MOVIE REVIEW - Knowing

In all honesty, with all that's going on in our world these days only you can decide if the time is right for an "end of the world movie." But that's Knowing starring Nicholas Cage, new in theaters this weekend.

Set in the modern day, Cage stars as a brilliant MIT professor who is also a single dad. His 10 year old son attends the same elementary school that buried a time capsule in 1959. On the 50th anniversary of the capsule, it is unearthed, each student is then given a sealed envelope from a student from 1959. Most students drew pictures, except a student named Lucinda, who wrote a series of numbers on a single sheet of paper. When Cage runs across this he's intrigued.

He deducts that these numbers have incredible historical significance, and they do. Most of the numbers have been accounted for, but there are still some that have not. Who was Lucinda? And was she granted a special gift that let her see the future more clearly than the rest of us? And is it good to know, that you may have the keys to the future? Do you want to know dates and times of our destiny? Well that's the story here.

Knowing is not about performances, soundtracks or even special effects. Many critics are more than likely going to hammer this movie, and I feel they would be wrong. The star of Knowing is the movie. This is a compelling story that leads you wanting to know more the whole movie long. There have been a ton of "end of the world movies", but this has far more creativity and imagination than most, and not by a little.

Sure, Cage can be over-the-top at times, and there are scenes here that are overdone. At times Knowing slows down, and you're wondering if it's going to get back in gear. But Knowing dusts itself off and gets back on track. Knowings strength comes from an imaginative story, and it doesn't get in it's own way. It's a single story, told carefully, and easy to follow. It doesn't get bogged down in junk that doesn't matter. That's where many of these kinds of movies go wrong. Too many characters to keep track of, blah blah blah. Knowing steers clear of that formula, and should be applauded for that.

Knowing is compelling, and very intense at times. A solid PG-13 rating, nothing really wrong here for a teen audience. But Knowing really is a grown-up movie as it talks squarely to adults and parents. There are moments that may prove to be too intense for some, but they are limited, well done, and over all not disturbing.

I've heard too in other reviews, that this is a science-fiction movie, and I couldn't disagree more. I would hate to see it get that label. True, there is a thread of Sci-Fi that runs through it, but there's no laser beams, phaser guns, slide rules, ridiculous computer speak, or pocket protectors to geek this movie up and sour some before the tickets are bought.

Knowing. It's not going to change film making, or drive off with the Hollywood hardware next award show season. But for what it is...a March release? Knowing is Glowing!

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