CHICAGO – Excelsior! Comic book legend Stan Lee’s famous exclamation puts a fine point on the third and final play of Mark Pracht’s FOUR COLOR TRILOGY, “The House of Ideas,” presented by and staged at City Lit Theater in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. For tickets/details, click HOUSE OF IDEAS.
JIM reviews = “KNOWING” – Science + Fiction + Religion = Some Confusion.
“KNOWING” – Science + Fiction + Religion = Some Confusion. Rating: 7 of 10 stars.
The ads for this film gave the impression that it was mainly an action-themed “DISASTER” type flick. That was somewhat misleading: NICHOLAS CAGE stars as a widowed science teacher who has difficulties in raising his young son Caleb (well played by CHANDLER CANTERBURY). The son chances to get a strange document from a time capsule at his school, which Cage deciphers as a prediction of CATASTROPHES that have occurred in the past 50 years. Cage then strangely inserts himself into as-yet-UN-happened prophecies, despite the fact he’s risking his life by doing so. Also confusing are periodic references to religion (often conflicting with science & ‘fate’) and the way he & a woman he seeks out (ROSE BYRNE) keep leaving their kids ALONE in potentially-dangerous situations. There are a bunch of fascinating sections (such as Cage’s work unraveling the mysteries), with the scientific elements often contrasting with fiction and ‘other worlds’. Despite some weaknesses, it’s thought-provoking and intriguing overall.