1

I was reading the USA today's review by Claudia Puig and let me just say who the hell let her become the reviewer? she is awful. Her review listed it as a horror film, which seems wrong to me, I think you need to be a fan of Richard Kelly, and if you are you'll like this film.

I already know I will seeing as Donnie Darko, and Southland Tales are two of my favorite movies ever.

xerxex on Nov 6, 2009

2

The words of failure…… Cameron Diaz.

smacky on Nov 6, 2009

3

haven't you seen Being John Malkovich, there's nothing wrong with Cameron Diaz… sometimes.

MK-Ultra on Nov 6, 2009

4

Cameron Diaz aside, the movie was amazing and I wasn't even stoned when I watched it.

Nick on Nov 6, 2009

5

lol #4 well i like this movie it waz really creepy

quez on Nov 6, 2009

6

I personally thought it was great. There were some plotholes in the middle parts, but it was wrapped up nicely and the movie was really well-made.

Joe on Nov 6, 2009

7

I think Saturday Night live did the movie better and it took them only a 5 minute skit. It was a failure from the concept.

Don on Nov 6, 2009

8

The first half was so bad it made me giggle. The second half was actually alright (although rarely plot relevant), but the beginning was so awful that it was hard to recover.

Any dialogue between Marsden and Diaz is ridiculously melodramatic, the main point of the movie is to have people stare creepily at James Marsden, and Richard Kelly still managed to throw in some portals (although no time travel in this one).

The main problem with The Box is that it's a mystery in which hardly any of the mystery is ever solved. It's pretty easy to tell what's going on quite early into the film, and luckily Kelly didn't try to hold out and make it a big twist at the end (It could be a twist I suppose, but if you're paying attention you should get it). So, you figure out who Frank Langella's "employers" are fairly early and then you're waiting for more explanation to the mystery. But nothing else really gets explained. I suppose there are some interesting events, a lot of Kubrick cinematography, and a cliched ending, but it doesn't actually explain anything.

Usually, I wouldn't complain that nothing gets explained, but the mystery is the major point of the plot. And when Kelly sends his characters on a random jaunt through a library, or to a motel (where nothing of real importance actually happens), weird, sometimes cool events occur, but when they're over the characters just end up back at the house waiting for Frank Langella to show up and tell them what is going to happen next in the plot.


That's probably the best I can do in ten minutes without using spoilers. You can read my full angry rant (with lots of spoilers…if you believe in spoilers) by clicking my name in this comment.

Matt Larner on Nov 6, 2009

9

I thought it was pretty damn good, besides Diaz, it was really solid. LOVED Langella, great imagery, and Marsden was definitely a great lead. Some of the story's details were a little hazy, but the more you think about it, it becomes a little clearer. Looking forward to picking it up on blu-ray to delve more into all the ideas. Definitely worth seeing- especially over A Christmas Carol even though thats pretty good too.

JackGi on Nov 6, 2009

10

mmm, i will go to a movie theater and check it out myself, but so far, all the comment are whitin the "it's just ok" category…

leinergroove on Nov 6, 2009

11

#10 - I'd say you go for it, go see it, just to check it out at least. It's not a terrible movie, the only bad thing is Cameron Diaz, but she's easy to look past. I think it's worth seeing to at least support Richard Kelly and to follow the story, since it's very mysterious and he takes it to levels that most filmmakers would not. Just go check it out!

Alex Billington on Nov 6, 2009

12

its excellent!

ellli on Nov 6, 2009

13

Southland Tales is one of my favorite movies.

Lacey on Nov 6, 2009

14

how's the score for the film?

it was done by two members of the Arcade Fire.

samir on Nov 6, 2009

15

i liked the movie……..but it was hard looking at cameron diaz……….what a homely woman!

beavis on Nov 6, 2009

16

whats going on with Cameron Diaz? Has her acting skills left her or what?

Xerxex on Nov 6, 2009

17

anyone who's seen being john malkovich,sister's keeper IN ADDITION to all those craptastic money-making blockbusters she's in,knows she's got more to offer than the average actress.

anyway,real excited to see this but alex please,please come up with another phrase to replace TO FUEL THE FIRE.

if you think cam diaz has at least two faces in her entire acting skills,you could at least get past TO FUEL THE FIRE.

twispious on Nov 6, 2009

18

Just to start off i'm going to lay out that i'm NOT an idiot. I love Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and understand it. That being said The Box was a horrible mess of confusion. I found myself outright laughing along with many people in my cinema at the silly "creepy" teenage kid that pops up everywhere for no reason. At the end of the showing i literally turned around the people behind me (who were talking about the lack of sense) and said sarcastically "What are you talking about! That made perfect sense!". Anyone who lables this film "brillant" is just adding another film to the list of "Films that are nonsensical and not understood are labled 'amazing'". The only redeeming feature of the movie was the ending in which an interesting decision is made by the couple.

Rodion on Nov 7, 2009

19

i think i am going to see it today

mike on Nov 7, 2009

20

Uhmmm… What does Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind have to do with this? You may wanna rethink that NOT an idiot part.

In-Rainbows on Nov 7, 2009

21

#18 - The film makes complete sense. The way Kelly cut it together I can see how it can be a little confusing, but seriously if you can't figure this film out you're not even trying. This isn't Southland Tales and it's not Donnie Darko. Kelly has laid every single clue at your feet and, for once in his career, brought those clues together to give you an answer.

The creepy kid is one of Steward's employees, or at the very least another cog in his machine. Remember, the principal retracts the tuition discount then gets a nosebleed. Steward calls her from a dinner rehearsal the kid is a waiter for. Steward was keeping an eye on her through these people, so it's definitely not for no reason.

And hey, isn't it kind of cool to go see a movie and come up with your own ideas for what everything means? What do you think the water coffins were? What did Arthur really see? What has taken control of Arlington Steward, REALLY? I know that Kelly has his own answers for that stuff but he, like Charlie Kaufman, gets a kick out of hearing what YOU thought. If you want all the answers spelled out for you, go see every other typical mainstream movie coming out this year. Aside from Cameron Diaz and the film's slow crawl, it's nowhere near the incomprehensible mess you're making it out to be.

Fuelbot on Nov 7, 2009

22

#20 - He was comparing Eternal Sunshine to The Box in terms of it's complexity. The Box isn't confusing, because it's all spelled out for you…it just happens to be a word jumble.

Fuelbot on Nov 7, 2009

23

#14 - To be clear, it's not the whole Arcade Fire — just Win, Regine, and Owen. It sounds like the best Bernard Hermann scores. Appropriately spooky, ambient, emotional, and otherwordly. The score has been getting better reviews than the movie has, but I've heard that it won't be released until the film hits DVD so that's ass.

Fuelbot on Nov 7, 2009

24

the movie was good, no where near darko, but solid, diaz did suck till more near the end of the film then she got a little better. I thought the plot was fine and the non explanation was fine too, he is a brilliant filmaker and I love his movies. the overall message in the box was very very good and easy to see, so if you have half a brain you would understand it it is not that twisted, its just all the other stuff he throws in to screw with you, same with darko, his message is true and very deep in the soul of all mankind. the real question is if you didnt know what would happen would you push the button? look in the mirror.

tyler on Nov 7, 2009

25

no reason to ever watch this movie

sam on Nov 7, 2009

26

Some body please explain this movie to me once he went into the water cube all hell broke loose. i was open minded about everything it's just the director just was an ass and decided not to explain anything to me in the end of the movie… there was so many useless hints and clues like "look in the mirror you'll find the answer" he only looked in the mirror once after that and did nothing about it. please i just want to understand

Brant on Nov 7, 2009

27

#21
I'm not a typical 'mainstream' movie kinda guy, (i refuse to watch Transformers 2 lol, but i guess so do a lot of people) but i may not have been in the mood to have to figure out a (surprisingly) complex movie. I found many scenes unnecessary and frankly silly (such as the whole holding up two fingers is important to picking out a ?giant block of water….?) I felt the whole film was convulted and made only for the directors amusment as he sat upon his throne and laughed at how smart he is. I personally find Kelly to be overrated as Donnie Darko wasn't even that great (I started to watch it once but was distracted half way through…i have never felt the urge to finish it).
Here is a link to a review which sums up a lot of my feelings about the movie.
http://www.cinemablend.com/reviews/The-Box-4301.html

Thank you #22 for explaining what i meant by referencing Eternal Sunshine.

Rodion on Nov 7, 2009

28

am i the only one that noticed a scene in the trailer that wasnt in the movie? theres a scene in one of the trailers where he runs inside an elevator, and he slams a button that looks somewhat similar to the box button. so im sitting until the end, thinking at any moment theres going to be an intense chase scene involving elevators and buttons, and it never happens. Also, some of the dialogue between cameron and james was just flat out cheesy, and that kid that was supposed to be creepy was completely annoying.

Brian Barajas on Nov 8, 2009

29

this was by far the wackest movie i have every seen. Im not sure what movie you people out there saw. This movie was HORRIBLE ok maybe thats a little strong for u richard kelly die hard fans out there but let me show u why i saw this movie sucked.

1st it started of great 1976 i was into to it, a $1million ok i got u, dont call anyone cuz this guy knows everything ok im cool with that, but then all out of a sudden im lost i thought the movie was in 1976 but some how the guy with parts of his face missing was like a cult leader or something from the year 2010 im just saying it made no sense. One min there at some serect nasa space center in the sky like this guy lives on a different planet that the lighting people control and the next his back on earth . Hey the ending made some little sense i think if are greed made us do something that later on we realize that we did something bad we would try to fix it if we could. it just jumped from one story to the next like richard kelly does white lines and just ran with his thoughts. i guess if u would have taken out the whole zombie cult thing and the whole water at the motel six it may have been a little better. i mean really if iam missing something please let me know it's funny to me that my friend and i are driving home and he's telling me about a movie that sucked just as much as this one and the name u guessed it southland's. Fun thing is i was so interested to see who made this wack movie called the box and come to findout this guy did bought movies i laughed for a good ten min's it almost gave me my money worth. Man for sure worst movie of the year by far. Save your money this movie will be on dvd soon enough trust

joe v riverside ca on Nov 8, 2009

30

Please #29, leave the comments for people who have a better vocabulary. No text message language here please!

Rodion on Nov 8, 2009

31

#27 - I think my brain is just wired for this kind of movie, because I honestly didn't find it complex or confusing at all. The ideas are, but it definitely isn't hard to understand.

Fuelbot on Nov 8, 2009

32

Great movie. Very moody, creepy, and Kelly keeps you in the dark through most of it, which only adds to the aforementioned effects. Its almost like a David Lynch movie-seems straightforward for the first half, though theres an underlying creepiness and sense that somethings not quite right and then the rug gets pulled out from under you. I found it thrilling and at its core it seems to be a simple tale of morality, though the symbolism and little subtle things that the movie seems to be scattered with make me want to see it again. If you dont mind having to pay attention or think a little when you see a movie, check it out. When you leave the theater you leave thinking and talking about what you just saw; to me, thats a sign of a good movie.

Karsten on Nov 9, 2009

33

There were far too many holes in the plot and random ideas that never really went anywhere. I liked Langella's character, but I always like the "soft spoken, articulate & polite gentlemen" who are really the bad guys in movies. Some friends and I were actually "extras" in this film, and even WE don't get it! First of all, Diaz and that damn phony "southern" accent!!! It drove people who really ARE from around here CRAZY. We don't talk like that, y'all! Who was her voice coach? That is more of an "Atlanta" or at the closest, "South Carolina" accent. Another thing - I realize that Kell's father worked on the Mars Viking project at NASA Langley in the 70's, but we kinda got a kick out of people "working" at Langley (Hampton VA) but that "lived" in Richmond VA! (Do a Google map some time, that'd be a b!tch of a commute every day!) Checking around at other websites, there are some explanations… How Marsden gets from the "car being T-boned by the snow plow" scene to the "hangar" scene… and the stuff that is in the trailer that is not in the movie (as was mentioned above, AND in the driving scene where Woodle tells Marsden that "Your wife is going to die… You're going to kill her"). I agree. Wait until it comes out on DVD!!! Maybe the director's cut will have more answers!?!?!? You CAN see my old muscle car in one of the scenes though!!!

John V. on Nov 10, 2009

34

I'll let you know my opinion when it hits DVD.

I still don't know why they felt the need to tack on all that extra story to "Button, Button" which was it's own classic story.

Fed Up With Hollywood on Nov 11, 2009

35

This movie was the most confusing movie I have ever seen in my entire life. At the end of the movie a girl sitting in front of me actually stood up and was like "WHO ELSE IS CONFUSED" It definetley wasn't boring, just really creepy, confusing, andd eerie. I mean I like having to figure out complex movies but I dont think anyone is going to be able to explain this one. if you can, please post an explanation. and wait, were they in purgatory?

sat what? on Nov 14, 2009

36

What did I think? I think The Box is the best film of 2009 and perhaps the best film of the last 5 years. Kelly might as well call himself Stanley Kubrick because that's the level of grandiose filmmaking he's now achieved. And I don't really care if no one agrees with me. When a movie like Transformers makes a bazillion dollars at the box office, I'm not sure I want anyone to agree with me.

IY on Nov 15, 2009

37

Ok well the movie it self is a puzzle what it entails is just a simple fact humans are dumb and repeat the same mistakes. For example in the beginning some one has to die in order for the family to recieve money and then at the end Diaz dies so some one else pressed the button. This goes on and on until only the people who are "clean stay on earth" it's kind of like a revolution of people with pure heart and the button is the solution attached to it some mysticism and " magic" . Ok now if what I wrote makes any sense this was my understanding of this movie.

Alex on Dec 12, 2009