niryuu/sni-each-converted huggingface dataset:
review-
peter jackson 's the frighteners has received some notice for setting the record for most computer effects ever in a movie , and still coming in at the extremely cheap $ 30 million price tag .
but for those who were dismayed by this year 's blockbusters like twister and independence day , the frighteners has much more to offer than special effects .
and for those worried wether or not peter jackson would compromise to hollywood you can rest easily .
the frighteners is as far removed from hollywood as a high - profile movie can get .
michael j. fox stars as frank bannister , a con artist who can speak to ghosts .
he uses this ability to set up a scam in a small town where his ghost buddies scare the hell out of people , then he comes and pretends to get rid of them .
this is how he has made a living ever since his wife died in a car crash 5 years ago .
frank 's latest customers are a young couple , played by trini alvarado and peter dobson .
when dobson ends up dead , alvarado starts to take an interest in fox .
but dobson 's spirit is still around as he refuses to beleive
he 's dead .
this leads to a very awkward and amusing dinner date between fox and alvarado , with dobson tagging along as a ghost .
things start getting complicated for fox when he is accused for a series of murders taking place in the town .
fox sees someone named the soul collector crushing the heart of the victims , but noone else can see that .
so when fox shows up to try and save each victim , naturally people suspect he is the killer .
fox sees that alvarado is next on the soul collector 's hit list , and the last half hour of the movie deals with fox 's attempts to save her from this evil spirit .
there are many wonderful twists and turns in the screenplay written by peter jackson and frances walsh .
the movie starts off as a black comedy , and ends up a horror - action film .
the mix between these genres are perfect .
no laughs are sacrificed in the name of horror , and vice versa .
one point of contention might be a lackluster score by danny elfman .
but that hardly seems like a flaw when you have such a diverse cast all in top form .
michael
j. fox delivers one of his best performances to date as a man who hides the sorrow of his wife 's death , and then is forced to confront this later on .
alvarado , looking like andie macdowell , makes a great frightened , tough , and smart heroine .
and jeffery combs , as a paranoid fbi agent , is brilliantly bizaare .
the frighteners never once feels like it is running long .
the first hour is as funny as any comedy this year , and the last half hour is as thrilling as any of the big budget blockbusters .
this movie is probably what casper would 've looked like if david lynch directed it .
it 's easily the best film of the year , so far .
Output: P
susan granger 's review of " legally blonde " ( m. g. m. )
it 's a " pretty in pink " / " clueless " coming - of - age story for the new millennium
as elle woods ( reese witherspoon ) , a perky southern california sorority queen , switches from fashion to law in order to win back her yuppy boyfriend
( matthew davis ) .
the girl - power story begins as this sweetheart of delta nu is unceremoniously dumped by a bonehead who says : " if i 'm going to be a senator by the time i 'm 30 .
..
i need to marry a jackie , not a marilyn .
" determined to prove she 's as smart a snobby brunette ( selma blair ) from country - club connecticut ,
elle not only applies to harvard law school but gets in , much to the amazement of family , friends and faculty .
once there , this flaxen - haired fish - out - of - water not only survives but tenaciously thrives , befriending a local manicurist ( jennifer coolidge ) , dazzling a professor ( victor garber ) and rescuing a defendant ( ali larter ) in a celebrated boston murder trial , plus finding a more worthy beau ( luke wilson ) .
in the tradition of teen - comedy film - maker john hughes and his disciple amy heckerling , there 's wit , cheerfulness , a fidelity of observation and a penchant for problem - solving .
first - time feature director robert luketic is blessed with reese witherspoon who 's joyously incandescent in this utterly formulaic light comedy written by karen mccullah lutz and kirsten smith , based on a soon - to - be - published novel by amanda brown .
the supporting cast is terrific , particularly raquel welch and holland taylor - and i particularly got a kick out of the gag of elle distributing scented resumes in pink ,
her signature color on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , " legally blonde " is a frivolous , funny , feel - good 8 . filled with ditzy blonde ambition , it 's a movie for high - school kids that their parents would be happy to have them see .
Output: P
what do you get when you combine clueless and dumb and dumber ?
to answer the question , you get director david mirkin 's new comedy romy and michele 's high school reunion .
romy white ( mira sorvino , mighty aprhodite ) and michele weinberger ( lisa kudrow , tv 's friends ) have been inseparable buddies since they graduated from sagebrush high in 1987 .
however , when former classmate heather mooney ( janeane garafolo , the truth about cats and dogs ) confronts romy about the 10 year reunion , she is astounded that she forgot .
watching pretty woman for the um - teenth time , they are reminded of how they would n't let julia roberts ' character shop in the expensive stores because of her appearance .
then it hits them : they are not successful .
what are she and michele going to do ?
romy 's instant solution is lose some weight off their already slender frames , " bag a couple of boyfriends , " and get jobs .
romy says this will be easy , but michele retorts that if it is so easy , why had n't they already done it .
robin schiff 's script keeps the show moving with some nice one - liners .
one of the best has romy reminiscing about her life 's battle against the bathroom scales .
"
i was so lucky getting mono , " she says looking at her thinnest high school picture .
"
that was like the best diet ever .
"
the casting for the film is so perfect that one begins to suspect that the leads were chosen and then the script was developed .
romy and michele use their high school yearbook to discuss the caste system at their high school .
the film 's editor david finfer dissolves the stills from the yearbook to live action flashbacks which makes the past come to life .
at sagebrush high , the hierarchy consisted of the a group ( cheerleaders ) , the b group ( drama club ) and the c group ( nerds ) .
romy and michele were none of the above .
ridiculed as " the weirdoes , " they were constant targets for abuse .
even though they were quite attractive , they had so much fun being together that they did not care about the others .
that they make their own outlandish clothes helped keep the wall around them . complementing romy and michele 's lightness , is janeane garofalo as the dark , pudgy heather mooney .
heather , who invented a new cigarette paper for cigarettes with " twice the taste in half the time for the gal on the go , " has the success and the money that they would like .
heather was even more of an outsider than they were in high school .
garofalo 's one - dimensional role is only a side show .
this is a two person film with the other characters there merely for the two leads to bounce their lines off of .
the genuine chemistry between sorvino and kudrow makes for a sweet and sometimes touching comedy .
they have so much fun acting out their parts , their enjoyment spreads to the audience . ,
Output: P
wyatt earp has a lot to tell and little to say .
this story of the legendary lawman runs three hours and nine minutes and that 's too long for this epic - wannabe that plays more like a tv mini - series than a movie .
the story opens on the earp family farm , with young wyatt ready to run away from home .
he wants to fight in the civil war , but his dad ( hackman ) has different ideas and wants his son to study law .
time passes and wyatt heads west , returns home to marry , and , after a spell , begins his career in law enforcement .
by the time he ( costner ) and his brothers ( madsen , david andrews , and linden ashby ) arrive in tombstone , wyatt has tried his hand at everything from hunting buffalo to dealing cards .
wyatt earp is very appealing in places-- such as cast , costumes , and cinematography-- but an overstated story and overpowered score deaden most of the emotional impact .
who can be moved by scene after scene after scene of swelling strings and suffocating speeches ?
somber is
fine-- just ask clint eastwood-- but
this film that boasts not one , not two , but three , count 'em three , hammy death scenes !
still , a little bit of earp goes a long way and the life and times of the legendary lawman are from uninteresting stuff .
his , uh , unusual relations with women , for example , are an intriguing contrast to his character 's credo of
" nothing counts as much as blood .
" equally amusing is a buffalo - hunting ( and skinning ! )
sequence that is decidedly non - pc .
director lawrence kasdan takes a refreshingly realistic approach to the gunplay .
the infamous gunfight at the ok corral is both brutal and brief , devoid of almost any theatrics .
do n't look for much glorified violence here .
despite some large exclamation points in the story , the characters * do * come to life .
the diverse cast includes everyone from betty buckley ( ! ) to mackenzie astin ( ! ! ) .
kevin costner is very good in the title role .
dances with whitney nevers get as steely as the role requires , though , but his transformation from lighthearted law student to stoic sheriff is fun to watch .
he was tougher in a perfect world .
his foil is dennis quaid , who pulled a deniro by losing 40 + pounds to play the tubercular terror doc holliday .
gaunt * and * gamely ,
he 's a scene stealer who 's seen too little .
other familiar faces include tom sizemore ( looking like bruce mcgill ) , bill pullman ( looking like jeff daniels ) , and lea thompson ( looking like someone other than lea thompson ) .
both gene hackman and isabella rosselini appear and disappear like magic , while late entries catherine o'hara and jobeth williams are surprisingly solid .
though the story and score should 've tried " less is more , " all other credits are technical tops .
production designer ida random , art director gary wissner , and costume designer colleen atwood are some of the vips who helped spend what must 've been an enormous budget .
clearly no expense was spared .
Output: P
originally titled ' do n't lose your head ' , this parody of the scarlet pimpernel story was the first carry on to be produced by rank film productions .
two english fops , the ' powdered , be - wigged , be - ribboned ' sir rodney ffing ( sidney james ) and his counterpart lord darcy pew ( jim dale ) decide to travel to revolutionary france in an attempt to rescue their fellow french royalists and aristocrats from losing their heads by the guillotine .
due to a series of machinations and disguises , they are largely successful .
ffing becomes known as ' the black fingernail ' because he leaves a calling card behind which shows two fingers sticking up , one with a black fingernail .
after the fingernail rescues a prominent royalist the duc de pommfrit ( charles hawtrey ) , citizen robespierre ( peter gilmore ) orders the head of the secret police citizen ' the big cheese ' camembert ( kenneth williams ) and citizen bidet ( peter butterworth ) to follow the fingernail to england and do away with him .
( in fact , darcy and ffing are their coachmen ! )
once at calais , the fingernail meets jacqueline ( dany robin ) and they fall in love instantly .
he tells her his identity and gives her his locket .
when camembert realises that the fingernail is nearby , he searches the inn at calais and captures jacqueline , thinking that she is wearing a diguise and is really the fingernail !
jacqueline is imprisoned in the bastille and camembert , his love desiree dubarry ( joan sims ) , and bidet all travel to london in pursuit of the fingernail .
they pretend to be of noble stock , calling themselves the duc and duchesse
de la plume
de ma tante ( with bidet their assistant ) and are invited by darcy to a ball held by ffing .
desiree finds out that ffing is the fingernail by wearing the locket around her neck , but she ends up falling in love with him . ffing attempts to stall camembert so that he can return to the bastille to rescue jacqueline , camembert has her moved to the ' chateau neuve ' , and a climactic sword - fight decides who will lose their heads at the end of the film !
a more complex story than most carry ons
, this film enjoys good production values ( sets , costumes ) and an on - form cast .
sid james is excellent as the english fop and black fingernail , kenneth williams excels as the evil camembert , and peter butterworth expertly plays the substantial part of camembert 's thick - witted crony .
other acting honours go to joan sims who is perfect as desiree and charles hawtrey who is excellent as the french aristo pommfrit .
although it suffers from a disasterously over - long sword fight at the end of the film , it is largely successful due to the performances of the main stars , its slick and professional production , and its better - than - usual script .
definitely one of the best of the series and a joy to watch .
Output: P
ingredients : down - on - his - luck evangelist , church synopsis : sonny dewey ( robert duvall ) is a tireless texas pentecostal preacher who unexpectedly catches his wife ( farrah fawcett ) in bed with another guy .
in a regrettable crime of passion he takes a baseball bat to the guy 's head , and suddenly finds himself a fugitive for murder , and estranged from his wife and two kids .
to atone for his sins , sonny flees to a rural bayou town in louisiana and baptizes himself as a new creature - - the apostle
e. f. as the apostle
e. f. sonny 's main mission is to revive an abandoned church community and preach the gospel at the local radio station .
soon he sets about resurrecting the one way road to heaven holiness temple . but sonny knows his time is short ; one day the police will find him .
opinion
: this movie is a thought - provoking look at an evangelist in real life terms .
i believe that robert duvall ( who is the producer , director , writer , and main star of the apostle ) deserves an oscar for his performance as sonny the religious crusader
- - a performance which is so complex and realistic
it ranks as one of the finest acting performances on film .
duvall 's portrayal of a true believer is authentic , superb , and inspired ; it offers the audience a completely honest look at southern religion , as well as a portrait of a fallible , complicated man driven by his beliefs .
incidentally , in real life duvall was just as ' driven ' in getting the project underway .
since no major hollywood studio wanted to risk financing a complex movie about an evangelist , the apostle as a project lay dormant for almost 13 years before duvall was able to get it done , paying for its production with his own money ( about five million dollars ) .
in terms of hard - hitting realism and character portrayal the apostle would rank as one of the best movies of this decade , and i emphatically recommend the apostle for connoisseurs of stage and fine acting on film .
similarly , those with a steep background in pentecostal christianity would find the apostle a thought - provoking experience .
on the other hand , the apostle 's main strength - - duvall 's preaching - - is also what limits the apostle 's target audience .
in terms of plot and pure entertainment value , the apostle is definitely not for everyone .
teenagers , action fans , comedy fans , and people who find church completely boring should stay far away from this movie , since three quarters of the film is watching sonny preach at church .
in other words , the apostle is a four star performance , but with a very limited audience .
Output: P
billy bob thornton , who had a sudden rise to fame with 1996 's sling blade after spending years as a virtually unknown actor and writer , is becoming one of the most versatile - and most accomplished - american actors around at the moment .
as jacob , the simple but at times very bright loser brother of bill paxton 's hank , thornton gives a performance which should leave an indelible mark on all but the most hardened viewers .
three men , hank ( paxton ) , jacob ( thornton ) and their friend lou ( brent briscoe ) stumble upon a plane wreck which , upon closer inspection , yields a rotting corpse and a bag full of money .
jacob and lou want to pocket the cash .
hank , the smarter - and perhaps more naive - of the three , insists on leaving the money for the authorities to find .
eventually , they agree to keep the cash safe until the plane is found , and then split the money three ways .
things start going wrong , though , with greed and violence weaving their ways through their plan .
disaster is sure to strike .
director sam raimi , of the evil dead and darkman fame , has made an excellent and thought - provoking film
, worlds away from the comic horror films which made his name .
while there are a couple of moments which might remind one of his earlier work , raimi has made an intelligent and mature departure which will hopefully be a sign of even greater films to come .
scott
b. smith 's screenplay , based on his novel ( which i have n't read ) is a fine example of escalating tension .
while it does remind one of danny boyle 's shallow grave without the abundance of black humour , it keeps the drama that should really be a part of such a story on morality , or the lack thereof , found in a film with this subject matter .
alar kivilo 's cinematography reminds one of joel and ethan coen 's fargo , with the bleak , snowy landscape almost becoming another character .
danny elfman also does well with his moody , finely - written score .
if there 's a flaw in the film , it 's that it goes on for just a little too long .
just when we think that they are about to wrap things up , raimi and smith decide to let the film go on a little further .
while this is n't really a bad thing , it did become a little frustrating at times ( this may have been due to the fact that i had consumed a large sprite beforehand ) .
the performances are excellent , with the usually annoying paxton in fine form and bridget fonda giving a scene - stealing turn as hank 's scheming wife .
this is an excellent showcase for thornton 's fine skills as an actor and a great change in direction for raimi , who could very well have a career ahead of him as an accomplished director of dramatic films .
fingers crossed , though , that this does n't stop him from making another evil dead sequel .
Output: P
like the great musical pieces of mozart himself , amadeus is a true work of art .
it is one of those few movies of the 80 's that will be known for its class , its style , and its intelligence .
why is this such a good film ?
there are almost too many reasons to explain .
the story : court composer salieri ( f. murray abraham ) feels waves of different emotions going through his head as wolfgang amadeus mozart ( tom hulce ) comes into his life as the young genius composer .
salieri feels envy , and jealousy , but at the same time is fascinated with mozart 's brilliance and ingenious .
we travel through mozart 's life as a composer , through his struggles , his triumphs , and ultimately , his demise .
the acting : abraham is magnificient as salieri ; his acting range enables him to focus on each individual emotion and express it through his speech and body language .
this performance earned him a well deserved oscar .
tom hulce is interesting as well as mozart , a quirky , annoying bratty kid with an annoying laugh .
he 's strong , but weak at the same time , and must be aided by his wife ( elizabeth berridge ) , who is good in her role , but lacks dramatic depth .
jeffrey jones , in a smaller , more dignified role than such roles in stay tuned and
mom and dad save the world , is cast perfectly because of his noble charm .
the movie : every element of this movie works .
the costumes and makeup are very memorable , as well as its stunning art direction , and unforgettable scores ( adapted from mozart 's original music ) .
while wolfgang amadeus mozart was a genius at music , milos forman proves with his film that he is a genius of filmmaking .
this movie is a classic that will be remembered for years to come .
ad2am "
i almost lost my nose .
..
and i like it .
i like breathing through it .
"
-jack nicholson , chinatown
Output: P
not too many people know who james whale is , but it 's a safe bet that a good chunk of them have seen his movies .
if we are to believe the semi- biographical gods and monsters , whale would have wanted it to be that way .
this is an insightful , haunting exploration of the last days of the frankenstein and bride of frankenstein director , and it is notable for introducing one of the first complicated gay characters in a hollywood movie .
gods and monsters has no interest in being a biopic of whale 's life because it tracks only the final few days of his life , and it 's probably a better movie for it .
it 's focus is on whale 's ( ian mckellen ) untraditional and deceptive lust for heterosexual gardener clayton boone ( brendan fraser ) .
it begins with whale ( a fairly talented artist , aside from being a director ) asking boone to " sit for him ,
" ( pose for a portrait ) .
at first , boone does n't realize that whale is gay and grows fascinated with the old man .
when he does discover whale 's sexual orientation from his dedicated and protective maid ( lynn redgrave ) , he is frightened , refusing to sit for the guy .
but he comes back , only to storm out again , disgusted with whale 's " locker room talk .
" boone returns yet another time , after whale promises to tone down the aforementioned " locker room talk , " and finds their platonic relationship to be strengthening .
meanwhile , jimmy himself is suffering from hallucinations and mental attacks as a result of his stroke not long ago .
his ailment leads to desperation and depression , which build to the point where he is forced to ask boone for an incredulously big favor .
what is perhaps most sensational about gods and monsters is brendan fraser 's bravura performance ; up until seeing this film i intensely disliked the young actor because of his tendency to ruin the movies he is in ( blast from the past , for example ) .
i was surprised how expressive an actor he proved himself to be here .
this is impressive because his character 's dialogue is minimal , with mckellan doing most of the talking .
that requires fraser to act through body language ; a difficult skill to master , but something he proves capable of doing well .
this is not to ignore mckellan 's oscar nominated turn .
he earned that nomination with his touching performance here ( although , at the risk of sounding like a philistine , i would have chosen his performance as the nazi in apt pupil for the nomination ) ; an understated , compelling gem .
whale dreaded being remembered solely for his work in the hollywood horror genre , and he thought hollywood to be the equivalent of a battlefield .
he rejoiced in being free from it , only reluctantly going to receptions with fellow movie people .
in the end , perhaps , it is what killed him : the memories of hollywood and war blending together to form a living nightmare . ?
1999 eugene novikov&#137 ;
Output: P
the idea at the center of the devil 's advocate , which is , thus far , one of the three or four best films of 1997 , is that no matter what decision is made , evil will triumph -- god is a trickster , satan is a humanist -- " the last humanist " .
he appears in many guises , and seduces many men and women -- in his own words , " vanity -- by far my favorite sin " .
al pacino plays this role with relish , and gets to chew some delectable lines ( " lemme givya a piece o ' inside wisdom on god .
..
" , " i have a million names . .. " ) , as john milton -- the devil .
the main idea -- that he can appear as anyone , in any form ( in this case , a buisness man )
, harkens mainly back to terry gilliam 's the time bandits . but the film ,
is something else , something original .
part of what makes it so very good , is that it never takes itself too seriously -- it dabbles with morality , vanity , death , and child abuse , but does n't try to become any profound study of power .
this is a marvelous confection -- cocky , funny , thought provoking .
it is also entertaining .
there is no way you could possibly predict the ending
-- it pulls back upon itself , drawing purely out of the mind 's eye .
the final shot is more creative , more daring , more challenging , then anything in cinema since the white sock in the coen 's fargo .
the central themes are fascinating ( sometimes reminiscent of james ' the turn of the screw , and oates ' accursed inhabitants of the house of bly ) , and the product that is built around it really wows .
its nice to know that things like this are still being made .
Output: P
scream 2 , like its predecessor , is a genre - crossing film .
it is about 50 % horror film and 50 % murder mystery .
the mix worked very well last time and it continues to entertain this time .
scream was also known for its self - referential tone .
many inside jokes were made in reference to horror movies and wes craven .
again , scream 2 follows suit with characters saying such things as " sequels suck " and " the entire horror genre was destroyed by sequels .
" scream 2 's story is very similar to it 's predecessor 's .
sidney ( neve campbell ) , having survived the killing spree in scream , is now in college .
gale weathers ( courteney cox ) has written a book about the murders and that book is now being released as a feature film , called stab ( which for all practical purposes is the real - world movie scream ) .
at the premiere of stab , two students from sidney 's college are stabbed to death , and a new story begins .
the press descends on sidney and her college to get the scoop on this sequel killer .
they want to know all about the links between stab , sidney , and the recent murders .
the most complex self - reference i saw
( this should be an olympic event ) was the scene where gale weathers was asking questions at a press conference .
the rest of the press was watching and videotaping weathers .
the other survivors from scream were watching and videotaping the press .
the audience was watching the whole , filmed scene .
( whew . )
the movie is packed with layers and self - references that make it a pleasure to watch .
even better would be to watch a double feature of scream and scream 2 .
that 's not to say that these references necessarily make scream 2 a deep , or even a good movie .
the just add to the fun of watching it .
i recommend it for other reasons as well .
what i liked best about the horror aspect of the movie is that the monster is not supernatural .
no werewolf or ghost or psycho with superhuman strength is responsible .
it is a person in a mask and a robe
, his only advantage the fear he strikes into his victims .
no extraordinary leap of faith is needed to believe in the killer .
the down side is that if you are frightened by horror movies , you have less grounds to say " it 's just a movie .
"
the whodunit aspect of the movie is not that great by itself - gale weathers and deputy dewey ( david arquette , also from the original ) track down
a killer .
they are likeable , but not outstanding .
but in combination with the horror aspect , the whodunit is a perfect counterpoint .
it was exactly a year ago today that i wrote the review for scream .
the internet movie database says that scream 3 is in the works , so i wonder if i 'll be doing the same thing on january 1 , 1999 . if craven and screenwriter kevin williamson are able to keep the quality high , i 'll be happy to mark my calendar .
Output: P
if you thought baz luhrmann 's radical take on
_
william_shakespeare's_romeo_+_juliet _ was wild , wait until what you see
what tony award - winning stage director julie taymor (
_ the_lion_king :
_ the_broadway_musical _ ) does to
the bard 's _ titus_andronicus _ for
her audacious -- and very bloody -- film debut .
while luhrmann transplanted the star - crossed lovers to 1990s florida , taymor keeps this grisly tale of revenge in rome -- but places it in a surreal temporal limbo .
the colosseum suggests the proper time of imperial rome , but high rises and heavy duty kitchen ovens suggest the 1990s , while the vintage automobiles and some costumes are more ' 40s and ' 50s , and other garments are more gladiator - like . as tamora , queen of goths ( jessica lange ) exacts revenge on roman general titus ( anthony hopkins ) for killing her eldest son , and he does the same to her for the wrongs she commits , taymor obviously wanted to express the timeless relevance of the story 's underlying themes .
however , the time convergence approach only works at times , for often it 's just distracting , as in one scene where tamora 's suviving sons ( matthew rhys and jonathan rhys meyers ) blow off steam playing video arcade games .
taymor did n't have to resort to such avant garde time tricks ,
for the story would have resonated just as strongly had she jettisoned them .
she is a strong storyteller and a master visual stylist , the latter compliment encompassing all areas , makeup and costume choices as well as those in the editing and photography departments .
she also has a sure way with actors ; hopkins ' titus is at once tragic and horrifying , and lange is sultry as the viperous tamora .
the clear standout of the cast , however , is harry lennix as aaron , a moor who is tamora 's secret lover and a schemer in his own right .
lennix brings great depth to a role that could have easily been played as a stock villain .
a great villain he indeed is , but
to leave it at that is n't giving full justice to his powerful and multi - dimensional work .
_ titus _ is n't a complete success , but it is never less than fascinating , and it announces the arrival of a fearlessly imaginative new cinematic voice .
Output: P
any movie about the underground music scene is a difficult beast to master .
any meaning found in the underground is usually lost by the dumbing - down of the experience to make it " more accessible " to the general public .
or the film is produced and directed by people that have about enough understanding of the subject matter
that they ought to work as production assistants for vh1 . human traffic , a new film exploring the british underground party / rave scene and the people immersed in the world of clubbing , pubbing , drugs , sex , and the beautiful , beautiful music , is an example of how it really ought to be done .
the film follows five brits in their young twenties during a wild weekend of parties , drugs , dancing , sex , pop culture discussions , relationships , and wanking off in front of a mirror while mum interrupts .
the cast of character consists of jip ( john simm ) , our narrator , who has a bit of a problem with his willy , known as mr .
floppy .
koop ( shaun parkes ) ,
our black dj maestro , who has insecurity issues , afraid his girlfriend nina ( nicola reynolds ) is shagging other men .
nina herself ca n't stand her mcjob and longs for the freedom of the weekends .
lulu ( lorraine pilkington ) , jip 's best mate , is tired of her cheating boyfriends .
and moff ( danny dyer ) ca n't seem to escape the black hole of his awful life .
the film follows these five individuals during one weekend as each of them discovers love , friendship , and self - fulfillment , all against the raging party background .
human traffic is proof that cinema can still tell us deep stories while being visually alive , as director justin kerrigan 's subtle use of the camera lets the audience become part of the action .
the use of direct communication to the audience by the collection of characters works well , making the viewer the subconscious mind for the characters .
dialogue is crisp and moves with an even pace , and the acting is confident .
however , the two females leads tend to promote their relationships and dialogue with a bit of unneeded urgency that shows through when poignancy is needed .
human traffic does not try to explain the rave scene .
instead , it gives the audience the ability to listen to the people inside it , letting you choose your own convictions about this powerful musical movement that brings together strangers , friends , and lovers for one blissful night of music and peace .
Output: P
> from the man who presented us with henry : the portrait of a serial killer ( 6 . 5/10 ) comes a wild tale set within the elite and white trash of florida 's south coast .
plot : guidance counselor ( dillon ) is accused of raping one of his students .
she happens to be the daughter of one of the wealthiest women in florida .
the counselor is brought to court on the charges , as another white trash girl ( campbell ) , also joins the rape finger - pointing club .
as the story unfolds , we find that many things are n't exactly as they seem ( that 's as much as i could say without ruining anything ) .
critique : good little flick that slows down at certain points , and runs a tad long , but generates enough twists and turns to keep most people interested throughout .
mind you
, i could see many people not liking it because it takes " one too many " twists and turns ,
but hey , i happen to like that kind of thing .
and besides , the twists and turns in this movie managed to remain within the realm of believability ( or scathingly close to ) , and even " explained " many of its turns with a showcase of missed scenes during the credit crawl at the end of the film ( do not leave the theatre before you see the credits .
.. it really does clear up some stuff ! ! ) .
other than that
, the acting was good , with campbell transforming her
"
good girl stereotypical " role into a pot - smoking , goth - looking white trash chick out for a good time .
denise richards ( from starship troopers ( 7/10 ) fame ) solidifies herself as hollywood 's jelly - donut pinup girl of the moment , and proves that all breast implants need n't lead to lawsuits .
bacon is solid , and so is dillon ( while continuing to prove his inability to age to the whole wide wondering world ! ! ) .
sprinkle the story with a bunch o ' shots of alligators peeking through the swamp waters , bacon showing the world the size of his ding - dong ( do we really need to see this ? ? ) , a couple of lesbian kissing scenes , and a menage - a - trois ,
and you 've got yourself a decent time at the movie theatre .
on the down side , the soundtrack was not as prominent ( or slick ) as i thought it would be , and theresa russell ( real name : theresa paup ) seems to have lost her way in every which way possible .
.. .
ooooh , i
almost forgot bill murray 's exquisite role as the down - trodden lawyer who agrees to defend dillon in court .
murray actually added that extra little spice of humour that allowed this film to affirm its position as a quirky little noirish tale of sex , greed and mystery .
little known facts : neve campbell specified a non - nudity clause in her contract ( she 's also born in guelph , ontario .
.. go hoser ! )
director john mcnaughton says he deleted a scene that would have shown matt dillon and kevin bacon showering together , as it was gratuitous .
kevin bacon plays in a band with his brother , called the bacon brothers , is married to actress kyra sedgwick , and has a game based on him called " six degrees of kevin bacon " .
Output: P
how many of us would become strippers ?
for those of us who would n't , is it a moral reason , or purely a lack of confidence ?
that 's probably not a fair question , and for a lot of us ,
it could very well be for neither of those reasons .
as you watch the full monty , however , you may begin asking yourself these kinds of questions .
would you be willing to grin and bare it to bring in some much needed dough ?
in case you have n't guessed , the full monty is about stripping , but striptease it ai n't .
it 's actually quite a charming comedy that uses its ideas with a great deal of tact and sophistication .
it is the story of six out - of - work , out - of - shape blue collar brits whose recent job losses have left the boys penniless , but not without need .
what to do ?
it hits our main character gaz ( robert carlyle ) as he notices the large crowds of women who pour into a local male strip club on a regular basis .
it seems that simple : take it off and bring in the cash .
eventually , gaz is able to convince his friends to join him in starting their own exotic dance routine despite their initial reluctance .
these include the overweight , confidence - lacking dave ( mark addy ) , the uptight , overly - officious gerald ( tom wilkinson ) , the once suicidal lomper ( steve huison ) , and two additional fellows who gain their place among the group by audition : horse ( paul barber ) , an older gentlemen chock full of graceless energy , and guy ( hugo speer ) , a young well - endowed looker who compares himself to cary grant .
when the sextet is complete , we 're given a hefty dose of physical comedy .
we watch the bumbling middle - aged men choreograph pseudo - sexy dance numbers , all the while proving why none of them were strippers in the first place .
as if there anti - appeal was n't enough , they decide to boost interest in the group by promising " the full monty " on opening night , which for us americans , means baring it all .
..
and i mean
* all
* .
the movie actually ends on opening night ; a hilarious applause worthy ending
i might add .
it 's sure to leave nothing short of a big smile on your face as you leave the theater .
with the subject matter , you might not expect the fully monty to be such a feel - good , almost inspiring film , but it surprisingly turns out that way .
the amount of light , touching drama also comes as a nice surprise , never feeling off - balance from the otherwise highly upbeat moments of the film .
there 's a lot more to this movie than you might think in other words , and
the ensemble cast could n't be better .
each character is completely individual , interesting , funny , and most importantly , real .
the full monty is never offensive , a very impressive attribute since its subject matter alone could 've easily fallen prey to tastelessness .
it 's one of those movies that is best described as a solid piece of entertainment , perfect for a great night on the town , or as a saturday night movie rental .
either way you see it
, it should n't let you down in the slightest .
and , pun heavily intended , when it 's all said and done
, you 'll be smiling from cheek to cheek .
Output: P
eddie murphy has had his share of ups and downs during his career .
known for his notorious late 80 's slump , murphy has still managed to bounce back with a handful of hits in the past few years .
with the exception of the dreadful holy man , he appears to be on pace for a full - fledged comeback .
life was a great move on the part of murphy and co - star martin lawrence , because it 's a great showcase for both actors that never resorts to slap - sticky drivel . director ted demme is smart enough to realize that the two comedians can generate enough genuine laughs on their own , and does n't insert a distracting plot to back them up .
life is , in a sense , one great balancing act with murphy on one end and lawrence on the other .
amazingly , the scale never tips in either 's favor due to the marvelous chemistry and wonderful contrast that each actor allows the other .
as the movie opens , we 're introduced to ray gibson ( eddie murphy ) , a two - timing pickpocket who schmoozes his way into a club .
there
he meets a successful businessman named claude banks ( martin lawrence ) .
somehow , after multiple contrivances , the mismatched pair find themselves on their way to mississippi on a moonshine run .
when all is said and done , ray and claude have been framed for a murder that was actually committed by the town sheriff .
hence the setting of life : mississippi state prison , where the main characters come to realize their unlikely friendship is important , and become set on finding an fool - proof escape plan .
the film takes us from the 30 's all the way to the 90 's , presenting a difficult task in showing how the aging process affects ray and claude .
luckily , rick baker handles the makeup effects of the two actors in a fantastic , academy award caliber manner .
not only do we believe the characters look as if they 're 90 years old , but they sound like it , too .
murphy and lawrence are completely convincing in the lead roles , even as crotchety old cons bickering over a game of cards .
this is just one of the pleasant surprises that the film has tucked up it 's sleeve . while the ads are marketing life as a straight arrow comedy , there is a hefty amount of dramatic material hidden at it 's core .
but the comedic aspects work wonderfully , wisely drawing strength from the talents of the two stars .
the movie is more of a comedy than it is a drama , but in both senses , it 's an overwhelming delight .
i could say a few bad things about the movie , but i do n't want to .
it 's such a nice surprise , such a great vehicle for eddie murphy and martin lawrence , that it warrants a huge smile as the credits begin to roll .
Output: P
capsule : the best place to start if you 're a jackie chan newcomer .
roars along , never stops for breath , and frequently hilarious . to talk about jackie chan as a " stuntman " is to miss a million things .
jackie is not only one of the most accomplished and fearsomely unafraid physical adepts on the screen today , but also a very funny guy .
he reminds me of the way
arnold schwartzenegger
* used * to make me laugh --
he 's funny just standing there , copping a look .
supercop has jackie making us laugh , scream , duck , root , and gasp for breath , often all in the same scene .
it 's actually the third in a loosely related series of movies , each with jackie playing kevin chan , a hong kong policeman who has a knack for getting neck - deep into trouble and then karate - kicking his way out of it .
( the others are also worth seeing .
)
it 's a little slow to start ,
but once it gets moving , it 's a field day .
the movie has a fairly sophisticated plot for movies of this kind .
kevin is tapped for a dangerous dea assignment to be accomplished in mainland china , which requires him to collaborate with the attractive ( and ass - kicking ) chief fo chinese security
( played here by the ever - enjoyable michelle yeoh ) .
there 's a fun chemistry between the two of them , especially in an early scene where she tries to brief him and
he keeps making wondering comments about how great she looks in that uniform .
kevin is assigned to help spring a known gangster from jail -- all undercover , of course -- and have him lead the two of them to a noted drug boss .
the drug boss , however , has problems of his own : his wife 's on trial for many of his own crimes , and she 's got the key to an account with all of his drug funds .
this means , of course , endless trouble -- not the least of which is that kevin bumps into his girlfriend while he 's out in the field , and she sees him with this other woman , and .
..
but that 's one of the movie 's unique pleasures : the way it crosses from action to comedy effortlessly .
action .
there is , of course , non - stop action in this movie -- everything from one - on - one kung fu to all - out gun battles to a sppedboat with eight engines ( ! )
outrunning the hong kong coast guard .
there is also a virtuoso climax , which features , among other things , jackie danging from a ladder tied to a helicopter , a wrong - way freeway chase ( which requires michelle to
do an awesomely difficult handstand stunt ) , a fight on top of a moving train that also involves the ' copter as well as a motorcycle .
you get the idea .
this is to action movies what a burger with everything on it is to fast food : quick , enjoyable , filling .
watch it with friends .
when they stop making movies like this , the world will be a tad greyer .
Output: P
an entertaining 2 hours awaits the audience in this film set in the early 80 's . sevigny and beckinsale play disco chicks alice and charlotte , who are on the lookout for love .
alice is mousy , shy , intellectual , charlotte is bitchy , out - going and fun .
we join their adventures as they go through a variety of adventures , and men , all to the background of the local disco .
whit stillman has both written and directed an interesting and believable story .
alice and charlotte are both well written characters , and the actresses who play them are n't bad aswell .
sevigny delivers an honest performance , and makes the audience feel for her character .
beckinsale plays extreme bitch personified , yet her character never becomes completely unlikeable .
the huge supporting cast also play a part in making sure this movie is thoroughly entertaining .
the dialogue is sharp and well written ,
with many funny set pieces .
for example , there 's a great discussion about lady & the tramp by the main characters .
the disco tunes playing in the background also make sure that this admittedly long film is good fun .
the direction is good , bringing out the drama and comedy in the scenes .
but their are slight flaws with the movie .
firstly , although it is supposedly set in the 80 's , the characters are very , very 90 's .
the way they dress and act have a very 90 's feel to them .
although the male hairstyles look slightly 80 's , frankly the 80 's atmosphere just was n't conveyed , which is a shame .
also , as mentioned above , the film is too long , and some parts do lag .
the charm of the characters do help these moments , but generally the editing could of been a bit tighter .
the plot also side - tracks into a silly cocaine dealing bust , which seemed out of place in this movie .
finally , their are almost too many characters in the film , and despite the running time , the film never really spends enough time on them .
some of the characters are very slight , which is a shame .
the conclusion , while funny , is also surprisingly weak , and certainly not strong enough . but despite these qualms , the last days of disco is a funny , warm movie , which is certainly worth seeing , and is a fitting homage to the disco era of the 80 's . worth a look .
overall rating= review by david wilcock ?
1998
" you know , for kids " - norville barnes
Output: P