Annie (2014) film review

Year: 2014
Running Time: 118 minutes
Director: Will Gluck
Writers: Harold Gray (comic "Little Orphan Annie"), Thomas Meehan (stage play book), Will Gluck and Aline Brosh McKenna (screenplay)
Cast: Quvenzhane Wallis, Jamie Foxx, Rose Byrne, Cameron Diaz, Bobby Cannavale, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, David Zayas

Annie opens in Australian cinemas on December 18 and is distributed by Roadshow Films. Opening in the United States on December 19 and the United Kingdom on December 26.

Bringing the beloved family musical Annie into 2014 is one of the few remakes of the year that actually makes sense. Although it is a film strictly for musical fans, Annie embraces it's new time period with an adapted story and screenplay that takes full advantage of it's shift in time period and still pays tribute to the original stage play and 1982 film. Although the music feels rather dated as a result of staying true to the original and in pure Annie fashion is as cheesy as can be, there is a wit and joy to the film that makes it entertaining and enjoyable for those who can handle breaking into song at the drop of a hat.

A child of the foster care system, Annie Bennett (Quvenzhane Wallis) lives in the care of the bitter and cynical Colleen Hannigan (Cameron Diaz), but never gives up hope that the parents who abandoned her when she was much younger will someday return for her. Her hard knock life experiences a major change in fortune when she is rescued by high flying businessman, William Stacks (Jamie Foxx) who is in the middle of a campaign to become mayor of New York. In a whirlwind turn of events, Stacks is advised by his campaign manager, Guy (Bobby Cannavale) to have Annie move in with him to give him a boost in the polls and it is then that Annie's life starts to turn into the fairy tale she always dreamed of.

Will Gluck's take on the traditional story about the orphan girl with flaming red curly hair is not as much a remake as it is an adaptation. While the basis between the original Annie and the 2014 film is technically the same, the screenplays are rather different due in large part to bringing Annie to the present day rather than revisiting her in the 1930's orphanage. The new screenplay is a reimagining of the traditional Annie and as a result does something which so many remakes/adaptations fail to do and that is to justify it's existence by bringing something new to the tale. At the same time, it also pays tribute to the past versions by featuring another Annie in Annie Bennett's classroom with bright red hair and naming Stack's opponent in the mayor election Harold Gray, the name of the man who wrote the original comic strip 'Little Orphan Annie".

Gluck's film is in the minority of adaptations that actually do this and even though the screenplay isn't particularly strong, it is still entertaining and is so particularly for younger audiences who will appreciate it's cheesy nature and tendency for over-exaggeration. Adults that come to expect this from the film will enjoy it more than those who are not fans of musicals that feature bursting into song mid-sentence, yet the film must be commended as it also makes fun of itself for doing this. The dialogue spoken by the characters at times is extremely witty with some very clever one liners and some of the scenarios they find themselves in are hilarious, such as Stacks and the mashed potato incident.

One of the reasons Annie has remained so loved over the years is because of the catchy and memorable songs. The new film reprises many of the songs in the original songbook including "Tomorrow", "Maybe", "It's A Hard Knock Life" and "Little Girls". Yet, unlike the screenplay, these songs feel rather dated in a modern film. Again, Gluck has tried hard to make sure his film pays respect to the original and this is sure to be one of the ways he has done this, but the mentioned songs would have benefit from a remastering to have a better fit in the film. There is the inclusion of original pieces of music, including the now Golden Globe nominated "Opportunity" performed by Wallis and written by Sia, which is a truly lovely song.

Quvenzhane Wallis does wonderfully as Annie Bennett. She is completely endearing, wonderfully charismatic and has the rare ability to appear so natural in the cheesiest of situations. Wallis also has a particularly beautiful singing voice. There is a great amount of on screen chemistry between her and Jamie Foxx that provides the film with warmth and emotion. Foxx does rather well and is likable and comical, but has moments where his character of Stacks starts to blend into his real life persona whether intended or not.

Rose Byrne is lovely and like Wallis and Foxx, completely likable and has great chemistry with Wallis. Cameron Diaz would have benefit greatly if she had toned her character of Colleen Hannigan down a few notches as she is so incredibly over the top that she becomes more forced than comical. However, she must be commended for taking the risk as she hasn't taken part and sung in a film musical until now and as exaggerated as her character may be, Diaz does look like she is having fun in the film.

The attraction one has to Annie will vary depending on their appreciation of musicals. However, it is a family film that will delight younger viewers and is a film that will make the conversion to DVD with success.

6/10

The Other Woman (2014)

Year: 2014
Running Time: 109 minutes
Director: Nick Cassavetes
Writer: Melissa Stack
Cast: Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann, Kate Upton, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Nicki Minaj, Taylor Kinney, Don Johnson

It is an incredibly hard task to take anything about The Other Woman seriously. It's an improbable situation with incredibly overdone and uncreative elements to it and characters who are far from being likable or well constructed. The Other Woman takes a slightly different idea and instead of doing anything new like an unique idea should, throws together some of the most common revenge methods in film and makes the whole thing all too familiar and unimpressive.

The film opens with a slow motion montage of the whirlwind and seemingly idyllic relationship between lawyer Carly (Cameron Diaz) and her boyfriend, Mark (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau). Everything looks perfect between the two, until it is revealed that Mark is actually married to Kate (Leslie Mann). When Mark is caught out on one of his lies, Carly and Kate meet each other in a very awkward situation. Kate finds herself in a place where she feels she is unable to speak to anyone about finding out that her husband has been unfaithful besides Carly and the two start an unlikely friendship. It isn't long till they find out that Mark was in fact cheating on both of them with a younger woman, Amber (Kate Upton). So two become three, and they set their sights on tormenting Mark and ruining his life.

The idea of having women team up to inflict damage on a man who has hurt them is only semi-creative in itself, but the idea of a married woman befriending the woman who her husband was having an affair with is quite an unique one. However, the way in which it comes to pass here is downright unlikely and as a result just seems farfetched and ridiculous. There cannot be many women who find out that their husbands are cheating and then keep turning up at the woman's workplace and apartment begging to be friends with them. It may have happened out there somewhere, but isn't normal. This is a movie and it doesn't have to be realistic, but it just seems ridiculous that someone would react this way in the circumstances. To make matters worse, The Other Woman goes from being a little too different to being too unoriginal. The revenge methods the three girls choose to unleash on Mark and the same revenge methods we have seen over and over in movies over the years. How many times can you watch a woman give a man female hormones and one person give another laxatives as payback?

There are some funny moments in The Other Woman, but again, many of these are overdone and predictable or just plain dull. Some pieces of dialogue are quite funny, such as Phil's (Taylor Kinney) reference to Fight Club, but many others are trying too hard to be funny.

The film often feels like it is just a star vehicle for Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann and Kate Upton, as well as Nicki Minaj. All of the characters in the film are either badly constructed or just unlikable. Although Cameron Diaz is marketed as being the lead in the film, the lead is shared with Leslie Mann. Diaz is the lead for the first half of the film and then it switches to Mann. Mann's character is the one who has the most emotional attachment as she is Mark's wife, but is also the most irritating. Her role plays to her comedic talents, but her brand of comedy here makes her grief goofy and makes her more annoying than endearing. You can't understand why she does some things and doesn't do others, all of which would be typical to a woman who has been cheated on.

Diaz does well enough, but her character is again not particularly likable. The reason for her Carly not unlikable is more to do with her self confessed "hard love". Yet, she somehow switches with no reason to being a lot nicer to Kate and apologizing for her behaviour. It's a swift change of character that would seem suspicious to anyone in the real world.

Kate Upton is gorgeous on screen, but who is her character? While so much attention is paid to Carly and Kate, Upton's Amber seems out of place as there is only one scene with her without the other girls and you don't know anything about her character at all besides she seems nice and she was dating Mark. She is marketed as one of the top billing stars and she shares in the promotional posters with the other two girls, but she has nowhere near as much screen time or as much to do as the other two. It seems like more of a case of the film makers wanting to put her in the film just to have her there and show off her famous body. Then there is Nicki Minaj, who plays Carly's assistant, Lydia. Lydia is actually Nicki Minaj with a different name as she has the changing hairstyles in each of her scenes and speaks exactly like Minaj. There really is no use in having her in the film as she is a completely useless character and looks like her role is the result of someone saying "Let's put Nicki Minaj in the film because we can!" As far as Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's Mark goes, he is unlikable, but obviously supposed to be that way. Yet you can't help but think how he may well be the dumbest adulterer ever. What married man gives the woman he is having an affair who he doesn't want to know that he is married, the address he lives at with his wife?

The Other Woman is a complete disaster, as it causes mayhem when the ridiculous meets the stereotypical. It is the perfect example of how to not use your stars effectively. However it will satisfy those who want to watch a completely mindless 'girl power' film.

3.5/10

The Counselor (2013)

Year: 2013
Running Time: 117 minutes
Director: Ridley Scott
Writer: Cormac McCarthy
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem, Brad Pitt, Rosie Perez, Natalie Dormer

The Counselor opens in Australia on the 14th November 2013 and is distributed by 20th Century Fox. Now showing in the USA and will be released in the UK on the 15th November.

Ridley Scott's The Counselor has all the potential in the universe. Scott provides the film with a critically acclaimed and respected director, Cormac McCarthy a successful writer and a stellar cast make up the reasons why one would be forgiven for being excited about this film.

After the film's 117 minutes, what you are left with is an air of confusion. Confusion as to what went wrong when you put together so much of what is right. However, at the same time, there are some incredible things about The Counselor, which makes it all the more confusing.

Counselor (Michael Fassbender) has just got himself engaged and cannot resist the draw of earning just a bit more money to set himself and his fiancé, Laura (Penelope Cruz) up. He gets caught up in the business of drug trafficking by the hand of his friend, Reiner (Javier Bardem) and Westray (Brad Pitt). As a lawyer, Counselor is at the same time still conducting his business with his clients, until him doing his civil duty seems to intersect with the people he really didn't want to mess with in his money making scheme. Counselor is faced with a very real danger and must try to figure out how to save both the lives of himself and those close to him.

What really causes The Counselor to suffer is it's screenplay. We have come to expect so much more from Cormac McCarthy than what he has given here. It is one of those stories you see play out on screen where you aren't quite sure if you are missing some important plot point, or if it is really a simple story pretending to be complicated. It is in this way that The Counselor find's it's confusion. It is a simplistic film pretending to be something more and confusing everyone in the meantime. The dialogue isn't particularly entertaining, with the exception being the unforgettable "car and catfish" scene. The majority of the dialogue is so dull that it affects your concentration levels, particularly in the first 20 minutes. Yet The Counselor is thankfully not completely void of suspense and intrigue, these moments just aren't as prominent as one would have liked. A fun game to play when Counselor and Westray meet for the first time, is to count how many times Westray un-necessarily says and oversues the word "Counselor" in the scene.

The cinematography doesn't quite fail in the way that the screenplay does. There is some stunning photography and camera angles used throughout the film. Scott opens the film with an amazingly filmed bed scene between Counselor and Laura which feels graphic, but shows nothing to suggest that it is.

Michael Fassbender does well with what has been given to him. His best moments on screen are towards the end of the film when his and Laura's lives are in danger. Fassbender still remains natural on screen and 100% believable in his execution. This is perhaps Cameron Diaz's best role to date. She plays Reiner's dangerous girlfriend, Malkina. Malkina is a particularly interesting character. You never know quite what she is up to and she has a tremendous amount of character. She is so different to any other role Diaz has previously done and shows Diaz at her very best. Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz also do quite well, while Brad Pitt really isn't given too much to work with in order to turn out a notable performance on his behalf.

The Counselor is not by any means a complete failure, but is not the masterpiece it could be with so many artists working towards it.

5/10





You may have also seen Michael Fassbender in....
X Men: First Class as Magneto
Prometheus as David

You may have also seen Penelope Cruz in.....
Nine as Carla
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides as Angelica

You may have also seen Cameron Diaz in.....
Shrek Forever After as Princess Fiona
Bad Teacher as Elizabeth Halsey

You may have also seen Javier Bardem in.....
Biutiful as Uxbal

You may have also seen Brad Pitt in....
Moneyball as Billy Beane

Bad Teacher

Bad Teacher

Year: 2011

Director: Jake Kasdan

Cast: Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Jason Segel, Lucy Punch

In My Own Words

                Hooray! Cameron Diaz is back to what she does so well, the comedies! I love Diaz when she is in comedies and light hearted movies and then I see her in the dramatic roles and I think she is bland. Actually that is a little harsh, let’s just say I find her more endearing and likable in the roles which she is most remembered for, such as The Mask, There’s Something About Mary, Charlie’s Angels and The Sweetest Thing. Even in Bad Teacher where her character is so unethically inclined and is the type of person I would hate in real life, she is still likable. It’s a good problem to have, being likable in every role you do your niche. I think I also have a soft spot for Diaz as she is from Long Beach in California, which is where I used to live for a time!

                An experience in the cinema today got me thinking. I had a middle aged couple sitting behind me when the film started. They seemed really “happy-go-lucky” laughing with each other before the movie began. Then 10 minutes into the film, I had to turn around and politely tell them to please stop talking. Judging by their body language then, they did not look like they were enjoying the movie at all. Sometime in the next five minutes, they left the film.

                Personally I have never walked out of a film. I can’t comprehend spending money on a film and then not seeing the whole thing. Even if I am not enjoying it, I give the film the benefit of the doubt and stay just in case it does get better. I can understand some people can get really offended by a film and feel they have to leave for personal reasons. If people are offended by the language or the violent content of a film, that does make me confused. The censorship ratings are there for a reason. People should really take notice of them. Bad Teacher is rated M 15+ for sexual references, sex scenes, drug use and coarse language. This doesn’t mean they may be there, they are there. If these things offend you, then maybe you shouldn’t see the film.

                These are my own words and here is my review.

Review

                2011 is the year of girls behaving badly in film. Bad Teacher continues on this trend, yet brings something different to the table. It is truly a one woman show led by Cameron Diaz and is very funny. However, it is one of those comedies which relies more on the jokes than on the storyline and the story dissolves into the jokes.

                Elizabeth Halsey (Cameron Diaz) doesn’t like being a teacher, and she likes it even less when she has to come back from retirement after she is dumped by her fiancé. She decides that in order to be happy she needs to get breast implants, but she needs to raise at least $9000. When she meets new teacher, Scott Delacorte (Justin Timberlake), her ambition grows to impress this awkward but attractive colleague. She has to compete with another teacher, Amy Squirrel (Lucy Punch) to get the man and in all her spite and competitiveness, Elizabeth ends up doing some things right.

                The huge problem with this film is that the story and the script do not blend with the comedy to make a successful film. There are many jokes which are irrelevant to what is going on and there are actually a lot of questions left unanswered. It is as though director Jake Kasdan is more concerned with getting the audience to laugh rather than provide them with a journey. Granted, there are some very funny moments. Some comedy moments may feel a bit over the top and just plain ridiculous to some people. There are some crude moments, but for a comedy about a woman obsessed with getting herself breast implants, what would you expect? However, it could have been a lot worse than what it was considering the subject matter.

The script doesn’t address anything which happens before or after the film such as where the characters are from and why they are the way they are. In other words, the character development is just weak and almost non-existent. For example, Elizabeth clearly has no family in the film, but what happened to them? Where are they? Why is Elizabeth the way she is? Did something happen to her or was she bought up that way? Anybody watching this does not feel as though they really know Elizabeth even after watching her for an hour and a half.

Cameron Diaz does do a very good job at playing the bad girl heroine. She is very funny and manages to still be likable while playing someone who is not supposed to be so. Diaz has the “I don’t give a hoot what you are talking about” look down to a tee. Her character of Elizabeth is actually quite unsettling at times and is believable how scheming she is. Diaz was perfectly cast in this film and it is refreshing to see her play a character which is a twist on her stereotypical good girl roles in her comedy films.

Jason Segel is great as gym teacher Russell Gettis with his sarcastic and random comedy moments. Justin Timberlake is good enough, but the nerdiness of the character could have been pushed further. He still seems too cool to be a dork. His song, “Simpatico” is a real treat in the film. Lucy Punch achieves what she sets out to achieve with her character by being irritating and increasing the attractiveness of Diaz’s character. However, her character does provide another unanswered questioned for the film. What was it that she did in 2008 which everybody keeps talking about throughout the film?     

Bad Teacher isn’t one of the best written films you will see as far as the story goes, yet it does give some laughs and some great one-liners. Diaz is the shining star and it is impossible to believe that this film would have been anything at all without her.

5.5/10

Knight And Day

Knight And Day
Year: 2010
Director: James Mangold
Cast: Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard, Viola Davis, Paul Dano

In My Own Words
Some actors can just create box office magic out of anything they touch. I’ve decided to coin the term “box office magic” as there was a term in the Golden Hollywood days of “box office poison”. Katharine Hepburn was at one point in time, as were many other old time stars. Though some stars just make everything they touch turn to gold, such as, in this case, Tom Cruise. The man could be in anything and it would generate millions just from people seeing him on the posters and reacting by going and purchasing a ticket to the film. These actors who generate box office magic don’t have to be in more than one movie a year or two years, but when they do, they don’t need to work for more than those few months that they are filming and promoting because of the money the studio pays them for being box office magic. Other actors in this category besides Mr Cruise are John Travolta, Brad Pitt and his squeeze, Angelina Jolie. Being box office magic doesn’t mean that your most recent movie is a particularly good one, but nevertheless it will still bring in the millions just with their billing. So needless to say “Knight And Day” was extremely highly anticipated, has generated $161 million worldwide so far and it’s not that great a movie. Box office magic! Spread the word!

These are my own words and here is my review.

Review
“Knight And Day” is Tom Cruise’s long-awaited return to the action film. If you are going to see this film purely to see Cruise complete amazing stunts and kill all the bad guys, then you will love this movie. If you are expecting anything else, chances are you will be disappointed. The first thing that strikes you about “Knight And Day” is that it seems extremely dated. The film would have been a hit if it was released at the most the early nineties, but now almost every aspect of it seems old and dated. June (Cameron Diaz) boards a plane to Boston with a handsome stranger, Roy Miller (Cruise), whom she is immediately attracted to. Little does she know, she has now become involved in a dangerous game of cat and mouse between Roy and his ex-partner, Fitzgerald (Peter Sarsgaard). Once Roy lands the plane by himself, June tries to go on living her life, but she is about to be taken on the adventure of her lifetime by this fugitive that she has just met.

For a mindless action film, “Knight And Day” isn’t too bad, but from a critical point of view, it is a miserable failure. The majority of the special effects and even the scene backdrops look terribly fake to the point that they can just look ridiculous. The film seems completely amateurish compared to some of the other action films that have come out in recent days. As said before, the story, musical score and the special effects resemble that of a 1980’s/1990’s action film. Harsh, but true. There is nothing worst then watching an action movie and the only thing you can think of is how fake the crashes look and how you can tell that they really aren’t underneath the Brooklyn Bridge. A film is supposed to suck you in and make you believe that what you are seeing on the big screen is the real thing. However, “Knight And Day” is an extremely unrealistic film. The plot is very unrealistic, not that this matters in an action film like this the majority of the time. However, the unrealistic nature of the script is also transformed to being that of pure fun on the screen. Many viewers will enjoy the continuously changing location of the film and seeing the beautiful cities featured, while others will just scoff at the silly antics and how far from the truth everything is. On the other hand, it really is quite comical in parts and there are quite a few giggles to be had throughout the film.

However, Cruise is worth going to see this movie for. He is still likable and is definitely the hero of the story, in both the story and in the mind of the movie viewer. As he is the reason for people going to see this film, he will be the reason many people will also enjoy it. The role he plays isn’t very emotionally challenging, but he still plays the part well. Cameron Diaz is just fine. There is nothing amazing about her performance and, again, it isn’t a very hard role. However, she can be very funny at times. Peter Sarsgaard and Viola Davis are both good in their roles. They bring to the table everything they can in the roles they have been given.

“Knight And Day” will be a delight for Tom Cruise fans as they will enjoy seeing him in his return to action. However, it will be one of the more forgettable films of the year and is really just a load of silliness.
4.5/10

Shrek Forever After

Shrek Forever After
Year: 2010
Director: Mike Mitchell
Cast: Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas

In My Own Words
Ah...the amazing Shrek phenomenon! Who would have ever thought that a big, green, animated ogre would stick around for so long and become so close to everyone’s heart? How did this come to be so? Well, I think the answer is pretty simple. It’s an animation both adults and kids can both love. In the cinema today, there were about as many children as there were adults and the appeal to both was staggeringly obvious. The kids loved the visual humour while the adults loved the verbal humour. Attending the cinema with two adults and two 4 year old children, I often found myself laughing with the adults when there was silence from the two young boys. It’s not just the humour though that makes Shrek so appealing. It’s also its originality, colourful characters and the cast of superstars behind the voices. All of which are carried on in “Shrek Forever After”.

Do you remember your first trip to the movies? Honestly, I don’t. I went to the movies far too many times when I was younger to pick out my first flick. The earliest one I can remember is going to see “The Little Mermaid” at Village Cinemas at Sylvania, which has now been closed for many years. I had the pleasure of being in attendance at little Mitchell’s first film today. I’m not quite sure if he knew what he was in for, especially considering the film was in 3D! He wasn’t quite sure why he had to wear glasses and was over them about 15 minutes into the film. Although his mother did inform me that he was wearing them when he got into bed this evening! His first question when arriving at the cinemas was “Where’s Shrek?” He was very well behaved though and is looking forwards to his next movie.

Does anybody have any first movie stories they would like to share? Don’t be shy!

These are my own words and here is my review.


Review
“Shrek Forever After” is another example of films this year dragging out a phenomenon as far as it can possibly go. It may be suggested that director Mike Mitchell decided to create a fourth instalment to the Shrek series of films in order to utilise the new rage of 3D. However, unlike other films which have done this, “Shrek Forever After” is still a ball of fun and Shrek looks anything but tired and worn. This film doesn’t bring anything particularly new to the table but is nevertheless fun to watch and enjoyable. Shrek (Mike Myers) has all he could possibly want in life. His wife, Fiona (Cameron Diaz) who loves him, three one-year old ogre children and friends who are always there for him. Yet, he can’t help but feel that life is just getting too monotonous for him. When he meets Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn), he decides to take him up on an offer to escape his life for just one day and go back to the days when he was a terrifying ogre, and not a friendly one. However, Rumpelstiltskin is not to be trusted and Shrek ends up losing more than he bargained for.

Looking like a Shrek version of “It’s A Wonderful Life”, the plot of “Shrek Forever After” is a storyline that has been done over and over. No prizes for who guesses how the film finishes or what realisations Shrek makes. This isn’t as much of a pitfall in this film as it would be in a stand alone film. The Shrek films have always been more about the visuals and the witty one-liners than about the actual plot, which is exactly how this film is. The visuals in this instalment are even better than the other three films as they are enhanced by 3D and Mitchell uses every opportunity throughout the film to take advantage of this. There are some moments that leave the audience awe-struck with the capabilities of 3D presented. With each instalment, Dreamworks has managed to make Shrek more and more lifelike. Thanks to 3D, “Shrek Forever After” is the closest to real life that Shrek will ever get. The script does also give some clever moments. Although it is not as funny as its predecessors, it still packs quite a few giggles into the film.

The creativity that goes into making Far Far Away and the characters are once again what makes this film such a joy to watch. Such concepts as the tourist coach coming past Shrek’s house at the swamp much like a Star Tours bus in Hollywood are pure genius and just plain fun. Fiona has been transformed for this film and is great to watch as a female warrior princess. The inclusion of the green faced witches bring a dash of “Wizard Of Oz” to the growing fairytale land and are great to watch. However, the two best characters are Puss In Boots, who has piled on weight after being treated as a domestic cat and a character by the name of Butterpants who says very little but “Do the roar!” And who could ever forget Eddie Murphy’s waffle loving Donkey? No Shrek movie is complete without him.

“Shrek Forever After” is a great film to go and watch for some harmless fun and humour. The film itself could have been made as a television special, but with the inclusion of 3D has made it a cinema spectacle. The amazing visuals and creative characters save this film from being lost in the whitewash of blockbuster sequels being released this season.
7/10

The Box

The Box
Year: 2009
Director: Richard Kelly
Cast: Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella

In My Own Words
I was proud of myself going into this movie. I was going in to watch a film without reading a single review about it. Therefore I went in with no expectations and no clue as to whether this would be a good or bad movie. Unfortunately, I found it to be the latter, which is really a shame because the preview for it looked so good! I guess that is a credit to the people who edited the preview, they made it look like it should be good and worth watching. That’s what their job is though, to advertise the movie and buy it, just like any other product. Well, it worked! I bought a ticket for something I probably didn’t need…just like good advertising does. But, I just enjoy watching movies so it really wasn’t as bad an experience as what I am making out.

Review“The Box” is about a financially struggling couple, Norma and Arthur Lewis (Cameron Diaz and James Marsden) who wake one morning to fins a mysterious box only containing a button on their front door step. Later in the day, a mysterious stranger appears to inform them that if they hit the button, they will receive a million dollars. However, if they do this, then someone, who they don’t know, will die. From this plot summary, one would assume that “The Box” is going to be a film about the moral questions in life. The movie posters for it and its preview also add to the equation the assumption that this movie is a race against time. However, this film is none of these.

Although the question of whether or not you would push the button will be asked amongst viewers after the movie, the movie focuses very little on this question. It also lacks the suspense and other elements that would qualify it as being a thriller. The movie is completely different to what people will perceive it as being before they go in and may or may not, but in most cases, won’t be a pleasant surprise. For the first half of the movie, the audience is keep enthralled by the mysterious happenings and tries to piece the puzzle together. It is in this time that there is hope of the film coming to a pleasing finish, but it is soon vanquished by a turn that just seems ridiculous. The story does just not work as it is hard to follow in parts and completely unrealistic and far-fetched.

The direction of this film leaves much to be desired, with bad choices in editing, character and script. It is a shame to see such actors as Diaz, Marsden and Langella in a film that does not do them any favours. Diaz is unlikable and painful as Norma Lewis. In a role such as hers, the audience should feel pity for her, but instead feels nothing for her. And despite the facial abnormalities of Langella, his character is not intimidating or scary, or whatever he is supposed to be. Not a good choice of role to his follow up from “Frost/Nixon”. Their was evident character development for each of the characters which made the audience understand and acknowledge were each of them had came from, yet this was not enough to create any type of connection or empathy with them.

“The Box” certainly does not live up to the hype and many people will find watching the preview of it far more exciting than watching the movie itself.

3/10