Cameron Diaz Movie:

Editorial Review:
Director Richard Kelly has crafted yet another evocative, spectacular, maddening film guaranteed to provoke passionate love-it or hate-it responses. Though far more straightforward than his previous cult favorites, Donnie Darko or Southland Tales, The Box is crammed just as full of stunning visuals and ambiguous metaphysics. Norma and Arthur Lewis (Cameron Diaz of Charlie's Angels and James Marsden of X-Men) find a plainly wrapped package on their doorstep one day. Inside is a strange box with a large, red button--and if they press that button, explains a courtly but alarming-looking gentleman (Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon), they will receive a million dollars… and someone they don't know will die. This is but the starting point for an increasingly creepy tale, featuring eye-popping wallpaper, spontaneous nosebleeds, allusions to Jean-Paul Sartre, overly attentive library patrons, boxes of water, warehouses full of light, and a bell-ringing Santa Claus standing in the middle of a road. Some of it makes sense, some of it doesn't, but the person who's going to love this movie won't care. The Box's true power lies in the slow accumulation of dizzying hypnotic images and a tangible sense of unease and anticipation. Kelly aspires to capture the beauty and terror of existence on film; even if he doesn't succeed--and every viewer will have to decide that for himself or herself--his sheer ambition is remarkable. --Bret Fetzer

The Box [Theatrical Release] Reviews:
Very Bad Movie
2009-11-17 - This is one of the worst movies I've seen in a long time. The plot was very disjointed, and at times, unbelievable. But more then that, it was just flat out dull. I love sci-fi, and had no clue that this was a sci-fi flick going into the theater. Leaving the theater, I wanted my money back.

This was a major bomb.

The grass is not always greener on the other side.
2009-11-16 - Proverb Breakdown
I walk into the theatre; nothing ventured, nothing gained.
A fool and his money are soon parted.
I had a date; One in the hand is worth two in the bush...I mean, misery loves company.
The script and plot get weak, fast; The emperor has no clothes.
Diaz walks with a limp (and her Southern twang is bad); The shoe is on the other foot.
I understand the intentions: Be careful what you wish for.
The writers screw it up with too much unrelated nonsense: Too many cooks spoil the pot.
Diaz and Marsden aren't happy with the offer they agreed to: Beggars can't be choosers.

You got me Hollywood! You put a vague trailor together with an interesting concept, and put it in a box. The problem: the box - both figuratively and literally - is completely empty. Aside from the guy with a hideous scarring - but easy access for brushing his molars - this movie is essentially like the old game show, "Press Your Luck." When presented with the option, most people will push the button delivering riches, even though they know there is a Whammy lurking or someone else may suffer. It just would have been nice to have a coherent, somewhat unambiguous script - which is replete with mumbo jumbo about aliens, lightning, secret government cover-ups involving the NSA and the CIA, some unexplained nonsense about the realities of magic, secret water doorways to alternate dimensions, and more loose ends than in Buckwheat's fro - that wasn't completely and preposterously insufficient of relaying the intended message.

Oh well, I guess it takes two to tango. Convenience and circumstance do no substitute for plot, nor do they serve as a resolution, but I get partial blame for paying to see this drivel. Maybe I should just pay my money without looking too deeply into things. Or, if Sarah Jessica Parker were involved: never look a gift horse in the mouth. Either way, the makers of this movie should have followed the classic, "Don't bite off more than you can chew," because this movie is more pretentious parable than adept allegory.


Thoroughly enjoyable sci-fi thriller.....
2009-11-08 - I really didn't know what to expect from this movie considering the fact that Richard Kelly's last movie, "Southland Tales," kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. But upon the finished viewing of his latest film, "The Box," I think he has returned to the form that made me fall in love with "Donnie Darko." What a totally cerebral experience. A movie that jumps from a military experiment gone array to a noir thriller to a bout of existential looks at the causes and effects of free will and finally to a bit of theological looks at life after death. This movie completely and unequivocably held my attention throughout as any great director can do with a fantastic story. I've read quite a lot of reviews that just bomb this movie due to its confusing plot but I, for one, believe that this is highly enjoyable cinematic experience. I couldn't recommend this movie more.

A Mystery That Will Push Buttons
2009-11-07 - "The Box" is one of those films where a lot of adjectives are necessary. It's taut and suspenseful, but it's also metaphysical, ponderous, cerebral, unexplainable, and above all, preposterous. It goes in all different directions, sometimes caught up in circles, sometimes taking detours, sometimes going completely off course. It's a bizarre, unpredictable story of intrigue and paranoia, continuously twisting and turning, pushing the limits of comprehension with a slew of seemingly unrelated concepts; we begin with a button and a suitcase full of money, but this soon gives way to spiritual quandaries and sinister science fiction subplots, the latter of which involves radio signals from Mars, physical disfigurements, and hordes of mind-controlled drones with bleeding noses. There's even an ongoing social experiment, which could be indicative of a morality play.

Based on Richard Matheson's short story "Button, Button" and its 1986 "Twilight Zone" adaptation, "The Box" takes place in Richmond, Virginia in 1976, and I honestly don't know whether or not that's a significant plot point. We meet Norma and Arthur Lewis (Cameron Diaz and James Marsden), a cash-strapped suburban couple who awaken one morning to find a plainly wrapped package left at the front door. Inside is a black wooden box topped with an encased red button. Neither one knows what to make of it until receiving a visit from the mysterious Arlington Steward (Frank Langella), who, for as yet unknown reasons, is missing the left side of his face. If the Lewis' decide to unlock the box and push the button, he explains, two things will happen: They will be given $1 million dollars in cash, and someone they don't know will die.

Will one of them push the button? It's not as if they couldn't use the money. Norma, a literature professor, learned that her school will no longer provide free tuitions for children of the faculty, which doesn't bode well for her son, Walter (Sam Oz Stone). She also has a severely damaged foot in need of repair. Arthur, a NASA scientist involved in the creation of a Mars camera, is no longer being considered for the astronaut program because he failed the psychological exam. But the fact remains: Their financial security will come at the expense of ending someone else's life. Norma tries to reason that it may be a death row inmate. Arthur tries to reason that it may be their neighbor or a baby. Heck, it may even be himself or their son. How well does she know either one of them? How well do they know her?

I'm not going to reveal whether or not the button gets pushed. I will say that, from this point on, the story ventures into even stranger territory, befuddling itself with inexplicable paranormal occurrences, gateways that may or may not lead to salvation, deeply rooted scientific conspiracies, motel rooms with maps pinned to the walls, secret wind tunnels, and a brief discussion of Sartre's vision of hell. Who is Arlington Steward? Who are the people walking around with nosebleeds? If the box is capable of being programmed, then why are there no mechanisms inside it? What's the significance of a murder that has a man on the run? Does Arthur's Mars-related research have anything to do with what's going on? Does Norma's damaged foot?

As to whether or not all the above questions are answered, I'm not entirely sure. Writer/director Richard Kelly clearly has his own ideas about logical story patterns and how they should be followed. And yet, there is something to be said for creating a sense of apprehension out of nothing at all; if you can engage the audience in spite of a cumbersome plot, if you can keep them hooked by continuously building tension, then you've made a successful film. "The Box" may be a confusing mess, but it's also one of the most absorbing mysteries I've seen all year. The plot can be deconstructed any number of ways, but I suspect we're not supposed to learn so much as experience. And we do. For a film that's neither believable nor understandable, that's quite an achievement.

The ending unfolds in yet another display of twisted logic, and it culminates in a final shot that brings up an entirely new series of questions. What's the message "The Box"? That damnation can only be avoided by resisting temptation? That humanity must be willing to sacrifice for the greater good in order to survive? That existence as we know it is just a temporary state and death is a period of transition? Or is it that there isn't a message at all, that the whole thing is just an exercise in psychological thrills? I know Kelly is aiming for something here, but unfortunately, I have no idea what that might be. No matter - what I appreciated most was the film's ability to build suspense and maintain an air of mystery. That must count for something.

will someone agree with me please
2009-11-06 - i honesly was in the long run disapointed, yes some of it kept my attetnion some of it was a little suspnsful but going by the previews i didn't relaize it was looking like the 1970s and allthe tists and truns reminde me of something M Night shamalon would doe like in the movie village the previews make it look like some kidn of crazy monster but you were surprised to see what it really was
it was not what it hought and like 40 other people in th theaters most of them wer saying "not my style not what i hoped not what it hought, i didn't relaize it was goign to be thsi way etc
maybe one day on HBO or at some low price theater but not know $8
again part kept mya ttention, it starte off slow then it kidn of picke up but near the end i and others i sat near , around were disapointed in it i've seen worse this year and "better" just like white out i was disapointed but the prviews make it look totally d9iffrent