Director Oliver Stone gives us another look at Sept. 11, 2001, in his new film &#8220World Trade Center,” the second film this year to deal with that tragic day.

And while Stone chooses to focus on the events from a different perspective than April’s &#8220United 93,” the film still suffers when compared to the other. &#8220WTC” is a respectful film that clearly has a lot of passion for its subject, but the movie just feels too heavy-handed to be appreciated.

&#8220World Trade Center” focuses on two Port Authority police officers, John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) and Will Jimeno (Michael Pena), trapped in the rubble at Ground Zero, who were amazingly rescued despite the grave surroundings.

When Stone focuses on the loneliness and despair of the two officers is when &#8220World Trade Center” is at its best. The scenes are shot with an effectively claustrophobic feel that only makes them that much more intense.

Where &#8220World Trade Center” goes astray is when Stone wonders off on other tangents. Focusing on the families and how they dealt with the idea of their loved ones being lost in the rubble is fine (even if most of the scenes feel like something from a TV movie), but Stone is all over the place – including reactions from police officers in the Midwest and a marine who is treated as such a martyr it really takes away from the brave and heroic deed he was responsible for.

&#8220United 93” (which is still the best film of 2006) was effective because it focused on one aspect of the tragedy and gave its audience an almost documentary-like feel. &#8220WTC” really wants to be just as emotionally effective, but Stone juggles so many stories that the desired impact is never achieved.

I can’t recommend &#8220World Trade Center,” but I will say I respect the effort. Still, I think the material deserved a better final product than the one that Stone has delivered.

DVD dandy of the week

This week’s dandy is &#8220Inside Man” (A-), director Spike Lee’s suspenseful and unpredictable film that is one of the more entertaining releases of 2006.

&#8220Inside Man” begins with a bank robbery masterminded by Dalton Russell (Clive Owen). But the heist spirals into a hostage situation, with detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) serving as the liaison between criminals and police.

As the negotiations wear on, the situation becomes more complicated when a mysterious power broker (Jodie Foster) enters the picture, looking to protect something hidden in one of the bank’s safe deposit boxes.

Washington, Owen and Foster are among the finest actors working today, and none disappoints in &#8220Inside Man.” Washington fares the best, although Owen is a worthy adversary. Foster is probably the least effective of the trio, but she gets more out of a character that could have easily been a throwaway role.

There are more fine performances than just the three leads.

Willem Dafoe and Christopher Plummer have nice roles as a police captain and the bank owner, respectively. Chiwetel Ejiofor is also very good as Frazier’s partner.

Lee handles the strong cast and Russell Gewirtz’s screenplay with precision. This is the director’s best work since 1998’s &#8220He Got Game” (which also starred Washington), with a film that manages to juggle a lot of stars and plot details with amazing skill. Lee shows he is capable of branching out and delivering a mainstream film that is just as intelligent and insightful as his early work.

I concede there are some minor plot holes, and the ending does take a little while to digest, but Lee keeps the film moving at such a brisk pace that it’s a minor quibble. I never really knew where &#8220Inside Man,” was taking me, but I was willing to go along for the ride.

Who knew bank robberies could be so entertaining?

&#8220Inside Man” is rated R for language and some violent images and is now available on DVD.