THE EXPLOSIVE REVIEW

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Rose Byrne, Chandler Canterbury, and Lara Robinson.

Directed by: Alex Proyas.

Story:
50 years ago, an Elementary school class buries their images of the future in a time capsule. Jump to present day, the time capsule is opened by the new students and John Koestler’s son receives a message with bunch of numbers on it which turn out to be dates of disastrous events that are to take place.

Characters:
*John Koestler (Nicolas Cage): An MIT professor of astrophysics.
*Diana Wayland (Rose Byrne): Daughter of Lucinda.
*Caleb Koestler (Chandler Canterbury): John’s son.
*Lucinda Embry (Lara Robinson): The young girl who wrote the numeric message 50 years ago.
*Abby Wayland (Lara Robinson): Diana’s daughter.

Overall:
“Knowing” is an original sci-fi/disaster film (surprise, surprise for 2009!) that tells of an apocalypse to come. See, the young girl who wrote the numeric message found in the time capsule was mentally ill and often heard whispering voices from beings that are not of this Earth. It is the goal of this so-called race of beings ,or rather ‘whisper people’ as they are called here, to warn humanity of future catastrophic events.

The numbers include the month, day, and year that the events are supposed to occur as well as the longitude and latitude of where it will occur. Oh yes and it also tells you the number of people who will die from a specific event. Every major disaster you can think of can be found within these numbers - September 11th, the Oklahoma bombings, everything and anything you’ve heard of in the past fifty years. However, there are three dates in particular which have yet to come and that is what the film focuses on. There’s an airplane crash involving a major highway jam, then there’s a major New York City subway accident that is reminiscent of (if not, more grandiose than) the incident in “Die Hard With A Vengeance”. The third and final event is the apocalypse itself and it comes straight from the Book of Revelations, involving a reenactment of ‘Noah’s Flood’ except this time, the water is replaced with fire (giant solar flare, anyone?).

“Knowing” is a film that keeps you piqued until the very end, wanting to know just what the heck is going to happen and what these characters are going to do about these inevitable events as the final one is the most challenging of all. The last ten minutes or so contain the most surreal, chilling, and haunting apocalyptic images ever depicted on screen (I won’t say much, but if you want to know the true definition of ‘global fire’, then you will find certainly find out here). There is a glimmer of hope in the very last shot and it comes straight out of the Book of Revelations.

Nicolas Cage and Rose Byrne deliver very satisfying and sympathetic performances here. The story works for the most part, with the exception of the origin of the ‘whisper people’, that was a little awkward at first but takes some getting used to as the film goes on. The subway disaster feels a bit like a rehash of the one from “Die Hard With A Vengeance”, granted that “Knowing” does a lot more with its range of special effects, however, the one from “Die Hard With A Vengeance” was simply shot in a more realistic fashion. Nevertheless, none of this should stop you from seeing and enjoying this thrilling sci-fi/apocalyptic film.

Rating: ***1/2

Starring: Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, William Holden, Fred Astaire, Faye Dunaway, Susan Blakely, Richard Chamberlain, Jennifer Jones, O.J. Simpson, Robert Vaughn, Robert Wagner, Susan Flannery, Mike Lookinland, Carlena Gower, Scott Newman, Sheila Matthews, Jack Collins, Paul Comi, Gregory Sierra, Don Gordon, Norman Grabowski, Dabney Coleman, Norman Burton, and Felton Perry.

Directed by: John Guillermin and Irwin Allen.

Story:
Architect Doug Roberts (Paul Newman) and Fireman Chief Michael O’Hallorhan (Steve McQueen) battle a vicious high-rise fire that begins from a burnt out circuit breaker - What begins with a simple spark becomes 165 minutes of highly flammable action and adventure that traps 300 party guests on the 135th floor in the ballroom plus some stragglers on the lower floors. Chaos ensues with a whole onslaught of spectacular special effects sequences ranging from dangling elevators, crashing choppers, daring rescued attempts that both succeed and fail, and even a wet and wild showdown between the ballroom on the 135th floor and the enormous water tanks right above it.

Characters:
*Doug Roberts (Paul Newman): An architect who built the Glass Tower.
*Jim Duncan (William Holden): The Glass Tower’s building financier and Doug’s boss.
*Chief Michael O’Hallorhan (Steve McQueen): Chief firefighter who teams up with Doug.
*Susan Franklin (Faye Dunaway): Doug’s girlfriend.
*Roger Simmons (Richard Chamberlain): The stupid son-in-law of Mr. Duncan who is responsible for the whole fire in the first place.
*Patty Duncan Simmons (Susan Blakely): Roger’s wife.
*Harry Jernigan (O.J. Simpson): Head of the Glass Tower’s security.

Overall:
Riding on the heels of successful 70s disaster mega hits such as “Airport” and “The Poseidon Adventure”, the Roland Emmerich of 70s cinema (albeit a much better director), Irwin Allen, created “The Towering Inferno”. Mr. Allen and Warner Bros. adapted the concept from two novels, “The Tower” by Richard Martin Stern and “The Glass Inferno” by Thomas N. Scortia and Frank M. Robinson.

The film has an all-star cast led by McQueen and Newman, some including Faye Dunaway, O.J. Simpson, Fred Astaire, and many more. With John Williams’ catchy score and a blockbuster screenplay, “The Towering Inferno” was and still is a massive cinematic achievement that was won three Academy Awards (Best Cinematography, Film Editing, Best Song), two BAFTAS (Best Actor In A Supporting Role - Fred Astaire, Film Music- John Williams), and two Golden Globes (Best Supporting Actor - Fred Astaire, Most Promising Newcomer - Female - Susan Flannery).

Rating: *****