Knowing

Any time a viewer goes to the movies, he or she brings her own personal experiences, belief system, self-identity--all the things that make us who we are. One set of beliefs this particular film, "Knowing," addresses is spirituality. Another is the age-old debate: Is the Earth determined by randomness or is its course affected by determinism? "Knowing" definitely offers a conclusion.An amazing thing--to me--is the negative reaction that films and books receive if their theme concerns spirituality, particularly established religion, and specifically Christianity. Just what happened in these lives to make religion so untenable and negative? Though not in-your-face blatant, "Knowing" is definitely a movie threaded with Christian theology.Nicholas Cage is a college professor of physics at M.I.T. The important lecture the viewer is privy to is a review of the long-standing, unanswerable debate involving the theories of determinism and randomness. Was the earth deliberately set into motion, or did it just happen? At one point, done through subtle directing, Cage's character is a religious believer--after all, he grew up in a home in which his father is a pastor. But there is a schism between them now caused by the death of Cage's wife in a catastrophic hotel fire. Why? Cage has no answer other than to let his religious beliefs expire.Since then Cage has languished during his private time, relying on alcohol to appease his loss-stricken soul. The premise of this film is to show the reaction and spiritual evolution of one human when faced with a final eschatology.But getting there includes the viewer in this trek to the truth. We watch Lucinda, an important early character, concertedly write a series of numbers, front and back on a blank sheet of drawing paper, in a 1950's classroom. She is responding to the teacher's instruction: Draw what the Earth will look like in fifty years. These drawings will be placed in a time capsule, to be opened in fifty years. Fifty years later Nicholas Cage's son draws the numbered sheet. He too begins to hear the Whispering Ones. Through a determined act? a random one? Cage's character begins an exploration of the shocking meaning of these numbers. Are you seeing the thread being woven before you?Reaching the final scene of the film is much like opening a Chinese puzzle box. The final solution--the final truth--lies inside the last box. This final truth is not included in biblical literature except through suggested possibility. Cage's last scene shows he has definitely returned to the beliefs of his father. Again, the spirituality of the film is definite, but not smashingly presented. I have merely picked up those threads to present in this review. Back in context, they are much less noticeable.As for Nicholas Cage: He is not my favorite actor, although I like most of his work. In my humble opinion this role is his best and one he approaches quietly and thoughtfully. Cage does not overact (as he tends to). His sobbing scene is so genuinely acted, he had me sobbing with him. I like this Nicholas Cage--this subtlety he brings to the role. He "gets" the premise of the film. Because I would have labeled Cage a Hollywood type in political and religious beliefs, his acceptance of this role and his portrayal of it really are surprising and even astonishing."Knowing" is a film of questions and an answer. Is it the answer you bring to your viewing? That answer probably will determine whether or you like the film.

It was perfect

I have seen this movie a few times. It's based on symbols that indicates when is the end of the world. Excellent script and great effects.Package was damaged. Order was returned.

The problem in reviewing any movie is that in all likelihood one will inadvertently reveal too much and spoil it for others. And I'm afraid I will as well. Personally, I think this movie works best if people forgo looking at any of the reviews and see this film fresh and without prejudice (so rent it first). That being said, here is my review.KNOWING is an eye-popping movie with excellent visuals and special effects ... the airliner disaster had my jaw dropping. It is also very effective as a countdown thrill ride. I loved its ambiguities, but because of this, many people have different interpretations and either loved or hated this movie with equal ferocity, depending upon which interpretation they perceived. Two such movies with similar conflicts are Stanley Kubrick's, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and Steven Spielberg's (in honor of Kubrick who was to direct this movie) AI: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.In 2001, ambiguities run rampant. What did any of it mean? What's the monolith all about? What exactly turned HAL into a killer? What in the heck happened in the entire last act? In AI, one will ask many questions as well, especially, who were those creatures at the end? Aliens (as so many believed) or highly advanced robots who were seeking knowledge of their creator (humans)? People either hated these movies or loved them depending upon their personal interpretations. Hint ... they were NOT aliens in AI.In many ways we see the same ambiguities concerning KNOWING; are the creatures aliens or are they angels (or even a combination of both if one thinks our belief system was alien influenced)? If one really watches and pays the least bit of attention, one "should" clearly see the director's intent. Hint ... they were ... ________ (meaning: find out for yourselves).I thought KNOWING was an entertaining ride that kept me interested throughout, but as we begin to understand that we may be looking at a disaster of mega proportions, other questions of why and for what purpose does this list of numbers serve, begins to settle in. Is our universe random and chaotic? Or is there an order and design that is impossible for us to grasp? In truth, neither interpretation matters much because there is nothing the human race can do about cosmological events.I felt that this movie was quite thought provoking (plenty of discussions around the water cooler). Personally, I loved the numerology concept of this movie -- a random set of numbers that perhaps aren't as random as we thought on first look, which in itself raises more questions ... as does the Bible Code -- a meaningless set of letters and numbers that form words and meanings that can be found on any written page and book, while people see precisely what they want to see? Or something else that is far more compelling and meaningful?). There are many subtleties in this movie, far more than first meets the eye, and several that I didn't pick up on until the second viewing, including the significance of the boy's hearing problem (obviously, I'm not the only one to miss this).I also liked the movie's pace, allowing the tension to escalate as each piece of the puzzle was laid out before us. All in all, I'm happy to have this film in my fledgling blu-ray library. To me it is an impressive film that allows the viewer to search his or her own mind on the questions it tries to raise. I find this a strength, while for others it's a weakness -- there is a wide difference of opinion in the merits of this film, which I think was the director's intent all along.For what it is worth, I viewed this movie on an LN40B630 Samsung HDTV, using an Oppo BDP-83 blu-ray player and a Zvox 2.1 sound system. So what's my rating? Times have changed, and I don't think I should just rate the movie, but also the blu-ray qualities as well. That being said, here are my ratings:Video = a solid 9 out of 10 (some absolutely gorgeous and pristine scenes as well as some really stunning "wow" moments).Audio = 8 out of 10 (even without a 5.1 or 7.1 system, I was impressed with the audio track -- it enhanced the entire movie experience).Movie = a very solid 8 out of 10 (a very good movie, but a bit problematic in areas because of the purposely conceived ambiguities, which created its own plot hole). And while the child actors were no Haley Joel Osment or Dakota Fanning, I felt they did a credible job. All-in-all, a much maligned movie (as was 2001 and AI) that I felt wasn't given nearly the credit it deserves. BTW, and just to let people know where I'm coming from, I thought 2001 was a 5-star classic, while AI was a near-classic and a wonderful tribute to Kubrick.

This DVD is quiet interesting, thanks Amazon :)

not that good of a movie, could be better

Un film que j’attendais sur 4k . Bien rendu et le film toujours aussi efficace et excellent !!! Ceux qui aime les intrigues empreintes de mysticismes et de fin des temps, c’est pour vous!!! Je le recommande. 👍

Había deseado ese título en blu ray y debo decir que esta versión viene con créditos de doblaje al finalizar la película y sorpresivamente tiene los extras subtitulados en español, algo que la versión de Quality Films no hizo bien ya que por alguna extraña razón, los subtítulos para los extras no están sincronizados correctamente. Recomiendo esta versión importada.

Mêle habilement fin du monde et science fiction . Un début vraiment original, la découverte par un enfant d'un message prophétique fait de nombres laissé avec d'autres dessins qui décrivent leurs visions du futur, dans une capsule enterrée des années plus tôt par les enfants d'une école. On est dans un premier temps happé par la découverte de ce message divinatoire qui entraîne Nicolas Cage à tenter d'éviter des catastrophes avec des scènes spectaculaires d'action superbement filmées et mises en scène. Puis vient la rencontre avec Rose Byrne, toujours excellentes, charismatique et talentueuse, pour un passage plus mystérieux et SF qui va les conduire vers la 3 ème et ultime catastrophe. C'est rythmé, intelligemment construit pour peu à peu reconstruire le puzzle et assembler tous les éléments vers la scène finale en donnant à toutes les scènes précédentes un sens encore plus fort. Excellente réalisation, Nicolas Cage et Rose Byrne au top sans sombrer dans la facilité de la romance, 2 enfants également formidables et un film qui passe à 100 à l'heure. Une des références des films genre fin du monde: vraiment une belle petite claque car les effets spéciaux assurent le grand spectacle (la scène de l'avion est très prenante et bouleversante). Le scenario est captivant comme il le faut avec une bonne part de mystère, la fin est assez spéciale, on aime ou on aime pas, elle pourrait être assez bancale mais moi j'aime bien et elle reste impressionnante.

ネタバレになりますが、一番最後のシーンが、TVではカットされてました。この”木”が出て来る事で、内容が理解出来るので、Blu-rayを見る事をお勧めします。

Lo he dicho varias veces, pero me encanta que llegue con su slipcover y este se siente y ve excelente. Sin daño y muy brilloso. La calidad de la película es muy buena en 4K, así como el excelente audio en inglés dolby atmos y español latino. Tiene subtítulos en ambos idiomas. Los extras no están subtitulados. Cómpralo en oferta.