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

[Q]: countries and legal systems that take the rule of law principle seriously , had forbidden judges and juries to make judgements in all matters that could involve them personally .
luckily , movie reviewers are n't burdened with such legislation .
otherwise , small pool of very special movies would be forever ignored by this reviewer .
in case of star wars , 1977 science fiction epic by george lucas , the consequences would be even more severe , because that film is very special for tens of millions , if not hundreds of millions of fans .
in any case , objectivity is something seldom seen in star wars reviews , because undisputed majority of reviewers rate it as one of the best , if not the best film of all times .
those who do n't usually have some difficulties in hiding their artistic snobbery .
the author of this review must also concede his inability to use cold , objective standards in reviewing this film .
like so many previous reviewers , i must note that i watched star wars for the first time twenty years ago , and that i remained enchanted by the experience ever since .
perhaps it was childlike fascination with , until then unimaginable , wonders that happened long time ago , in a galaxy far away .
or perhaps it was the rush i felt minutes before the opening shots , with my expectations already pumped up by serialised comic books and novelisation i had read before .
anyway , watching of star wars was one of the most important movie going experiences of my life .
and it was also unmatched for many years to come , because very few movies managed to have such a strong impact on me like george lucas ' epic .
star wars was n't just important movie for me ( or the millions of fans who probably share the same sentiment ) .
it was the defining moment in the history of modern cinema .
until than , american motion picture industry was in a limbo ; social turmoil in 1960s practically destroyed the old hollywood , and new authors filled the void , mostly by using hollywood 's financial and technical resources to create serious , " personal " or " artsy " movies . as a result , audience , traumatised of dark reality of vietnam and watergate , did n't want to see the same dark and serious content on the silver screen .
george lucas with its science fiction epic was among the first to come into rescue .
the audience responded with unprecedented enthusiasm , and huge financial success of the movie , later backed by supplement industry of toys , books , comics , role playing games and other merchandise , slowly began to change the face of hollywood . serious , adult movies with artistic ambitions faded into oblivion , and were replaced by industrial products of " blockbuster " philosophy .
one of the biggest casualties of that trend was the science fiction movie genre .
until 1977 , science fiction movies were mostly in b - production domain .
in late 1960s , bigger budgets for science fiction did n't look so strange anymore , thanks to the great success of 2001 : a space odyssey .
but the same success coincided with the surge of pesimism , and hollywood science fiction was as bleak as the rest of its production - mostly dark , dystopic movies .
however , in 1977 star wars showed once and for all that this genre can be inspiration for popular movies , even among the audience that usually does n't like it .
as a result , seriousness in cinematic science fiction began fading away , although some good , dark and cult quality sf and continued to be filmed until early 1980s .
after that , science fiction continued to be considered a synonym for family entertainment .
ironically , the man responsible for star wars was in its time considered to be member of " new hollywood " generation of young movie authors who made " artsy " and " personal " films in early 1970s .
george lucas established himself with the dystopic sf movie thx 1138 , and nostalgic drama american graffiti .
both movies were considered " personal " in its time , despite latter one becoming very popular .
in a sense , star wars is an also very " personal " film , and the thorny way to the final production shows that commercial considerations were against it , not for it .
but unlike many " personal " movies of the era , its " personality " was in line with the wishes of the general audience .
the plot , set " a long time ago , in a galaxy far away " , begins in a time of civil war .
the evil empire is threatened by rebels who want to restore the old republic .
in order to quash any opposition , the empire had built death star , superweapon powerful enough to destroy whole planets .
the information about death star , acquired by rebel intelligence , is being transported by princess leia organa ( carrie fisher ) when her ship gets intercepted by imperial cruiser .
princess is arrested by imperial warlord darth vader ( played by david prowse and voice by james earl jones ) , but the information is being sent to nearby desert planet of tatooine via two humanoid robots - c3po ( anthony daniels ) and r2d2 ( kenny baker ) .
those two robots are sold to the family of luke skywalker ( mark hamill ) , young restless man who wants to leave his farm and become space pilot .
his adventure begins when r2d2 escapes , because the information must reach mysterious local hermit obi wan kenobi ( alec guiness ) .
old man is actually the last surviving jedi knight , member of the ancient order that defended republic through the use of mystical force .
after some hesitation , luke agrees to join obi wan in his mission to save the princess , while the old man would teach him the ways of the force .
their small band comes to the colourful spaceport of moss eisely , where they hire the spaceship owned by rogue pilot han solo ( harrison ford ) and his furry sidekick chewbacca ( peter mayhew ) .
critics who do n't like the movie , especially those who ca n't forgive lucas for his contribution to the quashing of " new hollywood " , are prone to point the lack of originality .
on the surface , they might be right ; lucas himself admits that he found a lot of inspiration in the lore of old hollywood - westerns , wwii aviation movies , old sf cliffhanger serials of the 1930s and 1940s ; yet the most obvious element would be akira kurosawa 's samurai classic the hidden fortress .
on the other hand , those who had spent last two decades studying the movie to death would say that the inspiration for star wars went even further - into collective subconscious of western civilisation ( hinted by some mild tolkien references ) .
the others would find the author 's element within the story - star wars could be seen as an anti- establishment film ; young , long - haired , easy going , nature - loving heroes are fighting against old , uptight and oppressive forces who use supertechnology in most demonic purposes .
even out of its historical or social context , star wars is an impressive as a strictly technical piece of the seven art .
george lucas ' direction is very good , with the clever editing and a well - paced segments between action and dramatic buildup .
characters are well - drawn and deliver all the necessary ingredients , both for the space opera and hollywood blockbuster .
we have a " coming - of - age " hero , damsel - in - distress ( somewhat toned down due to the popular feminist trends of the time ) , reluctant helper , benevolent mentor , diabolical villain and , finally , comic relief in form of two non - human characters .
some of the actors are very good - alec guiness in his most famous role to date , james earl jones whose voice is enough to cause unease , peter cushing as an incarnation of pure evil in human form .
unfortunately , the same ca n't be said for the main leads - among the main trio of mark hamill , carrie fisher and harrison ford
, only the last one had the character three - dimensional enough to launch his further acting career .
the thing that looked like the most important segment of star wars phenomena during its initial release was the new level of special effects technology .
often comparisons with 2001 : space odyssey , another ground - breaking sf film , were citing the sheer number of effects as a proof of the lucas ' superiority over kubrick . however , the special effects by john dykstra and john stears are indeed impressive , even after two decades ( although 1997 special edition did improve them significantly ) , yet they are n't the most remembered trademark of the movie .
that honour should definitely go to the " oscar " -winning soundtrack by john williams , whose work on star wars is probably the brightest gem in his brilliant career
.
newer generations of viewers might be somewhat deprived of the enchantment that still holds those lucky enough to witness star wars original release .
yet , even if they are immune to the george lucas ' magic
they should watch this film nevertheless , perhaps only to become familiar with something that is essential part of contemporary culture .
[A]: P


[Q]: of all the films i 've come to see this year ( 1997 ) , i think only chasing amy had as many " laugh - out - loud " moments
.
i 'm not saying that i was hysterically rolling on the floor while watching waiting for guffman , but my mouth burst open with at least a delighted guffaw at least every couple of minutes .
and i think i 'm the kind of person that laughs least at movies , even when i find them funny .
usually all you can get out of me is a warm smile , so to get me laughing out loud , and so frequently , is a really good sign .
waiting for guffman is the story of blaine , missouri , a town celebrating
it 's 150th anniversary , and the musical that is being put on for the big event .
the play is being directed by corky st .
clair ( christopher guest , who also wrote and directed this " mockumentary " as well as co - writing several original musical numbers ) , the effeminate broadway hopeful determined to make this production a smashing success .
teaming up with st .
clair are a handful of blaine residents : allan pearl ( eugene levy ) , a jewish dentist who spent his youth not as the class clown , but sitting right next to him and studying him , ron and sheila albertson ( fred willard and catherine o'hara respectively ) , a married couple setting their sights on hollywood , libby mae brown ( parker posey ) , the dense but fun queen of the dairy queen , and a few others .
everybody in this movie is brilliant , absolutely so , but levy particularly stands out .
these characters are portrayed with such saddening realism that you ca n't help but love them , as pathetic as they really are .
although levy stands out , guest , willard , o'hara , and posey are all wonderful and definitely should be commended for their performances ! if there was an oscar for an ensemble performance , this is the group that should sweep it .
some humor was a tad uneven from the rest of the film and , even after starting very humorously , they nearly lost me with the tad - too - long intros . as delightful as it was , it began to get monotonous .
thankfully , just as your about to say " ok , maybe i should run to the bathroom " , they finally get past the intros and onto the rehearsal scenes .
like a play , this film gives a very three - act feel , the intros ( funny , but almost too long ) , the rehearsals ( even funnier ) , and finally , the actual performance of the play ( excellent ! ) .
like i said , each character really shines , even when done with a subtle approach .
you ca n't really watch these people and not think they 're real people !
even they way they talk , with awkward pauses and stumbles that do n't feel staged at all , you feel like you 're watching a real , albeit funny , documentary .
and even with silly lyrics , the original songs when the play is finally put on , are absolutely wonderful !
as a word of note , despite it 's " r " rating , waiting for guffman is really quite clean .
this rating came from a brief , very brief use of the grand - daddy of all swear words .
even if that really bothers you , let me say that it 's not presented in a vulgar , cheap - laugh way .
it 's actually quite humorous and tastefully done !
it might be hard knowing what to expect with waiting for guffman .
it 's silly humor , but it 's also so dry , subtle , and intelligently done that you 're not insulted by it .
it 's always really nice to see a comedy that is n't all slapstick and vulgarity , and this film is one of the better ones of the better ones !
i 'd recommend seeing it !
[A]: P


[Q]: martin scorsese 's films used to intimidate me .
because of his reputation , i felt obligated to appreciate them as deep film art rather than as great flicks .
as much as i enjoyed them
, i usually felt like i missed something .
i learned from scorsese 's casino that whatever techniques he uses are merely there to enhance the story .
no mystical interpretation is required to appreciate his movies .
for example , in casino he uses subtitles when robert deniro and joe pesci are using code words with each other .
there was no meaning more exotic than that subtitles were the most succinct way for him to tell the audience what was really going on .
or toward the end , when he uses three quick dissolves to compress a scene of a car backing away from a building .
again , the simple , mundane explanation is that it helped the pacing .
i do n't mean to say that his techniques are not creative or good - looking .
but he simply uses the best tool for the job .
it should n't have surprised me , then , that kundun , a film about a mystical religion , actually turned out to be quite straightforward .
the movie follows the life of the 14th dalai lama , the spiritual and political leader of tibet .
the movie 's title is another name for the dalai lama which means " ocean of wisdom .
"
his story is told in strict chronological order and there are only a few cinematic visions to embellish the literal story .
( one of which makes an interesting statement : pay attention to the film 's opening shot and watch where it is repeated . )
we first glimpse the dalai lama when he is two years old .
his curiosity and self - assuredness capture the attention of a monk wandering in search of the new lama .
a test is arranged to see if this boy really is the reincarnation of the 13 dalai lamas who have gone before .
several items belonging to the previous dalai lama are laid before the boy alongside some other items .
the child is asked if he recognizes any of the items as his own .
the boy picks correctly , proving that he is the new , and the old , dalai lama .
scorsese and long - time editor thelma schoonmaker were kind enough to allow the possibility that the child was taking his cues from the monk .
before selecting an item , he would look at the monk , perhaps for some sort of confirmation .
sometimes he picked right the first time , and sometimes he made a second choice .
either way , whether through reincarnation or quick human perception , the tibetans were assured of choosing a boy who could be a wise , perceptive leader .
> from this point on , the boy is raised as the reincarnation of the lama 's spirit and the future leader of a nation .
it is a great weight to put on the mind of a child .
in the u. s. it might be grounds for a call to social services .
but the young lama accepts his destiny without any apparent emotional damage .
neither the great power nor the awesome responsibility keeps him from becoming a genuinely likeable , well - rounded person .
certain patterns take shape over the years .
for example , the dalai lama is fascinated by technology .
radios , clocks , and telescopes are some of his favorite toys .
when he is old enough to accept his leadership , he makes plans to modernize isolated tibet .
he also has a soft spot for creatures who are suffering or in pain , including herd animals .
it 's nearly a running gag that he will buy sheep to keep them from being herded to slaughter .
but the most ominous constant throughout his life is the presence and threat of tibet 's gigantic neighbor , china .
tibet and its leaders prove correct in fearing china , as , first the propaganda , then the political pressure , and finally the armies , come across their common border .
the chinese invasion is so successful that the lama 's life is in danger if he stays .
the movie ends when , after much agonizing , the dalai lama leaves tibet for india .
the story does n't lead up to a cinematic climax as strongly as most feature films do .
it just does n't fit that mold . if it were forced into such a shape it would have been a completely different movie ( perhaps more like seven years in tibet , which is good in its own right ) .
the pacing of kundun is more calm and level than that .
the structure of the film is made to fit the characters and events , not vice - versa .
perhaps because the pace is slower , we have more time to notice the beautiful art , vestments , and architecture of tibet .
a mandala , ( tibetan sand painting ) with beautiful , vibrant colors is shown throughout the movie .
the robes and hats of state are bright red and gold .
the bricks are a rich reddish brown , not unlike the skin tone of the tibetans .
even the touchstone pictures logo before the movie ( which is usually light blue ) is the red and gold of tibet .
philip glass composed the music for kundun ,
and he was the perfect choice .
for those who do n't know of glass , his music is like a tibetan mandala .
his building blocks are lots of small notes , tiny grains of music , which are first grouped , then repeated in patterns .
these patterns create interesting textures which are themselves part of a larger composition .
people wo n't be flocking to kundun for
it 's great ending , or talking about its outstanding plot , but it does have a lot to offer : an interesting lifetime , exotic sights , rich cinematography , and innovative music .
it gives interesting insight into tibetan buddhism and takes a warm look at the dalai lama as a person .
on top of it all is the cinematic mastery of martin scorsese , who gives the film a strong , beautiful , consistent look .
[A]:
P