Snakes on a Plane ***
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Julianna Margulies, Nathan Phillips, Rachel Blanchard, Flex Alexander, Kenan Thompson, Sunny Mabrey
Director: David R. Ellis
Running Length: 1:40
MPAA Classification: R

FBI agent Neville Flynn (Jackson) is accompanying Sean Jones (Phillips) a Federal witness to a mob murder, from Honolulu to Los Angeles. It seems like an easy task, and soon they are on the plane. But, they did not consider that the mobster would smuggle thousands of poisonous snakes aboard, and rig their container to open up at 30,000 feet. Soon, the snakes are slithering, and the passengers are dying, and it is up to Flynn to save the day, if that is at all possible.

Ridiculous and fun is the best way to describe “Snakes on a Plane”. Sure, they try to explain how and why the snakes are on the plane, but it seems overly complicated and unbelieveable. The movie does deliver what it promises though, and soon those snakes are all over the place, biting people, well, all over the place. Samuel L. Jackson is the glue that holds this all together, and without him, this movie would have no life beyond the direct-to-DVD shelves at the rental store. He is in full Samuel L. Jackson mode, and gets all the good lines. No, this movie is not a masterpiece, but it is very entertaining, and sometimes that is all you can ask for. If it sounds interesting to you or you like Samuel L. Jackson, you will probably like this film. Check your brain at the door, and sit back for a wild ride.

World Trade Center ***1/2
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Michael Peña, Jay Hernandez, Armando Riesco, Maria Bello, Maggie Gyllenhaal
Director: Oliver Stone
Running Length: 2:08
MPAA Classification: PG-13

"World Trade Center” is the true story of police officers John McLoughlin (Cage) and Will Jimeno (Peña), who were trapped on the concourse between the North and South Towers, beneath the rubble when the Towers came down. The movie follows them from early morning on 9/11/2001 to their rescue. While trapped, they must rely on each other to survive long enough to be found. A friendship forms in the most awful of places, and neither would have probably survived if it wasn’t for the other. It is also the story of their wives, Donna (Bello) and Allison (Gyllenhaal), and how they had to deal with not knowing what had happened to their husbands.

“World Trade Center” is almost as good as “United 93”, the other 9/11 movie from this year. It has been made tastefully, and shows heroism in a terrible time of national crisis. Cage and Peña do good jobs as the two leads, spending most of their time under rubble where only there faces are shown. They make these people real. Oliver Stone’s direction is good, and he makes the story very compelling. This, along with “United 93” is one of the must see movies of the year. I highly recommend it.

The Night Listener **1/2
Cast: Robin Williams, Toni Collette, Bobby Cannavale, Joe Morton, Rory Culkin, Sandra Oh
Director: Patrick Stettner
Running Length: 1:28
MPAA Classification: R

Radio talk show host Gabriel Noone (Williams) reads an unpublished manuscript by 14-year old Pete Logand (Culkin), and begins a friendship by telephone with the boy. Pete was abused as a child, contracted AIDS, and is dying. Donna (Collette), his foster mom takes care of him all by herself in Wisconsin to avoid Pete’s real parents. Gabriel himself is going through some tough times. His partner Jess (Cannavale) has just broken up with him. Gabriel and Pete for a close friendship, but one day, after hearing a voice message left my Pete and Donna, Jess wonders aloud why the two sound the same. Gabriel begins to wonder if he is the victim of a prank, and sets off to Wisconsin to investigate.

“The Night Listener” is an interesting but slow-moving film. Unfortunately, its slowness drags it down pretty bad. Perhaps a better director could have ratcheted up the tension a little more, and made the movie a little less “talky”. Williams and Collette do good jobs in their respective roles. For some reason, the very funny Williams does better in serious roles. This is no exception. This movie is not for everyone, but does have an interesting story to it. If you are not put off by slower moving films, this one might be for you.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby ***
Cast: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Leslie Bibb, Amy Adams, Michael Clarke Duncan, Sacha Baron Cohen, Greg Germann, Gary Cole
Director: Adam McKay
Running Length: 1:44
MPAA Classification: PG-13

Ricky Bobby (Ferrell) was always wanted to go fast. That suits him well as a NASCAR driver. He is the #1 driver, with a little help from his best friend Cal Naughten Jr. (Reilly). Everything is going well for Ricky, until Frenchman Jean Girard (Cohen) enters his life. He is everything Ricky is not, and his alternative lifestyle is at odds with everything Ricky believes in. When a race goes bad, Ricky finds himself on the bottom looking up, and he must decide whether to try for a comeback or move on.

“Talladega Nights” is your typical Will Ferrell movie. Take that as you will. Ferrell has just the right amount of goofball charm to make Ricky a likeable character. The always excellent Reilly is great as Cal, and Cohen makes Girard hilarious. There are lots of NASCAR in-jokes, and that will appeal to that section of the audience. Overall, “Talladega Nights” is not a huge step forward for Ferrell, but it is a step in the right direction. His star is getting bigger and bigger with each movie, and he is quickly becoming the new Jim Carrey.

Monster House ***1/2
Cast (voices): Mitchel Musso, Sam Lerner, Spencer Locke, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Steve Buscemi
Director: Gil Kenan
Running Length: 1:25
MPAA Classification: PG

Across the street from DJ’s (Musso) house is a possessed house. It has a tendence to “eat” people and things that venture on to the property. No one believes DJ, except his friends Chowder (Lerner) and Jenny (Locke). When an accident befalls Mr. Nebbercracker (Buscemi), the owner of the house, the house seems to become even more alive. The kids take it upon themselves to rid the neighborhood of the house.

“Monster House” is surprisingly good. It lacks the look of a Pixar film, but has the quality of a Pixar story. The voice talents are all top notch, with the kids being played by relative newcomers and the adults being played by voices you will recognize. The story lends itself well to computer animation, and the monster house looks great as the film progresses to its climax. The PG rating is warranted though, and smaller kids may find some images too frightening. I highly recommend “Monster House.”

Miami Vice ***
Cast: Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx, Gong Li, Luis Tosar, Naomie Harris, John Ortiz, Barry Shabaka Henley, Ciaran Hinds
Director: Michael Mann
Running Length: 2:10
MPAA Classification: R

A sting gone bad, resulting in many deaths leads to Miami cops Sonny Crockett (Farrell) and Rico Tubbs (Foxx) going undercover to find the leak in the FBI. Under the guise of transportation experts, they meet up with drug smuggler Jose Yero (Ortiz) and his associate Isabella (Li). Crockett and Tubbs want to take over as Yero’s distributors, handling all their shipments to the United States. Yero is suspicious, but takes them on, with Isabella as the go-between.

“Miami Vice” is a movie that probably did not need to be made, but unlike other TV shows that have been made into movies, “Miami Vice” has a quality director that was involved with the original material as a producer. That is what brings the film to the next level. Mann has taken the idea from the TV show and transformed it into a grittier, more realistic version of itself. Indeed, aside from the character names, there is little similarities to the TV show. Farrell and Foxx are good as Crockett and Tubbs, two big sets of shoes to fill. The story is tight and at times very violent. The look is dark, and that suits the film just fine – atmosphere is almost a character itself. I could even see this film spawning a sequel or two. “Miami Vice” is not for everyone, but it is an above average cop film that is worth checking out.

Lady in the Water **
Cast: Paul Giamatti, Bryce Dallas Howard, Bob Balaban, Jeffrey Wright, Sarita Choudhury, Freddy Rodriguez, Bill Irwin, Jared Harris, M. Night Shyamalan
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Running Length: 1:52
MPAA Classification: PG-13

Cleveland Heep (Giamatti) is a superintendent in an apartment complex. He takes pride in his work, and seems to know everyone pretty well. One night, he discovers a stranger swimming in the apartment’s pool. Her name is Story (Howard), and she is a narf. It seems that she has come from the Blue World to provide enlightenment to one man before returning home. Making things difficult is the Scrunt, a grass-covered wolf creature that wants to stop her. According to an Asian fairy tale, there are others who will help her, and Cleveland attempts to locate them in the apartment complex. But, when the Scrunt attacks, it may be too late, and Story might not accomplish her task.

“Lady in the Water” was a bit of a disappointment for me. I found it to be a bit on the silly side, with its narfs, scrunts, and even tartutics. It tries to have a point, but it is somewhat lost amonst the goofiness of the story. Paul Giamatti does the best he can with what he is given, creating a very real character that is likeable. Bryce Dallas Howard’s Story is unremarkable, and even somewhat boring. M. Night Shyamalan does a decent job as an actor, having cast himself in a bigger role in this movie. In the end, it does not quite work for me. Shyamalan has misstepped here, making perhaps his weakest film to date. On the heels of “The Village”, that is not a good thing. He has some serious rebuilding to do with his next film.