polsci/sentiment-polarity-dataset-v2.0 huggingface dataset:
the happy bastard's 30-second review 
big daddy 
happy gilmore as a father ? 
of course ! 
that's the latest scenario presented by adam sandler in the new movie big daddy , a movie that's passable but isn't really considered some of sandler's best work . 
he doesn't actually play happy gilmore in the movie , but a variation of him . 
he's sonny coufax , a man who's living off a settlement he got for a cab running over his foot and his one-day-a-week gig as a tollbooth man ( tollbooth willie ? ) . 
his girlfriend ( kristy swanson ) is fed up with his lifestyle and demands a change before she leaves him . 
enter a 5-year old kid , who's mysteriously dropped at his doorstep and intended for his preppy roommate ( jon stewart ) , who's off in china on a business trip . 
from there , coufax basically acts as the kid's father , teaching him different things like peeing on the side of a building and tripping up skateboarders with sticks . 
he even manages to use the kid in a sort of con game to get the attention of a beautiful law office worker ( joey lauren adams ) , but , somehow , he also garners the attention of social services , who aren't particularly pleased with coufax's actions , as he pretends to be his roommate to keep the kid . 
the reason i say it's not really sandler's best work is because it gets really sappy towards the end of a movie , showing some odd feelings that somehow didn't really belong in a sandler vehicle . 
i mean , it fits the movie's tone and everything , and sandler handles it well , but it's just oddly placed , that's all . 
fortunately , it doesn't destroy the goofy glee path it's been following and it still makes you feel good . 
sandler does a good job here , as he does in most of his movies . 
rob schneider , however , is irritating as his friend , an immigrant delivery boy who can't read . 
stewart , in his minor time on screen , is great , and adams remains a joy to watch . 
look for steve buscemi as well as a homeless bum . 
he's a hoot . 
directed by dennis dugan ( director of happy gilmore ) , the movie remains a good couple of hours to pass the time with . 
again , there are faults , but , hey , everyone needs to get emotional sometimes .
ingredients : pouring rain , small flooded town , damn about to burst , bad guys going after millions of dollars 
synopsis : at one point in the story townsperson karen asks hero tom what happened to her church . 
he replies something like : " the church is flooded but at least the floodwaters put out the big fire . 
well , the fire wasn't that bad , since , while the church was burning , looters apparently thought it was safe enough to break through all the priceless stained glass windows . " 
in hard rain a small town is nearly deserted due to flooding . 
everyone has had to evacuate because it's raining , and now floodwaters are rising so high that buildings are being submerged and the nearby dam is about to break . 
enter a working class smart-alecky new armored car driver named tom ( christian slater ) . 
suddenly his security truck carrying over three million dollars gets stuck on the flooded street and is waylaid by armed looters . 
tom has no choice but to grab the bag full of money , hide it , and swim for his life . 
this makes for an action movie full of jet skis , speedboat chases , and gun battles , as tom tries to evade and outsmart corrupt cops and armed looters until the national guard can answer his distress call . 
he is befriended and aided by a spunky churchgoing young woman from town named karen ( minnie driver ) . 
but unknown to tom and karen , the national guard never heard tom's initial distress call . 
will tom and karen survive the natural and manmade disasters ? 
opinion : don't expect thought-provoking issues or dramatics . 
there's not much more to this movie than hiding , running , swimming , shooting , and saving handcuffed heroes from drowning , but that's what makes it escapist and fun . 
relax , take your shoes off , and break out the popcorn .
" being john malkovich " is the type of film we need to see more . 
today's films are either blockbusters that entertain us with tiresome formulas , or those that have similar themes . 
malkovich falls under none of these categories , and it's quite refreshing to see that occur . 
this strangely provoking story , is actually somewhat understandable . 
john cusack plays a puppeteer trying to make it to the big time . 
his wife ( cameron diaz ) supports the both of them by working at a petstore , which explains the obscure pets they keep in their apartment . 
when cusack finally realizes he needs to get a job , he finds an ad for a filing clerk . 
when he reaches the building , he arrives at a 7 1/2 floor . 
it's there that he discovers a secret portal that leads to being john malkovich for 15 minutes at a time . 
meanwhile , cusack meets a business partner ( catherine keener ) , in which he falls madly in love with her . 
the only problem is , she has no interest in him what so ever . 
the whole portal thing , isn't just a toy , in fact , it becomes cusack's dream . 
being inside malkovich's mind , gave him the opportunity to basically control mlakovich , like a puppet , and to fulfill his fantasies . 
i don't want to give away too much , but cusack becomes too attached with his discovery . 
in my opinion , this idea is absolutely brilliant . 
it's really quite scary to think that someone could become you , control you , be you . 
it makes you wonder why we act like we do , and why sometimes we blurt out things or act out something out of the blue . 
even if the script is super sharp , i can't help but find the ending displeasing . 
it could have lead up to something more , or at least an amusing conclusion . 
it tried to explain a mythology about the portals , that made it seem rushed . 
other than that , i had a very enjoyable time . 
the acting was quite delightful as well . 
john cusack has finally been given a chance to prove his ability , and he does it well . 
he's by far the most underrated actor due to a lack of popularity , but i'm hoping that will change . 
cameron diaz was her usual charming self , although i felt that part was wrong for her , but she pulled it off . 
john malkovich himself continues to creep out people with his eerie facial expressions and tone of voice . 
who else's mind would be better to explore ? 
the director , spike jonze , who appeared in last month's three kings really catches my attention with this project . 
i knew he was bizzare , but not to this extreme . 
he too is likely too receive media attention . 
 " being john malkovich " isn't an excellent film , but it is definitly entertaining and will eaisly become a cult favorite . 
what's even better is the film's puzzling message . . . am 
i nick lyons ?
as feel-good formulaic as it may be in its own way , shall we dance ? 
also demonstrates a kind of charming restraint you don't often find in american films . 
this japanese import tells the story of a middle-aged accountant named sugiyama ( koji yakusho ) whose mundane life is shaken up one night when he spots beautiful mai kishikawa ( tamiyo kusakari ) in the window of a dance school . 
intrigued by her melancholy demeanor ( and slightly infatuated with her ) , sugiyama signs up for weekly classes at the school -- and , much to his amazement , ends up as attracted to dancing itself as to his young sensei . 
meanwhile , sugiyama's wife ( hideko hara ) becomes suspicious of his late wednesday nights , and sets a private detective on her husband's trail . 
in a hollywood film , you can bet that sub-plot would be turned into a stream of slapstick comedy and crazy misunderstandings . 
in shall we dance ? , writer/director masayuki suo dispenses with it in a matter of minutes , using it to set up later character interactions rather than letting it overwhelm the story with pratfalls . 
neither does he make the climactic moment of victory a competition between the hero and some mean-spirited token rival . 
suo gives his comedy the graceful movements of his subject matter , allowing the humor to flow from the characters rather than forcing it upon them . 
an opening prologue in shall we dance ? 
goes to some effort to place the film in a sociological perspective , explaining how contrary ballroom dancing is to the japanese sense of propriety . 
it's a forced message in a story which doesn't need such a culture-specific angle . 
the dance school in shall we dance ? 
plays the role of a singles' mixer , with everyone vaguely embarrassed to be there yet taking the opportunity to try on new personalities . 
most amusing among these new personalities is the one adopted by sugiyama's co-worker mr . aoki ( naoto takenaka ) , a balding systems analyst who becomes a fiery latin lover when he dons a frizzy wig and begins to rumba . 
sugiyama's awakening is less overt , but koji yakusho does a wonderful job showing a transformation of small steps . 
it's a delicate performance with a huge heart . 
shall we dance ? 
is a fairly lightweight experience , which makes its final half hour rather a long sit . 
suo crams a lot of exposition into very little time , including an unnecessarily detailed back-story for mai , resulting in a sluggish march towards the resolution . 
it is here that shall we dance ? 
feels most hollywood-conventional , attempting to blind-side the audience with a truckload of emotional catharsis . 
suo might have been better advised to conclude with the small gem of a scene in which sugiyama and his wife take their first tentative dance steps together . 
that's the real joy of dance shall we dance ? 
conveys : its ability to create an intoxicating mood of romance which can soften the stiffest shirt .
upon arriving at the theater during the opening credits , i took my seat and prepared myself for what appeared to be " hellraiser meets the crow " . 
but as soon as kiefer sutherland began speaking the narrative monologue , describing " the strangers " and their reasons for contacting human beings , i was hooked . 
there was something especially compelling about the nature of his voice . 
i knew from the start that i was going to witness the actions of his character rather than the actor attempting the character . 
sutherland played the role as a true veteran . 
upon the completion of his monologue , the camera arrives on sutherland in such a fashion that you can only wonder how long alex proyas spent on cinematography . 
i would imagine , for a film of this caliber , that maximum hours of work were spent where they were needed the most . 
the film flowed beautifully . 
as i was being taken through the intricate regions of the " dark city " , a clever plot began to unravel , to the point where the last time i had seen such clever plot twists were in " the usual suspects " . 
not to mention a series of special effects that would make james cameron literally turn green with envy . 
but if you're not exactly the biggest sci-fi fan , caveat emptor . 
get ready for the atmostpheric darkness of " 12 monkeys " or " the crow " without the boredom or depression . 
the concept of the plot is as mindstretching as " 12 monkeys " was , however , so be prepared and be sophisticated . 
and imagine a picture that finally does justice to the comic-book-gone-feature-film fad that hollywood has recently become abusive of . 
dark city simply puts " spawn " to shame . 
in fact , during the climax of the film i couldn't help but feel the strong presence of an " akira " -esque explosion throughout the general feeling of the movie . 
so my initial predictions were wrong . 
this film is anything but the meloncholy of " hellraiser " parts one through five . 
i'm never one to base a film entirly on special effects , so know that when i give dark city 
it's actually because the film contained all of the neccessary ingredients to keep me entertained and awake from storyline to plot twists to camerawork to even ( tsk , tsk ) special effects . 
not since contact have i recieved such deep insight into the way the human mind operates and never this year have i been so blown away . 
the best film i've seen all year , and easily one of the best i've ever seen
" good will hunting " is two movies in one : an independent take on the struggle of four boston pals and a traditional hollywood , " prodigy child " film complete with upbeats , downfalls , sporadically moving situations and plenty , plenty of shtick . 
unusually directed by gus van sant , " good will hunting " overcomes the banalities of its story by affirming the emergence of fresh , new talent . 
the film stars matt damon as will hunting as a mathematical , rebellious whiz kid inadvertly discovered by a college professor ( stellan skarsgard ) , who places him under psychological supervision with robin williams . 
in a nutshell , that's it . 
the core of the " good will hunting " is damon , who infuses the script ( co- written by " chasing amy's " ben affleck ) with just the right amount of warmth , sensitivity and humanity to accentuate his position as a refreshing multi- talented performer . 
but it's the acting that hits the mark , and damon hits all the right notes , flying over robin williams' deja-vu role ( " awakenings " was written all over this ) as a devastated shrink who has closed all contact with society due to his wife's tragic death . 
damon effortlessly blends the carelesness of a gregarious , confused thug with the absorbing ingeniousness of someone like einstein . 
his rich , complex character is the pulp of " good will hunting . " 
everything else pales in comparison . 
 " good will hunting " exposes the lack of profoundness of deliberately schmaltzy storytelling , but , unlike " little man tate " or " phenomenon " , it doesn't set up its story in a black and white , point a to point b be manner , but as the saga of an extraordinary individual whose feasibility for success doesn't automatically signify he must make easy , familiar choices , like the protagonists in the aforementioned .
it is often said by his fans that hal hartley movies are an acquired taste . 
indeed . 
while perhaps less dangerous than tequila shooters or bungee-jumping , they require no less amount of physical stamina and concentration . 
i felt rewarded at the end of henry fool ; this movie creeps up on you-at a slow 139 minutes , i mean creeps-and despite the final shot's ambiguity , i left completely satisfied . 
henry fool ( " used to have an ? e' " ) arrives at garbageman simon grim's house , claims the vacant basement apartment , and almost instantly inspires simon ( urbaniak ) to take up writing-henry ( martin donovan look-alike ryan ) is an ex-convict , a once-great author who has been " exiled and marginalized " by the publishing community because of his criminal activity . 
simon's poetry turns him into a local sensation , as it causes mute women to sing , high-school girls to swoon , and councilmen to rile against its " pornographic " content . 
meanwhile , henry seduces both simon's dependent mother ( porter ) and immature sister ( sundance queen posey ) with philosophical babble ( which is by turns brilliant and inane ) and breathy animal lust . 
these story elements result in climaxes both inevitable and unpredictable ; the teacher-student relationship formed between henry and simon eventually reverses itself . 
henry fool is sprinkled with hartley-ian flourishes : simon drinks milk from " udderley's " ; the big teen hang-out is called " world of donuts " ; simon wears his garbageman's uniform throughout ; the editing style is decidedly elliptical . . . 
 ( which is key to the conclusion's said ambiguity ) . 
the performances by the three leads are abrasive at first , self-consciously " quirky " ; the introductory scenes are a chore . 
these people do grow on you because they convey genuine passion , a belief in themselves , and because they have long-term goals ; henry and simon may drink a lot of budweiser and hang out on the streetcorner , but they aren't pop slackers . 
the story is rather classical : the tutor is a better talker than a doer , raised on books ; the timid tutee has innate talent his master only dreams of . 
 ( shades of film school . . . ) 
the finished film is epic in its proportions for a story so small , and the final third does test one's patience , yet henry fool is tight , hardly excessive in its length . 
how refreshing to see a movie this long in 1998 devoted entirely to character . 
and unless i nodded off , not a single building exploded . 
this , hartley's seventh feature , is contemplative about " the artist " ; fortunately , we never get a sampling of simon's work , and it's a testament to the actors and the screenplay that by the end we can surmise what sort of thoughts would pour from these writers' pens .
that's the question i asked myself when venturing nervously into " the wedding singer , " the latest film to star the saturday night live alumnus . 
does he draw laughs from his sad , puppy dog expression and don't-hate-me-for-being-a-simpleton observations ? 
or do fans giggle when he screams at the top of his lungs at people ? 
or is it just the fact that he sings songs with silly lyrics that bowl audiences over ? 
well , there's a little bit of all of that in " the wedding singer " and while i exited the theater still not one hundred percent sure of mr . sandler's thing , i did have a surprisingly good time . 
that's because , in a nutshell , " the wedding singer " is one of the sweetest movies you're ever likely to come across . 
that's right . 
sweet . 
the humor in the film runs the gamut from dumb to mildly amusing to laugh-out-loud hysterical but the tone ? 
well , it's just lovely . 
i have to admit i was half-expecting farting armpit humor , gratuitous nudity , superfluous , cloying subplots , and some nasty , unnecessary violence . 
instead ? 
well , i've said it before . 
sweet . 
the year is 1985 and sandler plays robbie hart , the eponymous wedding singer , a job aspiring rock stars often settle for . 
when robbie's fianc ? e dumps him at his own altar , robbie gets depressed and turns to a plucky waitress called julia ( drew barrymore ) who has some problems of her own ( she's marrying a hunky junk bonds dealer who , unbeknownst to her , isn't that big on monogamy ) . 
it isn't giving anything away to say that robbie and julia fall in love . 
aww . . . 
sandler and barrymore are a good match and they're assisted by some terrific cameo appearances , including steve buscemi and jon lovitz , whose individual scenes are perhaps the funniest in the film . 
writer tim herlihy ( with uncredited assistance from carrie fisher ) keeps the story bubbling along to its predictable conclusion . 
it doesn't all work but it's handled with such light-heartedness that robbie and julia coming together generates more smiles than groans . 
herlihy and director frank coraci have done a great job of recreating the sights , sounds , and affectations of the 1980s . 
the soundtrack--an ever-present force in the film--is packed with wall-to-wall hits of the period , new wave upon new wave of songs from billy idol's " white wedding " to the smiths' " how soon is now ? " 
to culture club's " do you really want to hurt me ? " 
the mix of music and fashion would make " the wedding singer " a great double feature with " boogie nights . " 
if you grew up listening to the cure and a flock of seagulls and the psychedelic furs , then " the wedding singer " is bound to put a nostalgic hop in your stride . 
if you're a fan of the lovable , laughable adam sandler , well . . . 
let's just say that " the wedding singer " might well be the only film in recent memory to make * me * want to rent " happy gilmore . "
" a breed apart " casts rutger hauer as a crazy , bird-loving recluse who picks his feathered friends over kathleen turner . 
a bit hard to swallow ? 
that's only the first of many improbabilities in this film . 
hauer stars as a man obsessed with keeping the birds on his island safe , while boothe plays a guy hired to steal a couple of rare eagle eggs by a rich egg collector . 
turner is the woman caught between the two men . 
 " a breed apart " isn't a bad movie , exactly . 
indeed , i found myself rooting for both the hauer and boothe characters , even though their goals couldn't be more different . 
the problem with the film is that there are just too many inconsistencies . 
for example , early on in the film , hauer physically assaults two drunken rednecks shooting at " his " birds . 
later on , the rednecks come back for revenge with four other people , and hauer kills a few of them . 
i have a tough time believing that the police wouldn't get involved at that point . 
another problem is the silly love-triangle that develops . 
i didn't care one way or the other who ended up with turner . 
i was more interested in finding out which of the two men would be victorious in their respective missions . 
however , despite this uninteresting sub-plot , turner did manage to give a great performance as the woman who reminds the two men that sometimes there's more to life than money and birds . 
as for hauer , he's an actor i've always admired . 
he has a penchant for picking strange and unusual characters . 
and this one is no exception . 
he's frequently seen riding around his island on a white horse , wearing pirate's clothing , and holstering a cross-bow . 
despite all his eccentric mannerisms , though , hauer always manages to let the human side of his character shine through . 
for example , there's a scene in which he barks at turner and her son because they came onto his island a day early . 
he comes off as crazy loner in that scene , but a few minutes later , he is apologizing to turner , and we believe his intentions . 
soon after , we find out he's a vietnam vet , and his actions become fairly clear to us . 
 " a breed apart " isn't a great movie by any means , but it does contain good performances by all three leads , and it's worth seeing for that reason alone .
american pie acknowledges a cold , hard fact that most movies don't : it is very difficult to get laid . 
its four virgin heroes are jim ( biggs ) , a chronic masturbator , kev ( nicholas ) , who desperately wants to deflower his girlfriend ( reid ) , oz ( klein ) , a lacrosse player whose approach requires some fine tuning , and finch ( eddie kaye thomas ) , a germphobe ( his crass nickname is hilarious , but i won't spoil it here ) who pays a classmate to spread rumours about the size of his member . 
jim , kev , oz and finch attend a high school in suburban michigan full of so many impossibly beautiful women it's no wonder they're horny all the time . 
after a party at their studly friend stifler's ( seann william scott , in the film's sharpest performance ) house leaves them sexually unsatisfied , the quartet make a pact : to " lose it " by graduation-specifically , prom night , which is only a few weeks away . 
american pie is in the tradition of bachelor party or revenge of the nerds . 
almost every conversation these characters have revolves around makin' whoopee . 
all women are there to be ogled . 
 ( alyson hannigan's perky music student is the only memorable female of the bunch . ) 
situations abound that defy logic only to arouse and/or amuse its core audience , adolescent boys . 
 ( to arouse : nadia's ( shannon elizabeth ) internet striptease-an unexpectedly raucous ( and guiltily pleasurable ) sequence . 
to amuse : jim's lusty encounter with a hot apple pie . ) 
what differentiates american pie from those dirty eighties comedies , aside from a very nineties obsession with bodily fluids * , is a cast that's light years more appealing than that of , say , just one of the guys . 
two more standouts : klein and " sctv " 's eugene levy . 
klein plays a kind-hearted athlete for the second time in a row , after alexander payne's underappreciated election . 
i hope to see more of this warm actor with the disarmingly honest face very soon . 
levy's is the most crowd-pleasing performance , and indeed , it's nice to see him back on the big screen in a role that makes wonderful use of that expressive brow . 
american pie also wants to emulate the teen flicks your parents _would_ let you watch growing up . 
it skillfully employs a broad mix of pop tunes , much like john hughes' movies did , and even pays homage to the breakfast club a couple of times , most evidently when the prom band covers simple minds' " don't you ( forget about me ) . " 
the picture ultimately has a healthy , if obligatory , attitude towards safe sex-even at their most libidinous , american pie's protagonists first whip out a condom . 
the filmmakers prove that socially responsible raunch is possible . 
for its familiarity and for its charming leads , i recommend american pie , but the buzz on this film had me expecting something . . . fresher . 
as far as the new teen cinema goes , it's at the top of the heap . 
 * don't say i didn't warn you about the party scene .
the 1998 summer movie season is still in its infancy . 
but after diasappointing films such as " godzilla " and " fear and loathing in las vegas " , it would be nice to see a really good film . 
but i doubt you could have expected this . 
the truman show is one of the most unique films i have ever seen , and it deserves a spot on the " decade's best " list . 
there is no way to isolate any single component of this picture and proclaim , " yes , that's what makes this film great . " 
the blend of peter weir's masterful ( and in many ways brilliant ) direction , peter biziou's stunning photography and jim carrey's performance is what makes this film work so fantastically . 
there is something strangely beautiful about every shot in the truman show . 
it may be the use of color or the placement of characters in the frame , but everything about this film looks intentional and perfect . 
carrey has made a very wise choice . 
by playing mild-mannered truman burbank , he allows himself enough room to be comical , and therefore not alienating his true fans , while still showing a vulnerable and human side . 
that is a side which has been missing from nearly every major character he has played in his numerous commercial successes . 
truman burbank was born to an audience of millions . 
he was chosen before birth to be the focus of a 24 hour television show . 
everything in his environment is controlled by a team of technicians , led by the show's director , christof ( played by ed harris ) . 
everyone in truman's life is an actor or an extra . 
they are all being watched by millions of people around the globe , people who can tune in at any time of the day to see what is happening in truman's life . 
but he is the only person that is not aware of it . 
the classification of the truman show may be tricky . 
the audience reacted to many of truman's revelations with laughter . 
i did not laugh much during the film because i was so emotionally wrapped up with the character . 
the things that made the audience laugh gave me glassy eyes , because what was happening to him , indeed what had been done to him his whole life was wrong . 
so is this going to end up labeled as a comedy ? 
a drama ? 
it really depends on the audience . 
but to me , the truman show was a touching , sad tale about the extents to which a corporation will go to exploit human life for the entertainment of others . 
but above all else , the truman show was a stunningly beautiful picture with humor , heart and scary realism . 
oscar predictions in june are pointless , but if the truman show had been released on schedule in late fall or winter of 1997 , as originally planned , james cameron would be oscar-less .
the happy bastard's quick movie review 
analyze this 
how does one do a comedy focused on the mob ? 
well , a few years ago , there was a sly little comedy called the freshman , which had marlon brando doing a romp of a send-up of his famous don corleone character and , recently , the utterly stupid ( in a bad way ) movie mafia ! 
failed to really get the joke . 
this time around , however , warner bros . may have gotten it right with analyze this , a movie that hits its targets more than it misses . . . and 
for plenty of reasons . 
the story goes like this . 
a mobster ( robert deniro ) finds himself receiving several panic attacks as of late , fueled by the stress of an upcoming mobster meeting and a near-death following a drive-by shooting . 
it's these attacks that prompt him to hire a psychiatrist ( billy crystal ) who's mostly reluctant to take the mobster's case for two reasons . 
first , of course , he's a mobster , but secondly , he's trying to get married and enjoy a quiet honeymoon with his wife ( lisa kudrow ) and kid . 
and , of course , he can't rest worth for a moment because the mobster's goons are always needing the shrink for something , be it a quick consultation or dream analyzation . 
fortunately , the movie is played out for plenty of laughs . 
director harold ramis ( who also helmed the comedy multiplicity , which wasn't half bad ) keeps the tone peppy and light , even if it's sometimes sprinkled by slight dramatic moments ( shootings can't always be taken for laughs , you know ) . 
deniro does some of his finest comic work since the king of comedy , giving off a somewhat similar performance to his role in goodfellas , but with a bit of a lighter heart . 
 ( a scene where he tries to display his anger over the phone and fails miserably is hilarious . ) 
crystal plays an excellent straight man to deniro's character , uplifting him from such bombs as father's day and my giant . 
kudrow is also a hoot as crystal's wife-to-be , who's on the verge of a breakdown thanks to deniro's presence . 
is the movie perfect ? 
not really , thanks to a simplistic ending and some slightly wasted moments with a character portrayed by chazz palminteri ( he's a comic actor , too , come on , give him some more ! ) , but it is an enjoyable romp that lets deniro do something different but same for a change , taking his dramatic act to a new field of comedy . 
kudos to crystal and kudrow for not just making it his show , either . 
line of the movie : crystal : " when you said you needed family therapy , this is not the family i had in mind ! "
this british import follows the ( mis- ) adventures of a group of heroin crazed scottish youths . 
there is marc renton ( who narrates ) , spud ( the dim-witted one ) sick boy ( the sean connery obsessive ) , and begbee ( the violence obsessive ) . 
powered by a top rate , but not top name soundtrack ( iggy pop , sleeper , elastica , lou reed . . . ) the film follows renton who gets clean , gets back into heroin and gets clean again . 
some of the wit in this movie is sharp and pulp fiction-esque , and some is just dumb & dumber gross ( the bed sheets ) and stupid ( the bb gun ) although the film starts out on a comic note , it takes a sharp term in the middle , and becomes almost depressing . 
the film is based on an irving welsh novel bearing the same title . 
i can honestly say that this is one of the best movies i have ever seen . 
it is an obscure gem that has been over shadowed in the us by such movies as mission impossible and id4 . 
the film is hard to follow with the heavy accents of the actors . 
this is a very original film , as far as films go today . 
it definetly deserves multiple viewings ( partly because of the slang and accents ) jeremy dennison mr . orange@centuryinter . net
in arguably the most anticipated movie this century , george lucas has achieved a very mixed reaction to a sure blockbuster . 
despite the fact the script and plot is a bit of a let down , the entire movie on the whole can be considered a milestone in technical excellence , in the sound and special effects department . 
in terms of characters , by far the most outstanding and interesting is queen amidala ( natalie portman ) , whose mature performance far exceeds her tender 14 years of age . 
she is one ? hot' babe who defines true ? woman leadership' . 
she not only has a presence , but knows how to take command of the situation and save her planet from ruination . 
no thanks to the jedi knights who although led by the force , lack leadership qualities in terms of thinking up a plan to do anything . 
the young obi-wan kenobi ( ewan mcgregor ) who has a bad hair day in every scene , gets to kill a bad guy in the end , but lacks a love interest to make him a desirable sort of hero . 
in fact all the jedi knight are a bit asexual - there must be something about the force which makes them all hermits and loners . 
i mean it would be interesting to see yoda's girlfriend for a change , if he has one . 
not much better is qui-gon jinn ( liam neeson ) who mostly broods , and has a better hair do than obi-wan , but only to find the young anakin skywalker and make the biggest mistake of his life . 
also fascinating is george lucas ? metoclorian' theory , which claims that micro-organisms live within our cells and tie us to the fabric of the universe . 
and it is the high concentrations of these organisms in an individual which make them particularly powerful in the force . 
more humerous are the claims to the immaculate conception of darth vader , no doubt a concept stolen from the christian faith , except there will be no christmas to celebrate the birth of this dark emissary of the force . 
overall an experience which is not to be missed because of the very fact that it's predecessor almost command a viewing of this inferior successor . 
by all means not the pinnacle of the star wars phenomena but an adequate addition to the clan . 
watch out for the next one , it should be one steamy encounter between queen amidala and anakin skywalker - who i believe should be portrayed by ? leonardo di caprio .
`oh behave ! 
felicity shagwell is one shagadellic babe . 
do i make your horny ? 
female fembots with breasts that require gun controlling . 
anything that resembles bananas and two balls of icecream . 
the nut-biting finale between mini me and austin . 
all that body hair is a real turn on , it's a pity more leading men don't wear it on screen . 
anything that vaguely resembles sausages and eggs . 
fat bastard . 
the love scene between felicity and fat bastard , that redefines sex . 
the wrongly implied love scene in the tent that redefines anal sex . 
the love scene between austin and ivana humpalot , that redefines chess and oral sex . 
the love scene between dr . evil and frau farbissina , that redefines weird sex . 
the love affair between austin and felicity , that does not happen , because his mojo goes missing . 
the relationship between dr evil , himself and mini me which redefines a solo love affair . 
the unique relationship between dr evil and his son scott www . com . zip , that says a lot about our relationship with our children nowadays . 
weanies , johnny , richard , dick etc . ' 
this movie is every bit as silly and crazy as the first . 
there are moments that will make your sick , which are probably best forgotten , but overall mike myers has redefined what it means to be an international spy and leading man .
october sky is a rare oddity in cinema : a self-proclaimed " uplifting " film that is actually uplifting ! 
based on the autobiographical book by homer hickam , rocket boys , october sky tells the struggle of four boys reaching for their dream . 
it's 1957 , and for the boys of coalwood , west virginia , there's not much hope of a rosy future . 
coalwood is a coal mining town , and , except for the few lucky ones who manage to escape on a football scholarship , most of coalwood's boys are destined to work in the mine . 
but , in october 1957 , an event happens that sparks one boy to dream . 
the launch of the soviet satellite sputnik sets homer hickam ( jake gyllenhaal ) to dream a future of rocketry and space travel . 
of course , homer's parents ( chris cooper and natalie canderday ) aren't quite sure what to make of their son's unusual interests . 
homer gets his strongest encouragement from miss riley ( laura dern ) , a teacher in his school who also informs him about the scholarships offered to the winners of a national science fair . 
and so , with stars in his eyes , and thoughts of scholarships in his head , homer enlists the help of three other boys ( william lee scott , chad lindberg and chris owen ) and begins to build a rocket . 
but , do these four backwoods boys even have the slightest hope of escaping their destiny ? 
there is a lot that could have gone wrong with october sky . 
nearly every sequence flirts with becoming syrupy and cliched . 
however , miraculously , october sky avoids nearly all of these pitfalls , making the exact right moves at the exact right times . 
a film emerges which manages to be powerful and moving without slipping into the gauzy haze of nostalgia or sliding down the sugarry slope of sappiness . 
jake gyllenhaal is outstanding as the kid at the center of this film . 
>from the outset of the film , he is immediately likable , and never seems too corny or brainy as to alienate the audience . 
unfortunately , while october sky focuses on homer , the other three kids get the short end of the stick . 
they remain little more than placeholders reading " insert friend here " . 
of the adults in the film , chris cooper is the most fully realized character . 
the film never paints him as merely the villainous parent standing in the way of his child's dreams , but , instead , shows the multihued portrait of a man who wants the best for his family and town , but is too stubborn to realize what that is . 
director joe johnson deserves much credit for successfully navigating the many obstacles that october sky manages to dodge . 
however , there are still a few occasions when he allows things to proceed just a step too far . 
scenes which were natural and inspiring start to become contrived and artificial . 
however , these lapses are minimal , and johnson quickly steers the movie back on course . 
the problem with many so-called " uplifting " films is that they attempt to force their mediciney goodness down your throat . 
october sky never resorts to that level , and yet , manages to become a truly uplifting film purely on its own merits .
this three hour movie opens up with a view of singer/guitar player/musician/composer frank zappa rehearsing with his fellow band members . 
all the rest displays a compilation of footage , mostly from the concert at the palladium in new york city , halloween 1979 . 
other footage shows backstage foolishness , and amazing clay animation by bruce bickford . 
the performance of " titties and beer " played in this movie is very entertaining , with drummer terry bozzio supplying the voice of the devil . 
frank's guitar solos outdo any van halen or hendrix i've ever heard . 
bruce bickford's outlandish clay animation is that beyond belief with zooms , morphings , etc . and actually , it doesn't even look like clay , it looks like meat .
you've got mail is a timely romance for this impersonal , computer-driven decade . 
two people who've never met confide in each other via e-mail without revealing their true identities . 
nora ephron's contemporary update of the shop around the corner retains the basic plot : two people who despise each other unwittingly become enamored with each other through their anonymous correspondence . 
ephron , who co-wrote the film with her sister , delia , as well as directed it , knew what she was doing by reteaming tom hanks and meg ryan as the at-odds couple . 
ryan is kathleen kelly , owner of a small children's bookstore , while hanks is joe fox , who heads up a chain of mega bookstores ( think barnes & noble ) . 
their charm and chemistry are the glue that binds this film , even through some of the script's rough spots . 
for the ephrons invested so much effort in their protagonists that they give short shrift to the talented supporting cast , including parker posey , greg kinnear , jean stapleton and steve zahn . 
yet no one is really going to complain because the ephrons know their audience - and what the paying public wants is hanks and ryan . 
and the two are kept busy . 
one , the other or both are in nearly every scene . 
hanks has his decent guy routine down pat , yet each time he does it , it seems effortless , spontaneous and fresh . 
ryan smoothly moves between spunky and vulnerable , with a sexy touch of winsomeness added to the brew . 
their scenes together sparkle , even though they lack the nostalgic romanticism of sleepless in seattle . 
and the shadow of that earlier hit hangs over you've got mail like dried-up mistletoe . 
the sparks created by the earlier movie are , by necessity , not evident here . 
true , these are two people seeking true love , but you've got mail is more comic and less poignant than its predecessor . 
the ephrons' script is witty and sharp . 
however , as a director nora ephron is a bit uneven . 
some scenes drag , while others , especially when hanks and ryan are revealing their souls via e-mail , are crisp and tidy . 
also , the script gets sloppy toward the end with characters merely disappearing from the story . 
a nice , romantic soundtrack adds to this date-night special . 
overall , you've got mail is a lush and cute outing , taking advantage of the star appeal of its two leads . 
it's a nice holiday movie , one for holding hands and snuggling . 
committed to lifelong learning through effective communication
written by mark rosenthal and lawrence konner 
starring charlize theron , bill paxton , david paymer 
as reviewed by james brundage 
i'm beginning to get fed up . 
over my four years as a critic , the thing which has kept me going is the moderate balance of films . 
the good balances the bad . 
i try to see both in equal proportions . 
but disney's mighty joe young remake marks the fourth week in which i haven't seen a truly terrible movie . 
it's a backwards machismo , i suppose , the urge to see the things which you so loathe ; but i need to see a bad film every once in a while . 
and , you know what , mighty joe young doesn't qualify . 
far from being bad , mighty joe young is actually a family fun movie . 
it's enjoyable , appropriate , cute , cuddly , and all of those other things that i've been seeing in every movie since a bug's life . 
mighty joe young tracks a 2 , 000 pound gorilla in the wilds of africa that is taken to a reserve in . . . 
california ? 
 . . . 
for safe-keeping . 
okay . 
a little unrealistic , but who ever said a kid's movie had to have the slightest hint of realism . 
the first half of the movie is a gorillas in the mist-esque hatred of poachers woman-of-the-wild motif . 
the second half is a straight up parody of king kong , awestruck onlookers and all . 
mark one down . 
i'm feeling relaxed . 
it is , as a point of fact , an extremely un-creative movie . 
but , as a vetern , i can say quite honestly that creativity doesn't count for as much as it should . 
so that saves mighty joe from my wrath , although my colleagues and cohorts and surely bashing this film at this very moment . 
this is not the film to take a girl on a date to . 
it's not the film for you . 
it's the film for you and your family . 
when you're right alongside your kid , all of the normal rights and wrongs slip away . 
the same thing happens when you watch a horror movie or an action flick . 
it becomes fun . 
all you have to do to enjoy mighty joe young is shut up and watch .
the muppet movie is the first , and the best movie among the ever-growing list of muppet movies . 
the muppet movie tells the story of how our hero , kermit the frog , came to be a star . 
a delightful movie for all ages , the muppet movie is * bursting * with cameo appearances by countless hollywood stars of the 80's and today . 
the muppet movie begins in a movie theater , where all of the muppet stars are anxiously awaiting the first showing . 
once everyone is settled down , the movie inside of the movie begins . 
it starts out with kermit in a swamp , playing his banjo and singing ( this shot required jim henson to spend hours underwater ) . 
kermit is discovered by bernie , a big-time hollywood agent who happens upon kermit by accident . 
bernie believes that kermit holds much potential to become a big star in hollywood . 
kermit ponders the idea of becoming a big movie star , where he could " make millions of people happy " . 
kermit decides to leave his swamp and make the trip out to hollywood . 
along the way , kermit befriends his now famous muppet companions , beginning with fozzie bear , who had been spending his days doing stand-up comedy at the el sleezo cafe , owned by james coburn . 
the two decide to team-up and continue on their way to hollywood . 
but , doc hopper ( charles durning ) , the owner of a chain of french fried frog leg restaurants has a different idea . 
he wants kermit to be his spokesman , but kermit is humiliated at the idea and spends the movie avoiding him and his assistants . 
the trip continues , with kermit and fozzie meeting miss piggy , rowlf , gonzo , the electric mayhem band , and more muppets who all share the same wish : to make it to hollywood . 
oh , and even more celebrities continue to appear . 
kermit and miss piggy continue to get to know each other a little better , including a rather funny scene at a restaurant with steve martin as the waiter . 
eventually , kermit and the group make it to hollywood . 
that is , after kermit is finally able to elude doc hopper and proclaim his freedom . 
lord lew , a big-time hollywood producer portrayed by orson welles , gives kermit his shot at stardom and gives him the go-ahead to produce a movie . 
the muppet movie is definitely a movie that is fun for all ages . 
it is also a sure-deal as one parents can watch , and enjoy along with their kids .
all great things come to an end , and the dot-com era embodies that perfectly . 
beneath a mound of bankruptcy paperwork lies the remains of a former dot-com darling , the company kozmo . com , 
an online convenience store stocked with ice cream , porn videos , and other basic necessities of a urban dweller , all hand-delivered by couriers within an hour . 
designed in 1997 by two college roommates -- joseph parks , a 27 year old goldman sachs banker , and yong kang - kozmo flamed out in three short years , raising more than $280 million in venture capital funding and from partnerships with such bigwigs as starbucks and amazon . com . 
by december 1999 , the company boasted 4 , 000 employees in 11 cities , its barking ceo park attracting all kinds of media attention . 
the company was set for an ipo in may 2000 . . . 
until april 14 , 2000 , the day the stock market took its first big dive , ending the internet era . 
by april 13 , 2001 , kozmo was out of money and ceased operations . 
unlike the earlier , similar documentary startup . com , which chronicled the rise and fall of another dot-com , govworks , e-dreams focuses both on its original founders , especially park , and on the common folks that ran the day-to-day operations . 
the contrast is amazing , showing how a cult persona can convince anyone that any idea is the next big thing . 
the film's director , wonsuk chin ( too tired to die ) , expertly juxtaposes upper management company meetings with on-the-spot interviews with the bike messengers , general managers , and floor staff that kept kozmo humming . 
the film's images give a backbone to the company and provide an emotional edge to its ultimate demise . 
the most satisfying part of the film comes in understanding , to a degree , the expectations of numerous ceos commanding these titanic-type businesses . 
in the film's final interviews with park , we learn what happens when the money dries up and backers don't return phone calls . 
in the end , the name of the game was profit , and if you couldn't make money , even the dreamers got the axe . 
screened at the 24th annual mill valley film festival .