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

Q: [ note that followups are directed to rec .
arts .
movies .
current - films and rec .
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startrek .
current only , not to rec .
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-moderator
] 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 . . . ) .

A: P
****
Q: john sayles ' " men with guns " is about what happens to a society when brute force and constant threat of violence are the only means of gaining and maintaining power .
the film takes place in an unnamed central american country , where the men with guns are the rulers .
most of the country is divided into tiny segments - some are controlled by guerrillas with guns , some are controlled by army soldiers with guns , and all the spaces in - between are controlled by thieves , bandits , and terrorists .
all people not fitting one of those descriptions are defined only by their powerlessness .
however , like so many central american countries , this one also features modernity .
there is an unnamed capital city that bears all the hallmarks of contemporary civilization : skyscrapers , hospitals , televisions , highways , etc .
but , it might as well be in another country because those who live in the comforts of the city have either decided to ignore the violence ravaging the rest of the land , or else they are simply ignorant of it .
the film 's main character , dr .
fuentes ( federico luppi ) falls into the latter category .
one of his patients , an army general , describes him as the most educated man he has ever met , and also the most naive .
fuentes is a true liberal , a caring man who thinks he can cure the ills of his country by fighting bacteria and ignorance among the indigenous indians .
with government assistance , he has trained a large group of eager young medical students and sent them into the rainforest to cure and educate .
this program was to be his legacy , and he repeats over and over that it was a good idea .
however , when he ventures into that same rainforest to visit his prot ?
g
? s , he finds that things have not turned out as he has envisioned .
as he travels deeper into the forest , going from village to village , the story is always the same : the doctors were all killed by either the guerrillas or the army soldiers , usually for helping the other .
when dr .
fuentes asks a village woman why the army killed one of the doctors , she replies simply , " because they had guns , and we did n't . " rational science and all its attempts to cure have been wiped out by the men with guns , because others ' sickness and ignorance helps them maintain power .
dr .
fuentes picks up several companions during his journey , all of whom are characterized by their loss .
first , there is a young boy named conejo ( dan rivera gonz ?
lez ) , who has neither a mother nor a father .
next , fuentes crosses paths with a thief named domingo ( dami ? n delgado ) , who deserted the army because he was tired of being jeered into committing murderous atrocities .
through his ordeal in the army , domingo has lost most of his self - respect , and defines himself only by his pistol .
along the way , the group also picks up padre portillo ( dami ?
n
alc ?
zar ) , a priest who has lost his faith .
as domingo is running from the army , so is portillo - he has been labeled a guerrilla sympathizer , and ran away from the village in which he was preaching .
last , the group takes on a mute girl named graciela ( tania cruz ) , who has n't spoken since she was raped two years earlier , her innocence and even her will to live forcefully taken from her .
sayles two major strengths as a director - characters and setting - are abundantly evident in " men with guns .
"
( like many of his films , sayles might have tightened this one somewhat in the editing room , but a longer - than - necessary running time is a sin almost always committed when the director is also the editor . )
he creates fascinating , complex characters , especially dr .
fuentes and domingo .
their uneasy relationship is also somewhat humorous in context of the film 's overarching theme of violence as power - domingo 's attempts to control fuentes with his revolver are constantly undermined by fuentes ' belief that the revolver is unloaded ( at first it is , but later is is n't ) .
the setting is also as thick with detail as the rainforest itself .
sayles knows how to bring a location to life , whether it be an early twentieth - century coal mining town in " matewan " ( 1987 ) or a contemporary texas / mexico bordertown in " lone star " ( 1996 ) .
sayles is not a particularly inventive director - he likes to let his actors do most of the work - but he and cinematographer slavomir idziak ( " gattaca " ) successfully evoke both the beauty and the danger of the central american terrain .
sayles also maintains a strong sense of authenticity by filming everything on location in mexico , using all latin american actors , and having all the dialogue spoken in either spanish or native indian dialects .
the one exception is a couple of bumbling american tourists who work not only as comic relief , but as evidence of just how clueless the united states is about what is going on a few hundred miles south of the texas border .
it would not be a stretch to say that " men with guns " is a depressing film .
in fact , the two feelings it evokes most are hopelessness and failure .
in addition to loss , the main characters are also failures at something , whether that be dr .
fuentes failure to change anything through medicine , or padre portillo 's inability to stand up and be the martyr he always dreamed of being .
nevertheless , it is bleak material sayles has chosen , and he deals with it accordingly .
the last shot of the film does offer a hint of hope , even in a world where , as one character puts it , " nobody refuses the men with guns .
"

A: P
****
Q: taking a few tips from the pulp fiction school of filmmaking , go is the new feature from the director of the cult hit swingers .
the story centres around a group of people , who include brit simon ( askew ) , and checkout girls claire ( holmes ) and ronna ( polley ) and the misadventures that they get into , split into three chapters .
everything from sex to drugs to violence is covered in a film with a much blacker edge in comedy than swingers .
although qt 's touch is evident in nearly every frame , go is entertaining enough to forget about the similarities and just enjoy the rollercoaster ride . liman , who also photographed the film ,
has a deft touch with the camera , and the film looks good .
the film also seems to have benefited from a budget , with the night - club scenes in particular looking pretty good .
there 's a twisted sense of humour running throughout which ensures that even the darkest scenes get a smirk .
the young cast are talented and help bring the story to life . holmes , one of the dawson 's creek cast ( a show i 'm not particularly fond of ) displays much talent here , and despite her largely limited screen time manages to make a three dimensional character and never becomes a caricature .
askew is slightly successful , being rather obnoxious .
no doubt the filmmakers intended this to make the audience cheer when what happens to him , but instead of ' funny annoying ' he 's just annoying .
he drags down slightly one of the funniest chapters , but the talent around him in that particular tale more than makes up for it .
the real standout is sarah polley as the drug dealing checkout girl : her refreshing and deeply enjoyable performance makes the heavy going stories she is involved in much more entertaining .
also entertaining timothy olyphant as the rather sinister drug dealer , who gives an nice evil performance .
the script , written john august , is sharp and witty , with good dialogue and some funny jokes .
it starts off rather slow however , but in about twenty minutes the script has found it 's footing and just keeps getting better .
the stories are largely satisfying , although occasionally there 's too much attention on one detail but not on another .
also , some of the endings seem a little forced and lucky .
still , the cast have a meaty script to get into and obviously enjoy it .
it could of tried a little harder in some parts however , and these parts lag .
because this is a gen - xer movie , the obligatory rave soundtrack must accompany , and go 's one is pretty decent .
unlike other gen - xers movies , go never allows the music to substitute for plot or dialogue , which is a
plus .
go is a very easy movie to absorb into , and the audience really starts feeling for these characters .
thankfully , they never become two dimensional characters who are bent and twisted throughout the movie to fit into the stories mechanics ( like the heroine in 10 things i hate about you . )
they are who they are and they stay that way .
go is great fun , and a worthy follow up from the director of swingers .
ignore the fact that it steals from pulp fiction and very bad things , and just sit back and enjoy the rollercoaster ride .
erm , go to go , i guess .

A:
P
****