instruction:
In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
question:
a friend invites you to a movie .
this film would evade the explosions and special effects of standard summer fare , and be grounded in reality .
the plot is as follows : after a terrifying incident , a mother and her independent daughter separate from the father and move away from the city .
they need fresh air to get some perspective , maybe to start over .
romance begins to brew , however , as one of the locals , played by an international superstar in rugged clothing , sparks things up , ( especially at a country - western slow dance ) .
it stars a rising young starlet , helms a good cast , and is directed by one of the better actor - turned - directors in hollywood .
you accept .
you jump at the opportunity to see , what you believe to be ,
_ the horse whisperer _ .
but , poor moviegoer , you have been conned
. alas , you find yourself watching , incredulously , _ hope floats _ .
oh , woe .
your hope has sunk .
why was this movie made ?
why was it released ?
it is a travesty on nearly every level , and has the authority to sink the careers of nearly everyone involved .
at the hands of a better script , the film could have been a gem .
but it is clueless as to what it is about , and only succeeds in transferring same cluelessness to us poor viewers .
_ hope floats _ stars sandra bullock as birdy , who , after discovering her husband has been cheating on her with her best friend ( on national television no less ) , takes her daughter and drives back to her home , helmed by a countryish bumpkin eccentric played by gena rowlands , ( she decorates with stuffed wildlife ) .
birdy 's nephew , travis ( played by _ leave it to beaver _ 's cameron finley ) , is under her custody , and in one of the film 's many failed in - jokes , is always seen wearing a different halloween costume .
what is the point of this ?
does it make any sense ?
is it supposed to be funny ?
the point of the film is to show that the family is eccentric , but i was convinced that the grandma should have been locked up for endangering the mental welfare of a child .
all of this undercuts the plot , of which there is none .
there are only many scenes that are supposed to register emotion .
there 's the scene where birdy , who used to be the prom queen , is humbled by approaching a peer she once mocked , for a job .
there 's the scene where birdy dances with her father , in the hospital for alzheimer 's .
and then there 's the sentimental scenes with justin , played by harry connick jr .
, who is taking a liking to her again , showing her a beautiful pad that he built from scratch .
and during each of these scenes , i was sidetracked by my earlier question .
what sort of eccentric grandmother go through such great pains as to provide a dog costume , a kermit costume , a cowboy costume ( with whip ) , and a full furred barney costume for her grandson to wear during dinner ?
what sort of warped ramifications would this lead for the rest of his life ?
outside of this , there are other sure signs of screenwriters block .
when the daughter stands up to the bully at school .
when birdy almost loses her job .
when the family pulls in a goofy lip - synch to cheer someone up .
when someone dies .
when the daughter cries , ( no , wails ) in exasperation that her father is not coming back .
in a movie like this , you notice the strings being pushed , and you sit there , comatose , hoping it will end . who can survive such a debacle ?
i worry for bullock 's career , which has been running on auto - pilot for the last few years .
she has an attitude , a solid perkiness , and can drive a bus -- but she ca n't handle the emotional scenes , much less hold a southern accent .
harry connick , jr .
is worse -- stick with singing , or get some acting lessons , please !
gena rowlands is the best part of the film .
but she 's such a good actress , that it staggers the mind that she 's weighed down by such lukewarm material here
.
it would be a severe tragedy if the recurring star of john cassavettes ' great films is known for this film .
two notes to forest whittaker : ( 1 ) cut the slow - motion sequences .
there are twelve times where you undercut your own direction by such a failed trick .
have you done so
, you could have shaved off ten - minutes of this almost unbearable debacle .
( 2 ) you 've had to know something was wrong if your cinematographer 's filter makes the candlelight appear like little " x " s .
you 're not a bad director , but you ca n't change a terrible script
.
there 's a recurring scene where birdy , working at the neighborhood fotomat , finds the machine go wrong , and image after destroyed , warped , dark image appear .
think about it .
a succession of destroyed images may have been more entertaining than this movie .
answer:
N

question:
being that it is a foreign language film with no known names with a select number theaters showing it , " shall we dance " wo n't be seen by that many people .
and that 's a shame
- this is a funny , enchanting , and goofy movie full of laughs , surprises , and wonderful dance sequences .
the surprising thing about " shall we dance " is the universal appeal of the story .
a us version is in the works , and it 's no wonder -
it 's not really all that culture specific .
although there is a narrated set - up that adds some extra resonance to the proceedings ( about the view the japanese culture has about ballroom dancing ) , the movie is so rich in character and appeal that this added layer is n't at all necessary to understand or enjoy the film .
the only important unexplained japanese - specific reference that may leave some a bit puzzled is that 1000 yen is roughly $ 10 ( when you see the film - and you should see this film - you 'll know why ) . a middle aged company man realizes that achieving all the goals he set for himself in life ( a house , a child , and good marriage ) still does n't translate into a fulfilled life .
after glimpsing a melancholy beauty looking out from a dance studio window while on the train home from work , sugiyana ( koji yakusho ) decides after some trepidation to take up ballroom dance lessons in order to meet the woman who has stirred something in himself .
after finding the weekly fees for private lessons from the elegant and beautiful mai ( tamiyo kusakari ) too rich for his blood , sugiyama opts for groups lessons simply to be near her .
we then meet the players in this gem of a movie , who all have their own reasons for joining the class .
later on , we meet aoki at the dance studio ( naoto takenaka ) , a co - worker and all out weirdo and one of the laugh riot highlights of the film .
the story , laughs , and touching scenes evolve as the movie goes along .
it 's a pleasure to watch such a wonderful film that is propelled almost solely by the characters and performances .
it 's difficult to explain the charms of the film without revealing too much - the movie abounds with little revelations that subtly shape the characters , and in the end , each one is that much fuller and more understood by the time you leave the theater .
it 's one of those movies that only the french seem to make anymore - no big plot , no special effects , no gunplay , no tragic consequences , no forced examinations of the nature of love , and no insights into the nature of evil .
just a warm , funny , endearing film that will charm the pants off of you .
when was the last time you left a theater feeling all warm and fuzzy inside ?
" shall we dance " will do that to you without any treacly aftertaste .
answer:
P

question:
plot summary : the year is 2024 .
the ozone layer has long since gone and the earth is now protected from radiation by a shield invented by connor mccleod .
the shield , although saving lives , has made the atmosphere hot and humid .
connor is a mortal and a tired old man who has given up hope .
on returning from the opera one night connor is accosted by the leader of a " terrorist " organisation .
they have tried to find out what the company that now runs the shield unit are covering up .
connor is then attacked by two assassins sent by katana from the planet zeist ( like zeit -- get it ? ) .
they fail and connor becomes immortal again by chopping their heads off .
he then brings ramirez back to life in glencoe in scotland .
both ramirez and connor are rebel leaders back on zeist and have been sent to earth as punishment .
connor now has the option to return being the last one but opts to stay with his new found immortality and fight to find out about the company and the shield .
katana meanwhile , fearing connor would return , sets out himself to kill the highlander .
if you have never seen it . being a fan of highlander and mr .
connery , i was in the cinema as soon as i could to see highlander ii :
the quickening .
i wish it had been quicker .
i feel whatever else you can say about a film ( bad script bad music , etc . ) if you sit just plain bored through most of it then nothing much else needs to be said .
the film was short but in my opinion only twelve minutes or so
( the time mr .
connery is on the screen for ) is worth watching .
the plot sounds a little ridiculous but i was willing to give it a chance .
maybe they could pull it off .
instead , i find that the characters have completely changed from those in the first film .
it 's as if they are different people with the same names .
witness connor jumping into bed with the leader of the resistance -- where is the attitude of " who wants to live forever , when love must die " gone to ?
the love sub - plot
* must * have had footage cut out .
the highlander and ramirez both seemed aware of powers they had never mentioned before .
putting our heroes in deadly situations and then having them walk away because of some new power is very annoying .
i still want to know why connor 's coat becomes flame proof when he is immortal !
we are not given enough time on zeist to believe in it , nor are we told why advanced aliens still use swords to kill .
why not dynamite or laser saws or just plain bullets followed by a quick chop to the neck ?
i know the head needs to come off
but you could at least immobilise your opponent with laser rifles first .
to be fair one assassin tried this
but he must be the world 's worst shot .
meanwhile connor develops luke - skywalker - like powers of laser beam deflection .
as for " bad guys , " we see a rebellion on zeist , crushed easier than a grape and then the rest of the plot depends on katana being obsessed with killing mccleod in case he returns to zeist .
two assassins are sent , presumably they are meant to be good at killing but an aged connor kills them both with no problems .
no more assassins are sent .
katana , supposedly a very powerful man goes himself to kill connor .
has he no more assassins ?
has he no better ?
why was the rebellion crushed so easily then ?
michael ironside is totally unconvincing
( bring back the kurgan ) .
he seems like a cartoon character and really is n't that evil , just stupid and violent .
we see the hollywood trick of the chief nasty threatening a child again and killing lots of innocents .
yet he still seems like no threat -- perhaps because he seems too stupid to threaten connor , or maybe because his two best assassins would n't have been amiss with larry , curly and mo .
so much for plot and characters .
the music is atrocious .
it is at best intrusive and at worst annoying . bring back queen .
there was an audible sigh ( of relief ? )
when connor played a queen track in a juke box .
i believe this at least is to be corrected for the american release .
the acting is at best flat , except for mr .
connery .
lambert is uninteresting and when he delivered " there can be only one " this time around it
just made me wish there had only been one -- highlander .
michael ironside is unconvincing
; sorry , michael , i usually like you and everyone else was incredibly forgetable .
so why 2/10 ?
visually the film is interesting at all times .
it has a blade runner feel to it and some of the special effects are quite stunning .
add to this an irrepressible sean connery who smiles throughout the whole film -- or is he smirking to himself ?
his lines and delivery might make the film worthwhile
had it not been so obvious that he can not take the whole thing seriously at all
but hey
--
*
i 'd * have done it for 12 million .
oh , and i agree with a previous reviewer
, she * does * look like sharon stone but i believe it is her first film .
incidentally there is a line producer credited and i hear rumours of highlander iii : the wizard .
answer:
N