We show that under suitable non-degeneracy conditions, $m$ points and $n$
2--dimensional algebraic surfaces in $\mathbb{R}^4$ satisfying certain
"pseudoflat" requirements can have at most $O(m^{2/3}n^{2/3} + m + n)$
incidences, provided that $m\leq n^{2-\epsilon}$ for any $\epsilon>0$ (where
the implicit constant in the above bound depends on $\epsilon$), or $m\geq
n^2$. As a special case, we obtain the Szemer\'edi-Trotter theorem for
2--planes in $\mathbb{R}^4,$ again provided $m\leq n^{2-\epsilon}$ or $m\geq
n^2$.
In 1997, Thomas Wolff proved sharp $L^3$ bounds for his circular maximal
function, and in 1999, Kolasa and Wolff proved certain non-sharp $L^p$
inequalities for a broader class of maximal functions arising from curves of
the form $\{\Phi(x,\cdot)=r\}$, where $\Phi(x,y)$ satisfied Sogge's cinematic
curvature condition. Under the additional hypothesis that $\Phi$ is algebraic,
we obtain a sharp $L^3$ bound on the corresponding maximal function. Since the
function $\Phi(x,y)=|x-y|$ is algebraic and satisfies the cinematic curvature
condition, our result generalizes Wolff's $L^3$ bound.