Nicolas Cage stars in this largely unsatisfactory science-fiction story that starts as a taut and eerie story of mental legacies and ultimately falling back on Steven Spielberg's old cosmic play book for standard explanations of strange phenomena. Cage stars as an astrophysicist and widower John Koestler, whose young son attends a school where a 50-year Time Capsule is dug and opened. Koestler son Caleb (Chandler Canterbury) is an envelope of the capsule with a sheet of paper marked with seemingly-random numbers. Koestler interprets the numbers as groups of prophecies (in 1959) of disasters in the run-up to a global katastrofisch event in late 2009. Moreover, some of the later tragedies involving him or members of his family, suggesting the paper is to fall into his hands and Caleb. That is not the only freaky thing drawing father and son in a direction they really do not want to go. Among other things, a quartet of strangers keep mute shown a strong interest in Caleb's true, and the daughter and granddaughter of the little girl who originally something songs in 1959 under the shadow of a separate prediction of doom. Everything goes swimmingly until the time for director Alex Proyas (The Crow) to start the use of strings, and blocks start falling as rain. On the plus side, Knowing includes some breathtaking scenes of emergencies, the most gruesome (and realistic) with a jet crash the like of which has never been captured on film.
- Actors: Nicolas Cage, Rose Byrne
- Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
- Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
- Studio: Summit Entertainment
- DVD Release Date: July 7, 2009
- Run Time: 121 minutes
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The cinematic equivalent of a half case of Red Bull chased with donuts, Kick-Ass is a giddy, violent experience--and not your average superhero movie. Based on the comic book by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr., it offers a set of heroes who are decidedly without superpowers: Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) decides he'll be just like a comic-book character, and puts on a ridiculous green suit to fight crime as the mysterious Kick-Ass. Luckily, somebody else had the same idea and comes along to rescue the incompetent crusader: Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and his daughter Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz), who also happen to be running around town wearing masks and vanquishing evil. And here we have the movie's masterstroke: Hit Girl, a pint-sized preteen who slaughters bad guys and swears like a sailor on leave (and was the focus of a measure of controversy when the movie was released). The main target of our heroes is a gangster (Mark Strong, Sherlock Holmes), whose neglected son (Christopher Mintz-Plasse, McLovin from Superbad) figures he might just pull on a costume himself and become… Red Mist! (One of the many funny things about Kick-Ass is that the superhero names are hopelessly lame.) Director Matthew Vaughn is operating at the same glib level as his Layer Cake, with cutesy song cues galore and a freewheeling appetite for cartoon violence. This means the movie's high wears off quickly, but it does get high--a crazy, hilarious (and by the way: decidedly R-rated) kick. All that, plus Nicolas Cage executes a deadly Adam West imitation when he pulls on his cape and cowl. That's entertainment.
