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

it is with hesitance that i call " apocalypse now " a masterpiece .
certainly , it had the pedigree to be one of the greatest films ever made , with a director known for producing masterpieces with ease , and some of the finest actors of the 1970 's .
the plot , an adaptation of joseph conrad 's " heart of darkness " , was set in vietnam , and the timing of the film was supposed to be brilliant , coming on the heels of the end of the war .
" apocalypse " certainly has its moments , some of which are the finest in film history .
the plot is fairly simple .
captain willard ( sheen ) , is a troubled soldier who came back to hanoi for a 2nd tour of duty .
his mission is simple : take a boat up to cambodian territory , and destroy the command of renegade colonel kurtz ( brando ) " with extreme prejudice " .
along the way , willard runs into a series of adventures , including one with lt .
col .
kilgore ( duvall ) , and a strange encounter with playboy bunnies .
willard ' s four person crew finally make it to kurtz ' compound , where he discovers kurtz has set himself up as a god among the natives .
willard 's experiences with kurtz take up the last half - hour , with a confrontation and eventual ending .
the movie is visually breathtaking .
the battle scenes are exquisitely done , and the score is brilliant , setting a murky mood of darkness that is first - rate .
the collage of disturbing images that coppola presents is at times both astonishing and sickening .
the vast amount of detail poured into every war scene is stunning , and there are many episodes that are deeply powerful which resonate through the entire movie .
the journey to kurtz ' camp is quite a ride , with psychosis setting in on almost every character .
the most interesting one is kilgore , the lt .
col .
who cares more about the surf than about the mission .
it is at times revolting , psychotic , and incredible , and
it is one hell of a movie .
the scenes are bold , inventive , and powerful , and the acting is stunning , especially be sheen , duvall , and fishburne .
the narration is exquisite , as is the mystery of kurtz .
coppola sets about a hallucinatory ride through vietnam , kind of like " saving private ryan " on lsd .
the film is jarring in its implications , and psychotic in its execution .
the problems come when the film slows down .
one of the major scenes in the film , where the boat arrives at the final army checkpoint before they start their search for kurtz , is a colossal mess .
the dialogue is confusing , the lighting is atrocious , and the scene drags on for 10 terrible minutes of film .
the true problems happen after the crew does come into the kurtz compound .
the film slows down to a drag .
sheen seems forever captured by a madman , played by brando is a lazy performance that is not deserving of the accolades it received .
brando is in the film for no more than 15 minutes , but is bathed in shadows the entire time , making the last half hour of the film visually pathetic .
the scenes are poorly done , the dialogue is muffled , and the whole mess is utterly confusing beyond all belief .
sheen seems to adore this man , but why the viewers are never told .
the entire journey is supposed to be a prelude for a stunning entrance of this god - like kurtz , but the scenes fall way short of expectations .
granted , it has its moments , which are brutally horrific , but the general feeling is one of confusion .
brando mumbles his lines in a incoherent stir , and my feeling was that this could never be a great man , this could never be a man who inspires hundreds to follow him , so why do they do it ?
there are moments of brilliance , but the visual confusion dilutes the power of the scene .
there are too many questions left unanswered with the character of kurtz to have a satisfying ending .
the finest scene at the end is sheen 's escape , and his entrace into the temple .
his rise out of the water , with the smoke coming off of his slicked head , is a brilliant 30 seconds of film .
yet , you can not shake the feeling that there is so much more this film could have done .
the psychotic ride is unforgettable at times , and indeed the film on the whole is very good .
it is a stunningly flawed expression of film , for it addresses major issues , such as man 's mental stamina during bouts of war .
but one still can not shake the feeling that this film could have so much more powerful , had the character of kurtz been more explored , and had sheen truly succumbed to the fate that the viewer thought he was destined for .
there is too much good material in here not to be called a masterpiece , but it could have been so much more rewarding .
P

susan granger 's review of " the musketeer " ( universal pictures ) hollywood launches another assault on classic literature with this $ 50 million adaptation of alexandre dumas 's novel
that 's strong on action
but weak on drama , fusing hong kong martial arts with 17th century swordplay .
the story chronicles the adventures of the dashing d'artagnan ( justin chambers ) as he leaves his village of gascogne , headed for paris , to join king louis xiii 's elite guard , the royal musketeers , and to search for the man who killed his parents 14 years earlier .
this puts him in conflict with the formidable febre ( tim roth ) , vicious henchman for conniving cardinal richelieu ( stephen rea ) .
the traditional musketeer trio - aramis ( nick moran ) , athos ( jan gregor kremp ) and porthos ( steve speirs ) - do n't offer much help
so he turns to the feisty francesca ( mena suvari ) , chambermaid to the queen of france ( catherine deneuve ) .
scripter gene quintano and director - cinematographer peter hyams are primarily interested in the derring - do , as evidenced by choreographer xin - xin xiong 's elaborate - but not original - stunts , including a fast - paced stagecoach chase , a tavern brawl on rolling barrels , high - wire acrobatics with the combatants dangling from ropes , and a ladder - fight sequence . filmed in southern france , the scenery , sets and costumes are spectacular , but the lighting is too dark and editing is filled with choppy , restless mtv'ish cuts .
as the swashbuckling d'artagnan , bland calvin klein model justin chambers buckles where he should be swashing , totally lacking on - screen charisma , not to mention acting skill .
mena suvari , so impressive in " american beauty , " seems like a contemporary interloper in the royal court .
on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , " the musketeer " is a cinematic but shallow 3 .
" all for one and one for all " ?
not this time ' round .
N

the only thing worse than watching a bad movie is realizing that the film had a lot of potential and could 've been effective .
such is the case with _ urban legend _ , the new horror film from first time director jamie blanks .
the idea behind the movie is that the mad slasher of the film muders people according to various urban legends .
examples include the killer in the backseat of the car and person getting calls from inside her house .
the killer wears one of those l .
l .
bean parkas with the hood drawn completely up
, so you ca n't see the face .
i guess halloween masks are out of style for psychos these days .
anyhow , the premise is certainly a nifty one and the opening scene is spooky and atmospheric .
it 's a very good setup that promises more chills to come .
unfortunately , the film never takes off from there .
the movie takes place on a peaceful new england college campus .
like most slasher flicks , this one also centers around a young female main character whose friends are slowly killed off by a knife wielding maniac ( or in this case an axe wielding maniac ) .
i 've always wondered why these killers do n't save themselves a lot of time and trouble and just go after the person they ultimately aim to kill .
after the fine first scene , the movie degenerates into a monotonous series of those annoying you - thought -
it - was - the - killer - but - was - just-
someone - else scares .
these are always accompanied by loud bursts of music .
i guess sudden , sharp music chords are what passes for terror these days .
the actual killer will attack at about every third music blast .
the slasher appears , attacks , the victim is eviscerated , and the tedious cycle appears anew .
false scares should always be used in moderation .
someone needs to tell director blanks that things like this just are n't as scary as they used to be .
this movie commits the biggest sin a horror film can commit -- it 's not frightening . remember the horror movie cliches that were so mercilessly mocked in _
scream _ and _ scream 2 _ ?
this movie still adheres to them .
tons of illogical moments about ; more than i really have the inclination to list .
and i do n't mean illogical in the summer popcorn movie sense .
that type of illogical can be fun .
this film insults your intelligence more times than i care to remember .
the last 20 minutes especially degenerates into such lunacy that you 'll be laughing more than you 'll be screaming .
actually , you wo n't be screaming at all .
at its best , the acting can barely be called " adequate " and the script could 've definitely used a rewrite or two .
the film still manages to have some strong points .
the killings are certainly inventive and plentiful enough to satistfy most gore fans .
there are some intentionally funny moments .
( these were exceeded by the unintentional ones . )
the film is well made from a technical standpoint .
besides the first part , there is also another good scene , a prolonged cat and mouse chase inside a radio station .
if there had only been more sequences like this , that relied on tautness and suspense rather than loud bursts of music , _ urban legend
_ might 've been worth your money .

N

