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

[Q]: ( warning to those who have not seen seven : this review contains some spoiler information . )
seven is a powerful , fully - realized film on the level of the silence of the lambs .
it is a disturbing film that accomplishes its biggest of goals -- it occupies the viewers mind long after the closing credits have rolled .
while this film is not for the squeamish , there is no denying that seven demands attention , for it is a film that transcends its genre in both style and substance .
for starters , classifying seven as a " thriller " would not be an altogether complete classification of this film .
while i was genuinely thrilled throughout , i would rather call seven an " intense drama , " because that is what it delivers -- meaningful scenes with a relentlessness that does not readily let up .
part of director david finchers accomplishment is in style .
he seems to have a knack for knowing exactly how the average person fears something as " simple " as a corpse .
and visually , fincher shows us the remains of murder victims in all - too - realistic and graphic terms ( courtesy of rob bottin 's always - grisly special effects ) .
throw in the appropriate but not - to - be - underestimated effects of lighting and a foreboding score and the result is a technical masterpiece of the murder scene .
these scenes alone are quite impressive ; as fascinating as they are harrowing .
yet , seven is more than just a technical accomplishment .
in addition to style , fincher supplies substance .
seven has compelling characters that it wants us to know and understand , and fincher ties them all together in a completely pessimistic view of society .
detective william somerset ( morgan freeman ) is a man who has nearly given up on the world .
its easy to see why .
the world does n't make sense .
( somerset drives this point home with a rather ghastly story of a robbery victim who was attacked just blocks from the police precinct .
after knocked down and robbed of his wallet , the attacker stabbed the helpless man in both eyes . )
why should somerset believe that by following this murder investigation and " picking up the pieces " he will be able to catch the killer ?
somersets new partner , david mills ( brad pitt ) has not given up on the world , perhaps because he is still young ( and perhaps by having this optimism he 's naive in
this films portrayal of the world ) .
he completely disagrees with somersets abandonment of hope .
however , david 's wife ( gwyneth paltrow ) has so much fear of her urban surroundings , she is n't even sure if she wants to * tell * her husband about her recent pregnancy , let alone carry it until birth and attempt to raise it in this environment .
these three characters are all performed with skill and authenticity
that makes them feel like real people and not the typical hollywood characters a lesser film might have offered .
and in addition to making clear how each of these characters sees the world , fincher gives us support for
* why * they feel the way they do .
but if there 's one character that underlines the message seven is trying to convey , it has to be the killer , john doe ( kevin spacey ) .
seven 's payoff lies in its ability to allow us to see how the killer views the world and what drives him to do what he does .
one important thing to remember about doe is how easy it is to simply dismiss him as a " psycho , " with no motives behind his slayings .
this is exactly the mistake mills makes .
in the extremely intense and superbly performed closing scenes , were allowed to see that doe is , in his mind , merely a product of society .
he 's a killer who kills those who are bringing society down .
in his mind he did n't kill " innocent " people , and , perhaps , they were not completely innocent ( but , then again , who is ? ) .
he s absolutely infuriated that mills believes that the murder victims were innocent .
really , seven does n't just comment on the superficial obviousness of how screwed - up john doe is .
seven makes larger statements about how screwed - up society is , hinting that society 's degradation is simply conducive of creating more john does .
besides the stylistic and larger - issue arguments for seeing this film , i recommend seven because it is , after all , also a very slick and well - made thriller .
it features exciting plot developments , commanding performances , lots of suspense , and a conclusion that is chilling , riveting , and quite unfair .
but then again , its a cruel world .
[A]: P


[Q]: 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 .
[A]: N


[Q]: the makers of spawn have created something almost as vacuous
as this summer 's other comic book adaptation , batman and robin .
both films make the mistake of adapting for the screen not only the look of their graphic counterparts , but also their monosyllabic dialogue and empty - headed character motivations .
in panel - sized morsels , implausible plots and " rambo
" -esque dialogue are often overshadowed by the artwork , but on thirty foot silver screens , it 's much more difficult to dismiss the shallowness behind the pretty pictures .
spawn is ostensibly about an assassin named simmons ( white ) who is framed by a corporate baddie ( played without irony by sheen ) , then set on fire and left for dead .
though the movie skimps on the next few plot points , here 's what i could determine : said assassin then becomes the leader of satan 's army , under the tutelage of a flatulating midget named clown ( leguizamo , grating as always ) .
he is renamed , for reasons unbeknownst , spawn , and granted a really cool costume that enables him to become something of a human chameleon .
but when spawn spies on a birthday party for his child , he realizes that he ca n't be the evil superdemon he 's expected to be , and he sets about avenging his untimely death .
typical of summer blockbusters , spawn is an effects - laden ninety minute rock video .
while the visions of hell are laughably crude
( think the virtual reality sequences of the lawnmower man ) , spawn 's prehensile outfit and the action sequences are truly something to behold .
but the storytelling is completely lacking in emotion
( spawn longs for his wife , but they do n't have a single scene together before simmons ' death ! ) , conflict ( who will triumph is not anybody 's guess ) , and believability ( not that i expected it ) .
so many questions are left unanswered , and i 'm sure they wo n't be addressed in the inevitable sequel .
while last year 's the crow : city of angels suffered similar problems with its narrative ( which was lazy and somewhat incoherent ) , it had atmosphere to spare and genuine moments of hypnotic power .
spawn is an in - your - face , screaming banshee of a film ; these guys know how to graft a comic book onto celluloid , but they have n't the faintest idea how to make a movie .
[A]:
N