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

[Q]: susan granger 's review of " the watcher " ( universal ) just what we need : another lurid , trashy serial killer saga .
this time , keanu reeves plays an elusive homicidal maniac who engages in a gruesome ticking - clock cat - and - mouse game with james spader , a burnt - out fbi agent who has suffered a traumatic nervous breakdown after too many years on the job with the lapd .
to taunt spader , who has relocated to chicago , reeves packs up his trusty piano wire and moves too .
before long , he starts mailing photographs of the lonely , unsuspecting young women who are his intended windy city victims , challenging spader , along with the chicago police department , to stop him within 24 hours before he strikes again .
in the midst of this murderous frenzy , there 's spader 's psychologist , played by marisa tomei , who is even less convincing as a medical professional than jennifer lopez in " the cell .
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writers david elliot , clay ayers and darcy meyers , along with first - time director joe charbanic ( helmer of music videos for reeves ' band dogstar ) , dwell on the warped thrill of the methodology and the chase , revealing , early on , exactly whodunit since the killer says he and the cop " need each other to give meaning to our lives .
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plus , as reeves explains , " we 're all stacked right on top of each other , but we do n't notice each other any more .
" after that , it 's all sound effects and tricky camera - work , along with a muddled , discordant soundtrack .
james spader 's acting technique can be described as ' wooden deadpan ' while keanu reeves maintains his perpetually monotone ' dude ' persona which sometimes works , sometimes does n't .
chris ellis , as spader 's self - important colleague , is the only cast member who manages to be convincing .
on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , " the watcher " is an appallingly awful , amateurish 2 .
the real torture is watching it .
[A]: N


[Q]: movies based on video games , such as street fighter or mario bros . , have never generated much interest at the box office .
but when the first mortal kombat movie came out in 1995 , it did surprisingly well .
with a simple story , a pulsating soundtrack , and lots of awesomely choreographed fight scenes , the movie moved quickly and displayed lots of energy .
it got my vote for ' the movie where i expected the least and got the most ' .
and , if you have n't had the opportunity , i would definitely recommend that you see it on video .
in the world of mortal kombat , based on the popular arcade game , dark forces from outworld try to infiltrate earth 's realm with the ulimate goal of total conquest and the destruction of humanity .
the mortal kombat refers to a competition , fought by human mortals against outworld 's minions , which if won , will guarantee earth 's safety for another generation .
mk2 picks up almost immediately after the humans return victoriously from competition .
despite their victory , however , a gateway has somehow opened , and outworld continues in its quest to conquer earth .
outworld 's warriors include an impressive collection of fighters , including shao kahn , mintoro ( a centaur ) , sheeva ( a four - armed ogre ) , and sindel .
earth 's mortal warriors , under the leadership of the benevolent god , lord rayden , includes liu kang , princess kitana , sonya blade and jax , who must fight against outworld 's forces .
it 's an easy enough premise , but unfortunately ( very unfortunately ) , the writers try to do too much with the movie
.
it is only a video game , after all , but the on - screen version tries to go beyond it 's comic book boundaries by adding depth , a conceptualization of self - worth , and worst of all , a love story .
this becomes very awkward , because all of the players are fighters and nothing more .
they are likable and impressive when they are showcasing their martial arts and fighting skills , but look extremely awkward and uncomfortable when they are required to actually act .
this becomes embarrassingly apparent
, for example , as the movie tries to develop a romantic bond between liu kang and princess kitana .
the original mk was smart in letting the players do what they do best .
they spoke little , but fought a lot .
thus , the movie was easy to digest .
however , mk2 tries to give these players a certain amount of depth , an element that was lacking in the first movie , but the attempt here fails miserably .
this uneasy feeling is readily apparent , for example , whenever you hear lord rayden speak .
not only does he talk in riddles and offer enigmatic ( e . g . useless ) advice , but he speaks so slowly as if to simulate infinite wisdom .
try reading this half as fast , and you 'll hear what i mean .
but the movie is not a complete fatality .
fight scenes are well - choreographed , highlighted by terrific acrobatics and agility .
and players of the game will be rewarded with the inclusion of practically every character from the video game , although their screen time amounts to nothing more than a cameo .
even if you 're not familiar with the video game , each fighter has their own costume and unique weaponry to easily differentiate themselves .
but it 's just too little of what movie - goers and especially fans of the game will expect .
oddly , the inclusion of the human element actually pollutes the purity of the mortal kombat essence . and the poor acting results in a muddled movie that offers the viewing audience little chance for survival .
( i am now talking very slowly as if to simulate infinite wisdom ) .
rent the first one , but the sequel is for kombat fans only .
[A]: N


[Q]: denzel washington is among the many actors this holiday season to give very impressive milestone performances .
this perhaps may be washington 's very best to date .
he joins matt damon and jim carrey in having the talent , this season , to become his character , copying mannerisms and personal styles perfectly .
his very believable performance makes the long and uninteresting " the hurricane " a much better film than it actually is .
when his rubin " hurricane " carter feels pain and is tormented by racism , he creates for the audience a great sense of sympathy , disgust , and maybe even some embarrassment from the fact that this is our very own country that is breaking laws to support silly prejudices .
the horrific true events carter suffered from all of his life are slightly more disturbing and terrifying because they only took place a few decades ago .
the powerful expressions of denzel washington alone , as his tortured carter , sum up the troubles of racism in america 's history .
he is that amazing .
the problem with " the hurricane " is that when compared to washington , all of the other actors are not nearly as memorable in their roles .
mainly because the script focuses so much on carter , that it leaves little interest or room for the other actors .
this is , without a doubt , washington 's movie but in order for any film to be completely satisfying , it must utilize everyone in the cast to their highest potential not just the stars .
denzel washington is the only reason to see this film for his inspirational and very depressing tour de force performance .
as rubin carter , we see a black man whose existence has been a punching bag for the white american court system .
> from the age of eleven to twenty one he was sent to a juvenile prison for a crime he did not commit .
then after a successful marriage and boxing career , he was harshly imprisoned again for life after being framed for a triple murder .
carter 's second term in prison seemed almost inevitable when faced off against jealous , powerful white men who refused to let him succeed .
from these past experiences in jail , carter realized that he must make his case heard for all of america .
after several court appeals , an autobiography , and many public marches for his freedom , carter remained locked in prison .
it was not until a young black boy from brooklyn being educated in toronto read carter 's book in the 1980 's , that a serious battle for freedom took place .
the young boy and his three canadian guardians decide to dedicate all of their time to the case until carter is released .
the greatest scenes in the film are when carter begins to lose his mind after spending three months in isolation .
washington really shows the breakdown of carter when after swearing he would never go to jail again , he is unfairly framed at the height of his innocent career .
the devastation in washington 's eyes show a man who has struggled to do the right thing his whole life only to be punished for it .
in the hole , carter attempts to maintain emotional balance
but he can not .
his anger is heightened to a point of no control .
we see multiple carters , a violent angry one , a silent passive one , and a mediator .
we see an emotional boxing match inside carter 's head .
from this point in the hole to the end of the film , this fight continues .
it is very apparent at times which side is winning the battle and
in some scenes there is a direct switch from angry to caring or the opposite .
when carter sees that white canadians want to help him get out of prison , the angry carter at first erupts .
white people have been trying to hurt him his whole life , this reminder leads to anger in his head .
however , as the film continues and the canadians continue to help carter we see the calm side him .
he realizes that society is changing .
that racism is decreasing and now carter wants to leave jail immediately and become a part of this world .
very rarely have i seen such determination to perfect his role as washington has done here . if only the other actors had this same determination .
dan hedaya , ridiculously plays the man who sends carter to prison twice by forcing witnesses to lie and switching evidence around .
it felt like his character was taken straight out of a " scooby doo " episode ; he would have gotten away with it if it was n't for those annoying little kids .
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the kids " in this film are the three canadians who are terribly underused making their relationship with carter underdeveloped and unbelievable .
the lawyers who help release carter also are underused , as is clancy brown as a kind prison guard ( the complete opposite of his character in " shawshank redemption " ) .
there is a great amount of talent in this supporting cast but it just never appears .
hedaya was superb in " clueless , " same for david paymer in " get shorty , " harris yulin in " ghostbusters " and liev schreiber in " the daytrippers .
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it is a mystery how this many actors signed on to such shallow roles .
on the other hand , it is absolutely no mystery why denzel washington agreed to play rubin " hurricane " carter .
this role is about as far off from shallow as you can get .
[A]:
P