Movie Marmite. Many will be perplexed. Donnie Darko fans should lap it up.
Comment
12/04/09
The Box (2009)
50
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:10
Fresh:5
Rotten:5
Average Rating:4.7/10
Consensus: Imaginative but often preposterous, The Box features some thrills but largely feels too piecemeal.
Rated: 12A [See Full Rating]
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Theatrical Release:04-12-2009
Synopsis: What if someone gave you a box containing a button that, if pushed, would bring you a million dollars…but simultaneously take the life of someone you don’t know? Would you do it? And what would... [More]
Starring: Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella, James Rebhorn
Director: Richard Kelly
Reviews for The Box
1 - 10 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Top CriticWhile 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.
12/04/09
Top CriticThink 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.
12/04/09
Top CriticThe clueless and overreaching ambition which has started to characterise [Richard Kelly's] cinematic failures comes into play again.
12/04/09
Top CriticThis film just goes interminably on and on, like some pop video to a prog rock track from hell, padding things out to feature length with all sorts of incredible gibberish and extraneous nonsense.
12/04/09
Top CriticKelly’s obsessions are not entirely like anyone else’s, which is a recommendation of sorts, and he shoots more beautifully than ever, which is another. I won’t give up on him when his films are still this richly textured and high on their own ideas.
12/04/09
Top CriticSincere and sinister and inevitably ambitious.
11/06/09
Top CriticIf you make a preposterous movie that isn't boring, I count that as some kind of a triumph.
11/06/09
Top CriticHave you ever actually tried watching paint dry? A sloth walk? Grass grow? You can have all the thrills with none of the chills courtesy of The Box, the painfully sluggish new sci-fi morality play from Donnie Darko creator Richard Kelly.
11/05/09
Top CriticThe pic reveals the hazards of taking Twilight Zone material too far and too seriously.
10/28/09
Top Critic1 - 10 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Latest News for The Box
November 05, 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... More...
November 03, 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... More...
October 29, 2009:
Richard Kelly chats about The Box
Richard Kelly's no stranger to the mysterious whims of fate. His first feature, Donnie Darko, flopped upon initial release, only to live on as one of the decade's most beloved... More...
September 28, 2009:
New: Brand New Movie Trailer/Poster
More...
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