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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 rotten rating)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
08/19/09
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Tom Meek
Tom Meek
Boston Phoenix

You’re better off not knowing.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment 1 Comment
03/27/09
Empire Magazine

The draggy, lurching two hours of Knowing will make you long for the end of the world, even as you worry that there will not be time for all your questions to be answered.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment 1 Comment
03/20/09
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An expletive-filled expression of utter bewilderment awaits anyone who stumbles into what must surely be a new frontrunner for the barmiest blockbuster ever made.

Full Review Source: Scotsman | comment Comment
03/27/09
Alistair Harkness
Alistair Harkness
Scotsman

...so convoluted, idiotic and preachy that it plays like M. Night Shyamalan adapting the Left Behind books. Only dopier.

Full Review Source: MSNBC | comment 2 Comments
03/20/09
Alonso Duralde
Alonso Duralde
MSNBC

the words "trite" and "ludicrous" come to mind and lodge there.

Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | comment Comment
03/22/09
Andrea Chase
Andrea Chase
Killer Movie Reviews

The dialogue is sci-fi standard-issue, composer Marco Beltrami shamelessly cribs from Bernard Herrmann, and wispy Rose Byrne barely registers as Cage's ally.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment 1 Comment
03/19/09
Andrea Gronvall
Andrea Gronvall
Chicago Reader

The CGI is unconvincing, the big shock-and-awe finale is a throwback to the days of Deep Impact, and underneath it all is the nervous American insistence that there is life beyond the stars.

Full Review Source: Independent | comment Comment
03/27/09
Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn
Independent

There's nothing really special about this film, other than an interesting premise.

Full Review Source: At the Movies | comment Comment
03/23/09
Ben Lyons
Ben Lyons
At the Movies

Things started to fall off of the deep end very quickly.

Full Review Source: At the Movies | comment Comment
03/23/09
Ben Mankiewicz
Ben Mankiewicz
At the Movies

For me, it doesn't quite work; still I'm glad he took the risk.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment 1 Comment
03/20/09
Betsy Sharkey
Betsy Sharkey
Los Angeles Times

Among the most troubling elements of 'Knowing' are its dark cinematography, outlandish plot, and a less-than-memorable performance by Nicolas Cage.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment 1 Comment
07/11/09
Betty Jo Tucker
Betty Jo Tucker
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

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)

A broad, leisurely jumble of Alfred Hitchcock-style suspense architecture and a dreary, paint-by-numbers Sci-Fi Channel Original, Knowing only seems to extract two reactions: nail-biting and eye-rolling.

Full Review Source: Sci-Fi Movie Page | comment 1 Comment
03/19/09
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
Sci-Fi Movie Page

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

If you're of a mind to believe a dreary and far-fetched thriller about numerology-crazed alien life forms, then you may find the movie mildly diverting.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment 1 Comment
03/19/09
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today

Knowing that 'Knowing' is not worth your money is probably your best bet in movies to not pay for this weekend.

Full Review Source: BET.com | comment Comment
06/10/09
Clay Cane
Clay Cane
BET.com

The resolution of the mysterious visitors' mission and John's crisis of faith feels more like an excuse to stage some hellacious cataclysms than the product of a genuine belief in anything at all.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment 1 Comment
03/19/09
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune

It's the next bold entry in the genre of Hilariously Terrible Nicolas Cage Movies.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment 1 Comment
03/20/09
David Cornelius
David Cornelius
eFilmCritic.com
 
 
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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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