Netflix viewers rediscover 00s sci-fi thriller with 'unexpected' twist

The 2009 Nicolas Cage movie, Knowing, has climbed the charts this week to become the ninth most-watched film on Netflix in the UK.
Directed by The Crow filmmaker Alex Proyas, the film stars Cage as MIT professor John Koestler, who stumbles across a time capsule containing a seemingly prophetic string of numbers.
Discovering that these numbers correlate to major disasters over the past 50 years – including September 11 and Hurricane Katrina – John is quick to notice that the list is almost at an end.
With a devastating solar flare on the horizon, John realises that this impending cataclysm could be the world's last – and he faces a race against time to get himself and his son (Chandler Canterbury) to safety before it's too late.
Co-starring Rose Byrne and Andor star Ben Mendelsohn, Knowing has been largely forgotten by those not in the know… until now.
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It has resonated with audiences since being added to Netflix on April 15, many of whom are discovering its wild twist ending for the first time.
In some respects, Knowing was a film ahead of its time, having garnered a less-than-favourable score of 35 from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
While many highlighted its 'cool' ideas and tense aeroplane disaster sequence, most critics dismissed it as a missed opportunity.
With these caveats in mind, Nigel Floyd of Time Out described it as 'compelling,' while Advocate's John Wirt called it 'imperfect but effective.'
Meanwhile, The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw had much praise for that ending, saying: 'Some movies, however unpromising, can be saved by a great ending. Here is one.'
Since its release, the film has achieved something of a renaissance, with fans on a Reddit thread discussing its undeserved bad reputation.
'Neat ideas, some genuinely creepy sequences, and a quality Nic Cage performance,' wrote Dottsterisk.
'I appreciated that the film-makers stuck with what they established until the end,' said Detroit_Cineaste of the film's shocking ending.
'This movie put the fear of death in me. Seriously, I never thought about it that hard before seeing this. Afterwards, thinking about dying makes me sick and terrified. Thinking about it too long is bound to send me into a panic attack,' recalled snapthesacc.
'The ending is a very good part of the movie imo,' said batsofburden.
In the 16 years since Knowing's release, the film's star has only grown more unpredictable in his old age. More Trending
Mocked at the time for his penchant for starring in silly sci-fi thrillers and straight-to-DVD action films, he's gone on to dial up the craziness – appearing in the likes of Mandy, Prisoners of the Ghostland, Willy's Wonderland and Renfield, to name but a few.
This month, he stars in the modern Ozploitation feature The Surfer, in which he stars as a man at the end of his tether, descending into madness and mania when he's accosted by a gang of beach bros on an idyllic Australian beachfront.
Knowing is streaming on Netflix UK now.
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MORE: Shocking horror movie that caused walkouts streaming now on iPlayer
MORE: New 'deliciously twisted' thriller soars to number 1 on Amazon Prime Video
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7 hours ago

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Ashley Walters, 42, reflects on 'isolating' battle with alcoholism and admits he 'thought it would cure the biggest problem he had' as he poses shirtless for Men's Health UK shoot

Ashley Walters has reflected on his 'isolating' struggles with alcohol, as he posed for a shirtless shoot with Men's Health UK. As well as being the magazine's July/August cover star, the actor, 42, spoke about his journey to getting sober in 2020, after a 15-year struggle with alcohol addiction. Ashley, who recently earned critical praise for his role in Netflix 's Adolescence, shared how he first began using alcohol as a way to improve his social skills. He said: 'I would be in a group of people and be looking at everyone and wondering how they could communicate so wonderfully, and I don't have the ability to do that. 'I was always looking at everyone else like, what manual for life did you get that I didn't? How come I didn't get the memo? 'It started off with me trying to become a person that could talk to girls like my friends could or bust a joke with the mandem like my friends could… 'People may not like me saying it, but for a minute alcohol was the cure to the biggest problem that I felt I had. 'But the thing is, alcohol or drugs' main aim is to isolate you. Its main aim is to take everything away from you, so it has you by yourself and then at that point, it tries to kill you.' Reflecting on his lengthy battle with addiction, the Top Boy star added: 'Alcoholism is a disease. I didn't realise until I got some professional help that it centres in the mind. 'It's not the drug or drink of choice that's the issue. The easy part is to stop consuming alcohol, or whatever. 'The hard part is dealing with the problem in your head. 'But if you don't remedy that part, you're always going to end up going back to drinking because that problem still exists.' Ashley went onto share that since getting sober, he challenges himself in various social situations, without using alcohol as a vice. He added: 'I turn up now and force myself into situations that I probably would have shied away from before just to test how good I am at striking up conversations or being around people… 'I've met some amazing people that I know for a fact I wouldn't have [met when drinking]. I would have been s***ting myself. 'I sat down with Michael B Jordan a couple of weeks ago and we had an amazing conversation for an hour… 'To be able to sit down, laugh and joke naturally with someone I look up to, even though I'm a bit older, feels good. It's a marker of how far I've come.' Ashley recently earned critical praise for his performance as detective DI Luke Bascombe in Adolescence. The four-part series received critical acclaim when it hit the streaming service in March, and centres on a 13-year-old boy accused of murdering a schoolgirl. In the show, viewers saw how teen Jamie Miller's perception of girls had been radicalised through content he was viewing online, and also showed the vast amount of social media consumed by teenagers at school. And Ashley went onto share that realisations while filming the show have led him to curtail his youngest son's screen time. He added: '[As parents] we're really about uplifting and pushing the things that they love. He's an animator, so he has a lot of animation software on his iPad and spends his time doing that. 'But sometimes, he's not animating when we think he is. We've been very conscious about that and drawing back on his screen time. 'Half the week, he can't even touch his device. And then actually, it's about me stepping in as a dad and saying, ''Let's go fishing, let's do more stuff,'' so he doesn't want to be on there as much as he is.' 'No one wants to be the ogre parent that comes in and goes, 'All right, that's it, everything off.' 'I don't want them to feel like they're not the same as their friends. You get caught up in all of that stuff as a parent, but I feel like around the world this show has allowed parents, to go, ''Fu*k that s**t. 'Adolescence says this could happen. Now we're going to start having this conversation.'' I think that's a good thing.' MailOnline revealed last month that star Owen Cooper would be entered in the Best Supporting Actor category for his role as murder suspect Jamie Miller in the show that has become one of Netflix's most-watched series ever. Experts hailed the 'genius move' of placing Cooper in Supporting, as opposed to Best Actor, which they said would massively boost his chances of winning. Adolescences's four episodes, all filmed in one continuous take, explore the influence of online misogyny and incel culture - with Sir Keir Starmer calling for the series to be shown in schools. The series also sparked frenzied speculation that there could be a second season in the works, but star Ashley said this only seems likely if it follows a new story. He added: 'I'd love to, but I strongly believe that it will be completely different characters with a completely different story. I think that the constant will be the one-take process.' The full interview is available in the July/August issue of Men's Health UK, on sale from 24th June.

Daily Mirror

7 hours ago

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Adolescence star Ashley Walters says show has changed how he parents son

Former Top Boy star Ashley Walters has recently restricted his youngest son River's screen time - and believes his hit Netflix show has helped parents have difficult conversations with their kids Adolescence star Ashley Walters says being part of the harrowing Netflix show which gripped the world has had a positive impact on how he parents his own brood. The 42-year-old father of eight - who welcomed his first child at 20, has opened up on staying connected to his youngest son, River, 5 - and how the show led him to cutting down on his screen time. '[As parents] we're really about pushing the things that they love. He's an animator, so he has a lot of animation software on his iPad and spends his time doing that. But sometimes, he's not animating when we think he is. ‌ 'We've been very conscious about that and drawing back on his screen time. Half the week, he can't even touch his device. And then actually, it's about me stepping in as a dad and saying, 'Let's go fishing, let's do more stuff,' so he doesn't want to be on there as much as he is.' ‌ Global hit Adolescence explored the impact of a shocking act of violence on a family and community - focusing on the Miller family's 13-year-old son, Jamie, who is arrested for the murder of a schoolmate - and Top Boy star Ashley claims it's also helped parents broach difficult conversations about navigating the online world. 'No one wants to be the ogre parent that comes in and goes, 'All right, that's it, everything off.' I don't want them to feel like they're not the same as their friends', says Ashley, who first shot to fame as a member of UK garage group So Solid Crew, 'You get caught up in all of that stuff as a parent, but I feel like around the world this show has allowed parents, to go, 'Fu*k that shit. Adolescence says this could happen. Now we're going to start having this conversation.' I think that's a good thing," he added to Men's Health UK. Ashley is a proud dad to sons Shayon, 22, and Panera, 19, and daughter China, 21, whom he shares with ex-partner Natalie Williams, he has daughters Antonia and Ashleigh with another woman, as well as Amaiya-Love, 9, and River, 5, with his wife Danielle Isaie, whom he married in 2013. Ashley is also the stepfather to his wife's child from a previous relationship. ‌ The Peckham-born star, who recently released Sunday Times best-selling memoir Always Winning, which delves into his turbulent past, also confessed that he'd 'love' to be involved in a prospective second series but added, 'I strongly believe that it will be completely different characters with a completely different story. I think that the constant will be the one-take process.' The actor and musician, looking incredibly buff in the new shoot, also spoke bravely about why his previous alcohol addiction, which he battled up to 2020, became a crutch for his social inhibitions. ‌ 'I'd be in a group of people looking at everyone and wondering how they could communicate so wonderfully, and I don't have the ability to do that. I was always looking at everyone else like, what manual for life did you get that I didn't? 'People may not like me saying it, but for a minute, alcohol was the cure to the biggest problem that I felt I had. But the thing is, alcohol or drugs' main aim is to isolate you. Its main aim is to take everything away from you, so it has you by yourself and then at that point, it tries to kill you.' ‌ Now he says proudly he will often force himself into situations to test his skills in striking up conversations. 'I've met some amazing people that I know for a fact I wouldn't have [met when drinking]. I would have been shi*ting myself. 'I sat down with Michael B Jordan a couple of weeks ago and we had an amazing conversation for an hour…To be able to sit down, laugh and joke naturally with someone I look up to, even though I'm a bit older, feels good. It's a marker of how far I've come.' The full interview with Ashley Walters can be read in the July/August issue of Men's Health UK, on sale from 24th June