The critics have not been as kind to the movie as you have. But what do they know?

Ebert gave it 3 1/2 stars, and that doesn't happen every day. Plus it makes my ninety minutre rule (which states that if a movie is not at least 90 minutes long, it's likely not worth seeing).

And, it has Jodie in it.

Critics can tell us whether a movie is good or bad, but they can't always tell us whether it's enjoyable or not. That's understandable. The former has some significant elements of objectivity; the latter is entirely subjective and often illogical.

Sort of like me.

My first thought after seeing it was, as you said, "this is Panic Room in an airplane." Foster likes movies where the woman is the power without the man. Not saying that's good or bad, just that she chooses those kinds of roles.

I liked the movie a lot. And, bigger bonus, it joins with The 6th Sense and The Game as a movie I did not predict right away. I won't ruin it for anyone, but I didn't see who the real bad guy was until it happened.

Foster only does a movie or so a year, so I always try to see them. She rarely lets me down. And I'll quit hogging your comment space now.

I agree. And yes, there are some huge plot holes but... oh well.

As far as Peter Sarsgaard, he reminded me a bit of a young John Malkovich. The way he said things. But maybe I am out of my head as well.

Jim: You've got a 90 minute rule? I've got as 120 minute rule. It's my contention that any story worth telling can be told properly in less than two hours. I remember a while back some blockbuster movie about a ship that sank in the north Atlantic came out. Never seen it.

My wife an I did enjoy Jodie Foster in The Panic Room, we may just have to check out this on.

John & Jim...I can't buy into either of your rules, although with ticket prices being what they are, I find myself in the perverse position of preferring a long bad movie to a short good one in order to get my money's worth! ;-)

Seriously, though, I don't think the length of the movie is a good indicator of its quality. Each episode of the Lord of the Rings trilogy blows the 120 minute rule, and I found myself at the end of each wishing it would go on even longer. (Not so for Ep. 6 of Star Wars, which would have made a good 90 minute -- or even 89 minute -- movie.)

I'll admit that I can't think of any really good movies offhand that were shorter than 90 minutes, but that's due to my bad memory more than anything else.

Oh...wait...here's one: Napoleon Dynamite. 86 minutes. There ya go...

Foster likes movies where the woman is the power without the man.

This is probably directly attributable to the fact that Jodie's parents separated when Jodie was still in the womb. She never really knew her father and her mother was a strong woman by Foster's accounting of her childhood.

We saw Flightplan yesterday and both enjoyed it although the plot holes made it a little tough at times. But I love Jodie Foster and will watch anything she does.

Jen, I'm sure the holes in the plot seemed even larger to someone like you who works in a law enforcement environment.

It's funny, but I wouldn't call myself a huge Jodie Foster fan. I won't see a movie just because she's in it. But in the right vehicle, she is the movie, and that seems to always be a good thing.

"Well, it's more of a guideline than a rule" ... quick, name the movie that comes from.

There are exceptions, but I could list (I won't , but I could) a ton of bad movies that clocked in at less than 90 minutes, seeing them is what prompted my "rule."

I didn't know Napoleon D. was 86 minutes. I was laughing so hard I never thought to look. So you've definitely got me on that one.

"Well, it's more of a guideline than a rule" ... quick, name the movie that comes from.

That is so familiar, but I just can't put my finger on it.

You realize that Corpse Bride weighs in at a featherweight 74 minutes? It's getting pretty decent reviews...but, as you say, what do the critics know?

It isn't my ties to law enforcement that revealed the plot holes. As you said, they were large enough to fly the plane through. =)

Ghostbusters. Bill Murray says it to Sigourney Weaver.

No, that's not it...but don't tell me, it's on the tip of my tongue... um...was it...Bill Murray in Ghostbusters? ;-)