The Donz Knows

I haven’t written a review in quite a while, and as I’m writing this, frankly, I feel like no movie has deserved one up until now.

This review is going to be a little different. I’m not going to go into spoilers, so I’m not going to discuss plot details much. I would advise people who read this to not look at another trailer or commercial until after you see the movie, as enough is revealed in those already, and this movie is best enjoyed as ‘virgin’ as possible.

Love stories are as old as civilized humanity (and probably beyond that), and they are a tricky story subject to master. As evidenced by the bland selection of romantic movies (mainly in the form of ‘comedies’ and ‘chick flicks’) that we’ve seen recently, it seems that Hollywood has fallen into the all-too-familiar cookie-cutter-turn-profit movies when it comes to this genre. You know what I’m talking about, the whole “strong-willed-high-powered-woman-meets-quirky-sloppy-guy-who’s-still-kinda-funny-they-argue-then-make-up-then-discover-something-then-break-up-then-make-up-at-the-end movies. (You think that was exhausting, try watching Drew Barrymore, Lindsay Lohan and Anne Hathaway in the SAME CHARACTER EVERY TIME!)

Every once in a while, a fresh original story comes along that captivates all of the right elements of a good love story. If it’s lucky, it’ll find a talented producer who can pair it up with a talented screenwriter who can, in turn, make it into a decent film-able script, and so on and so forth.

In the Time Traveler’s Wife, a classic tale of love is given a terrific science-fiction spin and a great character development. The story, I would argue, is evenly divided between EricBana’s character, Henry and the absolutely gorgeous Rachel McAdams as Claire. (Wasn’t she a Claire in Wedding Crashers? Weird.)

The direction is very fresh, as the director, editor and cinematographer work to capture the moods of a heart-felt story, and the erratic disappearing act of the character as he travels through time.

The acting is absolutely phenomenal. Eric Bana is normally pretty bland as far as acting is concerned in most of his movies, but he really does a great job in this one. He captures the frustration of his condition, and you really feel it because he portrays himself as someone who is living on a constant edge and is expecting to be startled at any minute.

Rachel McAdams is a little more difficult to assess, mainly because she is so exquisitely beautiful that it kind of captures you for a minute before you are allowed to enjoy her well developed and amazing talent. She does a great job of covering the emotional range of someone who is caught in a situation where she is not in control of how her life is going (yet acknowledges that there is very little she can do about it).

The supporting cast is virtually non-existent, and they serve more as a frame for the story between Claire and Henry, (although some people may recognize a chubbier ‘Peter Gibbons’ from Office Space as Gomez). There is a surprising notable exception to the supporting cast, which I will remain quiet about, as the performance is quite good.

The score is very fitting, as it has a very spacey feel to it, kind of delving into the realm of mystical and distant. It does have some great themes that cover the emotions of the story, and enhance them without being too aggressive.

Overall, the story is superb with a satisfying conclusion, the performances are genuine and emotional not being trite, or canned for this type of movie, the direction and cinematography are very good, setting the right mood for a love story with sci-fi sprinkled about, and the score is subtle, recognizable but not overbearing.

Definitely go watch it.

4.5/5

P.S.: As a bonus, watch a couple of episodes of “The Big Bang Theory” before watching this and I challenge you to not hear Dr. Sheldon Cooper in your head arguing about string theory and how it’s impossible for Time Travel to exist.

SPOILER-FREE! (For the most part, I’ll only talk about things that have been shown on the trailer.)

I’ve been interested in Knowing since seeing the previews over the last few weeks, and like most people, I was drawn into it by the promise of some end-of-the-world awesomeness. In that aspect, Knowing delivers to steam-broiled goodness.

The premise for “Knowing” begins in 1959 with grade-schooler, Lucinda Embry. An odd little girl to begin with, she starts hearing people whispering in her mind, and during a class project she begins writing what seems to be random numbers on the page. Her page is put in along with everyone else’s into a time capsule, not to be opened until 50 years later. Creepiness ensues, after she continues to hear the voices.

Fast forward to 2009, and we are introduced to John Koestler, played in his usual deadpan best by Nicolas Cage. Koestler is an astrophysicist from M.I.T., and has a son named Caleb. It is during the ceremony to open the time capsule, that Caleb receives the envelope containing the number sequence from Lucinda’s paper. At this point Caleb, not surprisingly, begins to hear the voices of what he calls “Whisper People”. These dudes are freaky! They look like they came out straight from the Matrix/Twilight and all they do is just stand there. Staring. Creepy.

So John starts realizing that the numbers actually mean something: they’ve predicted every major disaster in the last fifty years, along with what’s to come. The rest is his race to try and solve what’s about to happen.

I liked the movie in the sense that it presents some very real situations, that can very well happen in our lifetimes. Some people may be turned off by some of the ‘twists’, others (like myself) may find them rather intriguing and will dwell upon them for days.

Overall, I think it’s a good movie, and I recommend you go out and see it!

–The Donz

FINAL RATING: 3.5 (out of 5 Life Savers)