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

tomb raider .
fun ?
exciting ?
challenging ?
given the unprecedented popularity ( especially among teenage boys ) of the video game that sports an uber - buff , pistol packin ' babe who raids , well .
. .
tombs , you have to believe it 's these three things and more !
"
lara croft : tomb raider , " the big screen variant of said video game , which features a pumped - up angelina jolie ( the oscar ? winner for " girl , interrupted " no less ) in the title role is , however , none of these things .
it is n't fun , it is n't exciting , and the only challenge is seeing how long you can stay in your seat
( i suffered through to the bitter , bitter end ; the wife opted for barnes & noble at the 45-minute mark ) .
directed by simon west with the same subtlety he brought to " con air , " " tomb raider " is an empty - headed , big budget bore .
the story borrows unintelligently from that mother of all turkeys " hudson hawk " ( the same hokum about planetary alignments and sacred stones that , when brought together , well . . . who the heck cares ? ) and it makes " super mario bros .
"
( bob hoskins ' ill - advised career move ) look like " rocco and his brothers " ( that classic of italian neo - realism ) .
i 'll go out on a limb here and say i suspect there 's actually more character development in the video game than the movie proper .
this is where the jolie defenders / video game nuts jump in and say this movie is n't about character development
it 's about kicking serious butt ( or bum , since ms .
croft hails from england 's green and pleasant ) .
with lips , breasts , and biceps all inflated to the max , lara croft is all about posturing , and jolie has a hard time simply standing still without trying to look tough .
ok , let 's forget challenging .
should n't " tomb raider " be , at the very least , fun and exciting ?
should n't our butt - kicking heroine also encompass the sophistication of , say , james bond with the wit of indiana jones ?
there 's no humor to be found anywhere in " tomb raider , " even though it tries hard from time to time .
even " the mummy returns " did n't take itself too seriously .
the villain here is noticeably lacking , the special effects are ridiculously overblown and unnecessarily complicated , and the script is non - existent .
to liven things up ( perhaps ) , jolie 's live father jon voight puts in a few minutes as lara 's dead father lord croft ; talk about a stretch .
one thing i had n't expected from the film is that jolie affects a slightly better english accent than her pa ( although i suspect that thin - looking moustache he 's forced to wear gets in the way some ) .
unsuccessful ?
not entirely .
if anything , " lara croft : tomb raider " makes you want to check out the video game itself to figure out exactly what all the fuss was about .
N

there 's more to a quilt than fabric and thread -- each patchwork design has its own unique story ( or stories ) to tell .
in how to make an american quilt , the first hollywood release from australian director jocelyn moorhouse ( proof ) , we come to understand how the tales of the seven makers imbue their creation with passion and vitality .
all the sorrows , joys , longings , sufferings , and loves of these women are sewn into their quilt and , as their bittersweet memories are given expression , one young woman applies these lessons of the past to her own uncertain future .
motion pictures are filled with male bonding rituals ; how to make an american quilt presents a distinctly feminine alternative .
the " quilting bee " consists of seven members : sisters gladys ( ann bancroft ) and hy ( ellen burstyn ) ; sophia ( lois smith ) , a woman known for frightening children ; emma ( jean simmons ) , the timid wife of a perpetually unfaithful man ; constance ( kate nelligan ) , who has been having an affair with emma 's husband ; anna ( maya angelou ) , the leader of the group ; and marianna ( alfre woodard ) , anna 's daughter .
the project they 're busy with is the wedding quilt for hy 's granddaughter , finn ( winona ryder ) , who has just become engaged .
she 's spending the summer with hy and gladys , and away from her fiance , to decide whether a lifelong commitment is really what she wants , and whether it 's better to marry a friend or a lover .
one of the greatest pleasures of how to make an american quilt comes from watching an array of fine performances by an impressive ensemble cast .
from winona ryder , ann bancroft , ellen burstyn , and maya angelou to minor players like rip torn , claire danes , and kate capshaw , this film is overflowing with realized talent .
the performances are good enough , in fact , to cover up many of the script 's weaknesses .
how to make an american quilt is basically an unremarkable , if affecting , tale of love across the generations -- a sort of truncated american version of the joy luck club , with a dash of fried green tomatoes added .
there are probably too many characters .
so , instead of really getting to know a few of them , we are presented with quick glimpses into a single defining event in each of their lives .
we learn about the root of the smoldering resentment between gladys and hy , and are told the reasons why emma stays with her husband and sophia is so irascible .
there are other episodes as well : the love of anna 's life , marianna 's soul mate , and a look at the reasons why constance entered into an affair with her friend 's husband .
the sum total of these tales is meant to provide the framework for finn 's story : whether to go forward with her marriage or dally with a hunky stranger .
there is no emotional epiphany in how to make an american quilt .
the stories are all well - told , but it 's difficult to really connect with the characters -- their moments pass so quickly .
while we certainly feel something for each of the eight principals , our emotional investment is tenuous .
there is n't enough depth to pull the viewer in all the way , and many of the personalities and relationships feel half- formed , like a quilt with patches missing .
to put it bluntly , while i enjoyed watching this film , it did n't " do much " for me .
on the whole , how to make an american quilt is a nicely - understated drama that has a lot to say about love , passion , and monogamy in relationships .
finn 's segment is by far the most compelling , because she 's the focal point : her actions are shaped by everyone else 's experiences .
the other patches of this american quilt are successful only to varying degrees .
if there 's a disappointment here , it 's that the script does n't have more resonance , but the privilege of seeing such a fine cast in top form allows a viewer to enjoy this picture even if the story is somewhat conventional .
P

there 's only one presidential election every four years , but it seems like every few months we get another presidential conspiracy movie painted as _ the _ thriller of the year .
in 1997 , we 've had absolute power , air force one , shadow conspiracy and murder at 1600 .
this one is about as lame duck as old gerald ford , trying to bring us a complex plot of cover - up and intrigue but copping out over and over again with rehashes of action flick standbys .
here 's what happens this time .
it 's night at the white house .
a secretary is having sex with some unidentified guy with a cute butt .
the next day she 's dead and hotshot detective wesley snipes is called in .
how do we know he 's a hotshot ?
we 've seen the traditional action flick opener -- the clever hostage negotiation scene .
it 's not so clever
this time , consisting of snipes disarming a suicidal ex - government employee holding a gun to his head in the middle of the street .
snipes is off to the white house , where he finds the secret service head ( the shiny bald head of daniel benzali ) wo n't cooperate with him at all .
in fact , if not for the intervention of national security adviser alan alda , snipes would n't have been allowed in the white house at all .
alda helps snipes out further , assigning a sexy secret service agent ( diane lane ) to act as his liaison .
.. a very dangerous liaison .
well , not really , i just wanted to say that .
almost immediately , a suspect is found , an eccentric night janitor seen flirting with the deceased on one of the security videos .
snipes does n't buy it , and launches into an independent investigation of his own , one that reveals planted evidence and romantic involvement by the president 's son .
snipes ' partner , an always- wisecracking dennis miller , calls him up every once in awhile with more news and lane , who at first does n't believe snipes , eventually and predictably comes around , and risks her ass to break into social security storage and break out some classified information .
for the first hour or so , murder at 1600 looks like it could be going somewhere interesting .
sure , we have to sit through the lame opening sequence and plenty more lame scenes after that , but the whole murder in the white house thing makes for an interesting premise that is never quite delivered upon .
snipes and lane do n't make for a bad action team , but with nothing to work with , they 're just cogs in the bad movie machine .
dennis miller might as well not even be in the movie ; they waste his talents more in murder at 1600 than they did in bordello of blood , and that 's saying a lot .
when you get to the last half - hour , the movie has descended metaphorically and literally into a wet sewer , busting out the old break - into - the - building underground climax .
and when they finally reveal who killed the woman and why , you 'll wish you never sat through this movie at all .
the " 1600 " in the movie 's title does n't represent an address , it represents the number of satisfied customers worldwide .
serving the world for nearly 1/25th of a century !
N