polsci/sentiment-polarity-dataset-v2.0 huggingface dataset:
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 didn'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 isn't giving full justice to his powerful and multi-dimensional work . 
_titus_ isn't a complete success , but it is never less than fascinating , and it announces the arrival of a fearlessly imaginative new cinematic voice .
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 can'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 ) can'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 .
>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 aren'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 needn'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 " .
how many of us would become strippers ? 
for those of us who wouldn'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 haven't guessed , the full monty is about stripping , but striptease it ain'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 wasn'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 couldn'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 shouldn'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 .
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 doesn'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 don'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 .
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 .
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 aren'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 wasn'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
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 can'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 can'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 .
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 aren'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 won'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 can'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 .
( 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 can't go higher than him . 
he won'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 .
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 can'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 .
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 wasn't disappointed . 
it wasn'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 doesn'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 won'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 don't remember his name ) is quite good . 
his female assistant ( she looked very familiar , but i can'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 .
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 aren'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= (
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 !
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 aren'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 isn'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 didn'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 can'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 .
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 doesn'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 doesn'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 don'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 .