In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
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Question: here is a film that is so unexpected , so scary , and so original that it caught me off guard and threw me for a loop .
okay , it is n't quite original ,
considering it is a sequel to the box office hit species , but
it certainly is smart .
most films of this genre are reminiscent of those cheesy b - horror films from the 50s and 60s , and some even become them .
however , as we learned with the 1995 small - budget horror / sci - fi film , sometimes expectations can be shattered .
a lot of criticism has gone against this film ( from what i have read so far , anyway -- yep , all two reviews ) , and it makes me wonder why these types of films are automatically dismissed as gory , laughable pieces of trash .
but , the thing is , it is n't .
it 's well made , well acted , and quite intelligent .
i can see most of the critics now complaining about the level of gore or the level of sexuality in the film .
but the species series is n't about the lack of these elements .
it 's about how much it can get into one film .
and yet , behind it all , it has this basic premise that allows it to get away with doing so .
species ii begins in the present day , though it seems to be an alternate universe .
many films ( especially sci - fi ones ) create similar timelines as our realistic one , but change it to fit the film 's needs .
species ii begins with the arrival of an american spacecraft , the excursion , landing on the surface of mars .
aboard is patrick ross ( justin lazard ) , a very bright and very handsome astronaut .
patrick is the son of senator ross ( james cromwell ) , who just wants patrick to succeed .
well , it would seem that he has succeeded .
landing on the surface of mars , he is the first human being to ever do so .
of course , he is n't the first ever .
about a billion years ago , an alien species supposedly landed on mars and destroyed the perfect living conditions that were able to sustain life .
now , of course , the red planet is cold and rocky .
no life lives on it .
that is , no visible life .
patrick , upon leaving the spacecraft and landing on the red soil , collects samples from the ground .
he takes them aboard , and puts them in storage .
unfortunately , one of the samples contains a form of life , and it gets loose when it is heated aboard the ship .
just prior to heading back to earth , this life form creeps along the floor and inhabits the earthlings .
they pass out for approximately seven minutes , and then shrug it off as nothing , because they ca n't even remember .
they blame it on a technical malfunction .
back on earth , patrick begins to have strong urges to mate with as many women as possible .
as we know from the original , this is because the alien wants to breed and take over the planet .
however , the children that are bred are half - human , as their father is .
patrick is really looking for another alien to breed with , and he finds it in eve ( natasha henstridge ) .
eve was cloned from dna taken from sil , the original alien .
however , this time around , most of her " alien " urges have been either decreased dramatically , or lie dormant .
the project is led by dr .
laura baker ( marg helgenberger , reprising her role from species ) , and her motives seem respectable .
since she was involved with the original alien attack , she wants to learn how to stop the alien should it come again .
and it has .
story - wise
, species ii is much stronger than its predecessor , but it is also much stronger than , say , aliens
( hey , i love the film , but you ca n't tell me it was strong on story ) .
what surprised me the most with this film was the incorporation of historical facts into the screenplay .
in my search for extraterrestrial intelligence course in college , we learned about a piece of rock from mars which landed in one of the poles .
this piece of rock contained fossils which may have been proof of life on mars ( later , it was proven that it was not a living creature that created it ) .
the script uses this effectively , but also manages to provide a well - balanced plot .
beginning with the first man on mars ( something i have always dreamed of seeing ) , i was hoping that the film would turn this element into a useful starting point for the movie .
and it does it quite well .
the characters are all smart , and they know what to do and what not to do .
the only character that seems a little cliched is the general ( george dzundza ) , and yet
, he remains logical in everything he does .
there are the obvious flaws of course , mostly lying in the technical aspects .
the special effects are only mediocre , and some are just plain bad .
but for the most part , they remain believable
( i even noticed a homage to the alien series when the mothers gave birth to alien children ) .
also , the most realistic ones are usually the goriest , ranging from people being torn open , or someone 's head being blown off .
however , some plot elements also may elicit laughs from the audience , including a menage a troi that is all but necessary .
many people dislike the species series because all it is is an excuse for sex , nudity , and gory violence .
however , i tend to disagree .
what were the alien films about ?
and , if an alien species ever did come to earth , and their sole purpose was to destroy us , would n't you mate as quickly as possible with as many people as possible ?
my only gripe with this is during the scene where patrick goes searching for a mate in a grocery store .
i did n't realize that aliens were that picky on choosing women to mate with
( i just assume it is his part - human side looking for the most beautiful one ) .
the acting is quite good for this kind of film .
it is a vast improvement over the first film , at least .
the acting is the key element to this film : if it was bad , it would have lowered itself into camp ; if it was good , it would have asked for comparison with films like aliens .
okay ,
so it is n't that good .
george dzundza is probably the most obvious mistake on casting , as his over - the - top impersonation of a general makes him annoying and distracting .
natasha henstridge is limited this time around , as she is usually enclosed in a cage .
however , she does manage a very impressive performance with this aspect hindering any of her talent .
oh yeah ,
and she 's quite fun to just plain watch .
marg helgenberger is immensely better this time around , and her performance is probably the best in this film .
michael madsen is so - so , but he is n't annoying ,
and he soon becomes rather appealing
( with his nice cynic personality ) .
james cromwell has a small part , but he makes it much better than what it could have been with a more incapable actor .
as i say , any film with james cromwell dramatically increases in likeability .
mykelti williamson gives an enjoyable performance , and he gives the film a more down - to - earth feel .
and , of course , justin lazard .
lazard has so far been ridiculed for his performance ,
but i think he is effective .
sure , he is wooden , but is n't that what his character is like ?
the moment when he touches the glass separating henstridge from him was extremely well done , due to the couple 's acting .
species ii is rated r for strong sexuality , sci - fi violence / gore and language .
this is definitely an r rated film that young kids should not see .
more than likely , they would probably have nightmares and never have sex for the rest of their lives .
hell , i do n't even know if i will .
what is sure to be a critically lambasted film turns out to be the surprise film of the year .
i probably wo n't see another film where i was expecting so little and got so much for quite a while .
director peter medak has crafted a very suspenseful , and sometimes very scary movie out of a mediocre series .
medak has also mastered the wonderful " jump !
" moments , and has probably the second scariest moment i have ever seen on film ( scream still has the first ) .
strong acting , smart dialogue , intelligent plotting , and a sure - handed director , species ii is exactly what these films should be : entertaining .

Answer: P


Question: ( 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 .

Answer: P


Question: bob the happy bastard 's quickie review : the matrix what 's worse than y2k ? how about a fully digital future where nothing is real ?
that 's what computer programmer neo ( keanu reeves )
slowly learns as he enters the dangerous world that is the matrix , a movie directed by the wachowski brothers ( the guys behind the hip thriller bound ) .
before you groan at the presence of reeves in the lead role , hold on .
there 's actually a story with depth here .
it seems that a group of hackers is out to stop the system that is the matrix , led by the bald but brilliant laurence fishburne and assisted by carrie ann moss , who looks quite cool in leather , i must say .
neo
( reeves ) is pretty much a key player in this fight , although he really does n't look it at first .
could this amateur be " the one " as fisburne thinks he is ? credit the wachowskis for putting together a great story that allows suspense to build , something that few special effects - laden films seem to do these days .
there 's plenty of effects to go around , of course , but at least there 's a backbone to build them on as well .
reeves is surprisingly good in his role as neo , particularly in a fight scene with fishburne that comes across as goofy , yet great .
i wish the villains were n't quite so " generic
" ( leftover g - men from looking for a sweet sci - fi actioner with plenty of stop - motion swooping camera angles and , of course , a motherlode of a helicopter explosion .
now the wachowskis are headed into horror films with their next project . bring it on .

Answer:
P