This Week's Movie Reviews

CapotePlanning a trip to the flicks? Let Tim Evans fill you in...

Is Capote worth the hype, what's A-list-packed Lucky Number Slevin all about and can The Fog live up to the original horror classic?

CAPOTE

Certificate: 15
Running time: 114m

What's it about? American writer Truman Capote (Philip Seymour Hoffman) heads to Kansas to interview two amoral ne'r do wells on death row for the murder of a farming family.

What's good? Seymour Hoffman's technically flawless portrayal of Capote, from his fey mannerisms to his camp squeak, is hugely impressive and there's terrific support from Catherine Keener as his novelist buddy Harper Lee.

Lucky Number SlevinWhat's bad? It's a grandstanding performance from Hoffman which at times threatens to detract from the story. However, that's a minor quibble about a first-rate movie.

Worth a look? Definitely. Hoffman's evocation of Capote's rapacious appetite for a good story balanced by his genuine empathy with the killers is utterly compelling.

* Click for full skymovies.com CAPOTE review

LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN

Certificate: 18
Running time: 110m

What's it about?  A case of mistaken identity traps luckless Slevin (Josh Hartnett) between rival New York crimelords The Boss (Morgan Freeman) and The Rabbi (Sir Ben "call me Sir" Kingsley).

The FogWhat's good? It's a neatly executed and thoroughly entertaining thriller boasting an A-list cast - Bruce Willis, Lucy Liu, Stanley Tucci - with Hartnett playing to his strengths after such rum outings as Hollywood Homicide.

What's bad? The dumbest thing about it is the feeble pun of the title. While not for everyone, fans of quick-on-its-feet film noir could do a lot worse

Worth a look? Definitely. It's a slick, no-nonsense caper with a terrific cast.

* Click for full skymovies.com LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN review

THE FOG

Certificate: 15
Running time: 99m

What's it about? It's time for the prosperous residents of an Oregon fishing port to make chilling amends for the unspeakable crime committed by their forefathers more than a century before.

What's good? The basic premise of the movie - a remake of John Carpenter's 1979 outing - is a good one with vengeful spirits slipping ashore under the cover of a dense bank of fog.

What's bad? The characters, including A-lister Selma Blair, are a bit on the one-dimensional side and you don't have to be Nostrodamus to solve this particular mist-ery.

Worth a look? Yes. It's hokum...but well-made hokum. The special effects are adequate and there's enough hair-raising moments to make things slightly fearful down the local multiplex.

* Click for full skymovies.com THE FOG review