instruction:
In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
question:
i do n't know what movie the critics saw , but it was n't this one .
the popular consensus among newspaper critics was that this movie is unfunny and dreadfully boring .
in my personal opinion , they could n't be more wrong . if you were expecting airplane !
-like laughs and agatha christie - intense mystery , then yes , this movie would be a disappointment .
however , if you 're just looking for an enjoyable movie and a good time , this is one to see
.
honest , it is .
this story is about a 4th network , wbn , taking to america 's airwaves in 1939 .
penny henderson ( mary stuart masterson ) , the station owner 's secretary , must deal with her overbearing boss , an unimpressed sponsor and writers ready to quite on a moment 's notice , partly due to the fact that they have n't been paid in weeks .
among the mayhem , she must also deal with her soon - to - be ex - husband , roger ( brian benben ) who desperately wants her back .
unfortunately , her problems only get worse as the night goes on and the body count rises without explanation .
while trying to woo penny back , roger must deal with the police and try to find the killer that lurks at wbn .
mary stuart masterson
does well in her role as penny ( i 'm trying to be unbiased so i wo n't tell you how amazing she looked ) , although brian benben gets most of the screen time .
along with the two leads , are several recognizable faces , including corbin bernsen ( l . a . law ) , michael mckean ( laverne & shirley ) and bobcat goldthwait .
the special effects are amazing , and fooled me ( which some may argue is n't very difficult to do ) in many scenes .
although the movie sometimes goes overboard with the physical comedy , it more than makes up for those mistakes throughout the movie .
overall , i gave it , or an , depending on what system you use .
some comments collected from friends :
answer:
P


question:
it 's tough to be an aspiring superhero in champion city .
just ask mr .
furious ( ben stiller ) , the blue raja ( hank azaria ) , and the shoveler ( william h . macy ) .
they 're trying to break into the biz , but captain amazing ( greg kinnear ) , the city 's hero numero uno , hogs all the action .
the good captain has his own problems .
because he 's all but eliminated crime , amazing 's endorsement deals are falling through .
the public craves a major slugfest , so amazing engineers the parole of his one - time arch enemy casanova frankenstein ( geoffrey rush ) .
frankenstein succeeds beyond expectations ; he captures capt .
amazing before setting out on his scheme to destroy the city .
so , no one is left to save the day but our would - be superheroes , but their abilities are more " little league " than " justice league .
"
the raja hurls forks at foes , the shoveler hits them with a shovel , and mr .
furious just yells at people ( stiller is doing essentially the same character he played in a guest appearance on " friends " ) .
after a painful first strike , the guys hold auditions for teammates and add the bowler ( janeane garofalo ) , who carries her dead father 's skull in her bowling ball ; invisible boy ( kel mitchell ) , who can only use his powers when no one is looking at him ; the spleen ( paul reubens ) , who blows devastating winds from his rear ; and the sphinx ( wes studi ) , a mysterious figure who will teach them to fight .
" mystery men " boasts one of the most talented and eclectic casts ever assembled .
in addition to those already mentioned , the credits include lena olin as frankenstein 's evil shrink , comedian eddie izzard and the fugees ' prakazrel michel as disco - themed thugs , singer tom waits as an inventor of superhero weapons , artie lange ( from " mad tv " ) as another thug , claire forlani ( from " meet joe black " ) as a waitress mr .
furious is pursuing , louise lasser ( from " mary hartman , mary hartman " ) as the blue raja 's mother , and actor / magician ricky jay as capt .
amazing 's manager .
the cast includes four oscar - nominated actors !
when i saw the list of players early last year , i figured the result would be a can't - miss comedy .
yet , i must report disappointment .
the script is probably the worst of 1999 .
nearly every joke misfires .
the stabs at comic books are too obvious to be funny .
( for example , no one can recognize capt .
amazing in his secret identity because he 's wearing glasses . )
the fart jokes surrounding the spleen are surprisingly the only gags that work .
the cast tries hard , especially hank azaria , whose character adopts an effete british accent while in costume , but the script is just too lame to run .
answer:
N


question:
here is a film that is so unexpected , so scary , and so original that it caught me off guard and threw me for a loop .
okay , it is n't quite original ,
considering it is a sequel to the box office hit species , but
it certainly is smart .
most films of this genre are reminiscent of those cheesy b - horror films from the 50s and 60s , and some even become them .
however , as we learned with the 1995 small - budget horror / sci - fi film , sometimes expectations can be shattered .
a lot of criticism has gone against this film ( from what i have read so far , anyway -- yep , all two reviews ) , and it makes me wonder why these types of films are automatically dismissed as gory , laughable pieces of trash .
but , the thing is , it is n't .
it 's well made , well acted , and quite intelligent .
i can see most of the critics now complaining about the level of gore or the level of sexuality in the film .
but the species series is n't about the lack of these elements .
it 's about how much it can get into one film .
and yet , behind it all , it has this basic premise that allows it to get away with doing so .
species ii begins in the present day , though it seems to be an alternate universe .
many films ( especially sci - fi ones ) create similar timelines as our realistic one , but change it to fit the film 's needs .
species ii begins with the arrival of an american spacecraft , the excursion , landing on the surface of mars .
aboard is patrick ross ( justin lazard ) , a very bright and very handsome astronaut .
patrick is the son of senator ross ( james cromwell ) , who just wants patrick to succeed .
well , it would seem that he has succeeded .
landing on the surface of mars , he is the first human being to ever do so .
of course , he is n't the first ever .
about a billion years ago , an alien species supposedly landed on mars and destroyed the perfect living conditions that were able to sustain life .
now , of course , the red planet is cold and rocky .
no life lives on it .
that is , no visible life .
patrick , upon leaving the spacecraft and landing on the red soil , collects samples from the ground .
he takes them aboard , and puts them in storage .
unfortunately , one of the samples contains a form of life , and it gets loose when it is heated aboard the ship .
just prior to heading back to earth , this life form creeps along the floor and inhabits the earthlings .
they pass out for approximately seven minutes , and then shrug it off as nothing , because they ca n't even remember .
they blame it on a technical malfunction .
back on earth , patrick begins to have strong urges to mate with as many women as possible .
as we know from the original , this is because the alien wants to breed and take over the planet .
however , the children that are bred are half - human , as their father is .
patrick is really looking for another alien to breed with , and he finds it in eve ( natasha henstridge ) .
eve was cloned from dna taken from sil , the original alien .
however , this time around , most of her " alien " urges have been either decreased dramatically , or lie dormant .
the project is led by dr .
laura baker ( marg helgenberger , reprising her role from species ) , and her motives seem respectable .
since she was involved with the original alien attack , she wants to learn how to stop the alien should it come again .
and it has .
story - wise
, species ii is much stronger than its predecessor , but it is also much stronger than , say , aliens
( hey , i love the film , but you ca n't tell me it was strong on story ) .
what surprised me the most with this film was the incorporation of historical facts into the screenplay .
in my search for extraterrestrial intelligence course in college , we learned about a piece of rock from mars which landed in one of the poles .
this piece of rock contained fossils which may have been proof of life on mars ( later , it was proven that it was not a living creature that created it ) .
the script uses this effectively , but also manages to provide a well - balanced plot .
beginning with the first man on mars ( something i have always dreamed of seeing ) , i was hoping that the film would turn this element into a useful starting point for the movie .
and it does it quite well .
the characters are all smart , and they know what to do and what not to do .
the only character that seems a little cliched is the general ( george dzundza ) , and yet
, he remains logical in everything he does .
there are the obvious flaws of course , mostly lying in the technical aspects .
the special effects are only mediocre , and some are just plain bad .
but for the most part , they remain believable
( i even noticed a homage to the alien series when the mothers gave birth to alien children ) .
also , the most realistic ones are usually the goriest , ranging from people being torn open , or someone 's head being blown off .
however , some plot elements also may elicit laughs from the audience , including a menage a troi that is all but necessary .
many people dislike the species series because all it is is an excuse for sex , nudity , and gory violence .
however , i tend to disagree .
what were the alien films about ?
and , if an alien species ever did come to earth , and their sole purpose was to destroy us , would n't you mate as quickly as possible with as many people as possible ?
my only gripe with this is during the scene where patrick goes searching for a mate in a grocery store .
i did n't realize that aliens were that picky on choosing women to mate with
( i just assume it is his part - human side looking for the most beautiful one ) .
the acting is quite good for this kind of film .
it is a vast improvement over the first film , at least .
the acting is the key element to this film : if it was bad , it would have lowered itself into camp ; if it was good , it would have asked for comparison with films like aliens .
okay ,
so it is n't that good .
george dzundza is probably the most obvious mistake on casting , as his over - the - top impersonation of a general makes him annoying and distracting .
natasha henstridge is limited this time around , as she is usually enclosed in a cage .
however , she does manage a very impressive performance with this aspect hindering any of her talent .
oh yeah ,
and she 's quite fun to just plain watch .
marg helgenberger is immensely better this time around , and her performance is probably the best in this film .
michael madsen is so - so , but he is n't annoying ,
and he soon becomes rather appealing
( with his nice cynic personality ) .
james cromwell has a small part , but he makes it much better than what it could have been with a more incapable actor .
as i say , any film with james cromwell dramatically increases in likeability .
mykelti williamson gives an enjoyable performance , and he gives the film a more down - to - earth feel .
and , of course , justin lazard .
lazard has so far been ridiculed for his performance ,
but i think he is effective .
sure , he is wooden , but is n't that what his character is like ?
the moment when he touches the glass separating henstridge from him was extremely well done , due to the couple 's acting .
species ii is rated r for strong sexuality , sci - fi violence / gore and language .
this is definitely an r rated film that young kids should not see .
more than likely , they would probably have nightmares and never have sex for the rest of their lives .
hell , i do n't even know if i will .
what is sure to be a critically lambasted film turns out to be the surprise film of the year .
i probably wo n't see another film where i was expecting so little and got so much for quite a while .
director peter medak has crafted a very suspenseful , and sometimes very scary movie out of a mediocre series .
medak has also mastered the wonderful " jump !
" moments , and has probably the second scariest moment i have ever seen on film ( scream still has the first ) .
strong acting , smart dialogue , intelligent plotting , and a sure - handed director , species ii is exactly what these films should be : entertaining .
answer:

P