instruction:
In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
question:
[ note that followups are directed to rec .
arts .
movies .
current - films and rec .
arts .
movies .
startrek .
current only , not to rec .
arts .
sf .
movies .
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] star trek : first contact a film review by michael
dequina copyright 1996 michael dequina star trek :
first contact ( pg-13 ) anyone familiar with the series of star trek movies knows of the " even - odd pattern " --the even - numbered installments of the series are good while the odd - numbered ones are , well , not - so - good .
the pattern continues with the new star trek : first contact , an energetic sci - fi adventure that
( coincidentally ? ) is the eighth entry in the hugely popular series .
in this first trek feature to feature only cast members from the late star trek : the next generation television series , captain jean - luc picard ( patrick stewart ) and the rest of the 24th - century crew of the starship enterprise -- commander will riker ( jonathan frakes , who also directed ) , android lt .
cmdr .
data ( brent spiner ) , lt .
cmdr .
geordi laforge ( levar burton ) , lt .
cmdr .
worf ( michael dorn ) , dr .
beverly crusher ( gates mcfadden ) , and counselor deanna troi ( marina sirtis )
--travel back to 21st - century earth while doing battle with the borg , a race of cybernetic beings that share a collective mind with the borg queen ( alice krige ) .
the borg intend to alter history and assimilate all of humankind into their race -- starting with the earth - orbiting crew of the enterprise and a 21st century stowaway ( alfre woodard ) .
this is an interesting plotline that is sure to mesmerize trekkers everywhere and engage everyone else , but , unfortunately , it only makes up the star trek half of the script by brannon braga and
ronald d . moore .
the other half of the title -- first contact -- refers to a subplot that takes place on 21st - century earth , where riker , troi , and laforge meet legendary scientist zephram cochran ( james cromwell ) , who is about to embark on the first warp speed flight in human history , which directly leads to the first contact with extraterrestrials .
while this story does tie into the main plot and pays off interestingly in the end , it is nowhere near as involving or exciting as the borg battles on the enterprise .
not helping matters is the tiresome cochran character , an eccentric whose drunken schtick starts out funny but becomes too one - note after a while .
in the end , though , the first contact subplot does n't detract from the enjoyment of the film as a whole .
the story is typical sci - fi fantasy , but the conviction of the cast -- most notably the always - phenomenal stewart -- makes you believe and care .
frakes , making his feature directorial debut , keeps the action swiftly rolling along and delivers the action goods , even upping the violence a notch ( this is the first trek film to bear a pg-13 rating ) to greater effect .
st : fc has a bigger budget than the last trek outing , the middling star trek generations , and it definitely shows on screen -- the production design and especially visual and makeup effects are outstanding
( in particular those involving the borg queen ) .
braga and moore 's mostly sharp script will please both trek devotees and the rest ; the references to the borg storyline in the tv series , the continuity with the previous film ( e . g .
the ongoing saga of data 's emotion chip ) , and a fleeting star trek : voyager crossover will make trekkers squeal with delight , but such points are made easily accessible to those less familiar to the trek mythos .
paramount was reportedly worried about the staying power of its trek franchise with the next generation cast now carrying the helm .
based on the entertaining success that is star trek : first contact , i 'd say the studio has nothing to worry about
( at least not until this cast retires and the crew of the wan star trek : deep space nine takes over . . . ) .
answer:
P


question:
in arguably the most anticipated movie this century , george lucas has achieved a very mixed reaction to a sure blockbuster .
despite the fact the script and plot is a bit of a let down , the entire movie on the whole can be considered a milestone in technical excellence , in the sound and special effects department .
in terms of characters , by far the most outstanding and interesting is queen amidala ( natalie portman ) , whose mature performance far exceeds
her tender 14 years of age .
she is one ?
hot ' babe who defines true ? woman leadership ' .
she not only has a presence , but knows how to take command of the situation and save her planet from ruination .
no thanks to the jedi knights who although led by the force , lack leadership qualities in terms of thinking up a plan to do anything .
the young obi - wan kenobi ( ewan mcgregor ) who has a bad hair day in every scene , gets to kill a bad guy in the end , but lacks a love interest to make him a desirable sort of hero .
in fact all the jedi knight are a bit asexual - there must be something about the force which makes them all hermits and loners .
i mean it would be interesting to see yoda 's girlfriend for a change , if he has one .
not much better is qui - gon jinn ( liam neeson ) who mostly broods , and
has a better hair do than obi - wan , but only to find the young anakin skywalker and make the biggest mistake of his life .
also fascinating is george lucas ?
metoclorian ' theory , which claims that micro - organisms live within our cells and tie us to the fabric of the universe .
and it is the high concentrations of these organisms in an individual which make them particularly powerful in the force .
more humerous are the claims to the immaculate conception of darth vader , no doubt a concept stolen from the christian faith , except there will be no christmas to celebrate the birth of this dark emissary of the force .
overall
an experience which is not to be missed because of the very fact that it 's predecessor almost command a viewing of this inferior successor .
by all means not the pinnacle of the star wars phenomena but an adequate addition to the clan . watch out for the next one , it should be one steamy encounter between queen amidala and anakin skywalker - who i believe should be portrayed by ?
leonardo di caprio .
answer:
P


question:
as you should know , this summer has been less than memorable .
with a total of 4 decent films , it 's not a surprise that these big budget failures keep appearing .
with that said , you can pretty much predict what my opinion on " the 13th warrior " will be .
the film is based on the michael crichton " eaters of the dead " , in which ahmed ibn fahdlan is banished from his country for looking at a wife of a king .
after tarveling for many months , he comes across a gang of norsemen , who are forced to pick 13 men to protect a town from mythical monsters who travel in the fog .
so , they start picking men , and are left without 1 , thus ahmed is choosen .
so far it sounds interesting right ?
not when all of this takes place in 15 minutes .
after that , they basically run around killing .
that alone shows how much a script is needed for a film , because once your story is introduced , you have the rest of the film to start developing it .
obviously that 's not the case here .
even if you are going into the film expecting an action packed adventure , you will be disappointed .
since all the action takes place in fog ,
it is constantly hard to see a scene clearly due to those circumstances , and to poor camera work .
ca n't the camera men sit still ?
i 'd like to actually watch a film in focus , but again , they failed to deliver that as well .
the film moves on and on until the point , where you can care less about anything but the popcorn you 're eating .
with corny dialogue , that the characters laugh at for some odd reason , a script that goes nowhere , dull action sequences , a predictable ending , and worst of all weak characters , there 's basically nothing to like here , except for maybe the set designs .
that 's the only thing that honestly caught my interest .
when i heard that john mctiernan , the director , wanted his name kept out of the project , that made me wonder why ?
well now i know .
crichton 's greed forced mctiernan to edit his finished product , which led to a big arguement .
what 's there to argue about anyway ?
the film could n't be saved , no matter how much they spent or casted .
seeing films like the haunting and big daddy making money , i would n't be surprised to see " the 13th warrior " become a hit .
please do me a favor and
save your money at all costs , or else you will be lost in the fog , like the film itself .
answer:

N