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


question:
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 is n't .
answer:
P


question:
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 .
do n't miss it .
answer:

P