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

Q: if he does n't watch out , mel gibson is in danger of being known as someone other than mad max .
of course there are still a few big guns in this film , but there 's some accomplished acting too .
although gibson continues to shed his rough and gritty anti - hero skin as his career progresses , here he explores a new genre : the businessman as action hero .
in ron howard 's latest film , gibson plays tom mullen , a gazillionaire airline owner whose son is snatched from the junior science fair by kidnappers .
mullen at first agrees to pay the ransom , but when things fall apart he rethinks the situation .
a veteran of numerous hard - nosed business negotiations , the tycoon realizes that in order to get his son back alive , he has to play his hand differently .
the casting is what puts this film over the top .
the trio of gibson , the kidnappers ' mastermind ( gary sinise ) and fbi team leader ( delroy lindo ) play off of each other wonderfully .
sinise is perfect as the driven scheming sleezebag is right on the mark .
his speech to mullen over a walkie talkie about h .
g .
wells ' morlocks and eloi reveal his vision of society .
mullen and the other glitteratti frolic up on high while sinise and the other lowlifes
dwell below , feeding off the unsuspecting .
gibson 's character is an all - american hero with a few flaws .
his cowboy tactics tend to work , but they are also what got him into this situation to begin with .
in a round about way , if he were n't known as a man who is willing to buy his way out of trouble , his son would n't have been kidnapped .
as sinise says " you 're a payer .
you did it once
and now you 're going to do it again .
" one of the nicest elements of this film is that most of the characters actually have personalities .
lindo calls home to talk to his kids , obviously shaken at working this case .
even the kidnappers are real people , arguing about the ultimate fate of sean mullen and feeding him candy bars .
gibson 's break - down on the balcony of their penthouse apartment is especially effective .
it 's one of the best filmed representations of a man 's world falling apart that i 've seen
.
it 's not all perfect .
the shoot 'em upending , while emotionally satisfying seems tacked on to be just that rather than to provide a powerful resolution .
as well crafted as the scene is , we 've seen it before .
mullen 's wife ( rene russo ) has several good moments , but occasionally just seems to be there .
while adequate , brawley nolte ( sean ) does n't provide much to the film other than occupying space to build the story around .
but you 'll ignore these problems as each minute of the movie builds on the previous one .
forget about the large coke , you wo n't want to leave for that five minute break an hour later .

A: P
****
Q: the title is taken from the writings of ralph waldo emerson describing the life of a traveler as ' anywhere but here . ' there is n't one thing about this mother - daughter relationship melodrama that felt honest .
it relies on a contrived minor character to tell both mother and daughter
what was obvious to do in order to straighten out their dysfunctional lives , as for some reason they could n't figure it out for themselves .
if the film looks familiar , that is because " the slums of beverly hills ( 98 ) " went over the same ground but was fortunate to be more comical and perceptive due to alan arkin and natasha lyonne performances , in which they were fortunate to have a much sharper script to work with .
alvin sargent 's script was weak and annoyingly claustral
.
wayne wang 's ( " the joy luck club " ) inept direction made a weak script even weaker by his inability to tell the story unfolding without the voiceover relating what the action could n't convey .
pushy mother adele august ( susan sarandon )
forces her 14-year - old daughter ann ( natalie portman ) to leave a small midwestern burg to go cross - country with her to beverly hills .
the daughter resents her twice divorced , unstable but exotic , schoolteacher mother , bullying her to be an actress as a means of escaping a humdrum life .
the daqughter does n't even like the used gold mercedes mother buys to drive to lala land in and ca n't stand the beach boys records mom enjoys hearing on the car radio .
so it becomes a question of who knows best , as the ladies fight it out between them , until the predictable sweet ending comes in this yawner .
adele 's dream of greener pastures in beverly hills soon does n't look that good , as she lands a job in a slum school , has her precious car scratched by the unruly kids , and settles into a job she hates in order to financially survive .
daughter pines for small town wisconsin and her friends there .
during one of many arguments with her free - spirited mom , they go for ice cream and while mother is being ticketed , she runs away , only to be chased down by friendly traffic cop ( michael milhoan ) , who offers her wise counsel .
with the cop 's zen wisdom passed onto the daughter , she will survive living in many different addresses in beverly hills until she reaches 17 and then she plans to get way from mom by using her good grades to go to brown university instead of ucla . during their stay in beverly hills , she grows from feeling awkward in beverly hills high to immediately having many high school girlfriends and even a high school rich boy admirer-- a t .
s .
eliot ( corbin allred ) reader .
but the transition of her life into beverly hills had no feel of reality , as everything seemed staged and unemotional
.
when she learns her cousin benny ( shawn hatosy ) , who happens to be her best friend dies in a traffic accident back in wisconsin , she returns for the funeral and in those reunion scenes it was n't clearly shown why she wants to stay there , and for that matter , it was never made clear why the mother wants to leave so badly .
the film is one big battle of wills between mother and daughter over their dreams .
i guess what the filmmaker is trying to say , is that mom is a bad dreamer and the daughter is the observant one , able to recognize mother 's faults when not in growing pains and in need of parenting herself .
mother has a series of setbacks , like being dumped by her dream - boat dentist ( bochner )
she met on the beach , and witnessing her daughter mimic her whiny optimistic sayings when trying out for an acting part .
but mother learns that her daughter has grown - up and is independent and that she has to stop living her life through her .
she learns this when the same wise cop who told ann what to do , is about to ticket her and this time will remind the mother of the right thing to do .
this of course results in the corny ending , showing that mom 's heart was always in the right place , only she went about it in the wrong way .
this was just one of those films where you want to be anywhere but in the theater where this film is showing .

A: N
****
Q: director david fincher has such an eye for detail which is very rare in hollywood these days ( terry gilliam comes to mind as another one ) .
film is one of the best art forms because not only can you tell a story , but you can use the camera to capture the smallest detail and have it mean something .
but most directors seem to go for action with the slightest ounce of a story .
so whenever a director uses the camera to its fullest potential , the film almost automatically deserves a good review .
and when they add a fascinating story to it , you have nearly perfect entertainment .
fincher 's the game is no exception to this .
the game is one of the most interesting and complex films to come out of hollywood in a long time .
fincher has n't made a film since " seven , " his box office and critical hit which defied expectations and became one of the best movies ever .
so it is about time he made another film .
and what a ride it is .
the game is n't quite as powerful as " seven , " but in some ways it is better .
overall , the game could have used a little more clarity , or a little more uncertainty .
it walks a line of insanity and reality , but it never goes either way until the very end .
the outcome is satisfying enough for the preceding events , and it makes a lot of sense once everything is set straight .
unfortunately , unlike " the usual suspects , " we are never given enough information to figure out for ourselves what is happening , whether it be true or false .
however , this also gives the film a frightening aspect which the game uses to the fullest extent .
the game is told completely from its main character 's point of view .
nicholas van orton ( michael douglas ) is a high - strung and isolated businessman .
he lives alone in his giant mansion , divorced from his wife elizabeth , and is celebrating his 48th birthday ; the same age at which his father committed suicide at , in the same mansion .
for his 48th birthday , conrad ( sean penn ) , the rebel of the family , gives nicholas a gift certificate to crs : consumer recreation services .
"
it will make your life fun again , " his brother promises .
as skeptical as nicholas is , he is somewhat intrigued , and annoyed by the lack of information -- something this businessman hates .
seeing a billboard in an office , he decides to visit the mysterious company .
jim feingold ( james rebhorn ) greets nicholas and guides him through the sign - up process , which consists of psych - tests , physicals , emotional responses , and other mind games .
"
each game is suited to each person 's emotional and psychological needs , " explains feingold .
one day , nicholas gets a call from crs and they explain that he failed the tests .
even more intrigued and now somewhat angered at the time he spent signing up , he starts asking around to see what people can tell him about the company .
what he does n't realize is that the game has already begun .
the phone call is just the first of many strange events to be thrown nicholas ' way .
how he finds out that he is involved has to be witnessed because it is amusing and fun and visually impressive .
the detail involved in fincher 's shots is incredible and almost requires a second viewing just to appreciate the effort that went into them .
with " seven , " fincher had almost every single shot mean something .
he also has the unique ability to make you look at exactly what he wants you to .
compared to " seven , " though , the game is light and comical .
because of this film 's sense of humor and self - awareness , nothing can be taken quite seriously .
so do n't try to make much sense of what goes on in the game , because it does n't want you to .
what does make sense is the final revelation -- when everything becomes apparent and clear .
if taken as it is , the game 's ending makes complete sense .
but if you try and critique every minute detail , then you get yourself into plot holes and incredibility .
perhaps that is the reason i docked the film .
while trying to remain realistic and plausible , the plot is too unbelievable to create any real tension on screen .
we do n't really care if douglas ' character lives or not because it is n't believable .
the ending requires you to have believed anything that has happened previously , but if you suspend disbelief and take the film as it is , you can accept the game as an emotionally and psycholically disturbing thriller .
michael douglas gives a terrific performance as nicholas .
douglas has played lonely businessmen before , but here he adds another level to his performance .
his character , who is normally level - headed and relies on facts , is forced to trust nobody .
can he believe the waitress he bumped into ?
what about his brother who got him involved in the game in the first place ?
douglas portrays this aspect of his character extremely well , and gives one of his best performances ( even better than his " falling down " persona ) .
the supporting cast is essential in this film , and casting was critical .
sean penn is always good , and he gives yet another credible performance as douglas ' brother .
deborah kara unger ( from " crash " ) is the waitress he bumps into , and her performance is extremely good
.
in fact , she almost steals the film from douglas .
james rebhorn portrays his character very well , and adds some confusion and desparation to douglas ' predicament .
another good performance comes from armin mueller - stahl ( from " shine " ) as the book editor .
but considering that douglas is in every single scene of the game , he not only commands this cast , but makes this distant and lonely character come to colorful life .
the game is rated r for language , violence , some gore , and some nudity and drugs .
what is essential for this film to work is the writing .
john brancato and michael ferris have woven a confusing and compelling screenplay with witty dialogue , and some very funny moments .
this screenplay will probably get an oscar nomination for best original screenplay because it does almost exactly the same thing the usual suspects ' did .
however , the visuals of the game are enough to make the viewer enjoy the vexing plot .
and if you can get yourself to believe everything occuring on the screen , you will be thoroughly entertained by one of this year 's best films .

A:
P
****