TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
PROBLEM: another formula ' feel good ' quirky comedy from the british isles , much like " waking ned devine , " and a host of other popular low budget movies that turned a nifty profit off a thin story line .
it is filled with likable establishment types living in a quaint town , such as tolerant vicars and policemen , plenty of eccentrics , and of locals who stick together through thick and thin .
the strength of this film lies in its rational theme , that smoking pot should be legalized since it is even less dangerous than drinking alcohol .
the film is tolerable until after its first hour , it then falls completely apart , becoming just too absurd to consider as anything but
sitcom fluff gone completely bananas .
but its long overdue message of decriminalization for certain drugs is on target and allows the film to , at least , be viewed as containing a pertinent message .
its message is especially appropriate nowadays considering the ' war on drugs '
is about to be escalated into colombia .
the drug war has been a total failure so far and with no hope of it being won by law enforcement methods in the future , it has so far just ended up causing america 's jails to be overcrowded with non - violent drug prisoners and offers zero hope of curtailing america 's drug usage and drug supply .
billions of dollars have just been allocated by congress to get officially involved in the colombian civil war , by backing a corrupt government ( remember vietnam ! )
with the idea that military might could stop the cocaine and marijuana harvests in that country .
everything about this proposed action smacks of vietnam , with this scenario closer to home , so
what probably awaits such an effort is a more futile result than the other war .
the film 's mild theme of showing squares getting into the weed business and finding it acceptable by the public , something that should have been accepted some 40 years ago , is a theme long overdue for public acceptance , but one that is better received late than never .
there has to be some common sense in distinguishing what drugs should be legalized and how to educate the public on this , rather than making it a police matter altogether .
the film opens in a quaint cornish seaside village at the funeral of the husband of a middle - aged woman , grace ( brenda blethyn ) , who fell out of an airplane , evidently committing suicide .
the widow soon finds out her husband was a bigger bastard than she imagined .
he left her with a stack of enormous bills and put up , without her knowledge , their comfortable 300 year old house as collateral for a failed business venture by taking out a second mortgage .
the widow finds herself bankrupt and with no marketable skills to pay back her husband 's enormous debts and prevent her from losing the house and becoming homeless .
she also knows that he was having an affair with a sophisticated woman from london , honey ( quick ) .
what makes the affair doubly unsatisfying , is that when conferring with honey , she finds out that he was a tiger with her in bed but refrained from having sex with her .
even though the locals try to help the bankrupt widow out as best they can , the creditors swoop down on her like vultures .
her gardener and handyman , matthew ( ferguson ) , decides to stay on with her , despite his last check bouncing . since she is an expert amateur horticulturist , he convinces her to help him revive his hemp plants , which he grows for private use .
the two soon see this as a possibly big business opportunity , as grace works miracles with the plants which turn out to be high - quality stuff .
for grace , this is a way to save her house and get her out of debt ; for the scotsman , matthew , it offers a chance for him to continue to live in this beautiful village and earn enough money to marry his fisherman girlfriend nicky ( valerie ) .
the locals all let the illegal activities go on undisturbed :
the police sergeant ( campbell ) pretends not to notice what the bright lights in grace 's greenhouse is for , the friendly vicar ( phillips ) counsels about the wisdom of not taking action over something that you ca n't control , and the doctor ( clunes ) enjoys smoking the weed for recreation .
the story becomes incredulous when grace decides to go to london and score with a big - time drug dealer instead of having matthew go , because she finds out nicky is pregnant and does n't want matthew to end up in jail .
it is interesting to note , that no one thinks smoking grass is bad for you , only that one can go to jail .
the scene with grace on portobello road in the notting hill section of london , trying to find a drug dealer , while dressed out of place , in a white dress and hat one would wear to a tea party in cornwall but not on the streets of notting hill while looking to make a drug deal , was completely hokey and the film descended into a huge black hole , whereby it never recovered its dignity .
the film moves into the formula mode , whereas grace beats the odds against her failing to survive , as she meets an international drug dealer , a frenchman ( tcheky karyo ) , who is first seen threatening to cut off her fingers but later becomes her business partner and husband as she becomes a millionaire and writes a best selling fiction book about her experiences , thereby becoming a celebrity .
things work out in a ridiculous way , where there is a total breakdown in the character development of grace , where this matronly figure suddenly becomes merely a cartoon figure instead of live flesh and blood .
there are a lot of silly giggles that come forth and the film has just enough of an acting performance by brenda blethyn to breathe air into it before it comes to its belated finale , as it drones on with its transparently gratuitous upbeat tone , until it makes the audience feel good that the sweet old lady succeeded .
this ' unhip ' film leaves one with the impression that smoking and growing pot is silly , but should be tolerated as something
naughty middle - aged widows screwed by their terrible former husbands must do in order not to remain destitute .
ummm !

SOLUTION: N

PROBLEM: 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 has n't seen him since he went in .
they do n'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 did n'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 did n'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 .

SOLUTION: P

PROBLEM: 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 is n'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 , does n'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 would n't be caught dead buying a ticket for chubby rain , but watching how it all came about is certainly entertaining enough .

SOLUTION:
P