Airplane movies
For some reason on my flight to Turkey I was compelled to watch not one but two thrillers that take place on an airplane. I'm not sure my seatmates were altogether thrilled.
Flightplan is more-than-decent. Jodie Foster is excellent as a mom on the verge of hysteria having lost her child on a massive new airplane clearly modelled on the double-decker Airbus A380. I can't think of when I've seen Foster in a role coming apart like that. The suspense is remarkable given the oft-voiced point in the movie "how can you lose a child on an airplane?" And there's a twist that only Sept. 11 could give us.
No less surprising was Red Eye, Wes Craven's slow extrication from the horror genre he's so comfortable in. Yes, you can make a compelling movie two-thirds of which takes place between two people sitting in plane seats. It isn't as clean as Flightplan, but it has its moments and Cillian Murphy is perfect as a charming seatmate psychopath. Wes Craven does a good job substituting the latent fear of dying because a madman killed you in your dreams with the post-9/11 fear that you never quite know who you are sitting next to on an airplane.
Of course none of this matters. The countdown is on for Snakes On A Plane . You think losing a child on an airplane is tough? How about getting away from several hundred snakes? Kudos to the studio for merging title and plot synopsis in one pithy phrase -- a sure sign that this will be a winner.
Also a tip: if you are watching a movie on your laptop when dinner arrives and you have a backpack, just prop it up between your knees. Take the laptop off the tray table and rest it on the pack, stabilizing it with your knees. Watch, eat.
Posted on February 3, 2006 to the category called Movies .
