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

[Q]: first impressions : critically , a close - to - awful film , but money - wise , it has been doing ( and will continue to do ) great .
a sometimes - funny film that sags and lags and oftentimes gets boring .
an orginal plot that grows old real fast .
one of the only 90 minute films that i 've gotten bored through .
men in black has defied the odds .
when i first saw that the flick was 89 minutes long , i thought maybe that this was a poor attempt at an independence day type film that just ran out of gas .
however , i now realize that not only did men in black run out of gas , but the film in 90 minutes manages to show off a very original idea ( which summer audiences have embraced ) that becomes old about 25 minutes into the movie .
tommy lee jones and will smith play two " government " agents who are responsible for keeping order in alien society .
the ridiculous plot begins when an alien " bug " , played weirdly by vincent d'onofrio , who was so great in full metal jacket , lands on earth to retrieve a galaxy that 's somewhere on " orion 's belt .
"
anyway , the basic plot revolves around jones and smith to stop this bug from getting the galaxy , or a higher power will blow up the earth .
the premise is ridulous , but that is not why i did n't like this film .
i love original plots .
this one had an original one .
but director barry sonnenfeld did something to this film that ruined its plot : he made the film drag and also put in unncessary elements in it that are found in romance films .
whenever i saw d'onofrio 's bug stomp and eat people in the film ,
it got terribly boring after a while .
while smith 's wise - cracks did fill in the gaps , it was n't enough .
and also , i can not believe the screenwriters elected to have a sub - plot where tommy lee jones missed his former lover because as an alien agent , they ca n't have contact with any humans really .
and here i see jones , at a satellite computer , watching his lover plant the garden ?
a sentimental moment in an alien movie ?
nice try , but i do n't think so .
it does n't work here .
it just makes the movie even more ridiculous and even more boring
: we do n't only have aliens to worry about , but now we have jones 's conscience .
i came into the movie not wanting to see jones 's conscience , but wanting to see a real action movie that had lots of aliens in it .
maybe it 's unfair that i partly judged this movie on what my expectations were .
nevertheless , even though some parts are indeed funny , the plot in this movie grew old and boring -- quick .
[A]: N

[Q]: after the terminally bleak reservoir dogs and the brutally violent pulp fiction , jackie brown seems like something of a light - hearted departure for quentin tarantino .
it 's more of a ho - hum heist story with characters that speak the tarantino language .
luckily , his showcase of actors convert every morsel of possible enjoyment onto the screen , and jackie brown has no trouble entertaining the average viewer .
the story introduces us to a street - wise black woman named jackie brown ( pam grier ) , a flight attendant who smuggles money and drugs from one destination to another .
she works for a bottom - of - the - barrel airline and receives a minimal salary .
but one day , she is picked up by a pair of federal officials ( including michael keaton as the tough - nosed ray nicolet ) , and found with a handsome load of cash and a small bag of smuggled dope .
jackie is working for a weapons dealer named ordell ( samuel l . jackson ) , who pays her bail money but suspects her of tipping off the feds about their operation .
soon jackie and ordell are plotting a way to smuggle $ 500 , 000 through to them under nicolet 's nose , with the help of ordell 's oaf of a partner ( robert de niro ) and drugged - out lady friend ( bridget fonda ) .
also entering the picture is a bail - bondsman named max cherry ( robert forster ) , who takes a liking to jackie and agrees at one point to make the situation even more complicated ( how i wo n't say ) .
the big drop - off is undoubtedly the high point of jackie brown , in which numerous double - crosses take place and many clothing store bags ( filled with cash ) switch hands .
it 's unfortunate that tarantino takes his sweet time getting there , and does n't offer anything extremely compelling while doing so .
there are , as always , amusing exchanges between characters .
the funniest repartee is between de niro and fonda , as he becomes annoyed with her constant bickering while making fun of his iq , or lack thereof .
the most interesting relationship is between max and jackie .
a 56-year old white bail bondsman and a 44-year old black flight attendant with believable chemistry ?
you 've got to commend the acting .
jackie brown is a seriously dragged - out exercise enlivened by such fine acting .
the film clocks in at a lengthy 2 hours , 35 minutes .
tarantino 's talky style manages to hold your attention heavily , but there are more than a few dramatic lapses and crucial lulls in the storyline .
also , fans of the director should be prepared for a lighter side to appear .
jackie brown has four major shootings , and two of those take place mostly off - screen , so do n't be expecting a typical tarantino bloodbath .
you can expect frequent foul language , mostly coming way of ordell , who ( much to the dismay of spike lee ) uses the ' n ' word as part of his regular vocabulary .
the acting is the glue that holds everything together .
grier , making a sudden comeback from her reign in the 1970 's , is more than adequate for the title character .
in fact , she 's flat - out great . another comeback comes from former tv star robert forster , who does a grand job as max cherry , and is perfectly cast in doing so .
michael keaton makes his presence felt , albeit in small but dignified moments , and de niro is ideal in playing the lug - head who goes over the edge .
speaking of that , bridget fonda has relatively little to do as ordell 's bikini - clad beach babe , and yet she manages to look fairly occupied .
there 's not a single sign of misplaced dialogue or snubbed line throughout the entire movie .
which is a life - saver for mr .
tarantino .
the story barely holds together in the meantime , and we merely get a small tremor whenever there should be a defeaning earthquake .
but oh well .
jackie brown manages to be an enjoyable detour from quentin tarantino , even if it is lacking the glaring and original bite of his previous work .
let 's just hope that the director has n't gone soft on us .
[A]: P

[Q]: dreamworks pictures presents a jinks/ cohen company production kevin spacey annette bening " american beauty " thora birch allison janney peter gallagher mena suvari wes bentley and chris cooper co - producers stan wlodkowski alan ball music by thomas newman costume designer julie weiss
film editor tariq anway chris greenbury production designer naomi shohan director of photography conrad
l . hall , a .
s .
c .
produced by bruce cohen & dan jinks written by alan ball directed by sam mendes
" both my wife and daughter think i 'm this gigantic loser .
and they 're right .
i have lost something .
i did n't always feel this sedated .
" with that piece of dialogue , we are fully introduced to lester burnham ( kevin spacey ) , a 42 year old man trapped within his own life .
lester works for an advertising agency .
his growing dissatisfaction with his job is only one of the mid - life crisis he is suffering .
estranged from both his wife and his daughter , lester starts to crack under the stress .
his life becomes nothing more than a series of mastubatory fantasies , and sullen apathy .
carolyn burnham ( annette bening ) , is the prototypical career woman/ homemaker .
she carefully tends her rose garden , decorates her home with the best furnishings .
but inside she is desperate .
unsuccessful at her profession as a real estate agent , she drives herself into states of denial and self loathing that only feed her growing resentment towards her family .
the third member of this anti - family is jane burnham ( thora birch ) , lester and carolyn 's daughter .
a young girl going through the typical stages of adolescence , but having to also come to terms with her families growing dysfunction .
this funny ( and frightening ) slice of life is refreshingly simple .
not one character is given less than is needed to identify him or her .
some of the most telling characters are those that serve to highlight other characters .
most notably is barbara fitts ( allison janney ) , the almost catatonic wife of retired marine colonel fitts .
she has almost no dialogue , and seems to be either recovering from a stroke or suffering from one .
colonel fitts ( chris cooper ) is an angry and frightened man .
his rage directed almost singularly at his son , ricky ( wes bentley ) who has just moved with his family to the same neighborhood as the burnham 's .
in fact they are the next door neighbors .
anymore detail into the personalities of these marvelously diverse characters would deprive one of the many pleasures and surprises to be had in " american beauty " .
alan ball , who was the co - executive producer of the hit tv series " cybil " and creator of the new sitcom
" oh grow up " , has fashioned one of the most insightful and expertly tuned screenplays to have hit the screen in the past ten years . not one character in this film rings falsely .
and the depth of personality in each , is achingly honest and insightful .
the plot detailing the last year in the life of a man as he tries to find his own self worth is so resoundingly cliched and at the same time original as to bring to mind such marvelous film work as " the graduate " or " lolita " .
kevin spacey turns in one of this years most pragmatic performances .
his lester burnham is an everyman caught up in the middle of a life that is spiraling into old age .
finally unable to deal with the lost soul that he has become , lester tries to return to his youth .
he quits his job ( actually blackmailing his employer for one year 's salary ) , starts smoking pot , fantasizes about his daughter 's girlfriend angela ( mena suvari , in a marvelous performance here ) , starts working out , and finally takes a job at the local fast food outlet .
mr .
spacey 's performance is so remarkably subtle and ingenuous , that we can be certain that come oscar ? time ,
we can be assured to see him name among the five nominees .
annette bening also turns in what may be the best performance of her career .
carolyn burnham is a woman who has become so insecure as to be caught up in maintaining the facade of normalcy . unable to cope with her growing disillusionment , she forces herself to maintain her demeanor , driving her further and further into desperation , adultery and possibly murder .
ms .
bening makes the character of carolyn so compelling as to be identifiable to almost anyone .
the slow and methodical turn from happy home maker to charnel house martha stewart is too frightening to express in words .
thora birch holds her own against the talents cast with her .
jane burnham is both an innocent girl caught up in what is a dysfunctional family , and a rebellious child ready to abandon them at any moment .
her growing distrust and isolation from her family is something that many parents should view as a warning .
she is the prototypical trophy child .
when carolyn praises her daughter after a performance by her cheerleading team ( " i 'm so proud of you , honey .
you did n't screw up once ! " ) , the bitterness and resentment are palpable .
thora birch is a young actress to watch
. praise must also go to chris cooper who brings yet another angry father role to life with depth and resonance .
colonel finn is a man in complete denial .
his military upbringing masking a desire he is too repulsed to even comprehend .
wes bentley as ricky finn is fine as the enigma .
the boy next door who may be more foe than friend .
a deceitful and calculating young man , whose voyeuristic proclivities mask a deeper and more profound understanding of life than any of the adults around him .
mr .
bentley 's performance is the one troublesome note in the film .
that is simply because the character is such a grand and complete liar , that one almost faults the performance for it .
director sam mendes handles all of the particulars of the cast and the settings with a sure and composed style that is neither intrusive nor subtle .
scenes of carolyn walking through the rain , carry an ominous fission that calls attention to the emotions of the character .
the subtle cinematography by conrad hall is wonderful , capturing the season in all of it 's harsh beauty
( fall has never looked so inviting , yet depressing ) .
every nuance of " american beauty " begs it 's audience to think and examine .
it is a film that will be discussed and debated for years to come .
and well it should , as
it is simply one of this years best .
[A]:
P