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

there 's no reason to doubt that donnie brasco is based , as its opening credits proclaim , on a true story .
but if it 's an accurate picture of life on america 's mean streets , than cinematic depictions of organised crime have had a much stronger basis in reality than i would have previously thought .
for from the film 's outset , when a group of hoods jocularly trade differing opinions on the merits of various automobiles ( not unlike a number of movie lowlifes who recently gave a madonna song a close reading ) donnie brasco resembles more than passingly a few gangster flicks once believed to be works of fiction .
our eponymous hero ( johnny depp ) is not the cheap crook he first appears to be .
brasco is joseph pistone , an undercover fbi agent who has the task of chumming - up to lefty ( al pacino ) , a seasoned hood who tutors pistone in the art of being a " wiseguy " .
regrettably , pistone learns his lessons all too well .
his concern for lefty , who is burdened with a heroin addicted son , exacerbates his own family troubles : his children resent his lengthy absences and his wife fears that her husband 's gangster persona is becoming a little too convincing .
true , the focus on pistone 's family life does deviate from the typical gangster - flick formula , but this subplot never rises above its television drama origins .
the unhappy couple trade predictable lines and engage in drawn - out domestic squabbles ? including an ill - advised marriage guidance routine ?
that slow the film down unnecessarily . the biggest problem with donnie brasco , however , is that its wiseguy attitude and style lacks the flair of its many predecessors .
the awkward use of an occasional disco tune momentarily reminds us its the 70 's , but not with the consistent and blindingly tacky style ?
i loved those fluoro coloured suits ? of scorces ' costume drama casino .
more importantly , pacino 's presence triggers memories of his earlier movie triumphs in which similar territory was covered far more effectively .
donnie brasco 's take on american values , for instance , is feeble and obvious .
lefty rambles out dreams of material betterment to the accompaniment of grating inspirational music .
inexplicably , lefty 's horatio alger inspired gush is supposed to move us .
it does n't any more than his family troubles do , which are dealt in the same saccharine and obvious manner as pistone 's .
just think a minute on how these themes were explored in the godfather movies and scarface .
in these pictures pacino 's dedication to a peculiar and bloody hyper - capitalism was twisted and confronting , while his dogged application of macho wiseguy procedure meant that his relations to friends and family was intriguingly dark ?
neither were spared bloody retribution for breaching wiseguy regulations .
donnie brasco 's tawdry little crime , therefore is n't so much its repetition of familiar gangster themes , but
the shameless way in which it sanitises them .
( oh and by the way , i forgot to mention that the script also sports a startling subplot : pipstone 's superiors are obstructive incompetents who are infuriated by his constant insubordination ?
is that a " damn you mcbain !
" i hear from springfield way ? )
so
the movie is cliched .
big deal
, what do you expect from a gangster - flick ?
well you expect quality action sequences and bravado performances in abundance if its going to be a decent example of the genre .
donnie brasco fails on both counts .
the action scenes never rise above the ordinary and depp 's woeful performance tends to smother the good - work of his comrades .
admittedly , pacino does nothing new and michael madsen ( sonny ) simply smirks his way through the picture like a slightly subdued mr .
white , but both possess an unmistakable sly charm .
depp usually exhibits a bit of class himself , but regrettably , being in the presence of one of his betters must have left him star - struck , for he is completely hell - bent on mimicking pacino 's well - earned high style .
the consequences are painful to watch .
its no exaggeration to say that the film 's credibility is seriously strained by the sight of the pistone family 's uncanny ability to keep a straight face in front of their breadwinner 's phony brooklyn accent .
perhaps we should take pity on the makers of donnie brasco .
maybe a scrupulous adherence to pinpoint accuracy demanded tiered dialogue and scenarios weakly reminiscent of classic gangster flicks .
if this is indeed the case , surely the makers of donnie brasco could have explored the fascinating possibility that america 's underworld is committed to emulating , albeit in heavily attenuated form , their movie namesakes .
depp could have poignantly played a simple cop who becomes a hideous parody once he is forced to mimic big - screen gangster greats .
who knows what insights into the criminal psyche could have arisen ?
but then again , perhaps donnie brasco is n't so true after all .
N

the original _
babe _ was my favorite movie of 1995 ,
a sleeper hit that transcended its target audience .
being a surprise commercial and critical success , it had no marketing tie - ins , which limited its final take .
thus , babe 2 arrives , with a budget greater than the money made in babe 1 .
plush dolls , vending machines hawking t - shirts , and macy 's thanksgiving day balloons arrive for holiday money - grubbing . too late .
this is a sad review to write , because babe 2 not only does _ not _ live up to the original , but it does n't even come to a fraction of it .
i should n't expect that sequels to modern fairy tales to match their predecessors ' magic , but this film tries too hard , and loses its charm
. consider a driver applying the accelerator with great intensity , unaware that his car is in neutral .
imagine with me , if you will , _ scream _ 's jamie kennedy , explaining the " rules " for sequels like babe 2 .
( 1 ) there must be _ more _ talking animals .
( 2 ) there must be _ more _ slapstick comedy .
( 3 ) there must be _ more _ songs for those mice to sing : that 's cute .
( 4 ) keep the story cards to break up the action : that 's cute too , even though " the pig gets wise " made no sense , given the context of that story partition .
( 5 ) there must be action , however illogical , that will conjure up pivotal scenes from the original : the trademark song that nobody remembers the words to , the baa - ram - ewe secret code , the " that 'll do , pig .
that 'll do .
"
now throw in the limitations : ( a ) james cromwell , now a hot commodity ,
has limited time on the set ( or maybe he did n't approve of the script ) .
( b ) christine cavanaugh , the voice of the original babe , demands more money ( $ 200 , 000 - -paltry considering the $ 80 million budget ) . out .
e .
g .
daily comes in with noticable results .
( c ) george miller , the director , is more well - known for his dark futuristic mad max films and his twilight zone segment , not for kiddie fare ( and no , he did n't direct that _ andre _ film in ' 94 ) .
( d ) the special effects are impressive ,
_ but limited _ .
babe talks , but most of the time from a single shot , repeated over and over again .
( babe is center screen , looking straight into the camera , with a happy smirk -- regardless of whether he 's happy , or scared , or tired ) .
season now with the " original " elements , which , as we will find out , are straight from the screenwriting - is - hell bin .
( i ) change the venue into " the big city " .
this has been praised as wildly original .
excuse me : did n't _ home alone
_ do this several years ago ?
how about the muppets ?
even _ the bad news bears _ travelled to tokyo
.
sorry .
no dice .
side note : to give the city a fairy - tale look , george miller crafted a fantastical fantasyland that merges the landmarks of the world 's great cities , and yes , it _ is _ impressive .
but this too is over - used , repeating the same view over and again on multiple occasions .
and , for the most part , babe _ remains in the hotel _ .
( ii ) given the limitations of cromwell , the human element is taken over by " the boss ' wife " played by magda szubanski .
s - t
- r - e - t - c - h .
she 's not a lead actress - type
, she 's not funny enough in her physical comedy , and she 's simply embarrassing in some of her pratfalls .
( have her arrested falsely on drug charges !
have her accidentally incite a riot with biker dudes and scantily clad babes !
have her bounce around on a bungee cord at a prestigious benefit dinner ! )
i was hoping for a little smirk during these scenes , but i felt sorry for the embarrassment that she put herself in .
i am restraining myself from talking about the dark nature of the film , the violence , the scene where a pit bull dangles from the bridge , head submerged underwater .
even the best fairy tales have a bit of the macabre in it , as the brothers grimm have demonstrated .
no . . .
my problem is with the story , or lack thereof .
_
babe _ is sent out to save the hoggett farm , but once in the city , that story is forgotten .
being a good - natured pig in the midst of the cynicism of his environs is nice , but , other than rescue that aforementioned pit bull , what did babe actually _ do _ ? without giving the ending away , the farm is saved from a left - field quirk that had nothing to do with the pig .
speaking of " pig " , or , " pig - pig - pig - pig - pig ! "
.
the word " pig " is so overused , had they changed it to an expletive , and had the pig be al pacino , i could have been watching _ scarface
_ .
this is screenwriting ? further ,
i can not explain the deep gnaw at my gut in the many scenes where accidents happen to good people in fantastically elaborate setups .
had it been a cartoon , and the victim be an equivalent of elmer fudd , maybe my reaction would have been softened .
but to farmer hoggett ?
his wife ?
an elderly mickey rooney ?
much too irreverent .
( " quick !
splice those singing mice into those scenes ! " ) .
the film is n't a colossal failure .
i did like glenne headley 's schmoozy chimpanzee .
i liked the pink poodle .
the dog on the cart , who momentarily thinks he 's in dog heaven . and a weird looking guy who may have been doubly - cast as an airport employee and a judge .
but most of the time , i was looking down , in boredom , or in embarrassment over the hacked - up script .
them singing mice , those chapter partitions , the proficient acting of the animals-- none of these can compensate for a story .
let me spoil the final scene : farmer hoggett looks at pig , proud , says " that 'll do , pig .
that 'll do .
"
that 's it .
hope i did n't ruin it for you .
but tell me this : what the heck did that pig
_ do _ ?
N

after the press screening of " moulin rouge , " i stood in the lobby of the theater listening to the reactions of my friends and colleagues .
everyone seemed a bit numb , understandable after sitting through a barrage of often - incongruous sounds and images .
a pal of mine simply said that he loved the film and could hardly wait to take his wife to see it .
another enthusiast immediately began to analyze the production , while a woman who flat - out hated the movie gave him the skunk eye .
when one fellow quietly stated " i 've never really been a fan of musicals , " the statement surprised me because ,
even though the story is told almost completely through song , i did n't think of it as a musical .
there is so much going on in " moulin rouge " that " musical " seems too small a term to cover it .
"
moulin rouge " is the kind of creation that sends critics scurrying off to the big tub o ' adjectives in search of proper words to describe the experience .
australian director baz luhrmann , the man behind " strictly ballroom " and " romeo + juliet , " fills the heads of viewers with unique camerawork , opulent imagery and songs ranging from " the sound of music " to " smells like teen spirit .
" sumptuous and beautiful , vulgar and overdone , " moulin rogue " travels through the looking glass while an ethereal stereo loaded with 50 years worth of catchy tunes
operates on the " random " setting .
oh , and it has a story as well .
"
it was 1899 , the summer of love . . .
"
christian ( ewan mcgregor ) is a penniless young writer newly arrived in paris , " to write about truth , beauty , freedom and love , " where he encounters a group of bohemians , led by henri de toulouse - lautrec ( john leguizamo ) .
christian meets satine ( nicole kidman ) , a courtesan from the legendary moulin rogue , and his world transforms from black and white to technicolor .
at once fragile and vivacious , the dazzling red - haired woman sweeps him off his feet without even trying .
christian instantly falls in love with her and satine finds herself smitten with him as well , which is quite a hindrance for someone in her profession .
working with the bohemians and moulin rogue impresario harold zidler ( jim broadbent ) , christian writes an opus modestly named " spectacular spectacular .
" zidler quickly finds a backer , the wealthy duke of monroth ( richard roxburgh ) , but there 's a catch ?
the duke also wants the hand of the fair satine .
as if all that is n't enough , satine has a cough , and while a cough in the real world probably indicates a cold , it rarely turns out to be anything that simple in movie land .
like a teeter - totter , " moulin rogue " moves up and down between the ridiculous and the sublime .
one of the loveliest moments comes as christine and satine commune outdoors at night , becoming part of a defiantly unrealistic parisian cityscape straight from a book of fairy tales .
together they dance , while serenaded by the man in the moon ( alessandro safina provides the vocals ) , apparently transported from the classic georges
m ? li ?
s
silent film to guard the nocturnal sky .
other scenes merely traffic in everything - and - the - kitchen - sink overload .
the cavorting of toulouse - lautrec and his comrades gets strained at times and some of their overt comedy , accompanied by cartoon sound effects , is overly reminiscent of the frenzied farce that sitcoms like " bewitched " beat into the ground .
of course , sensory overload was exactly what baz luhrmann had in mind .
"
we never heard from baz to turn it down , " one of the actors told the los angeles times .
"
it was always , ' more !
more ! '
" the director even sent a note to his cast reading , " i dare you to make me say you 've gone too far .
"
the musical numbers reflect his attitude .
one knockout piece , the " elephant love medley , " incorporates the beatles ' " all you need is love , " u2 's " in the name of love , " dolly parton 's " i will always love you " and elton john and bernie taupin 's " your song .
" need more ?
how about " diamonds are a girl 's best friend " spiced with portions of " material girl ? "
luhrmann 's cast offers a wide variety of approaches that , together , add up to something messy , but often wonderful .
ewan mcgregor is extremely likable as christian , emphasizing the sincerity of the love - struck poet .
mcgregor 's singing voice is robust and adds vigor at just the right moments .
once labeled the " ice queen , " nicole kidman melts that characterization with a sizzling , yet tender , performance .
she handles the songs adroitly , although her voice sounds a bit thin in the upper range .
veteran character actor jim broadbent is suitably larger than life as ringmaster zidler ?
wait until you see him perform " like a virgin .
" as the buffoonish duke , richard roxburgh proves to be the film 's weakest link , although i 'm sure he was simply following instructions .
i suspect " moulin rogue " will be one of those love - it - or - hate - it films .
while i did n't completely love it ,
i most certainly liked it a lot .
over the course of a year , i see well over 300 movies , and most of them look like xeroxes of each other .
" moulin rogue " is an original , and an original , even a flawed one , is a thing to be cherished .

P