17 December, 2010

The Box


I'm going to start by giving you some film stats, about the plot, then go into my review. *WARNING - THIS MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

Rating; PG-13 for, "Thematic elements, some violence and disturbing images."
Staring; James Marsden and Cameron Diaz.
Released; 6Th of November, 2009.
Genre;Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Mystery.

Plot;
One morning Arthur (James Marsden) Lewis and his wife Norma (Cameron Diaz) Lewis received a box, with this box came a set of instructions that a man named Arlington (Frank Langella) Steward would come and give them an offer. Mr. Stewart comes and tells them that if they open the box and press the button that they will receive one million dollars, that they could sure use, but if they press the button some one, who they don't know, will die. He gave them 24 hours, and just before he arrived Norma pressed the button. Some one died. After they pressed the button they felt that killing someone was not the bast way to get a million dollars, so they attempted to find out about this Mr.Stewart, but first he found out about them. He told them to stop digging, or else. They didn't stop, a series of interesting events unfolded and it came to this, he took their son, they had a decision to make. Mr.Stewart had made their son def and blind, they had two options, the first that they could keep the million dollars and try and live their life with a def and blind son, or Arthur could kill his wife and their son would return to normal. They talked, and chose the latter. He son was returned to health, and he was taken away by the police, and Mr. Stewart told him that they would be taken care of. And the offer was given to the next person, a person they don't know.

My Review;
I would first like to apologize for what the length of this review will be. You see, I have a very strong opinion about this and let me tell you why, but before I do let me say a few, more technical, things. The filming was beautiful, the timing and the lighting, at moments I wish I could give the cinematographers a high five. Also I think Richard Kelley did a good job as director on the film as a whole. The acting was good, all very convincing characters, but the making or quality of the movie itself isn't where I have the problem. It is the inside of the movie, it is the hidden messages and it's the mistakes that I think were made.
I believe that Mr.Stewart was possessed, I think that when he was struck by lightning an alien entered into his mind and/or body, and that it had to do with the research they were doing in trying to find life on Mars. I think that the box was a test, the aliens were seeing if earth was worth it, if the people of earth were good enough to keep or if the evil had overcome to much and it should be destroyed, I believe what I have said was strongly hinted at in the movie. I also believe that it's not the pressing of the button that makes the last person kill, but rather when some one chooses to kill, the other couple was forced to press the button. The choices were passed on to the next family. I think that no one has been smart enough yet to not kill to help their child, to stop the cycle. One thing that I think is funny is that Arthur and Norma's son isn't even dead, he's just def and blind, has no one heard of Helen Keller, she did amazing things.
I think that if Arthur had not shot Norma that maybe the next couple would never have pressed the button, and maybe their son would have even been returned to health, because the aliens would see that they are worthy, that humans are moral and loving. But I think that because he did chose to go the way of situational ethics and shoot his wife, that he just brought the whole earth one step closer to destruction. I think that maybe even the whole chain could have been reversed, and all those people who made the wrong decisions would be returned to how they were before, maybe they wouldn't remember a thing, or maybe it would be like a dream. But he did kill his wife.
Through out the film I kept hoping it would change and the right thing would happen, but as the end got closer and closer it seemed more and more like the movie that I had waited quite some time to watch, was going to be a movie I hated. I went into the movie excited and left it angry.

To sum it up, it was an awful movie.

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