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

Q: this movie about two dysfunctional families never really gets off the ground , despite some good performances from a basically competent cast .
eddie ( sean penn ) and maureen ( robin wright penn ) are a not - so - happily married couple down on their luck .
living in rented rooms in the seedier part of an unnamed city , they spend what little income they have at the local bar , owned by shorty ( stanton ) , eddie 's best friend , and his wife georgie ( mazar ) .
maureen and eddie share an odd relationship marked by eddie 's frequent disappearances .
on his return , he promises her the world and professes his undying love .
their manic reunions all too soon lead to new lows , as eddie disappears again .
like a junky craving the next high , maureen suffers through the lows to reach the next high .
their relationship is further complicated by maureen 's pregnancy .
she wants the baby and the father , but deep down seems to sense the inevitability of losing the latter .
during one of eddie 's absences , maureen is attacked by kiefer , her neighbor , who gets her drunk ( with her cooperation ) and then insists on intimacy .
she leaves badly bruised and in fear of what eddie might do -- not to her , but to kiefer .
she lies about what happens to ensure that no harm will come to eddie as the result of his inevitable rage .
he lashes out as she expects , and ends up in an institution for what he believes to be 3 months -- but in reality is 10 years .
during this decade , maureen divorces eddie and remarries a more solid and reliable individual , joey ( travolta , in a small role ) .
her life falls apart again when eddie is released from the institution and comes to find her .
joey insists on bringing eddie into his home and making his wife choose between her husband ( and father of two children ) and stability ( joey makes a good living , drives a cadillac , and they live in a large house in the suburbs ) and the love of her previous life .
she chooses her past , and sacrifices not only her new life but her old ( by giving up her and eddie 's daughter to joey ) .
but the eddie that she knew is gone , replaced by a mere shell of the man he was .
maureen is herself a mere shell , more an automaton than a woman -- as if she had gone through whatever therapy and treatment eddie was given along with him .
perhaps these two really do need each other and can find happiness ( or maybe the lack of sadness ) together , but the movie 's denouement was not convincing .

A: N
****
Q: seen may 2 , 1998 at 3
: 40 p .
m .
at the crossgates cinema 18 , theater # 13 , with chris wessell and sean o'shea for $ 5 .
[ theater rating :
*
* * 1/2 : very good sound , picture , and seats ] the big - budget , mega - hype " event " movie is becoming so trendy now it is becoming a weekly routine instead of a seasonal one .
gluttony is hollywood 's favorite sin , but it is the movie - goers who pay the price by being dealt the same things over and over on an ever - worsening basis .
" lost in space " is the latest such offering - a film
so poor it would be twice as good if it were mediocre
.
it 's made up of every element of science fiction , but at no time does it evoke the slightest amount of wonderment
the genre was meant for .
audiences ' attention spans are rapidly decreasing and as is the trend with such films , this one opens with a fast - paced space battle which serves not only as the most interesting scene in the film ( probably because it has " star wars " written all over it ) , but as the producers ' way of showing off their budget through the special effects .
battle scenes are worthless without tension , and since we have no idea what the setting is it 's impossible to care about anything that happens .
in essence , the entire segment works like a teaser for an arcade game , not a piece of filmmaking .
we meet the robinson family - a family of five that does not get along but has been chosen to act on earth 's behalf in effort to find another planet worthy of colonization due to the exhausting of our natural resources .
each member of the family has a special trait and personality , and yet none of them seem like actual people .
professor john robinson ( hurt ) is the intelligent , quiet leader who has devoted so much time to his work his family and marriage are suffering without his realizing it ( it 's obvious what role this aspect will play ) .
of course this is all established through extremely melodramatic scenes such as the children and parents arguing and bickering among themselves and with each other , while the necessary problems are " resolved " at the right moments .
the only thing worse than the screenplay is the fact it 's presented in a completely serious manner without a trace of satire , and is so pathetic it 's laughable
.
the first act is not a building of a story , but a juxtaposition of scenes that serve no purpose other than to plug in all the required elements ( such as plot , conflict , and characterization - god forbid ! ) .
we 're provided with the minimum amount possible of these elements to keep the film from being completely silent .
in fact , it might as well be since
the dialogue is virtually non - existent .
yes , the characters do speak , but they do not talk .
they say things that only relate to the conflict , but they never really interact ( unless it 's the cartoony flirting scenes between arrogant major don west ( leblanc ) and uptight , unemotional judy robinson ( graham ) ) .
it 's amazing that after an hour of trite dialogue and generic plot devices
that so little happens .
eventually the pacing rapidly increases , but the amount of genuine interest does not .
the story finally gains some prospective by living up to its title as the robinsons find themselves lost in space after narrowly managing to defeat dr .
smith ( oldman )
, the cartoony villain , and his plans for sabotage .
what ensues is a series upon series of completely unrelated conflicts .
the first such scene takes place on an abandoned spaceship and what ensues could best be described as " alien " -lite .
the story changes again when the robinsons crash land on an alien planet and must act quickly to escape it and survive .
but there 's never any real notion of suspense here because the script
constantly wanders aimlessly .
plotlines are developed , but each becomes totally irrelevant as the story changes from scenario to scenario .
the atmosphere attempts to be surreal by incorporating time travel and various time paradoxes , but it 's presented in such a ridiculous way it 's utterly boring
.
by the time the last act rolls around , there is no sense of a payoff building .
the ending does not go out on a high note with any kind of climax , instead , it seems to come to a sudden halt ( but at least it ends at all ) .
" lost in space " is major film production at its worst .
it 's frightening that a film so poorly written , directed , and acted might be considered mainstream entertainment .

A: N
****
Q: this has been an extraordinary year for australian films .
" shine " has just scooped the pool at the australian film institute awards , picking up best film , best actor , best director etc .
to that we can add the gritty " life " ( the anguish , courage and friendship of a group of male prisoners in the hiv - positive section of a jail ) and " love and other catastrophes " ( a low budget gem
about straight and gay love on and near a university campus ) .
i ca n't recall a year in which such a rich and varied celluloid library was unleashed from australia .
" shine " was one bookend .
stand by for the other one : " dead heart " .
> from the opening credits
the theme of division is established .
the cast credits have clear and distinct lines separating their first and last names .
bryan | brown .
in a desert settlement , hundreds of kilometres from the nearest town , there is an uneasy calm between the local aboriginals and the handful of white settlers who live nearby .
the local police officer has the task of enforcing " white man 's justice " to the aboriginals .
these are people with a proud 40 , 000 year heritage behind them .
naturally , this includes their own system of justice ; key to which is " payback " .
an eye for an eye .
revenge .
usually extracted by the spearing through of the recipient 's thigh .
brown , as the officer , manages quite well to keep the balance .
he admits that he has to ' bend the rules ' a bit , including actively encouraging at least one brutal " payback " .
( be warned that this scene , near the start , is not for the squeamish ) .
the local priest - an aboriginal , but in the " white fellas " church - has a foot on either side of the line .
he is , figuratively and literally , in both camps .
ernie dingo brings a great deal of understanding to this role as the man in the middle .
he is part churchman and part politician .
however the tension , like the heat , flies and dust , is always there .
whilst her husband - the local teacher - is in church , white lady kate ( milliken ) and her aborginal friend tony , ( pedersen ) have gone off into the hills .
he takes her to a sacred site , even today strictly men - only .
she appears to not know this .
tony tells her that this is a special place , an initiation place .
he then makes love to her , surrounded by ancient rock art .
the community finds out about this sacrilegious act and it 's payback time .
the fuse is lit and the brittle inter - racial peace is shattered .
everyone is affected in the fall out .
to say more is to give away the details of this finely crafted film .
suffice to say it 's a rewarding experience .
bryan brown , acting and co - producing , is the pivotal character .
his officer is real , human and therefore flawed .
brown comments that he expects audiences to feel warmth towards the man
, then suddenly feel angry about him .
it was n't long ago that i visited central australia - ayers rock ( uluru ) and alice springs - for the first time .
the wide - screen cinematography shows the dead heart of australia in a way that captures it 's vicious beauty , but never deteriorates into a moving slide show , in which the gorgeous background dominates those pesky actors in the foreground .
the cultural clash has provided the thesis for many a film ; from the western to the birdcage .
at least three excellent australian films have covered the aboriginal people and the line between them and we anglo - saxon ' invaders ' : " jedda " , " the chant of jimmie blacksmith " and " the last wave " .
in a year when the race ' debate ' has reared up in australia , it is nourishing to see such an intelligent , non - judgemental film as " dead heart " .
the aboriginal priest best sums this up .
he is asked to say if he is a " black fella or white fella " .

A:
P
****