instruction:
In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
question:
capsule : earthy , experimental , difficult , shockingly frank ( even for 1997 ! ) , and ultimately refreshing story of a black man on the run from the cops .
the first few minutes of sweet sweetback 's baad asssss song ( yes , i checked --
that 's the correct number of ss )
are without dialogue , just eerie montages of sounds .
a young boy , obviously malnourished , is taken in and fed up by several loving mother - surrogate figures .
then one of them takes the boy to bed for a sexual initation ( underneath the title credits ) that 's far more confrontatory and shocking than any ten basic instincts -- probably because it has the directness and clumsiness of real life , something we 're not used to seeing on screen .
this is one tough movie to swallow , no matter who you are , but that probably reflects more on how pallid and unchallenging movies have gotten lately .
( i suspect the sex scenes in movies like el topo and salo would probably melt the synapses of most modern audiences . )
the plot is simple but not simpleminded .
sweetback , hassled by two white cops who are apparently just looking for an excuse to beat up on a black man , breaks his bonds and runs like hell .
along the way he moves through a good many of the kinds of environments that we are only just now being seen in a more serious light in the movies -- or at all , for that matter : the slums , the missions , the ghetto .
in other , lesser , movies , sweetback would be machine - gunning everything in sight and the end credits would roll over a pile of bodies ; in this one , we get taken on a kind of a tour of the depressing and anarchic world that sweetback takes for granted .
ssbas first appeared in 1971 and was promptly rated x ( " by an all - white jury " , as director melvin van peebles crowed in his legendary ad campaigns ) , and it 's hardly surprising why .
there 's a good deal of sex in the movie , but it 's handled in a way that 's unsettlingly frank -- a frankness that spills over into the rest of the movie .
in one scene , sweetback visits a friend 's house in the hope of getting sanctuary there , and the other man chats him up while on the toilet .
we 're not used to coming this close to people in real life , let alone in the movies -- especially not people who are not made out to be glamorous .
the movie is also full of experimental stylistics that are relatively unused today , but probably because of that seem curiously fresh and new in van peebles ' hands .
one scene , in which a man is interrogated by the cops , is loaded full of menacing energy as they fire off a gun inches from his ears , and suggest his deafness through a cleverly edited soundtrack .
another note : ssbas is not so much anti - white ( that would be too easy ) as anti - authority , and as the movie goes on to demonstrate , authority exists in many forms -- governments , churches , and even the paranoid inside of one 's own mind .
ssbas is ultimately about thirsting for freedom -- and it looks like we could use a little more of that in our movie diet , god knows .
answer:
P


question:
"
you damn dirty apes !
"
that 's just one of the inadvertenty hilarious lines from planet of the apes that 's taken on a comedic context over time .
no one back then seemed to realize how over - the- top charlton heston 's acting style was , but it shows now , particularly in this " mystery science theater 3000 " wannabe
that was taken for a film masterpiece in its time , actually winning one oscar ( for makeup , no less ) and being nominated for a couple others .
it also spawned multiple sequels like beneath the planet of the apes , escape from the planet of the apes , return of the planet of the apes , beneath the escape from the return of the planet of the apes , planet of the apes : the next generation , police academy of the apes . . .
the list goes on .
heston is an american astronaut who spends a few thousand light years in space with his three companions and ends up on a planet not too dissimilar from earth .
the thing is , on this planet humans ca n't talk or think and the guys in the gorilla masks are the dominant species .
heston 's companions are killed or turned into vegetables by the apon is imprisoned .
he surprises them all with his gift of speech , making two primate scientists ( roddy mcdowall and kim hunter ) believe heston is the missing link between ape and man .
believe me , we movie critics have been thinking the same thing for years .
when the two apes present the idea before a judicial counsel ( the head ape being shakespearean actor maurice evans ) , it is received as heresy , for all good monkeys know
god " created ape in his image .
"
but heston has already seen a cave that contains evidence that humans were originally the dominant species , before apes ever gained the ability to speak and run for president .
and he takes them there , holding up a baby doll and yelling , " if humans could n't speak , then how do you account for this talking doll ? ! " and how do you account for your acting ability , mr .
heston ?
the absolute most laughable scene comes with the movie 's surprise conclusion .
i wo n't reveal the details except to say it involves heston falling to his knees on a beach and yelling " god
damn you all to hell !
" several times in succession .
the movie is atrocious and should only be viewed by those members of society who like to watch bad movies and laugh at them .
what makes planet of the apes even more amusing is that it was supposed to function as some sort of social irony , a condemnation of fundamentals who reject the theories of evolution .
but let me tell you , if darwin could see the ape masks and hear the rotten dialogue exchanges ( heston [ to female ape ]
: may i kiss you before i go ?
ape :
but . . . you 're so . . .
ugly . ) , he 'd convert to creationism on the spot .
luckily for us , science - fiction movies have evolved over time to the point at which some of them are actually good .
answer:
N


question:
hedwig ( john cameron mitchell ) was born a boy named hansel in east berlin .
as a teen seeking his " other half , " he reluctantly agrees to a sex change operation in order to marry american g. i. luther ( maurice dean wint ) .
the operation , performed by a hack surgeon , is botched , and the " angry inch " is all that 's left .
now a " she " , hedwig comes to america , is abandoned by luther , forms a rock band and falls for her 17-year old lover / prot ?
g ?
, tommy , only to be rejected by him later , too .
she and her band , the angry inch , shadows the now - famous tommy gnosis across the us ( for revenge ? ) , but hedwig is really in search of her lost other half in " hedwig and the angry inch .
"
first time helmer john cameron mitchell , along with composer / lyricist stephen trask , created and starred in their acclaimed off - broadway production that has become the movie . and quite a movie
it is in its eclectic variety of songs , outrageous costumes , sets and makeup and , especially , a riveting performance by mitchell as the title character .
mitchell and trask have reinvented the movie musical and couple it with the underlying story of just whom hedwig is and what she is looking for .
i am , by far , not a big fan of musicals .
sure , there are exceptions , like bob fosse 's " all that jazz " and " cabaret , " but , for the most part , they are just not my cup of tea .
"
hedwig and the angry inch " is an exception , though , with its combination of humor , wit and a collection of tunes that covers musical styles ranging from " the rocky horror picture show " and meatloaf to david bowie to the sex pistols .
the original songs , by stephen trask ( also appearing as one of the members of the band the angry inch ) , are full of energy and variety and , even though it 's not my kind of music , i found every one entertaining and fun .
the audience i saw " hedwig " with thought so , too .
the main attraction to this one - man / woman show is the presence of its star .
john cameron mitchell gives a solid , sometimes fun , sometimes angry performance as a person searching for self - enlightenment and love .
as a young boy growing up in east berlin , hansel is abused by his g. i. father and raised by his german mother in a tiny flat so small that " mother would make me play in the oven " where he listened to pop music on armed forces radio .
later , as a young man , he meets luther ,
another g. i.
and is swept off of his feet .
the ensuing angry inch incident comes soon after .
flash forward to a trailer park in junction city , kansas , and luther is leaving hedwig for another boy .
frustrated and broke , she takes on baby - sitting and the odd " job " to make ends meet .
she also forms a band with four korean housewives and the musical talent of hedwig is born .
she meets , falls for and loses young tommy , who steals her songs and goes off to become a rock sensation .
jealous and angry , hedwig and her new band begins a campaign to shadow tommy 's tours and , with the help of her manager , phyllis stein ( andrea martin ) , is trying get a law suit going against the star for stealing her songs .
hedwig and the angry inch get gigs , not coincidentally , at a chain of seafood restaurants that just happen to be next to the forums where tommy gnosis is playing .
things finally come to a head , so to speak , in new york city .
the popularity of the off - broadway musical and its offshoots have garnered a ready - made audience base for " hedwig .
"
the wit , humor , music and search for identity has great appeal to young adults , but the charismatic presence of mitchell makes this a cut above what it could have been .
it is this one - man / woman show that casts its spotlight on its " internationally ignored " rock star and mitchell is outstanding in the role .
there is n't a lot going on with other characters , though there are amusing little sidebars , like hedwig 's backup singer / lover , yitzak ( miriam shor ) , deciding to break away from the band to join a polynesian road show of " rent " as a puerto rican drag queen .
the low budget that the moviemakers have for the production belies the quality of the film .
attention to details
- hedwig 's costumes and outrageous " cabaret " -like makeup ; the seedy trailer park setting ; and , the kitschy seafood restaurants - are loads of fun to watch and lend the appropriate air to the proceeds , all on what has to be a beer budget .
"
hedwig and the angry inch " may not be for everybody , but the energy of the effort , the songs , the imaginative sets and costumes and a fast steady pace make it a pleasure to watch .
if you 're a fan of contemporary , edgy music , it is an even bigger draw .
i give it a b+ .
answer:

P