polsci/sentiment-polarity-dataset-v2.0 huggingface dataset:
robert benton has assembled a stellar , mature cast for his latest feature , twilight , a film noir mystery set amid the fading stars of hollywood . 
paul newman stars as retired detective harry ross . 
harry has spent the last couple of years doing odd jobs for jack and catherine ames ( gene hackman and susan sarandon ) , a pair of married actors who have fallen from the limelight . 
when jack sends him on a routine delivery job , however , the old instincts kick in . 
soon , harry is wading through a mystery where friendships and lives are on the line , and he no longer knows who to trust . 
there are plenty of familiar faces throughout twilight , in addition to newman , hackman and sarandon . 
james garner plays raymond hope , a former cop and one of harry's best friends . 
stockard channing plays verna , harry's former partner , and possibly a former love interest . 
reese witherspoon is mel , the distrustful daughter of the ames' , and liev schrieber is her scuzzy boyfriend . 
giancarlo esposito appears as harry's bumbling detective protigi , and john spencer is a suspicious police captain . 
with a cast like that , it's almost worth watching twilight just to stargaze . 
luckily , there's more to the film than some sort of actor's recognition ceremony . 
twilight has a solid film noir-ish plot . 
it may not have as many twists and turns as some of the classics , but it has much more than a lot of what passes for film these days . 
the major cast members all deliver strong performances , as can be expected of their caliber . 
however , none of them have that little extra oomph which would make them memorable . 
the supporting cast is enjoyable , if a little underdrawn . 
stockard channing's character , in particular , is a cipher . 
there's more to her character than the film takes the time to describe . 
it's a minor , but irritating , flaw . 
with a solid cast , and a good plot , there's a lot to recommend about twilight . 
it's biggest flaw is actually its short running time . 
at a slim 94 minutes , there's a lot of stuff that's packed into an awfully small package . 
still , the chance to see newman , sarandon and hackman working together is worth a cramp or two .
warning : anyone offended by blatant , leering machismo had better avoid this film . 
or lots of blood & guts , men against men and mano-et-mano stuff . 
in other words , it's a walter hill film ! 
with a john milius script ! 
i always picture these guys getting together and producing a movie between arm-wrestling matches . 
these films always contain male characters i have a very hard time identifying with , probably due to the likelihood that any meeting between them and me would result in my arm being ripped off and then my subsequent death by beating with said limb . 
and we got tough guys galore , here ; drug-running banditos by the dozens , all dirty and sweaty and pretty ill-tempered , overall ; a secret task force of army commandos who are in the area to cover-up ( supposedly ) any connection between the government and the drug runners ; and lots of shit-kicking texas dirt farmers who'd as soon shoot you between the eyes as look at you . 
in particular , we got nick nolte as one hard-ass texas ranger , powers boothe as the drug kingpin , michael ironsides as the leader of the secret army , and rip torn as the local sheriff . 
torn is the sympathetic figure of the group ; he smiles before shooting anyone . 
as to women . . . 
well , i've never seen jane fonda or meryl streep in a walter hill film , and at this rate , i doubt i ever will . 
women exist here to look good , comfort the man , and get argued over . 
gosh ! 
just like the old days . . . 
frankly , this is a pretty good movie , if you can accept the premise and can take the macho stuff . 
the cinematography is excellent , the cast of characters is broad and has texture , the script is quite good , and the film lets you keep up with what's happening yourself , without spelling it out to you . 
i appreciate a film that makes me have to think to keep up . 
finally , there's lots of sam peckinpah slow-motion shoot-ups .
accepting his oscar as producer of this year's best picture winner , saul zaentz remarked that his cup runneth over . 
one could almost say the same about his much-prized film . 
rarely is the screen so overflowing with potent imagery , symbolism , ideas and metaphors , complex and literate storytelling , all possessed of an intelligence that invites -- even demands -- constant scrutiny , an acuity of perception and observation that must somehow yield the truth . 
in short , the antithesis of all things hollywood . 
yet this surfeit of signals is made to serve a rather pale and thinly realized love story whose emotional impact is as dry as a desert wind . 
ralph fiennes is the title character , an amnesiac burn victim whose gradual return to memory , and particularly the memory of love , is the ostensible focus of the film . 
but despite the use of numerous flashbacks to help put the pieces of this personal puzzle together , we never learn enough about the man to feel much empathy for him . 
his emotional life before the story begins is an essential clue that remains withheld . 
the same can easily be said for every other character in the film , of which there are too many . 
juliette binoche's nurse comes as close as this film gets to an emotional heart . 
at least we learn early on that she is scarred by the deaths of those close to her , and so we understand why she is eager to escape the company of her comrades in order to seek refuge in the convalescence of a mysterious , disfigured , dying stranger . 
even this information is imparted so quickly and in such cursory fashion , however , that it verges on the comical . 
with so many characters enjoying so little screen time , the film's 160 minutes can be taxing . 
yet there is something so captivating about the sensibility behind the camera that i couldn't help but feel that greatness was in the air . 
hints of it were everywhere -- in a man who hates ownership but wants desperately to possess his lover ; in ancient cave paintings of swimmers copied casually by a modern-day swimmer in the sahara ; in the way the shifting sands of time obliterate everything more completely than a world war . 
there is enough latent meaning to supply college film students with paper topics for years . 
but ultimately the emotional truths writer-director anthony minghella was grasping for were never revealed . 
in the end , i was left with the impression that i had witnessed quite an oxymoron : a haunting bore . 
bore is perhaps too strong a word . 
but after drinking in the rich production values , the cup remains only slightly over half-full .
" footloose " has only one goal in mind : to reel in an audience with cheesy sentiment and feel-good antics . 
and i hate to admit it ; i fell for it . 
the movie is about a teenager ( bacon ) who moves to a small town from the big city , and discovers that dancing has been banned by the local reverend ( lithgow ) . 
he ends up falling for the preacher's daughter ( singer ) and showing the whole town what the magic of dance can do . 
as mentioned at the beginning of this review , " footloose " is an extremely hokey and predictable teen drama . 
there are virtually no surprises , and the writing is second-rate . 
so why did i enjoy it so much ? 
for one thing , the cast is great . 
kevin bacon oozes charisma in an early role . 
we're rooting for him right from the start , and , unlike most films of this genre , bacon doesn't play him as the " rebel without a clue " sort . 
yes , he does rebel , but he's also polite when he needs to be . 
and he never broods . 
the rest of the cast is equally impressive . 
john lithgow , seen here playing a normal guy for a change , is playing a man who would normally be a flat out villian . 
but lithgow plays him as a concerned father who is trying to do what he feels is best for his daughter . 
by the end of the film , we feel a genuine sense of love and understanding between him and the lori singer character . 
another nice touch is the music . 
we see the parents of the kids complaining that the music they listen to is filled with " sexual innuendos " , but that's not true at all . 
the title track , performed by kenny loggins , is upbeat and fun . 
during the final sequence , i was overcome with the urge to get off the couch and start dancing . 
of course , i soon realized that would be a little pathetic . 
anyway , " footloose " is a charming little surprise . 
don't let the premise prevent you from watching it . 
it sucked me in , and it'll do the same to you .
meet joe black ( reviewed on nov . 27/98 ) 
starring brad pitt , anthony hopkins , claire forlani 
in " meet joe black " , brad pitt plays death . 
that's all that really needs to be said , but nevertheless , i will provide the three of you that have seemingly been living in a cave with a plot description . 
death decides to take a holiday , what with all the rigors of soul-collecting and all , and forces anthony hopkins into showing him what it's like to be human . 
death assumes the body of brad pitt , and from there , much trouble ensues . 
for one thing , death-as-pitt falls in love with hopkins daughter , played by claire forlani . 
obviously this enrages hopkins , because really , what can death offer ? 
besides eternal damnation , of course . 
there is also a sub-plot about forlani's ex-boyfriend ( she dumps him for pitt ) trying to take over hopkins company . 
 " meet joe black " runs just under three hours . 
i've always thought that such obscene running times should be limited to historical epics . 
 " meet joe black " is neither historical nor is it an epic , though i get the feeling martin brest ( the director ) desperately wants it to be . 
every single scene in the movie goes on about 3-4 minutes too long . 
and the ending takes about 20 minutes longer than it really should . 
a severe editing job could have made this movie excellent , instead of just good , which is what it is . 
pitt , an actor i normally loathe , is actually quite engaging as death . 
i believed his performance , and i could see why forlani's character would fall in love with him . 
i have to agree with roger ebert , though , who found it hard to believe that an entity that's been around for all time wouldn't know what peanut butter was . 
that has nothing to do with pitt's performance , of course , but it is a little distracting . 
hopkins gives his usual excellent performance . 
he's able to portray the angst of a man who knows he has very little time left , without making him an obnoxious whiner . 
and in her first major studio role , claire forlani is surprisingly good . 
she has a sweet tenderness that allows the audience to instantly root for her . 
so , " meet joe black " is a good movie hampered by it's ridiculous running time . 
had the film been cut by an hour or so , i have no doubt that i would be calling it one of the best movies of the year in this review .
based on the boris karloff's classic by the same name , the mummy starts off with the high-priest of osiris , imhotep , who murders the pharoah for his mistress and is punished by being mummified in the most horrifying way possible -- bandaged up , having his tongue removed , and being covered in flesh-eating scarab beetles , then entombed . . . all while still alive . 
recap a few thousand years later , where a soldier named rick ( played by brandan fraser ) aids a young historian named evelyn ( played by rachel wiesz ) and her brother , jonathan ( played by john hannah ) in finding the book of amon ra , in the process inadvertently freeing the mummy . 
problem is that the mummy wants to revive his mistress , using evelyn as a sacrifice . . . 
walking in with relatively low expectations , i thought this movie was actually pretty good . 
the visuals and cgi are astounding , and obviously not cheaply done at all . 
they pack a ton of detail into the images , especially during scenes involving mummies rendered completely by cgi . 
the computer special effects makes for some brilliant scenes , such as unnerving moments involving flesh-eating scarab beetles and moments where the mummy goes after the people who freed him ( after all , those who took his artifacts are cursed ) . 
unfortunately , the film attempts to be way too much in such a short span of time , becoming a tug of war for control between genres . 
on one hand , it is a fast paced action film . 
on the other , it's a frightening horror film . 
and on the side , it's a hilarious comedy . 
ideally , for it to be successful , the film would have to focus on one the more action oriented aspect , with one character serving as the comic relief ( that would be johnson ) . 
the problem with this film is that it has at least three characters serving as comic relief , with rick occasionally delivering his witty one-liner . 
if they were trying to make a horror-action-comedy , it would have helped if it were established early on in the film , but unfortunately , with the backstory of imhotep's entombment , that would be impossible . 
and then there's the slapstick fight scene between a sword-wielding rick and an army of mummies . 
while really well done , it had the feel of slapstick comedy . 
replace the sword with a chainsaw and you'd effectively have ash fighting zombies in army of darkness . 
while entertaining and funny , it feels really out of place . 
but at least it's a break from the naive heroes that brendan fraser has been playing a lot of . 
on the whole , the movie is pure popcorn fare from beginning to end , entertaining the audience . 
but i must end my review with a plea to movie theatre owners . . . turn 
the sound down ! 
while a lot of theatres have good sound systems , my ears were almost ringing as i walked out of the theatre ( the sound is particularly irritating and will make you crap your pants if you're not careful ) . 
when they were showing the trailer for the upcoming schwarzenegger film , " end of days " , it was so loud i couldn't make anything out .
is evil dead ii a bad movie ? 
it's full of terrible acting , pointless violence , and plot holes yet it remains a cult classic nearly fifteen years after its release . 
explaining why this movie stands out from others with similar plots ( including the original evil dead ) is extremely difficult . 
`well what's it about ? ' 
`five people stranded in a log cabin in the middle of nowhere struggling to survive vicious attacks from a variety of ugly , hairy , wart covered monsters . ' 
`come on i saw a movie just like that on monster vision last week . 
why should i see it again ? ' 
`no evil dead ii is different , it's funny . ' 
`it's funny to see people die ? 
are you sick or something ? ' 
maybe i am and maybe director sam raimi is as well to create such an enigma of a movie . 
his unique execution is as sarcastic as subtle , as disturbing as it is hilarious . 
an example of raimi's odd approach : a monster ( formerly protagonist ash's girlfriend of all people ) is cut in half by a chainsaw and a tidal wave of blood comes from the open wound . 
sure it's over-the-top , but it is so over-the-top that it is laugh out loud funny ; just try watching ash with a straight face as he unexpectedly is showered with ten gallons of blood , staining his face and knocking him back a few feet . 
the whole movie is like this , watch ash get beat up , watch ash defeat the monster , watch ash get beat up again by another even zanier monster . 
the more repetitive and unrealistic the movie gets , the more amusing it becomes . 
no matter how sick it may sound , it is funny to watch bruce ampbell's ash get his butt kicked every five minutes . 
and raimi takes advantage , he has ash tormented by the head of his girlfriend , by the body of an old lady , even by his own right hand . 
like the less superior idle hands , we watch ash uncontrollably hit himself over and over again until he is forced to cut off his own body part . 
but it doesn't end , ash now has to fight his severed hand which now moves with the same celerity as thing from the addams family . 
all of these events , thrown at you from minute one with roller coaster- like camera movements , at first become shocking , then inexplicably funny . 
raimi expects the audience to laugh and as the film progresses , he seems to be enjoying himself even more by borrowing the classic mirror scene from the marx brothers' duck soup , then bringing more characters into the picture to comically kill them off . 
with a running time of less than an hour and a half , raimi gets away with the impossible , making a horror film with more gore than plot and intentionally more laughs than scares . 
ending evil dead ii with an opening for the third film in the series , raimi obviously had a lot of fun making this movie and couldn't wait to make it's sequel .
it's rather strange too have two computer animated talking ant movies come out in a single year , but that is what disney and pixar animation ; s latest film represents . 
while a bugs life isn't nearly as deep as it's predecessor , dreamwork's antz , it is just as funny . 
a bug's life centers , appropriately , around the life of an ant , named flik . 
flik , cutely voiced by newsradio's david foley , hates sticking too tradition and attempts too find new ways of harvesting food and other task . 
when one of his inventions causes the offering too be completely lost , the leaders of the colony send him out on a mission too get him out of the way . 
the offering is food that a vile group of grasshoppers force the ants too harvest for them . 
the leader of the grasshoppers is hopper , who is fiendishly voiced by oscar winner kevin spacey . 
when the offering is lost hopper is very upset and he vows to return shortly too retrieve double the amount of food . 
when the leaders of the ant colony send flik out on his mission , they never dream he will be successful , they just hope they can get him out of the way so they can harvest the extra food . 
flik's mission is too hire some warrior bugs too fight off the grasshoppers when they return . 
instead flik accidentally hires circus performing bugs , who he mistakenly assumes are warriors . 
when he returns with the `warriors' , the town is ecstatic until they find out the truth about their heroes . 
a bug's life has animation that is simply stunning . 
the sheer uniqueness of the day to day bug life is very imaginative . 
together with the great voice acting , this film is the perfect holiday family film . 
its main weakness is that it couldn't beat antz to the theaters , making it seem like stale material .
>from the commercials , this looks like a mild-mannered neil simonesque tale with mary tyler moore baring her bra touted as the highlight . 
instead it turns out to be a hilarious film running in high gear from beginning to end . 
the concept is deceptively pedestrian . 
an adult adopted son is looking for his biological parents and encounters eccentric characters along the way . 
the movie demonstrates just how far a good script and actors can take a mundane idea . 
the son and his wife take off on the search accompanied by a woman from the agency who located his parents . 
following one dead end lead after another , each funnier than the previous , they eventually end up in new mexico with his real biological parents : alan alda and lily tomlin . 
it's difficult to condense the mile-a-minute plot . 
seemingly hundreds of scenes jump on top of each other without giving you a chance to recover from the last one . 
without giving too much away , one of the better episodes involves a gay federal alcohol , tobacco and firearms agent attempting an arrest while tripping on lsd as his bi-sexual partner is upstairs licking the armpit of a woman while her husband is in the next room seducing their traveling companion . 
and it's all done in a fairly clean , almost ( well , maybe not exactly ) family fare manner . 
a grand cast ( tomlin , alda , moore , ben stiller , patricia arquette , tea leoni , george segal ) interacts in a seamless parade of laughs . 
drawing from a more hyper woody allen style , the film succeeds beyond expectations .
it is easy to label something sentimental or tear jerking when one has not experienced the heartache of losing a child ? whether that may be in life or in death . 
after having said that , i will also say that this movie does all of the above very well . 
one gets that choking sensation in the throat ( because of grief ) when one brother forgives another for a costly mistake , or when a husband hugs his wife after a long estrangement . 
there is no ocean , no drownings and it does not conjure up memories of yet another ? ordinary people' . 
in fact the only thing remotely connected to the ocean is probably tap water and the toilet flushing ( not that this literally happened in the movie ) . 
so what are the lessons learnt : 1 . 
don't take your children to class reunions . 
2 . don't leave them alone in the lobby , not even for a second . 
michelle pfeiffer once again plays the role of a highly-strung wife and mother , a trend that started with ? a thousand acres' and ? one fine day' . 
my comment is that she is exceptionally fine strung in this movie , so much so that when she has a nervous break down , the veins on her temples bulge impressively . 
whoopi golberg also puts in an understated performance , playing a lesbian cop , with a name that makes one want to reach for a lollipop . 
lastly , who are the ideal companions for this sort of movie ? my grandmother comes to mind .
disaster films have a tendency to be very formulated and very cliched . 
to see a disaster film with actual originality , or at least a decent plot twist , would definitely be a welcome surprise . 
unfortunately , folks , it's not likely . 
dante's peak is cliched , and at times corny , but also pretty decent . 
to be honest , i wasn't very interested in seeing this film , and word of mouth , as well as several reviews , didn't make it sound promising . 
so i was pleasantly surprised that to find that this movie wasn't bad at all . 
it's pretty run of the mill , but it's not something i would say is merely " ok " to watch . 
in case you don't know , dante's peak is about a volcano and the city which lives in it's shadow , dante's peak ( who would've guessed , eh ? ) . 
pierce brosnan plays the volcanologist sent to study the volcano and , perhaps more by hunch than actual scientific proof , is determined that the volcano will be arupting in the very near future . 
due to the lack of more substantial evidence , nobody warns the small town , and when they finally do , it's in the middle of the town meeting that the volcano finally blows . 
brosnan , all around good guy , will , of course , save the day . 
 . 
 . 
or at least the mayor of dante's peak ( linda hamilton ) . 
naturally the two will become infatuated with one another . 
 ( if you think i just ruined a plot development , you haven't seen very many movies ! ) 
there's also the virtually neccessary kids and pet dog to tug at your heart strings . 
and of course , the kids or the dog ( at least one or the other ) will do something heroic . 
 . 
 . 
but hey , i don't want to ruin all the surprises ! 
if there was a part of you that was hesitating seeing dante's peak merely because it was rumored to be a waste of time , i urge you to watch it and decide for yourself . 
it's not brain food , but it succeeds at what it's meant to be . 
 . 
 . 
an enjoyable , suspenseful movie about the fury mother nature can unleash !
mimi leder is probably best known for her stunning work as a director of the hit tv-show er . 
her mast famous episode , " love's labour lost " , dealt with the ordeal of doctor mark greene as he tried his best to save the life of a pregnant mother and her child . 
the way she moved the camera and created tension throughout every scene was amazing . 
there was more excitement and adrenaline rushed suspense than just about any of hollywood's big blockbuster movies . 
so it's only natural that leder would get to direct her very own hollywood blockbuster . 
and i have to say , after a shaky beginning , she does not disappoint . 
peacemaker deals with the theft of nuclear weapons by terrorists , which is obviously nothing new . 
the first half hour goes into detail , way too much detail , about how the weapons are stolen . 
despite a few good images , including a train collision and a very impressive explosion , none of this was very coherent . 
it's long and drawn out , and i would have settled with a more implausible beginning that would have moved the story along better . 
once george clooney and nicole kidman enter the picture , it begins to take off . 
george clooney is an air force colonel with connections all over the world . 
he has a nice sarcastic wit and the rough edges that you expect from most clooney characters . 
nicole kidman is head of a white house team on weapons smuggling . 
there is the usual flirtatious banter between the two , but that is dispensed with quickly . 
the story takes clooney and kidman across the globe , trying to figure out who has the weapons and where they are going with them . clooney 
goes through bouts of sarcasm , frustration , determination , and revenge while kidman works against her own insecurity and self-doubt . 
this is when leder starts to show her true stuff . 
she starts us off with a nifty little car chase as an appetizer . 
then we get clooney doing heroics in and out of a helicopter . 
then that leads us to the brilliant final showdown on new york city's crowded streets , and a madman with a nuke walking among them . 
mimi leder is a natural at creating suspense . 
she reminds me of wolfgang petersen in her ability to make the most routine action sequences exciting and breathtaking . 
nicole kidman is an intelligent female action hero . 
you're not gonna find her falling down so clooney can come back to save her . 
george clooney is a real movie star . 
many of you may have hated him as batman , but this guy is for real . 
he has a natural screen presence , and an ingratiating personality . 
he'll be around for a while . 
dreamworks is off to a satisfying start with peacemaker .
capsule : the verma family is having a wedding and all the relatives will come for the multi-day festivities . 
mira nair's film is pleasant enough with a little human drama , a few family secrets , some sadness and some happiness . 
you have seen it all before , but perhaps not from india . 
the photography is colorful and the music is very agreeable . 
 , low +2 ( -4 to +4 ) 
mira nair previously directed salaam bombay and mississippi masala . 
her newest film , written by sabrina dhawan , is very similar to previous films like betsy's wedding but it is set in new delhi . 
a wealthy family is having a wedding . 
an indian wedding is a multi-day affair as much a family reunion as a nuptial . 
even more than in the us , it is an excuse for a lavish and extravagant family get-together . 
the film shows us what the family does together and at the same time follows several family members' individual story lines . 
aditi verma is marrying hemant , an indian engineer working in the us . 
she had previously had a relationship with vikram , her supervisor . 
latit , her father ( played by naseeruddin shah ) , is juggling many problems , not the least of which is worrying about the caterer has hired pk dubey . 
dubey is a rather eccentric man with a taste for eating the marigolds he uses for decoration . 
even dubey will soon be romantically entangled when he becomes interested in alice , one of the family servants . 
several family members arrive giving rise to several plotlines involving sex , family secrets , or both . 
there are heartbreaks and there are people falling in love . 
some of the subjects covered are probably near taboo for indian films . 
western audiences will appreciate a look at unfamiliar indian customs like women painting their hands with henna . 
on the other hand it was not clear ( to me at least ) if scenes like the family singing together are typical of indian culture or if they are a convention of indian musical films . 
this seems a particularly westernized family with the father wearing american designer sweaters and the family speaking mostly english . 
the latter will , however , help with an international release . 
sabrina dhawan's screenplay is vibrant with witty dialog . 
we have seen films with plotting very much like this , but the indian setting makes a great deal of difference . 
director mira nair calls the film an affirmation of life . 
i rate it a 7 on the 0 to 10 scale and a low +2 on the -4 to +4 scale .
the love for family is one of the strongest driving forces in any man's life , especially for those who have fostered their family under precarious circumstances . 
thematically in cinema , love for family has been used frequently and emphatically to highlight more abstract aspects of characters ; it is rare , however , for it to develop as outstandingly as it does in roberto benigni's neo-classic drama , life is beautiful . 
through a central cast of father , mother , and son , benigni demonstrates the wonderful , undying love that a family shares in the best of times and the worst of times . 
life * is * beautiful for guido orefice ( roberto benigni , directing himself here for the sixth time in his career ) , an italian jew , master con man , and aspiring waiter extraordinaire . 
living in 1930's italy , he lives a carefree life of good fortune ; it is made even better when he happens upon a pretty schoolteacher named dora ( nicoletta braschi ) . 
although dora is already engaged , guido manages to sweep her off her feet and persuades her to marry him instead ; the two have a child named joshua ( giorgio cantarini ) . 
unfortunately for the happy family , the third reich and its nazi minions occupy italy and imprison all jews in work camps . 
it is after the movie takes this dramatic turn that the movie's theme of family love becomes the strongest . 
although prior to this turning point benigni plays guido with a sort of goofy charm , he relaxes the role to ensure his son's happiness . 
now , instead of awkwardly seducing the sweet dora , he constantly reassures his son that everything will be all right . 
benigni's performance is truly a well-rounded one , and certainly one of the more fluid turns all year . 
the supports are all strong as well , but the movie truly excels in its script . 
life is beautiful is a self-proclaimed fable , one which tells its story in grand , two-part fashion . 
in certain parts it manages to sink to the level of a " saturday night live " spinoff -- a number of humorous skits connected by a token plot -- but in the movie's second half the script's circular nature becomes admirably obvious . 
characters make reprise appearances in fine form , and certain events which are intially curious become critically linked to the plot's outcome . 
in all , fans of foreign film will see this as a memorable motion picture , and novice movie-watchers may take this opportunity to see their first " artsy " film . 
life is beautiful is an artsy movie by convention but easily accessible to everyone , and above all is a fine thematic picture .
while watching wes anderson's rushmore , it may be surprising to think that the role of max fischer , the film's anti-hero , was not written with jason schwartzman in mind . 
the young actor , making his film debut as a 15 year old student at the exclusive rushmore academy is so perfect in the role that it comes as a shock that anderson auditioned some two thousand other prospective stars before discovering schwarztman . 
schwartzman plays max , a student who is more interested in his extra-curricular activities ( such as writing edgy plays like " serpico " and being president of the rushmore beekeepers ) but sees his grades suffer as a result . 
on the brink of being thrown out , he lands himself in even more hot water when he falls for first grade teacher rosemary cross ( olivia williams ) and enlists the help of millionaire acquaintance herman blume ( the great bill murray ) to build an aquarium ( on rushmore's baseball field ) in her honour . 
unfortunately for everyone involved , blume finds that he has feelings for miss cross as well , which gets in the way of max's plans to woo her . 
max is one of the best-written characters we've yet seen in the 90s , and schwartzman plays him to perfection in one of the finest comedy performances ever given by someone of his age . 
as everyone else has probably already pointed out , he is reminiscent of a young dustin hoffman ( although i was reminded more of paul from " the wonder years " , from a visual standpoint , at least ) . 
hopefully , if he avoids typecasting as weird , quirky loner-types he should earn himself a good career . 
bill murray is his equal as blume , displaying a depth we haven't yet seen from him . 
while this isn't his best performance ( that honour goes to groundhog day ) he is still terrific here . 
williams isn't given much to do except react to schwartzman and murray , but still does fine work . 
rushmore seems to go just a little too long but , while it isn't a perfect film , it is a definate must-see for anyone who wants to see that rarity , an american coming-of-age film that actually works well without an excessive amount of sentimentality . 
anderson has created a modern classic with a star who should , with any luck , rise to even greater success .
quaid stars as a man who has taken up the proffesion of dragonslayer after he feels he is betrayed by a dragon early in the movie . 
he runs into the last dragon in existence , and there is a genuinely amusing battle between the two which results in a standoff where quaid is in the dragons mouth , but has his sword pointed at the dragons brain . 
eventually , they decide to call a truce , and they work out a deal . 
since he is the last dragon , he will pretend to die and quaid will be able to get paid for it . 
their scam works at first , until they come to a town without any money . 
instead the town sacrifices a girl to the dragon , but of course , draco is a nice droagon , so he won't eat her . there is however a very amusing scene where draco is hitting on the young girl . 
of course , as you can probably tell by the plot , this is a silly movie , but it does know when to take itself seriously at the right times , unlike eddie , which was serious all the time . 
you could probably call this a medieval comedy , because there are more laughs here than in eddie and spy hard combined . 
dennis quaid makes a fine hero . 
pete posthlewaite provides some ghreat comedy as a monk who journeys with them . 
dina meyer is appealing as the sacrificed girl . 
but lets face it , the movie is really about the dragon , and what an amazing creation he is . 
connery's voice and ilm team up to provide us with a truly magnificent dragon . 
so , if you are going to see this movie for a strong hard core medieval epic , you are going to the wrong movie . 
if you are going because of the dragon , you will not be dissapointed , and you will be provided with plenty of laughs that smooth out the boring parts in the script .
as with his other stateside releases , jackie chan's latest chopsocky vehicle , mr . nice guy , is contrived , blockheaded , and lacking in narrative logic . 
but also like those other films , it is a highly enjoyable ride . 
once again , chan's screenwriters ( here edward tang and fibe ma ) have taken the easy way out and named their star's character simply jackie , with no last name . 
this jackie is a world-class chef who co-hosts a popular cooking show on australian television . 
of course , jackie also happens to be a talented martial artist , and these skills come in handy when he becomes involved in an ambitious reporter's ( gabrielle fitzpatrick ) expose of a drug dealing ring . 
other plot details , involving a videotape and a biker gang , are irrelevant ; in fact , as is the case with most chan films , the plot itself is just about irrelevant . 
the sole purpose of mr . nice guy's existence are chan's comic fight scenes , and those here do not disappoint . 
director samo hung ( who has a cameo role ) , a longtime collaborator of chan's , does not waste any time putting chan in action , diving head-on into a wild chase/fight/shootout after a brief cooking show prologue . 
other impressive set pieces follow , most notably a chase in a mall , which directly leads to some frenzied , if cliched ( can you say fruit cart ? ) , business involving a runaway carriage ; and an extended late-film sequence at a construction site , in which a hilarious pursuit through a maze of blue doors culminates in some exciting fights involving boards , cement mixers , and a deadly buzzsaw . 
none of the action sequences in mr . nice guy are as spectacular as supercop's thrilling helicopter-train finale or rumble in the bronx's daring leap between two buildings ; nor is anything as inventive as the ladder fight or air tunnel climax in first strike and operation condor , respectively . 
but the action delivers , even if the energy peters out before the film's end ( the finale , as spectacular as it is , is a letdown for fans of chan's athletic prowess ) . 
filmed almost entirely in english ( even so , the voices of some english-speaking actors are laughably dubbed ) , mr . nice guy hints at jackie chan's latest transition to hollywood productions ( he made ill-fated attempts with 1980's the big brawl and 1985's the protector ) ; next in the pipeline is rush hour , a stateside production co-starring chris tucker . 
hopefully that film will be a mere diversion in tinseltown , and chan will continue with exuberant hong kong productions such as mr . nice guy , for his unique charm and reckless abandon are sure to be diluted by american hands , much like they have been before .
as the film opens up , expectant unwed mother sally ( played by drew barrymore ) encounters her baby's father in a fast food drive-through window . 
after he gets his milkshake , he drives off , only to be pursued by a military helicopter . 
from this moment forward , you know that this isn't going to be your run-of-the-mill romantic comedy . 
home fries tells the tale of the relationship between sally and dorian ( played by luke wilson ) , a helicopter pilot who has a different kind of connection with sally . . . more 
than he would care to admit ( hint : it has something to do with the father of sally's unborn child ) . 
after taking a personal ( and professional ) interest in her , he finds work at the local fast food restaurant at which she works , and the fun goes on from there . 
this movie is a lot of fun . 
it is comedic on two levels , as a romantic comedy and a dark comedy . 
the romantic moments are sweet , yet not sappy . 
one of the more poignant moments is when dorian accompanies sally to lamaze classes . 
however , the dark comedic moments are more memorable . 
this is also a tale of revenge , and a funny one at that . 
the father of sally's unborn child also happened to be a married man , whose wife is played by catherine o'hara . 
she does a wonderful portrayal of a jealous wife who is targeting the person who had an affair , and is not above getting other people to do her dirty work . 
 ( my apologies if this sounds cryptic , but there is too much of the plot to give away ) . 
rounding out the cast are jake busey as angus , dorian's overzealous brother and daryl mitchell as roy , dorian's trainer at the fast food restaurant . 
the dialogue is sharp and not filled with sappy overtones , even with the romantic nature of the plot . 
if there are any complaints , it is over drew barrymore's performance . 
while she does light up the screen , there are moments when she doesn't seem all that convincing . 
the movie was filmed in texas , and most of the characters have southern texan accents . 
drew barrymore's accent tends to come and go ( luke wilson doesn't seem to have this problem ) . 
as well , she seems awfully agile for a woman that is eight months pregnant . 
still , this movie is one that will please many viewers . 
with plot twists galore and hilarious dark moments , this is sure to entertain .
the second jackal-based film to come out in 1997 ( the other starring bruce willis was simply entitled the jackal ) , this one stars aidan quinn and donald sutherland , and is directed by a man who hailed from joblo's own alma matter , concordia university in montreal , canada . 
the story is based on the exploits of the real terrorist known as the jackal , but does not pretend to be 100% factual . 
plot : naval officer ramirez ( quinn ) gets called upon by the cia to impersonate the international terrorist known as the jackal , in order to put an end to the actual militant's radical activities . 
he is chosen for this role because he physically resembles the real terrorist to a tee . 
ramirez reluctantly agrees to take part in this " assignment " , and soon finds himself wrapped up in a true web of international terrorism , intrigue and double-personality syndrome ( which does not sit well with his uninformed wife and kids back in the states . ) 
critique : great premise is executed with enough style and thrills to keep the piece interesting throughout its close to two-hour runtime . 
admittedly , i wasn't a huge fan of any of the main actors in this film , and didn't expect much from this movie beforehand , but surprisingly it did have its thrilling moments , as well as a mostly plausible and absorbing story line . 
the first hour is mostly just a build-up of things to come , and does offer a great characterization of the jackal , but the second hour is the one that really cranks in the cool scenes and a sweet ending . 
quinn was adequate in both roles as naval officer ramirez and the real jackal , but didn't offer anything extraordinary , in my opinion . 
sutherland and kingsley seem to be playing the same role that they've played in both of their respective careers of late , but nonetheless , appeared to relish the cold-heartedness of their chosen characters . 
i didn't like performance put forth from quinn's wife in this flick , but then again , she doesn't show up in most of the film , so that wasn't so bad . 
i did however enjoy director duguay's interesting style and cinematic vision . 
this thriller could easily have been boring during many sequences , but duguay always seemed to find something interesting to show the viewer . 
i thought that was neat . 
having said that , i didn't think the first hour needed to be as long as it was , and the film did have me tinkering on the bridge of believability when the " fake " jackal met with the " real " jackal's girlfriend without much retrospection on her part , but all in all , not too many complaints in a movie that could easily be enjoyed by all those who take pleasure in the spy and terrorist thriller genre . 
little known facts : ben kingsley's real name is krishna banji , he stands 5 " 8 , was born in scarborough , england , and won the best actor honor in 1982's academy awards presentation for the title role he portrayed in ghandi . 
many scenes from this film were actually shot in montreal , canada ( joblo's haven of restfulness ) . 
donald sutherland has fathered actor kiefer sutherland , is canadian , and apparently still owns a place in the north of montreal .
one of the last entries in the long-running carry on series , carry on behind is very similar to carry on camping in that it involves a group of holidaymakers descending on a 'caravan' site . 
professors anna vrooshka ( elke sommer ) and roland crump ( kenneth williams ) and a group of archaeology students stay in the caravan site owned by major leep ( kenneth connor ) so that they can explore the nearby roman settlement remains . 
anna has a little trouble understanding english and sometimes people get the wrong end of the stick : - for instance , when anna is asking for 'scrubbers for dirty caravan' , she means that she wants a scrubbing brush to clean the caravan ! 
arthur upmore ( bernard bresslaw ) and his wife linda ( patsy rowlands ) take her mother daphne barnes ( joan sims ) and her minah bird on holiday with them . 
mother-in-law jokes prevail . 
furthermore , the trouble that joe and norma baxter ( ian lavender and adrienne posta ) have with their large irish greyhound allows for some comical moments between the two families . 
fred ramsden ( windsor davies ) and ernie bragg ( jack douglas ) leave their wives ( liz fraser and patricia franklin ) behind for a fishing holiday . 
however , they have more in mind than fishing when they catch sight of two young girls , sandra ( carol hawkins ) and carol ( sherrie hewson ) . 
the story involves the disruption caused by the archaeological professors of the day-to-day running of the camp , the search for the minah bid and greyhound , the major , fred and ernie's desperate need of a woman , a misunderstanding leading to a striptease at the caravan park's pub , and a shock in store for daphne . 
the partnership between sommer and williams is very effective and amusing . 
this is what binds the movie together . 
joan sims stands out as the demanding mother-in-law , bernard bresslaw and patsy rowlands work well together as husband and wife , and carol hawkins and sherrie hewson are a welcome addition to the cast . 
on the other hand , there are low-key performances from kenneth connor and peter butterworth as barnes the handyman , and there are very poor performances by windsor davies and jack douglas who spend far too much time on the screen ! 
even though there is no real plot to speak of and the jokes are getting bluer due to the new scriptwriter dave freeman , there are enough truly comical moments and bright and breezy performances to lift this carry on above many of its predecessors . 
although the regular cast is depleted , the ones that remain show that they can still make a good carry on film . 
a relative flop at the cinema , this movie deserves a lot more recognition .
the dramatic comedy cousins has all the necessary ingredients : a witty and whimsical script , inspired performances , a great sense of humor , a large and wonderful cast , and the beautiful scenery of vancouver . 
it's a movie of weddings , marriage , family , infidelity , and--oh yes--love . 
like 3 men and a baby , cousins is an americanized version of a french film : 1975's cousin , cousine . 
the plot is complicated , but it goes something like this . 
larry and tom are cousins , each of whom is not-so-happily-married . 
tom starts an affair with larry's wife , tish , and to get even , larry and tom's wife , maria , pretend to have an affair of their own . 
soon the pretending turns to love and cousins is off and running . 
cousins is populated by a wide assortment of interesting characters and caricatures . 
the acting is first rate down to even the smallest supporting role , and virtually every performance deserves mention . 
ted danson ( in his first starring film role ) finally gets to play a character with some depth and sensitivity . 
while larry may be confident and charming like sam malone on " cheers , " he is also complex and vulnerable , with more between his ears than empty space . 
as maria , isabella rossellini is a joy to watch ; she is shy , sensuous , and immensely alluring . 
sean young is perfectly cast as larry's picture perfect wife , tish , a superficial and trendy make-up consultant . 
keith coogan , from adventures in babysitting , is wonderfully weird and eccentric as larry's rebellious son , mitch . 
and finally , lloyd bridges in a tour de force performance is mitch's rambunctious grandfather ; he provides some of cousins' best lines and laughs . 
like moonstruck , cousins is a mix of drama and comedy . 
the film is larger than life and has a keen sense of the absurd . 
it understands human nature extremely well and milks it for every possible laugh and heart-tug . 
how often do you see a movie where you believe that two characters truly and sincerely care for and love each other , as friends and as lovers ? 
well , to its credit , cousins is just such a movie . 
let's hope the french continue to provide us with the inspiration to make films like cousins