“Unstoppable” is a movie that begs for catchy pull quotes in its trailer.

I mean, come on, it’s a movie about a runaway train. There are so many metaphors I could utilize; obviously with caps lock and copious exclamation points. I could write

something like “NON-STOP action thrill-ride!” “This locomotive delivers the goods!” “Hop on the Denzel Train and hit the accelerator!”

At the risk of sounding like sucker, I’ll admit all the stuff I just wrote is kind of true. Because this was more than just a movie about a runaway train, it’s a well-acted, well-plotted and well-filmed movie about a runaway train. Starring Chris Pine. If that ain’t praiseworthy, what is?

The train in question was set off not by a terrorist or a crazed train operator, but by a more commonplace threat: people making stupid mistakes. After being sent off without a driver, carrying a load of extremely flammable materials, the train company scrambles to chase it down and stop it before it crashes in a highly populated area.

Meanwhile Frank (Denzel Washington) and Will (Pine) are riding on the same rail, having somehow missed the message that there’s a train coming on full speed directly at them. It’s totally cool though, because Frank is played by Denzel Washington, and knows exactly what to do, with the help of newbie Will and train depot middle manager Connie (Rosario Dawson).

It’s an absurd concept, but director Tony Scott handles the material with a surprising amount of restraint. His movie is a study of a little-seen industry, one based on sheer muscle, grit and rare American ingenuity. Between scenes with Frank and Will jumping on moving train cars and talking about Frank’s daughters working their way through college at Hooters are truly depressing; scenes of the train company’s corporate monkeys sitting in a high-rise and discussing whether it costs less to derail the train in the countryside, or blow it up in a small town. Sure it’s a little cliché, but that doesn’t make it any less true.

The movie is also about scale and noise. Scott includes shots of the trains, with their larger than life sounds and astonishing size the way other action film directors use gratuitous explosions. They’re huge, anxiety-producing and verge on the pornographic. Scott hikes the sense of panic up almost imperceptibly throughout the movie, until by the time you’re watching Pine dive in between to moving train cars to cable them together you’re holding your hands in front of your eyes without realizing it. In the climactic scene, as they round an impossibly sharp corner surrounded by flammable oil (yes, really) I can’t lie; I was on the edge of my seat.

Washington is the glue that make this piece of madness work. He’s almost lackadaisical in his delivery, funny and charming; you get the feeling he was having a blast making this movie. Together he and Pine are basically reenacting their actual roles in Hollywood: Washington as the older veteran, and Pine as the young upstart nipping at his predecessor’s heels, and their dual scenes are surprisingly snappy and fun. Rosario Dawson is also lovely and terrific as ever, acting the hell out of a very limited role.

After going to see this movie I thought about Lumiere’s public screening of “The Arrival of a Train in La Ciotat Station” in 1896. The legend goes that the French public was so astonished by watching a moving image of a train, apparently speeding right toward them, it made them flee the screening, running frightened into the Paris night. I wonder if they’d had trailers back then what they would have said. “This train is on FIRE! You’ll want to run from the shadowy force of MAN-MADE STEEL heading directly for your FACE!!”

“Unstoppable” proves that more than 100 years after Lumiere scared the hell out of those Parisians, and even with our jaded, experienced eyes, the movies we watch can still make our hearts race, can still get our adrenaline zooming through our lizard brains. That feeling is still well worth the price of admission.

Star Trek is a franchise many wrote off as dead years ago. The recent TV series have been lackluster and the movies even worse. But I am still a fan of the original series, “The Next Generation,” and about half of “Deep Space 9,” so when I heard that the original series was getting a reboot movie with Lost executive producer J.J. Abrams at its helm, my expectations rose higher then “Star Trek” has brought them in years.

The reboot doesn’t disappoint. You’ll want to go back and see it again.

As Abrams has showed us with “Alias,” “Lost” and “Fringe,” he has a talent for making what would normally seem boring or clichƒ© into something riveting. Not an exception, this film pulls no punches, and starts out lightning fast. It refuses to give up this pace even in its quieter scenes.

While other recent science fiction films suffer from a lack of tension in their expository scenes, “Star Trek” excels. Due to the speed and flow of the movie, I found myself wanting more when the lights turned on. I wanted to know where the Enterprise would go to next. I wanted to know how this collection of crewmates goes on with their lives. I wanted more and, before long, I realized that this was not just a good “Star Trek” movie, or a good science fiction movie, but a good movie.

Like “Iron Man” did last year, this film burst out of its genre while still defining it. It has time travel, phasers, space ships and aliens, but the movie isn’t about those things. Its genre is simply a setting to tell the stories of these people, not to characterize them. Kirk and the bunch would work as well as a group of cowboys, or a small town police force. They are good characters that just happen to exist in the time of space exploration.

The plot is a bit more complex than the normal sci-fi fare, but nothing too puzzling. To make a long story short, it’s a basic tale about how the crew of the Enterprise forms to save the Federation from an outside threat. It’s fairly basic, and a bit overdone, but it’s done very well here.

There is another aspect of the plot involving time travel (Losties will recognize this theme as a current Abrams favorite), that fuels the main one and also explains why this version is different the original series.

It’s very clear that Abrams is a fan of “The Wrath of Khan.” From the villain’s motives to the overall plot, to some of the references and subtitles, this movie clearly pays respect to the best “Star Trek” movie to proceed it.

The new cast gives a reboot to beloved original series characters, choosing to embrace some different aspects of the characters fans know and love. We are reminded that this isn’t going to be a homage to the original series when we see Kirk for the first time. Channeling more Cruise then Shatner, Chris Pine gives us more of the daredevil thrill junky aspect of James T. Kirk, than the slapstick playboy that Shatner was.

Zachary Quinto ended up bearing more than a physical resemblance to Spock as he filled out all aspects of a deceptively deep character. Rather than stay stoic like Leonard Nimoy, Quinto chose to visibly suppress emotion.

These two might take the top billing, but this is certainly an ensemble movie. Karl Urban doesn’t get the screen time he deserves but he nailed the role of Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy,by bringing a legitimate aspect of friendship to Kirk. Simon Pegg interjects some comedy as Scotty while fleshing out the character’s background and mannerisms. Sulu and Chekov, portrayed by John Cho and Anton Yelchin respectively, had minor but very important roles. Both actors gave great performances and each had a signature scene that makes the character stand out.

Zoe Saldana portrayed Uhura, but didn’t bring as much to the role as other cast mates did to theirs. That being said — and once again referring back to the original series — Uhura got a lot more facetime than her earlier counterpart.

Outside of the Enterprise crew, Eric Bana plays the main villain, a romulan named Nero. Nero fills the role of a man scorned, using his strength and feral cunning to get his revenge. Much like Khan so many years ago, Nero owes a lot of his characterization to Captain Ahab from “Moby Dick.” I guess some classics never grow old, and that is a fact that this new “Star Trek” is relying on.

“Star Trek” has a built in audience and that is both a blessing and a curse. While it guarantees filled seats, they might not be filled with happy people. Abrams clearly knows this, and puts in enough original series shout-outs and references to tame even then most rage filled nerd. The movie has the Kobayashi Maru, a green-skinned companion, a Red Shirt and I think I even saw a Tribble in the background.

Sure, those things are put in there for old fans to reacquaint themselves into this new universe, but what’s better is they didn’t hurt the movie at all. From years of watching “Lost,” “Alias,” and now “Fringe,” I have learned that is Abrams can do one thing right, its attention to detail. When Kirk pulls up to the Starfleet recruiting station, his bike looks like nothing we have ever seen, yet is instantly recognizable as the evolution of the motorcycle. The rust on the side, and the chipped paint tell us that this isn’t the pinnacle of technology, even though its completely new to us. Without saying a word, the environment has told us about the world, technology and about Kirk’s personality. This is just one of hundreds of examples littered throughout the movie, making it more than just the standard space flick. The action is amazing and alone is worth the price of admission, but Abrams certainly separated “Star Trek” from just being an overly shiny popcorn flick, while still remaining accessible.

“Star Trek” has turned out to be not only a great addition to the “Star Trek” series, but a great movie for new comers as well. Abrams has a true understanding of this franchise, and I am already looking forward to 2011 for the next installment. The acting was top notch, the effects were astounding and the attention to detail was the highest I have seen in a while. Overall, I expect this to be the top grossing movie this year, and it deserves every penny.

But I am just a reviewer and I merely critique films, not determine their popular standing. To let the fans speak for themselves, I waited until after the theater lights had turned out, until the sound of hundreds of Star Trek fans — some even in costume — clapping and cheering, subsided, to listen in on the conversations they were having.

Not one of them said a negative word about what was done to their favorite characters. Not one of them complained that the film had disgraced the old series. Not one of them said they were bored. Not one of them wanted anything any different. Not one of them disappointed.

I couldn’t write a better review than that.