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

Answer: P


Question: 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 gon na 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 do n'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 does n'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 does n'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 ai n'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 wo n't be able to help falling in love with this lucky charm either
.
so do n't be cruel
, do n't turn away , do n'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 )

Answer: P


Question: the last steve martin film i saw , the spanish prisoner , was a very different approach for the comic actor .
as a millionaire leading a massive conspiracy in order to rob " a process " from a clueless businessman , martin 's character did it all for money .
in his most recent movie , bowfinger , martin plays yet another con man except this time he does it to succeed in the film industry .
he wants to direct a successful picture that will force people to remember his name , that will make him more popular at the parties , and , most importantly , that will cause fed ex to deliver important business packages to his front door .
playing the title role , martin is once again the good guy ;
the one we cheer for to complete his low budget action movie .
this con man is very likeable for some reason , even though he is doing the same exact thing as the malicious jimmy del from the spanish prisoner .
maybe the message is that , in hollywood , to win over the trust and friendship of others , you have to be a little evil .
bowfinger is a very clever comedy with great performances from its two stars .
martin , who also wrote the screenplay , is perfect as a jerk with a conscience and eddie murphy does his best " peter sellers " in two different , but equally hilarious , roles ; one as a big time move star and the other as his nerdy , burger king employee brother .
the story follows aging and failing director / producer bobby bowfinger as he makes one last attempt to become a respected member of his field by creating a b - action movie called chubby rain .
in order to attract actors and crew members , bowfinger promises them that hot shot actor kit ramsey will star in the movie .
the only problem is that kit refuses to be in it .
but this wo n't stop the aggressive bowfinger .
he is so determined to complete his film that he decides to put kit in it without even telling him .
he has his actors approach kit on the streets of los angeles in character with a hidden camera filming the footage .
will bowfinger be able to make his film ? or will kit ramsey discover what exactly is going on ?
bowfinger is a very cartoon - like movie that pokes fun at hollywood and its famous residents while simultaneously holding a very solid story line .
the only area where the film really lacks is the cameo department .
this is the kind of movie that cameos are all about , it is always funny to see actors / directors / producers making fun of themselves or co - workers especially in a playful movie such as this .
besides the very repetitive and superflous ending , bowfinger is a joy to watch . if you take a movie like this seriously then you will never enjoy it . if you accept the incredulous plot and the extreme caricatures of real entertainment figures , the movie is great fun .

Answer:
P