instruction:
In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
question:
the last steve martin film i saw , the spanish prisoner , was a very different approach for the comic actor .
as a millionaire leading a massive conspiracy in order to rob " a process " from a clueless businessman , martin 's character did it all for money .
in his most recent movie , bowfinger , martin plays yet another con man except this time he does it to succeed in the film industry .
he wants to direct a successful picture that will force people to remember his name , that will make him more popular at the parties , and , most importantly , that will cause fed ex to deliver important business packages to his front door .
playing the title role , martin is once again the good guy ;
the one we cheer for to complete his low budget action movie .
this con man is very likeable for some reason , even though he is doing the same exact thing as the malicious jimmy del from the spanish prisoner .
maybe the message is that , in hollywood , to win over the trust and friendship of others , you have to be a little evil .
bowfinger is a very clever comedy with great performances from its two stars .
martin , who also wrote the screenplay , is perfect as a jerk with a conscience and eddie murphy does his best " peter sellers " in two different , but equally hilarious , roles ; one as a big time move star and the other as his nerdy , burger king employee brother .
the story follows aging and failing director / producer bobby bowfinger as he makes one last attempt to become a respected member of his field by creating a b - action movie called chubby rain .
in order to attract actors and crew members , bowfinger promises them that hot shot actor kit ramsey will star in the movie .
the only problem is that kit refuses to be in it .
but this wo n't stop the aggressive bowfinger .
he is so determined to complete his film that he decides to put kit in it without even telling him .
he has his actors approach kit on the streets of los angeles in character with a hidden camera filming the footage .
will bowfinger be able to make his film ? or will kit ramsey discover what exactly is going on ?
bowfinger is a very cartoon - like movie that pokes fun at hollywood and its famous residents while simultaneously holding a very solid story line .
the only area where the film really lacks is the cameo department .
this is the kind of movie that cameos are all about , it is always funny to see actors / directors / producers making fun of themselves or co - workers especially in a playful movie such as this .
besides the very repetitive and superflous ending , bowfinger is a joy to watch . if you take a movie like this seriously then you will never enjoy it . if you accept the incredulous plot and the extreme caricatures of real entertainment figures , the movie is great fun .
answer:
P

question:
a movie like mortal kombat : annihilation works ( and must be reviewed on ) multiple levels .
first , there 's the rampant usage of randian subtext that pervades the entire movie .
but occasionaly , almost as if making an ironic , self - depreciating remark , the movie tosses in clearly marxist imagery .
no no . . .
just kidding .
had you going there for a moment , did n't i ?
in all seriousness however , and to be fair to the movie , it * is * necessary to provide two viewpoints : that of a movie watcher unfamiliar ( or only marginally familiar ) with the whole mortal kombat phenomenon , and that of a fan of the first movie and/or a fan of the games .
the first movie ( mortal kombat ( 1995 ) ) concerned itself with a martial arts tournament that would decide the fate of earth ( and it 's 5 billion inhabitants ) .
the mortals won , and in theory this should have prevented the emperor shao khan from taking over the earth .
unfortunately , shao khan was a poor loser , and the very final scene in mortal kombat showed him arriving anyway , ready to take over the planet , as our heroes assumed a fighting stance .
the first movie was extraordinarily entertaining for those ( like myself ) who are fans of the game .
i 'd even go so far as to say that many folks who did n't know about the game probably enjoyed the movie .
the writers and directors knew the limitations of both their cast and of the basic story itself , and they did n't try to overachieve .
there were a lot of really cool fight scenes ( with really cool accompanying music ) , intersperesed with some distracting ( but ultimately non - intrusive ) bits of fluff passing itself off as a plot .
and , as we know , the movie was a smashing success at the box office .
mortal kombat :
annihilation picks up precisely where that movie left off , with some introductory exposition to clue in those who may not have seen the first movie .
shao khan has decided that he 's going to take over the earth
* anyways * , and to hell with some silly rule about mortals winning the tournament .
thereafter follows approximately 85 minutes of film that alternates between being confused , being trite , being silly , and being just plain stupid .
one gets the general impression that the producers of the movie thought " hey , that last movie was such a success that we can get more money and make a * real * movie now . " too bad they did n't simply stick with the formula from the first movie .
i could write volumes about the things that are wrong with this picture , but here are the high points :
* the acting is truly bad .
sandra hess ( playing the sonya blade character ) is particularly execrable , especially in scenes where she tries to convince us that she loved johnny cage ( a character from the first movie who gets greased at the beginning of this movie ) .
* in one of the worst pieces of mis - casting
i think i 've * ever * seen , james remar plays raiden , the god of thunder .
in the first movie , christopher lambert played raiden and played his character as though he was in on the joke :
a french actor playing a japanese thunder god being revered by chinese mystics .
i generally like it when actors are cast against type ( tim " tiny " lister , jr . being cast as the president of the u . s .
in the fifth element , for example ) , and remar has always been one of my favorite " utility " actors but he 's so totally wrong for this part that he does n't even have the luxury of amused self - awareness .
*
there are too many characters that are introduced as being potentially important , but then never seen again .
* there are a number of completely meaningless story sidetracks , including a muddled scene where liu kang ( robin shou ) seeks out nightwolf ( litefoot ) , has a mystical hallucination , and then wanders off with jade ( irina pantaeva ) .
for these reasons ( and many others ) , i can only give the movie a 2 . . . . . . unless you 're a huge fan of the games and/or the first movie .
in that case , the following critiques also apply : * sandra hess , while being an even worse actress than bridgette wilson ( who played sonya blade in the first movie ) , is much more convincing as a fighter .
wilson looked like she was simply mimicing some movements taught to her by the fight choreographer .
hess looks like she actually knows some martial arts , and puts together a much more believable fight scene .
* in the fights , each of the characters does at least * one * thing they do in the game ( and often more ) .
sonya does her " kiss of death , " jax does his " earthquake , " liu kang does his " animality , " and so on .
a big bonus for those of us who were looking for similar moves in the first movie and found them only rarely .
*
there are n't as many fight scenes in this movie as there were in the first , because the folks making the movie mistakenly try to hang a more robust plot in between .
silly , silly folks .
and the lamest fight involved two of the women in what turns into a mud - wrestling match .
lame and so obviously sexist
even i ( politically incorrect , for the most part ) noticed and remarked upon it .
* the special effects are generally better , except for the final fight scene between the emporer and liu kang in which both perform their " animalities .
" motaro and sheeva are both more convincing and lifelike than goro was in the first movie .
for folks like myself who loved the first movie and enjoy the games , i give this a 5 .
you 'll probably like it , but not nearly as much as you liked the first one .
answer:
N

question:
" goodbye , lover " sat on the shelf for almost a year since its lukewarm reception at the cannes film festival last may , and one look will tell you why .
it 's a mess .
and that 's * way
* before ellen degeneres shows up .
the film is one of those torrid double - indemnity crime stories that , in this case , required the services of three screenwriters .
i suspect that one wrote a sexy thriller , one wrote a murder mystery , and one wrote a comedy , then director roland joff ? tried to piece it all together in the editing room while scratching his head in bewilderment .
i did n't laugh at ellen degeneres much ( i think i was supposed to ) .
degeneres is horrible and her character is even worse , a tough - talking vulgar cop with a bad wardrobe and bad hair .
either degeneres is wearing a wig -- as most of the actors appear to be -- or she does n't yet have enough clout to secure a hairstylist .
every single word out of her mouth is supposed to be racy and hip , but her incessant wisecracking is poorly - written and merely stupid .
her reaction to the brutal killing of a jogger is " at least she died healthy .
"
and that 's one of her wittier asides .
degeneres ' sgt .
rita pompano is called in to investigate the allegedly accidental death of . . .
wait .
to give away too much of the plot would all but ruin a film that has very little going for it outside of its numbing plot twists and multiple triple - crosses .
it 's best described this way : sultry sexpot / real estate agent sandra dunmore ( patricia arquette ) is married to jake , a " creative yet unfocused " ( and alcoholic ) advertising rep , played by dermot mulroney .
sandra likes to act out her deep - seated sexual fantasies and jake 's brother ben ( the suave - as - ever don johnson ) likes to help .
ben is also coming on to his petite , mousy co - worker peggy blaine ( mary - louise parker ) and someone , somewhere , is planning to cash in on that huge life insurance policy of his .
the film is ripe with cheating lovers cheating on each other and back again .
although there are some genuine surprises , the plot twists get too contrived too quickly .
probably around the time degeneres ' gumcracking gumshoe appears .
at least the former " ellen " star is going for something a little different .
arquette turns in yet
another of her stiletto - heeled , platinum blonde bombshell roles
( see : " lost highway , " " true romance " ) while quoting embarrassing lines like " i 'm not wearing any underwear .
"
i hope she got paid a lot of money to do this .
here 's an example of some of the film 's flat - out stupidity .
sandra purchases a used car and disguises herself in a red wig prior to stalking two of the film 's duplicitous lovers .
she drives the motorbiking couple off a cliff while blaring her favorite " the sound of music " on her car stereo , intent on identifying herself to her hapless victims .
so what was the point of the wig and the car ?
"
the sound of music " stuff might be a reference to " the wizard of oz " allusions in david lynch 's " wild at heart , " but if so joff ?
must have forgotten that " wild at heart " was a despicable movie .
it 's hard to believe that " goodbye , lover " was directed by the same person who made " the killing fields " and " the mission .
" it 's not , however , hard to see why it sat on the shelf for so long .
it should have stayed there .
answer:
N