In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
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Question: when walt disney pictures announced a live - action feature based on the ' 60s cartoon series of " mr . magoo , " special interests groups representing the vision - impaired let out a cry of dismay .
mr .
magoo , they claimed , would be an insult to the men and women they represented .
in fact , they were wrong .
mr .
magoo is not just an insult to the blind and near - blind ,
it 's an insult to every human being who has the misfortune to suffer through this dreadfully unfunny , 90 minute atrocity .
it 's stating the obvious to remark that disney appears to have run out of original ideas
.
look at their roster of 1996 and 1997 releases , and you 'll see a shocking list of retreads , including 101 dalmatians , george of the jungle , jungle2jungle , that darn cat ! , flubber , and now mr . magoo .
the best of these ( george of the jungle ) was mildly entertaining .
the worst , mr . magoo ,
exposes just how painful a bad movie experience can be .
the first problem with mr .
magoo is the script .
despite the collaboration of naked gun scribe pat proft , mr . magoo is comically barren .
from beginning to end , there 's not a laugh to be found .
every attempt at humor -- and there are lots of them -- falls flat with an audible thud .
you 'd think that out of the dozens of gags jammed into this film , at least a few would work , but that 's not the case .
i 've had more laughs during ingmar bergman pictures .
then there 's leslie nielsen , who looks , sounds , and acts absolutely nothing like the animated character ( memorably voiced by jim backus ) .
in the past , nielsen has proven his comic aptitude with roles in movies like airplane and the naked gun .
lately , however , he has been getting lazy , taking parts in the likes of dracula : dead and loving it , spy hard , and mr . magoo .
even if nielsen was in top form , it would take an incredible stretch of imagination to see him as magoo ( especially since we 're reminded of the original by the short cartoon segments that open and close the film ) , but " top form " is not a phrase i would use to describe his performance here .
this is strictly a take - the - money - and- run operation .
the story , which , like many disney stories , can be described in one long sentence : magoo is the only witness to the theft of a rare jewel from a museum , and , as he is trying to apprehend the thieves on his own , the police mistake him for the robber .
the cops are played by ernie hudson and stephen tobolowsky , who take their lumps early and often .
the bad guys are kelly lynch ( who does a lot of martial arts - type kicking ) , nick chinlund , and malcolm mcdowell ( who has the good sense to look embarrassed ) .
matt keeslar portrays one of magoo 's sidekicks -- his nephew , waldo .
the bumbling man 's other , more interesting companion is a dog named angus .
most of mr .
magoo 's humor comes in the form of failed slapstick .
the cartoon violence level in this film does n't approach that of home alone 3 or flubber , but it 's still pretty acute , with characters getting hit on the head with sledgehammers and knocked off snowy precipices .
there 's a non - violent bit with magoo preparing a chicken dinner that could have been funny if it was handled better , but , compared to mr .
bean 's recent , similar misadventure , it does n't hold up well .
then there is the series of lame jokes that result from magoo 's near blindness , such as the occasion when he mistakes a wild animal for a baby .
i 'm willing to cut director stanley tong a little slack .
tong , a hong kong film maker trying to break into the hollywood market , has helmed several jackie chan movies , including first strike , rumble in the bronx , and supercop .
his chief talent , that of choreographing martial arts fights , is wasted here ( despite some high kicking by kelly lynch ) .
like john woo ( hard target ) and ringo lam ( maximum risk ) before him , it appears that tong has been consigned to the purgatory of making a bad movie as his entry into the american mainstream .
it is worth noting that , unlike many disney films which hold a perverse appeal for the under-10 crowd while driving parents to distraction , mr . magoo appears to bore viewers of all ages .
the screening i attended was wall - to - wall kids , and , for the most part ,
they did n't seem to be enjoying themselves .
when the film was over , i asked one little girl what she thought of it .
her pained expression confirmed the adage that a picture can indeed be worth a thousand words .
mr .
magoo is the kind of movie that should be rejected by any potential viewer
, sight unseen .

Answer: N


Question: in the opening shot of midnight cowboy , we see a close - up of a blank movie screen at a drive - in .
we hear in the soundtrack human cries and the stomping of horses ' hooves .
without an image projected onto the screen , the audience unerringly identifies the familiar sound of cowboys chasing indians and can spontaneously fill in the blank screen with images of old westerns in our mind 's eye .
even without having seen a cowboys and indians movie , somehow the cliched images of them seem to have found their way into our mental schema .
but do cowboys really exist , or
are they merely hollywood images personified by john wayne and gary cooper ?
exploring this theme , director john schlesinger uses the idea of the cowboy as a metaphor for the american dream , an equally cliched yet ambiguous concept .
is the ease at which salvation and success can be attained in america a hallmark of its experience or an urban legend ?
midnight cowboy suggests that the american dream , like image of the cowboy , is merely a myth .
as joe buck migrates from place to place , he finds neither redemption nor reward in his attempt to create a life for himself , only further degeneration .
during the opening credits , joe walks past an abandoned theater whose decrepit marquee reads ` john wayne : the alamo . '
as joe is on the bus listening to a radio talk show , a lady on the air describes her ideal man as ` gary cooper ?
but he 's dead . '
a troubled expression comes across joe 's face , as he wonders where have all the cowboys gone .
having adopted the image of a cowboy since youth , joe now finds himself deserted by the persona he tried to embody .
joe 's persistence in playing the act of the cowboy serves as an analogue to his american dream .
he romanticizes about making it in the big city , but his dreams will desert him as he is forced to compromise his ideals for sustenance .
by the end of midnight cowboy , joe buck loses everything and gains nothing .
just as the audience can picture cowboys chasing indians on a blank screen , we can also conjure up scenes from pretty woman as paradigms of american redemption and success .
but how realistic are these ideals ?
joe had raped and been raped in texas .
the scars of his troubled past prompt him to migrate to new york , but he does not know that his aspirations to be a cowboy hero will fail him there just as they had in texas .
alongside the dream of success is the dream of salvation .
the ability to pack up one 's belongings and start anew seems to be an exclusive american convention .
schlesinger provides us with strong hints as to joe 's abusive and abused past with flashbacks of improper relationships with crazy anne and granny .
we understand that joe adopts the fa ?
ade of a cowboy , a symbol of virility and gallantry , as an attempt to neutralize his shame .
he runs from his past only to be sexually defiled this time by his homosexual experiences in new york .
in the scene at the diner which foreshadows joe 's encounter with the gay student , joe buck spills ketchup on himself .
standing up , we see the ketchup has made a red stain running from the crotch of his pants down his thigh .
schlesinger visually depicts the degeneration of joe 's virility by eliciting an image of bleeding genitals , signifying emasculation .
beyond the symbol of castration , the scene may also connote the bleeding of a virgin 's first sexual encounter , a reference to joe 's first homosexual liaison .
the fact that the idea of a bleeding virgin is relegated only to females furthers the imagery of joe 's emasculation .
it is ironic that joe has trouble prospecting for female clients , but effortlessly attracts men .
joe believes his broncobuster getup is emblematic of his masculinity ; new yorkers see his ensemble as camp and ` faggot stuff . '
there are two predominant images of new york .
the first is that new york is the rich , cosmopolitan city where hope and opportunity are symbolized by the tall skyscrapers and the statue of liberty .
the other new york is travis bickle 's new york , a seedy , corruptive hell on earth .
joe envisions new york as the former , but is presented with the latter .
mirroring the irony in which joe envisions his cowboy attire as masculine , he mistakenly buys into the fable that new york is filled with lonely women neglected by gay men .
joe thinks he is performing a great service for new york , but the city rapes him of his pride and possessions .
the people steal joe 's money , the landlord confiscates his luggage , and the homosexuals rob him of his dignity .
what has become of joe 's american dream ?
schlesinger responds to this question with the scene at the party .
joe gets invited to a shindig of sorts and at the gathering is exposed to a dizzying array of food , drugs , and sex .
at the party , all of joe and ratzo 's desires are made flesh ; joe flirts successfully with women and ratzo loads up on free salami .
contrasting joe 's daily struggles , shots of warhol 's crew display wanton indulgence .
there is an irreverence in the partygoers ' attitude ; we see a shot of a woman kowtowing to nothing in particular , orgies breaking out in the periphery , and drugs passed around like party favors .
the party makes a mockery of joe ' s ideals .
joe believed that hard work and persistence were the elements for success in america ; scenes of the party and his rendezvous with shirley suggest that it is the idle who profit from joe 's toils .
the american dream , schlesinger suggests , is merely a proletarian fantasy , for those who are content no longer dream , but become indolent .
as joe heads to miami , all that was significant of the cowboy image has left him .
his masculinity is compromised and his morality is relinquished .
for joe , nothing is left of the cowboy hero and commensurately , he surrenders the identity .
tossing his boots into the garbage , he returns to the bus for the last leg of his journey to miami .
the final shot of midnight cowboy shows joe inside the bus , more introspective , taking only a few glances outside the window .
instead of the frequent pov shots of joe excitedly looking out of the bus on his way to new york , schlesinger sets up this final shot from the exterior of the bus looking in through the window at joe .
reflections of the palm trees ratzo so raved about run across the bus ' window with joe hardly taking notice .
the scenery of miami no longer exacts the same excitement from joe as before .
the world seems smaller to joe now ; the termination of his journey coincides with the termination of his american dream .
no longer does joe aspire to be the enterprising gigolo ; he resolves to return to a normal job and resign to basic means .
midnight cowboy presents two familiar incarnations of the american dream .
there is the frontier fantasy that if you are brave enough to repel a few indians , you can set up a ranch out west and raise a beautiful family .
then there is the jay gatsby dream that a man of humble stock , with perseverance , can make a fortune in the big city .
joe 's attempt to realize these dreams robs him of his innocence in texas and morality in new york .
during his search for an intangible paradise , joe ends up raping a girl and killing a man .
an allegory of chasing the promise of the american dream , joe
buck 's progressive
moral atrophy is a warning against the pursuit of illusory icons .

Answer: P


Question: when quentin tarantino made " pulp fiction " , he was not only making the greatest film of the 90s ; he was also making what i believe to be the most influential movie of all time .
but before you send me hate - mail for not giving that title to " citizen kane " , hear me out .
much like " citizen kane " , " pulp fiction " has changed movie making forever .
but i think the latter has had a tad more impact .
" pulp fiction " has actually ushered in a new era of film making .
it has altered the way films will be viewed .
" fiction " has spawned so many imitations , i 've lost count .
sure , some have been excellent ( " bound " and " the usual suspects " spring immediately to mind ) , but any serious movie - goer recognizes " pulp fiction " as the original neo - noir of
the 90s . in this review , i hope to change all the people 's minds who have criticized it for it 's excessive profanity and violence ( which , by the way , is n't really that graphic ) .
the most brilliant aspect of tarantino 's masterpiece is the screenplay .
it is filled with so much classic dialogue ( the " quarter pounder with cheese " speech will go down in history ) , it should be required reading for any film student , if it is n't already .
the story ( told in unorthodox non - linear format ) centers around three main episodes , all of which eventually intertwine .
the first , titled " vincent vega and marcellus wallace 's wife " , deals with a very loaded john travolta ( i forgot to mention the cool heroin shoot - up sequence ) taking mia wallace ( a star - making performance by uma thurman ) , his bosses wife , out on a date to a cool 50s restaurant called jack rabbit slim 's .
they talk for a while ( with the occasional " uncomfortable silence " ) , mostly about a guy called tony rocky horror .
after giving marcellus ' new bride a foot massage , he was thrown off a building and into a greenhouse , giving him a " speech impediment " .
they also partake in a cool dance contest and end up twisting to the chuck berry classic " you never can tell " .
i wo n't reveal the rest of the story , but i 'll definitely say that it turns out to be a real bummer of a night , despite the cool trophy they win .
the second story ( the least of the three but still four stars ) stars bruce willis ( proving he can play someone other than john mcclain in the " die hard " flicks ) as boxer butch coolidge .
previously in the film ( like i said , it 's told in non - linear form ) , he had made a deal with marcellus wallace that he would take a fall in a match .
as it turns out , he not only does n't take the fall , but he ends up actually killing his opponent .
he takes a cab to his half - witted girlfriend 's apartment , and to make a long story short , ends up going back to his own place to retrieve a gold watch , sort of a family heirloom explained by christopher walken in a hilarious flash - back sequence .
on his way home , he bumps into ( literally ) marcellus .
the two winde up prisoner to two hillbilly sex murderers , which results in the infamous " gimp " scene , which is very reminicent of the " squeal like a pig !
" scene from " deliverance " .
the last ( and best , in my opinion ) of the episodes features john travolta ( again ) and samuel l . jackson ( in the best performance of any supporting actor ever )
as two slightly off - kilter hitmen trying to rid themselves of a bloody car .
they seek help with a friend of jackson 's ( played by the q - man himself ) , desperately in need of a stress ball .
they end up calling a " cleaner " of sorts , played by the god among men harvey keitel , to help them out .
in the end , the story brilliantly loops around itself , actually ending where it began .
if you have n't already seen the film ( or even if you have , for that matter ) , i suggest you invest your money in a copy of the letterbox collectors edition .
it features two previously unreleased scenes and the original film restored how it was originally meant to be seen .
earlier today , i bought this version and watched it a few hours ago .
what the pan - and - scan did to this movie is inexcusable .
that version cut out , like , half the movie .
what i have missed in the past years of viewing this flick is amazing .
for instance , when travolta and jackson are in the apartment near the end , the widescreen version allows you to see that several things on the walls make crosses .
this might help explain the divine intervention that takes place .
just a theory . . .
one of the things that pisses people off so much about this movie is that tarantino borrowed alot of scenes from other movies ( i .
e .
" psycho " " kiss me deadly " , " deliverance " , etc . ) .
but why should n't he ?
it 's not like he out - right and blatantly stole .
give the guy a break .
in case you have n't already noticed , i believe " pulp fiction " is a supremely excellent film and one of the best of all time
( up there with such greats as " casablanca " and " the godfather " ) .
trust me ,
you will not see a better film come out of the 90s .
and besides , it 's one hell of a ride .
note :
if anyone knows how i could get a " bad motherfucker " wallet , please e - mail me .
any help would be greatly appreciated .

Answer:
P