This week's Movie Monday is a short one, but very informative. I wish I could say that I had a pleasant new movie week, but I can't. Read on to see what I mean.
The Box
A married Virginia couple (James Marsden and Cameron Diaz) is presented with a life-altering decision by a stranger by the name of Mr. Steward (Frank Langella). He presents them with a box with a red button. If the button is pressed, two things will happen; the couple receives $1 million and someone dies. After making the decision, they soon realize that curiosity over the scenario gets them enthralled in a series of events that are out of this world, literally.
When I first saw previews for this movie, I was excited to see what looked like a great horror/thriller movie. Wow, was I COMPLETELY wrong! It's a science fiction movie and a horrible one at that. Somehow, I believed that the couple had the opportunity to earn multiple payments. No, they only had one shot and after they pushed the button, the rest of the film seemed very anti climatic. The concept of the box was an experiment led by creatures from another planet who communicate/travel to Earth through lightning (which made me instantly think it was ripping off War of the Worlds). The creatures took an interest in targeting NASA employed families with young children, which is discovered by Mr. Lewis (Marsden). His own investigations in figuring out the people/creatures behind the box led his family to their demise.
The only thing I thought was good about this movie was the acting. Marsden, Diaz and Langella contributed to their roles very well, despite that the story was just poorly executed. If it wasn't for those three, and some of the supporting cast, I doubt this film would have made the theaters, but it would get some airtime on the SyFy channel. If this movie was supposed to continually freak out people, it didn't do its job. The only part that creeped me out was when Mr. Steward was on the phone with Mrs. Lewis and said that he was looking at her from her backyard (which turned out to be some random guy standing out there). Other than that, I just had a blank stare when watching the movie.
This is one of the few films that I just can't like. It was way too disappointing. Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
Damnit! I was excited about this movie too. I'll still watch it but I doubt your findings will be refuted. *bows to the Queen of all Movie Geeks*
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