instruction:
In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
question:
a friend invites you to a movie .
this film would evade the explosions and special effects of standard summer fare , and be grounded in reality .
the plot is as follows : after a terrifying incident , a mother and her independent daughter separate from the father and move away from the city .
they need fresh air to get some perspective , maybe to start over .
romance begins to brew , however , as one of the locals , played by an international superstar in rugged clothing , sparks things up , ( especially at a country - western slow dance ) .
it stars a rising young starlet , helms a good cast , and is directed by one of the better actor - turned - directors in hollywood .
you accept .
you jump at the opportunity to see , what you believe to be ,
_ the horse whisperer _ .
but , poor moviegoer , you have been conned
. alas , you find yourself watching , incredulously , _ hope floats _ .
oh , woe .
your hope has sunk .
why was this movie made ?
why was it released ?
it is a travesty on nearly every level , and has the authority to sink the careers of nearly everyone involved .
at the hands of a better script , the film could have been a gem .
but it is clueless as to what it is about , and only succeeds in transferring same cluelessness to us poor viewers .
_ hope floats _ stars sandra bullock as birdy , who , after discovering her husband has been cheating on her with her best friend ( on national television no less ) , takes her daughter and drives back to her home , helmed by a countryish bumpkin eccentric played by gena rowlands , ( she decorates with stuffed wildlife ) .
birdy 's nephew , travis ( played by _ leave it to beaver _ 's cameron finley ) , is under her custody , and in one of the film 's many failed in - jokes , is always seen wearing a different halloween costume .
what is the point of this ?
does it make any sense ?
is it supposed to be funny ?
the point of the film is to show that the family is eccentric , but i was convinced that the grandma should have been locked up for endangering the mental welfare of a child .
all of this undercuts the plot , of which there is none .
there are only many scenes that are supposed to register emotion .
there 's the scene where birdy , who used to be the prom queen , is humbled by approaching a peer she once mocked , for a job .
there 's the scene where birdy dances with her father , in the hospital for alzheimer 's .
and then there 's the sentimental scenes with justin , played by harry connick jr .
, who is taking a liking to her again , showing her a beautiful pad that he built from scratch .
and during each of these scenes , i was sidetracked by my earlier question .
what sort of eccentric grandmother go through such great pains as to provide a dog costume , a kermit costume , a cowboy costume ( with whip ) , and a full furred barney costume for her grandson to wear during dinner ?
what sort of warped ramifications would this lead for the rest of his life ?
outside of this , there are other sure signs of screenwriters block .
when the daughter stands up to the bully at school .
when birdy almost loses her job .
when the family pulls in a goofy lip - synch to cheer someone up .
when someone dies .
when the daughter cries , ( no , wails ) in exasperation that her father is not coming back .
in a movie like this , you notice the strings being pushed , and you sit there , comatose , hoping it will end . who can survive such a debacle ?
i worry for bullock 's career , which has been running on auto - pilot for the last few years .
she has an attitude , a solid perkiness , and can drive a bus -- but she ca n't handle the emotional scenes , much less hold a southern accent .
harry connick , jr .
is worse -- stick with singing , or get some acting lessons , please !
gena rowlands is the best part of the film .
but she 's such a good actress , that it staggers the mind that she 's weighed down by such lukewarm material here
.
it would be a severe tragedy if the recurring star of john cassavettes ' great films is known for this film .
two notes to forest whittaker : ( 1 ) cut the slow - motion sequences .
there are twelve times where you undercut your own direction by such a failed trick .
have you done so
, you could have shaved off ten - minutes of this almost unbearable debacle .
( 2 ) you 've had to know something was wrong if your cinematographer 's filter makes the candlelight appear like little " x " s .
you 're not a bad director , but you ca n't change a terrible script
.
there 's a recurring scene where birdy , working at the neighborhood fotomat , finds the machine go wrong , and image after destroyed , warped , dark image appear .
think about it .
a succession of destroyed images may have been more entertaining than this movie .
answer:
N


question:
synopsis : melissa , a mentally - disturbed woman who likes to smoke , seduces doug , a minor - league baseball player who likes to study anatomy , work on motorcycles , and make out with his girlfriend in a public library .
when doug decides to stop seeing her , melissa maliciously takes revenge on those around him , including his girlfriend , his mother , and his cat .
comments : malicious , i suppose , is an acceptable moview for what it is : a cheap , b - movie thriller which rips off dozens and dozens of spurned - psycho - lover - who - wants - revenge films
( like fatal attraction , hand that rocks the cradle , etc . etc . ) that have come before it .
malicious , however , really does n't provide very many particularly suspenseful moments .
the plot starts off energetically enough , the main characters are introduced and the affair between doug and melissa begins and ends pretty early on in the film .
it starts to drag , unfortunately , after this .
melissa will obviously try to take her revenge on doug ( as always seems to happen in movies like these ) , but she does so in unimaginative ways that have been done in other , better thrillers before .
she drugs someone .
she kills a family pet and leaves it in the girlfriend 's apartment .
and , of course , she stalks ,
so we see a number of shots , which are supposed to be suspenseful , where she 's spying on doug and his girlfriend .
i wo n't reveal the ludicrous ending to this turkey , but i warn you that it 's both painfully obvious and a real yawner
.
john vernon does a remarkably good job at playing the not - so - bright baseball jock who initially gets swept away by melissa ( one of the script 's faults is to try to pass off a character like this as a pre - med student ) .
the same can not be said , though , for molly ringwald .
at times , she can effectively pull off the obsessed lover routine , especially during her silent , i'm - going - to - stare - you - down scenes .
at other times , however , she just seems somehow goofy and out of place .
in one particular scene which i guess was supposed to be suspenseful , she screeches " f --
k you , you b-----d " and throws a phone .
she delivers the line so ridiculously that one ca n't help but laugh
.
malicious certainly is n't the worst thriller of its kind out in the video racks ( a number of really fat turkies in this genre are out there ) , but it is n't all that good or original either .
feel free to treat this film maliciously , watch something else .
answer:
N


question:
bob the happy bastard 's quickie review : i must admit , no doubt 's single " new " is quite catchy .
it was bouncy and energetic enough to get me to go see this new film from director doug limon , the man who had brought us the humorous swingers a little while back .
the result ?
a movie that 's just as good
as that song , really .
it follows the lives of several individuals over the course of one weekend .
first we hear about a grocery bagger ( sara polley ) who runs into a monetary situation problem and ends up selling bogus drugs at a rave ( with bad results , as a drug dealer feels he 's been swindled by her )
; then comes the story of an english grocery store worker ( same store ) who heads to vegas for the weekend with friends , where sex , gunplay , and stolen car trouble come into play ; then we see the story of two gay movie actors ( played by scott wolf and jay mohr ) who deal with a cop 's strange insurance presentation and hitting a girl ( sara ) with their car ; and , finally , we come to another grocery worker ( katie holmes ) who has a strange fascination with said drug dealer ( the one mentioned earlier ) .
really , it 's all confusing to keep track of in review format
, your best bet is to just , well , go .
the movie features some very good acting from all angles , and limon adds the same humorous energy he had with swingers to this particular product .
the dialogue is pretty snappy and the resolution is pretty well realized , not going for the sappy happy ending nor the dreaded bad ending .
think of it as a , well , ending .
the intertwining of stories is a particularly good element to the movie , as it 's never really confusing and tells different sides of the story , like sliding doors kinda did .
however , it 's better suited for the younger generation who want a little spice in their flicks , which sliding doors kinda is n't .
answer:

P