Knowing the future and changing the future is not easy

Rating: 7/10 (17 March 2009)

(Synopsis) In 1959, Lucinda Embry (Lara Robinson) is a student at a newly opened elementary school. Lucinda's suggestion of inserting a time capsule into the ground at the school's dedication ceremony to be opened in 50 years was the winning suggestion. All the children in Lucinda's class drew pictures of what they believed would occur in the future except for Lucinda, who wrote rows of random numbers on the entire page. In 2009, the time capsule is opened and the new generation of students is given the envelopes with the pictures inside. Lucinda's envelope ends up in the hands of Caleb Koestler (Chandler Canterbury). Caleb's father, MIT Professor Astrophysicist John Koestler (Nicolas Cage), looks at the numbers and doesn't think anything about it. Then he accidentally stumbles on what the numbers mean. The encoded message predicts with exact accuracy the dates, death tolls, and locations of every major disaster during the last 50 years, and three events that have not yet occurred, with the last one being destruction on a global scale. John Koestler believes that his family somehow plays a role in these events, because his wife died in one of those events, and his son was chosen to get Lucinda's prophecies so he could learn the truth. John believes that by knowing the future, that he can intervene and prevent more destruction from happening, and therefore, change the disastrous results.
(My Comment) The movie starts off with the mysterious little girl hearing voices and writing numbers on a sheet of paper, then eventually hiding in a broom closet scratching the door with her bloody fingers. This gets you ready for the extraordinary movie that you are about to see. Unfortunately, it takes a little time before the story gets back to the mystifying beginning. Nicolas Cage's character is depressed and still mourning his wife who was killed in a hotel fire. This builds the human interest part of the movie and the protection and love he has for his son. Once he unravels Lucinda's secrets, the story is off and running. The action scenes were well done, and the stunning special effects of the three disaster events are fantastic, especially, the subway crash that was over the top. It is an original movie that is surprising with lots of twist and turns and an unforgettable ending that you will not expect. (Summit Entertainment, Run Time 2:02, Rated PG-13)(7/10)