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

by phil curtolo mel gibson ( braveheart ) gave a gripping performance as the father of a young kidnapped boy in ron howard 's ransom .
gibson plays tom mullen , a wealthy business tycoon whose past actions are coming back to haunt him as a deranged psychopath , played by gary sinise ( forrest gump ) , and his band of low - life thugs kidnap his only son for $ 2 million .
tom and his wife , kate , played by rene russo ( tin cup ) were instructed not to inform the police , but they contacted the fbi .
minutes later , an elite team of agents led by delroy lindo ( broken arrow ) are in tom 's house and wiring every phone .
the plot sounds average , just like most other kidnap movies that you 've already seen , and it was nothing more than that .
that is until about half - way through the movie .
suddenly , tom goes to the fox 5 news room and makes a live broadcast saying , " this is your ransom .
but this is as close as you will ever get to it .
instead , i am offering this money as a reward on your head , dead or alive .
" at this point , the plot thickened , and the unusually slow start of the film turned into a suspense - filled action film with great stunts .
the last half of the film is very well done .
another thing that carries this film are the superb performances by gibson and sinise , as they collide in a game of wits over their cellular phones for most of the movie .
owen gleiberman of entertainment weekly commented on the subject : " it makes you wonder what kidnappers did before cell phones .
" before this movie , sinise played mostly " good guys , " first in of mice & men , then in forrest gump , and most recently , in apollo 13 . but he was surprisingly devilish and cold in his portrayal of a cop - gone - bad .
gibson , of course , was just being gibson , in an oscar - worthy performance .
although most of the scenes were quite predictable , ransom is a very entertaining and suspenseful film . ,
P

based on the novel set in 1914 by joseph conrad , victory spins a tale of a pair of lovers , heyst ( william dafoe ) and alma ( irene jacob ) , who seek refuge on heyst 's isolated island .
however , their idyllic world begins to crumble upon the arrival of mr jones ( sam neil ) , martin ricardo ( rufus sewell ) and their servant , pedro ( graziano marcelli ) , who have come to steal heyst 's rumoured plunder .
while the novel is largely complex in characterization , the film sadly transposes conrad 's characters into lacklustre leads , the most disappointing being heyst himself .
conrad 's heyst adheres religiously to his late father 's ways of detachment and isolation .
his ascetic lifestyle is thrown into question when he meets alma , a helpless orchestra girl who charms him with her voice .
the struggle to embrace the arrival of alma into his solitude , however , is lost in mark peploe 's ( director and writer ) diluted version of heyst . without properly establishing the crucial details of heyst 's character , all that is left of conrad 's main character is a very shallow treatment of his internal conflict between detachment and human involvement .
on the one hand , actualizing the subtext is a mammoth task ( though not impossible ) , but on the other hand , dafoe 's flat acting can not be excused as an attempt at stoicism .
in the end , we are supposed to witness heyst renounce his philosophy and finally come to an understanding of what it is to love another .
the final transformation , while perceptible , lacks the cathartic revelation which is undeniable in conrad 's novel .
its absence in the film is unforgivable .
the film seems more concerned about moving the plot along when so much has yet to be said about the relationship between the two complete strangers .
alma is supposed to have overcome great emotional barriers in the relationship , namely heyst 's underlying philosophy of detachment , which heyst himself grapples with .
the struggle against heyst 's ignorance of true human involvement accounts for much of the greatness of alma 's love for him .
jacob , fair - skinned , gentle and yet passionate , handles the role with precision , detailing nuances where possible .
unfortunately , she is let down by a superficial script .
the couple 's relationship develops too hastily , leaving all subtlety effaced and replaced with a blatant show - and - tell approach .
all we know of the characters are mostly explained by their lines alone .
this is unsatisfactory when so much of the turmoil experienced by the two stem from their buried thoughts and emotions .
the sketchy handling of their relationship stands out as sorely as dafoe 's american accent ( an inappropriate one since heyst spent most of his life in london ) .
the other characters such as schomberg ( jean yanne ) , the owner of a hotel , and mr jones ( sam neill ) , also fall short of conrad 's meticulous characterization .
while schomberg should have been more menacing and vindictive , mr jones should have been portrayed as something more of an enigma .
sam neil 's caricature of a slightly stout , effeminate and soft - spoken gentleman - at - large nullifies the effect intended by conrad who describes mr jones as " an insolent spectre on leave from hades , endowed with skin and bones and a subtle power of terror " .
poor characterization aside
, kudos goes to rufus sewell for his excellent portrayal of ricardo , secretary to mr jones , a reckless ruffian capable of murder .
sewell , with his cockney accent and large expressive green eyes , becomes the true terror of the unholy trinity , masterminding deceitful plans behind jones ' back .
at the same time , we are entertained by the foolhardiness of his plans .
despite the authentic setting and marvellous cinematography by bruno de keyzer ,
very few images are left behind for us to savour after the film has ended
. sourabaya and its surrounding islands and volcanoes may have their charm , but mean nothing once the film fails to capture the essence of an epic , which is what victory deserves to be .
the delicately inter - woven complexities in the love story are lost to an inadequate production .
at the end of the film , we are told that perhaps alma 's victory was in teaching heyst how to love .
a hollow victory indeed .
the flying inkpot 's rating system :
* wait for the video .
*
* a little creaky , but still better than staying at home with gotcha !
*
* * pretty good , bring a friend .
*
*
* * amazing , potent stuff .
*
*
*
* * perfection . see it twice .
N

the muppet movie is the first , and the best movie among the ever - growing list of muppet movies .
the muppet movie tells the story of how our hero , kermit the frog , came to be a star .
a delightful movie for all ages
, the muppet movie is * bursting * with cameo appearances by countless hollywood stars of the 80 's and today .
the muppet movie begins in a movie theater , where all of the muppet stars are anxiously awaiting the first showing .
once everyone is settled down , the movie inside of the movie begins .
it starts out with kermit in a swamp , playing his banjo and singing ( this shot required jim henson to spend hours underwater ) .
kermit is discovered by bernie , a big - time hollywood agent who happens upon kermit by accident .
bernie believes that kermit holds much potential to become a big star in hollywood .
kermit ponders the idea of becoming a big movie star , where he could " make millions of people happy " .
kermit decides to leave his swamp and make the trip out to hollywood .
along the way , kermit befriends his now famous muppet companions , beginning with fozzie bear , who had been spending his days doing stand - up comedy at the el sleezo cafe , owned by james coburn .
the two decide to team - up and continue on their way to hollywood .
but , doc hopper ( charles durning ) , the owner of a chain of french fried frog leg restaurants has a different idea .
he wants kermit to be his spokesman , but kermit is humiliated at the idea and spends the movie avoiding him and his assistants .
the trip continues , with kermit and fozzie meeting miss piggy , rowlf , gonzo , the electric mayhem band , and more muppets who all share the same wish : to make it to hollywood .
oh , and even more celebrities continue to appear .
kermit and miss piggy continue to get to know each other a little better , including a rather funny scene at a restaurant with steve martin as the waiter .
eventually , kermit and the group make it to hollywood .
that is , after kermit is finally able to elude doc hopper and proclaim his freedom .
lord lew , a big - time hollywood producer portrayed by orson welles , gives kermit his shot at stardom and gives him the go - ahead to produce a movie .
the muppet movie is definitely a movie that is fun for all ages .
it is also a sure - deal as one parents can watch , and enjoy along with their kids .

P