In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.

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 do n'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 , ca n'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 does n'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 do n'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 .
P

" living out loud , " is the type of motion picture we do n't often see : it is a film about mature , intelligent adults , instead of the usual american film , in which children basically dress up in grown - up clothing and parade around acting like immature seven - year - olds .
judith ( holly hunter ) , a fortysomething living in new york city , has been having a difficult time with life lately .
she is extremely depressed about her recent divorce to her husband ( martin donovan ) , who had been cheating on her .
she can not sleep , haunted by terrible memories , often imagines off - the - wall things to try and make the world seem like a better place , and
the only place she can really go to feel happy is to hear one of her favorite singers , liz bailey ( queen latifah ) , perform at a local club .
judith 's life does start to brighten a little when , one night when she gets home to her apartment late , strikes up a conversation with the elevator operator , pat ( danny devito ) , a lonely man in his fifties whom has lost his daughter recently .
both of them create a sort of emotional connection with each other , seeking comfort with the other person , but while pat starts to form a deep love for her , judith only wants to remain friends . " living out loud , " which was written by richard lagravenese ( " the bridges of madison county " ) , who is also making his directing debut here , is a wonderful film from beginning to end , one that is honest , genuinely funny , and poignant .
the three central characters , that of judith , pat , and liz , are all written to be free - thinking , complex human beings , and are all likable , but flawed , people who are constantly interesting , as is the film itself .
one highly original element of the film is that judith occasionally imagines things occuring in her mind in the way she wishes they would happen .
sometimes it results in comedy , and sometimes it turns out to be subtle and truly touching .
one sequence that stands out is when judith is at a restaurant by herself , reading a novel .
an older woman comes over to her , mentions that that is a great book she is reading , and then goes over to join her own friends .
as the woman sits down , she looks over to see judith by herself , and motions for her to come join them .
instantly , we realize this was simply in judith 's mind , as we see the same woman just sit down at the table and begin talking to her friends .
holly hunter and danny devito
both give the performances of their careers here .
hunter , of course , was brilliant in 1993 's " the piano , " for which she won an academy award , but in this film she is even better
, i think .
she finds the right note for each scene and holds it . and devito has never had such a humanistic role before , which i was surprised about
.
usually he is used as the butt of a joke , or as a caricature , but in this film , has a living - and - breathing , sympathetic person to play .
topping it all off is latifah , also a singer , who is quickly turning into a respectable actress herself , and has a juicy , natural supporting role
as , in some ways , judith 's role model .
another joy of the film is that it does not somehow form a contrived , " happy " ending , but , in staying with its realistic tone , manages to be upbeat , but truthful .
the last shot is an especially powerful image .
nothing is said , but just the image of someone walking down a sidewalk says it all .
the relationship that results between judith and pat is true - to - life and sincere .
as we watch these two people talk , and get to know each other , all that we wish for them both is to be happy , even if that does not include for them to become romantically involved .
and as , " living out loud , " which is one of the best films of the year , proves ,
sometimes a friendship is the strongest bond anyone could possibly ask for .
P

wolfgang petersen 's latest , the perfect storm , is like a pineapple .
it only tastes good after arduous peeling and digging - if you try to eat the fruit , spikes and all , it 's going to hurt ? quite a bit .
ok , maybe that was a confusing analogy , so
here 's my main complaint about the latest man battles
nature flick : there is n't really much of a story to tell .
basically , a massachusetts fishing crew goes out to sea on a small boat , called the andrea gail , and gets stuck in the middle of " the storm of the century .
"
how much time does it take for petersen to tell this story ?
not nearly enough .
so he spends the majority of the film developing pointless side stories which all eventually become superfluous .
audiences want to see the storm , they want to see a fight for survival but what they get is a lot of cliched , maudlin drivel .
the last quarter of the perfect storm is utterly perfect in every aspect , but just try lasting the first three - quarters .
i have yet to read sebastian junger 's the perfect storm , but from what i have heard it is an unforgettable tale .
based on a true story , the book must have found some other way to introduce the characters because in the movie version , the approach is weak . using a wonderfully patriotic score by james horner , petersen almost hides the in - your - face banality .
right away the central characters are introduced : the gritty , determined captain ( george clooney ) , the ingenue ( mark wahlberg ) torn between his job and his girlfriend ( diane lane ) , the loving father ( john c . reilly ) , the comic relief who 's always trying to get laid ( john hawkes ) , the new guy ( william fichtner ) who immediately antagonizes a crewmate and the quiet , french guy ( allen payne ) .
so many problems strike the opening segment of the film that the remaining portions directly suffer .
it is not the all - star cast 's fault , just the characters designed for their portrayal .
allen payne 's character never speaks in the entire movie , not because he is mute , but because he 's never given any lines !
are we supposed to root for a guy whose face and voice we are never given a chance to interact with ?
fichtner 's character is terribly underdeveloped
- we do n't know what he 's doing there , where he 's from , or who he 's supposed to be .
the remaining four fishermen are all cardboard stereotypes
( hawkes says to a female stranger in one scene " you know what would look good on you ?
me !
" ooooh real creative ) .
as the script advances and the andrea gail floats farther out into the waters , the crew continues to not feel human .
only when the storm takes center stage does the movie jump out of its sleepwalk .
the computer - generated images of gigantic waves crashing against a helpless boat are thunderously real .
i can only imagine if this was an imax film , this city kid would surely never go in the water again .
this is loud , jolting entertainment - adjectives that completely negate the rest of the film .
the perfect storm was unfortunately a disappointment .
the maelstrom lived up to its potential but everything else failed to do so .
i guess i 'll stick to that other survival spectacle ?
you know the one on cbs ?

N