In this task, you are given product reviews about dvds. The goal is to classify the review as "POS" if the overall sentiment of the review is positive(the reviewer is satisfied) or as "NEG" if the overall sentiment of the review is negative(the reviewer is not satisfied).

Q: A timeless masterpiece on universal themes . Imagine you found out you were going to die in a few months. What would you do? What would you decide mattered to you? What would you think you had accomplished? What would you consider left unaccomplished? What would you want your legacy to be?    Those are the questions facing the centeral character in Akira Kurosawa's Ikiru (meaning "To live"). The brilliant actor Takashi Shimura plays the role of Kanji Watanabe, a midlevel bureaucrat who has spent his entire career doing little more than protecting his own job by looking busy while actually accomplishing little. One day this man learns he has terminal cancer and will soon die. This revelation makes him start reviewing his life, and he concludes he has done nothing worthwhile. He tries to "live it up" with newfound friends and loose women, but this does not fulfill him. He cannot bring himself to tell his own son and daughter-in-law about his fate; caught up in their own petty problems, they seem to have little time for the old man. Eventually he meet a kind of kindred spirit, another worker at the bureaucracy who is quitting her job because she too feels she is doing nothing useful. But even she cannot help this poor man who needs love, fulfillment, a sense of purpose. And so Watanabe finds his own reason to go on through his final days, a reason centered around doing genuine good, regardless of the chance of reward. After he dies the glory all goes to lesser bureaucrats who, while previously fighting him every step of the way, now bask in the spotlight and claim the glory, paying him much lip service while denying him true honor.    Normally I don't give so detailed a plot description, but I've done so here for two reasons: 1) few people, particularly in America, have seen or even heard of this movie, and 2) I want to point out how universal the themes are, how this movie could easily be remade today in any other country with any other culture and any other cast. While watching Ikiru I kept thinking a good modern title might be, "The More Things Change The More They Stay The Same." Like so many Kurosawa films, this movie, though black and white and old, feels completely contemporary in its concerns and its content. While much has been made of Kurosawa's concern with the Japanese conflict between collective and individual, the issues in Ikiru resonates with any culture, not just Japan's. These bureacrats sound like the bureaucrats with which we all are familiar. This is a very deep film, filled with themes of existentialism that movies rarely tackle. It asks the biggest questions that can be asked of a life. At the same time, it never feels pretentious or preachy.    The story is complex, not in terms of plot twists, but in terms of its "inner life." Yet with a running time of two hours and 23 minutes, Ikiru moves very quickly, feeling faster than a typical 90-minute Hollywood film. This is probably because there is lots of ground to cover, and also because of the effortless acting. Takashi Shimura's performance as Watanabe is one of the greatest of cinema. Though Shimura is not widely known in the west, he was one of Japan's major actors of the 1950s and 60s, and Kurosawa worked with him often. See him in Kurosawa's Seven Samuri, made just two years after this film, for a completely different performance, one of swagger and bravado.     Other cast members are also outstanding, especially Miki Odagiri as a young female coworker. She too feels straitjacketed by her job as a government paper-pusher, but she is young and not tied down by responsibility and so she leaves. On a sort of date with Watanabe she confides that she has humorous names for everyone in the department based on how they behave, and that his is "The Mummy." Rather than be offended, he agrees with her and this insight helps to shape his vision of himself and what he must do to be redeemed.    It's hard to believe the same director who made such beautifully-composed samurai films also could direct contemporary dramas that look as effortless as this. Yet the film, or the third act of it, also reminded me of a very different motion picture--Citizen Kane, believe it or not. While stylistically the two masterpieces have little in common, both deal with a man, recently dead, who is being pieced together by those who knew him partially. They try to make sense of his actions without ever getting the full picture, while we, as the omniscent audience, do. They misunderstand his actions, and ascribe many to selfishness when they were actually exactly the opposite. (Often with Kane the reverse is true.) The only difference is while Watanabe is fundamentally a sympathetic character, Kane is not. Also, Kurosawa manages to tell his story without flashy technique or set pieces.    Ikiru also strangely foreshadows the life of a real Japanese hero of the second part of the 20th century, Yutaka Katayama (or "Mr. K," as he was called by many). Katayama was the head of Nissan Motor's West Coast division in North America in the 1960s and 70s. He was brought to the task when Nissan was a piddly carmaker of no consequence, especially in North America, which was then ruled by big, powerful Ford and GM cars. Though Katayama was not motivated by the thought of his impending death, he was hard-working and wanted to succeed in America, which he did through steady, unflagging determination. But he also went against the grain of Japanese business protocol, and encountered the wrath of his superiors in Tokyo. Ironically, the more successful he became, the more he was resented. (His far less aggressive and successful counterpart on the east coast was more highly regarded by the Japanese bosses.) After establishing Nissan as a major player in America, Katayama was unceremoniously retired as superiors moved in and took credit for his work. He died in obscurity, but today Mr. K is a revered figure at Nissan, and was even used in an advertising campaign several years ago. Executives now dislocate their jaws praising him. It all sounds too familiar.    The second DVD has two features, a 90 minute documentary from Kurosawa's own production company about his working methods, wherein he discusses everything from writing scripts to editing the final product; and a 40-minute feature about making Ikiru, with cast and crew interviews.  Both docs are excellent and you will watch Ikiru with more intelligence after you see them.  There's also the film's trailer and a commentary track which I confess I haven't had time to listen to.  It's by Stephen Prince, author of The Warrior's Camera: The Cinema of Akira Kurosawa.    Criterion once again is the standard to which all DVD makers should be aspiring. The print, while scratched and battered a bit with age, is as good as we're likely to see. It's unfortunate that for many years Kurosawa's work was not better taken care of. Like Nissan's Mr. K, he was without honor in his own country, because he was considered "too Western" in his outlook. Like Mr. K, his name now evokes nothing but praise in his homeland. Fortunately, the work of this "Mr. K" is finally being preserved. Ikiru is a film you should investigate even if you've never seen a Japanese movie before, even if you've never heard of Akira Kurosawa, even if you "hate" foreign or black and white films, even if you think you have no interest in the subject. Because that subject is in fact very modern and universal, and you will quickly be swept away by the relevance of the story. Ikiru is the very dictionary definition of the term "timeless classic.

A: POS
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Q: A classic tale of adventure, true love, and REVENGE! . When it comes to the great classics of anime history, there are a few that stand out. Anime like Gundam and Macross, the genre known as Mecha. These shows are known for their drama, romance, intrigue, beautiful animation, classic musical scores, and giant humanoid robots who's pilots fight heroically against a seemingly unstoppable force of evil. Shoji Kawamori's classic Macross is really required viewing for anyone who enjoys Mecha sagas, delivering all the required elements in huge way. Shoji Kawamori is a genius, whose incredible robot designs have been used in many anime classics. Why do I mention this? Because in addition to Macross he created Escaflowne...     What is Escaflowne? It is quite frankly, the greatest television show I have ever seen in my life. It is the classic story of the hero with a thousand faces told from the perspective of the goddess/protector. It is a science-fiction fantasy epic set in a world that's a cross between Medieval Europe and the Asian/Middle Eastern regions. It is a story of an ordinary girl named Hitomi who travels to another world and finds herself its possible savior, her destiny intertwined with its heros. It is the story of small warring kingdoms that must unite in order to stop an evil Empire seemingly bent on nothing less than world conquest and destruction. It is the tale of a bold and chivalrous knight, a young king bent on revenge for the destruction of his kingdom, a cute cat-girl, princesses, merchants, villains with noble causes and villains who are monsters. And of course, the giant stone Mecha that could save the world...or perhaps destroy it...     If there exists such a thing in this universe as a perfectly balanced show, THIS is it. There is character development (like the perfect knight who has a hidden past, or the long-lost brother who works for the enemy but desperately wants to save his brother), an incredible plot (the lost people of Atlantis, an engine which can alter fate, and an evil emperor whos ultimate goal is to create a world-wide utopia of perfect happiness), super-cool technology (like the coolest Mecha I have ever seen ANYWHERE, the Guymelefs), heart-warming (or is it heart-wrenching?) romance (complete with love triangles that will keep you guessing), action sequences to die for (giant stone mechs fighting with broadswords!!! Invisible giant robots with liquid-metal tentacle weapons! Dragons!!!), and characters that are very deep indeed (Hitomi goes through an enormous transformation emotionally through the course of the story).     Although many people prefer Japanese to English in their anime, this show features one of the finest dubs in any anime you will ever watch, with great performances all-around. The standout though, is probably the voice of Folken [played to perfection by Paul Dobson] (the way he said some of the lines left me awestruck, and one scene had me ready to cry). The animation and art is also quite glorious, featuring a gorgeous watercolor style slightly reminiscent of Gundam Wing, but with better use of color and FAR more complex and beautiful backgrounds. I must say that the soundtrack of Escaflowne is one of the finest soundtracks to anything ever crafted. I currently have 3 CDs of the music (and I plan to buy the others one day), and I listen to it A LOT. Yoko Kanno's score for this anime could best be likened to some of John William's best (as it has hints of John Williams' influence through the use of horns to denote action and strings to show emotion, as well as choral chants for key moments). Take the piece "Dance of Curse" for instance. It reminds one a lot of "Duel of the Fates", but it came out first, and personally I think it's better. Played only twice during the entire show, it's one of the most thrilling pieces of music ever crafted. And I havne't even mentioned the awesome opening song or the INCREDIBLE theme that ends the last episode. In the end, Escaflowne completely transcends its genre to become a true classic. It's directed as well (or better) than the best movies of Hollywood history (using dramatic angles and the like), and doubtless fans will be eager to return to its world again and again. One of the few negative points I can think of for this series are that the main character and the cat-girl Merle can be a little annoying at times (especially toward the beginning of the series). But by the end of the series, I don't think there was a single character that I didn't love. I also really hate the song that plays at the end of every episode "mystic eyes". It doesn't go with the whole theme of the series, and after a few listens it really started to grate on my ears.     Believe it or not, for all its glorious ideas and execution, this show also has NO FILLER! Originally, it was to be a 36 episode show like Macross. So when it was cut down to 26 episodes, the filler had to go or there would be no time for the huge story that's told. And ultimately, it's the story that matters most. As I watched this show for the first time I found myself addicted to its world, in love with its characters, awestruck with it's beauty, and enraptured with its music. The ideas though, were what made me decide this is the greatest TV show I have ever seen. In this show you will see fate altered, armies nuked, people who are half animal, creatures that can shape-shift, and even an incredible sequence where Hitomi travels into the mind of a character to stop his journey into death and bring him back to the mortal realm. When I had finished Escaflowne my mind was full of questions. What if people and events were attracted to each other and fate was something you could measure and manipulate? Does the pursuit of a perfect world justify any means? And what of the Escaflowne Guymelef? Why was it built? Just how powerful could it ultimately become? To this day I am fascinated by the transformation that Van goes through, and I keep asking myself if the Escalfowne itself was a living thing capable of turning its master to evil. Maybe someday I'll know. Until then I'll have to satisfy myself with...Escaflowne.

A: POS
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Q: One of worst movies ever made . It is not giving way the ending of this movie to say that the writer seems to have forgeting the plot of movie half way through and started writing a differant one.   Personally I can not blame him. Throw in some un funny anti and anti sementic jokes, (note I am the most un pc person in world so if I am put off it says somthing)  and an apperance by larry king, and and you have everything wrong with american movie making.     Please note- Jon Lovitts character in the critic word have great time with this high budget turke

A:
NEG
****
