I’m working on a theory that there’s a secret, magical, money-generating device in Hollywood called the Scriptblender. Whenever there’s a shortage of (good) ideas, or an A-list star is bored or needs some cash, a low-level assistant takes a handful of recent, moderately-successful scripts, throws them in the Scriptblender, and sets it on ‘puree.’ What comes out is usually a watered-down, semi-palatable substance that is then sent off to a lesser-known director with some time on his hands, an eye for deluxe special effects, and an ear for tone-deaf, insignificant dialogue. Usually it’s someone like Roland Emmerich (The Day After Tomorrow), or Michael Bay (The Island). In the case of Knowing, the latest sci-fi/fantasy/doomsday/spiritual-quest vehicle starring Nicholas Cage (my wife refuses to even entertain whether he’s A-list or not), the concoction comes surprisingly close to appetizing. Sadly, Alex Proyas (I, Robot; The Crow) has too much Michael Bay in him, leaving the audience visually sated, but thirsty for something emotionally meatier.Nick Cage, insistent on slowly bleeding his own career, plays John Koestler, an M.I.T. professor of something having to do with solar system randomness. Having recently lost his wife to a hotel fire, he spends his free time raising his…