KNOWING

I have a dirty little secret I'd like to admit.  I like Nicolas Cage.  I think he's the king of the crappy but thoroughly entertaining movie.  He always gives 100% into the role, even if it means it comes out as 100% pure unintentional comedy.  He's at his Nicolas Cage best in this movie, playing an MIT professor of Astrophysics (of all things), living as a widowed father of a 10 year old boy in a very big, very creepy house in Lexington, Massachusetts. 

50 years ago, the local elementary school placed a time capsule in the ground outside the school.  Within the capsule, most students drew pictures of the future, except for one girl, who scribbled seemingly nonsensical numbers onto a piece of paper, that of course, turn out to make perfect sense, and ends up in the hands of one brilliant professor at MIT.  Nic Cage to the rescue!!

I won't ruin the surprise of what the numbers mean, but suffice to say, it's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel surprisingly ok..... Up to now, I'm actually with the story, for the most part.  I enjoy the conspiracy theories in movies and I like it when you need to figure out what's going to happen next.  That's when, for me, it completely falls apart. 

The big twist at the end of the film is absurd.  I felt like it belonged in a different movie.  It was a total non-sequitor to the lead-up to that point, and I hated it.  Ruined the entire movie for me.  Having said that, I liked the first 90 or so minutes, but highly disliked the last half hour.  I'll go 2.5 out of 5, and get what I deserve for buying into Professor Extraordinaire, Nicolas Cage.  Not recommended for you viewing pleasure.

PUSH

I understand that this wasn't the most popular movie to come out over the last few years, and many of you (both of you?) probably never heard of it.  The overall plot centers around a bunch of folks who have powers, like from the TV show 'Heroes'.  Some people can see the future, some can move things with their minds, others can put thoughts into others heads, even others can heal with a touch, etc...etc...  The only difference is that 'Heroes' was actually good for a little while.  This movie wasn't.

The live among us and try to avoid getting captured by 'Division', a branch of the government set out to capture those with abilities in an attempt to build a 'superhuman' of sorts.  Dakota Fanning is a 'Watcher', or someone who can see the future.  She meets up with Chris Evans who's a 'Mover' (he can move things with his mind - I know, stay with me.....).  They apparently need to find some other girl that has a suitcase worth $6 million while avoiding Division and some other crazy Japanese gang that's after the same thing. 

Why?  Well, glad you asked.  Apparently it's because Chris Evans has a dice throwing/gambling habit and is into some gangsters for about $6K.  I probably could have figured out more but the split second delay between the video and audio made me feel like I was watching an old Kung-Fu movie.  Sound editor - fired.

In the end, I never cared who won or lost or how the movie ended, I just wanted it to end.  Convoluted plot twist and 30 minutes later, I had my wish.  1.5 out of 5 stars, and grossly disappointed again........

GET HIM TO THE GREEK

I'm going to take a slightly different route on these next few reviews, mostly due to the absolute crappiness and general dismay I felt after watching each of these movies, so bear with me....

I think Russell Brand is hysterical.  Same with Jonah Hill.  Judd Apatow? Good stuff.  This movie was NOT good.  I had really, REALLY high hopes and even hung onto it from Netflix for about a month hoping to get a time for the wife and I to watch it.  That never happened, so I threw it in one afternoon I had nothing to do.  I feel like Netflix stole $14 from me. 

Bottom line is that it had 2 or 3 moments of true comedy, most notably the scene in the strip club after Hill takes a hit off the 'Jeffrey'.  Stroking the furry wall was great. I thought Diddy was awful too.  You'd think he'd come across more naturally in a movie being an artist, but I thought he was stiff and totally unbelievable as a record exec. 

In the end, I thought it had potential, but was generally truly unfunny for roughly 90 of the 110 or so minutes, and I was grossly disappointed.  2 out of 5 stars.  Stay away, not worth the rental at all.