instruction:
In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
question:
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 is n'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 does n'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 does n'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 was n'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 .
answer:
P


question:
according to popular film opinion , a film 's greatness is determined by time .
take for example " casablanca .
" great film , even today .
it 's still as powerful as it was when it came out and still as romantic and tragic .
another example would be " star wars , " which had a very , very healthy box office gross despite the fact that we had all seen it about 3 billion times before .
but as i rewatched " independence day " when it came out on video after being the number one hit of 1996 , i kinda felt like it was n't as cool as when i had first seen it .
i had liked it when i saw it the first time (
*
* * was my original view ) and basically saw it as a good " escape film .
"
but when i rewatched it , i felt cheated .
thus , the curse of the " event film . " " independence day " is like that kid who come out of nowhere and makes everybody happy at once ( except for a couple kids - the critics , in this situation ) .
but after a while , this kid becomes annoying and you just wait for the next one .
well , this kid is the " event film " in my little analogy .
and when i rewatched " independence day , " not only did it not look cooler at all on the big screen , but i felt insulted the whole time .
there are too many gaping craters in the plot and you just are n't sure if it 's comedy or hokey drama .
one scene , you 'll see a hilariously nebbish scene between jeff goldblum and judd hirsch ; the next you 'll see a bunch of military uptight guys walking around , saying corny lines .
the worst is a scene between brent spiner and bill pullman where spiner is sayinig something innocently funny but is barked like a junkyard dog by bill pullman who gives him the most unitentionally funniest speech since the end of " glen or glenda ?
"
now this annoying kid 's problem is that in the process of trying to make everyone like him all at once , he shows he has no balls .
and " independence day " has no balls .
it plays it safe everywhere .
it throws in a ton of action that is borrowed from other superior films .
the chase scene between the alien ship and will smith is straight out of " star wars .
"
i mean , is n't that devil 's den ? and
the aliens are about as anticlimactic as demi moore 's breasts in " striptease .
"
they 're these octopus men , boring freaking octopus men .
i mean , come on .
the aliens in " 2001 " were more interesting and you did n't even see them !
basically the plot is straight from a b - movie from the 50s : aliens come to earth and we wonder if they 're hostile or peaceful .
okay , it 's an interesting topic , but it 's not handled greatly .
now they are n't and somehow a computer geek , jeff goldblum , figure out they 're using our satellites as a countdown to destruction .
yep .
these aliens are not only heavily armed , they 're stupid too .
they also use the same kind of computer as we do , but that comes about later .
the president ( bill pullman ) , who 's under attack for being a wimp , decides this would be a nice time to be belligerent , and he decides he 'll stay in the white house which the aliens have covered .
i do n't care if it 's bob freaking dole in the white house , get him out of there .
i do n't care if you have to inject him with sodium pentathol , just get him out of there .
later on , he 's stupid and wants to fly in the attack on a big alien ship .
i think it 's time for impeachment for this guy .
he 's more senile than reagan on pot .
then there 's a cocky pilot ( will smith ) who is the only person to survive the counter - attack on the second day and becomes moses in leading his children to the elusive area 51 ( the film 's only sign of being brave ) .
his girlfriend 's a stripper sharing a subplot with " striptease " in that she has to do it for her son .
come on , she has a fighter pilot boyfriend / soon - to - be fiance .
i think she can quit that job and get a more respectable job at long john silvers .
she 's also the few , the proud , the lucky to survive the igniting of l . a .
( as well as her dog , who narrowly survives ) .
there are some bright spots .
they tossed in enough old film homages to keep me laughing .
the best one is when jeff goldblum ( nicely named david ) turns on his computer and a picture of hal comes up and says , " good morning , dave .
"
and they even played r .
e . m .
's
" it 's the end of the world as we know it ( and i feel fine ) at the beginning .
and judd hirsch steals the film by actually acting great ( he 's a stereotype ,
but i just loved the man anyway ) .
but there are no real subtle comic moments .
will gets way too many one - liners and he has no one to play off of
( execept jeff towards the end , and the two do great ) .
as i said , this film has no balls .
it is just aiming for a crowd pleaser
and that 's what it is .
but after a couple months , we all move on to the next " event " film while intaking little films and a couple indy ones for good measure .
but at least the indy ones last for a lifetime .
this one 's short on batteries .
answer:
N


question:
shakespeare in love is quite possibly the most enjoyable period piece ever made for the silver screen .
it is both humorous and romantic in a very unique blend that can successfully entertain any audience for the nearly 2 and and a half hours that it occupies .
that is , however , not to say it is a good film , a quality production or anything of the sort .
shakespeare in love is an incredibly cheap illusion that truly pans out to be very little quality or original work .
the finest sign of this may be the plot , in looking back , there seems to be little more than a thin , predictable plot that is only carried by the portrayal of people that we revere in our history books .
philip henslowe ( geoffrey rush ) owns 1 of the 2 theatres in london .
it is at the peak of the royal theatre era , and queen elizabeth ( the recently damed judi dench , by , appropriately enough , queen elizabeth ii ) is very much a fan .
however , to directly quote the film , he has " cash flow problems .
" through a long set of events , it becomes apparent that his entire life is dependent on his next show doing well enough to pay off his debts .
so , mr .
henslowe employs the young playwright , william shakespeare ( joseph fiennes ) to pen a comedic production .
however , the young writer has a severe case of writer 's block , and blames it on the fact that his love life is struggling as well .
he has the title in mind , romeo and ethel , the pirate 's daughter
( even that joke loses steam after a while ) but ca n't seem to put words to paper .
then , as only hollywood could have it , through a long set of twisted events , he meets viola de lesseps ( gwyneth paltrow ) and falls madly in love , thus curing his writer 's block .
there are many other little issues that mr . henslowe encounters , but they all pan out to be much ado about nothing .
the first realization that i reached in watching this film is that one of the messages given is that a show should not always be credited to it 's author .
ironically , that could n't be truer here .
the great scenes that will sweep audiences away are not the scenes that fit in the plot , but rather the recitals of shakespearean lines by actors playing actors .
one of the most breathtaking moments in this film does not involve the character of shakespeare or queen elizabeth or even the theatre owner , but rather 2 young children named romeo and juliet who chose to end their own lives in the name of love .
so it is that i am offended by the fact that marc norman and tom stoppard are credited with writing this production , and the name william shakespeare is no were to be seen beyond a character 's name in the credits .
the acting in this entertaining yet poor film is often thin to the point that it would not have survived even in queen elizabeth 's theatres .
joseph fiennes may just be the worst of fall though .
he is tragically unbelievable and comically bad .
gwyneth paltrow is little more than satisfactory in her lead position as well .
however , the supporting cast does almost save the day .
geoffrey rush is nothing short of incredible and judi dench is breathtaking .
they both seem to have shown that as proven actors they could survive in this film of weak links .
you will also find a very good performance by ben affleck in his first real role since good will hunting
( no , armageddon does n't qualify as real acting . ) .
and rupert everett was cute in his small part as well .
but not even they could save this sad excuse for a film ,
so it remains plagued by poor performances .
when all is said and done , shakespeare in love is only worth the trip if you want to be entertained .
however , as the film so kindly pointed out , entertainment may be fun , but it is n't necessarily quality . and this certainly is n't quality .
perhaps this may be best compared to a john grisham novel , as a dear friend of mine often does compare things to his work .
simply put , it is far - fetched , poorly crafted , but very entertaining .
answer:

N