Non-Stop (Flight Game)

Add "Non-Stop" to that short list of films that you will never see as in-flight entertainment. Liam Neeson (making 60-something seem like the new 40) plays Federal Air Marshal Bill Marks, who is on a flight from New York to London when he receives an anonymous message on his cellphone telling him that a passenger will die every 20 minutes unless $150 million is deposited in an offshore account. When the authorities are alerted, Marks, an alcoholic ex-cop, seems as suspicious as anyone.

Director Jaume Collet-Serra began his career directing horror films, including "House of Wax" and "Orphan," and he sure knows how to keep an audience on the edge of their seats, which he does here masterfully, despite a plot that becomes more and more preposterous with each twist. It's a total triumph of craft over content. Neeson just barrels through as though a good performance alone can carry us through the inconsistencies, which it mostly does, with good supporting turns from Julianne Moore and Michelle Dockery. Plane chaos par excellence. No snakes, though.

For a chance to win one of five "Non-Stop" memo pads, visit jtimes.jp/film.