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: while watching boiler room , i was constantly reminded of last year 's masterpiece fight club .
both films consist of a predominately male cast .
both films follow young men as they illicitly fight the traditional system for their own desires .
and both films are seen through the eyes of one narrator , who eventually realizes that these men have to be stopped .
while boiler room writer / director ben younger does not get his point across as well as david fincher does for fight club , he does contribute another impressive work to a series of films aiming to represent the new generation .
a generation which has seen the internet prosper and where everyone wants to be a millionaire .
paying homage to oliver stone 's 1987 classic wall street , younger is almost modernizing the tale by using younger , hipper actors to play the greedy villains as opposed to the older , more experienced types .
as is true in real life , younger minds are becoming richer and richer from their knowledge of more standard technology .
boiler room dismisses the notion of ingenuity and shows that greed and desire for power come in all ages .
another similarity with fight club is that both films are not action flicks .
some people are convinced that an all - male cast automatically means there must be gory violence , here is proof that this is not true . if you want to see an action movie starring ben affleck , go see reindeer games this weekend . if you want to see a smart , insightful film with excellent acting and a clever script , see boiler room .
giovanni ribisi gives an outstanding performance as the film 's narrator , seth .
after dropping out of college and running a lucrative gambling center for college students in his apartment , seth is offered a high paying job by a wealthy man ( nicky katt ) .
he agrees to take the job ( in which you are guaranteed to become a millionaire within three years ) of selling stock to well - off americans from the mid - west over the telephone and begins to fit in quite well with his co - workers .
learning tricky techniques to deceive innocent people into buying shares of a good in production , seth figures this is too good to be true .
after stumbling into a room at the wrong time , he knows there is something no good about this company .
at this point , seth is left with the ultimate choice ; continue with the american dream and make millions or tell the authorities that something fishy is going on .
ribisi is believable as seth especially when he shares scenes with ron rifkin , playing seth 's dad .
the two have perfect chemistry as a troubled father and son trying to impress each other and simultaneously impress themselves .
the transitions from anger to sympathy that these scenes contain
are the standout segments of the entire film .
the supporting cast of greedy co - workers is also flawless .
ben affleck shines in a short but sweet performance as a recruiter for the company , nicky katt is fabulous
as the ostensibly friendly boss who eventually becomes extremely jealous of seth , and vin diesel gives his best performance of his career as the foil character of nicky katt .
the energy of the cast as a whole makes boiler room
well paced and never boring .
the only major error in the film is that nothing major happens .
there is no big plot twist or climatic point to make the film more memorable .
due to the lack of a major event , boiler room never finds a suitable genre to fit into .
the movie is not intense enough to be a thriller , the romantic segments involving seth and abby ( nia long ) are not properly finalized , and the dialogue is n't funny enough to make it a comedy .
in having trouble to characterize the movie as a whole , boiler room is slightly confused at times .
it does n't seem to know which category to fit itself into .
one satisfying concluding scene could have changed the whole film for the better .
otherwise , the movie is fun to watch thanks to its lively cast of young actors .

Answer: P


Question: since 1990 , the dramatic picture has undergone a certain change of style .
now , instead of emphasizing feel - good stories replete with characters of noble virtues , the screenplays and direction point toward human struggle and sorrow .
this realist tendancy can be inspiring at times , as 1993 's schindler 's list shows .
most of today 's mainstream drama , however , creates an overabundance of emoting that can turn off members of the audience .
that 's why pictures like october sky , which are a throwback to the good ol' dramas of yesteryear , are such a welcome relief in contemporary cinema .
the movie is based on the true story of homer hickam ( jake gyllenhaal ) , a teenager in the 1950 's company town of coalwood , west virginia .
it 's a well - known fact that the only boys to make a name for themselves are the ones that get out of the town on football scholarships ; the rest grow up to work in the coal mine .
the mine , which is run by homer 's father ( chris cooper ) , is not the place for homer , however .
after watching the soviet satellite sputnik shoot across the october sky in 1957 , homer feels a connection with the outside world -- as he puts it , " anyone in the world could look up and see the same thing i did .
" drafting two of his best friends and the brainiac outcast , homer begins to construct rockets .
with the help of their history teacher , miss riley ( laura dern ) , and several mine workers , the four are soon bound for great things .
october sky is a skillfully crafted film , and most of that credit must go to director joe johnston .
johnston -- whose career in the film industry includes everything from directing well - known titles like jumanji and the rocketeer down to an uncredited role as a death star trooper in star wars -- certainly knows what he 's doing here .
he molds characters which are true to life and also fun to watch into a plot that is straightforward and robust
.
he does not push any barriers , but instead adopts a conservative style of filmmaking which enhances the film 's charm .
his finesse brings out elements which might otherwise be lost -- such as the relationships between homer and various mine workers , or the silent struggle between homer 's mother and father .
the cast is well chosen , although the true bright spots are the supporting roles
.
laura dern ( jurassic park ) lends a strong performance in the role of the history teacher , giving the boys the support and guidance they need .
her role is instantly likeable .
chris cooper ( the horse whisperer ) , as homer 's father , is less likeable -- even downright despicable at times -- but his turn here gives gravity to the movie .
he 's definitely a driving force in homer 's life , and his more humane moments give the piece a certain dynamic that is commendable .
the script is generally cheerful , projecting the boys ' endeavors in a lighthearted manner .
there are moments when it becomes predictable -- such as the train tracks scene -- and there are moments when it sacrifices orginality for the need to come up with an emotional plot twist .
it highlights the essence of youth , however , and for its exceptional job at this it can be forgiven other missteps .
october sky
should be a success with audiences .
although it does n't have the appeal of current teen flicks like varsity blues or she 's all that ,
it certainly holds an undeniable quality that older crowds will lean towards .
it 's a welcome change to the dramatic genre , and one that everyone should see .

Answer: P


Question: imagine this .
you 're given a sword and a shield and very basic , minimal training .
a man you do n't know tells you that this will be the last day that you will live .
you are thrown into an arena with thousands of spectators wanting to see you die .
you frantically monitor several closed doors which , in seconds , will release vicious enemies prepared to destroy you .
you watch as the innocent friends you made in the last few days are murdered in cold blood . if you are lucky enough to survive this chaos thrown at you , you know you 're going to have to do it all over again tomorrow .
eventually know matter how strong or skilled you are , you 're going to die .
this is the life of a gladiator .
you 'll never have to be a gladiator and after seeing ridley scott 's powerful gladiator , you 'll be thankful for that .
with his new film , scott has returned cinema to the fascinating age of the ancient roman empire .
and like those preceding it , spartacus and ben hur , gladiator has nearly everything going for it - a strong lead actor , a wonderful supporting cast , eye - catching special effects , and a great script . since the two aforementioned films came out before the prime target viewers of gladiator ( teenagers to thirty - year - old males ) were around , a whole new genre may just be reborn and revisited .
>
from a weak beginning , the film starts off extremely gloomy and inauspicious .
rome 's best general maximus ( russell crowe ) , who has helped the empire conquer nearly everywhere they have attempted , is currently ( in the year 180 a .
d .
that is ) waging a war against germania .
scott shoots the gory battle in an awkward style , similar to that of saving private ryan but much less effective .
it 's blurry , in slow motion , and the sound is muted . as soon as this artistic method began , it was hard to tell what was what and who was who .
it 's a good thing scott stops this after the first twenty minutes or else gladiator
would have been torture to watch .
instead , the general swears he will get out after this battle .
he wants to go back to his family and his crops , he wants a quiet life .
but , unexpectedly , he gets anything but that .
the dying emperor of rome , marcus aurelius ( richard harris ) , decides to have maximus appointed new emperor of rome once he dies .
he asks maximus to restore the republic by giving more power to the senators .
all of this does not go well for aurelius ' son , commodus ( joaquin phoenix ) who was expecting his father to name him the new emperor .
jealous and upset , commodus kills his own father , names himself emperor , kills maximus ' wife and son , and attempts to kill maximus .
but maximus is able to escape his own death and vows to kill commodus and fulfill marcus aurelius ' wishes .
now a slave , the only way he can win his own freedom and complete his goal is to become a winning gladiator , who eventually are released for their success .
a story of betrayal and promises , gladiator is more than just a mindless action flick .
you actually care about the characters , sometimes even the evil villain commodus , who is just a young man as determined to make rome one way as maximus is determined to make it the other way .
phoenix plays his character brilliantly .
think of commodus as the percy wetmore ( of pant - wetter the green mile ) of the roman empire - a whiny , sleazy , " respect - me - because - my - father - was - a - good - man " brat who hates when he 's not the center of attention .
every scene we see commodus , he 's either crying or he looks like he has just been crying .
phoenix has definitely matured as an actor since to die for , and gladiator shows he 's more than just river 's little brother .
crowe is also excellent as the film 's grisly - faced hero .
maximus is one of the few characters in recent cinema who actually has emotions .
this guy actually acts like a anyone in his situation would act , he 's no invincible superhero who only blurts out one - liners , he ( believe it or not ) acts like a human being !
the rest of the cast , including richard harris , djimon hounsou , walter hill , derek jacobi , and connie nielsen are also first rate .
ridley scott , using outstanding special effects , has brilliantly
recreated the roman coliseum , the loudness of the roman mob , and the city of rome in general .
the visuals are breathtaking and voluminous , like a cleopatra of the year 2000 .
the costuming is also wonderful from the detailed shields and armor to the exquisite dress of the upper - class politicians .
gladiator is another movie you have to see on the big screen to get the most out of the experience .
along with u-571 , action fans should have plenty to see in theaters this week and should expect much more excitement to come this summer of 2000 .

Answer:
P