In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
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Question: it is always refreshing to see a superstar actor who gets paid more than enough to forget about working for a living to want to take a chance and play a less - than - savoury character as mel gibson does in payback .
of course , if i was being paid $ 25 million for one month 's work , i 'd probably be willing to take risks as well , but that 's neither here nor there .
payback is based on a novel by richard stark ( apparently actually donald e. westlake , author of the grifters , itself a fine crime film ) which was also filmed in the 1960s as point blank starring one of the toughest of tough guys , lee marvin .
the film opens with gibson having recovered from being shot several times in the back , by whom we do n't know yet .
all we know is that gibson , as porter , is n't a happy chappy and is hellbent on getting the money stolen from him back , and getting even in the process , no matter what the consequences .
it turns out that the man he 's after is val ( gregg henry ) , his sometime partner with whom he stole a briefcase full of cash from a gang of chinese mobsters .
obviously not having much of a crisis of the soul , val figures porter is dead and goes about using his share of the money to pay off a debt to his employers .
porter , however , is the sort of man who holds a grudge and once on his feet , goes about exacting revenge on the double - crossing val .
gibson gives a terrific performance in the sort of role which he was born to play , that of a slightly unhinged guy who does n't mind beating up or shooting people to get what he wants .
you probably would n't see other actors in his salary range take such an offbeat , out - of - character role such as porter ( jim carrey wo n't be doing anything like this in a hurry after what happened the last time he tried - the cable guy , anyone ? ) .
harrison ford 's idea of playing an unsympathetic character is presumed innocent ; the last time schwarzenegger played a villain was batman and robin , which we wo n't mention further ; and has stallone ever really played a villain at all ?
this is not to say that porter is a villain , per se .
while he is n't the sort of character you would n't want to get on the wrong side of , he 's nothing compared to some of the ones we are forced to watch in countless bad thrillers and action films where they kill innocent people in the blink of an eye or execute their right - hand men just to prove how mean they are .
porter is only trying to get back what is not - so - rightfully his , which in a way is almost understandable .
payback is an enjoyable dramatic black comedy - thriller which wo n't be remembered as being among gibson 's most important work , but is still one of the finer films he 's done .
the only real problem with it is that , while everything seems to work out in the end , i was left feeling something was lacking ; was that all ?
the ending looks as if it was tacked on at the last minute , and the final voice - over does n't ring true , even though it was used to good effect elsewhere in the film - noir style the rest of the film embodies .
the film just ends far too suddenly , after a huge build - up in the penultimate scenes .
a fine film , even though it needs just a little something more to be the kind of a film that can be recommended without hesitation .
just be ready for a possible letdown of an ending .

Answer: P

Question: susan granger 's review of " the watcher " ( universal ) just what we need : another lurid , trashy serial killer saga .
this time , keanu reeves plays an elusive homicidal maniac who engages in a gruesome ticking - clock cat - and - mouse game with james spader , a burnt - out fbi agent who has suffered a traumatic nervous breakdown after too many years on the job with the lapd .
to taunt spader , who has relocated to chicago , reeves packs up his trusty piano wire and moves too .
before long , he starts mailing photographs of the lonely , unsuspecting young women who are his intended windy city victims , challenging spader , along with the chicago police department , to stop him within 24 hours before he strikes again .
in the midst of this murderous frenzy , there 's spader 's psychologist , played by marisa tomei , who is even less convincing as a medical professional than jennifer lopez in " the cell .
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writers david elliot , clay ayers and darcy meyers , along with first - time director joe charbanic ( helmer of music videos for reeves ' band dogstar ) , dwell on the warped thrill of the methodology and the chase , revealing , early on , exactly whodunit since the killer says he and the cop " need each other to give meaning to our lives .
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plus , as reeves explains , " we 're all stacked right on top of each other , but we do n't notice each other any more .
" after that , it 's all sound effects and tricky camera - work , along with a muddled , discordant soundtrack .
james spader 's acting technique can be described as ' wooden deadpan ' while keanu reeves maintains his perpetually monotone ' dude ' persona which sometimes works , sometimes does n't .
chris ellis , as spader 's self - important colleague , is the only cast member who manages to be convincing .
on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , " the watcher " is an appallingly awful , amateurish 2 .
the real torture is watching it .

Answer: N

Question: here 's a word analogy : amistad is to the lost world as schindler 's list is to jurassic park . in 1993 , after steven spielberg made the monster dino hit , many critics described schindler 's list as the director 's " penance " ( as if there was a need for him to apologize for making a crowd - pleasing blockbuster ) .
now , after a three - year layoff , spielberg is back with a vengeance .
once again , his summer release was special effects - loaded action / adventure flick with dinosaurs munching on human appetizers .
now , following his 1993 pattern , he has fashioned another serious , inspirational christmas release about the nature of humanity .
that film is amistad .
although not as masterful as schindler 's list , amistad is nevertheless a gripping motion picture . thematically rich , impeccably crafted , and intellectually stimulating , the only area where this movie falls a little short is in its emotional impact .
watching schindler 's list was a powerful , almost spiritual , experience .
spielberg pulled us into the narrative , absorbed us in the drama , then finally let us go , exhausted and shattered , three - plus hours later .
aspects of the movie have stayed with me ever since .
amistad , while
a fine example of film making , is not as transcendent .
the incident of the ship la amistad is not found in any history books , but , considering who writes the texts , that 's not a surprise .
however , the event is a part of the american social and legal fabric , and , while amistad does not adhere rigorously to the actual account , most of the basic facts are in order .
several , mostly minor changes have been made to enhance the film 's dramatic force .
on the whole , while amistad may not be faithful to all of the details of the situation , it is true to the spirit and meaning of what transpired .
one stormy night during the summer of 1839 , the 53 men imprisoned on the spanish slave ship la amistad escape .
led by the lion - hearted cinque ( djimon hounsou ) , they take control of the vessel , killing most of the crew .
adrift somewhere off the coast of cuba and uncertain how to make their way back to africa , they rely on the two surviving spaniards to navigate the eastward journey .
they are tricked , however , and the la amistad , which makes its way northward off the united states ' eastern coastline , is eventually captured by an american naval ship near connecticut .
the kidnapped africans are shackled and thrown into prison , charged with murder and piracy .
the first men to come to the africans ' defense are abolitionists theodore joadson ( morgan freeman ) and lewis tappan ( stellan skarsgard ) .
they are soon joined by roger baldwin ( matthew mcconaughey ) , a property attorney of little repute .
aided by advice from former president john quincy adams ( anthony hopkins ) , baldwin proves a more persuasive orator than anyone gave him credit for , and his central argument -- that the prisoners were illegally kidnapped free men , not property -- convinces the judge .
but powerful forces have aligned against baldwin 's cause .
current president martin van buren ( nigel hawthorne ) , eager to please southern voters and 11-year old queen isabella of spain ( anna paquin ) , begins pulling strings behind - the - scenes to ensure that none of the africans goes free .
at its heart , amistad is a tale of human courage .
cinque is a heroic figure whose spirit remains unbreakable regardless of the pain and indignity he is subjected to .
he is a free man , not a slave , and , while he recognizes that he may die as a result of his struggle , he will not give it up .
effectively portrayed by newcomer djimon hounsou , whose passion and screen presence arrest our attention , cinque is the key to viewers seeing the amistad africans as more than symbols in a battle of ideologies .
they are individuals , and our ability to make that distinction is crucial to the movie 's success .
to amplify this point , spielberg presents many scenes from the africans ' point - of - view , detailing their occasionally - humorous observations about some of the white man 's seemingly - strange " rituals " .
the larger struggle is , of course , one of defining humanity .
as the nazis felt justified in slaughtering jews because they viewed their victims as " sub - human , " so the pro - slavery forces of amistad use a similar defense .
the abolitionists regard the africans as men , but the slavers and their supporters see them as animals or property .
in a sense , the morality of slavery is on trial here with the specter of civil war , which would break out less than three decades later , looming over everything .
amistad 's presentation of the legal and political intricacies surrounding the trial are fascinating , making this movie one of the most engrossing courtroom dramas in recent history .
four claimants come forward against the africans : the state , which wants them tried for murder ; the queen of spain , who wants them handed over to her under the provision of an american / spanish treaty ; two american naval officers , who claim the right of high seas salvage ; and the two surviving spaniards from la amistad , who demand that their property be returned to them .
baldwin must counter all of these claims , while facing a challenge to his own preconceived notions as the result of a relationship he develops with cinque .
even though attorney and client are divided by a language barrier , they gradually learn to communicate .
aside from cinque , who is a fully - realized individual , characterization is spotty , but the acting is top - notch
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matthew mcconaughey successfully overcomes his " pretty boy " image to become baldwin , but the lawyer is never particularly well - defined outside of his role in the la amistad case .
likewise , while morgan freeman and stellan skarsgard are effective as joadson and tappan , they are never anything more than " abolitionists .
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nigel hawthorne , who played the title character in the madness of king george , presents martin van buren as a spineless sycophant to whom justice means far less than winning an election .
finally , there 's anthony hopkins , whose towering portrayal of john quincy adams is as compelling as anything the great actor has recently done .
hopkins , who can convincingly play such diverse figures as a serial killer , an emotionally - crippled english butler , and richard nixon , makes us believe that he is adams .
his ten - minute speech about freedom and human values is unforgettable .
one point of difference worth noting between amistad and schindler 's list is this film 's lack of a well - defined human villain .
schindler 's list had
ralph fiennes ' superbly - realized amon goeth , who was not only a three - dimensional character , but a personification of all that the nazis stood for .
there is no such figure in amistad .
the villain is slavery , but an ideology , no matter how evil , is rarely the best adversary .
it is to spielberg 's credit that he has fashioned such a compelling motion picture without a prominent antagonist .
amistad 's trek to the screen , which encountered some choppy waters ( author barbara chase - riboud has cried plagiarism , a charge denied by the film makers ) , comes in the midst of an upsurge of interest in the incident .
an opera of the same name opened in chicago on november 29 , 1997 .
numerous books about the subject are showing up on bookstore shelves .
it remains to be seen how much longevity the amistad phenomena has , but one thing is certain -- with spielberg 's rousing , substantive film leading the way , the spotlight has now illuminated this chapter of american history .

Answer:
P