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Movies / Upcoming / Knowing
Knowing

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Knowing (2009)

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Reviews Counted:160

Fresh:52

Rotten:108

Average Rating:4.7/10

Consensus: Knowing has some interesting ideas and a couple good scenes, but it's weighted down by its absurd plot and over-seriousness.

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for disaster sequences, disturbing images and brief strong language.

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Theatrical Release:Mar 20, 2009 Wide

Box Office: $79,948,113

Synopsis: Nicolas Cage stars in Knowing, a gripping action-thriller of global proportions about a professor who stumbles on terrifying predictions about the future—and sets out to prevent them from coming... Nicolas Cage stars in Knowing, a gripping action-thriller of global proportions about a professor who stumbles on terrifying predictions about the future—and sets out to prevent them from coming true.

In 1958, as part of the dedication ceremony for a new elementary school, a group of students is asked to draw pictures to be stored in a time capsule. But one mysterious girl fills her sheet of paper with rows of apparently random numbers instead.

Fifty years later, a new generation of students examines the capsule’s contents and the girl’s cryptic message ends up in the hands of young CALEB KOESTLER. But it is Caleb’s father, professor JOHN KOESTLER (Nicolas Cage), who makes the startling discovery that the encoded message predicts with pinpoint accuracy the dates, death tolls and coordinates of every major disaster of the past 50 years. As John further unravels the document’s chilling secrets, he realizes the document foretells three additional events—the last of which hints at destruction on a global scale and seems to somehow involve John and his son. When John’s attempts to alert the authorities fall on deaf ears, he takes it upon himself to try to prevent more destruction from taking place.

With the reluctant help of DIANA WAYLAND (Rose Byrne) and ABBY WAYLAND, the daughter and granddaughter of the now-deceased author of the prophecies, John’s increasingly desperate efforts take him on a heart-pounding race against time until he finds himself facing the ultimate disaster—and the ultimate sacrifice. --© Summit Entertainment [More]

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Rose Byrne, Ben Mendelsohn, Terry Camilleri

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Rose Byrne, Ben Mendelsohn, Terry Camilleri

Director: Alex Proyas

Director: Alex Proyas
Studio: Summit Entertainment

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Reviews for Knowing

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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Stylishly directed by Alex Proyas (who made I, Robot) this is quite simply over-the-top bonkers.

Full Review Source: Sunday Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
03/27/09
Mark Adams
Mark Adams
Sunday Mirror [UK]

Its breathlessness and permanent state of confusion make you long for the assured touch of M. Night Shyamalan.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment 1 Comment
03/20/09
Kamal Al-Solaylee
Kamal Al-Solaylee
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The movie's big, dumb elements come in all the wrong places; they provide lots of anxiety but little relief.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment 1 Comment
03/20/09
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

The slam-bang set pieces deliver. So, with his spooked features and breathy-orotund voice, does Cage.

Full Review Source: Financial Times | comment Comment
03/27/09
Nigel Andrews
Nigel Andrews
Financial Times

The frustrating thing about Knowing is the story is worthy. But director Proyas tries to cram too much in, as if the tricks and effects wizardry are all that really counts. They aren't.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment 1 Comment
03/20/09
Linda Barnard
Linda Barnard
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A wacked-out, quasi-religious 'Donnie Darko' for dummies... It earns my endorsement not because it's coherent but because it's so over the top it kept me engrossed for its full 122 minutes.

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment 1 Comment
03/20/09
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

Knowing is a classic case of a movie that is crammed with interesting ideas but is unable to conceptualize them in a compelling fashion.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment 1 Comment
03/19/09
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Despite an intriguing premise and a handful of exciting special effects scenes, this science fiction thriller lumbers along like an overweight leviathan, unable to see much past its own nose - let alone into the future.

Full Review Source: Cinefantastique | comment Comment
03/20/09
Steve Biodrowski
Steve Biodrowski
Cinefantastique

what at first seems a simple premise with a dumb-assed popcorn resolution might well unravel in your head into something altogether more resonant and perplexing (or not).

Full Review Source: Eye for Film | comment Comment
03/26/09
Anton Bitel
Anton Bitel
Eye for Film

Knowing" is one of those movies that when you get to the lobby, you begin asking yourself or others a lot of questions about why did they do this, or why was that required.

Full Review Source: Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN) | comment 1 Comment
03/19/09
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

Trades occasional moments of inspiration for obvious allegory and second-hand action sequences that shoot for stark seriousness but can barely pass for pop spectacle.

Full Review Source: Paste Magazine | comment 1 Comment
04/07/09
Jeffrey Bloomer
Jeffrey Bloomer
Paste Magazine

Knowing has the evangelical fervor of a movie that feels as if it were made during W's first term. Which is to say, Knowing is as potent a slice of disaster porn as Left Behind. It dabbles in faith and doubt and has no patience for f

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment 1 Comment
03/19/09
Christopher Borrelli
Christopher Borrelli
Chicago Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Seldom has one movie offered so much fertile ground for ridicule...

Full Review Source: Playback:stl | comment Comment
03/20/09
Sarah Boslaugh
Sarah Boslaugh
Playback:stl

Some movies, however unpromising, can be saved by a great ending. Here is one.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment 2 Comments
03/27/09
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]

It's the worst kind of idiocy, the kind that's wholly invested in its own profundity.

Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | comment Comment
03/27/09
Tim Brayton
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy

Excessive finale aside, its novel concept makes for a mental and action package worth seeing.

Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment Comment
07/22/09
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

Feels like the sort of poorly defined spiritual salve that M. Night Shyamalan concocts in between preening sessions in front of the mirror.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment 1 Comment
03/20/09
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

Pay attention to Mr. Proyas' lighting and set design as well as the intense disaster sequences that dot Knowing: As with the rest of his oeuvre, the movie looks great.

Full Review Source: Washington Times | comment Comment
08/30/09
Sonny Bunch
Sonny Bunch
Washington Times

The good news is that M. Night Shyamalan doesn't have to feel quite so ashamed of himself anymore.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Weekly | comment Comment
03/24/09
Sean Burns
Sean Burns
Philadelphia Weekly

It's a Nicolas Cage movie, so, admit it, you're expecting crazy. You have no idea.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment 1 Comment
03/19/09
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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Latest News for Knowing

July 06, 2009: RT on DVD: Knowing, Push, The Unborn Unleashed
It's a genre lover's feast this week on DVD, but don't say we didn't warn you about those pesky rotten Tomatometers. First up? Alex Proyas's latest science fiction thriller,... More...

March 22, 2009: Box Office Guru Wrapup: Audiences Power Knowing To # 1
This weekend Moviegoers still love Nicolas Cage action flicks as the actor's latest film, the doomsday thriller Knowing, easily beat out two other new releases to capture the... More...

March 19, 2009: Critics Consensus: I Love You, Man Is A Fine Bromance
This week at the movies, we've got a bromantic comedy (I Love You, Man, starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel), ominous numerology (Knowing, starring Nicolas Cage and Rose Byrne),... More...

March 19, 2009: Box Office Guru Preview: Cage, Roberts, and Rudd Battle For #1 Spot
Three new films roll into North American multiplexes and for the first time in ages, all three have a realistic chance of claiming the number one spot. Comedies have been... More...

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