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The Box: Apocalyptic Anxieties And Desires

7 hours ago | HorrorYearbook | See recent HorrorYearbook news »

There should be a special rung in Hell for those who dismiss the films of Richard Kelly. We do not deserve Richard Kelly. I am sure Richard Kelly never set out to be the cinematic chronicler of America’s mental well being after 9/11, but he seems to have captured the raw nerves of fear, anxiety and trembling in all his films. Of course, this was never one of his goals, but his first film, Donnie Darko was released in the aftermath of that horrific day in 2001. The film developed a much deserved cult following on home video. The film’s cult status paved the way to his much maligned second, but equally brilliant, Southland Tales in 2007. I am of the opinion, if you are going to go down the rabbit hole for Southland Tales, you better be prepared to go all the way in its defense. »

- Jerry Dennis

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Episode 167: Director Richard Kelly Special

15 hours ago | SoundOnSight | See recent SoundOnSight news »

Writer-director Richard Kelly hasn't been around too long, but his three features have all been the subject of intense debate: Is Donnie Darko the great sci-fi fable of the 2000s or a teen angst pretension pit? Is Southland Tales, as the Village Voice's J. Hoberman contends, a a "visionary" film, or creative control gone horribly wrong? And is his latest, The Box, an incomprehensible sci-fi mishmash or a return to form? Al, Mariko and Simon attempt to answer all these questions without falling into any aquatic time portals. listen now [1] Download the show in a new window [2] Listen on I-Tunes [3] RSS feeds [4] Sound On Sight Forum [5] Twitter [6] Facebook [7] [1] http://www.soundonsight.org/SoundReviews/Episode167.mp3 [2] http://www.soundonsight.org/SoundReviews/Episode167.mp3 [3] http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=301023002 [4] http://www.soundonsight.org../feed/ [5] http://www.popsyndicate.com/forums/viewforum/94/ [6] http://twitter.com/sound_on_sight [7] http://www. »

- Ricky

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Movie Reviews: The Box

9 November 2009 12:15 PM, PST | Studio Briefing - Film News | See recent Studio Briefing - Film News news »

How much you're likely to enjoy The Box, which opened at the box office in sixth place with $7.9 million over the weekend, may well depend on how well you are able to cope with preposterous story lines. Indeed, that word -- "preposterous" -- cropped up in many, if not most, of the reviews of the film. In her mixed review, Manohla Dargis in the New York Times regarded The Box as "a serious work that insists on its own seriousness even when it edges toward the preposterous." However, Claudia Puig in USA Today wrote that "director Richard Kelly has fashioned a preposterous tale that lacks the wit that made his Donnie Darko a cult classic." Elizabeth Weitzman in the New York Daily News scoffed at the movie's "preposterous special effects." But Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times, while acknowledging that "preposterous" is "one of my favorite adjectives," nevertheless went on to write, "If you make a preposterous movie that isn't boring, I count that as some kind of a triumph." He concluded: "This movie kept me involved and intrigued, and for that I'm grateful. I'm beginning to wonder whether, in some situations, absurdity might not be a strength." But "boring" was indeed the operative term for several critics. "Have you ever actually tried watching paint dry? A sloth walk? Grass grow?" asked Betsy Sharkey in the Los Angeles Times. "You can have all the 'thrills' with none of the chills courtesy of The Box." »

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The Box (Review)

9 November 2009 11:59 AM, PST | SoundOnSight | See recent SoundOnSight news »

The Box Directed by Richard Kelly Anyone expecting Donnie Darko and Southland Tales director Richard Kelly to finally dial back on his idiosyncrasies in service of a familiar conceit may be surprised to find his peculiar voice very much present in The Box, his third feature. Where initial reports suggested a fairly conventional take on the Twilight Zone-tackled Richard Matheson story "Button, Button," we instead get a warped morality tale dripping with style and jutting out with potential energy in every direction - for better and worse. Cameron Diaz and X-Men's James Marsden star as Norma and Arthur Lewis, a loving married couple living in Langley, Virginia in 1976, where Arthur works for Nasa on their Mars technology and Norma teaches. They're both staring down at financial crises on the day a mysterious stranger (Frank Langella) with a huge facial scar arrives on their doorstep, his appearance preceded by »

- Simon

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Review: ‘The Box’

9 November 2009 8:00 AM, PST | The Flickcast | See recent The Flickcast news »

About a week ago a colleague of mine asked why in the world I wanted to go see The Box. I explained that I found the premise fascinating. What if you were told that if you pushed a certain button, you would get a million dollars, but there is a catch. When you push the button, somebody you do not know will die. What would you do?

Therein lies the premise of The Box. This is the third film by Richard Kelly, who garnered cult-like status with Donnie Darko (2001), then wide ridicule for his follow up Southland Tales (2006). Lots of movie types were looking toward this movie to determine whether Kelly is a gifted director, or a one hit wonder. I’m sorry to tell you after viewing this convoluted mess, it seems like a case of the director having no clothes. It’s one thing to be a little avant-garde  with your vision, »

- Shannon Hood

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Interview: The Box Director Richard Kelly, Part 2: Spoilers

9 November 2009 7:30 AM, PST | firstshowing.net | See recent FirstShowing.net news »

Just last week I interviewed Richard Kelly, director of Donnie Darko and the recently released The Box. The first half of my interview was strictly spoiler free and we talked about developing the story, his love for sci-fi, and casting. This second part of my interview (run time of 7 minutes) focuses on the second half of the movie and contains spoilers, so please watch this only if you've seen the movie! He talks about why some of the characters make the decisions they make and what's going on in the second half. If you had questions after watching The Box or just wanted to know more about what went into it, then be sure to watch this. Watch my interview with The Box writer and director Richard Kelly - Part 2: After the interview (off camera), Kelly answered a question I had about a "missing piece" in the third act »

- Alex Billington

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Weekend Box Office: 'Christmas Carol' and 'Precious' Bow Big

9 November 2009 6:02 AM, PST | Cinematical | See recent Cinematical news »

I was considering a title pun on Richard Kelly getting Box-ed out -- which works on multiple levels!! -- but I couldn't pull the trigger. That, though, is my main concern this weekend, to be honest: I am heartbroken (though not surprised) that Kelly's wonderful, hugely ambitious sci-fi flick couldn't get a foothold at the box office. People at my Thursday night screening thought they had seen one of the worst movies ever, which I guess is what happens when you're led to expect harmless PG-13 horror and get something so radically different. I also suspect that Donnie Darko would have been similarly received had it opened on 2,600 screens instead of building its cult cred in mini-release and on DVD.

Anyway, The Boxearned $7.9 million -- not a total disaster for a $25 million movie, but not exactly a resume-builder for Kelly to the extent he has commercial ambitions. It was roundly »

- Eugene Novikov

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Why is Richard Kelly's The Box set in the 70's?

9 November 2009 5:45 AM, PST | The Hollywood News | See recent The Hollywood News news »

Richard Kelly's new thriller is set in the 70s because people had more anonymity then.

The director's latest film 'The Box' stars Cameron Diaz and James Marsden as a struggling couple who are delivered a box by a mysterious man called Arlington Steward (Frank Langella).

He offers them a deal - if they open the box and push the button inside, they will get $1 million in cash. However, pushing the button will kill one person in the world - somebody they don't know.

'Donnie Darko' director Richard explained: "The concept of someone you don't know, which is inherent to the premise, doesn't really exist anymore.

"With modern kinds of social networking sites and Google satellite maps and like all of the surveillance technology that we have today. Norma could sit down and Google the name Arlington Steward and sit in front of her laptop for half the movie. »

- Paul

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The Box (2009) Movie Review

9 November 2009 5:29 AM, PST | Beyond Hollywood | See recent Beyond Hollywood news »

If you’re a fan of writer-director Richard Kelly, or even just mildly interested in his career, the trailers for “The Box” might convince you it’s the kind of movie everyone was waiting for him to make. After two confusing and overindulgent films (cult favorite “Donnie Darko”, and the not-so-cult favorite “Southland Tales”), “The Box” promised to be a smart, simple, taut thriller that wouldn’t take an advanced degree to fully comprehend. Unfortunately, it’s really just another trademark Richard Kelly film, drowning in oblique excess. Kelly has turned a simple premise into a wild conspiracy yarn involving the Viking Mars mission, sinister public libraries, the philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre, mysterious nose bleeds, amputated toes, and towering blocks of CGI Jell-o that allow you to briefly pass through the afterlife. It’s almost as hilariously muddled as “Southland Tales”, with the key difference being that “Southland Tales” was trying to be funny. »

- Albert Walker

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Box Office Report November 8th 2009

8 November 2009 8:00 PM, PST | MoviesOnline.ca | See recent MoviesOnline news »

Dude here again. Halloween is now officially over, and the Chrismanzakuh holiday season has begun! I know this because the people on my street took down their Halloween decorations and put up Christmas decorations instead. Except for one guy who always leaves the Halloween stuff up until February. I'm sure he's making some sort of political/social statement by doing this.

Or he's even lazier than I am.

This weekend, four major releases duke it out, including our first Christmas movie of the season (which makes sense because it's early November! Let's go to the numbers, shall we? (All in millions, remember, and these are the studio estimates. The actuals will be available on Monday).

1. A Christmas Carol (Bv) - $31.0, 3683 screens, week 1, $31.0 total 2. Michael Jackson's This Is It (Sony)- $14.0, 3481 screens, week 2, $57.8 total 3. The Men Who Stare At Goats (Over) - $13.3, 2443 screens, week 1, $13.3 total 4. The Fourth Kind (Uni)- $12.5, 2527 screens, »

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‘Christmas Carol’ Wraps Up Top Spot

8 November 2009 5:21 PM, PST | newsinfilm.com | See recent newsinfilm news »

Disney’s A Christmas Carol topped the domestic box office this weekend with $31 million, besting competition from one of George Clooney’s three movies this season, alien abductions, and the latest from Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly.

The figure for the 3-D winner is on the low end of expectations, but still managed to open larger than Zemeckis’ previous films, including motion capture movies Beowulf and the similarly-themed Polar Express.  The latter opened on this same weekend in 2004 before earning $162M in the States.  With the Yuletide holiday over seven weeks away, the studio still has a chance at recouping its $200 million production budget.

Nothing personal against Disney, but I hope it doesn’t make it.  A less than profitable total means perhaps Robert Zemeckis will put aside this wasteful technique and focus on something better than the twentieth adaptation of a Dickens novel.  Most of the money went towards »

- Jeff Leins

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'Christmas Carol' leads Us box office

8 November 2009 3:21 PM, PST | Digitalspy | See recent digitalspy news »

A Christmas Carol has debuted at the top of the Us box office. Robert Zemeckis's animated film, starring Jim Carrey, pulled in $$31m in its opening weekend. Michael Jackson's This Is It slipped to number two with $$14m. Other debuts this week include The Men Who Stare At Goats at number three with $$13.3m, thriller The Fourth Kind at number four with $$12.5m and Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly's The Box took sixth with $$7.8m. Vince Vaughn comedy Couples Retreat and Law Abiding Citizen claimed the number seven and eight positions respectively. Landing (more) »

- By Marcell Minaya

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Box Office Beat Down: Disney's a Christmas Carol Celebrates the Holidays Early with $31 Million

8 November 2009 1:55 PM, PST | MovieWeb | See recent MovieWeb news »

Weekend Box Office

1) Disney's a Christmas Carol - $31 million

2) Michael Jackson's This Is It - $14 million

3) The Men Who Stare at Goats - $13.3 million

4) The Fourth Kind - $12.5 million

5) Paranormal Activity - $8.6 million

6) The Box - $7.8 million

7) Couples Retreat - $6.4 million

8) Law Abiding Citizen - $6.1 million

9) Where the Wild Things Are - $4.2 million

10) Astro Boy - $2.5 million

Robert Zemekis' 3D performance capture retelling of the classic Charles Dickens' story, Disney's a Christmas Carol, starring Jim Carey as the immortal villain Scrooge took the top spot this weekend in it's first week of release grossing an estimated $31 million at the box office. The film, which cost an estimated $200 million to make, was released on 3,683 screens for an average of $8,417 per screen. While last weeks number one film, Michael Jackson's This Is It, fell nearly 40% earning an additional $14 million this week in the box office. Playing on an estimated 3,481 screens, the »

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Jake Gyllenhaal in Talks for Sci-Fi Thriller Source Code

8 November 2009 12:12 PM, PST | Reelzchannel.com | See recent ReelzChannel news »

It was the title role in the sci-fi movie Donnie Darko that made Jake Gyllenhaal a star, and now Gyllenhaal may be appearing in another mind-bending genre film. Variety is reporting that Gyllenhaal is in negotiations to star in Source Code, a sci-fi picture about a soldier who wakes up in the body of an unknown commuter on a doomed train ride.

The original Source Code screenplay was written by Ben Rippley and was set up at Universal with Topher Grace in the lead and Shane Abess at the helm. Now, The Mark Gordon Co. and newly formed Vendome Pictures are producing, with script revisions by Billy Ray and Duncan Jones directing.

Production on Source Code is slated to begin in the first quarter of 2010.

Next Showing:

Link | Posted 11/8/2009 by BrentJS

Jake Gyllenhaal | Duncan Jones | Donnie Darko »

- BrentJS Sprecher

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Weekend Box Office - Disney’S A Christmas Carol Takes $31 Million; Precious Boasts Biggest Limited Release Opening of All Time

8 November 2009 11:21 AM, PST | Collider.com | See recent Collider.com news »

You know it’s the end of the year when there are more new releases per week than any one person could reasonably care about. Or maybe I should just speak for myself.  The first full weekend of November featured four new wide releases all boasting some major star power: “Disney’s A Christmas Carol” with Jim Carrey (times four), “The Box” with Cameron Diaz, “The Fourth Kind” with Milla Jovovich and “The Men Who Stare at Goats” with George Clooney.  And though no one film can be said to be a total washout this weekend, the A-listers fell short compared to the stunningly successful debut of Lee Daniels’ “Precious”. The indie sensation opened in just 18 theatres, taking in an estimated $100,000 per screen to make it the most-lucrative limited release of all-time.

Title Weekend Total 1 Disney’s A Christmas Carol $31,000,000 $31 2 This Is It $14,000,000 $57.8 3 The Men Who Stare at Goats $13,309,000 $13.3 4 The Fourth Kind »

- Nicole Pedersen

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Movie Reviews: “The Box”

8 November 2009 5:21 AM, PST | Studio Briefing - Film News | See recent Studio Briefing - Film News news »

How much you’re likely to enjoy The Box may well depend on how well you are able to deal with preposterous story lines. Indeed, that word -- “preposterous” -- crops up in many, if not most, of the reviews of the film. In her mixed review, Manohla Dargis in the New York Times regards The Box as “a serious work that insists on its own seriousness even when it edges toward the preposterous.” However, Claudia Puig in USA Today writes that “director Richard Kelly has fashioned a preposterous tale that lacks the wit that made his Donnie Darko a cult classic.” Elizabeth Weitzman in the New York Daily News scoffs at the movie’s “preposterous special effects.” But Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times, while acknowledging that “preposterous” is “one of my favorite adjectives,” nevertheless goes on to write, “If you make a preposterous movie that isn't boring, I count that as some kind of a triumph.” He concludes: “This movie kept me involved and intrigued, and for that I'm grateful. I'm beginning to wonder whether, in some situations, absurdity might not be a strength.” But “boring” is indeed the operative word for several critics. “Have you ever actually tried watching paint dry? A sloth walk? Grass grow?” Asks Betsy Sharkey in the Los Angeles Times. “You can have all the ‘thrills’ with none of the chills courtesy of The Box.” »

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The Box

7 November 2009 7:34 PM, PST | The Scorecard Review | See recent Scorecard Review news »

The Box

Directed by: Richard Kelly

Cast: Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella

Running Time: 1 hr 55 mins

Rating: PG-13

Release Date: November 6, 2009

Plot: A financially desperate couple (Diaz, Marsden) is randomly presented with a box – inside the box is a simple red button. However, there is a catch – if they press the button, they will be awarded one million dollars. At the same time, someone in the world that they don’t know will be killed.

Who’S It For? Like the title object’s existence, The Box is a film made for the curious: those curious to see how the Donnie Darko director does with a mainstream budget, or those curious to see how the film should be placed in a list of this year’s bad-funny movies. Fans of psychological thrillers might want to take a gander, but at their own risk.

Expectations: Imagine a trailer that has »

- Nick Allen

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"The Box" Movie Review

7 November 2009 6:51 PM, PST | Reel Empire | See recent Reel Empire news »

Since we were unable to attend a showing for "The Box" this weekend, our good friend Andre Braddox over at On The Flix was kind enough to fill in as a guest reviewer and give us his take on the flick. From what we can tell, he seems to have liked Richard Kelly's thriller quite a bit. He says it delivered major, unique weirdness and kept him intrigued the entire time. You can read Andre's entire review inside. We'll be posting our own review for the film shortly, so be sure to look for that in the coming days. "The Box" stars James Marsden and Cameron Diaz and was directed by Donnie Darko's Richard Kelly.

Read more... »

- Chad Langen

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November 6: DVD alternatives to this weekend’s multiplex offerings

7 November 2009 12:48 PM, PST | www.flickfilosopher.com | See recent FlickFilosopher news »

We know how it is: You’d like to go to the movies this weekend, but you’re gonna be busy staring at a big button, arguing with yourself about whether or not to push it. But you can have a multiplex-like experience at home with a collection of the right DVDs. And when someone asks you on Monday, “Hey, did you see The Box this weekend?” you can reply, “No, I contemplated cinematic moral conundrums of a different order.” Instead Of: The Box, Richard Kelly’s mysterious thriller about a moral dilemma -- push a button, kill a stranger, and pocket a cool million -- that turns out to be far stranger than it appears at first... Watch: Kelly’s first film, the deeply disturbing Donnie Darko (2001), which bends time as well as moral expectations in order to craft a deliciously odd parable about sacrifice; it’s so good »

- MaryAnn Johanson

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What I Think of this Weekend's Other Box Office Contenders -- "The Box" and "The Fourth Kind"

7 November 2009 11:40 AM, PST | Manny the Movie Guy | See recent Manny the Movie Guy news »

Everyone's predicting that "Disney's A Christmas Carol" will take the box-office crown this weekend. And it just might, that's why Warner Bros. and Universal are counter-programming with "The Box" and "The Fourth Kind," respectively.

For my review of "Disney's A Christmas Carol, click here. Now, here's what I think of:

"The Box"

Based on a Richard Matheson short story which later became a "Twilight Zone" episode called "Button, Button," "The Box" tells the tale of Norma (Cameron Diaz) and Arthur (James Marsden), a suburban couple who receive a gift of a lifetime -- a simple wooden box that bestows upon its owner $1 million with just a press of a button.

One million dollars is a big deal specially since the film is set in 1976. So Norma and Arthur have the box, they'll get $1 million if they press the button, blah blah blah...but there's always a catch! Pressing the button »

- Manny

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2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2001 | 2000

1-20 of 394 articles from 2009   « Prev | Next »

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