having fun , and his joy is infectuous . +dermot mulroney is adequate in a thankless role - unlike the other characters in the film , he's not given a lot to do , but there is a genuine onscreen chemistry between ms . roberts and mr . mulroney , and consequently the longstanding friendship between his michael character and the julianne character always seemed completely authentic . +when julia roberts' lustre began to fade , and she was usurped from her title as " america's sweetheart " by sandra bullock , i thought it was a canny career move on her part to take supporting roles in prestige projects like michael collins and everyone says i love you to raise her profile . +while that didn't quite work out , it's near-certain that her successful return to the genre which made her a big star back in 1990 , the romantic-comedy , will once again raise her ante in the hollywood game . +my best friend's wedding marks a return to form for ms . roberts , and cements p . j . hogan's reputation as a skilled director of comedy . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv781_5262.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv781_5262.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1c7dac82d86e927fa4f3c4fac38ee7b2e813afcf --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv781_5262.txt @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@ +robocop is an intelligent science fiction thriller and social satire , one with class and style . +the film , set in old detroit in the year 1991 , stars peter weller as murphy , a lieutenant on the city's police force . +1991's detroit suffers from rampant crime and a police department run by a private contractor ( security concepts inc . ) whose employees ( the cops ) are threatening to strike . +to make matters worse , a savage group of cop-killers has been terrorizing the city . +on murphy's first day of duty , after his transfer from another precinct , these cop-killers brutally murder him by shooting off his limbs one by one . + ( orion pictures had to edit this extremely graphic scene in order to get an r rating from the m . p . a . a . ) +after the emergency room staff at the hospital cannot save murphy and declare him clinically dead , s . c . i . +recruits his remains for their new " robocop " program . +using the remains of murphy's body as a foundation , their scientists build a cyborg , made of both flesh and metal . +the cyborg ( robocop ) is half human ( murphy ) and half robot ; the s . c . i . +engineers have erased murphy's memory and replaced it with a computer program ( or so they think ) . +with his lightning quick reflexes , immense strength , and impenetrable armor , s . c . i . +envisions robocop as an indestructible super-cop : the solution to detroit's problems . +the remainder of the plot follows robocop's crime-foiling and vengeance on his murderers . +as a science fiction action-thriller , robocop is extremely effective . +dutch director paul verhoeven combines gritty action with suspense , shocking gore , and spectacular special effects . +several sequences in the film , such as the one in which robocop employs his extremely precise aim to stop a rapist , are destined to become cult-classics . +because robocop is so visually and emotionally rousing , it demands to be seen on a large screen with an audience--in other words , in a movie theater . +although the special effects and action are exciting , they do not by themselves set robocop apart from other films in the genre . +rather , robocop stands out for its accurate and biting satire of american society . +the movie makes a mockery of the star wars defense initiative , terrorism , board games , and television news broadcasts with air-headed anchors . +these news broadcasts , which are exceptionally clever , recur periodically throughout the movie and help to provide comic relief from the intense action and gore . +the satire in robocop , however , is almost as frightening in its own way as the suspense and blood . +1990's america , as portrayed in the film , may seem far fetched but is in actuality ( i think ) only a slight exaggeration of the current state of american society . +the humorous satire in robocop is simultaneously credible and absurd . +verhoeven adroitly balances the satirical comedy with the gory action to create an entertaining and enlightening piece of science fiction/social commentary . +unfortunately , robocop possesses several flaws which prevent it from qualifying as a classic within the genre . +the movie lacks the lasting impact of such films as the road warrior , the terminator , and aliens . +robocop's main problem , aside from its dumb title , is that it does not sufficiently develop murphy's character . +we never learn the degree to which murphy ( as robocop ) is human and the degree to which he is a robot . +does murphy have any human spirit or free will left , or is he merely a computer following a program ? +the script halfheartedly raises these issues but then abandons them in its climactic flurry of gory action . +moreover , it almost completely ignores the question ( and tragedy ) of denying a man his right to die in favor of turning him into a machine . +robocop also contains several bothersome loose-ends . +as you watch robocop , you experience deja vu ; you feel as if you have seen the film before . +in many respects , robocop is reminiscent of several other films , including the terminator , return of the jedi , and even death wish . +however , to its credit , robocop easily has enough originality and unique personality to avoid becoming a cheap rip-off . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv782_19526.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv782_19526.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b7331bc9df02da7e8a6942f7d77deb50f7381f82 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv782_19526.txt @@ -0,0 +1,43 @@ +probably the most popular and praised film of all time , turned out to be a primitive and predictable costume drama with a dose of social criticism . +everyone knows about the greatest and most famous shipping disaster of all time . +and the actual catastrophe is masterfully crafted by director james cameron , combining visual -and sound effects , he re-creates the frightening atmosphere of the sinking ship in the middle of nowhere . +i liked very much the emotional and brutal contrast between the first and the third classes . +while their cabin is slowly filling up with water , a mother is telling her children a fairytail -- " . . and +they lived happily ever after . . " . +and then the ship goes down and the few survivors are left alone under the stars and the chilling air . +however , the actual disaster is happening almost at the end of the movie , while the first two hours are just beautiful sets and bad dialogues . +in the present day , the rms titanic is explored by brock lovett ( bill paxton ) , a treasure seeker looking for the coeur de la mer diamond , lost during the sinking . +somewhere inside the ship , lovett's crew discover a sketchbook of an artist long dead . +here , in the shape of a nude young lady , is a window into the distant age of 1912 . +lovett is extremely surprised when he get's a phone call from rose dawson , claiming that she is a model . +she is immediately helicoptered onto the vessel , and she gets the first glimpse of the fated ship in 80 years . +as the memories come flooding back , she once again becomes rose dewitt buketer ( kate winslet ) , the fianc ? e of wealthy cal hockley ( billy zane ) and daughter of ruth dewitt bukater ( frances fisher ) . +on board there are rich and poor , everyone trust in the ship's designer ( jonathan hyde ) and her master , captain e . j . +smith ( bernard hill ) . +on board the ship , rose , unhappy and restless meets jack ( leonardo dicaprio ) - a young american artist , poor , brave and attractive . +a love story slowly emerges and the two lovers must not only experience the difference between the social classes , but also face the greatest power on earth - death . +cameron could as well have called his picture " the never ending love " or " love at first sight " , as he concentrates all his energy on the young couple , and not on the disaster itself . +the plot is anything but original and the dialogues sometimes resemble a television soap-opera . +the director doesn't even try to overcome his empty script . +because of its primitive and predictable plot , titanic is totally depending on the visuals that truly are breathtaking . +russel carpenter's rich , majestic and incredibly detailed cinematography is certainly award-worthy . +everything from art direction to visual and sound effects are a top notch . +but it doesn't help much when the costumes are more convincing than the actors who wear them . +the actors are not to blame , because their characters are more like caricatures , in other words - fake . +jack is a man with many talents : he is a talented artist , handsome , brave , honest , strong , funny . . . you +name it . +he doesn't have any dark side , he doesn't make any mistakes , that for a second would make him human . +jack is perfect , but he is - poor . +on the other hand we have cal . +he is a bastard that treats rose as an odalisque and not as his wife-to-be . +he lacks everything jack possesses , but he is -- rich . +this childish contrast between the social classes is one of those things that makes titanic nothing more than a mediocre picture . +cameron knows precisely what we want to see . +his film therefore contains certain minimums to draw an audience - attractive actors , a " tragic love story " , beautiful visuals ( including expensive special effects ) , a dose of social criticism , a fascinating historical event ( we love true stories ) and last , but not least - an incredible media support , which proclaimed an average picture the " greatest film of all time " . +on the outside titanic looks perfect , but behind that sparkling curtain of incredible visuals - is emptiness - nothing to think about . +the main weakness of this film , which ironically became its success , is simplicity . +cameron enables our basic and if you wish - primitive emotions : love , hate , fear and helplessness . +everyone understands the power of love and the threat to our beautiful couple is likewise imaginable - a sinking ship . +titanic is a typical hollywood production , totally and completely dependent on visual perfection to hide its primitive plot . +it's a good picture , but absolutely not a masterpiece . +it's among hundreds and thousands good films released every year , not better or worse than the average american film . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv784_14394.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv784_14394.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c1aa4f9e1642e14f5241c7a027f617668fa9143d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv784_14394.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +it's no secret in the motion picture industry that the relationship between a script and the actors involved often makes or breaks a movie at the box office . +a poorly-written script can be bested by a superb acting corps , and a well-written piece can be mangled by a group of amateurs . +in directing his latest action-comedy , director brett ratner ( money talks ) takes a relatively mediocre piece of standup comedy and turns it into a funny as all get-out buddy cop movie . +in addition , rush hour serves as a first-class example of directing a movie with conservative attitude - a feature that is sure to draw in crowds of all types . +the two lead names share equal screen time here , mostly because they spend it together . +jackie chan , in his first completely american production , makes an impressive debut by mixing dialogue with martial arts . +the other martial arts flick from a few weeks ago , knock off , stands no chance against the content of this one . +chan manages to make every fight scene exude grace and poise , and there's no doubt that a large percentage of video sales for this movie will come from viewers who couldn't believe their eyes the first time . +chris tucker , on the opposite side , relates a hilarious comedic approach which smoothes out the rough edges to chan's performance . +he works perfectly with the script , and it's quite likely he lent scribe jim kouf a hand with some of his lines . +almost essential to the action genre , the plot is nonexistent . +we're quickly introduced to detective james carter ( tucker ) is a maverick officer for the lapd . +cut forward to another scene where the daughter ( julia hsu ) of the american chinese consul ( tzi ma ) is kidnapped by a gang of swarthy characters . +the fbi is quick to the rescue , but the consul insists that one of his men , detective inspector lee ( chan ) , be brought on the case to help . +the fbi resists , but then requests that lapd send a man over to babysit the chinese detective . +it's here that carter and lee hook up , and the two unwittingly solve the case while the fbi rushes in to back them up . +rattner does a fine job of going the extra mile to get his movie to move a step up , but it doesn't quite reach the top tier of action-comedies like last year's grosse pointe blank . +there are moments where the plot strays too far off the straight line it sticks almost exclusively to , and if not for the comedic interactions between tucker and chan , this might be a major drawback . +also , some supporting characters are almost entirely along for the ride , and others are there simply to look menacing . +however , none gives a standoffish performance and they mostly mesh into the background . +almost every member of the cast displays some reservation at one point or another - whether it's tucker's toned-down routine or chan's tight rein on his action sequences - and that contributes greatly to this being a watchable movie for all types . +a recommendable visit to the theater , indeed . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv785_22600.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv785_22600.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ef59375fdf52945985205b5645da41a19550ffb5 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv785_22600.txt @@ -0,0 +1,44 @@ +when andy leaves for cowboy camp , his mother holds a yard sale and scrounges in his room for old toys . +one of these toys is wheezy , a penguin with a broken squeaker . +woody ( tom hanks ) saddles up andy's dog and rides out into the yard to rescue wheezy . +woody succeeds in his mission , but doesn't make it back to the house before al , the unscrupulous owner of al's toy barn , recognizes woody as a rare collector's item and steals him . +buzz lightyear ( tim allen ) leads hamm ( john ratzenberger ) , mr . potato head ( don rickles ) , slinky dog ( jim varney ) , and rex ( wallace shawn ) into the city to find their friend . +meanwhile woody discovers the reason he was kidnapped . +al has collected every piece of merchandising from the 1950's tv puppet show " woody's round-up " except for a woody doll . +now that the collection is complete , al plans to sell woody and his round-up gang-bullseye the horse , jessie the cowgirl ( joan cusack ) , and stinky pete the old prospector ( kelsey grammer ) -to a toy museum in japan . +the gang is happy about the move ; they've been in storage for years waiting for woody . +if woody doesn't go with them , they'll be closed up in a dark box again , possibly forever . +trying to convince him to stay with them , jessie tells woody how she was abandoned when her owner grew up , and woody realizes that his days as a beloved toy are numbered . +while woody ponders whether to go to japan or to go home to andy , buzz and the boys invade al's toy barn , where the buzz we know is replaced by another buzz who doesn't know he's a toy . +the new buzz generates the movie's biggest laughs as he leads the other toys in an assault on " zurg's fortress " ( i . e . , al's apartment building ) . +the original " toy story " won me over because its central themes reflected a grown-up sensibility rather than the usual this-is-what-we-think-kids-want-to-hear . +while most kids' movies take the position that every person is special and has an extraordinary destiny to fulfill , in " toy story " buzz discovered that he wasn't special , that he was just like everyone else . +buzz sank into a suicidal depression , but woody showed buzz that being a toy was worthwhile because a toy is loved and a toy makes a child happy . +in other words , it's okay to be ordinary if you have love and a purpose in your life . +most of us probably come to the same conclusion when we realize that we're not space rangers and we're never going to be . + " toy story 2 " addresses the question raised by the conclusion drawn by the first movie . +woody is forced to recognize that andy will grow up and forget him and that he will likely be discarded , abandoned , or sealed up in a dark box in the attic . +this is another big grown-up theme : everything ends . +the theme is introduced early in the movie when woody's arm is torn and andy places him on a shelf rather than taking him to cowboy camp . +on the shelf , woody meets wheezy , who's dusty , broken , and forgotten . +the other toys are shocked that woody has been " shelved , " and they worry that woody's ride out to the 25-cent box at the yard sale is a suicide attempt . +after he's stolen , woody has to decide between a long life in a display case and an uncertain future with andy and his pals . +of course , in spite of the heavy themes " toy story 2 " explores , it's also very funny . +most of the laughs come from the toys' assault on al's toy barn and on the apartment building . +the brief substitution of a new , still delusional buzz was a welcome surprise ; i'd wondered how a sequel could be as funny as the original without the pompous attitude buzz displayed in the original . +most of the vocal performances are first-rate . +tom hanks stands out for the level of enthusiasm he puts into his work . +however , one voice-over also stands out as horribly miscast . +kelsey grammer sounds nothing like an old prospector . +although he does a lot of voice-over work in commercials and on " the simpsons " ( as sideshow bob ) , grammer only makes slight variations on his own voice . +he doesn't have the range to pull off a role like stinky pete . +the animation is even better than in the first . +especially impressive were the textures of the figures . +we can now see the difference between flesh and plastic ; in the first movie the people looked just like the toys , but now human skin looks soft and has a slight bluish tint . +we can also see that bo peep is porcelain . +as you can tell from the long-winded phrasing common in the merchandising -- " disney and pixar's 'toy story 2' " -- this is pixar's coming out party . +to celebrate they appended their first project , a hilarious short about two desklamps and a rubber ball , to the beginning of the movie . +they made the short in 1986 , which is incredible when one considers the relatively primitive level of computer technology available then . +on the downside , " toy story 2 " follows the formula of the original so closely that the sequel comes off a bit stale , and some sections tend to drag . +overall , though , i had a great time and found " story 2 " to be a worthy successor to the first " toy story . " +bottom line : this one really is fun for the whole family ! diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv786_22497.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv786_22497.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3b7c19f02171569d4da73fd541576ac5749f8d37 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv786_22497.txt @@ -0,0 +1,33 @@ +david lynch's " blue velvet " begins and ends with colorful , bright shots of flowers and happy americans mowing their lawns in a seemingly perfect american town . +however , what lies inside this nominally safe atmosphere is a " strange world " of drug dealers , sadists , and murderers . +the opening and closing shots are a wonderful contrast to the rest of the gloomy , disturbing film . +they show not to make assumptions from first glance and that oddness is common in all places under all circumstances . +odd would be a perfect adjective to describe this film , its characters , its direction , and its story . +thankfully , the obscurity that " blue velvet " relies on is enough to make this film enjoyable . +since its elements are so originally weird , you never know what will happen next . +this is the main goal of a movie ; to be spontaneous and surprising . + " blue velvet " miracuously succeeds at this even though it contains mediocre acting . +lynch creates such a hypnotic world that it is hard to resist his style of story telling . +the film starts off with the discovery of a severed ear by a college boy ( kyle maclachlan ) . +from this point maclachlan finds himself involved with a lounge singer ( isabella rossellinia ) who has lost her son and husband to a kidnapping . +the plot is much more detailed than the aforementioned and this is what makes david lynch's story telling so amazing . +maclachlan becomes involved in a forbidden relationship , in another relationship that could have been taken straight out of a high school flick , and he is put into the shoes of a drug dealer who has some wild adventures with some wild friends . +through these multiple stories , maclachlan lives multiple lives and as we follow maclachlan , we are introduced to a variety of interesting subplots . +lynch masterfully builds these subplots but he does not piece them all together in the very end and make a convenient crowd pleasing conclusion . +instead he leaves some ambiguity and forces those curious enough to get the real meaning to watch the film several several times . +lynch has been known to do this with a number of his films meaning he may be too esoteric for some hoping to get a hollywood ending where the good guy gets the girl and everything turns out fine . +however , for fans of odd difficult indies , " blue velvet " could be just what they are looking for . +it is very hard to discuss " blue velvet " without discussing the performance of dennis hopper's sadistic frank . +most of the other actors in the film were not very memorable . +kyle maclachlan lacked one important aspect for his role , a personality . +laura dern was consistently annoying . +but dennis hopper stole every scene he was in . +his evil character was just plain old frightening in his mannerisms from his obsession to velvet to his incessant breathing from a gas mask . +frank is a character that comes along once in a blue moon . +many producers know this and have inevitably begun to typecast hopper as the bad guy . +just like his villain in " speed " , hopper is over the edge with cursing and screaming every chance he has to speak . +this harshness is exactly what frank is , so weird and twisted that it is hard not to look at him , even if he theatens you to look away . + " blue velvet " has characters and stories you will never see in a movie again . +for this sole reason it is recommended . +but also see it to admire lynch's obsession to avoid the norm . +even if this film is a little too weird for you , it's hard not to congratulate a guy for trying something new and sticking to it . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv787_13743.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv787_13743.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2c1d85764770b14eedf1c270faf766a6d07ffe99 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv787_13743.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +if chris farley had strapped some fake mutton-chop sideburns to each side of his head , spoken with a thick irish accent , and tried his damnedest to play it straight , he wouldn't have been nearly as funny as brendan gleeson in " i went down . " +gleeson , who's not dissimilar to the late " saturday night live " alumnus in terms of physical attributes , plays a character named bunny kelly in this delightful irish film . +bunny is sent to county cork to " retrieve " one frank grogan for an irish gangster called tom french ( well dressed like all good gangsters should be and menacingly portrayed by tony doyle ) . +bunny is to accompany git hynes ( peter mcdonald ) , recently released from prison and obligated to tom for disfiguring one of his cronies . +that tom french is a mean bollocks . +he wants frank back . +and a small matter of some ? 25 , 000 that tom's wife was supposed to have given to frank . +for this he won't break anyone's thumbs . +maybe . +inventively and engagingly written by conor mcpherson and directed by paddy breathnach , " i went down " follows the trials and tribulations of git and bunny as they knock around peat bogs , dimly-lit pubs , and seedy hostelries trying to stay alive and out of trouble . +mcdonald is a newcomer and a promising one at that , but gleeson has been in over a dozen movies , most recently as father bubbles in another film with a very irish accent on hilarity , " the butcher boy . " +even if you can't comprehend half of what they're saying , gleeson and mcdonald together make " i went down " a trip worth taking . +the film is in many ways reminiscent of another " little " independent feature , 1991's " highway 61 . " +that film , too , was a road movie and it shares the same kind of wry dialogue and humorous situations as mcpherson's tale : whimsical observations on life , carefully-crafted vignettes , deadpan conversational asides , and scenes that'll make you laugh out loud . +witness the episode in which our good-natured protagonists bind frank ( played by peter caffrey ) to a hotel bed , leaving him with only the tv remote for company . +that sequence alone is on a par with satan locking himself out of his car in " highway 61 . " +what's also charming about " i went down " is how the relationship between buddy and git develops . +their trip becomes an education for both of them , but the way it's handled is neither sappy nor labored . +the only thing in the film which approaches clunkiness is the culminating explanation , via flashbacks , of the relationship between frank and tom . +it's a little too hollywood , and what makes " i went down " so refreshing is the fact that it rarely panders to traditional conventions of hollywood gangster movies . +sure it's gritty--make that grubby--but it's also pretty goofy . +although " i went down " emphasizes the comedic elements of dis-organized crime , there are a couple of fairly brutal scenes in keeping with the subject matter . +don't let these deter you , though ; " i went down " is a little gem . +it's only playing at one philadelphia-area theater--and i suspect it won't be there for long--so catch it while you can . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv788_25272.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv788_25272.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b4040054724624b6574a9262c9aa2cd853c4ef05 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv788_25272.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ + " you leave little notes on my pillow . +i told you a million times i can't stand little notes on my pillow . +'we are all out of corn flakes - f . u . ' +it took me three hours to figure out that 'f . u . ' was felix unger . " +--- a frustrated oscar madison ( walter matthau ) running down a list of his complaints against his roommate felix unger ( jack lemmon ) , in the odd couple . +the classic neil simon comedy ( based on his own stage play ) about suicidal felix ( lemmon ) , who is persuaded by his poker friend oscar ( matthau ) to stay with him in his apartment after felix's wife throws him out and files for divorce . +the hook : oscar is messy and likes his apartment that way , while felix is an obsessive/compulsive neat freak . +the two men , despite their friendship , instantly clash . +movies just aren't as delightfully funny as this one is . +every line of neil simon's dialogue flows like comedic poetry , and all the actors are just perfect in their performances . +lemmon is at his best as the anxiety ridden felix , but it's matthau who shines brightest as oscar , whose world is being invaded and rearranged , mostly against his wishes ( the type of character i always enjoy identifying with ) . +and who can forget that catchy score by neal hefti ? +the best thing about the film ( and this is a testament to the quality of the writing ) is that it's a comedy with substance . +these two men , even while at each other's throats , genuinely care for one another as friends . +when they clash , it isn't cartoonish hatred being displayed , but genuine frustration with the fact that they are such good friends but just cannot manage to co-exist . +movies nowadays , take grumpy old men for example , just don't have that extra spark there . +these days it's just animosity for the sake of comedy . +a television series followed ( starring jack klugman and tony randall ) , which i'll admit i've never seen an episode of in its entirety , and neil simon even scripted the sequel , the odd couple ii , which was released in 1998 . +neither of them compare to this comic masterpiece though . +it's one of the best comedies of all time and easily earns its spot in my top ten favorite films . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv789_12136.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv789_12136.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e3653f3879b1d25c05c7e256a69c1fca7c56e50a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv789_12136.txt @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +ingredients : lost parrot trying to get home , friends +synopsis : a russian janitor named misha ( tony shalhoub ) discovers a little old parrot languishing in the basement of a science research facility . + " paulie the talking parrot " ( the voice of jay mohr ) soon regales misha with his life story . +as a young bird paulie is raised by marie ( hallie kate eisenberg ) , a little girl with a speech impediment . +by attending marie's speech lessons , paulie learns to act/speak like a regular person . +unfortunately , after being unfairly blamed for an accident , paulie is taken to a pawn shop and sold . +paulie's biggest wish is to return to marie . +many years later , and after a succession of memorable owners ( gena rowlands , cheech marin , and jay mohr ) , paulie falls in with a bad crowd and is apprehended in los angeles trying to steal jewelry . +he is sent to a cruel research facility , where he refuses to participate and is imprisoned the basement . +will misha help paulie get back to marie ? +opinion : every time people watch movies that portray animals as beings with cute human personalities , some well-meaning audience members go out next christmas or birthday and buy a dalmatian or whatever creature is currently popular . +soon enough , " birthday kid " loses interest and the purchased pup ends up at the local pound , a victim of neglect . +my sister owns a real paulie : it thinks like a parrot , bites like a parrot , and requires as much attention as a newborn human infant . +please think twice before buying one . +okay . back to the story . +in movies , parrots usually play support characters , but paulie might be the first movie where the ( animatronic ) bird gets main billing . +paulie , like those side characters in disney cartoons , is cute and sassy , a strutting , miniature human . +actually , paulie is the voice of jay mohr ( he played jennifer aniston's boyfriend on picture perfect ) doing his best buddy hackett impression ( which is interesting , since hackett himself cameos as the pawn shop owner , and mohr doubles as a customer ) . +paulie is for kids . +while watching paulie you hear little tykes in the theater laughing hysterically when paulie calls the cat a " stupid furball . " +sometimes , however , there are statements the kids don't get . +for example , when paulie's elderly owner ivy ( gena rowlands ) dies , paulie explains , " well , one day , the cat got her . " +and you hear kids exclaim , " what cat ? ! " +imagine lassie come home , except with a doll-sized human dressed as a bird , and you'll have a good idea of the plot and characterization . +bird tries to get home . +bird meets elderly friend . +bird loses elderly friend . +bird meets eccentric friend . +bird loses eccentric friend . +bird meets bad influence . +and so on and so forth , with paulie meeting friends and saying goodbye at a meandering pace until he finally makes it back to marie ( trini alvarado ) . +the bottom line ? +break out the popcorn money , moms and dads . +paulie may be the low end version of lassie , bambi , or babe , but he'll do . +sometimes the wisecracks go over their heads , but i'm sure youngsters can appreciate a story about a little person ( paulie ) trying to get home , meeting friends and experiencing moral lessons on the way . +and good luck explaining what it means when paulie says of ivy , " well , one day , the cat got her . " diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv790_14600.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv790_14600.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..777877ac88ee6e651452eed8c97c5ad5b111f816 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv790_14600.txt @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@ +tempe mills cinema , az--this movie had us in non-stop stitches from beginning to end . +all those promotional clips that have been on tv for the past month came from the first five minutes of the movie . +if you thought they were funny , see the rest of the movie . +it's hilarious . +how does one go about making a movie about a couple guys whose only claim to fame is synchronized head-bopping on snl to exactly one song ? +easy . +write an interesting script around tried-and-true ideas , add some good lines and satire , and voil ? , you end up with an excellent , well-done , very entertaining flick . +will and chris are idiot brothers forced by their father to work begrudgingly in the family flower business during the day . +at night they pursue their life-long ambition to loose their virginity in failed attempts to get into the roxbury in beverly hills , ca , the only disco act worth going to . +the only problem , the place is so popular and the waiting line so long that by the time the brothers make it to the front door , the roxbury closes , all the while bearing witness to guys with one-hundred-dollar bills and movie stars like richard grieco who get past the doorman without fuss . +the script authors ( steve koren , will ferrell and chris kattan ) cleverly devised a way for our boys to get into the roxbury . +their flower-shop van is rear-ended by richard grieco , who fears a law-suit and is surprised to see the idiots are too star-struck to think about the car accident they just had , but not about getting into the roxbury . +grieco happily takes them in , even introduces them to the owner , which has the added benefit of enhancing the financial appearance of the idiot brothers in the eyes of a couple of gold diggers ( elisa donovan and gigi rice ) who bet their time and bodies on will and chris . +what follows are some of the best slap-stick dancing routines ever . +the music is superb , and could have only been made better had the producers added patrick hernandez's born to be alive . +the choreography at times was a parody of an era gone by , for example , the bee gees and their stayin' alive . +it is nostalgic for those of us who remember that far back , and the technique is a clever adaptation that worked well in forest gump . +one of the funniest scenes is when the gold diggers discover that will +and chris don't have any mone y , and dump both on the spot , even expressing violence and anger that they gave sex away . +an art-imitates-life poke at shallow women . +it's a scene that's an approximate parody of the vinegar's own rolf luedeke's editorial this week national organization for men ( nom ) replaces now . +ted " unabomber " +kaczynski , himself rejected for not having money , will identify well with this scene , if he ever watches the movie . +of course , the script wouldn't be complicated enough without adding molly shannon , the girl next door who has had a crush on will since they were kids , and who will has had an aversion to in quest of good-looking disco blondes ( proof that men will turn down perfectly good women when there are bay watch babes always lurking nearby ) . +nevertheless , will's father wants him to marry molly anyway , but thinks idiot chris is standing in the way and sends him into guest-quarter exile . +during the wedding ceremony , will's heart isn't exactly into getting married , and when his brother appears on the balcony with a ghetto blaster and more head-bopping music , will thinks worse of the knot-tieing idea and runs to chris . +definitely an snl parody of the graduate where katharine ross changed her mind for the screaming dustin hoffman in the church balcony . +i found this scene a riot , however , it went over brandi's head -- she was born seven years after the graduate first appeared . +the scene has a good punch line when molly shannon marries , instead , the step-in buddy/weight-lifter ( who looks like he could pass for the son of gary busy ) and who has been lusting for a good-looker for a long time , but ready now to take anyone . +more art-imitates-life stuff -- not even muscles can substitute for money in the real world . +the idiots' mother is played by loni anderson , whose barbie-doll looks +don't play well anymore ( she's a bit old ) , and whose cleavage looks like someone botched a tracheotomy too low down . +i recommend this movie for anyone who wants to have a lot of fun or in +need of a lot of laughs . +go with a date . +brandi laughed non-stop , as i +did , and a deaf-mute might have concluded i was tickling her continuously for 105 minutes . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv791_16302.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv791_16302.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..fa79c48abf7704c20c1e3920f0fc637beee338d3 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv791_16302.txt @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +there is nothing like american history x in theaters or on video . +no other feature film takes such a cold hard look at the lure , the culture , and the brotherhood of white supremacy . +nice guy ed norton jr . ( who sang in everyone says i love you ) plays derek , a twenty-year old skinhead . +dad's subtle racism grew large in derek , after gang members killed his father . +dad was fighting a fire when they shot him . +now derek keeps his head shaved and has a giant swastika tattooed over his heart . +derek is more interested in the ideas of white supremacy than in its culture of violence . +at a basketball court , black and white tempers flare . +derek channels the aggression into a game , black versus white , for ownership of the courts . +when the choice presents itself , derek goes for game point instead of the sucker-punch . +cameron ( stacy keach ) steps in to derek's life as a surrogate father . +he takes derek under his wing and nurtures his racist feelings . +keeping his own criminal record spotless , he uses derek as a leader and organizer for high-visibility racial intimidation . +derek obliges by leading his younger and dumber friends in race-motivated mob crimes . +at the bottom of the chain , derek's younger brother danny ( edward furlong , made famous in terminator 2 ) joins the skinheads not for ideological or intellectual reasons , but because he admires his brother and he wants to belong . +one night three black youths break into derek's truck , which is exactly what derek has been waiting for . +outside in his shorts and his tattoo , he shoots them all . +the third would-be thief , unarmed , is only wounded . +in the key scene of the film , derek commands the kid into a position where he can be killed with one glorious , enraptured , awful stomp . + ( the fun-spoiling nc-17 of orgazmo seems even more inappropriate , considering american history x was rated r . what sort of country is this that says sex comedies are a bigger threat to our youth than brutal , ecstatic violence ? ) +the police arrive just as derek kills the last thief . +derek does not resist the cops , and as they spin him around to cuff him , the film slows down . +derek raises his eyebrows and smiles at his little brother in a chilling , sadistic , satisfied grin . +now in prison , derek faces new challenges . +as the black man in the laundry tells him , " in the joint , you the nigra , not me . " +there is a clique of swastika-wearing skinheads , but they are not interested in the ideology of white supremacy . +they only use the symbols as a means of intimidation . +derek finds himself truly alone , truly in danger , and truly afraid . +when derek finally gets out of prison , he finds that his friends from the gang have also changed . +without derek's leadership , they have shunned the white supremacist ideology for the white supremacist culture . +it is the final factor that makes him realize how badly he's screwed up . +in the end , he spends quality time with is brother trying to undo the respect and admiration he had earlier inspired in danny . +the film ends a little too deliberately , too neatly after the unchained emotion and violent glee of the rest of the film , but it barely detracts from the overall experience . +edward norton gives an oscar-worthy performance . +although some of his dialogue seemed to be written without enough conviction , norton's performance compensated . + ( an example that comes to mind is his pep talk before looting the store . ) +he also captured the essence of an older brother . +he took his responsibility as a role model to his younger brother very seriously , very lovingly , both before and after his change of heart . +though clearly not for all tastes , this film is bold and daring . +the subject matter is ugly , cruel , and at times hard to look at . +nevertheless its subjects are part of humanity's great face . +kaye gives us a good look at this fascinating , if distasteful , american subculture . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv792_3832.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv792_3832.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8fbbb19927e7ecc6ec9039174a0ee7cad3f1e428 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv792_3832.txt @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +john von neumann , progenitor of the computer age and critically important mathematician on the manhattan project , pointed out long ago that there is a great way to explore the cosmos , even without recourse to faster-than light travel . +you send out self-replicating robot ships which explore and radio back information . +it may take decades , centuries , or millennia , but it can be done with achievable technology , and doesn't require a magical faster-than-light drive . +in the fifties , british astronomer fred hoyle improved on this plan by suggesting that it would be better to radio plans for a complex computer and a program for it ; any civilization capable of receiving the transmission could build the computer , which would then engage in a real-time dialog with the aliens , exchanging information and technologies , and hopefully arranging to send back what it had learned . +about thirty-five years ago , the bbc contracted with astronomer/writer fred hoyle and writer frank elliot to create the scripts for a mini-series called a for andromeda . +afa concerned the reception of a hoyle transmission , the construction of a huge computer , the computer's analysis of life on earth , and its creation of an apparently human intermediary to facilitate communication . +she was played with ethereally inhuman perfection by the then-unknown julie christie . +audience response was so strong that the bbc contracted for a sequel , andromeda breakthrough , which played to equally high ratings . +dennis feldman , whose previous credits include the golden child , has never been noted for coherent , well-structured movie scripts ; they start out great , and then disintegrate into a morass of chase and action , mitigated only by the presence of the obligatory beautiful girl . +feldman writes good scenes , but has no idea how to tell a story or write a movie , even with a previous version to use as a model . +now , in species , we have a mundane retread of the andromeda plotline , derailed by a preoccupation with removing the clothes from the leading lady and further ruined by a mediocre attempt to emulate several recent horror films in terms of splatter , gore , and chases . +species features ben kingsley , who is completely wasted in a badly-written portrayal of a feebly amoral scientist . +forest whitaker and alfred molina are also served poorly by the script . +the species story is relatively simple ; we have been radioing information about ourselves and our dna out into space since 1971 , and have been receiving answers for two years . + ( note that , in the 1970's , we really didn't know diddly about the human genome structure , and were hardly in a position to radio out a set of blueprints for human beings . +even today , all we can do is give information about dna and how it works , not a copy of human dna , because we don't have it analyzed yet . ) +the answers we get from the unknown alien source are plans for recreating a member of the alien race , and doctor xavier finch , played by ben kingsley , is placed in charge of the attempt . +the script begins to go off the deep end at this point , when the result is a beautiful young girl who can shape-shift into any of several ugly alien life forms . +the first half of the film has something to offer , as " sil , " the alien girl , struggles with her multi-form existence , changing from beauty to lizard to giant cockroach and back again , all while trying to understand her own place in the cosmos . +she seems oddly knowledgeable about human society , with glaring gaps where her social skills should be . +her instincts are to mate and procreate , and some of the best scenes deal with her attempts in this area . +escaping from her birth laboratory in utah , sil is pursued by a team of drafted civilians with orders to find her and kill her . +she goes on an eating binge , spins herself a cocoon , and emerges as an adult , played by natasha henstridge , who goes a long way toward re-creating the sheerly inhuman beauty julie christie achieved in 1960 . +the pursuers : michael madsen is an assassin/exterminator ; forrest whitaker is a convenient empath/psychic , just as though the u . s . government actually had such people on call . +neither is able to do much with the writing and directing provided . +whitaker's role seems to be aimed at making whitaker a male copy of star trek : the next generation's " counselor cleavage . " +the other members of the strike team are played by marg helgenberger and alfred molina . +kingsley and whitaker are both consummate professionals , too good to not work to the best of their abilities ; but the performances donaldson elicited from the rest of the cast are disappointing and bland , and it is apparent that the direction was a bit weak . +h . r . giger's design for the main form of the alien creature is actually a bit boring when we finally get to see it , although previous digital effects were done quite smoothly . +the main fault of species is lack of originality ; it starts out with a wonderful , albeit borrowed , premise , and then doesn't live up to it . +all we get are chase scenes and a few nice sex scenes , with a few monsters tossed in . +there is no buildup of tension and suspense , no climax worthy of the name ; species is just a sequence of " scare " scenes stuck together . +the movie is carried by its chase and sex scenes , but not rescued by them . +on the other hand , as an exercise in sci-fi action/ adventure , it certainly beats the ichor out of judge dredd . +species earns an extra rating point or two for having ben kingsley and natasha henstridge on board , but by and large , it's fun only for those of us who really like this sort of thing . +my personal rating is three stars , but knock one or two of those off if you don't enjoy pretty unclothed ladies and bloodthirsty alien monsters . +mpaa classification : r ( violence , gore , nudity , sex , language ) +stars : ben kingsley , michael madsen , forest whitaker , alfred molina , marg helgenberger , natasha henstridge directed by : roger donaldson produced by : frank mancuso jr . and dennis feldman typed by : dennis feldman cinematography : andrzej bartkowiak music : christopher young run time : 108 minutes aspect ratio : 2 . 35 : 1 from mgm , opens 7 july 1995 diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv793_13650.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv793_13650.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3ef3c3d0b6278127bb89f59816a75fb68100f684 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv793_13650.txt @@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ +as the small boats rock slowly toward the shore at omaha beach normandy on d-day , the weary , seasick soldiers take a deep breath and open the large protective shield at the back of the boat . +they are unaware of exactly what is going to happen . +one man kisses the crucifix that hangs around his neck . +as the flap falls , the battle begins . +they are trapped like rats in a cage and proceed to be blown to pieces in the wake of enemy gunfire . +amid the chaos of this massacre , stands a shot that , at least for me , hangs in the air like the girl in the little red coat in schindler's list . +a soldier , clearly missing an arm , wanders around the body-strewn beach like a lost puppy . +we are not invited to know what he is searching for until he finds it himself . +he bends over , picks up his arm and starts to carry it , probably not bothering to ask himself ; " what now ? " +saving private ryan is a masterfully composed film . +the direction is out of this world , surely the type of command that can win spielberg another directing oscar . +the cinematography , by janusz kaminsky , is also astounding . +but be forewarned , this is the most violent and graphic film i have ever seen . +the articles you read and the warnings you see are justified ; saving private ryan is visually as disturbing as a film can get . +the question is , " does the story and its realism justify the excessive use ? " +the answer from my point of view is " no " . +braveheart was a truly gritty , and , one would imagine , realistic battle film . +ryan is ten times worse . +expect disembowelments , sucked in skulls , heads blown to bits , arms and legs flying across the battlefield . +many in the theater could not bear to watch . +and it is a shame , too , because this is otherwise by far one of the standouts this year . +but such graphic displays may turn away even the most loyal spielberg supporters ( and academy members ) . +saving private ryan takes us from the attack at omaha beach on d-day , 1944 , through into the film's primary mission . +captain miller ( hanks ) assembles an 8 man crew and sets off to find a missing solider , private ryan , whose three brothers have already been killed on the battlefield . +the government goes to great lengths to make sure that mrs . ryan doesn't recieve a fourth letter of condolences about her sons , that no person should suffer such injustice . +miller's crew is not in favor of the mission and they begin to harbor a secret hatred for ryan , though they don't yet know him . +they resent having to trudge out to bring home one soldier who doesn't have any more or less right to live than any of them . +this film manages to keep up a rapid pace and , though there is a lot of set up between battles , the story continues full speed to the end . +the pacing and dramatism of the extremely well choreographed battle scenes is really in a league of it's own . +spielberg , though not a student of the " quick cut " school of filmmaking , takes a stab at it here , and does it better than michael bay or any of his mtv counterparts could ever hope to do it . +bay should pay close attention , take copious notes . +if you want to jump cut every two seconds , do it the way spielberg does it in ryan . +in the end , the extremity of the gory violence is not justified by the " importance " of the film . +schindler's list taught many people the truth about the holocaust . +it opened eyes , sparked debate and study . +though the battle scenes in ryan have never been portrayed as realistically before , they don't amount to anything as serious or thought provoking as the schindler's list . +overall , this is just the truest depiction of the old adage , " war is hell . " +but braveheart-dosage would have fit this movie much more appropriately , and would have made the difference between me getting up the nerve to see it again some day and realizing that this is something i doubt i could endure again . +masterful work marred only by excessive gore . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv795_10122.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv795_10122.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..33d97f85fec961b25d30d72d66791de371050a89 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv795_10122.txt @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +the central focus of michael winterbottom's " welcome to sarajevo " is sarajevo itself , the city under siege , and its different effect on the characters unfortunate enough to be stuck there . +it proves the backdrop for a stunningly realized story which refreshingly strays from mythic portents ( " platoon " ) , racial tumultuosness ( the risible " the walking dead " ) or a tinge of schmaltziness ( " schindler's list " ) . +the two leads , stephen dillane as a reporter and emira nusevic as an orphan with a plight few can identify with , are extremely believable ; not one moment with them involved rings false . +the question is not what went right . +the question is what went wrong . +for one , the film fails to provide a political overview of the war as it progresses ( the dillane characters reports an american plane departing from sarajevo as it departs , and that's about it . ) . +the assortment of high-profile supporting actors , ranging from woody harrelson as a yankee reporter " into " liquor and cigarrettes to marisa tomei as a huggable children's aid or somesuch are incapable of rising above the sketchiness of their characters , albeit they strive . +the interrupted use of authentic war footage somewhat hampers the rest of the film , it makes the fictional characters seem powerless by comparison . +still , winterbottom eschews mawkishness through flashy , frantic editing and imaginative use of music . +and it's a plus , because he doesn't toy with our emotions with sentimental blandness . +he wants us to know that in war , no one is victorious . +the sweet hereafter +starring ian holm , sarah polley , bruce greenwood , tom mccamus , gabrielle rose , arsinee khanjian , alberta watson , maury chaykin , caerthan banks . +produced by atom egoyan and camelia frieberg . +script by atom egoyan ( based on the novel by russell banks ) . +directed by atom egoyan . +running time : 110 mins . +rated r . __________________________________________________________ +atom egoyan's powerfully meditative " the sweet hereafter " is as anything as haunting and transcendental as i've seen this year . +it not only explores the aftermaths of a terrible tragedy with magnificent subtlety , with cold , and stunning shots of the backdrop of this mistfortune but also by telegraphing the sense of devastation that has permeated the small town with an enormous amount of dignity and respect for each and every soul affected . +ian holm as the somber , lonely lawyer seeking compensation for the townspeople , has a decency and a restraint uncommon with lawyers , he's a lion for the wrong reasons : the pain for having lost his daughter ( she's a druggie who frequently calls him begging for money ) is reflected on the town . +and in some mesmerizing flashbacks , we witness how she lost her purity . +it's one of the most strikingly breathtaking takes on the loss of innocence i've ever seen . +but the most astounding part goes to sarah polly , the peaceful , benevolent girl who , in contrast to the other characters , remains the most mentally stable during past , present or future . +her ability to convey concealed pain and unconditional love is the opposite , yet near-revolutionary role that won emily watson an oscar nomination for " breaking the waves " . +both women are torn apart by an extraordinary incident but it is only then that we truly see , truly feel , their wordless , omnipotent love . + " the sweet hereafter " though , is atom egoyan's movie and as of now , he is emerging as the definite face of independent cinema . +after surging to worldwide recognition with 1994's " exotica " , " the sweet hereafter " makes him something few people in this industry can call themselves : an artist . +he interweaves time with a delicacy and sees a soul with a purity that is just not common . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv796_15782.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv796_15782.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e7ad0c5e05946e440a4e3c6cb623748972c02c96 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv796_15782.txt @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +after the average mouse hunt , the silly small soldiers and the entertaining antz , dreamworks try again with the children's film market with this stunning adaptation of the moses story . +as the film warns us at the beginning , it's not the full story , and some liberties have been taken , but generally this the bible story we all know and love , featuring burning bushes , the plagues and the parting of the red sea . +the only thing missing is charlton heston . +instead , we get val kilmer voicing moses , an hebrew who is placed in a river by his mother and rescued by the queen of egypt ( helen mirren . ) +we flash forward several years to see moses and brother rameses ( fiennes ) all grown up . +moses soon finds out from brother and sister miriam and aaron ( sandra bullock and jeff goldblum ) that he isn't really the son of the pharaoh seti ( patrick stewart ) and that it his destiny to free the hebrews from the egyptians tyrannical rule . +he soon sets about this , along with his wife tzipporah ( michelle pfeiffer . ) +rameses and his two wizard friends ( voiced by steve martin and martin short ) try to stop moses completing his task . +while the plot is familiar and somewhat exciting for adults , for children reared on aladdin and hercules , this film could be the most godawful thing they've ever seen . +gone is the quick fire humour and standard , easy to follow plot . +but , spectacularly , and to dreamworks credit , nearly every child in the audience was captivated by the story and events happening on screen . +jeffrey katzenberg , who produced this film , certainly knows how to keep a child interested . +he's included some songs in the film , plus some comedy , and a exciting chariot chase , to keep the children interested . +and somehow , himself and the directors still manage to get all the drama and intensity of the story across , without ever being boring . +it's a remarkable achievement . +also remarkable is the animation , which puts hercules , an almost 'slap dash' effort , to shame . +relying on hand drawn and computer animation , the backgrounds and characters are amazingly detailed . +the film seems a little caught up with it's amazing visuals by showing a lot of sweeping visuals and 'moving' shots , but they _do_ look incredible . +the final 'plague' where god kills every first born child , and the parting of the red sea have to be seen to be believed . +kudos to the animators . +the vocal talent is also very good . +val kilmer does a fine job as moses ( although he doesn't sing ) and ralph fiennes is superb as rameses ( and he _does_ sing . ) +sandra bullock and jeff goldblum are great , and steve martin and martin short are very good , but not in the film long enough . +finally , michelle pfeiffer does excellent work as moses wife . +kudos also goes to the voice of god , who instead of booming and bombastic is quiet and subdued . +sadly , he is uncredited , and i couldn't quite work out who the voice was . + ( but e-mail if you do . ) +the songs are good , ranging from the usual love sonnets to the traditional big production number . +they don't disturb the movie , and while not particularly memorable , they are nice to listen to ( they're well sung aswell . ) +the musical score is suitably epic , with some beautiful tunes . +coupled with the superb visuals , the prince of egypt is a visual and aural treat , backed up with a great story . +entertaining both for kids and adults , this film is a must see . +a david wilcock review ? 1998 + " you know , for kids " - norville barnes diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv798_23531.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv798_23531.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8ff94ddaed97b9574eef60b8f3345261937bd970 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv798_23531.txt @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +fritz lang's first american film since leaving nazi germany , is an eye-opener about a lynch mob in a small town . +joe wilson ( spencer tracy ) is a regular joe , a hard-working stiff , a decent guy , who is living with his two brothers , tom ( walcott ) and charlie ( albertson ) , in chicago . +he is engaged to katherine grant ( sylvia sidney ) , but can't save up enough money to marry her . +she takes the train west for a better paying job as a teacher . +before she departs , she gives him the wedding ring her father gave to her mother , sews up his ripped trench coat , corrects him when he mistakingly says the wrong word for memento , and kisses him goodbye . +a year goes by and joe buys a car and tells katherine that he will meet her to get married in capitol city , that he has quit his job and hopes to open a gas station . +driving through the rural backroads and camping out at night while going to met her , he arrives at a near-by town called strand . +but the deputy sheriff " buggs " meyers ( walter brennan ) comes upon him waving a shotgun and arrests him . +he accuses him of the kidnapping of a little girl . +the sheriff ( ellis ) finds salted peanuts on him just like the kidnapper had in his pocket , he also has a five dollar bill on him that matches one of the numbers of the ransom money , and he fits the general description of the suspect . +locked in jail , he waits for the district attorney to look at his claim of innocence . +in the local bar , the town citizens go into a rage when learning that an arrest has been made in the kidnapping . +fueled by angry talk about getting back at the kidnapper and of having the deputy inadvertently telling them of the ransom money found on the suspect , a mob storms the jail , burns it down and dynamites it when they can't get through to the prisoner's jail cell . +the sheriff called the governor for the national guard , but one of his political advisers countermanded that request , saying it wouldn't look right for the governor in an election year to call out troops for those he wants to vote for him . +somehow joe escapes , but his dog rainbow dies . +katherine hears what has happened on the radio and rushes to the neighboring town of strand only to see him engulfed by flames in his cell , and becomes convinced that he died . +the next day the newspapers announce that the guilty kidnapper confesses . +joe makes his way back to chicago and tells his brothers , who are startled to see him alive , that he wants revenge . +he thereby supplies his brothers with the names of the 22 leaders in the lynch mob . +an ambitious district attorney ( walter abel ) prosecutes the 22 for murder . +katherine , not knowing he's alive , remains in a state of shock , but is asked to be a witness that she saw joe burning to death . +the defense claims that it can't be a charge of murder without a corpse . +the trial proves to be interesting , as the citizens in this close-knit , respectable community , lie under oath , providing alibis for each other to prove they couldn't have been at the jail . +the sheriff also lies , saying he can't identify anyone in the mob . +but proof comes by way of a newsreel cameraman who caught the whole incident on film . +as for proof of the corpse , an anonymous letter is addressed to the judge enclosed with the wedding ring katherine gave joe . +in the note , memento is misspelled , which makes katherine realize that joe is alive . +when the sentence is announced , 20 of the accused are found guilty of murder , but joe marches into the courtroom and gives a pious speech about what happened . +katherine forgives him , and this very strong film ends on a weaker note than i think it should have . +but don't blame lang for all the changes in the film , of trying to take the town off the hook by introducing this wild revenge motive . +mgm couldn't bear to have it made the way lang wanted it , that is , by having tracy die in the lynching . +instead they wanted to stop short of condemning so many small american towns where lynchings actually do occur , and they thereby meddled throughout the entire script . +to lang's credit , even if this film failed to be a masterpiece because of the interference , it still did not let the good citizens off the moral hook . +his portrayal of the attempted lynching was powerfully done and was not compromised . +you couldn't help get the feeling that the citizens didn't care that much that they almost lynched an innocent man , but cared more about protecting the reputation of their town and would do anything to keep their 22 vigilantes from going to jail , even perjuring themselves . +their reaction to seeing joe alive was satisfying only in that it meant they weren't going to be convicted . +lang by no means implies that the town has learned its lesson from this incident . +he does imply that a dark side to joe wilson has been exposed , and the innocent , jovial good-guy , seen in the beginning of the film , has been largely altered forever by this traumatic experience . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv799_18543.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv799_18543.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..775ece3ecd7c45ba838a00232a507daa8062dab9 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv799_18543.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +veteran actor clint eastwood has never looked as grizzled as he does in true crime , his latest directorial effort . +when steve everett ( his newest character ) gets angry at someone , he glares them down with those famous dirty harry eyes , furrows his brow and frowns like a grizzly bear who's just lost his cubs . +eastwood has played some particularly despicable characters in his time , but everett could just take the cake . +he gets my vote , at least , partly because `ev' is a drunken affair-a-week womanizer who has many relationship problems , very few of which are with his wife ( diane venora ) . +when his colleague at the oakland tribune is in an ugly car wreck and dies , everett must take over for her at a vital interview session . +the interview is with frank beacham ( isaiah washington ) , a death-row inmate set to die at midnight for the murder of a pregnant convenience store clerk . +eastwood furrows his brow . +as everett gradually finds information , he realizes that beacham could very well be innocent . +he interviews a key witness ( michael jeter ) , who claims that he burst in the door at pocum's foods because his car had overheated , only to see beacham standing over the dead woman's body , blood on his suspenders , gun in hand . +but everett protests : how could he have seen the gun , which was lowered by his side , with the potato chip rack in front of him ? +jeter doesn't know what he's talking about . +eastwood furrows his brow . +crinkled expressions and all , clint is the centre of energy of true crime . +the film is by no means a standard action/suspense yarn , but a thoughtful human story in which the characters come before the shoot-outs . +isaiah washington has a break-out performance as frank beacham , and scenes with him and his weary wife ( lisa gay hamilton ) are truly heartfelt moments . +but the best scenes are ones that feature eastwood duking it out with those in authority over him . +denis leary , as everett's editor and boss , has more than a few memorable moments of restrained anger ( you see , ev is sleeping with his wife ) . +but hands down , the most enjoyable segments of the film are when james woods is on camera . +playing the big boss alan mann , woods and eastwood create amusing chemistry and laugh-out-loud punchlines . +when true crime opts for a high-speed chase to the governer's house at the finale , the quality of film-making takes an abrupt nosedive . +eastwood was so successful with colorful character portraits that he didn't need to switch lanes . +true crime is a tension-building , intriguing drama showcase for the talented director and star . +this is a road block he could have easily dismissed ( i furrow my brow ) . + . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv801_25228.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv801_25228.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a75cb81a0f03d85d42a88d84cea01ecadfd83d78 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv801_25228.txt @@ -0,0 +1,45 @@ +this is a stagy film adapted from roger rueff's play " hospitality suite . ''its +about three travelling salesmen attending an industrial convention , whose chicago company has sent them to wichita , where the company has paid all their expenses for them to rent a hospitality suite on the 16th floor of the hotel , where they aim to score a substantial account from the big kahuna , someone named dick fuller , who is the head of a big industrial corporation . +he is someone they have never met before , but they want to sell him industrial lubricants and they want desperately to land this new account , it is their only reason for coming to the convention . + " the big kahuna " revels in salesmen-talk among the three white christian males , two of them , larry ( spacey ) and phil ( devito ) , who are veteran salesmen , having teamed together for the last twelve years , while bob ( facinelli ) is a young man who has just recently been hired by the firm and works in the research department . +these three are virtually imprisoned in their small hospitality suite waiting to meet the big kahuna , as the focus of this claustrophobic film is on their interactions in the hospitality suite . +the three salesmen have different things on their mind that is troubling them and a different attitude to their job , and they are each going through internal changes that are profoundly altering their life . +the outstanding cast tries to figure out in their own way what they are doing and why . +what comes into question is their opinions on life and death , on god and morality , and on how they make a living . +these are tough questions and the truth seems to be somewhere in their sales pitch . +their dialogue is acerbic , witty , and analytical . +following in the long tradition of salesmen films -- from death of a salesman , the tin men , and glengarry glen ross , as this film tries to get you to see what there is about salesmanship that gets these men high . +in this case , it is landing the big kahuna . +they each are trying to see why he's on top and why they are chasing after him . +what makes this film different than the others , is its blatant religious message , comparing orthodox religion to what they do , as both must sell their product . +and how after each one's psyche is stripped clean by the other , there is a pause and some lesson about life has sunk in that is pertinent to each . +the goal in the movie is not in literally landing the big kahuna , but in finding out what bill of goods they sold themselves that made them be salesmen . +larry and phil have one way of doing things and have no qualms of incorporating a sales pitch as part of their life . +bob thinks he is above the fray and he pitches every chance he can get about his belief in jesus christ . +his vacuous character and smug outlook on life are covered by a disarming smile and an eagerness for him to prove in his actions the words of jesus he literally believes in . +bob is a baptist , who takes a very non-questioning and literal attitude about religion . +to just look at another woman and lust after her is a sin , according to the way he reads the bible . +when asked by larry why he married his wife , he seems puzzled and can't even say because he loves her , only that marriage is something sacred to him . +the contrast in their personalities is stark . +larry is all business , he simply wants to close the sale . +he comes into the room pumped for the convention , using his attack mode to establish how serious he is about being a salesman . +he criticizes phil for being so placid , for getting such a small suite , for having the cheap food tray of carrot sticks rather than the one of stuffed shrimp , and for being burned-out . +he tells him to go on a vacation . +get a woman . +while phil is reflective on where all his best years have gone for him and is contemplating a career change , now that he is 52 and is painfully divorcing his wife , after having lived too lonely a life on the road for too long . +he now finds himself suffering from some troubling dreams and questioning what he believes in . +he has always been a charmer , shaking everyone's hand , trying to please his clients while trying to make the sale . +larry is more aggressive as a salesman , he is always a heart attack away from every big sale . +in contrast , bob is only in his twenties and everything seems fresh to him . +this is his first time for him on the road . +when dick fuller doesn't arrive at the party the salesmen throw , larry becomes confrontational and asks phil if he spoke to the man himself about the gathering . +when told that he spoke to the secretary , larry throws a tantrum and is resigned to going back to their home office without the new account . +but when they start talking to bob , whom they forced to act as the bartender , they are surprised to learn that fuller did indeed come but was wearing another man's name tag and that bob spent the entire evening consoling the tycoon over his recently deceased dog and then talking to him about jesus . +bob then tells the boys about a private party fuller is attending afterwards , and that he invited bob to attend . +larry and phil can't fathom how bob didn't make a sales pitch . +but they soon take another tact and decide to prep bob on how to get fuller's attention about their company's product as they sent him off to meet fuller , and will await his return in the hotel room . +these two sharp salesmen are reduced to waiting for this smug kid to come back and tell them he saved their ass . +the irony of their situation is played out in the darkness of the hotel room , as they stay up late into the night trying to make sense out of their lives . +these three performers were outstanding , each understanding what their role called for , each coming through with a marvelous performance . +the only problem with the film , is that its more of a play than a cinematic experience . +but the insightful dialogue and refreshing dramatics , give it an intelligent selling point and make it a good product to see . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv802_28664.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv802_28664.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8f9d40e218dcf4e62a1fb96d1f778c51d2c8782e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv802_28664.txt @@ -0,0 +1,44 @@ +the coen brothers are back again , this time with homer's " odyssey " as the backdrop in their tale of three fugitives from a mississippi chain gang who trek across the south to find a secret treasure in " o brother , where art thou ? " +right for the beginning of " o brother " the coens grab your attention with a chain gang of prison inmates breaking rocks along the road in unison to a work song . +the camera flows around the hard toiling men , giving a visually exciting symmetry to the scene that ends with our three heroes - ulysses everett mcgill ( george clooney ) , delmar ( tim blake nelson ) and pete ( john turturro ) - escaping across a cotton field . +it is the beginning of a journey that takes on different meanings and urgencies to each member of the trio . +a strong suite , as always with the coen brothers , is the depth of character of the folks they create in their films . +their characters are goofy and comical , like nicolas cage in " raising arizona " ; or , dramatic , as albert finney and john turturro in " miller's crossing " ; and , even a mix of the two with frances mcdormand in " fargo . " +in all cases , and in " o brother , " too , the characters populating their films are three-dimensional people . +ulysses everett is a handsome , hair-obsessed petty criminal with a silver tongue and not a lot in the brains department . +but , he seems like a genius when compared to the simple , sweet delmar and the maladjusted pete , who follow their self appointed leader to a promised treasure of $1 . 2 million . +their odyssey takes on the mystical proportions of homer's original material as they meet all manner of people along the way , including those dangerous sirens who beckon them onto symbolically rocky shoals and a cyclops who beats them and takes all their money . +there is magic , too , when delmar believes that pete was turned into a horny toad by the sirens . +the story meanders through the different vignettes of the boys' adventures , giving the flick a choppy , episodic feel that disrupts the overall flow . +some of the interludes are an epiphany , though . +the trio becomes a quartet when they pick up guitar-playing tommy johnson ( chris thomas king ) and visit a radio station in the middle of nowhere , run by its blind owner ( stephen root ) . +they become the soggy bottom boys for the sightless radio station man and , without their knowledge , are recorded as they sing the traditional tune , " i am a man of constant sorrow . " +it is a wonderful moment of moviemaking and gives us , in my mind , the best movie song of the year . +contrasting this and other wonderful moments ( the sexy seduction by the sirens comes to mind ) are some pretentious bits that detract from the overall quality of " o brother . " +in particular , near the end , is a scene where ulysses , delmar and pete crash a ku klux klan rally to save tommy from being lynched . +the scene is overblown and flashy and reeks of " the wizard of oz . " +they don't say " lions and tigers and bears , oh my ! " +and there's no dorothy , but it is the land of oz we're seeing here . +the highs and lows of the story flow are tempered by fine acting on several levels . +george clooney is funny , charming , a little dumb and one of the handsomest actors in the business today . +he has the charm of a 30's movie idol and is able to put himself into silly situations with dignity . +ulysses has an ongoing obsession with his hair , risking life and limb to get a particular brand of pomade and a supply of hairnets . +his vanity will come to plague him as it would any mystical hero-wanderer . +while clooney is the name draw for " o brother , " the show stealer is tim blake nelson as delmar . +the heretofore unknown nelson is terrific as the simple convict who , at one point , hears the word of the lord and joins members of a church congregation in their mass baptism . +delmar is saved and dedicates his life to doing good and provides a richness to his simple character that makes him shine . +the taciturn pete , as played by longtime coen collaborator turturro , is the sullen member of the trio and gives them the necessary angst . +all together , the tuneful triumvirate is a mix of the three stooges and the three musketeers as they prove to be buffoons , albeit brave ones . +the colorful supporting cast is rampant with homerian characters to meet and get to know along the way of the boys' odyssey . +charles durning appears as incumbent governor pappy o'daniel , who keeps crossing paths with them in his bid for re-election . +john goodman is wicked as the one-eyed bible salesman and con artist , big dan teague . +michael badalucco is manic and outrageous as outlaw and bank robber extraordinary , george " babyface " nelson . +stephen root is amusing as the blind dj , rep'ing one of the many references to the sightless that abound in the film in mystical ways . +holly hunter is wasted in the small role as ulysses' estranged wife , penny ( and the real reason for this adventure , not secret treasure ) . +techs are , as expected in a coen brothers venture , first class . +cinematographer roger deakins , who has worked on five previous coen films , captures the sultry atmosphere of the south . +the photography complements the lush period production and costume provided by dennis gassner and mary zophres , respectively . +once again , roderick jaynes - the alter ego of ethan and joel coen - is on board as editor . +the high points outweigh the low through most of " o brother , where art thou ? " +with particular praise for the wonderful selection of period and traditional music . +i give it a b . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv803_8207.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv803_8207.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6bbd4c4c8c8012cc1f465d7be6128f85214791b4 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv803_8207.txt @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ +contact ( pg ) there's a moment late in robert zemeckis's contact where i was reminded of why i started writing movie reviews in the first place . +we see a scientist , dressed in a silvery space suit , walking tentatively across a narrow walkway leading inside a compact , spherical space pod , unaware of what awaits when the ball literally drops . +anticipation , excitement , anxiety , fear--the audience experiences it all the emotional tension right with the character , nervously , breathlessly eager to see what lies ahead . +it is this sense of discovery , the anticipation of which and its accompanying exhilaration , that makes this adaptation of the carl sagan novel such magical , captivating entertainment . +jodie foster stars as dr . ellie arroway , a brilliant astronomer who dedicates her entire life to searching outer space for extraterrestrial radio signals . +and i mean life--after losing her entire family when she was young , the only thing occupying ellie's world is this quest to discover life beyond this earth . +after dealing with much skepticism on the part of government officials and wealthy financiers , ellie receives her vindication when she stumbles upon an incoming radio transmission from the distant star vega , which includes instructions on building an interstellar transport . +from this synopsis , contact does not sound too different to most films about alien contact , but there is a whole lot more to this intelligent film than the sci-fi hook . +the alien contact angle generates a great amount of suspense and awe , but perhaps more than anything else , contact is a character study of ellie , whose obsession with empirical , scientific evidence has erased all belief in a higher power . +the irony is that , while admitting to having no religious faith , she holds onto her belief in extraterrestrial life with such passion and conviction that it becomes , in a sense , a religion in its own right . +it would be easy for scripters james v . hart and michael goldenberg , in trying to paint a positive image of the heroine , to champion her scientific beliefs over religious ones , but they wisely eschew easy answers , giving equal time to both sides , and in so doing depict ellie as not completely sane . +in the end , there is no right or wrong , nor is there one side that comes off more positive in the other , even slightly so--there are just two very viable points of view , each with their own merits , each with their own faults . +the complex role of ellie is an actress's dream , and foster , a virtual shoo-in for yet another best actress oscar nomination next year , more than rises to the challenge . +she conveys intelligence , determination , warmth , and , in a gutsy move , always on edge . +we root for ellie and feel for her , but we also feel at times that she goes too far . +contact is clearly foster's vehicle , but others are given their chance to shine in smaller roles . +matthew mcconaughey , who receives outrageously high billing for his smallish role , holds his own as the religious counterpoint to ellie , spiritual scholar and government adviser palmer joss ( however , his main storyline , the tentative palmer-ellie romance , is the film's weakest subplot ) . +john hurt is effectively creepy as s . r . +hadden , the wealthy eccentric who provides ellie with her research funding . +angela bassett continues to impress in her bit role as white house aide rachel constantine . +most memorable of all , though , are tom skerritt and james woods , who play rival scientist dr . david drumlin and national security adviser michael litz , respectively ; both , especially skerritt , embody these asshole characters that the audience hissed just about every single one of their appearances . +zemeckis comes off of his three-year break in top shape . +always known as a director of effects-laden extravaganzas , it comes as no surprise that contact's visual effects are quite stunning . +the central space journey is more than a little reminiscent of the close of 2001 : a space odyssey , but with more advanced technology at his disposal , zemeckis's voyage is even trippier than stanley kubrick's yet more wondrously pure . +and zemeckis doesn't resist the urge to use the always-interesting incorporate-actors-into-existing-film-footage effect , which is every bit as seamless here as it was in forrest gump . +effects , however , are confined to only a few scenes and clearly take a back seat to the drama , emotion , and pure wonder , which zemeckis proved to be quite adept at in gump . +it says a lot that , in a summer science fiction film such as this , it's not so much the effects that stay with you as it is the drama and the issues that are raised . +the thought-provoking , two-hour-plus contact is a much-welcome change of pace from summer no-brainers , but the fact that it is a smart film does not mean that it also isn't entertaining . +for all the interesting questions it asks , the film is still what it's being sold as-- " a journey to the heart of the universe . " +and what a fascinating , unforgettable journey it is . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv804_10862.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv804_10862.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d3aa9c31c3666f821bd4a4c7d6f3a479ad737a00 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv804_10862.txt @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +satirical films usually fall into one of two categories : 1 ) long-term satire where everything , including the jokes , is somehow related on a large scale ( i . e . + " dr . +strangelove " ; 2 ) situation satire in which the comedy and themes are derived moment by moment and scene by scene ( i . e . + " men in black " ) . +what's unique about " wag the dog " is that it doesn't necessarily fit either of these descriptions , and yet is both at the same time . +the result is a clever comedy based on an original , smart premise , even if the focus does tend to wander a bit . +if there's anything that affects americans the most it's politics and showbusiness . +in this age of information and technology , we've been so conditioned by the media and the entertainment industry in our ways of perceiving things , it's gotten to the point that we are practically controlled by it . +we need the media to bring us the most up-to-date news , but we also need the escapism of hollywood to counter all that thinking . +this film starts off well by quickly establishing these ideas , and then presents an interesting scenario : if politics , the media coverage of politics , and the entertainment industry are so closely related , couldn't someone with the power and authority to manipulate one of the aspects manipulate them all ? +that's the idea conrad brean ( de niro ) , a professional washington spin doctor , comes up with in order to restore the president's good name who has been accused of child molestation just weeks before the election . +brean , along with the president's top advisor , winifred ames ( heche ) , fly to california to meet up with hot-shot movie producer stanley motss ( hoffman ) . +they pitch him an idea to " produce " the image of a war with albania ( it's a country no one's heard of so they people will buy it ) . +soon the wheels are in motion and the film's riffing satire comes into play . +we're inundated with the hollywood mind set as motss brings in a number of experts to help manage the situation , such as a folk singer , visual and sound effects technicians , and a modern style expert known as the fad king ( leary ) . +the initial atmosphere is rich with numerous pop culture references where everything somehow relates to something on tv , in the movies , or in the news . +the characters' dialogue is witty and funny , although some of the actual jokes and gags seem rather sitcom-esque . +for example , one scene shows motss and brean's production crew filming an actress portraying a poor albanian refugee . +motss ordered a kitten for the girl to carry , but instead wound up with a dozen different dogs . +since it's all computer-enhanced anyway , she ends up cradling a bag of tostitos with the kitten to be inserted later . +this demonstrates the film's ability to take a relatively ordinary situation and make it smart and funny just through the premise . +but then there's the gags and one-liners that , although are humorous , seem a little gratuitious in the long run such as motss not being able to remember the actress's name , or , whenever a problem emerges , always responding with , " this is nothing ! " +by the time the film makes it to the midpoint , everything that is going to happen in terms of plot happens . +the first act is quickly paced , while the second act contains most of the jokes and is the core of the film . +every ten minutes or so a new problem crops up that motss and brean must deal with , and it's always fascinating to see what they do and how they do it . +the screenplay provides good characterization and actually deals with most of the problems head-on in realistic manners . +however , it does have a tendency to avoid things and shift its focus from the election campaign and false war smokescreen to something a bit off the subject . +as the third act rolls around the satirical nature becomes more concerned with the situations and less so with the big picture . +what had started off as a brilliant , somewhat harmless conspiracy to fool the general public begins to seem more like something that would happen in a movie . +still , the situation comedy is quite funny , especially a montage showing the entire country flinging old shoes into trees to honor sgt . +willie schumann - a war hero motss and brean concocted . +truly great satire manages to create for an entertaining story that makes you laugh at the time , but think about afterwards and " wag the dog " at least succeeds in this respect . +however , in retrospect it seems like so much more could have been done , namely by extending the running time and filling in the plot holes . +then again , it's a valiant effort . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv805_19601.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv805_19601.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..cd24e3dadf04f6886c7f441fdd6f7380108d2766 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv805_19601.txt @@ -0,0 +1,46 @@ +after sixteen years francis ford copolla has again returned to his favorite project , making the third installment in the godfather-trilogy . +this new film has been underrated for no reason . +it is as intellectual and majestically made as copolla's pervious films . +it is also more psychological , pessimistic and more tragic than the first two . +the only regret is the unconvincing performance by the newcomer sofia copolla and some " unfinished " developments of some characters . +the film elegantly begins with nino rota's recognizable musical score , the beautiful skyscrapers of new york and michael's voice as he is writing a letter to his children : " the only wealth in this world is children . +more than all money and power on earth , you are my treasure " . +the year is 1979 and michael corleone has used the time since the ending of " part ii " to make his father's dream come true - making the corleone family legitimate . +michael sold all his casinos and invests only in gambling . +constantly haunted by the past , his only reason to live is his children . +the family has amassed unimaginable wealth , and as the film opens michael corleone ( al pacino ) is being invested with a great honor by the church . +later that day , at a reception , his daughter announces a corleone family gift to the church and the charities of sicily , " a check in the amount of $100 million . " +but the corleones are about to find , as others have throughout history , that you cannot buy forgiveness . +sure , you can do business with evil men inside the church , for all men are fallible and capable of sin . +but god does not take payoffs . +the plot of the movie , concocted by coppola and mario puzo in a screenplay inspired by headlines , brings the corleone family into the inner circles of corruption in the vatican . +there is a moment in " godfather iii " where michael says : " all my life i have been trying to go up in society , where everything was legal . +but the higher i go , the crookier it becomes . . " + . +visually this film is as spectacular as the first two . +gordon willis' rich cinematography , carmine copolla's beautiful composition and alex tavoularis' wonderful art direction could not be better . +but copolla's first two godfather-films were more famous for their deep , intellectual plots , tree dimensional characters and incredible acting , than for their visual perfection . +the third installment has only the plot and visuals . +some characters could be much more developed and the acting , although good , never accomplishes to reach the same height of the first two films . +the biggest miscasting is sofia copolla , who is so unconvincing and unemotional that she manages to ruin several scenes throughout the movie , that could have been grander and more emotional . +the best performance comes unsurprisingly from al pacino , who should have got a nomination for best actor at the oscars . +andy garcia is powerful as sonny's son , strong , focused and loyal . +violence is natural to him . +he suffers no pangs of conscience when he takes revenge on his family's behalf , and in this he is supposed to be strong in the uncomplicated way don vito corleone was . +however both kay ( diane keaton ) and connie ( talia shire ) are useless . +and characters like vito corleone and tom hagen are really missed . +the good part is that michael is again reunited with old friends , that you remember from the first and second films . +in the third film michael has become almost like his father , vito in the first film and vincenzo resembles michael when he was much younger . +this parallel could be more interesting if vincenzo's character was more developed . +many have pointed out that making the third film , was unnecessary . +i disagree . +it is a beautiful film of great importance , completing the tragic saga of the corleone family . +the first film showed some horrible results of corleone's life . +it showed michael making a choice ; the second showed a man damning himself for his choices and feeling the impact of changing times . +a man desperately trying to keep his balance , focus , family and sanity , while everything is crashing all around him . +the third film is a terrifying conclusion - a result of michael's life . +the life he chose for himself is like quicksand - one wrong step and you are doomed . +there is no turning back . +and no matter how hard you try to get out of it , to free yourself , no matter how powerful and wealthy you are , you are helpless - sinking deeper and deeper till it swallows you completely . +the beautifully directed last sequence is also the powerful climax of the film , when michael is sitting alone in his chair , left by everyone , surrounded by emptiness and memories of his friends and family members long dead . +here he dies - alone , miserable and unforgiven diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv806_8842.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv806_8842.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..79628e2440c45abf0d49fd306ad3b933ee411cb7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv806_8842.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +bruce willis is a type-casted actor . +in die hard , he played john mcclaine , a rough and tough chicago cop who gets caught in the wrong place at the wrong time . +again , in pulp fiction , as butch coolidge , an over-the-hill boxer , he steps on the wrong guys toes . +in luc besson's the fifth element , willis plays korben dallas , a new york cabby who takes in the wrong passenger at the worst possible time . +a stylish science fiction epic , the fifth element's complex plot begins right away , in the deserts of egypt ( think stargate ) in 1914 . +an enormous spacecraft lands above a pyramid where the " 5 elements " are stored and takes them away , vowing to return them when the evil comes back . +cut to present day , which is our future . +the year is 2023 , and new york is the city . +the only basic differences between besson's futuristic depiction and the real life new york is that the smog is thicker , the buildings are higher , and the traffic floats ! +anyway , the " evil " comes back as a ball of fire to wreak havoc on the fair citizens of the earth , so back come the tortoise-like aliens to return the " 5 elements " to earth , in order to defend themselves against the " evil . " +in the process , however , the ship is intercepted by 2 fighter pods and is destroyed before landing . +when officials arrive at the site , all that remains is a hand . +what can you do with a hand ? +hey , its the 21st century here-dna reconstruction ! +this hand turns out to belong to a beautiful , but mysterious woman named leeloo ( milla jovovich , dazed and confused ) . +she escapes and , attempting to escape the police by swan diving off of an enormous skyscraper and crashing through the roof of korben's floating cab . +it's love at first site , as korben and leeloo elude the lazy-as-always cops . +when leeloo begins mumbling about a cornelius ( ian holm , night falls on manhattan ) , korben searches the " yellow pages " and delivers her to the door of the good reverend , the only man who knows of her background and duties . +now , korben , leeloo , and cornelius must journey to a foreign planet to board a cruise ship ( special effects were spectacular here ) to find the remaining four elements . +it is here , where they discover that they have been followed by the evil jean-baptiste emmanuel zorg ( gary oldman , murder in the first ) . +he , too , wants possession of the elements , as do a group of pig-like warriors ( think the gamorreans in return of the jedi ) . +in a spectacular ending , with time running out , leeloo is faced with a problem-why should she save a people who live to destroy each other ? +the question is a good one , and one that could be pondered . +but enough of that . +when korben points out his love for her , leeloo is inclined to become the " 5th element " and save the world from total destruction . +the fifth element features good performances by willis and holm , an excellent portrayal of a comedic villain ( who reminded me a lot of jack nicholson's the joker in batman ) by one of the masters of villainy , oldman , and a heartfelt offering by relative newcomer jovovich . +the supporting cast , which includes brion james ( tango & cash ) , tim " tiny " lester ( no holds barred ) , luke perry ( buffy the vampire slayer ) , and chris tucker ( friday ) , added a comedic effect to the film . +although besson's the fifth element can be criticized for the outlandish use of cliches , it is a solid motion picture with a definite point . +some other directors ( like anaconda's luis llosa ) should take a lesson from this guy-using ideas from epic motion pictures the right way . +ideas from star wars and stargate were utilized for the improvement of this film . +sci-fi fan or not , any movie-lover should see this wonderfully stylish motion picture . + , diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv809_5009.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv809_5009.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..429b390c5473882dc4a29b790a5ea3c5d432e75d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv809_5009.txt @@ -0,0 +1,41 @@ +driving miss daisy takes its sweet time to tell a small , intimate story . +it's a quiet film , a slow film , a deliberate film . +but if you're patient with it , the movie offers innumerable rewards , such as a pair of self-assured performances by morgan freeman and jessica tandy . +driving miss daisy is based on alfred uhry's pulitzer-prize winning play of the same name , which first opened in new york four years ago . +the play has garnered international acclaim with productions in chicago , los angeles , london , vienna , norway , and the soviet union . +uhry himself wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of driving miss daisy ; he also penned the wonderful sleeper , mystic pizza . +the film , like the play , is set in atlanta , georgia , and it revolves around two people in their twilight years : a cranky , 70-something jewish widow who feels guilty about her wealth and a 60-something black man who becomes her chauffeur . +the movie relies on character , rather than plot , to propel the action . +in fact , the movie has no discernible plot in the traditional sense ; it doesn't present a linear story in which all the scenes flow together . +rather , driving miss daisy is made up of the routine activities of everyday life : shopping , listening to the radio , visiting the cemetery , eating fried chicken , and so on . +the film also incorporates into the story line actual events in atlanta's history , including the 1958 bombing of the temple ( the city's oldest jewish congregation ) and a 1965 ceremony honoring the reverend dr . martin luther king , jr . +the story begins in 1948 with daisy ( tandy ) crashing and wrecking her packard as she pulls out of her driveway . +the insurance company cancels her insurance , and her son , boolie , decides to hire her a chauffeur . +freeman , reprising his role from the play , plays the chauffeur , hoke . +the film chronicles the warm friendship that slowly but surely blossoms between the chauffeur and his reluctant passenger . +driving miss daisy is a movie about human nature , aging , prejudice , and a great many other things , but more than anything it's about a relationship : one that spans 25 years , 4 cars , the advent of civil rights , and one gravely important 33 cent can of salmon . +daisy is strong-willed and set in her ways , and , from the outset , she is utterly opposed to the idea of having a chauffeur . +initially , she treats hoke with contempt , refusing to let him drive her anywhere . +once she does get in the car , daisy is the ultimate back-seat driver . +to make matters worse , she is extremely self-conscious about what others might think if they were to see her being escorted around town by a hired hand . +eventually , however , daisy is worn down by hoke's good-natured charm and infectious cheer ; she softens and opens up to him . +tandy plays the part of daisy exceedingly well , but unfortunately this feisty , cantankerous character is just a smidgen too commonplace . +we've seen this woman countless times before in other incarnations , from on golden pond to cocoon . +nevertheless , tandy manages to put enough of a personal stamp on the familiar character to make it her own . +freeman , as hoke , on the other hand , gives the more distinctive of the two performances . +there is something profoundly moving about the way hoke maintains his pride and dignity in a society which forbids him from using public rest rooms because of his skin color . +hoke is uneducated and illiterate , but freeman always suggests that there is something more to this man , an inner strength beneath the simpleton exterior . +both freeman and tandy seem to be in their element , in full command of their natural charisma . +they flirt with the camera and dominate scenes without overtly calling attention to themselves . +they bring a light touch to their humorous banter and to the movie's gentle humor . +at the same time , tandy and freeman provide more than a few moments of truly poignant drama . +in his first dramatic role , dan aykroyd is surprisingly chubby and unexpectedly effective as boolie , tandy's loving and patient son . +drama seems to agree with aykroyd ; taking a break from comedy seems like a good move for the actor , especially when you consider the wretched comedies he has made recently ( ghostbusters ii , the great outdoors , my stepmother is an alien ) . +the only other significant characters in the film are daisy's housekeeper , idella , marvelously played by esther rolle ( " good times " ) , and boolie's pretentious wife , played by patti lupone . +under the direction of bruce beresford ( crimes of the heart , tender mercies ) , driving miss daisy seems a bit stagey now and again . +but fortunately , beresford never forgets he's shooting a movie , and accordingly , he offers plenty of striking cinematic touches , such as gorgeous shots of flowers , trees , and tomatoes . +in adapting driving miss daisy from the stage to the screen , the filmmakers have achieved a delicate subtlety . +uhry understands that what his characters do not say can be just as important as what they do say . +beresford wisely exercises restraint in the film's dramatic moments . +the movie tugs at your heart , but it never goes for the jugular . +the only sap in driving miss daisy is in the trees . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv811_21386.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv811_21386.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a5201c15e4fcbcf9e27759a6b370a767e95bc44e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv811_21386.txt @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +note : ordinarily , moviereviews . org will not give away any critical plot points of a film that could be interpreted as " spoilers . " +however , being that music of the heart is based on a true story and that moviereviews . org +feels the film can not be properly credited without such revelations , plot giveaways will appear in the following review . +if this bothers you , please note the 3 star rating of the film and stop reading now . + " what does it take to play carnegie hall ? +practice . " +it takes two hours for music of the heart to " play carnegie hall , " both figuratively and literally . +like the children it portrays , the movie starts from the dark realms of awful cinema and works its way up to a show-stopping performance at the legendary concert hall . +roberta guaspari ( academy award winner meryl streep ) has two kids , a husband who left her and 50 violins she bought from a small shop in the mediterranean . +her life desperately needs a jump start and gets one when she meets a man who introduces her to a job as a music teacher at an east harlem elementary school . +she soon finds her job is on the rocks as the men in her life continue to rotate through revolving doors . +that is the pattern-like plot of this production . +ultimately , the film chooses a zero-sum answer to these problems and finds her music career at an all-time high when the men in her life finally vanish . +the first hour of music of the heart is rather painful . +roberta's character lacks development and consequently seems to be flat . +also lacking depth is the film's " bad guy , " a narrow-minded music teacher ( josh pais ) who rejects roberta out of principle ( the movie never explains exactly which principle that is ) and conveniently comes and goes from the plot according to when it might be dramatic to have a villain around . +the next 15 minutes of the film are mediocre . +they are highlighted by one child's return to roberta's class ( coming after the great old hollywood scene where he explains be can't be around anymore because " my mom said . . . " ) and a glowing concert . +not knowing the running time , you may expect the credits to role at this point . +but they don't . +instead the film uses the next 45 minutes to finish its journey from bad to mediocre to excellent . +director wes craven , known for his works of horror , uses some old sentimental tricks to get the audience tearing . +one romantic break up scene is highlighted by the classic " but . . . +last night . . . " +and roberta's two children also have textbook conflicts with their single mother regarding their father's absence . +the city of harlem plays a strong role in the movie . +roberta's mother is initially reluctant to see her daughter move to that part of town and the film does nothing to combat that stereotype . +the noise tracks for these scenes are dominated by sirens ; predictably one of roberta's students is gunned down and killed off screen . +one thing the film does lack is subtlety . +the fact that a little boy was playing " we shall overcome " on his violin after the aforementioned shooting was a cute and discreet reference . +the fact that the entire orchestra begins to play it over and over soon after is an overdone reference that shows how little credit he gives the audience . + ( of course , in horror films the foreshadowing and between-the-line moments are meant to be overdone , so perhaps he too is just learning to play the game . ) +even with all its flaws , music of the heart is a beautiful film . +that is not an excuse for the movie's poor beginning . +but as i watched the scenes in carnegie hall , i thought of some of the great acts that have taken that stage . +in december of 1979 a comedian named andy kaufman put on a show that will forever be remembered as one of the most original in theatre history . +the performance included a dead-on elvis impression , robin williams in disguise and a moment at the end when kaufman announced he would take the whole audience out for milk and cookies . +so , how did this comic genius choose to open the show of his life ? +he had a character named tony clifton take the stage for the sole purpose of irritating and angering the audience . +perhaps it is okay for music of the heart to start off rusty because just as kaufman had santa's favorite food , this movie has an amazing finale . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv812_17924.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv812_17924.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3ef2cdb0957c888115a20c03bf440faf05b61241 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv812_17924.txt @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +seen april 16 , 1999 at 10 p . m . at crossgates cinema 18 ( guilderland , n . y . ) , theater #15 , by myself for free using my hoyts' critic's pass . +[theater rating : * * * 1/2 : very good seats , sound and picture] +do you realize that every time you encounter a new person you've just become part of a story ? +everyone has their own life story , both past and present , and every time two or more interact , they become part of each others' story ( not necessarily an important or even significant part , but a part nevertheless ) . +that seems to be the basic theory behind `go , ' where several characters' chance encounters all effect each other in extreme ways . +in order to test this theory screenwriter john august and director doug liman assemble a cast of characters that wouldn't usually be the types to have an entire film revolve around them , such as a teenage supermarket cashier , a bottom-of-the-drug-food-chain dealer and two struggling soap opera actors . +these types of characters might not sound all that original , but consider that they will all be somehow effected by a strip club bouncer and his psychotic father , a mid-level drug dealer , a narc obsessed with multi-level-marketing , horny wedding guests , a zen lovemaker , two shrimp-scarfers and a cute normal teenage girl to round things out . +how they will all come together is the process the film deals with . +i'd imagine the concept to the film started out as the creators' testing themselves to see if they could actually pull it off and the outcome is a terrific achievement in filmmaking and the craft of fiction in general . +the film starts out as anything else , with little indication of what's to come . +we meet ronna ( polley ) , a depressed los angeles checkout girl who doesn't seem to have much desire to do anything except work just to pay her rent . +she's not very charming , especially to her customers , but this is played mostly for laughs rather than characterization and it works . +maybe this is because she's not a very afeminite character , but she's far from masculine - a creative character indeed . +things start to progress when ronna reluctantly agrees to take the hours of the goofy , hyperactive , yet likable simon ( askew ) , an english teen into vices for the sake of the experiences . +this agreement starts a three-pronged storyline as it allows simon to go to las vegas for the weekend with his friends and in turn drags ronna and her friends into buying and selling an experimental drug . +the process of which will not only bring ronna close to being arrested but also to death . +nearly the same can be said for two other characters , zack ( mohr ) and adam ( wolf ) , who we don't think much of when they first appear as supporting characters , but later will become major players to the film's makeup - another process used by the filmmakers to elaborate on the theory of how significant insignificant interaction might be . +once the pace is picked up the film really begins to show its mettle . +when the title screen `ronna' is flashed shortly after the aforementioned turning point scene , it's clear this film isn't going to employ the standard linear method of storytelling . +considering how good it is up until that point , it's a long overdue change of pace needed in movies today . +and so the film begins to take shape , first by following ronna and her friends on a one-night adventure that begins with a drug deal instigated by zack and adam ( who were actually looking for simon ) , which doesn't exactly go as planned , but that's what keeps it all so interesting . +the second storyline starts at the same moment as ronna's story , but this time the camera chooses to follow simon instead . +simon and his three friends head to ? vegas for a night on the town and in the process experience things they never would have imagined . +the third arc , about zack and adam , again overlaps with ronna's story telling much of the same story but from a completely different angle . +we're shown things we never would have expected were going on while following ronna . +and many of the events that do happen to ronna because of zack and adam aren't even their fault - they just happened to be where they were when they were . +i'd really like to dissect each of the three storylines and especially how the film wraps up in the end , but that would take up too much time and space and spoil everything for those who haven't seen the film . +perhaps the greatest element to the film is its constant surprises and unpredictability , and not due to plot twists or a confusing screenplay , just through great filmmaking . +still , i can list and analyze nearly everything the film does so well : + ? direction : trying to piece together such a complex story is no easy task and for a rookie filmmaker such as liman , it's a great accomplishment . +he doesn't just depict a story , he wraps us up in it all , pulling us into the fray so that we experience every high and low . + ? screenplay : besides being chiseled with detail and creative in general , it's clear the script has been inspired by many sources , with both obvious and subtle references , yet it never screams `rip-off . ' + ? tone/mood : where other hollywood films have failed to bring the charm of the independents to the mainstream , this one is able to create its own sense of the macabre . +it's not overly-dark or twisted and the comedy isn't so satirical for it to be considered a black comedy , more like `macabre light . ' + ? cinematography/art direction : able to photograph both the intense and the lighthearted in the same manner . + ? characterization : for nearly every character introduced , no matter what role they play in the big picture , we're able to get a sense of who they are , what they're thinking and how they came to be in their situations . +even when their actions are surprising , it never seems very out of synch . + ? performances : every actor nails their role ( see above ) . + ? theme/theory : the film doesn't seem to be concerned with conveying any kind of political or social messages , instead , it's more of a philosophical experiment . +in fact , it might not have meant to do that intentionally , but there definitely is something existential to it all . + . . . and to think that `go' is just a big comedy and adventure ! + ( 4/23/99 ) [see also : `the big lebowski , ' `clerks , ' `jackie brown , ' `pulp fiction , ' `true romance ; ' also by liman : `swingers'] diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv813_6534.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv813_6534.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5dcc55b034cf8b0bf9ef78747fbfa104fa80a1de --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv813_6534.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +mars attacks ! + ( 1996 ) - c : jack nicholson , glenn close , annette bening , martin short , danny devito , rod steiger , pierce brosnan , sarah jessica parker , michael j . fox , jim brown , pam grier , joe don baker , natalie portman , christina applegate , lisa marie , tom jones . +this is director tim burton's finest film to date . +many will compare this tale of martians who invade earth to independence day , but even though the stories are similar , they really are two distinctly different films . +however as a whole , mars attacks is much more entertaining than id4 , and i loved id4 . +you really have to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy this film . +it is completely wacked-out and unlike anything you've ever seen . +once the silly tone of the film is set , it's easy to just sit back and throw logic out the window because logic and comedy just don't mix . +the plot is simple : martians invade the earth . +but it's different than any other invasion film . +usually it's the evil aliens versus the heroic humans . +this time however , it's the goofy aliens versus the equally goofy humans . +the martians , who are all computer generated , are just about the funniest things i've seen in a long time . +they look funny , they move funny , and their " language " is hilarious . +and about the special effects . +the effects in mars attacks ! +are just about the most flawless ones i've seen to date . +the computer animation of the martians combined with the goofy personalities they are given makes them seem 100% real . +there are just a couple of scenes that don't work , mainly those involving sarah jessica parker and pierce brosnan on board an alien ship . +also , glenn close overacts tremendously in her ( thankfully ) very limited screen time , so much so that i actually applauded silently when her character meets her demise . +but there are many big laughs in the film , as i said , if you are in the right mood . +could it have been funnier ? +certainly . +was it funny enough ? +yes . +was i entertained ? +absolutely . +on a personal note , i'd like to thank whomever cast rod steiger ( my favorite actor ) in the film as war-crazy general decker . +finally , after many very small parts in direct to video garbage and minor tv roles , steiger is back on the big screen in a real movie that many people will see . +while he's not given the type of role that you can give a real " performance " in , he does the job well and has some good lines of dialogue . +the preview audience i saw the film with really seemed to enjoy him . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv814_18975.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv814_18975.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..54d24e95e01381dcdc1c3e5609626251cff8b068 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv814_18975.txt @@ -0,0 +1,15 @@ +when i was asked to see this movie with a friend , my initial reaction was ? not hugh grant ! ' +i was perhaps wrong to be so harsh , but after his insidious flirtation with a street hooker , i just could not picture him in any romantic lead . +what makes this movie a wonderful experience is not the fact it stars hugh , but because it stars julia and carries with it a brilliantly written script . +this writer richard curtis , whose exceptional first work ? four weddings and funeral' shows us that he is a master in the domain of the romantic comedy , with splashes of drama thrown in between . +hugh and his hair , is almost identical to the character that made him famous in ? four weddings' . +he plays an ordinary guy who is down and out on his luck . +unfortunately , he is type cast in this role , but fortunately it works well for him in this movie . +if only he would dither a little less . +julia knows this role well . +the glamorous movie star who is searching for true love . +there are moments in this movie , that you almost weep for her pain felt loneliness . +how sad it must be to be so wealthy and beautiful , but to have no one to share it with . +the writer deals with difficult issues of love and social class on various levels . +how differences in social standing can make it almost impossible for love to grow in such a harsh environment . +how the media can be as cruel as it can be attentive , and how fulfilment in life and love can be found in forgiveness and sacrifice . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv815_22456.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv815_22456.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4eb6aef3d35922b843a368b422398dea2d640dfc --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv815_22456.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +you'd think it would be easy to spoof star trek , but try spoofing it without cruelly mocking it . +that's a bit more difficult . +the farfetched sci-fi series is , after all , enormously popular , what with its gigantic fan base and ongoing installments both on television and in movies . +if you're not nice to it , you lose . +galaxy quest is to star trek what mel brooks's spaceballs was to star wars , an affectionate , riotously funny parody that freely takes jabs at various elements of its subject but never seems mean-spirited or malintentioned . + " the show's been cancelled , but the journey is far from over . " +that is the current tagline of " galaxy quest , " a star trek - type show that's no longer produced but lives on forever in reruns . +it also lives on in conventions , gatherings of the show's obsessive fans who never fail to dress in " galaxy quest " costumes and ask absurdly logical questions about its delirious technobabble . +jason nesmith ( tim allen ) played " commander peter quincy taggart " on the show and is the only one of the cast who still gets excited about the gigs they have to do . +the attitudes of the rest -- tommy webber ( daryl mitchell , gwen demarco ( sigourney weaver ) , fred kwan ( tony shalhoub ) and alexander dane ( alan rickman ) -- range from indifference to utter contempt . +dane , who played a spock-like alien , is especially disgusted , considering himself above his demeaning job and stubbornly refusing to recite his character's cheesy trademark line " by grabthar's hammer , you shall be avenged " ( or something like that ) for his die-hard fans . +one day , nesmith is greeted by an especially fanatical group of " galaxy quest " followers . +they are actually aliens from a planet known as thermia . +they have mistaken the " galaxy quest " episodes for historical documentation of actual heroic space travel . +the next day , the thermians whisk nesmith away to a spaceship to help them defeat the evil sarris ( named , in one of the film's only mean-spirited gags , after village voice film critic andrew sarris ) . +nesmith thinks it is only an elaborate gig , and sort of blows it off , but when he is transported -- or i should say shot -- back to earth in a rather celestial manner , he believes . +next thing the cast knows , they are being dragged by nesmith to this spaceship . +of course , they all think he is out of his mind and once he does convince them that there really is a spaceship , what they want to do is get out of there as fast as the transporters will take them . +but after some persuading , they stay on to fight the icky sarris and find a way to provide a peaceful existance for the flailing thermians . +i was quite surprised how well this comedy , which came off as utterly brainless from its marketing campaign , worked . +taking shots at both the obvious and not-so-obvious elements of star trek and its fandom , galaxy quest never goes for cheap laughs , opting instead for broad but smart parody . +nothing is safe -- not the cliches , not the fans , not the absurd taglines -- but on the other hand , everything is safe , since galaxy quest treats its subject with utter respect and sometimes even subtle admiration . +the highlight of the movie is tony shalhoub's fred a . k . a . tech sergeant chen who , when in character , is the complete opposite of scotty from the original star trek . +while scotty , who was the technician for the enterprise would constantly yell " i need more power down here captain ! " , +chen's cry for help is more to the tune of " the core , like , won't take it or something . " +it's a hoot , but it doesn't stop there : weaver , whose character has the menial task of repeating everything the computer says and rickman , with his relentlessly holier-than-thou attitude aren't far behind . +galaxy quest succeeds as a funny parody of star trek and while it's not a masterpiece -- it tends to falter in its more serious moments -- it is immensely entertaining fluff and excellent counterprogramming to all the sober oscar contenders being released this holiday season . +by grabthar's hammer , this is a hell of a movie . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv817_4041.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv817_4041.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e238c81ca37f1f069778287f2bb76ab183200f8e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv817_4041.txt @@ -0,0 +1,46 @@ +showgirls is the second major outing for the production team of pual verhoeven , director , and joe eszterhas , writer . +their last effort , basic instinct , played like the most sumptuous of classic hitchcock , with a dash of raw sex and sensuality that made it come across with a hit like curry-spiced tabasco sauce ; a dish not to everyone's taste , but certainly a well-crafted movie . +possibly that movie's greatest strength was that the most important events happened offstage , prior to the movie , during the movie , and after the movie . . . +and that , after bringing all the plotlines together neatly , it left the viewer with full knowledge of what * would * happen in the characters' future , so there was no need to film it . +there was actually about four hours' worth of screen story there , but eszterhas found ways to get it all on-screen in two , by leading his audience into analyzing what was really going on ; and by still holding their interest with clever misdirection and false trails . +the major elements that made basic instinct work so well are present in showgirls . +we have attractive , sympathetic , but still highly repellent characters ; we have shows for the eyes and the ears , plotlines that play on several levels , we have beautifully delineated characters who are drawn from life and very believable , and we have a story of an innocent ( who may not be so innocent ) who's trying to play straight , trying to improve her station in life , who slips into behaving the way those around her do . . . +but recovers with a flourish , and quits a winner . +in this sense , the movie is a bit of a departure for verhoeven , who's not known for treating his characters well ; but nomi , the part played by elizabeth berkley , definitely opts out of the game in a positive way , and we're left feeling good about her future . +this is not one of the great movies , but it's far better than we'd been led to expect by all the negative pre-release publicity . +verhoeven got his first oscar nomination in 1971 , and in the last quarter-century has pushed farther and farther , experimenting with the socially-acceptable limits to movie-making . +his most recent three movies , robocop , total recall , and basic instinct , have been a progression of back-door access to american culture , moving from the fantastic through the merely psychotic to the underlying basic drives ; and now he's exploring the sleeze . +this movie may be the first movie ever made for which the director's contract contained a specific provision that he would not have to deliver an r rated movie . + ( verhoeven had to cut several parts of basic instinct to get an r rating , although his original version is available on video . ) +many reviewers have taken the politically-correct stance that any movie which uses naked ladies as scenery is a bad thing ; but they miss the fact that this movie is not about naked ladies , it's about people in an environment where naked ladies are common , and why such an environment should exist . +it's about the scum who use other people as power-trip toys , and the need to escape their power . +it's about a world where sex is nothing and normal human values don't pertain ; and the lack of sexual excitement and passionate heat in even the most blatant scenes is something of an accomplishment . +an nc-17 movie which isn't sexually exciting says a great deal about the phoniness and emptiness of a social stratum where sex has been robbed of any kind of beauty , power , or value . +the one scene in the movie that * could * have been a good sex scene , berkley and maclachlan in a swimming pool , is not exciting , because by then we already know his character is a callous manipulator . +if anything , it's a rape scene with a victim who's been duped into cooperation . +you don't make a movie about the history of black people in america without using a few black actors ; you don't make a movie about world war ii without a few guns going off and a few people getting killed ; and you don't make a movie about las vegas showgirls without showing a few las vegas showgirls . . . +and in an awful lot of vegas shows , an awful lot of ladies wear very little clothing . +this is a legitimate portrayal of a rather seamy side of the entertainment industry , in a town where sex is simply a negotiable commodity . +showgirls de-glamorizes the las vegas show and sex industries with great effectiveness . +nomi is played , in a very good performance , by elizabeth berkley , who gives us a solid picture of a woman with limited talents who's at the end of her rope , desperate to live a life better than the one she's known . +she has nothing to market except her body and her limited dancing ability , and is trying desperately not to to be a hooker , trying to be something better than she seems destined to be . +when nomi realizes she's gone too far for too little , she catches herself just in time to save the most essential part of who she wants to be . +gina rivera plays molly , a dressmaker and costumer who befriends nomi , providing her with what may be the one solid , positive relationship in nomi's entire life . +molly is the one who makes the difference , and provides the role model and framework nomi needs to verify the value system she'll be using for the rest of her life , and nomi's feelings for molly are the spur that forces nomi's decision . +gina gershon plays cristal , an aging , but still very attractive starring dancer , a reflexively competitive manipulator who's become a villainess by internalizing the ethos of the crooks and scum around her . +gershon plays cristal as a cross between ava gardner and raquel welch ; a fading talent made bitter by self-awareness . +her character is very well drawn and performed ; in a major scene in a hospital room , she acknowledges what she is , and , in essence , passes the torch to nomi . +the relationship between the two of them is the most honest one in the movie , and provides part of the impetus nomi needs to follow a different path . +it is no accident that the three important parts in this movie are women of different stripe ; molly is an honest , hard-working person who means well , and nearly dies because she confuses the glitter and the image with reality . +cristal is a talented dancer who's compromised her ideals and sold herself to be a co-operating part of the system , exchanging self-respect for the species of stardom that can be had in las vegas . +nomi believes she can make it without selling herself , succumbs to a degree , and then realizes she can make it without selling herself , and doesn't need las vegas or its brand of " stardom . " +the male parts in this movie are simply props ; they exist only to demonstrate and explicate the cultural milieu against which showgirls exist . +kyle maclachlan , whose single best previous work was as an inhumanly emotionless cop in the hidden , gives us a nicely reptilian bit of pond scum on two legs , camouflaged as a nice guy . +glenn plummer plays a dancer who's working as a bellboy , and provides a bit of alternate perspective . +plummer's character is the only one in the movie who's maintaining an interest in dance as a performing art , but even he's succumbed to the cult of manipulation . +plummer's character is the closest thing to a sympathetic male character in the whole movie . +some of jost vacano's cinematography is fantastic , and one particular delineation of nomi's character alteration , a no-dialog scene using nothing but color changes in the lighting , is utterly terrifying . +this movie is rated nc-17 due to language , sexual situations , full frontal nudity , violence , and probably the costuming as well . +i don't see a way this particular story could have been told well without it , and i regard it as a legitimate exercise in movie-making . +but don't go see it if you're not in a tough mood ; the only person it's possible to like in this movie ends up in an i . c . u . +on life support , and there is probably not one character in this movie you'd enjoy meeting in person . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv818_10211.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv818_10211.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0cd1db4ca5a9a9c04feb31531d254a2630592737 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv818_10211.txt @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +it has been three long years since quentin tarantino stunned the cinema world by claiming the cannes film festival's palme d'or , a $100 million-plus box office gross , and an oscar nomination ? all for his sophomore outing , pulp fiction . +since then , the talented film maker has been virtually invisible , surfacing briefly as a co-director of the wildly uneven four rooms and the screenwriter of the gory vampire-fest , from dusk till dawn . +in between , he has moonlighted as an " actor " with several decidedly unmemorable performances . +now , with much fanfare and anticipation , tarantino has returned with his third directorial effort , jackie brown . +and , while this motion picture , adapted from elmore leonard's novel , rum punch , offers solid entertainment , those expecting another bravura outing from tarantino will leave theaters disappointed . +for the most part , jackie brown is a pretty ordinary crime movie . +the story , which starts out slowly , develops into a twisty affair , with double-crosses and triple-crosses . +and the movie is littered with occasional tarantino trademarks : witty dialogue , unexpected gunfire , '70s pop tunes , and close-ups of womens' bare feet . +yet , for all of that , the production is something of a letdown . +the sheer , in-your-face exuberance that marked reservoir dogs and especially pulp fiction is absent . +the mostly-straightforward chronology of jackie brown doesn't match up favorably to the non-linear style of tarantino's previous efforts ? an approach that added tension and edginess to the narratives . +and there aren't nearly as many deliciously offbeat conversations this time around . +there's a samuel l . jackson monologue about guns , a jackson/chris tucker argument regarding the merits of hiding in a car trunk , and a jackson/robert de niro exchange that recalls some of the jackson/travolta material from pulp fiction , but that's about it . +jackie brown's lone " innovation " is its presentation of a crucial sequence from three different perspectives . +this isn't exactly an original technique ? it has been done numerous times before , most famously in akira kurosawa's rashomon and most recently in edward zwick's courage under fire . +however , while in those two movies ( and others ) , there was a legitimate plot reason for the multiple points-of- view , tarantino's sole purpose for using it appears to be because it's unconventional . +had the scenes in question been shown from only one of the three vantages , nothing would have been lost . +as a result , this aspect of the film is little more than a curiosity . +for the second picture in a row , tarantino is attempting to revive the career of a '70s icon . +this time around , instead of john travolta , it's blaxploitation queen pam grier ( foxy brown has become jackie brown ) . +in one of many nods to the most famous segment of grier's career , tarantino uses a '70s song to accompany her first appearance during the opening credits . +there are also several instances during jackie brown when the director offers a sly wink towards certain conventions of the blaxploitation genre ( although grier never does any butt-kicking ) . +grier is jackie brown , a flight attendant who gets caught transporting drugs and money into the united states . +she's working for gun dealer ordell robbie ( samuel l . jackson ) , but she keeps her mouth shut under questioning , despite pressure from ray nicolet ( michael keaton ) , a federal official . +no longer sure whether or not he can trust jackie , ordell arranges for a bail bondsman , max cherry ( robert forster , tv's " banyon " ) to post the necessary $10 , 000 , then plans to shoot jackie if she proves disloyal . +jackie passes ordell's test , however , and soon the two of them are plotting a way to smuggle $500 , 000 of ordell's money into the united states without tipping off the feds . +soon , just about everyone is after that money , including jackie , max , ray , ordell's perpetually oversexed and drugged-out girlfriend , melanie ( bridget fonda ) , and his right-hand man , louis ( robert de niro ) . +unsurprisingly , the most memorable performance is turned in by samuel l . jackson , but ordell isn't nearly as invigorating or compelling a character as jules from pulp fiction . +in addition to looking fantastic , pam grier is also quite good , although hers is not an oscar- caliber performance ( although she might get a nomination ) . +robert forster and michael keaton are solid in their tough-guys-who-rarely- smile roles . +bridget fonda is around for three discernible reasons : to look sexy in a bikini , to provide a little twisted comedy , and to satisfy tarantino's foot fetish . +robert de niro is criminally underused in a part that could have been played equally well by any grungy- looking , middle-aged actor . +the film , which clocks in at several minutes over the two-and-a- half hour mark , is probably too long for the material , but the plot is convoluted enough to keep us guessing throughout ( although the payoff is a letdown ) . +tarantino keeps things moving along nicely , with a heavier dose of humor and less violence than in pulp fiction , but , on the whole , this movie seems more like the work of one of his wannabes than something from the director himself . +when it comes to recent caper films ( like the grifters and bound ) , jackie brown is a second-tier effort . +it's an entertaining diversion , but not a masterpiece , and certainly not an oscar contender . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv820_22892.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv820_22892.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ebedcff39eb17dd40e156d1f08339b5b1c0a9b42 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv820_22892.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +i was originally going to give the spanish prisoner two and half stars . +from my first viewing , i noticed that david mamet's film was intense and clever at times but boring and cliched at other times especially at the beginning . +from my second viewing however , i noticed that mamet's script was actually a masterpiece . +the spanish prisoner , like the usual suspects or chinatown , begs for the viewer's complete attention . +miss a scene or even a small detail , and you could miss the meaning of the entire film . +also like the aforementioned films , it rewards its viewer for paying attention by delivering a surprising and memorable ending . +mamet is success doing again what he once tackled in 1987 when he wrote and directed house of games . +like his past gem , the spanish prisoner fools the audience as much ( or even more ) than the victim . +because we were deceived just like the victim , we feel a strong attachment to the main character and consequently are more interested in the film . +mamet has the talent of not completely ending a film gift wrapped , but rather leaving some ambiguity towards the end . +the power that he has in forcing the viewer to determine who the good guys and bad guys are once the film is over , without giving a right answer , is unique and ingenious . +the spanish prisoner will leave you seriously puzzled and intrigued . +after seeing the film again , i noticed that the details mamet uses are so incredibly accurate it is frightening . +his direction is very subtle ; as he leaves so many clues explaining what is going on and who is who but it is still very difficult to tell what exactly is happening even if you see all of them , or think you see all of them . +the story follows a young up and coming businessman , joe ross , ( campbell scott ) who has just created a mysterious and lucrative " process " that everyone is trying to get their hands on . +soon ross does not know who he can trust or who is after his " process . " +through his journey ross meets a number of mysterious characters : the rich and popular jimmy dell , a secretary who has a huge crush on ross , and ross' boss mr . klein . +played by steve martin , rebecca pidgeon , and ben gazarra respectively , the supporting cast is very solid especially martin , who deserved an oscar nomination for his commanding and manipulative role . +the most interesting character in the film , though , was campbell scott's joe ross . +the character's transformation from an ingenuous and polite rookie to a paranoid veteran is very apparent and justifiable . +david mamet's script is so interesting because we know people don't actually talk like the characters in the film , yet we feel so connected to some of them . +his beguiling style could fool any viewer up for the challenge . +this is a must see , for those interested in solving a complex puzzle of a movie . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv821_29364.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv821_29364.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..81ed0b8deff8265f7a275b23ccc714c0282bdbbd --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv821_29364.txt @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +an unhappy italian housewife , a lonely waiter , a goofy masseuse , lots of love , and gorgeous scenery all come together in bread and tulips , which proves charming despite its covering of predictable , well-worn material . +the story concerns the aforementioned housewife , rosalba barletta ( licia maglietta ) who accidentally becomes separated from her immediate family while on vacation . +instead of waiting for a ride home , rosalba opts not to go home to her italian town , but to instead hitchhike to venice . +upon arriving , she tells her self-centered husband , mimmo ( an excellent antonio catania ) that she'll be home in a few days . +of course , that doesn't happen , as rosalba quickly gains a level of independence that has been unattainable in her past life of scrubbing floors and buying groceries . +in what seems like days , she moves in with lonely , suicidal waiter fernando ( bruno ganz ) , gets a job as a florist , learns the accordion , and befriends her neighbor -- a wacky holistic masseuse named grazia ( marina massironi ) . +rosalba , who is first seen wearing a gaudy stretch pants outfit , starts wearing sexy dresses and getting closer to fernando . +i can think of at least five other ( american ) movies ( including fried green tomatoes and an unmarried woman ) that are more than similar to bread and tulips . +but maglietta and ganz , who act with restraint and care , help bread and tulips from becoming a tired retread . +ganz plays the suicidal waiter role with a solemn , sometimes playful dignity that is a joy to watch , while maglietta never overreacts to her growing comfort with the outside world . +throughout the movie , maglietta has an easygoing , confident demeanor , which makes it very easy to root for her and her growing attraction for ganz's character . +the gorgeous scenery of moonlit town squares and sparkling rivers provides a perfect love story backdrop -- you just might want to ask the attractive stranger in the seat behind you for coffee after the lights come up . +director and co-writer silvio soldini must get credit for sprinkling the movie with effective goofy humor . +the cheap mimmo , desperate to find his wife ( after all , he needs his shirts ironed and his mistress won't do it ) , hires a job applicant ( giuseppe battiston ) at his bathroom supply firm to do the job . +the reason ? +mimmo discovers that the prospective plumber loves detective stories . +the novice detective's various misfortunes , including him saying goodbye to his weepy mother , are very funny . +unfortunately , there are flaws that somewhat spoil bread and tulips' cheery tone . +rosalba is bothered by several surreal dreams during her time in venice , which bring the movie to a halt . +it's like putting a gunfight in a nora ephron movie . +several details in fernando's life also never get proper closure , including his suicidal tendencies . +early in the movie , he nearly hangs himself before rosalba knocks on his apartment door . +after that , fernando's step towards death is never made reference to , probably because soldini wanted to include a lukewarm , underdeveloped subplot about fernando's stormy past . +it seems more like a desperate attempt to pump up the drama in a plot that doesn't need any . +but there aren't a lot of overwhelming negatives in bread and tulips . +the movie is fun and romantic , with beautiful scenery and characters whose lives we'd like to live if we had the nerve . . . +or if our passports weren't missing . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv822_20049.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv822_20049.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..036350e429dffcea5014b3e35ec5e423f4535e71 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv822_20049.txt @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +after the terminally bleak reservoir dogs and the brutally violent pulp fiction , jackie brown seems like something of a light-hearted departure for quentin tarantino . +it's more of a ho-hum heist story with characters that speak the tarantino language . +luckily , his showcase of actors convert every morsel of possible enjoyment onto the screen , and jackie brown has no trouble entertaining the average viewer . +the story introduces us to a street-wise black woman named jackie brown ( pam grier ) , a flight attendant who smuggles money and drugs from one destination to another . +she works for a bottom-of-the-barrel airline and receives a minimal salary . +but one day , she is picked up by a pair of federal officials ( including michael keaton as the tough-nosed ray nicolet ) , and found with a handsome load of cash and a small bag of smuggled dope . +jackie is working for a weapons dealer named ordell ( samuel l . jackson ) , who pays her bail money but suspects her of tipping off the feds about their operation . +soon jackie and ordell are plotting a way to smuggle $500 , 000 through to them under nicolet's nose , with the help of ordell's oaf of a partner ( robert de niro ) and drugged-out lady friend ( bridget fonda ) . +also entering the picture is a bail-bondsman named max cherry ( robert forster ) , who takes a liking to jackie and agrees at one point to make the situation even more complicated ( how i won't say ) . +the big drop-off is undoubtedly the high point of jackie brown , in which numerous double-crosses take place and many clothing store bags ( filled with cash ) switch hands . +it's unfortunate that tarantino takes his sweet time getting there , and doesn't offer anything extremely compelling while doing so . +there are , as always , amusing exchanges between characters . +the funniest repartee is between de niro and fonda , as he becomes annoyed with her constant bickering while making fun of his iq , or lack thereof . +the most interesting relationship is between max and jackie . +a 56-year old white bail bondsman and a 44-year old black flight attendant with believable chemistry ? +you've got to commend the acting . +jackie brown is a seriously dragged-out exercise enlivened by such fine acting . +the film clocks in at a lengthy 2 hours , 35 minutes . +tarantino's talky style manages to hold your attention heavily , but there are more than a few dramatic lapses and crucial lulls in the storyline . +also , fans of the director should be prepared for a lighter side to appear . +jackie brown has four major shootings , and two of those take place mostly off-screen , so don't be expecting a typical tarantino bloodbath . +you can expect frequent foul language , mostly coming way of ordell , who ( much to the dismay of spike lee ) uses the `n' word as part of his regular vocabulary . +the acting is the glue that holds everything together . +grier , making a sudden comeback from her reign in the 1970's , is more than adequate for the title character . +in fact , she's flat-out great . +another comeback comes from former tv star robert forster , who does a grand job as max cherry , and is perfectly cast in doing so . +michael keaton makes his presence felt , albeit in small but dignified moments , and de niro is ideal in playing the lug-head who goes over the edge . +speaking of that , bridget fonda has relatively little to do as ordell's bikini-clad beach babe , and yet she manages to look fairly occupied . +there's not a single sign of misplaced dialogue or snubbed line throughout the entire movie . +which is a life-saver for mr . tarantino . +the story barely holds together in the meantime , and we merely get a small tremor whenever there should be a defeaning earthquake . +but oh well . +jackie brown manages to be an enjoyable detour from quentin tarantino , even if it is lacking the glaring and original bite of his previous work . +let's just hope that the director hasn't gone soft on us . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv824_8838.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv824_8838.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4e3e09b71b6f6ca742fa3ea6e3f66ab7952c307b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv824_8838.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18 @@ +in may of 1977 , just 2 years after steven spielberg's success with jaws and 3 years after francis coppolas' the godfather , a risky , ambitious young director named george lucas went for the same unpredictable box office success . +little did he know that star wars would become the greatest science fiction epic in the history of film . +in january of this year , lucas re-released star wars on its 20th anniversary . +in this new , remastered version , the added effects , which range from leathery desert beasts inserted into already existing shots to an awkward new scene in which hans solo bargains his way out of a jam with a computer-generated jabba the hutt , don't do much but call attention to themselves . +other than these , the film is exactly the same . +why pay to see it in the theaters , you might ask ? +simply because when this movie was released , most of us were a few years short of being born . +we should all get up and go to the movies for the experience , especially if you haven't seen it . +the plot is basic but in the same way , complex . +it has many themes , but the one rotates around luke skywalker ( mark hamill ) and his quest to become a jedi knight . +his mission begins when a droid named r2-d2 plays back a secret message recorded by the beautiful princess leia ( carrie fisher ) , which tells him to contact the mysterious obi-wan kanoby ( alec guiness ) . +he and kanoby then , joined by two inter-galactic renegades , hans solo ( harrison ford ) and chewbacca , and skywalker's two droids d2 and c3po ( the voice of anthony edwards ) , wage war upon the corrupt empire , commanded by an evil general ( peter cushing ) and the traitorous darth vader ( the voice of james earl jones ) . +skywalker defeats the evil empire by rising out of himself to embrace something larger : the force . +the film is obviously quite star-studded . +but how was lucas to know that ford would become one of the most sought after men in hollywood and jones' voice would appear so many more times in the future ? +it just happened to work out for him . +the magic of star wars lies in the way that skywalker's triumph is symbolized by the audience's sense of becoming something larger than life itself-a universe of fans , young and old , recreating a movie atmosphere that will impress generations forever . + , diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv825_5063.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv825_5063.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..029f09b150df36cf650a507788af487fd528a156 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv825_5063.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9 @@ +`strange days' chronicles the last two days of 1999 in los angeles . +as the locals gear up for the new millenium , lenny nero ( ralph fiennes ) goes about his business of peddling erotic memory clips . +he pines for his ex-girlfriend , faith ( juliette lewis ) , not noticing that another friend , mace ( angela bassett ) really cares for him . +this film features good performances , impressive film-making technique and breath-taking crowd scenes . +director kathryn bigelow knows her stuff and does not hesitate to use it . +but as a whole , this is an unsatisfying movie . +the problem is that the writers , james cameron and jay cocks , were too ambitious , aiming for a film with social relevance , thrills , and drama . +not that ambitious film-making should be discouraged ; just that when it fails to achieve its goals , it fails badly and obviously . +the film just ends up preachy , unexciting and uninvolving . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv826_11834.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv826_11834.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4781f4d2bb07b61ebb76aee21829dd587601f95d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv826_11834.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +there's a thin line between satire and controversy , and mike nichols ( the birdcage , wolf ) has directed a sharp and very honest look at a us presidential election . +based on the book written by " anonymous " ( actually former " newsweek " writer joe klein ) , john travolta plays governor jack stanton . +but he doesn't actually play stanton . +he plays bill clinton ; just the same as emma thompson no doubt plays the first lady and billy bob thorton is the campaign manipulator james carville ( although the credits will of course say otherwise ) . +the film is taken from the perspective of henry burton ( adrian lester ) , a morally correct and somewhat hesitant new advisor to stanton . +he searches for justice and dignity in the ugliest possible situations , and whether it be keeping the history of his boss' pants under wraps or contemplating digging up dirt on another politician , he approaches his work with a keen desire to skillfully serve his country and his fellow workers . +richard jemmons ( billy bob thorton ) and daisy green ( maura tierney ) team up with henry as the would-be president's advisors , and hire lesbian veteran libby holden ( kathy bates ) as the campaign's eccentric " tougher than dirt " incriminator . +together they face all sorts of sexual allegations , the irritatingly discourteous media and other witty politicians in the election race . +in its satire and controversy , primary colors is a similar film to wag the dog : they both are not afraid to wipe their noses in the nitty-gritty and take a bold look at something that will never has honesty as a virtue . +but whereas wag showed us how much affect a few people can have on the media , primary colors is much more concerned with fleshing out it's characters , letting us understand what they want and why , and making us truly appreciate the humanity and rectitude that they graciously represent . +seeing john travolta play bill clinton so confidently and justly is enough to make the film more than worth a look . +and the rest of the cast also make superb performances - adrian lester sharply portrays the intellect of henry whilst kathy bates is perfect as the robust and energetic libby holden . +at occasions , you can't help but feel that these terrific characters are going to waste . +there are long slabs of time where john travolta ( unquestionably the most interesting to watch ) is missed from the screen ; and since it is awkwardly structured as henry's story we are often forced to watch scenes that perhaps are not so necessary to the central plot - or even the point of the film . +having said that , make no mistake - primary colors is always enjoyable to watch . +but frequently we have to ask ourselves - exactly what are we watching ? +most of the first half of its duration is a lightheaded look at melodramatic confrontations that seem so genuine we cannot help but laugh , but the way primary colors chooses to finish tackles aspects that are very contrary , and almost unsuitable , to the rest of the film . +but as i mentioned before , there is a thin line between satire and controversy - and for the most part , primary colors delivers an entertaining indulgence of political matters combined with a far-from-overpowering look at winning the public's opinion . +although at occasions the film may jump around a little too freely , focus is never lost on how important and vulnerable the subject matter really is . +thankfully , it is clear to make the distinction on what is entertaining movie cosmetics and what is a provocative documentation of something so really it's scary . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv827_18331.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv827_18331.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f22057452fca41dc0c280e428fe0253693e935ba --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv827_18331.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +it was only a matter of time before a dilbert-esque office comedy hit the screens . +however , rather than coming from dilbert creator scott adams , office space is instead based on the work of another animator , mike judge , creator of beavis and butthead and king of the hill . +in his live-action directoral debut , judge aptly spoofs corporate culture . +the story is certainly not very involved , but there is plenty of truth and humor to fill the gaps . +peter ( ron livingston ) is a programmer working at the initech corporation . +every day in his mundane life is worse than the one before . . . in +other words , every day is the worst day in his entire life . +he's stuck in a boring job with eight different supervisors , all obsessed with administrative trivialities . +he's smitten with joanna ( jennifer aniston ) , a local waitress , but hasn't the guts to even introduce himself . +everything has simply made him a complete , nervous wreck . +but all of that changes when , after an unintentionally over-effective visit to a hypnotherapist , peter loses all of his inhibitions . +he realizes his lifelong dream : to do absolutely nothing . +he begins to blatantly disregard the nonsensical instructions of his boss , bill lumbergh ( gary cole ) , doing whatever he feels like . +peter's friends and co-workers , samir ( ajay naidu ) and michael bolton ( david herman ) . . . no , +not that michael bolton , are perplexed by their friend's sudden change in attitude . +but , they have larger things to worry about : rumors about that initech is about to begin downsizing . . . +as bleak as much of this sounds , let me assure you that office space is a comedy , and quite a funny one . +although it shares the same absurdist office humor of the dilbert comic strip , office space is actually based loosely on the series of milton cartoons which aired on saturday night life . +each mundane detail , taken by itself , seems completely , regrettably , plausible . +yet , when combined into a whole , the picture which results is absolutely surreal . +ron livingston tackles his role straight-faced , and becomes much funnier because of it . +his character isn't simply being a clown lampooning around the office , but rather seems possessed by a zen-like clarity . +he is operating on a higher plane , where everything suddenly makes sense , and from this vantage point , he allows the audience to smirk at the absurdities of life . +anyone who has had to deal with the inefficiencies of corporate bureaucracy , or who has ever been frustrated with the technology of modern life , will recognize many of the characters and situations in the film . +in fact , in addition to being wildly humorous , the film may actually prove to be cathartic . +the animated roots of office space show in the film's lack of complexity . +most of the characters in the film can be quickly summarized by a particular personality quirk . +one employee , milton ( stephen root ) , is practically a flesh-and-blood cartoon . +however , despite their simple nature , the characters still manage to be surprisingly funny . +it's not required to have a corporate background to enjoy this film ( though the situations may seem exceedingly far-fetched if you are unfamiliar with just how close to reality they really are ) . +the film is flimsy and absurd , but also very funny . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv828_19831.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv828_19831.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..91eaf4fbdb6fc93d828a3c308f4a7db3ab9df94a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv828_19831.txt @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +all those who were offended by there's something about mary should not tread in the waters of american pie , a gratuitously sexual rollercoaster ride of raunch . +and while this uproariously funny , gross-out summer movie is basically an exercise in bad taste , it also demonstrates a surprising sweetness in the end . +american pie is the latest entry to the offensive teenage-targeted fare this season . +i must question the studio that releases a movie like this . +the producers are aiming these films at the 15-24 crowd , but while pushing the limit of possible sex and violence in an r-rated film . +some have even been narrowly avoiding the dreaded nc-17 , a rating the mpaa gives when the adult content surpasses even that of a restricted movie . +american pie was threatened with an nc-17 , but after snipping a few scenes from the finished product , it was given an r . but at least this new addition is not as careless and unforgiving as something like south park . +it is sick , perverse , and ultimately disgusting - not to mention extremely funny . +american pie is about four desperate teenagers who make a pact to lose their virginity by prom night . +jim ( jason biggs ) , kevin ( thomas ian nicholas ) , oz ( chris klein ) and finch ( eddie kaye thomas ) are a quartet of high school students in their senior year who think sex is something they must experience to be successful in their lives ahead . +jim inquires what it feels like when you reach third base , to which one of his friends replies : `like warm apple pie . . . ' . +of course , this prompts the scene unfairly exposed in the trailers , in which jim and a freshly baked pie have a very intimate moment in the kitchen corner . +there are many moments , such as this , in which director paul weitz uses a game-plan similar to the one frequently displayed in mary : to cause the audience to break down laughing in disgusting disbelief . +american pie is a hard-fought effort that has replenishing rewards if you manage to stick with it . +i loved the young cast in this movie . +consider the subject matter that these actors have dealt with , obviously suggestiveness never rivaled in any of their previous projects , and you should appreciate their performances . +biggs is more than enjoyable , and chris klein ( who recently played a similar jock in election ) is obviously a young talent on the rise . +but in a teen-dominated movie , the best performance comes from comedian eugene levy ( of television's sctv ) , who is unexpectedly brilliant as jim's uneasy father . +scenes in which the familiar father-son conversations are brought to interesting new levels are the funniest moments to be found in american pie . +after levy discovers jim's new use for apple pie , he tells him , `i did a fare share of that sort of thing when i was your age . +but i never used baked goods . ' +it is performances such as his , and bill murray's in rushmore , that are often unfairly dismissed when awards are handed out . +there are some less-than-original aspects of the film . +a bathroom incident involving finch and a bottle of ex-lax is something we've seen before . +if weitz is planning to take after the farrelly brothers , then this is a decidedly unwise move : the same prank was pulled in the brother's dumb and dumber , and used to greater effect . +secondly , the characters are forced into a half-hearted climax that seems more artificial than amusing . +but at one point , in which we discover that american pie does have a heart of it's own , biggs asks his buddies why he's going through so much pressure for something that's `not very important anyway . ' +and so we realize that while the film is expressive about a subject that is hardly appropriate , it still manages to be mature . +in it's own way . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv829_20289.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv829_20289.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..cb130a45e311da93e5cbf8f6b8c8d4fa21c38504 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv829_20289.txt @@ -0,0 +1,33 @@ +albert brooks saves the day , just in the nick of time . +with a very poor summer for movies , brooks is just what audiences were looking for to cheer them up , and does so in a positive way . +while this may not be his finest work , " the muse " still shakes up some delightful humor . +in albert brook's latest comedy , he tells a story of a troubled screenwriter ( brooks ) who's losing his edge , as his business partners say . +in desperation , he goes to see his friend jack ( jeff bridges ) , who has been a very successful screenwriter in the past . +he asks jack for some help , and recieves word of a real life muse , that has helped him and many other directors throughout their career . +so brooks seeks the muse named sarah ( sharon stone ) , and is suckered into buying her expensive , food etc . as a sort of payment . +the real punch line however , doesn't come until the end . +it really makes you wonder , how screenwriters really get their ideas , could it simply be from a friend or a bum in the street ? +the idea itself is provoking and brooks does it in a hilarious manner . +speaking of brooks , he was absolutely hysterical as a screenwriter . +every time he graces the screen , i can't help but start laughing . +albert has a very unique sense of humor that makes him a very likeable character . +the real problem with the film lies with sharon stone . +she wasn't likeable at all . +brooks had the right idea with her occupation , but she never pulled through . +in a way , she drained energy from the once funny atmosphere and left it bleak . +luckily brooks could clean up the mess , and cover for stone's mishap . +it was a shame that the film went slightly downhill after her appearance , because " the muse " had the potential to a be a very authentic comedy . +on a brighter note , andie macdowell was also charming as brook's wife . +she is always a nice addition as a supporting actress , because she has that charisma that seems to complete the atmosphere to any film she's in . +the funniest moments in " the muse " in my opinion were the cameos by james cameron and martin scorsese . +i mean imagine , brooks seeing these big named directors in his back yard seeking sharon stone for advice , like it was something out of the ordinary . +it was just plain hilarious . +it just adds to the satire joke , of how directors get ideas . +brilliant move by brooks . +as i mentioned before , the film is a satire much like it's proceeder bowfinger , which came out a few weeks before . +unlike bowfinger , this is not a mean spirited film that's desperate for jokes , it's rather a witty and humorous look at hollywood . + " bowfinger " had it's moments , but had quite a few problems that were never worked out , but " the muse " still managed to keep the laughs despite a bit of a detour . +by the end of the film , you're glad to see a good hearty comedy come out of it . +for once i'm not fully disappointed , because the film didn't slow down , it kept moving , even with some flaws . +thumbs up to brooks for his brave effort . +i think he'll still manage to keep his edge around well into the future . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv832_23275.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv832_23275.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..aa33b68f7e26ddec562ea1bdc49eedead35504d1 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv832_23275.txt @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@ +pitch black is a sheep in wolf's clothing . +it is full of darkness , danger and violence and if you buy into the marketing hype , an unsettling and scary film going experience . +don't be fooled . +pitch black is a morality play masquerading as a scare-fest . +it starts off with blistering intensity . +a cargo spaceship crash lands on a planet apparently leeched of life by the scorching heat of three suns . +among the survivors is fry ( mitchell ) , the ship's pilot , who spends the film wrestling with the fact that she tried to jettison the other passengers in her effort to land the craft safely . +there is imam ( david ) , an islamic leader whose faith in his god is tested repeatedly throughout the film . +there is a law enforcement officer in the form of johns ( hauser ) , who attacks every situation with square jawed authoritarian zeal . +and there is riddick ( diesel ) , a menacing , muscle-bound convicted murderer who's being brought back to justice by johns . +the group quickly sizes up the situation and each other . +confident in their assessment of matters , a plan is set in motion to escape their hellish environment . +those plans are shredded by the appearance of one of the planet's wildlife , a predatory , sometimes winged , species that enjoys the taste of blood and flesh . +fortunately , the creatures are light sensitive and are forced to live in networks of catacombs under the planet's surface . +unfortunately , the group has managed to land on the planet moments before an eclipse is about to occur , taking away their one protection from the monsters . +the group's savior comes in the form of johns , whose decisive leadership looks to deliver them from purgatory . +or does it ? +pitch black deviates from the standard sci-fi fare by avoiding some of the stock " escape the boogieman " conflicts the genre typically serves up . +just as the planet gave a false facade of lifelessness , first appearances given by the survivors proves to be just as false . +the excitement of the film comes not from the danger posed by the creatures , but rather from watching the shifting allegiances and emotional growth of the characters as the planet serves as a deus ex machina of sorts to catalyze emotional growth . +a recurrent theme runs throughout the movie of faith , whether it be religious or in a person , and how that powers their motivations . +i found it telling that an accidental death occurs early on due to the misperception of a self professed atheist . +conversely , imam constantly contributes any good fortune to allah . +one by one , his perceived heaven sent blessings are taken away and crushed . +imam is forced to reassess his faith . +another character expresses belief in god , along with a life long hate . +yet another character makes a decision that echoes the sentiments of christ about selflessness and has lasting repercussions for several of group . +it is a fascinating character study hiding under the guise of a scare flick . +special mention should be made of vin diesel , who intriguingly conveys feral menace combined with a truly mesmerizing presence . +his character could have easily slipped into a parody of the baddass killing machine , but twohy and diesel add surprising depth to riddick . +they can be excused for the two or three shwarzenegger-like catch phrases that growl their way out of diesel's mouth . +the movie has its flaws that can be nitpicked . +the creatures do look derivative of the ones in alien . +the dialogue isn't the freshest at times , reminiscent of a bad comic book . +yes , the appearance of riddick's vision skills are more than a little timely considering the situation . +these trappings are on the periphery of the story twohy is really trying to tell . +twohy may have lured you in under the pretense of scaring you with film fabricated boogieman , but he shows the real boogieman to be the prejudices and beliefs we use to direct decisions in our lives . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv833_11053.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv833_11053.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c85059e4dcb562d65369bb34bc71047422c9a455 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv833_11053.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +seen february 15 , 1998 on home video ( borrowed from chris wessell ) . +when it comes to modern gangster movies , it's really difficult to describe and review them without making comparisons to other films of the genre and/or just using the word " routine . " +i've always subscribed to the philosophy that any idea ( no matter how many times it's been used before ) can provide for a good story and " donnie brasco " clinches this idea . +it's not unlike most of the great films of the genre , yet it never apes another's style as it has a good layer of authenticity , even if its core is a tad stale . +the film starts off in typical fashion by defining its atmosphere of new york city in the late 1970s and the mobsters who inhibit it . +we meet lefty ( pacino ) , an aging wiseguy who can still walk the walk and talk the talk . +he and his associates go through the generic motions you expect to see in crime films like this . +somehow he comes across donnie brasco ( depp ) , a younger guy with a lot of spunk who isn't afraid of lefty and his rep , and even manages to befriend him after lefty was ready to kill him . +it's clear donnie is new to the life and lefty recognizes this immediately , telling him all the tricks of the trade . +i have never seen this technique of actually revealing the mafioso idiosyncrasies done before and for this the film deserves credit . +however , we soon realize donnie is actually joe pistone , an fbi agent working undercover - a character who symbolizes the viewer as he will soon be purged into the lifestyle and treated as a newcomer . +the first act works as a guided to ot of rhetoric about wiseguy honor , a brief history of the mob , definitions of their slang , and where their money comes from and who it goes to . +the screenplay is rather sketchy on the details surrounding these elements , however , the fact they are mentioned at all is quite original . +most gangster movies seem to be made with the notion the viewer already knows how the mob works ( probably from watching other gangster movies ) , and although this attitude comes across , the film tries to fill in all the holes where and when it can and the effort is appreciable . +thankfully the film doesn't become too caught up in the tedious details of organized crime , and instead opts for character development . +much of the story is told simply through the interaction between lefty and donnie . +pacino is outstanding here as the pathetic hood who speaks of his job in the same manner any blue collar worker would . +he's old and exhausted but seems to enjoy what he does , just as anyone loyal to the same employer for over 30 years might be . +we learn of his accomplishments , which are quite impressive within their context , and when he complains about not being made top boss , it's easy to sympathize with him . +newell constantly plays up this aspect , making it a major theme which works well in the long run . +as donnie is constantly impressing and even one-upping lefty , it's hard to tell which emotion is more powerful : the fact donnie is getting closer to nailing the mob ; or the fact lefty has once again been over shadowed . +most of the film tells the story of donnie's life in mafia , which creates for many sub-plots and individual conflicts , but doesn't always seem to come together as a whole . +the storytelling is genuinely interesting throughout , even when the motions the characters go through seem familiar . +the resonance to donnie's actual assignment varies , he often reports back to the feds with detail of his progress , but it doesn't always seem to have much meaning . +back home , his wife maggie ( heche ) is ready to divorce him because he's never a and the family is suffering . +since this is based on a true story i wouldn't doubt this would happen , although the way it is handled often borders on the melodramatic . +my only major complaint is the film seems to have no final act , or at least any real sense of closure . +a climax of sorts does occur , but there's little feeling of a payoff . +we get a happy ending , which is good , but perhaps a sad ending would have been more powerful . +aside from a few minor , general flaws , " donnie brasco " manages to be a solid piece of storytelling and character development . +it may be routine , but it's good , and that's respectful . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv834_22195.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv834_22195.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2b4120e6d3c6bc1eb210ccbb5cd91802b18885e1 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv834_22195.txt @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ + " sometimes the 'green mile' seems sooooo long . " +indeed . +and any filmmaker with a three hour movie who ends it with that gem of dialogue should expect to see it quoted in a review . +on a more positive note , let me add that sometimes the green mile is almost good enough to make us forget its length . +the mile in question ( green due to its faded lime-colored linoleum ) leads from the prison cell to " old sparky , " the electric chair where executions were carried out at louisiana's cold mountain penitentiary in 1935 . +paul edgecomb ( tom hanks , you've got mail ) is the head guard of e-block , otherwise known as death row . +keeping his prisoners calm as they await the carrying out of their sentence is his primary responsibility . +it is a responsibility which he capably delegates to the other guards on his watch by insisting they " talk to " the convicts instead of yelling at them . +this practice leads to an unusual camaraderie between the guards and the men behind their bars . +into his charge comes one john coffey ( michael clarke duncan , armageddon ) , a seven foot tall gentle giant who has been convicted of the rape and murder of two young girls . +immediately , paul senses something different about this prisoner . +perhaps its the way he asked for a night light because he is frightened of the dark . +or perhaps it is the mystical healing powers he demonstrates as he " takes back " paul's bladder infection thereby restoring him to health . +based on steven king's 1996 serialized novel , the green mile does offer other characters who have stories to be told : eduard delacroix ( michael jeter , patch adams ) , is a frail cajun convict who befriends and trains a mouse to do circus tricks ; percy wetmore ( doug hutchison , a time to kill ) , is a young and sadistic guard sitting on a transfer to a more lucrative position because he has yet to see a prisoner " fry " up close ; and hal moores ( james cromwell , babe : pig in the city ) is the compassionate warden for whom , despite all the executions he's witnessed , death never loomed as large as when his own wife was diagnosed with a tumor . +while it is mr . hanks " everyman " performance at the center of the film which gives it the anchor to hold our interest for 180 minutes , it is the performances of his supporting cast that are most worth noting . +all involved do credible work in their respective roles , most especially mr . duncan , who turns in an impressive , fully realized characterization . +if only the story were more credible . +writer/director frank darabont ( the shawshank redemption ) has crafted a flawed fantasy/allegory of sorts ; one which is more spiritualistic than spiritual , relying on a preternatural mysticism rather than a genuine and godly spiritual power . +mr . darabont also overplays his hand considerably in the manipulation of our affection towards and association with his characters . +was it an accidental omission that the first two inmates who walked the green mile were being punished for crimes never disclosed ? +by not knowing the reason for the condemned convicts' presence on e-block , the audience never gets the sense of the justice which is being carried out , making the death penalty appear cruel and unwarranted . +this is especially true during the gruesome depiction of the second execution which was horribly botched . +much has also been made of coffey's christ-like ability to heal but unlike the numerous healings which are recorded in the scriptures , coffey's powers are shrouded in mystery , taking on the feel of a circus trick , coupled with a voodoo-like " i feel your pain " transference . +in contrast , there is no mystery associated with the healing that is from god . +the genuine " gifts of healing " listed in 1 corinthians 12 is just one of the nine manifestations of holy spirit and can be operated by any spiritually instructed man or woman in accordance with the knowledge and wisdom of god . +true spiritual healing ( with few exceptions ) requires the committed believing of both the healer as well as the one being healed . +such believing comes not from the shrouded secrets of mysticism , but from the revealed word of god . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv835_19159.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv835_19159.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..efb3eabed8bd8d4077d42e164f1bc4d73571430d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv835_19159.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12 @@ +i guess there are those who have never been kissed before ( a rare and dying breed ) , except if you're child ? in which case it would be called experimenting . +rarer still are those who have never been kissed before they reach the twenties . +hardest to believe still , is that drew barrymore has never been kissed . +despite all these hard to believe tit bits , there are people out there who have never truly been kissed , and who are still waiting for that right person to give them the wet , sloppy warm feeling of tongues intermingling , reassuring them that their search for true love is over . +well , this movie is about a girl waiting for the right boy to give her the kiss of her life . +and it's sweet . +drew barrymore who shone in ? ever after' is wonderful as ? josie , grossy' , the high school dweeb who becase a professional editor , before being assigned by her paper to return to school as an undercover reporter . +it addresses the issues of how a dweeb , becomes a prom queen and finds the man of her life all in one sitting . +hard to believe , but possible . +there may also be those who have been kissed before , but in fact , never truly been given the kiss . +so this movie can be watched by those who are waiting for true love or those who are still searching for it . +either way , it is one enjoyable sit , with a fairytale ending . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv837_27325.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv837_27325.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b015be1a32eb8b4d5a7f0da6a649f1598b696998 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv837_27325.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +in chocolat , a chocolate shop owner tells her customers to look into a spinning object of obscure textures , patterns , and lines , hoping she'll be able to foresee the kind of chocolate they'll most enjoy . +some scoff the idea , but everyone who gazes into the complexity of the spinning object winds up seeing something different than the next , revealing personality traits which the person may not have known they had before . +this can easily stand as a model for chocolat as a whole : on the surface , it appears to be a light , fluffy fable with no depth or true worth , but when one takes a second , deeper look , chocolat's true colors begin to shine through . +making a bold statement about organized religion and those who practice it , lasse hallstrom's chocolat is flawlessly acted and meticulously crafted-not to mention one of the best films of the year . +what gives chocolat its magic , much like hallstrom's 1999 winner of two academy awards , the cider house rules , is its willingness to say what's on its mind without holding back to prevent offending audiences . +the bold and honest message hallstrom conveys with chocolat will no doubt outrage a select group of viewers , but those who are willing to suspend their bitterness because they feel they are being intimidated or attacked should find themselves to be in agreement with what the film says about narrow-mindedness . +chocolat centers its story around the small french village of lansquenet , where majority rules , and the majority lives by only one law : religion . +the bulk of the townspeople ( with few exceptions ) are preparing for the sacred time of abstinence , lent , but when the independent thinking , seemingly non-religious vianne rocher ( juliette binoche ) and her daughter anouk ( victoire thivisol ) make the village their home , the people will be tempted beyond belief by the mouth-watering confections in the chocolate shop vianne opens . +many are predictably opposed and deeply offended by vianne's opening of the chocolate shop just in time for lent , especially the mayor , comte de reynaud ( a cartoon-like alfred molina ) , who will stop at nothing to put her out of business . +on the other hand , the shop is a delight to others , including the cranky armande voizin ( judi dench ) , who sits day by day in vianne's shop , telling the single mother about her unfortunate detached relationship with her grandson ( aurelien parent-koening ) , which comes as a result of his mother ( carrie-ann moss ) believing armande is a bad influence , as she does not hold the same , strict religious beliefs that she does . +also a fan of the chocolate is the nervous wreck josephine muscat , whose husband is constantly beating her , to whom vianne offers a home and befriends . +juliette binoche is charming and honest as vianne , genuinely capturing her character's determination to turn the narrow-minded townspeople into more happy , independent human beings , but most of chocolat's success is unquestionably a result of the remarkable performances of the supporting actresses . +lena olin , previously nominated for an oscar in 1989 , deserves her second nomination for her earnest , moving portrayal of a lost , scared woman torn between staying true to her battering , manipulative husband or leaving him to live the life which for which she longs . +judi dench is sharp , incisive , and occasionally greatly touching as armande voizin . +carrie ann-moss , in what is likely to be her first largely noticed ( and acclaimed ) role since the matrix , shows a more solid side of her acting skills not previously seen , crafting a character that the viewer both sympathizes with and despises simultaneously . +victoire thivisol shows much promise as anouk , a young girl hoping her always-on-the-move mother will eventually settle down . +a trade ad for chocolat sums up best the power the actresses have on screen with the tagline : " five extraordinary women , one extraordinary movie . " +that's not to say the men don't do their share , though : alfred molina makes for a sly and utterly repugnant antagonist , hugh o'conor adds quite a bit of comic relief as the priest who seems to not even know why he is who he is , and johnny depp gives a strong performance as the pirate roux , who enters the film late in the game and sparks the romantic interest of vianne . +the technical aspects of chocolat are strong across the board : lasse hallstrom directs his enchanting fable with great care , perfectly balancing the elements of each genre to be found within the film . +cinematographer roger pratt brings an atmospheric , fairy tale look to the film , and rachel portman's masterful score is her best and most memorable since the cider house rules . +chocolat , adapted by robert nelson jacobs from the joanne harris novel , is a wonderful little treat of a film , one that will most likely win over the hearts of audiences and the votes of academy members this winter , and the aggressive backing of miramax films assures the latter . +while not as powerful as the cider house rules , lasse hallstrom's chocolat is a film which works on all levels-as a drama , a comedy , a fable , a romance , and a fairy tale . +and it even lives up to its name : it is delicious to savor the taste of , easy to digest , and , like all excellent chocolate , it is memorable for days afterward . +the bottom line : chocolat is pure pleasure . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv839_21467.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv839_21467.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ab2837b90242fd789b9e5408cb3b84d3701ef9cd --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv839_21467.txt @@ -0,0 +1,44 @@ +assume nothing . +the phrase is perhaps one of the most used of the 1990's , as first impressions and rumors are hardly ever what they seem to be . +the phrase especially goes for oscar novak , an architect who is the main focus of three to tango , a delightful , funny romantic comedy about assumptions and being yourself . +novak ( matthew perry ) , a shy , clumsy , chicago based architect , along with openly gay partner , peter steinberg ( oliver platt ) , fights for projects day in and day out . +one of these is the job of restoring a popular building for charles newman ( dylan mcdermott ) , a rich , well-known businessman . +charles immediately takes a liking to oscar , as he enjoys his personality and sense of humor . +seeing oscar as someone he could trust , charles asks him to watch his girlfriend , an unpredictable , adventurous girl named amy post ( neve campbell ) , who makes a living by blowing glass . +charles wants to know who she talks to , what she does , and where she goes . +the point ? +to make sure she's not seeing someone else , of course . +oscar gladly takes the job , and meets amy at an art show of hers , and sparks fly between the two from the get go . +oscar feels he has found the one meant for him , and he is content with the idea of being with amy . +well , another popular phrase of the 90's is " all good things must come to an end , " and this stays true for oscar as well . +charles walks in on amy and oscar having a drink one night , as oscar and amy have become great friends , but he doesn't seem to mind . +why is this ? +he thinks oscar is gay . +he's not afraid to share this with him either . +oscar stands in shock after the words , " i swear if you weren't gay oscar , i'd have to kill you , " are muttered flamboyantly from charles' mouth . +the word spreads instantly through town . +will oscar " come out " of his supposed gayness , or will he tell everyone that he isn't ? +one would immediately think he would deny the fact , but numerous occurrences come to oscar , which result in the fact that if he denies the fact , he could lose his job with charles . +matthew perry doesn't escape his character as chandler on the already classic t . v . +comedy " friends , " as both oscar novak and chandler are clueless , shy , and sensitive . +nonetheless , perry is hilarious here , and shows that he can handle drama , as obviously , his character suffers quite a bit here . +it's wonderful to see neve campbell outside of a horror movie , ( she was the star of scream 1 and 2 , and the upcoming scream 3 ) as she handles comedy superbly here . +her voice , smile , and personality are more than perfect for romantic comedies- stay with this genre , neve . +neve is delightful as her conflicted character , who feels love for oscar , but knows , based on rumors , that he is gay . +as usual , campbell is likable as her likable character . +unlike the other two leads here , dylan mcdermott is flat in his dialogue , and is never convincing . +when his character his present , mcdermott sets a dull tone to the scene with his horrible acting . +stick to the t . v . +drama , the practice , dylan . +the major weak spot in three to tango is the direction of damon santostefano . +no originality or technique is used whatsoever . +three to tango is lucky that the script is so edgy and that perry and campbell are wonderful in comedy , or else the film would have been a disaster , as it is just plain boring to look at . +three to tango is a film done many times before , as the plot is suspiciously close to 1998's the object of my affection , but the plot has never been completed so well . +three to tango's script , written by rodney patrick vaccaro and aline brosh mckenna is fun , fast , and funny , delivering not only original , hilarious gay jokes ( not your run of the mill material ) , but a certain snappiness in the dialogue between characters that always keeps you smiling . +unlike last summer's south park : bigger , longer , and uncut and 1997's in & out , three to tango is a comedy in which the gay element is not crude or vulgar . +the script is wise to take this route , as gays can't ( i don't think so , anyway ) be offended by this light , playful comedy . + ( to prove this , a gay couple was in the audience who were laughing constantly . ) +three to tango's climax is a hilarious , clever scene that is pure irony based on the outcome of most romantic-mistaken identity comedies . +three to tango is a gem . +the bottom line : three to tango is a light , sharp , snappy romantic comedy with a superb ending , and great stars . +one of the better romantic comedies of 1999 . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv840_16321.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv840_16321.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c704f2fbcbde2a4bbee5041af3c01793c5e1bc8b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv840_16321.txt @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ +the question isn't why has grease been reissued . +the answer to that one is easy : to celebrate the movie's 20th anniversary and to make more bucks for paramount's coffers because john travolta is once again a hot commodity . +no , the question that ought to be asked is : should grease be reissued ? +the answer is not an easy one . +grease is a fun movie , an entertaining fantasy of the '50s , embodying all the cliches of that era . +the music is lively and the dance numbers , choreographed by patricia birch , are energetic and high-spirited . +travolta was at his pinnacle as a sexual icon , cool , but non-threatening . +but grease didn't break any new cinematic ground . +it was not a milestone in movie history such as citizen kane or easy rider . +what grease is - or has become - is the highest-grossing musical in film history . +ok , let's not be a spoilsport . +grease is a fun and entertaining movie , even though it stretches credulity to see such performers as travolta , olivia newton-john , taxi's jeff conaway and the multi-talented stockard channing try to act like high schoolers . +it's nostalgic to recall how good a dancer travolta was , and it's sad to think of what could have been had not a few missteps sidetracked his career . +he could have become a musical comedy star in the tradition of gene kelly . +cinematically , the musical comedy has basically gone the way of the dinosaur . +between grease and 1996's evita . , you can probably count the number of movie musicals on one hand . +two reasons have contributed to the demise of the genre : the first is that movie audiences have become more sophisticated , no , make that cynical and jaded . +today , if a character began to dance and sing with no orchestra in sight , he or she would probably be hooted off the screen . +today's audiences lack the innocence , that belief in movie magic that is required for a musical to succeed . +secondly , a lack of talent . +performers with the charisma , the style , the larger-than-life panache of fred astaire , gene kelly , ginger rogers and judy garland are gone . +most singers and dancers remain on the stage , and those who do succeed in movies usually wind up in serious dramatic parts . +a good example is gregory hines , one of the greatest dancers in the world . +he danced a bit in the cotton club , tap and white nights , but those were essentially dramatic vehicles . +so , perhaps the reissue of grease can serve a purpose . +if audiences show enough interest , meaning if the re-release earns the studio enough revenue , it may spark a revival in movie musicals . +perhaps not original musicals such as singin' in the rain , an american in paris or seven brides for seven brothers , but for broadway properties that have been in the planning stages for film adaptations for several years . +at one time or another , according to the industry rumor mill , hollywood has been set to create an animated version of andrew lloyd webber's cats , a filming of the popular phantom of the opera as well as les miserables and chicago , the latter reportedly to star madonna . +so , let this grease be the forerunner of an armada of movie musicals . +let grease be the word that sparks this revival . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv841_3967.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv841_3967.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0ae05a10c0bcbb0893b024c9cb3189525d8fec52 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv841_3967.txt @@ -0,0 +1,15 @@ +let's face it : since waterworld floated by , the summer movie season has grown * very * stale . +with no new eye-candy for four weeks straight , we've had to sustain ourselves on the quasi-nutritional value of cheatin' husbands , traveling chocolate salesmen , and computer- generated serial killers . +sigh . +thank god for desperado . +the freewheeling sequel to el mariachi--director robert rodriguez's notorious $7000 debut--stars a cool antonio banderas as the returning guitarist with no name . +he's a man in black with revenge on his mind , and an arsenal in his case . + ( the woman he loved was killed in the first film . ) +so , he spends the entire story shooting drug dealers ; sort of a tex-mex version of the punisher , if you will . +there isn't much of an emotional core to desperado . +rodriguez is having too much fun finding new and innovative ways to pay homage to john woo . + ( and sergio leone . . . +and sam peckinpah . . . ) +some may wince at the body count--at least 100 graphic killings is a fair estimate--but it's all played for laughs . +big , broad , hispanic laughs that , for me , recall the physical comedy of blake edwards and his pink panther films . +sick , slick fun . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv842_5866.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv842_5866.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f4e6a3a479e9bab3057edd253fd0304998f10a88 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv842_5866.txt @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ +if beavis and butthead had a favorite movie , from dusk till dawn would probably be it . +scripted by quentin tarantino and directed by robert rodriguez ( desperado ) , the movie panders to the very worst in sex and violence -- and is incredibly fun to watch . +it starts off as a pulp fiction-type crime story , with criminal brothers george clooney and tarantino robbing a convenience store . +because this is a tarantino movie , however , it's not just a case of pull the gun and take the loot , it's a case of a hole being shot through someone's hand , a man on fire jumping out behind the counter and the entire store blowing up as they drive away . +the opening scene sets the tone for the rest of the movie -- everything overdone and nothing as it seems . +clooney and tarantino bring a hostage to the motel and then hijack an rv with a family in it . +harvey keitel plays the backslidden ex-preacher and juliette lewis his daughter , whom registered sex-pervert tarantino eyes endlessly . +you know you're mentally unbalanced when you find lewis the least bit attractive , although she's not nearly as obnoxious as usual in from dusk till dawn . +the first half of the movie has the criminals and hostages trying to get to and through the mexico border , clooney's strategy involving hiding in the rv shower while lewis is on the toilet . +it does its trick ; the border guard takes one look at lewis relieving herself and immediately goes blind , never noticing clooney or tarantino . +once they get to mexico , it's time to wait at the rendezvous point , a topless bar called titty twister where we're once again reminded tarantino wrote the movie as he drinks champagne off the foot of a stripper . +finally , after about ten minutes of intercut boob shots and clooney forcing keitel and lewis to drink with him , the stripper turns into a vampire . +soon half the people in the bar are vampires and the other half fall or fight back . +that's right , we've come all this way to see a vampire movie . +but like everything else , tarantino takes this age-old genre and twists it to his own ends to produce over-the-top entertainment . +so we get holy water condom balloons , heads rolling , quadruple impalement on an overturned table and keitel getting bitten by a vampire and announcing he only has a few minutes left before he becomes " a lap dog of satan . " +the from dusk till dawn dialogue is 100% tarantino , hovering between absurd and disgusting ( as when they're entering the nightclub and cheech marin announces the main attractions of the titty twister ) , but always entertaining , and is a huge reason the movie is so much fun to watch instead of being one more second-rate gorefest . +clooney , keitel and especially tarantino are so over-the-top with their delivery that the dialogue is that much more hilarious , ensuring not one second of from dusk till dawn is taken the least bit seriously . +stuff like this would be terrible in any other movie , but tarantino and rodriguez know exactly what to do to entertain people , even if there's absolutely no message or meaning to from dusk till dawn . +pulp fiction had the vulgarity and violence for a reason , but this movie just throws it out for cheap entertainment . +from dusk till dawn isn't the classic of modern cinema that pf is , but is does prove you can do a good job making a really bad movie . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv843_15544.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv843_15544.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..400368f7196b797ede69ec8ac2e91838f70ec460 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv843_15544.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +the small-scale film , in limited release , " waking ned devine " is a pleasant excursion to a time and place which allows the audience to absorb the full texture of a small town . +filled with breathtaking scenery , 'characters' , and delightful music , the movie would be interesting even without a plot . +the story contains several surprises which are best left unmentioned in a review . +the film starts out with a sharp opening , which gives us a taste of what is to follow : country folk with an inclination for a bit of larceny . +what gets things going is the fact that a winner of the lottery is apparently one of the residents in the small town ( pop 52 ) of tullymore . +who that person is , and how to share in the good fortune is the mission of two longtime friends jackie ( ian bannen ) and michael ( david kelly ) . +part detectives , part scalawags , they have to stay alert to the changing circumstances they face as the story unfolds . +the village consists of several amusing characters . +a clueless pig farmer , temporary priest , and a witch . +there's also the lotto man who must be satisfied that everything is on the up-and-up . +there are no hollywood touches to this film - except for the outer space introduction [ ! ] . +pacing is right . +towards the end , it runs a bit out of steam , but that's okay because for most of the 90 minutes we've been interested in the goings on . +a mixture of laughs and ( occasional ) sentiment - all the right emotions are engaged . +in one brief dream sequence - you'll know it when you see it - a fantastic combination of color and music transports the characters to a place you really hope exists . +one of the key moments in the film . +the music , available on cd ( london 289 460 939-2 ) follows the same arc as the movie and is well worth considering . +a fine film that's for everybody except action fans . +somewhat like 'the englishman who went up a hill and came down a mountain , ' . . . +but livelier . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv845_14290.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv845_14290.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4775b3009ab46e9aa6665bfd0c2a22c14c5fa64b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv845_14290.txt @@ -0,0 +1,46 @@ +when i saw the trailer for this film , i laughed harder than i had in quite some time . +while i was therefore pretty well psyched to see it , i was ever mindful that a trailer can make even the most mediocre film look good . +i'm happy to say that there's something about mary is not one of those trailer let-downs . +in fact , watching this film was quite a fine way to spend two hours . +the film opens up in flashback to 1985 , at a high school in cumberland , rhode island . +ted stroehmann ( ben stiller ) is a social reject who can't seem to get a date to the upcoming prom , until he comes to the defense of the mentally retarded warren ( w . +earl brown ) , who's being harassed by one of the school jocks . +it seems warren's sister is the campus queen , mary jensen ( cameron diaz ) , who is impressed with ted's willingness to stand up for her defenseless brother , despite a very real chance of getting beaten up . +mary takes an immediate liking to ted and asks him to the prom . +ted was just flattered that she even knew his name . +unfortunately , prom night is ruined when ted has an accident with his zipper ( at which every man in the theater will wince ) , and is sent to the hospital . +fast forward to the present , where ted has cleaned himself up , now writes for a magazine , but has weekly therapy sessions in order to deal with his obsession of the past 13 years : mary , whom he hasn't seen since that fateful day . +with the help of his friend dom ( chris elliott ) , ted hires slimy private investigator pat healy ( matt dillon ) to track down his only love . +however , when pat finds mary , he falls for her too , and soon the both of them are competing for her affections . +there's something about mary is directed by bobby and peter farrelly , who brought us dumb and dumber and kingpin . +not exactly intelligent comedies , they are of the guilty pleasure variety where you might not want your friends or co-workers to think you had such a great time watching them . +with their current film , the farrelly brothers have come up with something you'll not only enjoy , but also won't mind talking about the next day at the water cooler . +the film succeeds in employing a pretty wide range of comedic styles , from the subtle to the ridiculous , and while a few of the gags might be offensive to some ( seeming like residuals from the farrelly brothers' last two films ) they almost all work . +i have not seen many movies in the recent past that shoot for the mark and so often hit it dead on . +one minute you'll be laughing at something ted says , and the next you'll be howling at the sight of a dog dragging him across the floor of mary's apartment . +one of the great things this film has going for it is ben stiller . +he is perfectly cast in the role of ted , because he's a guy who just looks awkward in almost every situation . +ted's a nice fellow and tries to do his best , but for some reason or another things just don't always work out . +it's comical , but also has that kind of appeal where you really feel for the him and want him to come out on top . +actually , i've liked stiller since he did a short which aired on saturday night live back in the mid-eighties . +the film was like a theatrical trailer for a spoof on the tom cruise/paul newman film the color of money , entitled the hustler of money . +in it , stiller played wince ( not vince ) who is taken under the wing of an older man ( played by john mahoney ) to become a big-time bowling hustler . +it was parody at its finest , more of which showed up in the short-lived " the ben stiller show " on the fox network in late '92/early '93 . +like " the critic " ( which aired on abc , then fox ) , i still mourn that show's cancellation . +cameron diaz is absolutely enchanting for most of the film , although her character seems obsessed with perfection in the men she dates , and some of the qualities she looks for make mary look paper-thin at times . +however , diaz pulls the role off with such panache and charm , that you can still see why she's got guys just falling over each other to be with her . +heck , i even found her laugh to be cute , even though i thought it was annoying during an appearance she made on the tonight show last week . +my girlfriend remarked that matt dillon doesn't change , and you know , it's really true . +he and ralph macchio must hang out or something . +maybe they live in dick clark's pool house . +anyway , here's another good piece of casting , as dillon slips beautifully into the role of the guy who tries to worm his way into mary's heart . +the supporting performances are also good . +chris elliott has a bigger part than in the abyss ( yes , check it out next time ) , and less annoying than in cabin boy . +lin shae , who plays mary's neighbor magda ( and also appeared as the landlady in kingpin ) , provides some good laughs , especially in scenes with her benji-like dog , which acts as the focal point for a few of the funniest moments of the film . +lee evans , as mary's friend tucker , displays a flexibility in acting and accents which surprises and contributes to an interesting plot twist . +the farrelly brothers and scriptwriters ed decter and john j . strauss keep the comedic pacing going so that there aren't any noticeable times where the film drags . +the only problem i saw was their use of a couple of musicians who provide segues between several key scenes . +they appear out of nowhere and actually sing plot-relevant information right toward the camera . +it's a device which was amusing for about three seconds when they opened the film . +after that it got a little annoying , and it's unfortunate that those spots interrupt what would otherwise be a smooth flow . +fortunately , filled with sight gags , humorous lines , and solid comedic acting , there's something about mary will still have you laughing after you leave the theater . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv846_29497.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv846_29497.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..819d24f720afc2303053f460f4ddbb7af6e1a48f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv846_29497.txt @@ -0,0 +1,44 @@ +plot : a young recruit gets plucked out of nowhere by the number one gangster in london and quickly becomes a staple by his side . +but this new guy is not like all the others , he's got ambition , he's got goals and he loves everything he sees about being the number one gangster . +violence , lots of swearing and betrayals ensue . +critique : a very good , serious-minded , unique british gangster flick which misses the " great " mark by way of an annoying voice-over popping up throughout the film and a so-so ending . +here's yet another cool crime movie that actually manages to bring something new into the mix . +okay , so it's not entirely new , but it's definitely original when all put together as done here . +the thing i liked most about this movie was its authentic portrayal of the time period in which it was taking place . +it's 1968 and these dudes are looking good ! +yes , it's all about the suits , fellas . . . the +italian shoes , the cufflinks , the ties and the birds ( that's ladies , for those uninitiated ) hanging around you . +here are a bunch of horrible men , gangsters if you will , looking sharp , talking shit and busting heads all over the place . +but that's not the basis of this movie . +the basis of this film comes in the relationship between the number one gangster in the group , the excellent david thewlis , and one of his cronies , paul bettany , also extremely good in this film , and how the power , sex appeal and coolness of one , affects the other . +you know how there are always these " hanger-on " gangster types who latch on to the godfathers , the leaders , the top dogs of every crime organization ? +well , most of the time , these dudes are screened beforehand and are loyal to only one person . . . that +is , their boss . +so all the gangster number one needs to worry about is his enemies on the other side of the fence . +but this film brings the betrayals , the messed up loyalties , the honor codes among bad guys into play within the same group and presents it in quite the stylistic package . +of course , director paul mcguigan isn't trying to be guy ritchie here , and doesn't over-stylize his presentation , jazz it all up with a hip soundtrack or add any humor to the mix . +nope , he goes straight for the serious stuff and develops at least two particular scenes which are still embedded in my mind as i type this . +the first is a confrontation sequence between bettany and a man from which he's attempting to sway some information and it is downright nasty ! + ( " look into my eyes ! " ) +in fact , the last time that i've seen a guy so scared in a movie was john turturro in that forest scene from the coen brothers' miller's crossing . +scary shite . +but there's an ever better scene than that in this film . +this one features bettany , once again , slowly torturing , hacking and beating the living piss out of a rival gangster ( from that man's point-of-view ) , but not before turning on a quaint little tune in the background and removing all of his own expensive clothes , one by one ( that's right , he " does " the guy in his underwear ) . +that scene is also in tune with some of the obvious phallic and homoerotic undertones present throughout this film , especially in the relationship between bettany and his boss ( why does he get so upset when he falls in love with that woman ? ) . +but the flick's not perfect . +in fact , i didn't mind malcolm mcdowell's voice-over narration at first , but as the film grew into a major flashback ( most of the film is presented as such ) , he came in every now and then , and rarely added anything of interest to the plot . +all he seemed to do was swear and call people the c-word umpteen times , and even described one scene as it was happening ( " . . . so +i opened the door , then went up the lift , etc . . . . " -it's +like , yeah , i know that already , i could see it on the screen ! ! +overdone . ) . +i also didn't quite " buy " the ending of the movie , which despite being original , seemed a little unbelievable , especially when you consider that it's supposed to be taking place 30 years later , and folks still seem to be holding grudges , still in love , still living in the same apartments ? ? ! ? +i mean , c'mon . . . it's 30 years , man ! ! +i don't know , somehow it didn't work all that well for me . +but one of my favorite genres has always been the crime movies , and this one is a decent addition to the lot . +forget the lame title and malcolm mcdowell's narration of the obvious plot points , and concentrate on the film's stronger attributes such as its style , the exquisite atmosphere of the time period , its original look at the gangster dynamic within the same group , its memorable sequences and the solid performances from its two main leads , bettany and thewlis . +incidentally , unlike a few of the gangster flicks that i mention below , this one is in no way a parody or homage to this genre of films . . . it's the real deal ! +note : this film is packed with strong accents all around , which makes it hard to make out some of the words from time to time . +it's also quite violent and i don't remember any film that used the c-word as much as this one , so leave the kids at home for this one . . . + ; ) +where's joblo coming from ? +american psycho ( 10/10 ) - a clockwork orange ( 9/10 ) - donnie brasco ( 8/10 ) - fight club ( 10/10 ) - get carter ( 7/10 ) - godfather ( 10/10 ) - godfather ii ( 10/10 ) - goodfellas ( 10/10 ) - lock , stock & two smoking barrels ( 8/10 ) - pulp fiction ( 8/10 ) - reservoir dogs ( 9/10 ) diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv847_1941.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv847_1941.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e15ded5f48e465267f8713450f03bb91b09f80d8 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv847_1941.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12 @@ +bruce lee was a bigger-than-life martial artist ( and ) actor . +bruce's unique character ( i . e . , self-produced sound effects , etc . ) and seemingly perfected martial art and physique were all well portrayed by the actor , james lee . +the story is told from his wife linda's point of view where she put a lot of family and practical side of bruce lee's life . +however , you can't help but like , whenever the fight scenes are on , what he can does with his body and that familiar bruce attitude and character . +i also like the little bits of insight scenes about bruce lee's life before he became famous : scenes like bruce practicing pronunciation of english . +it seemed as if he was no better than anybody else . +scenes like bruce delivering chinese food as a delivery boy ridding a bike through the american college looking at the ( all-white ) students , cheerleaders , and athletes . +it seemed he too wished for the american dreams and hopes . +in conclusion , the movie was well made , it produced a realization of who bruce lee was , and actor james lee was so much like bruce you have to remind yourself that he is just an actor . +and the fighting scenes were all excellent . +so go see it and enjoy the movie . +p . s . if you have seen the movie unforgiven by clint eastwood , then the feeling left after dragon was very much like the feeling you got after the unforgiven . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv849_15729.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv849_15729.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e7621d19e645a60904fb57be3438bbb0e4e8635d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv849_15729.txt @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +meet joe black is your classic boy-meets-girl , boy-likes-girl , boy-gets-killed-in-horrible-accident , supernatural-entity-takes-over-boy's-body , supernatural-entity-falls-in-love-with-girl story . +based on the 1934 film death takes a holiday , meet joe black is a well acted romantic drama which explores the meanings of life and love . +william parrish ( anthony hopkins ) is a billionaire businessman on the brink of his 65th birthday . +he has built a huge media empire , and raised two beautiful daughters , allison ( marcia gay harden ) and susan ( claire forlani ) . +william has been able to negotiate his way out of many tough spots . . . but he has suddenly begun fearing his own mortality , the one situation he won't be able to talk his way out of . +and he has good reason to fear , for death himself is stalking him . +however , death has a deal to make . +death has taken possession of a man who has recently died ( brad pitt ) , and wants william to be his guide in a holiday among the living . +in return , william gets to live a few extra days . +of course , he agrees . +death , under the human name of " joe black " , gets to experience life as a complete innocent . +he never before has experienced the simple pleasures of a springy matters or peanut butter . +and he's not quite compared for the more complex pleasures when he and susan fall in love . +but , is their affair doomed to an early demise ? +at nearly three hours in length , meet joe black is a little bit on the leisurely side , though it never gets boringly lengthy . +instead , the film gets a chance to develop some nicely textured characters and situations . +you get to soak in and enjoy the atmosphere , rather than being hurriedly rushed through it . +the romantic angle works well , though , surprisingly , the interactions between joe black and william parrish are more interesting than those with his daughter . +this is most likely due to anthony hopkins , who once again displays his superb acting skills . +william is a desperate man who has had a seemingly ideal life , and doesn't want to let it go . +by contrast , claire forlani is merely the romantic interest . +she gets to show joe the ropes of love , but is hardly as interesting a character . +as joe black , brad pitt seems a bit stilted . +granted , he's supposed to be out-of-place , but the overly formal technique used by pitt begins to distract from the role . +still , he is able to hold his own , and over the course of the three hours , his character begins to grow on you . +the main character who seems out of place here is drew ( jake weber ) , an ambitious executive in williams' company who is joe black's main rival for susan's affections . +weber plays the character with a hammy relish reminiscent of snidley whiplash . +this cartoonish foil an aberration in a film filled many more dimensional characters . +the supernatural elements of the film are handled murkily , but never distractingly so . +we never learn what is the exact nature of death , or why he's never done something like this before . +it actually gets a bit creepy when death talks to the dying in their own voices/accents . + ( his initial conversations with hopkins sound shockingly like hannibal lecter . . . ) +and the ultimate resolution to one of the film's supernatural problems seems , well , somewhat superficial . +still , even with the film's length , it was a pleasant time at the movies , something you wouldn't necessarily expect from a film about death . . . but one which meet joe black delivers anyhow . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv850_16466.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv850_16466.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3051ec00558db2449d0d4e2b00b4fc559f437402 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv850_16466.txt @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ +buffalo ? 66 is a very rarely known movie that stars vincent gallo and christina ricci . +gallo plays a very troubled man , who was sent to jail for gambling . +once out of jail , he must visit his parents , who he told he was married . +the truth is he isn't married . +to try to impress them , he kidnaps a girl ( christina ricci ) from a tap dancing class to act as his wife . +the film is very cheaply made , and it shows it throughout a lot of the movie , but you don't need money to make a good film . +buffalo ? 66 doesn't always stay with the realistic concept , and sometimes goes through outrageous events . +gallo's parents , played by angelica huston and ben gazarra , are two very strange individuals . +the mother plays a football fanatic and the father plays a quiet man with odd habits . +gallo and ricci arrive at his parent's house , and some extremely funny scenes take place within the house . +ricci's performance during the scene at gallo's parent's home are very well done . +there is constantly humor involved in the interesting dinner table scenes . +the way the movie was filmed in this particular part of the movie were interesting and creative . +they seemed very mediocre , but they worked out just fine . +gallo's character is developed very well . +the impression that he is very depressed and confused is very clear . +gallo gives a performance that makes you believe what the character is going through . +his character goes through many , many problems , just like many people in real life . +this character seemed very realistic to me . +ricci's character is funny and different . +she doesn't care much that she has been kidnaped , in fact , she falls in love the man who kidnaped her ! +ricci is a very wonderful actress and she is starting to get the recognition that she deserves . +buffalo ? 66 isn't all laughs though . +many scenes are very dramatic and depressing . +gallo's character was so realistic , he was extremely disturbing . +some scenes are supposed to come off as funny , but they actually seemed sad and real to life . +the film sometimes drags along , not giving much material . +i really would have liked to see gallo's parents a lot more , and i would have liked to see the characters developed more . +overall , buffalo ? 66 isn't as good as some people put it up to be . +the bottom line- a few hysterical scenes save this film from sinking to the bottom . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv851_20469.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv851_20469.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..83513e367aa7865fbe78727e8a63c9df9bbf3db4 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv851_20469.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +after being hypnotized , a man believes there is a ghost in his house . +the review +two low-key summer horror films have become surprise financial successes this year : the blair witch project and the sixth sense . +each has made well over $100 million in north america , based on a combination of strong word of mouth and clever advertising . +if a film's box office take were based primarily on its quality , stir of echoes would join blair and sense in grossing far more money than expected , for it is as scary , if not scarier than the other two . +writer/director david koepp has given artisan entertainment , the folks who distributed blair witch a second creepy hit . +the story gets going after tom witzky ( bacon ) , an average blue-collar dad , gets hypnotized by his wife maggie's ( erbe ) sister lisa ( douglas ) at a party . +while the hypnosis goes as expected to the party-goers , it triggers something in tom's head . +things begin to change around him ( blinking red lights let off a strange hum , for example ) , and he fights to stay in control of his own senses . +where these experiences take tom , maggie and their son jake ( cope ) , who tom thinks might have some answers , is down a dark path that will scare and disturb you . +david koepp keeps the action localized ; the majority of the action takes place at tom's house or just down the street . +by keeping things at home , koepp is able to proceed without having to resort to any clumsy segues ( montages of driving down roads as we move from one city to another etc . ) . +unfortunately , the dread and spookiness of stir of echoes are frequently interrupted by moments of levity . +humour can take the tension away from a scene faster than any shoddy special effect or poor acting . +several tense moments become completely diffused by a few misplaced jokes . +also , there are a couple of plot developments that are left unresolved , though to mention them would be to give too much away . +kevin bacon handles the duel task of playing an everyman and a man losing his sanity admirably . +his total lack of understanding of what is happening to him is believable , as are the reactions from his wife maggie . +kathryn erbe is given a role meatier and better written than that of most " wife who can no longer handle her husband " parts . +while it is still a supporting role , her maggie is moving as she watches both her husband and her son enter what she calls " a private club that i'm not invited to " , where they whisper about things all day long . +as jake , zachary cope equals the performance of haley joel osment in the sixth sense , but gets less screen time . +both children manage the same trick , making the audience creeped out by their apparent acceptance of the way things are . +fans of blair and sixth sense will almost surely love stir of echoes . +it combines the dread of blair , a creepy closed-in feel thanks to cinematographer fred murphy and great performances by the whole cast , specifically bacon , to give the fall its first genuine scary film . +if only they had let up on the unneeded funny bits and tweaked the plot a bit more , this could have been one of the year's best . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv853_29233.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv853_29233.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d3122c13f395ad10eb603235672b29656de2e343 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv853_29233.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +my summer was recently saved by two very different movies . +on opening night , i saw american pie 2 and laughed like a moron . +then a few nights later , i watched and thoroughly enjoyed joel hershman's greenfingers even though it didn't feature a trip to band camp , girl-on-girl action , or seann william scott . +however , i felt just as good leaving american pie 2 as i did after leaving greenfingers , which tells the offbeat tale of british murderer colin briggs ( clive owen of croupier ) . +after spending roughly half of his life behind bars , he is transferred to a more lenient facility , edgefield . +the picaresque , rustic prison allows its inmates to learn a trade , while enjoying accommodations generally found at most colleges . +at first , briggs doesn't want to be there . +he's used to living as a prisoner and wants to be left alone . +however , his ailing roommate , fergus ( david kelly of waking ned devine ) , wears briggs down through his benign nature . +the two become friends , with fergus giving colin a packet of violet seeds as a christmas gift . +briggs is astonished when the violets grow in the limestone soil , and begins a fight with three other prisoners when an errant soccer ball smashes his beloved flowers . +after the prison's governor ( warren clarke ) reprimands them , he's awed at what briggs has accomplished . +and he's struck by an idea -- briggs , fergus and the other men will grow a garden on the prison's grounds . +greenfingers , which is " inspired by actual events , " becomes a bit like a sports movie after that . +despite their differences , the men come together and through hard work and love earn a spot at the big game -- in this case a prestigious garden show . +one renegade , in this case , briggs , will prove to have talent . +of course , love will also rear its head ( no , not " prison love " ) . +to hershman's credit , he doesn't pump up the drama or try for cheap laughs , like last year's lame marijuana comedy saving grace . +i had to keep pinching myself when i didn't see a single scene of a hardened con sneezing over a pot of pansies , or the men giving high-fives over a particularly stunning batch of wildflowers . +the movie deals with people and scores on that concept . +it's wonderful seeing briggs turn from a bitter prisoner to a man who cares again . +give credit to owen for keeping his cool in a part that begs for overacting . +his speech to the parole board about being reborn through gardening is the best scene of its kind since morgan freeman's last stand in the shawshank redemption . +owen's bedside scenes with kelly , who lends the film a human touch , are a marvel to behold , emotionally gripping without being sappy . +written by hershman , greenfingers contains plenty of laughs . +most come courtesy of helen mirren , who shines as the world-class gardener who works with the inmates but fears for her daughter primrose ( natasha little ) when she starts dating briggs . +the mother can't believe what he'll do if her daughter " burns the sunday roast . " +nothing is forced in greenfingers . +the funny lines come forth naturally in conversations and not from punch lines . +primrose and briggs' relationship takes awkward steps . +even when briggs decides to go back to edgefield , it's done for reasons of loyalty , not because the movie requires him to do so . +after grimacing through the forced screwball antics of movies like america's sweethearts and the princess dairies , it's an almost indescribable pleasure to see a director taking his time to tell a story very well . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv855_20661.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv855_20661.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a868af0974669e29a038fbf513b2b392633215b6 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv855_20661.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +available for rental - october 12 , 1999 +10 things i hate about you is an update of the classic play , the taming of the shrew . +that said , drop any pre-conceived notions of what shakespeare's work is supposed to be like and welcome yourself to padua high school , home of a student counselor ( allison janney ) who obsesses over the male penis ; a slightly too hip and racist african-american english teacher ( daryl mitchell ) ; a new kid named cameron ( joseph gordon-levitt ) ; a model named joey ( andrew keegan ) , the subject of cameron and joey's crushes ; bianca ( larisa oleynik ) ; and bianca's sister - the shrew ( julia stiles in a marvelous performance ) - whose name is katarina , kat for short . +with movies about high schools similar to these running through projectors like water down the nile , it would be quite easy to write off 10 things i hate about you as just another doltish comedic-romance . +yet , you must realize that the story is timeless , and a few hundred years later it is equally as witty and comical as when elizabeth gleefully looked on , groundlings below and stuffed brassieres on stage . +the first reminder of the original scribe can be found in katarina and bianca's last name : stratford . +their family is run by walter stratford ( pretty woman's larry miller ) , a doctor who is all too familiar with teenage pregnancy and guards his children accordingly . +in what he thinks to be a moment of ironic humor , the family " no dating " policy is amended to " bianca can date . . . when +[katarina] does . " +with prom just ahead , bianca's fate is grim ; unless , of course , she can tame the shrew . +don't think this mission to be a simple one , as bianca kindly points out , her sister " . . . is a particularly hideous breed of loser . " +getting katarina to date is complex and oftentimes confusing . +when cameron , who likes bianca , learns of her father's new rule , he is quick to consult a friend for advice . +the scheme they dream up is to fully exploit " someone with money . " +in this case , that is joey - the other guy with a crush on bianca . +cameron's friend , a loser by teenage verdict , convinces joey to pay someone who has enough guts to take the shrew out . +the solution lies no farther away than the second blatant reminder of the master scribe : patrick verona ( heath ledger ) . +this verona is far from fair ; rumor has it that he previously laid his scene in prison . +moreover , katarina openly opined to the aforementioned english teacher that " hemingway was an alcoholic who hung around picasso , hoping to nail his leftovers . " +the laws of high school cinema inexorably turn patrick and katarina into romeo and juliet . +providing a constant reminder of the fact that this isn't exactly what shakespeare had in mind are the elements obligatory to a high school comedy : a party polluted with liquor , a best friend's betrayal , and prom . +it is the latter that has become infamous for closing films like drive me crazy , american pie , never been kissed , carrie , she's all that , and can't hardly wait . +yet surely even these practices have roots in shakespeare ; falstaff was a drunk , romeo and juliet met at a party , and caesar learned about loyalty the hard way . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv856_29013.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv856_29013.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0b8f8f6287cf22b222e65d1a452b5c1006208bf8 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv856_29013.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +my filmcritic . com +colleague norm schrager nailed session 9 , brad anderson's throwback to spooky horror films from the 70's . +it worked as an eerie homage without being self-referential or smugly postmodern . +genre aficionados will acknowledge the similarities in tone to stanley kubrick's the shining and george romero's dawn of the dead without being taken out of the engrossing narrative ( i . e . , a psychologically addled waste management team clears out an abandoned lunatic asylum ; unspeakable dread ensues ) . +in a double-whammy for 2001 , anderson shoots and ( mostly ) scores again with his eclectic riff on time-travel episodes from the twilight zone , appropriately titled happy accidents . +much like session 9 , the cards are played very close to the vest here . +is boyish , eccentric " sam deed from dubuque , iowa " a futuristic voyager from the year 2470 or just your run-of-the-mill psychologically disturbed nutcase let loose on the present-day streets of nyc ? +as played by wonderful character actor vincent d'onofrio ( full metal jacket ) , it's up in the air whether or not we should accept his detailed monologues about life after the polar ice caps have melted . +the question proves to be moot , at least for a time . +even if the whole thing proves to be a creative delusion , one agrees with the character judgment passed down on him by his new girlfriend , ruby ( marisa tomei ) : " he's a freak , but he sure tells a good story ! " +neurotic ruby thinks she may have found true love after a series of nightmarish dating disasters ( the junkie , the fetishist , the artist , the frenchman , etc . ) , but isn't quite sure how to handle " sam deed " when he starts explaining the barcode on his arm , his elaborately constructed fake identity , his pathological fear of dogs , his ability to speak five different languages , and his mission to change a crucial moment in time that may have ramifications on time's alternate realities . + ( don't ask . ) +it's all a bit much to take in . +ruby's close friend gretchen ( cuz ya can't have a love story without the token friend , though nadia dajani invests the thankless role with warmth ) chalks it up as a sexy role-playing game , but her cautious therapist ( holland taylor ) warns her that co-dependency is rearing its ugly head again and she's in over her head with yet another doomed relationship . +who ya gonna believe ? +despite her winning an academy award , marisa tomei has always struck me as an annoying and unwelcome screen presence , one that undermines the pleasure of watching happy accidents . +her brassy new yawk attitude never really meshes with her desperate desire to appear " cute " to her adoring fans . +being loud and flashing a ( disingenuous ) smile does not necessarily equal " substantial and sexy . " +it takes more than a crack team of hair and wardrobe people to imbue her with personality . +then there's that damned voice , which strains to be oh-so-adorable . +look , this stuff is purely subjective . +some people feel this way about richard gere , others cannot bear to watch robin williams' hyperactive schtick . +for my money , it's m . tomei with a bullet . +happy accidents is a romantic comedy filtered through twelve monkeys ( or , more appropriately , chris marker's la jetee , especially with those still framed " memory " photographs anderson employs as a stylistic device throughout ) . +modern manhattan is filmed with an otherworldly , vaguely alien eye with a color scheme oddly reminiscent of logan's run . +as the stranger in a strange land , d'onofrio walks slightly out-of-step , wonderfully affable but often inscrutable with his wayward expressions and bemused detachment . +this is science fiction told mainly via the power of suggestion ( though it often falls into the sci-fi trap of having entirely too much forced exposition -- we want deeds , not words ! ) +at least twenty minutes too long , happy accidents eventually gets around to a race-against-time scenario that puts " sam deed " to the ultimate test . +no movie can live in ambiguity forever , but anderson seems terminally unable to provide satisfactory conclusions to his otherwise well structured recent narratives . + ( let's pretend the loathsome and predictable next stop wonderland never happened , shall we ? ) +there are also some slow , repetitive stretches as ruby and sam go over the same arguments again and again over whether or not he's crazy . +the premise is strong enough to sustain interest , but it's enough to throw a nod in the general direction of rod serling for wrapping up his ideas in half-hour time slots , commercials included . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv859_14107.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv859_14107.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..56124c5f1a9384bb4bc6886a2a31f21cc2d416d7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv859_14107.txt @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +it is with hesitance that i call " apocalypse now " a masterpiece . +certainly , it had the pedigree to be one of the greatest films ever made , with a director known for producing masterpieces with ease , and some of the finest actors of the 1970's . +the plot , an adaptation of joseph conrad's " heart of darkness " , was set in vietnam , and the timing of the film was supposed to be brilliant , coming on the heels of the end of the war . + " apocalypse " certainly has its moments , some of which are the finest in film history . +the plot is fairly simple . +captain willard ( sheen ) , is a troubled soldier who came back to hanoi for a 2nd tour of duty . +his mission is simple : take a boat up to cambodian territory , and destroy the command of renegade colonel kurtz ( brando ) " with extreme prejudice " . +along the way , willard runs into a series of adventures , including one with lt . col . kilgore ( duvall ) , and a strange encounter with playboy bunnies . +willard' s four person crew finally make it to kurtz' compound , where he discovers kurtz has set himself up as a god among the natives . +willard's experiences with kurtz take up the last half-hour , with a confrontation and eventual ending . +the movie is visually breathtaking . +the battle scenes are exquisitely done , and the score is brilliant , setting a murky mood of darkness that is first-rate . +the collage of disturbing images that coppola presents is at times both astonishing and sickening . +the vast amount of detail poured into every war scene is stunning , and there are many episodes that are deeply powerful which resonate through the entire movie . +the journey to kurtz' camp is quite a ride , with psychosis setting in on almost every character . +the most interesting one is kilgore , the lt . col . who cares more about the surf than about the mission . +it is at times revolting , psychotic , and incredible , and it is one hell of a movie . +the scenes are bold , inventive , and powerful , and the acting is stunning , especially be sheen , duvall , and fishburne . +the narration is exquisite , as is the mystery of kurtz . +coppola sets about a hallucinatory ride through vietnam , kind of like " saving private ryan " on lsd . +the film is jarring in its implications , and psychotic in its execution . +the problems come when the film slows down . +one of the major scenes in the film , where the boat arrives at the final army checkpoint before they start their search for kurtz , is a colossal mess . +the dialogue is confusing , the lighting is atrocious , and the scene drags on for 10 terrible minutes of film . +the true problems happen after the crew does come into the kurtz compound . +the film slows down to a drag . +sheen seems forever captured by a madman , played by brando is a lazy performance that is not deserving of the accolades it received . +brando is in the film for no more than 15 minutes , but is bathed in shadows the entire time , making the last half hour of the film visually pathetic . +the scenes are poorly done , the dialogue is muffled , and the whole mess is utterly confusing beyond all belief . +sheen seems to adore this man , but why the viewers are never told . +the entire journey is supposed to be a prelude for a stunning entrance of this god-like kurtz , but the scenes fall way short of expectations . +granted , it has its moments , which are brutally horrific , but the general feeling is one of confusion . +brando mumbles his lines in a incoherent stir , and my feeling was that this could never be a great man , this could never be a man who inspires hundreds to follow him , so why do they do it ? +there are moments of brilliance , but the visual confusion dilutes the power of the scene . +there are too many questions left unanswered with the character of kurtz to have a satisfying ending . +the finest scene at the end is sheen's escape , and his entrace into the temple . +his rise out of the water , with the smoke coming off of his slicked head , is a brilliant 30 seconds of film . +yet , you cannot shake the feeling that there is so much more this film could have done . +the psychotic ride is unforgettable at times , and indeed the film on the whole is very good . +it is a stunningly flawed expression of film , for it addresses major issues , such as man's mental stamina during bouts of war . +but one still cannot shake the feeling that this film could have so much more powerful , had the character of kurtz been more explored , and had sheen truly succumbed to the fate that the viewer thought he was destined for . +there is too much good material in here not to be called a masterpiece , but it could have been so much more rewarding . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv860_13853.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv860_13853.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..31acd4c23e50f7f2c8261dfc10d4a2ef46ef3e25 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv860_13853.txt @@ -0,0 +1,49 @@ +the verdict : spine-chilling drama from horror maestro stephen king , featuring an outstanding , oscar-winning performance from kathy bates . +geez , french and saunders had a field day when they set to work on parodying this ! +sorry , non-british readers may not be familiar with french and saunders - my apologies . +the pair are british comediennes ( jennifer saunders later went on to become edina monsoon in " absolutely fabulous " ) , who did a series of film spoofs a few years back , including alien , the exorcist and misery . +needless to say , amidst her chucklesome impersonation of kathy bates ( the resemblance was quite uncanny ! ) , dawn french got pretty nasty with her sledgehammer when in reach of jennifer saunder's legs ! +but despite the lingering memory of their sketch , and although i've now seen the film a couple of times now , that " hobbling " scene was no less disturbing ! +i'm still left screaming at the telly in revulsion ! +that may be the most memorable scene , but it's certainly not the only worth watching . +stephen king , whose film and tv adaptations tend to vary in quality , strikes gold with this simple yet strikingly compelling tale . +it's a nicely crafted psychological horror , which effortlessly succeeds in drawing you into the plight of writer phil sheldon ( james caan ) . +rescued from a car accident by annie wilkes ( bates ) , who introduces herself as the writer's " number one fan " , he soon becomes her prisoner . +both the script and kathy bates' beautifully masterful performance ( for which she won an oscar ) work arm-in-arm as we quickly begin to realise that beyond her bubbly exterior the woman is basically as nutty as a fruit-cake ( or is that fruity as a nut-cake ? ) . +bates relishes her demanding role , and her performance is nothing short of a masterpiece . +at times she seems like an innocent victim of her own obsessive behaviour , at times she's a rather tragic character , and more often than not she's just damned scary ! +this is basically a very simple tale , but it achieves a large degree of eloquence in its simplicity . +it's an involving , engrossing experience - and considering it's basically a two-hander , mainly set in one locale , it's a remarkable piece of cinema . +there are no jazzy special effects or cheesy action sequences - this one relies solely upon rob reiner's stylish directing and the wonderful performances of bates and caan . +oh , i haven't really mentioned caan yet - he does a good job as the writer who's a prisoner of his own success ( annie is obsessed with him and his books ) . +but , as you no doubt gathered from the above - bates is well and truly the star of the show . +along with the pig , of course ! +anyway , the tension is built-up with masterful aplomb , and some scenes are almost agonisingly tense . +there's the dinner scene where seldon goes to nerve-shattering lengths to poison her wine . +he succeeds , but . . . she +knocks the glass over ! +i bet you threw a pillow at the screen as well ! +in the immortal words of homer j . simpson - " d'oh ! ! " +other nerve-wracking scenes include the bit where annie has gone off to town and sheldon starts snooping around the house . +we cut to annie in her car - she's on her way home . . . he +realises this and tries to get back to his room . . . cut +to the car again , she's getting near . . . will he make it ? +ok , so these sequences aren't exactly original , nor perhaps unpredictable - but they work ! +boy , do they work ! +if a film has you on the edge of your couch , biting your nails and shouting at the screen in suspense , then it's doing something right ! +of course , the most nauseating sequence is the aforementioned " hobbling " ! +annie realises her captive has been out of his room , and she's going to stop him once and for all . +cue a block of wood placed strategically between his ankles and a huge sledgehammer , and . . . i feel ill just thinking about it ! +nasty . +it all builds up nicely to the final scene where sheldon finally gets the upper hand , and once and for all tries to kill the crazy psycho ! +and then we're given one of the most ridiculously over-the-top fight scenes i've ever seen . +she gets hit over the head with a typewriter , set on fire , head smashed against the wall - and she just won't die ! +sheldon isn't in terribly good shape either . +if it weren't so gorey it would almost be laughable . +but it's a terrifically effective film , and therefore the daft climax is easily overlooked . +misery is a tight , tense , intense and chillingly entertaining thriller . +the directing is first-rate , and the performances - bates in particular - contribute to making this a suitably nightmarish little gem . +wonderful stuff . + ? - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - for more regularly-updated film and tv reviews , check out my site ! +http : //www . geocities . com/hollywood/bungalow/4960 +- * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv861_1198.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv861_1198.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..89c5fe25249b40dc60845b528222363e62f049d3 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv861_1198.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +an indian runner was more than a courier . +he * became * the message he was carrying . +what danger is a bear , to a message ? +i used to think sean penn was an immature , arrogant , photographer- punching , madonna-marrying , loudmouth . +but all that has changed now . +the guy has grown up . +and that's not all . +it seems that sean penn has talents both as a writer and a director , if this film is any indication . +one might imagine a movie with plenty of ruthless rage and showy machismo , given penn in charge of bronson and and hopper . +but , no . +this film is about a real struggle , and the victories and defeats are not simple . +penn lets the story unfold at a pace dictated by the lives of the characters , without unnecessary rush or flash . +the focus of the story is two brothers . +david morse is the brother who has grown up in the small midwestern town in which they were raised , tending a failing farm and finally becoming a police officer . +viggo mortensen is the wild brother , whose wild behavior seems to be a reaction to some ancient pain that he can't name , much less resolve . +the film picks the story up on the day when mortensen returns from vietnam , and morse coincidentally encounters an armed youth fleeing for the state line . +it becomes clear that some kind of conflict threatens the link that the brothers once shared . +the film is unobtrusive , simple , direct , plain , and sincere . +it isn't exactly perfect , but its sincerity is well invested in the struggle of the two brothers to identify the sickness before it destroys them . +life seems to move forward a little faster than they can get a handle on their problems . +this is a good film without big budget sets , or big name stars pushed into your face . +in fact , i'm reviewing it because i suspect that it may not get much marketing . +there were perhaps 10 others at the showing i saw . +i thought the structure was clean and not oversimplified , though there are a few free-form sections which also work very well . +the obligatory 1960s music seemed a little cliche , but what are you going to do--this movie * does * take place in the 1960s after all . +in my opinion , it is worth full-price admission . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv862_14324.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv862_14324.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d21e9d0928b98bf1767f93fd38f0e70f6e3555a3 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv862_14324.txt @@ -0,0 +1,69 @@ +seen july 8 , 1998 at the crossgates cinema 18 , ( albany , ny ) , theater #7 , at 8 : 15 p . m . with my mom using hoyts cinema cash . +[theater rating : * * * 1/2 : very good sound , picture , and seats] +it's very rare that any medium of entertainment can give one an authentic , vivid sense of reality and life . +all stories are about select moments of time and places in the characters' lives , but only the truly great ones are able to define their realities well enough so the audience can experience it just as the characters do . +therefore , " gone with the wind " deserves accolades for its ability to tell the epic story it does , in such a crafted , intricate , and entertaining manner . +it's a crowning achievement , not only in filmmaking , but for storytelling itself . +the film takes place in georgia before , during , and after the civil war . +this plays a major factor in the film's success . +to use such a historic setting presents many possibilities and problems since no one was alive at the time to verify its accuracy . +it might also seem cliche , boring and other such deterent factors to potential viewers . +can a story set so long ago be relatable now ? +the film confronts all these problems , paradoxically , by not cronfronting them . +it doesn't simply plug in the " right thing " at the " right time , " it creates an entire reality where everything makes sense and said concerns are irrelevant . +building a strong foundation is important to all forms of media , without which , what is there to build on ? +we're given some backstory here and learn a little about our characters , especially our main character , scarlett o'hara ( leigh ) , a beautiful southern belle with a will of steel , a cunning wit , and a tremendous sense of liberty in such an oppressive time . +she knows how her society works , wherein everything she does can and will play a role in the shaping of her life and those around her . +right from the beginning we realize how determined she is to have her way no matter what the consequences may be . +being the most sought-after woman allows her to manipulate men ( and their women ) to ensure she gets her way , whether it be obvious ( i . e . +who will be the one to get her food ) , or subtle ( i . e . +getting married just to spite someone ) . +the man she claims to love is ashley wilkes ( howard ) , a modest gentleman who does not seem to have the same passion for her as she does for him . +he isn't so arrogant and demanding as scarlett , in fact , he's engaged to a woman with a personality much more like his . +her name is melanie ( de havilland ) , and she is one of the sweetest , kindest , and most likable characters one will ever see . +she and scarlett become very dear friends , but she never suspects the jealously scarlett has for her , and the love she has for her husband . +her meekness is both her strongest and weakest characteristic - it defines who she is , but doesn't give her much emotional self-defense . +acting a catalyst to the love triangle , and to the story as a whole is the daper , stong-willed , cunning , cocky southern business and military man captain rhett butler ( gable ) . +he's quite a character all right - everyone listens to what he has to say even though he's got a bad reputation . +butler makes no apologies for his vast amount of money nor his behavior . +he tells everyone the much-needed truth in the rigid caste-like society where freewill doesn't seem to exist , everything is done out of honor and tradition . +for example , in his first appearance butler tells his fellow southerners there's no way the south could defeat the north if war were to break out . +this angers them , not for his lack of faith , but because he has the gall to say it aloud and boastfully at that . + " do we have ammunition factories ? +do we have food ? +do we have a navy ? +all we have is tobacco . " +all true statements and yet the south still insists he's wrong . +butler is a shifty character to be sure , but he takes such pride in his arrogance it's appealing . +scarlett notices this too when she first sees him , and from the look butler gives her , we know he's not going to stop until he has her . +but scarlett can't get past her need for ashley , and during a scene which sets the stage for the grand story , butler learns of this and continues to throw it back at scarlett forever . +and so the story goes on , with scarlett being thrown obstacle after obstacle in her life . +the conflicts she must overcome range from taking care of her entire family to finding a proper husband , especially after she is " marked " for life when her first husband dies . +this gives the film many opportunities to bring in more characters into the epic story . +some are vital for only a few scenes , but their true signifcance will endure throughout the film . +in most films only a few characters exist for support in background , but this film is more realistic and believable as it incorporates a supporting cast the size of a small town and everyone has signficance . +even people in the background seem more than just extras wandering the set . +the costuming design is outstanding so that the film makes for a real sense of time and place . +the filmmakers could have easily set more scenes indoors and narrowly focused to avoid having to show the outside , real world , but these types of simple approaches are never taken . +the first half of the film depicts the traumatic experience the south faced at the last days of the civil war . +fleming is able to convey the horror of it all by painting an image of destruction and letting the viewer decide just how bad it is . +one scene has scarlett working as a nurse at a military hospital while we hear a soldier in the background screaming , " no ! +not my leg ! +don't cut off my leg ! " +another scene shows her simplying trying to cross a street , but as the camera pulls back , we see that her path is blocked by hundreds of wounded soldiers , but it is their moaning that's more graphic than all the bloody gore could ever be . +as the second half begins , the film concentrates more on scarlett as a completely independent woman who single-handedly takes care of her family and melanie just to spite the tyrany of the north . +she manages to resurrect the family plantation , but all the willpower she has can't help her when she must pay exuberhant taxes set by the north after the south's ultimate defeat . +this brings rhett butler back into the picture and thus begins their torrid love- hate relationship . +most of the second half of the film is somehow related to the relationship ( or lack thereof ) between rhett and scarlett . +each uses the other for personal gain , but at the same time they still feel an intimate connection with each other . +scarlett continues to use her manipulative powers over men to get what she wants and because rhett can't help but want her more every time she tries to one-up him such as marrying another man and taking over his business . +they say opposites attract , but the conflict between rhett and scarlett goes way beyond opposing personalities , it borders on magnetic polarization . +they need each other and know this , yet they never seem truly happy together . +perhaps they mistake love for passion , and the film leaves it up to us to make this call . +both have things the other wants and vice versa , but when they compromise , is it just to get their own way or because they actually care for each other . +love and the perception of love are two completely separate things and throughout the final act of the film , we're left wondering if rhett and scarlett ever truly loved each other and why . +gable and leigh do have great chemistry , always leaving the viewer wondering which emotions were authentic and which were manufacture . +all ? +none ? +either way is possible and it's a mystery that cannot be solved even upon repeated viewings . +it's safe to say most of us won't live such overly dramatic lives as those in " gone with the wind , " but it's still a masterpiece for its ability to give us a sense that we've just experienced a life's worth of joy and pain . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv863_7424.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv863_7424.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..dabb05272413afea55038ed67ca3973e8f3e7078 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv863_7424.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +not since attending an ingmar bergman retrospective a few years ago have i seen a film as uncompromising in its portrayal of emotional truth as secrets & lies . +like bergman , director mike leigh is interested in probing his characters' inner depths through hypernaturally blunt confrontations . +also like bergman , leigh engages in frequent closeups of his characters' ravished and wracked faces . +and the prominent mournfulness of a cello on the soundtrack recalls bergman's own use of a bach cello suite in an earlier film . +all that is missing is a discussion of god . +which is not to say that secrets & lies is nothing more than an homage to the swedish master . +in fact , it is quite possible leigh had no such intentions in mind . +nonetheless , what we get is so far removed from the average moviegoing experience -- even from the reason we go to the movies in the first place -- that it takes some effort to adjust to the film's rhythms . +once the adjustment is made , however , there are great rewards . +one such is the chance to see life on the screen as it really is . +though leigh may have adopted some of bergman's stylistic touches , most obviously in an early scene of terse cross-cutting during a married couple's strained conversation , as well as in that somewhat obtrusive score , the overall feeling of the film is that it eschews any " style " at all . +whereas bergman uses artifice as a tool to expose reality , leigh makes the camera a mere observer , almost as in a pbs documentary . +the effect of this is to focus all of your attention on the actors . +it is a tribute to everyone involved that , despite such scrutiny , only infrequently are we aware that anyone * is * acting . +much has been made of brenda blethyn's performance , and rightly so , but it is only when you remind yourself that you are watching a fiction that you realize how good she is . +there are a few missteps . +for one , except for one scene ( tragicomic , as it happens ) , there is scant humor in the film . +this leads to a certain monotonous tone throughout . +and occasionally ( as with bergman ) the bluntness of the situations can seem forced . +for all that , this longish film manages to keep hold of your attention . +it is unfortunate that the audience for secrets & lies will most likely be limited to an intellectual elite , for there is nothing inherently intellectual about this film . +in fact , it might easily resonate more strongly for millions of working class filmgoers who will likely never see it . +there is even a sweet but significant irony in the film's unspoken take on race relations , something an american audience at least would do well to observe . +nonetheless , secrets & lies is not for the faint of heart . +though there is nothing physically horrific to make one squeamish , the exploration of common human frailty can be so raw and unsparing that it is tempting to turn from the screen . +needless to say , it is also very depressing at times . +but for many of us , of course , so is life . +and though the film is too honest to tack on a phony happy ending , that same honesty allows it to admit that things can also get better . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv864_3416.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv864_3416.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..dd4bf904ba85ec1c546b865d36bcf0f5dc7f776a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv864_3416.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +after a successful run in australia last year , and with much critical praise heaped upon it , muriel's wedding opens into medium release this weekend in north america . +muriel heslop is a withdrawn , overweight young woman living in porpoise spit , australia . +she is often the target of her father's frequent rants at the family , and drowns out her feelings of inadequacy with abba music and fantasies of marriage . +her self-loathing is such that only being wed shall she prove herself to be a success ; marriage will transform her into a new person who is respected and admired . +after her four cliquey friends dump her , muriel plots to follow them to a resort where they are celebrating the honeymoon of one of the girls , and muriel's wedding unfolds from there . +toni collette plays muriel in a winning performance , conveying both the sadness of her character and her desperate eagerness to be accepted . +collette gained a frightening 43 pounds in order to play the chubby title character . +she has a natural screen presence and exudes charisma , easily winning the audience over with an honest , painful performance . +collette basically carries the film , appearing in almost every scene . +muriel's father , bill " the battler " heslop , is portrayed by bill hunter as a slick politician/developer . +while chumming around with young fans and crowing 'you can't beat progress' ( his slogan ) , bill labels his family as worthless and embarrassments . +rachel griffiths plays rhonda , who becomes muriel's cheeky new friend in the film . +she has good chemistry with collette , and the film suffers when griffiths is off-screen . +muriel's tormenters , played by pippa grandison , rosalind hammond , belinda jarrett and sophie lee , are two-dimensional caricatures , all saucy , vain and bumblingly spiteful , though that is probably due to hogan's scripting +muriel's wedding is essentially a genre teen comedy with more intelligence and a lot of charm . +hogan's use of abba tunes ( which virtually comprises the entire soundtrack ) is interestingly appropriate , although its repetitiveness tires after awhile . +hogan's script is right on the mark in terms of proportionately mixing comedy with muriel's earnest quest for acceptance , and the gorgeous scene with muriel window-shopping beautifully illustrates the wonder that marriage has for her . +the glaring pastel colours worn by the performers is an interesting touch . +muriel's wedding features a fine performance by toni collette and a charming , if a bit too straightforward and conventional story by p . j . hogan . +on my four star scale , i give muriel's wedding three stars . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv865_2895.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv865_2895.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..75cc019354a98b714ba20e5a25a4f360cb0d0839 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv865_2895.txt @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +every once in a while , a film sneaks up on me and takes me completely by surprise . +i don't necessarily mean in terms of quality ; rather , i'm referring to the mere knowledge of its existence . +usually i know what films are on the way a year in advance , but two weeks ago i had never heard of princess caraboo . +it has slipped rather quietly into limited release , and appears destined to slip out just as quietly . +that's a shame , because princess caraboo is a delightful fable , romantic , gentle and very appealing . +what's more , it's surprisingly insightful and provides a sharp-witted lesson in english social history . +princess caraboo is based on an actual event in early 19th century england , involving a young woman ( phoebe cates ) who is found wandering the countryside . +apparently unable to speak any english , she is taken in by good-hearted gentlewoman mrs . worrall ( wendy hughes ) . +her banker husband ( jim broadbent ) is none-too-pleased about this strange houseguest , until the worralls begin to believe that the woman may be royalty from an east indian island , the princess caraboo . +this development inspires plans for a lucrative trading venture for mr . worrall , and an introduction into elite social circles for mrs . worrall . +however , local journalist john gutch ( stephen rea ) is not convinced that the woman is what she seems to be , and sets out to find out the truth about princess caraboo . +as a social satire and comedy of manners , princess caraboo is a winner . +it takes place in an era when it was common practice in england to jail vagrants and hang beggars , and that practice comes in for an obvious hazing . +but it is handled most effectively through the character of mr . worrall , a drunken womanizer whose bank is in deep trouble thanks to his corruption and ineptitude . +he is worse than one of the idle rich ; he is one of the actively odious gentry so eager to distance themselves from the lower class they think nothing of simply eliminating them , and since the house and money are all from mrs . worrall , he is a bit too close to them for comfort . +while hypocrisy is an easy target for ridicule , director and co-writer michael austin keeps the treatment too light-hearted to be heavy-handed . +he also takes a unique stab at the trendiness of the upper classes , as the princess becomes a " sensation " at court . +in one of the film's best sequences , princess caraboo is the guest of honor at a party hosted by the prince regent ( a wonderfully foppish turn by comic john sessions ) , and the lords and ladies end up following her around in a thoroughly silly native dance . +it is then that princess caraboo shows how easily people are swept up in " sensations , " an idea that takes on a timeless quality ( and makes the film an interesting companion piece to the current quiz show ) . +social commentary aside , princess caraboo is simply an eminently enjoyable entertainment . +the performers are mostly delightful , particularly phoebe cates , who is radiant in a part that requires a gift for pantomime . +her supporting players are also appealing : wendy hughes as the patient and kindly mrs . worrall ; kevin kline as frixos , the worralls' suspicious and superior greek butler ; stephen rea as the world-weary but ultimately romantic gutch . +only john lithgow is a disappointment , turning in a limp performance as a scholar who attempts to verify the princess's identity . +the story twists and turns just enough so that the question of whether or not the princess is really a princess is always in some doubt , without becoming gimmicky . +it is unfortunate that the growing attraction between gutch and princess caraboo isn't given more time to develop , because the potential seemed to be there . +when it finally does blossom , it seems too quick to be plausible . +princess caraboo is patient enough in establishing its sense of time and place that it might seem a bit slow to viewers seeking a fantasy romp . +still , it has both escapist and intellectual appeal , and is well worth seeking out . +it is the kind of film that makes my job its most rewarding--a hidden gem . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv867_16661.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv867_16661.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5cb53d4c2326d663bd30967a34a304df5bb7779c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv867_16661.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +wong kar-wei's " fallen angels " is , on a purely visceral level , one of the most exciting films i've seen in a long while . +unfortunately , wong seems more interested in experimenting with his camera than creating tangible characters for the audience to root for . +ordinarily , that alone would be enough to sink a movie , but in the case of " fallen angels " , this is not so . +every shot in this film is exciting just to * look * at . +wong does really interesting things with the camera , but he doesn't allow the pyrotechnics to completely take over , as was the case with last years dismal " knock off " ( which contained a shot of a foot entering a shoe . +ugh . ) +the movie follows three pairs of lost souls as they struggle to find some meaning in their lives . +i can't say much more than that as i didn't really know what was going on most of the time . +in fact , it wasn't until about halfway through the movie that i was able to distinguish between each character . +the constantly moving camera doesn't really allow for the audience to associate with any one character . +we're always kept at a distance from these people , i suppose in order to further add to the feeling of alienation felt by the characters . + " fallen angels " is a refreshing change-of-pace from most hollywood films , which never bother to try anything different , at least on a visual level . +in fact , i'd go so far as to say that " fallen angels " is more challenging visually than any mainstream hollywood film i've ever seen . +sure , there's directors like robert rodriguez who enjoy turning violence into operatic orgies of death , but to see a filmmaker like wong who actually assaults the senses with images is truly something worth celebrating . +but if wong wishes to become a legendary filmmaker , he needs to work on incorporating an actual story into those awesome images . +there were far too many instances during " fallen angels " in which i asked myself , " now who are these people again ? +is this that first couple or the second couple ? " +it was impossible to keep track . +perhaps he could let the audience know right away which character is which , by introducing them to us with " name cards " , as in scorsese's " mean streets " . +that's really besides the point , though . +wong kar-wei has proven himself , through very few films , that's he's a movie-maker to watch . +let's just hope that he hones his storytelling skills with his next few movies . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv868_11948.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv868_11948.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..269598ea5b2c74482efd2fd0622af8f523db80fc --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv868_11948.txt @@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ +city of angels is the kind of love story that i enjoy the most : thought-provoking , moving , and completely unsentimental . +i find it interesting that this film has been released the same day as my giant , which is a film that is undone completely by its wretched sentimentality . +city of angels is a wonderful film , enhanced by interesting and well-rounded characters and some of the most immersive imagery of the last couple of years . +it's a love story that takes the familiar angel themes and makes them new and necessary to the story , and avoids most of the cliches we're so used to seeing in films like this . +city of angels is an apparently loose remake of wim wenders' 1988 film wings of desire . +i have yet to see wings of desire , so i am , unfortunately , unable to make a comparison of the two . +i have heard , however , that city of angels is dissimilar from the original in numerous ways , which makes me glad that this film isn't a rip-off of its source material . +nicolas cage stars as seth , an angel who , like all of his angel counterparts , is present to lead the dying to heaven ( or somewhere just like it ) . +one day , he is forced to take the life of a patient of dr . maggie rice ( meg ryan ) , and his attention is called to her . +the angels can make themselves seen to humans , but they can't experience any of the senses ( most importantly , touch ) . +he shows himself to maggie , and she falls for him , unaware that he is slightly unavailable because of his apparition status . +seth wants to become human so he can feel her . +that's when he meets nathaniel messinger ( dennis franz ) , " former celestial messenger and recent addition to the human race . " + ( as a side note , i found messinger to be the most fascinating character , for i can only imagine how incredibly liberating it must be to live knowing what lies beyond death . ) +messinger explains to seth that it is possible for angels to become human . +seth manages to convince maggie that he is an angel ( i know , it sounds ridiculous , but the scene in which she finds out is exceptionally well-done ) ; after much deliberation , she tells him that she could only be with a man who can feel . +this , of course , is when seth decides to take the plunge ( literally ) from a building ; when he wakes up from the fall , he is human , and happy to feel what it's like to have a split lip and blood oozing from his forehead . +since i love this film so much , i'll make a minor note that it certainly isn't perfect . +although it is original and mesmerizing , it does fall prey to a few of the cliches of the genre . +the plotting of the story by writer dawn steel is rather formulaic ( though the details are what make the story excellent , and steel has done a great job with them ) . +the ending , too , could have been more powerful and less predictable . +these elements are minor , though , and barely detracted from my overall enjoyment of city of angels . +the acting is superb from everyone involved . +this is perhaps my second-favorite performance from cage ( my favorite being the rock ) . +he's quiet and pensive , and his eyes are engaging when he speaks his softly-toned words . +he's perfect for a role like this , and at the same time he reassures us he's not bound by playing the psycho ( though he is good at it , as he shows in face/off ) . +meg ryan is a powerful , enticing , and appealingly-chirpy actress , and her work here is some of her best . +dennis franz , however , steals all of his scenes as the energetic former-angel . +what i admire most about city of angels is its overall presentation . +director brad silberling is a talented man , and he knows that a story like this is driven by the characters , rather than forced sentimentality . +his direction is steady , and he shows this in just about every scene : near the beginning , maggie has to tell a mother and her two children that their father is dead . +there is no music or elaborate camera work ; we simply see the reactions of the characters to the information . +this is the way stories should be told , and the strength of scenes resonates more completely when the emotions are real . +the film also appeals to the senses in a way that few love stories do . +cinematographer john seale ( the english patient ) provides some of the most stunning images i've seen on the big screen : hundreds of black-clad angels stand on a dim beach in the early morning hours ( just as an example ) . +the music , by gabriel yared ( also of the english patient ) , is perfect for this film : it's quiet and moody music ( but not sentimental ! ) , and adds to the atmosphere and tone nicely . +the visual presentation of city of angels is easily the best of 1998 so far . +all of this adds up to a film that is instantly set apart from other members of this genre . +it's a film that relies on character development and imagery to get the story across--the excellent actors and the professional production values make city of angels one of those rare films that both entertains and instigates thought simultaneously . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv869_23611.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv869_23611.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f0f75c47d6cecdd30509ccf16902cb0a4dd02052 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv869_23611.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +have you ever wondered if death is something that simply happens naturally , at any given moment , in life ? +or if it is an occurrence that is predetermined by some much larger force within the world , or outside of it ? +these thought-provoking questions are the subject of " final destination , " which is the most riveting horror-drama since 1999's " the sixth sense . " +stylishly filmed and tautly directed by " x-files " alum james wong , the film deals with several fairly heavy topics that are discussed truthfully by teenage characters ( in accurately written " teen-speak , " rather than overwrought , highly intellectualized dialogue that even harvard scholars wouldn't use ) , all the while developing into a darkly foreboding , severely eerie thriller that successfully leaves you uneasy from the horrifyingly real opening twenty minutes to the less-successful , but still suspenseful epilogue . +at the start of the film , 17-year-old high school senior alex browning ( devon sawa ) is about to leave with his 40-student french class for a field trip to paris . +progressively getting a case of preflight jitters , he spots several mysterious " coincidences , " including the departure time being 9 : 25 , the same as his september 25 birthday , as well as hearing the john denver song " rocky mountain high " over the sound system in the airport bathroom . + " john denver died in a plane crash , " alex grudgingly mutters to himself . +once seated , alex suddenly gets a horrific premonition about the plane exploding upon takeoff , and after causing a ruckus onboard , he , as well as six other students and a teacher , are thrown off . +arguing in the airport lobby , alex's suspicion comes true when the plane really does explode in flight , killing all 300+ passengers , including the rest of their classmates . +as two investigators interrogate alex about how he knew the plane was going to explode , the fellow survivors , whom he has saved , treat him in varying manners . +carter ( kerr smith ) , the hotshot jock , holds him in contempt because he believes that it is only he himself who can decide his fate . +alex's best friend , tod ( chad e . donella ) , wants to stand by him but can't because of his fearful parents . +the teacher , mrs . lewton ( kristen cloke ) , is frightened by him , believing that it was he who somehow caused the disaster , as well as in a state of guilt for giving up her seat on the plane to a fellow coworker . +only outsider clear rivers ( ali larter ) , who unboarded the plane due to a sudden connection to alex's premonition even though she had never even spoken to him before , is sympathetic and thankful to him for saving her life . +that is only the setup of " final destination , " and the less said about what follows , the better . +suffice to say , the film does , indeed , turn into a slasher film , albeit one that is more thoughtful than most , and replaces a knife-wielding maniac for the never-seen granddaddy killer of them all , the grim reaper itself . +the setpieces in any horror movie are the death scenes , and " final destination " surely boosts some of the most inventive ones to grace the silver screen in years . +graphic and brilliantly orchestrated in a rube goldbergesque manner , they manage to occasionally be so intense you don't know whether to shrink down in your seat , tap your feet in nervousness , or turn away . +devon sawa , a rising star who put his physical comedy skills to good use in 1999's underseen slasher-comedy , " idle hands , " is even more of a charismatic presence here . +the conflicting emotions he feels for his survival , which he comes to believe he wasn't meant to do , as well as the loss of the other passengers , is superbly and subtly acted on his part . +one scene , in which he is watching a news report on the crash and slowly begins to break down is especially realistic and powerful . +ali larter ( 1999's " varsity blues " ) , in the other central role , is also effective , as a girl whose life was going well until her father died in a convenience store shooting years before , leaving her stuck with an increasingly uncaring mother who married a loutish man--the exact opposite of her now-deceased father . +the other roles are not as fully written , and most remain rather one-dimensional . +the movie is mainly sawa's , however , and the rest of the actors equip themselves well in limited roles . +tony todd ( 1992's " candyman " ) , as an arcane morgue attendant , pops up for a five-minute cameo , but his appearance is rather supererogatory . +and the aforementioned dialogue occasionally hits the bullseye , while at other times it hovers over being just a little too stilted and campy . +ultimately , what is so good about " final destination " is that , within the confines of the slasher genre , writer-director wong and screenwriters glen morgan and jeffrey reddick have created a premise that has never been seen before in this manner , and a film that has the ability to both surprise and frighten--two things that are rarely found in today's horror films . +if anything , it's safe to say you will never ever look at flying in airplanes the same way again . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv870_16348.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv870_16348.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2066eefdee5d3545f19295472912457d013c6f76 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv870_16348.txt @@ -0,0 +1,51 @@ +originally entitled dancing about architecture ( i . e . + " talking about love is like dancing about architecture " ) , but changed because it sounded too much like the recent box-office dud dancing at lughnasa , this film slaps together a stunning cast of hollywood names , playing interesting and well-written characters , within a vignettes-styled plot arrangement a la robert altman . +plot : follow the lives of several couples falling in and out of love , finding themselves , regaining a clearer understanding of the people that they are , and who they want , and appreciating the fine emotional art of love . +critique : charmingly effective romantic drama , this film offers insight into various types of relationships , presents us with interesting characters and excellent performances from the cast , and scratches beneath the surface of love and its many complex subtleties . +how do people fall in love ? +why do people fall out of love ? +how do people fall back into love , once they've been hurt and left to join the lonely hearts club ? +all of these questions and more , are touched upon in this film , within several types of variant relationships . +meet a hip , young couple going through their first date . +a divorcee attempting to date again after her many failed relationships . +a married woman " finding herself " while cheating on her husband . +a husband letting go of his inhibitions . +an older couple dealing with a past " love " of the man , a secret recently uncovered . +a son dying from aids , joined by his mother at the hospital . +there are many nuances to this picture , and many ideas and quotes to which we could all relate , but more importantly , there is diversity . +diversity of relationships helped me and my gang of friends enjoy this film on many levels . +some related to the younger couples' issues . +others with the married . +there's a little bit of everything for everyone in here . +and i would bet dollars to donuts that if i were to watch this film again in a year , i would relate myself to yet another predicament . +just like love itself , this movie is distinct and appreciated by all on many different levels . +the actors in this film are all also very , very good . +sean connery is solid as the older man with some issues to resolve , as is gena rowlands , as the aging wife with trepidations . +jolie comes out of this film a star with a great performance , while philippe is as pretty-boy as ever . +anderson leaves scully far behind with her wonderful portrayal of a damaged woman trying to re-ignite her love life , opposite a surprisingly admirable performance by former talk-show host , jon stewart . +even dennis quaid manages to step outside of his overacting shoes in this film , and offers a convincing show of a man lost within his own imagination . +the only piece of this puzzle which left me somewhat detached , was the part surrounding jay mohr , the man dying from aids , and his mother , ellen burstyn . +the actors were fine , but somehow , the piece seemed out of place within the realm of everything else . +the ending of this film was also a little too saccharine for me , but i guess that's just hollywood . +this film is actually a lot like your friends and neigbors ( 5 . 5/10 ) and happiness ( 4 . 5/10 ) in concept and style , but its complete anthesis in regards to character relatibility and likeness . +the characters in those films were too unique and inhuman for anyone to care , as opposed to this film , which offers rich and believable characters , living real lives and talking about real issues in today's relationships . +all in all , this movie offers many interesting characters , talking and living genuine and engaging love lives , wonderful performances by its solid cast , too sweet of an ending , but an enjoyable and rewatchable movie nonetheless . +little known facts about this film and its stars : according to a story in the london sunday mirror , sean connery asked for only $60 , 000 for his role in this movie , as compared to his usual fee of $14 million , because he liked the script so much . +on top of that , he convinced his co-stars ( including gena rowlands , gillian anderson , ellen burstyn , et al . ) to do the same . +this is director/writer willard carroll second real foray into the world of " adult films " . +before this , he had written and produced many children's movies . +gillian anderson stands 5'2 . +angelina jolie's full name is angelina jolie voight . +she is actor jon voight's daughter . +she has trained and performed at the lee strasberg theatre institute . +she divorced actor jonny lee miller of trainspotting ( 8 . 5/10 ) +fame in 1997 . +they were married in 1995 . +actor ryan phillippe's full name is matthew ryan phillippe . +he stands 5'9 , and spent his childhood in new castle , delaware . +his acting career started on tv's " one life to live " . +he portrayed daytime television's first gay teenager . +jon stewart's full name is jonathan stewart leibowitz . +this film was originally entitled if they only knew and dancing about architecture . +watch for movie posters from swingers ( 8 . 5/10 ) , +chasing amy ( 7/10 ) and the texas chainsaw massacre ( 8/10 ) at the movie theatre where the characters of joan and keenan go on their first date . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv872_12591.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv872_12591.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a7557d496a49bbe8c79a94833ff6a1101dc50939 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv872_12591.txt @@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ +robert redford is very good at playing characters who have incredible , god-given gifts , but are able to act like ordinary people . +in " the natural " ( 1984 ) , he played the fallen angelic character of roy hobbs , the baseball player who was destined to be " the best there ever was , " but still acted like a humble farm boy . +in " butch cassidy and the sundance kid " ( 1969 ) , he was the most dangerous shot in the west , yet he came off like a nothing more than a boyishly good-looking charmer . +even in " indecent proposal " ( 1993 ) , where he played a man who was so good at making money that he believed he could buy love , redford was still able to exude an aura of shy decency , especially when reciting a tale of lost love . +in his latest film , " the horse whisperer , " based on the best-selling novel by nicholas evans , redford again plays such a character . +redford also directed the film although he swore up and down that he would never direct himself in a movie - i suppose the character of tom booker , a man who has the amazing gift of understanding and somehow communicating with horses , was just too good to pass up . +despite his enormous and rare gift when it comes to training troubled horses ( a magazine article coins the phrase " horse whisperer " to describe his uncanny talent ) , booker sees himself as an everyday cattle rancher whose greatest fear is growing old and no longer having a purpose in life . +booker's talents are taxed into service by annie maclean ( kristin scott thomas ) , a new york magazine editor whose daughter , grace ( scarlett johansson ) , was recently in a horrible accident . +the accident , which is filmed with gut-wrenching horror , happens when grace and her best friend are out riding horses - an eighteen-wheeler kills grace's friend , severely wounds and traumatizes grace's horse , pilgrim , and causes grace to lose part of her right leg . +annie believes that if pilgrim can be healed , grace will be healed as well , which leads her to booker . +at first , she tries to get booker to come to new york to see the horse , but that doesn't work . +instead , she packs up grace and pilgrim , leaves her husband , robert ( sam neill ) behind , and heads for the rolling hills of montana where booker runs a ranch with his brother , frank ( chris cooper ) , and his sister-in-law , diane ( dianne wiest ) . +in many ways , the film is like a journey , both literally and symbolically . +the move out west has always been a great american tradition of renewal , and it's hard not to see annie and grace's leaving manhattan for montana as a variation on the classic theme of city vs . country . +in " the horse whisperer , " country is clearly the victor . +the city is characterized by claustrophobia and unhappiness , and it is not until the characters arrive in the wide-open spaces of montana that grace's anger at being physically and emotionally crippled begins to dissipate , annie's controlling nature begins to relax , and pilgrim once again learns to trust people . +redford is just as in love with the grand montana country in this film as he was when he directed " a river runs through it " six years ago . +in many ways , " the horse whisperer " comes from the same poetic vein as " river , " and the movie could probably be a good fifteen minutes shorter if redford had decided to spend less camera-time on the grass and mountains . +but then , that would ruin the magic . +much of the film's photography is truly elegant , and it creates a palpable sense of the sheer expansiveness of the land . +to further emphasize this , redford and cinematographer robert richardson ( " natural born killers , " " platoon " ) cheated a bit by shooting the beginning of the film - which takes place in new york - with mostly cold , harsh bluish filters and a more squarish 1 . 85 : 1 aspect ratio ; when the action shifts to montana , richardson switches to soft-focus and natural lighting , and the screen widens to a 2 . 35 : 1 aspect ratio . +in terms of the story itself , " the horse whisperer " gives us the same romanticized view of adultery found in david lean's " a brief encounter " ( 1945 ) and clint eastwood's 1995 adaptation of robert james waller's " the bridges of madison county " ( richard lagravenese , co-screenwriter here also adapted " bridges " ) . +although " the horse whisperer " has a strong romantic sensibility , i still find something oddly troubling about this kind of story . +it seems to me that there should be some sympathy for the husband who's being left behind for this brief , heart-sweeping affair , but there rarely is . +in " the horse whisperer , " the thankless role of being the fuddy-duddy husband falls to sam neill . +he plays the character as a decent , hard-working man who is a good husband and father ; his only failure is that he loves his wife more than she loves him . +he is at risk of losing annie to booker not because he did anything to drive her away , but simply because he happens to be a normal , fairly uninspiring man . +there is one scene that is particularly telling of how the movie feels about each character . +it shows booker and robert going into a horse pen - booker is dressed like a classic cowboy with hat and all , while robert looks somewhat frumpy and out-of-place in a baseball cap . +as they enter the pen , booker assuredly swings over the fence , while robert hesitates , then opens the gate and , in a goofy moment , forgets to close it behind him . +it's a small scene , but it clearly demonstrates the movie's thorough love of the booker character for his romantic roughness . +after all , booker represents everything good about the city while robert represents everything banal and unnatural about it . +the best scenes in " the horse whisperer " tend to involve not the building romance between booker and annie , but rather the healing process of grace and her horse . +although booker's horse-training methods are mythical and unrealistic , the scenes with him and pilgrim are strangely mesmerizing . +these are paralleled by the scenes between him and grace , some of which are humorous , and all of which are tender and true . +at some point , i wished the movie would drop the whole romance angle and focus on grace more . +nevertheless , redford is obviously a romantic at heart , and he brings a light touch to the erotic moments in the film . +there are no dramatic sex scenes , but there is a moving scene when he and scott thomas are slow-dancing , always moving ever closer together , that is far more erotic than any scene of sweaty bodies grinding together . +although the movie is longer than it should be and is essentially a melodramatic tearjerker with an unsatisfying conclusion that guarantees unhappiness for just about every character , there are enough moments like that which make " the horse whisperer " worth the price of admission . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv874_11236.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv874_11236.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..fb4eddbeef3e8cd608f6af9a2f066ab8b4559387 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv874_11236.txt @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@ +ingredients : man with amnesia who wakes up wanted for murder , dark science fiction city controlled by alien beings with mental powers . +synopsis : what if you woke up one day , and suspected you were not on earth , and instead were part of an experiment in a giant space terrarium manipulated by intergalactic alien zookeepers ? +in dark city john murdoch ( rufus sewell ) has this problem . +dark city starts out like a 1940s noir amnesia detective mystery . +poor john wakes up with amnesia in a hotel room with a dead dame in one corner . +a mysterious phone call tells him to get the heck out of there , and soon enough john is chased all over town by a murderous army of pale people in black trench-coats , as well as by the police , and the dogged inspector bumstead ( william hurt ) . +is john a murderer , and what can his missing memories tell him ? +he searches through his own wallet for possible contacts and clues . +but when the clues don't fit , it doesn't just confuse him ; it causes john to go so far as to question the whole nature of reality in the dark city . +to john , something is fishy , and very unreal about this city . +how come it's always dark , and nobody seems to remember what they did this morning ? +and how come nobody seems to remember how to leave the city , or how to get to nearby shell beach ? +every night , around midnight , john notices that the whole city enters a state of suspended animation , and at this time , creepy alien experimenters known as the 'strangers' come out and do nasty things like inject fake memories into people's heads with big hypodermic needles . +the strangers have the ability to 'tune , ' or warp reality using telepathic powers . +turns out , the city is not on earth at all . +and the reason why john doesn't fall victim to the nightly suspended animation , is because he is a human mutation that possesses the same god-like reality-warping abilities as the strangers . +even with the help of scientist dr . daniel schreber , can john take back the dark city ? +opinion : director alex proyas ( he also directed the crow ) mentions this in the dark city press kit : in films , science fiction is always " used to have big spaceships blow up cities . +i think we're a little tired of that . " +according to director proyas , probably the most interesting thing about dark city is its layers . +it's designed so that you can watch the film over again , and examine it from the perspective of a main character other than murdoch . +it's a philosophical piece . +cinematic science fiction is basically a thinly disguised shootout between the good humans and the bad aliens ( whether they be klingons , giant bugs , or proponents of the dark side of the force ) . +but science fiction in books reaches beyond the 'shoot-em-up' level and targets the big questions , questions like who are we ? +what is the human condition ? +what is ethical ? +what would a true human being do ? +far from comic book style on the order of spawn , batman , or the mutant ninja turtles , dark city not only features the showdown between good humans and powerful aliens , but it also asks questions worthy of films such as brazil or blade runner . +dark city is what philosophers would call an existentialist screenplay . +a little more than 200 years ago , the world was filled with unhappy peasants - - unhappy because nearly every aspect of their lives was controlled by totalitarian , military , conformist , medieval regimes . +the people took refuge in religion , the idea being that earthly life was a time of suffering , but after death , heaven would be available . +meanwhile , the state used these same ideas to prop up their regimes ; the king was often head of the religion and therefore sanctioned by heaven . +when science finally overturned religion , the medieval dictatorships came tumbling down and were replaced by democratic governments . +but the new fear was that the power of science and experimentation would be used to create a world order as darkly totalitarian as the old . +this is the time period when writers and philosophers such as freud , kant , kafka , nietzsche , and dostoevsky pondered what society should be , and what place the individual had in it . +the existentialists' in particular wrote about the power of the lone individual against what may be a hostile , indifferent , or alienated universe . +in dark city , when the last dying , defeated alien asks john murdoch why the aliens' scientific experiments on the human beings' brains failed , murdoch replies , pointing to his head , " because the human condition isn't located in here . " diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv876_9390.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv876_9390.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..553ceee063cee575d71ad93483986203b56ab2ca --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv876_9390.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18 @@ +usually when one is debating who the modern queen of the romantic comedy is they will bring up names like julia roberts or sandra bullock . +others will mention meg ryan . +but for me , it's not even close . +janeane garofalo is not only the queen of the romantic comedy , she is the best comic actress in hollywood right now . +and it's a good thing she's starring in the matchmaker , because without her presence the movie would be bland , unfunny , and dull . +garofalo stars as marcy tizard , a top aide to boston senator john mcglory , who is suffering in the polls . +in an attempt to capture the irish vote , he sends marcy on a mission to a small irish town called ballinagra in search of other mcglory's that never moved to america . +unfortunately for marcy , her visit coincides with the town's annual matchmaking festival . +things get off to a rocky start for marcy though . +she has no hotel reservations ( for no rational reason ) and the tiny confined room ( tired old cliche' ) she has to stay in has a visitor in her bathtub . +his name is sean , and marcy finds him repugnant at first , so you can obviously tell where this is headed . +the movie runs into a few roadblocks . +for instance , the story is very thin . +none of the characters ( except the old local matchmaker ) are nearly as interesting as garofalo . +some of the characters , like the political aide played by denis leary , have wandered in from a completely different movie . +i think the director realized this and decided to throw in numerous shots of the beautiful irish scenery , and several close-ups of garofalo's winning smile . +the strange thing is that it works . +garofalo's charm and the irish scenery could carry the thinnest of stories , and it carries this one . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv877_29274.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv877_29274.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1a1731eb514e1ea2e11f3412ec2e64c5dedb598c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv877_29274.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10 @@ +susan granger's review of " bread and tulips " ( first look pictures ) +in this delightfully frothy italian romantic comedy , after accidentally being left behind by a tour bus while on a family vacation with her cranky husband and two cynical teenagers , rosalba ( licia maglietta ) , an unhappy housewife from pescara , finds herself - and love - in venice . +for the first time in years , rosalba's on her own when she's abandoned at a highway rest area . +although her philandering husband ( antonio catania ) , a plumbing-supply dealer , orders her to stay there until she's picked up , she impulsively accepts a ride to venice , a bohemian paradise which she's never visited . +rosalba finds refuge and romance with fernando ( bruno ganz ) , a gruff icelandic waiter who offers her a spare room in his modest apartment and prepares breakfast for her each morning . +to support herself , she gets a job working with a florist ( antonio catania ) . +film-maker silvio soldini gently explores the blossoming of this bored , middle-aged , middle-class woman with warmth and affection , savoring special moments such as when rosalba starts playing the accordion again and abandons her maroon stretch pants , silver jacket and orange sneakers for a simple , new red-and-white dress with platform-soled espadrilles . +the superb actors slip into their roles seamlessly , particularly luminous licia maglietta and low-key bruno ganz , along with marina massironi as her nosy massage-therapist neighbor and giuseppe massironi as the inept plumber-turned-private eye who's sent to retrieve her on orders from her frantic husband - who's discovered that his mistress has no interest in doing his laundry or cleaning the house . +on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , " bread and tulips " is a beguiling , escapist 8 . +as the summer ends , it's a magical getaway for mature audiences . . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv878_15694.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv878_15694.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..fcaf79b4578d173415a3aa6bf4562a9a1613e30c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv878_15694.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ + " i know what you did last summer , " the first high-profile slasher thriller to be released after 1996's " scream , " and written by the same screenwriter , kevin williamson , is a stylish , effective horror film that became 1997's biggest hit of the fall season . +while " scream " was a more knowing film about the genre , " i know what you did last summer " is more reminiscent of a straight-forward slasher flick , but it is far more intelligent than such bottom-of-the-barrel guilty pleasures as all nine of the " friday the 13th " films ( well , okay , " jason goes to hell " was pure hell to sit through ) . +the film starts off with four talented , aspiring teenage friends who have just graduated from high school in their small boating town of southport , n . c . +it is the 4th of july , and they will soon be heading their separate ways . +kind-hearted julie ( jennifer love hewitt ) , and outsider ray ( freddie prinze jr . ) will be headed off to college , while helen ( sarah michelle gellar ) , who has just been honored croaker queen in the town , and her ignorant jock boyfriend , barry ( ryan phillippe ) , are going to new york to become an actress and football player . +when the four of them travel to a nearby mountain-side beach for the evening , they are dismayed after hitting a man in the road on their way home . +distraught and confused , they decide they can't go to the police because they will be charged with manslaughter , so they devise a plan to throw the apparently dead victim off a peer into the ocean , in hopes no one will find him . +julie is apprehensive about it , but is forced into it by barry . +switch to exactly a year later , julie , still unable to come to terms with what she did , reluctantly returns home from college to find that all three of her old friends are still in the town because their career plans did not work out . +almost immediately , julie recieves an ominous letter that simply reads , " i know what you did last summer , " and that is the start of their problems as they find themselves being terrorized by a mysterious figure dressed in fisherman gear and yielding a giant hook . + " i know what you did last summer , " is a successful horror film for a number of reasons . +the cinematography by denis crossan could very well be described as hitchcockian , as it put shadows , fog , steam , and other clever devices to add atmosphere to the proceedings . +the characters , particularly julie and helen , are realistically written , and the film amazingly deals with their broken relationship in a few scenes , which is largely uncharacteristic in films of this sort . +and last , the film creates a few dazzling and scary set-pieces that are some of the most memorable i've seen in a horror movie , particularly the suspenseful , superbly shot sequence involving helen at her family's store with the killer inside with her . +perhaps the best character is that of missy egan ( anne heche ) , a lonely backwoods woman whose brother was the one julie thinks they hit . +heche's performance is a standout , as she is able to create a full character in only about ten minutes of screen time . + " i know what you did last summer , " could have been a great horror movie if not for a few problems . +prinze jr . gives a performance to be desired here , and much of his dialogue sounds wooden coming out of his mouth . +also , the climax of the film almost completely loses its frightening grip after it unveils the mystery killer , who is a decidedly bad actor and should not have been given any lines . +luckily , the penultimate scene saves the disappointing finale , which includes an expertly crafted " jump-in-your-seat " scare . +in the main roles , hewitt and gellar are highly talented , and hewitt , especially , is one of the best screamers i've ever heard . +she honestly could give jamie lee curtis a little competition for the best " scream queen . " +and gellar is touching as a young woman who , in the course of one year , finds her dream of being an actress ultimately shattered . +although not up to the level of either " scream " movies , or the more recent , " urban legend , " " i know what you did last summer " is a respectable , smartly-scripted slasher film that firmly proved good horror movies were once again being made . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv881_13254.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv881_13254.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e9177e86ba320f664496f998f65ffba83566afef --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv881_13254.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ +the word 'rest' in the title should be stressed since this is a movie that lacks any action scenes at all . +what does takes place is more based on character development . +the film starts right in the middle of the lives of four people : nick , beth , carol and sid . +what they have done earlier is for the most part only hinted at . +nick and beth have a relationship and have decided to move from enfield , arizona to butte , montana . + ( and i who thought that butte was pronounced slightly different . . . ) +carol is nick's ex-girlfriend and beth's best friend , sid is a joint-smoking painter that comes to repaint their house before the new tenants move in . +obviously based on a stage play , the problem with the movie is that there's a lot of things left out . +it's not obvious that nick and beth are in love with each other , the reason why nick was fired from his job isn't mentioned . +and why nick suddenly decide to go visit his parents remain a mystery , when he hasn't seen them for many years . +set in a small ( fictional ? ) +town in arizona was a good move , since this makes the film focus on the four characters and not on their surroundings . +the name of the city is not important , this could take place anywhere with four young people in a house discussing life and the future . +particularly impressive is bridget fonda as beth who end up in bed with sid when her fiance nick leaves her . +not an actress that i have found interesting earlier or seen many pictures with , but i'll keep an eye on her in the future . +interesting trivia : this was rated r in the us but rated 'barntill ? ten' in sweden wich means that anyone at any age can see it . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv882_10026.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv882_10026.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..aa4bc10682f42237b9ecc8e3199066a5cc59a4eb --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv882_10026.txt @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +airplane ! is considered among many to be the epitome of satire film-making . +after all , it's brought to us by one of the best known satire writing/directing teams . +even if most people don't recognize the names behind the films , they are bound to recognize the titles : airplane ! , top secret , the naked gun , and hot shots to name a few . +but although the zucker/abrahams/zucker team was first introduced with the kentucky fried movie in 1977 , airplane ! +remains the true cornerstone of their work , and their directorial debuts . +in the seventies , disaster films seemed to be at an all time high . +films like earthquake , the towering inferno , and the poseidon adventure were big hits . +there was also a series about the disasters that can arise when traveling by plane - a series that spanned the entire decade . +and so , in 1980 , we were introduced to a new airplane disaster film . +this time the disaster had nothing to do with a maniacal hijacker or crashing into the ocean . + . + . +it had to do with bad fish . +airplane ! is the story of ted striker ( robert hays ) - an ex-fighter-pilot who has never gotten over the fact that a decision he had to make in the midst of war led to the death of six , er , seven comrades . +unable to stop living in the past , ted's world fell apart . +he spent his time moving from city to city without ever having a stable job , and eventually , as we begin this film , is getting dumped by his lover , flight attendant elaine dickinson ( julie hagerty ) . +in a desperate attempt not to lose her , ted buys a ticket for the same flight elaine is working . +unfortunately , she is unsympathetic and even criticizes ted for following her , which leaves him wallowing in self-pity . +in the midst of it all , something happens . +someone gets sick . +then another . +then another . +soon , the whole plane is full of deathly-ill chicago-bound people . + . + . +and when the pilots get sick ( played by peter graves , kareem abdul-jabbar , and frank ashmore ) , who will save the day ? + ( gee , i wonder ) +of course the main draw here is the non-stop " whiz-bang " comedy , with a hefty dose of both visual and spoken gags . +although i had seen this movie a few times before , i was still laughing thru the entire thing . +the most fun character by far is the doctor , played by leslie nielsen . +he's a dry , subtle , sterotypically straight-faced doctor that ends up saying some of the funniest lines of the film . +in a film like this , you're not really expecting an elaborate production , so one can't complain about the amateurish quality . +what you can complain about is the absolutely annoying johnny , played by stephen stucker . +this character is pointless , nauseating , and very unfunny . +i don't know why he was put in there , and i don't think anybody will find a good excuse . +and when the film nears an end , it slows down quite a bit , almost getting old . +you gotta give it to a movie that only runs 88 minutes and can feel two hours long . +aside from that , airplane ! +is really a top-notch spoof that will likely forever be known as a spoof classic . +it would be a good choice to pop in the vcr with a group of friends , especially if they haven't seen it . +and if they ask what the plot is , just tell 'em " it's a synopsis of the basic storyline of the film , but that's not important right now . " +if you've seen the film , you'll understand ; - ) diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv883_27751.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv883_27751.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..939af44d4207214fd116c6b509d140c339be4944 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv883_27751.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ +this is the movie not the perfume . +a slow moving , stylish psychological thriller in imitation of hitchcock's vertigo . +it is adapted from an original story by brian de palma and paul schrader , and is directed by de palma and scripted by schrader . +set in new orleans , 1959 , it shows the wealthy michael courtland ( cliff robertson ) sitting on top of the world , celebrating his tenth wedding anniversary with a party in his mansion , as his lovely wife elizabeth ( genevi ? ve bujold ) and young daughter amy ( blackman ) , both look up to him beaming with joy . +his real-estate development partner bob la salle ( john lithgow ) proposes a toast to him and to their prosperous business , while his high society friends give him their best wishes . +upon retiring for the night , his daughter and wife are kidnapped in their bedroom and he is left with a ransom note to deliver $500 , 000 tomorrow or they will be killed . +inspector brie ( stanley reyes ) comes up with a plan to put in phony money and a transmitter in the briefcase exchange , as that will lead them to the kidnappers . +but the kidnappers burst out of the house surrounded by the police , taking the two victims with them and in the pursuing police chase , the kidnapper's car explodes and goes over the bridge , where none of the bodies were found . +grieving the loss of his wife and child , the guilt-ridden michael builds them a tomb on the expensive land they were to develop . +sixteen years later he goes with his partner bob on a vacation and he revisits florence , italy , where he met his wife . +when he goes to the church where they met , he sees a young girl who looks exactly like his wife . +her name is sandra portinari ( genevi ? ve bujold ) and she's working there restoring art that is decaying . +he falls instantly in love with her and doesn't heed bob's warnings that she might be a gold digger and decides to take her back to new orleans and marry her . +sandra becomes his second chance to prove his love , as he thinks he can finally put the past behind him . +the surprises to come weren't really all that surprising , as the beauty in the storytelling is almost exclusively in the understated acting by the soul stricken cliff robertson , the emotionally impactful performance by genevi ? ve bujold , and the competent acting of john lithgow . +it plays too much like a rehash of the master's work , to break any new ground , yet it is still thrilling in its own way . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv884_13632.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv884_13632.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f3bf9af0dcb3f6406f93b08993715296160e7fef --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv884_13632.txt @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +the farrelly brothers' third film , after dumb and dumber ( 7 . 5/10 ) and kingpin ( 8/10 ) , brings together the real-life couple of cameron diaz and matt dillon , some nasty humour , a cute dog , and a mix of love , fate and romance . +plot : high-school nerd ted gets lucky when the cutest girl in his class asks him to the prom . +unfortunately for ted , he accidentally gets a part of his male anatomy ( ouch ! ) +caught in his zipper , and misses the big night . +thirteen years later , ted still can't get mary out of his mind , and hires a private detective ( dillon ) to find her . +once found , it turns out that mary has more than one suitor , and that's when the real fun begins . +critique : likeable comedy with a few extremely funny scenes , some funny looking people , and a plot that won't ever put you to sleep . +having said that , i must admit that i did like the farrellys' two previous films more than this one , but that is saying a lot , since i really did love those earlier pics . +this one is also quite funny , but it didn't really blow me away like the others . +then again , maybe my expectations were too high . +then again , maybe i should shut up , and write a little more about the film , and less about my supposed subconscious reasons for liking/disliking the film . +continuing where their other pictures left off , the farrellys' create a cutesy world of people with strange and endearing qualities , and a simple plot by which to tie them all together . +this one also includes plenty of toilet humour , but also some borderline fun-making of the disabled and mentally-challenged . +i must admit that i really wasn't sure whether to laugh at some points or not . +not a good place to be . +having said that , the scenes that did tear through the audience , and yours truly , were extremely hilarious , and went on for several minutes after the punchline . +the laughter practically killed out the next scene for one of the best ones in the movie ( something to do with hair gel ) . +on the negative end , i did not like the musical interludes of jonathan richman that ran through the entire picture . +i found them quite useless , unfunny and distracting . +also , i found that a lot of the funnier scenes had already been shown in the film's trailer . +and of course , i never quite buy the fact that these beautiful , intelligent , single women still can't seem to find the " right guy " ( see kiss the girls ( 7/10 ) . +i did really like all of the actors in the film , especially ben stiller , who appears to be solidifying his mark as a great comical actor with this picture and one of my favourites from 1996 , flirting with disaster ( 8/10 ) . +i also liked matt dillon with his big teeth , and lee evans with his superb faux-sympathy british accent . +funny stuff . +also , make sure that you stay for the credits , because there is an entire montage of outtakes from the film that plays under a lip-synched version of " build me up buttercup " , which is really cool . +overall , a cute comedy with a decent premise , and a few particularly hilarious scenes . +little known facts : the farrellys big break came when they somehow got a copy of their script " dust to dust " into the hands of eddie murphy via ? murphy's neighbour . +they only found out about murphy's interest , when they saw eddie mention the script on the david letterman show one night . +matt dillon is a high school dropout . +in between acting gigs , dillon has branched out into the restaurant business . +close to home in his native new york , he co-owns both a bar called the whiskey and a swanky uptown eatery called the falls . +cameron diaz stands 5 " 9 , started working as a model at the early age of 16 , and loves cats . +ben stiller's father is jerry stiller . +he played george costanza's ( jason alexander ) father on tv's " seinfeld " . +peter farrelly has written a novel entitled " outside providence " which is currently being filmed starring alec baldwin . +rob moran , who plays the cop in this film , also played the millionaire bowler in kingpin , and the bartender in dumb and dumber . +he is old friends with the farrelly brothers from college , and is currently married to entertainment tonight anchor/correspondant julie moran . +harland williams , who plays the nutty hitchhiker in this film , also played a state trooper in the farrelly's earlier dumb and dumber , and was the star of the unfortunate rocket man . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv885_12318.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv885_12318.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..95a53d9ea3d23cc07800b097bf756c872331f8e3 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv885_12318.txt @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ +when jim henson passed away , he left behind diverse legions of fans and a company whose ultimate success , it now seems , hinged on his input . +jim henson productions and the creature shop are still thriving financially , but as the last two muppet films ( or that silly computer-generated monkey from lost in space ) demonstrate , the thrill and genius are gone . +i'm not sure the dark crystal , made today , would generate from an audience of kids five to fifty the same awe-filled response . +an all-powerful crystal has cracked , causing the leaders of the green world to split apart into two beings : the big , gentle mystics , and the vulture-like skeksis . +the mystics send jen , a naive gelfling boy , on a mission to find the shard that cracked away , which must be reinserted into the crystal before the skeksis become eternal rulers , before the great " conjunction " of three suns . +along the way , jen encounters and teams up with the only other gelfling alive , the rebecca demornay-like kira , an ogre-witch named aughra , who removes her eyes to look at things , and a spastic-but-friendly , tumbleweed-like animal named fizzgig . +much of the beauty in the dark crystal , which is a simple tale ( though it does not condescend to any viewer ) , lies in its art direction and creature design . +the puppeteering is phenomenal--observe the scenes in which jen plays his flute , or the landwalker chase--but i must stress that any thoughts of strings and hands and remote controls all but vanish in the opening moments of the picture , a delicately-narrated ( by john baddeley ) , absorbing prologue . +the voice work in the film , by muppet regulars and irregulars , is tone-perfect . +as well , trevor jones' score should not be discounted : it contributes to the film almost as an unseen character . +i suppose , due to the complexity involved in executing a movie of this nature , that it couldn't be helped , but i wish the film was longer . +jen and kira have wonderful . . . well , +chemistry , and more scenes of them quietly conversing would have been appreciated . +the dark crystal has a very small cult following . +the weaker labyrinth is probably better-known , which is upsetting . +a friend of mine related a story to me that henson was pressured into planting humans among labyrinth's creatures due to the financial failure of people-less the dark crystal . +that film never quite found its footing ; it played like an acid-trip episode of " the muppet show " with david bowie as guest-host , borrowing from tolkien and pandering to tolkien's fan-base . + ( i suppose i just made labyrinth sound appetizing to a certain sector of the public . ) +the dark crystal deserved ( and still deserves ) a bigger audience . +it's the best kind of children's entertainment : elegant , fantastical , and courageously un-hip . +brian henson , fortunate son , keep looking back at this , your father's masterpiece . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv888_24435.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv888_24435.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f6375aaadbd332eec9c5f8236d1455929ad1251d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv888_24435.txt @@ -0,0 +1,43 @@ +imagine this . +you're given a sword and a shield and very basic , minimal training . +a man you don't know tells you that this will be the last day that you will live . +you are thrown into an arena with thousands of spectators wanting to see you die . +you frantically monitor several closed doors which , in seconds , will release vicious enemies prepared to destroy you . +you watch as the innocent friends you made in the last few days are murdered in cold blood . +if you are lucky enough to survive this chaos thrown at you , you know you're going to have to do it all over again tomorrow . +eventually know matter how strong or skilled you are , you're going to die . +this is the life of a gladiator . +you'll never have to be a gladiator and after seeing ridley scott's powerful gladiator , you'll be thankful for that . +with his new film , scott has returned cinema to the fascinating age of the ancient roman empire . +and like those preceding it , spartacus and ben hur , gladiator has nearly everything going for it - a strong lead actor , a wonderful supporting cast , eye-catching special effects , and a great script . +since the two aforementioned films came out before the prime target viewers of gladiator ( teenagers to thirty-year-old males ) were around , a whole new genre may just be reborn and revisited . +>from a weak beginning , the film starts off extremely gloomy and inauspicious . +rome's best general maximus ( russell crowe ) , who has helped the empire conquer nearly everywhere they have attempted , is currently ( in the year 180 a . d . that is ) waging a war against germania . +scott shoots the gory battle in an awkward style , similar to that of saving private ryan but much less effective . +it's blurry , in slow motion , and the sound is muted . +as soon as this artistic method began , it was hard to tell what was what and who was who . +it's a good thing scott stops this after the first twenty minutes or else gladiator would have been torture to watch . +instead , the general swears he will get out after this battle . +he wants to go back to his family and his crops , he wants a quiet life . +but , unexpectedly , he gets anything but that . +the dying emperor of rome , marcus aurelius ( richard harris ) , decides to have maximus appointed new emperor of rome once he dies . +he asks maximus to restore the republic by giving more power to the senators . +all of this does not go well for aurelius' son , commodus ( joaquin phoenix ) who was expecting his father to name him the new emperor . +jealous and upset , commodus kills his own father , names himself emperor , kills maximus' wife and son , and attempts to kill maximus . +but maximus is able to escape his own death and vows to kill commodus and fulfill marcus aurelius' wishes . +now a slave , the only way he can win his own freedom and complete his goal is to become a winning gladiator , who eventually are released for their success . +a story of betrayal and promises , gladiator is more than just a mindless action flick . +you actually care about the characters , sometimes even the evil villain commodus , who is just a young man as determined to make rome one way as maximus is determined to make it the other way . +phoenix plays his character brilliantly . +think of commodus as the percy wetmore ( of pant-wetter the green mile ) of the roman empire - a whiny , sleazy , " respect-me-because-my-father-was-a-good-man " brat who hates when he's not the center of attention . +every scene we see commodus , he's either crying or he looks like he has just been crying . +phoenix has definitely matured as an actor since to die for , and gladiator shows he's more than just river's little brother . +crowe is also excellent as the film's grisly-faced hero . +maximus is one of the few characters in recent cinema who actually has emotions . +this guy actually acts like a anyone in his situation would act , he's no invincible superhero who only blurts out one-liners , he ( believe it or not ) acts like a human being ! +the rest of the cast , including richard harris , djimon hounsou , walter hill , derek jacobi , and connie nielsen are also first rate . +ridley scott , using outstanding special effects , has brilliantly recreated the roman coliseum , the loudness of the roman mob , and the city of rome in general . +the visuals are breathtaking and voluminous , like a cleopatra of the year 2000 . +the costuming is also wonderful from the detailed shields and armor to the exquisite dress of the upper-class politicians . +gladiator is another movie you have to see on the big screen to get the most out of the experience . +along with u-571 , action fans should have plenty to see in theaters this week and should expect much more excitement to come this summer of 2000 . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv889_21430.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv889_21430.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ab31818d40384aaa0a629011c9699e447f9bc4bf --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv889_21430.txt @@ -0,0 +1,47 @@ +so here is the second of 1999's remakes of classic horror movies . +the first was the dumb , pathetic but ok remake of the classic 'the haunting' . +now comes the highly awaited remake of house on haunted hill . +the classic which starred vincent price as a man who pays a group of people 100 , 000 to stay in his house . +if they survive the night they get the money . +if not well you get the jurisdiction . +having not yet seen the film ( dvd on its way ) i wasn't sure if i would really like the remake . +but sure enough it comes through and has a great storyline to fall back on . +geoffrey rush ( in a fantastic role with an incredible performance ) is steven price , the owner of an amusement park destined to scare the wits out of people . +his wife evelyn price is throwing a party with her friends . +steven dismays at the idea and makes his own list . +somehow someone , or something changes that list and five other people are invited to the party . +eddie ( taye diggs ) an ex-baseball player , sarah ( ali carter ) an ex-assistant who can re-wire anything , melissa ( brigette wilson ) a talk-show host in sorts , dr . blackburn ( peter ghallager ) , and watson ( chris kattan ) a smart-mouthed humorist in ways . +what he is gonna do is pay these five people 1 , 000 , 000 dollars if they can survive through the night . +if they can they get the money , if not well they don't . +the house on haunted hill used to be an insane asylum . +years before mental patients broke out and killed the dr . there , forcing him to lock the place up because if he died , so did they . +everyone who was in there burned to death . +now it is steven price's home and he is throwing this party for these five people . +what starts out as a seemingly normal night , turns into a horrifying , blood splattering night . +the deep dark secrets of what really happened in that asylum and why those guests are actually there are revealed . +one-by-one the people start to disappear . +conspiracies start to turn up , and steven price finds out that his house may be alive after all . +the people find rooms , which once held mental patients . +rooms which once had people dying . +rooms which may still contain these people . +now these five people must try and survive the night and try and survive the house , and they must survive each other with terrorfying results . +since i officially haven't seen the original i can't say which is better . +i can say however i liked this movie . +geoffrey rush gives a one in a million performance as the rich steven price , and does a great job doing a vincent price role . +famke jansen as his wife was great and even kind of eerie at times . +ali carter and taye diggs sort of become the main characters and ali carter who debuted in varsity blues gives a fantastic performance here as does taye diggs . +chris kattan gives us great comic relief and the movie contains a lot of comical lines . +peter ghallager and brigette wilson were great as well and gave commanding performances as potential victims . +the plot was well conceived and was very absorbing . +the movie has atmosphere the whole way through that is disturbing and creepy , and even sometimes downright scary . +i found even the opening credits to me a little ominous . +one thing i knew not to expect was a 'haunting' type movie with special effects galore . +even though it had fantastic gore and special effects , the movie has only a 19 million dollar budget , which doesn's show all the way through but you can tell . +the movie was written well , and it's only major flaw is the under-developed characters and plot holes that we are left with . +the ending is quite clever and some may not even get it . +i must say house on haunted hill was a surprise . +i was expecting another haunting with special effects , no scares and a dumb ending . +instead i found a good halloween movie with gore , scares and great acting . +house on haunted hill is one of those movies you really can't take seriously . +though it is a well-made movie with a good storyline it still has some flaws . +but besides that the movie is fun , smart and scary and makes us wonder why remakes like this can't be made all the time ! diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv890_3977.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv890_3977.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5b434b8a6f2b78ff91d8524e9ad6984be2b98d2f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv890_3977.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18 @@ +apollo 13 is simply one of the most dramatic film this summer ( apart from swashbuckling braveheart ) . +director ( and former actor ) ron howard ( splash , backdraft , far & away ) , most noted for his dramatic film making , displays again his brilliance in creating drama and suspense in apollo 13 . +being the second largest box office hit in the us this summer ( with more than us$150 million in the states alone ) , this film is his most successful effort yet . +perhaps one of the most appealing feature of this film is the pool of talented actors such as tom hanks ( gump himself ) , kevin bacon ( footloose , tremors , a few good men etc . ) , gary sinise ( forrest gump ) , bill paxton ( aliens , true lies , boxing helena ) and ed harris ( the abyss , just cause ) . . +all of whom gave good performances in their respective roles . +apollo 13 was the second worst accident ever to occur in the history of us spaceflight ( the worst being the challenger accident ) . +jim lovell ( hanks ) , the mission commander , together with his crew , fred haise ( paxton ) and last minute replacement tom swigert ( bacon ) are put to the ultimate test when part of their command module explodes on the third day of the mission , more than three quarters way to the moon . +suspense and drama ensue as the three men are left in space with their spaceship out of control and the problem of surviving the journey home . . . +if they ever reach it . +ed harris and gary sinise who play , respectively , the man in charge of the entire mission control and the astronaut who was supposed to fly but was diagnosed with measles , both delve into their roles superbly . +audiences are shown the chaotic and worrisome state of the entire ground control crew , as they frantically attempt to come up with ideas on how to save the astronauts from hurtling into space . +also , there are quite a number of real news footages which were broadcast during the accident which took the entire us nation into 5 days of drama in 1970 . +the special effects by digital domain are up to standard and the music suits the suspense and drama very well , thanks to film-music maestro james horner . +watch out for the launching sequence , it is simply one of the most breathtaking scenes of the film . +a bad point though : apollo 13 features much technical jargon and many physics concepts in its script . +those who consider themselves `scientifically illiterate' might have a slight problem understanding what caused this and what caused that during the course of the show . +this is however , just a minor point , just forget all those technical bullshit and immerse yourselves into the drama and suspense throughout the film . +you should enjoy it . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv893_26269.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv893_26269.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..98be3a0ebff9c5ccdf367ed7f8cc05a4670b14ea --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv893_26269.txt @@ -0,0 +1,53 @@ +let me open this one with a confession : i love cop movies . +i adore them with such an unwavering , near foolish passion that i was actually one of the first in line to see 1998's one tough cop starring the smirkiest of the baldwin brothers , steven . +was it any good ? +well , just about as good as baldwin's steven seagal impression ( for those i've confused the answer is a resounding no ! ) . +now let me clarify , i don't love just any cop movie ; i'm not too keen on the smug buddy cop flicks that were so in vogue in the 80's and now slowly ( gulp ) returning thanks to jackie chan and chris tucker . +i'm partial to those gritty , earthy cop dramas like serpico , donnie brasco , and the french connection . +problem is these films come along just about as often as george w . bush makes a cogent point so whenever a " true " cop movie does hit multiplexes , i come running towards it like an eager puppy ? ? ? and inevitably i leave , head bowed , tripping over my squiggly tail . +so what is it about cop movies that transform me into a moron willing to shell out $7 . 50 for a movie called one tough cop ( which actually sounds a lot like a wiseguy spin-off , no ? ) ? +truth is i'm a sucker for those barren streets , that gritty , graffiti strewn modernist jungle where dangerous criminals lurk and cops , like modern day knights , must shield us from their iniquitous clutches . +yes it's all very corny and awfully boys clubish , which , i'm guessing , is precisely where these feelings come from . +as little tots us boys are brought up to create our own wars with gi joe's , enact cops and robbers or cowboy and indian fantasies , etc . the best gritty cop films tap into those gleeful adolescent fantasies , and heighten them , turning it all into an existential nightmare of thin moral lines and psychological chaos . +as an adult my tastes haven't changed all that drastically ; sure i can get a cerebral high from the emotional complexities of a krzysztof kieslowski film , but i still delight at the promise a " guy " film could potentially bring . +now what if it's the cops who're the corrupt ones ? +ooh that one really gets me going , these protectors using all that at their service , taking advantage of others for their own gain . +throw a courtroom drama ( yech ! ) +into the pot and you have the tremendously absorbing sidney lumet film prince of the city . +how absorbing is prince of the city , you ask ? +so damn absorbing that when the film shifts from gritty undercover cop drama to courtroom drama ( a sub-genre i loath the way kristy swanson must loath sarah michelle gellar ) i remained completely and utterly involved . +the film stars treat williams , who gives the kind of performance that should have skyrocketed his career up to the level that brad pitt currently resides at . +since i was hatched a mere two years prior to the release of prince of the city , i cannot provide an answer as to why it didn't . + ( though judging from his recent roles in tripe like deep rising and dead heat i would guess that it probably has something to do with quite a few bad career moves ) . +like mickey rourke and eric roberts ( both of whom are currently doing time in direct to video purgatory ) williams is a talented leading man who didn't make it to where he should have . + ( if there was any justice in this dog gone world keanu reeves would be the one banished to direct to video hell ) . +here , the actor is given a role not all that dissimilar from al pacino's in serpico ( also directed by lumet ) . +williams plays danny ciello , a member of an elite squad of police officers who take down drug dealers on the gritty pre-juliani streets of new york . +they work without uniforms or hours much like paid vigilantes . +and that analogy is more than apt seeing as how the bunch are kinda sorta forced into using corrupt means to get the job done . +the squad relies entirely on informants ( low level junkies ) to gain access to the big wigs , and in order to obtain the info they seek , they sometimes have to provide the junkies with the junk of their choice . +danny has done this , and though he's a fairly honorable guy , who took the job in order to do good , his intentions have gotten a bit skewed along the way . +he seeks redemption and concludes that the best way to go about getting it is by talking to internal affairs who then convince him to go undercover as a " double agent " . +he does so with one condition : he will not rat on his partners . +right away we know that that is exactly what he'll have to do . +and watching the movie build to that is thrilling in the way that any great character driven story can be . +undercover cop films are almost innately exciting , even the kind that pull out all the cliches ( like in too deep ) . +how can one not be moved by the issues of betrayal , ambiguity , and the danger in putting oneself in such a risky position ? +prince of the city takes all this and charges it with a perceptive , hard boiled script and taut unintrusive direction by old pro sidney lumet , as well as a handful of intense performances , most notably by treat . +lumet's greatest contribution to the movie is how he lays back , and lets the camera soak up the action . +his scenes transition rapidly from one to the next building layers of tension , and he rarely holds for reaction shots , instead he clicks away at precisely the moment a character stops yakking . +lumet's worst tendency is one that many film makers ( especially oliver stone ) tend to overuse : he relies a little too heavily on actors shouting their lines at each other presumably in order to ratchet up the tension . +this isn't as much a problem here as it was in night falls on manhattan , lumet's most recent cop \ lawyer endeavor , a movie that nearly gave me an ulcer from just watching . +though of late lumet has made several really awful career choices ( maybe he and treat should get together for a drink or something ) , the most recent a completely unnecessary remake of gloria , here he was on , sustaining tension in a film that runs for 167 minutes with not one dull spot . +some of the formula pictures i like the best are the most simplistic . +hollywood often forgets how easy it is to make these kinds of pictures even tolerable . +of course cop movies aren't popular anymore ( yes buddy cop flicks are popular but those are more like extended sitcoms with gunfire amid the punch lines ) , but just look at the average hollywood action movies , flicks so bloated and full of unnecessary fat like the boring love interest that serves no purpose other than to stall the action and demonstrate that our hero isn't gay , the lame comic relief character who's never funny , and on and on . +for all its moral ambiguities prince of the city is a back to the basics cop \ courtroom drama that leaves out all the crap and really thrills . +it focuses completely on its story , and its characters all of whom are completely believable from the cops to the lawyers to the junkies . +there's a great scene early on where an irate williams shouts at an ia officer and looks as if he's about to go into one of those corny braveheart inspirational speeches , but instead he breaks down in front of the cop and begins sobbing . +this is a scene that would never make it into a michael bay film ( even though bruce willis sacrifices his life at the end of armageddon , not one damn tear ) it would be cut out because the director would say oh that makes him too human , excuse me , weak . +in the very next scene danny speaks in a hushed raspiness , straining to get the words out . +he's lost his voice . +does that little itty bitty detail matter ? +maybe not to most , but it sure made my night . +and in a sprawling epic of corruption , greed , betrayal and violence it's nice to see that someone is paying attention to the little things . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv896_16071.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv896_16071.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..803309b10e01ad3c6b291a8e73f44c4dd879190e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv896_16071.txt @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +bill condon's " gods and monsters " is a fascinating look into the last days in the life of gay director james whale ( ian mckellan ) , who made the horror classics " frankenstein " and " bride of frankenstein . " +since i was unfamiliar of whale prior to viewing the film , there is no way to know how accurate the film is , but i suspect that much of it only came from whale's inner fantasies and hallucinations . +whale , who fought in wwi and then went on to become known for his work on horror pictures , decided fifteen years before his death at age 67 to quit filmmaking once a homosexual scandal broke out involving him . +as the film tells it , during the end of his life , whale , at his large home in l . a . , became infatuated with the tall , handsome , and much younger man , clayton boone ( brendan fraser ) , who was working as the gardener at his home . +james whale , we learn quickly was , what many people refer to him as in the film , " a dirty old man . " +in one of the opening scenes , a young film enthusiast visits whale's home to interview him and whale agrees , on one condition : for every question he answers , the young man must take off an article of clothing . +because of this episode , we know exactly what it is whale wants when he asks clayton to pose for him for a painting , later making the excuse that his bright , white shirt is disracting only so he will take it off . +clayon agrees , and doesn't really think much of this , much to the warnings of his friends , becoming more and more intrigued in the stories whale tells him about his past . +certainly , the relationship between whale and boone is headed for a downfall , since whale starts to grow a deep love for this young man , even though boone is not gay , and whale himself realizes he is nearing the conclusion to his life , as he begins to seldom suffer mild strokes and moments of true catharsis . + " gods and monsters " is an intimate and seemingly respectful portrait of a director who was forced to become somewhat of an outcast , due to his sexual preference , and never got the recognition he would have liked , since he longed to be referred to as a " motion picture director , " rather than a " horror director . " +and in one heartbreaking scene , he attends a party with boone being his guest , held by director george cuckor , and finds that many of the other attendees do not recognize him anymore . +it is evident that whale's first love in his life was making movies , and when his career ultimately fell apart , so did his passion in life . +as played brilliantly by ian mckellen , james whale comes off as a sad , but dignified man , and a person who was not afraid to stand out from others , just as long as he knew he was being true to himself . +he never hid the fact that he was gay , however , even if it meant threatening his filmmaking profession , and it was this unblinking honesty that made him a great person . +through the complicated relationship that develops between whale and boone , boone , of course , only things of whale as a possible friend or someone he can talk to , while it means so much more to whale , who sees boone as sort of his salvation in life . +although boone is only in a dead-end job as a gardener of people's homes , whale views him as the ideal man , not only one that is good-looking , even though it is this attraction that first begins his feelings , but one that will actually listen to him . +since whale lives with only his loyal , but disapproving maid ( touchingly portrayed by lynn redgrave ) , it is boone that whale can talk to in his ultimate reclusion from the world , and the only reason whale finally decides to attend the gathering of george cuckor . +although an extremely fine and mature picture , a few small elements hold the film back from ultimate greatness . +it is appreciated that the film does not pull for any obvious or overly dramatic story developments , but it is a little thin , and the structuring of the " on-again-off-again " friendship at the film's center is fairly predictable . +we know early on where these two characters are headed , and we can guess that there will be a final confrontation between the two as the tension slowly builds . +in lesser hands , this set-up might have felt too calculated , but it is not in the surprisingly deft treatment and writing that helps the film to be much more than this . +also , a subplot is briefly brought up between clayton and a waitress working at a bar ( effectively played by lolita davidovich ) , but abruptly dropped and never brought up again . +if the film was not going to follow up on this side story , then it , perhaps , should have been taken out altogether . + " gods and monsters " is a heartfelt and intelligent motion picture , impressively directed by bill condon , who , i sense , relates to or fully understands the meaning behind the curious relationship between whale and boone . +the film also plays as a tribute to a fine man who met an untimely end . +walking away from " gods and monsters , " it was ian mckellen's marvelous and astounding performance that left the most impression on me , and i doubt there could have been anyone who could have stepped into the role more fully and believably . +it is a sad testament when a person's true talent and love is unfairly taken away from them , based on the scrutinization and judgement of their personal life , which , ironically enough , is no one else's business in the first place . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv897_10837.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv897_10837.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c1b41bae469cfadb1d2a9d240f2e92cff7318110 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv897_10837.txt @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ +i must admit that i was a tad skeptical of " good will hunting " , based both on the previews and the first fifteen minutes of the film , in which the main character will hunting ( matt damon ) , an mit janitor in his early twenties , is discovered to be an einstein-level closet genius when he solves two extraordinarily difficult math problems overnight . +the only problem is that will is a tough street kid who's had his share of run-ins with the law , and before long he's being hauled in for assault after a parking lot fight . +professor lambeau ( stellan skarsgard ) , who had brought up the math problems in his lectures , tracks him down and strikes a deal with the police : will is to be released , provided he works with lambeau on his math research regularly and attends therapy sessions . +this sounds like the formula for mildly charming fluff , but " good will hunting " rises above its fairly mundane premise to deliver a poignant and clever drama . +a conflict gradually emerges between lambeau and will's therapist sean mcguire ( robin williams ) - lambeau wants to get will to use his brain , while sean wants him to listen to his heart , both of which he has been largely neglecting . +will finds that the former is much easier than the latter , so much so , in fact , that he gets bored with it and grows increasingly resistant to lambeau's attempts to recruit him into the academic lifestyle . +he also has his share of problems with his girlfriend skylar ( minnie driver ) , an mit student who is moving to california at the end of the school year and would like a reluctant will to come with her . +what makes " good will hunting " work so well , aside from the strong performances ( especially from damon and williams ) , is the depth of characterization and the representation of the conflicts in will's life . +the script's sympathies seem to lie more with sean mcguire than with lambeau , but neither of them is presented as completely right or wrong . +lambeau , while he may seem a little cold at times , is still written well enough that we like him as a character even when we're not sure if we like what he has to say . +and sean , for all his warm-heartedness , has , as lambeau and later will point out , not lived up to his full intellectual potential either ; the therapy sessions turn out to be just as revelatory for sean as they do for will . +will's reaction to this situation , and the way in which he slowly becomes more receptive to skylar and to sean , is presented in a believable fashion and in a way that forces the audience to consider all the characters' opinions , rather than setting up an obvious " right " and " wrong " side and beating them over the head with it . +for a film with such an extraordinary character , " good will hunting " presents itself as remarkably ordinary ; it achieves the difficult task of making the next albert einstein into an everyman , a character to whom the audience can easily relate and who must make choices similar to those that almost everyone faces at one time or another . +this film gives us real drama when it so easily could have given us merely melodrama , by having the government kidnap will to use him in covert spy missions or introducing some other equally far-fetched situation . + " good will hunting " also has its share of fun humor , such as when will , in an early therapy session , pretends to be hypnotized and smoothly parodies the alien abduction scenarios that have become so well known in popular culture . +and in the one scene in which government agents do in fact appear , will blows them off with a hilariously scathing accusation of human rights violations in africa . +will's relationship with his friends , most notably chucky ( ben affleck ) , is usually rather amusing , if somewhat crude ( the film has 100+ uses of the 'f' word , which was most likely the reason for its r-rating ) , and lends itself well to the development of will's character . +add all this to the fact that " good will hunting " even manages to pull off an uplifting happy ending without getting excessively sentimental , and you might be wondering why i haven't given this film four stars . +well , for one thing , no matter how well damon and affleck , who wrote the screenplay , and director gus van sant pull it off , the story is still rather contrived and not particularly original . +there are also a few scenes that did feel a bit formulaic , including one that was supposed to be emotional but really just seemed like the obligatory crying scene for any movie involving therapy sessions . +still , " good will hunting " takes its premise a lot farther than i thought it would , and is definitely one of the better personal dramas i have seen in the last few years , and as of right now it stands as one of the top five on my list of '97 films . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv898_14187.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv898_14187.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..75fb95100bb47a1ed23ff69e7bcb8804722f43a9 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv898_14187.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +a cinematic version of one of john irving's novels is always cause for celebration even if , as in the case of " simon birch , " the treatment is merely " suggested by , " rather than strictly based on , the book . +suggested means that irving , author of the acclaimed " the world according to garp , " sold the rights to his novel " a prayer for owen meany " to the disney machine for $1 million , but wouldn't grant them permission to use either the title or any of the character names . +that's an odd decision--irving claims it's to protect both himself and the novel--but it's one that doesn't unduly harm the finished product . +irving's books are rich and complex works , full of intriguing , colorful characters . + " a prayer for owen meany " is no exception ; it tells the story of an unusual boy--called simon birch in the film version--who is uncommonly small in stature and possesses a high-pitched falsetto voice , " like strangled mice . " +simon believes himself to be " god's instrument , " placed on this earth to somehow effect god's plan . +simon is played by ian michael smith , who suffers from a rare enzyme disorder known as morquio syndrome which , among other things , prevents bones , ligaments , and joints from developing normally . +smith's debilitating disease makes him an obvious physical choice for " simon birch " ; however , the producers unwisely favored form over function--smith's acting abilities are limited at best . +another drawback is that in the book , simon's condition is described the way irving describes any of his characters--in careful , loving detail . +watching " simon birch , " however , creates a different feeling altogether ; the audience is forced into a voyeuristic relationship with the character , surely something irving would not have intended . +simon himself tends to be too cute and irritating , a combination of smith's rookie status as an actor and the precocious one-liners he's forced to deliver , courtesy mark steven johnson , the film's director and screenwriter . +fortunately , simon birch isn't the real star of the film that bears his name . +simon is more of a catalyst , allowing his co-stars to shape the story , and the actors who fill those roles to turn in outstanding supporting performances , saving the film from an obsequious , manipulative destiny . +first and foremost is joseph mazzello ( " jurassic park " ) , who is nothing less than remarkable as simon's best friend , joe . +mazzello turns in a wonderfully layered performance for a 14 year old , ripe with laughter , pain , and tears ; he is certainly an emerging talent . +ashley judd positively beams in her role as rebecca , joe's single mother , and oliver platt is warm and tender as her boyfriend , ben . +david strathairn and jan hooks play the town's reverend and sunday school teacher respectively and their contributions uphold the high standards set by the others . +there's even a surprising yet effective uncredited cameo performance from . . . +well , that would be telling . +perhaps " suggested by " the novel is the appropriate way to go after all , since " simon birch " only focuses on one chapter , one year , of simon's extraordinary life . +the film also changes the book's ending to one that is more melodramatic , yet necessary given simon's lot . +the flavor of irving's original novel remains , however--the passions , friendships , and insecurities that come with a change of seasons to the little community of gravestown , maine , and the engaging oddballs , both big and small , who reside there . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv899_16014.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv899_16014.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f6233d39f3da582aaf506f0ef61166f6a244390f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv899_16014.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17 @@ +the only historical figure that has been written about more than william shakespeare is jesus christ , which explains why the bard's materials are such a popular source for remakes , revisions , rewrites , inspiration , subtlety , credit , and dispute . +indeed , in recent years , american contemporary cinema has been swamped with a wash of shakespearean products . +including this year's upcoming a midsummer night's dream , shakespeare's material has been the cause for twenty-six big screen productions since 1990 . +but for a change of pace , mrs . +brown director john madden gives us a story of the bard himself in the wonderfully vibrant shakespeare in love . +marc norman and tom stoppard's story is largely fantasy , although as the viewer soon learns , shakespeare in love is not a movie that takes itself seriously . + ( will shakespeare of the 1590's would've been married to anne hathaway , and he would've had a teenage daughter and two young sons ; here he is a bachelor played by joseph fiennes . ) will is a writer struggling to come up with a great play , and his current comedy in the works -- " romeo and ethel , the pirate's daughter " -- just doesn't quite seem right . +with the help of the great writer christopher marlowe ( rupert everett ) , and the inspiration of true love with noblewoman viola de lesseps ( gwyneth paltrow ) , he changes things around and writes one of his greatest tragedies , " romeo and juliet . " +the love story between will and viola loosely parallels the story of romeo and juliet , to great effect . +fiennes and paltrow develop a sexy chemistry as the two lovers which gives the movie much momentum ; this momentum smoothes out the bumps in the unfinished and largely unsuccessful comedy . +the supporting roles are well filled out , from geoffrey rush as will's worrisome agent , philip , to tom wilkinson as the producer hugh fennyman . +even ben affleck , leading the troupe of actors , manages to make a favorable impression ; and judi dench lends some brief moments of screen time as queen elizabeth i . gwyneth paltrow is by far , however , the standout of the lot , creating a large percentage of the forementioned vibrance . +the story is well-crafted if nothing else , although it has dangerous moments where it flirts with the " let's make a movie " -genre . +the dialogue is breezy and lighthearted , and certainly accessible by the audience's lowest common denominator . +there's something for everyone in this romantic comedy , making it prime date flick material . +although certainly not inspiring in any regard , it revels in a wholesome , well-rounded atmosphere that has been absent in many of 1998's pictures ; the true-love story is one of the best around . +certainly recommendable when the traditional slew of indifferent year's-open releases is just around the corner . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv902_12256.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv902_12256.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..55da318ec206c159d927cfb6465c55a086631c19 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv902_12256.txt @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@ +note : some may consider portions of the following text to be spoilers . +be forewarned . +james toback's return to directing after a eight-year layoff , two girls and a guy , is a film which is comprised , more or less , of just that : one guy , blake ( robert downey jr . ) ; two girls , carla ( heather graham ) and lou ( natasha gregson wagner ) ; one primary setting ( blake's absurdly spacious bachelor apartment ) , and a great deal of dialogue . +embracing a near real-time approach , this is a highly theatrical feature that completely hangs upon the performances of its three actors and the quality of the dialogue written by mr . toback for his bantering characters . +fortunately , the film's cast is up to the challenge , and the wordy exchanges between the triad of characters , while admittedly variable , are occasionally wickedly amusing . +the film's setup is fairly generic in nature , and opens rather unpromisingly . +we meet self-possessed blonde carla and feisty brunette lou , both waiting outside a soho loft . +as they engage in idle chatter , it is revealed that they're both waiting for their respective boyfriends to return from the airport , and it doesn't take long for them to come to the realisation that they're being two-timed by the same guy . +more indignant with him than catty with each other , the duo break into blake's loft and await his arrival for a confrontation . +it's when blake returns to his abode where the film hits its stride . +played with magnificent bombast by mr . downey jr . , blake is a cad , all right , but a captivatingly dynamic , blusterous , and stealthy piece of work that bursts onto the scene and raises the stakes to new heights . +it's fascinating to watch this character in his natural habitat , and perhaps the film's best choice was to have his two girlfriends scamper off into hiding upon his return , allowing us to size up blake not with his interactions with others , but by his own innate behaviour . +whether he's flamboyantly behind his piano in a rollicking rendition of vivaldi , or on the phone leaving messages to his beloveds ( carla , lou , and his unseen sickly mother ) , it's never less than wildly entertaining and insightful . +though at this point i almost hoped the film would transform into a one-man show -- a typical afternoon in the life of blake , if you will -- carla , and then lou , reveal themselves , and the sparks begin to fly . + ( one of the great touches in the film is how blake , when startled by carla's unannounced appearance , begins to both verbally and physically backpedal even before he realizes that the cat's out of the bag . ) +double-teamed by the understandably aggrieved women ( who are more smirkingly inquisitive than ferociously vengeful -- they want a justification for his ongoing hypocrisy ) , an increasingly-flustered blake weakly defends himself with apologetic and even self-righteous declarations against their verbal jabs . +surprisingly delightful in the waltz of scathing witty banter shared by its trio of characters , two girls and a guy concludes its first sequence with an unexpected apoplectic act of such outrageous audacity that it seemed nothing was off-limits for this film . +however , it'd be unfeasible to attempt to string along carla and lou's outrage to full feature-length , and it's as the movie gradually transforms into the sharing of exploratory profundities on the nature of fidelity and relationships that it slowly but surely begins to unravel . +the dialogue becomes less and less engaging and clever , the film's tempo loses its liveliness , the dynamic between the characters evolves in unconvincing fashion , and several sequences fall flat . +subtle and not-quite-subtle allusions are made ( a poster of jules et jim hangs prominently on the wall ) , and secrets are revealed which barrel the film toward an uncompelling weepy finale . +one key turning point in the film is the kinky sex scene between blake and carla . +two girls and a guy was embroiled in a bitter , long-running dispute with the mpaa with regards to this scene -- contractually-obligated to deliver an r-rated film , mr . toback was forced to resubmit fourteen scaled-down versions of the steamy interlude before the mpaa withdrew their nc-17 rating in favour of an r -- and while admittedly titillating , the net effect of the vignette on the film's thematic narrative is rather dubious . +if anything , two girls and a guy serves as a showcase for the phenomenal talents of mr . downey jr . , whose versatility is put to the test in this film . +he plays the gamut from indignant to humbled , from self-assured to disconcerted , yet his acting gears shift so smoothly as to not be registered . +it's a wonderful performance in a role custom-tailored for him ; mr . toback wrote the screenplay in four days shortly after mr . downey jr . was arrested on drug charges , and it's hard not to see echoes of reality seeping into his character -- in a monologue to his mirrored reflection , blake's self-chiding to " get [his] shit together " is disquieting in its resonance . +while mr . downey jr . 's showstopping performance is undoubtedly the primary strength of the film , both actresses are solid in more broadly-observed roles . +ms . graham is quickly becoming one of america's more daring actresses , involving herself in three successive risky projects -- two girls and a guy and boogie nights are both quite sexually frank , while lost in space has a screenplay penned by akiva goldsman . +she's quite appealing here , playing a character at once both dainty and sultry . +meanwhile , ms . gregson wagner initially portrays lou with such an unwarranted spunk that audiences are likely to find it either annoying , or , like me , endearing . +she tones it down substantially as the film progresses , but i found her more fun to watch as the artificially excitable chatterbox . +the film was reportedly shot in eleven days , filmed mostly in sequence , and the resultant artifacts of this rapid shoot are evident throughout . +two girls and a guy has an agile , spontaneous sort of feel , and one senses that mr . toback encouraged a good deal of improvisation from his three actors . +while the film could be transposed directly to the stage more or less intact , it doesn't feel constricted ; the expansive apartment setting is well-used to vary the background , and mr . toback allows his camera to wander and linger on his characters in an effective manner . +two girls and a guy falls short of its potential , but thanks to some stellar work by mr . downey jr . , it's still often an enjoyable , bitingly funny romp , particularly as we watch the surprisingly-resilient blake evasively try to rationalize his behaviour and even turn the tables on his girlfriends . + " i'm an actor , " he tells them at one point , using the ol' tried-and-tested occupational-hazard defense . + " actors lie . " +but not , they all seem to agree , denzel washington . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv904_24353.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv904_24353.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4f6b542fd6848deddbef5ab21b047834c4c78cf5 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv904_24353.txt @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +well i'll be damned . . . +the canadians can make a good movie . +the world is coming to an end . +we don't know why or how , but apparently there is no way to stop it . +the world has had this information for months , as most of the rioting and other assorted chaos has passed and governments have shut down operations . +yet for a handful of toronto citizens , life goes on . +they aren't going crazy or attacking people in the streets . +instead they are simply preparing themselves for the end . . . +some engaging in activities they've always wanted to do , some gathering with family and friends , and others just seeking to be alone . +these people's lives however all intersect during their final six hours . +writer-director-star don mckellar has crafted a highly unique and emotional film . +all of the main characters are compelling as they try and do whatever it is they need to do on their last night on earth . +craig ( callum keith rennie ) tries to fulfill all his sexual fantasies , a gas company employee ( david cronenberg ) calls every customer letting them know the gas will be flowing until the very end and thanks them for their business , and patrick ( mckellar ) just wants to be by himself but isn't having much success . +even minor characters keep popping up where you least expect them to , tying everyone even closer . +things seemed a little hokey towards the beginning of the film , but ultimately everything comes together nicely ( although it's not a happy film . . . +some moments are understandably gut-wrenching ) . +the story is enhanced by some unexpected humor and very realistic performances , particularly from sandra oh , whose character is just trying to get home to her husband before the end . +i have absolutely no problem that the reason for the end of the world is never given , nor does it bother me that the world is ending at exactly 12 midnight ( in toronto anyway ) . +but i do wonder why the sun never sets . +come midnight , the sun is still shining brightly . +maybe the sun is crashing into the earth . . . +who knows . +also , it's comforting to know that in mankind's final moments on the planet , people will still gang up on the street for the sheer purpose of pushing over a car or a bus ( that's not a shot at this film mind you . . . +i know people are just stupid and truly would be out in the street tipping over cars ) . +last night is available on dvd from universal home video . +it contains the film in fullscreen format and includes the original theatrical trailer . +[r] diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv906_11491.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv906_11491.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..264cf29c85e73875fd210837c9d45e1747e98df7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv906_11491.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17 @@ +niagara niagara ( r ) bob gosse's niagara niagara follows a blueprint not unlike a lot of young-lovers-on-the-road movies . +wild marcy ( robin tunney ) and calm seth ( henry thomas ) meet cute , literally running into each other while shoplifting at a local store . +a mere couple of scenes later , the two embark on a journey to toronto from their small , unnamed american town in pursuit of a rare doll that marcy desperately wants . +along the way , true love inevitably blossoms . +what sets niagara niagara apart , though , is that marcy is afflicted with tourette's syndrome , a neurological disorder that causes sudden muscle and vocal tics . +tunney , displaying an acting range not hinted at in the teenage witch thriller the craft , delivers an astonishing performance that won her the best actress prize at last year's venice film festival . +to term her work a tour-de-force is not to imply that she attacks the scenery ; tunney's effectiveness lies in her modulation and vulnerability , which makes her depiction of marcy's illness--which often causes her to act violently--that much more convincing and tragic . +she and the nicely subtle thomas develop a sweetly innocent and beguilingly off-kilter chemistry . +their journey hits a few rough spots creatively along the way , mostly the fault of writer matthew weiss . +a detour involving a kindly widower ( michael parks ) who takes the couple in brings the story to a screeching halt , and the key character of a trigger-happy pharmacist ( stephen lang ) is highly unbelievable . +but these missteps do not blunt the power of tunney's bravura turn , which carries niagara niagara to a level of poignance it would not have otherwise achieved . + ( opens march 20 ) + " i didn't know what to expect . +it's like something you chase for so long , but then you don't know how to react when you get it . +i still don't know how to react . " +--michael jordan , on winning his first nba championship in 1991 . . . or , +my thoughts after meeting him on november 21 , 1997 diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv909_9960.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv909_9960.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0bbd7bed2ce480aa9acfe4f87ec5200e6ef14ac6 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv909_9960.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +gere , willis , poitier chase each other around the world +the jackal a film review by michael redman copyright 1997 by michael redman +when the soviet union imploded , the western countries lost their shadow . +with the united states friendly with the russians , we no longer had an entity to blame for the world's problems . +this showed up in hollywood films as the communist government was no longer the easy bad guy . +it's time to rejoice because we've found our new villain . +now it's no longer the russian government who sends killers out into foreign lands , it's the russian _mafia_ . +a perfect solution , it combines the dread of organized crime and the still-present uneasiness with the former eastern block countries . +best of all , the villains are still foreigners : fear of the other always plays best . +so it is a crime lord in moscow that sends legendary hitman the jackal ( bruce willis ) to assassinate a highly placed us government figure in retaliation for the death of his brother during a nightclub raid . +the fbi is at a loss as to how to protect the target from someone they're not sure even exists . +coming to their rescue is former ira operative declan mulqueen ( richard gere ) who is temporarily released from prison to assist fbi agent carter preston ( sidney poitier ) and russian major valentina koslova ( diane venora ) . +mulqueen's ex-girlfriend basque terrorist isabella ( mathilda may ) is the only person who has seen the elusive jackal . + ( presumably there is an exclusive international terrorist club somewhere where the three met . ) +the film follows two parallel tracks as the jackal prepares for his $70 million hit and mulqueen attempts to locate him while preston makes sure that the irishman doesn't slip away . +crossing numerous borders and donning various disguises for both himself and his mini-van , the killer is always one step ahead of his pursuers . +being very loosely based on the same book the 1973 thriller " the day of the jackal " , comparison between the two films is inevitable . +there is no doubt that the original is the better movie , playing the story for suspense rather than the current action/adventure . +as a mystery , " the jackal " has enough holes in it to ruin the tale , but if you can accept it for what it is , there's entertainment to be had . +holes ? let's see ? a pivotal clue for mulqueen is so obscure that he must possess psychic powers to pick it up . +for a 20-year veteran that can command the big bucks , the jackal is an incredibly poor shot . +the final scene between gere and willis occurs in a location that should be mobbed with police , but it's just the two of them . +willis' disguises usually look like bruce willis and are just as interesting as val kilmer's in " the saint " . + ( and lest you misunderstand , that's not a compliment . ) +but the three stars are fun to watch . +it's good to see gere in something other than a business suit . +willis has a mixed history in picking projects , but his characters are always watchable . +poitier is by far the superior actor , but has limited screen time . +the problems in logic are flaws , but don't ruin the experience . +occasionally there are movies that transcend their blemishes . +this is one of them . +[the appeared in the 11/20/97 " bloomington voice " , bloomington , indiana] diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv910_20488.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv910_20488.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..71efae4d173507fe072e7eb07acb843e35043c08 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv910_20488.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +it's terribly unfortunate that " stir of echoes , " tautly written and directed by david koepp ( who made one of 1996's unsung treasures , " the trigger effect " ) , should be released little more than a month after " the sixth sense , " which is still going strong at the box office . +these two films are undoubtedly going to be compared ( judging from practically all of my fellow audience members last night ) , and although they have eerily similar storylines , " stir of echoes " is more of a straightforward psychological horror film , while " the sixth sense " is closer to a psychological drama . +additionally , while " the sixth sense " had a shocker of an ending that undoubtedly has been one of the major factors in its recent repeat business , " stir of echoes " is more conventional and predictable in its final twist . +and where " the sixth sense " was disturbing , " stir of echoes " is just plain scary . +i have a feeling most viewers are going to come away unimpressed because of the unavoidable similarities , and will foolishly forget to judge this film on its own respectable merits . +adapted from a novel by richard matheson that was written some forty years ago , " stir of echoes " opens with a cute six-year-old boy named jake ( zachary david cope ) who is taking a bath . +he is speaking directly at the screen , but we immediately have a feeling someone else is there . +finally , he asks , " does it hurt to be dead ? " +apparently jake sees the ghosts of dead people , but unlike " the sixth sense , " this young child isn't the focus of the picture . +instead , tom witzy ( kevin bacon ) , a chicago lineman , is our protagonist . +jake is his son , and maggie ( kathryn erbe ) , whom has just discovered she is six weeks pregnant , is his hard-working wife . +one night while at a party with their closest friends , tom convinces maggie's new-age sister , lisa ( illena douglas ) , to try and hypnotize him . +it unexpectedly works , and before long , tom is seeing things he wouldn't normally see , including a deceased teenage girl ( jenny morrison ) in his house who happens to have been missing for the last six months . +seeking help from lisa , she tells him that , while he was under hypnosis , she told him that after he awoke , his mind will remain clear and free , like an opened door . +she didn't expect it to work , but it did , and the only way to stop it is for tom to somehow find a way to help this girl he sees . + " stir of echoes " isn't a perfect film by any stretch of the imagination , but in the thick , atmospheric mood it conjures up , it is a terrifically eerie domestic horror-drama , and is not only effective on a technical level , but is impressive in its portrayal of a struggling working-class family . +kevin bacon and , especially , kathryn erbe ( 1997's " dream with the fishes " ) , are top-notch and exceedingly believable as a loving married couple who nonetheless have their fair share of problems . +after tom is hypnotized and starts seeing ghastly visions , he is completely taken over by his desire to solve this mystery of the disappearing girl whom he has seen lurking in his house , and instead of maggie not being understanding , she instead believes what tom says , and aside from being a little worried by what he is going through , does not try to stop his pursuit . +bacon and erbe are not traditional hollywood stars like tom cruise and julia roberts , and therefore , are easier to relate to and always plausible as a struggling couple who have to work overtime at their jobs just to make ends meet . +in a masterfully-done , entrancing sequence , tom is hypnotized by lisa , but instead of watching him , we instead see what he sees , starting from his view as he closes his eyes into darkness . +lisa tells him to visualize being in an empty movie theater , and so , we , as audience members , are watching a movie screen from inside a theater , which is also showing a movie screen in a theater . +telling him to move closer and closer to the screen as a fuzzy word in black letters pops up on the screen , we begin to float closer and closer to the front of the theater until we see that the word is " sleep . " +never before have i seen a hypnotism scene as mesmerizing and brilliantly-construed as this one . +truthfully , this set-piece , and another in which tom wakes up from a nightmarish dream only to quickly discover he is reliving what he has just dreamt , are worth the full price of admission alone , just to see them on the big screen . +having loads of fun with her small role as maggie's sister , lisa , illeana douglas ( 1995's " to die for , " her last great character ) is a delight , but rarely used to her full advantage in feature films . +funny and enjoyably offbeat , douglas gets to utter the best line in the film : while talking to maggie about tom's visions of the girl , she remarks , " i wouldn't be worried about him seeing another girl , although the fact that she's dead gives one pause . " +also of note are jenny morrison ( 1994's " intersection " ) , who is truly poignant in the last half of the film when we flash back to see what really happened to her missing character , and liza weil , remarkable in 1998's " whatever , " as morrison's grieving teenage sister , debbie . +if the resolution of " stir of echoes " does not live up to its obviously frightful full potential ( and it doesn't ) , what comes before is both involving and appropriately gritty . +the music score , by james newton howard , and unsettling use of whispers and ghostly sound effects , successfully compliment and foreshadow the off-kilter frame-of-mind that tom is put into , and director david koepp proves once again that he is a director with a knack for creating almost unbearably tense situations that revolve around realistically-written characters . + " stir of echoes " isn't as good as " the sixth sense , " but why should it need to be ? +both films are fully capable of standing on their own two feet , and " stir of echoes " really is a spinetinglingly good horror film . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv911_20260.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv911_20260.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ef206b8f9f8d441f46c146b64c17634190881d21 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv911_20260.txt @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ +usually when a blockbuster comes out , it's loaded with effects , stars , bad scripts , and plenty of action . +mystery men may contain an all-star cast , and efects , but the clever script and characters are what really works , which is rare to see this year . +the film is based upon the comic book series " the flaming carrot " by bob burden , in which 3 wanna be super heroes try and fight crime , only to be out done by the real hero of champion city , captain amazing ( greg kinnear ) . +things go a little haywire , when the sinister casanova frankenstein ( geoffrey rush ) is released into the city , where he captures captain amazing , and plans to wreak havoc upon champion city . +well , the trio decide to take matters in their own hands , by saving the city , but first they need some assitance . +this is where the film takes a turn for the better . +in the beggining , there were only 3 wanna be heroes . + " blue raja ( hank azaria ) , " mr . furious ( ben stiller ) and " the shoveller ( william h . macy ) . +sure they were enterataining , but their acts grew old fast . +that is until they aquire " invisible boy " ( kel mitchell ) , and " the bowler " ( janeane garafalo ) and " mr . splein " ( paul reubens ) , 2 of which rescue the film from becoming a disastorous mess . +thankfully , the original 3 heroes become amusing , with some support of reuben and garfalo on screen . +the whole premise is rather ridiculous , but packs a few punches to keep interest . +for one , the film is considerably clever . +it literally pokes fun at super hero films , like batman and robin , superman etc . in fact , many scenes are similar to batman and robin , including the opening sequence , only altered in a humorous and superior way . +a part of the cleverness comes from the cast . +sometimes a film with such talent is overblown , but the acting is what keeps it alive here . +while azaria and macy were enteratining , 2 characters really stood out . +one was paul reuben . +no matter how disgusting or revolting " mr . splein " may be , you still can't help but laugh . +it' so incredibly moronic , it's just a riot watching reuben relieve himself of bodily functions . +janeane garafalo also was an interesting character . +she seemed to be the most outgoing and convincing character on screem , due to her enthusiasm , that kept the film flowing . +men is worth seeing alone , for those 2 troubled heroes . +on the downside , a few of the heroes and especially the villain never really lift off . +kel mitchell and geoffrey rush , were both utterly useless . +their parts were so limited , they'd be lucky at all to be on screen for more than 20 minutes . +ben stiller too was wasted , mostly because of his unlikeable power and dialogue . +none of these characters get a rise out of anybody , but happily they are lost in the charming flow of the film . +as far as the budget goes , it was wisely spent on the cast , not the effects . +while the set designs and action all look nice , i'm glad there was a seperate aspect , that the film focused on , and for that i applaud . +slow at times , and rather pointless , mystery men still delivers . +it forgets about money making , because it's not likely to make a bundle like it's proceeders , and that's what works . +stupid ? +maybe , but for once i'm not disappointed . +no one expected an intelligent film , but you get a film thats wit captures your attention and makes you forget this miserable year . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv912_5674.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv912_5674.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f9ed12d01bf3c78338fb4fa692557a6501ba826d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv912_5674.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +review- peter jackson's the frighteners has received some notice for setting the record for most computer effects ever in a movie , and still coming in at the extremely cheap $30 million price tag . +but for those who were dismayed by this year's blockbusters like twister and independence day , the frighteners has much more to offer than special effects . +and for those worried wether or not peter jackson would compromise to hollywood you can rest easily . +the frighteners is as far removed from hollywood as a high-profile movie can get . +michael j . fox stars as frank bannister , a con artist who can speak to ghosts . +he uses this ability to set up a scam in a small town where his ghost buddies scare the hell out of people , then he comes and pretends to get rid of them . +this is how he has made a living ever since his wife died in a car crash 5 years ago . +frank's latest customers are a young couple , played by trini alvarado and peter dobson . +when dobson ends up dead , alvarado starts to take an interest in fox . +but dobson's spirit is still around as he refuses to beleive he's dead . +this leads to a very awkward and amusing dinner date between fox and alvarado , with dobson tagging along as a ghost . +things start getting complicated for fox when he is accused for a series of murders taking place in the town . +fox sees someone named the soul collector crushing the heart of the victims , but noone else can see that . +so when fox shows up to try and save each victim , naturally people suspect he is the killer . +fox sees that alvarado is next on the soul collector's hit list , and the last half hour of the movie deals with fox's attempts to save her from this evil spirit . +there are many wonderful twists and turns in the screenplay written by peter jackson and frances walsh . +the movie starts off as a black comedy , and ends up a horror-action film . +the mix between these genres are perfect . +no laughs are sacrificed in the name of horror , and vice versa . +one point of contention might be a lackluster score by danny elfman . +but that hardly seems like a flaw when you have such a diverse cast all in top form . +michael j . fox delivers one of his best performances to date as a man who hides the sorrow of his wife's death , and then is forced to confront this later on . +alvarado , looking like andie macdowell , makes a great frightened , tough , and smart heroine . +and jeffery combs , as a paranoid fbi agent , is brilliantly bizaare . +the frighteners never once feels like it is running long . +the first hour is as funny as any comedy this year , and the last half hour is as thrilling as any of the big budget blockbusters . +this movie is probably what casper would've looked like if david lynch directed it . +it's easily the best film of the year , so far . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv913_29252.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv913_29252.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8f6e5ed743ce9a7441e1903864fc02a1edf4e46e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv913_29252.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +before you read my review , you gotta know that i love woody allen . +this is a very important note because allen's films are generally an acquired taste and definitely not for everyone . +i know folks who believe him to be a complete genius , while others see him as a dirty ol' schnook who keeps making the same movie over and over again . +i love most of his films , but will admit to having been quite disappointed by his recent crop during the 90s . +in fact , why he felt the need to make 10 movies in those 10 years is beyond me ! +if you look at the quality of those films , you'll hear what i'm saying . +the only two films of his that i really liked during that time were bullets over broadway and husbands and wives . +in fact , i secretly hoped that he would take some " time off " at the turn of the millennium , just to re-energize or something , but it doesn't appear as though he has any intention of doing that . +so here i am again , reviewing yet another woody allen movie and hoping that it brings back the woody from the days of old . +plot : the year is 1940 and woody allen is a top-notch insurance investigator . +his methods are very old-fashioned and apparently out of date . +a new employee ( hunt ) has just been hired to streamline the operations for greater efficiency . +the two do not like each other . +one night , they are both put under a hypnotic trance by a magician , and unbeknownst to them , placed under his control . +soon thereafter , jewels are stolen , words of love are exchanged and everyone is looking for an answer . +critique : a wonderful recreation of the 1940s style movies , with the fast-talking witty banter between co-workers , a catchy jazz score moving things along , film noirish elements such as the veronica lake-type sexpot , one-liners galore and a fluffy , if inconsequential plotline . +on the downside , the film actually starts off pretty slowly , with the first hour tossing only a few guffaws out there , but never really generating any kind of steady flow or energy . +the sets , on the other hand , were amazing , the production design and costumes were perfect , and the casting ideal , so i kept hoping that the film would pick up and not turn into yet another mediocre outing for the man . +but it wasn't not long before i was fully engaged by the characters , entertained by the many zingers delivered back-and-forth between allen and hunt , and actually interested in the resolution of the flick . +i also appreciated how allen played the fine line between homage to the films of old , parody and actual reinvention ( note theron's entire female persona that is drenched in film noir- very cool ) . +of course , films like this ( with little or no real tension in the plot ) need solid actors to keep you interested in the quick-fire dialogue , and once again , allen does a great job in playing his character , who for once , isn't his typical new york jewish neurotic cheating insecure husband dude . +he actually plays a " macho " guy here and handles it pretty well , especially the scenes in which he's hypnotized . +but the bigger surprise for me in this film was helen hunt , an actress who i was openly " sick of seeing " in movies late last year ( sorry babe , you were just in too many at the same time ! ) . +anyway , she's really great in this film as the headstrong woman looking to a new era of equality amongst men , and doesn't miss a beat of allen's fast-paced dialogue . +i didn't care much for her running joke about him " dying " whenever he left a room , but overall she was really good and i especially liked the way that her sweaters clung to her breasts as they did . . . yum , +yum ! +harumph , but i digress . +so let's recap . +a great looking picture with a nice jazzy score , some funny one-liners , especially in the second half , a decent plotline , although you shouldn't expect a real mystery or anything , and some solid acting all around . +i can't say that this is even remotely close to any of allen's best work , but i certainly believe it to be a step in the right direction , especially after the dinky decade of films that he just went through . +it's probably better geared towards allen fans more than anyone else , but i would still recommend this film to anyone looking for a cute , " old-school " kind of vibe , with chemistry between the leads , zippy dialogue and a satisfying conclusion . +little known facts about this film and its stars : annie hall ( 10/10 ) - celebrity ( 5/10 ) - everyone says i love you ( 5/10 ) - husbands and wives ( 9/10 ) - mighty aphrodite ( 5/10 ) - small time crooks ( 7/10 ) - when harry met sally ( 10/10 ) - you've got mail ( 4/10 ) diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv914_28742.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv914_28742.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ca34c6c79f8a69d17aea92edbad84849d813a4a6 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv914_28742.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10 @@ +susan granger's review of " legally blonde " ( m . g . m . ) +it's a " pretty in pink " / " clueless " coming-of-age story for the new millennium as elle woods ( reese witherspoon ) , a perky southern california sorority queen , switches from fashion to law in order to win back her yuppy boyfriend ( matthew davis ) . +the girl-power story begins as this sweetheart of delta nu is unceremoniously dumped by a bonehead who says : " if i'm going to be a senator by the time i'm 30 . . . i +need to marry a jackie , not a marilyn . " +determined to prove she's as smart a snobby brunette ( selma blair ) from country-club connecticut , elle not only applies to harvard law school but gets in , much to the amazement of family , friends and faculty . +once there , this flaxen-haired fish-out-of-water not only survives but tenaciously thrives , befriending a local manicurist ( jennifer coolidge ) , dazzling a professor ( victor garber ) and rescuing a defendant ( ali larter ) in a celebrated boston murder trial , plus finding a more worthy beau ( luke wilson ) . +in the tradition of teen-comedy film-maker john hughes and his disciple amy heckerling , there's wit , cheerfulness , a fidelity of observation and a penchant for problem-solving . +first-time feature director robert luketic is blessed with reese witherspoon who's joyously incandescent in this utterly formulaic light comedy written by karen mccullah lutz and kirsten smith , based on a soon-to-be-published novel by amanda brown . +the supporting cast is terrific , particularly raquel welch and holland taylor - and i particularly got a kick out of the gag of elle distributing scented resumes in pink , her signature color on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , " legally blonde " is a frivolous , funny , feel-good 8 . +filled with ditzy blonde ambition , it's a movie for high-school kids that their parents would be happy to have them see . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv915_8841.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv915_8841.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c99262378831c1a471779b38c3fb9b59983d5203 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv915_8841.txt @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +what do you get when you combine clueless and dumb and dumber ? +to answer the question , you get director david mirkin's new comedy romy and michele's high school reunion . +romy white ( mira sorvino , mighty aprhodite ) and michele weinberger ( lisa kudrow , tv's friends ) have been inseparable buddies since they graduated from sagebrush high in 1987 . +however , when former classmate heather mooney ( janeane garafolo , the truth about cats and dogs ) confronts romy about the 10 year reunion , she is astounded that she forgot . +watching pretty woman for the um-teenth time , they are reminded of how they wouldn't let julia roberts' character shop in the expensive stores because of her appearance . +then it hits them : they are not successful . +what are she and michele going to do ? +romy's instant solution is lose some weight off their already slender frames , " bag a couple of boyfriends , " and get jobs . +romy says this will be easy , but michele retorts that if it is so easy , why hadn't they already done it . +robin schiff's script keeps the show moving with some nice one-liners . +one of the best has romy reminiscing about her life's battle against the bathroom scales . + " i was so lucky getting mono , " she says looking at her thinnest high school picture . + " that was like the best diet ever . " +the casting for the film is so perfect that one begins to suspect that the leads were chosen and then the script was developed . +romy and michele use their high school yearbook to discuss the caste system at their high school . +the film's editor david finfer dissolves the stills from the yearbook to live action flashbacks which makes the past come to life . +at sagebrush high , the hierarchy consisted of the a group ( cheerleaders ) , the b group ( drama club ) and the c group ( nerds ) . +romy and michele were none of the above . +ridiculed as " the weirdoes , " they were constant targets for abuse . +even though they were quite attractive , they had so much fun being together that they did not care about the others . +that they make their own outlandish clothes helped keep the wall around them . +complementing romy and michele's lightness , is janeane garofalo as the dark , pudgy heather mooney . +heather , who invented a new cigarette paper for cigarettes with " twice the taste in half the time for the gal on the go , " has the success and the money that they would like . +heather was even more of an outsider than they were in high school . +garofalo's one-dimensional role is only a side show . +this is a two person film with the other characters there merely for the two leads to bounce their lines off of . +the genuine chemistry between sorvino and kudrow makes for a sweet and sometimes touching comedy . +they have so much fun acting out their parts , their enjoyment spreads to the audience . + , diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv917_29715.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv917_29715.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..729e45892f1a03732f1dd28c3f563b87bb786687 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv917_29715.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +plot : a dude and his brother are driving cross-country and decide to fool around with a trucker on their cb radio . +it isn't long before their little prank gets someone put into a coma ( long story ) and the next thing you know , the trucker is following them too . +lotsa nuttiness ensues and then , they pick up their other friend , venna , a girl who the dude has a crush on . +but what's this . . . ? +the trucker is still on their tail and is now harassing all three of the young whippersnappers . . . ? +you bet ! +buckle up , dorothy . . . this is gonna be one bumpy ride ! +critique : a good ol' time at the movies ! +here's a film that actually gives away most of its plotline in its trailer and doesn't really bring anything " new " to the forefront ( if you've seen flicks like duel and breakdown , you've crossed this path before ) , but still manages to entertain you gangbusters , with realistic situations , believable characters , funny moments , thrills , chills , the whole shebang . +let's give it up for director john dahl , who continues to put out solid films every other year ( if you haven't seen red rock west , do yourself a favor right now , and jot it down on a piece of paper and rent it at your earliest convenience ) . +and much like that film , this one has an excellent premise and sets everything up at an even pace . +it gives you a little bit of background on each of the main three characters , and then shows you how one small prank , can lead to a whole lotta trouble for everyone ! +paul walker really surprised me in this movie , since i've never much thought of him as anything more than a pretty face ( and damn , is it ever pretty or what ? ! ) +but here , he actually manages to put some depth behind the looks and that's always appreciated in films in which you are so closely tied to the main characters . +sobieski is also good , but she isn't in the movie for as long as you'd think , but the man who really takes this film to another level , is steve zahn . +if you've loved this guy as the " goofball " in most of his previous roles , you'll appreciate him even more here , as the dude who starts off as one of the most manic and excited human beings i've seen in quite some time ( " this is so awesome ! ! " ) , +only to turn into a man scared out of his wits by the end of the flick . +and speaking of the ending , boy , does this movie deliver some chilling moments during its final 15 clicks or what ? ! ? +the arrow and i were practically in each others arms ( well , maybe i'm exaggerating , but you catch my drift ) as each minute brought about another turn of events which in turn , took it all to an even higher level . +once again , kudos to director dahl for being able to generate that type of intensity , suspense and tension , with a great score , editing , style and camerawork . +plot-wise , i too did wonder how the " bad guy " was able to track them so well , but it didn't really bother me all that much ( you can assume that he had bugged their car ? ) . +but pretty much everything else in the story stuck like glue and i couldn't help but put myself in their shoes and appreciate their thoroughly desperate circumstance . +a great movie with an even cooler ending , this film will likely be remembered as one of the better thrillers of the year . + " this is amazing ! ! ! " +where's joblo coming from ? +american psycho ( 10/10 ) - deep blue sea ( 8/10 ) - eye of the beholder ( 4/10 ) - the fast and the furious ( 7/10 ) - final destination ( 8/10 ) - the glass house ( 6/10 ) - no way out ( 8/10 ) diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv918_2693.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv918_2693.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e06e45140dbc6daf161b8e4bd474b14f56176f64 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv918_2693.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +wyatt earp has a lot to tell and little to say . +this story of the legendary lawman runs three hours and nine minutes and that's too long for this epic-wannabe that plays more like a tv mini-series than a movie . +the story opens on the earp family farm , with young wyatt ready to run away from home . +he wants to fight in the civil war , but his dad ( hackman ) has different ideas and wants his son to study law . +time passes and wyatt heads west , returns home to marry , and , after a spell , begins his career in law enforcement . +by the time he ( costner ) and his brothers ( madsen , david andrews , and linden ashby ) arrive in tombstone , wyatt has tried his hand at everything from hunting buffalo to dealing cards . +wyatt earp is very appealing in places-- such as cast , costumes , and cinematography-- but an overstated story and overpowered score deaden most of the emotional impact . +who can be moved by scene after scene after scene of swelling strings and suffocating speeches ? +somber is fine-- just ask clint eastwood-- but this film that boasts not one , not two , but three , count 'em three , hammy death scenes ! +still , a little bit of earp goes a long way and the life and times of the legendary lawman are from uninteresting stuff . +his , uh , unusual relations with women , for example , are an intriguing contrast to his character's credo of " nothing counts as much as blood . " +equally amusing is a buffalo-hunting ( and skinning ! ) +sequence that is decidedly non-pc . +director lawrence kasdan takes a refreshingly realistic approach to the gunplay . +the infamous gunfight at the ok corral is both brutal and brief , devoid of almost any theatrics . +don't look for much glorified violence here . +despite some large exclamation points in the story , the characters * do * come to life . +the diverse cast includes everyone from betty buckley ( ! ) to mackenzie astin ( ! ! ) . +kevin costner is very good in the title role . +dances with whitney nevers get as steely as the role requires , though , but his transformation from lighthearted law student to stoic sheriff is fun to watch . +he was tougher in a perfect world . +his foil is dennis quaid , who pulled a deniro by losing 40+ pounds to play the tubercular terror doc holliday . +gaunt * and * gamely , he's a scene stealer who's seen too little . +other familiar faces include tom sizemore ( looking like bruce mcgill ) , bill pullman ( looking like jeff daniels ) , and lea thompson ( looking like someone other than lea thompson ) . +both gene hackman and isabella rosselini appear and disappear like magic , while late entries catherine o'hara and jobeth williams are surprisingly solid . +though the story and score should've tried " less is more , " all other credits are technical tops . +production designer ida random , art director gary wissner , and costume designer colleen atwood are some of the vips who helped spend what must've been an enormous budget . +clearly no expense was spared . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv920_29622.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv920_29622.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d9b06cb57d3abb6a59d62631edcc69c4c9206eee --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv920_29622.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +in zoolander , the world's most successful , influential and intellectually-challenged male model derek zoolander wonders , " is there more to life than being really really really good looking ? " +obviously , the film's creator and star ben stiller asked a similar question when crafting a feature-length movie out of his hilarious vh1/vogue fashion awards short-film subject : can there be more to this film than being really really really silly ? +no , of course not , and it never aspires to be anything more . +much like derek , zoolander is a sweet simpleton of a movie . +it's not complex in either its social commentary or its comedy , and it never produces any gut-busting laughs ( except maybe a scene when derek's model roommates all die in a tragic " gasoline fight " accident -- a riotously funny take-off of tommy hilfiger ads ) . +but it has a satisfying handful of strong chuckles , wild characters and performances , and mildly harsh potshots at the fashion industry to keep you amused . +better yet , this exaggerated version of the original three-minute skit is only blown out to an efficient 95 minutes -- just enough time to string together its goofball plot without exhausting the gag . +zoolander opens with several fashion bigwigs plotting to assassinate the prime minister of malaysia , since he wants to abolish child labor in his country and thus driving up their costs . +fashion designer and criminal mastermind jacobim mugatu ( will ferrell ) drafts a plan to brainwash the dumbest fashion model to carry out the evil deed . +enter derek , whose career is slumping as newcomer hansel ( owen wilson ) takes the spotlight . +on the trail of mugatu's plot is time magazine reporter matilda jeffries ( stiller's real-life wife christine taylor ) , and she's hoping to use mugatu's pawn derek to ultimately foil the scheme . +much like the austin powers films , zoolander relies heavily on the strength of the talent involved , and this zany comedy features some of the funniest people in entertainment today . +wilson is hysterical as the young , vain hansel . +ferrell nearly steals the show from everyone as the flamboyant , freakish mugatu in the same way dr . evil upstages everyone in austin powers . +jerry stiller -- ben's dad who's best remembered as frank costanza of seinfeld -- makes a priceless turn as derek's slimy agent maury ballstein . +even ben stiller show alum andy dick shows up as a deranged , large-assed masseuse . +as for ben stiller , it seems his derek has one gag : he's stupid , which plays out in some uproarious one-liners . +unfortunately , taylor seems out of place and out of her league here . +maybe it's just because i can't stop seeing her as marcia brady ( who she played in both brady movies ) , making her unbelievable as a dowdy , brainy plain jane who hasn't had sex in two years . +she leaves me pining for the cynicism of janeane garofolo , who would've added real comic substance to the flimsy role . +while zoolander is hardly highbrow , its screwball humor is welcome during these trying times , especially considering the gross lack of decent pickings in the theaters these days . +zoolander's no masterpiece , but a very worthy distraction . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv921_12747.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv921_12747.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c4ec616855c20da7da409d5d63f1cd62cd98ed68 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv921_12747.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18 @@ +originally titled 'don't lose your head' , this parody of the scarlet pimpernel story was the first carry on to be produced by rank film productions . +two english fops , the 'powdered , be-wigged , be-ribboned' sir rodney ffing ( sidney james ) and his counterpart lord darcy pew ( jim dale ) decide to travel to revolutionary france in an attempt to rescue their fellow french royalists and aristocrats from losing their heads by the guillotine . +due to a series of machinations and disguises , they are largely successful . +ffing becomes known as 'the black fingernail' because he leaves a calling card behind which shows two fingers sticking up , one with a black fingernail . +after the fingernail rescues a prominent royalist the duc de pommfrit ( charles hawtrey ) , citizen robespierre ( peter gilmore ) orders the head of the secret police citizen 'the big cheese' camembert ( kenneth williams ) and citizen bidet ( peter butterworth ) to follow the fingernail to england and do away with him . + ( in fact , darcy and ffing are their coachmen ! ) +once at calais , the fingernail meets jacqueline ( dany robin ) and they fall in love instantly . +he tells her his identity and gives her his locket . +when camembert realises that the fingernail is nearby , he searches the inn at calais and captures jacqueline , thinking that she is wearing a diguise and is really the fingernail ! +jacqueline is imprisoned in the bastille and camembert , his love desiree dubarry ( joan sims ) , and bidet all travel to london in pursuit of the fingernail . +they pretend to be of noble stock , calling themselves the duc and duchesse de la plume de ma tante ( with bidet their assistant ) and are invited by darcy to a ball held by ffing . +desiree finds out that ffing is the fingernail by wearing the locket around her neck , but she ends up falling in love with him . +ffing attempts to stall camembert so that he can return to the bastille to rescue jacqueline , camembert has her moved to the 'chateau neuve' , and a climactic sword-fight decides who will lose their heads at the end of the film ! +a more complex story than most carry ons , this film enjoys good production values ( sets , costumes ) and an on-form cast . +sid james is excellent as the english fop and black fingernail , kenneth williams excels as the evil camembert , and peter butterworth expertly plays the substantial part of camembert's thick-witted crony . +other acting honours go to joan sims who is perfect as desiree and charles hawtrey who is excellent as the french aristo pommfrit . +although it suffers from a disasterously over-long sword fight at the end of the film , it is largely successful due to the performances of the main stars , its slick and professional production , and its better-than-usual script . +definitely one of the best of the series and a joy to watch . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv922_10073.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv922_10073.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..eb5149c2e4124d482a819dfc86ee46890199677d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv922_10073.txt @@ -0,0 +1,86 @@ +if there is one thing that bothers me about hollywood films it's their predictable endings . +the devil's advocate has the atypical hollywood ending , when everything that should happen does . +unfortunately for the devil's advocate , this ending nearly collapses in on itself , and ruins the entire film . +nevertheless , the film does provide two and a half hours of pure entertainment ( note to self : kill whomever was in charge of the previews for this film ) . +i don't think i was quite prepared for this movie because the trailers made it appear to be some supernatural horror film about satan . +well , it does contain this element , but what is not mentioned in the ads is the other plot elements ( and seemingly more interesting ones at that ) . +the devil's advocate begins in florida with an ongoing trial in session . +kevin lomax ( keanu reeves ) is the defense attorney , working for a client whom has been accused of raping a young girl . +he ends up with a not-guilty verdict , despite an emotional testimony from the victim ( heather matarazzo ) . +he leaves the courthouse with his lovely wife mary ann ( charlize theron ) where he is approached with an offer to travel to new york city to help choose a good jury . +he accepts ( mainly after seeing the paycheck he will receive ) and he flies to new york with his wife . +after proving his worth for selecting juries ( and his perfect winning streak in court ) , the head of the firm , john milton ( al pacino ) , asks him to work permanently as a criminal lawyer . +he graciously accepts , where he is treated almost as a god . +he is given an incredible apartment ( which is bigger than my entire house now ) , and a hefty paycheck . +his life seems to be on the rise . +and of course , his life suddenly begins to waver and slowly decline . +he is attracted to fellow employee christabella ( connie nielson ) , and his wife begins to feel very lonely in her large apartment . +mary ann takes up a friendship with a neighbor who always gives advice , especially if it is not wanted . +meanwhile , kevin nabs a case surrounding alexander cullen ( craig t . nelson ) who apparently murdered three people . +he spends hours upon hours with this case , while forgetting his loving wife , who may or may not be going insane . +all of this while john milton may or may not be the devil himself . +after a while , things turn completely upside-down , as kevin's wife claims to have seen monstrous images superimposed on her friends . +a fellow employee is murdered in the park , and his mother ( judith ivey ) reveals information about kevin's real father . +is it all just a big nightmare ? +or is john milton really satan , playing tricks with kevin's life ? +the devil's advocate plays out fairly straight-forward , but for some odd reason , the screenwriters wanted to surprise everyone by giving us something we don't expect . +is this surprise conclusion supposed to make us feel good and go home without feeling depressed or disturbed ? +if so , the devil's advocate messes up completely , and ironically , i felt more depressed because of the ending as is now , than i would have if it had ended ten minutes early . +i went into the devil's advocate expecting a shocking horror film , and that is exactly what i got . +i was settled in to be disturbed mentally and emotionally , and that is what i got . +but what was the most disturbing and horrible aspect of the movie is the poor ending ( did i mention that i didn't like the ending ? ) . +the producers of this film take you on a thrilling roller coaster ride and just as it is ending , they pull the rug out from under you . +films like se7en and the usual suspects can survive with this surprise ending because it is expected , more or less . +we know it is going to end in an unpredictable way . +the devil's advocate , on the other hand , ends unpredictably , not from us knowing a lot , but knowing nothing at all . +if that is confusing , i recommend watching the film , and then reading that again . +as for the film overall , i enjoyed the entire first two hours , being drawn in by a terrific character study and then adding the supernatural plot to increase the tension build from the character study . +the film runs like a well-built clock , slowly building until finally exploding with a highly charged climax ( and an unpredictable one at that ) . +and then you settle in for a nice resolution , which does not occur . +it was at this point that i felt cheated . +taking us on a terror ride of intrigue , we follow kevin lomax around , as he is the centerpiece of the film . +everything occurs from his perspective . +he is our representation on screen ( sort of ) . +but we are forced to witness a conclusion which makes most of the film seem like a game . +i don't want to spoil the ending , so all i can say is go see the film and decide for yourself . +perhaps the most shocking thing about the devil's advocate is the extreme amount of everything . +it earned its r rating for a reason . +there is plenty of nudity , sex , violence , gore , and then you have gore , violence , sex , and more nudity . +this film really isn't subtle about anything , showing us everything . +it actually surprises me that this film did not receive an nc-17 rating , as it is quite harsh . +however , the movie does have its merits , and nudity and sex are among those . +i don't condone sex and nudity in films , but if its there , i might as well enjoy it . +the biggest merit of this film is also the most interesting to watch . +the confrontations between kevin lomax and john milton are entertaining , but what stands out amidst this extreme hatred is the decline of the wife , mary ann . +portrayed by the extremely effective charlize theron , mary ann's problems are incredibly intense , and i found myself wanting to witness her decline . +this may sound uncaring , but i wanted to watch because i felt sorry for her . +she is the most interesting character on the screen , who is forced into a world where she is not wanted . +something the devil's advocate contained actually shocked me for reasons other than extreme violence and nudity , especially for a film of this nature . +the story actually has something to say about humanity . +in one of the last scenes , john milton explains to kevin lomax the game god plays with his children ( he is satan , of course ) . +he comments that it is human nature to lust and loathe in vanity . +then , god sets up rules which contradict human nature . +this semi-religious bashing is more humorous than frightening . +what milton says is so true about our society that i found myself laughing out loud , partially thinking it was funny , but patially realizing it was true . +these moral dilemmas are present throughout the devil's advocate , giving it an added depth many films skip over in their writing ( but i'm sure they came straight from the novel it was based on ) . +when a film has something to say about our society , it deserves to be watched . +the cast of the devil's advocate is one of the highlights , as we see memorable faces , and they put spins on those memorable faces we don't expect . +heather matarazzo makes a brief appearance as the terrorized victim in the opening court case , and she does a great job . +probably the big surprise of this film is keanu reeves . +he has proven himself an uneven actor ( successes such as speed and bombs such as johnny mnemonic ) , but he tops himself with this performance . +i have never seen him more believable to date . +al pacino is of course the scene stealer . +his devilish performance is equal to those of jack nicholson ( the witches of eastwick ) and max von sydow ( needful things ) . +he could have easily gone too far over the top in many scenes , but he remains completely believable ( if that is the correct term ) . +jeffrey jones ( mostly known as the principal in ferris bueller's day off ) also gives a good performance as eddie barzoon . +judith ivey manages a credible performance as the mother who holds a secret to kevin's past . +connie nielson is very effective in her role , and she also appears naked several times . +one familiar face with a twist was " coach " star , craig t . nelson , who gives a very good performance . +the devil's advocate is rated r for sexuality , nudity , violence , language , and some gore . +at 144 minutes , this film moves along fairly quickly . +for the first two hours , i sat completely engaged in the good performances and strong characters . +the technical quality is also remarkable , with great special effects and a good musical score . +director taylor hackford has managed to create a very disturbing motion picture , only to ruin a good chunk of tension with the final fifteen minutes . +i guess my biggest problem with the ending is the fact that i went into the theater expecting a disturbing film , and hackford gave me just that for a long time . +but just before the end , he got jitterish and relied on the hollywood safety net in order to make his film more mainstream . +personally , i would have preferred it ending fifteen minutes early . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv923_11051.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv923_11051.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..30e90600d24799db24a5949fb852fdd71a861c86 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv923_11051.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17 @@ +ingredients : down-on-his-luck evangelist , church +synopsis : sonny dewey ( robert duvall ) is a tireless texas pentecostal preacher who unexpectedly catches his wife ( farrah fawcett ) in bed with another guy . +in a regrettable crime of passion he takes a baseball bat to the guy's head , and suddenly finds himself a fugitive for murder , and estranged from his wife and two kids . +to atone for his sins , sonny flees to a rural bayou town in louisiana and baptizes himself as a new creature - - the apostle e . f . as the apostle e . f . sonny's main mission is to revive an abandoned church community and preach the gospel at the local radio station . +soon he sets about resurrecting the one way road to heaven holiness temple . +but sonny knows his time is short ; one day the police will find him . +opinion : this movie is a thought-provoking look at an evangelist in real life terms . +i believe that robert duvall ( who is the producer , director , writer , and main star of the apostle ) deserves an oscar for his performance as sonny the religious crusader - - a performance which is so complex and realistic it ranks as one of the finest acting performances on film . +duvall's portrayal of a true believer is authentic , superb , and inspired ; it offers the audience a completely honest look at southern religion , as well as a portrait of a fallible , complicated man driven by his beliefs . +incidentally , in real life duvall was just as 'driven' in getting the project underway . +since no major hollywood studio wanted to risk financing a complex movie about an evangelist , the apostle as a project lay dormant for almost 13 years before duvall was able to get it done , paying for its production with his own money ( about five million dollars ) . +in terms of hard-hitting realism and character portrayal the apostle would rank as one of the best movies of this decade , and i emphatically recommend the apostle for connoisseurs of stage and fine acting on film . +similarly , those with a steep background in pentecostal christianity would find the apostle a thought-provoking experience . +on the other hand , the apostle's main strength - - duvall's preaching - - is also what limits the apostle's target audience . +in terms of plot and pure entertainment value , the apostle is definitely not for everyone . +teenagers , action fans , comedy fans , and people who find church completely boring should stay far away from this movie , since three quarters of the film is watching sonny preach at church . +in other words , the apostle is a four star performance , but with a very limited audience . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv924_29540.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv924_29540.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5a11f12598d1d14407091afc044a7f77c527cbf1 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv924_29540.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +the most amazing thing about paul cox's innocence is how unlike a movie it is . +i mean that as the highest compliment . +if most studios were to profile an elderly couple who rekindle a 40-year-old romance , i'd want to run and hide . +the sex scenes would be handled as a farce , producers would shed 20 years off the characters' ages ( so susan sarandon and harrison ford could star ) and true love would shine through any obstacle without explanation and consequence . +along with a charming romantic story , the australian/belgian innocence shows how an increasing sense of mortality combined with revisiting the past while being entrenched in the present can make something that seems so right seem downright questionable . +the romance gets started when former musician andreas ( charles " bud " tingwell ) , learns that his true love , claire ( julia blake ) , lives nearby . +they decide to catch up on old times , but soon find themselves in a reinvigorating affair . +complicating matters is andreas' frail health , and claire's longtime husband ( terry norris ) , who can't understand why he's suddenly become obsolete . +in my mind , the movie is less about the relationship between andreas and claire , than the feelings of everyone involved . +john , claire's husband , endlessly questions what he did wrong . +claire initially insists she's a grown-up , but admittedly behaves like a child , a prospect that thrills and disappoints her . +andreas , an agnostic , begins to question his fate , a message cox delivers in a memorable dream sequence . +cox litters the movie with flashbacks , including the repeated vision of a roaring train . +it's a reminder of andreas and claire's past love ( as young lovers , they met by train ) , but as it recurs , we get the feeling that the past and the present have clashed . +a pall is cast on the whole affair . +a master of the understated , cox strings together a series of memorable moments . +in andreas' dream sequence , amidst the roar of the train and conversations , we get the whole picture of andreas and claire's love . +we also get glimpses into john and claire's relationship . +during a silent candlelit dinner shortly afterward , claire admits to john about her indiscretion , telling more than any monologue could . +all that's heard is the scraping of forks against plates . +the characters are unlike anything i've seen -- they're people . +so many times , movies and especially television portray senior citizens as gratingly spunky . +or they're reduced to comedic buffoons . +ordinary people with a pile of emotions , claire and andreas aren't sure what the next step is . +they do want to be happy , which consists of an entirely different set of conditions than what they've known throughout their adult lives . +bravo to cox , who wrote the script , for not making john a monster , so that claire's affair is automatically justified . +norris is so effective as john that he makes andreas and claire's love difficult to accept . +we feel for him . +he's a decent man . +sure , he may have become complacent , but he never expected this , especially now . +with so much presented to the audience , it's only expected that the material gets a little drawn out and repetitive , which it does . +however , in bringing up tough questions and not offering easy answers , cox displays a skill and ? lan isn't likely to be surpassed by anyone anytime soon . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv925_8969.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv925_8969.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e4b4a695f67c5370958713dc5f0a67f83b784392 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv925_8969.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +contact is a film that tries to do several different things . +it is intended to present a realistic picture of what alien contact might be like , to restore a sense of wonder and mystery to the issue of extraterrestrial life , to raise questions about science and faith and how they would be relevant in such a situation , and to tell a personal story of a romance between the astronomer dr . ellie arroway ( jodie foster ) and the religious spokesman palmer joss ( matthew mcconaughey ) . +the film succeeds wonderfully at its first two goals . +the portrayal of the communication from an alien world is much more reasonable ( albeit less immediately engaging ) than , say , the cold-blooded destructiveness of the invaders in independence day or even the complex process of abductions and genetic hybridization that forms the ongoing plot line of tv's the x-files . +the aliens in contact seem to be like us-they are more curious than anything else . +they know we exist , they want us to know that they exist , and they would like to make the next step and communicate in person . +the film wisely refrains from showing us the aliens directly , and between the characters' ongoing speculation about the extraterrestrials and the outstanding visuals in the climactic yet enigmatic scene when arroway arrives on the alien world , that sense of wonder and mystery comes through with a force rarely seen since stanley kubrick's 2001 : a space odyssey . +most of the film , however , takes place on earth , where there is an extended public debate on how to respond to these aliens . +scientists are enthusiastic , ultraconservative religious leaders are wary , and government officials are caught somewhere in between . +the debate is fueled largely by dr . arroway's atheism ; she seems the obvious choice to pilot the spacecraft for which the aliens have provided blueprints , but many are wary of sending an atheist as humankind's representative to another species . +the film is partly successful in raising and exploring these questions , especially when it reaches a conclusion that suggests that the two approaches - science and faith - could be viewed as complementary rather than diametrically opposed . +still , the film falls a little short in its representation of this conflict as it exists in american society . +the two " sides " are represented primarily by arroway and by far-right fundamentalists , but in reality probably 80% of americans are neither atheists nor far-right fundamentalists . +palmer joss occupies something of a middle ground , but he ultimately becomes distracted by personal motives and comes across as a less-than-ideal spokesman for any ideology . +then again , the film does concentrate mostly on public debate , which does , after all , tend to be dominated by extremists , rather than on dinner-table or college-dormitory discussions . +contact is accurate in its portrayal of these issues , then , but only within the narrow scope to which it confines itself . +the film's one clear failure is in the portrayal of the romance between arroway and joss . +for one thing , it resorts to the tired movie clich * that two attractive people will immediately fall in love as soon as they appear on the screen together , as there does not seem to be any other reason for their instant mutual attraction . +the romance rarely , if ever , sheds any light on the characters , although it occasionally tries and fails - joss's explanation that he quit the priesthood because of the celibacy requirement ( " i guess you could say i'm a man of the cloth , but without the cloth " ) , for example , is more like a punchline to a joke than character development . +instead , the romance mostly seems to exist for the sake of later plot developments . +granted , this is a plot- and idea-driven film and the characters are secondary , but this just seemed like laziness on the writers' part more than anything else . +the successes of contact , however , far outweigh its failures . +even if the social commentary had fizzled altogether ( which it didn't ) , the simple yet mysterious story of alien communication still would have made it a memorable film . +contact doesn't quite cover all the bases , but it covers about as much as one could hope for in a two-hour film , and its rejection of big-budget theatrics for a more realistic story is certainly admirable . +and i would not be surprised if , ten years from now , contact is mentioned in the same breath as 2001 and blade runner as one of the finest examples of sophisticated and intellectually relevant science fiction . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv926_17059.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv926_17059.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5fedf7dfc981c02b093e3fcb8e61b9fbacff3262 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv926_17059.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +billy bob thornton , who had a sudden rise to fame with 1996's sling blade after spending years as a virtually unknown actor and writer , is becoming one of the most versatile - and most accomplished - american actors around at the moment . +as jacob , the simple but at times very bright loser brother of bill paxton's hank , thornton gives a performance which should leave an indelible mark on all but the most hardened viewers . +three men , hank ( paxton ) , jacob ( thornton ) and their friend lou ( brent briscoe ) stumble upon a plane wreck which , upon closer inspection , yields a rotting corpse and a bag full of money . +jacob and lou want to pocket the cash . +hank , the smarter - and perhaps more naive - of the three , insists on leaving the money for the authorities to find . +eventually , they agree to keep the cash safe until the plane is found , and then split the money three ways . +things start going wrong , though , with greed and violence weaving their ways through their plan . +disaster is sure to strike . +director sam raimi , of the evil dead and darkman fame , has made an excellent and thought-provoking film , worlds away from the comic horror films which made his name . +while there are a couple of moments which might remind one of his earlier work , raimi has made an intelligent and mature departure which will hopefully be a sign of even greater films to come . +scott b . smith's screenplay , based on his novel ( which i haven't read ) is a fine example of escalating tension . +while it does remind one of danny boyle's shallow grave without the abundance of black humour , it keeps the drama that should really be a part of such a story on morality , or the lack thereof , found in a film with this subject matter . +alar kivilo's cinematography reminds one of joel and ethan coen's fargo , with the bleak , snowy landscape almost becoming another character . +danny elfman also does well with his moody , finely-written score . +if there's a flaw in the film , it's that it goes on for just a little too long . +just when we think that they are about to wrap things up , raimi and smith decide to let the film go on a little further . +while this isn't really a bad thing , it did become a little frustrating at times ( this may have been due to the fact that i had consumed a large sprite beforehand ) . +the performances are excellent , with the usually annoying paxton in fine form and bridget fonda giving a scene-stealing turn as hank's scheming wife . +this is an excellent showcase for thornton's fine skills as an actor and a great change in direction for raimi , who could very well have a career ahead of him as an accomplished director of dramatic films . +fingers crossed , though , that this doesn't stop him from making another evil dead sequel . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv927_10681.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv927_10681.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c2724e99fa36445d8c2534af59a86c064b44cf52 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv927_10681.txt @@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ +tibet has entered the american consciousness slowly during the past few years and burst into the forefront recently . +the dalai lama has made speaking tours , tibetan designs and artifacts are showing up in shops , the plight of the people has captured the imagination of major actors and artists and now there are two big budget films within as many months . + " kundun " ( " presence " , a name the monks call the young dalai lama ) opens in 1937 with the search for the 14th incarnation of the tibetan leader . +a group of monks enters a village and a two-year-old child catches their attention . +the young boy proves himself by identifying possessions of the previous holy man as " mine " . +he and his family are then moved to a monastery in lhassa where he is to be prepared to take his position as the religious and political leader of the country . +he is forced into difficult decisions when china invades the country in 1950 . +the peaceful and isolated country is ill-equipped to fight off the intruders and diplomatic attempts over the next years yield no results . +eventually he must make the painful choice to flee to neighboring india . +comparisons to " seven years in tibet " are inevitable . +both films cover much of the same ground although the earlier movie does so from a westerner's point of view and features boxoffice draw brad pitt . + " kundun " features only native actors and is more of an insider's story . +in some ways , this makes this film a superior concept , but it lacks the movement and spark that made " seven years " such an audience-pleaser . +the actors contribute to the realistic feel of the movie ( filmed in morocco for obvious reasons ) . +the only disappointment is chairman mao who looks like a wax dummy and moves as if he were a computer-generated character . +on an intellectual level , it is interesting to see how two different approaches handle the same facts . +some events are depicted differently and pitt's austrian mountain-climber who was portrayed as a pivotal influence in the dalai lama's life isn't even mentioned here . +glossed over in " seven years " , the problems with the tibetan political system is hinted at here as the dalai lama muses " we were just about to change things " after the chinese attack . +the film is magnificently beautiful thanks primarily to the cinematography of roger deakins . +his lingering camera shows the exotic tibetan culture with luscious detail . +especially striking is an extreme moving close up of a sand mandala grain by grain . +the visual treats more than make up for the movie's faults creating a poetic meditation for the audience . +walking out of the theater you feel like you have awakened from a transcendental experience . +martin scorsese , known for his dark tales of the underworld ( " goodfellas " , " taxi driver " , " casino " ) has shifted gears . +something of a thematic follow-up to his " the last temptation of christ " , this is his slowest film yet . +oddly enough for a director with a history of graphic violence presenting a history filled with atrocities by the chinese , most of these events take place off-screen . +his decision to not over-explain rituals is commendable . +the stumbling oracle who spits out his prophecies while in a trance state is much more effective as a mystery than if we were spoon-fed interpretations . +philip glass's score is impressive although at times it is too overwhelming and distracting . +i talked to a tibetan i met outside the theater who had just seen the film and was walking back in to see it again . +hearing his description of how he escaped from tibet at the age of seven and how his father was one of the soldiers accompanying the dalai lama during his trip to india , i was struck by what was missing in the movie . +as grand as it looks and as historically accurate as it is , there is a distance between the audience and the movie . +the film is more concerned with visuals and history and less so with human beings . +with the exception of a few scenes , involvement with the characters is slight . +one of those exceptions is the portrayal of the young dalai lama , shown as a mischievous boy who can't resist being a kid sometimes . +an encounter with his older brother thubten j . norbu ( a retired indiana university professor ) who tells the young leader the chinese have ordered him to persuade him to accept communist rule or kill him is an outstanding moment , but there aren't many of these . +even with its problems , the " kundun " experience is phenomenal , but one that i fear most will miss . +many people who saw " seven years in tibet " will have a " been there , done that " attitude . +it's likely that the film will miss a wide-spread appeal and public response will be the sound of one hand clapping . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv928_9168.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv928_9168.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..97b903bccb8ac15e146ec7673b961625a7f14f11 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv928_9168.txt @@ -0,0 +1,62 @@ +i swear i have seen the edge before . +in fact , it reminded me of the bear , the river wild , and other various films mixed into an entirely different film . +however , the edge has done something that most action films should do , and that is add heart and characters we like to the plot . +in doing so , the edge draws many more suspenseful moments out of cliched scenes than , say , the peacemaker . +unfortunately , because of those overused moments , we can pretty much guess the outcome of the film . +but leave it to screenwriter david mamet to add humor and a few surprises to mess with your head . +one surprise , in particular , left me smiling just because mamet actually had the guts to add it to his script . +action films are a dime a dozen in hollywood , and while they are somewhat successful at entertaining us , they lack the one thing which would make them a more respected genre : intelligence . +even horror films have learned this , a genre which is probably the least respected of them all . +the river wild was one of the best action/suspense films i have seen from the 90s . +the intelligence of the screenplay , and the suspense drawn from the realistic characters is nearly unmatched to this day . +the edge has the intelligence and smart characters , but this time the lack of originality is the downfall . +i must admit that it was very suspenseful , and had an original third half , but the first hour and a half is riddled with cliches and plot holes . +this is an example of the final act saving the film , instead of the other way around ( as in the lost world ) . +if only the screenplay had maintained the final thirty minutes' intensity , it could have become a great action film ( and i use the term loosely ) . +the edge is pretty much a survival-of-the-fittest film . +but taking scream's lead , the edge makes fun of the genre's cliches , and then uses them ( though not quite as effectively ) . +charles morse ( anthony hopkins ) is the main character , a rich and very intelligent man who wonders what the accumulation of all this knowledge has brought to him . +for once , we don't immediately care for the main character . +instead , we like bob ( alec baldwin ) , a photographer who is going to take pictures of charles' wife , mickey ( elle macpherson ) , out in the wilderness . +they board a plane and head to a cabin somewhere in the arctic . +charles' birthday is the same day , and he receives a gold watch from his wife , and a pocket knife from bob . +as action films go , these items do have importance to the rest of the story , but quite a bit more than we first expect . +soon , however , bob wants to find a native to shoot pictures of because of his " personality . " +charles , bob , bob's assistant steve ( harold perrineau ) , and the pilot head off to find him , and as shown in the previews , hit a flock of birds flying south for the winter . +down the plane goes , the pilot is killed , and the three are left to survive in the wilderness . +director lee tamahori is aware of the silly plot which is about to follow , and therefore has to create original ways to approach the situations . +he succeeds often enough for us to enjoy the film . +take , for instance , the entire man-hunting bear plot . +this has been done many times in films with different animals , and even bears . +but given the charles' intelligence , and bob's uncertainty , many of the cliches are given fresh twists . +even charles himself seems to have seen these action films before . +my favorite line of the film comes from charles : " most people die in the wilderness because they didn't do the one thing that could save their life . . . +thinking . " +despite the predictability of the main plot , a subplot develops late in the film which took me by surprise , and made me smile when i realized that everything isn't as it seems anymore . +i have to write cautiously as to not reveal this surprise , so instead i will avoid it entirely . +the first two-thirds of the edge have many humorous moments to push it along , and some of charles' survival techniques seem possible , even making fire from ice . +tamahori is able to create a lot of suspense from the stalking bear , but whenever the bear is present , the characters lose all sensibility . +i have always wondered why characters in films walk over a log to get across water . +why not do what an intelligent person would and crawl across ? +i guess getting chased by a bear makes your thought process turn off for a while . +thankfully , we already have begun to care for the characters , and so we let this small detail slide . +but some of the technical details are awkward , such as the nice stitching done on the fur coat that charles and bob make ( where did they get thread and needles ? ) . +the acting of the film is highly above average for a film of this nature , and borders on phenomenal . +anthony hopkins gives a terrific performance , creating his most likeable and layered character since remains of the day . +hopkins usually brings greatness to his roles , but here he exceeds at gaining the audiences' sympathy , something he definitely did not do in silence of the lambs . +alec baldwin gives one of his best performances i have ever seen ( it sure is better from his fair game ) . +baldwin can be a good or a bad character , and here he succeeds at both in a way . +you can never quite guess if he is a nice or a vllainous character until the end , and baldwin is able to handle the double-natured photographer . +elle macpherson gives a good performance , albeit slight . +she isn't in the film all that much , but for the scenes she does have , she handles as an actress , not as a model . +harold perrineau is a good actor , and his scenes are nice and underplayed . +he is eliminated early , and i reveal nothing by saying this because it is inevitable and predictable . +the edge is rated r for graphic violence , some gore , and language . +some of the violence is a little too disturbing , even for me . +this film is a nice change from the mindless action most of us are used to , but too many cliches bog it down . +director tamahori has created a very smooth and suspenseful action film out of recycled parts . +david mamet's script , though , has a lot of humor to keep the first hour afloat , and the acting is solid . +the best thing about the script is the ending which doesn't end with the normal high-strung action sequence , but with a small detail involving a certain gift . +it's a nice touch considering what we have had to go through with the bear . +and by the way , most people laughed when the film faded to black due to a large credit to bart the bear . +way to go , bart . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv929_16908.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv929_16908.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d5e95e15917ead6296c23529700e05b3604da348 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv929_16908.txt @@ -0,0 +1,52 @@ +one of the more unusual and suggestively violent films ever made , " se7en " is just a few steps away from brilliance . +however , those few steps away are only a few steps from a level of evil and depravity that few people want to discuss . +the film received mixed reviews upon release , but there's an underlying sinister appeal and intrigue to this that many critics perhaps did not notice . +at times it gets preachy about the horrors it seems to be criticizing , but the script and the ultimate pay-off are excellent . +the shocking conclusion is just as unpredictable as the endings of most films are predictable . +this piece of work is 100% intensity . +it's uncomfortable to watch , yet compelling . + " i want not to look , yet i cannot turn away . " +the story creeps along slowly and deliberately , crafted by visionary director david fincher . +he has experience in tantalizing his audience with information and visions , but not giving away too much too soon . +this is the guy who directed the ominous " alien 3 " . + " se7en " is even more ominous because the threat is real . +it's human and , while the script takes some artistic licence , the way in which the diabolical killer works here is actually realistic . +that is , if a human being could be so intelligent , patient , wealthy , and disillusioned . +after the most bizarre opening credits i've ever seen ( refreshingly different in editing style and musical accompaniment ) , the initial character development takes place . +morgan freeman stars as detective william somerset , a knowledgeable veteran who is ready to give up on his job and the sickness of society . +brad pitt co-stars as detective david mills , the young hotshot who is brand new to this unnamed city and full of fury to catch the bad guys . +these two fine actors give the film its human qualities ( along with the appealing gwyneth paltrow , who plays tracy , mills' wife ) . +however , none of them stands out above the material . +no disrespect intended , but two other actors could have played these parts and the film probably would have been about the same . +an ironic note is that somerset has only a week ( or 7 , that's seven , days ) left on the force to train his young protege . +the title of the picture also refers to the 7 deadly sins , as chronicled by john milton in " paradise lost " --gluttony , greed , sloth , lust , pride , envy , & wrath . +incidentally , i wrote the sins in order of how each victim was found . +it's the last two sins that are the most intriguing and shocking , but i won't give that away . +as i said , this has a great ending and no one should spoil it . +anyway , the brilliant killer sets out to make a statement to the world that these sins will no longer be tolerated and he makes the " sinners " suffer for it . +the two partners stumble over the corpse of a grotesquely obese man . +they learn that he was murdered--forced to eat himself to death . +the killer leaves small clues at this and other murders and , of course , somerset and mills are smart enough to stay with him all the way . +if they didn't , it would be one short movie ! +the deliberate pace allows for craftsmanship of detail and story . +we see a lot of blood , but it's not especially violent . +the suggestion of what happens is far more disgusting than anything actually shown--like most of the violence in " pulp fiction " . + " se7en " is gory , graphic , and disturbing , but all the gore is post-death . +still , if you tend to get queasy , don't eat food during this film . +kevin spacey plays john doe , the avenging angel who claims that he's the messenger who will right the wrongs with his teachings . +like many crazy men , he has some fine ideas , but some sick ways of expressing himself . +spacey doesn't appear until the final 30 minutes and also doesn't receive billing in the opening credits . +however , it's his appearance that turns this film upside down and for that he should have gotten an oscar nomination . +a great villain manages to make you either root for him or feel compelled to listen to his ramblings regardless of whether you agree with him or not . +this character is so well written that it's hard to disagree when he says that what he is doing will be remembered by everyone . +no serial killer has ever been so creative . + " se7en " is blatantly unsubtle with its messages about the horrors of the world and it's often a little too depressing . +what it lacks in those areas , it makes up for with believable dialogue , top-notch screenwriting , unexpected twists , and realistic characters . +the technical aspects of the film are unobtrusive . +fincher uses lighting , music , and editing quite well , but his story is always the thrust of the film . +fortunately , we don't find out what happens to mills and somerset after the closing credits ( which are run backwards up the screen ! ) . +it's better to imagine what paths they will follow . +this is not the kind of film you turn away from and quickly forget . +it's got a sinister message and john doe is right about one thing--the evils of the world aren't going to cure themselves . + " se7en " raises some tough questions and it's intelligent enough to allow its audience to answer many of those questions for themselves . +useless trivia--co-stars in 1995's " se7en " , brad pitt and kevin spacey also competed for the 1995 best supporting actor oscar--pitt in " 12 monkeys " , spacey in " the usual suspects " ( for which he won ) . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv930_13475.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv930_13475.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..315bc846d2bdbaa9aa12395c9a92d409e1c5dc9b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv930_13475.txt @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@ +there are some works of art that are almost impossible to review , not because of their own complexity , but because of their legendary status which prevents the reviewer to say anything original . +one of such masterpieces is casablanca , probably not the best film in the history of the seventh art , but definitely the most popular one . +its popularity can be measured not in a multitude of more or less disguised remakes that were made in more than half a century since its premiere , but also in countless tributes and references that movie makers use in their works to this day . +casablanca is also a movie that has the very rare virtue of both being praised by the critics and loved by general audience . +one of the things that makes this film even more unique was the fact that it was doomed to fail , at least judging by conventional movie-making wisdom of its time . +it was based on a broadway play so mediocre that it hadn't been produced on stage ; screenplay by three writers - julius g . epstein , philip j . epstein and howard koch - was beeing written as shooting went along ; the main actors were producers' second choice , and , finally , man behind camera , michael curtiz was considered to be capable , but not great director . +however , the movie was commercially successful and earned three " oscars " , including the one for the best film . +until this very day , it is considered to be the best example of hollywood film- making in its own golden age . +the plot of the movie was heavily influenced by the needs of ww2 propaganda , yet it also used rather complicated and now almost forgotten political circumstances of that global conflict in order to make intriguing story . +in december 1941 , casablanca , exotic port on the atlantic coast of north africa is controlled by officially neutral , yet nazi-collaborating french vichy government . +thousands of refugees from war-torn europe are stuck there on the way to lisbon and safety of america , and ready to pay any price for precious exit visas . +many shady characters thrive on their misery , including the corrupt police chief , captain renault ( rains ) . +his best friend is rick blaine ( bogart ) , who used to be idealistic anti-fascist , and now owns popular night club in casablanca and lives by his own cynical philosophy of " sticking his neck for nobody " . +however , everything changes when he gets in possession of two precious extra visas . +this event coincides with the arrival of two new refugees to casablanca . +one of them is victor laszlo ( henreid ) , czech resistance leader who escaped three times from nazi concentration camps and became the legend of enslaved europe . +he is accompanied by his beautiful wife ilsa lund ( bergman ) , with whom rick had a stormy affair in the eve of nazi occupation of paris . +the couple needs visas , especially because of the gestapo major strasser ( veidt ) being on their trail . +rick is now forced to choose between love , wounded pride , self-preserving interest and his own hatred of fascism . +the casting for this movie seems influenced by divine inspiration - humphrey bogart , most legendary actor in the history of cinema , is one of the rare character actors who elevated his persona to the star status . +bogart's portrayal of rick as complicated man , torn between idealistic past and bitter present , was so perfect , that his icon would forever be connected with that character . +another icon in his company is ingrid bergman , great actress of old hollywood , here in her artistic and visual prime . +the cinematic coupling of bogart and bergman became one of the main symbols of that era of filmmaking - some happier times when the romance on the screen didn't look childish nor trite like in some more contemporary works . +for many people , casablanca is probably the best romantic film ever made . +but the reason for that isn't the romance itself - it's the realistic story of people forced to make tough , and often wrong choices in their life . +the casting of casablanca was right on target not just in a case of main leads . +the supporting actors also did a marvellous job . +sidney longstreet and peter lorre were here mainly to give a mystic flavour spotted in a previous bogart classic - john huston's maltese falcon ; yet both of them managed to portray colourful and original characters . +another shining example of good casting is now almost forgotten paul henreid as the weakest part of love triangle ; character of victor laszlo has believable charisma and looks like a somebody who could inspire millions of people to rise against nazi tiranny . +unfortunately , the charisma that burdened laszlo , leaves little place for difficult choice , making his character forever overshadowed by rick/ilsa coupling . +however , rick and ilsa actually have a serious competiton for most memorable character in casablanca . +captain renault , brilliantly portrayed by claude rains in a role of a lifetime , was embodiment of perfect , almost unmatched balance between ethical corruption and physical charm . +despite being the undoubtful villain in almost entire movie , rains managed to make renault sympathetic character , and his final conversion to the side of good , symbolized in not so subtle gesture at the end of movie looked unnecessary . +rains also gave another dimension to the movie , making it even more ambiguous ; people who like to analyse movies to death discovered signs of homosexuality in renault's relationship towards rick , and rick's final words leave room for even more outrageous speculations . +together with well-drawn characters and exciting story , the movie was good in creating his own atmosphere . +professional nitpickers would probably have a field day in discovering numerous historical and geographical inaccuracies , but casablanca is still a shining example of hollywood ww2 movie that is beliavable , if not realistic . +any way , even if we don't see it as a historical document , casablanca is movie that can be source of entertainment as well as infinite inspiration . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv931_17563.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv931_17563.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f642cd5fc5c42629fd31bc44b9e0f12ff03a4fe9 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv931_17563.txt @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ +like the great musical pieces of mozart himself , amadeus is a true work of art . +it is one of those few movies of the 80's that will be known for its class , its style , and its intelligence . +why is this such a good film ? +there are almost too many reasons to explain . +the story : court composer salieri ( f . +murray abraham ) feels waves of different emotions going through his head as wolfgang amadeus mozart ( tom hulce ) comes into his life as the young genius composer . +salieri feels envy , and jealousy , but at the same time is fascinated with mozart's brilliance and ingenious . +we travel through mozart's life as a composer , through his struggles , his triumphs , and ultimately , his demise . +the acting : abraham is magnificient as salieri ; his acting range enables him to focus on each individual emotion and express it through his speech and body language . +this performance earned him a well deserved oscar . +tom hulce is interesting as well as mozart , a quirky , annoying bratty kid with an annoying laugh . +he's strong , but weak at the same time , and must be aided by his wife ( elizabeth berridge ) , who is good in her role , but lacks dramatic depth . +jeffrey jones , in a smaller , more dignified role than such roles in stay tuned and mom and dad save the world , is cast perfectly because of his noble charm . +the movie : every element of this movie works . +the costumes and makeup are very memorable , as well as its stunning art direction , and unforgettable scores ( adapted from mozart's original music ) . +while wolfgang amadeus mozart was a genius at music , milos forman proves with his film that he is a genius of filmmaking . +this movie is a classic that will be remembered for years to come . +ad2am " i almost lost my nose . . . and +i like it . +i like breathing through it . " +-jack nicholson , chinatown diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv932_13401.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv932_13401.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..15bf33cdea7d8364fde06e714a3e68eb0eaa8ee0 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv932_13401.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +armageddon , in itself , symbolizes everything that is wrong in modern filmmaking . +stories have been replaced with special effects ; character development gets overshadowed by bad dialogue ; plotting consists of a bunch of shit getting blown up . +armageddon is as stupid , as loud and as shallow as any movie you'll see come out this summer , or maybe even any other summer . +but i loved every freaking minute of it . +believe me , i'm just as shocked as you are . +hell , i don't even know why i went to see it in the first place . +the previews were so annoying that i predicted this was going to be the worst film of the year , or at least in the running . +i'm sorry , but " somebody dial 911 ! ! ! " +isn't quite the tagging that's going to sell a movie . +it isn't too wise either to market the film using the movie's stupidest lines ( " beam me up scotty " - yeah , that sure is great writing . . . ) . +i mean , let's face it ; armageddon's previews rival the truman show's as being some of the worst of the year . +neither of them even come close to doing their respective films justice . +of course , you all know the story . +when the earth is threatened with total annihilation via an asteroid the size of texas , nasa calls in the us's top oil drillers ( ! ) to go into space ( ! ) and implant a nuclear device eight-hundred and someodd feet into the asteroid ( ! ) . +in the coarse of all this mayhem , we are introduced to some interesting - and not so interesting - characters . +belonging to the former group is rockhound ( steve buscemi ) , a horny little womanizing genius who's always full of wisecracks , even when flying into space at a huge amount of g's . +also , there's the always cool-as-hell billy bob thornton as dan truman , the bigwig at nasa who recruits all the drillers . +he kind of reminded me of ed harris in apollo 13 , only without the intensity and great lines to deliver . +then on the flip side of the coin is the tired , contrived character of harry stamper ( bruce willis , who does the whole movie employing with annoying accent i can't quite place ) , the leader of the pack as well as liv tyler and ben affleck as the token lovers you must have in any summer movie . +basically , that's about it . +as i said , this is hardly a film about plot . +it's another summer blockbuster with plot points that are beyond unbelievable and dialogue and characters that are mostly completely wooden . +case in point : nasa doesn't know that there is even an asteroid on it's way until eighteen days before impact - huh ? +another example : at one point in the movie , two children are playing with toy space shuttles in front of a poster of kennedy . +how pretentious is that ? ? ? ! ! ! +want another one ? +okay ; before the oil drillers blast off into space , one of them starts singing " leaving on a jet plane " , and soon , all the rest join in . +did michael bay attend the school of sappy filmmaking before he made this picture ? +but naturally , all this sappiness , melodrama and special effects accumulate to one bitchin' time at the movies . +and don't get me wrong - despite all of the things i found wrong with armageddon , i still very much enjoyed it . +so even if you don't win one of mcdonald's free tickets , it's still definitely worth checking out . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv933_23776.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv933_23776.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..db3e302badedfef72ab94e593d13411e8f08082a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv933_23776.txt @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ +this is one of the most funny and entertaining comedies of the year and it just happens to be animated . +there are some great voice over commentaries from hollywood's most famous celebrities , some fabulous animation and a compelling story . +this is the best we've seen from disney since " beauty and the beast " ( 1996 ) . +this film begins an unspecified time following the happily-ever-after conclusion to toy story . +in the aftermath of their earlier adventures , buzz ( voice of tim allen ) and woody ( voice of tom hanks ) are now fast friends and all the toys live in perfect harmony , content with their " lives " . +one day , andy broke woody's arm off , while playing with him . +woody is now officially discarged and worthless , left with his nightmares , where he lies in a trash can with the other discards . +later andy's mother decides to have a yard sale , and she collects a few old toys from her son's room . +since one of these discards is a member of the moving toy gang , woody goes to the rescue , leaving the safety of the house for the uncertainty of the front lawn in order to bring the toy back . +although his mission is successful , he is placed in a serious predicament when a toy collector named al ( voice of wayne knight ) spies woody while hunting through the wares available at the sale . +the cowboy toy represents the final collectible needed to complete his collection of merchandise from the old tv series , " woody's roundup . " +if he can acquire woody , al can ship everything to a toy museum in japan for a huge profit . +so , after andy's mother refuses to sell the wooden cowboy , al steals him , and it's up to the other toys , led by buzz , to go into the city to save their friend . +and so , buzz , rex ( voice of wallace shawn ) , hamm ( voice of john ratzenberger ) , mr . potatohead ( voice of don rickles ) , and slinky ( voice of jim varney ) , go out on a dangerous journey to rescue their friend , they find themselves confronting things like busy streets and other buzz lightyear toys . +there are car chases , gun fights and finally the confrontation between buzz and his nemesis ( who , by the way , resembles darth vader ) . +meanwhile , woody learns that he was once a tv celebrity and has a family - a cowgirl named jessie ( voice of joan cusack ) , a horse named bullseye , and a father figure called the prospector ( voice of kelsey grammar ) . +they offer him another life , as a celebrity -- a toy in a museum in japan . +he is now forced to choose between being loved intensively by andy for a little while ( before he grows up ) and be forgotten , or be admired by children for generations . +the problem is , if woody escapes from al's clutches and returns home , they will end up back in the lonely darkness of storage . +a real effort is made in the technical department . +the animation is rich and colorful , with lots of wonderful details . the " cinematography " is also extremely improved since toy story ; there are a lot of complicated swings , turns and close-ups that really make an impression . +lighting and filters are used to create a mood ( as in a surprisingly emotional moment - jessie's remembrance of her days when she was a beloved toy ) the film contains a lot of in-side jokes ( such as the one about videogames ) , and entertaining parodies on " jurassic park " and " star wars " . +the film ends with the " failed takes " , the kind of scenes that we are used to see after comedy shows on tv . +these outtakes are some of the funniest scenes in the film . +but what in the end makes " toy story 2 " a memorable experience is not the jokes , its multiple parodies or marvelous animation . +it is its heart and emotions -- the story about the meaning of friendship , love and even life itself . +it is not difficult to predict that " toy story 2 " would be a huge economical success , but its artistic achievement was unexpected . +unexpected because the first film wasn't much more than a demonstration of special effects . +but mostly it was unexpected because disney hasn't produced anything spectacular in years and is constantly surpassed by companies such as dreamworks and warner brs . +but here the director has changed the atmosphere of the film , making it more accessible and interesting for persons older that 9 years . +this is a big step-away from the ancient laws of disney-animation . +off course , this is not " antz " , it is not as intelligent ; this is not a landmark and no masterpiece , but i promise that you'll find it as funny and enjoyable as i have . +whether this is the best animated film of the year , i dare not say . +my choice would probably be " the iron giant " , but ( along side with " american pie " ) this is the comedy of the year . +i almost lost my hopes for disney , but " toy story 2 " proves that disney hasn't lost their ability to entertain . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv934_19027.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv934_19027.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c9135b246bae2717e4a2221e2f845681ab6b2237 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv934_19027.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +not too many people know who james whale is , but it's a safe bet that a good chunk of them have seen his movies . +if we are to believe the semi- biographical gods and monsters , whale would have wanted it to be that way . +this is an insightful , haunting exploration of the last days of the frankenstein and bride of frankenstein director , and it is notable for introducing one of the first complicated gay characters in a hollywood movie . +gods and monsters has no interest in being a biopic of whale's life because it tracks only the final few days of his life , and it's probably a better movie for it . +it's focus is on whale's ( ian mckellen ) untraditional and deceptive lust for heterosexual gardener clayton boone ( brendan fraser ) . +it begins with whale ( a fairly talented artist , aside from being a director ) asking boone to " sit for him , " ( pose for a portrait ) . +at first , boone doesn't realize that whale is gay and grows fascinated with the old man . +when he does discover whale's sexual orientation from his dedicated and protective maid ( lynn redgrave ) , he is frightened , refusing to sit for the guy . +but he comes back , only to storm out again , disgusted with whale's " locker room talk . " +boone returns yet another time , after whale promises to tone down the aforementioned " locker room talk , " and finds their platonic relationship to be strengthening . +meanwhile , jimmy himself is suffering from hallucinations and mental attacks as a result of his stroke not long ago . +his ailment leads to desperation and depression , which build to the point where he is forced to ask boone for an incredulously big favor . +what is perhaps most sensational about gods and monsters is brendan fraser's bravura performance ; up until seeing this film i intensely disliked the young actor because of his tendency to ruin the movies he is in ( blast from the past , for example ) . +i was surprised how expressive an actor he proved himself to be here . +this is impressive because his character's dialogue is minimal , with mckellan doing most of the talking . +that requires fraser to act through body language ; a difficult skill to master , but something he proves capable of doing well . +this is not to ignore mckellan's oscar nominated turn . +he earned that nomination with his touching performance here ( although , at the risk of sounding like a philistine , i would have chosen his performance as the nazi in apt pupil for the nomination ) ; an understated , compelling gem . +whale dreaded being remembered solely for his work in the hollywood horror genre , and he thought hollywood to be the equivalent of a battlefield . +he rejoiced in being free from it , only reluctantly going to receptions with fellow movie people . +in the end , perhaps , it is what killed him : the memories of hollywood and war blending together to form a living nightmare . + ? 1999 eugene novikov‰ ; diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv936_15954.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv936_15954.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ef4733d4b246364b94363985fffcb5062e612654 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv936_15954.txt @@ -0,0 +1,47 @@ +it's tough to really say something nice about a type of person who's so ethnocentric that any humanity they once had is now gone , but by god , " american history x " does it , and for that , i commend it . +it not only takes balls but intelligence to make a human being out of a neo-nazi skinhead , a kind of person who dedicates their lives to hating anyone who's not what they are , and this film wisely and miracurously pulls it off . +the subject of this film is one of them , but he is worse than one of the blind followers that make up most skinhead members since he is the leader of the pack . +he's the one who instigates them to take a firm grip onto their rage , and then in another brilliant stroke , justifies it with political propoganda that makes eerie sense when he speaks . +he's so utterly convincing as a public speaker and so firm in his convictions that it comes as a shock when he actually goes through the rehabilitation process . +his name is derek vinyard , and he's played by edward norton with so much fire and intensity that when he speaks he's almost as convincing and arresting a public speaker as , say , malcom x . when we first see him , he's clean shaven , with a jet black swastica emrboidered on his left breast , a devlish goatee , and he's attacking the black carjackers outside of his house dressed in nothing but his white boxers and carrying a handgun in his hand that never seems to run out of bullets , at least when he doesn't need them . +he so believes in his convictions that he's willing to put his beliefs to the test , even if he knows it will mean a stop in prison , if only for a couple years . + " american history x " is about derek , how he became a neo-nazi skinhead , how he rose to power , how he was rehabilitated in prison after murdering two black men in a fit of rage that was less to do with the stealing of his car and more to do with proving himself , and how he tried to save others , namely his younger brother , from making the same mistake . +we see him at all of these stages - as a smart teenager , a vicious hate monger , a man having an epiphany , and the man who tries to correct what he's done before - and in all of these , we get a portrait of a man from all sides . +or at least , that's the intention . +the film's framing device is his brother , danny ( edward furlong , perpetually looking about 13 ) , also now a skinhead , and how his principal , bob sweeney ( avery brooks , who i just found out was or is the captain on star trek's deep space 9 ) , is trying to " correct " him . +when the film opens , danny has just written a book report on " mein kampf , " landing him in trouble with sweeney , which causes him to make him write a paper on derek's life and how it has gotten him nowhere . +coincidentally , this day is the day derek is released from prison , and when we see him , he's cleaned-up , not as buff , and has a full head of hair . +he's just as intelligent , but still very rough along the edges , but he's wisened up . +he's no longer controlled by his anger at blacks and jews , and tries to persuade danny , who's becoming what derek was before , to give up his lifestyle . +but danny won't . +he goes to a large skinhead beer bash , meets with the skinhead leader ( stacy keach ) , and then discovers that derek is as opposed to neo-nazi-dom as he was for it a couple of years ago . +the film circles around this , then spins off into non-linear flashbacks , all done in black and white . +we mostly see derek at his prime as a skinhead , living in venice beach , organizing vicious and quasi-sadistic raids on local stores that no longer hire the white , middle-class teenagers since they can easily get cheaper illegal immigrants to do the same work , and mouthing off his theories on affirmative action and how illegal immigrants and blacks have destroyed the fundamentals this country was built on . +to them , the white man is the one who has gotten the fuzzy end of the lolipop , and he not only speaks elloquently , forcefully , and intelligently , but he backs everything up with political reasons , justifying their rage at least to them . +and frighteningly enough , much of what he says sounds true . + " american history x " is a collection of really great scenes and moments , rather than a cohesive , great film that flows effortlessly from one moment to the next . +in it , there are some of the best scenes i've seen all year . +one scene features a dinner between derek's family , and his mother's newest boyfriend ( played with reserve by eliott gould ) , a jewish liberal who quietly disagrees with derek's rightist views , launching the scene into a fit of rage and anger that builds unparalled emotions in the audience ( gould's reaction to derek's final summation is unnerrving ) . +another scene uses humor and traditional macho sex talk to build a friendship and a nice connection between derek and a black co-worker ( guy torry ) while folding laundry in prison . +and another soon-to-be-classic is actually divided in two : the murder of the two black men that winds derek in jail , which contains a final murder so nasty that it may be the most revoltingly shocking all year . +there's much more to appreciate , like the acting , which is uniformly good , with stand-outs coming from avery brooks , beverly d'angelo ( as the long-suffering mother ) , and gould ( who has one horrible line , but other than that , comes off with the best performance he's given in what seems like a really long time ) . +norton walks off with the film , though , coming off with such intensity that he reduces anyone not doing an adequate job to rubble . +in only the fifth movie of his career , norton has invented himself as one of the most reliable and intense actors of his generation , and maybe the best . +there's nothing like it when norton really gets rolling in this movie , spewing out lines with such authority that he commands all attention from the audience , coming off with power similar to that of a young maron brando . +that he allows the little emotions to seep through is amazing . +sadly enough , this isn't going to be the great portrait of racism that it perhaps hopes to be . +it's too unambitious and even a little contrived to really take off as either a powerful statement or an emotional masterpiece . +the ending , especially , is pencilled in from other movies , tossed in just so the emotional keyboard can be trounced upon . +some of the skinheads are reduced to mere cliches ( kevin smith regular ethan suplee fairs rather annoyingly as the " fat skinhead , " whose lines consist without fail of expressing his desire to eat more ) , and even the dramatic arc isn't as well travelled . +furlong's danny never seems to really be learning a lesson , since the flashbacks refuse to show his point of view , and when he decides to make a change by the end ( which was inevitable ) , it doesn't seem like it has actually arrived there . +even derek's descent into skinhead-dom doesn't seem justified . +though his fireman father ( william russ , the dad from " boy meets world , " and don't ask me how i know that ) is killed by a black junkie , and even before he spoke against affirmative action intelligently , there never seems to be any real back story why derek became so intense about his beliefs . +as such , one can see why the director , tony kaye , wanted to have his name removed . +sorta . + " american history x " is a very good movie , and i was very moved by it , but it could be a lot better , and the problem seems to be that the cut as it is is not up to what he claims to be his potential . +somewhere , he claims , there lies a tony kaye cut , and that was to be the true cut until it was viewed by norton , who then ordered another cut , and that is thus . +although he aimed for the directing credit to go to " alan smithee , " the resident name for any film that is to be disowned by its director , it wasn't allowed to him , under the grounds that once you disown a film , you can not badmouth it ( but really , that's the macguffin - no one really wanted a film this good to be given the alan smithee sign of disapproval ) . +kaye's right in that it's not up to par , even if he's not referring to normal par but rather his own personal par . +this will not be a " do the right thing " for the late 90s . +yet it still gets its point across intelligently , and backs it up with its story ( its message , that one cannot be so enwrapped in one's own beliefs or pain and suffering will occur , is literally said over the narration , unfortunately ) . +and even if it isn't perfect , at least when avery brooks turns to norton after he has been beaten and raped in prison , and asks him if anything he's done has made his life any better , it realy hits a nerve , not only in derek , but also in the audience . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv937_9811.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv937_9811.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..9e0d466bdd383f270e801783d97abb14322b67a0 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv937_9811.txt @@ -0,0 +1,33 @@ +synopsis : as a response to accusations of sexual prejudice in the armed forces , a female naval intelligence officer is chosen to be a test case . +if she can survive the demanding s . e . a . l . +training , she will open the way for other women to be permitted to follow in her footsteps . +throw in a lot of political machinations , sabotage , brutality , water and sand and you have an entertaining movie . +review : the title of this movie turned me off at first . +i mean 'gi jane ? ' ? ? ? ? ? +the other titles which were considered were more promising - in pursuit of honor or a matter of honor would have been acceptable although navy cross or undisclosed are a little meaningless as far as i'm concerned . +i went into this movie not liking the title and being one of those people who thinks that demi moore is absolutely ghastly as an actor . +to my surprise i really enjoyed the movie . +moore as lieutenant jordan o'neil is much more likeable than her washed out excuse for a gusty woman in a few good men . +the storyline is simple . +anne bancroft playing senator lillian dehaven is a ruthless , machiavellian politician with an agenda to push . +using feminism to achieve political mileage , she forces the military powers that be to backdown and permit a test case to enter the highly intensive navy s . e . a . l . +training . +jordan is selected due to the fact that she has it all - looks , brains and strength . +the training is gruelling and the indignity almost painful to watch . +nonetheless , it's one of those movies that makes me want to cheer out and encourage the hapless hero/heroine along in his/her endeavours . +sure , there are the stereotypical elements - inhuman treatment , sexual innuendo , resentful peers , pained boyfriend and sexist commanding officer . +stepping away from the stereotypes though , viggo mortensen as master chief john urgayle tries to get away from being nothing more than a brutal screamer . +his character exercises a little more intellectual rigour than you would normally expect from such a character . +jordan's boyfriend royce is also in the military . +although they both started at the same time , due to the fact that he has seen active service , he has advanced through the ranks much more quickly than she has . +royce ( what is his surname ? +do we care ? ) +almost resents jordan's attempts to advance herself , although he quickly settles down to being doe-eyed and supportive . +his character seems to have been thrown in so that we know that you don't have to be a lesbian to want to be in the military . +in parts , this is a very silly movie , with gratuitous lines and scenes thrown in for effect which are so blatantly obvious or contrived that it's hard not to cringe . +i still liked it though . +weaknesses in the script aside , this is a film which captures a heroic and reckless mood . +as we watch jordan's battle , it's increasingly clear that it is a personal battle . +this is an individual's fight for self-advancement . +we don't have to have our teeth set on edge by didactic preachings , we don't have to feel uncomfortable because we're having ideology thrust down our throats . +it's enough that we can sit back and hope that this one person gets what she wants and we can admire her tenacity and determination without coming out and saying whether we believe women should go into combat or not . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv939_10583.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv939_10583.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4cf0cf345d3d903f7d98054aba850c4feb557c2a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv939_10583.txt @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +scream 2 , like its predecessor , is a genre-crossing film . +it is about 50% horror film and 50% murder mystery . +the mix worked very well last time and it continues to entertain this time . +scream was also known for its self-referential tone . +many inside jokes were made in reference to horror movies and wes craven . +again , scream 2 follows suit with characters saying such things as " sequels suck " and " the entire horror genre was destroyed by sequels . " +scream 2's story is very similar to it's predecessor's . +sidney ( neve campbell ) , having survived the killing spree in scream , is now in college . +gale weathers ( courteney cox ) has written a book about the murders and that book is now being released as a feature film , called stab ( which for all practical purposes is the real-world movie scream ) . +at the premiere of stab , two students from sidney's college are stabbed to death , and a new story begins . +the press descends on sidney and her college to get the scoop on this sequel killer . +they want to know all about the links between stab , sidney , and the recent murders . +the most complex self-reference i saw ( this should be an olympic event ) was the scene where gale weathers was asking questions at a press conference . +the rest of the press was watching and videotaping weathers . +the other survivors from scream were watching and videotaping the press . +the audience was watching the whole , filmed scene . + ( whew . ) +the movie is packed with layers and self-references that make it a pleasure to watch . +even better would be to watch a double feature of scream and scream 2 . that's not to say that these references necessarily make scream 2 a deep , or even a good movie . +the just add to the fun of watching it . +i recommend it for other reasons as well . +what i liked best about the horror aspect of the movie is that the monster is not supernatural . +no werewolf or ghost or psycho with superhuman strength is responsible . +it is a person in a mask and a robe , his only advantage the fear he strikes into his victims . +no extraordinary leap of faith is needed to believe in the killer . +the down side is that if you are frightened by horror movies , you have less grounds to say " it's just a movie . " +the whodunit aspect of the movie is not that great by itself - gale weathers and deputy dewey ( david arquette , also from the original ) track down a killer . +they are likeable , but not outstanding . +but in combination with the horror aspect , the whodunit is a perfect counterpoint . +it was exactly a year ago today that i wrote the review for scream . +the internet movie database says that scream 3 is in the works , so i wonder if i'll be doing the same thing on january 1 , 1999 . +if craven and screenwriter kevin williamson are able to keep the quality high , i'll be happy to mark my calendar . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv940_17705.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv940_17705.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..dedb61651a261a4f492a51cf9008d43a551d8436 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv940_17705.txt @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +when i first saw the previews for ron howard's latest film , my expectations were discouragingly low . +a show about nothing ? +sounds like " seinfeld . " +a guy whose entire life is broadcast 24 hours a day ? +sounds like " the truman show . " +what is it with hollywood that no sooner than one production company puts out an animated feature about ants , another puts one out about bugs ? +which is why i was pleasantly surprised by " edtv , " which turns out to be a fresh , insightful , and often times hilarious film about the follies of instant celebrity . +the writing , by howard's longtime collaborators lowell ganz and babaloo mandel , is right on the money and howard himself should be credited for giving the subject matter a fresh focus . +in the hands of a less-experienced director , " edtv " could easily have had all the flavor of yesterday's meatloaf . +with their 'true tv' cable ratings being threatened by 'the gardening channel' ( apparently people would rather watch soil ) , the northwest broadcasting company is looking for a novel concept to attract viewers . +program director cynthia topping ( ellen degeneres ) comes up with the idea of putting a nobody on the air and broadcasting his every waking and sleeping moment . +the hook is to find a regular guy , someone normal that people can relate to . +while scouting possible candidates , cynthia's camera crew discover ed pekurny and his pig brother ray ( woody harrelson ) in a bar , where ray believes he has what it takes for his fifteen plus minutes of fame . +but on watching the videotape , the show's producers are more taken with ed than with ray . +he's cute , he says all the wrong things , and he's 100% usda hick . +cynthia's boss , played by rob reiner , gives the show a week to deliver the goods and it's tough going in the early stages . +the most exciting thing that happens is ed brushes his teeth . + " action shot ! " +wags one of the production assistants when a couple of pop tarts jump out of the toaster . +you get the idea . +but soon enough , things--nielsen-boosting kinds of things--start to happen to this unassuming san francisco video store clerk and the 'true tv' cameras are right there to document it . +ed's privacy is no longer his own , his newfound fame starts having a negative impact on his family life , and what little dignity he has left is trampled on by the media . +who should ed go out with ? +you can be sure the pollsters have a list . +not only is the film exceedingly well cast , but its performers are consistently excellent . +matthew mcconaughey provides the face , the body language , and the lovable texan accent to fill the shoes of america's latest phenomenon . +he and harrelson look like they really could be brothers . +sally kirkland is noteworthy in a difficult role as ed's mother , and martin landau is one of the film's highlights as al , ed's ailing stepfather . +jenna elfman ( from tv's " dharma and greg " ) proves herself surprisingly worthy in the company of kirkland and landau , although those alpine eyebrows of hers get a little distracting . +even degeneres and reiner are better than you'd expect . +in 1979 , writer/director/comedian albert brooks made a zany little film called " real life " in which a small-time opportunist makes a real-time documentary about a typical american family . +the scenes of ed's family sitting around the dinner table feasting on kentucky fried chicken and waxing idiotic play like a big-budget variant on that film , paralleling its wickedly inventive humor . +as with most films by albert brooks , " real life " was funny , but absurd . +the funniest--and scariest--thing about " edtv " is that it is absolutely believable . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv941_10246.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv941_10246.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..fd01c2cc499e2076af7dc0f8ad70595571a192b1 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv941_10246.txt @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +ingredients : james bond , scuba scene , car controlled by cellular telephone +synopsis : warped media tycoon elliot carver ( jonathan pryce ) plots to start a war between britain and china in order to boost ratings by using a 'stealth ship' to fire a captured british missile at the city of beijing . +super-agent james bond ( pierce brosnan ) uses trick gadgets , pluck , and charm in order to foil carver's scheme . +this time bond teams up with top female agent wai lin from china ( michelle yeoh ) . +the film contains fights , chases , gadgets , and comedic moments . +opinion : it does not have a casino scene or a ski scene , but tomorrow never dies is nevertheless a solid , enjoyable bond movie . +it neither stands out nor disappoints . +in old bond movies bond sometimes teamed up with american cia agent felix leiter . +tomorrow never dies introduces a new character in the form of chinese agent wai lin . +like leiter's character , wai lin would be a sure bet for a cameo in a later bond movie . +stars : michelle yeoh was born a leo in the western zodiac in the year of the tiger on the asian astrology calendar . +i dont believe in horoscopes . +but at an airport i once browsed an astrology book with a section on leo tigers ( lts ) . + " leo tigers prefer enough solitude to grow at their own pace . +lts are unbelievably courageous when facing adversity . +the lt is also classy , and has an excellent sense of refinement , but she sees herself as an adventurer , and prefers freedom of movement rather than flashy status symbols . +this person loves family and friends with a fierce loyalty . +she delights in siblings , nephews , nieces and extended family - - but she must have her personal freedom to come and go as she pleases . +sometimes annoyance at injustice drives her to take up one or two causes . +in love life , the lt has an unfortunate mental block against committing to any partner who is less powerful than she . " +in real life , michelle yeoh is asia's top female star . +like jackie chan , she does her own stunts . +she was born in malaysia - - a country of many languages - - and her primary language ( the language she speaks in her sleep ) is english . +she was taught malay in school , and learned cantonese from bilingual parents . +as an athlete michelle represented malaysia internationally . +she enjoyed squash , diving , swimming , and rugby . +she studied ballet at the royal academy of dance in london , but switched to drama after a spinal injury . +in 1983 she won the miss malaysia pageant - - without really intending to , since a family member had entered her in the contest without her knowledge . +notoriety from the contest led eventually to a movie career as an action heroine . +michelle has survived a divorce with asian retail tycoon dickson poon ; a nearly fatal stunt accident falling from a freeway overpass which put her in the hospital for three months , and ; a retirement from the movies . +her comeback from retirement , supercop ( 1992 ) became the top grossing film in asia that year . +it is not clear what michelles martial arts style is , but it may be a theatrical version of wing chun . +of her character wai lin in tomorrow never dies , michelle says , " wai lin is the first bond girl who is on a par with bond , someone who can match up with him mentally and physically . " +my own opinion is that casting michelle yeoh as agent wai lin was an excellent choice . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv942_17082.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv942_17082.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..eb6ac35974da61670558d30fa14d788228d90408 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv942_17082.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +it is always refreshing to see a superstar actor who gets paid more than enough to forget about working for a living to want to take a chance and play a less-than-savoury character as mel gibson does in payback . +of course , if i was being paid $25 million for one month's work , i'd probably be willing to take risks as well , but that's neither here nor there . +payback is based on a novel by richard stark ( apparently actually donald e . westlake , author of the grifters , itself a fine crime film ) which was also filmed in the 1960s as point blank starring one of the toughest of tough guys , lee marvin . +the film opens with gibson having recovered from being shot several times in the back , by whom we don't know yet . +all we know is that gibson , as porter , isn't a happy chappy and is hellbent on getting the money stolen from him back , and getting even in the process , no matter what the consequences . +it turns out that the man he's after is val ( gregg henry ) , his sometime partner with whom he stole a briefcase full of cash from a gang of chinese mobsters . +obviously not having much of a crisis of the soul , val figures porter is dead and goes about using his share of the money to pay off a debt to his employers . +porter , however , is the sort of man who holds a grudge and once on his feet , goes about exacting revenge on the double-crossing val . +gibson gives a terrific performance in the sort of role which he was born to play , that of a slightly unhinged guy who doesn't mind beating up or shooting people to get what he wants . +you probably wouldn't see other actors in his salary range take such an offbeat , out-of-character role such as porter ( jim carrey won't be doing anything like this in a hurry after what happened the last time he tried - the cable guy , anyone ? ) . +harrison ford's idea of playing an unsympathetic character is presumed innocent ; the last time schwarzenegger played a villain was batman and robin , which we won't mention further ; and has stallone ever really played a villain at all ? +this is not to say that porter is a villain , per se . +while he isn't the sort of character you wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of , he's nothing compared to some of the ones we are forced to watch in countless bad thrillers and action films where they kill innocent people in the blink of an eye or execute their right-hand men just to prove how mean they are . +porter is only trying to get back what is not-so-rightfully his , which in a way is almost understandable . +payback is an enjoyable dramatic black comedy-thriller which won't be remembered as being among gibson's most important work , but is still one of the finer films he's done . +the only real problem with it is that , while everything seems to work out in the end , i was left feeling something was lacking ; was that all ? +the ending looks as if it was tacked on at the last minute , and the final voice-over doesn't ring true , even though it was used to good effect elsewhere in the film-noir style the rest of the film embodies . +the film just ends far too suddenly , after a huge build-up in the penultimate scenes . +a fine film , even though it needs just a little something more to be the kind of a film that can be recommended without hesitation . +just be ready for a possible letdown of an ending . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv943_22488.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv943_22488.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5835ed288e32d7ef3aaac086c266c4d5b07db205 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv943_22488.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12 @@ +if you thought baz luhrmann's radical take on _william_shakespeare's_romeo_+_juliet_ was wild , wait until what you see what tony award-winning stage director julie taymor ( _the_lion_king : _the_broadway_musical_ ) does to the bard's _titus_andronicus_ for her audacious--and very bloody--film debut . +while luhrmann transplanted the star-crossed lovers to 1990s florida , taymor keeps this grisly tale of revenge in rome--but places it in a surreal temporal limbo . +the colosseum suggests the proper time of imperial rome , but high rises and heavy duty kitchen ovens suggest the 1990s , while the vintage automobiles and some costumes are more '40s and '50s , and other garments are more gladiator-like . +as tamora , queen of goths ( jessica lange ) exacts revenge on roman general titus ( anthony hopkins ) for killing her eldest son , and he does the same to her for the wrongs she commits , taymor obviously wanted to express the timeless relevance of the story's underlying themes . +however , the time convergence approach only works at times , for often it's just distracting , as in one scene where tamora's suviving sons ( matthew rhys and jonathan rhys meyers ) blow off steam playing video arcade games . +taymor didn't have to resort to such avant garde time tricks , for the story would have resonated just as strongly had she jettisoned them . +she is a strong storyteller and a master visual stylist , the latter compliment encompassing all areas , makeup and costume choices as well as those in the editing and photography departments . +she also has a sure way with actors ; hopkins' titus is at once tragic and horrifying , and lange is sultry as the viperous tamora . +the clear standout of the cast , however , is harry lennix as aaron , a moor who is tamora's secret lover and a schemer in his own right . +lennix brings great depth to a role that could have easily been played as a stock villain . +a great villain he indeed is , but to leave it at that isn't giving full justice to his powerful and multi-dimensional work . +_titus_ isn't a complete success , but it is never less than fascinating , and it announces the arrival of a fearlessly imaginative new cinematic voice . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv945_12160.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv945_12160.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..22a05743877688aab732676931b8551b885e6ccf --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv945_12160.txt @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +there is a striking scene early in " city of angels , " where all the angels who live unseen in our midst , gather at the beach to watch the sun rise . +the camera moves above them , showing the endless rows of ethereal men and women , all garbed in black . +then the camera moves in on the face of seth , an angel played by nicolas cage , and as the sun rises , he smiles and his entire face lights up . +you see , the angels can hear music in sunrises and sunsets , but they cannot feel a human touch . +it is an important scene for several reasons . +first of all , it is one of many instances in the film that make angels seem thoroughly plausible . +the film presents these fantastic beings as normal-looking people who drift amongst the inhabitants of earth , watching what goes on with little interference . +there are none of the standard , hokey angel references used in recent films like " angels in the outfield " ( 1994 ) or " michael " ( 1996 ) . +the angels here are stark and believable . +this early scene on the beach is also an important scene of juxtaposition , for its shows how god's angels can enjoy aspects of the earth that human cannot , and yet they are denied so many simple human pleasures , like feeling the sand on their feet or the waves lapping at their legs , or the smell of the salt in the air . +there is an inherent tragedy in being an angel , although there is much beauty in it as well . +they eternally walk the earth , listening to our thoughts , touching us in our pain , and leading the dying to heaven . +like human existence , being an angel is often confused and unsure . + " city of angels " is essentially a love story , between seth and a human , a beautiful but sad heart surgeon named maggie ( meg ryan ) . +he first sees her when he is in her operating room , waiting to lead the soul of her dying patient to heaven . +maggie is distraught , doing everything in her power to stop the man from dying on her table , and seth is moved by her efforts and , more importantly , her overwhelming sadness when the patient dies . +angels have the limited power to soothe humans in time of misery and pain , and seth does what he can with his invisible touch , but it's not enough . +he wants to be with her and share her pain , not just stand back at a distance . +he learns that the only way to fulfill his desire for human love and touch is for him to " fall " and become human . +he learns this from another fallen angel , played by dennis franz ( " n . y . p . d . +blue " ) in a touching and humorous performance . +sitting at a diner together , franz tells cage's character about how wonderful it is to be human - to be able to taste food , feel another person's skin , smell the air , and most importantly , have a loving wife and children . +of course , there is pain to go along with all this , but for seth , it will be worth it . + " city of angels " is something of a reinterpretation of wim wender's haunting 1988 film " wings of desire . " +wenders' film was more like a poem - it was the feeling , the emotion that truly mattered over what actually happened . +the americanized version moves the location from divided berlin to broken los angeles , and the emphasis shifts onto the relationship between the immortal angel and the mortal human . +and , unlike most foreign films that are re-made into hollywood fare , it doesn't suffer extensive damage . +this may be because director brad silberling ( " casper " ) and screenwriter dana stevens ( " blink " ) wanted to make " city of angels " its own movie - inspired by " wings of desire , " but not an attempt to copy it . +and yet , " city of angels " is not a typical hollywood movie . +it is beautifully filmed in lush colors by cinematographer john seale ( " the english patient " ) , whose sweeping aerial shots and golden lighting make los angeles into an almost unrecognizable new world . +seale creates many striking visuals : in addition to the beach scene , there is a wonderful sequence in a circular library where all the angels appear at banisters all around , looking down at seth as he watches maggie walk by . +while the film travels along a charted plot , it takes time to develop its characters and situations ; it sheds light on the boundaries between what is earthly and what is heavenly , and shows just how thin those boundaries are . +both cage and ryan give soulful , soft-spoken performances . +ryan , who is usually so bouncy and energetic , truly embodies a sadness that can only be alleviated by a heavenly touch . +cage projects all his desire and longing to be human in simple , heartfelt gazes , and speaks with the comforting , knowing voice that only an angel could have . +what is most striking about " city of angels " is that stevens has added a new ending to the screenplay , which is both unexpected and challenging . +it's not a formulaic hollywood ending , because it is both sad and uplifting at the same time . +it doesn't give the audience what it thinks it wants at the end of a romance . +instead , it offers something much better , something that speaks to the depths of what it means to be human and alive . +____________________________________________ visit " charlie don't surf ! " +an eclectic collection of film reviews by james kendrick http : //www . bigfoot . com/~jimkendrick +|| e-mail : jimkendrick@bigfoot . com diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv946_18658.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv946_18658.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..729a508bad0cf8d84154b603572006636e2709b3 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv946_18658.txt @@ -0,0 +1,82 @@ +star wars : episode 1 - the phantom menace ( 1999 ) +review by matt pusateri +few movies evoke nostalgia , enthusiasm , and affection like george lucas' 1977 classic , star wars . +the original blockbuster film and its two sequels not only evoked wonder and passion in a generation of filmgoers , but has deeply entrenched itself in american pop culture . +arguably , more americans today can explain what " the force " or a " jedi " is than a budget deficit or a serb . +so 22 years after the release of the original , and 16 years since the third film , the return of the jedi , how can any new star wars film withstand the weight of incomparable expectations and anticipation ? +can a new storyline and a new cast of characters possibly compete with the legends of the first trilogy - luke , han solo , and darth vader -all cultural icons ? +against this challenge , the fourth star wars film , episode one : the phantom menace hit the screens last week . +and despite some early critical reviews in the major media , the film is neither a flop nor a disappointment . +while the phantom menace is certainly not the finest film in the series , it is nonetheless engaging , exciting , and visually breathtaking . +it is a worthy sequel - er , prequel - to the original star wars films . +the phantom menace takes place decades before the setting of original films . +as the film opens , obi-wan kenobi ( ewan mcgregor ) , the wise old master who introduced luke to the force in the original star wars , is only a young jedi apprentice , still learning from his fellow jedi and instructor , qui-gon jinn ( liam neeson ) . +the republic government has sent the two jedi to settle a trade dispute that has developed into a blockade of the planet naboo by a shifty trade federation . +the jedi quickly find themselves not in negotiations , but in the middle of a planetary invasion , rushing to protect naboo's young queen amidala ( natalie portman ) . +later , after eventually rescuing amidala and helping her escape naboo , they are forced to stop at tatooine to repair their battle-damaged ship before bringing her to the galactic senate to make an appeal for justice . +on tatooine , qui-gon discovers a young slave boy , anakin skywalker ( jake lloyd ) , who not only can help them get the parts they need , but displays uncanny intelligence , insight , and instincts . +qui-gon senses the child is " unusually strong " with the force and begins to suspect that he may be " the one " prophesized to " bring balance to the force . " +as anyone who has watched the original star wars trilogy knows , far from being a galactic savior , the innocent-looking 9-year-old will in time become the ruthless darth vader . +complicating matters further is a mysterious hooded figure , darth sidious , is behind the trade blockade and invasion of naboo , and sends out a lethal apprentice , darth maul , to find and capture queen amidala . +while amidala and the jedi fight to save her planet , they soon also have to deal with the deadly and relentless darth maul . +if the plot sounds a bit complicated , it is . +the phantom menace not only introduces an earlier generation of characters and an immediate crisis , but sets up the foundation for the events that will eventually lead to the fall of the republic , the demise of the jedi knights , anakin's turn to evil , and the rise of the dark empire of original trilogy . +but the complexity is not overwhelming . +the story moves quickly , with the only drawback being that many questions , predictably , remain unanswered at the end of the film , setting the stage for the next episode . +one of the reasons the film's story seems hazy is not that it is too confusing , but too unfocused . +it's unclear whose story phantom menace is . +in the original trilogy , the movies were clearly luke's story , with the stories centering around his growth from farmboy to rebel hero to jedi knight . +but it's unclear whether this new film is anakin's story or obi-wan's . +if this trilogy is centered on anakin , it's a shaky foundation . +lloyd , like many child actors , lacks the subtle acting skills of adult performers , and as a result , his character seems shallow and unimpressive . +on screen , we see nothing that suggests a dark side lurking underneath his little-boy face , or for that matter , any presence that would make him seem so special that qui-gon is willing to believe he is " the one . " +the rest of the cast does fine , though they often work with some iffy dialogue by lucas . +neeson is perfect as an aging jedi knight . +mcgregor is well-cast as obi-wan and conveys a balance of youthful energy and calm sensibility . +portman fits the role of a young queen well , but her lines were often very formal , giving her little room to give her character much personality . +the biggest problem with the phantom menace is not the plot or the characters , but the interaction between them . +individually , the characters in this new film are no less developed than those in the original star wars , and the storyline is not more confusing than previous films in the series . +but unlike the previous trilogy , lucas doesn't do as good of a job playing the characters off one another . +in star wars , there were immediate contrasts and memorable exchanges between luke and han , han and obi-wan , and leia and luke . +the ensemble played off each other and immediately showed their distinct attitudes and personalities . +in the sequence in where luke , han , and chewbacca attempt to rescue leia from her cell on the death star , the audience learns a lot about all four characters in the ways they react to the immediate problems and each other . +there is no comparable sequence in the phantom menace to flesh out the characters and their relationships with each other . +individually , they are interesting characters with clear motivations and interests , but lucas develops little chemistry or tension between the them . +this is perhaps the most glaring weakness of this film , and is probably the reason it has disappointed many reviewers . +but despite the need for a richer dialogue and stronger character interaction , the film is still very engaging . +many of the wonderful elements of lucas' previous films make the phantom menace both memorable and entertaining . +first , of course , is the remarkably rich and imaginative universe lucas creates . +the characters visit magical underwater cities , evade dinosaur-sized sea monsters , fight battle droids and menacing " destroyers " on venetian-looking planet of naboo , watch a spectacular event , part roman-chariot race , part nascar circuit , on the arid desert planet of tatooine , then head to corsucant , the gothic urban capital of the republic and home to the galactic senate and the jedi council . +each location is elaborate and complex . +lucas never settles for vague ideas about the look of his settings , he creates rich , spectacular landscapes , palaces , and skylines . +most of the new special effects in his re-released special edition trilogy in 1997 were changes that allowed him to give the earlier movies the look and feel that just weren't possible when the films were made . +more than ever , in this new film , lucas' universe is filled with a menagerie of creatures , robots with personalities , and a supporting cast of aliens who interact with the main characters . +the best such character is watto , a greedy tatooine junk dealer who owns anakin and his mother as slaves . +watto has a scratchy italian voice and a short , paunchy body with oddly mismatched wings that flutter like a hummingbird as he floats around the room . +of all the computer-generated characters in the film , watto is the best done and most enjoyable . +speaking of computer-generated characters , no review of the phantom menace is complete without mentioning the most controversial figure in the film : jar jar binks . +with more than 80 minutes of screen time , jar jar is the realization of george lucas' dream to include a fully computer-generated character into the cast of the new trilogy . +jar jar , a clumsy amphibian and member of the gungan race , literally stumbles his way into the path of the jedi knights early in the film and becomes qui jon's accidental sidekick . +jar jar usually performs a comic-relief role in the film , lightening scenes with his mishaps and inability to stay out of trouble . +the animation of jar jar is nearly seamless , and he interacts with the characters throughout the film as if he were really on the set with the actors . +however , despite the technological magic that makes his character possible , jar jar isn't completely convincing . +he still moves and sounds too much like a cartoon to blend into a scene . +throughout the movie , jar jar never transcends a " roger rabbit " -like presence . +you accept that he's there , but you never lose sight of the fact that he is an animated character . +initially , i found jar jar annoying , but grew to enjoy the humor he added to the film . +on my second viewing of the film , jar jar was a lot of fun and i didn't mind him at all . +a second reason this film continues the fine tradition of star wars movies is that the film is replete with humor and small details that flesh out the world lucas creates . +despite all the film's struggles between good and evil , and the sober musings about one's destiny and " the force , " like all star wars films , the phantom menace never takes itself too seriously . +fortunately , lucas hasn't lost sight of the fact that his films are entertainment , not high art . +from the bumbling jar jar , to a one-man , two-headed announcer team calling the action at the film's thrilling pod-race sequence , to a cameo appearance by e . t . +in the film , the phantom menace is simply a lot of fun , with lots of half-hidden jokes and humor that can easily be missed . +and finally , the phantom menace works because , as in all his films , there is no shortage of speed and action . +from beginning to end , there are light-saber battles , hair-raising chases , and thrilling duels between good and evil . +the pod-race sequence on tatooine is one of the most entertaining and exciting scenes in any star wars film , and the final showdown between obi-wan , qui-gon , and darth maul is arguably the best choreographed , most thrilling fight sequence lucas has filmed . +the phantom menace won't win any major oscars . +it probably won't beat titanic's box office record . +and it's not even the best star wars film ( i'd put it third , after the original and the empire strikes back ) . +but it's an exciting and entertaining film , far better than your typical summer blockbuster . +the film can't live up to it's hype - no film , not even the original star wars , could have done that . +but it's still worth seeing . . . +probably more than once . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv947_10601.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv947_10601.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..cb652ae9253b60af7c29557d97974a79ee4e79d9 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv947_10601.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +the premise is simple , if not bizarre . +a mad scientist ( trace beaulieu as dr . clayton forrester ) launches an average-joe ( michael j . nelson as mike nelson ) into space where he forces his subject to watch the most horrendous movies ever made . +why ? +it's torturous , it's maniacal , and it's just plain fun . +based on the cult-favorite cable television series , mystery science theater 3000 : the movie isn't torturous , but as for being maniacal and just plain fun , it foots the bill quite nicely . +mike nelson , on a dog-bone shaped spacecraft , spends his days as any young man would dream - indulging in sarcasm and horseplay , and seeing quite a few movies . +the catch is , these movies aren't the movies he chooses , but retched examples of film-making chosen specifically by dr . forrester in an attempt to break mike's will to live . +dr . forrester is convinced that one too many b- movies is all it will take to ruin a man , but with a couple of wise-cracking puppet buddies ( tom servo , voiced by kevin murphy , and crow t . robot , voiced by beaulieu ) , the torture becomes somewhat of a honorary party for all that is wrong in the world of cheezy cinema . +the purpose behind mst3k is to exploit some of the worst films known ( even if by very few of us ) to man . +we watch as the silhouettes of mike , tom , and crow sit in a darkened theater poking fun at the movie going on before them . +in this case , it's the 1954 sci-fi film this island earth . +we basically watch as our three leads watch , only we get the pleasure of eavesdropping on their hilarious commentary . +the plots behind the movies ripped apart are really quite irrelevant , but for the sake of those who might want to know , i'll explain this one . +this island earth is the tale of two scientists , a man and a woman , who wind up aboard a spaceship whose crew intends to destroy the earth . +together the two fight to survive as well as save their home planet . +to make mst3k work , the film-within-the-film naturally has to be as horrible as possible , and although the tv-series introduced us to several worse films than this island earth , it's a bad enough flick to bring about some hysterical cruelty . +mst3k , which doesn't actually contain the complete this island earth , is a short 73 minutes , but this is a step very wisely taken . +as funny as some of their observations are , it can only go so long . +occasional breaks from this island earth also help the film tremendously . +although it takes a second to get back into the right mode after this premise has been left for a moment , it's better than overkilling the whole concept post haste . +mst3k lovers will likely hail the film greatly , but if you don't know what you're in for , it could be a jarring disappointment . +although i thought the sharp wit of this film was worth three stars , it is a movie to be seen on home video , late at night when your brain is not functioning to full capacity anyway , and with a large , saracastic crowd - new year's at midnight for example , which is when i saw it . +warning : although mst3k has more to its end credits than most ( the three leads use the credits to poke some more fun ) , they are actually more annoying than most . +the name slandering and asinine one-liners were extremely unfunny , and after laughing for about 70 minutes straight , it put a heavy damper on the overall experience . +most people will likely stay to see what the smart-alec's have to say , but for me , it almost ruined an otherwise good film . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv948_24606.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv948_24606.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0542df54661bdb681a6973948397db34a78c3223 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv948_24606.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17 @@ +any movie about the underground music scene is a difficult beast to master . +any meaning found in the underground is usually lost by the dumbing-down of the experience to make it " more accessible " to the general public . +or the film is produced and directed by people that have about enough understanding of the subject matter that they ought to work as production assistants for vh1 . +human traffic , a new film exploring the british underground party/rave scene and the people immersed in the world of clubbing , pubbing , drugs , sex , and the beautiful , beautiful music , is an example of how it really ought to be done . +the film follows five brits in their young twenties during a wild weekend of parties , drugs , dancing , sex , pop culture discussions , relationships , and wanking off in front of a mirror while mum interrupts . +the cast of character consists of jip ( john simm ) , our narrator , who has a bit of a problem with his willy , known as mr . floppy . +koop ( shaun parkes ) , our black dj maestro , who has insecurity issues , afraid his girlfriend nina ( nicola reynolds ) is shagging other men . +nina herself can't stand her mcjob and longs for the freedom of the weekends . +lulu ( lorraine pilkington ) , jip's best mate , is tired of her cheating boyfriends . +and moff ( danny dyer ) can't seem to escape the black hole of his awful life . +the film follows these five individuals during one weekend as each of them discovers love , friendship , and self-fulfillment , all against the raging party background . +human traffic is proof that cinema can still tell us deep stories while being visually alive , as director justin kerrigan's subtle use of the camera lets the audience become part of the action . +the use of direct communication to the audience by the collection of characters works well , making the viewer the subconscious mind for the characters . +dialogue is crisp and moves with an even pace , and the acting is confident . +however , the two females leads tend to promote their relationships and dialogue with a bit of unneeded urgency that shows through when poignancy is needed . +human traffic does not try to explain the rave scene . +instead , it gives the audience the ability to listen to the people inside it , letting you choose your own convictions about this powerful musical movement that brings together strangers , friends , and lovers for one blissful night of music and peace . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv949_20112.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv949_20112.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..12ac1f06ae3e8afc0d3fae0d75a996dfd3046053 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv949_20112.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +steve martin took an extended vacation from all facets of moviemaking a few years back ; he spent this time writing essays and short stories for " the new yorker , " several of which wound up in his hilarious hardback compilation , pure drivel ( 1998 ) . +much of the book spares tinseltown from mockery , although he does riff on the racist comments made by marlon brando during a larry king interview , in a fine chapter called " in search of the wily filipino . " +now , as writer and star of bowfinger , he offers the masses plenty of good reasons not to pursue a career in the cinema , perhaps finally venting the frustrations ( 'everything being made now is crap' ) that led to his brief retirement from hollywood . +martin stars as bobby bowfinger , a roger corman-wannabe on the cusp of fifty and desperate for some success as a producer , quality of the projects be damned . +his accountant ( adam alexi-malle ) proposes a movie called " chubby rain , " about aliens who travel to earth in raindrops slightly fatter than regular raindrops . +bowfinger latches onto the idea immediately , and convinces his troupe of actor friends to appear in the film , based on the lie that america's top box office draw , kit ramsey ( murphy ) , has agreed to star . +ramsey , of course , wants nothing to do with such low-grade material , so bowfinger , on the thinking that action stars need to run , not speak , decides to photograph the superstar surreptitiously . +he sends his cast members ( who aren't in on it , either ; they are told ramsey hates the sight of cameras and fraternizing with his co-stars ) to ramsey's table at restaurants , asks them to follow him in parking lots , etc . , spouting script dialogue , all the while shooting the outcome from a great distance . +the paranoid ramsey flees the scene nearly every time . +ramsey is a member of mind head , a cultish self-help organization apparently dedicated to recruiting celebrities . + ( as if that's not familiar enough , mind head guru terry stricter ( terence stamp ) has been dressed and combed to resemble l . ron hubbard , founder of scientology . ) +when he goes to mind head with tales of caucasian strangers appearing from nowhere to babble " white code " in his face , they fear the nervous breakdown of an important client and rush him off to a retreat , requiring bowfinger to find a stand-in . +murphy will probably win more fans as jiff , ramsey's adorable , ignoramus double , than as kit , but it is his portrayal of the latter that took courage . +always surrounded by an entourage , suffering from a racial inferiority complex , murphy plays right into the tabloid image of himself . +furthermore , consider the enemies he'll make of popular scientologists . +pacing stricter's neutral-coloured office as if on an amphetamine binge and stripped of his bigshot veneer , ramsey is asked to shout inane personal affirmations repeatedly . +murphy's scenes with stamp are exactly what i imagine of a john travolta " clearing . " +not that murphy is entirely responsible for this schtick ; bowfinger is steve martin's invention . +his script is surprisingly clever as satire , given that the pseudo-religion is a sitting duck , as is the entire los angeles film industry . + ( the griffin mill-types take quite a beating , in the form of robert downey jr . as bigwig jerry renfro . ) +martin's decision to tell the story from a bottom feeder's point of view is what keeps it fresh and innovative-never have we seen on screen a group of people struggle this hard to complete a motion picture . +as expected , there are laughs only to be had insiders or buffs , such as martin's crew of mexican border-jumpers , who gain unexpected appreciation for the classics from reading " cahiers du cinema , " or martin's nonsensical explanation to dave , his loyal cinematographer ( jamie kennedy ) , that every movie , in the end , has a budget of two-thousand dollars ( ! ) . +most of bowfinger is universally funny , however ; i defy any viewer to keep a straight face when christine baranski , one of our brightest comediennes , is on screen . +bowfinger's main flaw is a plot twist that has an insubstantial aftermath . +we're also asked to believe that a few simple close-ups of kit ramsey would redeem " chubby rain , " z-grade entertainment that would make ed wood blush . + ( this aspect of bowfinger has much in common with the ludicrous oscar sequence in oz's last directorial effort , the poorly conceived in & out . ) +these are significant enough weaknesses that they distracted from my enjoyment of the piece . +as i mentioned at the start of this review , bowfinger offers solid reasons not to do what heather graham's character daisy does : hop a bus to hollywood in search of stardom . +that said , it offers one fantastic reason to get on that bus : the sense of community between filmmakers who gel is awesome . +martin gets sentimental by story's end as he did in l . a . story , and how could he not ? +for those who can hack it , the movies might be the greatest business in the world . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv952_25240.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv952_25240.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ea5209b75ad0c837bfd88ae83439482d2695954e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv952_25240.txt @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +director dominic sena ( who made the highly underrated kalifornia ) and producer jerry bruckheimer ( the rock , armageddon ) bring us a slick and entertaining remake of the 1974 film of the same name that absolutely no one has ever seen . +nicolas cage plays memphis , a retired car thief who's " pulled back in " to the business by an evil car thief overlord ( christopher eccleston ) determined to kill memphis' kid brother ( giovanni ribisi ) . +memphis is ordered to steal 50 cars in four days time or his brother will meet an unfortunate demise , all while having to elude the detectives hot on his trail and a rival car thief who feels the job should have been given to him and his gang . +memphis sets out to put his old crew back together , but discovers that most of them have retired as well . +gone in sixty seconds does things right from the opening credits . +in that sequence , we get a rockin' little tune from moby , along with some simple back story told only with photographs and assorted objects . +filmmakers can sometimes make or break a film just from its opening title sequence , and this one easily gets you in the mindset for an entertaining ride . +and what follows doesn't disappoint . . . +cage turns in one of his good performances here ( he can easily go either way . . . +good or bad . . . +i don't know how he does that ) , and his mannerisms and dialogue delivery carry the film along nicely . +of the supporting cast members , angelina jolie as memphis' former love is in the film just to provide eye candy ( she's definitely the hottest looking grease monkey i've ever seen ) and robert duvall as memphis' former mentor is just around to lend the film some class . +also , i'm a big fan of will patton ( armageddon , the postman ) and would love to see him get a huge role someday . +none of these three performers are given much to do unfortunately . +some underrated performers however are given meaty supporting roles . +delroy lindo ( get shorty ) shines as the exasperated detective in pursuit of memphis , as does timothy olyphant ( go ) as lindo's partner . +i just wish some of the other characters could have been as important . +the only real gripe i have about the film though is its conclusion . . . +mainly because you know how it will end before the opening credits even roll . +there's no doubt in anyone's mind that the 50 cars will be successfully stolen , and the filmmakers blew a perfectly good opportunity to add some suspense to the picture by using the " rival car thief " plot line . +as it stands , that story line is wrapped up about halfway through the film in a tidy little package . +but if i was making this film , i'd have had the rival gang trying to get to the cars before memphis and his crew , thereby making memphis have to improvise . . . +thereby adding some meat to the plot . +the finale is essentially just a big car chase , and there just aren't ways to make car chases interesting anymore . +it's all been done . +the chase is also shot and edited in that " jerry bruckheimer action sequence " kind of way that leaves the audience wondering what specifically is going on in the scene . +sure it's a car chase , but what exactly are the particulars of it ? +it's very hard to tell . +finally , there's a stunt during this scene that comes close to challenging the " bus jumping the ramp " sequence from speed in the " oh , i don't think so . . . " +department . +despite those minor complaints , gone in sixty seconds is pure summer movie entertainment . +it's not thought provoking , but it's shiny , loud and fun . . . +just what a summer flick should be . +[pg-13] diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv953_6836.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv953_6836.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4d29ff34f7dea63998764b1cd1174d56bc1b12d1 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv953_6836.txt @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +books could be , and indeed have been written about the star wars trilogy , and rightfully so . +this is a set of movies that shattered all expectations of what science fiction could be in the late 70s/early 80s , inspiring literally dozens of clones , from battlestar galactica all the way up to stargate and independance day , and one could argue revitalizing the whole science fiction genre . +the special effects were groundbreaking , revolutionary for their day and still eminently watchable well into twenty years later . +literally millions of people have seen the star wars trilogy and been touched by it . +and now , george lucas brings it back for a new audience to enjoy . +much has been and is still being made of the fact that mr . lucas has gone back and revised his trilogy for rerelease now . +some fans are angry that he has dared to meddle with what they consider perfection , while others are thrilled by the idea of seeing yesterday's star wars updated with today's special effects wizardry . +either way , the special edition release means that star wars is back on the big screen , where it rightfully deserves to be seen . +can there be anyone in the world who doesn't know what star wars is about ? +in a way , star wars is so much a part of our cultural heritage that it feels silly and almost artificial to try to summarize it . +it's a story about a young man's coming of age , a fight for freedom against an oppressive empire , a tale of swashbuckling and derring-do the likes of which haven't been seen on the silver screen in decades , strange new worlds with strange alien creatures and weird surprises around every turn , and the yearning within each of us to realize our dreams and make a difference in the world . +it's high adventure , incredible special effects , and . . . well , it's just an _experience_ . +something about this movie sparked the imagination of a generation . . . and +it's about to do so again . +this new release of star wars comes as no surprise to many of the film's devoted fans , who have been trading rumors and bits of information about it for quite some time now . +interviews , trailers , leaks from within lucasfilm . . . all of these have been collected , collated , and placed on webpages for people to see ( pages such as http : //www . islandnet . com/~corona/films/details/sw4 . html +or , my personal favorite , http : //leopard . cs . latrobe . edu . au/~koukoula/ + ) . +pictures of before and after have been placed side by side . . . even +months before the movies were released , fans were making comparisons . +in some cases , the changes were nothing less than phenomenal , and this can be seen from the comparison shots even before you go into the movie theater . +the digital matte effects that were little more than a toy in forrest gump are put to excellent use here , unnoticeably sprucing up scenes that that george lucas was unsatisfied with in the original . +for instance , in my personal favorite example , the ancient temple on yavin that was formerly a flat stone edifice now has deep , moss-covered carvings and etchings . +and mos eisley spaceport is now a bustling , booming city , with more surprises and things going on in the background than you can notice on the first viewing . +all the starships and fighters are now computer-animated , getting rid of glitches and artifacts of the special effects processes used when the film was originally made--and they look _fantastic_ . +four and a half minutes of new or missing footage have been added , including a scene with jabba the hutt that had originally been shelved because the state of special effects in 1977 simply couldn't do it justice . +however , much of the ten million dollars that was spent on the star wars special edition restoration went into restoring the quality of the film itself . +the negatives , badly damaged by the ravages of time , were brightened and returned to their original splendor . +the audio tracks were remixed and reprocessed , with reworked sound effects by effects maven ben burtt , into glorious , booming , theater-shaking full-thx dolby digital stereo . +and _that_ , more than the added scenes or new special effects , is where the real value of this new version lies . +it's really true what they say in the commercials : star wars loses _so much_ on the small screen . +even letterboxing doesn't make up for the decrease in size and definition . +in regard to the star wars special edition , and to the other two films of the trilogy which have yet to be released , i'll make this final recommendation : go and see it . +go and see it more than once . . . it +may be another twenty years before it comes back to the big screen after it's gone this time . +take along the youngsters who've never had the big-screen star wars experience--you'll enjoy seeing it through their eyes as much as they will enjoy it for the first time . +there's magic in this movie--special edition or no , there can be no denying that it's still star wars , and still has the power to thrill and enthrall children of all ages , from four to four hundred . +let's all return to that time long ago , and that galaxy far , far away . . . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv954_18628.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv954_18628.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6740ef443fc729b96fa2db33910b3f732b00db21 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv954_18628.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +eddie murphy has had his share of ups and downs during his career . +known for his notorious late 80's slump , murphy has still managed to bounce back with a handful of hits in the past few years . +with the exception of the dreadful holy man , he appears to be on pace for a full-fledged comeback . +life was a great move on the part of murphy and co-star martin lawrence , because it's a great showcase for both actors that never resorts to slap-sticky drivel . +director ted demme is smart enough to realize that the two comedians can generate enough genuine laughs on their own , and doesn't insert a distracting plot to back them up . +life is , in a sense , one great balancing act with murphy on one end and lawrence on the other . +amazingly , the scale never tips in either's favor due to the marvelous chemistry and wonderful contrast that each actor allows the other . +as the movie opens , we're introduced to ray gibson ( eddie murphy ) , a two-timing pickpocket who schmoozes his way into a club . +there he meets a successful businessman named claude banks ( martin lawrence ) . +somehow , after multiple contrivances , the mismatched pair find themselves on their way to mississippi on a moonshine run . +when all is said and done , ray and claude have been framed for a murder that was actually committed by the town sheriff . +hence the setting of life : mississippi state prison , where the main characters come to realize their unlikely friendship is important , and become set on finding an fool-proof escape plan . +the film takes us from the 30's all the way to the 90's , presenting a difficult task in showing how the aging process affects ray and claude . +luckily , rick baker handles the makeup effects of the two actors in a fantastic , academy award caliber manner . +not only do we believe the characters look as if they're 90 years old , but they sound like it , too . +murphy and lawrence are completely convincing in the lead roles , even as crotchety old cons bickering over a game of cards . +this is just one of the pleasant surprises that the film has tucked up it's sleeve . +while the ads are marketing life as a straight arrow comedy , there is a hefty amount of dramatic material hidden at it's core . +but the comedic aspects work wonderfully , wisely drawing strength from the talents of the two stars . +the movie is more of a comedy than it is a drama , but in both senses , it's an overwhelming delight . +i could say a few bad things about the movie , but i don't want to . +it's such a nice surprise , such a great vehicle for eddie murphy and martin lawrence , that it warrants a huge smile as the credits begin to roll . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv955_25001.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv955_25001.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..90a81ca006e02b1e71a97588864d51e00d81c014 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv955_25001.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +cinematically speaking , gordon parks' original 1971 _shaft_ is not a great film . +a bit slow at times and more than a little rough around the edges as it builds to its climactic explosion of violent action , this spirited but formulaic yarn that initially brought ernest tidyman's " black private dick that's a sex machine to all the chicks " to the big screen hardly qualifies as groundbreaking filmmaking . +yet nearly 30 years after its original release--and long after the genre it spawned , " blaxploitation , " died with that decade--the 1971 _shaft_ remains an extremely entertaining watch , never having completely escaped pop culture consciousness . +the reason for this is the same one that explains the film's connection with moviegoers far beyond the target african-american audience : the title character of john shaft . +while the fact that the strong , smart , virile , and superbly suave shaft is black is the primary factor for his historical and cultural significance , his broad-based appeal stems from an idea that transcends race : he is comfortable , confident , and proud about who he is , and anyone who had a problem with that could simply kiss his ass . +this fact also explains why john singleton's y2g revival of john shaft is as enjoyable as it is . +much like the film that started the franchise , this _shaft_'s plot doesn't score points in the originality department , but the energy level and smooth attitude distinguishes it from standard crime thrillers . +contrary to what has been reported over the past few months , this _shaft_ is not a remake of the original film , but more of a sequel/spinoff . +the star audiences know and love from the original film and its first two sequels ( 1972's _shaft's_big_score ! _ and 1973's _shaft_in_africa_ ) , richard roundtree , once again plays john shaft , who still runs a private investigation firm in new york city . +however , the focus of the film lies on his same-named nephew ( samuel l . jackson ) , who , as the film begins , is a cop whose take-no-crap demeanor constantly leaves him at odds with his superiors . +when a privileged young man named walter wade jr . ( christian bale ) accused of a brutal , racially-motivated murder is allowed to be released on bail , a disgusted shaft leaves the force and decides to take matters into his own hands as a p . i . +but that's easier said than done , for also standing in the way of shaft and his way of justice is peoples hernandez ( jeffrey wright ) , a dominican gangster who is hired by walter to rub out waitress diane palmieri ( toni collette ) , the only eyewitness to his crime . +peoples--or , rather , wright is also the big obstacle in jackson's way toward commanding this film . +peoples is more of an outrageous comic character for most of the running time , and wright is insanely funny during these stages . +however , he isn't so funny as to make the character come off as goofy and buffoonish , and peoples' eventual turn to more serious villainy is seamless and believable ( which probably would not have been the case had he been played by original casting choice john leguizamo , who bowed out before filming ) . +it's no easy task to steal a film from the jackson ( who is his usual captivating , charismatic self here ) , but that's exactly what wright does--and makes it seem effortless . +then again , with such a talented ensemble surrounding him , it is not too surprising that jackson's impressive star turn doesn't quite tower over the rest ; he is strongly complemented not only by wright but all his other co-stars . +bale has already proven his ability to play an uppity killer in _american_psycho_ , so it only follows that his performance as a similar , less exaggerated character would be spot-on . +collette lends the film some convincing and welcome dramatic weight as the frightened , conflicted diane . +busta rhymes brings some good laughs as shaft's sidekick rasaan . +registering not as strongly--but through no fault of their own--are vanessa williams ( as tough narcotics cop carmen vasquez ) and a dismayingly underused roundtree ; they simply are given little to do in the script credited to richard price , singleton , and shane salerno . + ( jackson also has little to " do " in a sense ; some throwaway footage during the opening credits aside , his shaft doesn't even have one sex scene . ) +that singleton once again proves his ability with actors is an especially good thing since he's not really an action director . +this is not to say that he does a bad job with the numerous gunfights and the requisite foot and car chases . +they move well ( as does the film as a whole ) and are reasonably exciting ; it's just that there's nothing terribly inventive about them . +these set pieces are functional in the way the script is : they work well enough , but they're unsurprising and conventional . +but if there's anything that a _shaft_ movie does well , it's make the familiar look cool--and this _shaft_ keeps that tradition alive . +from the slick title sequence--scored , of course , to isaac hayes' ever-infectious oscar-winning theme song , which singleton wisely sprinkles throughout the film--on , the film looks great and easily sweeps the viewer into its world with its energetic bravado . +even a common visual trick such as employing fancy wipes for scene transitions not only feels unforced , it feels necessary . +style doesn't exactly make for a great film , but when it comes to _shaft_ , that's of little consequence . +what matters above all else is having a good time , and the latest _shaft_ should be just the first of many fun rides to be had with this bad mutha--shut your mouth . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv957_8737.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv957_8737.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a916665d46db7b74ef934bc507d0b810b7ce8d31 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv957_8737.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +capsule : the best place to start if you're a jackie chan newcomer . +roars along , never stops for breath , and frequently hilarious . +to talk about jackie chan as a " stuntman " is to miss a million things . +jackie is not only one of the most accomplished and fearsomely unafraid physical adepts on the screen today , but also a very funny guy . +he reminds me of the way arnold schwartzenegger * used * to make me laugh -- he's funny just standing there , copping a look . +supercop has jackie making us laugh , scream , duck , root , and gasp for breath , often all in the same scene . +it's actually the third in a loosely related series of movies , each with jackie playing kevin chan , a hong kong policeman who has a knack for getting neck-deep into trouble and then karate-kicking his way out of it . + ( the others are also worth seeing . ) +it's a little slow to start , but once it gets moving , it's a field day . +the movie has a fairly sophisticated plot for movies of this kind . +kevin is tapped for a dangerous dea assignment to be accomplished in mainland china , which requires him to collaborate with the attractive ( and ass-kicking ) chief fo chinese security ( played here by the ever-enjoyable michelle yeoh ) . +there's a fun chemistry between the two of them , especially in an early scene where she tries to brief him and he keeps making wondering comments about how great she looks in that uniform . +kevin is assigned to help spring a known gangster from jail -- all undercover , of course -- and have him lead the two of them to a noted drug boss . +the drug boss , however , has problems of his own : his wife's on trial for many of his own crimes , and she's got the key to an account with all of his drug funds . +this means , of course , endless trouble -- not the least of which is that kevin bumps into his girlfriend while he's out in the field , and she sees him with this other woman , and . . . but that's one of the movie's unique pleasures : the way it crosses from action to comedy effortlessly . +action . there is , of course , non-stop action in this movie -- everything from one-on-one kung fu to all-out gun battles to a sppedboat with eight engines ( ! ) +outrunning the hong kong coast guard . +there is also a virtuoso climax , which features , among other things , jackie danging from a ladder tied to a helicopter , a wrong-way freeway chase ( which requires michelle to do an awesomely difficult handstand stunt ) , a fight on top of a moving train that also involves the 'copter as well as a motorcycle . +you get the idea . +this is to action movies what a burger with everything on it is to fast food : quick , enjoyable , filling . +watch it with friends . +when they stop making movies like this , the world will be a tad greyer . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv959_14611.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv959_14611.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..394917240a4c8f15967aac203a4da3630a77ce56 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv959_14611.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +an entertaining 2 hours awaits the audience in this film set in the early 80's . +sevigny and beckinsale play disco chicks alice and charlotte , who are on the lookout for love . +alice is mousy , shy , intellectual , charlotte is bitchy , out-going and fun . +we join their adventures as they go through a variety of adventures , and men , all to the background of the local disco . +whit stillman has both written and directed an interesting and believable story . +alice and charlotte are both well written characters , and the actresses who play them aren't bad aswell . +sevigny delivers an honest performance , and makes the audience feel for her character . +beckinsale plays extreme bitch personified , yet her character never becomes completely unlikeable . +the huge supporting cast also play a part in making sure this movie is thoroughly entertaining . +the dialogue is sharp and well written , with many funny set pieces . +for example , there's a great discussion about lady & the tramp by the main characters . +the disco tunes playing in the background also make sure that this admittedly long film is good fun . +the direction is good , bringing out the drama and comedy in the scenes . +but their are slight flaws with the movie . +firstly , although it is supposedly set in the 80's , the characters are very , very 90's . +the way they dress and act have a very 90's feel to them . +although the male hairstyles look slightly 80's , frankly the 80's atmosphere just wasn't conveyed , which is a shame . +also , as mentioned above , the film is too long , and some parts do lag . +the charm of the characters do help these moments , but generally the editing could of been a bit tighter . +the plot also side-tracks into a silly cocaine dealing bust , which seemed out of place in this movie . +finally , their are almost too many characters in the film , and despite the running time , the film never really spends enough time on them . +some of the characters are very slight , which is a shame . +the conclusion , while funny , is also surprisingly weak , and certainly not strong enough . +but despite these qualms , the last days of disco is a funny , warm movie , which is certainly worth seeing , and is a fitting homage to the disco era of the 80's . +worth a look . +overall rating= +review by david wilcock ? 1998 + " you know , for kids " - norville barnes diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv961_5682.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv961_5682.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2145a7c6b0ee9960fc7e25b8dfc81747707e0b9c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv961_5682.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +the latest epos from lars is a blast , although a rather moody one . +this lovestory is situated in a small town in the rough dreary cliffs in the vestern part of scotland in the 1970 something . +the church ( calvinistic ) is so strict that the church bells has been removed from the clocktower , they are considered being too unrestrained . +in these surroundings we find the to-be-weds jan and bess , played by stellan skarsgaard and the remarkable new movie actress emily watson . +jan is on leave from the oilrig and bess . . +is just bess , a bit naive and innocent ( in every aspect of the word ) , at first . +at the wedding party we are told an anecdote , illustrating her infinite kindness , she once lend a bike to an stranger , her best friends bike however . +but bess is suffering in this scary religious society . +we soon take part in a funeral where a man , fallen off the orthodox path , is laid to rest while doomed to hell . +women are not allowed to attend funerals or speak up in the church . +when the end of the honeymoon approaches we see bess idolizing jan in such an intend , almost manic , that her friends try to calm her down a bit . +the time has come when jan is to return to the rig , bess is falling into the darkness of depression , her yelling of grief and sorrow are heard above the breaking of the waves . +she can't stand the thought of life without her husband . +we witness her dialogues with god ( she speaks both parts , paranoia ? ) +convincing god to return jan from the oilrig , and her prayers are heard . +an accident on the rig bring him back , paralysed from the neck and down . +now he can't satisfy her need for physical love , he try to persuade her into finding a lover , with the ulterior motive to make her describe these affairs to him in every detail . +at first she resist , but her love for jan and his assurance that this will make him recover more rapidly make her comply . +imagine what this is doing to the poor girl ? +the story is cleverly divided into eight chapters parted by beautiful pictures made by danish artist per kirkeby , accompanied by music from the era ; procol harum , deep purple , t-rex and others . +the use of hand-held camera and lack of any make-up make the characters solid and help to separate this movie from others in the sentimental genre . +the incredible performance from the actors makes the movie brilliant , though a bit too gloomy for my taste . +i would say that it is in the genre of betty blue ( 37 . 2 le matin ) and bitter moon ( lunes de fiel ) . +emily watson as bess and katrin cartlidge as her best friend dodo deliver outstanding performances , this must be the reason for giving it the " grand prix du jury " in cannes this year ( although we had hoped for the " palme d'or " ) . +the screenplay is now available in print , the transformation being made in the period from ultimo may to july , just in time for the danish premiere . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv962_9803.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv962_9803.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..302cf2383656770735361c1520ca7edeff941e41 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv962_9803.txt @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +anastasia contains something that has been lacking from all of the recent disney releases . . . + ( especially hercules ) . . . +emotion . +all the wacky characters voiced by celebrities and fantastically animated adventure sequences aren't going to hold anyone's interest unless there is an emotional core to hold it all together . +not since disney's beauty & the beast has there been such a compelling animated film with interesting characters and drama that works . +the story of the romanov family , the rulers of russia , and their downfall begins the film . +anastasia , one of the daughters , narrowly escapes the mad monk rasputin ( voiced by christopher lloyd ) with her grandmother ( voiced by angela landsbury ) . +but anastasia gets lost , and grows up with no memory of her royal origins . +the grandmother lives in paris , hoping to someday find her beloved anastasia , the only member of the family to survive the russian revolution . +a young woman named anya ( voiced by meg ryan ) runs across dimitri ( john cusack ) and vlad ( kelsey grammar ) , who are trying to put together a scheme to create an anastasia to fool the grandmother and get the reward money . +they pick anya to pose as their princes , and of course , it is soon revealed that anya is in fact the lost anastasia . +dimitri realizes that he can never win her love as he is a commoner , and meanwhile , rasputin is not dead , and plots his revenge against the last romanov . +the plot is actually quite well structured . +there are a lot of complexities that may have to be explained to the kids later , but it moves along fast enough that they'll never have time to be bored . +what this really means is that the adults won't be bored by it either . +there is a great deal of banter between anya and dimitri that is very funny , and their relationship develops quite naturally as the film progresses . +there is , of course , lots of comedy for the kids , including rasputin's pet bat , bartok ( hank azaria ) , who is easily the funniest thing in the film . +however , the comical scenes never distract from the drama , but are worked into the plot almost seamlessly . +the animation is gorgeous - the characters seem to come to life through the talented animators . +not since beauty & the beast have animated characters had so much life to them . +even without the voices , they act . +the musical number in paris is a show-stopper , with some of the backgrounds rendered in an impressionist painting style . +as with all recent animated features , there are songs , however , these songs do more than just provide fodder for top-40 singers to get on the radio ( although there are three of them during the end credits ) . +the songs are all very catchy , and advance the plot , instead of just being showpieces ( except for the paris number , but that's so much fun , it's okay . . . ) . +i can't reccomend anastasia highly enough . +it's a wonderful film that ranks right up there with other animated classics . +kids and adults alike will enjoy it , and it's also nice to have a quality animated feature film from another studio besides disney . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv963_6895.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv963_6895.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..242e141747981d9891c941d29c6b0c585bd90d69 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv963_6895.txt @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +i can hear the question already . +what on earth do these two movies have in common ? +to most people , not a lot , except that both are by renowned directors . +as i saw them , however , both movies have flawed romantic scripts wrapped in distinctive packaging of lavish visuals musical numbers . +but oh , how differently the packages affect their films . +while " everyone's " production numbers make an otherwise ordinary woody tale something special , jane campion's imaginative visuals only serve to emphasize how pompous and uninvolving laura jones' script is . +i left " everyone says i love you " not remembering a lot about who loved whom , but its infectious happiness put a grin on my face . +i left " the portrait of a lady " not remembering a lot about who loved whom , and i could have cared less . + " everyone " features nothing allen hasn't done before storywise . +woody is again desperately in love with a beautiful woman ( roberts ) , and against the odds they manage to click for awhile before allen is left wondering what went wrong--again . +similar situations happen to his family and friends . +some of the more outlandish comedy scenes even hark back to his " early , funny " films . +the scenes between tim roth and drew barrymore could have come out of " take the money and run , " his directorial debut . +however , nothing allen has ever done prepared me for this one-of-a-kind display of sheer good spirits . +in fact , in this movie , the feeling itself is what's most important . +yes , the movie would have been better--among his very best , i think--if it had a meatier story . +but what it lacks in substance it makes up for in feeling . +and what better way to express feeling than through music ? +love is often best expressed in a song , and the numbers the cast break into here cut straight to the heart . +some are a tad too goofy , such as the number where a lot of ghosts prance around in a funeral parlor , but i admired allen for even putting them in there . +it also helps that as usual , allen has a top-flight cast working with him . +their singing voices range from quite good ( goldie hawn ) to not quite good ( allen ) to literally unlistenable ( barrymore , whose real voice was dubbed by a professional ) . +but while their vocal abilities differ , all the actors do a great job of putting joy up there on the screen , and making it rub off on the audience . +granted , some people will simply never accept characters singing in movies , but for those attuned to it , this film should work wonders . +jane campion , too , has a top-flight cast working for her in " portrait of a lady , " too , but even their considerable skills can do nothing to keep the film from being a stilted , virtually lifeless mess , albeit a visually interesting one . +campion and her cinematographer stuart dryburgh come up with a great variety of eye-filling images that linger in the mind . +unfortunately , what didn't linger in the mind for me was the story the visuals were supposed to be reflecting . +i remember very well shots of a train with its light beaming and shots of men vanishing around nicole kidman , but i can remember very little of what happened between all these people . +even worse , i don't find myself feeling bad that i've forgotten . +the problem , i think , lies not with the cast , which seemed to be trying very hard for the material . +it was the script that couldn't convince me to care about anyone . +the characters were putting out all kinds of emotion , but i found no reason to connect with any of them . +i understood that the story was about cold , emotionally vacant characters , but for me to care about them , i have to identify with them somehow and want them to inject feeling into their lives . +jones' script never simply gave me that opportunity . +in the end , it almost seemed as if campion was trying to inject some life of her own into the proceedings with her visual flourishes . +unfortunately , as she kept painting these dazzling pictures , they only served to push me further away from the material and remind me that there was no connection between me and the film . +in the end , the movie's one strength ended up hurting it . +so here we have two films with pretty uninteresting plots , and yet i was able to truly enjoy one of them . +why ? +with both films , my head cared about neither story , but only " everyone says i love you " was able to make my heart sing . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv965_26071.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv965_26071.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..52d36880509cdae5d6ddb8eb6bcd890d1ba9e314 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv965_26071.txt @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +in many ways , " twotg " does for tough-guy movies what la confidential did for police stories . +there's savviness in its writing and a mature patience in allowing the material to unfold . +but , i suppose , we wouldn't expect less from christopher mcquarrie , who was responsible for giving us " the usual suspects " . +his writing talents are still in tact as he brings to us a bloody yet intellectual tale of two unabashed but dimwitted thugs and a plan gone awry . +the two goons are parker and longbaugh ( ryan phillipe and benicio del toro ) . +these two men show the hardened wear of those who have always had it tough . +their troubled youths have forged two nihilistic souls who use their amazing gunplay skills to survive . +given the choice of minimum wage or petty crime , they'll always choose the latter . +yet , they are incredibly foolish planners . +actually , these two never really have a plan . +they just improvise along the way , hoping that their bravado and arsenal of guns will take care of anything that they might have overlooked . +their next scheme , which they cook up about as fast as a mcdonald's burger , is to kidnap some surrogate mother named robin ( juliette lewis ) that was hired by some well-to-do family . +if all goes well , they'll receive a nice bit of ransom money and life goes on . +what parker and longbaugh do not realize is that robin is carrying a baby for the chidduck family , whose patriarch is a feared crime boss . +moreover , two bodyguards ( nicky katt and taye diggs ) constantly escort her . +these two protectors find an eerie sense of pleasure when being confronted and tested in life and death situations . +they would rather die than fail ; thus their bravado level is equally high . +but it seems that the testosterone levels of parker and longbaugh are a bit higher , and they employ some unusual but fun-to-watch tactics to pull off the kidnapping and to outrun the pursuers in a sort of slow-motion car chase down a series of alleyways . +the next hour or so , we watch the chidduck camp regroup and assess their situation . +during this time , additional plot lines come into play and more and more details are revealed . +because the chidduck's can not go to the police and because of the special circumstances involving the kidnapping , we are introduced to more characters that will help to influence the outcome . +we discover that not everyone in the chidduck camp is loyal to the cause . +as a result , there are undercurrents of a conspiracy , and elements of betrayal and subterfuge . +the sepia-toned atmosphere is made all the more fascinating thanks to a terrific soundtrack which emits velvet forebodings , shrills of intrigue and crescendos that tell us of life and death situations that are about to occur . +the momentum and the coolness of the film , however , begins to fizzle in the last 30 minutes , which featured an overly extended shootout where our two desperados try to make their way off with the ransom money . +you can expect lots of bloodletting and an odd denouement . +in fact , you may admire this film more than you like it . +yet , for the most part , " the way of the gun " stays on target . +it feels cool with its elements of conspiracy and gunplay , and smart for its invective dialogue and tough guy poetry . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv966_28832.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv966_28832.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a75c1724afeffea059bd72886103f8102a4f2fb0 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv966_28832.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +marie ( charlotte rampling , " aberdeen " ) and jean ( bruno cremet , " sorcerer " ) are a comfortable , sixty-ish married couple looking forward to a peaceful vacation at their second home in lit et mix . +on their first , full day , marie sunbathes as jean goes for a swim . +hours later , marie's initiated a full scale search when jean hasn't returned , but no trace of him is found . +marie returns to paris and resumes her life , including chats with jean at the end of each day in francois ozon's " under the sand . " +marie's ex-pat british friend amanda ( alexandra stewart , " frantic " ) and her french husband gerard ( pierre vernier ) try to snap marie out of her denial with a dinner party , where they introduce her to the handsome vincent ( jacques nolot , " nenette et boni " ) , yet marie suggests that gerard accompany her and jean to their gym the next morning . +eventually marie does begin dating vincent , but she discusses him with jean and even smiles at jean , hidden behind a bedroom curtain , when she makes love to vincent . +slowly , though , reality continues to chip away at marie's fantasy life . +her bank advises her that without access to jean's account , she needs to reduce her spending . +one of her university students ( she's reading virginia woolf's " the waves " ) turns out to be one of the young men who participated in the beach search . +then police arrive asking her to identify the clothing of a body they've found washed up from the ocean . +that night , jean's not at home when she returns to their apartment . +her mother-in-law ( andree tainsy ) cruelly +insists that jean simply abandoned her out of boredom . +finally , marie goes to the police , insisting on viewing the body . +horrified ( she's been warned it was +in an advanced state of putrefaction ) , she laughs when handed a bagged watch , insisting that this is not her husband . + " under the sand " is a character study and melancholy portrait of aging ( 'i've lost my youth , ' marie declares ) and loss . +charlotte rampling , given the chance to portray an older , yet still sexual , woman runs with it , bringing us into the mind of the character . +her chemistry with bruno cremet is startlingly natural . +as marie returns from her first date with vincent , she sits on the couch with jean . +'did he kiss you ? ' he asks . +the mood the two create is incredibly intimate and sad . +ozon ( " water drops on burning rocks , " " see the sea " ) , who cowrote the script with emmanuelle bernheim , marcia romano , and marina de van , has turned in a more mature work than his previous , creepy " see the sea . " +while he cleverly never lets us see jean enter the water that fateful day , leaving a number of possibilities - accident ? , suicide ? , escape ? +- open , he definitely tips his hand towards a certain outcome . +cinematography by antoine hiberli and jeanne lapoirie ( " water drops on burning rocks " ) glides around marie ( their 180 shot as she initially searches the ocean's horizon for a sign of jean conveys her panic ) or captures rampling's exotic face in mood divining closeup . +in an inventive fantasy scene , marie imagines jean's hands massaging her feet while in a state of auto-arousal . +his two hands become four , then more combined with her own , becoming almost a one person orgy and recalling roman polanski's " repulsion . " +original music by philippe rombi quietly adds to the overall melancholy . + " under the sand " is a unique portrait of loss . +it would make an fascinating double bill with liv ullmann's " faithless " from earlier this year , another character study of a woman facing loss for different reasons . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv967_5788.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv967_5788.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ea40ecca36b83dec6a4b05ba841ff0abfb93df13 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv967_5788.txt @@ -0,0 +1,47 @@ +is it just me , or have disney films gradually lost their appeal ? +i was almost stunned by the quality of " who framed roger rabbit ? " , a fun , unique look at a world where cartoons and people lived together . + " the little mermaid " harkened back to , and perhaps surpassed , the classic disney animations from the first half of the century . +however , the endless stream of " the little mermaid " wanna-be's is getting to me . +you know the spiel : a lame plot recycled from some well-known story , colorful , almost psychedelic animation , the lead character who learns a valuable moral lesson , the comedic sidekick/sidekicks , the seemingly unattainable love interest , a few catchy songs , a few in-jokes for adults , and the occasional out of place warner-brothers-coyote-fall-off-the-cliff type joke . +it's a formula , and like any formula , it gets tiresome . +that's why i'm delighted to hear that disney recently picked up the international distribution rights to the works of ghibli , a japanese cartoon studio . +from what i've seen of their movies ( " kiki's delivery service " and the already english-dubbed and american- distributed " my neighbor totoro " ) , foreign audiences are in for a treat . +these movies , particularly " kiki's delivery service , " are wonderfully original and entertaining . + " kiki's delivery service " starts with an unusual premise : kiki , upon hearing forecasts of clear skies , decides it is time for her to leave home . +this is unusual because kiki isn't a college student or a young adult making her start on the world , but a thirteen year old girl eager to begin her training as a witch . +her mother is also a witch , and as thirteen is the obligatory age for such training , her parents treat her leaving understandingly and put up only token resistance . +just the idea of a witch heroine may scare away some audiences , but no mention is made of the occult , and the subject is dealt with harmlessly throughout the movie : kiki's mother acts as a village doctor , and kiki is able to do no more than fly on a broom . +kiki must choose a city to move to , and what she chooses is the co-star of the movie : a german seaport town , far removed from the country life she has been used to . +initially lost in the impersonal hugeness of her surrounding , she's discouraged , and unable to support herself though her rudimentary skills as a witch . +on the verge of leaving for a new town , she uses her power of flight to deliver a pacifier to a baby who dropped it . +the favor eventually blossoms into her working as a courier , a one-persons delivery service . +this is where the movie becomes shockingly good . +kiki's job is a catalyst for her realizing the beauty of the city and the world around her . +the townspeople she is put in contact possess an inner worth that doesn't seem forced or artificial , but merely derived from looking at ordinary people in a different light . +they're three- dimensional , impossible to quickly evaluate , possessing of faults , and understandably reserving in kindness towards a strange girl . +however , each one has something about them , some interest or trait , that makes them interesting and unique . +the personal beauty of the citizens is complimented by the beauty of the surroundings : the seaport town genuinely looks impressive , capturing the european charm of a medieval city adapted to the more modern needs of the 1950's . +this beauty is beauty with depth ; for every detail left in , dozens are only hinted at . +i could probably go on all day , but i won't ; suffice it to say that many of these minor details could have been the highlight of the movie . +some of my favorites are kiki's relationship with the baker's husband : although he's quiet , never shown speaking to kiki throughout the movie , and he initially scares her , his kindness wins her friendship . +in the garage of a deliveree's house can be found a vintage model t . two old ladies have a relationship evolving from master-servant to friend-friend . +such details gives the impression that the beauty shown in the movie is only the tip of the iceberg . +added on top of this is a lesson on the importance of self-worth . +kiki initially seems to derive much of her self-worth from the beauty of her surroundings and the people around her , but an encounter with a rude girl crashes down her bewonderment , making her question the importance of such beauty . +this causes kiki to lose faith in herself . +however , kiki comes to realize not only the beauty of her surroundings , but the innate beauty inside her . +seeing kiki regain faith in herself is marvelous , and the principal device used to do it is so sublime that i don't even want to hint at it . +the ending of the movie has a subtle charm combined with a sense of awe and , ironically , the most disney-esque moment i've ever seen ; if you don't hold your breath in wonder you might want to get medical attention . +the movie steers free of many of the disney conventions : there is no violence , however cartoonish , no song-and-dance number , and kiki's pet cat jiji is more a friend than a comedic sidekick , although jiji is given many funny lines and scenes . +however , i would be surprised if disney doesn't give jiji more jokes , or at least the voice of some comedian . +refreshingly enough , the moral lesson of the movie is not self-contradicted , a habit disney movies have gotten into . + " beauty and the beast " 's beautiful belle , for instance , learned that beauty was derived from a person's inside , and was then rewarded by having the beast turn into a handsome prince in snazzy clothing . +kiki , on the other hand , learns to separate her wardrobe from her self-image , and nothing more is made of her early desires for better clothing than illustrating her increased maturity at the end of the film . +another difference with disney movies is in the style of animation for " kiki's delivery service " : not as colorful and dynamic as disney animation can be , but with a greater attention to realism and detail , it fits the movie to a t . this is particularly true with scenes of kiki's flights . +the extreme realism of the birds in flight near kiki is magnificent to behold , and helps these scenes capture the wonder of flight better than any other film i've ever seen . +i'm not sure when or how this movie will be released in the united states . +disney tentatively plans a theater release of " monoko hime " shortly following the summer '97 japanese release , and should start releasing the other ghibli films after that . +i'd guess that some will be released on video and some will be theatrically released in peak seasons with no competing disney release . +although the wait is unfortunate , it's good to know that it's being released at all , for " kiki's delivery service " is definitely a movie worthy of widespread promotion and release . +watch this movie . +along with " man bites dog , " and perhaps something by woody allen , this is the best movie i've ever seen . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv968_24218.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv968_24218.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..67bdb25f564675c5cea4948cae1057e6c90b19e8 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv968_24218.txt @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ +insane ( but inspired ) musical about alferd packer , the first man ever tried for cannibalism in america . +as the story unfolds we learn what events led to packer ( trey parker ) supposedly killing and eating the five men who got lost while accompanying him through the mountains of colorado in search of gold . +throughout , packer must contend with evil trappers bent on stealing his prized horse , a tribe of `ute' indians that doesn't seem quite on the mark , and a terrible winter storm that leads to the eventual cannibalism . +parker obviously knows his musicals very well , because the viewer is also treated to some of the most maddeningly catchy songs to appear in a film ( he would accomplish this again in his post-cannibal ! +musical motion picture , south park : bigger , longer , and uncut ) . +apart from the inherent interest of seeing a pre- " south park " parker and stone in their first effort , cannibal ! +also offers up some pretty decent laughs . +the aforementioned `ute' indian tribe that packer's group encounters is a definite highlight , as are two rousing musical numbers about snowmen ( one of which ends on a comedically deadly note ) . +stone's humphrey character steals the show , especially when complaining about the prospect of having to `eat butt' or revealing what's underneath his muff cap . +jason mchugh's character of mr . miller is the stand out performance though , as he offers a hilarious dissenting voice to the proceedings . +as i mentioned before , parker's songs are very catchy . +you'll be hard pressed to get `it's a shpadoinkle day' out of your head once you've heard it ( incidentally , the braniff logo that appears at the end of every " south park " episode is scored with a few notes from this song ) . +other songs you'll find yourself humming include `when i was on top of you' ( a love ballad ) , `the trapper's song' ( the villains leit motif ) , and `hang the bastard' ( the rousing finale ) . +thankfully , none of these songs are quite as embarrassing to find yourself singing in public as south park : bigger , longer & uncut's songs are . +released as a pick-up through troma studios , the film is available on videocassette and dvd . +the videocassette includes an intro by the beautiful jane jensen and an interview segment with lloyd kaufman , discussing his admiration for parker and stone and the fact that they had been hired for a zucker brothers film ( which turned out to be the hilarious baseketball ) . +there are also multiple trailers for upcoming troma films . +as for the dvd . . . +well , that's a different story . +probably one of the best dvd packages of the year ( and potentially of all time ) , cannibal ! +the musical ! +the dvd is a massive achievement . +presented in 1 . 33 : 1 ( full frame ) only , the disc has the usual troma inclusions : the tour of troma , the troma intelligence test 2 , trailers for upcoming releases , but where the disc truly shines is in its cannibal ! +specific extras . +the first thing i must note is , the transfer is about as beautiful as any i've ever seen on any disc . +the picture is crisp , clear , and free from any noticeable artifacts . +add to that one of the funniest commentary tracks i have ever heard , featuring trey parker , matt stone , jason mchugh , dian bachar , and andy kemler getting drunker and drunker as the track continues and you still haven't scratched the surface of the extras . +there's also behind the scenes footage of the shooting of the film , a clip with trey , matt , and lemmy ( of the band motorhead ) from the film terror firmer , an index for easy location of all of the songs in the film , and finally , an index of all the songs as performed by the cast of a stage production of cannibal ! . +it's good to see this film finally get the treatment it deserves . +kudos to the entire production staff at troma and aix for making one of the most entertaining dvds i have seen in a very long time . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv969_13250.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv969_13250.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..71e5ad3707f6f8df473ee56ab48543a60b524b43 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv969_13250.txt @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ +allen , star of many a brian depalma movie in the early eighties , has a brief , throwaway part towards the end of " out of sight , " as the maid of a crooked financier . +in keeping with her past performances , allen wears little more than a green velvet victoria's secret ensemble which begs the question , did they really need a costume designer for this ? + " out of sight " is not likely to secure ms . allen the kind of plaudits bestowed upon pam grier , who likewise returned from out of obscurity to appear in another recent elmore leonard adaptation , " jackie brown , " but it is intriguing to see her name kicking off the " also starring " credits given her limited screen time . +the real stars of " out of sight " are george clooney ( " batman & robin " by way of " e . r . " ) and jennifer lopez ( " selena " ) , whose winning chemistry , coupled with steven soderbergh's freeze-frame directorial technique , help the film retain the charismatic charm of leonard's original work . +with the success of " get shorty " three years ago , filmmakers have realized that adapting an elmore leonard novel can be an easier proposition than trying to dream up a storyline from scratch . +in " out of sight , " clooney stars as jack foley , a career criminal who specializes in unarmed robbery--he just waltzes into banks and politely makes a withdrawal , claiming that his " partner " ( just another customer it so happens ) will shoot the manager if the teller doesn't comply . +for all of jack's nice-guy charm though , he's not very lucky . +his latest scam lands him in florida's glades correctional facility . +federal marshal karen sisco ( lopez ) coincidentally arrives at the prison just as jack and his buddy ( ving rhames , typically appealing ) are breaking out . +there's a brief struggle and jack bundles himself and karen into the trunk of the getaway car . +it's in these cramped confines , pressed intimately together , that jack and karen start falling for one another . +the mutual attraction continues as the couple on opposite sides of the law slip in and out of one another's grasp . +karen follows jack to detroit , where he's about to pull off another heist , this time a cache of uncut diamonds from incarcerated businessman richard ripley ( played by a toupee-sporting albert brooks , almost unrecognizable in the prison scenes ) . +it's during this final caper-gone-awry that allen makes her scant appearance . +clooney's range as an actor is limited , but he has undeniable charm . +lopez , too , is easy on the eyes , but she demonstrates more depth in her portrayal of karen , a tough yet tender professional . +she dispenses with hit men as easily as she out-maneuvers sleazy pick-up artists in a bar . +especially cute is a sequence in which karen fantasizes about jack in a motel bathtub . +admirably supporting clooney and lopez are don cheadle as fellow felon maurice 'snoopy' miller , steve zahn as the perennially stoned glenn michaels , and dennis farina as karen's dad , who affectionately buys her a piece . +add a couple of uncredited cameos from " jackie brown " cast members and " out of sight " proves to be a lot of fun . +not as hip and clever as " shorty , " perhaps , or as complex and colorful as " brown , " but loads of fun nonetheless . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv970_18450.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv970_18450.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..28be8a34c8d308631198f5f36c2c06f287168c7b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv970_18450.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +synopsis : in phantom menace the galaxy is divided into power groups whose interests will inevitably collide in later sequels . +there is an overarching galactic united nations-type organization called the senate presided by a weak chancellor . +within the senate two camps are at odds : a bickering , isolationist alliance called the republic and their aggressive rival the trade federation . +preserving law and order are a council of jedi knights who are meanwhile searching for a prophesied chosen one of virgin birth . +manipulating events behind the scenes is a dangerous , reemerging clan called the dark lords of sith , so shadowy and secretive that they comprise a " phantom " menace . +jedi knight qui-gon jinn ( liam neeson ) and his apprentice obi-wan kenobi ( ewan mcgregor ) witness an invasion of teenage queen amidala's home planet naboo and befriend a gungan named jar jar ( ahmed best ) . +on the desert planet of tatooine the two jedi , jar jar , and amidala ( natalie portman ) attend a lengthy drag race involving the young boy anakin skywalker ( jake lloyd ) . +the five protagonists try to solicit help for freeing naboo by visiting the city planet of coruscant where a lot of debate and political maneuvering takes place . +can they free amidala's helpless planet ? +opinion : on tv last night i watched young , wannabe celebs pay $400 a ticket and come running out of theaters to bask in front of news cameras , gushing with testimonials of the phantom menace's greatness in exchange for a few seconds of being on national television . +given this kind of media mania i wondered if phantom menace , the most anticipated movie of 1999 , could possibly live up to the extraordinary hype that preceded it . +does phantom menace match the exaggerated hype ? +director george lucas answers , " it's only a movie . " +to me , any movie with russian-sounding accents for bad guys , jamaican accents for good guys , and middle eastern-sounding accents for seedy gamblers accents can be expected to be more tongue in cheek than profound . +visually , star wars : episode i --the phantom menace ( 1999 ) is a kid show where parents can take their young ones to marvel at child-friendly cgi characters and wondrous backdrops even if the character dialogue ( mostly geopolitics ) is beyond the level of children . +it is left to parents to patiently explain the conversation : droid origins , family lineage , the definitions of terms like blockade , appeasement , federation , alliance , symbiosis , satellite-controlled robots et cetera . +at least this much is clear : there's plenty of eye candy , and in the last few minutes it's good guys and joe camel lookalikes versus a caped , horned red devil character and his mechanical hordes . +weaknesses : weaknesses lie in the writing and in the performance . +at first it seems like the film is to be an invasion story , but then phantom takes an hour-long detour to cover one chariot race before returning to the invasion theme . +this dilutes the central story . +additionally , smaller scenes seem written self consciously , as if they were added more to fill us in on extraneous background information for other movies rather than form an integral part of the present movie . +veteran actors liam neeson and ewan mcgregor noticeably outperform the other acting leads . +better ensemble chemistry between the five leads and background information that is central to a tight story line could have made have given phantom stronger performances and storytelling punch . +strengths : on the bright side phantom menace as a big-budget production is far ahead of the competition in terms of making whimsical creatures , worlds and vehicles appear real . +the film boasts sophisticated , top-of-the-line visuals and quality exotic costumes , a musical score entertaining enough to stand alone , and three worthwhile sequences in the second half . +bottom line ? +seeing the film is entertaining and informative , like a visual theme park with star wars filler information serving as dialogue between impressive money shots . +we are bound to be completely inundated by star wars publicity , music and tie-ins for the next few months . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv971_10874.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv971_10874.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1083b82de08e913c94c932fb41791cd0dc95ba5c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv971_10874.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +at one point during brian de palma's crime epic scarface , the radiant michelle pfeiffer turns to a ranting al pacino and pops a question that the audience has no doubt been wanting to ask for themselves : " can't you stop saying 'fuck' all the time ? " +fucking good question , that . +it may not be an honour that instills the filmmakers with pride , but as far as i can tell oliver stone's script contains the said expletitive more times than any other film in cinema history . +yet it would be a shame if bad language is all de palma's scarface is remembered for , because this is a damn fine gangstar flick . +the overall structure is similar to howard hawks' 1932 original , but this time the scene has switched to miami , florida and our anti-hero's chosen vice is cocaine traffiking . +pacino , sporting a thick cuban accent , gives one the best performances of his career ( golden globe nominated ) as tony montana , a cuban refugee with a criminal past who flees castro and comes to america to live the american dream . +and live it out he does , with lashings of violence , abuse , murder and the funny white powder . +from his earliest jobs as a drug runner for various middlemen , tony montana makes it clear to everyone he meets that he's not a man to be fucked ( sorry ) . +soon he's the king of the cocaine heap , but his hot head and an increasingly out of control drug addiction prove his undoing . + " never do your own stash " , warns one character early in the film . +as sure as night follows day , the emperor of miami eventually falls . +writer oliver stone and director brian de palma make an explosive combination here . +stone's script offers solid storytelling and some fine character development . +montana is fascinating ; uneducated but calculating , a straight shooter who speaks from the heart ; an ambitious , violent man yet one with a conscience . +a man fiercely protective of his beautiful 20 year old sister , not wanting her to be sucked into the glitzy , dangerous world which he inhabits . +pacino is dynamite , taking to the role with a brooding , bristling energy which in his more recent films has often degenerated into just simple overracting . +pfeiffer also registers strongly as the gangstar mole with no inner life . +only once does tony express real affection for her and his desire to have children , and even then you sense all he really wants is a regular screw and a beautiful object to show off to his friends , and she's happy to oblige . +this isn't as meaty a role for pfieffer as sharon stone's was in casino , but its an effective one nonetheless and she aquits herself well . +as director , de palma sets up a number of dramatic scenes with his typical stylistic brauva . +the escalating tension he creates in various mob situations - a drug deal gone wrong , an assination attempt - is often thrilling , and in this respect he is every bit the equal of scorese and coppola . +where he differs from , say , coppola's godfather trilogy is in his overall treatment . +coppola gives his crime sagas an operatic sweep , whereas in scarface de palma opts for a grittier feel . +and it perfectly suits the material . +the only major botch is giorgio moroder's mostly crap synthesier score . +it's just not right , and unfortunately compromises the impact of some otherwise good scenes . +as expected , scarface is very violent at times , but you shouldn't be watching gangster movies if that upsets you . +at over two and a half hours in length it's a true epic , and if you're a fan of the genre you'll love f * * k-filled minute of it . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv973_10066.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv973_10066.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a3c7813fb7a62ab7f0704171b04e78a715182a95 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv973_10066.txt @@ -0,0 +1,57 @@ +i like movies with albert brooks , and i really like movies directed and written by albert brooks . +lost in america and defending your life are two of my favorite comedies . +his humor is of a kind that is not very prevalent in movies today , inundated as we are with films which revel in their aim toward the lowest common denominator . +you will rarely see any slapstick in an albert brooks film , while the dialog will not be as oppressive as in some of the independent " talk films " which are finding their way into theaters . +the situations in which his characters find themselves are ones we can often identify with , but even if we can't , brooks has the talent to make them comfortable , and therefore we laugh . +teenagers and jim carrey fans probably won't find an albert brooks movie very funny , but people who look for more than what we could find on television probably will . +put simply , brooks' comedy is intelligent . +mother is albert brooks' latest film , and it does not disappoint . +brooks plays john henderson , a middle-aged science fiction writer just coming off his second divorce . +he makes an attempt at dating , but fails miserably . +he then has dinner with his brother jeff ( rob morrow ) , a successful sports agent who seems to live the ideal life . +jeff has a good job , a loving family , and most of all , a warm relationship with their mother beatrice ( debbie reynolds ) . +after dinner , john witnesses a telephone conversation between jeff and beatrice , and is at the same time amazed and sickened by how hunky-dory the dialog is . +in comparison , beatrice always hints at a fault in john and his career every time she talks with him , and john gives it right back to her . +at the end of one of their conversations where beatrice has just picked apart john's life , she says , " i love you , " and john replies with , " i know you think you do . " +the thing is , beatrice is not overt with her criticisms , but instead gives them in that mothering way which is tantamount to nit-picking and guilt loading . +it's the kind that goes something like , " yes , dear , i think you do that wonderfully , but . . . . " +it seems as though nothing he does makes her happy . +there's always the big but . +john believes that his mother is somehow connected to his failed relationships with women , either because of his flawed self-esteem caused by his need for validation , or perhaps because he tends to unconsciously seek out women who remind him of his mother in an oedipal manner . +he comes to the conclusion that since his problems are rooted in his boyhood home , he should move back in with his mother for a while just to see what kinds of feelings come out , and by that be able to sort out why his life is the way it is . + " a great experiment " , he calls it . +brooks' own brand of humor really shines in this film , especially in the interaction john has with his mother . +there's a scene where john has just arrived at his mother's house , and after having driven from los angeles to sausalito , and having explained to his mother about the " great experiment " , beatrice asks , " now explain to me again why you don't want to stay at a hotel . " +she still doesn't get it , and it is absolutely hilarious . +in the same scene , we get little glances at the life his mother leads when she tries to feed him food that is no longer fresh . +she apparently buys in great quantities and refrigerates it until the lettuce is wilted and the sherbet is iced over . +when john points out the ice on the sherbet , beatrice tells him not to worry about the protective glaze . + " you've named the ice ? " +asks john . +he's also surprised at the variety of items beatrice keeps in the refrigerator , such as a twenty-pound block of cheese . + " the freezer was a good invention , " says john , " but it's not supposed to be used for everything . +that's why it's smaller than the refrigerator . " +it's something most of us find strangely familiar . +brooks is also a master at employing the non sequitur . +for example , in defending your life , his and meryl streep's characters are in a comedy club having a discussion . +when they're finished and walk out , brooks cuts to the comic on stage who is just at the point of delivering his punch line , " and so the moral is , if you have to fart , go outside ! " +you don't know what the joke was because you couldn't hear him during the entire scene , but i must have laughed for the next five minutes , it seemed so out of context . +in this film , brooks uses the same trick a couple of times to open or close a scene . +i don't want to give them away , but suffice it to say they work just as well as they have in the past . +john's purpose for staying with his mother is to learn , and we as the audience learn right along with him . +his mother is not the fascinating type to begin with , but as john spends more time with her , we learn things about her personality and her lifestyle that give her depth . +watching the character of beatrice unfold is every bit as enjoyable as the humor that accompanies it each step of the way . +on screen , brooks does an excellent job playing this kind of character : you get the feeling he often believes he is the only sane person in an insane world . +in a way , he's very much like yosarian of catch-22 , expect with something of an attitude . +casting debbie reynolds as beatrice is perfect . +she assumes the part with ease , even moving and speaking a little slowly , and is just so adorable it's hard to get mad at her character . +this only helps the audience to share the frustration john feels when dealing with her . +as his first choice , brooks originally wanted to lure nancy reagan out from her acting retirement to play beatrice , but the former actress and first lady could not leave her husband , who was beginning to show symptoms of alzheimer's disease . +that may be just as well , since reynolds lends a softness to the character which enhances it immensely . +rob morrow also does a good job at playing the younger brother who has always been mother's favorite and , for all his success in his job and family , is slowly exposed as a mama's boy . +the only things that hold this movie back from being better are a couple of plot holes . +a solid connection is not really made between john's troubles and his reasons for living with his mother . +additionally , the end results of the experiment do not necessarily jibe with the stated goals , and although this may have been sloppy screenwriting , how can you be mad at the guy who also wrote this ? : +beatrice : you must think i'm some kind of moron . +john : no , i think your someone who thinks i'm a moron . +beatrice : well , it takes one to know one . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv974_22941.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv974_22941.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..475cf4f3a3f0884174c3caddcf535ac11af74795 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv974_22941.txt @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ + ( note : there are spoilers regarding the film's climax ; the election , of course ) +we see matthew broderick , a man torn to a primal state ; he's been unfaithful to his wife , lied to and manipulated his students , and by the same token they've demeaned his masculinity , his self-respect , his desperate attempt at changing the world . +and yet , he equates the cause of his pain , his torment , with tracy flick ( reese witherspoon ) . +no matter how many students have come and gone , and disappointed him as an educator , she's the real threat . +about to give in , and divulge that she's won by only a lone vote , broderick's mccalister turns in defeat , sees tracy's euphoric celebration in the outside corridor and says , 'no' . +the fact that he simultaneously lusts after her ideologically further illustrates that freudian foundation of entitlement which all men , no matter how obscure , have in their relationships ; a traditional expectation of success , to usurp and surpass women as a proverbial industry . +she can't go higher than him . +he won't allow it . +and what's amazing about " election " is that every word of that criticism is drawn from a rather opaque metaphor . +early in the film we learn that tracy was romantically , and then sexually , involved with a now departed teacher . +it's like payne and taylor , his co-screenwriter , have taken tracy , a girl desperate for friendship , loyalty , and almost perversely drawn the mythological pattern of kids who were so utterly rejected by their peers , that they found sitting at the teachers' lunch table more fitting , to an unlikely extreme with her as the protagonist . +and it's amazing the compassion that we have ; it seems so real to us , and not merely because it's happened before , splashed all over the front pages , but , because of the all around " nice " persona of these people , we easily dismiss the truly wayward deeds of the characters . +it's with mandy barnett's " if you'll be the teacher " playing winsomely over the closing credits that payne skewers the tenets of his detractors most ; a final , viscous injection of bittersweet irony . +sexuality , though , is not the only basis for payne's satire , or its success . +it also makes a telling point about politics , friendship , and class boundaries . +satire is required ( or ought to be , anyway ) to take itself seriously , or act so , while the audience does not . +it's a fine line to straddle , but some films ignore it altogether ( " drop dead gorgeous " leaps infuriatingly to mind ) . +payne and taylor hit the right chord ; their characters are real people : neither is perfect , but rather both of the leads are flawed , misguided individuals who retain , somewhat , noble intentions at heart . +we sympathize with them , but still , as a satire , their idiosyncratic behavior , and their wrongdoing , is taken to an extreme for the audience to knowingly chuckle , but also reflect and meditate , about . +minus half a point , though , for payne admitting not to having seen " ferris bueller's day off " . +whatever . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv977_4938.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv977_4938.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..38e4fdcab1cee75c1ec708298fdc6b6c36a6a1c6 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv977_4938.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +richard gere is not one of my favorite actors . +however , i like courtroom dramas , and this film looked good enough to take a chance on . +i wasn't disappointed . +it wasn't a great film , but it was interesting , and took several unexpected turns . +one thing : what's with the title ? +not only is it extremely forgettable , it doesn't really have much to do with the film , as far as i could determine . +in the long run , it will probably hurt the film , as people won't be able to think of or remember it . +martin vail ( richard gere ) is a grandiose defense attorney . +he loves the money and the fame that go along with defending ( successfully ) rich scum , such as mafia men and drug-dealers . +once he sees that the accused killer of a prominent chicago archbishop is a baby-faced alter boy , he wants in on the case , presumably for the press he'll get . +we soon find out that the prosecutor assigned is a former lover , janet venable ( laura linney ) . +vail himself is a former prosecutor , and quit because of tensions between himself and the district attorney , played very well by john mahoney ( frasier's father on the tv series ) . +there is an underlying theme of dichotomy in the movie : people have public faces , and private faces . +we see this in the murdered archbishop , in the accused , and , most strongly , defense attorney martin vail . +richard gere does a fairly good job . +at first , he appears to be a money- and attention-grabbing lawyer , with no consideration of the truth . +but we see another side , as he becomes a seeker of justice , and comes to believe in his client . +alfre woodard , as the judge , is capable , though somewhat wasted in a standard role . +laura linney also does journeyman work ; nothing spectacular , but acceptable . +her relationship with vail is believable ; their verbal fencing adds to the film . +the actor who playes vail's investigator ( unfortunately , i don't remember his name ) is quite good . +his female assistant ( she looked very familiar , but i can't remember where i've seen her ) was also capable , but unspectacular . +the best performance in the film was by edward norton . +he was excellent , as the timid altar-boy turned alleged " butcher boy of st . mike's " . +i was impressed by the depth of the plot ; there are red-herrings , and dead-ends , that in a lesser film would lead to a predictable ending . +i liked the plot twists the film took , and most of the supporting characters , thus i give primal fear a respectable b+ rating . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv978_20929.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv978_20929.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..501825eec637b8004047e65657a25736262e1fb4 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv978_20929.txt @@ -0,0 +1,44 @@ + " when you get out of jail , you can kill him . " +starring ashley judd , tommy lee jones , bruce greenwood . +rated r . +double jeopardy is a lurid , prepostrous thriller that's also one of the year's most enjoyable . +it's an uncompromisingly brutal , cheerfully anarchic , hyperactive actioner that has a mission and never diverts from it . +there is not a moment here when the events on screen don't have a direct bearing on the plot ; once the film gets going it never stops . +it has been branded as the female version of the fugitive and that's probably a correct assessment of the plot , but the film itself has little in common with the 1993 andrew davis/harrison ford collaboration besides the presence of star tommy lee jones . +not even bothering with character introduction , director bruce beresford floors the gas pedal from the get-go and never finds the brake . +we meet , rather hastily , libby and nick parsons ( ashley judd and bruce greenwood , respectively ) a seemingly happy married couple , with a son matty , age 4 . they go out on a sailboat one night , and after a period of some rockin' sex , they go to sleep . +libby hears a strange noise , wakes up and discovers that she is covered with blood . +she follows a red trail to the upper deck , where she finds a knife and , out of astonishment , picks it up . +at that convenient moment , the coast guard shows up and libby is arrested . +her lawyer , a friend , puts up a defense in court , but though we know she is innocent , the evidence against her is too compelling . +her friend adopts her son and she goes to prison . +once in prison , she makes a phone call to her friend . +her friend gives her son the phone . +nick walks in the room . +little matty screams " daddy ! " +the phone goes dead . +libby realizes that the man she is imprisoned for killing isn't even dead . +she gets some advice from a prisoner/former lawyer , who tells her that since the state already convicted her of killing her husband , they can't convict her of the same crime again , meaning that when she gets paroled she can kill him and they can't touch her . +after a weirdly short amount of time , she gets out of parole . +she is sent to live at a house with other recent parolees , under the command of parole officer travis lehman ( tommy lee jones ) . +she sets out on a mission to find her husband and get her son back , which turns out to be much more difficult than anticipated . +she winds up tracking him all the way to new orleans where she finds out that he has long killed his girlfriend and her son's " adopter " . +double jeopardy is based on an assumption that is legally false . +the law stating that nobody can be convicted twice for the same crime assumes that it is the same crime : same time , same place , same circumstances . +it's not like it matters . +this is a rollickingly good thriller ; intense , exciting , fast and furious . +it's silly alright , but this is the kind of film you just don't question . +in some films , plausibility is everything . +double jeopardy , however , is not concerned with making sense : its sole purpose is to entertain , and it does . +judd helps the film tremendously in a difficult role . +this is her breakout box-office performance , and she is terrific . +she brings some emotion to what could have been a one-dimensional role , giving the movie a little soul to go along with its effective chase scenes and action set pieces . +tommy lee jones basically just reprises the role for which he won an oscar in the fugitive , but the movie makes good use of his stone-faced wit . +thankfully , too , double jeopardy refrains from developing a romance between libby and travis ; a subplot which doubtlessly would have interfered with the film's story . +this is one of those movies where cops are the bad guys , and i took a sort of sick pleasure in that . +the sheer anarchy of the proceedings was nothing short of wonderful , as ashley judd kicks the crap out of every authority figure in the book . +after all the idealistic hollywood features featuring hero cops , deft fbi agents and the virtues of the american legal system , it's great to see a movie that doesn't so much demonstrate their fallacy as it delights in their failure . +double jeopardy is really good , but it isn't the kind of good that is remembered or recognized with awards . +it's one of those movies better viewed with the brain turned off , otherwise , your brain will be busy ruining your experience . +this is a thriller that isn't concerned with being smart or plausible . +instead it diverts all attention to the action , which , this year , is second to none . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv979_18921.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv979_18921.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8678efc10cd60f994c1387d502571021beb0603c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv979_18921.txt @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +let's say you live at the end of an airport runway . +large jetliners continuously pass over your house , rattling your windows and allowing few moments of peace . +let's say the ground beneath your feet is also contaminated with toxic substances , and high voltage power lines run across steel towers only yards from your home . +now let's say an airport conglomerate wants to buy your property in order to lengthen the runway , and offers you more than it's worth . +wouldn't you jump in the air and have your bags packed before you landed ? +of course you would . +but what if this bit of land was your idea of paradise , and the house your castle ? +that's what they are to darryl kerrigan ( michael caton ) , and although he's happy that a multi-national corporation would like to buy his home , sorry , it's not for sale . +unfortunately , the corporation wields quite a bit of influence over the australian government , which serves darryl and his family with what amounts to an eviction notice . +not about to take this lying down , darryl enlists the help of his inept attorney friend dennis denuto ( tiriel mora ) and makes a determined , albeit pathetic , attempt to fight back . +the castle , an australian comedy by rob sitch , is perhaps one of the simplest movies i've seen in recent memory , yet also one of the funniest . +in fact , it is this film's reliance on simplicity which makes it so successful . +the good guys and the bad guys are clear , the humor is straightforward , and the storyline is as uncomplicated as it gets . +it's the perfect setup for a relaxing , hilarious good time , and as much as i hate to admit it , i liked the fact that i didn't have to think all that much while watching this film . +i just sat back and enjoyed myself . +the situation is one we've seen before : regular joe fights back against the government , or big business , or whatever . +what makes this film different is its characters . +darryl thinks he's got the best life in the world - he tells his family that living next to power lines is a constant reminder of the success of mankind , he asks who would ever want to go out and eat in a fancy restaurant when he's got the meat loaf feast prepared by his wife sal ( anne tenny ) , and he swells with pride when his son dale ( stephen curry ) digs a hole in the yard . +steve kerrigan ( anthony simcoe ) constantly combs the buy and sell ads looking for " investments " like jousting sticks and overhead projectors , while wayne kerrigan is in jail , as a result of dennis denuto's incompetent courtroom maneuvers . +the great thing about the kerrigans is that they aren't so stupid that they get annoying . +they're just a group of simpletons whose naive nature is perfectly harmless and even endearing . +we look upon them with a little bit of pity , but a whole lot of affection . +screenwriters sitch , santo cilauro , tom gleisner , and jane kennedy pit this lovable bunch of unlikely crusaders against a stoic court system and a condescending business conglomerate , further polarizing the extremes and deepening our feelings for the kerrigans . +sympathy for their situation , the laughter they bring us , and the family's wonderful characterization , simple as it may be , leaves us with a degree of emotional investment that causes us to actually care about what happens to them . +i suppose one might wonder how deep characterization can go when your characters are as inane as the kerrigans , but trust me , it works . +i particularly noted that the writers did not have to use slapstick in order to get laughs . +don't get me wrong - slapstick , when executed well , can be genius . +it's just that too often , a film will resort to it's use as a shortcut to amusing the audience , not always successfully . +instead , the jokes in the castle are all hinged upon the dialog uttered by these people who have no idea that they are totally skewed to the rest of the world . +when they are by themselves , the are funny , and when they are with normal people , they are hilarious . +one of the few problems i saw with this film was a detour taken about midway though . +the kerrigans go out to a vacation spot for seemingly no reason other than to pack in a few more jokes and increase the film's running time . +luckily , it's a funny little detour that , while slightly distracting from the film's main drive , is still quite enjoyable . +with all the levity abound in the castle , the film still manages to take on a pretty heavy concept , that of the innate right of a citizen to keep his property , an issue which has been bandied about in courts across the civilized world with differing outcomes . +i'm not certain the courtroom monologue near the end of the film would actually hold up in real life , but it brings to the forefront the essence of the constitution ( of australia ) and certainly sounds impressive at any rate . +and , for that matter , it's more than i would have expected out of a light hearted film like this . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv980_10953.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv980_10953.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ed7c1fd95d1869ad9cef5a49625424e5cff924ba --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv980_10953.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +in this good natured , pleasent and easy going comedy , bill murray ( ghostbusters , 1984 ) plays grumpy weatherman phil conners , who , every year , is sent to punxsutawney , p . a , to report on groundhog day . +the groundhog day ceremony involves a groundhog being lifted out of a box , and if he dosen't see a shadow , it will be an early spring . +phil really hates the ceremony , and not even his producer rita ( macdowell ) can change his mind . +however , fate has a cruel trick for phil , and he starts re-living groundhog day over , and over , and over , until he gradually likes it , and rita falls in love with him . +groundhog day is a well written , totatly unoffensive and funny comedy . +the screenwriters , director ramis and danny rubin , have written a funny , warm , but never overly senitmental comedy . +although the idea of a day repeating over and over may sound tedious , there are enough good jokes to hold the audiences attention throughout the whole film . +ramis's direction also helps , and although he dosen't try any flash director tricks , the film is directed well enough , and the jokes are set up well . +and the editing is also good , especially when it shows one part of the day over , and over again , such as when phil tries to have the perfect night with rita . +the performances are also excellent . +bill murray is great fun , and his transistion from cynical to happy is smooth , and delivers his lines in his usual smary style . +andie macdowell is good as rita , although sometimes she is just a little bit too sweet in some parts of the film . +there is chemistry between the two leads , thankfully , otherwise the whole film would probably fall part . +chris elliot , as the cameraman larry , is also funny , although you have to like his goofy style , otherwise you are really going to hate him throughout this film , and it will lower your enjoyment of the film overall . +the supporting cast aren't bad either , with stephen tobolowsky hillarous as phils old school mate ned ryanson , and even director ramis popping up as a neurologist . +in fact , there is not one dud performance in this film , and even the groundhog gets a funny scene involving a car chase . +overall , there is really nothing wrong with groundhog day at all . +it almost seems perfect . +however , the film can get a bit soppy sometimes , and some people may get irritated by the day repeating over , and over , and over , and over . +also , there's not much of an music score , and the music there is is pretty bad . +but these criticisms hardly affect the audiences enjoyment at all . +overall , then , groundhog day is a funny , smart , and also has some room in there for some heart . +an excellent comedy . +overall rating= ( diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv981_14989.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv981_14989.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f3232d91e91f71ba835304e409a8d5b64631b42a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv981_14989.txt @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ + " no man is an island , " one character quotes john donne in apt pupil , effectively summarizing the movie's themes . +while hardly a great film , singer's ambitious adaptation of king's short story * is challenging nonetheless ; perhaps the most shocking aspect of this inclement psychological thriller is that a major studio got behind it . +apt pupil is a bleak picture destined to be misunderstood by the masses . +1984 . wonder-bred high school honours student todd bowden ( renfro ) conducts his own extracurricular investigation of kurt dussander , a nazi war criminal who fearfully fled berlin in the 1960s and was never heard from again . +bowden suspects arthur denker ( mckellan ) , the lonely german senior citizen who lives nearby , is actually a pseudonymous dussander-much research and dusting for fingerprints proves young todd's theory . +bowden strikes a deal with dussander : in exchange for not revealing his identity , dussander must satisfy bowden's intense curiosity by recounting the atrocities of the holocaust from the nazi point of view . +the stories he hears keep todd up at night and haunt his daydreams , but like a bystander at a traffic accident , todd's desire for gory details overrides his repulsion . +bowden revives in dussander feelings dormant since the end of wwii . +marching in a mock uniform around his kitchen is wholly cathartic for dussander : it leads to his torture of a cat and the torment of his " student " , among other things . +bowden , who has taken on very hateful qualities ( he kills birds and doodles swastikas on his notebook ) , engages the veteran in an endless game of one-upmanship . +dussander stands to lose his freedom , and bowden his credibility-in effect , his post-secondary school future . +all of this winds down to a fairly unpredictable ( and unsettling ) conclusion , one which requires leaps of faith from its audience yet is more satisfying than the source material's excessive climax . +singer has yet to get keyser s ? ze out of his system . +his the usual suspects and apt pupil are both about evil masquerading as innocence ( verbal's tics and todd's golden-boy reputation are plausible ruses ) ; they showcase morally bankrupt anti-heroes to whom telling the truth is not an option if they are to achieve their goals . +apt pupil is a richer film than the usual suspects , a movie famous and popular partly because its plot machinations were not germane to the outcome-there was no way you could see the ending coming , as it was all a hoodwink , anyway . +thankfully , singer has gotten most of the usual suspects' film-schoolish geek theatrics out of his system . +some scenes in apt pupil feel overdirected and/or obvious ( the dream sequences were extraneous ) , but the majority of the film is subdued-and singer's handling of the violent scenes is boldly restrained for a film about a murderer and a murderer-in-training . +mckellan's and renfro's performances contribute enormously to the overall success of the film ; while most people will focus on british stage vet mckellan's finely-tuned realization , i'd like to single out renfro's daring work . +he isn't afraid to play someone largely unappealing and cold-hearted ; he strips his character of vanity , something many of his peers wouldn't do . + ( can you picture kieran culkin or jonathan taylor-thomas in the same role ? ) +renfro was recently charged with possession of cocaine-i hope he doesn't continue down that path , because he has a big future in good movies waiting for him . +as guidance counsellor edward french , " friend " schwimmer also deserves mention . +he wants to be the parent to todd that todd's own well-to-do folks are not ( todd , like most modern kids-and only-children-has mom and dad wrapped around his pinky finger ) , and his sincerity makes the apt pupil's blackening-heart even more apparent . +but one of the film's ultimate questions , are we born evil or do we learn evil ? , might be answered in french , whose motives are the slightest bit ambiguous . +no man is an island , indeed-we all have the capacity to make the " right " or the " wrong " choices . +schwimmer winningly plays one of a trio of fascinating characters who make the unconventional apt pupil laudible . +-october , 1998 + * the excellent collection king's stories called different seasons spawned not only apt pupil , but the shawshank redemption ( originally titled rita hayworth and the shawshank redemption ) and stand by me ( originally titled the body ) . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv982_21103.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv982_21103.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a2a2b5e42b7658f366b2dfe78d8ecc1fac200899 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv982_21103.txt @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +i rented this movie with very high hopes . +this movie got praise as one of the best films of 1998 , and unfortunately , was not as good as i hoped , but was still very intriguing and thought provoking . +first of all , the casting for this film is great . +tobey maguire and reese witherspoon are the future of hollywood . +they play their roles as the parker brother and sister perfectly . +with a plot as unbelievable as this film , you need chemistry and honest acting from your cast . +tobey and reese ( bud and mary sue parker ) play their roles perfectly and display their characters with honesty and believability . +william h . macy , an actor i have grown to love over the past year , turns in another great performance as the tv dad who is torn over his wife , a " colored " person and his friends , the " non-colored " ones . +he also displays believability and must display a certain lack of chemistry with his wife . +he does this perfectly and yet again shows why he should be one of the top actors in hollywood . +joan allen is equally great as betty parker , the ideal tv mom . +her character is the most ambitious . +she is very na ? ve , and must display this well to make her character believable and she does just that . +her lack of chemistry with macy , which the role calls for , and her developed chemistry with jeff daniels is terrific , and if daniels would have been as stellar as the rest of the cast , then this film would even been even better . +as said before , jeff daniels gives a bad performance . +his character displays the change going on throughout the town , yet he does not display it with enough conviction . +his character is very confusing and he is not very believable . +this film could have been elevated to a whole new level had daniels been able to give a better performance . +the movie is very provocative . +it challenges the issues of racism that existed in the past and that still exist today . +i really was not expecting all of the elements they brought up , but they pulled them off with such flair that it was mind blowing . +they demonstrate the racism issue without a hitch , but do it in a slow pace . +the only major flaw in the film besides the performance by daniels is length . +some films are not meant to be that long . +pleasantville is one of those films . +this film could have been so much better had they not moved so slowly to it . +first , they are amazed by the implementation of color . +then they want to have it . +then they do not want to . +then the war ensues between the colored and non-colored . +this is all strung out over two hours , which was way too long . +some movies need a lot of time . +saving private ryan was a little bit under three hours long and i thought it could have used more time . +this film is only two hours long , and seems much longer . +length is everything in films . +if you can nail down the perfect timing and pace , you can win half the battle . +pleasantville can move at a good pace at times , but it is not consistent enough . +overall , pleasantville is a very pleasant and provocative departure from the predictability of most films these days . +i went in expecting a light-hearted film about change . +i left learning an important lesson about racism and the way things change . +luckily , pleasantville teaches this lesson in such a way to make it appeal to all audiences . +only if it could have done in a shorter amount of time . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv983_22928.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv983_22928.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3638407d1c8b7eb9df55c1f5737ff7afc9a92aa8 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv983_22928.txt @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +few films in 1999 have divided the critical consensus as sharply as alan parker's adaptation of frank mccourt's memoir angela's ashes . +many dismissed it as an humorless , sentimentalized , uninteresting version of the hugely popular novel ; others hailed it as a heartfelt , sincere portrait of the human spirit . +i'm somewhere in between , leaning strongly towards the latter . +it's certainly well-made and it never becomes tedious like some literary adaptations have a tendency to be . +but i have a feeling that parker filled the movie with pseudo-lyrical shots of rain falling on the homely streets of ireland just so it can have the two-and-a-half hour running time that screams " i'm important ! " +mccourt's book of the same name was about him and his family moving from the us to ireland in the early 1900's , a time when most people were desperately trying to get into the us . +as he comments , " we were the only irishfolk to say goodbye to the statue of liberty . " +in ireland , frank ( played by joe breen as a small child ) , his 3 brothers , his mother angela ( emily watson ) and his father malachy ( robert carlyle ) get financial help from angela's mother , a stereotypically strict catholic who chides her daughter for marrying a northern irishman . +she helps them get a rat-infested apartment and malachy goes looking for a job . +positions are scarce and when he does finally find one , he is unable to hold on to it because of his fondness for drinking . +meanwhile , frank goes to an uptight catholic school , where the instructors beat students with blunt wooden objects as often as their heart desires . +two of frank's brothers soon die , crippled by the dreadful living conditions and malnutrition . +as if the poverty and the suffering weren't intense enough as it stood , malachy and angela have another baby , worsening the situation further . +i imagine this doesn't sound like much of a plot . +that's probably because it isn't one . +these are people . +this is their story . +director alan parker ( the commitments ) knows how to tell a good story and angela's ashes , despite its relentlessly literary tone remains interesting . +though the film occasionally indulges too much in its gloomily picturesque irish setting , it avoids looking like a glorified travelogue . +supplementing parker's able direction are the engaging , often poignant performances of the leads , some of them seasoned thespians , others relative beginners . +carlyle , the charismatic british actor who has shown astonishing range by hopping from the lead in a rowdy slapstick comedy to the villain in a james bond movie and now to sentimental melodrama , perfectly portrays his rather pathetic character . +we empathize with the guy , but we don't like or admire him . +emily watson turns in a heartfelt , sincere supporting performance . +it is mostly she who implants that lump in our throats . +also worthy of mention is little joe breen , whose face graces the film's superb poster . +it is breen's first feature film and he's extraordinary as young frank . +not unlike sudden oscar darling haley joel osment of the sixth sense , you can peer into the character's soul through breen's sad eyes . +on the flip side , one thing that could have vastly improved angela's ashes is a more decisive editor . +while gerry hambling sure makes the most of the scenery , he and parker also leave in at least a half an hour of unnecessary footage . +the first half , especially , could have been trimmed down , bringing the film to a more reasonable running time and doing our bladders a favor in the process . +things pick up at about the halfway point , sort of dismissing a lot of the criticisms i accumulated during the opening hour , but i maintain that the aggressively deliberate pace parker and co . set in the first half was ludicrously unnecessary . + * spoiler warning ! +skip next paragraph if in suspense ! * +the film's final message is somewhat conflicted , as frankie , in effect , leaves his family famished in ireland while he himself goes back to america . +what , exactly , are we supposed to make of that ? +his mother doesn't seem to mind because she wants the best possible future for her son , as any mother would , but it still seems inconsiderate of him . +i haven't read the book , but i'm sure that mccourt justifies his actions therein ; therefore , i'm suspicious . +another thing that's never made clear in the movie is the meaning of the title , which , i'm sure , is also explained in the memoir . +if seen as a film onto itself , rather than an adaptation , angela's ashes stands tall . +despite a few minor setbacks , it is a captivating story of people forced to live in the trenches by an merciless society where those of weaker character are shoved to the bottom of the financial ladder . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv985_6359.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv985_6359.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8a9956ae125b021f6dc7fa752718a71cd5302bdd --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv985_6359.txt @@ -0,0 +1,43 @@ +this has been an extraordinary year for australian films . + " shine " has just scooped the pool at the australian film institute awards , picking up best film , best actor , best director etc . to that we can add the gritty " life " ( the anguish , courage and friendship of a group of male prisoners in the hiv-positive section of a jail ) and " love and other catastrophes " ( a low budget gem about straight and gay love on and near a university campus ) . +i can't recall a year in which such a rich and varied celluloid library was unleashed from australia . + " shine " was one bookend . +stand by for the other one : " dead heart " . +>from the opening credits the theme of division is established . +the cast credits have clear and distinct lines separating their first and last names . +bryan | brown . +in a desert settlement , hundreds of kilometres from the nearest town , there is an uneasy calm between the local aboriginals and the handful of white settlers who live nearby . +the local police officer has the task of enforcing " white man's justice " to the aboriginals . +these are people with a proud 40 , 000 year heritage behind them . +naturally , this includes their own system of justice ; key to which is " payback " . +an eye for an eye . +revenge . +usually extracted by the spearing through of the recipient's thigh . +brown , as the officer , manages quite well to keep the balance . +he admits that he has to 'bend the rules' a bit , including actively encouraging at least one brutal " payback " . + ( be warned that this scene , near the start , is not for the squeamish ) . +the local priest - an aboriginal , but in the " white fellas " church - has a foot on either side of the line . +he is , figuratively and literally , in both camps . +ernie dingo brings a great deal of understanding to this role as the man in the middle . +he is part churchman and part politician . +however the tension , like the heat , flies and dust , is always there . +whilst her husband - the local teacher - is in church , white lady kate ( milliken ) and her aborginal friend tony , ( pedersen ) have gone off into the hills . +he takes her to a sacred site , even today strictly men-only . +she appears to not know this . +tony tells her that this is a special place , an initiation place . +he then makes love to her , surrounded by ancient rock art . +the community finds out about this sacrilegious act and it's payback time . +the fuse is lit and the brittle inter-racial peace is shattered . +everyone is affected in the fall out . +to say more is to give away the details of this finely crafted film . +suffice to say it's a rewarding experience . +bryan brown , acting and co-producing , is the pivotal character . +his officer is real , human and therefore flawed . +brown comments that he expects audiences to feel warmth towards the man , then suddenly feel angry about him . +it wasn't long ago that i visited central australia - ayers rock ( uluru ) and alice springs - for the first time . +the wide-screen cinematography shows the dead heart of australia in a way that captures it's vicious beauty , but never deteriorates into a moving slide show , in which the gorgeous background dominates those pesky actors in the foreground . +the cultural clash has provided the thesis for many a film ; from the western to the birdcage . +at least three excellent australian films have covered the aboriginal people and the line between them and we anglo-saxon 'invaders' : " jedda " , " the chant of jimmie blacksmith " and " the last wave " . +in a year when the race 'debate' has reared up in australia , it is nourishing to see such an intelligent , non-judgemental film as " dead heart " . +the aboriginal priest best sums this up . +he is asked to say if he is a " black fella or white fella " . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv986_13527.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv986_13527.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c129c9f3fd2ba544fe563ec75e6c54ee5e9fa740 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv986_13527.txt @@ -0,0 +1,66 @@ +i think the first thing this reviewer should mention is wether or not i am a fan of the x-files . +first , let me assure you that no prior experience with the series is required to fully enjoy this movie . +the producers are not stupid , making a movie just for fans of the series is not profitable . +you have to reach for a larger audience . +therefore , the movie is quite user-friendly . +altough , non-fans will only fail to understand certain emotions behind the looks many characters exchange . +but fear not , duchovny and another man later on provide more than adequate background info on what is going on . +you will never feel as if you just walked in on the third act of some great opera . +in any case , the answer is no . +i am not a fan of the x-files , i only watch it when nothing else is on and i prefer millennium . +however , since the fox network as been so kind as to air several key episodes for several weeks before the movie's opening weekend i took that opportunity to test the movie . +i taped all of these episodes and watched them only after seing the movie , i am glad to report that i learned nothing new . +everything you need to know is explained to the viewer by duchovny and others . +i know i am going maybe a bit too far to make my point but everybody should get the chance to experience this movie . +warning : major spoilers follow ! +please do not read to fully enjoy this movie , you must not be able know what is coming , what exactly is over that hill and what that weird " hummm " sound is all about . +you have been warned . +the x-files is what a summer should be . +exciting , scary , great special effects ( unlike other summer movies the effects do not take over the movie and are only there when it is really necessary ) and good performances . +this is coming from a guy who thinks david duchovny is the human equivalent of a wooden plank . +from start to finish , this movie does not let go of you . +when i compare it with last summer's movies the best way to describe it would be : take the excitement and great score from face/off and the deadly use of sound from event horizon . +this flick is scary , not in a b movie kind of way where you always know where and when the critter will jump at our heroes . +in fact , the first time the critter in this movie makes an apperance it is totally out of the blue . +you might as well bring ear plugs because this thing is louuuudd ! +the last time a monster scared me that much was when i first saw aliens as a six year old kid . +you know , when you are affraid to put your feet on the floor because the creature might be under the chair , or when you keep trying to cover your throat with your shirt ? +so yeah , the x-files is scary . +and guess what ? +you never even have to see the monster but your imagination works overtime and it sure beats having to watch a flawed , computer generated , babyzilla , it looks like you could walk right through it not even scarier than your grandma in undies type of monster . +do not think that the x-files is a monster movie . +in fact , the creature is there for maybe three minutes total . +no , the x-files is definately a mulder episode of the series . +scully is at his side , of course , but gillian anderson gets maybe half the screen time . +she has a couple of good scenes with duchovny , but she gets kidnapped during the last half hour of the movie so she does not get to do much . +no , this is mulder's time in the spotlight . +by now , you have heard of the scene where mulder " showers " independence day . +if you have not then i will not spoil it for you , let's just say that due to recent events mulder should be " showering " godzilla instead . +to those of you wondering if mulder discovers that the truth is indeed out there . . . who +cares ! ? +if he did find it the series would over anyway so what are you complaining about ? +the dialogue in interesting and the director is marvelous . +the camera is almost always looking over the shoulder of our heroes so we feel as if we are right there with them when they open a door or climb a hill . +the script is spotless , every thing that happens happens for a purpose . +if you are confused by something , do not worry because it will all become clear later on but , and i cannot stress this enough , pay attention ! ! ! +unlike most summer movies , the dialogue is twice as important as the effects . +miss one vital piece of information and , like most people who talk during movies , you will go home and tell all your friends how this movie made no sense . +also , to those people who need to go to the bathroom during movies . . . don't ! +the person who watched the movie with me had to go twice and twice she missed an important conversation . +there is no time to take a breather between scenes because , again unlike most summer movies ( godzilla anybody ? + ) the x-files does not need to fill scenes between the suspense and the action with useless subplots , every scene is crucial and serves a purpose . +who needs to see the blond chiouaoua have a " big emotional scene " between godzilla attacks ? +so far this summer i have seen only one movie who ranks higher on my list of movies i'd recommend and that is the truman show but it only wins by a nose . +but the truman show is not what i would call a summer movie , the x-files is . +what more do you ask from a summer movie other than the chance to be excited ? +cool effects ? +it's got some . +pulse pounding ? +hell yes ! +strangely enough , i think that fans of the series will hate this movie while non-fans will have a good time . +it does not provide answers to the show's many questions , the status quo remains nearly the same and , no , mulder and scully do not get together . +rating : four and a half out of five stars for the best movie yet this summer , several jump right out of your seat thrills , many " whoah , i never saw that one coming ! " +moments , four " holy shit , where the hell did that come from " and one heck of an ending . +you may wonder where this movie lost half a star . +well , i swore never to give a movie the full five stars so i had to find something about the in his ice truck , the tracks it leaves in the snow behind him go on for several miles but then they just stop . +it's pretty obvious the film's makers drove the truck for several miles to give the appearance that mulder had been driving for a long time , but in the end it looks like mulder just dropped from the sky and started driving . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv987_6965.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv987_6965.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..595d21611b07cc8eebca809617b9194542bbdd64 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv987_6965.txt @@ -0,0 +1,13 @@ +trees lounge is the directoral debut from one of my favorite actors , steve buscemi . +he gave memorable performences in in the soup , fargo , and reservoir dogs . +now he tries his hand at writing , directing and acting all in the same flick . +the movie starts out awfully slow with tommy ( buscemi ) hanging around a local bar the " trees lounge " and him pestering his brother . +it's obvious he a loser . +but as he says " it's better i'm a loser and know i am , then being a loser and not thinking i am . " +well put . +the story starts to take off when his uncle dies , and tommy , not having a job , decides to drive an ice cream truck . +well , the movie starts to pick up with him finding a love interest in a 17 year old girl named debbie ( chloe sevigny ) and . . . +i liked this movie alot even though it did not reach my expectation . +after you've seen him in fargo and reservoir dogs , you know he is capable of a better performence . +i think his brother , michael , did an excellent job for his debut performence . +mr . buscemi is off to a good career as a director ! diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv988_18740.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv988_18740.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f5e135a255e347ae5a9921d40201d4a0dd01c4a6 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv988_18740.txt @@ -0,0 +1,43 @@ +i wish i could say that there is something more to the new star wars installment than what you see in the commercials , but there isn't . +george lucas is an expert at crafting triumphant , special effects-bound flicks and he has done it again . +this is the first star wars film i've seen on the big screen , so , of course , the impact was much greater than when i watched the three original episodes on video . +what is compelling about the phantom menace is not its disposable story , but its amazing visuals . +basically , the film's plot is centered around trade disputes between two planets . +qui-gon ( liam neeson ) and his young apprentice obi-wan kenobi ( ewan mcgregor ) set out with the animated jar-jar binks to fix the mess that may result in war . +when their ship breaks down and they are stranded , they find a young boy , anakin skywalker ( jake lloyd ) and his slave mother . +qui-gon strongly believes that anakin is destined for jedi greatness and immediately takes him under his wing . +anakin participates in a heart-pounding podrace , one of the highlights of the film , to get the equipment needed to fix qui-gon's ship . +however , most everyone is doubtful about entrusting the future to some unknown slave boy . +meanwhile , queen amadala ( natalie portman ) is frustrated and at wit's end , being na ? ve and young and having so much responsibility on her shoulders . +there are hardly any emotional scenes in the film- even when we discover that anakin will be leaving his slave mother behind to begin jedi training , the frenzied excitement of the whole film wears down the poignancy to the size of a crumb . +this does not prove that the phantom menace is poorly made for it is brilliantly made . +in all the star wars films , human emotions that we , the audience , can identify with are usually nil , but the films are for pure enjoyment , not for uplifting purposes . +despite the fun of watching the movie , the phantom menace is not without flaws . +for starters , we have the ill-conceived , moronic character jar-jar binks who should be considered a threat to star wars galactic society and to the audience . +what a klutz ! +george lucas clumsily tried to create a fun character that would be as memorable as , say , yoda , r2-d2 , or c3-po , but , alas , his efforts were in vain . +secondly ( this may be good or bad , depending on your point of view ) , the movie's atmosphere is so different from the familiar comic-book feel of the previous three star wars installments . +this is due , perhaps , to the utter complexity to this movie's plot and the higher level of sophistication of the visual effects used here . +the movie seems to be reaching for epic proportions . +i can't say much about the acting , though acting has never been what you saw star wars movies for anyway . +however , there is absolutely no pizzazz to the performances- they are straightforward and , at times , stale . +natalie portman has a great presence , but her turn as queen amadala makes the queen a stoic , unfeeling ? enigma . +there is nothing we can hold onto in her performance to make us believe the trade predicament is anything of importance . +jake lloyd is the only actor here who has an ounce of evident spunk . +despite the inevitable faults , there is so much to enjoy about the movie . +the heightened excitement of the final sequences doesn't quite surpass the famous the empire strikes back climactic scenes , but they are amazing and edge-of-your-seat fun in their own rite . +the film is a treasure to look at . +the visual effects are astonishing 99 . 8% of the time- the awe-inspiring , mouth-opening , eye-popping sight of the underwater city is nothing short of production design and special effects genius . +not since 1997's the fifth element has there been a film as drenched in visual treats as this one . +the production design is reminiscent of the fifth element , the previous star wars movies , kubrick's 2001 , maybe even of fritz lang's classic silent metropolis . +however , all the sets are so original . +the original star wars movies can't even match the grandeur of this film's visuals and that is a sheer pleasure for the viewer- it gives us hope of even greater things for the upcoming episode . +the costumes are remarkable and have jean-paul gaultier written all over them . +whether its queen amadala's gigantic wardrobe complete with gold-embroidery and feathers , or the jedis' simple brown uniforms , the costume designer has fused talent with outrageousness . +the costumes are one of the true delights of watching the movie . +as for john williams' score , i don't think he's done one as complex or powerful since ? i can't even remember . +it is as epic as his schindler's list score and as thrilling and zestful as jaws . +it includes the bare bones of his music from the previous three films , but williams has added on , made the music much more intense and moving . +what with the overwhelming hoopla that circled this movie , one might come in with high expectations and be disappointed . +there is very little to hate in the film : it's a very accomplished and skillfully made flick . +it is the best " fun " film and the best big-budget film out today , most definitely . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv989_15824.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv989_15824.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..baee75808535725db12341ff8bf1fb9291ddba4c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv989_15824.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +lisa cholodenko's " high art , " is an intelligent , quiet drama . +its strongest quality , aside from the top-notch central performances , is the perceptive way in which the film , also written by cholodenko , observes its characters . +they are all flawed people , some more troubled than others , but they are not judged . +judging the characters in this picture would be a creative misstep on the filmmakers' parts , because no one , no matter how bad off they are , deserve to be negatively judged if they are involved in some serious problems that they cannot break free of . +syd ( radha mitchell ) , a 24-year-old woman living with her longtime boyfriend james ( gabriel mann ) , has recently been awarded an ideal job at the high-profile photography magazine , " frame . " +she very much enjoys where her career is headed , but is often not taken very seriously by her managers , who are always giving her petty jobs to do , when she knows she could be doing more important things . +one night , while taking a bath , syd notices a leak coming from the apartment above hers , so when she goes up there to inform them of it , she meets lucy beliner ( ally sheedy ) , a thin , worn-out , and unhappy woman , who lives with her drug-addicted german girlfriend , greta ( patricia clarkson ) , a pathetic former actress who is usually so out-of-it that she often is in and out of conciousness . +syd quickly strikes up a conversation with lucy , and discovers that she used to be an acclaimed photographer ten years before . +lucy claims she doesn't want to get back into the profession , but syd manages to convince the " frame " editors to do a piece on her work . +all the while , syd begins to grow deep feelings for lucy , even though she has never previously been attracted to a woman , and lucy starts a battle with her personal demons . + " high art , " is such an effective motion picture because it is never suger-coated or idealized , but instead an honest and convincing portrait of a handful of unhappy people whose lives are going nowhere , while syd's luck begins to rise . +the film in no way is about lesbianism , but about love , which was a refreshing change of pace from the usual stereotypical portraits of homosexuality . +as lucy and syd grow closer and closer together , we really do believe that they are falling in love with each other , even if the relationship might be doomed . +with this picture , ally sheedy's star has risen once again , thanks to her touching , nearly flawless portrtayal of lucy , a woman who , in the course of a decade , has found her life consumed almost entirely by drugs , which has taken away her once-blossoming career . +her characted really is tragic , and one particular scene involving lucy and her mother , in which lucy admits to her that she has a drug problem , and her mother matter-of-factly responds by saying she can't help her , is heartbreaking . +although not autobiographical , sheedy has had drug problems in her past , and i suspect she brought that knowledge of already being in lucy's footsteps to her role . +also very good is radha mitchell as syd , who previously starred in the slight 1997 australian comedy , " love and other catastrophes , " wh caught me by surprise with her performance . +easily being able to pass as christina ricci's older sister , mitchell obtains the same natural charisma that has made ricci so popular recently . +as accurate as almost every detail is in , " high art , " i wish the relationship had been more tightly written involving syd and james , who , played by gabriel mann , is left with a throwaway role . +by the time he finds out about syd and lucy , he disappears from the film , and i wish there had been another scene where they confronted each other . +this is a very minor fault , however , in a film that is full of riches . +although many of the characters are stuck in a hopeless pit of despair , syd and lucy are intelligent people who recognize their problems . +the character of dominique ( anh duong ) , the " frame " editor who decides to give syd a chance with her ideas , was also written to be far more mature than expected . +and the one sex scene in the film was beautifully and originally done . +for once , it did not invlove steaminess , or violent sexual activity , or gratuitous nudity , but focused on the actual characters , who love each other , and their insecurities involved in making the decision to actually have sex . + " high art , " which won the screenwriting award at the 1998 sundance film festival , marks the superior feature film debut of cholodenko , as well as sheedy's strongest , and best , role to date . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv991_18645.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv991_18645.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..82e605136e831897b386430e09615d3937fc8988 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv991_18645.txt @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +i don't box with kid gloves . +i don't play nice , i'm not a nice guy , and i never , ever , go easy on a film . +i consider it to be a breech of some sort of code of ethics for a movie critic . +however , i do some favors , and these often come in the form of points that i hand to certain groups due to the artistic bravery . +rigormortis , the production company that has been my prime example of how money does not need to motivate filmmaking , gets several of these points each time . +i still , however , will not go easy on them . +they recently sent me a vhs copy of their down with america trilogy ( which begins , quite wittily , with a disclaimer that they are not trying to undermine america with the making of this film . ) and i decided to spend an hour of my day watching it . +in the famous lines of many martyrs , i have no regrets . +well , i do have some regrets , but that is not the point in the previous sentence . +the point of it was that down with america was a film that , from a critical standpoint , did not entirely disappoint me . +sure , the risky use of vhs instead of super 8mm or 16mm was a pain , and the natural light was one of the most annoying things about public access films , but the movie itself was fairly enjoyable . +down with america concerns a government agent , needless murder , and a book containing everything from the unabomber's manifesto to the 1995 apple computer profit report . +like the previous films of rigormortis that i have reviewed , it displays an off-kilter humor and intelligence ? it succeeds in making me laugh where countless studio films fail . +the best way to see this film would be as a parody of the countless conspiracy films that we have been drowned in since the paranoia of the 80s . +a dying movement from the day they started , these paranoid `thrillers' had the government always covering up something and had the same favorite word : `roswell . ' +in down with america , the line `roswell' is highly absent . +with an about ten minute running time , down with america effortlessly sidesteps every clich ? that the conspiracy films fell into , makes jokes at them at the same time , and provides us with funny and memorable characters . +again , i have seen movies that have gone on two hours with characters i couldn't care less about . +the film , as previously stated , concerns a federal agent ( peter roach ) , an obsessed librarian ( meri stevens ) , a mystery man ( joe kaczkowski ) , and two people obsessed with silence in the library ( robb sherman , kevin flowers ) . +the plot : a book containing the secrets of all anarchists is hidden in ? a public library where it can be viewed by all . +from there we go into a delightful parody . +the federal agent claims his sovereign right to alter the truth , the librarian goes on a diatribe about the sanctity of books . +we spend our time laughing at fairly idiotic jokes that are performed much too well considering the lack of coaching of the cast . +although the actors and actresses are in small roles and give a whole new meaning to `no-name' , it ends up being the no-name people who do a good job , delivering better performances as comic villains than half the crap that hollywood turns out . +for once , i don't have a url that i know offhand to give you as to where to locate the film online . +i can only say that you should find my previous reviews of l'auto and les x-files and look up the rigormortis productions site in and of itself . +it's almost as much fun as the film . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv992_11962.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv992_11962.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..353544aee24130bfe3d47a4f55ef2255ddae82fc --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv992_11962.txt @@ -0,0 +1,85 @@ +here is a film that is so unexpected , so scary , and so original that it caught me off guard and threw me for a loop . +okay , it isn't quite original , considering it is a sequel to the box office hit species , but it certainly is smart . +most films of this genre are reminiscent of those cheesy b-horror films from the 50s and 60s , and some even become them . +however , as we learned with the 1995 small-budget horror/sci-fi film , sometimes expectations can be shattered . +a lot of criticism has gone against this film ( from what i have read so far , anyway--yep , all two reviews ) , and it makes me wonder why these types of films are automatically dismissed as gory , laughable pieces of trash . +but , the thing is , it isn't . +it's well made , well acted , and quite intelligent . +i can see most of the critics now complaining about the level of gore or the level of sexuality in the film . +but the species series isn't about the lack of these elements . +it's about how much it can get into one film . +and yet , behind it all , it has this basic premise that allows it to get away with doing so . +species ii begins in the present day , though it seems to be an alternate universe . +many films ( especially sci-fi ones ) create similar timelines as our realistic one , but change it to fit the film's needs . +species ii begins with the arrival of an american spacecraft , the excursion , landing on the surface of mars . +aboard is patrick ross ( justin lazard ) , a very bright and very handsome astronaut . +patrick is the son of senator ross ( james cromwell ) , who just wants patrick to succeed . +well , it would seem that he has succeeded . +landing on the surface of mars , he is the first human being to ever do so . +of course , he isn't the first ever . +about a billion years ago , an alien species supposedly landed on mars and destroyed the perfect living conditions that were able to sustain life . +now , of course , the red planet is cold and rocky . +no life lives on it . +that is , no visible life . +patrick , upon leaving the spacecraft and landing on the red soil , collects samples from the ground . +he takes them aboard , and puts them in storage . +unfortunately , one of the samples contains a form of life , and it gets loose when it is heated aboard the ship . +just prior to heading back to earth , this life form creeps along the floor and inhabits the earthlings . +they pass out for approximately seven minutes , and then shrug it off as nothing , because they can't even remember . +they blame it on a technical malfunction . +back on earth , patrick begins to have strong urges to mate with as many women as possible . +as we know from the original , this is because the alien wants to breed and take over the planet . +however , the children that are bred are half-human , as their father is . +patrick is really looking for another alien to breed with , and he finds it in eve ( natasha henstridge ) . +eve was cloned from dna taken from sil , the original alien . +however , this time around , most of her " alien " urges have been either decreased dramatically , or lie dormant . +the project is led by dr . laura baker ( marg helgenberger , reprising her role from species ) , and her motives seem respectable . +since she was involved with the original alien attack , she wants to learn how to stop the alien should it come again . +and it has . +story-wise , species ii is much stronger than its predecessor , but it is also much stronger than , say , aliens ( hey , i love the film , but you can't tell me it was strong on story ) . +what surprised me the most with this film was the incorporation of historical facts into the screenplay . +in my search for extraterrestrial intelligence course in college , we learned about a piece of rock from mars which landed in one of the poles . +this piece of rock contained fossils which may have been proof of life on mars ( later , it was proven that it was not a living creature that created it ) . +the script uses this effectively , but also manages to provide a well-balanced plot . +beginning with the first man on mars ( something i have always dreamed of seeing ) , i was hoping that the film would turn this element into a useful starting point for the movie . +and it does it quite well . +the characters are all smart , and they know what to do and what not to do . +the only character that seems a little cliched is the general ( george dzundza ) , and yet , he remains logical in everything he does . +there are the obvious flaws of course , mostly lying in the technical aspects . +the special effects are only mediocre , and some are just plain bad . +but for the most part , they remain believable ( i even noticed a homage to the alien series when the mothers gave birth to alien children ) . +also , the most realistic ones are usually the goriest , ranging from people being torn open , or someone's head being blown off . +however , some plot elements also may elicit laughs from the audience , including a menage a troi that is all but necessary . +many people dislike the species series because all it is is an excuse for sex , nudity , and gory violence . +however , i tend to disagree . +what were the alien films about ? +and , if an alien species ever did come to earth , and their sole purpose was to destroy us , wouldn't you mate as quickly as possible with as many people as possible ? +my only gripe with this is during the scene where patrick goes searching for a mate in a grocery store . +i didn't realize that aliens were that picky on choosing women to mate with ( i just assume it is his part-human side looking for the most beautiful one ) . +the acting is quite good for this kind of film . +it is a vast improvement over the first film , at least . +the acting is the key element to this film : if it was bad , it would have lowered itself into camp ; if it was good , it would have asked for comparison with films like aliens . +okay , so it isn't that good . +george dzundza is probably the most obvious mistake on casting , as his over-the-top impersonation of a general makes him annoying and distracting . +natasha henstridge is limited this time around , as she is usually enclosed in a cage . +however , she does manage a very impressive performance with this aspect hindering any of her talent . +oh yeah , and she's quite fun to just plain watch . +marg helgenberger is immensely better this time around , and her performance is probably the best in this film . +michael madsen is so-so , but he isn't annoying , and he soon becomes rather appealing ( with his nice cynic personality ) . +james cromwell has a small part , but he makes it much better than what it could have been with a more incapable actor . +as i say , any film with james cromwell dramatically increases in likeability . +mykelti williamson gives an enjoyable performance , and he gives the film a more down-to-earth feel . +and , of course , justin lazard . +lazard has so far been ridiculed for his performance , but i think he is effective . +sure , he is wooden , but isn't that what his character is like ? +the moment when he touches the glass separating henstridge from him was extremely well done , due to the couple's acting . +species ii is rated r for strong sexuality , sci-fi violence/gore and language . +this is definitely an r rated film that young kids should not see . +more than likely , they would probably have nightmares and never have sex for the rest of their lives . +hell , i don't even know if i will . +what is sure to be a critically lambasted film turns out to be the surprise film of the year . +i probably won't see another film where i was expecting so little and got so much for quite a while . +director peter medak has crafted a very suspenseful , and sometimes very scary movie out of a mediocre series . +medak has also mastered the wonderful " jump ! " +moments , and has probably the second scariest moment i have ever seen on film ( scream still has the first ) . +strong acting , smart dialogue , intelligent plotting , and a sure-handed director , species ii is exactly what these films should be : entertaining . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv993_29737.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv993_29737.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..fd199c0febc07b8e8a2bd1d52bacff27216582e1 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv993_29737.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +plot : this movie takes place over one day . +it's a rookie cop's narcotics training alongside a seasoned police veteran . +the rookie doesn't know much about " street justice " , so the older cop teaches him about the way things work in the " real world " . +how even cops like themselves have to " bend the rules " and " break the law " every now and then , in order to catch the really bad guys . +critique : a pretty intense little movie with solid acting across the board , some ups , some downs and a thrilling ending , despite a couple of small flaws . +i really enjoyed this movie because it followed two extreme characters and put them in situations which had me wondering about what i would do if i were in their place . +the film gets right into the " dirty " side of , well . . . the +dirt on the streets , and proceeds to teach the rookie cop ( and us , the audience ) how things really work down there . +of course , we're receiving this lesson from a man who has put away a lot of scum in his time , but the things he seems to be doing aren't exactly on the up-and-up either . +and therein , lies the fun of the film . +do you agree that you yourself would need to break a few small laws in order to put away the people who break the really big ones ? +well , as the film moves along , we're given two points of view in respect to this predicament , and to me , both sides made sense at some point or another . +and you gotta give a lot of credit to the screenplay for that , the director , who builds the film up wonderfully ( with the darkness of the day leading to the darkness in the script ) and the two actors who deliver their parts in spades . +hawke , first off , because he rarely plays these " commercial " roles but does so perfectly here , with a vulnerable side which has you feeling for the bastard right off the top . +and denzel , well , what can you say about mr . washington that hasn't already been said before ? +he comes through as per his usual high-level style here , and gives the audience a completely different side to his talent , of which , i personally would like to see more . +he's nice , he's not so nice , he's smart , he's not so smart , he's caring and he's a dog all the way . +the few problems that i did have with this film included the redundant nature of the whole thing at some point ( okay , we get it . . . you +have to be nasty in order to deal with these nasty people . . . move on ) and this one really major " coincidence " which involved a bathtub , that saved the day for one character , but seemed a little too " convenient " for my taste . +i also never really understood how washington's character got out of a certain dire predicament , only to be seen driving his car in the very next scene . +but obviously these small flaws didn't taint my overall enjoyment of this tense drama , a film that gets you right into the streets , into the nooks and the crannies , and into the moral dilemma which lies between the justice system and the day-to-day drug busts . +see it if you want to wrestle with some of these issues yourself , see it if you want to see denzel and ethan strike up a palpable chemistry on-screen , and see it if you like holding on to your seat-handles real tight during a movie . +in fact , see it for the scene in which ethan hawke plays cards with a host of gang-bangers alone . . . dang , now that's intense ! +where's joblo coming from ? +the corruptor ( 7/10 ) - crimson tide ( 9/10 ) - l . a . confidential ( /10 ) - lethal weapon ( 8/10 ) - requiem for a dream ( 8/10 ) - seven ( 10/10 ) - shaft ( 7/10 ) - traffic ( 8/10 ) diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv994_12270.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv994_12270.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..66d719c3f934f53228f07fdd1a56a3b7e40836c8 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv994_12270.txt @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ +a thriller set in modern day seattle , that marked marky mark's migration from the " good vibrations " and " calvin klein undie ad " guy , to mark wahlberg , thespian-at-large , and a mighty good one at that . +plot : boy ( wahlberg ) meets girl ( witherspoon ) . +boy likes girl . +girl likes boy . +boy and girl begin dating . +parents of girl aren't crazy about the boy . +girl steps to boy's defense . +family problems occur . +girl learns more about the boy . +boy goes nuts . +fun ensues . +critique : ever wonder what would happen if your better half turned out to be someone other than the person that you had come to cherish and love ? +well , if you ever have , then this film is definitely for you . +it isn't the most original premise in the world , but it is handled pretty well here , and pretty quickly for that matter ( a speedy 90 minutes ) . +i think one of the main reasons this film worked for me is the groundbreaking performance by mark wahlberg ( of boogie nights infamy ( 7 . 5/10 ) . +he completely captured all the goodness , and badness , of the main character of this film , and always kept me wanting to see more and more of him ( his performance scored him a solid nomination from his core target audience , as " best villain " at the 1997 mtv movie awards ) . +the soundtrack is also very effective in this setting , and of course , the slutty performance by alyssa milano is something we could all indulge in ( look for the nice bikini and butt shots . . . if +you're into that kind of thing , that is : ) . +i didn't much care for the father/david relationship which seemed to be a little too contrived , but for the most part , i was really into this movie . +then again , daddy dearest did have one of the coolest lines in the movie when his wife is asking him what the " big deal " was about his daughter dating david . +his reply : " the big deal is that the guy gives me the creeps , and the girl is my daughter . " +good point . +all in all , the movie kicked some fun ass , mindless as it was , and effectively demonstrated every parent's worst nightmare . +mind you , i still can't tell if reese witherspoon is good looking or a douchebag , but hey , life goes on . +and on a personal note , we finally decided to add some taco meat onto our nacho fiesta of usual , and let me tell you all . . . it was a flaming success ! ! +another firm recommendation by joe schmoe ! +little known facts : director james foley was the man responsible for the critically acclaimed glengarry glenross ( 8/10 ) back in 1992 , at close range ( 7 . 5/10 ) in 1986 , and even directed an episode of twin peaks in 1990 . +mark wahlberg stands 5 " 9 , is born in massachusetts , dropped out of highschool ( later got his ged ) , and was convicted of several minor felonies before starting his career as the lead singer of marky mark and the funky bunch . +his brother is donnie wahlberg of new kids on the block fame . +he is also testing the waters on the acting front . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv995_21821.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv995_21821.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..074fbe47b298f6c3d347068ecc577ae8b84b9a24 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv995_21821.txt @@ -0,0 +1,43 @@ +wow ! what a movie . +it's everything a movie can be : funny , dramatic , interesting , weird , funny , weird and strikingly original . +yep that pretty much describes this movie . +it starts out like a regular movie and ends up being one of the weirdest , funniest most original movies i have ever seen . +it boggles the mind and some have to wonder why we cannot get movies like this more often . +besides being one of the best films of the year , being john malkovich may as well be one of the best movies ever . +period . +then again there are so many good movies , that one cannot pick an all time favorite . +john cusack plays a puppeteer craig schwartz a man out of a job , in search of a job . +his wife lotte schwartz who is played by a completely un-noticeable cameron diaz who looks like something off the streets is an animal lover and has about every kind of animal you could think of . +craig finds a job as a file at the 7 ? floor of a business building . . . you +have to pry open the elevator doors open before it reaches floor eight , the 7 ? floor is just a floor between 7 and 8 . +he is hired by his 105 year old boss ( orsen bean ) to be a filer . +in his office , he discovers a little door , to which was boarded up and hidden . +to his curiosity he opens it and starts to crawl toward it , he then gets sucked to the end and ends up in john malkovich's mind . +fifteen minutes later he is shot out onto the side of the new jersey turnpike . +he returns to tell his co-worker maxine ( catherine keener ) that he has found a portal that will lead him into john malkovich's mind , she doesn't believe him but after she sees it it changes her mind . +lotte also finds out about the portal and discovers that being someone else is good after all . +john malkovich of course has no idea what is going on , and by the end of this bizarre film there are so many twists and turns , that we don't know what really happened . +john cusack is outstanding and utterly believeable in a role only he himself could play . +he fits the role perfectly and to me was brilliantly cast . +cameron diaz is outstanding and utterly one of the world's most prettiest women , is made up here unnoticeable and very unattractive . +she however gives a very comic performance and this could easily be her best role to date . +catherine keener is very funny and sexy as maxine and of course the best thing of the movie is the magic himself john malkovich who is very brilliant and this movie plays big time homage ? to the master himself . +the whole group combined gives us a wonderfully funny movie that is also smart and clever . +spike jonze ( three kings ) makes his fabulous directing debut , and did a fantastic job of directing this new classic film . +he lets the viewer go on the trip as well as let the viewer know they are watching a movie . +by the time the ending rolled around my head was spinning from disbelief of how good this film was . +the screenplay written by charlie kaufman was hilarious and often thought-provoking . +the film also had a soft side to it and even though the ending is very surprising it is also a little sad and heart-warming . +the whole movie was fantastic and had me rolling in the isles . +from cameron diaz's appearence to john malkovich's explorations i laughed very hard , and it may as well be as funny as as good as it gets ( the funniest ! ) . +there isn't a slow point in the movie , or an overused idea . +there are no cliches except for the fact that this is the most original , inventie , witty , and smart movie i've seen in a long time . +i found myself amazed by everything : the direction , acting , writing and the whole idea of the movie . +by the end i had to wonder why hollywood doesn't want to make movies like this anymore . +or why they don't . +all filmmakers watch this movie and get some ideas of movies to come out . +this was a surprise hit as was american beauty . +'being john malkovich' is in the top 5 movies of the year , and in the top 10 best films ever made . +it has something that no other movies playing now has . +in fact it may as well be the best movie out right now . +i highly recommend 'being john malkovich' and have no doubts you will be disappointed . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv996_11592.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv996_11592.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5ee8604dc3766c500bc14d14ac674babced1fe1f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv996_11592.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +richard gere can be a commanding actor , but he's not always in great films . +everything comes together here . +gere is a big time chicago defense attorney who takes on a seemingly unwinable case in hopes of even more publicity . +it doesn't go exactly as he expects . +gere's client , aaron ( edward norton ) , is a shy stuttering tennessee boy who is accused of brutally murdering and mutilating a catholic archbishop . +the evidence is stacked against him . +he was caught running from the scene covered in the bishop's blood . +his bloody footprints are all over the murder scene . +he has a relationship with the priest . +gere talks to the boy , believes that he is actually innocent and sets about finding the real killer . +despite the lawyer's proclamations that he doesn't care about the guilt of his clients and that the real thrill is gambling with people's lives , he becomes involved with aaron and is determined to free him . +lots of complications and twists . +the prosecuting attorney is gere's former co-worker and lover . +they both work each other's motives to their legal advantages and it gets messy . +her boss had major economic dealings with the archbishop that went sour and seems to have crime connections . +aaron gets weirder and weirder as the trial goes on . +gere's case is falling apart and he is faced with about a dozen ethical dilemmas . +gere is exceptional as the well-dressed reserved counselor , but just once , i wanted to see him kick back and come out of his " suit " persona . +even when he loses it , you don't see very far inside . +norton's aaron is convincing : he comes across as the backwoods kid misplaced in the big city . +the supporting cast does a fine job of holding together the story . +as with most of the effective courtroom dramas , the cinematography is crisp and rich . +the story will keep you on the edge of your seat . +nothing is what it seems . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv997_5046.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv997_5046.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..14c9a5c989d8175b776942793117589af0d9b106 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv997_5046.txt @@ -0,0 +1,51 @@ +glory--starring matthew broderick , denzel washington , and morgan freeman--is the true story of the 54th regiment of massachusetts , the first black fighting unit recruited by the north during the civil war . +broderick plays robert gould shaw , the young white officer who led the black soldiers into battle . +shaw , the son of well-to-do abolitionists , hailed from boston high society . +the letters he wrote home to his parents during the war are on display at harvard , and were , evidently , the inspiration for glory . +as the film begins in 1862 , shaw is a captain in the northern forces . +like private eriksson ( michael j . fox ) in casualties of war , shaw initially is naive and idealistic about the war--that is , until his company is attacked by enemy forces . +shaw experiences first hand the horror and chaos of battle , witnessing mass slaughter and receiving a minor wound himself when a bullet grazes his neck . +soon after his recovery , shaw is promoted to colonel and assigned to enlist and train blacks in the war effort . +glory is the story not only of colonel shaw , but also of the black soldiers who laid down their lives to free their brothers from slavery . +the film periodically jumps between shaw's point of view and the perspective of the black soldiers . +the movie introduces us to a handful of black recruits , and we follow them from their enlistment through basic training and finally into action . +the large black cast is uniformly outstanding , especially washington who is electrifying as a runaway slave with a big mouth . +he is brash and pushy , always getting into trouble and always looking for a fight . +his bitter , tough guy facade is really just a mask for his loneliness and vulnerability . +washington provides much of the film's intensity and emotional power . +in one heartbreaking scene , he is whipped for allegedly deserting the army . +when he removes his shirt to receive the punishment , you cringe at the sight of his back , which is riddled with ugly scars from his days as a slave . +it makes your blood boil . +the humiliation of the beating is far more traumatic than the actual physical pain it brings ; a tear rolls down washington's cheek--and will probably run down your cheek as well . +the episode becomes even more tragic when we learn that washington wasn't deserting the army at all ; he left camp to look for shoes because his feet were covered with oozing sores . +freeman is , as usual , a strong presence , even in a small supporting role . +he plays a grave digger who has buried more white soldiers than he cares to remember . +he quickly becomes a leader among the black soldiers , holding the group together and serving as a liaison to the white officers . +colonel shaw recognizes freeman's leadership ability and promotes him to sergeant major , making him the first black officer in the army . +andre braugher makes an impressive film debut in the role of thomas searles , a free black who is one of shaw's close childhood friends . +searles is educated and refined , like a white man , prompting washington to nickname him " snow flake . " +the burning question is whether searles is tough enough to survive basic training and to kill in combat . +the road from marching drills to battle action is a bumpy one for the black regiment . +the soldiers suffer innumerable hardships , but somehow they never lose their morale . +the army treats the black soldiers like second class citizens , subjecting them to racism and discrimination . +they are paid only $10 a month , whereas their white counterparts earn thirteen , and , for a long time , they have to go without shoes , guns , or uniforms . +to make matters worse , the white military hierarchy is extremely reluctant to allow the blacks into action , preferring instead to use them for manual labor . +eventually , however , the regiment receives its boots , uniforms , rifles , and right to fight , thanks to the stubborn resolve of colonel shaw . +shaw has absolute faith in his soldiers , and he fights tooth and nail to get them what they deserve , even if it means threatening a general with blackmail . +broderick , in fact , is most convincing in the scenes where shaw stands up for the regiment . +unfortunately , however , broderick's uneven performance is , in many respects , the weak link in the movie . +in an effort to look more mature , broderick sports a mustache and a goatee , and throughout the film he slips in and out of a phony boston accent . +he is never altogether convincing as shaw since much of the time his emotions seem forced . +the film places too much weight on broderick's character and not enough on the black soldiers , who are more intriguing . +glory regains lost ground with its harrowing depiction of war . +the movie shows the devastation of war without resorting to the unnecessarily graphic gore which marred born on the fourth of july . +glory does not try to rattle you with nauseating blood and guts . +except for a few bullet wounds and one exploding head , the film , for the most part , leaves the gore to your imagination , which is not to say that the battle scenes in glory are timid . +to the contrary , they are chaotic and horrifying ; it's just that director edward zwick ( the co-creator of " thirtysomething " ) films them with far more subtlety and restraint than oliver stone could ever muster . +the key to glory is the group dynamic among the black soldiers . +the movie depicts some of ( but not enough of ) their customs and rituals . +in one scene , for example , the soldiers motivate themselves by singing prayers around the campfire . +each man has a chance to relay a few words of inspiration . +a couple of the movie's most touching moments involve young black children looking up to the black soldiers with awe , disbelief and pride . +the regiment's greatest triumph comes when the soldiers distinguish themselves in battle , thereby earning the respect of their white peers and earning the honor of leading the climactic assault on fort wagner . +like any war film , glory has its share of gloom and despair , but ultimately it proves to be a truly uplifting experience and an important history lesson , a valuable reminder that despite what the history books say ( or , more precisely , what they do not say ) , blacks played a critically important role in the north's victory over the south--forever changing the evolution of america . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv998_14111.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv998_14111.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d3d5ec5ebe01bcb9f60c4ac8b453b2d00c1a7885 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv998_14111.txt @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +steven spielberg's second epic film on world war ii is an unquestioned masterpiece of film . +spielberg , ever the student on film , has managed to resurrect the war genre by producing one of its grittiest , and most powerful entries . +he also managed to cast this era's greatest answer to jimmy stewart , tom hanks , who delivers a performance that is nothing short of an astonishing miracle . +for about 160 out of its 170 minutes , " saving private ryan " is flawless . +literally . +the plot is simple enough . +after the epic d-day invasion ( whose sequences are nothing short of spectacular ) , capt . john miller ( hanks ) and his team are forced to search for a pvt . +james ryan ( damon ) , whose brothers have all died in battle . +once they find him , they are to bring him back for immediate discharge so that he can go home . +accompanying miller are his crew , played with astonishing perfection by a group of character actors that are simply sensational . +barry pepper , adam goldberg , vin diesel , giovanni ribisi , davies , and burns are the team sent to find one man , and bring him home . +the battle sequences that bookend the film are extraordinary . +literally . +there is nothing in film that has ever been recorded that will prepare you for the sheer onslaught of terrorizing violence in the film's first 20 minutes . +spielberg films almost the entire movie without music , leaving it up to the characters to generate emotion , and they do to perfection . +the sequences in france , all of them , beginning with the battle and ending with the battle , are fabulous , especially the dialogues between the men as they walk through the hills and countrysides , trying to save private ryan . +there are no words i can use to describe the true horror and power of these sequences . +this is what coppola was looking for in " apocalypse now " , but couldn't create . +the sheer horror of these sequences all but condemn war . +the performance by hanks as the leader of this gang is also extraordinary . +he is head and shoulders above of the rest of the actors in the world , with his comic timing , dramatic flair , his quiet emotion that stirs an entire nation to tears . +hanks is this country's finest actor , and he proves it here . +however , spielberg almost destroys his own masterpiece . +with a chance to make it the one of the greatest films of all time , spielberg creates 10 minutes of purely worthless film . +the sequence involving army chief-of-stafff george marshall and mrs . ryan is decent , but doesn't hold up to the rest of the film , relying on wartime cliches to power it . +but that is forgivable . +what isn't is the bookends of the film , the cemetary sequences . +the first one is quite good , a decent introduction into the lives of these men . +the last sequence is atrocious . +the forced emotion , accompanied by a ridiculous piece of music , is simply horrible compared to the rest of the magical film . +these flaws are what downgrade " ryan " from the greatest film of our era , to the greatest war film of our era . +spielberg should have trusted his own material , and he should have trusted hanks to deliver the most chilling line of the movie , to end his masterpiece right there . +the use of the flag , though patriotic , is in contrast to the movie's theme . +the power of the bulk of the film , however , is astonishing . +spielberg has truly made a wondrous work of art , that persists even after first viewing of the film , is extraordinary . +this is the film of the year . diff --git a/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv999_13106.txt b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv999_13106.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0d9f13b1769b5eccb7f9bc0d16f7d5fd046eeb3c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/movie_reviews/pos/cv999_13106.txt @@ -0,0 +1,61 @@ +truman ( " true-man " ) burbank is the perfect name for jim carrey's character in this film . +president truman was an unassuming man who became known worldwide , in spite of ( or was it because of ) his stature . + " truman " also recalls an era of plenty following a grim war , an era when planned communities built by government scientists promised an idyllic life for americans . +and burbank , california , brings to mind the tonight show and the home of nbc . +if hollywood is the center of the film world , burbank is , or was , the center of tv's world , the world where our protagonist lives . +combine all these names and concepts into " truman burbank , " and you get something that well describes him and his artificial world . +truman leads the perfect life . +his town , his car , and his wife are picture perfect . +his idea of reality comes under attack one day when a studio light falls from the sky . +the radio explains that an overflying airplane started coming apart . + . + . +but then why would an airplane be carrying a studio light ? +the next day during the drive to work , the radio jams and he starts picking up a voice that exactly describes his movements . +he is so distracted that he nearly hits a pedestrian . +when the radio comes back to normal , the announcer warns listeners to drive carefully . +his suspicion aroused , he wanders around the town square looking for other oddities . +the world appears to be functioning properly until he enters an office building and tries to take the elevator . +the elevator doors open up on a small lounge with people on coffee breaks . +a grip sees truman him and quickly moves a paneled door , made to look like the back of an elevator , into place . +two security guards grab him and throw him out . +truman is really suspicious now . +it gets even worse the next day when his wife , a nurse , describes an elevator accident in the building where he saw the lounge . + " it's best not to think about it , " she says , trying vainly to change truman's memory . +truman becomes determined to see who or what is behind this apparently elaborate hoax at his expense . +at every turn he is stopped by an amazing coincidence that just happens to keep him in his own little town . +his last hope is to quell his fear of the ocean and sail to the edge of the world . +you know by now that truman's life is the subject of a television program . +his actions are " real " but everything else is carefully scripted , from the death of his father to the choice of his wife . +truman is determined to find out what the big hoax is . +meanwhile , christof , the all-seeing creator of truman's world does his best to keep him unaware and happy . +it's sort of like westworld told from the robots' point of view , or jurassic park from the dinosaurs' point of view . +we root for the captive of the cage-world . +our protagonist is counting on " chaos theory " to help him escape his elaborate trap . +the story , written by andrew niccol ( writer/director of gattaca ) , introduces some interesting questions , such as the ethics of subjecting a person to this type of life , or the psychological impact of learning that your entire life has all been fake . +although these questions came to mind , i don't think the film itself asked them . +it certainly didn't address them or try to answer them . +i was particularly disappointed that the film didn't deal more with the trauma of learning one's life is a tv show . +carrey's performance at the end showed a smidgen of truman's pain , but i almost felt that he got over it too easily for the sake of the film's pacing . +earlier in the movie i found myself wondering if it would be better for truman to find out the truth or whether i should root for him to be well . +the two seemed exclusive of one another , but weir and niccol didn't see it that way . +perhaps it's not fair to criticize a movie for what it isn't , but it seems like there were some missed opportunities here . +but on its own terms , the movie is well made . +sight , sound and pacing are all handled competently . +much of the first part of the movie is the truman show . +the scenes are all apparently shot from hidden cameras , with snoots and obstructions covering the corners of the screen . +one hidden camera is apparently in his car radio , the green led numbers obscuring the lower part of the screen . +the music is well-chosen and scored . +the film opens with what sounds like family drama theme music , when truman's world is still beautiful and perfect . +when the movie ends , the score sounds more like a frantic , driven , tangerine dream opus , while still keeping the same timbre . +philip glass' epic music ( from powaqqatsi ) permeates truman's scenes of suspicion and awakening . + ( glass has a small cameo as a keyboardist for the show . ) +and the pacing of the story was brisk . +there was no unnecessarily long setup explaining the concept behind the truman show , just a few quick title cards , a few interviews , and then right into the show , and the movie . +one of the first scenes is of the studio light falling ; there was no token scene of truman's idyllic life before it falls apart , because it wasn't necessary , we pick up the story at the first sign of trouble , and no sooner . +there's also no point in the movie where the plot slows down . +it's a quick , straight shot to the movie's end . +in terms of overall quality , i would compare the truman show to niccol's gattaca . +both films are well made with interesting stories set in interesting worlds . +but neither film really felt like it capitalized on all the great ideas ; neither film " clicked " and became an instant classic . +nevertheless , i look forward to niccol's next film , whatever it may be . diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0001 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0001 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..74515974618c677b3656e0d89b6299bd788ec3cd --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0001 @@ -0,0 +1,5 @@ +.START + +Pierre Vinken, 61 years old, will join the board as a nonexecutive director Nov. 29. +Mr. Vinken is chairman of Elsevier N.V., the Dutch publishing group. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0002 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0002 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..589a9680b48652d0da02cb37f0b8548b8ebf5b9f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0002 @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +.START + +Rudolph Agnew, 55 years old and former chairman of Consolidated Gold Fields PLC, was named a nonexecutive director of this British industrial conglomerate. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0004 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0004 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..181f13dd9bcfe94f0f2f058fb236f005975e3ef2 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0004 @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +.START + +Yields on money-market mutual funds continued to slide, amid signs that portfolio managers expect further declines in interest rates. + +The average seven-day compound yield of the 400 taxable funds tracked by IBC/Donoghue's Money Fund Report eased a fraction of a percentage point to 8.45% from 8.47% for the week ended Tuesday. +Compound yields assume reinvestment of dividends and that the current yield continues for a year. + +Average maturity of the funds' investments lengthened by a day to 41 days, the longest since early August, according to Donoghue's. +Longer maturities are thought to indicate declining interest rates because they permit portfolio managers to retain relatively higher rates for a longer period. +Shorter maturities are considered a sign of rising rates because portfolio managers can capture higher rates sooner. + +The average maturity for funds open only to institutions, considered by some to be a stronger indicator because those managers watch the market closely, reached a high point for the year -- 33 days. + +Nevertheless, said Brenda Malizia Negus, editor of Money Fund Report, yields "may blip up again before they blip down" because of recent rises in short-term interest rates. +The yield on six-month Treasury bills sold at Monday's auction, for example, rose to 8.04% from 7.90%. + +Despite recent declines in yields, investors continue to pour cash into money funds. +Assets of the 400 taxable funds grew by $1.5 billion during the latest week, to $352.7 billion. + +Typically, money-fund yields beat comparable short-term investments because portfolio managers can vary maturities and go after the highest rates. +The top money funds are currently yielding well over 9%. +Dreyfus World-Wide Dollar, the top-yielding fund, had a seven-day compound yield of 9.37% during the latest week, down from 9.45% a week earlier. +It invests heavily in dollar-denominated securities overseas and is currently waiving management fees, which boosts its yield. +The average seven-day simple yield of the 400 funds was 8.12%, down from 8.14%. +The 30-day simple yield fell to an average 8.19% from 8.22%; the 30-day compound yield slid to an average 8.53% from 8.56%. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0005 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0005 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a0de6a9bb453a7326fa9f3a15b86d372f3a3abfe --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0005 @@ -0,0 +1,6 @@ +.START + +J.P. Bolduc, vice chairman of W.R. Grace & Co., which holds a 83.4% interest in this energy-services company, was elected a director. +He succeeds Terrence D. Daniels, formerly a W.R. Grace vice chairman, who resigned. +W.R. Grace holds three of Grace Energy's seven board seats. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0006 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0006 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..014eda720aaf964753a78f9b6b296a91cd298a4b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0006 @@ -0,0 +1,6 @@ +.START + +Pacific First Financial Corp. said shareholders approved its acquisition by Royal Trustco Ltd. of Toronto for $27 a share, or $212 million. + +The thrift holding company said it expects to obtain regulatory approval and complete the transaction by year-end. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0008 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0008 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..18aea7a2c46c5826aae6cb87f866868acd9ebc79 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0008 @@ -0,0 +1,12 @@ +.START + +The federal government suspended sales of U.S. savings bonds because Congress hasn't lifted the ceiling on government debt. + +Until Congress acts, the government hasn't any authority to issue new debt obligations of any kind, the Treasury said. + +The government's borrowing authority dropped at midnight Tuesday to $2.80 trillion from $2.87 trillion. +Legislation to lift the debt ceiling is ensnarled in the fight over cutting capital-gains taxes. + +The House has voted to raise the ceiling to $3.1 trillion, but the Senate isn't expected to act until next week at the earliest. +The Treasury said the U.S. will default on Nov. 9 if Congress doesn't act by then. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0009 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0009 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c66df45826c8e4e68099640718832765e4804d42 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0009 @@ -0,0 +1,7 @@ +.START + +Clark J. Vitulli was named senior vice president and general manager of this U.S. sales and marketing arm of Japanese auto maker Mazda Motor Corp. +In the new position he will oversee Mazda's U.S. sales, service, parts and marketing operations. +Previously, Mr. Vitulli, 43 years old, was general marketing manager of Chrysler Corp. 's Chrysler division. +He had been a sales and marketing executive with Chrysler for 20 years. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0013 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0013 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..557df334612a343a6e3448cf35e82a33ff721256 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0013 @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +.START + +New England Electric System bowed out of the bidding for Public Service Co. of New Hampshire, saying that the risks were too high and the potential payoff too far in the future to justify a higher offer. + +The move leaves United Illuminating Co. and Northeast Utilities as the remaining outside bidders for PS of New Hampshire, which also has proposed an internal reorganization plan in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings under which it would remain an independent company. + +New England Electric, based in Westborough, Mass., had offered $2 billion to acquire PS of New Hampshire, well below the $2.29 billion value United Illuminating places on its bid and the $2.25 billion Northeast says its bid is worth. +United Illuminating is based in New Haven, Conn., and Northeast is based in Hartford, Conn. +PS of New Hampshire, Manchester, N.H., values its internal reorganization plan at about $2.2 billion. + +John Rowe, president and chief executive officer of New England Electric, said the company's return on equity could suffer if it made a higher bid and its forecasts related to PS of New Hampshire -- such as growth in electricity demand and improved operating efficiencies -- didn't come true. "When we evaluated raising our bid, the risks seemed substantial and persistent over the next five years, and the rewards seemed a long way out. +That got hard to take," he added. + +Mr. Rowe also noted that political concerns also worried New England Electric. +No matter who owns PS of New Hampshire, after it emerges from bankruptcy proceedings its rates will be among the highest in the nation, he said. "That attracts attention . . . it was just another one of the risk factors" that led to the company's decision to withdraw from the bidding, he added. + +Wilbur Ross Jr. of Rothschild Inc., the financial adviser to the troubled company's equity holders, said the withdrawal of New England Electric might speed up the reorganization process. +The fact that New England proposed lower rate increases -- 4.8% over seven years against around 5.5% boosts proposed by the other two outside bidders -- complicated negotiations with state officials, Mr. Ross asserted. "Now the field is less cluttered," he added. + +Separately, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission turned down for now a request by Northeast seeking approval of its possible purchase of PS of New Hampshire. +Northeast said it would refile its request and still hopes for an expedited review by the FERC so that it could complete the purchase by next summer if its bid is the one approved by the bankruptcy court. + +PS of New Hampshire shares closed yesterday at $3.75, off 25 cents, in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0014 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0014 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6f783128abe6add1032679dd97f09f64273d3b80 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0014 @@ -0,0 +1,5 @@ +.START + +Norman Ricken, 52 years old and former president and chief operating officer of Toys "R" Us Inc., and Frederick Deane Jr., 63, chairman of Signet Banking Corp., were elected directors of this consumer electronics and appliances retailing chain. +They succeed Daniel M. Rexinger, retired Circuit City executive vice president, and Robert R. Glauber, U.S. Treasury undersecretary, on the 12-member board. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0016 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0016 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d577817eb113c7d947e35d8f852d18c9c9e5a005 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0016 @@ -0,0 +1,12 @@ +.START + +Japan's domestic sales of cars, trucks and buses in October rose 18% from a year earlier to 500,004 units, a record for the month, the Japan Automobile Dealers' Association said. + +The strong growth followed year-to-year increases of 21% in August and 12% in September. +The monthly sales have been setting records every month since March. + +October sales, compared with the previous month, inched down 0.4%. + +Sales of passenger cars grew 22% from a year earlier to 361,376 units. +Sales of medium-sized cars, which benefited from price reductions arising from introduction of the consumption tax, more than doubled to 30,841 units from 13,056 in October 1988. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0020 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0020 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c48a616dbb636c1318ee4cfa64c1767f3bad3e82 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0020 @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +.START + +The U.S., claiming some success in its trade diplomacy, removed South Korea, Taiwan and Saudi Arabia from a list of countries it is closely watching for allegedly failing to honor U.S. patents, copyrights and other intellectual-property rights. + +However, five other countries -- China, Thailand, India, Brazil and Mexico -- will remain on that so-called priority watch list as a result of an interim review, U.S. Trade Representative Carla Hills announced. +Under the new U.S. trade law, those countries could face accelerated unfair-trade investigations and stiff trade sanctions if they don't improve their protection of intellectual property by next spring. + +Mrs. Hills said many of the 25 countries that she placed under varying degrees of scrutiny have made "genuine progress" on this touchy issue. +She said there is "growing realization" around the world that denial of intellectual-property rights harms all trading nations, and particularly the "creativity and inventiveness of an {offending} country's own citizens." + +U.S. trade negotiators argue that countries with inadequate protections for intellectual-property rights could be hurting themselves by discouraging their own scientists and authors and by deterring U.S. high-technology firms from investing or marketing their best products there. + +Mrs. Hills lauded South Korea for creating an intellectual-property task force and special enforcement teams of police officers and prosecutors trained to pursue movie and book pirates. +Seoul also has instituted effective search-and-seizure procedures to aid these teams, she said. + +Taiwan has improved its standing with the U.S. by initialing a bilateral copyright agreement, amending its trademark law and introducing legislation to protect foreign movie producers from unauthorized showings of their films. +That measure could compel Taipei's growing number of small video-viewing parlors to pay movie producers for showing their films. + +Saudi Arabia, for its part, has vowed to enact a copyright law compatible with international standards and to apply the law to computer software as well as to literary works, Mrs. Hills said. + +These three countries aren't completely off the hook, though. +They will remain on a lower-priority list that includes 17 other countries. +Those countries -- including Japan, Italy, Canada, Greece and Spain -- are still of some concern to the U.S. but are deemed to pose less-serious problems for American patent and copyright owners than those on the "priority" list. + +Gary Hoffman, a Washington lawyer specializing in intellectual-property cases, said the threat of U.S. retaliation, combined with a growing recognition that protecting intellectual property is in a country's own interest, prompted the improvements made by South Korea, Taiwan and Saudi Arabia. "What this tells us is that U.S. trade law is working," he said. +He said Mexico could be one of the next countries to be removed from the priority list because of its efforts to craft a new patent law. + +Mrs. Hills said that the U.S. is still concerned about "disturbing developments in Turkey and continuing slow progress in Malaysia." She didn't elaborate, although earlier U.S. trade reports have complained of videocassette piracy in Malaysia and disregard for U.S. pharmaceutical patents in Turkey. + +The 1988 trade act requires Mrs. Hills to issue another review of the performance of these countries by April 30. +So far, Mrs. Hills hasn't deemed any cases bad enough to merit an accelerated investigation under the so-called special 301 provision of the act. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0021 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0021 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..87f8aac8035baf315b095a82f74ed892c50ed658 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0021 @@ -0,0 +1,15 @@ +.START + +Argentina said it will ask creditor banks to halve its foreign debt of $64 billion -- the third-highest in the developing world. + +The declaration by Economy Minister Nestor Rapanelli is believed to be the first time such an action has been called for by an Argentine official of such stature. +The Latin American nation has paid very little on its debt since early last year. + +"Argentina aspires to reach a reduction of 50% in the value of its external debt," Mr. Rapanelli said through his spokesman, Miguel Alurralde. + +Mr. Rapanelli met in August with U.S. Assistant Treasury Secretary David Mulford. +Argentine negotiator Carlos Carballo was in Washington and New York this week to meet with banks. + +Mr. Rapanelli recently has said the government of President Carlos Menem, who took office July 8, feels a significant reduction of principal and interest is the only way the debt problem may be solved. +But he has not said before that the country wants half the debt forgiven. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0022 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0022 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1394016eb3a7cbfa0654a77d7e656b0370519857 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0022 @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +.START + +(During its centennial year, The Wall Street Journal will report events of the past century that stand as milestones of American business history.) + +THREE COMPUTERS THAT CHANGED the face of personal computing were launched in 1977. + +That year the Apple II, Commodore Pet and Tandy TRS-80 came to market. +The computers were crude by today's standards. +Apple II owners, for example, had to use their television sets as screens and stored data on audiocassettes. +But Apple II was a major advance from Apple I, which was built in a garage by Stephen Wozniak and Steven Jobs for hobbyists such as the Homebrew Computer Club. +In addition, the Apple II was an affordable $1,298. + +Crude as they were, these early PCs triggered explosive product development in desktop models for the home and office. + +Big mainframe computers for business had been around for years. +But the new 1977 PCs -- unlike earlier built-from-kit types such as the Altair, Sol and IMSAI -- had keyboards and could store about two pages of data in their memories. +Current PCs are more than 50 times faster and have memory capacity 500 times greater than their 1977 counterparts. + +There were many pioneer PC contributors. +William Gates and Paul Allen in 1975 developed an early language-housekeeper system for PCs, and Gates became an industry billionaire six years after IBM adapted one of these versions in 1981. +Alan F. Shugart, currently chairman of Seagate Technology, led the team that developed the disk drives for PCs. +Dennis Hayes and Dale Heatherington, two Atlanta engineers, were co-developers of the internal modems that allow PCs to share data via the telephone. + +IBM, the world leader in computers, didn't offer its first PC until August 1981 as many other companies entered the market. +Today, PC shipments annually total some $38.3 billion world-wide. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0027 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0027 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d4b7974ae1d6bb31b2257a7a6a031839b74c6692 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0027 @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +.START + +Magna International Inc. 's chief financial officer, James McAlpine, resigned and its chairman, Frank Stronach, is stepping in to help turn the automotive-parts manufacturer around, the company said. + +Mr. Stronach will direct an effort to reduce overhead and curb capital spending "until a more satisfactory level of profit is achieved and maintained," Magna said. + +Stephen Akerfeldt, currently vice president finance, will succeed Mr. McAlpine. + +An ambitious expansion has left Magna with excess capacity and a heavy debt load as the automotive industry enters a downturn. +The company has reported declines in operating profit in each of the past three years, despite steady sales growth. + +Magna recently cut its quarterly dividend in half and the company's Class A shares are wallowing far below their 52-week high of 16.125 Canadian dollars (US$13.73). +On the Toronto Stock Exchange yesterday, Magna shares closed up 37.5 Canadian cents to C$9.625. + +Mr. Stronach, founder and controlling shareholder of Magna, resigned as chief executive officer last year to seek, unsuccessfully, a seat in Canada's Parliament. + +Analysts said Mr. Stronach wants to resume a more influential role in running the company. +They expect him to cut costs throughout the organization. + +The company said Mr. Stronach will personally direct the restructuring, assisted by Manfred Gingl, president and chief executive. +Neither they nor Mr. McAlpine could be reached for comment. + +Magna said Mr. McAlpine resigned to pursue a consulting career, with Magna as one of his clients. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0029 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0029 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..9177db08ea372bdc7bd955a0ddf0eb56a1f4379f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0029 @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ +.START + +Japanese investors nearly single-handedly bought up two new mortgage securities-based mutual funds totaling $701 million, the U.S. Federal National Mortgage Association said. + +The purchases show the strong interest of Japanese investors in U.S. mortgage-based instruments, Fannie Mae's chairman, David O. Maxwell, said at a news conference. +He said more than 90% of the funds were placed with Japanese institutional investors. +The rest went to investors from France and Hong Kong. + +Earlier this year, Japanese investors snapped up a similar, $570 million mortgage-backed securities mutual fund. +That fund was put together by Blackstone Group, a New York investment bank. +The latest two funds were assembled jointly by Goldman, Sachs & Co. of the U.S. and Japan's Daiwa Securities Co. + +The new, seven-year funds -- one offering a fixed-rate return and the other with a floating-rate return linked to the London interbank offered rate -- offer two key advantages to Japanese investors. +First, they are designed to eliminate the risk of prepayment -- mortgage-backed securities can be retired early if interest rates decline, and such prepayment forces investors to redeploy their money at lower rates. +Second, they channel monthly mortgage payments into semiannual payments, reducing the administrative burden on investors. + +By addressing those problems, Mr. Maxwell said, the new funds have become "extremely attractive to Japanese and other investors outside the U.S." + +Such devices have boosted Japanese investment in mortgage-backed securities to more than 1% of the $900 billion in such instruments outstanding, and their purchases are growing at a rapid rate. +They also have become large purchasers of Fannie Mae's corporate debt, buying $2.4 billion in Fannie Mae bonds during the first nine months of the year, or almost a tenth of the total amount issued. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0032 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0032 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b897cb5628551c8d43bc804611a2a13ee953153b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0032 @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +.START + +Italian chemical giant Montedison S.p. +A., through its Montedison Acquisition N.V. indirect unit, began its $37-a-share tender offer for all the common shares outstanding of Erbamont N.V., a maker of pharmaceuticals incorporated in the Netherlands. + +The offer, advertised in today's editions of The Wall Street Journal, is scheduled to expire at the end of November. + +Montedison currently owns about 72% of Erbamont's common shares outstanding. + +The offer is being launched pursuant to a previously announced agreement between the companies. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0035 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0035 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f8450cb0217610175689ba8516d016f0f64a8f24 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0035 @@ -0,0 +1,19 @@ +.START + +The U.S. and Soviet Union are holding technical talks about possible repayment by Moscow of $188 million in pre-Communist Russian debts owed to the U.S. government, the State Department said. + +If the debts are repaid, it could clear the way for Soviet bonds to be sold in the U.S. However, after two meetings with the Soviets, a State Department spokesman said that it's "too early to say" whether that will happen. + +Coincident with the talks, the State Department said it has permitted a Soviet bank to open a New York branch. +The branch of the Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs was approved last spring and opened in July. + +But a Soviet bank here would be crippled unless Moscow found a way to settle the $188 million debt, which was lent to the country's short-lived democratic Kerensky government before the Communists seized power in 1917. + +Under a 1934 law, the Johnson Debt Default Act, as amended, it's illegal for Americans to extend credit to countries in default to the U.S. government, unless they are members of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. +The U.S.S.R. belongs to neither organization. + +Moscow has settled pre-1917 debts with other countries in recent years at less than face value. + +The State Department stressed the pre-1933 debts as the key to satisfying the Johnson Act. +But the Soviets might still face legal obstacles to raising money in the U.S. until they settle hundreds of millions of dollars in additional debt still outstanding from the World War II lend-lease program. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0037 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0037 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..35f13bed5f65c50fbcddc96d4ba709c76c764a48 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0037 @@ -0,0 +1,95 @@ +.START + +Judging from the Americana in Haruki Murakami's "A Wild Sheep Chase" (Kodansha, 320 pages, $18.95), baby boomers on both sides of the Pacific have a lot in common. +Although set in Japan, the novel's texture is almost entirely Western, especially American. +Characters drink Salty Dogs, whistle "Johnny B. Goode" and watch Bugs Bunny reruns. +They read Mickey Spillane and talk about Groucho and Harpo. +They worry about their careers, drink too much and suffer through broken marriages and desultory affairs. +This is Japan? + +For an American reader, part of the charm of this engaging novel should come in recognizing that Japan isn't the buttoned-down society of contemporary American lore. +It's also refreshing to read a Japanese author who clearly doesn't belong to the self-aggrandizing "we-Japanese" school of writers who perpetuate the notion of the unique Japanese, unfathomable by outsiders. +If "A Wild Sheep Chase" carries an implicit message for international relations, it's that the Japanese are more like us than most of us think. + +That's not to say that the nutty plot of "A Wild Sheep Chase" is rooted in reality. +It's imaginative and often funny. +A disaffected, hard-drinking, nearly-30 hero sets off for snow country in search of an elusive sheep with a star on its back at the behest of a sinister, erudite mobster with a Stanford degree. +He has in tow his prescient girlfriend, whose sassy retorts mark her as anything but a docile butterfly. +Along the way, he meets a solicitous Christian chauffeur who offers the hero God's phone number; and the Sheep Man, a sweet, roughhewn figure who wears -- what else -- a sheepskin. + +The 40-year-old Mr. Murakami is a publishing sensation in Japan. +A more recent novel, "Norwegian Wood" (every Japanese under 40 seems to be fluent in Beatles lyrics), has sold more than four million copies since Kodansha published it in 1987. +But he is just one of several youthful writers -- Tokyo's brat pack -- who are dominating the best-seller charts in Japan. +Their books are written in idiomatic, contemporary language and usually carry hefty dashes of Americana. + +In Robert Whiting's "You Gotta Have Wa" (Macmillan, 339 pages, $17.95), the Beatles give way to baseball, in the Nipponese version we would be hard put to call a "game." As Mr. Whiting describes it, Nipponese baseball is a "mirror of Japan's fabled virtues of hard work and harmony." "Wa" is Japanese for "team spirit" and Japanese ballplayers have miles and miles of it. +A player's commitment to practice and team image is as important as his batting average. +Polls once named Tokyo Giants star Tatsunori Hara, a "humble, uncomplaining, obedient soul," as the male symbol of Japan. + +But other than the fact that besuboru is played with a ball and a bat, it's unrecognizable: Fans politely return foul balls to stadium ushers; the strike zone expands depending on the size of the hitter; ties are permitted -- even welcomed -- since they honorably sidestep the shame of defeat; players must abide by strict rules of conduct even in their personal lives -- players for the Tokyo Giants, for example, must always wear ties when on the road. + +"You Gotta Have Wa" is the often amusing chronicle of how American ballplayers, rationed to two per team, fare in Japan. +Despite the enormous sums of money they're paid to stand up at a Japanese plate, a good number decide it's not worth it and run for home. + +"Funny Business" (Soho, 228 pages, $17.95) by Gary Katzenstein is anything but. +It's the petulant complaint of an impudent American whom Sony hosted for a year while he was on a Luce Fellowship in Tokyo -- to the regret of both parties. + +In sometimes amusing, more often supercilious, even vicious passages, Mr. Katzenstein describes how Sony invades even the most mundane aspects of its workers' lives -- at the regimented office, where employees are assigned lunch partners -- and at "home" in the austere company dormitory run by a prying caretaker. + +Some of his observations about Japanese management style are on the mark. +It's probably true that many salarymen put in unproductive overtime just for the sake of solidarity, that the system is so hierarchical that only the assistant manager can talk to the manager and the manager to the general manager, and that Sony was chary of letting a young, short-term American employee take on any responsibility. +All of this must have been enormously frustrating to Mr. Katzenstein, who went to Sony with degrees in business and computer science and was raring to invent another Walkman. + +But Sony ultimately took a lesson from the American management books and fired Mr. Katzenstein, after he committed the social crime of making an appointment to see the venerable Akio Morita, founder of Sony. +It's a shame their meeting never took place. +Mr. Katzenstein certainly would have learned something, and it's even possible Mr. Morita would have too. + +Ms. Kirkpatrick, the Journal's deputy editorial features editor, worked in Tokyo for three years. + +More and more corners of the globe are becoming free of tobacco smoke. + +In Singapore, a new law requires smokers to put out their cigarettes before entering restaurants, department stores and sports centers or face a $250 fine. +Discos and private clubs are exempt from the ban, and smoking will be permitted in bars except during meal hours, an official said. +Singapore already bans smoking in all theaters, buses, public elevators, hospitals and fast-food restaurants. + +In Malaysia, Siti Zaharah Sulaiman, a deputy minister in the prime minister's office, launched a "No-Smoking Week" at the Mara Institute of Technology near Kuala Lumpur and urged other schools to ban on-campus smoking. + +South Korea has different concerns. +In Seoul, officials began visiting about 26,000 cigarette stalls to remove illegal posters and signboards advertising imported cigarettes. +South Korea has opened its market to foreign cigarettes but restricts advertising to designated places. + +A marketing study indicates that Hong Kong consumers are the most materialistic in the 14 major markets where the survey was carried out. +The study by the Backer Spielvogel Bates ad agency also found that the colony's consumers feel more pressured than those in any of the other surveyed markets, which include the U.S. and Japan. +The survey found that nearly half of Hong Kong consumers espouse what it identified as materialistic values, compared with about one-third in Japan and the U.S. +More than three in five said they are under a great deal of stress most of the time, compared with less than one in two U.S. consumers and one in four in Japan. + +The Thai cabinet endorsed Finance Minister Pramual Sabhavasu's proposal to build a $19 million conference center for a joint meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund two years from now. +The meeting, which is expected to draw 20,000 to Bangkok, was going to be held at the Central Plaza Hotel, but the government balked at the hotel's conditions for undertaking necessary expansion. +A major concern about the current plan is whether the new center can be built in such a short time. + +Yasser Arafat has written to the chairman of the International Olympic Committee asking him to back a Palestinian bid to join the committee, the Palestine Liberation Organization news agency WAFA said. +An official of the Palestinian Olympic Committee said the committee first applied for membership in 1979 and renewed its application in August of this year. +The PLO in recent months has been trying to join international organizations but failed earlier this year to win membership in the World Health Organization and the World Tourism Organization. + +A Beijing food-shop assistant has become the first mainland Chinese to get AIDS through sex, the People's Daily said. +It said the man, whom it did not name, had been found to have the disease after hospital tests. +Once the disease was confirmed, all the man's associates and family were tested, but none have so far been found to have AIDS, the newspaper said. +The man had for a long time had "a chaotic sex life," including relations with foreign men, the newspaper said. + +The Polish government increased home electricity charges by 150% and doubled gas prices. +The official news agency PAP said the increases were intended to bring unrealistically low energy charges into line with production costs and compensate for a rise in coal prices. +In happier news, South Korea, in establishing diplomatic ties with Poland yesterday, announced $450 million in loans to the financially strapped Warsaw government. + +In a victory for environmentalists, Hungary's parliament terminated a multibillion-dollar River Danube dam being built by Austrian firms. + +The Nagymaros dam was designed to be twinned with another dam, now nearly complete, 100 miles upstream in Czechoslovakia. +In ending Hungary's part of the project, Parliament authorized Prime Minister Miklos Nemeth to modify a 1977 agreement with Czechoslovakia, which still wants the dam to be built. + +Mr. Nemeth said in parliament that Czechoslovakia and Hungary would suffer environmental damage if the twin dams were built as planned. + +Czechoslovakia said in May it could seek $2 billion from Hungary if the twindam contract were broken. +The Czech dam can't be operated solely at peak periods without the Nagymaros project. + +A painting by August Strindberg set a Scandinavian price record when it sold at auction in Stockholm for $2.44 million. "Lighthouse II" was painted in oils by the playwright in 1901 . . . After years of decline, weddings in France showed a 2.2% upturn last year, with 6,000 more couples exchanging rings in 1988 than in the previous year, the national statistics office said. +But the number of weddings last year -- 271,124 -- was still well below the 400,000 registered in 1972, the last year of increasing marriages. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0040 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0040 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b809fea82762035e91bf19b90efc137da3d9adb4 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0040 @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +.START + +Boeing Co. said it is discussing plans with three of its regular Japanese suppliers to possibly help build a larger version of its popular 767 twin-jet. + +The discussions are still in preliminary stages, and the specific details haven't been worked out between the Seattle aerospace company and Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. + +The three Japanese companies build the body sections of the 767, accounting for a combined 15% of the aircraft. +Japanese press reports have speculated that the Japanese contribution could rise to between 20% and 25% under the new program. + +If Boeing goes ahead with the larger 767, the plane could hit the market in the mid-1990s. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0044 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0044 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e4b3a8151b8382dbaeb2684f94f7a80ebd7fd14d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0044 @@ -0,0 +1,150 @@ +.START + +Cathryn Rice could hardly believe her eyes. +While giving the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills to ninth graders at Greenville High School last March 16, she spotted a student looking at crib sheets. + +She had seen cheating before, but these notes were uncanny. "A stockbroker is an example of a profession in trade and finance. . . . At the end of World War II, Germany surrendered before Japan. . . . The Senate-House conference committee is used when a bill is passed by the House and Senate in different forms." + +Virtually word for word, the notes matched questions and answers on the social-studies section of the test the student was taking. +In fact, the student had the answers to almost all of the 40 questions in that section. +The student surrendered the notes, but not without a protest. "My teacher said it was OK for me to use the notes on the test," he said. + +The teacher in question was Nancy Yeargin -- considered by many students and parents to be one of the best at the school. +Confronted, Mrs. Yeargin admitted she had given the questions and answers two days before the examination to two low-ability geography classes. +She had gone so far as to display the questions on an overhead projector and underline the answers. + +Mrs. Yeargin was fired and prosecuted under an unusual South Carolina law that makes it a crime to breach test security. +In September, she pleaded guilty and paid a $500 fine. +Her alternative was 90 days in jail. + +Her story is partly one of personal downfall. +She was an unstinting teacher who won laurels and inspired students, but she will probably never teach again. +In her wake she left the bitterness and anger of a principal who was her friend and now calls her a betrayer; of colleagues who say she brought them shame; of students and parents who defended her and insist she was treated harshly; and of school-district officials stunned that despite the bald-faced nature of her actions, she became something of a local martyr. + +Mrs. Yeargin's case also casts some light on the dark side of school reform, where pressures on teachers are growing and where high-stakes testing has enhanced the temptation to cheat. +The 1987 statute Mrs. Yeargin violated was designed to enforce provisions of South Carolina's school-improvement laws. +Prosecutors alleged that she was trying to bolster students' scores to win a bonus under the state's 1984 Education Improvement Act. +The bonus depended on her ability to produce higher student-test scores. + +"There is incredible pressure on school systems and teachers to raise test scores," says Walt Haney, an education professor and testing specialist at Boston College. "So efforts to beat the tests are also on the rise." And most disturbing, it is educators, not students, who are blamed for much of the wrongdoing. + +A 50-state study released in September by Friends for Education, an Albuquerque, N.M., school-research group, concluded that "outright cheating by American educators" is "common." The group says standardized achievement test scores are greatly inflated because teachers often "teach the test" as Mrs. Yeargin did, although most are never caught. + +Evidence of widespread cheating has surfaced in several states in the last year or so. +California's education department suspects adult responsibility for erasures at 40 schools that changed wrong answers to right ones on a statewide test. +After numerous occurrences of questionable teacher help to students, Texas is revising its security practices. + +And sales of test-coaching booklets for classroom instruction are booming. +These materials, including Macmillan/McGraw-Hill School Publishing Co. 's Scoring High and Learning Materials -- are nothing short of sophisticated crib sheets, according to some recent academic research. +By using them, teachers -- with administrative blessing -- telegraph to students beforehand the precise areas on which a test will concentrate, and sometimes give away a few exact questions and answers. +Use of Scoring High is widespread in South Carolina and common in Greenville County, Mrs. Yeargin's school district. + +Experts say there isn't another state in the country where tests mean as much as they do in South Carolina. + +Under the state's Education Improvement Act, low test scores can block students' promotions or force entire districts into wrenching, state-supervised "interventions" that can mean firings. +High test scores, on the other hand, bring recognition and extra money -- a new computer lab for a school, grants for special projects, a bonus for the superintendent. + +And South Carolina says it is getting results. +Since the reforms went in place, for example, no state has posted a higher rate of improvement on the Scholastic Aptitude Test than South Carolina, although the state still posts the lowest average score of the about 21 states who use the SAT as the primary college entrance examination. +Critics say South Carolina is paying a price by stressing improved test scores so much. +Friends of Education rates South Carolina one of the worst seven states in its study on academic cheating. +Says the organization's founder, John Cannell, prosecuting Mrs. Yeargin is "a way for administrators to protect themselves and look like they take cheating seriously, when in fact they don't take it seriously at all." + +Paul Sandifer, director of testing for the South Carolina department of education, says Mr. Cannell's allegations of cheating "are purely without foundation," and based on unfair inferences. +Partly because of worries about potential abuse, however, he says the state will begin keeping closer track of achievement-test preparation booklets next spring. + +South Carolina's reforms were designed for schools like Greenville High School. +Standing on a shaded hill in a run-down area of this old textile city, the school has educated many of South Carolina's best and brightest, including the state's last two governors, Nobel Prize winning physicist Charles Townes and actress Joanne Woodward. +But by the early 1980s, its glory had faded like the yellow bricks of its broad facade. + +"It was full of violence and gangs and kids cutting class," says Linda Ward, the school's principal. "Crime was awful, test scores were low, and there was no enrollment in honors programs." + +Mrs. Ward took over in 1986, becoming the school's seventh principal in 15 years. +Her immediate predecessor suffered a nervous breakdown. +Prior to his term, a teacher bled to death in the halls, stabbed by a student. +Academically, Mrs. Ward says, the school was having trouble serving in harmony its two disparate, and evenly split, student groups: a privileged white elite from old monied neighborhoods and blacks, many of them poor, from run-down, inner city neighborhoods. + +Mrs. Ward resolved to clean out "deadwood" in the school's faculty and restore safety, and she also had some new factors working in her behalf. +One was statewide school reform, which raised overall educational funding and ushered in a new public spirit for school betterment. +Another was Nancy Yeargin, who came to Greenville in 1985, full of the energy and ambitions that reformers wanted to reward. + +"Being a teacher just became my life," says the 37-year-old Mrs. Yeargin, a teacher for 12 years before her dismissal. "I loved the school, its history. +I even dreamt about school and new things to do with my students." + +While Mrs. Ward fired and restructured staff and struggled to improve curriculum, Mrs. Yeargin worked 14-hour days and fast became a student favorite. +In 1986-87 and 1987-88, she applied for and won bonus pay under the reform law. +Encouraged by Mrs. Ward, Mrs. Yeargin taught honor students in the state "teacher cadet" program, a reform creation designed to encourage good students to consider teaching as a career. +She won grant money for the school, advised cheerleaders, ran the pep club, proposed and taught a new "Cultural Literacy" class in Western Civilization and was chosen by the school PTA as "Teacher of the Year." + +"She was an inspirational lady; she had it all together," says Laura Dobson, a freshman at the University of South Carolina who had Mrs. Yeargin in the teacher-cadet class last year. +She says that because of Mrs. Yeargin she gave up ambitions in architecture and is studying to become a teacher. +Mary Beth Marchand, a Greenville 11th grader, also says Mrs. Yeargin inspired her to go into education. "She taught us more in Western Civilization than I've ever learned in other classes," says Kelli Green, a Greenville senior. + +In the classroom, students say, Mrs. Yeargin distinguished herself by varying teaching approaches -- forcing kids to pair up to complete classroom work or using college-bowl type competitions. +On weekends, she came to work to prepare study plans or sometimes, even to polish the furniture in her classroom. + +"She just never gave it up," says Mary Marchand, Mary Beth's mother. "You'd see her correcting homework in the stands at a football game." + +Some fellow teachers, however, viewed Mrs. Yeargin as cocky and too yielding to students. +Mrs. Ward says she often defended her to colleagues who called her a grandstander. +Pressures began to build. +Friends told her she was pushing too hard. +Because of deteriorating hearing, she told colleagues she feared she might not be able to teach much longer. + +Mrs. Yeargin's extra work was also helping her earn points in the state's incentive-bonus program. +But the most important source of points was student improvement on tests. +Huge gains by her students in 1987 and 1988 meant a total of $5,000 in bonuses over two years -- a meaningful addition to her annual salary of $23,000. + +Winning a bonus for a third year wasn't that important to her, Mrs. Yeargin insists. +But others at Greenville High say she was eager to win -- if not for money, then for pride and recognition. +Mary Elizabeth Ariail, another social-studies teacher, says she believed Mrs. Yeargin wanted to keep her standing high so she could get a new job that wouldn't demand good hearing. +Indeed, Mrs. Yeargin was interested in a possible job with the state teacher cadet program. + +Last March, after attending a teaching seminar in Washington, Mrs. Yeargin says she returned to Greenville two days before annual testing feeling that she hadn't prepared her low-ability geography students adequately. +When test booklets were passed out 48 hours ahead of time, she says she copied questions in the social studies section and gave the answers to students. + +Mrs. Yeargin admits she made a big mistake but insists her motives were correct. "I was trying to help kids in an unfair testing situation," she says. "Only five of the 40 questions were geography questions. +The rest were history, sociology, finance -- subjects they never had." + +Mrs. Yeargin says that she also wanted to help lift Greenville High School's overall test scores, usually near the bottom of 14 district high schools in rankings carried annually by local newspapers. +Mostly, she says, she wanted to prevent the damage to self-esteem that her low-ability students would suffer from doing badly on the test. "These kids broke my heart," she says. "A whole day goes by and no one even knows they're alive. +They desperately needed somebody who showed they cared for them, who loved them. +The last thing they needed was another drag-down blow." + +School officials and prosecutors say Mrs. Yeargin is lying. +They found students in an advanced class a year earlier who said she gave them similar help, although because the case wasn't tried in court, this evidence was never presented publicly. "That pretty much defeats any inkling that she was out to help the poor underprivileged child," says Joe Watson, the prosecutor in the case, who is also president of Greenville High School's alumni association. +Mrs. Yeargin concedes that she went over the questions in the earlier class, adding: "I wanted to help all" students. + +Mr. Watson says Mrs. Yeargin never complained to school officials that the standardized test was unfair. "Do I have much sympathy for her?" Mr. Watson asks. "Not really. +I believe in the system. +I believe you have to use the system to change it. +What she did was like taking the law into your own hands." + +Mrs. Ward says that when the cheating was discovered, she wanted to avoid the morale-damaging public disclosure that a trial would bring. +She says she offered Mrs. Yeargin a quiet resignation and thought she could help save her teaching certificate. +Mrs. Yeargin declined. "She said something like `You just want to make it easy for the school. ' I was dumbfounded," Mrs. Ward recalls. "It was like someone had turned a knife in me." + +To the astonishment and dismay of her superiors and legal authorities -- and perhaps as a measure of the unpopularity of standardized tests -- Mrs. Yeargin won widespread local support. +The school-board hearing at which she was dismissed was crowded with students, teachers and parents who came to testify on her behalf. +Supportive callers decried unfair testing, not Mrs. Yeargin, on a local radio talk show on which she appeared. + +The show didn't give the particulars of Mrs. Yeargin's offense, saying only that she helped students do better on the test. "The message to the board of education out of all this is we've got to take a serious look at how we're doing our curriculum and our testing policies in this state," said the talk-show host. +Editorials in the Greenville newspaper allowed that Mrs. Yeargin was wrong, but also said the case showed how testing was being overused. + +The radio show "enraged us," says Mrs. Ward. +Partly because of the show, Mr. Watson says, the district decided not to recommend Mrs. Yeargin for a first-time offenders program that could have expunged the charges and the conviction from her record. +And legal authorities cranked up an investigation worthy of a murder case. +Over 50 witnesses, mostly students, were interviewed. + +At Greenville High School, meanwhile, some students -- especially on the cheerleading squad -- were crushed. "It's hard to explain to a 17-year-old why someone they like had to go," says Mrs. Ward. +Soon, T-shirts appeared in the corridors that carried the school's familiar red-and-white GHS logo on the front. +On the back, the shirts read, "We have all the answers." Many colleagues are angry at Mrs. Yeargin. "She did a lot of harm," says Cathryn Rice, who had discovered the crib notes. "We work damn hard at what we do for damn little pay, and what she did cast unfair aspersions on all of us." + +But several teachers also say the incident casts doubt on the wisdom of evaluating teachers or schools by using standardized test scores. +Says Gayle Key, a mathematics teacher, "The incentive pay thing has opened up a can of worms. +There may be others doing what she did." + +Mrs. Yeargin says she pleaded guilty because she realized it would no longer be possible to win reinstatement, and because she was afraid of further charges. +Mrs. Ward, for one, was relieved. +Despite the strong evidence against Mrs. Yeargin, popular sentiment was so strong in her favor, Mrs. Ward says, that "I'm afraid a jury wouldn't have convicted her." + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0045 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0045 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..710bb746d9afa66561c04136f5d7d0ff6340a9d7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0045 @@ -0,0 +1,56 @@ +.START + +Since chalk first touched slate, schoolchildren have wanted to know: What's on the test? +These days, students can often find the answer in test-coaching workbooks and worksheets their teachers give them in the weeks prior to taking standardized achievement tests. + +The mathematics section of the widely used California Achievement Test asks fifth graders: "What is another name for the Roman numeral IX?" It also asks them to add two-sevenths and three-sevenths. + +Worksheets in a test-practice kit called Learning Materials, sold to schools across the country by Macmillan/McGraw-Hill School Publishing Co., contain the same questions. +In many other instances, there is almost no difference between the real test and Learning Materials. +What's more, the test and Learning Materials are both produced by the same company, Macmillan/McGraw-Hill, a joint venture of McGraw-Hill Inc. and Macmillan's parent, Britain's Maxwell Communication Corp. + +Close parallels between tests and practice tests are common, some educators and researchers say. +Test-preparation booklets, software and worksheets are a booming publishing subindustry. +But some practice products are so similar to the tests themselves that critics say they represent a form of school-sponsored cheating. + +"If I took {these preparation booklets} into my classroom, I'd have a hard time justifying to my students and parents that it wasn't cheating," says John Kaminski, a Traverse City, Mich., teacher who has studied test coaching. +He and other critics say such coaching aids can defeat the purpose of standardized tests, which is to gauge learning progress. + +"It's as if France decided to give only French history questions to students in a European history class, and when everybody aces the test, they say their kids are good in European history," says John Cannell, an Albuquerque, N.M., psychiatrist and founder of an educational research organization, Friends for Education, which has studied standardized testing. + +Standardized achievement tests are given about 10 million times a year across the country to students generally from kindergarten through eighth grade. +The most widely used of these tests are Macmillan/McGraw's CAT and Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills; the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, by Houghton Mifflin Co.; and Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Inc. 's Metropolitan Achievement Test and Stanford Achievement Test. + +Sales figures of the test-prep materials aren't known, but their reach into schools is significant. +In Arizona, California, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, South Carolina and Texas, educators say they are common classroom tools. + +Macmillan/McGraw says "well over 10 million" of its Scoring High test-preparation books have been sold since their introduction 10 years ago, with most sales in the last five years. +About 20,000 sets of Learning Materials teachers' binders have also been sold in the past four years. +The materials in each set reach about 90 students. +Scoring High and Learning Materials are the best-selling preparation tests. + +Michael Kean, director of marketing for CTB Macmillan/McGraw, the Macmillan/McGraw division that publishes Learning Materials, says it isn't aimed at improving test scores. +He also asserted that exact questions weren't replicated. +When referred to the questions that matched, he said it was coincidental. + +Mr. Kaminski, the schoolteacher, and William Mehrens, a Michigan State University education professor, concluded in a study last June that CAT test versions of Scoring High and Learning Materials shouldn't be used in the classroom because of their similarity to the actual test. +They devised a 69-point scale -- awarding one point for each subskill measured on the CAT test -- to rate the closeness of test preparatives to the fifth-grade CAT. + +Because many of these subskills -- the symmetry of geometrical figures, metric measurement of volume, or pie and bar graphs, for example -- are only a small part of the total fifth-grade curriculum, Mr. Kaminski says, the preparation kits wouldn't replicate too many, if their real intent was general instruction or even general familiarization with test procedures. +But Learning Materials matched on 66.5 of 69 subskills. +Scoring High matched on 64.5. + +In CAT sections where students' knowledge of two-letter consonant sounds is tested, the authors noted that Scoring High concentrated on the same sounds that the test does -- to the exclusion of other sounds that fifth graders should know. + +Learning Materials for the fifth-grade contains at least a dozen examples of exact matches or close parallels to test items. + +Rick Brownell, senior editor of Scoring High, says that Messrs. +Kaminski and Mehrens are ignoring "the need students have for becoming familiar with tests and testing format." He said authors of Scoring High "scrupulously avoid" replicating exact questions, but he doesn't deny that some items are similar. + +When Scoring High first came out in 1979, it was a publication of Random House. +McGraw-Hill was outraged. +In a 1985 advisory to educators, McGraw-Hill said Scoring High shouldn't be used because it represented a "parallel form" of the CAT and CTBS tests. +But in 1988, McGraw-Hill purchased the Random House unit that publishes Scoring High, which later became part of Macmillan/McGraw. +Messrs. +Brownell and Kean say they are unaware of any efforts by McGraw-Hill to modify or discontinue Scoring High. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0048 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0048 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ac245c5845713b1b3d354d2f32cbc5dbb7d2552e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0048 @@ -0,0 +1,61 @@ +.START + +Rekindled hope that two New England states will allow broader interstate banking boosted Nasdaq's bank stocks, but the over-the-counter market was up only slightly in lackluster trading. + +The Nasdaq composite index added 1.01 to 456.64 on paltry volume of 118.6 million shares. +In terms of volume, it was an inauspicious beginning for November. +Yesterday's share turnover was well below the year's daily average of 133.8 million. +In October, the busiest month of the year so far, daily volume averaged roughly 145 million shares. + +The Nasdaq 100 index of the biggest nonfinancial stocks gained 1.39 to 446.62. +The index of the 100 largest Nasdaq financial stocks rose modestly as well, gaining 1.28 to 449.04. +But the broader Nasdaq bank index, which tracks thrift issues, jumped 3.23 to 436.01. + +The bank stocks got a boost when Connecticut Bank & Trust and Bank of New England said they no longer oppose pending legislation that would permit banks from other regions to merge with Connecticut and Massachusetts banks. +The two banks merged in 1985. +Bank of New England's shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange. + +The stocks of banking concerns based in Massachusetts weren't helped much by the announcement, traders said, because many of those concerns have financial problems tied to their real-estate loan portfolios, making them unattractive takeover targets. + +But speculators, anticipating that Connecticut will approve a law permitting such interstate banking soon, immediately bid up shares of Connecticut banks on the news. "A lot of the stocks that have been under water finally saw a reason to uptick," said George Jennison, head trader of banking issues in Shearson Lehman Hutton's OTC department. + +The biggest beneficiary was Northeast Bancorp, which surged 7 3/4 to 69. +The Stamford, Conn., concern has agreed to a buy-out by Bank of New York in a transaction with an indicated value of about $100 a share that expires next August. +Ed Macheski, a Wilton, Conn., money manager who follows bank stocks, said the announcement effectively gives the deal "the green light." + +Mr. Jennison said Northeast Bancorp also fared well because takeover stocks have returned to favor among investors. +Another OTC bank stock involved in a buy-out deal, First Constitution Financial, was higher. +It rose 7/8 to 18 1/4. +First Constitution has signed a merger agreement with WFRR L.P. and GHKM Corp., under which all of its common shares will be acquired for $25 each, or $273.5 million. + +Among other Connecticut banks whose shares trade in the OTC market, Society for Savings Bancorp, based in Hartford, saw its stock rise 1 3/4 to 18 1/4. +Centerbank added 5/8 to 8 3/4; shares of NESB, a New London-based bank holding company, rose 5/8 to 5 7/8. + +Among other banking issues, Pennview Savings Association leapt more than 44% with a gain of 6 5/8 to 21 5/8. +The Pennsylvania bank agreed to be acquired in a merger with Univest Corp. of Pennsylvania for $25.50 a share. +Valley Federal Savings & Loan, a California thrift issue, gained 1 to 4 1/4 after reporting a third-quarter loss of $70.7 million after an $89.9 million pretax charge mostly related to its mobile home financing unit. + +Dan E. Nelms, Valley Federal's president and chief executive officer, said the one-time charge substantially eliminates future losses associated with the unit. +He said the company's core business remains strong. +He also said that after the charges, and "assuming no dramatic fluctuation in interest rates, the company expects to achieve near-record earnings in 1990." + +Weisfield's surged 6 3/4 to 55 1/2 and Ratners Group's American depositary receipts, or ADRs, gained 5/8 to 12 1/4. +The two concerns said they entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Ratners will begin a tender offer for all of Weisfield's common shares for $57.50 each. + +Also on the takeover front, Jaguar's ADRs rose 1/4 to 13 7/8 on turnover of 4.4 million. +Since the British auto maker became a takeover target last month, its ADRs have jumped about 78%. + +After troubled Heritage Media proposed acquiring POP Radio in a stock swap, POP Radio's shares tumbled 4 to 14 3/4. +Heritage Media, which already owns about 51% of POP Radio, proposed paying POP Radio shareholders with shares of a new class of Heritage Media preferred stock that would be convertible into four shares of Heritage Media's common. + +Rally's lost 1 3/4 to 21 3/4. +The restaurant operator said it has redeemed its rights issued Monday under its shareholder rights plan. + +The fast-food company said its decision was based on discussions with a shareholder group, Giant Group Ltd., "in an effort to resolve certain disputes with the company." + +Giant Group is led by three Rally's directors, Burt Sugarman, James M. Trotter III and William E. Trotter II, who earlier this month indicated they had a 42.5% stake in Rally's and planned to seek a majority of seats on Rally's nine-member board. + +SCI Systems slipped 7/8 to 10 on volume of 858,000 shares. +The Huntsville, Ala., electronic products maker said it expects to post a "significant" loss for its fiscal first quarter ended Sept. 30. +In the year-earlier period, SCI had net income of $4.8 million, or 23 cents a share, on revenue of $225.6 million. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0049 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0049 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d0fe1b51eeed0eb9c81a45000ae1f202d68cecb4 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0049 @@ -0,0 +1,104 @@ +.START + +The Internal Revenue Service has threatened criminal sanctions against lawyers who fail to report detailed information about clients who pay them more than $10,000 in cash. + +The warnings, issued to at least 100 criminal defense attorneys in several major cities in the last week, have led to an outcry by members of the organized bar, who claim the information is protected by attorney-client privilege. + +The IRS warnings stem from a 1984 law that requires anyone who receives more than $10,000 in cash from a client or customer in one or more related transactions "in the course of trade or business" to report the payment on a document known as Form 8300. +The form asks for such details as the client's name, Social Security number, passport number and details about the services provided for the payment. + +Failure to complete the form had been punishable as a misdemeanor until last November, when Congress determined that the crime was a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. + +Attorneys have argued since 1985, when the law took effect, that they cannot provide information about clients who don't wish their identities to be known. +Many attorneys have returned incomplete forms to the IRS in recent years, citing attorney-client privilege. +Until last week, the IRS rarely acted on the incomplete forms. + +"This form forces a lawyer to become, in effect, a witness against his client," said Neal R. Sonnett, president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. "The IRS is asking lawyers to red-flag a criminal problem to the government," added Mr. Sonnett, a Miami lawyer who has heard from dozens of attorneys who received letters in recent days and has himself received the computer-generated IRS forms sent by certified mail. + +Mr. Sonnett said that clients who pay cash may include alleged drug dealers who don't have domestic bank accounts. +These individuals may not necessarily be under investigation when they hire lawyers. +Mr. Sonnett said there also may be other circumstances under which individuals wouldn't want the government to know they had retained criminal defense lawyers. +Filling out detailed forms about these individuals would tip the IRS off and spark action against the clients, he said. +The defense lawyers' group formed a task force this week, chaired by New York attorney Gerald Lefcourt, to deal with the matter. + +The American Bar Association's House of Delegates passed a resolution in 1985 condemning the IRS reporting requirement. +Michael Ross, a New York lawyer who heads the ABA's grand jury committee, said that lawyers are prohibited by the ABA's code of ethics from disclosing information about a client except where a court orders it or to prevent the client from committing a criminal act that could result in death. + +Mr. Ross said he met with officials of the IRS and the Justice Department, which would bring any enforcement actions against taxpayers, to discuss the issue last May. +At that meeting, he said, the Justice Department assured him that enforcement procedures wouldn't be threatened against attorneys without further review and advance notice. +Mr. Ross said IRS officials opposed the Justice Department's moderate stance on the matter. + +But in the letters sent in recent days, Christopher J. Lezovich of the IRS computing center in Detroit, told attorneys that "failing to voluntarily submit the requested information could result in summons enforcement action being initiated." In some cases, the IRS asked for information dating back to forms it received in 1985. + +A spokesman for the IRS confirmed that "there has been correspondence mailed about incomplete 8300s," but he declined to say why the letters were sent to lawyers now. +Individuals familiar with the Justice Department's policy said that Justice officials hadn't any knowledge of the IRS's actions in the last week. + +Lawyers worry that if they provide information about clients, that data could quickly end up in the hands of prosecutors. +Prosecutors need court permission to obtain the tax returns of an individual or a business. +But they have obtained 8300 forms without court permission and used the information to help develop criminal cases. + +Some criminal lawyers speculated that the IRS was sending the letters to test the issue. +In a number of recent cases, federal courts have refused to recognize attorneys' assertions that information relating to fees from clients should be confidential. + +THE WAR OVER FEDERAL JUDICIAL SALARIES takes a victim. + +Often, judges ease into more lucrative private practice with little fanfare, but not federal Judge Raul A. Ramirez in Sacramento, Calif. +On Tuesday, the judge called a news conference to say he was quitting effective Dec. 31 to join a San Francisco law firm. +The reason: the refusal of Congress to give federal judges a raise. + +"A couple of my law clerks were going to pass me in three or four years, and I was afraid I was going to have to ask them for a loan," the judge quipped in an interview. +Federal judges make $89,500 annually; in February, Congress rejected a bill that would have increased their pay by 50%. + +Judge Ramirez, 44, said it is unjust for judges to make what they do. "Judges are not getting what they deserve. +You look around at professional ballplayers or accountants . . . and nobody blinks an eye. +When you become a federal judge, all of a sudden you are relegated to a paltry sum." + +At his new job, as partner in charge of federal litigation in the Sacramento office of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, he will make out much better. + +The judge declined to discuss his salary in detail, but said: "I'm going to be a high-priced lawyer." + +DOONESBURY CREATOR'S UNION TROUBLES are no laughing matter. + +Cartoonist Garry Trudeau is suing the Writers Guild of America East for $11 million, alleging it mounted a "campaign to harass and punish" him for crossing a screenwriters' picket line. + +The dispute involves Darkhorse Productions Inc., a TV production company in which Mr. Trudeau is a co-owner. +Mr. Trudeau, a Writers Guild member, also was employed as a writer for Darkhorse, which was covered by a guild collective-bargaining agreement. + +The guild began a strike against the TV and movie industry in March 1988. +In his lawsuit, Mr. Trudeau says the strike illegally included Darkhorse, and the cartoonist refused to honor the strike against the company. +A spokesman for the guild said the union's lawyers are reviewing the suit. +He said disciplinary proceedings are confidential and declined to comment on whether any are being held against Mr. Trudeau. + +Mr. Trudeau's attorney, Norman K. Samnick, said the harassment consists mainly of the guild's year-long threats of disciplinary action. +Mr. Samnick said a guild disciplinary hearing is scheduled next Monday in New York. +Mr. Samnick, who will go before the disciplinary panel, said the proceedings are unfair and that any punishment from the guild would be unjustified. + +In addition to the damages, the suit seeks a court order preventing the guild from punishing or retaliating against Mr. Trudeau. + +ABORTION RULING UPHELD: A federal appeals court upheld a lower court ruling that the U.S. can bar the use of federal funds for family-planning programs that include abortion-related services. +A Department of Health and Human Services rule adopted in 1988 prohibits the use of so-called Title X funds for programs that assist a woman in obtaining an abortion, such as abortion counseling and referrals. +The rule also prohibits funding for activities that "encourage, promote or advocate abortion." Title X funds are the single largest source of federal funding for family-planning services, according to the opinion by the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York. +The panel ruled that the restrictions don't violate the freedom of speech of health care providers and that the limits on counseling services don't violate the rights of pregnant women. + +INQUIRY CLEARS TEXAS JUDGE of bias in comments on homosexual murder victims. + +Dallas District Judge Jack Hampton had sparked calls for a judicial inquiry with his remarks to the press last December, two weeks after sentencing an 18-year-old defendant to 30 years in state prison for killing two homosexual men in a city park. +The judge was quoted as referring to the victims as "queers" and saying they wouldn't have been killed "if they hadn't been cruising the streets picking up teenage boys." + +But Robert R. Murray, a special master appointed by the Texas Supreme Court, said Judge Hampton didn't breach any judicial standards of fairness, although he did violate the state's judicial code by commenting publicly on a pending case. +Observing that the judge "has never exhibited any bias or prejudice," Mr. Murray concluded that he "would be impartial in any case involving a homosexual or prostitute" as a victim. +Mr. Murray also said Judge Hampton's comments didn't discredit the judiciary or the administration of justice. + +The report is subject to review by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, which is empowered to impose sanctions. + +GAF TRIAL goes to round three. +Attorneys in the third stock-manipulation trial of GAF Corp. began opening arguments yesterday in the Manhattan courtroom of U.S. District Judge Mary Johnson Lowe. +In an eight-count indictment, the government has charged GAF, a Wayne, N.J., specialty chemical maker, and its Vice Chairman James T. Sherwin with attempting to manipulate the common stock of Union Carbide Corp. in advance of GAF's planned sale of a large block of the stock in November 1986. +The first two GAF trials ended in mistrials earlier this year. +This trial is expected to last five weeks. + +SWITCHING TO THE DEFENSE: A former member of the prosecution team in the Iran/Contra affair joined the Chicago firm of Mayer, Brown & Platt. +Michael R. Bromwich, a member since January 1987 of the three-lawyer trial team in the prosecution of Oliver North, became a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of the 520-lawyer firm. +He will specialize in white-collar criminal defense work. +Mr. Bromwich, 35, also has served as deputy chief and chief of the narcotics unit for the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York, based in Manhattan. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0051 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0051 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..be2225bd65a1b755c5380b40e6e83e65425649d1 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0051 @@ -0,0 +1,52 @@ +.START + +Fujitsu Ltd. 's top executive took the unusual step of publicly apologizing for his company's making bids of just one yen for several local government projects, while computer rival NEC Corp. made a written apology for indulging in the same practice. + +Meanwhile, business and government leaders rebuked the computer makers, and fretted about the broader statement the companies' actions make about Japanese cutthroat pricing. + +Fujitsu said it bid the equivalent of less than a U.S. penny on three separate municipal contracts during the past two years. +The company also disclosed that during that period it offered 10,000 yen, or about $70, for another contract. + +But Fujitsu, Japan's No. 1 computer maker, isn't alone. +NEC, one of its largest domestic competitors, said it bid one yen in two separate public auctions since 1987. +In both cases, NEC lost the contract to Fujitsu, which made the same bid and won a tie-breaking lottery. +All the contracts were for computer-system-design contracts and involved no hardware or software. + +The Ministry of International Trade and Industry summoned executives from the companies to "make sure they understood" the concern about such practices, according to a government spokesman. "These cases lead to the loss of the firms' social and international credibility," a ministry statement said. + +Japan's Fair Trade Commission has said it is considering investigating the bids for possible antitrust-law violations. + +"We would like to apologize for having caused huge trouble," Fujitsu President Takuma Yamamoto, read from a prepared statement as he stood before a packed news conference at his company's downtown headquarters. +The bids, he added, were "contrary to common sense." + +NEC released a statement saying, "We feel sorry for having caused trouble to society," a form of apology common in Japan for companies caught in embarrassing situations. + +Japanese companies have long had a reputation for sacrificing short-term profits to make a sale that may have long-term benefits. +But the growing controversy comes as many practices historically accepted as normal here -- such as politicians accepting substantial gifts from businessmen or having extramarital affairs -- are coming under close ethical scrutiny. + +The fire is also fueled by growing international interest in Japanese behavior. +So far there have been no public overseas complaints about the issue. +But in one of the auctions in question, International Business Machines Corp. made a bid substantially higher than the Fujitsu offer, according to the municipality. +The low-ball bids touch on issues central to the increasingly tense trade debate. + +Foreigners complain that they have limited access to government procurement in Japan, in part because Japanese companies unfairly undercut them. +The U.S. government in recent years has accused Japanese companies of excessively slashing prices on semiconductors and supercomputers -- products Fujitsu and NEC make. + +Asked whether the bidding flap would hurt U.S.-Japan relations, Mr. Yamamoto said, "this will be a minus factor." + +The "one-yen" controversy first came to a head last week when the city of Hiroshima announced that Fujitsu won a contract to design a computer system to map its waterworks. +The city had expected to pay about 11 million yen ($77,000), but Fujitsu essentially offered to do it for free. + +Then Wednesday, Fujitsu said it made a similar bid to win a library contract in Nagano prefecture two weeks earlier. +It also said that in July, it bid 10,000 yen to design a system for the Saitama prefectural library, and two years ago, it bid one yen to plan the telecommunications system for Wakayama prefecture. + +The company said it has offered to withdraw its bids in Hiroshima and Nagano. +The municipalities said they haven't decided whether to try to force the company to go through with the contracts. + +Fujitsu and NEC said they were still investigating, and that knowledge of more such bids could emerge. +Mr. Yamamoto insisted that headquarters hadn't approved the bids, and that he didn't know about most of the cases until Wednesday. + +Other major Japanese computer companies contacted yesterday said they have never made such bids. + +"One yen is not ethical," Michio Sasaki, an official at Keidanren, the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations, said. "Profit may be low, but at least costs should be covered." + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0052 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0052 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c32a48fdda4c6c52c001c2646d92b1fbf63aedad --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0052 @@ -0,0 +1,9 @@ +.START + +PAPERS: Backe Group Inc. agreed to acquire Atlantic Publications Inc., which has 30 community papers and annual sales of $7 million. +Terms weren't disclosed. +Backe is a closely held media firm run by former CBS Inc. President John Backe. + +TV: Price Communications Corp. completed the sale of four of its TV stations to NTG Inc. for $120 million in cash and notes, retaining a 10% equity stake in the new concern. +NTG was formed by Osborn Communications Corp. and Desai Capital. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0053 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0053 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b51875b6359489441bcc3d3c8a7ed94baf94ea28 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0053 @@ -0,0 +1,6 @@ +.START + +Michaels Stores Inc., which owns and operates a chain of specialty retail stores, said October sales rose 14.6% to $32.8 million from $28.6 million a year earlier. + +Sales in stores open more than one year rose 3% to $29.3 million from $28.4 million. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0055 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0055 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f01cecda0718019e33f4dc61d862839a791e4fdc --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0055 @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +.START + +Structural Dynamics Research Corp., which makes computer-aided engineering software, said it introduced new technology in mechanical design automation that will improve mechanical engineering productivity. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0060 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0060 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..dfbb18ef3f7e0bbf73c4988d5ba06f2728f50f6f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0060 @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +.START + +"The Cosby Show" may have single-handedly turned around ratings at NBC since its debut in 1984, and the Huxtable family still keeps millions of viewers laughing Thursday night on the network. + +But some of the TV stations that bought "Cosby" reruns for record prices two years ago aren't laughing much these days. +The reruns have helped ratings at many of the 187 network affiliates and independent TV stations that air the shows. +But the ratings are considerably below expectations, and some stations say they may not buy new episodes when their current contracts expire. + +Meanwhile, stations are fuming because, many of them say, the show's distributor, Viacom Inc., is giving an ultimatum: Either sign new long-term commitments to buy future episodes or risk losing "Cosby" to a competitor. +At the same time, Viacom is trying to persuade stations to make commitments to "A Different World," a spin-off of "Cosby" whose reruns will become available in 1991. + +Viacom denies it's using pressure tactics. "We're willing to negotiate," says Dennis Gillespie, executive vice president of marketing. "We're offering this plan now because we feel it's the right time." + +But, says the general manager of a network affiliate in the Midwest, "I think if I tell them I need more time, they'll take `Cosby' across the street," + +Viacom's move comes as the syndication market is being flooded with situation comedies that are still running on the networks. +One station manager says he believes Viacom's move is a "pre-emptive strike" because the company is worried that "Cosby" ratings will continue to drop in syndication over the next few years. "Cosby" is down a full ratings point in the week of Oct. 2-8 over the same week a year ago, according to A.C. Nielsen Co. + +Mr. Gillespie at Viacom says the ratings are rising. + +And executives at stations in such major markets as Washington; Providence, R.I.; Cleveland; Raleigh, N.C.; Minneapolis, and Louisville, Ky., say they may very well not renew "Cosby." Dick Lobo, the general manager of WTVJ, the NBC-owned station in Miami, for example, says the show has "been a major disappointment to us." "At the prices we were charged, there should have been some return for the dollar. +There wasn't." + +Neil Kuvin, the general manager of WHAS, the CBS affiliate in Louisville, says "Cosby" gets the station's highest ratings and he's "pleased." But he adds, "I feel pressured, disappointed, uncomfortable and, frankly, quite angry with Viacom." + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0061 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0061 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1ea7f569c609bdc1014b3f53cc49a55daacf32bc --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0061 @@ -0,0 +1,8 @@ +.START + +The Life Insurance Co. of Georgia has officially opened an office in Taipei. + +David Wu, the company's representative in Taiwan, said Atlanta-based Life of Georgia will sell conventional life-insurance products. + +Life of Georgia is part of the Nationale Nederlanden Group, based in the Netherlands. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0062 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0062 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a00c0f9c0bf8b0619116fbb4f84f1626b31dc541 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0062 @@ -0,0 +1,62 @@ +.START + +In this era of frantic competition for ad dollars, a lot of revenue-desperate magazines are getting pretty cozy with advertisers -- fawning over them in articles and offering pages of advertorial space. +So can a magazine survive by downright thumbing its nose at major advertisers? + +Garbage magazine, billed as "The Practical Journal for the Environment," is about to find out. + +Founded by Brooklyn, N.Y., publishing entrepreneur Patricia Poore, Garbage made its debut this fall with the promise to give consumers the straight scoop on the U.S. waste crisis. +The magazine combines how-to pieces on topics like backyard composting, explanatory essays on such things as what happens after you flush your toilet, and hard-hitting pieces on alleged environmental offenders. + +Garbage editors have dumped considerable energy into a whirling rampage through supermarket aisles in a bid to identify corporate America's good guys and bad boys. +In one feature, called "In the Dumpster," editors point out a product they deem to be a particularly bad offender. +From an advertising standpoint, the problem is these offenders are likely to be some of the same folks that are major magazine advertisers these days. + +With only two issues under its belt, Garbage has alienated some would-be advertisers and raised the ire of others. +Campbell Soup, for one, is furious its Souper Combo microwave product was chastised in the premiere "In the Dumpster" column. +The magazine's editors ran a giant diagram of the product with arrows pointing to the packaging's polystyrene foam, polyproplene and polyester film -- all plastic items they say are non-biodegradable. "It's precisely the kind of product that's created the municipal landfill monster," the editors wrote. + +"I think that this magazine is not only called Garbage, but it is practicing journalistic garbage," fumes a spokesman for Campbell Soup. +He says Campbell wasn't even contacted by the magazine for the opportunity to comment. +Modifications had been made to the Souper Combo product at the time the issue was printed, he says, making it less an offender than was portrayed. +He admits, though, it isn't one of Campbell Soup's better products in terms of recyclability. + +Campbell Soup, not surprisingly, doesn't have any plans to advertise in the magazine, according to its spokesman. + +Some media experts question whether a young magazine can risk turning off Madison Avenue's big spenders. "You really need the Campbell Soups of the world to be interested in your magazine if you're going to make a run of it," says Mike White, senior vice president and media director at DDB Needham, Chicago. "The economics of magazine publishing pretty much require that you have a pretty solid base" of big-time ad spenders, he adds. + +The first two issues featured ads from only a handful of big advertisers, including General Electric and Adolph Coors, but the majority were from companies like Waste Management Inc. and Bumkins International, firms that don't spend much money advertising and can't be relied on to support a magazine over the long haul. + +A Waste Management spokeswoman says its ad in the premiere issue was a one-time purchase, and it doesn't have any plans to advertise in future issues. "We don't spend much on print advertising," she says. + +But Ms. Poore, the magazine's editor and publisher, contends Garbage can survive, at least initially, on subscription revenues. +Individual copies of the magazine sell for $2.95 and yearly subscriptions cost $21. (It is, of course, printed on recycled paper.) + +According to Ms. Poore, Old-House Journal Corp., her publishing company, printed and sold all 126,000 copies of the premiere issue. +The first and second issues sold out on newsstands, she says, and the magazine has orders for 93,000 subscriptions. + +Asked whether potential advertisers will be scared away by the magazine's direct policy, Ms. Poore replies: "I don't know and I don't care. +I'm not saying advertising revenue isn't important," she says, "but I couldn't sleep at night" if the magazine bowed to a company because they once took out an ad. + +Ad Notes. . . . + +INTERPUBLIC ON TV: Interpublic Group said its television programming operations -- which it expanded earlier this year -- agreed to supply more than 4,000 hours of original programming across Europe in 1990. +It said the programs, largely game shows, will be provided by its E.C. Television unit along with Fremantle International, a producer and distributor of game shows of which it recently bought 49%. +It said that volume makes it the largest supplier of original TV programming in Europe. +Interpublic is providing the programming in return for advertising time, which it said will be valued at more than $75 million in 1990 and $150 million in 1991. +It plans to sell the ad time to its clients at a discount. +NEW ACCOUNT: CoreStates Financial Corp., Philadelphia, named Earle Palmer Brown & Spiro, Philadelphia, as agency of record for its $5 million account. +The business had been handled by VanSant Dugdale, Baltimore. + +AT&T FAX: American Telephone & Telegraph's General Business Systems division, New York, awarded the ad account for its Fax product line to Ogilvy & Mather, New York, a WPP Group agency. +Billings weren't disclosed for the small account, which had been serviced at Young & Rubicam, New York. + +FIRST CAMPAIGN: Enterprise Rent-A-Car Inc. breaks its first national ad campaign this week. +The St. Louis firm specializes in replacement-car rentals, those provided by insurance companies for cars damaged in accidents. +Developed by Avrett, Free & Ginsberg, New York, the $6 million campaign pitches Enterprise's consumer-driven service and its free pick-up and drop-off service. + +LANDOR ASSOCIATES: Young & Rubicam said it completed its acquisition of Landor Associates, a San Francisco identity-management firm. + +ACQUISITION: Ketchum Communications, Pittsburgh, acquired Braun & Co., a Los Angeles investor-relations and marketing-communications firm. +Terms weren't disclosed. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0065 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0065 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..beb32bd67175001de4b74a98f11b39cae6d7ae93 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0065 @@ -0,0 +1,7 @@ +.START + +Consolidated Rail Corp. said it would spend more than $30 million on 1,000 enclosed railcars for transporting autos. + +The multilevel railcars, scheduled for delivery in 1990, will be made by Thrall Manufacturing Co., a Chicago Heights, Ill., division of closely held Duchossois Industries Inc., Elmhurst, Ill. +This year, the railroad holding company acquired 850 such railcars. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0067 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0067 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..09ae701c44b77c6f39ac3b761889e5aa398c723f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0067 @@ -0,0 +1,19 @@ +.START + +Bank of New England Corp. said it has held talks with potential merger partners outside New England, although it added that nothing is imminent and it hasn't received any formal offers. + +The discussions were disclosed as the bank holding company said that it has dropped its longstanding opposition to full interstate banking bills in Connecticut and in Massachusetts. +Later yesterday, a Massachusetts senate committee approved a bill to allow national interstate banking by banks in the state beginning in 1991. + +Currently, both Massachusetts and Connecticut, where most of Bank of New England's operations are, allow interstate banking only within New England. + +Richard Driscoll, vice chairman of Bank of New England, told the Dow Jones Professional Investor Report, "Certainly, there are those outside the region who think of us prospectively as a good partner. +We have, and I'm sure others have, considered what our options are, and we've had conversations with people who in the future might prove to be interesting partners." He added, "There's nothing very hot." + +Mr. Driscoll didn't elaborate about who the potential partners were or when the talks were held. +A bank spokeswoman also declined to comment on any merger-related matters, but said the company decided to drop its opposition to the interstate banking legislation because "prevailing sentiment is in favor of passage." + +Bank of New England has been hit hard by the region's real-estate slump, with its net income declining 42% to $121.6 million, or 61 cents a share, in the first nine months of 1989 from the year-earlier period. +The company recently said it would sell some operations and lay off 4% of its work force, altogether reducing employment to less than 16,000 from about 18,000. +It recently signed a preliminary agreement to negotiate exclusively with the Bank of Tokyo Ltd. for the sale of part of its leasing business to the Japanese bank. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0068 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0068 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d1ba52cdcaf45a722e9f4f9a720620b512485bb4 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0068 @@ -0,0 +1,8 @@ +.START + +GOODY PRODUCTS Inc. cut its quarterly dividend to five cents a share from 11.5 cents a share. +The reduced dividend is payable Jan. 2 to stock of record Dec. 15. +The Kearny, N.J.-based maker of hair accessories and other cosmetic products said it cut the dividend due to its third-quarter loss of $992,000, or 15 cents a share. +In the year-ago quarter, the company reported net income of $1.9 million, or 29 cents a share. +The company also adopted an anti-takeover plan. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0069 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0069 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..618317fd1ca0fe66744c9e6393fdd23162588910 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0069 @@ -0,0 +1,5 @@ +.START + +Michael Henderson, 51-year-old group chief executive of this U.K. metals and industrial materials maker, will become chairman in May, succeeding Ian Butler, 64, who is retiring. +Mr. Butler will remain on the board as a nonexecutive director. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0071 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0071 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..18b7f2431d92339acf8ef1139f04b8d0bfb22bd3 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0071 @@ -0,0 +1,71 @@ +.START + +When Warren Winiarski, proprietor of Stag's Leap Wine Cellars in Napa Valley, announced a $75 price tag for his 1985 Cask 23 Cabernet this fall, few wine shops and restaurants around the country balked. "This is the peak of my wine-making experience," Mr. Winiarski declared when he introduced the wine at a dinner in New York, "and I wanted to single it out as such." + +It is in my estimation the best wine Stag's Leap has produced, and with fewer than 700 cases available, it is sure to sell quickly. +The price is a new high for California Cabernet Sauvignon, but it is not the highest. +Diamond Creek 1985 Lake Vineyard Cabernet weighed in this fall with a sticker price of $100 a bottle. + +One of the fastest growing segments of the wine market is the category of superpremiums -- wines limited in production, of exceptional quality (or so perceived, at any rate), and with exceedingly high prices. +For years, this group included a stable of classics -- Bordeaux first growths (Lafite-Rothschild, Latour, Haut-Brion, Petrus), Grand Cru Burgundies (Romanee-Conti and La Tache) deluxe Champagnes (Dom Perignon or Roederer Cristal), rarefied sweet wines (Chateau Yquem or Trockenbeerenauslesen Rieslings from Germany, and Biondi-Santi Brunello Riserva from Tuscany). +These first magnitude wines ranged in price from $40 to $125 a bottle. + +In the last year or so, however, this exclusive club has taken in a host of flashy new members. +The classics have zoomed in price to meet the competition, and it almost seems that there's a race on to come up with the priciest single bottle, among current releases from every major wine region on the globe. + +France can boast the lion's share of high-priced bottles. +Bordeaux's first growths from 1985 and 1986 are $60 to $80 each (except for the smallest in terms of production, Chateau Petrus, which costs around $250!). +These prices seem rather modest, however, in light of other French wines from current vintages. +Chateau Yquem, the leading Sauternes, now goes for well over $100 a bottle for a lighter vintage like 1984; the spectacularly rich 1983 runs $179. + +In Champagne, some of the prestige cuvees are inching toward $100 a bottle. +The first Champagne to crack that price barrier was the 1979 Salon de Mesnil Blanc de Blancs. +The '82 Salon is $115. +Roederer Cristal at $90 a bottle sells out around the country and Taittinger's Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs is encroaching upon that level. +The great reds of the Rhone Valley have soared in price as well. +E. Guigal's 1982 Cote Rotie La Landonne, for example, is $120. + +None of France's wine regions can steal a march on Burgundy, however. +The six wines of the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, 72 of the most precious acres of vineyard anywhere in the world, have commanded three-digit price tags for several years now. +With the 1985 vintage, they soared higher: La Tache, $195; Richebourg, $180; Romanee-Conti, $225. +Another small Burgundy estate, Coche-Dury, has just offered its 1987 Corton-Charlemagne for $155. + +From Italy there is Angelo Gaja Barbaresco at $125 a bottle, Piero Antinori's La Solaia, a $90 Cabernet from Tuscany, and Biondi-Santi Brunello at $98. +Spain's Vega Secilia Unico 1979 (released only in its 10th year) is $70, as is Australia's Grange Hermitage 1982. + +"There are certain cult wines that can command these higher prices," says Larry Shapiro of Marty's, one of the largest wine shops in Dallas. "What's different is that it is happening with young wines just coming out. +We're seeing it partly because older vintages are growing more scarce." + +Wine auctions have almost exhausted the limited supply of those wines, Mr. Shapiro continued: "We've seen a dramatic decrease in demand for wines from the '40s and '50s, which go for $300 to $400 a bottle. +Some of the newer wines, even at $90 to $100 a bottle or so, almost offer a bargain." + +Take Lake Vineyard Cabernet from Diamond Creek. +It's made only in years when the grapes ripen perfectly (the last was 1979) and comes from a single acre of grapes that yielded a mere 75 cases in 1987. +Owner Al Brownstein originally planned to sell it for $60 a bottle, but when a retailer in Southern California asked, "Is that wholesale or retail?" he re-thought the matter. +Offering the wine at roughly $65 a bottle wholesale ($100 retail), he sent merchants around the country a form asking them to check one of three answers: 1) no, the wine is too high (2 responses); 2) yes, it's high but I'll take it (2 responses); 3) I'll take all I can get (58 responses). +The wine was shipped in six-bottle cases instead of the usual 12, but even at that it was spread thin, going to 62 retailers in 28 states. + +"We thought it was awfully expensive," said Sterling Pratt, wine director at Schaefer's in Skokie, Ill., one of the top stores in suburban Chicago, "but there are people out there with very different opinions of value. +We got our two six-packs -- and they're gone." + +Mr. Pratt remarked that he thinks steeper prices have come about because producers don't like to see a hit wine dramatically increase in price later on. +Even if there is consumer resistance at first, a wine that wins high ratings from the critics will eventually move. "There may be sticker-shock reaction initially," said Mr. Pratt, "but as the wine is talked about and starts to sell, they eventually get excited and decide it's worth the astronomical price to add it to their collection." + +"It's just sort of a one-upsmanship thing with some people," added Larry Shapiro. "They like to talk about having the new Red Rock Terrace {one of Diamond Creek's Cabernets} or the Dunn 1985 Cabernet, or the Petrus. +Producers have seen this market opening up and they're now creating wines that appeal to these people." + +That explains why the number of these wines is expanding so rapidly. +But consumers who buy at this level are also more knowledgeable than they were a few years ago. "They won't buy if the quality is not there," said Cedric Martin of Martin Wine Cellar in New Orleans. "Or if they feel the wine is overpriced and they can get something equally good for less." Mr. Martin has increased prices on some wines (like Grgich Hills Chardonnay, now $32) just to slow down movement, but he is beginning to see some resistance to high-priced red Burgundies and Cabernets and Chardonnays in the $30 to $40 range. + +Image has, of course, a great deal to do with what sells and what doesn't, and it can't be forced. +Wine merchants can't keep Roederer Cristal in stock, but they have to push Salon le Mesnil, even lowering the price from $115 to $90. +It's hardly a question of quality -- the 1982 Salon is a beautiful wine, but, as Mr. Pratt noted, people have their own ideas about value. + +It's interesting to find that a lot of the expensive wines aren't always walking out the door. +In every major market in the U.S., for instance, you can buy '86 La Tache or Richebourg, virtually all of the first growth Bordeaux (except Petrus), as well as Opus One and Dominus from California and, at the moment, the Stag's Leap 1985 Cask 23. + +With the biggest wine-buying period of the year looming as the holidays approach, it will be interesting to see how the superpremiums fare. +By January it should be fairly clear what's hot -- and what's not. + +Ms. Ensrud is a free-lance wine writer in New York. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0072 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0072 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..9c926a729f7bb3311ab57fc7a21d9d240436a530 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0072 @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +.START + +Signs of a slowing economy are increasing pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut short-term interest rates, but it isn't clear whether the central bank will do so. + +A survey by the Fed's 12 district banks shows economic growth has been sluggish in recent weeks, while upward pressures on prices have moderated. "The economy is clearly slowing," says Robert Black, president of the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank. + +"If you look at the third quarter as posting roughly 2.5% growth, I do see some slowing in the fourth quarter," agrees Kansas City Fed President Roger Guffey. + +Nevertheless, both Mr. Guffey and Mr. Black say the slowdown so far is no cause for concern. "We're coming closer to achieving the stated objective of slowing the economy to a point where hopefully some downward trend in prices will occur," said Mr. Guffey. + +Bush administration officials are looking to the Fed to bring down rates, and financial markets seem to be expecting easier credit as well. "I think the market had been expecting the Fed to ease sooner and a little more than it has to date," said Robert Johnson, vice president of global markets for Bankers Trust Co. + +The Fed cut the key federal funds interest rate by about 0.25 percentage point to 8.75% after the Oct. 13 stock market plunge, but has shown no sign of movement since. + +The report from the Fed found that manufacturing, in particular, has been weak in recent weeks. +The Philadelphia Fed, for instance, reported that manufacturing activity "continues to decline" for the fourth month in a row. +And in the Chicago district, the report said, "a manufacturer of capital goods noted slower orders for some types, including defense equipment, petroleum equipment, food packaging machinery and material handling equipment." Retail sales also were reported slow in most districts, particularly "for discretionary, big-ticket items such as furniture, home appliances and consumer electronics." And construction also was described as slow in most areas. + +Despite the economic slowdown, there are few clear signs that growth is coming to a halt. +As a result, Fed officials may be divided over whether to ease credit. +Several Fed governors in Washington have been pushing for easier credit; but many of the regional Fed presidents have been resisting such a move. + +Mr. Black said he is "pleased" with the economy's recent performance, and doesn't see "a lot of excesses out there that would tilt us into recession." + +"There is always a chance of recession," added Mr. Guffey, "but if you ask me to put a percentage on it, I would think it's well below a 50% chance." + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0073 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0073 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..25374b563b0fde363b4b25168cfcec8b58efe559 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0073 @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +.START + +Integra-A Hotel & Restaurant Co. said its planned rights offering to raise about $9 million was declared effective and the company will begin mailing materials to shareholders at the end of this week. + +Under the offer, shareholders will receive one right for each 105 common shares owned. +Each right entitles the shareholder to buy $100 face amount of 13.5% bonds due 1993 and warrants to buy 23.5 common shares at 30 cents a share. +The rights, which expire Nov. 21, can be exercised for $100 each. + +Integra, which owns and operates hotels, said that Hallwood Group Inc. has agreed to exercise any rights that aren't exercised by other shareholders. +Hallwood, a Cleveland merchant bank, owns about 11% of Integra. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0074 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0074 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6956444b7e9e2e9ea894e8d03c75ca7ef85256c2 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0074 @@ -0,0 +1,10 @@ +.START + +Copperweld Corp., a specialty steelmaker, said 445 workers at a plant in Shelby, Ohio, began a strike after the United Steelworkers Local 3057 rejected a new contract on Tuesday. + +The previous contract between Copperweld's Ohio Steel Tube division and the union expired at midnight Tuesday. +The union vote to reject the proposed pact was 230-215. + +Copperweld said it doesn't expect a protracted strike. +It said it has taken measures to continue shipments during the work stoppage. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0080 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0080 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..9ec2a6ebf8ee0d7a57146dc36d7ffc5c9d62959f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0080 @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@ +.START + +Investor Harold Simmons and NL Industries Inc. offered to acquire Georgia Gulf Corp. for $50 a share, or about $1.1 billion, stepping up the pressure on the commodity chemicals concern. + +The offer follows an earlier proposal by NL and Mr. Simmons to help Georgia Gulf restructure or go private in a transaction that would pay shareholders $55 a share. +Georgia Gulf rebuffed that offer in September and said it would study other alternatives. +However, it hasn't yet made any proposals to shareholders. + +Late yesterday, Georgia Gulf said it reviewed the NL proposal as well as interests from "third parties" regarding business combinations. +Georgia Gulf said it hasn't eliminated any alternatives and that "discussions are being held with interested parties, and work is also continuing on other various transactions." It didn't elaborate. + +Analysts saw the latest offer as proof that Mr. Simmons, an aggressive and persistent investor, won't leave Georgia Gulf alone until some kind of transaction is completed. "He has clamped on their ankle like a pit bull," says Paul Leming, a vice president with Morgan Stanley & Co. "He appears to be in it for the long haul." Mr. Simmons and NL already own a 9.9% stake in Georgia Gulf. + +Mr. Simmons owns 88% of Valhi Inc., which in turn owns two-thirds of NL. NL is officially making the offer. + +Mr. Leming wasn't surprised by the lower price cited by NL, saying he believes that $55 a share is "the most you can pay for Georgia Gulf before it becomes a bad acquisition." + +Georgia Gulf stock rose $1.75 a share yesterday to close at $51.25 a share, while NL shares closed unchanged at $22.75 and Valhi rose 62.5 cents to $15, all in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. + +J. Landis Martin, NL president and chief executive officer, said NL and Mr. Simmons cut the price they were proposing for Georgia Gulf because they initially planned a transaction that included about $250 million in equity and a substantial amount of high-yield subordinated debt. +However, the junk-bond market has collapsed in recent weeks, lessening the likelihood that such a transaction would succeed. + +Now, he said, the group plans to put in "several hundred million" dollars in equity and finance the remainder with bank debt. +He also said that the group reduced its offer because it wasn't allowed to see Georgia Gulf's confidential financial information without agreeing that it wouldn't make an offer unless it had Georgia Gulf's consent. + +In a letter to Georgia Gulf President Jerry R. Satrum, Mr. Martin asked Georgia Gulf to answer its offer by Tuesday. + +It wasn't clear how NL and Mr. Simmons would respond if Georgia Gulf spurns them again. +Mr. Martin said they haven't yet decided what their next move would be, but he didn't rule out the possibility of a consent solicitation aimed at replacing Georgia Gulf's board. +In other transactions, Mr. Simmons has followed friendly offers with a hostile tender offer. + +Although Georgia Gulf hasn't been eager to negotiate with Mr. Simmons and NL, a specialty chemicals concern, the group apparently believes the company's management is interested in some kind of transaction. +The management group owns about 18% of the stock, most purchased at nominal prices, and would stand to gain millions of dollars if the company were sold. + +In the third quarter, Georgia Gulf earned $46.1 million, or $1.85 a share, down from $53 million, or $1.85 a share on fewer shares outstanding. +Sales fell to $251.2 million from $278.7 million. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0082 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0082 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..74143b42b8ec7f6af7dfdbfdb9c238bf93820541 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0082 @@ -0,0 +1,54 @@ +.START + +Criticism in the U.S. over recent Japanese acquisitions is looming ever larger in the two countries' relations. + +Officials from both nations say the U.S. public's skittishness about Japanese investment could color a second round of bilateral economic talks scheduled for next week in Washington. +Not that Washington and Tokyo disagree on the Japanese acquisitions; indeed, each has come out in favor of unfettered investment in the U.S. + +Where they disagree is on the subject of U.S. direct investment in Japan. +The U.S. wants the removal of what it perceives as barriers to investment; Japan denies there are real barriers. +The heated talk stirred up by recent Japanese investments in the U.S. is focusing attention on the differences in investment climate, even though it's only one of many subjects to be covered in the bilateral talks, known as the Structural Impediments Initiative. + +The Japanese "should see this rhetoric as a signal of the need for a change in their own economy," says Charles Dallara, U.S. assistant Treasury secretary, who has been in Tokyo this week informally discussing the impending negotiations with government and business leaders. + +"We have a long history of maintaining an open direct-investment policy," Mr. Dallara says. "U.S. investors should have a greater opportunity at direct investment" in Japan. + +The Japanese fret openly about the U.S. public's rancor. +One clear sign of Japan's nervousness came this week, when a spokesman for Japan's Foreign Ministry devoted nearly all of a regular, half-hour briefing for foreign journalists to the subject of recent Japanese investments in the U.S. + +"We believe that it is vitally important for those Japanese business interests {in the U.S.} to be more aware of the emotions and concerns of the American people," said the spokesman, Taizo Watanabe. +At the same time, though, he chastised the media for paying such close attention to Japanese investment when other foreign countries, notably Britain, are acquiring more American assets. + +Fears that Japanese investors are buying up America have escalated sharply in the past several weeks, with Sony Corp. 's purchase of Columbia Pictures Entertainment Inc. from Coca-Cola Co. and Mitsubishi Estate Co. 's acquisition of a 51% holding in Rockefeller Group, the owner of some of midtown Manhattan's most exclusive real estate. + +Even before those moves added fuel, the fires of discontent had been well stoked by the highly publicized experience in Japan of one U.S. investor, T. Boone Pickens Jr. +The Texas oilman has acquired a 26.2% stake valued at more than $1.2 billion in an automotive-lighting company, Koito Manufacturing Co. +But he has failed to gain any influence at the company. +Koito has refused to grant Mr. Pickens seats on its board, asserting he is a greenmailer trying to pressure Koito's other shareholders into buying him out at a profit. + +Mr. Pickens made considerable political hay with his troubles in Japan. +The Senate Finance Committee, chaired by a fellow Texan, Democratic Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, last month urged U.S. Trade Representative Carla Hills to use Mr. Pickens's experience in talks with Tokyo "to highlight this problem facing Americans who seek access to the Japanese capital markets." + +While Mr. Dallara and Japanese officials say the question of investors' access to the U.S. and Japanese markets may get a disproportionate share of the public's attention, a number of other important economic issues will be on the table at next week's talks. +Among them are differences in savings and investment rates, corporate structures and management, and government spending. +Each side has a litany of recommendations for the other. + +The U.S. says it is anxious for results. "We feel very strongly that we really need action across the full range of issues we've identified, and we need it by next spring," Mr. Dallara says. + +Both sides have agreed that the talks will be most successful if negotiators start by focusing on the areas that can be most easily changed. +But they haven't clarified what those might be. + +After the first set of meetings two months ago, some U.S. officials complained that Japan hadn't come up with specific changes it was prepared to make. +The Japanese retort that the first round was too early to make concessions. + +"Just to say the distribution system is wrong doesn't mean anything," says a Ministry of International Trade and Industry official. "We need to clarify what exactly is wrong with it." + +That process of sorting out specifics is likely to take time, the Japanese say, no matter how badly the U.S. wants quick results. +For instance, at the first meeting the two sides couldn't even agree on basic data used in price discussions. +Since then, a team of about 15 MITI and U.S. Commerce Department officials have crossed the globe gauging consumer prices. +By Monday, they hope to have a sheaf of documents both sides can trust. + +"Little by little, there is progress," says the MITI official. "Both sides are taking action." + +Elisabeth Rubinfien contributed to this article. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0083 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0083 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..983de99a152815bbe752f47a3891b7d086f2b7d1 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0083 @@ -0,0 +1,59 @@ +.START + +While worry grows about big Japanese investments in the U.S., Japan's big trading companies are rapidly increasing their stake in America's smaller business. + +For Japan, the controversial trend improves access to American markets and technology. +But for small American companies, it also provides a growing source of capital and even marketing help. + +Take the deal with Candela Laser Corp., a Wayland, Mass., manufacturer of high-tech medical devices, which three years ago set its sights on Japan as an export market. +Partly to help clear the myriad obstacles facing any overseas company trying to penetrate Japan, tiny Candela turned to Mitsui & Co., one of Japan's largest trading companies, for investment. + +In a joint-venture deal, Mitsui guided Candela through Tokyo's bureaucratic maze. +It eventually secured Ministry of Health import approval for two Candela laser products -- one that breaks up kidney stones and another that treats skin lesions. +At last count, Candela had sold $4 million of its medical devices in Japan. + +The deal also gave Mitsui access to a high-tech medical product. "They view this as a growth area so they went about it with a systematic approach," says Richard Olsen, a Candela vice president. +Indeed, for many Japanese trading companies, the favorite U.S. small business is one whose research and development can be milked for future Japanese use. + +The Japanese companies bankroll many small U.S. companies with promising products or ideas, frequently putting their money behind projects that commercial banks won't touch. +Japanese companies have financed small and medium-sized U.S. firms for years, but in recent months, the pace has taken off. + +In the first half of 1989 alone, Japanese corporations invested $214 million in minority positions in U.S. companies, a 61% rise from the figure for all of 1987, reports Venture Economics Inc. +The Needham, Mass., concern tracks investments in new businesses. +In addition, of course, some of the Japanese investments involved outright purchase of small U.S. firms. + +Heightened Japanese interest in American small business parallels an acceleration of investments giving Japanese companies control of large, highly visible U.S. corporations, such as Columbia Pictures Entertainment Inc. Only this week, it was announced that Mitsubishi Estate Co. had acquired a 51% stake in Rockefeller Group, which owns New York's prestigious Rockefeller Center. + +While the small deals are far less conspicuous, they add to Japanese penetration of the U.S. market. +As the deals also improve Japanese access to American technology and market knowledge, they feed American anxieties in this area, too. + +Even a low-tech product like plate glass can catch a trading company's fancy if there's a strategic fit. +Free State Glass Industries of Warrenton, Va., a small fabricator of architectural glass, was foundering under its original management. +Last year, Mitsubishi International Corp., the New York-based arm of Mitsubishi Corp., bought controlling interest in the glass company in a joint venture with Ronald Bodner, a glass industry executive and Mitsubishi consultant. + +The deal is chiefly designed to give Mitsubishi a window on the U.S. glass industry, says Ichiro Wakui, an executive in Mitsubishi's general merchandise department in New York. "It's not just a simple investment in a small company," Mr. Wakui says. "We want to see the glass market from the inside, not the outside." + +Mitsubishi's investment in Free State is "very small . . . less than $4 million," Mr. Wakui says. +Mr. Bodner declines to comment on the arrangement. + +Trading companies such as Mitsubishi, Mitsui, C. Itoh & Co. and Nissho-Iwai Corp., which make many of the Japanese investments in small U.S. concerns, have no U.S. counterpart. +These vertically integrated combines, some of which got their start in Japan's feudal period, deal globally in commodities, construction and manufacturing. +They operate ships and banks. + +"All the "sogo-shosha" are looking for new business," says Arthur Klauser, adviser to the president of Mitsui, U.S.A., using the Japanese term for the largest of the global trading houses. + +Adds Takeshi Kondo, senior vice president of C. Itoh America Inc.: "We have a great interest in making investments, particularly in new ventures." + +A host of electronics firms in California's Silicon Valley were financed with trading-company venture capital. +Profit, at least in the short term, is usually a secondary goal. "Strategic objectives, not financial return, drive many of the deals," says a Venture Economics spokesman. + +In investing on the basis of future transactions, a role often performed by merchant banks, trading companies can cut through the logjam that small-company owners often face with their local commercial banks. "It's the classic problem of the small businessman," says Malcolm Davies, managing director of Trading Alliance Corp. of New York. "People are queuing at the door to take his product but he doesn't have the working capital to make the thing and commercial banks are very unsympathetic. +They want assets, they want a balance sheet, which has no relation to the business a company can generate." + +Adds Mitsui's Mr. Klauser: "Unlike corporations in this country, trading companies aren't so much interested in a high return on investment as they are on increasing trade flows. +To the extent they can do this, they're quite content to get a return on investment of 1% to 2%." + +Mr. Klauser says Mitsui has 75 U.S. subsidiaries in which it holds 35% interest or more and the trading company hopes to double the number of its U.S. affiliates in 1990. +Sales by these subsidiaries in the fiscal year ending last March were more than $17 billion. +A 1% to 2% return on $17 billion "ain't hay," Mr. Klauser says. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0084 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0084 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..009907dcfc1dbf14b80bc0dad7e134751a86bd15 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0084 @@ -0,0 +1,12 @@ +.START + +Hudson General Corp. 's president and chief executive officer, Alan J. Stearn, resigned. + +Mr. Stearn, 46 years old, couldn't be reached for comment. +A company spokesman declined to elaborate on the departure. + +Hudson General, which provides maintenance, fueling and other services to airlines and airports, reported a loss for its most recent fiscal year and last month omitted the semiannual dividend on its common shares. + +Mr. Stearn, who had been with the company more than 20 years and had been president since 1984, will act as a consultant to Hudson General. +His duties as chief executive will be assumed by Chairman Jay B. Langner. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0087 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0087 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e81bd81ee17313ce271144eda23d9509861a6bd9 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0087 @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +.START + +Five things you can do for $15,000 or less: + +1. +Buy a new Chevrolet. + +2. +Take a Hawaiian vacation. + +3. +Send your child to a university. + +4. +Buy a diamond necklace. + +5. +Make a lasting difference in the regulatory life of an American savings-and-loan association through the Foster Corporate Parents Plan. + +Americans today spend $15,000 like pocket change -- they don't think much about it. +But for an ailing savings-and-loan association -- teetering on insolvency -- it can lead to safety from imminent demise and to a future full of promise. + +Your $15,000 will help keep a needy savings and loan solvent -- and out of the federal budget deficit. + +As a Foster Corporate Parent, you'll be helping a neighborhood S&L in areas crucial to its survival. +Like healthy regulatory capital. +A steady deposit base. +Performing loans. +At the same time, you'll give your Foster Savings Institution the gift of hope and freedom from the federal regulators who want to close its doors -- for good. + +As a Foster Corporate Parent, you will experience the same joy felt by Robert Bass, Lewis Ranieri, William Simon and others, who find ways to help troubled savings institutions and their employees help themselves. +That builds confidence, self sufficiency, not to mention critical regulatory net worth. + +Don't wait -- a savings institution needs your help now! + +Every day you delay, a savings institution's health -- and the federal budget deficit -- grows worse. +Think about the good you can do for just $15,000 a month, about the cost of a mid-size Chevrolet or two semesters at a state university. +Then send your support to a savings institution that has taken a bad rap in the press and on its bottom line. +Every $15,000 you send will go a long way to boost sagging net worth and employee morale -- and keep your Foster Savings Institution off the federal budget deficit! + +Mr. Baris is a lawyer in New York. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0088 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0088 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b0c4e904c5403a8d9d6d6927fda243e3e7d9e516 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0088 @@ -0,0 +1,52 @@ +.START + +The Chicago Mercantile Exchange said it plans to institute an additional "circuit breaker" aimed at stemming market slides. + +Separately, John Phelan told a closed House subcommittee meeting in Washington that he would support Securities and Exchange Commission halts of program trading during market emergencies. +But the New York Stock Exchange chairman said he doesn't support reinstating a "collar" on program trading, arguing that firms could get around such a limit. + +The Chicago Merc said a new one-hour price limit would take effect in its Standard & Poor's 500 stock-index futures pit once S&P 500 futures fell 20 index points -- the equivalent of about a 150-point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. +If the 20-point limit is triggered after 1:30 p.m. Chicago time, it would remain in effect until the normal close of trading at 3:15 p.m. + +With the limit in effect, members would be able to execute trades at the limit price or at higher prices, but not below it. + +The exchange said it decided a new circuit breaker was needed following a review of the tumultuous trading in stocks and stock-index futures on Friday Oct. 13, when the Dow Jones industrials plunged 190 points and stock-index futures prices skidded as well. +Late that afternoon the S&P 500 stock-index futures contract fell a total of 30 index points, hitting a Merc circuit breaker limit that remained in effect for the rest of the trading session. + +The Merc said that its existing 30-minute, 12-point limit on S&P 500 stock-index futures trading (equal to about 100 points on the Dow Jones industrials), which was triggered Oct. 13, will remain in effect. + +Leo Melamed, Merc executive committee chairman, said that the 12-point limit appeared to lessen the selling panic Oct. 13. +But when the contract reopened, the subsequent flood of sell orders that quickly knocked the contract down to the 30-point limit indicated that the intermediate limit of 20 points was needed to help keep stock and stock-index futures prices synchronized. + +Several traders maintained that the Merc's 12-point circuit-breaker aggravated the market slide Oct. 13 by directing additional selling pressure to the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. + +All of the changes require regulatory approval, which is expected shortly. + +The exchange also said that the 30-point circuit breaker, which currently provides only a one-hour respite during market sell-offs, will become the maximum one-day limit for the S&P 500 stock-index futures contract; the one-day limit now is 50 index points. + +A final modification was made to the five-point opening limit for the contract. +The Merc said that five-point limit will remain in effect for the first 10 minutes of trading. +The limit lapses under current exchange rules if contracts trade above the limit price during the opening 10 minutes of trading. + +In Washington, House aides said Mr. Phelan told congressmen that the collar, which banned program trades through the Big Board's computer when the Dow Jones Industrial Average moved 50 points, didn't work well. +He said that firms could get around the collar by executing trades manually. + +In a post-hearing news conference, Mr. Phelan, who has publicly expressed concern about market volatility, said he told the House finance and telecommunications subcommittee that he would support the program-trading halt proposal "providing the SEC would be comfortable with the language" in a bill. + +The program-trading issue is heating up on Capitol Hill as it is on Wall Street, and several legislators want to grant the SEC the power to shut off the programs when trading becomes too volatile. +SEC Chairman Richard Breeden has said he would be willing to consider circuit breakers that have preset trigger points, but he doesn't want discretionary power to stop programs. + +A House aide suggested that Mr. Phelan was so "vague and mushy" that it was the kind of meeting where people of all viewpoints could "come out feeling good." At one point, Mr. Phelan angered the subcommittee's chairman, Rep. Edward Markey (D., Mass.), by not going much beyond what already had been reported in the morning newspapers. + +"Markey said we could have done this in public" because so little sensitive information was disclosed, the aide said. +Mr. Phelan then responded that he would have been happy just writing a report to the panel, the aide added. + +At another point during the hearing, Rep. Markey asked Mr. Phelan what would be discussed at a New York exchange board meeting today. +Mr. Phelan said the Big Board is likely to study the program-trading issue. +That response annoyed Rep. Markey, House aides said, and the congressman snapped back that there had been enough studies of the issue and that it was time for action on the matter. + +Fifteen of the 26 subcommittee members attended the hearing, most notably Rep. John Dingell (D., Mich.), the full House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman, who has been willing to let Mr. Markey carry the legislation in recent months. + +Mr. Dingell expressed concern, sources said, about jurisdictional problems in regulating program trading, which uses futures to offset stock trades. +The futures industry is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which reports to the Agriculture committees in both houses. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0090 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0090 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..550f0bad19902fa377fcbf50d9c64dac5a1c2775 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0090 @@ -0,0 +1,73 @@ +.START + +Investors unsettled by the stock market's gyrations can take some comfort in the predictable arrival of quarterly dividend checks. +That has been particularly true this year with many companies raising their payouts more than 10%. + +But don't breathe too easy: Those dividend increases may signal trouble ahead for stock prices, some analysts warn. + +In the past, they say, the strongest dividend growth has often come at times when the stock-market party was almost over. + +That can be a trap for unwary investors, says Richard Bernstein, senior quantitative analyst at Merrill Lynch & Co. Strong dividend growth, he says, is "the black widow of valuation" -- a reference to the female spiders that attract males and then kill them after mating. + +Stephen Boesel, president of T. Rowe Price Growth and Income Fund, explains that companies raise their payouts most robustly only after the economy and corporate profits have been growing for some time. "Invariably, those strong periods in the economy give way to recessionary environments," he says. "And recessionary environments aren't hospitable to the stock market." + +Indeed, analysts say that payouts have sometimes risen most sharply when prices were already on their way down from cyclical peaks. +In 1976, for example, dividends on the stocks in Standard & Poor's 500-stock index soared 10%, following much slower growth the year before. +The S&P index started sliding in price in September 1976, and fell 12% in 1977 -- despite a 15% expansion in dividends that year. + +That pattern hasn't always held, but recent strong growth in dividends makes some market watchers anxious. +Payouts on the S&P 500 stocks rose 10% in 1988, according to Standard & Poor's Corp., and Wall Street estimates for 1989 growth are generally between 9% and 14%. +Many people believe the growth in dividends will slow next year, although a minority see double-digit gains continuing. + +Meanwhile, many market watchers say recent dividend trends raise another warning flag: While dividends have risen smartly, their expansion hasn't kept pace with even stronger advances in stock prices. +As a result, the market's dividend yield -- dividends as a percentage of price -- has slid to a level that is fairly low and unenticing by historical standards. + +Put another way, the decline in the yield suggests stocks have gotten pretty rich in price relative to the dividends they pay, some market analysts say. +They are keeping a close watch on the yield on the S&P 500. +The figure is currently about 3.3%, up from 3.2% before the recent market slide. +Some analysts say investors should run for the exits if a sustained market rebound pushes the yield below 3%. + +A drop below that 3% benchmark "has always been a strong warning sign that stocks are fully valued," says Mr. Boesel of T. Rowe Price. + +In fact, "the market has always tanked. +Always. +There's never been an exception," says Gerald W. Perritt, a Chicago investment adviser and money manager, based on a review of six decades of stock-market data. + +The last time the S&P 500 yield dropped below 3% was in the summer of 1987. +Stockholders who took the hint and sold shares escaped the October debacle. + +There have been only seven other times -- in 1929, 1933, 1961, 1965, 1968, 1971 and 1972 -- when the yield on the S&P 500 dropped below 3% for at least two consecutive months, Mr. Perritt found. +And in each case, he says, a sharp drop in stock prices began within a year. + +Still, some market analysts say the current 3.3% reading isn't as troublesome as it might have been in years past. "It's not a very meaningful indicator currently because corporations are not behaving in a traditional manner," says James H. Coxon, head of stock investments for Cigna Corp., the Philadelphia-based insurer. + +In particular, Mr. Coxon says, businesses are paying out a smaller percentage of their profits and cash flow in the form of dividends than they have historically. +So, while stock prices may look fairly high relative to dividends, they are not excessive relative to the underlying corporate strength. + +Rather than increasing dividends, some companies have used cash to buy back some of their shares, notes Steven G. Einhorn, co-chairman of the investment policy committee at Goldman, Sachs & Co. +He factors that into the market yield to get an adjusted yield of about 3.6%. +That is just a tad below the average of the past 40 years or so, he says. + +What will happen to dividend growth next year? +Common wisdom suggests a single-digit rate of growth, reflecting a weakening in the economy and corporate profits. + +PaineWebber Inc., for instance, is forecasting growth in S&P 500 dividends of just under 5% in 1990, down from an estimated 11% this year. +In other years in which there have been moderate economic slowdowns -- the environment the firm expects in 1990 -- the change in dividends ranged from a gain of 4% to a decline of 1% , according to PaineWebber analyst Thomas Doerflinger. + +The minority argument, meanwhile, is that businesses have the financial wherewithal this time around to declare sharply higher dividends even if their earnings weaken. + +Dividend growth on the order of 12% is expected by both Mr. Coxon of Cigna and Mr. Einhorn of Goldman Sachs. +Those dividend bulls argue that corporations are in the unusual position of having plenty of cash left over after paying dividends and making capital expenditures. + +One indicator investors might want to watch is the monthly tally from Standard & Poor's of the number of public companies adjusting their dividends. +A total of 139 companies raised dividends in October, basically unchanged from 138 a year ago, S&P said Wednesday. +That followed four straight months in which the number of increases trailed the year-earlier pace. + +While the S&P tally doesn't measure the magnitude of dividend changes, a further slippage in the number of dividend increases could be a harbinger of slower dividend growth next year. + +In any case, opinion is mixed on how much of a boost the overall stock market would get even if dividend growth continues at double-digit levels. +Mr. Einhorn of Goldman Sachs estimates the stock market will deliver a 12% to 15% total return from appreciation and dividends over the next 12 months -- vs. a "cash rate of return" of perhaps 7% or 8% if dividend growth is weak. + +But Mr. Boesel of T. Rowe Price, who also expects 12% growth in dividends next year, doesn't think it will help the overall market all that much. "Having the dividend increases is a supportive element in the market outlook, but I don't think it's a main consideration," he says. +With slower economic growth and flat corporate earnings likely next year, "I wouldn't look for the market to have much upside from current levels." + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0091 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0091 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..81398470eddf662dab1df5991c7d5d00f4d3a312 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0091 @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ +.START + +Your Oct. 13 page-one story on the renewed plight of Western Union says that Western Union had lost its chance to be in the telephone business by turning down Alexander Graham Bell's offer to it of his invention, because it supposedly felt that voice communication would never replace the telegraph. + +Such is hardly the case. +Bell's father-in-law, Gardner G. Hubbard, wealthy and well-connected, obtained financing to start the American Bell Telephone Co. in Boston, which even had a subsidiary in New York called the Telephone Co. of New York. +This is where Bell's patents went. + +Western Union indeed wanted to get into the telephone business. +It acquired Thomas Edison's microphone patent and then immediately sued the Bell Co. claiming that the microphone invented by my grandfather, Emile Berliner, which had been sold to Bell for a princely $50,000, infringed upon Western Union's Edison patent. +When Bell established that the Berliner patent caveat was registered 10 days before Edison's application, Western Union dropped the lawsuit and agreed never to enter the telephone business -- the basis for the company's current plight. + +Oliver Berliner + +Beverly Hills, Calif. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0095 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0095 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..11967a7d29b7000c37d54ff59628f5fcc45b5470 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0095 @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ +.START + +In reference to your Oct. 9 page-one article "Barbara Bush Earns Even Higher Ratings Than the President," it is regrettable that you must continually define blacks by our negatives: "Among liberals, 60% have positive views of her, while 50% approve of the president's job performance. +In part, this may reflect the fact that `she speaks a more progressive language' than her husband, as Columbia's Prof. {Ethel} Klein puts it. +Among professionals, 76% have a favorable opinion of her, compared to 62% who approve of her husband's performance. +While a quarter of black voters disapprove of Mr. Bush's handling of his job, only 15% have a negative view of his spouse." + +The statistics imply that three-quarters of blacks approve of Mr. Bush's job performance and 85% of blacks approve of Mrs. Bush. +If the assumption is that it is surprising that so few blacks find Mr. and Mrs. Bush distasteful, the positive view is even more newsworthy. +Such an editorial point of view perpetuates an insidious, stereotyped perspective. +Why are we blacks continually defined by our minority and the lowest common denominator. + +Preston G. Foster + +Birmingham, Ala. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0096 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0096 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..10d77b272a468fd17760ccdafd5dfa94b389c010 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0096 @@ -0,0 +1,65 @@ +.START + +The National Association of Securities Dealers, the self-regulatory organization for the over-the-counter securities markets, disciplined a number of firms and individuals for alleged violations of industry rules. + +Two firms were expelled from the NASD, three were suspended or barred and nine were fined. + +First Securities Group of California and a principal of the firm, Louis Fernando Vargas of Marina del Rey, Calif., were jointly fined $15,000 and expelled for alleged violations of reporting requirements on securities sales. +Also, Mr. Vargas was barred from association with any NASD member. +Neither First Securities, of Beverly Hills, nor Mr. Vargas could be reached for comment. +A telephone-information operator had no listing for either party. + +J.L. Henry & Co., Miami, and a principal of the firm, Henry I. Otero of Miami, were jointly fined $30,000 and expelled, for alleged improper use of a customer's funds, among other things. +Also, Mr. Otero was barred from association with any NASD member. +J.L. Henry hasn't any Miami telephone listing, an operator said. +Mr. Otero, who apparently has an unpublished number, also couldn't be reached. + +Biscayne Securities Corp., of Lauderhill, Fla., and a principal of the firm, Alvin Rosenblum of Plantation, Fla., were jointly fined $20,000 and given 10-day suspensions for allegedly selling securities at unfair prices. +Biscayne hasn't any telephone listing, an operator said. +Mr. Rosenblum, who apparently has an unpublished phone number, also couldn't be reached. + +Triton Securities, of Danville, Calif., and a principal of the firm, Delwin George Chase, also of Danville, were jointly fined $10,000 and given 30-day suspensions as part of a settlement. +While neither admitting nor denying wrongdoing, Triton and Mr. Chase consented to findings of violations in connection with limited-partnership sales. +Officials of Triton couldn't be reached for comment. +Mr. Chase didn't return a telephone call to his office. +Crane & Co. Securities Inc., of Mount Clemens, Mich., and its president, Glenn R. Crane, of Sterling Heights, Mich., consented to a joint fine of $10,000. +Without admitting or denying wrongdoing, they consented to findings of violations of escrow and record-keeping rules. +Mr. Crane didn't return a call seeking comment. + +First Commonwealth Securities Corp., of New Orleans, and its president, Kenneth J. Canepa, also of New Orleans, consented to a $10,000 fine. +Also, Mr. Canepa received a two-week suspension "in a principal capacity." Without admitting or denying wrongdoing, they consented to findings that they had inaccurately represented the firm's net capital, maintained inaccurate books and records, and made other violations. +Mr. Canepa confirmed he had consented to the sanctions but declined to comment further. + +Weatherly Securities Corp., New York, and three of its principals -- Dell Eugene Keehn and William Northy Prater Jr., both of Mercer Island, Wash., and Thomas Albert McFall, of Red Bank, N.J. -- consented to a fine of $20,000. +Without admitting or denying wrongdoing, they consented to findings that they failed to return funds owed to customers in connection with a limited-partnership offering. + +Reached at his office, Mr. McFall, currently chairman, said, "An implication that we failed to return investor funds is inappropriate and inaccurate." He described the situation as "an escrow problem, a timing issue," which he said was rapidly rectified, with no losses to customers. + +W.N. Whelen & Co., of Georgetown, Del., and its president, William N. Whelen Jr., also of Georgetown, were barred from transacting principal trades for 90 days and were jointly fined $15,000. +The firm and Mr. Whelen allegedly sold securities to the public at unfair prices, among other alleged violations. + +Mr. Whelen denied the firm had sold securities at unfair prices and suggested that the examination practices of the NASD need improvement. +The firm and the NASD differ over the meaning of markup and markdown, he added. + +Shearson Lehman Hutton Inc., New York, which is 62%-owned by American Express Co., consented to a $10,000 fine. +Without admitting or denying wrongdoing, the firm consented to findings that it failed to respond "in a timely manner" to the NASD's requests for information in connection with a customer complaint. +A Shearson spokesman had no comment. + +The following individuals were fined as indicated and barred from association with NASD members, or, where noted, suspended. +Except where noted, none of these people could be reached for comment or had any comment. + +Andrew Derel Adams, Killeen, Texas, fined $15,000; John Francis Angier Jr., Reddington Shores, Fla., $15,000; Mark Anthony, Arlington Heights, Ill., $10,000 and 30-day suspension; William Stirlen, Arlington Heights, Ill., $7,500 and 30-day suspension; Fred W. Bonnell, Boulder, Colo., $2,500 and six-month suspension; Michael J. Boorse, Horsham, Pa.; David Chiodo, Dallas, $5,000, barred as a principal; Camille Chafic Cotran, London, $25,000; John William Curry, fined $5,000, ordered to disgorge $30,000, one-year suspension. +John William Davis, Colonsville, Miss., fined $200,000; Jeffrey Gerard Dompierre, Valrico, Fla., $5,000 and 10-day suspension; Eugene Michael Felten, La Canada, Calif., fined $25,000, ordered to disgorge $16,072 and suspended one year; Marion Stewart Spitler, La Canada, fined $15,000, ordered to disgorge $18,444 and suspended six months. + +Mr. Felten said, "We got what amounted to a parking ticket, and by complaining about it, we ended up with a sizable fine and suspension." The matter "didn't involve anybody's securities transactions," he added. + +Victor Stanley Fishman, Longwood, Fla., fined $25,000; William Harold Floyd, Houston, $100,000; Michael Anthony Houston, Bronx, N.Y., $15,000; Amin Jalaalwalikraam, Glenham, N.Y., $60,000; Richard F. Knapp, London, $10,000 and 30-day suspension; Deborah Renee Martin, St. Louis, $15,000; Joseph Francis Muscolina Jr., Palisades Park, N.J., $15,000; Robert C. Najarian, Brooklyn Park, Minn., $15,000; Edward Robert Norwick, Nesconset, N.Y., $30,000. + +Charles D. Phipps Sr., Hermitage, Pa., fined $10,000; David Scott Rankin, Lake St. Louis, Mo., $15,000; Leigh A. Sanderoff, Gaithersburg, Md., fined $45,000, ordered to disgorge $12,252; Sandra Ann Smith, Ridgefield, N.J., $15,000; James G. Spence, Aloha, Ore., $5,000 and six-month suspension; Mona Sun, Jamaica Estates, N.Y., $60,000; William Swearingen, Minneapolis, $15,000 and six-month suspension; John Bew Wong, San Francisco, $25,000; Rabia M. Zayed, San Francisco, $50,000. + +The following were neither barred nor suspended: Stephanie Veselich Enright, Rolling Hills, Calif., fined $2,500 and ordered to disgorge $11,762; Stuart Lane Russel, Glendale, Calif., fined $2,500 and ordered to disgorge $14,821; Devon Nilson Dahl, Fountain Valley, Calif., fined $82,389. +Mr. Dahl, a registered representative in the insurance business, said he "screwed up" because he didn't realize he was breaking securities laws. "Insurance agents have been forced by their companies into becoming registered reps," he said, "but they are not providing compliance and security-type training so that we can avoid stupid mistakes." + +The following were barred or, where noted, suspended and consented to findings without admitting or denying wrongdoing: Edward L. Cole, Jackson, Miss., $10,000 fine; Rita Rae Cross, Denver, $2,500 fine and 30-day suspension; Thomas Richard Meinders, Colorado Springs, Colo., $2,000 fine, five-day suspension and eight-month suspension as a principal; Ronald A. Cutrer, Baton Rouge, La., $15,000 fine and one-month suspension; Karl Grant Hale, Midvale, Utah, $15,000 fine; Clinton P. Hayne, New Orleans, $7,500 fine and one-week suspension; Richard M. Kane, Coconut Creek, Fla., $250,000 fine; John B. Merrick, Aurora, Colo., $1,000 fine and 10-day suspension; John P. Miller, Baton Rouge, $2,000 fine and two-week suspension; Randolph K. Pace, New York, $10,000 fine and 90-day suspension; Brian D. Pitcher, New Providence, N.J., $30,000 fine; Wayne A. Russo, Bridgeville, Pa., $4,000 fine and 15-day suspension; Orville Leroy Sandberg, Aurora, Colo., $3,500 fine and 10-day suspension; Richard T. Marchese, Las Vegas, Nev., $5,000 and one-year suspension; Eric G. Monchecourt, Las Vegas, $5,000 and one-year suspension; and Robert Gerhard Smith, Carson City, Nev., two-year suspension. "I wasn't ever actively engaged in any securities activities," said Mr. Cutrer. "I never had any clients at all. +It was just a stupid mistake to get the license," he said, adding, "I'd just as soon not get into" details of the settlement. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0097 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0097 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..20752c998db1cf0f4392006e8ec43565873b5828 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0097 @@ -0,0 +1,54 @@ +.START + +Program traders are fond of predicting that if they are blocked in the U.S., they will simply emigrate to foreign stock markets. +But in London and Tokyo, where computer-driven trading now plays a small but growing role, traders say a number of hurdles loom. + +Government officials, especially in Japan, probably would resist any onslaught of program trading by players trying to shrug off the U.S. furor over their activities and marching abroad with their business. +Japan is "very concerned" about the possible effects of program trading, a senior Japanese official said after the Oct. 13 stock plunge in New York. + +U.S. stock-index futures aren't even traded in Japan now. +And because of the time difference, the Japanese and the U.S. markets' trading hours don't overlap. +It all adds up to a barrier to American-style index arbitrage, the most popular form of U.S. program trading that seeks to exploit brief differences between prices of stocks in New York and the price of a futures contract in Chicago based on those stocks. + +About 11.6% of all program trading by New York Stock Exchange firms in September took place in foreign markets, according to Big Board data. + +Yet it is difficult to imagine Japan racing to introduce Chicago-style stock-index futures. +Japan's Finance Ministry already is scrutinizing institutional investors' activity to see whether policy changes are needed to cope with the current level of program trading, said Makato Utsumi, vice minister for international finance. + +Program trading has taken off in Japan since last year's introduction of home-market stock-index futures trading on the Tokyo and Osaka stock exchanges. +But regulators are wary. +They haven't forgotten the leap in share prices last Dec. 7, when the first bout of foreign-led index arbitrage drove stocks skyward in the last half-hour of trading, startling regulators who thought they had written enough rules to prevent such a swing. +Japan's Finance Ministry had set up mechanisms to limit how far futures prices could fall in a single session and to give market operators the authority to suspend trading in futures at any time. "Maybe it wasn't enough," a Finance Ministry official noted after the Dec. 7 surge. +Japan's regulators have since tightened controls on index-related stock purchases. + +Tokyo's leading program traders are the big U.S. securities houses, though the Japanese are playing catch-up. +Some U.S. firms, notably Salomon Inc. and Morgan Stanley Group Inc., have reaped a hefty chunk of their Japanese earnings from index arbitrage, both for customers and for their own accounts. (Morgan Stanley last week joined a growing list of U.S. securities firms that have stopped doing index arbitrage for their own accounts.) + +Both Deryck C. Maughan, who heads Salomon in Tokyo, and John S. Wadsworth, who heads Morgan Stanley there, ascribe a good part of their firms' success in Tokyo to their ability to offer sophisticated, futures-related investment strategies to big institutional clients. +They don't have plans to cut back. + +"It has not been disruptive in the markets here," Mr. Maughan said. "The real difference seems to be that the cash market here . . . is big enough and liquid enough that the futures market isn't having the same impact it does in America." + +The British also are scrutinizing program trades. +Index-arbitrage trading is "something we want to watch closely," an official at London's Stock Exchange said. "We don't think there is cause for concern at the moment." + +London serves increasingly as a conduit for program trading of U.S. stocks. +Market professionals said London has several attractions. + +First, the trading is done over the counter and isn't reported on either the U.S. or London stock trading tapes. +Second, it can be used to unwind positions before U.S. trading begins, but at prices pegged to the previous session's Big Board close. +In addition to the extra privacy of these trades, the transactions can often be less expensive to execute, because the parties don't have to pay a floor brokerage fee or a specialist's fee. + +Still, "Much less {index-arbitrage activity} is done over here than in the U.S." said Richard Barfield, chief investment manager at Standard Life Assurance Co., which manages about #15 billion ($23.72 billion) in United Kingdom institutional funds. + +Britain has two main index-arbitrage instruments. +A Financial Times-Stock Exchange 100-share index option contract is traded on the London Stock Exchange's Traded Options Market. +And an FT-SE futures contract is traded on the London International Financial Futures Exchange. +Both contracts have gained a following since the 1987 global market crash. + +The average number of FT-SE option contracts traded on the London exchange has surged nearly tenfold since the contract's launch in 1984. +This year, the average of daily contracts traded totaled 9,118, up from 4,645 a year earlier and from 917 in 1984. + +But a survey early this summer indicated that the volume of index-options trading was only 15% of the size of the underlying equity market, exchange officials said. +This compares with estimates that the U.S. "derivatives" market is perhaps four times as large as the underlying domestic market. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0098 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0098 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c69ac7d380842bdd5cd01f508127b3e0e43c7cea --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0098 @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +.START + +The House voted to boost the federal minimum wage for the first time since early 1981, casting a solid 382-37 vote for a compromise measure backed by President Bush. + +The vote came after a debate replete with complaints from both proponents and critics of a substantial increase in the wage floor. +Advocates said the 90-cent-an-hour rise, to $4.25 an hour by April 1991, is too small for the working poor, while opponents argued that the increase will still hurt small business and cost many thousands of jobs. + +But the legislation reflected a compromise agreed to on Tuesday by President Bush and Democratic leaders in Congress, after congressional Republicans urged the White House to bend a bit from its previous resistance to compromise. + +So both sides accepted the compromise, which would lead to the first lifting of the minimum wage since a four-year law was enacted in 1977, raising the wage to $3.35 an hour from $2.65. +Under the measure passed yesterday, the minimum wage would rise to $3.80 next April. + +The Senate plans to take up the measure quickly and is expected to pass it. + +"There are no smiles about this bill," Rep. Pat Williams (D., Mont.) said during House floor debate yesterday. +But "because it's all we've got, I'm going to vote for it." + +While the minimum wage had traditionally been pegged at half the average U.S. manufacturing wage, the level of $4.25 an hour in 1991 will still be less than 35% of average factory pay, Mr. Williams said. + +But Rep. Marge Roukema (R., N.J.) instead praised the House's acceptance of a new youth "training" wage, a subminimum that GOP administrations have sought for many years. +Adopting a training-wage policy means "getting beyond the nickel and diming of the minimum wage," Mrs. Roukema said. + +Policy makers regard the youth wage as helping to limit the loss of jobs from an increase in the minimum wage, but they have lately touted it as necessary to help impart job skills to entrants into the work force. + +Labor unions and Democrats long fought the idea, but recently acceded to it in the face of Bush administration insistence. +The compromise sets the training wage at $3.35 an hour next April, and at $3.61 an hour, or 85% of the minimum wage, in April 1991. + +Employers can pay the subminimum for 90 days, without restriction, to workers with less than six months of job experience, and for another 90 days if the company uses a government-certified training program for the young workers. +The training wage covers only workers who are 16 to 19 years old. + +The White House previously insisted on an unrestricted six-month training wage that could be paid any time a worker of any age took a new job. + +The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, still opposed to any mininum-wage increase, said the compromise plan to lift the wage floor 27% in two stages between April 1990 and April 1991 "will be impossible for many employers to accommodate and will result in the elimination of jobs for American workers and higher prices for American consumers." + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0100 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0100 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2d456e9d474510f600e3d3e579d8664323b9e0bf --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0100 @@ -0,0 +1,58 @@ +.START + +For six years, T. Marshall Hahn Jr. has made corporate acquisitions in the George Bush mode: kind and gentle. +The question now: Can he act more like hard-charging Teddy Roosevelt? + +Mr. Hahn, the 62-year-old chairman and chief executive officer of Georgia-Pacific Corp. is leading the forest-product concern's unsolicited $3.19 billion bid for Great Northern Nekoosa Corp. Nekoosa has given the offer a public cold shoulder, a reaction Mr. Hahn hasn't faced in his 18 earlier acquisitions, all of which were negotiated behind the scenes. + +So far, Mr. Hahn is trying to entice Nekoosa into negotiating a friendly surrender while talking tough. "We are prepared to pursue aggressively completion of this transaction," he says. + +But a takeover battle opens up the possibility of a bidding war, with all that implies. +If a competitor enters the game, for example, Mr. Hahn could face the dilemma of paying a premium for Nekoosa or seeing the company fall into the arms of a rival. + +Given that choice, associates of Mr. Hahn and industry observers say the former university president -- who has developed a reputation for not overpaying for anything -- would fold. + +"There's a price above which I'm positive Marshall has the courage not to pay," says A.D. Correll, Georgia-Pacific's executive vice president for pulp and paper. +Says long-time associate Jerry Griffin, vice president, corporate development, at WTD Industries Inc.: "He isn't of the old school of winning at any cost." + +He also is a consensus manager, insiders say. +The decision to make the bid for Nekoosa, for example, was made only after all six members of Georgia-Pacific's management committee signed onto the deal -- even though Mr. Hahn knew he wanted to go after the company early on, says Mr. Correll. +Associates say Mr. Hahn picked up that careful approach to management as president of Virginia Polytechnic Institute. +Assuming that post at the age of 35, he managed by consensus, as is the rule in universities, says Warren H. Strother, a university official who is researching a book on Mr. Hahn. +But he also showed a willingness to take a strong stand. +In 1970, Mr. Hahn called in state police to arrest student protesters who were occupying a university building. + +That impressed Robert B. Pamplin, Georgia-Pacific's chief executive at the time, whom Mr. Hahn had met while fundraising for the institute. +In 1975, Mr. Pamplin enticed Mr. Hahn into joining the company as executive vice president in charge of chemicals; the move befuddled many in Georgia-Pacific who didn't believe a university administrator could make the transition to the corporate world. + +But Mr. Hahn rose swiftly through the ranks, demonstrating a raw intelligence that he says he knew he possessed early on. +The son of a physicist, Mr. Hahn skipped first grade because his reading ability was so far above his classmates. +Moving rapidly through school, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Kentucky at age 18, after spending only 2 1/2 years in college. +He earned his doctorate in nuclear physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. + +Mr. Hahn agrees that he has a "retentive" memory, but friends say that's an understatement. +They call it "photographic". + +Mr. Hahn also has engineered a surprising turnaround of Georgia-Pacific. +Taking over as chief executive officer in 1983, he inherited a company that was mired in debt and hurt by a recession-inspired slide in its building-products business. +Mr. Hahn began selling non-core businesses, such as oil and gas and chemicals. +He even sold one unit that made vinyl checkbook covers. + +At the same time, he began building up the pulp and paper segment of the company while refocusing building products on home repair and remodeling, rather than materials for new-home construction. +The idea was to buffet building products from cycles in new-home construction. + +The formula has paid off, so far. +Georgia-Pacific's sales climbed to $9.5 billion last year, compared with $6 billion in 1983, when Mr. Hahn took the reins. +Profit from continuing operations has soared to $467 million from $75 million. +Mr. Hahn attributes the gains to the philosophy of concentrating on what a company knows best. + +"The record of companies that have diversified isn't all that impressive," he says. + +Nekoosa wouldn't be a diversification. +It would be a good match, Mr. Hahn and many analysts say, of two healthy companies with high-quality assets and strong cash flows. +The resulting company would be the largest forest-products concern in the world with combined sales of more than $13 billion. + +But can Mr. Hahn carry it off? +In this instance, industry observers say, he is entering uncharted waters. +Says Kathryn McAuley, an analyst at First Manhattan Co.: "This is the greatest acquisition challenge he has faced." + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0103 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0103 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..9c8857cc7c46d68046f5cc3a1b2073357ab2941b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0103 @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ +.START + +The Labor Department cited USX Corp. for numerous health and safety violations at two Pennsylvania plants, and proposed $7.3 million in fines, the largest penalty ever proposed for alleged workplace violations by an employer. + +The department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposed fines of $6.1 million for alleged violations at the company's Fairless Hills, Pa., steel mill; that was a record for proposed penalties at any single facility. +OSHA cited nearly 1,500 alleged violations of federal electrical, crane-safety, record-keeping and other requirements. + +A second citation covering the company's Clairton, Pa., coke works involved more than 200 alleged violations of electrical-safety and other requirements, for which OSHA proposed $1.2 million in fines. + +Labor Secretary Elizabeth Dole said, "The magnitude of these penalties and citations is matched only by the magnitude of the hazards to workers which resulted from corporate indifference to worker safety and health, and severe cutbacks in the maintenance and repair programs needed to remove those hazards." + +OSHA said there have been three worker fatalities at the two plants in the past two years and 17 deaths since 1972. +Gerard Scannell, the head of OSHA, said USX managers have known about many of the safety and health deficiencies at the plants for years, "yet have failed to take necessary action to counteract the hazards." + +"Particularly flagrant," Mrs. Dole said, "are the company's numerous failures to properly record injuries at its Fairless works, in spite of the firm promise it had made in an earlier corporate-wide settlement agreement to correct such discrepancies." That settlement was in April 1987. + +A USX spokesman said the company hadn't yet received any documents from OSHA regarding the penalty or fine. "Once we do, they will receive very serious evaluation," the spokesman said. "No consideration is more important than the health and safety of our employees." + +USX said it has been cooperating with OSHA since the agency began investigating the Clairton and Fairless works. +He said that, if and when safety problems were identified, they were corrected. + +The USX citations represented the first sizable enforcement action taken by OSHA under Mr. Scannell. +He has promised stiffer fines, though the size of penalties sought by OSHA have been rising in recent years even before he took office this year. + +"The big problem is that USX management has proved unwilling to devote the necessary resources and manpower to removing hazards and to safeguarding safety and health in the plants," said Linda Anku, OSHA regional administrator in Philadelphia. +USX has 15 working days to contest the citations and proposed penalties, before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. + +Before the USX case, OSHA's largest proposed fine for one employer was $4.3 million for alleged safety violations at John Morrell & Co., a meatpacking subsidiary of United Brands Co., Cincinnati. +The company is contesting the fine. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0106 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0106 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..41c292ac5b77872c2c3388ee748f2112ec06980e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0106 @@ -0,0 +1,8 @@ +.START + +ROGERS COMMUNICATIONS Inc. said it plans to raise 175 million to 180 million Canadian dollars (US$148.9 million to $153.3 million) through a private placement of perpetual preferred shares. +Perpetual preferred shares aren't retractable by the holders, the company said. +Rogers said the shares will be convertible into Class B shares, but that the company has the option to redeem the shares before a conversion takes place. +A spokesman for the Toronto cable television and telecommunications concern said the coupon rate hasn't yet been fixed, but will probably be set at around 8%. +He declined to discuss other terms of the issue. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0108 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0108 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..73b3222399d3787c9629a6cdcb7b62f614a1f610 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0108 @@ -0,0 +1,88 @@ +.START + +Follow-up report: + +You now may drop by the Voice of America offices in Washington and read the text of what the Voice is broadcasting to those 130 million people around the world who tune in to it each week. +You can even take notes -- extensive notes, for the Voice folks won't look over your shoulder -- about what you read. +You can do all this even if you're not a reporter or a researcher or a scholar or a member of Congress. + +And my newspaper can print the text of those broadcasts. + +Until the other day, you as an ordinary citizen of this democracy had no right to see what your government was telling your cousins around the world. +That was the law. +And I apparently had no right to print hither what the Voice was booming to yon. + +It was censorship. +It was outrageous. +And it was stupid. + +The theory was that the Voice is a propaganda agency and this government shouldn't propagandize its own people. +That sounds neat, but this government -- any government -- propagandizes its own people every day. +Government press releases, speeches, briefings, tours of military facilities, publications are all propaganda of sorts. +Propaganda is just information to support a viewpoint, and the beauty of a democracy is that it enables you to hear or read every viewpoint and then make up your own mind on an issue. + +The restrictions on viewing and dissemination of Voice material were especially absurd: An agency in the information business was not being allowed to inform. + +In June 1988, I wrote in this space about this issue. +Assuming it wasn't one of those columns that you clipped and put on the refrigerator door, I'll review the facts. + +The Voice of America is a government agency that broadcasts news and views -- some might say propaganda -- in 43 languages to 130 million listeners around the world. +It does a first-rate job. +Its budget$184 million -- is paid for by you. +But a 1948 law barred the "dissemination" of that material in the U.S. +The law let scholars, reporters and researchers read texts of VOA material, only at VOA headquarters in Washington, but it barred them from copying texts. +And, of course, there's that word "dissemination." + +How's that again? "You may come by the agency to read but not copy either manually or by photocopying," a Voice official explained when I asked. +What if I tune in my short-wave radio, transcribe an editorial or program, and print it in my newspaper? "Nor are you free to reprint such material," I was advised. + +That sounded a lot like censorship, so after years of letters and conversations that went nowhere, I sued. + +A couple of weeks ago, I lost the case in federal district court in Des Moines. +At least, that's the way it was reported. +And, indeed, the lawsuit was dismissed. + +But I -- I like to think of it in terms of we, all of us -- won the point. + +For a funny thing happened on the way to the ruling: The United States Information Agency, which runs the Voice, changed its position on three key points. + +-- The USIA said that, on reflection, of course I could print anything I could get my hands on. +The word dissemination, it decided, referred only to itself. "The USIA officially and publicly declared the absolute right of everyone except the USIA to disseminate agency program materials in the United States," my lawyer, the scholarly Mark McCormick of Des Moines, said in a memo pointing out the facts and trying to make me feel good after the press reported that I had lost. +The court noted the new USIA position but, just in case, officially found "that Congress did not intend to preclude plaintiffs from disseminating USIA information domestically." + +-- The USIA said that, on reflection, anyone could view the VOA materials, not just the reporters, scholars, researchers and congressmen who are mentioned in the statute. "The USIA publicly and officially stated in the litigation that all persons are allowed access to the materials, notwithstanding the statutory designations, because the USIA has determined that it will not check the credentials of any person appearing and requesting to see the materials," Mr. McCormick noted. + +-- And the USIA said that all of us could take extensive notes. "The agency publicly and officially declared in the lawsuit that persons who examine the materials may make notes and, while the agency position is that persons may not take verbatim notes, no one will check to determine what notes a person has taken," Mr. McCormick reported. + +I had sought, in my suit, the right to print Voice material, which had been denied me, and I had sought a right to receive the information, arguing in effect that a right to print government information isn't very helpful if I have no right to get the information. + +But the court disagreed. "The First Amendment proscribes the government from passing laws abridging the right to free speech," Judge Donald O'Brien ruled. "The First Amendment does not prescribe a duty upon the government to assure easy access to information for members of the press." + +So now the situation is this: You have a right to read Voice of America scripts if you don't mind traveling to Washington every week or so and visiting the Voice office during business hours. +I have a right to print those scripts if I go there and laboriously -- but no longer surreptitiously -- copy them out in long hand. +But neither of us can copy the material on a Xerox machine or have it sent to us. + +In an era when every government agency has a public-relations machine that sends you stuff whether you want it or not, this does seem odd. + +Indeed, Judge O'Brien ruled that "it would be easy to conclude that the USIA's position is `inappropriate or even stupid, '" but it's the law. +So the next step, I suspect, is to try to get the law changed. +We (I assume you're in this with me at this point) need to get three words -- "for examination only" -- eliminated from the law. + +Section 501 of the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 says Voice material shall be available to certain of us (but now, thanks to the USIA's new position, all of us) "for examination only." If those words weren't there, the nice people at the Voice would be able to send you the information or, at the very least, let you photocopy it. + +This is not a trivial issue. + +"You have . . . raised important questions which ought to be answered: What does USIA say about America abroad; how do we say it; and how can American taxpayers get the answers to these questions?" a man wrote me a couple of years ago. +The man was Charles Z. Wick. +At the time, he was director of the + +He had no answers then. + +Now there are some. + +This democracy is suddenly a little more democratic. + +I feel pretty good about it. + +Mr. Gartner is editor and co-owner of the Daily Tribune in Ames, Iowa, and president of NBC News in New York. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0109 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0109 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..62015ae0558c5e94879d3368a3bccfb967f01a3c --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0109 @@ -0,0 +1,58 @@ +.START + +R. Gordon McGovern was forced out as Campbell Soup Co. 's president and chief executive officer, the strongest evidence yet of the power that Dorrance family members intend to wield in reshaping the troubled food company. + +Herbert M. Baum, the 53-year-old president of the company's Campbell U.S.A. unit, and Edwin L. Harper, 47, the chief financial officer, will run Campbell as a team, dividing responsibilities rather evenly until a successor is named. +The board already has been searching for strong outside candidates, including food-industry executives with considerable international experience. + +Wall Street reacted favorably to Mr. McGovern's departure and its implications. +In heavy trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Campbell's shares rose $3.375 to close at $47.125. + +"The profit motive of the major shareholders has clearly changed for the better," said John McMillin, a food industry analyst for Prudential-Bache in New York. +Mr. McGovern was widely seen as sales, and not profit, oriented. "New managers would think a little more like Wall Street," Mr. McMillin added. +Some of the surge in the stock's price appeared to be linked to revived takeover speculation, which has contributed to volatility of Campbell shares in recent months. + +Campbell's international businesses, particularly in the U.K. and Italy, appear to be at the heart of its problems. +Growth has fallen short of targets and operating earnings are far below results in U.S. units. + +For example, Campbell is a distant third in the U.K. frozen foods market, where it recently paid 24 times earnings for Freshbake Foods PLC and wound up with far more capacity than it could use. +Similarly, Campbell's Italian biscuit operation, D. Lazzaroni & Co., has been hurt by overproduction and distribution problems. + +Such problems will require considerable skill to resolve. +However, neither Mr. Baum nor Mr. Harper has much international experience. + +Mr. Baum, a seasoned marketer who is said to have a good rapport with Campbell employees, will have responsibility for all domestic operations except the Pepperidge Farm unit. +Mr. Harper, a veteran of several manufacturing companies who joined Campbell in 1986, will take charge of all overseas operations as well as Pepperidge. + +In an joint interview yesterday, both men said they would like to be the company's next chief executive. + +Mr. McGovern, 63, had been under intense pressure from the board to boost Campbell's mediocre performance to the level of other food companies. +The board is dominated by the heirs of the late John T. Dorrance Jr., who controlled about 58% of Campbell's stock when he died in April. +In recent months, Mr. Dorrance's children and other family members have pushed for improved profitability and higher returns on their equity. + +In August, the company took a $343 million pretax charge against fiscal 1989 earnings when it announced a world-wide restructuring plan. +The plan calls for closing at least nine plants and eliminating about 3,600 jobs. +But analysts said early results from the reorganization have been disappointing, especially in Europe, and there were signs that the board became impatient. + +Campbell officials said Mr. McGovern wasn't available yesterday to discuss the circumstances of his departure. +The company's prepared statement quoted him as saying, "The CEO succession is well along and I've decided for personal reasons to take early retirement." + +But people familiar with the agenda of the board's meeting last week in London said Mr. McGovern was fired. + +Mr. McGovern himself had said repeatedly that he intended to stay on until he reached the conventional retirement age of 65 in October 1991, "unless I get fired." Campbell said Mr. McGovern had withdrawn his name as a candidate for re-election as a director at the annual shareholder meeting, scheduled for Nov. 17. + +For fiscal 1989, Mr. McGovern received a salary of $877,663. +He owns about 45,000 shares of Campbell stock and has options to buy more than 100,000 additional shares. +He will be eligible for an annual pension of more than $244,000 with certain other fringe benefits. + +During Mr. McGovern's nine-year term as president, the company's sales rose to $5.7 billion from $2.8 billion and net income increased to $274 million from $130 million, the statement said. + +Mr. Baum said he and Mr. Harper both advocated closing some plants as long ago as early 1988. "You've got to make the restructuring work," said Mr. Baum. "You've got to make those savings now." + +Mr. Harper expressed confidence that he and Mr. Baum can convince the board of their worthiness to run the company. "We look upon this as a great opportunity to prove the fact that we have a tremendous management team," he said. +He predicted that the board would give the current duo until early next year before naming a new chief executive. + +Mr. Baum said the two have orders to "focus on bottom-line profits" and to "take a hard look at our businesses -- what is good, what is not so good." Analysts generally applaud the performance of Campbell U.S.A., the company's largest division, which posted 6% unit sales growth and a 15% improvement in operating profit for fiscal 1989. "The way that we've been managing Campbell U.S.A. can hopefully spread to other areas of the company," Mr. Baum said. + +In the interview at headquarters yesterday afternoon, both men exuded confidence and seemed to work well together. "You've got two champions sitting right before you," said Mr. Baum. "We play to win." + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0112 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0112 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1a3f78fe0cfba94173281f08975336cfc9d7aa27 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0112 @@ -0,0 +1,77 @@ +.START + +Congress learned during the Reagan administration that it could intimidate the executive branch by uttering again and again the same seven words: "Provided, that no funds shall be spent. . . ." This phrase once again is found throughout the many appropriations bills now moving through Congress. +It signals Congress's attempt, under the pretext of guarding the public purse, to deny the president the funding necessary to execute certain of his duties and prerogatives specified in Article II of the Constitution. + +This species of congressional action is predicated on an interpretation of the appropriations clause that is erroneous and unconstitutional. +The appropriations clause states that "No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law. . . ." The prevailing interpretation of the clause on Capitol Hill is that it gives Congress an omnipresent veto over every conceivable action of the president through the ability to withhold funding. +This interpretation was officially endorsed by Congress in 1987 in the Iran-Contra Report. + +As partisans of congressional power understand, a "power of the purse" so broadly construed would emasculate the presidency and swallow the principle of separation of powers. +It is not supported by the text or history of the Constitution. + +The framers hardly discussed the appropriations clause at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, according to Madison's notes. +To the extent they did, their concern was to ensure fiscal accountability. +Moreover, the framers believed that the nation needed a unitary executive with the independence and resources to perform the executive functions that the Confederation Congress had performed poorly under the Articles of Confederation. +It would contradict that objective if the appropriations clause (technically a limitation on legislative power) could be read as placing the president on Congress's short leash, making the executive consist of the president and every member of Congress. + +As it went to the conference panel now deliberating, the appropriations bill for the executive office of the president for fiscal 1990 contained some breathtaking attempts by Congress to rewrite the Constitution under the pretext of protecting the public's money. +During the coming weeks, President Bush must decide whether to veto the bills containing them -- or, alternatively, to sign these bills into law with a statement declaring their intrusions on executive power to be in violation of Article II, and thus void and severable. + +The 1990 appropriations legislation attempts to strip the president of his powers to make certain appointments as provided by Article II. Article II places on the president the duty to nominate, "and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate" appoint, ambassadors, judges, and other officers of the U.S. +It also empowers the president to make recess appointments, without Senate approval: "The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session." + +Yet Section 605 of the appropriations bill for the executive office provides: "No part of any appropriation for the current fiscal year contained in this or any other Act shall be paid to any person for the filling of any position for which he or she has been nominated after the Senate has voted not to approve the nomination of said person." Thus, with one brief passage in an appropriations bill, Congress repeals the president's power to make recess appointments under Article II. + +Section 605 also imposes unconstitutional conditions on the president's ability to nominate candidates of his choosing. +The language of the appropriations rider implies that any nomination to any position of a rejected nominee will result in the president being denied funding to pay that person's salary. +The president could probably not avoid this restriction by choosing people willing to serve without pay, because the Anti-Deficiency Act prohibits voluntary service to the government. + +The 1990 appropriations bills also contain a number of "muzzling" provisions that violate the recommendation clause in Article II of the Constitution. +Muzzling provisions, which might be called "blindfold laws" as well, prevent the executive branch from even looking at certain policy options, let alone from recommending them to Congress. +Such laws violate the provision in Article II that requires the president to make recommendations to Congress, but which gives the president the discretion to select the subject matter of those recommendations. + +Typically, these laws seek to prevent executive branch officials from inquiring into whether certain federal programs make any economic sense or proposing more market-oriented alternatives to regulations. +Probably the most egregious example is a proviso in the appropriations bill for the executive office that prevents the president's Office of Management and Budget from subjecting agricultural marketing orders to any cost-benefit scrutiny. +There is something inherently suspect about Congress's prohibiting the executive from even studying whether public funds are being wasted in some favored program or other. + +Perhaps none of the unconstitutional conditions contained in the appropriations bills for fiscal 1990 better illustrates Congress's attempt to usurp executive power than Section 609 of the executive-office bill: "None of the funds made available pursuant to the provisions of this Act shall be used to implement, administer, or enforce any regulation which has been disapproved pursuant to a resolution of disapproval duly adopted in accordance with the applicable law of the United States." + +This provision amounts to a legislative veto over the president's execution of the law, since a one-house resolution could be said to be "duly adopted" even though it would require neither bicameral action in Congress nor presentation to the president for his signature or veto. +The Supreme Court's decision in INS v. +Chadha held that legislative vetoes are unconstitutional. + +President Bush should veto appropriations acts that contain these kinds of unconstitutional conditions on the president's ability to discharge his duties and exercise his prerogatives. +If President Bush fails to do so in his first year, he will invite Congress, for the remainder of his presidency, to rewrite Article II of the Constitution to suit its purposes. +What becomes custom in the Bush administration will only become more difficult for future presidents, including Democrats, to undo. + +President Reagan learned that lesson. +By 1987, then-Speaker Jim Wright was discussing arms control in Moscow with Mikhail Gorbachev and then attempting to direct the president, through an appropriations rider, to treat the Soviets as though the Senate had ratified SALT II. + +If a veto is unworkable because it would leave part of the executive branch unfunded, the president could sign the appropriations bills into law and assert a power of excision, declaring the rider restricting his Article II powers to be unconstitutional and severable. +The Constitution does not expressly give the president such power. +However, the president does have a duty not to violate the Constitution. +The question is whether his only means of defense is the veto. + +Excision of appropriations riders that trespass on the president's duties and prerogative under Article II would be different from the line-item veto. +As discussed in the context of controlling federal spending, the line-item veto is characterized as a way for the president to excise perfectly constitutional provisions in a spending bill that are objectionable merely because they conflict with his policy objectives. +The excision of unconstitutional conditions in an appropriations bill would be a power of far more limited applicability. +One could argue that it is not an assertion of a item veto at all for the president, by exerting a power of excision, to resist unconstitutional conditions in legislation that violate the separation of powers. + +There is no downside if the president asserts a right of excision over unconstitutional conditions in the fiscal 1990 appropriations bills. +If Congress does nothing, President Bush will have won. +If Congress takes the dispute to the Supreme Court (assuming it can establish standing to sue), President Bush might win. +In that case, he might receive an opinion from the court that is a vindication of the president's right to perform the duties and exercise the prerogatives the framers thought should be entrusted to the executive. + +If President Bush loses at the court, it might be disappointing, as Morrison v. +Olson was for the Reagan administration. +But the presidency would be no worse off than it is now. +Moreover, the electorate would have received a valuable civics lesson in how the separation of powers works in practice. + +As it stands now, Congress presumes after the Reagan administration that the White House will take unconstitutional provisions in appropriations bills lying down. +President Bush should set things straight. +If he does not, he will help realize Madison's fear in The Federalist No. 48 of a legislature "everywhere extending the sphere of its activity and drawing all powers into its impetuous vortex." + +Mr. Sidak served as an attorney in the Reagan administration. +His longer analysis of executive power and the appropriations clause is to appear in the Duke Law Journal later this year. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0113 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0113 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c96bc732d4ee6486ce6bc580e7672526bc3dbe1d --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0113 @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +.START + +Despite one of the most devastating droughts on record, net cash income in the Farm Belt rose to a new high of $59.9 billion last year. + +The previous record was $57.7 billion in 1987, according to the Agriculture Department. + +Net cash income -- the amount left in farmers' pockets after deducting expenses from gross cash income -- increased in 33 states in 1988, as the drought cut into crop yields and drove up commodity prices, the department's Economic Research Service reported yesterday. +Most of those states set farm income records. + +The worst crop damage occurred in the Midwestern Corn Belt and the northern Great Plains. +What saved many farmers from a bad year was the opportunity to reclaim large quantities of grain and other crops that they had "mortgaged" to the government under price-support loan programs. +With prices soaring, they were able to sell the reclaimed commodities at "considerable profit," the agency's 240-page report said. + +In less parched areas, meanwhile, farmers who had little or no loss of production profited greatly from the higher prices. + +To the surprise of some analysts, net cash income rose in some of the hardest-hit states, including Indiana, Illinois, Nebraska and the Dakotas. +Analysts attributed the increases partly to the $4 billion disaster-assistance package enacted by Congress. + +Last year's record net cash income confirms the farm sector's rebound from the agricultural depression of the early 1980s. +It also helps explain the reluctance of the major farm lobbies and many lawmakers to make any significant changes in the 1985 farm program next year. + +Commodity prices have been rising in recent years, with the farm price index hitting record peaks earlier this year, as the government curtailed production with land-idling programs to reduce price-depressing surpluses. +At the same time, export demand for U.S. wheat, corn and other commodities strengthened, said Keith Collins, a department analyst. +Farmers also benefited from strong livestock prices, as the nation's cattle inventory dropped close to a 30-year low. + +"All of these forces came together in 1988 to benefit agriculture," Mr. Collins said. + +California led the nation with $6.5 billion in net cash income last year, followed by Texas, $3.9 billion; Iowa, $3.4 billion; Florida, $3.1 billion; and Minnesota, $2.7 billion. +Iowa and Minnesota were among the few major farm states to log a decline in net cash income. + +Despite federal disaster relief, the drought of 1988 was a severe financial setback for an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 farmers, according to the department. +Many lost their farms. + +Department economists don't expect 1989 to be as good a year as 1988 was. +Indeed, net cash income is likely to fall this year as farm expenses rise and government payments to farmers decline. +At the same time, an increase of land under cultivation after the drought has boosted production of corn, soybeans and other commodities, causing a fall in prices that has been only partly cushioned by heavy grain buying by the Soviets. + +Last year, government payments to farmers slipped to less than $14.5 billion from a record $16.7 billion in 1987. +Payments are expected to range between $9 billion and $12 billion this year. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0114 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0114 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..bb0a0cbb8702be87a5c5abb3bf9bdb20cc9656c7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0114 @@ -0,0 +1,51 @@ +.START + +After years of struggling, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner will publish its last edition today, shut down by its parent, Hearst Corp., following unsuccessful efforts to sell the venerable newspaper. + +The demise of the 238,000-circulation Herald, once the nation's largest afternoon newspaper with circulation exceeding 700,000, turns the country's second-largest city into a one-newspaper town, at least in some senses. +The Los Angeles Times, with a circulation of more than 1.1 million, dominates the region. +But it faces stiff competition in Orange County from the Orange County Register, which sells more than 300,000 copies a day, and in the San Fernando Valley from the Los Angeles Daily News, which sells more than 170,000. +Nearby cities such as Pasadena and Long Beach also have large dailies. + +In July, closely held Hearst, based in New York, put the paper on the block. +Speculation had it that the company was asking $100 million for an operation said to be losing about $20 million a year, but others said Hearst might have virtually given the paper away. + +An attempted buy-out led by John J. McCabe, chief operating officer, never materialized, and a stream of what one staff member dismissed as "tire-kickers and lookee-loos" had filed through since. +The prospective buyers included investor Marvin Davis and the Toronto Sun. + +The death of the Herald, a newsstand paper in a freeway town, was perhaps inevitable. +Los Angeles is a sprawling, balkanized newspaper market, and advertisers seemed to feel they could buy space in the mammoth Times, then target a particular area with one of the regional dailies. +The Herald was left in limbo. + +Further, the Herald seemed torn editorially between keeping its old-time Hearst readership -- blue-collar and sports-oriented -- and trying to provide a sprightly, upscale alternative to the sometimes staid Times. +Hearst had flirted with a conversion to tabloid format for years but never executed the plan. + +The Herald joins the Baltimore News-American, which folded, and the Boston Herald-American, which was sold, as cornerstones of the old Hearst newspaper empire abandoned by the company in the 1980s. +Many felt Hearst kept the paper alive as long as it did, if marginally, because of its place in family history. +Its fanciful offices were designed by architect Julia Morgan, who built the Hearst castle at San Simeon. +William Randolph Hearst had kept an apartment in the Spanish Renaissance-style building. + +Analysts said the Herald's demise doesn't necessarily represent the overall condition of the newspaper industry. "The Herald was a survivor from a bygone age," said J. Kendrick Noble, a media analyst with PaineWebber Inc. "Actually, the long deterioration in daily newspapers shows signs of coming to an end, and the industry looks pretty healthy." + +Founded as the Examiner in 1903 by Mr. Hearst, the Herald was crippled by a bitter, decade-long strike that began in 1967 and cut circulation in half. +Financially, it never recovered; editorially, it had its moments. +In 1979, Hearst hired editor James Bellows, who brightened the editorial product considerably. +He and his successor, Mary Anne Dolan, restored respect for the editorial product, and though in recent years the paper had been limping along on limited resources, its accomplishments were notable. +For example, the Herald consistently beat its much-larger rival on disclosures about Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley's financial dealings. +The Herald's sports coverage and arts criticism were also highly regarded. + +Robert J. Danzig, vice president and general manager of Hearst Newspapers, stood up in the paper's newsroom yesterday and announced that no buyers had stepped forward and that the paper would fold, putting more than 730 full-time employees out of work. + +Hearst said it would provide employees with a placement service and pay them for 60 days. +Some long-tenured employees will receive additional benefits, the company said. +Hours after the announcement, representatives of the Orange County Register were in a bar across the street recruiting. + +The reaction in the newsroom was emotional. "I've never seen so many people crying in one place at one time," said Bill Johnson, an assistant city editor. + +"So Long, L.A." was chosen as the paper's final headline. + +"I'm doing the main story, and I'm already two beers drunk," said reporter Andy Furillo, whom the Times hired away several years ago but who returned to the Herald out of preference. +His wife also works for the paper, as did his father. + +Outside, a young pressman filling a news box with an extra edition headlined "Herald Examiner Closes" refused to take a reader's quarter. "Forget it," he said as he handed her a paper. "It doesn't make any difference now." + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0115 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0115 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..bf940c95fc72f14fe968f2e0e9cd6a313c4410ba --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0115 @@ -0,0 +1,9 @@ +.START + +Olympia Broadcasting Corp. said it didn't make a $1.64 million semiannual interest payment due yesterday on $23.4 million of senior subordinated debentures. + +The radio-station owner and programmer said it was trying to obtain additional working capital from its senior secured lenders and other financial institutions. +It said it needs to make the payment by Dec. 1 to avoid a default that could lead to an acceleration of the debt. + +In September, the company said it was seeking offers for its five radio stations in order to concentrate on its programming business. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0116 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0116 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1fc50a4b66b51a72cb5513d0b3df3301c594a970 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0116 @@ -0,0 +1,52 @@ +.START + +If you'd really rather have a Buick, don't leave home without the American Express card. + +Or so the slogan might go. +American Express Co. and General Motors Corp. 's beleaguered Buick division are joining forces in a promotion aimed at boosting Buick's sales while encouraging broader use of the American Express card. + +The companies are giving four-day vacations for two to Buick buyers who charge all or part of their down payments on the American Express green card. +They have begun sending letters explaining the program, which began Oct. 18 and will end Dec. 18, to about five million card holders. +Neither company would disclose the program's cost. + +Buick approached American Express about a joint promotion because its card holders generally have a "good credit history" and are "good at making payments," says a spokeswoman for the division. +American Express also represents the upscale image "we're trying to project," she adds. + +Buick has been seeking for the past few years to restore its reputation as "the doctor's car" -- a product for upscale professionals. +Sales were roughly flat in the 1989 model year compared with a year earlier, though industry sales fell. +But since the 1990 model year began Oct. 1, Buick sales have plunged 33%. + +For American Express, the promotion is part of an effort to broaden the use of its card for retail sales, where the company expects to get much of the future growth in its card business. +Traditionally, the card has been used mainly for travel and entertainment expenses. + +Phillip Riese, an American Express executive vice president, says the promotion with Buick is his company's first with an auto maker, but "hopefully {will be} the first of many" in the company's effort to promote its green card as "the total car-care card." To that end, American Express has been signing up gasoline companies, car repair shops, tire companies and car dealers to accept the card. + +Many auto dealers now let car buyers charge part or all of their purchase on the American Express card, but few card holders realize this, Mr. Riese says. + +Until now, however, buyers who wanted to finance part of a car purchase through General Motors Acceptance Corp. couldn't put their down payment on a charge card because of possible conflicts with truth-in-lending and state disclosure laws over finance rates, says a spokesman for the GM finance arm. +But GMAC approved the Buick program, he says, because the American Express green card requires payment in full upon billing, and so doesn't carry any finance rates. + +Mr. Riese says American Express considers GM and Buick "very sophisticated direct-mail marketers," so "by joining forces with them we have managed to maximize our direct-mail capability." In addition, Buick is a relatively respected nameplate among American Express card holders, says an American Express spokeswoman. +When the company asked members in a mailing which cars they would like to get information about for possible future purchases, Buick came in fourth among U.S. cars and in the top 10 of all cars, the spokeswoman says. + +American Express has more than 24 million card holders in the U.S., and over half have the green card. +GMAC screened the card-member list for holders more than 30 years old with household incomes over $45,000 who hadn't "missed any payments," the Buick spokeswoman says. +Some 3.8 million of the five million who will get letters were preapproved for credit with GMAC. +These 3.8 million people also are eligible to get one percentage point off GMAC's advertised finance rates, which start at 6.9% for two-year loan contracts. + +A spokesman for Visa International's U.S. subsidiary says his company is using promotions to increase use of its cards, but doesn't have plans for a tie-in similar to the American Express-Buick link. + +Three divisions at American Express are working with Buick on the promotion: the establishment services division, which is responsible for all merchants and companies that accept the card; the travel division; and the merchandise sales division. + +The vacation packages include hotel accommodations and, in some cases, tours or tickets to local attractions, but not meals. +Destinations are Chicago; Honolulu; Las Vegas, Nev.; Los Angeles; Miami Beach, Fla.; New Orleans; New York; Orlando, Fla.; San Francisco; and Washington, D.C. +A buyer who chooses to fly to his destination must pay for his own ticket but gets a companion's ticket free if they fly on United Airlines. + +In lieu of the vacation, buyers can choose among several prizes, including a grandfather clock or a stereo videocassette recorder. +Card holders who receive the letter also are eligible for a sweepstakes with Buick cars or a Hawaii vacation as prizes. +If they test-drive a Buick, they get an American Express calculator. + +This isn't Buick's first travel-related promotion. +A few years ago, the company offered two round-trip tickets on Trans World Airlines to buyers of its Riviera luxury car. +The promotion helped Riviera sales exceed the division's forecast by more than 10%, Buick said at the time. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0117 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0117 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c2ee025460d4e439bb31994b6f4388492faa6e00 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0117 @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +.START + +The United Kingdom High Court declared illegal a variety of interest-rate swap transactions and options deals between a London borough council and commercial banks. + +The ruling could lead to the cancellation of huge bank debts the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham ran up after losing heavily on swap transactions. +As many as 70 U.K. and international banks stand to lose several hundred million pounds should the decision be upheld and set a precedent for other municipalities. +An appeal is expected. + +In response to the ruling, gilt futures swiftly plunged more than a point yesterday before recovering much of the loss by the end of the session. +Gilts, or British government bonds, which also fell sharply initially, retraced some of the losses to end about 3/8 point lower. + +The council, which is alleged to have engaged in over 600 deals valued at over #6 billion ($9.5 billion), lost millions of pounds from soured swap deals. +At one point, Hammersmith is reported to have accounted for as much as 10% of the sterling market in interest-rate swap dealings. + +When two parties engage in an interest-rate swap, they are betting against each other on future rates. +Thus, an institution obligated to make fixed-rate interest payments on debt swaps the payments with another making floating-rate payments. +In most of the British transactions, the municipalities agreed to make floating-rate payments to banks, which would make fixed-rate payments. +As interest rates rose, municipalities owed the banks more than the banks were paying them. + +The court hearing began in early October at the request of Anthony Hazell, district auditor for Hammersmith, who argued that local councils aren't vested with constitutional authority to engage in such capital-markets activities. +The council backed the audit commission's stand that the swap transactions are illegal. +Although the Hammersmith and Fulham council was by far the most active local authority engaging in such capital-markets transactions, the court decision could set a precedent for similar transactions by 77 other local councils. + +"While this court ruling was only on Hammersmith, it will obviously be very persuasive in other cases of a similar nature," a solicitor representing one of the banks said. + +Already, 10 local councils have refused to honor fees and payments to banks incurred during various swaps dealings. +Other financial institutions involved include Barclays Bank PLC, Midland Bank PLC, Security Pacific Corp., Chemical Banking Corp. 's Chemical Bank, Citicorp's Citibank and Mitsubishi Finance International. + +If the banks exhaust all avenues of appeal, it is possible that they would seek to have the illegality ruling work both ways, some market sources said. +Banks could seek to recover payments to local authorities in instances where the banks made net payments to councils. + +Officials from the various banks involved are expected to meet during the next few days to consider other arrangements with local authorities that could be questionable. +The banks have 28 days to file an appeal against the ruling and are expected to do so shortly. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0120 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0120 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5bd59d15a21a0a59cea42f04df51447aa75dfbc1 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0120 @@ -0,0 +1,63 @@ +.START + +FALL BALLOT ISSUES set a record for off-year elections. + +Odd-year elections attract relatively few ballot issues. +But the 1989 fall total of 80, while well below 1988 activity, shows "a steady ratcheting up in citizen referenda and initiatives," says Patrick McGuigan, editor of Family, Law and Democracy Report. +He says the 10 citizen-sparked issues on state ballots this fall represent the most in any odd-year this decade. +Ballot questions range from a Maine initiative on banning Cruise missiles to a referendum on increasing the North Dakota income tax. + +Ballot watchers say attention already is focused on the 1990 elections. +In California, two petition drives for next year's election are "essentially finished," says David Schmidt, author of "Citizen Lawmakers." Mr. McGuigan cites three completed efforts in Oklahoma. +Hot ballot topics are expected to be abortion, the environment and insurance reform. + +Taking a cue from California, more politicians will launch their campaigns by backing initiatives, says David Magleby of Brigham Young University. + +PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTING gains new stature as prices rise. + +Price records are being set at auctions this week. +At Christie's, a folio of 21 prints from Alfred Stieglitz's "Equivalents" series sold for $396,000, a single-lot record. +Other works also have been exceeding price estimates. +In part, prices reflect development of a market structure based on such variables as the number of prints. +This information used to be poorly documented and largely anecdotal, says Beth Gates-Warren of Sotheby's. "There is finally some sort of sense in the market," she says. + +Corporations and museums are among the serious buyers, giving greater market stability, says Robert Persky of the Photograph Collector. "When I see prints going into the hands of institutions, I know they aren't going to come back on the market." Most in demand: classic photographs by masters such as Stieglitz and Man Ray. +But much contemporary work is also fetching "a great deal of money," says Miles Barth of the International Center of Photography. + +DIALING 900 brings callers a growing number of services. + +Currently a $300 million-a-year business, 900 telephone service is expected to hit $500 million next year and near $2 billion by 1992 as uses for the service continue to expand, says Joel Gross of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Inc. +The service -- which costs the caller from 30 cents to $25 a minute -- currently is dominated by celebrity chatter, horoscopes and romance lines. +But more serious applications are in the wings, and that is where the future growth is expected. + +"I'm starting to see more business transactions," says Andrea West of American Telephone & Telegraph Co., noting growing interest in use of 900 service for stock sales, software tutorials and even service contracts. +Colleges, she says, are eyeing registration through 900 service. +Charities test the waters, but they face legal barriers to electronic fund raising. "The thing that will really break this market right open is merchandising," Ms. West says. + +Much of the 800 service will "migrate to 900," predicts Jack Lawless, general manager of US Sprint's 900 product. + +FAMILY PETS are improving recovery rates of patients at Columbia Hospital, Milwaukee. +Patients who receive canine or feline visitors are found to have lower blood pressure and improved appetite and be more receptive to therapy, says Mary Ann O'Loughlin, program coordinator. + +TIRED OF TRIMMING? +Hammacher Schlemmer & Co. offers a fiber-optic Christmas tree that eliminates the need to string lights. +The $6,500 tree is designed to send continuously changing colored light to dozens of fiber-end bunches. + +MEDICINE TRANSPLANT: Growth of Japanese trade and travel prompts Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, to set up a bilingual medical practice. +Funded by a $1 million gift from Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance, the service will follow Japanese medical protocols, including emphasis on preventative medicine. + +DIAPER SERVICES make a comeback amid growing environmental concerns. + +Concerned about shrinking landfills and the safety of chemicals used in super-absorbent disposables, parents are returning to the cloth diaper. +Tiny Tots Inc., Campbell, Calif., says business is up 35% in the past year. "We're gaining 1,200 new customers each week," says Jack Mogavero of General Health Care Corp., Piscataway, N.J. +In Syracuse, N.Y., DyDee Service's new marketing push stresses environmental awareness. +Among its new customers: day-care centers that previously spurned the service. + +The National Association of Diaper Services, Philadelphia, says that since January it has gotten more than 672 inquiries from people interested in starting diaper services. +Elisa Hollis launched a diaper service last year because State College, Pa., where she lives, didn't have one. +Diaper shortages this summer limited growth at Stork Diaper Services, Springfield, Mass., where business is up 25% in + +Also spurring the move to cloth: diaper covers with Velcro fasteners that eliminate the need for safety pins. + +BRIEFS: Only 57.6% of New Yorkers watch the local news, the lowest viewership in the country, says a new study by Impact Resources Inc., Columbus, Ohio. . . . FreudToy, a pillow bearing the likeness of Sigmund Freud, is marketed as a $24.95 tool for do-it-yourself analysis. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0121 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0121 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f38fd3056894b4544a8f2b756b3aeec4a9fce048 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0121 @@ -0,0 +1,54 @@ +.START + +Program trading is "a racket," complains Edward Egnuss, a White Plains, N.Y., investor and electronics sales executive, "and it's not to the benefit of the small investor, that's for sure." But although he thinks that it is hurting him, he doubts it could be stopped. + +Mr. Egnuss's dislike of program trading is echoed by many small investors interviewed by Wall Street Journal reporters across the country. +But like Mr. Egnuss, few expect it to be halted entirely, and a surprising number doubt it should be. + +"I think program trading is basically unfair to the individual investor," says Leo Fields, a Dallas investor. +He notes that program traders have a commission cost advantage because of the quantity of their trades, that they have a smaller margin requirement than individual investors do and that they often can figure out earlier where the market is heading. + +But he blames program trading for only some of the market's volatility. +He also considers the market overvalued and cites the troubles in junk bonds. +He adds: "The market may be giving us another message, that a recession is looming." + +Or, as Dorothy Arighi, an interior decorator in Arnold, Calif., puts it: "All kinds of funny things spook the market these days." But she believes that "program trading creates deviant swings. +It's not a sound thing; there's no inherent virtue in it." She adds that legislation curbing it would be "a darned good idea." + +At the Charles Schwab & Co. office in Atlanta's Buckhead district, a group of investors voices skepticism that federal officials would curb program trading. +Citing the October 1987 crash, Glenn Miller says, "It's like the last crash -- they threatened, but no one did anything." A. Donald Anderson, a 59-year-old Los Angeles investor who says the stock market's "fluctuations and gyrations give me the heebie-jeebies," doesn't see much point in outlawing program trading. +Those who still want to do it "will just find some way to get around" any attempt to curb it. + +Similarly, Rick Wamre, a 31-year-old asset manager for a Dallas real-estate firm, would like to see program trading disappear because "I can't see that it does anything for the market or the country." Yet he isn't in favor of new legislation. "I think we've got enough securities laws," he says. "I'd much rather see them dealing with interest rates and the deficit." + +Peter Anthony, who runs an employment agency in New York, decries program trading as "limiting the game to a few," but he also isn't sure it should be more strictly regulated. "I don't want to denounce it because denouncing it would be like denouncing capitalism," he explains. + +And surprising numbers of small investors seem to be adapting to greater stock market volatility and say they can live with program trading. + +Glenn Britta, a 25-year-old New York financial analyst who plays options for his personal account, says he is "factoring" the market's volatility "into investment decisions." He adds that program trading "increases liquidity in the market. +You can't hold back technology." And the practice shouldn't be stopped, he says, because "even big players aren't immune to the rigors of program trading." + +Also in New York, Israel Silverman, an insurance-company lawyer, comments that program trading "increases volatility, but I don't think it should be banned. +There's no culprit here. +The market is just becoming more efficient." Arbitraging on differences between spot and futures prices is an important part of many financial markets, he says. +He adds that his shares in a company savings plan are invested in a mutual fund, and volatility, on a given day, may hurt the fund. +But "I'm a long-term investor," he says. "If you were a short-term investor, you might be more leery about program trading." + +Jim Enzor of Atlanta defends program trading because he believes that it can bring the market back up after a plunge. "If we have a real bad day, the program would say, `Buy, '" he explains. "If you could get the rhythm of the program trading, you could take advantage of it." + +What else can a small investor do? + +Scott Taccetta, a Chicago accountant, is going into money-market funds. +Mr. Taccetta says he had just recouped the $5,000 he lost in the 1987 crash when he lost more money last Oct. 13. +Now, he plans to sell all his stocks by the first quarter of 1990. + +In October, before the market dropped, Mrs. Arighi of Arnold, Calif., moved to sell the "speculative stocks" in her family trust "so we will be able to withstand all this flim-flammery" caused by program trading. +She believes that the only answer for individuals is to "buy stocks that'll weather any storm." + +Lucille Gorman, an 84-year-old Chicago housewife, has become amazingly immune to stock-market jolts. +Mrs. Gorman took advantage of low prices after the 1987 crash to buy stocks and has hunted for other bargains since the Oct. 13 plunge. + +"My stocks are all blue chips," she says. "If the market goes down, I figure it's paper profits I'm losing. +On the other hand, if it goes way sky high, I always sell. +You don't want to get yourself too upset about these things." + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0122 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0122 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ac9840786571316a269e44119714cf1de7780989 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0122 @@ -0,0 +1,7 @@ +.START + +Young's Market Co., a wholesaler of spirits, wines and other goods, said it will merge with a new corporation formed by the Underwood family, which controls Young's. + +Under terms of the agreement, shareholders other than the Underwoods will receive $3,500 a share at closing, which is expected in December. +The Underwood family said that holders of more than a majority of the stock of the company have approved the transaction by written consent. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0124 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0124 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4309ec3353c81b44e8b64bdf71afce91e711ec88 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0124 @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ +.START + +William C. Walbrecher Jr., an executive at San Francisco-based 1st Nationwide Bank, was named president and chief executive officer of Citadel Holding Corp. and its principal operating unit, Fidelity Federal Bank. + +The appointment takes effect Nov. 13. +He succeeds James A. Taylor, who stepped down as chairman, president and chief executive in March for health reasons. +Edward L. Kane succeeded Mr. Taylor as chairman. + +Separately, Citadel posted a third-quarter net loss of $2.3 million, or 68 cents a share, versus net income of $5.3 million, or $1.61 a share, a year earlier. + +The latest results include some unusual write-downs, which had an after-tax impact of $4.9 million. +Those included costs associated with the potential Valley Federal Savings and Loan Association acquisition, which was terminated on Sept. 27, 1989. +In addition, operating results were hit by an increase in loan and real estate loss reserves. + +In American Stock Exchange composite trading, Citadel shares closed yesterday at $45.75, down 25 cents. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0125 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0125 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..55f58c1c7539a86034a61d6c737b1558e56f06ad --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0125 @@ -0,0 +1,51 @@ +.START + +The following were among yesterday's offerings and pricings in the U.S. and non-U.S. capital markets, with terms and syndicate manager, as compiled by Dow Jones Capital Markets Report: + +International Business Machines Corp. -- $750 million of 8 3/8% debentures due Nov. 1, 2019, priced at 99 to yield 8.467%. +The 30-year non-callable issue was priced at a spread of 57 basis points above the Treasury's 8 1/8% bellwether long bond. +Rated triple-A by both Moody's Investors Service Inc. and Standard & Poor's Corp., the issue will be sold through underwriters led by Salomon Brothers Inc. +The size of the issue was increased from an originally planned $500 million. + +Detroit -- $130 million of general obligation distributable state aid bonds due 1991-2000 and 2009, tentatively priced by a Chemical Securities Inc. group to yield from 6.20% in 1991 to 7.272% in 2009. +There is $81.8 million of 7.20% term bonds due 2009 priced at 99 1/4 to yield 7.272%. +Serial bonds are priced to yield from 6.20% in 1991 to 7% in 2000. +The bonds are insured and triple-A-rated. + +Santa Ana Community Redevelopment Agency, Calif. -- $107 million of tax allocation bonds, 1989 Series A-D, due 1991-1999, 2009 and 2019, tentatively priced by a Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corp. group to yield from 6.40% in 1991 to 7.458% in 2019. +The 7 3/8% term bonds due 2009 are priced at 99 1/2 to yield 7.422%, and 7 3/8% term bonds due 2019 are priced at 99 to yield 7.458%. +Serial bonds are priced at par to yield from 6.40% in 1991 to 7.15% in 1999. +The bonds are rated single-A by S&P, according to the lead underwriter. + +Maryland Community Development Administration, Department of Housing and Community Development -- $80.8 million of single-family program bonds, 1989 fourth and fifth series, tentatively priced by a Merrill Lynch Capital Markets group to yield from 6.25% in 1992 for fourth series bonds to 7.74% in 2029 for fifth series bonds. +There is $30.9 million of fourth series bonds, the interest on which is not subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. +They mature 1992-1999, 2009 and 2017. +Fourth series serial bonds are priced at par to yield from 6.25% in 1992 to 7% in 1999. +The 7.40% term bonds due 2009 are priced to yield 7.45%, and 7.40% term bonds due 2017 are priced to yield 7.50%. +There is $49.9 million of fifth series bonds, which are subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. +They mature in 2005, 2009 and 2029. +Bonds due in 2005 have a 7 1/2% coupon and are priced at par. +The 7 5/8% bonds due 2009 are priced to yield 7.65%, and 7 5/8% bonds due 2029 are priced at 98 1/2 to yield 7.74%. +The underwriters expect a double-A rating from Moody's. + +Heiwado Co. (Japan) -- $100 million of Eurobonds due Nov. 16, 1993, with equity-purchase warrants, indicating a 3 7/8% coupon at par, via Daiwa Europe Ltd. +Each $5,000 bond carries one warrant, exercisable from Nov. 30, 1989, through Nov. 2, 1993, to buy shares at an expected premium of 2 1/2% to the closing price when terms are fixed Tuesday. +Fees 2 1/4. + +Svenska Intecknings Garanti Aktiebolaget (Sweden) -- 20 billion yen of 6% Eurobonds due Nov. 21, 1994, priced at 101 3/4 to yield 6.03% less full fees, via Mitsui Finance International. +Guaranteed by Svenska Handelsbanken. +Fees 1 7/8. + +Takashima & Co. (Japan) -- 50 million Swiss francs of privately placed convertible notes due March 31, 1994, with a fixed 0.25% coupon at par via Yamaichi Bank (Switzerland). +Put option March 31, 1992, at a fixed 107 7/8 to yield 3.43%. +Each 50,000 Swiss franc note is convertible from Nov. 30, 1989, to March 16, 1994 at a 5% premium over the closing share price Monday, when terms are scheduled to be fixed. +Fees 1 3/4. + +Mitsubishi Pencil Co. (Japan) -- 60 million Swiss francs of privately placed convertible notes due Dec. 31, 1993, with a fixed 0.25% coupon at par via Union Bank of Switzerland. +Put option on Dec. 31, 1991, at a fixed 106 7/8 to yield 3.42%. +Each 50,000 Swiss franc note is convertible from Dec. 5, 1989, to Dec. 31, 1993, at a 5% premium over the closing share price Tuesday, when terms are scheduled to be fixed. +Fees 1 5/8. + +Koizumi Sangyo Corp. (Japan) -- 20 million Swiss francs of 6 1/2% privately placed notes due Nov. 29, 1996, priced at 99 1/2 via Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank (Schweiz). +Guarantee by Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank Ltd. Fees 1 3/4. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0129 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0129 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f0a9f82d4768c24c64f52e373d73854183279baa --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0129 @@ -0,0 +1,14 @@ +.START + +Lewis C. Veraldi, the father of the team that created the highly successful Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable cars, retired early after experiencing recent heart problems. + +Most recently, Mr. Veraldi, 59 years old, has been vice president of product and manufacturing engineering at Ford Motor Co. +But he is best known in the auto industry as the creator of a team car-development approach that produced the two midsized cars that were instrumental in helping the No. 2 auto maker record profits in recent years and in enabling the company's Ford division to eclipse General Motors Corp. 's Chevrolet division as the top-selling nameplate in the U.S. + +Under the so-called Team Taurus approach, Mr. Veraldi and other Ford product planners sought the involvement of parts suppliers, assembly-line workers, auto designers and financial staff members from the initial stages of the development cycle. + +The concept's goal was to eliminate bureaucracy and make Ford's product development more responsive to consumer demands. +It was later applied to other new-car programs, including those that produced the Ford Thunderbird and Mercury Cougar. + +Ford Chairman Donald E. Petersen said yesterday that Mr. Veraldi has "helped to change the world's perception of American-made cars." Mr. Veraldi worked at Ford for 40 years, holding a variety of car and parts-engineering positions. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0131 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0131 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a7021d5cce4dcfc86938fc4398c15e32c2f4fa92 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0131 @@ -0,0 +1,7 @@ +.START + +Odyssey Partners Limited Partnership, an investment firm, completed the purchase of May Department Stores Co. 's Caldor discount chain for $500 million plus the assumption of $52 million in debt. + +Caldor, based in Norwalk, Conn., operates 118 stores in the Northeast; it reported revenue of $1.6 billion last year. +May Stores, St. Louis, runs such well-known department stores as Lord & Taylor. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0133 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0133 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..512cfb024af3f8518fa65e9db4c4bec536673134 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0133 @@ -0,0 +1,9 @@ +.START + +Allergan Inc. said it received Food and Drug Administration approval to sell the PhacoFlex intraocular lens, the first foldable silicone lens available for cataract surgery. + +The len's foldability enables it to be inserted in smaller incisions than are now possible for cataract surgery, the eye care and skin care concern said. +Cataracts refer to a clouding of the eye's natural lens. + +Allergan was spun off in July from SmithKline Beckman Corp. as part of the merger of SmithKline and Beecham Group + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0134 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0134 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8b795aed3bd4793f1141f09e7fe1a89453bb0628 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0134 @@ -0,0 +1,9 @@ +.START + +A man from the Bush administration came before the House Agriculture Committee yesterday to talk about the U.S.'s intention to send some $100 million in food aid to Poland, with more to come from the EC. +The committee's members are worried what all this free food might do to the economic prospects of Poland's own farmers. +Rep. Gary Ackerman noted that past food aid had harmed farmers in El Salvador and Egypt. +However well intentioned, food transfers have the habit of growing larger and wrecking the market incentives for the recipient country's own farmers. +The First World has for some time had the bad habit of smothering other people's economies with this kind of unfocused kindness. +It should be constantly stressed that Poland's farmers mostly need a real market for their products. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0138 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0138 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6c20156d31164f004ec683ea2e258329e0688b8e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0138 @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +.START + +The following issues were recently filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission: + +Intermec Corp., offering of 1,050,000 common shares, via Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Piper, Jaffray & Hopwood Inc. + +Middlesex Water Co., offering of 150,000 shares of common stock, via Legg Mason Wood Walker Inc. and Howard, Weil, Labouisse, Friedrichs Inc. + +Midwesco Filter Resources Inc., initial offering of 830,000 common shares, to be offered by the company, via Chicago Corp. + +Nylev Municipal Fund Inc., offering of five million common shares. + +Occidental Petroleum Corp., shelf offering of $1.5 billion in senior debt securities. + +Prime Motor Inns Inc., offering of up to $300 million zero coupon convertible debentures, via Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc. and Montgomery Securities. + +Service Fracturing Co., proposed offering of 1.2 million shares of common stock, via Lovett Mitchell Webb & Garrison, Inc., and Blunt Ellis & Loewi Inc. + +Western Gas Resources Inc., initial offering of 3,250,000 shares of common stock, of which 3,040,000 shares will be sold by the company and 210,000 shares by a holder, via Prudential-Bache Capital Funding, Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co., and Hanifen, Imhoff Inc. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0139 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0139 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0f2c4b8b0436ef94d700fd758c12a1d8c810fcee --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0139 @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +.START + +Hold the Putty! + +With lipsticks, liners, lotions + +and creams, + +There are still beauty plans + +left to tackle: + +But as the years go by, it + +seems + +That before I paint, I should + +spackle. + +-- Pat D'Amico. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0140 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0140 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..26a5383dd61a4d0bd3c90f85bc2b4c1ad37a5bbc --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0140 @@ -0,0 +1,9 @@ +.START + +Criminal charges were filed against Diceon Electronics Inc. and two company officials alleging waste disposal violations in its Chatsworth, Calif., facility. + +The Los Angeles County district attorney's office filed seven felony and five misdemeanor counts charging that late last year and early this year the Irvine, Calif.-based circuit-board manufacturer illegally disposed of acid, caustic and heavy metals into the sewer system, and stored hazardous materials in leaky, unlabeled or open-top containers. + +Named as defendants were Roland Matthews, president, and Peter Jonas, executive vice president and chief financial officer, as well as a former plant manager. +The company said local authorities held hearings on the allegations last spring and had returned the plant to "routine inspection" in August. "The company does not feel that it or any of the individuals violated any criminal statute and the company expects full vindication in court." Arraignments are scheduled for Nov. 14. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0142 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0142 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3a276fe59263211a59abf3ef51d6b88aaa15917a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0142 @@ -0,0 +1,109 @@ +.START + +Despite a deluge of economic news, the Treasury market remained quiet but the corporate market was abuzz over International Business Machines Corp. 's huge debt offering. + +"There were so many economic reports but the market didn't care about any of them," said Kathleen Camilli, a money market economist at Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc. "So the focus turned to other fixed-income markets, corporate and mortgages in particular," she said. + +IBM, the giant computer maker, offered $750 million of non-callable 30-year debentures priced to yield 8.47%, or about 1/2 percentage point higher than the yield on 30-year Treasury bonds. + +The size of IBM's issue was increased from an originally planned $500 million as money managers and investors scrambled to buy the bonds. + +In the investment-grade corporate market, "it's rare that you get an opportunity to buy a name that has such broad appeal and has such attractive call features," said James Ednie, a Drexel industrial bond trader. + +Money managers ranked IBM's offering as the most significant investment-grade sale of the year because large issues of long-term debt by companies with triple-A credit are infrequent. +Syndicate officials at lead underwriter Salomon Brothers Inc. said the debentures were snapped by up pension funds, banks, insurance companies and other institutional investors. +In the Treasury market, investors paid scant attention to the day's economic reports, which for the most part provided a mixed view of the economy. + +"Whether you thought the economy was growing weak or holding steady, Õyesterday'så economic indicators didn't change your opinion," said Charles Lieberman, a managing director at Manufacturers Hanover Securities Corp. + +The government reported that orders for manufactured goods were essentially unchanged in September while construction spending was slightly lower. +Both indicators were viewed as signs that the nation's industrial sector is growing very slowly, if at all. + +A survey by the Federal Reserve's 12 district banks and the latest report by the National Association of Purchasing Management blurred that picture of the economy. +In a monthly report prepared for use at the Fed's next Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Nov. 14., the nation's central bank found that price increases have moderated and economic activity has grown at a sluggish pace in recent weeks. + +Among other things, the survey found that manufacturing activity varied considerably across districts and among industries. +The Philadelphia and Cleveland districts, for example, reported declines in manufacturing activity while the Boston, Dallas and San Francisco banks noted that business expanded. + +The purchasing managers index of economic activity rose in October, although it remains below 50%. +A reading below 50% indicates that the manufacturing sector is slowing while a reading above 50% suggests that the industry is expanding. + +Mr. Lieberman said the diverse showing in yesterday's reports "only enhances the importance of the employment data." The employment report, which at times has caused wide swings in bond prices, is due out tomorrow. +The average estimate of 22 economists polled by Dow Jones Capital Markets Report was that non-farm payrolls expanded by 152,000 in October. +The economists forecast a 0.1% rise in the unemployment rate to 5.4%. + +Treasury Securities + +In a surprise announcement, the Treasury said it will reopen the outstanding benchmark 30-year bond rather than create a new one for next week's quarterly refunding of the federal debt. + +The Treasury will raise $10 billion in fresh cash by selling $30 billion of securities, including $10 billion of new three-year notes and $10 billion of new 10-year notes. + +But rather than sell new 30-year bonds, the Treasury will issue $10 billion of 29year, nine-month bonds -- essentially increasing the size of the current benchmark 30-year bond that was sold at the previous refunding in August. + +Credit market analysts said the decision to reopen the current benchmark, the 8 1/8% bond due August 2019, is unusual because the issue trades at a premium to its face amount. +Some dealers said the Treasury's intent is to help government bond dealers gauge investor demand for the securities, given uncertainties about when the auction will occur. + +The Treasury said the refunding is contingent upon congressional and presidential passage of an increase in the federal debt ceiling. +Until such action takes places, the Treasury has no ability to issue new debt of any kind. + +Meanwhile, Treasury bonds ended modestly higher in quiet trading. +The benchmark 30-year bond about 1/4 point, or $2.50 for each $1,000 face amount. +The benchmark was priced at 102 22/32 to yield 7.88% compared with 102 12/32 to yield 7.90% Tuesday. +The latest 10-year notes were quoted at 100 22/32 to yield 7.88% compared with 100 16/32 to yield 7.90%. + +The discount rate on three-month Treasury bills was essentially unchanged at 7.79%, while the rate on six-month bills was slightly lower at 7.52% compared with 7.60% Tuesday. + +Corporate Issues + +IBM's $750 million debenture offering dominated activity in the corporate debt market. + +Meanwhile, most investment-grade bonds ended unchanged to as much as 1/8 point higher. + +In its latest compilation of performance statistics, Moody's Investors Service found that investment-grade bonds posted a total return of 2.7% in October while junk bonds showed a negative return of 1.5%. +Moody's said those returns compare with a 3.8% total return for longer-term Treasury notes and bonds. +Total return measures price changes and interest income. + +For the year to date, Moody's said total returns were topped by the 16.5% of longer-term Treasury issues, closely followed by 15% for investment-grade bonds. +Junk bonds trailed the group again. "Even the 7.2% return from the risk-free three-month Treasury bill has easily outdistanced the 4.1% return from junk bonds," wrote Moody's economist John Lonski in yesterday's market report. "Little wonder that buyers for junk have been found wanting," he said. + +Moody's said the average net asset value of 24 junk-bond mutual funds fell by 4.2% in October. + +Mortgage-Backed Issues + +Mortgage securities ended slightly higher but trailed gains in the Treasury market. + +Ginnie Mae's 9% issue for November delivery finished at 98 5/8, up 2/32, and its 9 1/2% issue at 100 22/32, also up 2/32. + +The Ginnie Mae 9% securities were yielding 9.32% to a 12-year average life. + +Activity was light in derivative markets, with no new issues priced. + +Municipal Issues + +Municipal bonds were mostly unchanged to up 1/8 point in light, cautious trading prior to tomorrow's unemployment report. +A $114 million issue of health facility revenue bonds from the California Health Facilities Financing Authority was temporarily withdrawn after being tentatively priced by a First Boston Corp. group. + +An official for the lead underwriter declined to comment on the reason for the delay, but market participants speculated that a number of factors, including a lack of investor interest, were responsible. +The issue could be relaunched, possibly in a restructured form, as early as next week, according to the lead underwriter. + +A $107.03 million offering of Santa Ana Community Redevelopment Agency, Calif., tax allocation bonds got off to a slow start and may be repriced at lower levels today, according to an official with lead underwriter Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corp. +The Santa Ana bonds were tentatively priced to yield from 6.40% in 1991 to 7.458% in + +Bucking the market trend, an issue of $130 million general obligation distributable state aid bonds from Detroit, Mich., apparently drew solid investor interest. +They were tentatively priced to yield from 6.20% in 1991 to 7.272% in + +Foreign Bond + +West German dealers said there was little interest in Treasury bonds ahead of Thursday's new government bond issue. + +So far, they said, investors appear unenthusiastic about the new issue which might force the government to raise the coupon to more than 7%. +It is generally expected to be the usual 10-year, four billion mark issue. +Rumors to the contrary have been that it would be a six billion mark issue, or that the last Bund, a 7% issue due October 1999, would be increased by two billion marks. + +Elsewhere: + +-- In Japan, the benchmark No. 111 4.6% issue due 1998 ended on brokers screens unchanged at 95.09 to yield 5.435%. + +-- In Britain, the benchmark 11 3/4% bond due 2003/2007 fell 14/32 to 111 2/32 to yield 10.19%. +The 12% notes due 1995 fell 9/32 to 103 3/8 to yield 11.10%. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0143 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0143 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..9b6f0f885773f0810c77203602b267bf3f71e661 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0143 @@ -0,0 +1,5 @@ +.START + +Standard & Poor's Corp. lowered to double-C from triple-C the rating on about $130 million of debt. +The rating concern said the textile and clothing company's interest expense exceeds operating profit "by a wide margin" and it noted United's estimated after-tax loss of $24 million for the year ended June 30. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0149 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0149 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d517b2f1a7670d0d6d9682994cf3f07b3c862c51 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0149 @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ +.START + +New York financier Saul Steinberg sought federal permission to buy more than 15% of United Airlines' parent, UAL Corp., saying he might seek control of the nation's second-largest airline. + +Although takeover experts said they doubted Mr. Steinberg will make a bid by himself, the application by his Reliance Group Holdings Inc. could signal his interest in helping revive a failed labor-management bid. + +Such an application for federal antitrust clearance is necessary for any investor that might seek control. +But some investors have used such filings to boost the value of their stock holdings, which -- without buying more stock -- they then sold. + +Takeover stock traders were puzzled by the Reliance filing and cautioned that it doesn't mean Mr. Steinberg will definitely seek control. "Maybe he just wants to make something happen," said one takeover expert. + +One investment banker said Mr. Steinberg may be trying to position himself as a friendly investor who could help UAL Chairman Stephen Wolf revive a failed labor-management bid. +Mr. Steinberg, he suggested, could replace British Airways PLC, which has withdrawn from the buy-out group. + +Reliance had already bought and sold UAL stock at a big profit without making an antitrust filing before the collapse Oct. 13 of the $6.79 billion, $300-a-share labor-management buy-out. +Reliance acquired a 7% UAL stake early this year at an average cost of $110 a share, and reduced its stake to 4.7% after UAL accepted the bid at prices higher than $282 a share. + +Market sources said Reliance has already sold its entire UAL stake, and thus wouldn't have any reason to file the application simply to boost the value of its stock. +But the exact amount of Reliance's current holding hasn't been formally disclosed. + +The filing adds a new twist to market speculation that Coniston Partners, a New York money manager, has bought more than 5% of UAL stock and may challenge the UAL board's decision last week to remain independent. +Speculation about Coniston has caused the stock to rebound from a low of $145. + +UAL's announcement came after the market closed yesterday. +In composite New York Stock Exchange trading, the shares closed at $177, up $1.50. +UAL wouldn't elaborate on a statement that it had been notified of the filing by Reliance. +Reliance confirmed the filing but wouldn't elaborate. + +Some takeover experts were skeptical, saying it was possible that Mr. Steinberg made the filing only to help boost the value of any remaining Reliance stake in UAL. + +Mr. Steinberg is thought to be on friendly terms with UAL's Mr. Wolf. +The investor was instrumental in tapping Mr. Wolf to run the air cargo unit of Tiger International Inc. Mr. Wolf's success in that job helped him land the top job with UAL in December 1987. + +But any potential acquirer must attempt to reach some kind of accord with the company's employees, primarily its pilots and the powerful machinists' union, which has opposed a takeover. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0154 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0154 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a6f4d394f15a1ca7779c8f721957659acbfdcf79 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0154 @@ -0,0 +1,10 @@ +.START + +Dell Computer Corp. said it cut prices on several of its personal computer lines by 5% to 17%. + +The Austin, Texas-based company, which specializes in the direct sale of personal computers and accessories, said its price cuts include a $100 reduction on its System 210 computer with 512 kilobytes of memory, a 40-megabyte hard disk and a color monitor. +That package now sells for about $2,099. +A computer using the more-advanced Intel Corp. 386 microprocessor, with four megabytes of memory and a 100-megabyte hard disk now sells for $5,699, down from $6,799. + +Personal computer prices for models using the Intel 286 and 386 microprocessors, which the Dell models use, generally have been coming down as chip prices have fallen. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0155 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0155 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..7599fe22403ec444990166b2052fb23d5bc32fca --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0155 @@ -0,0 +1,69 @@ +.START + +World sugar futures prices soared on rumors that Brazil, a major grower and exporter, might not ship sugar this crop year and next. + +Prices also were boosted by another rumor that Mexico, usually a large producer and exporter, might have to buy a large quantity of sugar. + +Although traders rushed to buy futures contracts, many remained skeptical about the Brazilian development, which couldn't be confirmed, analysts said. + +The March and May contracts rose to fresh life-of-contract highs of 14.54 cents and 14.28 cents at their best levels of the day. +The March delivery, which has no limits, settled at 14.53 cents, up 0.56 cent a pound. +The May contract, which also is without restraints, ended with a gain of 0.54 cent to 14.26 cents. +The July delivery rose its daily permissible limit of 0.50 cent a pound to 14.00 cents, while other contract months showed near-limit advances. + +According to reports carried by various news services, the Brazilian government told its sugar producers that they won't be allowed to export sugar during the current 1989-90 season, which began May 1, and the 1990-91 season so that it can be used to produce alcohol for automobile fuel. + +One analyst, Arthur Stevenson, of Prudential-Bache Securities, New York, estimated that 65% or more of Brazil's newly made automobiles run on alcohol and can't use gasoline. "This is a demand that must be met, regardless of the price of oil," said Mr. Stevenson. + +Brazil is the third-largest producer and the fifth-largest exporter of sugar in the world. +A shift to producing more alcohol and less sugar had been expected, but the latest news, if true, indicates a more drastic shift than had been anticipated. + +During the current crop year, Brazil was expected to produce 6.9 million tons of sugar, a drop from 8.1 million tons in 1988-89. +Its 1989-90 exports were expected to total 645,000 tons in contrast to shipments of 1.5 million tons in + +"It is these 645,000 tons that are in question for this crop year," explained Judith Ganes, analyst for Shearson Lehman Hutton, New York. "Producers were granted the right earlier this year to ship sugar and the export licenses were expected to have begun to be issued" yesterday. + +As a result, Ms. Ganes said, it is believed that little or no sugar from the 1989-90 crop has been shipped yet, even though the crop year is six months old. +More than a half of all sugar produced in Brazil goes for alcohol production, according to Ms. Ganes. +Also, there has been a switch in the past decade to planting of orange trees in areas that were previously used for cane, and this change is being felt now, she said. + +Most important, Ms. Ganes noted, "Brazilian officials said that no decision has as yet been made on the suspension of exports." + +Thomas Oxnard, sugar analyst for PaineWebber in Hackensack, N.J., said: "I am highly skeptical that Brazil will curtail sugar exports, particularly with the price of sugar at over 14 cents a pound." + +Above all, Mr. Oxnard noted, the situation is extremely confused. "Professional sugar people here who have strong contacts with the Brazilian sugar industry have been unable to confirm the reports or get enough information to clarify the situation," he said. "It's the type of nervous atmosphere in which a report can be put out, such as the one saying exports will be suspended, and no one can confirm it." + +Mr. Oxnard observed that the situation in Brazil is also very complicated. +On the one hand, Brazil started an ethanol program about 15 years ago to fuel a huge portion of its national fleet of cars and is now committed to this program. + +"It has to weigh, on the other hand, the relatively high price of sugar it can earn on the export market in making decisions as to whether to produce sugar or alcohol," Mr. Oxnard said. + +Mexico, which is normally a sugar exporter, has had production problems in the past two years, analysts said. +Last year, it had to buy sugar on the world market to meet export commitments, they noted. +This year it is expected to be a net importer and is said to be seeking to buy about 200,000 tons of sugar to meet internal needs, analysts said. + +In other commodity markets yesterday: + +ENERGY: Petroleum futures were generally higher with heating oil leading the way. +On the New York Mercantile Exchange, heating oil for December delivery increased 1.25 cents to settle at 60.36 cents a gallon. +Gasoline futures were mixed to unchanged. +But the strength in heating oil helped push up crude oil. +West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery rose 13 cents a barrel to settle at $20.07. +The firmness in heating oil was attributed to colder weather in parts of the U.S. and to the latest weekly report by the American Petroleum Institute, which showed a decline in inventories of the fuel. + +GRAINS AND SOYBEANS: Prices closed mostly higher in relatively light trading as farmers continued to withhold their crops from the marketplace in the hope of higher prices to come. +Trading was muted in part because of the observance of All Saints' Day across much of Europe. +Continued export demand also supported prices. +As an indicator of the tight grain supply situation in the U.S., market analysts said that late Tuesday the Chinese government, which often buys U.S. grains in quantity, turned instead to Britain to buy 500,000 metric tons of wheat. +Traders said prices also were supported by widespread rumors that the Soviet Union is on the verge of receiving most favored nation status from the U.S. +That designation would, among other things, provide more generous credit terms under which the Soviets could purchase grain. +The Soviets are widely believed to need additional supplies, despite running up record one-month purchases of 310 million bushels of corn in October. + +COPPER: Futures prices rose, extending Tuesday's gains. +The December contract advanced 2.50 cents a pound to $1.1650. +Buying for the most part carried over from the previous session, and traders apparently ignored reports that a Chilean mine strike may have ended almost before it began, an analyst said. +According to news service reports, most workers at the Disputado mines owned by Exxon Corp. agreed to a new two-year wage contract that includes a 5% increase and other benefits. +However, some workers haven't yet accepted the new contract and are continuing negotiations, the analyst said. +Separately, Reuter reported that the Papua-New Guinea government urged its Parliament to extend a state of emergency in copper-rich Bougainville Island for two months. +The Bougainville copper mine has been inoperative since May 15 because of attacks by native landowners who want Bougainville to secede from Papua-New Guinea. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0156 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0156 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b939250fc9091c0e9258a39007db3cda1f43e819 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0156 @@ -0,0 +1,13 @@ +.START + +The parent of Younkers, after failing to find a buyer for the chain of Midwestern department stores, said it will sell a stake in the chain to management and take other steps to reduce its investment in retailing. + +Equitable of Iowa Cos., Des Moines, had been seeking a buyer for the 36-store Younkers chain since June, when it announced its intention to free up capital to expand its insurance business. +But Equitable said it was unable to find a buyer willing to pay what it considers "fair value" for Younkers because of recent turmoil in the bond and stock markets and in retailing. + +Younkers rang up sales in 1988 of $313 million. +It operates stores mostly in Iowa and Nebraska. + +Younkers management is likely to buy a 10% to 20% interest in the chain in January, said Fred S. Hubbell, Equitable's president and chief executive officer. +He said Equitable hopes to eventually reduce its stake in Younkers to less than 50%. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0157 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0157 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..83e0315aadadc44bba6f5862a3335f63fe6351c7 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0157 @@ -0,0 +1,13 @@ +.START + +Tony Lama Co. said that Equus Investment II Limited Partnership has proposed changing the offer for the company to $13.65 in cash and stock from an all-cash transaction. + +Under terms of the new proposal, Equus, managed by Equus Capital Corp., Houston, would pay $12 cash and one new preferred share with a liquidation preference of $1.65 a share for each of Tony Lama's 2.1 million shares outstanding. +Previously, it offered $13.65 a share in cash, or $29 million. + +The El Paso, Texas, maker of Western boots and leather accessories said the preferred stock would accrue dividends at a 12% rate, but wouldn't be paid for the first two years. +The stock would be redeemed in five years, subject to terms of the surviving company's debt. + +Neither Equus nor Tony Lama gave a reason for the changed offer and Tony Lama couldn't be reached for comment. +However, Tony Lama said it would promptly submit the offer to a special committee of the company's board. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0158 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0158 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..eb91f6a8d7830b688fd413ceaaa91b1fecc7a4db --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0158 @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ +.START + +Reuters Holdings PLC said Michael Reupke resigned as general manager to pursue unspecified interests, a move the news organization termed an "amicable separation." + +Mr. Reupke, 52 years old and a 27-year Reuters veteran, had been the information-services company's general manager for only six months. +His appointment to that post, which has senior administrative, staff and policy responsibilities, followed a several-year tenure as Reuters's editor in chief. +No successor was named, and Mr. Reupke's duties will be split among three other senior Reuters executives, the company said. + +In a telephone interview, Mr. Reupke said his departure was for "personal reasons," which he declined to specify. "There is no business reason for my departure," nor any disagreement over policy, he added. +He also rejected reports that his departure stemmed from disappointment the general manager's post hadn't also led to a board directorship at the London-based news organization. + +Mr. Reupke was one of three executives on Reuters's eight-person executive committee who didn't also serve on the company's board of directors. "If I were choosing the people of tomorrow, I would have chosen the people who are now on the board," he said. + +A Reuters spokesman said the departure reflects "no change in strategy or profits." Mark Shepperd, an analyst at UBS Phillips & Drew in London, said, "I suspect (the departure) will be fairly irrelevant for the company. +I would be very surprised if his departure signals any change in strategy or change in profit expectations." On London's Stock Exchange, Reuters shares rose five pence to 913 pence ($14.43). +In the U.S. over-the-counter market, American depositary shares for Reuters, each representing three shares in the London market, closed unchanged at $43.875. + +The senior of the three executives who will assume Mr. Reupke's duties is Nigel Judah, 58, finance director and a Reuters board director. +Peter Holland, 45, deputy general manager, becomes director of corporate affairs. +And Patrick Mannix, 46, international technical manager, becomes director of group quality programs. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0159 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0159 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..654446d67519992e8f9f34253d8e749d4de1015b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0159 @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ +.START + +DD Acquisition Corp., a partnership of Unicorp Canada Corp. 's Kingsbridge Capital Group and Cara Operations Ltd., extended to Nov. 20 its $45-a-share offer for all Dunkin' Donuts Inc. shares outstanding. + +The offer, which was due to expire yesterday, is conditional on 50.1% of Dunkin' common shares, on a fully diluted basis, being tendered and on the withdrawal of the company's poison pill rights plan. + +DD Acquisition has launched a suit in a Delaware court seeking the withdrawal of Dunkin's poison pill rights and employee stock ownership plans, which it claims were put in place to deter bidders. + +DD Acquisition said 2.2 million shares, or about 38.5% of the shares outstanding, have been tendered under its offer. +The partners said they already hold 15% of all shares outstanding. + +Dunkin' has set Nov. 10 as the deadline for the receipt of any competing bids. +DD Acquisition said the extension is to allow this process to be completed. +Dunkin' is based in Randolph, Mass. +Cara, a food services chain operator and Unicorp, a holding company, are based in Toronto. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0161 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0161 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e705a80403811e32823f583df33703391cd93c69 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0161 @@ -0,0 +1,12 @@ +.START + +Hadson Corp. said it expects to report a third-quarter net loss of $17 million to $19 million because of special reserves and continued low natural-gas prices. + +The Oklahoma City energy and defense concern said it will record a $7.5 million reserve for its defense group, including a $4.7 million charge related to problems under a fixed-price development contract and $2.8 million in overhead costs that won't be reimbursed. + +In addition, Hadson said it will write off about $3.5 million in costs related to international exploration leases where exploration efforts have been unsuccessful. + +The company also cited interest costs and amortization of goodwill as factors in the loss. + +A year earlier, net income was $2.1 million, or six cents a share, on revenue of $169.9 million. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0162 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0162 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3090c7f6524fed24aa847c9cfaa8cc6410c5fb81 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0162 @@ -0,0 +1,68 @@ +.START + +A lack of enthusiasm with the latest economic data hampered the stock market's bid to extend Tuesday's sharp gains, as prices closed slightly higher in sluggish trading. + +While renewed optimism about the outlook for takeover activity boosted several so-called deal stocks, traders said profit-taking weighed on the market, with blue-chips bearing the brunt of the selling. + +The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which had jumped 41.60 points on Tuesday, drifted on either side of its previous close and finished with a gain of just 0.82 at 2645.90. + +Standard & Poor's 500-Stock Index added 0.84 to 341.20; the rise was equivalent to a gain of about six points in the industrial average. +The Dow Jones Equity Market Index gained 0.99 to 319.75 and the New York Stock Exchange Composite Index went up 0.60 to 188.84. + +Advancing stocks led decliners on the New York Stock Exchange by 847 to 644. +Big Board volume amounted to 154,240,000 shares, down from 176.1 million Tuesday. + +The October survey of corporate purchasing managers, as expected, provided evidence that economic growth remains subdued. +An index of economic activity drawn from the survey stood last month at 47.6%; a reading above 50% would have indicated that the manufacturing sector was improving. + +But with the index proving somewhat better than expected and the widely anticipated report on October employment scheduled to arrive tomorrow, stock prices firmed only modestly in response to the report and then faltered. + +"This market's still going through its pains," said Philip Puccio, head of equity trading at Prudential-Bache Securities. "The psychology is still: `We want (stocks) up, but if they don't carry we're going to sell them. '" + +Uncertainty about the prospects for further action to curtail stock-index arbitrage, a form of program trading blamed for recent volatility in the market, also contributed to its lack of direction, Mr. Puccio said. + +Arbitrage-related trading during the session was confined largely to a round of buy programs near the close, which helped offset the impact of profit-taking among blue chips. + +Trading is expected to remain subdued as the market awaits tomorrow's release of the jobs data with the hope that it will point toward a decline in interest rates. "I sense that some people are reluctant to stick their necks out in any aggressive way until after the figures come out," said Richard Eakle, president of Eakle Associates, Fair Haven, + +Campbell Soup jumped 3 3/8 to 47 1/8 as the resignation of R. Gordon McGovern as president and chief executive officer sparked a revival of rumors that the company could become a takeover target. +Prudential-Bache Securities boosted the stock's short-term investment rating in response to the departure; analyst John McMillin said he believes the company will turn to new management "that's more financially oriented." + +Other rumored takeover and restructuring candidates to attract buyers included Woolworth, which went up 1 3/4 to 59 1/2; Avon Products, up 1 3/4 to 29 1/4; Paramount Communications, up 2 to 57 7/8, and Ferro, up 2 5/8 to 28 3/4. + +Upjohn, a rumored target within the drug industry, advanced 7/8 to 38 7/8. +The company said it plans a fourth-quarter charge, which it didn't specify, for an early-retirement program. + +AMR climbed 1 3/4 to 73 1/8 amid rumors that New York developer Donald Trump was seeking financing to mount a new, lower offer for the parent company of American Airlines. +Mr. Trump withdrew a $120-a-share bid last month. + +UAL rose 1 1/2 to 177. +Drexel Burnham Lambert analyst Michael Derchin said he sees a 70% chance that the parent of United Airlines, the target of a failed $300-a-share offer from a labor-management group, will be acquired or restructured within six months. + +Georgia Gulf added 1 3/4 to 51 1/4 after NL Industries, controlled by Dallas investor Harold Simmons, offered to acquire the stock it doesn't already own for $50 a share. +NL, which closed unchanged at 22 3/4, has a stake of just under 10%. + +Great Northern Nekoosa, which surged 20 1/8 Tuesday after Georgia-Pacific launched a $3.18 billion offer for the company, dropped 1 3/8 to 61 1/2 in Big Board composite trading of 5.1 million shares. +Georgia-Pacific, which went down 2 1/2 Tuesday, lost another 1/2 to 50 3/8. + +Other paper and forest-products stocks closed mixed. +Mead rose 3/4 to 39 1/2, Federal Paper Board added 1/2 to 24 3/8 and Scott Paper gained 1/2 to 48 3/8, while International Paper> fell 7/8 to 48 7/8,>< Champion In< ternational lost 3/8 to 31 1/2 and Louisiana-Pacific dropped 1/8 to 40 1/4. + +Texaco rose 3/4 to 53 3/8 as 4.4 million shares changed hands. +Most of the volume came from trades designed to capture the stock's next dividend; Texaco has a yield of 5.6% and goes ex-dividend today. + +Santa Fe Pacific dropped 1 1/8 to 17 3/4. +The company's proposal to sell a 20% stake in its real-estate unit for around $400 million has caused analysts to consider whether to cut their estimates of Santa Fe's asset value. + +GenCorp tumbled 2 to 14. +The company forecast that fourth-quarter income from continuing operations would be "significantly" lower than a year earlier. + +Allergan went up 1/2 to 19 3/8. +The Food and Drug Administration allowed the company to begin marketing a new lens for use in cataract patients. + +The American Stock Exchange Market Value Index gained 1.56 to 372.14. +Volume totaled 11,390,000 shares. + +Old Spaghetti Warehouse rose 1 to 16 1/8. +Its net income for the September quarter rose about 41% from a year ago. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0163 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0163 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d9c95f2a82b7d9e2904c2ef39011b8ad2cd56bb4 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0163 @@ -0,0 +1,12 @@ +.START + +Freeport-McMoRan Inc. said it will convert its Freeport-McMoRan Energy Partners Ltd. partnership into a publicly traded company through the exchange of units of the partnership for common shares. +The company said the restructuring isn't expected to have any impact, adverse or otherwise, on its financial results. + +Freeport-McMoRan, a New Orleans-based diversified energy conglomerate, said the partnership will exchange its assets for common shares of a yet-to-be-formed entity. +Freeport-McMoRan Energy Partners will be liquidated and shares of the new company distributed to the partnership's unitholders. + +Unitholders will receive two additional 55 cents-a-unit distribution payments before the trust is liquidated in early 1990, the company said. +It is expected that common shares equal to the number of units outstanding -- about 108 million on Sept. 30 -- will be issued during the first quarter of 1990. +Freeport-McMoRan, the parent company, holds roughly 80% of the units outstanding. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0166 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0166 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..79b6d75e5f312225bfbc3d4e5a421343cc19d072 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0166 @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +.START + +GenCorp Inc., hurt by a plant accident and other unexpected costs, said it expects to report that fiscal fourth-quarter profit from continuing operations will be significantly below last year's $25 million. + +The Fairlawn, Ohio-based company also said that full-year profit from continuing operations will be far below last year's $148 million. + +Last year's figures include a one-time loss of $12 million for restructuring and unusual items. + +But the automotive parts and aerospace concern expects that net for the year ending Nov. 30 will exceed last fiscal year's net of $70 million, or $2.19 a share, primarily because of $200 million in gains from sales of discontinued operations. + +Harry Millis, an analyst at McDonald & Co. in Cleveland, said GenCorp's unanticipated losses come largely from an accident at a government-owned assembly plant in Kansas, run by a private subcontractor, that makes cluster bombs for GenCorp's Aerojet Ordnance business. + +.START + +Transamerica Corp., San Francisco, said third-quarter profit was essentially flat despite a large one-time gain a year earlier. + +The insurance and financial services concern said profit for the quarter rose 1.1% to $93.9 million, or $1.19 a share, compared with $92.9 million, or $1.18 a share, the year earlier. +The results reflected a 24% gain in income from its finance businesses, and a 15% slide in income from insurance operations. + +Transamerica said third-quarter investment gains were $10.2 million, compared with $6.4 million the year earlier. +It said insurance profit reflected a $6 million loss from Hurricane Hugo. +It also estimated that losses from the Oct. 17 earthquake in California would be no more than $6 million, and would be included in fourth-quarter results. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0167 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0167 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..104a87f773b44026bfccfbe9d8c9090c28b26bc6 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0167 @@ -0,0 +1,13 @@ +.START + +RMS International Inc., Hasbrouk Heights, N.J., facing a cash-flow squeeze, said it is seeking other financing sources and waivers from debenture holders. + +The company said that because of softening sales it isn't in compliance with requirements that it maintain $3 million in working capital. +RMS distributes electronic devices and produces power supplies and plastic literature displays. + +RMS said it had a loss of $158,666, or 10 cents a share, in the third quarter, compared with a year-earlier loss of $26,956, or two cents a share. +Sales rose to $3 million from $2.9 million. + +For the nine months, the company reported a net loss of $608,413, or 39 cents a share, compared with year-earlier net income of $967,809, or 62 cents a share. +Sales rose to $9.8 million from $8.9 million. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0168 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0168 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5b0356f1f54ef37612740c4e7514beac4c7c74a8 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0168 @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +.START + +Meridian National Corp. said it sold 750,000 shares of its common stock to the McAlpine family interests, for $1 million, or $1.35 a share. +The sale represents 10.2% of Meridian's shares outstanding. + +The McAlpine family, which operates a number of multinational companies, including a London-based engineering and construction company, also lent to Meridian National $500,000. +That amount is convertible into shares of Meridian common stock at $2 a share during its one-year term. +The loan may be extended by the McAlpine group for an additional year with an increase in the conversion price to $2.50 a share. + +The sale of shares to the McAlpine family along with the recent sale of 750,000 shares of Meridian stock to Haden MacLellan Holding PLC of Surrey, England and a recent public offering have increased Meridian's net worth to $8.5 million, said William Feniger, chief executive officer of Toledo, Ohio-based Meridian. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0170 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0170 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3bc4fbd8e112128100b096c8c6b926ce91ced4b0 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0170 @@ -0,0 +1,15 @@ +.START + +Carnival Cruise Lines Inc. said potential problems with the construction of two big cruise ships from Finland have been averted. + +Last week, Miami-based Carnival disclosed that Waertsilae Marine Industries, the Finnish shipyard that is building Carnival's new cruise ships, planned to file for bankruptcy. + +Yesterday, Carnival said a new company has been formed in Finland that will carry on Waertsilae's shipbuilding operations. +Carnival said it will be an 11% shareholder in the new company. + +Carnival said the Fantasy, a 2,050-passenger ship that was slated to be delivered this month, will be delivered in January. + +A second ship is now expected to be delivered late next year or early in 1991. +Carnival had expected that ship to be delivered next fall. +A planned third ship still may be built in the Finnish shipyard, or may be built elsewhere, Carnival said. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0171 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0171 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ac59dbf7aec24be2d626b17dc908d4c2eac8a50b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0171 @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ +.START + +Valley Federal Savings & Loan Association took an $89.9 million charge as it reported a third-quarter loss of $70.7 million, or $12.09 a share. + +The Van Nuys, Calif., thrift had net income of $132,000, or three cents a share, a year ago. + +The bulk of the pretax charge is a $62 million write-off of capitalized servicing at the mobile home financing subsidiary, which the company said had been a big drain on earnings. +The company said the one-time provision would substantially eliminate all future losses at the unit. +Valley Federal also added $18 million to realestate loan reserves and eliminated $9.9 million of good will. + +The thrift said that "after these charges and assuming no dramatic fluctuation in interest rates, the association expects to achieve near record earnings in 1990." + +Valley Federal is currently being examined by regulators. +New loans continue to slow; they were $6.6 million in the quarter compared with $361.8 million a year ago. +The thrift has assets of $3.2 billion. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0173 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0173 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..52f0414ce8af70bd61482890471c7ee8b3aa086a --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0173 @@ -0,0 +1,14 @@ +.START + +Coleco Industries Inc., a once high-flying toy maker whose stock peaked at $65 a share in the early 1980s, filed a Chapter 11 reorganization plan that provides just 1.125 cents a share for common stockholders. + +Under the plan, unsecured creditors, who are owed about $430 million, would receive about $92 million, or 21 cents for each dollar they are owed. +In addition, they will receive stock in the reorganized company, which will be named Ranger Industries Inc. +After these payments, about $225,000 will be available for the 20 million common shares outstanding. + +The Avon, Conn., company's stock hit a high in 1983 after it unveiled its Adam home computer, but the product was plagued with glitches and the company's fortunes plunged. +But Coleco bounced back with the introduction of the Cabbage Patch dolls, whose sales hit $600 million in 1985. +But as the craze died, Coleco failed to come up with another winner and filed for bankruptcy-law protection in July 1988. + +The plan was filed jointly with unsecured creditors in federal bankruptcy court in New York and must be approved by the court. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0176 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0176 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c8f62364d88c4b23f20911a4f2b0fdd771192a44 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0176 @@ -0,0 +1,13 @@ +.START + +Xerox Corp. has told employees in its Crum & Forster personal insurance operations that it is laying off about 300 people, or 25% of the staff. + +A spokeswoman for Crum & Forster said employees were told early this week that numerous staff functions for the personal insurance lines were going to be centralized as a cost-cutting move. + +She said the move would result in a after-tax charge of less than $4 million to be spread over the next three quarters. +By comparison, for the first nine months, Xerox earned $492 million, or $4.55 a share, on revenue of $12.97 billion. + +Earnings at Xerox's financial-services operations actually rose slightly, but that was largely because capital gains at Crum & Forster offset Hurricane Hugo payments and the reserves set up to cover future payments. + +Property/casualty insurance has been a tough business in recent quarters, as pricing has been cutthroat and natural disasters such as Hurricane Hugo and the California earthquake have resulted in huge payments. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0177 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0177 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..726b14782c0cff769236591fdd3b06edefaf15aa --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0177 @@ -0,0 +1,17 @@ +.START + +Komatsu Ltd., a large integrated maker of construction machinery, posted a 32% unconsolidated gain in first-half pretax profit. +For the period ended Sept.30, it earned 16.68 billion yen, (US$116.7 million) up from 12.68 billion yen the year before. + +Sales rose 11% to 292.32 billion yen from 263.07 billion yen. +Net income surged 31% to 7.63 billion yen from 5.82 billion yen. +Per-share net rose to 7.84 yen from 6.53 yen. + +Brisk domestic demand due to increasing capital investment pushed up sales sharply in construction and industrial machinery divisions. + +Domestic sales of construction machinery, such as power shovels and bulldozers rose to 142.84 billion yen from 126.15 billion yen. +Demand from Europe and Southeast Asia also grew, but due to increasing production at local plants, overseas sales edged down 2.8%. + +Komatsu predicted that for the fiscal year ending March 31 sales will climb to 600 billion yen from 566.54 billion yen; pretax profit was forecast at 35 billion yen, up from 28.53 billion yen in fiscal 1989. +Net is expected to rise to 17 billion yen from 12.82 billion yen a year earlier. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0178 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0178 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..01adff4476b9f4955f6f4e41160d47345e00142b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0178 @@ -0,0 +1,53 @@ +.START + +ECONOMIC GROWTH APPEARS to be leveling off, latest reports suggest. +Factory orders and construction outlays were largely flat in September, while purchasing agents said manufacturing shrank further in October. +Still, many economists aren't predicting a recession anytime soon. + +The Fed is coming under pressure to cut short-term interest rates due to the apparent slowing of the economy. +But it isn't clear yet whether the central bank will make such a move. + +Campbell Soup forced out its president and chief executive, R. Gordon McGovern, the strongest indication yet that the Dorrance family plans to take charge of reshaping the troubled food company. +Campbell's stock rose $3.375, to $47.125, in reaction. + +The Chicago Merc plans an additional "circuit breaker" to stem sharp drops in the market. +Also, Big Board Chairman Phelan said he would support SEC halts of program trading during market crises but not any revival of a "collar" on trading. + +Georgia Gulf received a new takeover bid from investor Harold Simmons and NL Industries of $50 a share, or about $1.1 billion. +The offer, which follows a $55-a-share bid that was rejected in September, steps up pressure on the chemicals concern. + +The minimum-wage bill worked out by Congress and Bush won easy approval in the House. +The compromise plan, which boosts the minimum wage for the first time since 1981, is expected to clear the Senate soon. + +Steinberg sought clearance to buy more than 15% of United Air's parent, saying he may seek control. +Takeover experts said they doubted the financier would make a bid by himself. + +An airline buy-out bill was approved by the House. +The measure would make it easier for the Transportation Department to block leveraged buy-outs in the industry. + +USX was cited by OSHA for several health and safety violations at two Pennsylvania plants and may face a record fine of $7.3 million. + +Random House Chairman Robert Bernstein said he is resigning from the publishing house he has run for 23 years. +A successor wasn't named. + +Cray Research indicated that the survival of a spinoff company, which is developing a new supercomputer, depends heavily on its chairman and chief designer, Seymour Cray. + +Light trucks and vans will face the same safety requirements as automobiles under new proposals by the Transportation Department. + +The Treasury plans to sell $30 billion in notes and bonds next week but will delay the auction unless Congress quickly raises the debt ceiling. + +U.S. farmers' net income rose to a record $59.9 billion last year despite one of the worst droughts ever. + +Two antitrust agencies may face further cutbacks because of a complicated new funding device, some Democrats in Congress are warning. + +Markets -- + +Stocks: Volume 154,240,000 shares. +Dow Jones industrials 2645.90, up 0.82; transportation 1206.26, up 1.25; utilities 220.45, up 1.26. + +Bonds: Shearson Lehman Hutton Treasury index 3436.58, up + +Commodities: Dow Jones futures index 129.91, up 0.28; spot index 131.01, up 1.17. + +Dollar: 143.80 yen, up 0.95; 1.8500 marks, up 0.0085. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0183 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0183 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d2bf4514a465e86cdd359761eb6f4d52c2436ca8 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0183 @@ -0,0 +1,15 @@ +.START + +The U.S. International Trade Commission issued preliminary rulings under the U.S. anti-dumping act that imports of sweaters from Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea may be injuring a domestic industry. + +Because of the rulings, the Commerce Department will continue to investigate complaints by U.S. sweater makers that the imports are reaching the U.S. at unfairly low prices in violation of the U.S. anti-dumping act. +The law defines unfairly low prices as ones below the cost of production or below prices in an exporter's home market. + +ITC officials said final Commerce Department and ITC rulings won't come until next March or later. +If both agencies find violations of the U.S. trade law, the U.S. would assess penalty duties on the imports, which already are subject to import quotas under bilateral textile and apparel trade agreements. + +Imports of manmade-fiber sweaters in 1988 totaled about $405 million from Taiwan, $400 million from South Korea and $125 million from Hong Kong, according to the ITC. + +In another action, the ITC dismissed anti-dumping act complaints filed by Du Pont Co. of Wilmington, Del., against imports of neoprene, a type of synthetic rubber, from France and West Germany. +These imports totaled about $17 million last year. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0186 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0186 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c53c356618d671d7cda10843c4d7f981ad24b02e --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0186 @@ -0,0 +1,53 @@ +.START + +"Feeding Frenzy" (Henry Holt, 326 pages, $19.95), a highly detailed account of the Wedtech scandal, begins on a reassuring note. + +Right up front in the preface, co-author William Sternberg gives us an example of his own integrity. +When offered a free trip from the Bronx, Wedtech's home, to Washington, D.C., by one of Wedtech's principals, he tells the reader, "mindful of accepting anything of value from those I was writing about, I declined." + +Any question as to why an author would believe this plaintive, high-minded note of assurance is necessary is answered by reading this book about sticky fingers and sweaty scammers. +Bribe by bribe, Mr. Sternberg and his co-author, Matthew C. Harrison Jr., lead us along the path Wedtech traveled, from its inception as a small manufacturing company to the status of full-fledged defense contractor, entrusted with the task of producing vital equipment for the Army and Navy. + +The book revolves around John Mariotta, the founder of the company, and Fred Neuberger, who became his partner soon after Wedtech's creation. +Although started in 1965, Wedtech didn't really get rolling until 1975, when Mr. Neuberger discovered the federal government's Section 8(A) minority business program. +This is a Johnson-era, Great Society creation that mandates certain government contracts be awarded noncompetitively to minority businesses. +Mr. Neuberger realized that, although of Italian ancestry, Mr. Mariotta still could qualify as a minority person since he was born in Puerto Rico. +The two partners merely had to falsify the true ownership of the corporation. +Instead of 50/50 it became, on paper only, two-thirds Mariotta, one-third Neuberger, and they were in the program and off to the races. + +Besides being a "minority-owned company" Wedtech was located in the South Bronx, a blighted area, made famous by Jimmy Carter in his 1976 presidential campaign. +The company plugged itself right into Carter campaign rhetoric about rebuilding the South Bronx and kept using the minority -- South Bronx angle through the Reagan '80s. + +Starting with Congressman Mario Biaggi (now serving a jail sentence), the company began a career of bribing federal, state and local public officials and those close to public officials, right up to and including E. Robert Wallach, close friend and adviser to former Attorney General Ed Meese. +Wedtech didn't just use old fashioned bribery. +It made ample use of the modern techniques of influence peddling, retaining politically connected "respectable" law firms, investment bankers and political consultants, including Reagan confidant Lyn Nofzinger. +When necessary, it sought and received assistance from organized crime. + +Sometimes the bribed became partners in the company. +Wedtech management used the merit system. +If you were especially helpful in a corrupt scheme you received not just cash in a bag, but equity. +If you were not an effective crook, you found yourself out in the cold, a fate that eventually befell Mr. Mariotta, the firm's semiliterate "minority" person. + +But despite the sensational nature of the revelations and the breezy, easy-to-read tabloid writing style, "Feeding Frenzy" often falls short of gripping reading. +None of the scams show much ingenuity: Auditors found crookery the first day on the job. +Wedtech's scammers simply bribed them to shut up. + +The scammers themselves were garden-variety low lifes, conspicuous consumers who wanted big houses, Mercedes cars, beautiful women, expensive clothes. +Among the lot of them, not one is wrestling with good and evil, or especially intelligent or even temporarily insane. +The one character at least somewhat interesting was Irving Louis Lobsenz, a pediatrician who changed his name to Rusty Kent London and became a master gambler and author of a book on blackjack. +He enters the story toward the end, just in time to get arrested. + +Absorbed in doling out "Feeding Frenzy's" tidbits, the authors gloss over the root causes of Wedtech, namely the Section 8(A) federal program under whose auspices the scandal took place. +They do at least come around to saying that the courts might want to end "rigid affirmative action programs." Programs like Section 8(A) are a little like leaving gold in the street and then expressing surprise when thieves walk by to scoop it up. +Numerous other scandals, among them the ones at HUD, have the same characteristics as Wedtech. +They take place in government programs that seem tailor-made for corruption. + +Why are programs like this not eliminated? "Feeding Frenzy" does provide a few clues. +In and around all levels of government in the U.S. are groups of people who can best be described as belonging to a political insider commercial party. +They know that whenever government is redistributing wealth, regulating commerce or maintaining a large defense establishment, there is big money to be made in influencing, brokering or selling the processes and decisions of government. +They are our version of the East bloc's Nomenklatura and they have absolutely no wish to see anything change. +How many government programs and policies exist because they line the pockets of political insiders? +This is the real issue raised by the Wedtech scandal. + +Mr. Stern was chairman and chief executive officer of the New York State Urban Development Corp., 1983-85. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0189 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0189 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..7130e4e9fc9fa0b2eb6f1f57b616b40aa20abc3b --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0189 @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +.START + +Ralston Purina Co. reported a 47% decline in fourth-quarter earnings, reflecting restructuring costs as well as a more difficult pet food market. + +The St. Louis company earned $45.2 million, or 65 cents a share, compared with $84.9 million, or $1.24 a share, a year earlier. +Sales in the latest period were $1.76 billion, a 13% increase from last year's $1.55 billion. + +For the year ended Sept. 30, Ralston earned $422.5 million, or $6.44 a share, up 8.9% from $387.8 million, or $5.63 a share. +This year's results included a gain of $70.2 million on the disposal of seafood operations. +Sales for the full year were $6.6 billion, up 13% from $5.8 billion. + +Ralston said its restructuring costs include the phase-out of a battery facility in Greenville, N.C., the recent closing of a Hostess cake bakery in Cincinnati and a reduction in staff throughout the company. +The battery plant, which makes rechargeable nickel cadmium and carbon zinc products, will be closed over the next year or so, a spokesman said. + +Ralston attributed its fourth-quarter slump partly to higher costs of ingredients in the pet food business as well as competitive pressures, which required higher advertising spending. +For the year, pet food volume was flat, the company said. + +Its cereal division realized higher operating profit on volume increases, but also spent more on promotion. +The Continental Baking business benefited from higher margins on bread and on increased cake sales, it added. + +Ralston said its Eveready battery unit was hurt by continuing economic problems in South America. + +Ralston shares closed yesterday at $80.50, off $1, in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0190 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0190 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..adde8de16d1d82155b5613523623c72732d071e1 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0190 @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +.START + +Companies listed below reported quarterly profit substantially different from the average of analysts' estimates. +The companies are followed by at least three analysts, and had a minimum five-cent change in actual earnings per share. +Estimated and actual results involving losses are omitted. + +The percent difference compares actual profit with the 30-day estimate where at least three analysts have issues forecasts in the past 30 days. +Otherwise, actual profit is compared with the 300-day estimate. + +Source: Zacks Investment Research + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0192 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0192 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..187c30fda27dc7434151e8256a6cb900f827bc81 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0192 @@ -0,0 +1,87 @@ +.START + +The record corn-buying binge by the Soviet Union is causing serious bottlenecks in the U.S. grain pipeline. + +The Soviet purchases are so massive that exporters are struggling to find enough river barges and trains to move the recently harvested Midwest crop to ports for loading onto Soviet ships. + +River barge rates have soared 40% this fall from a year earlier. +Railroad companies and some ports are reaping a sudden windfall of business. +And some grain analysts are predicting that corn prices might gyrate this month as exporters scrounge to find enough of the crop to meet their obligations to the Soviets. + +The Soviet Union bought roughly 310 million bushels of U.S. corn in October, which is the most ever sold to the Soviet Union in one month from the U.S. +The Soviet Union wants much of it delivered by January, which would be a strain in most years. + +But it is particularly difficult this autumn because of low water levels on the Mississippi River, on which flows much of the U.S. corn that is shipped overseas. + +"We are shipping the most corn in that short of time period to one customer on record," said William Dunton, a U.S. Agriculture Department transportation expert. "It is going to be real tight." + +Because of persistent dry weather in the northern Plains, the water level on the upper section of the Mississippi River is so low that many river operators are already trimming the number of barges their tows push at one time. + +In a few weeks, many barges probably won't be able to operate fully loaded south of St. Louis because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is beginning to reduce the flow of the Missouri River, which feeds into the Mississippi River. +The Army Corps is cutting the flow of the Missouri River about two weeks earlier than normal because of low water levels in the reservoirs that feed it. + +Barge rates on the Mississippi River sank yesterday on speculation that widespread rain this week in the Midwest might temporarily alleviate the situation. + +But the Army Corps of Engineers expects the river level to continue falling this month. +At St. Louis, the water level of the Mississippi River is already 6.5 feet below normal and it could drop an additional 2.5 feet when the flow of the Missouri River is slowed, an Army Corps spokesman said. +Similar levels hamstrung barge shipments last year in the wake of the worst drought in 50 years. + +So far, the grain industry's budding logistical problems haven't been a major factor in the trading of corn contracts at the Chicago Board of Trade. +Many grain processors and exporters use the price of the corn futures contracts traded there to calculate the price they offer to buy corn from farmers. + +At the Board of Trade yesterday the price of the corn contract for December delivery slipped 3.5 cents a bushel to settle at $2.375 a bushel. + +Corn prices have been sluggish this fall despite the huge Soviet orders because the harvest has allowed farmers to rebuild the stockpiles depleted by the 1988 drought. +With the harvest winding down, however, some analysts are speculating that prices might jump in some regions as U.S. exporters try to gather the corn they are obligated to deliver. + +Farmers are in the best position of many years to push up corn prices. +Because the drought reduced U.S. stockpiles, they have more than enough storage space for their new crop, and that permits them to wait for prices to rise. + +In parts of Iowa, for example, some grain elevators are offering farmers $2.15 a bushel for corn. +Many farmers probably wouldn't sell until prices rose at least 20 cents a bushel, said Lyle Reed, president of Chicago Central & Pacific Railroad Co. of Waterloo, Iowa. + +It isn't clear, however, who would win a waiting game. +Although U.S. corn stockpiles shrank by roughly half in the wake of the drought, the Agriculture Department projects that nearly one-fifth of the harvest will still be in storage before the 1990 corn harvest begins. + +Some analysts are worried that reports of the grain industry's problems might spark investors to begin buying corn futures contracts -- only to see little appreciation. "The public is buying the market when in reality there is plenty of grain to be shipped," said Bill Biedermann, Allendale Inc. research director. + +Although much of this country's export corn goes to New Orleans by barge, it is possible for exporters to sidestep the Mississippi River by shipping a larger-than-normal amount of corn by train to the port. + +Ports in the Great Lakes and Atlantic Coast can also relieve pressure on New Orleans. +One railroad, for example, is already increasing its grain hauling service from Indiana to Baltimore. + +And it isn't clear that the Soviet Union will stay on its record buying pace. +The Soviet orders were compressed into the month of October because of delays. +The Soviet Union usually begins buying U.S. crops earlier in the fall. +But its purchases apparently were delayed by a reorganization of its agricultural bureaucracy as well as budget problems. + +In other commodity markets yesterday: + +ENERGY: Crude oil futures prices increased in moderate trading, but much of the action was in heating oil. +Prices rose on the news that a sizable West German refinery was damaged in a fire, tightening an already tight European market. +Heating oil for November delivery ended at 58.64 cents a gallon, up one cent on the New York Mercantile Exchange. +West Texas Intermediate for December delivery advanced 22 cents to $19.94 a barrel. +Gasoline futures continued a sell-off that began Monday. + +PRECIOUS METALS: Futures prices eased as increased stability and strength came into the securities markets. +December delivery gold fell $3.20 an ounce to $377.60. +December silver declined 6.50 cents an ounce to $5.2180. +January platinum was down $5.70 an ounce at $494.50. +Precious metals, gold in particular, currently are being influenced more by stock market gyrations than the dollar as traders seek greater investment stability, according to William O'Neill, vice president of research at Elders Futures in New York. "The recent rally in precious metals was a result of uncertainty and volatility in equities," he said. +Yesterday, the stock market rose strongly, creating a more defensive attitude among precious metals traders, he said. +Silver and platinum, which have more of an industrial nature than gold, were even weaker, he said. +Silver is also under pressure of "extremely high" inventories in warehouses of the Commodity Exchange, he said. +Yesterday, these stocks rose by 170,262 ounces to a record of 226,570,380 ounces, according to an exchange spokesman. + +COPPER: Futures prices partially recovered Monday's declines because Chilean miners voted to strike. +The December contract rose 1.20 cents a pound to $1.14. +In Chile, workers at two copper mines, Los Bronces and El Soldado, which belong to the Exxon-owned Minera Disputada, yesterday voted to begin a full strike tomorrow, an analyst said. +Reasons for the walkout, the analyst said, included a number of procedural issues, such as a right to strike. +The analyst noted that also inherent in all metal markets was a sympathetic reaction to stocks. +In the case of copper, he said, the upbeat mood of stocks was reflected in demand for futures contracts because a stronger economy means greater buying interest for the metal. +Also contributing to the firmness in copper, the analyst noted, was a report by Chicago purchasing agents, which precedes the full purchasing agents' report that is due out today and gives an indication of what the full report might hold. +The Purchasing Management Association of Chicago's October index rose to 51.6% after three previous months of readings below 50%. +The September index was 47.1%. +A reading below 50% generally indicates a slowing in the industrial sector of the economy, while a reading above 50% points to expansion. +The Chicago report raised the possibility that the October survey of the National Association of Purchasing Management would also show a reading above 50%. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0196 b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0196 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0d5bb4336d1ca315dec494abb0b226f07d6440be --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/raw/wsj_0196 @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +.START + +Leon J. Level, vice president and chief financial officer of this computer services concern, and F. Warren McFarlan, a professor at Harvard University's Graduate School of Business, were elected directors, increasing board membership to nine. + diff --git a/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0011.pos b/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0011.pos new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3ba8c7b3027f7b5dd70685f86bd477faab953636 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0011.pos @@ -0,0 +1,122 @@ + + + + +[ South/NNP Korea/NNP ] +registered/VBD +[ a/DT trade/NN deficit/NN ] +of/IN +[ $/$ 101/CD million/CD ] +in/IN +[ October/NNP ] +,/, reflecting/VBG +[ the/DT country/NN 's/POS economic/JJ sluggishness/NN ] +,/, according/VBG to/TO +[ government/NN figures/NNS ] +released/VBD +[ Wednesday/NNP ] +./. + + +[ Preliminary/JJ tallies/NNS ] +by/IN +[ the/DT Trade/NNP ] +and/CC +[ Industry/NNP Ministry/NNP ] +showed/VBD +[ another/DT trade/NN deficit/NN ] +in/IN +[ October/NNP ] +,/, +[ the/DT fifth/JJ monthly/JJ setback/NN ] + +[ this/DT year/NN ] +,/, casting/VBG +[ a/DT 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+./. + +[ The/DT Huntsville/NNP ] +,/, +[ Ala./NNP ] +,/, +[ electronic/JJ products/NNS maker/NN ] +said/VBD +[ it/PRP ] +expects/VBZ to/TO post/VB +[ a/DT ] +``/`` +[ significant/JJ ] +''/'' +[ loss/NN ] +for/IN +[ its/PRP$ fiscal/JJ first/JJ quarter/NN ] +ended/VBN +[ Sept./NNP 30/CD ] +./. + +In/IN +[ the/DT year-earlier/JJ period/NN ] +,/, +[ SCI/NNP ] +had/VBD +[ net/JJ income/NN ] +of/IN +[ $/$ 4.8/CD million/CD ] +,/, or/CC +[ 23/CD cents/NNS ] + +[ a/DT share/NN ] +,/, on/IN +[ revenue/NN ] +of/IN +[ $/$ 225.6/CD million/CD ] +./. diff --git a/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0053.pos b/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0053.pos new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5051f751f014349bf6543e2b77955d81b008d139 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0053.pos @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ + + + + +[ Michaels/NNP Stores/NNP Inc./NNP ] +,/, +[ which/WDT ] +owns/VBZ and/CC operates/VBZ +[ a/DT chain/NN ] +of/IN +[ specialty/NN retail/NN stores/NNS ] +,/, said/VBD +[ 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Xiaoping/NNP ] +,/, told/VBD +[ Mr./NNP Nixon/NNP ] +,/, ``/`` Frankly/RB speaking/VBG ,/, +[ the/DT U.S./NNP ] +was/VBD involved/VBN too/RB deeply/RB in/IN +[ the/DT turmoil/NN ] +and/CC +[ counterrevolutionary/JJ rebellion/NN ] + +[ which/WDT ] +occurred/VBD in/IN Beijing/NNP not/RB long/RB ago/RB ./. + +[ China/NNP ] +was/VBD +[ the/DT real/JJ victim/NN ] +and/CC +[ it/PRP ] +is/VBZ unjust/JJ to/TO reprove/VB +[ China/NNP ] +for/IN +[ it/PRP ] +./. + +''/'' + +Despite/IN +[ the/DT harsh/JJ exchanges/NNS ] +,/, +[ the/DT U.S./NNP ] +and/CC +[ China/NNP ] +still/RB seem/VBP to/TO be/VB looking/VBG for/IN +[ a/DT way/NN ] +to/TO mend/VB +[ relations/NNS ] +,/, +[ which/WDT ] +have/VBP deteriorated/VBN into/IN +[ what/WP ] + +[ Mr./NNP Nixon/NNP ] +referred/VBD to/TO as/IN ``/`` +[ the/DT greatest/JJS crisis/NN ] +in/IN +[ Chinese-American/NNP relations/NNS ] +''/'' since/IN +[ his/PRP$ initial/JJ visit/NN ] +to/TO +[ China/NNP 17/CD years/NNS ] +ago/IN ./. + +In/IN +[ his/PRP$ 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children/NNS ] +of/IN +[ U.S./NNP diplomats/NNS ] +and/CC clicked/VBD +[ the/DT trigger/NN ] +./. + +[ The/DT rifles/NNS ] +were/VBD n't/RB loaded/VBN ./. diff --git a/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0101.pos b/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0101.pos new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..fe49f002cb3260c6a01c0ff29c2282a13db91fb6 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0101.pos @@ -0,0 +1,462 @@ + + + +====================================== + +[ A/DT House-Senate/NNP conference/NN ] +approved/VBD +[ major/JJ portions/NNS ] +of/IN +[ a/DT package/NN ] +for/IN more/JJR than/IN +[ $/$ 500/CD million/CD ] +in/IN +[ economic/JJ aid/NN ] +for/IN +[ Poland/NNP ] + +[ that/WDT ] +relies/VBZ heavily/RB on/IN +[ $/$ 240/CD million/CD ] +in/IN +[ credit/NN ] +and/CC +[ loan/NN guarantees/NNS ] +in/IN +[ fiscal/JJ 1990/CD ] +in/IN +[ hopes/NNS ] +of/IN stimulating/VBG +[ future/JJ trade/NN ] +and/CC +[ investment/NN ] +./. + +====================================== + 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environmental/JJ initiatives/NNS ] +sought/VBN by/IN +[ the/DT Bush/NNP administration/NN ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ The/DT agreement/NN ] +on/IN +[ Poland/NNP contrasts/VBZ ] +with/IN +[ the/DT major/JJ differences/NNS ] +remaining/VBG over/IN +[ the/DT ] +underlying/VBG +[ foreign/JJ aid/NN bill/NN ] +,/, +[ which/WDT ] +has/VBZ already/RB provoked/VBN +[ veto/NN threats/NNS ] +by/IN +[ the/DT White/NNP House/NNP ] +and/CC is/VBZ sharply/RB confined/VBN under/IN +[ this/DT year/NN 's/POS budget/NN ] +./. + +[ These/DT fiscal/JJ pressures/NNS ] +are/VBP also/RB +[ a/DT factor/NN ] +in/IN shaping/VBG +[ the/DT Poland/NNP package/NN ] +,/, and/CC while/IN +[ more/RBR ambitious/JJ authorizing/VBG legislation/NN ] +is/VBZ still/RB pending/VBG ,/, +[ the/DT appropriations/NNS bill/NN ] +in/IN +[ conference/NN ] +will/MD be/VB more/RBR decisive/JJ on/IN +[ U.S./NNP aid/NN ] +to/TO +[ Eastern/NNP Europe/NNP ] +./. + +====================================== + +To/TO accommodate/VB +[ the/DT additional/JJ cash/NN assistance/NN ] +,/, +[ the/DT House/NNP Appropriations/NNPS Committee/NNP last/JJ week/NN ] +was/VBD required/VBN to/TO reallocate/VB +[ an/DT estimated/VBN $/$ 140/CD million/CD ] +from/IN +[ the/DT Pentagon/NNP ] +./. + +And/CC though/IN +[ the/DT size/NN ] +of/IN +[ the/DT loan/NN ] +guarantees/NNS approved/VBN +[ yesterday/NN ] +is/VBZ significant/JJ ,/, +[ recent/JJ experience/NN ] +with/IN +[ a/DT similar/JJ program/NN ] +in/IN +[ Central/NNP America/NNP ] +indicates/VBZ that/IN +[ it/PRP ] +could/MD take/VB +[ several/JJ years/NNS ] +before/IN +[ the/DT new/JJ Polish/JJ government/NN ] +can/MD fully/RB use/VB +[ the/DT aid/NN ] +effectively/RB ./. + +====================================== + +[ The/DT action/NN ] +on/IN +[ Poland/NNP ] +came/VBD as/IN +[ the/DT conference/NN ] +separately/RB approved/VBD +[ $/$ 220/CD million/CD ] +for/IN +[ international/JJ population/NN ] +planning/VBG +[ activities/NNS ] +,/, +[ an/DT 11/CD %/NN increase/NN ] +over/IN +[ fiscal/JJ 1989/CD ] +./. + +[ The/DT House/NNP ] +and/CC +[ Senate/NNP ] +are/VBP divided/VBN over/IN whether/IN +[ the/DT United/NNP Nations/NNPS Population/NNP Fund/NNP ] +will/MD receive/VB +[ any/DT portion/NN ] +of/IN +[ these/DT appropriations/NNS ] +,/, but/CC +[ the/DT size/NN ] +of/IN +[ the/DT increase/NN ] +is/VBZ +[ itself/PRP ] +significant/JJ ./. + +====================================== + +In/IN +[ a/DT second/JJ area/NN ] +of/IN +[ common/JJ concern/NN ] +,/, +[ the/DT world/NN environment/NN ] +,/, +[ an/DT additional/JJ $/$ 15/CD million/CD ] +will/MD be/VB provided/VBN in/IN +[ development/NN assistance/NN ] +to/TO fund/VB +[ a/DT series/NN ] +of/IN +[ initiatives/NNS ] +,/, related/VBN +[ both/DT ] +to/TO +[ global/JJ ] +warming/NN and/CC +[ the/DT plight/NN ] +of/IN +[ the/DT African/JJ elephant/NN ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ The/DT sweeping/JJ nature/NN ] +of/IN +[ the/DT bill/NN ] +draws/VBZ +[ a/DT variety/NN ] +of/IN +[ special/JJ interest/NN amendments/NNS ] +,/, running/VBG from/IN +[ an/DT import/NN exemption/NN ] +for/IN +[ a/DT California/NNP airplane/NN museum/NN ] +to/TO +[ a/DT small/JJ ] +but/CC +[ intriguing/JJ struggle/NN ] +among/IN +[ sugar/NN ] +producing/VBG +[ nations/NNS ] +over/IN +[ the/DT fate/NN ] +of/IN +[ Panama/NNP 's/POS quota/NN ] +of/IN +[ exports/NNS ] +to/TO +[ the/DT profitable/JJ U.S./NNP market/NN ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ Panama/NNP ] +was/VBD stripped/VBN of/IN +[ this/DT right/NN ] +because/IN of/IN +[ U.S./NNP differences/NNS ] +with/IN +[ the/DT Noriega/NNP regime/NN ] +,/, but/CC +[ the/DT Central/NNP American/NNP country/NN ] +would/MD have/VB received/VBN +[ a/DT quota/NN ] +of/IN +[ 30,537/CD metric/JJ tons/NNS ] +over/IN +[ a/DT 21-month/JJ period/NN ending/VBG Sept./NNP 30/CD ] +,/, +[ 1990/CD ] +./. + +About/IN +[ a/DT quarter/NN ] +of/IN +[ this/DT share/NN ] +has/VBZ already/RB been/VBN reallocated/VBN ,/, according/VBG to/TO +[ the/DT industry/NN ] +,/, but/CC +[ the/DT ] +remaining/VBG +[ 23,403/CD tons/NNS ] +are/VBP still/RB +[ a/DT lucrative/JJ target/NN ] +for/IN +[ growers/NNS ] +because/IN +[ the/DT current/JJ U.S./NNP price/NN ] +of/IN +[ 18/CD cents/NNS ] + +[ a/DT pound/NN ] +runs/VBZ as/RB much/JJ as/IN +[ a/DT nickel/NN ] + +[ a/DT pound/NN ] +above/IN +[ the/DT world/NN rate/NN ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ The/DT potential/JJ sales/NNS ] +are/VBP nearly/RB +[ $/$ 9.3/CD million/CD ] +,/, and/CC +[ House/NNP Majority/NNP Whip/NNP William/NNP Gray/NNP ] + (/( +[ D./NNP ] +,/, +[ Pa/NNP ] +./. + + )/) began/VBD +[ the/DT bidding/NN ] + +[ this/DT year/NN ] +by/IN +[ proposing/VBG language/NN ] +that/IN +[ the/DT quota/NN ] +be/VB allocated/VBN to/TO +[ English-speaking/JJ countries/NNS ] +of/IN +[ the/DT Caribbean/NNP ] +,/, such/JJ as/IN +[ Jamaica/NNP ] +and/CC +[ Barbados/NNP ] +./. + +[ Rep./NNP Jerry/NNP Lewis/NNP ] +,/, +[ a/DT conservative/JJ Californian/NN ] +,/, added/VBD +[ a/DT provision/NN ] +of/IN +[ his/PRP$ own/JJ intended/VBN ] +to/TO assist/VB +[ Bolivia/NNP ] +,/, and/CC +[ the/DT Senate/NNP ] +then/RB broadened/VBD +[ the/DT list/NN ] +further/RB by/IN including/VBG +[ all/DT countries/NNS ] +in/IN +[ the/DT U.S./NNP Caribbean/NNP Basin/NNP ] +initiate/NN as/RB well/RB as/IN +[ the/DT Philippines/NNP -/: backed/VBN ] +by/IN +[ the/DT powerful/JJ Hawaii/NNP Democrat/NNP Sen./NNP Daniel/NNP Inouye/NNP ] +./. + +[ Jamaica/NNP ] +,/, +[ wary/JJ ] +of/IN +[ upsetting/VBG its/PRP$ Caribbean/NNP Basin/NNP allies/NNS ] +,/, has/VBZ apparently/RB instructed/VBN +[ its/PRP$ lobbyist/NN ] +to/TO abandon/VB +[ the/DT provision/NN ] +initially/RB drafted/VBN by/IN +[ Mr./NNP Gray/NNP ] +,/, but/CC +[ the/DT greater/JJR question/NN ] +is/VBZ whether/IN +[ Mr./NNP Inouye/NNP ] +,/, +[ who/WP ] +has/VBZ +[ strong/JJ ties/NNS ] +to/TO +[ the/DT sugar/NN industry/NN ] +,/, is/VBZ able/JJ to/TO insert/VB +[ a/DT claim/NN ] +by/IN +[ the/DT Philippines/NNPS ] +./. + +====================================== + +In/IN +[ separate/JJ floor/NN action/NN ] +,/, +[ the/DT House/NNP ] +waived/VBD +[ budget/NN restrictions/NNS ] +and/CC gave/VBD +[ quick/JJ approval/NN ] +to/TO +[ $/$ 3.18/CD billion/CD ] +in/IN +[ supplemental/JJ appropriations/NNS ] +for/IN +[ law/NN enforcement/NN ] +and/CC +[ anti-drug/JJ programs/NNS ] +in/IN +[ fiscal/JJ 1990/CD ] +./. + +[ The/DT funding/NN ] +is/VBZ attached/VBN to/TO +[ an/DT estimated/VBN $/$ 27.1/CD billion/CD transportation/NN bill/NN ] + +[ that/WDT ] +goes/VBZ next/JJ to/TO +[ the/DT Senate/NNP ] +and/CC carries/VBZ with/IN +[ it/PRP ] + +[ a/DT proposed/VBN permanent/JJ smoking/NN ban/NN ] +on/IN virtually/RB +[ all/DT U.S./NNP domestic/JJ airline/NN flights/NNS ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ The/DT leadership/NN ] +hopes/VBZ to/TO move/VB +[ the/DT compromise/NN measure/NN ] +promptly/RB to/TO +[ the/DT White/NNP House/NNP ] +,/, but/CC in/IN +[ recent/JJ days/NNS ] +,/, +[ the/DT Senate/NNP ] +has/VBZ been/VBN as/RB likely/JJ to/TO bounce/VB +[ bills/NNS ] +back/RB to/TO +[ the/DT House/NNP ] +./. + +[ The/DT most/RBS recent/JJ example/NN ] +was/VBD +[ a/DT ] +nearly/RB +[ $/$ 17.3/CD billion/CD fiscal/JJ 1990/CD bill/NN ] +funding/VBG +[ the/DT State/NNP ] +,/, +[ Justice/NNP ] +and/CC +[ Commerce/NNP departments/NNS ] +./. + +And/CC after/IN losing/VBG +[ a/DT battle/NN Tuesday/NNP night/NN ] +with/IN +[ the/DT Senate/NNP Foreign/NNP Relations/NNP Committee/NNP ] +,/, +[ appropriators/NNS ] +from/IN +[ both/DT ] + +[ houses/NNS ] +are/VBP expected/VBN to/TO be/VB forced/VBN back/RB to/TO +[ conference/NN ] +./. diff --git a/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0137.pos b/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0137.pos new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..af9c9ac0d8b3a8d99df9b4741b8c877c80897253 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0137.pos @@ -0,0 +1,792 @@ + + + +====================================== + +[ Tokyo/NNP stocks/NNS ] +edged/VBD up/IN +[ Wednesday/NNP ] +in/IN relatively/RB active/JJ but/CC +[ unfocused/JJ ] +trading/NN ./. + +====================================== + +[ London/NNP shares/NNS ] +finished/VBD moderately/RB higher/JJR ./. + +====================================== + +At/IN +[ Tokyo/NNP ] +,/, +[ the/DT Nikkei/NNP index/NN ] +of/IN +[ 225/CD selected/VBN issues/NNS ] +,/, +[ which/WDT ] +gained/VBD +[ 132/CD points/NNS Tuesday/NNP ] +,/, added/VBD +[ 14.99/CD points/NNS ] +to/TO +[ 35564.43/CD ] +./. + +====================================== + +In/IN early/RB trading/NN in/IN +[ Tokyo/NNP Thursday/NNP ] +,/, +[ the/DT Nikkei/NNP index/NN ] +fell/VBD +[ 63.79/CD points/NNS ] +to/TO +[ 35500.64/CD ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ Wednesday/NNP 's/POS volume/NN ] +on/IN +[ the/DT First/NNP Section/NNP ] +was/VBD estimated/VBN at/IN +[ 900/CD million/CD shares/NNS ] +,/, in/IN +[ line/NN ] +with/IN +[ Tuesday/NNP 's/POS 909/CD million/CD ] +./. + +====================================== + +Declining/VBG +[ issues/NNS ] +slightly/RB outnumbered/VBD advancing/VBG +[ issues/NNS ] +,/, +[ 454/CD ] +to/TO +[ 451/CD ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ Investors/NNS ] +switched/VBD trading/NN +[ focus/NN ] +quickly/RB as/IN +[ they/PRP ] +did/VBD +[ Tuesday/NNP ] +,/, reflecting/VBG +[ uncertainty/NN ] +about/IN +[ long-term/JJ commitments/NNS ] +to/TO +[ any/DT issue/NN ] +or/CC +[ sector/NN ] +,/, +[ traders/NNS ] +said/VBD ./. + +====================================== + +[ Speculation/NN ] +,/, on/IN +[ the/DT other/JJ hand/NN ] +,/, sparked/VBD buying/NN in/IN +[ certain/JJ incentive-backed/JJ issues/NNS ] +,/, though/IN +[ rumors/NNS ] +underlying/VBG +[ such/JJ shares/NNS ] +eventually/RB proved/VBD +[ untrue/JJ ] +./. + +[ The/DT development/NN ] +,/, +[ traders/NNS ] +said/VBD ,/, showed/VBD that/IN +[ there/EX ] +is/VBZ more/JJR than/IN +[ ample/JJ liquidity/NN ] +available/JJ for/IN +[ investment/NN ] +despite/IN +[ the/DT market/NN 's/POS recent/JJ directionless/JJ trend/NN ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ Dealers/NNS ] +led/VBD +[ the/DT market/NN Wednesday/NNP ] +by/IN actively/RB trading/VBG for/IN +[ their/PRP$ own/JJ accounts/NNS ] +,/, +[ observers/NNS ] +said/VBD ./. + +====================================== + +[ Institutions/NNS ] +mostly/RB remained/VBD on/IN +[ the/DT sidelines/NNS ] +because/IN of/IN +[ uncertainty/NN regarding/VBG interest/NN rates/NNS ] +and/CC +[ the/DT dollar/NN ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ The/DT Tokyo/NNP Stock/NNP Price/NNP Index/NNP ] + (/( +[ Topix/NNP ] + )/) of/IN +[ all/DT issues/NNS ] +listed/VBN in/IN +[ the/DT First/NNP Section/NNP ] +,/, +[ which/WDT ] +gained/VBD +[ 16.05/CD points/NNS Tuesday/NNP ] +,/, was/VBD down/RB +[ 1.46/CD points/NNS ] +,/, or/CC +[ 0.05/CD %/NN ] +,/, at/IN +[ 2691.19/CD ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ The/DT Second/NNP Section/NNP index/NN ] +,/, +[ which/WDT ] +added/VBD +[ 6.84/CD points/NNS Tuesday/NNP ] +,/, was/VBD up/RB +[ 5.92/CD points/NNS ] +,/, or/CC +[ 0.16/CD %/NN ] +,/, to/TO close/VB at/IN +[ 3648.82/CD ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ Volume/NN ] +in/IN +[ the/DT second/JJ section/NN ] +was/VBD estimated/VBN at/IN +[ 18/CD million/CD shares/NNS ] +,/, up/RB from/IN +[ 14/CD million/CD Tuesday/NNP ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ Akio/NNP Yamamoto/NNP ] +,/, managing/VBG +[ director/NN ] +of/IN +[ Nomura/NNP Investment/NNP Trust/NNP Management/NNP ] +,/, said/VBD that/IN if/IN +[ the/DT U.S./NNP federal/JJ funds/NNS rate/NN ] +declines/VBZ to/TO around/IN +[ 8.5/CD %/NN ] +,/, +[ institutions/NNS ] +would/MD acquire/VB +[ a/DT clearer/JJR idea/NN ] +regarding/VBG +[ the/DT direction/NN ] +of/IN +[ the/DT market/NN ] +and/CC thus/RB more/RBR comfortably/RB participate/VB in/IN +[ active/JJ buying/NN ] +./. + +[ Tokyu/NNP Group/NNP ] +,/, +[ Mitsubishi/NNP Estate/NNP ] +and/CC +[ Bridgestone\/Firestone/NNP ] +,/, +[ which/WDT ] +advanced/VBD +[ Tuesday/NNP ] +,/, declined/VBD on/IN +[ profit-taking/NN ] +./. + +[ Wednesday/NNP 's/POS dominant/JJ issue/NN ] +was/VBD +[ Yasuda/NNP Fire/NNP ] +&/CC +[ Marine/NNP Insurance/NNP ] +,/, +[ which/WDT ] +continued/VBD to/TO surge/VB on/IN +[ rumors/NNS ] +of/IN +[ speculative/JJ buying/NN ] +./. + +[ It/PRP ] +ended/VBD +[ the/DT day/NN ] +up/RB +[ 80/CD yen/NNS ] + (/( +[ 56/CD cents/NNS ] + )/) to/TO +[ 1,880/CD yen/NN ] + (/( +[ $/$ 13.15/CD ] + )/) ./. + +====================================== + +[ Due/JJ ] +to/TO continuingly/RB +[ high/JJ gold/NN prices/NNS ] +tied/VBN to/TO +[ uncertainty/NN ] +about/IN +[ the/DT U.S./NNP currency/NN ] +,/, +[ investor/NN interest/NN ] +was/VBD directed/VBN toward/IN +[ oil/NN ] +and/CC +[ mining/NN shares/NNS ] +,/, +[ which/WDT traders/NNS ] +called/VBD +[ a/DT ] +``/`` +[ defensive/JJ ] +''/'' +[ action/NN ] +frequently/RB taken/VBN when/WRB +[ the/DT dollar/NN ] +is/VBZ expected/VBN to/TO fall/VB or/CC during/IN +[ times/NNS ] +of/IN +[ inflation/NN ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ Teikoku/NNP Oil/NNP ] +,/, also/RB stimulated/VBN by/IN +[ rumors/NNS ] +of/IN +[ speculative/JJ buying/NN ] +,/, advanced/VBD +[ 100/CD yen/NN ] +to/TO +[ 1,460/CD ] +./. + +[ Showa/NNP Shell/NNP ] +gained/VBD +[ 20/CD ] +to/TO +[ 1,570/CD ] +and/CC +[ Mitsubishi/NNP Oil/NNP ] +rose/VBD +[ 50/CD ] +to/TO +[ 1,500/CD ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ Sumitomo/NNP Metal/NNP Mining/NNP ] +fell/VBD +[ five/CD yen/NN ] +to/TO +[ 692/CD ] +and/CC +[ Nippon/NNP Mining/NNP ] +added/VBD +[ 15/CD ] +to/TO +[ 960/CD ] +./. + +====================================== + +Among/IN +[ other/JJ winners/NNS Wednesday/NNP ] +was/VBD +[ Nippon/NNP Shokubai/NNP ] +,/, +[ which/WDT ] +was/VBD up/IN +[ 80/CD ] +at/IN +[ 2,410/CD ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ Marubeni/NNP ] +advanced/VBD +[ 11/CD ] +to/TO +[ 890/CD ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ London/NNP share/NN prices/NNS ] +were/VBD bolstered/VBN largely/RB by/IN +[ continued/VBN gains/NNS ] +on/IN +[ Wall/NNP Street/NNP ] +and/CC +[ technical/JJ factors/NNS ] +affecting/VBG +[ demand/NN ] +for/IN +[ London/NNP 's/POS blue-chip/JJ stocks/NNS ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ The/DT Financial/NNP Times-Stock/NNP Exchange/NNP 100-share/JJ index/NN ] +closed/VBD +[ 17.5/CD points/NNS ] +higher/JJR at/IN +[ 2160.1/CD ] +./. + +[ It/PRP ] +rose/VBD largely/RB throughout/IN +[ the/DT session/NN ] +after/IN posting/VBG +[ an/DT intraday/NN ] +low/JJ of/IN +[ 2141.7/CD ] +in/IN +[ the/DT first/JJ 40/CD minutes/NNS ] +of/IN trading/NN ./. + +[ The/DT index/NN ] +ended/VBD +[ the/DT day/NN ] +near/IN +[ its/PRP$ session/NN ] +high/JJ of/IN +[ 2163.2/CD ] +,/, +[ which/WDT ] +was/VBD posted/VBN within/IN +[ the/DT last/JJ half-hour/NN ] +of/IN trading/NN ./. + +====================================== + +[ Dealers/NNS ] +said/VBD +[ most/JJS investor/NN interest/NN ] +was/VBD focused/VBN on/IN +[ defensive/JJ blue-chip/JJ stocks/NNS ] +,/, particularly/RB +[ those/DT ] +with/IN +[ limited/JJ U.K./NNP exposure/NN ] +./. + +Also/RB ,/, +[ several/JJ key/JJ blue/JJ chips/NNS ] +were/VBD pushed/VBN higher/JJR in/IN +[ thin/JJ volume/NN ] +because/IN of/IN +[ a/DT technical/JJ squeeze/NN ] +among/IN +[ market/NN makers/NNS ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ Sterling/NNP 's/POS firm/JJ tone/NN ] +,/, combined/VBN with/IN +[ a/DT steady/JJ opening/NN ] +on/IN +[ Wall/NNP Street/NNP ] +,/, also/RB tempted/VBD +[ some/DT investors/NNS ] +to/TO come/VB back/RB to/TO +[ the/DT market/NN ] +,/, +[ dealers/NNS ] +said/VBD ./. + +[ There/EX ] +were/VBD +[ concerns/NNS ] +early/RB in/IN +[ the/DT day/NN ] +that/IN +[ Wall/NNP Street/NNP 's/POS sharp/JJ gains/NNS ] +on/IN +[ Tuesday/NNP ] +were/VBD overdone/VBN and/CC +[ due/JJ ] +for/IN +[ a/DT reversal/NN ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ The/DT FT/NNP 30-share/JJ index/NN ] +settled/VBD +[ 16.7/CD points/NNS ] +higher/JJR at/IN +[ 1738.1/CD ] +./. + +[ Volume/NN ] +was/VBD +[ 372.9/CD million/CD shares/NNS ] +,/, up/RB from/IN +[ 334.5/CD million/CD ] +on/IN +[ Tuesday/NNP ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ Dealers/NNS ] +said/VBD +[ institutions/NNS ] +were/VBD still/RB largely/RB hugging/VBG +[ the/DT sidelines/NNS ] +on/IN +[ fears/NNS ] +that/IN +[ the/DT market/NN 's/POS recent/JJ technical/JJ rally/NN ] +might/MD prove/VB +[ fragile/JJ ] +./. + +[ They/PRP ] +cited/VBD +[ Wall/NNP Street/NNP 's/POS recent/JJ volatility/NN ] +and/CC +[ the/DT lack/NN ] +of/IN +[ a/DT clear/JJ indication/NN ] +over/IN +[ the/DT market/NN 's/POS short-term/JJ direction/NN ] +as/IN +[ factors/NNS ] +in/IN +[ the/DT institutional/JJ caution/NN ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ Jaguar/NNP ] +,/, +[ a/DT U.K./NNP luxury/NN auto/NN maker/NN being/VBG ] +pursued/VBN by/IN +[ Ford/NNP Motor/NNP ] +and/CC +[ General/NNP Motors/NNPS ] +,/, gained/VBD +[ 10/CD pence/NN ] + (/( +[ 16/CD cents/NNS ] + )/) +[ a/DT share/NN ] +to/TO close/VB at/IN +[ 879/CD pence/NN ] + (/( +[ $/$ 13.90/CD ] + )/) ./. + +[ It/PRP ] +shed/VBD about/IN +[ 7/CD pence/NN ] +,/, however/RB ,/, after/IN +[ dealers/NNS ] +said/VBD +[ the/DT market/NN ] +was/VBD disappointed/VBN that/IN +[ Ford/NNP ] +did/VBD n't/RB +[ move/VB ] +to/TO tender/VB +[ a/DT bid/NN ] +for/IN +[ control/NN ] +of/IN +[ the/DT company/NN ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ Dealers/NNS ] +said/VBD +[ the/DT U.K./NNP government/NN 's/POS decision/NN Tuesday/NNP ] +to/TO waive/VB +[ its/PRP$ protective/JJ ] +``/`` +[ golden/JJ share/NN ] +''/'' in/IN +[ the/DT auto/NN maker/NN ] +raised/VBD +[ prospects/NNS ] +of/IN +[ a/DT bidding/NN war/NN ] +between/IN +[ the/DT two/CD U.S./NNP auto/NN giants/NNS ] +./. + +====================================== + +But/CC +[ the/DT waiver/NN ] +also/RB was/VBD seen/VBN as/IN +[ a/DT signal/NN ] +that/IN +[ Ford/NNP ] +,/, +[ a/DT major/JJ U.K./NNP auto/NN industry/NN employer/NN ] +,/, was/VBD able/JJ to/TO gain/VB +[ government/NN acceptance/NN ] +of/IN +[ its/PRP$ bid/NN ] +for/IN +[ control/NN ] +of/IN +[ Jaguar/NNP ] +./. + +[ Dealers/NNS ] +said/VBD +[ that/DT interpretation/NN ] +sparked/VBD +[ expectations/NNS ] +of/IN +[ an/DT imminent/JJ bid/NN ] +by/IN +[ Ford/NNP ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ B.A.T/NNP Industries/NNPS ] +,/, +[ which/WDT ] +is/VBZ being/VBG pursued/VBN by/IN +[ Sir/NNP James/NNP Goldsmith/NNP 's/POS Hoylake/NNP Investments/NNPS ] +,/, rose/VBD +[ 9/CD ] +to/TO +[ 753/CD ] +on/IN +[ speculation/NN ] +that/IN +[ Hoylake/NNP ] +will/MD sweeten/VB +[ its/PRP$ bid/NN ] +,/, +[ dealers/NNS ] +said/VBD ./. + +Like/IN +[ Jaguar/NNP ] +,/, +[ B.A.T/NNP ] +also/RB eased/VBD off/IN +[ its/PRP$ highs/NNS ] +in/IN +[ afternoon/NN dealings/NNS ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ Reed/NNP International/NNP ] +,/, +[ a/DT U.K./NNP publishing/NN group/NN ] +,/, gained/VBD +[ 15/CD ] +to/TO +[ 397/CD ] +despite/IN reporting/VBG +[ a/DT 3.7/CD %/NN drop/NN ] +in/IN +[ interim/JJ pretax/NN profit/NN ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ Analysts/NNS ] +said/VBD +[ the/DT fall/NN ] +in/IN +[ pretax/NN profit/NN ] +was/VBD due/JJ to/TO +[ the/DT group/NN 's/POS recent/JJ ] +restructuring/NN and/CC +[ sale/NN ] +of/IN +[ peripheral/JJ units/NNS ] +,/, and/CC that/IN +[ its/PRP$ remaining/VBG businesses/NNS ] +are/VBP performing/VBG well/RB ./. + +[ Dealers/NNS ] +said/VBD +[ the/DT market/NN ] +agreed/VBD ./. + +====================================== + +[ Stocks/NNS ] +boosted/VBN by/IN +[ market-makers/NNS ] +shopping/VBG to/TO cover/VB +[ book/NN requirements/NNS ] +in/IN +[ FT-SE/NNP 100/CD shares/NNS ] +included/VBD +[ Carlton/NNP Communications/NNPS ] +,/, +[ which/WDT ] +climbed/VBD +[ 32/CD ] +to/TO +[ 778/CD ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ Drug/NN companies/NNS ] +in/IN +[ the/DT key/JJ index/NN ] +also/RB notched/VBD +[ gains/NNS ] +as/IN +[ market-makers/NNS ] +searched/VBD for/IN +[ stock/NN ] +in/IN +[ anticipation/NN ] +of/IN +[ demand/NN ] +due/JJ to/TO +[ the/DT sector/NN 's/POS defensive/JJ qualities/NNS ] +./. + +[ Wellcome/NNP ] +gained/VBD +[ 18/CD ] +to/TO +[ 666/CD ] +on/IN +[ a/DT modest/JJ 1.1/CD million/CD shares/NNS ] +./. + +[ Glaxo/NNP ] +,/, +[ the/DT U.K./NNP 's/POS largest/JJS pharmaceutical/JJ concern/NN ] +,/, advanced/VBD +[ 23/CD ] +to/TO +[ #/# 14.13/CD ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ Stock/NN prices/NNS ] +closed/VBD higher/JJR in/IN +[ Stockholm/NNP ] +,/, +[ Amsterdam/NNP ] +and/CC +[ Frankfurt/NNP ] +and/CC +[ lower/JJR ] +in/IN +[ Zurich/NNP ] +./. + +[ Paris/NNP ] +,/, +[ Brussels/NNP ] +,/, and/CC +[ Milan/NNP ] +were/VBD closed/VBN for/IN +[ a/DT holiday/NN ] +./. + +[ South/JJ African/JJ gold/NN stocks/NNS ] +closed/VBD marginally/RB lower/JJR ./. + +====================================== + +Elsewhere/RB ,/, +[ share/NN prices/NNS ] +closed/VBD higher/JJR in/IN +[ Singapore/NNP ] +,/, +[ Taipei/NNP ] +and/CC +[ Wellington/NNP ] +,/, were/VBD mixed/VBN in/IN +[ Hong/NNP Kong/NNP ] +,/, +[ lower/JJR ] +in/IN +[ Seoul/NNP ] +and/CC little/RB changed/VBN in/IN +[ Sydney/NNP ] +./. + +[ Manila/NNP markets/NNS ] +were/VBD closed/VBN for/IN +[ a/DT holiday/NN ] +./. + +====================================== + +Here/RB are/VBP +[ price/NN trends/NNS ] +on/IN +[ the/DT world/NN 's/POS major/JJ stock/NN markets/NNS ] +,/, as/IN calculated/VBN by/IN +[ Morgan/NNP Stanley/NNP Capital/NNP International/NNP Perspective/NNP ] +,/, +[ Geneva/NNP ] +./. + +To/TO make/VB +[ them/PRP ] +directly/RB +[ comparable/JJ ] +,/, +[ each/DT index/NN ] +is/VBZ based/VBN on/IN +[ the/DT close/NN ] +of/IN +[ 1969/CD ] +equaling/VBG +[ 100/CD ] +./. + +[ The/DT percentage/NN change/NN ] +is/VBZ since/IN +[ year-end/NN ] +./. diff --git a/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0141.pos b/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0141.pos new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..976720ca5e065d01ff0b7256f636432c4aa6c6be --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0141.pos @@ -0,0 +1,353 @@ + + + +====================================== + +[ Consumer/NN confidence/NN ] +stayed/VBD +[ strong/JJ ] +in/IN +[ October/NNP ] +,/, despite/IN +[ the/DT unsettling/JJ gyrations/NNS ] +of/IN +[ the/DT stock/NN market/NN ] +./. + +====================================== + +``/`` +[ The/DT sharp/JJ stock/NN market/NN decline/NN ] +in/IN +[ late/JJ October/NNP ] +appears/VBZ to/TO have/VB had/VBN +[ little/JJ ] +or/CC +[ no/DT effect/NN ] +on/IN +[ consumers/NNS ] +,/, ''/'' said/VBD +[ Fabian/NNP Linden/NNP ] +,/, +[ executive/JJ director/NN ] +of/IN +[ the/DT Conference/NNP Board/NNP 's/POS consumer/NN research/NN center/NN ] +./. + +``/`` +[ Survey/NN returns/NNS ] +received/VBN after/IN +[ the/DT drop/NN ] +in/IN +[ the/DT Dow/NNP Jones/NNP average/NN ] +were/VBD about/IN +[ the/DT same/JJ ] +as/IN +[ the/DT views/NNS ] +expressed/VBN prior/RB to/TO +[ that/DT event/NN ] +./. + +''/'' +====================================== + +[ The/DT nonprofit/JJ ] +,/, +[ industry-supported/JJ group/NN ] +said/VBD +[ its/PRP$ Consumer/NNP Confidence/NNP Index/NNP ] +was/VBD +[ 116.4/CD ] +in/IN +[ October/NNP ] +,/, barely/RB changed/VBN from/IN +[ a/DT revised/VBN 116.3/CD ] +in/IN +[ September/NNP ] +./. + +[ The/DT index/NN ] +was/VBD +[ 116.9/CD ] +in/IN +[ October/NNP 1988/CD ] +and/CC in/IN +[ the/DT past/NN year/NN ] +has/VBZ ranged/VBN from/IN +[ a/DT low/JJ ] +of/IN +[ 112.9/CD ] +to/TO +[ a/DT high/JJ ] +of/IN +[ 120.7/CD ] +./. + +[ It/PRP ] +uses/VBZ +[ a/DT base/NN ] +of/IN +[ 100/CD ] +in/IN +[ 1985/CD ] +./. + +====================================== + +In/IN +[ October/NNP ] +,/, +[ more/JJR people/NNS ] +said/VBD +[ that/IN present/JJ business/NN conditions/NNS ] +were/VBD ``/`` +[ good/JJ ] +''/'' than/IN in/IN +[ September/NNP ] +./. + +[ An/DT equal/JJ number/NN ] +in/IN +[ each/DT month/NN ] +said/VBD that/IN +[ employment/NN conditions/NNS ] +were/VBD good/JJ ./. + +====================================== + +And/CC +[ 19.6/CD %/NN ] +of/IN +[ consumers/NNS ] +contacted/VBN believed/VBD +[ business/NN conditions/NNS ] +will/MD improve/VB in/IN +[ the/DT ] +coming/VBG +[ six/CD months/NNS ] +,/, compared/VBN with/IN +[ 18.3/CD %/NN ] +in/IN +[ September/NNP ] +./. + +Also/RB ,/, +[ more/JJR people/NNS ] +said/VBD +[ conditions/NNS ] +will/MD worsen/VB in/IN +[ the/DT period/NN ] +./. + + (/( Fewer/JJR said/VBD +[ conditions/NNS ] +wo/MD n't/RB change/VB ./. + + )/) In/IN +[ October/NNP 1988/CD ] +,/, +[ 21.1/CD %/NN ] +said/VBD +[ business/NN conditions/NNS ] +would/MD improve/VB ./. + +====================================== + +In/IN +[ October/NNP 1989/CD ] +,/, +[ 16.9/CD %/NN ] +said/VBD +[ more/JJR jobs/NNS ] +will/MD be/VB created/VBN in/IN +[ the/DT ] +coming/VBG +[ six/CD months/NNS ] +,/, compared/VBN with/IN +[ 17.4/CD %/NN ] +in/IN +[ September/NNP ] +and/CC +[ 18.6/CD %/NN ] +in/IN +[ October/NNP 1988/CD ] +./. + +Only/RB +[ 26.8/CD %/NN ] +in/IN +[ October/NNP ] +,/, compared/VBN with/IN +[ 28.5/CD %/NN ] +in/IN +[ September/NNP ] +and/CC +[ 26.8/CD %/NN ] +in/IN +[ October/NNP 1988/CD ] +,/, said/VBD +[ income/NN ] +would/MD increase/VB ./. + +====================================== + +``/`` +[ The/DT sustained/VBN level/NN ] +of/IN +[ confidence/NN ] +can/MD be/VB attributed/VBN to/TO +[ the/DT continued/VBN favorable/JJ circumstances/NNS ] + +[ which/WDT ] +affect/VBP +[ the/DT consumer/NN 's/POS day-to-day/JJ economic/JJ life/NN ] +,/, ''/'' said/VBD +[ Mr./NNP Linden/NNP ] +./. + +``/`` +[ Unemployment/NN ] +continues/VBZ at/IN +[ a/DT ] +relatively/RB +[ low/JJ level/NN ] +,/, providing/VBG +[ a/DT sense/NN ] +of/IN +[ job/NN security/NN ] +,/, and/CC +[ a/DT low/JJ inflation/NN rate/NN ] +has/VBZ kept/VBN +[ the/DT purchasing/VBG power/NN ] +of/IN +[ the/DT weekly/JJ paycheck/NN ] +reasonably/RB strong/JJ ./. + +''/'' +====================================== + +[ The/DT consumer/NN confidence/NN survey/NN ] +,/, covering/VBG +[ 5,000/CD U.S./NNP households/NNS ] +,/, is/VBZ conducted/VBN in/IN +[ the/DT first/JJ two/CD weeks/NNS ] +of/IN +[ each/DT month/NN ] +for/IN +[ the/DT Conference/NNP Board/NNP ] +by/IN +[ National/NNP Family/NNP Opinion/NNP Inc./NNP ] +,/, +[ a/DT Toledo/NNP ] +,/, +[ Ohio/NNP ] +,/, +[ market/NN researcher/NN ] +./. + +Buying/VBG +[ plans/NNS ] +were/VBD mixed/VBN in/IN +[ October/NNP ] +,/, with/IN +[ fewer/JJR households/NNS ] +indicating/VBG +[ plans/NNS ] +to/TO buy/VB +[ cars/NNS ] +and/CC more/RBR saying/VBG +[ they/PRP ] +will/MD buy/VB +[ homes/NNS ] +and/CC +[ appliances/NNS ] +in/IN +[ the/DT ] +coming/VBG +[ six/CD months/NNS ] +./. + +====================================== + +In/IN +[ October/NNP ] +,/, +[ 6.7/CD %/NN ] +of/IN +[ respondents/NNS ] +said/VBD +[ they/PRP ] +will/MD buy/VB +[ a/DT car/NN ] +,/, easing/VBG from/IN +[ September/NNP ] +when/WRB +[ 8.1/CD %/NN ] +anticipated/VBD +[ a/DT purchase/NN ] +./. + +In/IN +[ October/NNP 1988/CD ] +,/, +[ 7.3/CD %/NN ] +said/VBD +[ they/PRP ] +would/MD buy/VB +[ a/DT car/NN ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ Home/NN purchase/NN plans/NNS ] +increased/VBD to/TO +[ 3.3/CD %/NN ] +from/IN +[ 3.1/CD %/NN ] +in/IN +[ the/DT two/CD recent/JJ months/NNS ] +./. + +In/IN +[ October/NNP 1988/CD ] +,/, +[ 3.7/CD %/NN ] +said/VBD +[ they/PRP ] +would/MD buy/VB +[ a/DT house/NN ] +./. + +In/IN +[ 1989/CD ] +,/, +[ home/NN purchase/NN plans/NNS ] +have/VBP ranged/VBN monthly/RB from/IN +[ 2.9/CD %/NN ] +to/TO +[ 3.7/CD %/NN ] +of/IN +[ respondents/NNS ] +./. + +In/IN +[ October/NNP ] +,/, +[ 30.6/CD %/NN ] +said/VBD +[ they/PRP ] +will/MD buy/VB +[ appliances/NNS ] +in/IN +[ the/DT ] +coming/VBG +[ six/CD months/NNS ] +,/, compared/VBN with/IN +[ 27.4/CD %/NN ] +in/IN +[ September/NNP ] +and/CC +[ 26.5/CD %/NN ] +in/IN +[ October/NNP 1988/CD ] +./. diff --git a/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0149.pos b/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0149.pos new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..08dce39a982eda0f0946f5aa0624767c9b2f486f --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0149.pos @@ -0,0 +1,323 @@ + + + +====================================== + +[ New/NNP York/NNP financier/NN Saul/NNP Steinberg/NNP ] +sought/VBD +[ federal/JJ permission/NN ] +to/TO buy/VB more/JJR than/IN +[ 15/CD %/NN ] +of/IN +[ United/NNP Airlines/NNPS '/POS parent/NN ] +,/, +[ UAL/NNP Corp./NNP ] +,/, saying/VBG +[ he/PRP ] +might/MD seek/VB +[ control/NN ] +of/IN +[ the/DT nation/NN 's/POS second-largest/JJ airline/NN ] +./. + +====================================== + +Although/IN +[ takeover/NN experts/NNS ] +said/VBD +[ they/PRP ] +doubted/VBD +[ Mr./NNP Steinberg/NNP ] +will/MD make/VB +[ a/DT bid/NN ] +by/IN +[ himself/PRP ] +,/, +[ the/DT application/NN ] +by/IN +[ his/PRP$ Reliance/NNP Group/NNP Holdings/NNPS Inc./NNP ] +could/MD signal/VB +[ his/PRP$ interest/NN ] +in/IN helping/VBG revive/VB +[ a/DT failed/VBN labor-management/JJ bid/NN ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ Such/PDT an/DT application/NN ] +for/IN +[ federal/JJ antitrust/JJ clearance/NN ] +is/VBZ necessary/JJ for/IN +[ any/DT investor/NN ] + +[ that/WDT ] +might/MD seek/VB +[ control/NN ] +./. + +But/CC +[ some/DT investors/NNS ] +have/VBP used/VBN +[ such/JJ filings/NNS ] +to/TO boost/VB +[ the/DT value/NN ] +of/IN +[ their/PRP$ stock/NN holdings/NNS ] +,/, +[ which/WDT ] +--/: without/IN buying/VBG +[ more/JJR stock/NN ] +--/: +[ they/PRP ] +then/RB sold/VBD ./. + +====================================== + +[ Takeover/NN stock/NN traders/NNS ] +were/VBD puzzled/VBN by/IN +[ the/DT Reliance/NNP ] +filing/NN and/CC cautioned/VBD that/IN +[ it/PRP ] +does/VBZ n't/RB mean/VB +[ Mr./NNP Steinberg/NNP ] +will/MD definitely/RB seek/VB +[ control/NN ] +./. + +``/`` Maybe/RB +[ he/PRP ] +just/RB wants/VBZ to/TO make/VB +[ something/NN ] +happen/VB ,/, ''/'' said/VBD +[ one/CD takeover/NN expert/NN ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ One/CD investment/NN banker/NN ] +said/VBD +[ Mr./NNP Steinberg/NNP ] +may/MD be/VB trying/VBG to/TO position/VB +[ himself/PRP ] +as/IN +[ a/DT friendly/JJ investor/NN ] + +[ who/WP ] +could/MD help/VB +[ UAL/NNP Chairman/NNP Stephen/NNP Wolf/NNP ] +revive/VB +[ a/DT failed/VBN labor-management/NN bid/NN ] +./. + +[ Mr./NNP Steinberg/NNP ] +,/, +[ he/PRP ] +suggested/VBD ,/, could/MD replace/VB +[ British/NNP Airways/NNPS PLC/NNP ] +,/, +[ which/WDT ] +has/VBZ withdrawn/VBN from/IN +[ the/DT buy-out/NN group/NN ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ Reliance/NNP ] +had/VBD already/RB bought/VBN and/CC sold/VBN +[ UAL/NNP stock/NN ] +at/IN +[ a/DT big/JJ profit/NN ] +without/IN making/VBG +[ an/DT antitrust/JJ filing/NN ] +before/IN +[ the/DT collapse/NN Oct./NNP 13/CD ] +of/IN +[ the/DT $/$ 6.79/CD billion/CD ] +,/, +[ $/$ 300-a-share/JJ labor-management/NN ] +buy-out/NN ./. + +[ Reliance/NNP ] +acquired/VBD +[ a/DT 7/CD %/NN UAL/NNP stake/NN ] +early/RB +[ this/DT year/NN ] +at/IN +[ an/DT average/JJ cost/NN ] +of/IN +[ $/$ 110/CD ] + +[ a/DT share/NN ] +,/, and/CC reduced/VBD +[ its/PRP$ stake/NN ] +to/TO +[ 4.7/CD %/NN ] +after/IN +[ UAL/NNP ] +accepted/VBD +[ the/DT bid/NN ] +at/IN +[ prices/NNS ] +higher/JJR than/IN +[ $/$ 282/CD ] + +[ a/DT share/NN ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ Market/NN sources/NNS ] +said/VBD +[ Reliance/NNP ] +has/VBZ already/RB sold/VBN +[ its/PRP$ entire/JJ UAL/NNP stake/NN ] +,/, and/CC thus/RB would/MD n't/RB have/VB +[ any/DT reason/NN ] +to/TO file/VB +[ the/DT application/NN ] +simply/RB to/TO boost/VB +[ the/DT value/NN ] +of/IN +[ its/PRP$ stock/NN ] +./. + +But/CC +[ the/DT exact/JJ amount/NN ] +of/IN +[ Reliance/NNP 's/POS current/JJ holding/NN has/VBZ n't/RB ] +been/VBN formally/RB disclosed/VBN ./. + +====================================== + +[ The/DT filing/NN ] +adds/VBZ +[ a/DT new/JJ twist/NN ] +to/TO +[ market/NN speculation/NN ] +that/IN +[ Coniston/NNP Partners/NNPS ] +,/, +[ a/DT New/NNP York/NNP money/NN manager/NN ] +,/, has/VBZ bought/VBN more/JJR than/IN +[ 5/CD %/NN ] +of/IN +[ UAL/NNP stock/NN ] +and/CC may/MD challenge/VB +[ the/DT UAL/NNP board/NN 's/POS decision/NN last/JJ week/NN ] +to/TO remain/VB +[ independent/JJ ] +./. + +[ Speculation/NN ] +about/IN +[ Coniston/NNP ] +has/VBZ caused/VBN +[ the/DT stock/NN ] +to/TO rebound/VB from/IN +[ a/DT low/JJ ] +of/IN +[ $/$ 145/CD ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ UAL/NNP 's/POS announcement/NN ] +came/VBD after/IN +[ the/DT market/NN ] +closed/VBD yesterday/NN ./. + +In/IN +[ composite/JJ New/NNP York/NNP Stock/NNP Exchange/NNP ] +trading/NN ,/, +[ the/DT shares/NNS ] +closed/VBD at/IN +[ $/$ 177/CD ] +,/, up/RB +[ $/$ 1.50/CD ] +./. + +[ UAL/NNP ] +would/MD n't/RB elaborate/VB on/IN +[ a/DT statement/NN ] +that/IN +[ it/PRP ] +had/VBD been/VBN notified/VBN of/IN +[ the/DT filing/NN ] +by/IN +[ Reliance/NNP ] +./. + +[ Reliance/NNP ] +confirmed/VBD +[ the/DT filing/NN ] +but/CC would/MD n't/RB elaborate/VB ./. + +====================================== + +[ Some/DT takeover/NN experts/NNS ] +were/VBD skeptical/JJ ,/, saying/VBG +[ it/PRP ] +was/VBD possible/JJ that/IN +[ Mr./NNP Steinberg/NNP ] +made/VBD +[ the/DT ] +filing/NN only/RB to/TO help/VB boost/VB +[ the/DT value/NN ] +of/IN +[ any/DT ] + +[ remaining/VBG Reliance/NNP stake/NN ] +in/IN +[ UAL/NNP ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ Mr./NNP Steinberg/NNP ] +is/VBZ thought/VBN to/TO be/VB on/IN +[ friendly/JJ terms/NNS ] +with/IN +[ UAL/NNP 's/POS Mr./NNP Wolf/NNP ] +./. + +[ The/DT investor/NN ] +was/VBD instrumental/JJ in/IN tapping/VBG +[ Mr./NNP Wolf/NNP ] +to/TO run/VB +[ the/DT air/NN cargo/NN unit/NN ] +of/IN +[ Tiger/NNP International/NNP Inc/NNP ] +./. + +[ Mr./NNP Wolf/NNP 's/POS success/NN ] +in/IN +[ that/DT job/NN ] +helped/VBD +[ him/PRP ] +land/VB +[ the/DT top/JJ job/NN ] +with/IN +[ UAL/NNP ] +in/IN +[ December/NNP 1987/CD ] +./. + +====================================== + +But/CC +[ any/DT potential/JJ acquirer/NN ] +must/MD attempt/VB to/TO reach/VB +[ some/DT kind/NN ] +of/IN +[ accord/NN ] +with/IN +[ the/DT company/NN 's/POS employees/NNS ] +,/, primarily/RB +[ its/PRP$ pilots/NNS ] +and/CC +[ the/DT powerful/JJ machinists/NNS '/POS union/NN ] +,/, +[ which/WDT ] +has/VBZ opposed/VBN +[ a/DT takeover/NN ] +./. diff --git a/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0158.pos b/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0158.pos new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..99d32b89ec02088c05879022b573cf03e0c0bd26 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0158.pos @@ -0,0 +1,259 @@ + + + +====================================== + +[ Reuters/NNP Holdings/NNP PLC/NNP ] +said/VBD +[ Michael/NNP Reupke/NNP ] +resigned/VBD as/IN +[ general/JJ manager/NN ] +to/TO pursue/VB +[ unspecified/JJ interests/NNS ] +,/, +[ a/DT move/NN ] + +[ the/DT news/NN organization/NN ] +termed/VBD +[ an/DT ] +``/`` +[ amicable/JJ separation/NN ] +./. + +''/'' +====================================== + +[ Mr./NNP Reupke/NNP ] +,/, +[ 52/CD years/NNS ] +old/JJ and/CC +[ a/DT 27-year/JJ Reuters/NNP veteran/NN ] +,/, had/VBD been/VBN +[ the/DT information-services/NNS company/NN 's/POS general/JJ manager/NN ] +for/IN only/RB +[ six/CD months/NNS ] +./. + +[ His/PRP$ appointment/NN ] +to/TO +[ that/DT post/NN ] +,/, +[ which/WDT ] +has/VBZ +[ senior/JJ administrative/JJ ] +,/, +[ staff/NN ] +and/CC +[ policy/NN responsibilities/NNS ] +,/, followed/VBD +[ a/DT several-year/JJ tenure/NN ] +as/IN +[ Reuters/NNP 's/POS editor/NN ] +in/IN +[ chief/NN ] +./. + +[ No/DT successor/NN ] +was/VBD named/VBN ,/, and/CC +[ Mr./NNP Reupke/NNP 's/POS duties/NNS ] +will/MD be/VB split/VBN among/IN +[ three/CD other/JJ senior/JJ Reuters/NNP executives/NNS ] +,/, +[ the/DT company/NN ] +said/VBD ./. + +====================================== + +In/IN +[ a/DT telephone/NN interview/NN ] +,/, +[ Mr./NNP Reupke/NNP ] +said/VBD +[ his/PRP$ departure/NN ] +was/VBD for/IN ``/`` +[ personal/JJ reasons/NNS ] +,/, ''/'' +[ which/WDT ] + +[ he/PRP ] +declined/VBD to/TO specify/VB ./. + +``/`` +[ There/EX ] +is/VBZ +[ no/DT business/NN reason/NN ] +for/IN +[ my/PRP$ departure/NN ] +,/, ''/'' nor/CC +[ any/DT disagreement/NN ] +over/IN +[ policy/NN ] +,/, +[ he/PRP ] +added/VBD ./. + +[ He/PRP ] +also/RB rejected/VBD +[ reports/NNS ] +that/IN +[ his/PRP$ departure/NN ] +stemmed/VBD from/IN +[ disappointment/NN ] + +[ the/DT general/JJ manager/NN 's/POS post/NN ] +had/VBD n't/RB also/RB led/VBN to/TO +[ a/DT board/NN directorship/NN ] +at/IN +[ the/DT London-based/JJ news/NN organization/NN ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ Mr./NNP Reupke/NNP ] +was/VBD +[ one/CD ] +of/IN +[ three/CD executives/NNS ] +on/IN +[ Reuters/NNP 's/POS eight-person/JJ executive/NN committee/NN ] + +[ who/WP ] +did/VBD n't/RB also/RB serve/VB on/IN +[ the/DT company/NN 's/POS board/NN ] +of/IN +[ directors/NNS ] +./. + +``/`` If/IN +[ I/PRP ] +were/VBD choosing/VBG +[ the/DT people/NNS ] +of/IN +[ tomorrow/NN ] +,/, +[ I/PRP ] +would/MD have/VB chosen/VBN +[ the/DT people/NNS ] + +[ who/WP ] +are/VBP now/RB on/IN +[ the/DT board/NN ] +,/, ''/'' +[ he/PRP ] +said/VBD ./. + +====================================== + +[ A/DT Reuters/NNP spokesman/NN ] +said/VBD +[ the/DT departure/NN ] +reflects/VBZ ``/`` +[ no/DT change/NN ] +in/IN +[ strategy/NN ] +or/CC +[ profits/NNS ] +./. + +''/'' +[ Mark/NNP Shepperd/NNP ] +,/, +[ an/DT analyst/NN ] +at/IN +[ UBS/NNP Phillips/NNP ] +&/CC +[ Drew/NNP ] +in/IN +[ London/NNP ] +,/, said/VBD ,/, ``/`` +[ I/PRP ] +suspect/VBP (/( +[ the/DT departure/NN ] + )/) will/MD be/VB fairly/RB irrelevant/JJ for/IN +[ the/DT company/NN ] +./. + +[ I/PRP ] +would/MD 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Peter/NNP Holland/NNP ] +,/, +[ 45/CD ] +,/, +[ deputy/JJ general/JJ manager/NN ] +,/, becomes/VBZ +[ director/NN ] +of/IN +[ corporate/JJ affairs/NNS ] +./. + +And/CC +[ Patrick/NNP Mannix/NNP ] +,/, +[ 46/CD ] +,/, +[ international/JJ technical/JJ manager/NN ] +,/, becomes/VBZ +[ director/NN ] +of/IN +[ group/NN quality/NN programs/NNS ] +./. diff --git a/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0159.pos b/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0159.pos new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ed974883dfd51624baa5d95f82815bd0aa3061ea --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0159.pos @@ -0,0 +1,127 @@ + + + +====================================== + +[ DD/NNP Acquisition/NNP Corp./NNP ] +,/, +[ a/DT partnership/NN ] +of/IN +[ Unicorp/NNP Canada/NNP Corp./NNP 's/POS Kingsbridge/NNP Capital/NNP Group/NNP ] +and/CC +[ Cara/NNP Operations/NNPS Ltd./NNP ] +,/, extended/VBD to/TO Nov./NNP +[ 20/CD its/PRP$ $/$ 45-a-share/JJ offer/NN ] +for/IN +[ all/DT Dunkin'/NNP ] +[ Donuts/NNPS Inc./NNP ] +shares/NNS +[ outstanding/JJ ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ The/DT offer/NN ] +,/, +[ which/WDT ] +was/VBD due/JJ to/TO expire/VB yesterday/NN ,/, is/VBZ conditional/JJ on/IN +[ 50.1/CD %/NN ] +of/IN +[ Dunkin'/NNP ] +[ common/JJ shares/NNS ] +,/, on/IN +[ a/DT ] +fully/RB diluted/VBN +[ basis/NN ] +,/, being/VBG tendered/VBN and/CC on/IN +[ the/DT withdrawal/NN ] +of/IN +[ the/DT company/NN 's/POS poison/NN pill/NN rights/NNS ] +plan/NN ./. + +====================================== + +[ DD/NNP Acquisition/NNP ] +has/VBZ launched/VBN +[ a/DT suit/NN ] +in/IN +[ a/DT Delaware/NNP court/NN ] +seeking/VBG +[ the/DT withdrawal/NN ] +of/IN +[ Dunkin/NNP 's/POS poison/NN pill/NN rights/NNS ] +and/CC +[ employee/NN stock/NN ownership/NN plans/NNS ] +,/, +[ which/WDT ] + +[ it/PRP ] +claims/VBZ were/VBD put/VBN in/IN +[ place/NN ] +to/TO deter/VB +[ bidders/NNS ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ DD/NNP Acquisition/NNP ] +said/VBD +[ 2.2/CD million/CD shares/NNS ] +,/, or/CC about/IN +[ 38.5/CD %/NN ] +of/IN +[ the/DT shares/NNS ] +outstanding/JJ ,/, have/VBP been/VBN tendered/VBN under/IN +[ its/PRP$ offer/NN ] +./. + +[ The/DT partners/NNS ] +said/VBD +[ they/PRP ] +already/RB hold/VBP +[ 15/CD %/NN ] +of/IN +[ all/DT shares/NNS ] +outstanding/JJ ./. + +====================================== + +[ Dunkin'/NNP ] +has/VBZ set/VBN +[ Nov./NNP 10/CD ] +as/IN +[ the/DT deadline/NN ] +for/IN +[ the/DT receipt/NN ] +of/IN +[ any/DT ] + +[ competing/VBG bids/NNS ] +./. + +[ DD/NNP Acquisition/NNP ] +said/VBD +[ the/DT extension/NN ] +is/VBZ to/TO allow/VB +[ this/DT process/NN ] +to/TO be/VB completed/VBN ./. + +[ Dunkin'/NNP ] +is/VBZ based/VBN in/IN +[ Randolph/NNP ] +,/, +[ Mass/NNP ] +./. + +[ Cara/NNP ] +,/, +[ a/DT food/NN services/NNS ] +chain/NN +[ operator/NN ] +and/CC +[ Unicorp/NNP ] +,/, +[ a/DT holding/VBG company/NN ] +,/, are/VBP based/VBN in/IN +[ Toronto/NNP ] +./. diff --git a/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0170.pos b/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0170.pos new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..bf7109d495d4cdc2f08f4b13c17f0ccc459f4eac --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0170.pos @@ -0,0 +1,94 @@ + + + +====================================== + +[ Carnival/NNP Cruise/NNP Lines/NNP Inc./NNP ] +said/VBD +[ potential/JJ problems/NNS ] +with/IN +[ the/DT construction/NN ] +of/IN +[ two/CD big/JJ cruise/NN ships/NNS ] +from/IN +[ Finland/NNP ] +have/VBP been/VBN averted/VBN ./. + +====================================== + +[ Last/JJ week/NN ] +,/, +[ Miami-based/JJ Carnival/NNP ] +disclosed/VBD that/IN +[ Waertsilae/NNP Marine/NNP Industries/NNPS ] +,/, +[ the/DT Finnish/JJ shipyard/NN ] + +[ that/WDT ] +is/VBZ building/VBG +[ Carnival/NNP 's/POS new/JJ cruise/NN ships/NNS ] +,/, planned/VBD to/TO file/VB for/IN +[ bankruptcy/NN ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ Yesterday/NN ] +,/, +[ Carnival/NNP ] +said/VBD +[ a/DT new/JJ company/NN ] +has/VBZ been/VBN formed/VBN in/IN +[ Finland/NNP ] + +[ that/WDT ] +will/MD carry/VB on/IN +[ Waertsilae/NNP 's/POS shipbuilding/NN operations/NNS ] +./. + +[ Carnival/NNP ] +said/VBD +[ it/PRP ] +will/MD be/VB +[ an/DT 11/CD %/NN shareholder/NN ] +in/IN +[ the/DT new/JJ company/NN ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ Carnival/NNP ] +said/VBD +[ the/DT Fantasy/NNP ] +,/, +[ a/DT 2,050-passenger/JJ ship/NN ] + +[ that/WDT ] +was/VBD slated/VBN to/TO be/VB delivered/VBN +[ this/DT month/NN ] +,/, will/MD be/VB delivered/VBN in/IN +[ January/NNP ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ A/DT second/JJ ship/NN ] +is/VBZ now/RB expected/VBN to/TO be/VB delivered/VBN +[ late/JJ next/JJ year/NN ] +or/CC early/RB in/IN +[ 1991/CD ] +./. + +[ Carnival/NNP ] +had/VBD expected/VBN +[ that/DT ship/NN ] +to/TO be/VB delivered/VBN +[ next/JJ fall/NN ] +./. + +[ A/DT planned/VBN third/JJ ship/NN ] +still/RB may/MD be/VB built/VBN in/IN +[ the/DT Finnish/JJ shipyard/NN ] +,/, or/CC may/MD be/VB built/VBN elsewhere/RB ,/, +[ Carnival/NNP ] +said/VBD ./. diff --git a/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0186.pos b/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0186.pos new file mode 100644 index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..768d0f1ad38cce8b61154291593ae4f33bf29398 --- /dev/null +++ b/corpora/treebank/tagged/wsj_0186.pos @@ -0,0 +1,634 @@ + + + +====================================== + +``/`` +[ Feeding/NNP Frenzy/NNP ] +''/'' (/( +[ Henry/NNP Holt/NNP ] +,/, +[ 326/CD pages/NNS ] +,/, +[ $/$ 19.95/CD ] + )/) ,/, +[ a/DT ] +highly/RB detailed/VBN +[ account/NN ] +of/IN +[ the/DT Wedtech/NNP scandal/NN ] +,/, begins/VBZ on/IN +[ a/DT reassuring/JJ note/NN ] +./. + +====================================== + +Right/RB up/IN +[ front/NN ] +in/IN +[ the/DT preface/NN ] +,/, +[ co-author/NN William/NNP Sternberg/NNP ] +gives/VBZ +[ us/PRP ] + +[ an/DT example/NN ] +of/IN +[ his/PRP$ own/JJ integrity/NN ] +./. + +When/WRB offered/VBN +[ 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+====================================== + +Besides/IN being/VBG +[ a/DT ] +``/`` +[ minority-owned/JJ company/NN ] +''/'' +[ Wedtech/NNP ] +was/VBD located/VBN in/IN +[ the/DT South/NNP Bronx/NNP ] +,/, +[ a/DT blighted/JJ area/NN ] +,/, made/VBN +[ famous/JJ ] +by/IN +[ Jimmy/NNP Carter/NNP ] +in/IN +[ his/PRP$ 1976/CD presidential/JJ campaign/NN ] +./. + +[ The/DT company/NN ] +plugged/VBD +[ itself/PRP ] +right/RB into/IN +[ Carter/NNP campaign/NN rhetoric/NN ] +about/IN rebuilding/VBG +[ the/DT South/NNP Bronx/NNP ] +and/CC kept/VBD using/VBG +[ the/DT minority/NN ] +--/: +[ South/NNP Bronx/NNP angle/NN ] +through/IN +[ the/DT Reagan/NNP '80s/CD ] +./. + +====================================== + +Starting/VBG with/IN +[ Congressman/NNP Mario/NNP Biaggi/NNP ] + (/( now/RB serving/VBG +[ a/DT jail/NN sentence/NN ] + )/) ,/, +[ the/DT company/NN ] +began/VBD +[ a/DT career/NN ] +of/IN bribing/VBG +[ federal/JJ ] +,/, +[ state/NN ] +and/CC +[ local/JJ public/JJ officials/NNS ] +and/CC 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the/DT company/NN ] +./. + +[ Wedtech/NNP management/NN ] +used/VBD +[ the/DT merit/NN system/NN ] +./. + +If/IN +[ you/PRP ] +were/VBD especially/RB helpful/JJ in/IN +[ a/DT corrupt/JJ scheme/NN ] + +[ you/PRP ] +received/VBD not/RB just/RB cash/NN in/IN +[ a/DT bag/NN ] +,/, but/CC +[ equity/NN ] +./. + +If/IN +[ you/PRP ] +were/VBD not/RB +[ an/DT effective/JJ crook/NN ] +,/, +[ you/PRP ] +found/VBD +[ yourself/PRP ] +out/IN in/IN +[ the/DT cold/NN ] +,/, +[ a/DT fate/NN ] + +[ that/WDT ] +eventually/RB befell/VBD +[ Mr./NNP Mariotta/NNP ] +,/, +[ the/DT firm/NN 's/POS semiliterate/JJ ] +``/`` +[ minority/NN ] +''/'' +[ person/NN ] +./. + +====================================== + +But/CC despite/IN +[ the/DT sensational/JJ nature/NN ] +of/IN +[ the/DT revelations/NNS ] +and/CC +[ the/DT breezy/JJ ] +,/, +[ easy-to-read/JJ tabloid/JJ writing/NN style/NN ] +,/, ``/`` +[ Feeding/NNP Frenzy/NNP ] +''/'' often/RB falls/VBZ +[ short/JJ ] +of/IN +[ gripping/JJ reading/NN ] +./. + +[ None/NN ] +of/IN +[ the/DT scams/NNS ] +show/VBP +[ much/JJ ingenuity/NN ] +:/: +[ Auditors/NNS ] +found/VBD +[ crookery/NN ] + +[ the/DT first/JJ day/NN ] +on/IN +[ the/DT job/NN ] +./. + +[ Wedtech/NNP 's/POS scammers/NNS ] +simply/RB bribed/VBD +[ them/PRP ] +to/TO shut/VB up/IN ./. + +====================================== + +[ The/DT scammers/NNS themselves/PRP ] +were/VBD +[ garden-variety/NN low/JJ lifes/NNS ] +,/, +[ conspicuous/JJ consumers/NNS ] + +[ who/WP ] +wanted/VBD +[ big/JJ houses/NNS ] +,/, +[ Mercedes/NNPS cars/NNS ] +,/, +[ beautiful/JJ women/NNS ] +,/, +[ expensive/JJ clothes/NNS ] +./. + +Among/IN +[ the/DT lot/NN ] +of/IN +[ them/PRP ] +,/, not/RB +[ one/CD ] +is/VBZ wrestling/VBG with/IN +[ good/JJ ] +and/CC +[ evil/JJ ] +,/, or/CC especially/RB intelligent/JJ or/CC even/RB temporarily/RB insane/JJ ./. + +[ The/DT one/CD character/NN ] +at/IN +[ least/JJS ] + +[ somewhat/RB interesting/JJ ] +was/VBD +[ Irving/NNP Louis/NNP Lobsenz/NNP ] +,/, +[ a/DT pediatrician/NN ] + +[ who/WP ] +changed/VBD +[ his/PRP$ name/NN ] +to/TO +[ Rusty/NNP Kent/NNP London/NNP ] +and/CC became/VBD +[ a/DT master/NN gambler/NN ] +and/CC +[ author/NN ] +of/IN +[ a/DT book/NN ] +on/IN +[ blackjack/NN ] +./. + +[ He/PRP ] +enters/VBZ +[ the/DT story/NN ] +toward/IN +[ the/DT end/NN ] +,/, just/RB in/IN +[ time/NN ] +to/TO get/VB arrested/VBN ./. + +====================================== + +Absorbed/VBN in/IN doling/VBG out/IN ``/`` +[ Feeding/NNP Frenzy/NNP 's/POS ] +''/'' +[ tidbits/NNS ] +,/, +[ the/DT authors/NNS gloss/VBP ] +over/IN +[ the/DT root/NN ] +causes/NNS of/IN +[ Wedtech/NNP ] +,/, namely/RB +[ the/DT Section/NN 8/CD ] + (/( +[ A/NN ] + )/) +[ federal/JJ program/NN ] +under/IN +[ whose/WP$ auspices/NNS ] + +[ the/DT scandal/NN ] +took/VBD +[ place/NN ] +./. + +[ They/PRP ] +do/VBP at/IN +[ least/JJS ] +come/VB around/IN to/TO saying/VBG that/IN +[ the/DT courts/NNS ] +might/MD want/VB to/TO end/VB ``/`` +[ rigid/JJ affirmative/JJ action/NN programs/NNS ] +./. + +''/'' +[ Programs/NNS ] +like/IN +[ Section/NN 8/CD ] + (/( +[ A/NN ] + )/) are/VBP +[ a/DT little/RB ] +like/IN leaving/VBG +[ gold/NN ] +in/IN +[ the/DT street/NN ] +and/CC then/RB expressing/VBG +[ surprise/NN ] +when/WRB +[ thieves/NNS ] +walk/VBP by/IN to/TO scoop/VB +[ it/PRP ] +up/IN ./. + +[ Numerous/JJ other/JJ scandals/NNS ] +,/, among/IN +[ them/PRP ] + +[ the/DT ones/NNS ] +at/IN +[ HUD/NNP ] +,/, have/VBP +[ the/DT same/JJ characteristics/NNS ] +as/IN +[ Wedtech/NNP ] +./. + +[ They/PRP ] +take/VBP +[ place/NN ] +in/IN +[ government/NN programs/NNS ] + +[ that/WDT ] +seem/VBP +[ tailor-made/JJ ] +for/IN +[ corruption/NN ] +./. + +====================================== + +Why/WRB are/VBP +[ programs/NNS ] +like/IN +[ this/DT ] +not/RB eliminated/VBN ?/. + +``/`` +[ Feeding/NNP Frenzy/NNP ] +''/'' does/VBZ provide/VB +[ a/DT few/JJ clues/NNS ] +./. + +In/IN and/CC around/IN +[ all/DT levels/NNS ] +of/IN +[ government/NN ] +in/IN +[ the/DT U.S./NNP ] +are/VBP +[ groups/NNS ] +of/IN +[ people/NNS ] + +[ who/WP ] +can/MD best/JJS be/VB described/VBN as/IN belonging/VBG to/TO +[ a/DT political/JJ insider/NN commercial/JJ party/NN ] +./. + +[ They/PRP ] +know/VBP that/IN whenever/WRB +[ government/NN ] +is/VBZ redistributing/VBG +[ wealth/NN ] +,/, regulating/VBG +[ commerce/NN ] +or/CC maintaining/VBG +[ a/DT large/JJ defense/NN establishment/NN ] +,/, +[ there/EX ] +is/VBZ +[ big/JJ money/NN ] +to/TO be/VB made/VBN in/IN influencing/VBG ,/, brokering/VBG or/CC selling/VBG +[ the/DT processes/NNS ] +and/CC +[ decisions/NNS ] +of/IN +[ government/NN ] +./. + +[ They/PRP ] +are/VBP +[ our/PRP$ version/NN ] +of/IN +[ the/DT East/NNP bloc/NN 's/POS Nomenklatura/NN ] +and/CC +[ they/PRP ] +have/VBP absolutely/RB +[ no/DT ] +wish/NN to/TO see/VB +[ anything/NN ] +change/VB ./. + +How/WRB +[ many/JJ government/NN programs/NNS ] +and/CC +[ policies/NNS ] +exist/VBP because/IN +[ they/PRP ] +line/VBP +[ the/DT pockets/NNS ] +of/IN +[ political/JJ insiders/NNS ] +?/. + +[ This/DT ] +is/VBZ +[ the/DT real/JJ issue/NN ] +raised/VBN by/IN +[ the/DT Wedtech/NNP scandal/NN ] +./. + +====================================== + +[ Mr./NNP Stern/NNP ] +was/VBD +[ chairman/NN ] +and/CC +[ chief/NN executive/JJ officer/NN ] +of/IN +[ the/DT New/NNP York/NNP State/NNP Urban/NNP Development/NNP Corp./NNP ] +,/, +[ 1983-85/CD ] +./.