niryuu/sni-each-converted huggingface dataset:
the latest epos from lars is a blast , although a rather moody one .
this lovestory is situated in a small town in the rough dreary cliffs in the vestern part of scotland in the 1970 something .
the church ( calvinistic ) is so strict that the church bells has been removed from the clocktower , they are considered being too unrestrained .
in these surroundings we find the to - be - weds jan and bess , played by stellan skarsgaard and the remarkable new movie actress emily watson .
jan is on leave from the oilrig and bess .
.
is just bess , a bit naive and innocent ( in every aspect of the word ) , at first .
at the wedding party we are told an anecdote , illustrating her infinite kindness , she once lend a bike to an stranger , her best friends bike however .
but bess is suffering in this scary religious society .
we soon take part in a funeral where a man , fallen off the orthodox path , is laid to rest while doomed to hell .
women are not allowed to attend funerals or speak up in the church .
when the end of the honeymoon approaches we see bess idolizing jan in such an intend , almost manic , that her friends try to calm her down a bit .
the time has come when jan is to return to the rig , bess is falling into the darkness of depression , her yelling of grief and sorrow are heard above the breaking of the waves .
she ca n't stand the thought of life without her husband .
we witness her dialogues with god
( she speaks both parts , paranoia ? )
convincing god to return jan from the oilrig , and her prayers are heard .
an accident on the rig bring him back , paralysed from the neck and down .
now he ca n't satisfy her need for physical love , he try to persuade her into finding a lover , with the ulterior motive to make her describe these affairs to him in every detail .
at first she resist , but her love for jan and his assurance that this will make him recover more rapidly make her comply .
imagine what this is doing to the poor girl ?
the story is cleverly divided into eight chapters parted by beautiful pictures made by danish artist per kirkeby , accompanied by music from the era ; procol harum , deep purple , t - rex and others .
the use of hand - held camera and lack of any make - up make the characters solid and help to separate this movie from others in the sentimental genre .
the incredible performance from the actors makes the movie brilliant , though a bit too gloomy for my taste .
i would say that it is in the genre of betty blue ( 37 . 2 le matin ) and bitter moon ( lunes de fiel ) .
emily watson as bess and katrin cartlidge as her best friend dodo deliver outstanding performances , this must be the reason for giving it the " grand prix du jury " in cannes this year
( although we had hoped for the " palme d'or " ) .
the screenplay is now available in print , the transformation being made in the period from ultimo may to july , just in time for the danish premiere .
Output: P
anastasia contains something that has been lacking from all of the recent disney releases . ..
( especially hercules ) .
.. emotion .
all the wacky characters voiced by celebrities and fantastically animated adventure sequences are n't going to hold anyone 's interest unless there is an emotional core to hold it all together .
not since disney 's beauty & the beast has there been such a compelling animated film with interesting characters and drama that works .
the story of the romanov family , the rulers of russia , and their downfall begins the film .
anastasia , one of the daughters , narrowly escapes the mad monk rasputin ( voiced by christopher lloyd ) with her grandmother ( voiced by angela landsbury ) .
but anastasia gets lost , and grows up with no memory of her royal origins .
the grandmother lives in paris , hoping to someday find her beloved anastasia , the only member of the family to survive the russian revolution .
a young woman named anya ( voiced by meg ryan ) runs across dimitri ( john cusack ) and vlad ( kelsey grammar ) , who are trying to put together a scheme to create an anastasia to fool the grandmother and get the reward money .
they pick anya to pose as their princes , and of course , it is soon revealed that anya is in fact the lost anastasia .
dimitri realizes that he can never win her love as he is a commoner , and meanwhile , rasputin is not dead , and plots his revenge against the last romanov .
the plot is actually quite well structured .
there are a lot of complexities that may have to be explained to the kids later , but it moves along fast enough that they 'll never have time to be bored .
what this really means is that the adults wo n't be bored by it either .
there is a great deal of banter between anya and dimitri that is very funny , and their relationship develops quite naturally as the film progresses .
there is , of course , lots of comedy for the kids , including rasputin 's pet bat , bartok ( hank azaria ) , who is easily the funniest thing in the film . however , the comical scenes never distract from the drama , but are worked into the plot almost seamlessly .
the animation is gorgeous - the characters seem to come to life through the talented animators .
not since beauty & the beast have animated characters had so much life to them .
even without the voices , they act .
the musical number in paris is a show - stopper , with some of the backgrounds rendered in an impressionist painting style .
as with all recent animated features , there are songs , however ,
these songs do more than just provide fodder for top-40 singers to get on the radio ( although there are three of them during the end credits ) .
the songs are all very catchy , and advance the plot , instead of just being showpieces
( except for the paris number , but that 's so much fun , it 's okay .
.. ) . i ca n't reccomend anastasia highly enough .
it 's a wonderful film that ranks right up there with other animated classics .
kids and adults alike will enjoy it , and it 's also nice to have a quality animated feature film from another studio besides disney .
Output: P
( note : there are spoilers regarding the film 's climax ; the election , of course ) we see matthew broderick , a man torn to a primal state ; he 's been unfaithful to his wife , lied to and manipulated his students , and by the same token they 've demeaned his masculinity ,
his self - respect , his desperate attempt at changing the world .
and yet , he equates the cause of his pain , his torment , with tracy flick ( reese witherspoon ) .
no matter how many students have come and gone , and disappointed him as an educator , she 's the real threat .
about to give in , and divulge that she 's won by only a lone vote , broderick 's mccalister turns in defeat , sees tracy 's euphoric celebration in the outside corridor and says , ' no ' .
the fact that he simultaneously lusts after her ideologically further illustrates that freudian foundation of entitlement which all men , no matter how obscure , have in their relationships ; a traditional expectation of success , to usurp and surpass women as a proverbial industry .
she ca n't go higher than him .
he wo n't allow it .
and what 's amazing about " election " is that every word of that criticism is drawn from a rather opaque metaphor .
early in the film we learn that tracy was romantically , and then sexually , involved with a now departed teacher .
it 's like payne and taylor , his co - screenwriter , have taken tracy , a girl desperate for friendship , loyalty , and almost perversely drawn the mythological pattern of kids who were so utterly rejected by their peers , that they found sitting at the teachers ' lunch table more fitting , to an unlikely extreme with her as the protagonist .
and it 's amazing the compassion that we have ; it seems so real to us , and not merely because it 's happened before , splashed all over the front pages , but , because of the all around " nice " persona of these people , we easily dismiss the truly wayward deeds of the characters .
it 's with mandy barnett 's " if you 'll be the teacher " playing winsomely over the closing credits that payne skewers the tenets of his detractors most ; a final , viscous injection of bittersweet irony .
sexuality , though , is not the only basis for payne 's satire , or its success .
it also makes a telling point about politics , friendship , and class boundaries .
satire is required ( or ought to be , anyway ) to take itself seriously , or act so , while the audience does not .
it 's a fine line to straddle , but some films ignore it altogether ( " drop dead gorgeous " leaps infuriatingly to mind ) .
payne and taylor hit the right chord ; their characters are real people : neither is perfect , but rather both of the leads are flawed , misguided individuals who retain , somewhat , noble intentions at heart .
we sympathize with them , but still , as a satire , their idiosyncratic behavior , and their wrongdoing , is taken to an extreme for the audience to knowingly chuckle , but also reflect and meditate , about .
minus half a point , though , for payne admitting not to having seen " ferris bueller 's day off " .
whatever .
Output: P
robert redford 's a river runs through it
is not a film i watch often .
it is a masterpiece -- one of the better films of recent years .
until 1994 , it was my second favorite film of all time .
the acting and direction is top - notch -- never sappy , always touching .
a friend of mine once reported that he avoided it because " i was afraid it would just be really politically correct , and tick me off .
"
all i could do was tell him to go in unbiased , and enjoy .
it is one of the few movies that has completely reduced me to tears . but certain memories should not often be rereleased -- in the last few shots , you have to cry .
upon my first viewing i left bawling .
it is not flawless --
but it is so very good , that you ca n't help but be effected .
the opening is dangerously nolstalgic and sentimental -- watching these shots of people who have been dead so long , gives you a feeling of perspective and history observation that you will find in very few other films .
martin scorsese once described the movies as a dream state -- like taking dope , and immersing yourself in an alternative world .
that is what a river runs through it
does .
it exploits the unique power of cinema to engross you and help to forget your real self .
both times i 've seen it , its been hard ( again to quote scorsese ) waking up .
but the dream is lovely .
Output: P
richard gere is not one of my favorite actors .
however , i like courtroom dramas , and this film looked good enough to take a chance on .
i was n't disappointed .
it was n't a great film , but it was interesting , and took several unexpected turns .
one thing : what 's with the title ?
not only is it extremely forgettable , it does n't really have much to do with the film , as far as i could determine .
in the long run , it will probably hurt the film , as people wo n't be able to think of or remember it .
martin vail ( richard gere ) is a grandiose defense attorney .
he loves the money and the fame that go along with defending ( successfully ) rich scum , such as mafia men and drug - dealers .
once he sees that the accused killer of a prominent chicago archbishop is a baby - faced alter boy , he wants in on the case , presumably for the press he 'll get .
we soon find out that the prosecutor assigned is a former lover , janet venable ( laura linney ) .
vail himself is a former prosecutor , and quit because of tensions between himself and the district attorney , played very well by john mahoney ( frasier 's father on the tv series ) .
there is an underlying theme of dichotomy in the movie : people have public faces , and private faces .
we see this in the murdered archbishop , in the accused , and , most strongly , defense attorney martin vail .
richard gere does a fairly good job .
at
first , he appears to be a money- and attention - grabbing lawyer , with no consideration of the truth .
but we see another side , as he becomes a seeker of justice , and comes to believe in his client .
alfre woodard , as the judge , is capable , though somewhat wasted in a standard role .
laura linney also does journeyman work ; nothing spectacular , but acceptable .
her relationship with vail is believable ; their verbal fencing adds to the film .
the actor who playes vail 's investigator ( unfortunately , i do n't remember his name ) is quite good .
his female assistant ( she looked very familiar , but i ca n't remember where i 've seen her ) was also capable
, but unspectacular .
the best performance in the film was by edward norton .
he was excellent , as the timid altar - boy turned alleged " butcher boy of st .
mike 's
" .
i was impressed by the depth of the plot ; there are red - herrings , and dead - ends , that in a lesser film would lead to a predictable ending .
i liked the plot twists the film took , and most of the supporting characters , thus i give primal fear a respectable b+ rating .
Output: P
in this good natured , pleasent and easy going comedy , bill murray ( ghostbusters , 1984 ) plays grumpy weatherman phil conners , who , every year , is sent to punxsutawney , p. a , to report on groundhog day .
the groundhog day ceremony involves a groundhog being lifted out of a box , and if he dosen't see a shadow , it will be an early spring .
phil really hates the ceremony , and not even his producer rita ( macdowell ) can change his mind .
however , fate has a cruel trick for phil , and he starts re - living groundhog day over , and over , and over , until he gradually likes it , and rita falls in love with him .
groundhog day is a well written , totatly unoffensive and funny comedy .
the screenwriters , director ramis and danny rubin , have written a funny , warm , but never overly senitmental comedy .
although the idea of a day repeating over and over may sound tedious , there are enough good jokes to hold the audiences attention throughout the whole film .
ramis 's direction also helps , and although he dosen't try any flash director tricks , the film is directed well enough , and the jokes are set up well .
and the editing is also good , especially when it shows one part of the day over , and over again , such as when phil tries to have the perfect night with rita .
the performances are also excellent .
bill murray is great fun , and his transistion from cynical to happy is smooth , and delivers his lines in his usual smary style .
andie macdowell is good as rita , although sometimes she is just a little bit too sweet in some parts of the film .
there is chemistry between the two leads , thankfully ,
otherwise the whole film would probably fall part .
chris elliot , as the cameraman larry , is also funny ,
although you have to like his goofy style , otherwise you are really going to hate him throughout this film , and it will lower your enjoyment of the film overall .
the supporting cast are n't bad either , with stephen tobolowsky hillarous as phils old school mate ned ryanson , and even director ramis popping up as a neurologist .
in fact , there is not one dud performance in this film , and even the groundhog gets a funny scene involving a car chase .
overall , there is really nothing wrong with groundhog day at all .
it almost seems perfect .
however , the film can get a bit soppy sometimes , and some people may get irritated by the day repeating over , and over , and over , and over .
also , there 's not much of an music score , and the music there is is pretty bad .
but these criticisms hardly affect the audiences enjoyment at all .
overall , then , groundhog day is a funny , smart , and also has some room in there for some heart .
an excellent comedy .
overall rating= (
Output: P
trees lounge is the directoral debut from one of my favorite actors , steve buscemi .
he gave memorable performences in in the soup , fargo , and reservoir dogs .
now he tries his hand at writing , directing and acting all in the same flick .
the movie starts out awfully slow with tommy ( buscemi ) hanging around a local bar the " trees lounge " and
him pestering his brother .
it 's obvious he a loser .
but as he says " it 's better
i 'm a loser and know i am , then being a loser and not thinking i am .
"
well put .
the story starts to take off when his uncle dies , and tommy , not having a job , decides to drive an ice cream truck .
well , the movie starts to pick up with him finding a love interest in a 17 year old girl named debbie ( chloe sevigny ) and .
..
i liked this movie alot even though
it did not reach my expectation .
after you 've seen him in fargo and reservoir dogs
, you know he is capable of a better performence .
i think his brother , michael , did an excellent job for his debut performence .
mr .
buscemi is off to a good career as a director !
Output: P
a thriller set in modern day seattle , that marked marky mark 's migration from the " good vibrations " and " calvin klein undie ad " guy , to mark wahlberg , thespian - at - large , and a mighty good one at that .
plot :
boy ( wahlberg ) meets girl ( witherspoon ) .
boy likes girl .
girl likes boy .
boy and girl begin dating .
parents of girl are n't crazy about the boy .
girl steps to boy 's defense .
family problems occur .
girl learns more about the boy .
boy goes nuts .
fun ensues .
critique
: ever wonder what would happen if your better half turned out to be someone other than the person that you had come to cherish and love ?
well , if you ever have , then this film is definitely for you .
it is n't the most original premise in the world , but it is handled pretty well here , and pretty quickly for that matter ( a speedy 90 minutes ) .
i think one of the main reasons this film worked for me is the groundbreaking performance by mark wahlberg
( of boogie nights infamy ( 7 . 5/10 ) .
he completely captured all the goodness , and badness , of the main character of this film , and always kept me wanting to see more and more of him ( his performance scored him a solid nomination from his core target audience , as " best villain " at the 1997 mtv movie awards ) .
the soundtrack is also very effective in this setting , and of course , the slutty performance by alyssa milano is something we could all indulge in ( look for the nice bikini and butt shots .
.. if you 're into that kind of thing , that is : ) .
i did n't much care for the father / david relationship which seemed to be a little too contrived , but for the most part , i was really into this movie .
then again , daddy dearest did have one of the coolest lines in the movie when his wife is asking him what the " big deal " was about his daughter dating david .
his reply : " the big deal is that the guy gives me the creeps , and the girl is my daughter .
" good point .
all in all , the movie kicked some fun ass , mindless as it was , and effectively demonstrated every parent 's worst nightmare .
mind you
, i still ca n't tell if reese witherspoon is good looking or a douchebag ,
but hey , life goes on .
and on a personal note , we finally decided to add some taco meat onto our nacho fiesta of usual , and let me tell you all .
.. it was a flaming success ! !
another firm recommendation by joe schmoe !
little known facts : director james foley was the man responsible for the critically acclaimed glengarry glenross ( 8/10 ) back in 1992 , at close range ( 7 . 5/10 ) in 1986 , and even directed an episode of twin peaks in 1990 .
mark wahlberg stands 5 " 9 , is born in massachusetts , dropped out of highschool ( later got his ged ) , and was convicted of several minor felonies before starting his career as the lead singer of marky mark and the funky bunch .
his brother is donnie wahlberg of new kids on the block fame .
he is also testing the waters on the acting front .
Output: P
richard gere can be a commanding actor , but
he 's not always in great films .
everything comes together here .
gere is a big time chicago defense attorney who takes on a seemingly unwinable case in hopes of even more publicity .
it does n't go exactly as he expects .
gere 's client , aaron ( edward norton ) , is a shy stuttering tennessee boy who is accused of brutally murdering and mutilating a catholic archbishop .
the evidence is stacked against him .
he was caught running from the scene covered in the bishop 's blood .
his bloody footprints are all over the murder scene .
he has a relationship with the priest .
gere talks to the boy , believes that he is actually innocent and
sets about finding the real killer .
despite the lawyer 's proclamations that he does n't care about the guilt of his clients and that the real thrill is gambling with people 's lives , he becomes involved with aaron and is determined to free him .
lots of complications and twists .
the prosecuting attorney is gere 's former co - worker and lover .
they both work each other 's motives to their legal advantages and it gets messy .
her boss had major economic dealings with the archbishop that went sour and seems to have crime connections .
aaron gets weirder and weirder as the trial goes on .
gere 's case is falling apart and he is faced with about a dozen ethical dilemmas .
gere is exceptional as the well - dressed reserved counselor , but just once , i wanted to see him kick back and come out of his " suit " persona .
even when he loses it , you do n't see very far inside .
norton 's aaron is convincing
: he comes across as the backwoods kid misplaced in the big city .
the supporting cast does a fine job of holding together the story .
as with most of the effective courtroom dramas , the cinematography is crisp and rich .
the story will keep you on the edge of your seat .
nothing is what it seems .
Output: P