'Unstoppable' in Theaters Today

I was hoping to see a movie this weekend, but it won't be today. My boys are home from school because of district furloughs, and neither of them wants to see "Unstoppable," at least not right now. I might go tomorrow night, so we'll see. In any case, Kenneth Turan gives it two thumbs up:

"Unstoppable" is as good as its name. A runaway train drama that never slows down, it fashions familiarity into a virtue and shows why old-school professionalism never goes out of style.

With action auteur Tony Scott directing, "Unstoppable" certainly features a lot that we've seen before, from its vehicle-from-hell format to its venerable advertising line: "1,000,000 Tons, 100,000 Lives, 100 Minutes." Yes, they still do make them that way.

This is also the second straight Scott film (after the underappreciated "The Taking of Pelham 123") involving a train and the sixth of his career to star Denzel Washington, here sharing the screen with "Star Trek's" Chris Pine and one very out of control locomotive. But while continually doing the same kind of movie might anesthetize some directors, it energizes Scott, who has gotten better and better at building and sustaining traditional kinds of tension.

RTWT.

Also, an interview with the director: "Q&A: How Tony Scott kept 'Unstoppable' real — at 60 mph."