The Box

[Bourne101]

http://l.yimg.com/k/omg/us/img/91/70/9585_3701246049.jpg?y=660&x=616&q=75&n=0&sig=2wOkvDYIdSkifTPopQnckQ--

Directed by Richard Kelly

Written by Richard Kelly

Genre: Thriller

Plot Outline: Norma and Arthur Lewis, a suburban couple with a young child, receive a simple wooden box as a gift, which bears fatal and irrevocable consequences. A mysterious stranger, delivers the message that the box promises to bestow upon its owner $1 million with the press of a button. But, pressing this button will simultaneously cause the death of another human being somewhere in the world; someone they don't know. With just 24 hours to have the box in their possession, Norma and Arthur find themselves in the cross-hairs of a startling moral dilemma and must face the true nature of their humanity.

Starring: Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella, James Rebhorn

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, some violence and disturbing images.

Runtime: 115 minutes

Great concept, but it's all about the execution. I'll see it, but my expectations aren't all that high. Cameron Diaz also looks TERRIBLE from the trailers. She needs to stick to rom-coms. She was pretty dreadful in the recent My Sister's Keeper and has never been very good in serious roles.

[ilovemovies]

Oh, I couldn't disagree more on Diaz. She was exceptional in My Sister's Keeper. It's the best acting she's ever done. And my OTHER favorite performance of hers is in Any Given Sunday. So Diaz, don't just stick to romcoms. Continue challenging that yourself. I also loved her in Vanilla Sky. And though I wasn't a fan of the movie itself, she was nonetheless fantastic in Being John Malkovich.

That said, I'm not too sure about this movie. It's an intriguing concept, and the trailer looks okay but if what Diaz said about the ending is true, I'm liable to throw something at the screen.

[DareDevil]

Donnie Darko was great... Southland Tales was horrible... this movie is really make ir or break it for Richard Kelly, i hope it's good.

[Highspeed]

My dad was real into the short story this was based on when he was a kid, so me and him are gonna be checkin this out...it looks interesting.

[cloneofkelso]

This movie looks interesting,would'nt mind checking it out.Donnie Darko is one of my faves.

[Jig Saw 123]

Every time I see the commercial on tv I honestly start laughing, this movie looks ridiculously stupid, but I'm still going to catch it just to see how it ends.

[Cop No. 633]

Guys, found the movie on youtube. I guess the studio's not really paying attention to the leaks:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGsblgwCaKc

[LordSimen]

While I like this movie better than Kelly's previous efforts, this movie is definitely not without it's own problems. The script needed some serious reworking, particularly in the dialogue department. A lot of the interactions between the family in the beginning scene just felt dry and way too expositional at times. But that's not to say the dialogue doesn't have it's moments. Parts such as Frank Langella's "Box" speech toward the end the end of the piece prove that Kelly can write wonderful stuff when he wants to. The acting in the piece, which may come partly from the directing, seems to be all over the place. James Marsden and Frank Langella prove to be the highlights, however Cameron Dias' performance seems to come and go. Overall, I'd say this is a solid piece that could have been better. 7/10

[QUENTIN]

I'm just amazed that after Southland Tales they let this guy make a movie again.

What happened to the Heaven's Gate days when you had to atone for years for a money-sucking, universally maligned monumental fuckup like that before you got the opportunity to direct again?

Hollywood sucks in direct proportion to how much it allows people to fail up.

[Moviefan02000]

I honestly have no idea what to say about this movie. ;)

I'm a gigantic fan of DONNIE DARKO, it's been one of my favorite movies for years. With that being said, I blind bought SOUTHLAND TALES and couldn't even make it through the entire thing.

When the trailer for this came out I thought it was a really cool concept and that it looked really great. The first 45 minutes or so were wonderful. Very suspenseful and entertaining. It really started going downhill when the whole thing with the babysitter started going on. The last hour of the movie was just... so corny and cheesy. While the ideas were good, just weren't executed on film well at all.

And the ending, which could have been GREAT was ruined be horrible dialogue and awful music.

I walked out of the theater saying "that movie was absolutely terrible." And honestly, it wasn't very good at all. But I do like it more than I did last night. I honestly can't stop thinking about it because it was just so... bad. ;) But it was never boring. I think it will work better on a second viewing, so you know what will expect.

5/10 ( C )

[JCPhoenix]

I have to disagree about the music at the end (and in the film in general) - I thought the score was the best part of the film (although it is utilized a little too much I think). I was excited for the score since the members of Arcade Fire and Owen Pallett were writing it but I didn't expect something so lush and old-school. It really had that haunting paranoia sound that Bernard Hermann did so well. The music in the library scene in particular stood out to me.

As for the film as a whole, I thought it just didn't quite gel into something fully cohesive for me though I did enjoy the watch. I think I needed a little more action from Marsden and Diaz throughout and I also didn't get into their relationship enough for the ending to work the way Kelly wanted it to. I dug the story overall but I think another pass on the dialogue would have helped make some of the exposition less obvious and awkward.

I'd rate it about a 6/10 because it is a movie I am thinking about after the fact. But I'm still on-the-fence about Richard Kelly.

For the record, my two friends who I saw it with both liked it a lot more than I did.

[APzombie]

I guess Kelly thinks it a blessing to ascend to mediocrity after a cinematic atrocity.

He's one of the most overrated storytellers of recent memory. One of those cases where it seems he literally has wool over everyone's eyes with Donnie Darko.

[Inglorious]

I guess Kelly thinks it a blessing to ascend to mediocrity after a cinematic atrocity.

He's one of the most overrated storytellers of recent memory. One of those cases where it seems he literally has wool over everyone's eyes with Donnie Darko.

I liked Donnie Darko AND Southland Tales. I was planning on catching The Box over this weekend, but I came down with some nasty cold or something on Thursday. In any case, I think Southland Tales is kind of underrated, and so is he. Outside Movie-buff Land no one has heard of the man.

[fooknasty]

Man, I really enjoyed the first hour or so of this movie. It was really suspenseful and had me guessing what was going to happen from one scene to the next.

Unfortunately, the last hour took a really weird turn.


SPOILERS

I thought it was really interesting that they used the drones as a way to get closer to the couple, but when they started popping up all over the place, following him in the library, it became slightly comical. Also, the floating water towers and the space traveling really bogged this movie down.

END SPOILERS


I really enjoyed the performances by James, Cameron, and Frank and the stylized direction was really working for the first half, but man.....what a torrid change of pace in the second half.

5 maybe 6/10

[Ender]

I guess, like DONNIE DARKO before it, THE BOX is both more and less than the sum of it's parts. It has a wonderful cast who fully inhabit their characters, it has a talented writer/director who excels at creating tension and atmosphere, and it has a great concept and the frame of a fascinating morality tale. On paper, this should be enough to make it a good if not a great movie.

But, like DONNIE DARKO, some things about THE BOX don't add up. It's a puzzle that's missing pieces. Some of the mysterious people and events in this film are never adequately explained in the end. The resolution is too ambiguous for its own good, and the movie could stand to have about twenty minutes trimmed to keep it from bogging down and growing tedious, as it does in the third act.

Still, I have to say, I really loved some of what THE BOX does. Take the main couple's money problems, for example; we're to believe they're "Living paycheck to paycheck". But Diaz is a teacher at a fancy private school, and Marsden works for fucking NASA. Their house seems nice (if hideously decorated) and their car looks like something James Bond should be having a chase scene in.

At first it seems inconsistent to have us believe they're desperate for money, but what seems like a throwaway line from Diaz about how they have a habit of overspending puts it into perspective. These aren't humble, blue collar working folk we're dealing with here. They already have and enjoy the good life; problem is, they want the great life. This puts the morality of the decision they have to make into a whole different zone. The movie doesn't take the cheap way out by playing to our sympathies with the kind of hard-working, underappreciated 20th century peasants you see in lots of flicks. That's a gutsy move, and one that might not jump out at you right off the bat.

[EDsoulsurvive*]

Man, I really enjoyed the first hour or so of this movie. It was really suspenseful and had me guessing what was going to happen from one scene to the next.

Unfortunately, the last hour took a really weird turn.


SPOILERS

I thought it was really interesting that they used the drones as a way to get closer to the couple, but when they started popping up all over the place, following him in the library, it became slightly comical. Also, the floating water towers and the space traveling really bogged this movie down.

END SPOILERS


I really enjoyed the performances by James, Cameron, and Frank and the stylized direction was really working for the first half, but man.....what a torrid change of pace in the second half.

5 maybe 6/10

Yeah I think Richard Kelly needs to restrain himself and his overpowering sci-fi urges. The Box had all the elements of a fantastic sci-fi tinged thriller, but the library scene and the portals were fucking nuts. Like you're-insanse-and-I'd-do-best-to-ignore-you nuts.

The more I think about The Box the more I like it, although it was still one goddamn mess of a movie. 6/10

And it seems to be getting criticized, but I'd consider adding a point for the score.

[Ender]

Can I ask though, what was up with that kid? He needed some serious belt time. Is it just me, or are child characters in movies these days almost universally a bunch of obnoxious, disrespectful little brats? Were we really expected to care?

[ilovemovies]

Guess I'm the only who LOVED this movie! Not just like, but loved it. It's very intriguing with some really interesting moral dilemmas, strong sympathetic performances from Cameron Diaz and James Marsden as well as a really creepy one from Frank Langella. It all builds up to a powerful ending. This is by far Richard Kelly's best movie yet. Better than Donnie Darko. WAY better than the so-so Southland Tales. I was lukewarm on Kelly before this movie, consider me an official fan of his now.

8/10



BTW, speaking of the music, is it me, or did sometimes seem like a copy of the music from Lost. There were times when I definitely got a Lost vibe from the score. But that's not necessarily a bad thing since I happen to think that the music from Lost is amazing!

[Danger^Cart]

Ultimately, I think If I had seen this before I saw Knowing, I would have liked it a lot more. That being said, I really did enjoy it for the most part, though as with Donnie Darko I can recognize its inaccessibility, and It definitely won't find an audience anytime soon. I'd say once it hits DVD it'll garner some kind of cult following.

Regardless, Frank Langella was balls awesome in this. I could listen to that dude read a car manual and be entertained for days. Love that last frame with the hat tip.

[ScaryFreak1827]

I have to say I really liked this and honestly didn't expect to. There were a number of truly suspenseful moments throughout and I loved the strong creepy atmosphere of this film. Some nice performances from our lead stars, some great wtf moments and a strangely satisfying ending that will nearly blow your mind. I'm interested to check out the short story this was based on now.

8/10

[Pipinowns]

I have to be honest, I loved this movie. Then again, I also loved Southland Tales...

I like Kelly's crazy, off-the-wall sci-fi style. I think The Box doesn't live up to his previous films as much, simply because, unlike Southland Tales, it has no obvious reason to be so crazy. Also, it could of used more scenes like the one in the libarary... Still an excellent film, though.

9/10

[Kevin Smith fan]

74/100

Definitley the most tame of Richard Kelly's projects, but it defintley showed some promise. After Southland Tales I wasn't sure what to think of the guy, but there were some incredible sequences in this film.

[Horne]

To date he has not topped his first feature. I hope he gets his act together. He needs to stop with the twists and confusion and just tell a good story.

[phelonious]

bump

[TheDeadWalk]

It was hard to find a thread on this movie... now I know why. I'm a big Twilight Zone fan, but this movie was just way too much. It just kept jumping the shark with every single act. I still have no clue as to what I just watched.

I enjoyed the movie's slick 70's look, and James Marsden's role was a very likeable character. I wish I could say the same for Cameron Diaz. Her forced southern twang made me cringe every time she spoke.

4/10

The simple concept of The Box is great. Push the button, someone you don't know dies, but you get a million dollars. Pass the box on to the next person and then see if they push the button which will end your life. The longer this movie went, it just totally got away from that. I understand that something had to be done to make this movie two hours long, but damn. The story just sucked. Now I know why this took several years to make.

[Tweek]

When a movie comes out on DVD don't bump the thread here, start a new one in General.

[viceus]

So, what's in it?

[Tweek]

So, what's in it?

Marsellus Wallace's soul...Or some sort of fateful button, I'm not sure which. ;)

[Terminal_83]

I recently saw this on DVD for a review and I was very disappointed. I've tried to keep my faith in Kelly, but man he just continues to disappoint. Everything from the story, to the undertones are incoherent, and the acting is terrible. Particularly Cameron Diaz who is absolutely comedic and has one of the worst monologues I've ever seen.

Well shot, love the soundtrack, but it fails on almost every level.

[FireCaptain4]

I watched this last night, after a busy day at college and, surprisingly enough, I didn't have to fight off sleep to stay awake.

I wasn't too crazy about Southland Tales, from what I can recall, but I do enjoy Donnie Darko thoroughly. As many have already stated, The Box is somewhere in-between.

What is it about the six-sided box figure that makes it capable of raising so much intrigue and obscurity? The “sphere” is capable of creating such ambiguity as well as has been proven through films like Solaris and Sphere, but box/cubes have been used just as much and with much psychological success in films like Hellraiser and Cube. The Box, based upon a previous Twilight Zone episode, makes use of this image and paranoia it can bring with a certain level of success.

There are several moments of genuine suspense and there's a constant and persistent mood full of dread and mystery. As a huge fan of science-fiction and intricate and bizarre thrillers, I found my urges satisfied by the picture. Although it doesn't balance it's elements as well as, say, The Dead Zone or The Manchurian Candidate, I was interested in the story, characters (even if I think Diaz should steer clear of serious roles from now on), and trying to decipher all of the events that were taking place on screen.

As Ender mentioned, the film is ambitious with it's setup and themes, even if it falls short with its execution. I must say I think Kelly has a great hand behind the camera and I really hope that if he continues to make movies that he lets someone else handle the screenplays for him. The Box tries to be a Kelly movie, Twilight Zone movie, and even a David Lynch movie yet it's none of these. The film struggles internally with on what it wants to be, hurting itself in the process.

On the acting forefront, almost every role was fairly well handled. Mardsen really surprised me, even in the films more ridiculous scenes—his abilities let his character come off as genuine in this situation. I wasn’t all that impressed by Diaz and I think that was miscast, however, I didn’t find her presence too distracting. James Rebhorn’s presence was a nice addition as well (he always seems to add a bit of creditability to anything he’s in).

Pushing all of this aside, the man whole stole the show was Frank Langella. I’m still new to the man, to be honest, and have only seen four or so of his movies, but his performance as the chilling and mysterious Arlington Steward was played to perfection. The one scene that nobody has mentioned yet, that I loved, was the conversation Steward has with one of his “employees” in his odd, oval shaped control hub where he vaguely explains some of the purpose and intentions behind the “box.”

Like JCPhoenix, the score was one of my favorite aspects in the movie. Strong rushes of the music really worked in the favor of some of the more frantic and frenetic scenes. One aspect I thought could use much more tweaking was the editing. The pace of the film was odd. Some sequences felt “half finished”--going from very exciting and suspenseful to uninteresting and tedious in mere seconds.

With all of this said, I did enjoy the film for the most part, though there are some narrative aspects and happenings that still don’t make sense to me. For those of you who have also seen the film:

Was Langella a courier for the will of aliens/extraterrestrials (which I think the film hinted at the most) or of supreme/creation entities--God or gods? Are his experiments a report to bring back to little green men or angelic beings? I assumed aliens until the last 15-20 minutes where religion and the afterlife become a topic between the characters. The “gateway” sequence also blurs the line here.

Like DangerCart, I think Knowing already explored similar ideas and themes much more successfully and, in a way, stole this movies “thunder” (or “lightning” as it were, hehe).

Related Recommendations: Donnie Darko, The Dead Zone, Knowing, The Manchurian Candidate, The Fountain, Hellraiser, Southland Tales, Cube