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

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 .
P

note : some may consider portions of the following text to be spoilers . be forewarned .
on december 20 , 1996 , amidst all the year - end oscar bait releases from the major studios , miramax 's genre label dimension films quietly released a sly little ensemble slasher flick titled scream .
although the teen horror market had been given up for all - but - dead in recent years , the film shocked industry observers by scoring consistently high box office returns , eventually topping $ 100 million domestic and becoming one of the most successful films of its type in history , while delighting audiences by finally presenting a set of knowing slasher flick protagonists who were aware of the all the standard cliches associated with the genre .
the sleeper success of scream sent shockwaves through the industry -- suddenly , everybody was looking for hip , inexpensive fright films that might be able to reap similar fortunes .
the strategy of casting young tv stars to draw the youth demographic was given a boost .
scream director wes craven , previously best known as the creator of new line 's a nightmare on elm street film series , was thrust back into the limelight .
and scream 's rookie scribe , kevin williamson , burst onto the film scene in stunning fashion .
it 's hard to understate this last point .
mr .
williamson has , based upon his produced screenplays as of this writing ( scream , i know what you did last summer from october 1997 , and now scream 2 ) , enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame , quickly become the most well - known screenwriter amongst the entertainment weekly - reading , box office figure - watching youth culture since -- well , since that quentin tarantino guy ( whom , it is said , has also achieved some renown as a director ) .
indeed , in a singularly freakish oddity , it is the screenwriter , mr . williamson , and not the director that has been receiving the lion 's share of acclaim for the success of scream , and the print advertisements for scream 2 's theatrical release are similarly indicative of his increasing prominence : while the traditional " a film by wes craven " drapes the film 's title in the ads , right below it ( in equal sized font , yet ) reads " written by kevin williamson " , an affirmation of the screenwriter 's contribution to the project which may be unprecedented .
( i can envision the board of wga , licking their chops at this coup and counting the days until their goal of " a film by " is attained . )
and , much like mr .
tarantino 's screenwriting , mr .
williamson 's work is vaguely unconventional , incorporating both contemporary pop culture references and allusions to other films into the dialogue of his characters .
in scream , they satirically discussed other horror films ; here in the sequel , the characters discuss the relative merits of film sequels .
scream was written in 1995 during the infamous bob dole rampage against hollywood , and mr .
williamson 's rejection of this tirade clearly influenced the writing in both that film and this sequel .
while the sequel was planned from the outset -- a treatment of scream 2 was included when mr .
williamson sold the screenplay for scream -- the basic premise for the film and the reunion of the surviving characters
nevertheless seems extremely artificially contrived , and it 's only at about the film 's midway point when it becomes engaging .
like its predecessor , scream 2 opens with a splashy , eye - grabbing prologue which only vaguely ties into the film 's principal narrative ; this time around , we 're following the exploits of a young couple ( jada pinkett and omar epps ) attending a riotously gleeful sneak preview screening of stab ( a running film - within - a - film gag where the " true life " events behind the first film has been turned into a movie ) .
however , although it tries hard and has some good ideas -- the nightmarishly enthusiastic audience in the film vaguely reminded me of the one i was sharing the theatre with , and i was certainly thinking about gutting the overly - noisy person a few seats away myself after about fifteen minutes -- the prologue is a pale imitation of the bravura opening sequence in the original with drew barrymore ( where her performance not only convinced me that she * could * act , but was so good that it would rank among the best performances in a horror film that i 've ever seen ) .
there are too many knowing , hip pop - culture references crammed into the scream 2 sequence , and the setup is n't nearly as cleverly frightening as scream 's ; while the first film 's preface dizzyingly built up to a final shot that was exhilaratingly terrifying , the payoff here is almost campily theatrical .
flash to the campus of a smalltown ohio college ,
where returning characters sidney ( neve campbell ) and randy ( jamie kennedy ) have relocated for their studies and to escape the notoriety from the events in the first film .
the murders which open this film result in reuniting the survivors -- single - minded tabloid tv reporter gale weathers ( courteney cox ) roars into town to cover the breaking story , while ever - awkward former deputy dewey riley ( david arquette ) flies in to protectively guard over sidney .
they 're joined by cotton weary ( liev schreiber ) , who was falsely accused of homicide in a cameo appearance during the first film ; his role here is significantly expanded .
the film incidentally provides surprisingly little backstory , although i suppose a good case can be made that it really is n't necessary -- not because so many people have seen the first installment , but because this is , after all , a sequel to a slasher film : what do you * think * happened to these characters in the prior movie ?
there 's a lot of new faces on the scene too : sidney 's new boyfriend , derek ( jerry o'connell ) and her new roommate hallie ( elise neal ) , randy 's fellow film student mickey ( timothy olyphant ) , gale 's newly - assigned nervous cameraman joel ( duane martin ) , omnipresent local journalist debbie salt ( laurie metcalf ) , co - ed cici cooper ( ms .
buffy herself , sarah michelle gellar ) , and a pair of simpering sorority sisters ( rebecca gayheart and sirens ' portia di rossi ) .
any of these characters could be the killer -- or for that matter , could be the next victim .
as is seemingly becoming a regular staple of a kevin williamson screenplay , the narrative is once again framed around the increasingly - flimsy premise of a whodunit .
one problem that scream did n't have was keeping you interested in the identity of the killer . here ( and to some extent in i know what you did last summer ) , mr .
williamson 's screenplay seems slightly hampered by trying to turn the identity of the killer into a mystery .
the film occasionally becomes so bogged down with misdirection that you can sense it straining at the seams to try and drop red herrings left and right at the expense of its thriller elements .
( it does n't help matters any that the killer 's alter - ego is fairly obvious from the get - go . )
indeed , the finale plays as full - out camp when the villain is finally unmasked , frothing at the mouth with glazed eyes .
this is one of those cases where the villain goes on such an endless diatribe about their machinations , scheming , and motivation , that you actually get bored listening and just want them all to get on with it .
while the basic setup and premise for the film is fairly contrived , the aspect where it 's head - and - shoulders above its predecessor is in its suspense sequences .
they 're staged much more imaginatively here
( save for the first post - prologue murder , which is handled in such a mediocre , conventional fashion that it seems to be culled directly from the predictable 1980s slasher flicks that the first film satirized ) , and are much more fun to watch .
it 's hard to hold back a smile during a giddy scene where sidney and her companion have to climb over the incapacitated killer in order to escape from a car wreck , and a cat - and - mouse chase involving gale and dewey in a campus sound lab is very nicely staged , although its ultimate resolution is hilariously overblown .
in terms of its characters ,
the strong part of the film is the interesting relationship between gale and dewey ( who ambles onto the screen accompanied by his very own theme music ) .
their verbal sparring at the outset provides much humour -- an exchange where dewey defensively rebukes charges of a perceived aura of incompetency is well - written -- and there 's a curiously endearing aspect about their relationship amidst all the mayhem and bloodshed .
on the other hand , sidney is pretty dull here .
she does n't have any compelling presence , and there 's nothing particularly interesting about her this time around to make us care about her other than that she 's the returning heroine .
given this , and the fact that there 's no strong second banana character for sidney ( elise neal 's role is n't nearly substantive enough to adequately fill rose mcgowan 's shoes ) , it 's no wonder why the roles for gale and dewey have been significantly augmented for this installment of the film .
what surprises me the most about scream 2 is its zealousness in decimating its cast .
the film 's mounting body count bears out the fact that * no * character is safe ( well , * almost * )
; while in principal i applaud this bold policy , at some point you 've got to be wondering about just how many characters will make it to the next sequel .
( i was particularly surprised with the untimely demise of one in particular , whose casting for the next installment of the series would 've seemed obvious . )
but hey , as rose mcgowan 's character said in the first film : " no , please do n't kill me , mr .
ghostface
-- i want to be in the sequel !
" look what that got her .
P

truman ( " true - man " ) burbank is the perfect name for jim carrey 's character in this film .
president truman was an unassuming man who became known worldwide , in spite of ( or was it because of ) his stature .
" truman " also recalls an era of plenty following a grim war , an era when planned communities built by government scientists promised an idyllic life for americans .
and burbank , california , brings to mind the tonight show and the home of nbc .
if hollywood is the center of the film world , burbank is , or was ,
the center of tv 's world , the world where our protagonist lives .
combine all these names and concepts into " truman burbank ,
" and you get something that well describes him and his artificial world .
truman leads the perfect life .
his town , his car , and his wife are picture perfect .
his idea of reality comes under attack one day when a studio light falls from the sky .
the radio explains that an overflying airplane started coming apart .
..
but then why would an airplane be carrying a studio light ?
the next day during the drive to work , the radio jams and he starts picking up a voice that exactly describes his movements .
he is so distracted that he nearly hits a pedestrian .
when the radio comes back to normal , the announcer warns listeners to drive carefully .
his suspicion aroused , he wanders around the town square looking for other oddities .
the world appears to be functioning properly until he enters an office building and tries to take the elevator .
the elevator doors open up on a small lounge with people on coffee breaks .
a grip sees truman him and quickly moves a paneled door , made to look like the back of an elevator , into place .
two security guards grab him and throw him out .
truman is really suspicious now .
it gets even worse the next day when his wife , a nurse , describes an elevator accident in the building where he saw the lounge .
"
it 's best not to think about it , " she says , trying vainly to change truman 's memory .
truman becomes determined to see who or what is behind this apparently elaborate hoax at his expense .
at
every turn he is stopped by an amazing coincidence that just happens to keep him in his own little town .
his last hope is to quell his fear of the ocean and sail to the edge of the world .
you know by now that truman 's life is the subject of a television program .
his actions are " real " but everything else is carefully scripted , from the death of his father to the choice of his wife .
truman is determined to find out what the big hoax is .
meanwhile , christof , the all - seeing creator of truman 's world does his best to keep him unaware and happy .
it 's sort of like westworld told from the robots ' point of view , or jurassic park from the dinosaurs ' point of view .
we root for the captive of the cage - world .
our protagonist is counting on " chaos theory " to help him escape his elaborate trap .
the story , written by andrew niccol ( writer / director of gattaca ) , introduces some interesting questions , such as the ethics of subjecting a person to this type of life , or the psychological impact of learning that your entire life has all been fake .
although these questions came to mind , i do n't think the film itself asked them .
it certainly did n't address them or try to answer them .
i was particularly disappointed that the film did n't deal more with the trauma of learning one 's life
is a tv show .
carrey 's performance at the end showed a smidgen of truman 's pain , but i almost felt that he got over it too easily for the sake of the film 's pacing .
earlier in the movie i found myself wondering if it would be better for truman to find out the truth or whether i should root for him to be well .
the two seemed exclusive of one another , but weir and niccol did n't see it that way .
perhaps it 's not fair to criticize a movie for what it is n't , but it seems like there were some missed opportunities here .
but on its own terms , the movie is well made .
sight , sound and pacing are all handled competently .
much of the first part of the movie is the truman show .
the scenes are all apparently shot from hidden cameras , with snoots and obstructions covering the corners of the screen .
one hidden camera is apparently in his car radio , the green led numbers obscuring the lower part of the screen .
the music is well - chosen and scored .
the film opens with what sounds like family drama theme music , when truman 's world is still beautiful and perfect .
when the movie ends , the score sounds more like a frantic , driven , tangerine dream opus , while still keeping the same timbre .
philip glass ' epic music ( from powaqqatsi ) permeates truman 's scenes of suspicion and awakening .
( glass has a small cameo as a keyboardist for the show . )
and the pacing of the story was brisk .
there was no unnecessarily long setup explaining the concept behind the truman show , just a few quick title cards , a few interviews , and then right into the show , and the movie .
one of the first scenes is of the studio light falling ; there was no token scene of truman 's idyllic life before it falls apart , because it was n't necessary , we pick up the story at the first sign of trouble , and no sooner .
there 's also no point in the movie where the plot slows down .
it 's a quick , straight shot to the movie 's end .
in terms of overall quality , i would compare the truman show to niccol 's gattaca .
both films are well made with interesting stories set in interesting worlds .
but neither film really felt like it capitalized on all the great ideas ; neither film " clicked " and became an instant classic .
nevertheless , i look forward to niccol 's next film , whatever it may be .
P