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

some of my friends who went to live in usa complain about one thing - that country is very different from the one depicted in hollywood movies .
that is especially true for those who end up somewhere in that unexplored land between los angeles and new york where they find , to their big surprise , that the majority of people vote republican , go to church every sunday and usually do n't tolerate liberal attitudes that are taken for granted in an average american film .
such rude awakening , however , can happen in another direction - conservative people are sometimes forced to discover unpleasant truths about world they live in .
something like that happens to jake van dorn ( george c . scott ) , successful grand rapids businessman who shares strong calvinist convictions with the rest of his community .
one day his daughter kristen ( ilah davis )
disappears from calvinist youth convention in california .
van dorn is worried because he does n't believe that his daughter would run from home .
however , the truth delivered by private investigator andy mast ( peter boyle ) is
even harder - kristen is spotted in cheap pornographic film .
infuriated van dorn is unsatisfied with the way mast 's investigation is going , so he goes to los angeles to search for kristen himself .
unfortunately , he lacks experience and the quest , that brought him to the utter depths of sex underworld , is fruitless .
things change when he devises cunning plan and , while doing it , stumbles on sympathetic prostitute and part time porno actress nicky ( season hubley ) .
almost two decades after its release , hardcore is mostly forgotten by critics and film scholars .
it is a real shame , because very few movies in today 's hollywood would dare tackle controversial issues that writer and director paul schrader explored in his second directorial attempt .
in late 1970s , it was totally different situation - films were expected to have mature , serious themes for the mature audience .
for schrader this film was nice opportunity to expand the subplot of his previous work , taxi driver - one that deals with the great generational divide that tormented the american society in 1970s .
on one side we have an old america that sticks to the puritan ideals of hard work and strict morals that made that country great .
but that america is obviously unable to cope with the new challenges brought by the social turmoil in 1960s and , instead of facing them , prefers to live in rural , conservative cocoons .
the new america , on the other hand , fares no better - ideals of the so - called " sexual revolution " , same as all other " revolutions " of the swinging sixties , degraded into exploitation and depravity .
instead of being " liberated " , baby boomers are stuck with their own inability to cope with the newly discovered freedoms .
schrader very cleverly brings the idea that those two americas , actually , are n't so far away - nice example is a brilliant scene in which van dorn , already described as an authoritarian and paternalistic capitalist , meets sleazy porno producer ; the latter one also turns out to be authoritarian , paternalistic and very dedicated to this job .
the difference between the two is simply in the line of work .
many contemporary critics actually accused schrader of promoting conservative agenda .
on the surface , it may look that way - audience is forced to sympathise with van dorn and his quest .
in the first scenes , he is portrayed as nice family man who actually does n't deserve to experience parent 's worst nightmare .
the scene in the porno cinema that reveals kristen 's fate is extremely cruel ; pain and humiliation , brought by oscar - winning actor george c . scott , is of such intensity , that the audience feels sorry for him and simply must support his agenda .
van dorn is perhaps flawed , and the subtle hints lead to the unflattering truth at the end ; but the viewers simply know that his cause is just , and that prodigal daughter must be better off with her loving father than with the sleazy pornographers that only want to exploit her body .
on the other hand , schrader , who grew up in an environment very much like van dorn 's ( his own parents would n't allow him to watch movies until he was 18 ) , knows better and tries to bring another side of coin .
even the people connected with sex underworld can show redeeming qualities - like nicky , who actually tries to improve her life , and sleazy detective who develops something like a conscience at the end .
unfortunately , schrader fails to erase the impact of the shocking scene at the beginning , and his attempt to reconcile the opposing sides of america seems lost in somewhat clich ?
d finale .
the script is slightly flawed , and schrader as director does n't show too much originality - his style seems too influenced by techniques that scorsese used in taxi driver .
apart from the scenes in grand rapids , those two films even look alike .
but the content might be more than interesting for today 's viewer , especially those inspired by the current 70s revival . until boogie nights , no hollywood mainstream movie ever dared to explore the phenomenon of pornography in 1970s .
hardcore , on the other hand , might serve as precious document , because it depicts sex film industry in the period often regarded as the golden age by connoisseurs - before the advent of video , when many of the porno filmmakers could afford to think of themselves as artists .
the view of such age and the industry is very unflattering , though , but for the film whose main character takes time to explain calvinist doctrines to the audience , that should n't be too surprising .
anyway , despite some flaws , hardcore remains very interesting and powerful piece of cinema .
P

the job of the film critic is to see a movie and write a review of it that tells you what it 's about and why it 's good or bad .
i feel kind of embarrassed to admit this , but i after having seen " get carter
" i really ca n't tell you what it 's about although i could go on and on about how and why it 's a bad movie .
" get carter " falls into that category of ?
movies that continue to be made for reasons unknown to anyone outside of a hollywood executive board room .
you might call them the " steven seagal / mickey rourke / jean - claude van damme / wesley snipes school of mediocre action / crime thrillers .
"
you know - the potboilers that are heavy on fistfights , shoot - outs and car chases but really light on plot and character development .
they have stories where the so - called hero just keeps running into characters who have some connection to one of the other characters who are all antagonists without a reason for being in the movie other than to give the protagonist someone to fight , chase or shoot at .
sylvester stallone stars as jack carter , a las vegas - based mob enforcer who returns home
* for his brother 's funeral .
he believes his brother ?
richie was " taken out " and did n't die from a dwi accident .
carter 's one of the most cliche bad - asses ever captured on celluloid .
his face alone is pretty intimidating and there 's quite a few scenes in which he leans on both regular citizens and criminal lowlives simply by staring them down and speaking with confidence in his " rambo - on - testosterone - therapy " voice .
stallone 's performance in this movie is so forced and unnatural
he does n't realize he 's mocking himself .
the actual story involves carter 's investigation into his brother richie 's death .
he 's in a town that 's not his
but somehow the local top dogs know him very well .
mickey rourke co - stars as one of these characters , a sort of crime boss who has something to do with running a porno web site and blackmailing a young internet tycoon
( played by alan cummings looking and acting a lot like pee wee herman ) .
there 's also another plot involving richie 's mistress , a secret cd - rom with some convicting and disturbing evidence on it and something terrible involving one of carter 's still - living relatives .
i 'm rolling my eyes
just thinking about trying to critique all this in a way that could be remotely comprehendible .
i could just rip the screenplay to shreds , plus the direction or the editing or the production values but that would require discussion of nearly every scene in order to explain it all .
i do n't like to put spoliers in my reviews either intentionally or accidentally .
yes , " get carter " is just that complicated and complex .
and what 's worse is that it 's not this intricate to make it seem smart like " the usual suspects " for example - just the opposite .
you get the feeling whoever wrote this script
did it in short intervals spaced far apart
and they probably did n't remember what had already happened and did n't figure out how each scene would lead in to the next one or how the major plot points would work towards the climax .
all you really need to know is that most of the film is just scenes of carter tracking down one scumbag or supposed witness after another , asking them what they know , getting information and then realizing that if he was n't a complete idiot he could have figured it out in the first five minutes .
although the supporting characters are equally stupid themselves since they tell him everything which comes back to haunt them in one violent way or another .
making a movie entirely about criminals does n't necessarily mean they have to be unlikable and cliche cutout characters .
mel gibson starred in " payback " a few years ago
that had a story not unlike this one but had such a good screenplay you could n't help
but like him even though he was just as bad a guy as jack carter .
so ultimately " get
carter " fails for pretty much every selling point it has
. carter is not a likable character and you really do n't care if he gets revenge or not .
the action sequences are not at all exciting or original .
the enemies and their massive conspiracy are not threatening at all ( c'mon , you know who 's going to win every brawl and shoot - out and car chase ) .
in the end you do n't feel nearly satisfied with the results .
the filmmakers did a good job in doing everything as unoriginal as possible .
*
the city is never mentioned by name
but i assume it 's seattle since all the cars have washington license plates
and it 's always raining .
N

"
a private matter " is based on the true story of sherri finkbine and the events in her life during the 1960s .
after becoming pregnant ( for the fifth time ) she learns that some tranquilizers she had taken have seriously deformed her unborn child .
she and her husband decide , with the help of her doctor , to have an abortion .
but this is the 1960s , and abortion is illegal .
her doctor has made arrangements to have the procedure performed withing the law , by claiming that the child is endangering the mother 's life .
everything is about to work out just fine , until sherri has the uncontrollable urge to talk about her situation with a local reporter .
this sets off a media frenzy and immediately sherri is the most hated woman in the world .
she and her husband are fired from their jobs , reporters are surrounding their home at all times , and most importantly , no one in the country ( and eventually other countries ) will perform the abortion .
this causes emotion problems for all involved .
"
a private matter " is a fascinating story
and it 's hard to believe that this only happened 30 years or so ago .
it 's only flaw
is that not once is there ever a satisfactory confrontation with sherri and any of her opponents .
one woman passing her on the street telss her to burn in hell , and when sherri appropriately yells back , " just tell me what i 'm supposed to do , " the woman has no answer .
no one apparently had an answer , they just wanted to control what should have been only the choice of sherri and her husband .
this is an important film , telling an important story .
it 's not just about not wanting another child , it 's about not wanting a child who will cause severe changes in their family , none of which could be beneficial .
sydney pollack served as executive producer for this made for hbo movie .

P