I'd like to think there is a director's cut coming at some point to fill in the gaping holes.
CommentJul 4, 2010
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The Box (2009)
45
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:133
Fresh:60
Rotten:73
Average Rating:5.1/10
Consensus: Imaginative but often preposterous, The Box features some thrills but largely feels too piecemeal.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating]
Runtime: 1 hr. 56 min.
Genre: Mystery & Suspense, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Horror
Theatrical Release: Nov 6, 2009 Wide
Box Office: $114.9M
Synopsis: A small wooden box arrives on the doorstep of a married couple, who know that opening it will grant them a million dollars and kill someone they don't... [More]
Starring: Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella, James Rebhorn
Director: Richard Kelly
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REVIEWS FOR THE BOX
"Somebody get Richard Kelly a Katherine Heigl romantic comedy stat, or else we might have yet another talented filmmaker unable to wiggle free from his own cavernous pretension."
Jun 2, 2010
Kelly runs The Box a little too closely to the themes of The Day the Earth Stood Still, although it does have something more cynical to say about humanity.
Apr 1, 2010
[Richard] Matheson's original story was a short, sharp piece with a very direct point. Kelley simply uses it as a jumping off point for his own dense, weird and oddly personal "what-if" tale.
Mar 25, 2010
Kelly stretches a perfectly good 22-minute television episode out to two hours with an insane barrage of red herrings and metaphysical sci-fi mumbo-jumbo
Mar 19, 2010
It is a film that wants to be profound but it ends up feeling more like a lesser episode of The X Files.
Mar 18, 2010
[Director Kelly] ventures boldly into the ludicrous, and comes out the other side with an even more sinister conclusion.
Mar 12, 2010
All moral conflicts and creepy allusions are lost in a barrage of ridiculous plot devices, and a story that makes absolutely no sense...
Feb 25, 2010
For those willing to follow Kelly down all the rabbit holes his warped imagination contrives, there are small treasures to be found here and there.
Feb 15, 2010
...promises more than it delivers, ultimately providing a muddled narrative that does nothing to convince us of its moral positions.
Feb 13, 2010
What is supposed to suggest a state of discomfort and unease feels more disjointed and frustrating than anything, and what's meant to be menacing soon turns laughable.
Dec 17, 2009
The acting is stiff, the special effects look cheap and the dialogue is unintentionally funny.
Dec 11, 2009
For the first half-hour the movie is engagingly mystifying in a David Lynch vein. Subsequently it modulates into a piece of didactic transcendental science-fiction in the manner of The Day the Earth Stood Still and Close Encounters.
Dec 11, 2009
The Box is by no means as indigestible as Southland Tales, and there's as much to relish as there is to groan at.
Dec 11, 2009
The most disturbing thing here is the yellow, oval-patterned 1970s wallpaper
Dec 8, 2009
A potentially clever idea becomes a pretentious trip into the director's own obsessions.
Dec 8, 2009
...I walked into a Cameron Diaz film expecting to be treated to shlock, and concluded that I had just witnessed the rebirth of the classical sci-fi/thriller.
Dec 6, 2009
Movie Marmite. Many will be perplexed. Donnie Darko fans should lap it up.
Dec 4, 2009
While it’s true that the film’s sci-fi antics are far from watertight in the logic department, there’s enough eccentricity and ambition at play to charm and bemuse in equal measure.
Dec 4, 2009
Think very carefully before you attempt to unlock the mysteries of The Box. There is no going back, you cannot undo your decision, you will never get back those 115 minutes, and by the horrifying end, those same 115 minutes will feel like a life sentence.
Dec 4, 2009
LATEST NEWS FOR THE BOX
November 5, 2009:
Critics Consensus: A Christmas Carol Dazzles But Disappoints
This week at the movies, we've got some modern-day Dickens (Disney's A Christmas Carol, starring Jim Carrey and Gary Oldman); a button-pushing thriller (The Box, starring Cameron Diaz and James...
More...
November 3, 2009:
Richard Kelly Talks The Box
It's been a long and somewhat bumpy ride getting "The Box" to theaters, but director Richard Kelly is finally on the verge of releasing his latest film. He talks about the journey -- and what's next...
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July 24, 2009:
Five Favorite Films with Richard Kelly
Is it possible that after only two films (his cult hit debut Donnie Darko and his infamously panned follow-up, Southland Tales), director Richard Kelly has already achieved auteur status? Audiences...
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June 25, 2009:
Trailer Bulletin: The Box
We've been hearing about Richard Kelly's "The Box" for what seems like forever -- and now you can catch a glimpse of it, thanks to the new trailer that's just been released.
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April 7, 2009:
Poster for Richard Kelly's The Box Released
Richard Kelly's "The Box" has languished in studio limbo for months, but if the movie's new poster is to be believed, the Cameron Diaz/James Marsden thriller will reach theaters on October 30.
More...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 67% | Shutter Island |
| 28% | Dear John |
| 51% | Alice in Wonderland |
| 47% | The Book of Eli |
| 19% | Cop Out |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 29% | Clash of the Titans |
| 22% | Repo Men |
| 93% | Vincere |
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| 85% | The Art Of The Steal |
