The Box

< Previous Trailer  |   Add to My Scrapbook  |   Next Trailer >
The Box

41% Liked It
liked it

The Box

James Marsden, Cameron Diaz, Frank Langella, James Rebhorn, Michele Durrett, Gillian Jacobs

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 know.

Id: 11034679

Do you want to see this movie?

My Friends Said...

The Box Recent Reviews

Register or sign-in to see your friends' reviews !

Recent Reviews

The Box Recent Reviews
  • moonrivers
    November 18, 2009
    moonrivers
    imagine if the adam and eve story and the twilight zone had a baby and you've got "the box", a taut weird study in the moral and personal ramifications of selfishness. langella rules the day (hello!) as a mysterious force of nature - so greasy you can feel the grease on your fin...( read more)gers whenever he's onscreen, diaz drops the easy strumpet next door routine and grows up finally (and is good at it), while marsden is the dumb wondering stolid adam trying to put their humptydumpty life together again. definitely worth your time.
  • lewiskendell
    November 8, 2009
    lewiskendell
    The Box is a challenging and odd movie. It doesn't hold your hand and guide you through the plot, instead you have to pay attention and figure out what's going on in pieces and fragments. That can be frustrating, but the end result is a movie that will leave you either hating it ...( read more)and thinking it's too convoluted for it's own good, or intrigued and wanting to see it again to make better sense of it all. I think I fall into the latter category.

    The trailer really does nothing to prepare you for the movie you're about to see. It's not exactly a horror movie, but there's a continual thread of menace and fear that underlies the entire film. It's not sci-fi either, though there are some sci-fi elements. I guess if I had to compare it to another movie, I'd choose Donnie Darko. Not because they're particularly similar, but because you have to have a certain open-mindedness and appreciation for something deeper than the average movie experience in order to enjoy them both.
  • shiftyeyeddog
    November 8, 2009
    shiftyeyeddog
    The Box is based on a short story by Richard Matheson, and it most definitely feels like it was supposed to be a short story. There's enough story here to maybe fill an episode of Twilight Zone or Tales From the Crypt (though not a very good one), but stretched thin to fi...( read more)ll two hours, it is excrutiating. By the time we got to the last half hour or so, I didn't even care how it ended, just as long as it ended.

    What story there is starts out slightly intriguing, but it takes some serious wrong turns and the unfolding explanation is head-shakingly awful. One last crime the film commits: being set in the 70's for absolutely no valid reason whatsoever. Adventureland did the same thing earlier this year. Setting the film in that era added NOTHING to this story aside from godawful fashion, hair, and home decor.

    One of the worst films of the year, with the only redeeming quality being another strong performance by James Marsden.
  • DrZeek
    November 7, 2009
    DrZeek
    Arlington Steward: If you press the button, Mrs. Lewis, two things will happen. First: someone, somewhere in the world, whom you don't know, will die. Second: you will receive a payment of one million dollars, delivered by me, tax free.

    There was a particular sequence during t...( read more)his film from writer/director Richard Kelly, of Donnie Darko fame, where I had no clear idea of what was actually happening, but I was intrigued by everything that was going on. A lot of the baggage that comes with the straightforward setup of this movie will likely baffle some and seem preposterous or laughable, and while I can agree with some of it, I can still safely say that even with its flaws, I really enjoyed this film and it certainly shows that Kelly is a talented filmmaker.

    Norma and Arthur Lewis, played by Cameron Diaz and James Marsden, a suburban couple with a young child in 1976 Virginia, receive a simple wooden box as a gift, which bears fatal and irrevocable consequences. A mysterious stranger, played by Frank Langella, 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.

    Following some certain turns of events, the Lewis's must deal with what the mysterious man is really setting out to accomplish and how they, as well as many others in their town seem to be involved.

    Mr. Steward: I have quite a few employees.

    The atmosphere of this film is well handled, as is the score (which has elements resembling the Twilight Zone aspects of the film's premise). This is fitting, as the film is based off a short story by Richard Matheson, which was eventually adapted into a Twilight Zone short. There are fairly creepy elements (some do come off as laughable though), well handled scenes in terms of visual sense and emotional connection between the two leads.

    I actually don't think I've enjoyed Cameron Diaz in any film in quite a while, so it was nice to see her do great work here, playing a character with a particular problem from her past and real emotional weight when dealing with the concept of this box. Also faring well is James Marsden, finally stepping out of the role of the unfortunate boyfriend traded in for another (Cyclops, Lois Lane's lame boyfriend in 'Returns'), and now playing a confident and smart lead, working for NASA and devoted to his wife and child. Langella is also solid as the mysterious Mr. Steward, whose face is disfigured and whose presence is proper but unsettling.

    Mr. Steward: There are always consequences.

    As the film progressed I was reminded of three things that I found relatable to the way this film was presented. Those are: David Fincher's 'The Game.' Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and the visual style of Stanley Kubrik. All of these elements, along with the other themes concerning science vs. faith, emotional limits, and a few other factors that are present in Kelly's other films, are all put forth here into what is Kelly's most accessible film yet.

    Armed with a studio, big name leads, and a proper budget, its nice to see that Kelly has accomplished a complete film that he was most likely able to complete while settling into a realm where studio pressures didn't too much hinder his creative vision.

    I very much enjoyed this film, which may not be for everyone, but certainly kept me intrigued throughout.

    Arthur Lewis: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
  • vierasesine
    November 1, 2009
    vierasesine
    ****-

    Quite mystifying. I'm not sure I liked the explanation that was offered.
  • manthony31
    November 23, 2009
    manthony31
    Twilight Zone episode made into a movie.
  • JaimeP931
    November 23, 2009
    JaimeP931
    This movie is really weird and hard to follow!
  • diveintooblivion
    November 23, 2009
    diveintooblivion
    interesting, a bit scary. would like to see cameron in a thriller.
  • marcusmurray800
    November 23, 2009
    marcusmurray800
    i love Cameron Diaz so for that reason i would watch this film.
  • CarolineBadion
    November 22, 2009
    CarolineBadion
    THIS MOVIE WAS INTERESTING IN THE BEGINNING...WASTE OF TIME
View All Reviews

Opening This Week

Top Box Office

Upcoming Movies

New on DVD