polsci/sentiment-polarity-dataset-v2.0 huggingface dataset:
life is beautiful is a rare treat : a lighthearted comedy that tackles a very serious subject without committing the sins of being disrespectful , or , even worse , humorless . 
it combines a charming romance with a dash of farce , stirs in a little poignancy , and ends up a very enjoyable movie . 
it's an italian film , but don't let that discourage you . 
subtitle-phobes will be missing a wonderful experience . 
life is beautiful opens as a sweet romantic comedy , with the clownish , but good natured guido ( roberto benigni ) arriving in a rustic italian town to work as a waiter for his uncle . 
the year is 1939 , and guido literally stumbles into the girl of his dreams , dora ( nicoletta braschi ) . 
their romance seems to be picture perfect , with only one stumbling block : she's already engaged to another man . 
can guido overcome the odds and win his girl ? 
what do you think ? 
however , five years later , things have taken a turn for the worse in italy . 
the fascists have stepped up their race initiatives , which is bad news for the jewish guido and his new son giosue ( giorgio cantarini ) , who are rounded up and shipped off to a concentration camp . 
unable to protect his boy in any other way , guido attempts to shield his young son from the horrors of the labor camp . 
he pretends that everything is all an elaborate game , with points awarded for such tasks as hiding , being brave and being very very quiet . 
as you can tell from the description , life is beautiful has two very different tones , but manages to excel at both of them . 
as a romantic comedy , it is sweet and funny . 
as a bittersweet tale of hope amid despair , it is touching . 
roberto benigni's work here has been compared with some of the best of chaplin's , and it is easy to see why . 
he is able to run the gamut of comic expression , from slapstick to farce , with a warm-hearted feeling that celebrates his downtrodden hero's " triumph of the underdog " spirit . 
life is beautiful treads a thin line when it turns its attentions to the holocaust . 
however , it is able to successfully navigate the minefield , without demeaning the gravity of the horrors involved , nor without losing its humorous edge that allows you to smile through the tears . 
with life is beautiful , benigni has created a triumphant , but bittersweet comedy . 
it's quite simply one of the most enjoyable times i've had at the movies this year .
kolya is one of the richest films i've seen in some time . 
zdenek sverak plays a confirmed old bachelor ( who's likely to remain so ) , who finds his life as a czech cellist increasingly impacted by the five-year old boy that he's taking care of . 
though it ends rather abruptly-- and i'm whining , 'cause i wanted to spend more time with these characters-- the acting , writing , and production values are as high as , if not higher than , comparable american dramas . 
this father-and-son delight-- sverak also wrote the script , while his son , jan , directed-- won a golden globe for best foreign language film and , a couple days after i saw it , walked away an oscar . 
in czech and russian , with english subtitles .
anna and the king strides onto the screen in full regalia , wearing a brilliant suit of sumptuous landscapes , deep , vibrant colors and an epic storyline . 
it's true beauty comes from it's subtle ruminations on the politics of power , whether it's between governments , or the interplay between a man and a woman . 
anna ( jodie foster ) is a widowed british schoolteacher with a touch of wanderlust trying to grasp her quicksilver feelings concerning the recent death of her husband . 
with son in tow , she takes the employ of king mongkut ( chow yun-fat ) to tutor his son in the english language . 
mongkut sees the strength of the british and correctly surmises that his country's future lies in opening itself up to the ways of the western world . 
anna function is to help provide that link . 
the core of the film , of course , deals with the blossoming love between anna and mongkut as it attempts to germinate in the unfriendly soil of a shifting political climate . 
foster plays anna with equal parts clenched jaw and wide-eyed wonder . 
she is assertive , yet , respectful of the king as she initially tries to impose her western sensibilities upon him . 
it is one of foster's strongest performances since silence of the lambs in a role she could not have played earlier in her career . 
she brings a mature self- awareness and determination that might not have come across from a younger foster . 
it's a joy to watch her cagily bargain for her own measure of influence within the realm of mongkut's monarchy . 
when she makes her entrance into a politically charged banquet mid-film , she exudes a hypnotic beauty that is deepened by her textured performance . 
chow-yun fat's king mongkut is every measure of foster's anna , perhaps even more so . 
this is the chow yun-fat that hong kong cinema has been in love with for nearly twenty years . 
he is imposing , yet vulnerable , playful , but stern . 
it is an impressively assured and nuanced performance . 
precious time is stolen from the movie's 155 minutes running time by an unengaging subplot involving one the king's concubines ( bai ling ) and her love of a commoner . 
it strikes with the subtlety of siam's fabled white elephant as it stomps through the leisurely paced story . 
some may be put off by the action filled climax of the movie . 
although a bit inconsistent in tone from the rest of the film , it fits within the established subplot of a perceived siege by neighboring burma , a country backed by the british . 
anna and the king transcends being a predictable , traditional love story by avoiding mawkishness . 
it shows a seduction of intelligence . 
ever mindful of each other's positions , anna and king mongkut negotiate a maze of social customs , conflicting world views and lost loved ones to connect on a level that ultimately proves deeply satisfying , if not achingly bittersweet .
while screen adaptations of john irving's novels have been disappointingly uneven , the films have all shared one particular strength : key casting . 
who can forget john lithgow as roberta muldoon , the transsexual quarterback of " the world according to garp , " or nastassja kinski as susie the bear in " the hotel new hampshire " ? 
a lot of good casting decisions have gone into the making of " the cider house rules , " an adaptation of irving's poetic 1994 novel about a restless young man called homer wells . 
among those sound judgments was the decision to have the splendid tobey maguire assume the pivotal role ; the decision to cast michael caine as his mentor and father figure , dr . wilbur larch , the ether-addicted head obstetrician of the st . cloud's orphanage , maine ; and the decision to offer jane alexander and kathy baker supporting roles as his head nurses . 
then there are the brethren who populate the apple orchard where homer wells finds himself shortly after leaving st . cloud's , including delroy lindo , oscar ? -worthy as the foreman of the migrant work detail that drifts up and down the coast as the seasons take them . 
there's kate nelligan as the matriarch of the cider house , and charlize theron as candy , the lovely , lonely wife of a wwii bomber pilot ( paul rudd ) sent away on a mission overseas leaving candy to set lobster traps with homer wells , a man who's never seen the ocean before let alone a lobster . 
am i forgetting anyone ? 
yes . 
kieran culkin and paz de la huerta as dissolute orphanage residents who make you sit up and take notice every time they're on the screen . 
but with " the cider house rules , " the good people decisions don't end with the cast . 
irving has written his own screenplay in order to get it right this time ( last year's " simon birch , " loosely based on his " a prayer for owen meaney , " was a big-screen example of irving handled sub-standardly ) ; the author appears fleetingly as a stationmaster here . 
rachel portman , a composer of such sweet and lyrical tenderness , provides a score that's absolutely right for the project--sweet , lyrical , and tender . 
there's impressive new england photography by oliver stapleton too . 
last but by no means least is " my life as a dog " director lasse hallstr ? m , who shows enormous skill in pulling this collective together and helping bring irving's marvelously touching story to life . 
for the many beloved who pass away in " the cider house rules , " it's an extraordinarily life-affirming story . 
and now , thanks to these talented individuals , it's an extraordinarily life-affirming film .
the " italian hitchcock " and acknowledged master of the giallo murder-mystery dario argento again offers us a fascinating turn on the formula in pheneomena . 
this time the twist comes in the form of jennifer corvino ( jennifer connelly ) , a bright teenager with gift for telepathically communicating with insects . 
sent to a girls boarding school in switzerland , she soon learns of a series of bizarre disappearances and at least one murder that has the school's population terrified . 
a chance meeting with a brilliant entomologist ( donald pleasance ) leads the two of them to team up and solve the mystery with the aid of her remarkable gift . 
phenomena is an imaginative , original thriller . 
writer/director argento creates several sequences of surreal , haunting beauty here , including a masterfully shot sleepwalking episode and a striking scene when a swarm of flying insects descends on the school at jennifer's beckoning . 
the plot takes some wonderfully bizarre turns and the killer's identity is genuinely shocking and surprising . 
the director took a big gamble with a soundtrack that mixes elements as diverse as heavy metal band iron maiden , ex-rolling stone bill wyman , and argento's favourite gothic/electronic outfit goblin . 
but it gels surprisingly well . 
the film's opening music reccurs several times , an eerie and evocative score that perfectly sets the overall tone . 
argento fans beware : the film was released outside europe in a terribly butchered form re-titled as creepers . 
this deleted nearly half an hour of footage , mainly of key dialogue scenes .
your friends and neighbors is a rather bizarre film about 6 people , who hop in and out of bed with each other . 
written and directed by neil labute , who's first film , " in the company of men " was simply marvelous , disappoints a bit here with this one . 
the story involves two couples ( ben stiller & catherine keener and aaron eckhart & amy brenneman ) , an artist assistant ( nastassja kinski ) , and an egotistical women abuser ( jason patric ) . 
the character's names are not apparent and are not mentioned in the entire movie . 
each of the characters has their own sexual style and they don't seem to " merge " together well . 
so the group experiments behind their respective partners back . 
there are some hysterical scenes , one involves jason patric , aaron eckhart , and ben stiller's characters . 
they are all in a sauna , talking about their best " lay " , when jason patric's character makes a surprising confession . 
the whole scene is hilarious and exceptionally well written and acted . 
the enjoyed this movie , although it seemed a tad lengthy ( even though it only runs 99 min . ) . 
the film's cast is exceptional with oscar caliber performances by catherine keener , aaron eckhart , and jason patric . 
i would not recommend this film , to people who are offended by conversations that are very sexually explicit . 
it did seem to offend people , more than half of the people in the theater left during the film . 
although your friends and neighbors doesn't have the power of labute's earlier film it still manages to be somewhat entertaining and funny , while maintaining a melancholy philosophy on human relationships .
i love this movie , and i've just seen for the umptenth time . 
unfortunately , it is also completly unknown and very few have seen it . 
it's my mission in life to spread the word : see this movie ! 
fred , george , doug and howie are reaching middleage . 
three of them have a wife , kids and a house in the suburb with a mortgage to pay . 
only fred is still a bachelor . 
together they take the local train every morning to work in town . 
on one of their organized thursday evenings at a bar , fred tells them of his boss and the arrangements he has made to keep a mistress . 
he has gotten an apartment in downtown where he can meet her but has told his wife that he needs the apartment to spend the night after staff meetings every thursday night . 
since they always split everything four ways , they decide that they should get an apartment with a young woman as well , kathy . 
however , kathy isn't completly honest to them . 
in fact , she is a sociology student writing a thesis about the sex life of the suburban male . 
with these four species she believes that she will make a very good paper . 
ok , have one thing clear though . 
the romantic rendezvous' between kathy and each of the men are completly innocent . 
the script stays above the waist - or to be precise , above the neck . 
noboyd claims that kathy is their mistress , the four guys call her their 'companion' . 
the censorship board here in sweden considered it to be suitable only for people above 15 years , but that only shows how long ago 1962 was . 
small children could watch this without being corrupted . 
kim novak is as lovely as always in this movie , even if she seems to be a bit too old for a student . 
james garner is the playboy just like in many other movies . 
i liked howard morris the best as howard the accountant who has to diet to support his wife . 
tony randall is funny as always . 
1962 was more than 35 years ago . 
how many accountants , copywriters or investment bankers can today afford to live in a house in the suburb with a lot of kids and a wife who does not work ? 
this is the white middle class , i can't remember that i saw any blacks on the commuter train they use . 
these are the people who can count on their kids to live an even better life than themselves . 
perhaps this should also be a subject for a thesis in movie sociology ?
quiz show , an almost perfectly accurate true story , is based upon the events of the popular television show of the mid-50's , " twenty-one " . 
on this trivial game show , contestants were placed in isolation booths and then answered questions corresponding to a category of their choice , on which they wagered an amount of points on . 
the game went on until a player reached twenty one points on felt they had earned enough points to win . 
but , after ratings began to fall when players were struggling to break the zero mark , the producers decided to fix the game by giving the answers to a contestant before the game began . 
quiz show illustrates the true stories of two particular contestants , herbie stempel and charles van doren . 
stempel ( john turturro ) , a former g . i . 
and your jewish man raising a family . 
stempel has been the reigning champion on " twenty-one " for many weeks and has accumulated thousands of dollars . 
in his mind , he is the best thing on television and the people love him . 
although , in the mind of the show's producers , herbie stempel is getting old . 
dan enright ( david paymer ) , in particular , feels that the people are tired of seeing a " jewish guy from queens with bad teeth " and that the kids need someone better to look up to . 
therefore , they need to find another contestant whom would be a worthy role model and the people will look up to and cheer to win . 
someone who can defeat stempel , even if they have to resort to cheating . 
enter charles van doren ( ralph fiennes ) , a well-educated professor from a widely recognized family . 
van doren had decided to try out for the game show " tic tac dough " because his friends thought he would be good at that sort of thing . 
but when albert freedman ( hank azaria ) , enright's assistant , spots van doren , the two decide that they have found their soon-to-be-ruler of the " twenty-one " kingdom . 
van doren is not too keen on the idea of receiving the answers ahead of time , so enright tells stempel that he is going to give the wrong answer , on purpose , in order to lose the game . 
after stempel loses the " throne " to van doren , he starts to feel cheated ( which he should ) . 
meanwhile , on his own , dick goodwin ( rob morrow ) , a harvard law graduate , has decided to start an investigation on " twenty-one " to try and find out if there have been any wrongdoings . 
his investigation yields shocking results and leads to a trial for enright and the others involved . 
quiz show is an extremely well done movie , and robert redford's direction is especially superb . 
the performances turned in by john turturro , ralph fiennes , and rob morrow are very good , although it seems that turturro stands out more than any . 
quiz show is also very precise when it comes to explicating the true events that inspired the film . 
definitely a film you should not miss .
is jimmy stewart the greatest actor of all-time ? 
it's quite possible . 
his career spanned over 40 years , and he acted in more movies than most actors ever could . 
yet , when he is talked about in the media , he is generally thought of as an actor who played one type of role : the nice guy . 
and that's really a shame . 
 " the naked spur " features jimmy stewart in a role completely different than what people would expect from him . 
it's a western , which stewart specialized in around this period , and it casts him as a desperate man out to collect a bounty on a man who used to be his friend . 
before he finds that man , though , he runs into two men who agree to help him , thinking he is a sheriff . 
when the criminal is eventually caught , the two men discover stewart's secret , and decide they want a piece of the action too . 
the rest of the film is a suspenseful journey in which each man suspects the other constantly . 
also featured is the woman travelling with the criminal , well played by janet leigh . 
we're never too sure who's side she's really on until the end . 
leigh is an actress probably best known for her role as the " shower lady " from " psycho " , and that's unfair . 
she gives a strong performance as a woman who is pulled between these two men . 
stewart gives a performance unlike anything i've ever seen from him . 
he usually keeps cool no matter what occurs , but here , he gets downright hysterical at times . 
i think perhaps he took this role to prove to the public that he was more than just a " nice guy " . 
his performance borders on psychotic at times , but i loved watching every second of it . 
it's roles like this one that make me admire him as much as i do . 
he was an actor unafraid to take chances , and even ruin his public image .
almost a full decade before steven spielberg's saving private ryan asked whether a film could be both " anti war " and " pro-soldier " , john irvin's hamburger hill proved it could . 
lost in the inundation of critical acclaim that greeted oliver stone's platoon , this excellent film was dismissed as " too militaristic " . 
it's hard to understand exactly why---unless irvin , in assembling his motley collection of young men who for predictable ( and often naive ) reasons " chose to show up " for the vietnam debacle , ---has refused to present us with the stone killer , drug-stoked psycho and ruthless opportunist who have become to vietnam war epics what " the polack , the hillbilly and the kid from brooklyn " became to wwii movies . 
hamburger hill , based on a true story , is not an easy film to watch . 
there is a scene that will have graying anti-war activists squirming in their seats , or moved to genuine tears . 
and the climactic final assault on the " hill " in question is visually confusing . 
gristly realities are presented in brief flashes , as if the brain dared not acknowledged what it had encountered . 
and in the mud and smoke officer and enlistee , veteran and " newbie " , black soldier and white , become almost indistinguishable from each other , as they do in the chaos of actual combat . 
the acting throughout is solid with an absolutely stellar performance rendered by courtney b . vance as doc--in a role that will have many flatly disbelieving that this is same actor they cheered as " seaman jones " in mctiernan's red october . 
if you've seen private ryan , you owe it to yourself to see hamburger hill--if only to determine that the all the valour and horror of spielberg's vision was as present in the ashau valley as it was at omaha beach .
in these days of overlong movies ( meet joe black , the thin red line , the mask of zorro ) it is a shame that films like waking ned devine can't be longer than a paltry 90 minutes . 
this is just a cute movie , even through its mildly risque subject matter . 
old friends jackie ( bannen ) and michael ( kelley ) try to find the lottery winner ( they deduce must live in their dinky town of about 60 ) so that they might kiss up to him and share the winnings . 
through process of elimination , they find that it must be lovable old ned devine , who they find sitting in front of his tv , clutching the winning lottery ticket in his cold dead hand . 
what results is thuroughly amusing , as jackie tries to convince his wife that not claiming it would be wrong , and that they could really benefit . 
after all , old ned won't miss it . 
rather than divulge the later twists and turns , i'll stop here merely pointing out that jackie and michael get into all sorts of trouble in their little sleepy irish villiage . 
bannen and kelly are a perfect pair . 
one slightly stout , the other as thin as a rail . 
both getting on in years , they make such a cute pair of old codgers . 
waking ned devine may even be seen as a " full monty " for the geriatric set , especially since kelly gets buff-o for one amusing scene . 
waking ned devine is by no means perfect , but it is so sincere and touching that it looks so much better than most films . 
the performances by everyone in the town are great , particularly the two leads . 
there is one twist at the end which i find unnecessary , but it hardly ruins the picture . 
writer/director kirk jones should be held up as an example to all those hollywood screenwriters . 
scripts as creative and endearing as this should be the norm , not the exception . 
perhaps it makes us appreciate this wonderful film even more . 
had i held off on my year's best/worst list for another day , waking ned devine ( officially released in late november of 98 ) surely would have graced the short group of the year's finest films . 
it is light , but thought provoking and sweet . 
i can't think of anyone who shouldn't see ( or wouldn't enjoy ) this film .
it's no secret in the motion picture industry that the relationship between a script and the actors involved often makes or breaks a movie at the box office . 
a poorly-written script can be bested by a superb acting corps , and a well-written piece can be mangled by a group of amateurs . 
in directing his latest action-comedy , director brett ratner ( money talks ) takes a relatively mediocre piece of standup comedy and turns it into a funny as all get-out buddy cop movie . 
in addition , rush hour serves as a first-class example of directing a movie with conservative attitude - a feature that is sure to draw in crowds of all types . 
the two lead names share equal screen time here , mostly because they spend it together . 
jackie chan , in his first completely american production , makes an impressive debut by mixing dialogue with martial arts . 
the other martial arts flick from a few weeks ago , knock off , stands no chance against the content of this one . 
chan manages to make every fight scene exude grace and poise , and there's no doubt that a large percentage of video sales for this movie will come from viewers who couldn't believe their eyes the first time . 
chris tucker , on the opposite side , relates a hilarious comedic approach which smoothes out the rough edges to chan's performance . 
he works perfectly with the script , and it's quite likely he lent scribe jim kouf a hand with some of his lines . 
almost essential to the action genre , the plot is nonexistent . 
we're quickly introduced to detective james carter ( tucker ) is a maverick officer for the lapd . 
cut forward to another scene where the daughter ( julia hsu ) of the american chinese consul ( tzi ma ) is kidnapped by a gang of swarthy characters . 
the fbi is quick to the rescue , but the consul insists that one of his men , detective inspector lee ( chan ) , be brought on the case to help . 
the fbi resists , but then requests that lapd send a man over to babysit the chinese detective . 
it's here that carter and lee hook up , and the two unwittingly solve the case while the fbi rushes in to back them up . 
rattner does a fine job of going the extra mile to get his movie to move a step up , but it doesn't quite reach the top tier of action-comedies like last year's grosse pointe blank . 
there are moments where the plot strays too far off the straight line it sticks almost exclusively to , and if not for the comedic interactions between tucker and chan , this might be a major drawback . 
also , some supporting characters are almost entirely along for the ride , and others are there simply to look menacing . 
however , none gives a standoffish performance and they mostly mesh into the background . 
almost every member of the cast displays some reservation at one point or another - whether it's tucker's toned-down routine or chan's tight rein on his action sequences - and that contributes greatly to this being a watchable movie for all types . 
a recommendable visit to the theater , indeed .
if chris farley had strapped some fake mutton-chop sideburns to each side of his head , spoken with a thick irish accent , and tried his damnedest to play it straight , he wouldn't have been nearly as funny as brendan gleeson in " i went down . " 
gleeson , who's not dissimilar to the late " saturday night live " alumnus in terms of physical attributes , plays a character named bunny kelly in this delightful irish film . 
bunny is sent to county cork to " retrieve " one frank grogan for an irish gangster called tom french ( well dressed like all good gangsters should be and menacingly portrayed by tony doyle ) . 
bunny is to accompany git hynes ( peter mcdonald ) , recently released from prison and obligated to tom for disfiguring one of his cronies . 
that tom french is a mean bollocks . 
he wants frank back . 
and a small matter of some ? 25 , 000 that tom's wife was supposed to have given to frank . 
for this he won't break anyone's thumbs . 
maybe . 
inventively and engagingly written by conor mcpherson and directed by paddy breathnach , " i went down " follows the trials and tribulations of git and bunny as they knock around peat bogs , dimly-lit pubs , and seedy hostelries trying to stay alive and out of trouble . 
mcdonald is a newcomer and a promising one at that , but gleeson has been in over a dozen movies , most recently as father bubbles in another film with a very irish accent on hilarity , " the butcher boy . " 
even if you can't comprehend half of what they're saying , gleeson and mcdonald together make " i went down " a trip worth taking . 
the film is in many ways reminiscent of another " little " independent feature , 1991's " highway 61 . " 
that film , too , was a road movie and it shares the same kind of wry dialogue and humorous situations as mcpherson's tale : whimsical observations on life , carefully-crafted vignettes , deadpan conversational asides , and scenes that'll make you laugh out loud . 
witness the episode in which our good-natured protagonists bind frank ( played by peter caffrey ) to a hotel bed , leaving him with only the tv remote for company . 
that sequence alone is on a par with satan locking himself out of his car in " highway 61 . " 
what's also charming about " i went down " is how the relationship between buddy and git develops . 
their trip becomes an education for both of them , but the way it's handled is neither sappy nor labored . 
the only thing in the film which approaches clunkiness is the culminating explanation , via flashbacks , of the relationship between frank and tom . 
it's a little too hollywood , and what makes " i went down " so refreshing is the fact that it rarely panders to traditional conventions of hollywood gangster movies . 
sure it's gritty--make that grubby--but it's also pretty goofy . 
although " i went down " emphasizes the comedic elements of dis-organized crime , there are a couple of fairly brutal scenes in keeping with the subject matter . 
don't let these deter you , though ; " i went down " is a little gem . 
it's only playing at one philadelphia-area theater--and i suspect it won't be there for long--so catch it while you can .
" you leave little notes on my pillow . 
i told you a million times i can't stand little notes on my pillow . 
'we are all out of corn flakes - f . u . ' 
it took me three hours to figure out that 'f . u . ' was felix unger . " 
--- a frustrated oscar madison ( walter matthau ) running down a list of his complaints against his roommate felix unger ( jack lemmon ) , in the odd couple . 
the classic neil simon comedy ( based on his own stage play ) about suicidal felix ( lemmon ) , who is persuaded by his poker friend oscar ( matthau ) to stay with him in his apartment after felix's wife throws him out and files for divorce . 
the hook : oscar is messy and likes his apartment that way , while felix is an obsessive/compulsive neat freak . 
the two men , despite their friendship , instantly clash . 
movies just aren't as delightfully funny as this one is . 
every line of neil simon's dialogue flows like comedic poetry , and all the actors are just perfect in their performances . 
lemmon is at his best as the anxiety ridden felix , but it's matthau who shines brightest as oscar , whose world is being invaded and rearranged , mostly against his wishes ( the type of character i always enjoy identifying with ) . 
and who can forget that catchy score by neal hefti ? 
the best thing about the film ( and this is a testament to the quality of the writing ) is that it's a comedy with substance . 
these two men , even while at each other's throats , genuinely care for one another as friends . 
when they clash , it isn't cartoonish hatred being displayed , but genuine frustration with the fact that they are such good friends but just cannot manage to co-exist . 
movies nowadays , take grumpy old men for example , just don't have that extra spark there . 
these days it's just animosity for the sake of comedy . 
a television series followed ( starring jack klugman and tony randall ) , which i'll admit i've never seen an episode of in its entirety , and neil simon even scripted the sequel , the odd couple ii , which was released in 1998 . 
neither of them compare to this comic masterpiece though . 
it's one of the best comedies of all time and easily earns its spot in my top ten favorite films .
i have seen several ( but not that many ) woody allen movies . 
i didn't particulary like radio days , the purple rose of cairo , play it again , sam . 
i quite enjoyed manhatten murder mystery and everything . . . 
sex , and i loved might aphrodite . 
however i found bullets over broadway to be a snoozing bore . 
and bullets got some very raving reviews , but i didn't think i'd like . 
but i finally saw it ( double feature with ready to wear i think ) and hated it . 
since . . . 
i love you also seems to be getting raving reviews i wasn't sure if i'd want to see . . . 
thankfully i did ! 
people burst into singing and dancing , something i hardly ever like . 
but this movie is so infectious . 
and funny ! 
and entertaining ! 
 ( and unlike evita , they only sing when they need to . ) 
sure some of the actors may not be great singers , but they seems to be having a great time , and so does the audience . 
that's all i have to say . 
really , if you think that is going to be a dull movie , you're probably dead . 
and dead people should not be forced into movie theatres . 
is mark leeper dead ? 
he said that " this is an almost ghastly misfire " . 
the movie is rated r , for * one * use of the word motherf * * * * * .
veteran actor clint eastwood has never looked as grizzled as he does in true crime , his latest directorial effort . 
when steve everett ( his newest character ) gets angry at someone , he glares them down with those famous dirty harry eyes , furrows his brow and frowns like a grizzly bear who's just lost his cubs . 
eastwood has played some particularly despicable characters in his time , but everett could just take the cake . 
he gets my vote , at least , partly because `ev' is a drunken affair-a-week womanizer who has many relationship problems , very few of which are with his wife ( diane venora ) . 
when his colleague at the oakland tribune is in an ugly car wreck and dies , everett must take over for her at a vital interview session . 
the interview is with frank beacham ( isaiah washington ) , a death-row inmate set to die at midnight for the murder of a pregnant convenience store clerk . 
eastwood furrows his brow . 
as everett gradually finds information , he realizes that beacham could very well be innocent . 
he interviews a key witness ( michael jeter ) , who claims that he burst in the door at pocum's foods because his car had overheated , only to see beacham standing over the dead woman's body , blood on his suspenders , gun in hand . 
but everett protests : how could he have seen the gun , which was lowered by his side , with the potato chip rack in front of him ? 
jeter doesn't know what he's talking about . 
eastwood furrows his brow . 
crinkled expressions and all , clint is the centre of energy of true crime . 
the film is by no means a standard action/suspense yarn , but a thoughtful human story in which the characters come before the shoot-outs . 
isaiah washington has a break-out performance as frank beacham , and scenes with him and his weary wife ( lisa gay hamilton ) are truly heartfelt moments . 
but the best scenes are ones that feature eastwood duking it out with those in authority over him . 
denis leary , as everett's editor and boss , has more than a few memorable moments of restrained anger ( you see , ev is sleeping with his wife ) . 
but hands down , the most enjoyable segments of the film are when james woods is on camera . 
playing the big boss alan mann , woods and eastwood create amusing chemistry and laugh-out-loud punchlines . 
when true crime opts for a high-speed chase to the governer's house at the finale , the quality of film-making takes an abrupt nosedive . 
eastwood was so successful with colorful character portraits that he didn't need to switch lanes . 
true crime is a tension-building , intriguing drama showcase for the talented director and star . 
this is a road block he could have easily dismissed ( i furrow my brow ) . 
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
mars attacks ! 
 ( 1996 ) - c : jack nicholson , glenn close , annette bening , martin short , danny devito , rod steiger , pierce brosnan , sarah jessica parker , michael j . fox , jim brown , pam grier , joe don baker , natalie portman , christina applegate , lisa marie , tom jones . 
this is director tim burton's finest film to date . 
many will compare this tale of martians who invade earth to independence day , but even though the stories are similar , they really are two distinctly different films . 
however as a whole , mars attacks is much more entertaining than id4 , and i loved id4 . 
you really have to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy this film . 
it is completely wacked-out and unlike anything you've ever seen . 
once the silly tone of the film is set , it's easy to just sit back and throw logic out the window because logic and comedy just don't mix . 
the plot is simple : martians invade the earth . 
but it's different than any other invasion film . 
usually it's the evil aliens versus the heroic humans . 
this time however , it's the goofy aliens versus the equally goofy humans . 
the martians , who are all computer generated , are just about the funniest things i've seen in a long time . 
they look funny , they move funny , and their " language " is hilarious . 
and about the special effects . 
the effects in mars attacks ! 
are just about the most flawless ones i've seen to date . 
the computer animation of the martians combined with the goofy personalities they are given makes them seem 100% real . 
there are just a couple of scenes that don't work , mainly those involving sarah jessica parker and pierce brosnan on board an alien ship . 
also , glenn close overacts tremendously in her ( thankfully ) very limited screen time , so much so that i actually applauded silently when her character meets her demise . 
but there are many big laughs in the film , as i said , if you are in the right mood . 
could it have been funnier ? 
certainly . 
was it funny enough ? 
yes . 
was i entertained ? 
absolutely . 
on a personal note , i'd like to thank whomever cast rod steiger ( my favorite actor ) in the film as war-crazy general decker . 
finally , after many very small parts in direct to video garbage and minor tv roles , steiger is back on the big screen in a real movie that many people will see . 
while he's not given the type of role that you can give a real " performance " in , he does the job well and has some good lines of dialogue . 
the preview audience i saw the film with really seemed to enjoy him .
when i was asked to see this movie with a friend , my initial reaction was ? not hugh grant ! ' 
i was perhaps wrong to be so harsh , but after his insidious flirtation with a street hooker , i just could not picture him in any romantic lead . 
what makes this movie a wonderful experience is not the fact it stars hugh , but because it stars julia and carries with it a brilliantly written script . 
this writer richard curtis , whose exceptional first work ? four weddings and funeral' shows us that he is a master in the domain of the romantic comedy , with splashes of drama thrown in between . 
hugh and his hair , is almost identical to the character that made him famous in ? four weddings' . 
he plays an ordinary guy who is down and out on his luck . 
unfortunately , he is type cast in this role , but fortunately it works well for him in this movie . 
if only he would dither a little less . 
julia knows this role well . 
the glamorous movie star who is searching for true love . 
there are moments in this movie , that you almost weep for her pain felt loneliness . 
how sad it must be to be so wealthy and beautiful , but to have no one to share it with . 
the writer deals with difficult issues of love and social class on various levels . 
how differences in social standing can make it almost impossible for love to grow in such a harsh environment . 
how the media can be as cruel as it can be attentive , and how fulfilment in life and love can be found in forgiveness and sacrifice .
i was originally going to give the spanish prisoner two and half stars . 
from my first viewing , i noticed that david mamet's film was intense and clever at times but boring and cliched at other times especially at the beginning . 
from my second viewing however , i noticed that mamet's script was actually a masterpiece . 
the spanish prisoner , like the usual suspects or chinatown , begs for the viewer's complete attention . 
miss a scene or even a small detail , and you could miss the meaning of the entire film . 
also like the aforementioned films , it rewards its viewer for paying attention by delivering a surprising and memorable ending . 
mamet is success doing again what he once tackled in 1987 when he wrote and directed house of games . 
like his past gem , the spanish prisoner fools the audience as much ( or even more ) than the victim . 
because we were deceived just like the victim , we feel a strong attachment to the main character and consequently are more interested in the film . 
mamet has the talent of not completely ending a film gift wrapped , but rather leaving some ambiguity towards the end . 
the power that he has in forcing the viewer to determine who the good guys and bad guys are once the film is over , without giving a right answer , is unique and ingenious . 
the spanish prisoner will leave you seriously puzzled and intrigued . 
after seeing the film again , i noticed that the details mamet uses are so incredibly accurate it is frightening . 
his direction is very subtle ; as he leaves so many clues explaining what is going on and who is who but it is still very difficult to tell what exactly is happening even if you see all of them , or think you see all of them . 
the story follows a young up and coming businessman , joe ross , ( campbell scott ) who has just created a mysterious and lucrative " process " that everyone is trying to get their hands on . 
soon ross does not know who he can trust or who is after his " process . " 
through his journey ross meets a number of mysterious characters : the rich and popular jimmy dell , a secretary who has a huge crush on ross , and ross' boss mr . klein . 
played by steve martin , rebecca pidgeon , and ben gazarra respectively , the supporting cast is very solid especially martin , who deserved an oscar nomination for his commanding and manipulative role . 
the most interesting character in the film , though , was campbell scott's joe ross . 
the character's transformation from an ingenuous and polite rookie to a paranoid veteran is very apparent and justifiable . 
david mamet's script is so interesting because we know people don't actually talk like the characters in the film , yet we feel so connected to some of them . 
his beguiling style could fool any viewer up for the challenge . 
this is a must see , for those interested in solving a complex puzzle of a movie .
upon taking a seat at the theater , and surveying the crowd , i soon realized that i was the only person under forty in the premises . 
i'm twenty-two , but have been accused of looking sixteen . 
yet as the film began , any consciousness of setting shifted to the home of five close-knit , yet troubled sisters . 
director pat o'connor ( inventing the abbots , circle of friends ) weaves a quiet yet affecting tale of loss , need , and the bonds between five sisters . 
the family is ruled by kate ( meryl streep ) , an unconsciously strict schoolteacher , who is completely conscious of the deterioration of her family . 
there is very little background given to the viewer , as we are thrust into a tense but loving home . 
squabbles take place one after the other , caused by years and years of history . 
perhaps one of the best things about this film , is its naturalness . 
no situation is over-wrought , and characters react as real people do , to real problems . 
this probably is a result of the film being from a stage play . 
the play was in turn is based on a time in the life of the playwright . 
what seems to be an underlying theme are the pagan rituals and dances of peoples , both in lughnasa and africa . 
in fact , dance seems to be the glue that holds the family together and most expressively shows their closeness . 
legs tap , and bodies sway even in the midst of impending disaster . 
only after the music stops , and the characters stand breathing heavily do we sense any trouble . 
in the quiet after the music we muse that it's sad that music has to cease , and families falter . 
the movie is framed by a scene of michael mundy , the narrator of the movie , as a young child flying a kite . 
he trips over a bump and loses hold of his string , and the kite floats off farther into the distance . 
drawn on the white diamond of the kite is a face that looks at once pained , and at another glance mischievous . 
the mundy family itself follows a similar fate to that of the kite , and kate's hold of the family isn't strong enough to hold off the winds of change . 
as michael stands , staring at his kite fly away , we hear the adult michael , looking back at the season that his world changed forever . 
the movie is not overpowering , but it gives us a beautiful window into the life , love , and trouble of a household of lonely women . 
note : this is the first movie review i've ever written , any responses on it would be greatly appreciated . 
 : )
in may of 1977 , just 2 years after steven spielberg's success with jaws and 3 years after francis coppolas' the godfather , a risky , ambitious young director named george lucas went for the same unpredictable box office success . 
little did he know that star wars would become the greatest science fiction epic in the history of film . 
in january of this year , lucas re-released star wars on its 20th anniversary . 
in this new , remastered version , the added effects , which range from leathery desert beasts inserted into already existing shots to an awkward new scene in which hans solo bargains his way out of a jam with a computer-generated jabba the hutt , don't do much but call attention to themselves . 
other than these , the film is exactly the same . 
why pay to see it in the theaters , you might ask ? 
simply because when this movie was released , most of us were a few years short of being born . 
we should all get up and go to the movies for the experience , especially if you haven't seen it . 
the plot is basic but in the same way , complex . 
it has many themes , but the one rotates around luke skywalker ( mark hamill ) and his quest to become a jedi knight . 
his mission begins when a droid named r2-d2 plays back a secret message recorded by the beautiful princess leia ( carrie fisher ) , which tells him to contact the mysterious obi-wan kanoby ( alec guiness ) . 
he and kanoby then , joined by two inter-galactic renegades , hans solo ( harrison ford ) and chewbacca , and skywalker's two droids d2 and c3po ( the voice of anthony edwards ) , wage war upon the corrupt empire , commanded by an evil general ( peter cushing ) and the traitorous darth vader ( the voice of james earl jones ) . 
skywalker defeats the evil empire by rising out of himself to embrace something larger : the force . 
the film is obviously quite star-studded . 
but how was lucas to know that ford would become one of the most sought after men in hollywood and jones' voice would appear so many more times in the future ? 
it just happened to work out for him . 
the magic of star wars lies in the way that skywalker's triumph is symbolized by the audience's sense of becoming something larger than life itself-a universe of fans , young and old , recreating a movie atmosphere that will impress generations forever . 
 ,
`strange days' chronicles the last two days of 1999 in los angeles . 
as the locals gear up for the new millenium , lenny nero ( ralph fiennes ) goes about his business of peddling erotic memory clips . 
he pines for his ex-girlfriend , faith ( juliette lewis ) , not noticing that another friend , mace ( angela bassett ) really cares for him . 
this film features good performances , impressive film-making technique and breath-taking crowd scenes . 
director kathryn bigelow knows her stuff and does not hesitate to use it . 
but as a whole , this is an unsatisfying movie . 
the problem is that the writers , james cameron and jay cocks , were too ambitious , aiming for a film with social relevance , thrills , and drama . 
not that ambitious film-making should be discouraged ; just that when it fails to achieve its goals , it fails badly and obviously . 
the film just ends up preachy , unexciting and uninvolving .