Cinema: Also showing

Huddersfield Daily Examiner (Huddersfield, England), Jan 14, 2008

P.S. I LOVE YOU (12A) **

Two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank squanders her talents in this tepid romantic comedy based on the best-selling book about a young woman coming to terms with the loss of her husband. Love across the supernatural divide may have endured for Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore, but here, it is dead on arrival.

LUST, CAUTION (18) ****

Ang Lee directs this slow-burning adaptation of Eileen Chang's short story "Se, Jei", set against the Japanese occupation of Shanghai during World War II. A meticulous study of female repression, the film is achingly slow paced, punctuated with graphic sex scenes that leave nothing to the imagination.

I AM LEGEND (15) ***

In this post-apocalyptic thriller about the last survivor of a terrible man-made catastrophe, virologist Robert Neville (Will Smith) lives in the ruins of the Big Apple seeking a cure for the outbreak. For the first hour Smith's natural charisma and likeability holds us spellbound. But once the movie concentrates on the battle between Robert and Alpha Male, it becomes a second rate Resident Evil clone.

BALLS OF FURY (12A) *

Robert Ben Garant serves up more punch-lines that fail to hit their target with this ham-fisted yarn, an underdog story set in the high velocity world of competitive ping-pong (yes, really) with Christopher Walken as the camp villain. Balls Of Fury is this year's turkey, stuffed with flimsy, two-dimensional characters and obvious pratfalls.

THE KITE RUNNER (12A) ****

Shot on location in the western Chinese desert bordering Afghanistan with child non-actors, and predominantly in the Dari language (one of the two main tongues), The Kite Runner is a haunting and deeply moving tale of redemption, which casts a heady spell as it travels back and forth in time, between the streets of Kabul and San Francisco Bay.

ST TRINIAN'S (12A) ***

Girls just wanna have fun in Oliver Parker and Barnaby Thompson's revival of the naughty hockey stick-wielding minxes. St Trinian's is frothy and undemanding fun, interspersed with snappily edited montages set to songs by Shampoo, Sophie Ellis Bextor and Girls Aloud. Stars Rupert Everett and Colin Firth. Susan Sarandon and Timothy Spall.

BEE MOVIE (U) ***

Co-written by Jerry Seinfeld, who also voices the lead character, computer-animated adventure Bee Movie is a fitfully amusing romp that peddles many obviously puns and gags: "A perfect report card - all b's!" Seinfeld brings his dry humour to his role while Renee Zellweger, Matthew Broderick and co offer lively support.

MR MAGORIUM'SWONDER EMPORIUM (U) ****

Written and directed by Zach Helm, Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium unfolds in the form of a storybook narrated by a lonely nine-year-old boy called Eric (Zach Mills). Dustin Hoffman is instantly loveable as the wacky and wildly eccentric impresario and Natalie Portman brings depth to her role.

WE OWN THE NIGHT (15) ***

Director James Gray reunites with charismatic lead stars Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg for this gritty account of betrayal and retribution, set against a backdrop of '80s New York street crime. We Own The Night takes more than an hour to accelerate out of first gear, finally sparking to life during a terrific car chase sequence in the rain.

THE GOLDEN COMPASS (PG) ****

Thirteen-year-old Dakota Blue Richards from Brighton was plucked from obscurity to play the pivotal role of Lyra and she is terrific, holding her own against Nicole Kidman (in scene-stealing form) and a miasma of jaw-dropping special effects. The Golden Compass is an entertaining introduction to Philip Pullman's writing, festooned with dazzling action set pieces.

HITMAN (15) ***

A disappointing big screen version of the top-selling videogame. Director Xavier Gens has recreated the mood of the digital universe. What it lacks is the adrenaline rush that comes from taking control of the enigmatic Agent 47 and interacting with the brutal, bloodthirsty criminal underworld that is his hunting ground.

THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD (15) *****

Brad Pitt stars as the outlaw James in this visually arresting and handsome drama, but it's the intense performance of Casey Affleck as Ford that will literally take your breath away. Gorgeous cinematography and breathtaking production design create some truly unforgettable images.

THE DARJEELING LIMITED (15)

Wes Anderson directs Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman in this bittersweet valentine to brotherhood in the unlikely setting of a train heading across the deserts of Rajasthan. It's an absurdist road movie fuelled by the delightful rapport between the actors.