The Knowing :

[Peter Wolf]

Has anyone seen this film ?

I watched it yesterday and i was seriously impressed with it.End of the world/supernatural thriller that wasnt what i was expecting as i was expecting a big dumb Hollywood film but instead i got a solidly acted intelligently scripted film which was genuinely creepy in places.

Recommended.

[Eric Plumrose]

If it's the Nic Cage thing, then yiss.

[Peter Wolf]

If it's the Nic Cage thing, then yiss.

Thats the one.

Also Nicholas Cage was pretty good in this film as well considering i made a mockery of his acting in the Wicker Man.

[Eric Plumrose]

Can't remember that much about it, except that the still-lovely Rose Byrne needs a kebab or two to fatten up. And that it seemed to have more of a pop at sceptics than such films usually do (but I could well be misremembering that); although I'm sure that you, Peter, won't necessarily object to that

There were a couple of effective scenes, I think; notably the aircrash and a few moments of eerieness; the fact I'm struggling to recall much at all about it, however, suggests it was indeed just another big dumb blockbuster. Which is a shame because the ending deserved a much better film (the apocalyptic bit, not so much the fluffy clouds that followed thereafter).

Apparently, Alex Proyas also directed the Crowded House video for 'Don't Dream it's Over'. Oh, and all those other films he's done.

[Professor Bear]

Cage sleepwalked through this to the point I found some scenes funny when they weren't supposed to be.  Nice effects, decent idea, poor screenplay.  Probably worth a watch, though you're more likely to be nitpicking afterwards (why [spoiler]abandon children on alien planets to fend for themselves?  Why not salvage human culture or achievements instead of a small sample of its collective DNA?[/spoiler]) instead of praising the odd good bit, like the plane crash, [spoiler]Earth on fire, or the alien planet visuals[/spoiler].

[Peter Wolf]

Cage sleepwalked through this to the point I found some scenes funny when they weren't supposed to be.  Nice effects, decent idea, poor screenplay.  Probably worth a watch, though you're more likely to be nitpicking afterwards (why [spoiler]abandon children on alien planets to fend for themselves?  Why not salvage human culture or achievements instead of a small sample of its collective DNA?[/spoiler]) instead of praising the odd good bit, like the plane crash, [spoiler]Earth on fire, or the alien planet visuals[/spoiler].

I did think about these things afterwards as well but in my opinion the screenplay was "poor" in the sense that there was not enough detail into the whys and wherefores of the predictions and the aliens etc etc etc.Having thought about it now there are massive holes in the plot the main one being why would the aliens be interested in a plane crash which in their opinion must have been insignificant plus the absurdity of the fact that they had every disaster mapped out with an exact timeline and location ?
.

Actually i am not going to get sucked into trying to understand any of this at all as i am about to start a comp entry instead of a complicated convoluted time/space conundrum like that.

If anything the idea was very good but there simply wasnt the running time to fit it all in and explain it .Some ideas just cant be shoehorned into the standard running time of a film.

in short i know exactly what you mean but taking it at face value without analysing it i rather enjoyed it and i dont see what you mean about Nicholas Cage because i thought it was an understated bit of acting that suited the part perfectly.

One thing i did think at the end was the kids ran off and left their Rabbits behind and i was concerned about how they would find them again.

[Eric Plumrose]

Well, because they're rabbits. There'll probably be a hundred of the buggers by the time the kids get back.

[Peter Wolf]

Well, because they're rabbits. There'll probably be a hundred of the buggers by the time the kids get back.

I didnt think about that.Anyway its a bit of a dull monoculture - duoculture just humans and rabbits unless the other children also selected a species to take with them too.