TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
PROBLEM: the event of events is upon us .
people have waited twenty - two years for the prequel to star wars and die - hard fans have been camping out at theaters for months to get tickets to see it .
i do n't think that america will ever actually recover from what this hurricane of a film has caused .
it is not a bit of an exaggeration to say that this is the most highly anticipated movie in history .
anyone who tells you " it 's just a movie " is either lying or clueless .
it is clearly obvious that after the waiting and the hype actually seeing the movie will be anticlimactic .
the second coming of the lord could not live up to the kind of buzz ( which is far too weak a word ) that star wars epsode i : the phantom menace so effortlessly generated .
but that does not mean that the film itself is bad .
in fact , it is terrific .
i strongly suspect that many of the people who were dissappointed by it have simply surrendered to the media machine and the inevitable backlash .
it is set some decades before the events of the original 1977 star wars took place .
the film focuses on the fledgling republic of planets and the conflict that is raging : the trade federation , angry at some tax raise that was recently put in place has invaded the small , peaceful planet of naboo .
the republic sent two jedi knights ( people that can actively communicate with what is affectionately known as " the force " ) , qui - gon jinn ( liam neeson ) and obi - wan kenobi ( ewan mcgregor )
to negotiate . unable to stop the tide of events that was about to occur , the jedi and the queen of naboo ( natalie portman ) escape naboo and head for coruscant to try and get the republic senate to intervene .
on the way they get sidetracked to a planet called tatooine , where they meet the movie 's real focal point , young anakin skywalker ( jake lloyd ) .
he is an innocent slave boy , but " the force is strong with him " so qui- gon is determined to take him with them to the jedi counsel and get him trained as a jedi .
as any self - respecting star wars fan should know , anakin will grow up to be darth vader and give birth to luke skywalker .
>
from the beginning it is evident that this is not an actor 's movie .
around 70 % of the characters , if not more , are computer generated in one form or another , and though the effects are seamless , the movie lacks soul .
i think that although the computer has played an incredibly instrumental part in moviemaking this decade , cinema should still be a human art and
the phantom menace nearly defies this .
this is the lightest installment in the star wars saga thus far , with plenty of broad comic relief to go around , much of it courtesy of an irritating knew character named jar - jar binks .
he 's essentially a computer - animated sidekick who says things like " exqueeze me ? " and " mesa go now , okeday ? " , and although it is often amusing
it is also inherently annoying .
the visual effects are astounding
( although director george lucas often chickens out by cutting away from them ) and the movie is a thrilling triumph . if it lacks in plot and in acting
it makes up for it through imagination and excitement .
the climactic lightsaber battle
( oh , come on , as if you did n't already know ) , among other things , is outrageously entertaining and defines the term " popcorn movie " .
what made me surrender and give this movie
*
*
* 1/2 stars was the score by john williams .
even though it does seem like the man scores every single movie that comes out these days ,
his work here is nothing short of brilliant .
his use of opera during the climax really does add a punch and his ingenious way of utilizing the imperial march as a sort of prophecy is chilling .
the phantom menace is probably most effective as pop nostalgia .
when you see " a long time ago , in a galaxy far , far away " , when the familiar music plays , when the words " star wars " appear on screen , you 'll feel a tingle even if you did n't see the movie when it first came out in ' 77 .
it feels oddly exciting to be introduced to young anakin , a boy whose innocence , we know , will be taken away and who will soon cross over to the dark side .
it is the perfect example of dramatic irony to see the jedi masters aspire to get him trained in the jedi arts ; we know that it will do more harm than good , but they do not .
we not only feel more involved in the story , but we feel like we 're seeing the beginning of a saga that we have cherished for years .
the phantom menace , although lacking in human aspects of the story , is a very worthy installment in the star wars .
it works as an action flick ,
visually eye - popping and often paralyzingly exciting ; it also works as an elicitor of memories , a piece of exquisite nostalgia . ?
1999 eugene novikov&#137 ;

SOLUTION: P

PROBLEM: i think maybe it 's time for the batman series to be put to rest .
not only has the first two films ' unsettling insight into what it would really take for someone to make himself into a " superhero " been abandoned , but this one throws any lingering realism out the window and goes for all - out camp with few traces of the self - mocking restraint of the relatively light - hearted third installment .
let me give you an example : in the first scene of the movie , batman ( george clooney ) and robin ( chris o'donnell ) are summoned to a museum that has been literally turned to ice by mr .
freeze ( arnold schwarzenegger ) in an attempt to steal a diamond .
mr .
freeze 's thugs are armed with none other than hockey sticks , but this is no problem for our heroes : automatic skates shoot out of their shoes , at which point robin manages to get hold of a hockey stick , grabs the diamond , and stick - handles it through the museum .
i might have expected this from an airplane - style farce , but i do n't think that 's what this movie is supposed to be . after all , the previous three batman movies were actually fairly realistic by the standards of the superhero / action genre and kept the corny death - defying stunts to a minimum , while playing the obligatory cheesiness with at least some amount of irony .
not any more ; the list goes on and on in this one .
robin holds onto the outside of a flying rocket ship 30 , 000 feet high in the atmosphere , climbing in the door to save batman .
mr . freeze and poison ivy ( uma thurman ) leap from a skyscraper and survive by landing in a small pond .
a world dominating mad scientist lives in a fortress that seems to have been stolen from the old he - man cartoons .
my very favorite example is the scene in which batgirl ( alicia silverstone ) gets in a race with motorcycle thugs , during which they come up with the clever notion of dousing the road with gasoline and setting it on fire to distract her .
not bad , but would n't the police ( or maybe batman ? )
notice if the road was on fire ?
i knew gotham city was this crazy anarchic place ,
but . . . . it also seems that the creators of the batman movies are obeying some unwritten rule that there have to be more main characters and plot lines in each successive installment .
as if three protagonists and two villains were n't enough , batman and robin
further weighs itself down with an underdeveloped side story of the failing health of bruce wayne 's butler alfred ( michael gough ) , which might have seemed poignant if it was n't surrounded by so much silliness , as well as several scenes with elle macpherson as bruce 's girlfriend which serve no purpose other than to remind us that she is in the movie .
all this might be semi - excusable if the story were interesting and entertaining , but it is n't . in fact ,
it 's kind of boring
.
mr . freeze and poison ivy pale in comparison as villains to past baddies such as jack nicholson 's joker and danny devito 's penguin .
their evil plot is as predictable ( schwarzenegger actually pronounces the words , " today gotham city , tomorrow the world ! " ) as it is lame - brained
( did n't it ever occur to poison ivy that freezing the entire world would kill her precious plants too ? ) .
and robin 's constant challenging of batman
mostly just makes him look bull - headed and stupid and makes us wonder why batman ever would have taken him on as a partner in the first place .
strip away the stars , the fancy set design , and the status as a " batman movie , " and all you have here is another barely passable summer action flick .

SOLUTION: N

PROBLEM: the story of us , a rob reiner film , is the second movie this fall that touches the viewer in a way they are rarely touched by a film , as they can see their everyday lives in the usually once in a year films .
well , 1999 has two of them , the other being the instant classic about a very dysfunctional family , american beauty .
the story of us , a film about the highs and lows of marriage and family , is a well written , heartbreaking and insightful film
that made the majority of the audience , including myself , cry .
the story of us tells the story of ben ( bruce willis ) and katie ( michelle pfeiffer ) jordan , and asks the question , " can a marriage survive 15 years of marriage ?
"
the film is about two individuals who have come together , spent a good chunk of their lives together , and shows when our main characters are " him " and " her " ( during the bad times ) , and when they are " us " ( during the good times ) .
the story of us is about their entire 15 years of marriage that is collapsing day by day .
ben and katie now only see and live with each other because they do n't want to devastate their children with the fact that their parents no longer , or at least say they do n't , love each other anymore .
ben , a cartoonist , and katie , a crossword puzzle writer , have grown apart during their fifteen years of marriage , as they have grown to follow different views on life , family , and marriage .
katie is the more organized , sophisticated type , who wants to plan everything out , while ben is a spontaneous , adventurous individual who does n't mind doing things differently than they were planned .
the story of us plays out nicely , as the film opens with ben sharing his story with a therapist , told to the viewer through flashbacks .
as the film progresses , it switches between ben and katie talking to their therapist , with their stories being told with flashbacks of their marriage .
this method is highly effective , as we see the characters changing from year to year , slowly growing apart .
through the flashbacks , we get to see the story of them through both of the character 's eyes , and this gives us a strong sense of what their characters are really like , as the story of us has three dimensional , believable main characters .
the screenplay , written by jessie nelson ( stepmom ) and alan zweibel ( dragnet ) , is a touching , down to earth work that hits a chord within the viewer , much like another one of nelson 's films , stepmom .
the script has an open honesty and outlook on life , one that is so realistic , you feel uncomfortable at many times , because so many situations the characters are in are undeniably familiar , as most families these days most go through the hard times , as ben and katie must .
if it was n't for the first 15 minutes that the writers wrote , which are rugged and certainly flawed , the story of us would have been this year 's best picture .
bruce willis , a usual action / adventure star , has certainly turned himself around in the past year-
he went from being a man who was being typecast to the same role in action movies , to a distinguished , sophisticated actor , as in last summer 's the sixth sense ; and now in the story of us , willis shows the world what he can really do if he is fed a good script .
although i would n't pick willis as the choice actor for ben jordan , willis handles himself nicely , and shines in a few of the film 's most powerful scenes , enough that make his performance a definite contender comes awards season .
where to start about michelle pfeiffer ?
pfeiffer 's performance is spellbinding and ultimately strong , as she brings her character to life with such charisma and emotion
, you wonder how , how it is possible for someone to portray a real person with such realism .
pfeiffer 's performance is one that if not recognized by the academy next spring , will be in the heart 's of any viewer that has watched this moving film .
the story of us is one of 1999 's most real , yet funny films , as the razor sharp script evens out the laughs and the tears to keep the viewer hooked .
superb acting , direction , writing , story , and soundtrack that always sets the mood for the film , which is beautifully composed by eric clapton and marc shaiman , make the story of us a touching , unforgettable motion picture that will touch the hearts of viewers across the country- and will certainly become one of the most talked about movies of the fall .
the film 's major high points are the fights between ben and katie , as the two constantly accuse of each other of whose fault it is that their marriage has collapsed , and although they also say things like
" it 's over , " or " i hate you , " you can tell the two still share a deep connection , and that inside , somewhere , they are still an " us .
"
the bottom line : a wonderful , enchanting , and heartbreaking film .
one of the most realistic , heartbreaking films in recent years .

SOLUTION:
P