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Reviews
The Box (2009)
Why Not Push the Button?
This movie makes no sense when you try to come up with a rational explanation for all the details. So many things happen that are impossible. Lots of people are acting mysteriously, and bunches of people seem to react to the actions of the protagonists as if acting on cue. The box itself has no innards, but push the button and things happen right away. Arlington Stewart is killed by a bolt of lightning but comes back to life with unusual powers. And all depends on a question, whether or not to push a button which will earn you a million dollars but kill a perfect stranger. Most viewers try to make sense of the details, can't, and therefore don't like the movie.
But I think that as long as you accept the fact that the details are beyond rational explanation, and that this is a morality tale, you can make sense out of the movie. Arlington Stewart and the other employees are working for the Boss, who apparently can do almost anything. The experiment that is being conducted is to determine the "altruism index" of the human race, and if the index isn't high enough the human race will be wiped out. The subjects of the experiment are always couples who have to make a moral choice, whether or not to gratify their desires even though this will result in death. The woman is the one who usually makes the fatal choice. In the present instance Norma is a particularly kind and loving woman, who in a moment of weakness makes a fatally wrong choice. Nevertheless her goodness gives Arlington Stewart some hope that perhaps the experiment might eventually turn out okay for the human race.
The fault of the human race appears to be inadequate concern for the fate of strangers. Once before, the human race was considered to be so corrupt that all but a few were destroyed. The offspring of the few weren't much better, and in their pride they tried to build a tower so that they could ascend to heaven. The modern counterpart is NASA and the ascent into the heavens. The human race has had 3500 years to learn the lesson of altruism to strangers. Has it learned? That's what the button is all about. Unfortunately, I don't think we're going to pass the test.
In the Gloaming (1997)
A beautiful movie
A son dying of AIDS comes home to spend his final days with his family. What makes this movie so moving is the honest way in which the interpersonal relationships are explored. The son (Rober Sean Leonard) always had a close relationship with his mother (Glenn Close), but during the last months each reveals to the other things about themselves that had never been touched on before. The father (David Strathairn), on the other hand, had never been able to be close to his son, and envies his wife for her close relationship with him. The daughter (Bridget Fonda) resents the attention her brother had always gotten from their mother, and can't deal with his present situation. The acting is as good as it gets.
Seconds (1966)
Excellent movie but based on weak premise
Excellent movie about a middle-aged man being given a second chance in life. It is not as good as Manchurian Candidate or Seven Days in May, both of which maintained a constant tension. This movie is more notable for its surrealistic style and its excellent Jerry Goldsmith score. Unfortunately the whole movie is based on the premise that it would make sense for a company to go to enormous expense (surgery, expensive living quarters, and a large entourage of accomplices) in order to bring about and maintain Arthur Hamilton's transformation, and the screenplay never gives sufficient reason to justify this, nor does the hero ever seem to be concerned about it. Nevertheless, good entertainment.