the box

'donnie darko' is one of my all time favorite movies. i love how many of the questions presented in the film are left open to interpretation, yet enough is resolved and comes together at the end where i left satisfied and intrigued. i did not harbor these same warm feelings toward director richard kelly's second film 'southland tales.' it was simply awful, and only god knows why dwanye johnson continues to act.

being such a huge fan of 'darko,' i was excited to see 'the box.' the premise seemed promising, and i had heard it presented some interesting topics for discussion (something i love when a film does).

it starts out pretty solid. the dialogue wasn't tremendous and some interactions felt awkward, but i had no major complaints at first. when the family is presented with the box and given the option to press it for a million dollars but someone they don't know will die, the story began to get rolling and i was enjoying it. the mystery of the presenter of the box, and whether or not the family was next in line to be killed seemed to be setting up for a really solid middle act. however, this is not what kelly delivers us. like an ADD kid on the way to the store to get some milk, this movie loses its focus and gets way off track. it happens so fast too, that i had to step back and wonder how the beginning of the movie led to this point, with an army of 'zombies' chasing people through a library. it really gets completely absurd during the middle of the film.

the nice twist at the end regarding the fate of the family was not strong enough to erase all the nonsense that had just occurred. i was very disappointed with this film, more so than with most bad films, because this could have been a very good film. if it would had stuck to the plot and rooted itself into some sort of foundation, then i might be recommending it right now. however, it ends up being just mediocre. it is definitely not the worst movie i have seen this year, but a very forgettable average one.