Something indescribably strange happened this past Friday. No, it wasn't the planets coming into full alignment all across Sol thus producing the a-millenial event we've all been waiting for (though, that would have been cool!).

What actually happened was that Gene Shalit, movie critic for the "Today Show," and I actually agreed on a movie. My wife almost lost the opportunity to see this movie when she told me that Gene Shalit liked the movie, "The Terminal," Directed by Steven Spielberg and starring one of my favs Tom Hanks.

The fact is, there is a much better chance of all the planets in the Solar System aligning than for me to agree with Mr. Shalit's review of any given movie. Not that Mr. Shalit is not good. I find him tremendously entertaining, it's just that I never agree with him. Well. almost never.

Hell, if you wait long enough, even the planets align I guess.

And on this movie, Gene and I are in perfect alignment. It's good; go see it!

Does the movie have subtle layers of commentary on America, commercialism, and the multicultural richness of our early 21st century society? Yes. Does it give us a taste of government bureaucracy? Yup. Does it teach us how to make a few extra bucks at the airport while waiting for a delayed flight? You bet it does!

But forget all of that; in the end, it's just a really fun story, with some interesting points to ponder. As a date movie/family movie, it's first rate, with engaging characters at almost every turn. For example, Diego Luna, who plays, Enrique Cruz, a young love-smitten airport employee responsible for delivering meals to planes, was a surprising favorite of mine.

I say surprising because, at first glance, his character seemed bland and unengaging, like the extras on Star Trek who were always killed off sometime during any given episode. They hang around in their red "Security" uniforms until suddenly an alien pops out. "Captain, help..." they yell, "aaaarghhh!." "Smitty!," yells Captin Kirk... But I digress.

Needless to say, Diego's character starts off that way, like he could be swallowed by an alien at any time, but then suddenly, he becomes one of the movie's highlights. Enrique enters the spotlight when he an opportunity to enlist Victor Navorski (Tom Hanks), the erstwhile trapped citizen of Krakozhia, to help him connect with a beautiful Homeland Security employee who is both tough yet sweet when she chooses to let down her guard. Best of all, she's a Trekkie, which Viktor discovers and conveys to Enrique and which gives our love-struck everyman his first "in" with the woman of his dreams.