In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.

studio expectations must not have been high for " great expectations " -- the film 's release date was pushed from late december to late january at what appeared to be the last minute , therefore putting any academy awards chances it has off until this time in 1999 .
it 's actually a smart move , because while this updated take on the charles dickens tale is n't quite oscar fodder , it * is * strong enough to be distinguished from the cinematic dumping ground that usually makes up the first five or six weeks of any given year .
" great expectations " also demonstrates how to modernize a classic story right , especially after the excruciatingly wretched excesses of baz luhrmann 's " william shakespeare 's romeo + juliet .
" " great expectations " opens somewhere in 1970s florida ( the original story is set in 19th - century england ) , as eight - year - old finn ( jeremy james kissner ) meets a trio of people who will have a profound effect on his life in the future .
there 's icy , 11-year - old estella ( raquel beaudene ) , a pseudo - playmate of finn 's ; ms .
dinsmoor ( anne bancroft ) , estella 's auntie who 's quite off - kilter over a past romance that never took off ; and a mysterious prisoner ( robert de niro ) whom finn saves the life of .
finn , who lives with his sister 's affable boyfriend ( lone star 's chris cooper ) , fancies himself an aspiring artist , and proves his prowess by whipping up an unusual portrait of estella using only ms .
dinsmoor 's lipstick , eyebrow pencil and the wallpaper from her dilapidating mansion .
flash forward into
the ' 90s ( after a brief stop in the ' 80s ) , and finn ( now played by ethan hawke ) , despondent over a strange hot - and - cold relationship with the elusive estella ( gwyneth paltrow ) , receives quite a bit of money from an unknown benefactor ; it 's enough cash to send him to new york to focus on a career in art .
there , finn seems to gain everything he could ever want -- wealth , prestige and a high place in the glamorous art world .
when estella resurfaces -- albeit with an aloof fianc ?
( hank azaria ) --
finn also sees the chance to renew their mutual attraction .
but she 's not the only ghost from finn 's past that 's going to be paying him a visit .
comparisons with the afore - mentioned " romeo + juliet " seem inevitable since these films are the only ones in recent memory to plop classic drama into a current setting .
" great expectations " is a much better venture , though , because it treats its source with even - handed respect , where " romeo " was never quite sure whether to be a spoof , a homage or both .
the movie is a visual banquet thanks to emmanuel lubezki 's sexy cinematography ; notably , he captures a revisited fountain kiss between the two leads with a luscious , erotic charge that 's steamier than the film 's ( surprisingly muted ) love scenes .
the eclectic rock soundtrack compliments the on - screen action beautifully , especially new songs by tori amos , mono and duncan sheik .
acting credits are first - rate , often hiding the screenplay 's occasional slip - ups .
hawke is sincere and solid as a leading man ( something we also learned from " gattaca " ) , and his finn is quite a likeable guy .
paltrow 's estella , on the other hand , is rather underdeveloped .
while the actress is at her icily seductive best , we 're not told very much about her character , and as a result , it 's often hard to understand why finn would appreciate her beyond a physical level ( but , oh , * what * a physical level ) ; sometimes , we root for finn although we do n't quite understand why she 's fueling his fire .
robert de niro is nice and sophisticated in the benevolent kind of role he rarely gets to play ; on the other end of the acting spectrum is bancroft , a macabre , throaty delight who mambos and sucks down cigarettes with an eerie enthusiasm that would make norma desmond jealous .
alfonso cuaron 's visually elegant direction helps to distract from the dry moments that pop up more frequently around the movie 's climax .
another problem is predictability ; you can guess your way through the plot even if you are n't familiar with the story .
despite its script flaws , though , " great expectations " is undeniably romantic without being corny or gloppy .
and frankly , it 's nice to see a film that embraces softened sensuality other than explicit sexuality .
perhaps that renovated release date , awfully close to valentine 's day , will end up helping " great expectations " ' seemingly average box office chances after all .
P

seen may 19 , 1999 at 5 p . m .
at the crossgates cinema 18 ( guilderland , n .
y . )
, theater # 1 , with my brother john for $ 8 .
50 .
[ theater rating :
*
*
* * : excellent seats , sound and picture ] ( critic 's note : this review is the longest i 've ever written and still only scratches the surface .
i 'd recommend this be read only by those who have seen the film as a form of critical analysis . ) as my friend and fellow film critic ted prigge said in his review of ' the phantom menace ' - how do i even write this review ?
never mind the fact that i 've been waiting for a new ' star wars ' movie since i was seven years old .
never mind the fact everyone on the internet had already dissected and discussed the movie before it was even released .
never mind that there 's so much going on in this movie in terms of plot , action , special effects and long - term story that to analyze every aspect would take a lot of time and energy and still would n't cover everything .
and also like ted
does in all of his reviews , i 'll try to review this in a way different from my usual reviews and instead write as casually as possible as if i was talking directly to you , the reader . before we can begin analyzing the specific aspects of the film , many of the most general and most significant factors must be considered ( to get the specifics of the film , skip this and the next four paragraphs ) .
as has been made obvious for the last several years , another trilogy of films will be produced to account for the [ missing ] initial three installments of the ' star wars ' series ( the first of the films was actually episode four , not one ) .
george lucas , the creator of the series , has probably just assumed most people know the first - produced trilogy ( ' star wars , ' ' the empire strikes back ' and ' return of the jedi ' ) is actually the second trilogy , chronologically .
in media interviews in the past he has explained why the movies were made out of order , but i ca n't recall his reasons .
with this new film he as writer and director has also assumed viewers are at least vaguely familiar with the storylines and significant plot points of the first trilogy ( err . . .
second trilogy .
. .
well you know what i mean ) .
and in order for this review to be thorough many of those significant points must be mentioned which , unfortunately , may serve as spoilers so proceed with caution .
[ critic 's note
# 1 : it is one my personal policy not to intentionally analyze spoilers because i would like my reviews to be able to make sense to the reader both before and after viewing the film reviewed , but it would be nearly impossible to do the film justice here without breaking the rule .
critic 's note # 2 : reviewing this film also breaks the universal critics ' law of reviewing movies , which as roger ebert coined , ' it 's not what a movie is about , but how it is about it . '
because so many outside factors come into play in the film 's plot and significance as part of a trilogy , and just considering modern society , it again would be difficult , if not impossible to simply review the film as a completely autonomous story . ]
first of all we have to catalog what we know about the film before even going into it .
we know that young anakin skywalker will grow up to become the evil ruler darth vader who is also the father of luke skywalker , who will lead a successful revolution against him and his empire .
we know obi - wan ' ben ' kenobi was the trainer of anakin in the ways of ' the force ' in attempts to become a jedi knight , but would fail and thus anakin would fall to the ' dark side . '
we also know something about ' the force ' itself , that it is some kind of universal force which determines fate and can be manipulated by those whose minds are expanded enough to believe in it and feel it ( the jedi ) .
what we do n't know for sure is the history of the ruling of the galaxy , which is most likely much longer and more complex than any government we have had here on earth .
to me , this was one of the most fascinating aspects of the first three films because there seemed to be a subtle , definite order to all the complexity .
also , it seems that we 're supposed to be familiar with a few other details about the story which have come out of the thousands of comic books and paperbacks published in the years since the movies ended .
most notably , details regarding the emperor from ' empire ' and ' jedi , ' and that he was once a senator and his last name is palpatine .
for those who have n't kept up with all the ' star wars ' paraphernalia over the years , there is still a way to know these details simply by recognizing an actor ( or his voice at least ) .
with ' the phantom menace ' being the first chapter of a long saga , one would assume the basic groundwork would be laid , including the history behind all the major factors of the series , especially ' the force ' and the jedi knights .
unfortunately , this film does more of the opposite as it simply builds on top of what must be a history so long and detailed it could never be explained .
i did n't liked that aspect to this film and is one of the reasons it falls just short of greatness .
if you 're going to tell a story from the beginning - tell it from the beginning ( is it possible that after this trilogy is complete there could be another trilogy of episodes -1 through -3 to clarify the back story even further ? ) .
but i digress .
i 've said so much and yet i have n't even touched on the specifics of the film itself .
all these necessary ' disclaiming ' elements should go to show just how vast the story of the ' star wars ' series is and this individual film itself .
what we get here is a movie not unlike any of the other three we 've come to know and love since the late 1970s .
its similarity to the other films helps to keep the spirit of the series familiar , but at the same time seems to be a flaw in the filmmaking process itself since it sometimes rings of unoriginality .
the basic story is rather sorted , complex and even confusing at times .
we 're told that an army known as ' the trade federation ' has set up a blockade around an seemingly insignificant planet called naboo .
we 're not given too many details to clarify the back story of what the federation is and what their purpose is , instead the film opts to get its story moving quickly .
we 're introduced to two jedi , the master qui - gon jinn ( neeson ) and his apprentice obi - wan kenobi ( mcgregor ) .
the two are acting as ambassadors of some sort in hopes of ending the obvious hostility between the federation and the planet 's queen , amidala ( portman ) .
the leader of the federation , an alien called viceroy , is following the orders of a strange , mythical character - an older human man whose face and body are covered and shadowed by the black robe and hood he wears .
he is referred to as lord sidious but considering his appearance , and especially that creepy evil voice of his , he is a obviously one of the most significant characters in the series .
sidious communicates to viceroy only through digital transmissions and never in person .
clearly his actual whereabouts are something he wants to keep secret because that would also reveal his identity ( which is never openly revealed in the film , but should be clear to most viewers .
i have a feeling we 'll delve into his background in the next two films ) .
but it does n't take the film long to spring into action and within minutes our hero jedi are fighting for their lives and the film 's story
begins to move along .
the film does n't have one specific plot and works in the same manner as the other films in the series where as what we get is one mini - plot and adventure on top of another .
there are so many of these mini - plots - within - plots in this film
i would not describe them all because it is what gives the movie its hook .
the other films have relied on this type of storytelling , but because of the limits of the technology at the time , the films ' screenplays were also limiting .
the sense of limitlessness here is what gives ' the phantom menace ' its unique traits .
as we already know , the film takes place at least a generation or two before the original ' star wars ' trilogy which means a lot of the background which was unclear and/or unexplained may be cleared up here as it is the beginning of the vast epic story .
and here the most significant storyline is that involving the discovery of 10-year - old anakin skywalker ( lloyd ) , by qui - gon jinn and his introduction to the jedi council .
to briefly summarize the story , jinn stumbles upon skywalker in an attempt to buy parts for queen amidala 's spaceship which was damaged in efforts to free her from the federation .
their meeting on tatooine is mostly chance but of course jinn chalks it up to the will of the force .
jinn can feel that skywalker has a great natural power in the force , and through another sub - plot involving a bet on skywalker in a fantastic race he will enter , more and more details of his significance begin to reveal themselves .
this also provides for a new elaboration and explanation of the force which has never been mentioned before .
in fact , it seems to be something so important it is upsetting it has never been mentioned before .
the element seriously undermines the mystical aspect of the force and transforms it into something more physical and scientific which is completely unnecessary .
by the film 's third act all the major significant elements become tied together in a rather familiar execution of the plot .
it 's funny how the reality of the ' star wars ' world seems so embedded in mythology , new age - like philosophy and religion and yet the solution to all the major conflicts in the series has been violence .
not that this technique has n't been used in movies and in real - life situations countless times throughout history .
and at least it 's all in the spirit of the ultimate powers of good versus evil in a fun and exciting matter .
it does border of the cartoonish sometimes , but that 's just the film appealing to our inner child , which is the basic reason the entire saga exists and has become such a big part of our modern society .
' the phantom menace ' delivers exactly what you 'd expect from a ' star wars ' film which is why it succeeds as well as it does
but is always why it never truly achieves greatness .
so many things in the film we 've seen before and done with more heart because the filmmakers concentrated just a bit more on story and character because they were limited .
but this film is far from bad because it at least embraces the spirit of sheer fun at the movies .
P

trekkies , roger nygard 's energetic and hilarious documentary , brings viewers into the world of the star trek conventions .
the beauty of the film is that it is good old fashion fun for trekkies and non - fans alike .
( the film generally writes off the trekkies vs .
trekker polemic as not worth arguing about . )
the good - spirited movie trekkies easily forces even the most cynical viewer into fits of uncontrollable , loud giggles , yet the picture treats its subject matter with respect and a certain awe .
denise crosby , who played tasha yar on " star trek : the next generation , " serves as the host .
in the opening credits the movie reminds us that trekkies are the only fan group listed in the oxford english dictionary ( oed ) .
( the oed cites a february , 1976 caption in the " new yorker " as the first recorded usage of the word . ) unless you 've been to the conventions , i posit that you have no idea of the dedication of some of the fans .
one pointed out , apologetically , that the stripe on his new uniform was slightly inaccurate .
others talked about how many star trek conventions they had attended , several dozen being typical and hundreds not unheard of .
my personal favorite fan is sir speedy photocopying worker barbara adams .
arguably the most famous of all the trekkies , she wears her uniform every waking hour as many die - hard fans do .
her claim to fame is that , as a juror on the whitewater trial , she wore it in court as well .
"
every day i would walk past the reporters with a vulcan - like stoicism , " she says , describing her way of dealing with the crowd of reporters who became obsessed with her obsession .
she does n't quite understand all of the uproar .
"
i 'm an officer of the federation 24 hours a day , " she reminds us .
her fealty to her hobby approaches that of a religious faith .
along with the laugher the show evokes , there is an equal measure of sincere appreciation for people with such loyalty .
and their infectious joy provokes a certain envy of their enjoyment .
few other avocations could give this much satisfaction .
these people are having the time of their lives .
( for the record , i 'm not a star trek fan although i have seen some of the movies . )
the film interviews the various star trek series 's stars as well as its fans .
the stars had thought the convention idea was a lark and would soon fade , but over twenty years later , the conventions are still going strong .
filled with anecdotes , the show talks about the happenings at the various conventions .
at one , the actor who plays q was so sick that he thought he would have to cancel .
after appearing briefly , he drank some water and left .
they decided to auction off his half - empty glass , joking that it had the " q virus .
"
the guy who won the bidding immediately drank the water and screamed to the crowd that he now had the q virus too .
with dedication comes a certain amount of stupidity .
not just flitting among people , the documentary takes the time to let you get to know the trekkies .
one guy is a trekkie cross - dresser , another dresses her cat , and then there is the dentist .
the dentist has his entire office made up to look like a star trek set .
he , his oral hygienists , his receptionist , his wife , and his kids wear the outfits all of the time .
it appears that his workers are permitted to take them off when they go home , but not his family . for variety , he and his family do change characters from time to time .
he says his patients like it .
well , there was this one complainer , but he had a problem with his bill anyway .
there are summer schools for klingon with ph .
d .
linguists to teach the language .
hamlet is now available in klingon , albeit perhaps not at your local bookstore , and they are working on translating the bible .
they even sell united federation passports that are real enough that trekkies have used them to fool customs , even u . s . customs .
the movie bogs down only briefly when it tries to argue the series 's larger meaning about diversity and humanitarian concerns .
sandwiched in - between the levity , the switch in tone does n't work .
the incessantly up - beat film ends with a singing elvis impersonator .
he fits right in .
trekkies runs a breezy
1 : 26 .
it is not rated but would be pg for brief sexual references and would be fine for all ages .
P