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

[Q]: "
the endurance : shackleton 's legendary antarctic expedition " in 1914 , as the great war descended upon europe , sir ernest shackleton began his third expedition to antarctica , this time to be the first to cross the ice - bound continent on foot .
28 men set sail on the brigantine endurance and they would not be heard from again for nearly two years .
director george butler , using film footage and photographs from the historic journey , tells their remarkable story in " the endurance : shackleton 's legendary antarctic expedition .
"
the expedition started out as a merely incredibly difficult quest to traverse , on foot , the vast wasteland of antarctica .
as the intrepid ship and crew entered the weddell sea , the entry to the cold , cruel continent , they did not plan on the dense pack ice bringing the voyage to an abrupt halt as the endurance became trapped within sight of land .
for months the ice thickened and compressed until the ship was crushed , stranding the men on the flow , propelling them away from their goal and , eventually , into their lifeboats for safety .
shackleton , faced with a desolate situation , made the decision to lead the three tiny boats to the relative safety of uninhabited elephant island .
once on this " safe " haven , shackleton next turned his sights to saving his crew and returning them to civilization .
he and five of his men leave the island in an open boat to make the 800 mile journey on the world 's roughest sea to get help from the nearest inhabited island of south georgia .
miraculously , the six land , after 17 days at sea , on the uninhabited side of the target island and are forced to trek across treacherous , snow covered mountains , covering 22 miles in just 36 hours .
this ordeal is followed by several attempts by shackleton to get back to elephant island to rescue the remaining crewmen .
in the end , he is successful and everyone made it back home alive , only to be swallowed up by the ravages of the war .
the title of this fascinating documentary , " the endurance , " is more than just the name of ship that carried the crew of brave men to the edge of the world .
it is also the description of the stamina and ability of every one of the men who survived 19-months of the toughest , most grueling conditions on the face of the earth .
the name of the film is a tribute to every member of the crew and to the ship that sheltered them for many month of frigid antarctic weather .
it also describes the focused mental state of shackleton who never gave up on himself or his men .
with astonishing foresight , shackleton brought australian cinematographer and photographer frank hurley along on the journey .
the filmed footage and photos are remarkable as they capture the ordeal of the men , day to day life , the affection all felt for their loyal sled dogs , the slow destruction of the endurance and the preparations to get off of the pack ice flow .
after the sinking of the ship , the remaining film stock , with the exception of a still camera and three rolls of film , had to be discarded so the continuing chronicle of the incredible journey gets less photo documentation as the ordeal plods on .
considering hurley was using relatively primitive photo technology in one of the world 's harshest environments and captured so much on film is a feat unto itself .
( hurley created his own account of the shackleton expedition in his 1919 documentary , " south , " an interesting companion piece for " the endurance .
"
if shackleton 's original idea , document his trek across the frigid southern continent , had been successful , it would have been considered a super human feat .
as you watch the story of " the endurance " unfold , you realize that the disastrous obstacles the sir ernest and his men faced and overcame were even greater accomplishments than the first intent .
( shackleton 's amazing 800-mile journey in an open boat is fodder for a rousing adventure story all by itself . )
there are a couple of minor nitpicks with this fine work , though .
actor liam neeson narrates the story , but his voice is too soft spoken and lilting for the dramatic tale .
the nature of the ordeal also concentrates most of the visual material , both film and photo , in the documentary 's first half .
as the crew 's adventure takes more drastic paths , hurley had less and less film stock available to chronicle the awesome events .
helmer butler and his team fill in the blanks , but the treasure of " the endurance , " its film footage , is mostly relegated to the early months of the expedition .
i ca n't think of a true - life adventure that shows , better , the triumph of man over seemingly insurmountable odds .
"
the endurance , " based on caroline alexander 's book , is an eye - opening documentary that goes where few men have gone before and , even more remarkably , all 28 survivors lived to tell about it .
i give it a b+ .
[A]: P


[Q]: note : some may consider portions of the following text to be spoilers . be forewarned .
on december 20 , 1996 , amidst all the year - end oscar bait releases from the major studios , miramax 's genre label dimension films quietly released a sly little ensemble slasher flick titled scream .
although the teen horror market had been given up for all - but - dead in recent years , the film shocked industry observers by scoring consistently high box office returns , eventually topping $ 100 million domestic and becoming one of the most successful films of its type in history , while delighting audiences by finally presenting a set of knowing slasher flick protagonists who were aware of the all the standard cliches associated with the genre .
the sleeper success of scream sent shockwaves through the industry -- suddenly , everybody was looking for hip , inexpensive fright films that might be able to reap similar fortunes .
the strategy of casting young tv stars to draw the youth demographic was given a boost .
scream director wes craven , previously best known as the creator of new line 's a nightmare on elm street film series , was thrust back into the limelight .
and scream 's rookie scribe , kevin williamson , burst onto the film scene in stunning fashion .
it 's hard to understate this last point .
mr .
williamson has , based upon his produced screenplays as of this writing ( scream , i know what you did last summer from october 1997 , and now scream 2 ) , enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame , quickly become the most well - known screenwriter amongst the entertainment weekly - reading , box office figure - watching youth culture since -- well , since that quentin tarantino guy ( whom , it is said , has also achieved some renown as a director ) .
indeed , in a singularly freakish oddity , it is the screenwriter , mr . williamson , and not the director that has been receiving the lion 's share of acclaim for the success of scream , and the print advertisements for scream 2 's theatrical release are similarly indicative of his increasing prominence : while the traditional " a film by wes craven " drapes the film 's title in the ads , right below it ( in equal sized font , yet ) reads " written by kevin williamson " , an affirmation of the screenwriter 's contribution to the project which may be unprecedented .
( i can envision the board of wga , licking their chops at this coup and counting the days until their goal of " a film by " is attained . )
and , much like mr .
tarantino 's screenwriting , mr .
williamson 's work is vaguely unconventional , incorporating both contemporary pop culture references and allusions to other films into the dialogue of his characters .
in scream , they satirically discussed other horror films ; here in the sequel , the characters discuss the relative merits of film sequels .
scream was written in 1995 during the infamous bob dole rampage against hollywood , and mr .
williamson 's rejection of this tirade clearly influenced the writing in both that film and this sequel .
while the sequel was planned from the outset -- a treatment of scream 2 was included when mr .
williamson sold the screenplay for scream -- the basic premise for the film and the reunion of the surviving characters
nevertheless seems extremely artificially contrived , and it 's only at about the film 's midway point when it becomes engaging .
like its predecessor , scream 2 opens with a splashy , eye - grabbing prologue which only vaguely ties into the film 's principal narrative ; this time around , we 're following the exploits of a young couple ( jada pinkett and omar epps ) attending a riotously gleeful sneak preview screening of stab ( a running film - within - a - film gag where the " true life " events behind the first film has been turned into a movie ) .
however , although it tries hard and has some good ideas -- the nightmarishly enthusiastic audience in the film vaguely reminded me of the one i was sharing the theatre with , and i was certainly thinking about gutting the overly - noisy person a few seats away myself after about fifteen minutes -- the prologue is a pale imitation of the bravura opening sequence in the original with drew barrymore ( where her performance not only convinced me that she * could * act , but was so good that it would rank among the best performances in a horror film that i 've ever seen ) .
there are too many knowing , hip pop - culture references crammed into the scream 2 sequence , and the setup is n't nearly as cleverly frightening as scream 's ; while the first film 's preface dizzyingly built up to a final shot that was exhilaratingly terrifying , the payoff here is almost campily theatrical .
flash to the campus of a smalltown ohio college ,
where returning characters sidney ( neve campbell ) and randy ( jamie kennedy ) have relocated for their studies and to escape the notoriety from the events in the first film .
the murders which open this film result in reuniting the survivors -- single - minded tabloid tv reporter gale weathers ( courteney cox ) roars into town to cover the breaking story , while ever - awkward former deputy dewey riley ( david arquette ) flies in to protectively guard over sidney .
they 're joined by cotton weary ( liev schreiber ) , who was falsely accused of homicide in a cameo appearance during the first film ; his role here is significantly expanded .
the film incidentally provides surprisingly little backstory , although i suppose a good case can be made that it really is n't necessary -- not because so many people have seen the first installment , but because this is , after all , a sequel to a slasher film : what do you * think * happened to these characters in the prior movie ?
there 's a lot of new faces on the scene too : sidney 's new boyfriend , derek ( jerry o'connell ) and her new roommate hallie ( elise neal ) , randy 's fellow film student mickey ( timothy olyphant ) , gale 's newly - assigned nervous cameraman joel ( duane martin ) , omnipresent local journalist debbie salt ( laurie metcalf ) , co - ed cici cooper ( ms .
buffy herself , sarah michelle gellar ) , and a pair of simpering sorority sisters ( rebecca gayheart and sirens ' portia di rossi ) .
any of these characters could be the killer -- or for that matter , could be the next victim .
as is seemingly becoming a regular staple of a kevin williamson screenplay , the narrative is once again framed around the increasingly - flimsy premise of a whodunit .
one problem that scream did n't have was keeping you interested in the identity of the killer . here ( and to some extent in i know what you did last summer ) , mr .
williamson 's screenplay seems slightly hampered by trying to turn the identity of the killer into a mystery .
the film occasionally becomes so bogged down with misdirection that you can sense it straining at the seams to try and drop red herrings left and right at the expense of its thriller elements .
( it does n't help matters any that the killer 's alter - ego is fairly obvious from the get - go . )
indeed , the finale plays as full - out camp when the villain is finally unmasked , frothing at the mouth with glazed eyes .
this is one of those cases where the villain goes on such an endless diatribe about their machinations , scheming , and motivation , that you actually get bored listening and just want them all to get on with it .
while the basic setup and premise for the film is fairly contrived , the aspect where it 's head - and - shoulders above its predecessor is in its suspense sequences .
they 're staged much more imaginatively here
( save for the first post - prologue murder , which is handled in such a mediocre , conventional fashion that it seems to be culled directly from the predictable 1980s slasher flicks that the first film satirized ) , and are much more fun to watch .
it 's hard to hold back a smile during a giddy scene where sidney and her companion have to climb over the incapacitated killer in order to escape from a car wreck , and a cat - and - mouse chase involving gale and dewey in a campus sound lab is very nicely staged , although its ultimate resolution is hilariously overblown .
in terms of its characters ,
the strong part of the film is the interesting relationship between gale and dewey ( who ambles onto the screen accompanied by his very own theme music ) .
their verbal sparring at the outset provides much humour -- an exchange where dewey defensively rebukes charges of a perceived aura of incompetency is well - written -- and there 's a curiously endearing aspect about their relationship amidst all the mayhem and bloodshed .
on the other hand , sidney is pretty dull here .
she does n't have any compelling presence , and there 's nothing particularly interesting about her this time around to make us care about her other than that she 's the returning heroine .
given this , and the fact that there 's no strong second banana character for sidney ( elise neal 's role is n't nearly substantive enough to adequately fill rose mcgowan 's shoes ) , it 's no wonder why the roles for gale and dewey have been significantly augmented for this installment of the film .
what surprises me the most about scream 2 is its zealousness in decimating its cast .
the film 's mounting body count bears out the fact that * no * character is safe ( well , * almost * )
; while in principal i applaud this bold policy , at some point you 've got to be wondering about just how many characters will make it to the next sequel .
( i was particularly surprised with the untimely demise of one in particular , whose casting for the next installment of the series would 've seemed obvious . )
but hey , as rose mcgowan 's character said in the first film : " no , please do n't kill me , mr .
ghostface
-- i want to be in the sequel !
" look what that got her .
[A]: P


[Q]: out of sight director steven sorderbergh baffles the hell out of us
all in the limey , a cold , uninvolving , confusing new thriller .
though the plot description may at first seem like it came from the pen of elmore leonard ( author of out of sight , as well as jackie brown , get shorty and pulp fiction ) , after you watch it , you realize that it 's not nearly good enough . in an aggressively non - linear fashion , the limey ( li * mey , noun : an english gentleman ) tells the story of wilson ( terrence stamp ) , a british ex - con just released from a 9 year stint in prison for armed robbery .
he has come to the us to seek vengeance for the death of his daughter jenny .
he does n't know much about the circumstances of her demise , all he has is a name : terry valentine .
valentine was jenny 's former boyfriend , a wealthy and corrupt record executive .
he 's played by peter fonda , in his first major role since the terrific ulee 's gold in 1997 . seeking valentine 's reclusive place of residence turns out to be no easy task for wilson .
he finally finds the impressive abode high in the mountains and sneaks in just as valentine is having a big party .
he winds up breaking his cover eventually , setting off valentine 's head of security and valentine himself , who decides to run for it .
what a mess .
i have no problem
when films refuse to be constricted by the linearity of time -- pulp fiction , which twisted time every which way , was a masterpiece -- but i do take exception to movies that decide to play around with it for no reason other than to confuse the viewer .
the limey does exactly that .
the plot is permeated with flashbacks , flash - forwards and what can only be described as random time - travel
, without any evident purpose .
there is no method to this movie 's madness .
it uses a fancy way to tell a story that would be better off told more conventionally and more comprehendably .
the plot is n't particularly interesting in the first place : traditional , mildly hackneyed and not very involving .
this is a sort of brooding film -- our protagonist does n't speak much and the action sequences are done with an annoyingly perfunctory attitude .
i felt like the director was n't very interested in the proceedings himself , almost like he made this film for a paycheck .
ditto for the editing , which seems to be deliberately sloppy and unpleasant .
sixties icon terrence stamp manages to at least be menacing as the aging criminal .
he 's not much in the way of stature
but he has a surprisingly imposing physical presence that works to his advantage here .
peter fonda is an unbelievably underrated actor : he 's shy , quiet but always effective .
he 's adept at conveying emotions through speech rather than expression : his feelings do n't always show on his face by you can always tell what they are .
this is basically a conventional thriller told in a pretentiously bizarre fashion .
why soderbergh could n't just parrot down and tell a story , i do n't know , but what he does do certainly does n't work .
the result is a wild cornucopia of images that amount to precisely nil
-- even the action scenes do n't work .
1999 may have signified the death of the traditional act one - act two - act three storyline , but obviously some movies have not yet transcended it .
shall we go back to basics ?
[A]:
N