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Community => Entertainment => Topic started by: Cobra951 on Friday, June 26, 2009, 06:23:31 PM

Title: Knowing
Post by: Cobra951 on Friday, June 26, 2009, 06:23:31 PM
I didn't know a thing about this movie until I watched it.  I think it's loosely based on an Arthur C Clarke novel, which would be a definite spoiler to mention openly.

[spoiler]Childhood's End[/spoiler]

It's authentic sci-fi.  A bit overbearing, but I found it more than worthwhile.  I'm sure liking Nicholas Cage helps.  The more dramatic scenes sure got enough money dumped into them, so this is no little indie effort.  Where was I when it first saw the light of day?
Title: Re: Knowing
Post by: iPPi on Friday, June 26, 2009, 06:31:33 PM
It's an alright movie.  I hated the ending and didn't like the biblical references though. 
Title: Re: Knowing
Post by: Cobra951 on Friday, June 26, 2009, 06:47:43 PM
See my spoiler above.  It's very much in keeping with that, allegories and tragedies especially.
Title: Re: Knowing
Post by: Xessive on Sunday, June 28, 2009, 03:57:28 AM
Visually, I loved it. The cinematography was fantastic.

I felt the plot was ok though many other elements were flimsy.

[spoiler]All noteworthy incidents only happen in the US and the all-knowing news report incredibly accurately. Apparently celestial beings use the Gregorian calendar and a GPS coordinates system (global navigation satellite system).[/spoiler]

Nicholas Cage is bearable in small doses but everytime I see him all I can think of is "put the bunny back in the box" in a Southern accent (from Con Air).
Title: Re: Knowing
Post by: Cobra951 on Sunday, June 28, 2009, 02:54:39 PM
[spoiler]The use of Earth coordinates doesn't bother me.  The message was intended for Earth people, from beings who could certainly learn how to communicate with them.  They're similar to the super beings from 2001, another Clarke novel.  Also, there was a multitude of transports taking off from the planet, which tells me other places on Earth got the same treatment.  We only got to see it from a US-centric perspective.[/spoiler]

I like Nick Cage.  I had no problems with his performance, even if some other people found it too moody.
Title: Re: Knowing
Post by: Xessive on Sunday, June 28, 2009, 04:06:19 PM
[spoiler]The ending was the movie's saving grace. The multiple pods/ships taking off, the eradication, the "Garden of Eden" scene, it all paid off. Up until that point the movie felt like a typical M. Night Shyamalan film, if it had ended with a retarded twist I would have been ticked off at the loss of two hours I'll never get back.[/spoiler]
Title: Re: Knowing
Post by: MysterD on Saturday, July 18, 2009, 04:44:19 PM
I just watched this on DVD.
This is one of the better thrillers that deal w/ natural disasters and cataclysmic stuff that I've seen of late.

Title: Re: Knowing
Post by: scottws on Tuesday, July 28, 2009, 05:53:21 PM
[spoiler]The ending was the movie's saving grace. The multiple pods/ships taking off, the eradication, the "Garden of Eden" scene, it all paid off. Up until that point the movie felt like a typical M. Night Shyamalan film, if it had ended with a retarded twist I would have been ticked off at the loss of two hours I'll never get back.[/spoiler]
Yeah, poor M. Night.  He came in with a fury with The Sixth Sense but since then it's been a pretty steady decline into stupidity.

I saw Knowing the other day.  I found it to be alright but nothing special.

[spoiler]I did not get the point of the warnings.  It didn't seem to have any bearing on "the whisperers" finding and leading the children to their ship.[/spoiler]
Title: Re: Knowing
Post by: gpw11 on Thursday, July 30, 2009, 01:45:57 AM
I rarely watch movies these days so I had never heard of it as well.  Read the back of the box as it was being put in and was like "The fuck?"  I was entertained, but I kind of thought it was weak.  I'm not a Nicholas Cage fan by any means, but I found him more bearable in this. I just kind of thought it was going to go in another direction entirely and deal with something more philosophical at about the half way point.  I was obviously very wrong.  But yeah, not bad.