Author: Alton Williams

The Box ***½

Back in 2001, with the release of his feature directorial debut Donnie Darko, Richard Kelly was hailed as a visionary film director and considered to be someone to really watch out for in the future. While not a box office success the film was very well received by critics and became something of a cult phenomenon, its cult popularity eventually leading to an unnecessary straight to DVD sequel that Kelly had no part in. With such an impressive debut, expectations were extremely high for Kelly’s follow up film and initially it seemed that his apocalyptic sci-fi/comedy/satire/musical/whatever film Southland Tales might actually live up to these expectations. However, when Kelly’s ‘work in progress’ version premiered at the Cannes Film Festival it was reviled and even after being recut and effects being completed the film still failed big time at the box office, failed to make an impression with critics (although there are a few that really appreciated the film – I am one of them) and worse still failed to find the kind of cult appeal that Kelly’s debut did. Now, several years on, Kelly has made another attempt and, following the excess of Southland Tales, his latest effort is a much more back to basics effort, more akin to the style of his first film. It actually seems like a match made in heaven. The short story Button, Button by sci-fi author Richard Matheson (I Am Legend), previously adapted for television series The Twilight Zone is exactly the kind of source material that Kelly can really do justice to. But after the disappointment of Southland Tales – according to some people anyway – is The Box a return to form for Richard Kelly or will Kelly himself be the victim of The Box?

Norma (Cameron Diaz) and Arthur (James Marsden) Lewis are an ordinary suburban couple whose life has hit a rough patch. Things look like they might improve, however, when one day they receive a strange wooden box with a button on top as a gift. However, this seemingly innocent object comes with fatal and irrevocable consequences. Mysterious stranger Arlington Steward (Frank Langella) tells them that, with the press of the button, the box will bestow one million dollars upon its owner. But pressing the button will simultaneously cause the death of a person – someone they don’t know – somewhere in the world. With just 24 hours to make their choice, Norma and Arthur find themselves in a dark and disturbing reality, where nothing is as it seems.

Even though The Box has been sold as a considerably more mainstream film than Richard Kelly’s previous directorial efforts, it is most likely that if you didn’t appreciate Donnie Darko you won’t find much appreciation for this film. Kelly’s distinctive style is evident throughout in both the visuals and the script (he writes as well as directs once again) and consequently, just like Donnie Darko and Southland Tales before it, this is a film that is unique, so unique in fact that only a minority of moviegoers will actually like, or even understand, it. As with Donnie Darko the story is extremely ambiguous. We are not spoon fed information or given any easy answers but rather left to come up with our own interpretations. In particular, the identity and motives of Arlington Steward’s employees remain a mystery, and are something that could be the subject of much conjecture among film fans for some time to come. The character of Steward himself is an enigma, playing an integral role in the film’s events but without any clear indication as to what he is truly up to. The suggestion that he is conducting tests on human subjects – i.e. Norma and Arthur – makes this quite a thought provoking film, with the series of moral and ethical challenges faced by the characters raising a key question – what would YOU do in the same situation? As such, you are guaranteed to leave the cinema with some food for thought. While the film certainly has such intellectual properties, however, it does take some time to get going, as the film starts off in quite dull and uneventful fashion, taking a bit too long to get the necessary exposition out of the way, and only really coming to life once the button has actually been pushed. This slowness of pace means that the film falls considerably short of the level of quality seen in Donnie Darko but once things get going the quality really does pick up. Kelly creates a suitably eerie and creepy atmosphere, with a definite Twilight Zone style vibe going on, and the story goes off in very interesting and unexpected directions, taking on an Invasion of the Body Snatchers style twist at one point. Kelly also gets plenty of opportunity to show off his technical skills. The cinematography captures the dark, sinister tone of the story well and the visual effects are very good, in particular the effects used to make Arlington Steward into the man with half his face missing that we seen on the screen (an effect that apparently cost $1 million to render), which is extremely realistic and unnerving. This effect also adds to the already sinister screen presence of Frank Langella, who delivers a very good performance as the enigmatic Steward. The other performances are also very good with both James Marsden and Cameron Diaz being believable, and Diaz doing a very convincing Southern accent. Richard Kelly fans will also appreciate the presence of Kelly regular Holmes Osborne as Norma’s father/detective investigating murders that may or may not be linked to the box. Authenticity isn’t just present in the acting, though, but also in other aspects too. The look and feel of 1976 America is very authentic and there is significant attention to detail. The soundtrack also aids the feel of the period, as well as complementing the tension that is being portrayed on the screen. Overall, The Box is a film for Richard Kelly fans and one that is unlikely to be appreciated by a broader audience. It has many qualities for those who are able to appreciate them but for the average moviegoer it may be too slow paced and hard to follow.

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Review by Robert Mann BA (Hons)

Planet 51 **½

2009 has seen something of a revolution in the world of computer animated filmmaking. With digital 3D becoming a fixture in cinemas all around the world, and seemingly here to stay, all the major animation studios have been adopting three dimensions into their movies, giving an edge to films that were already quite impressive to look at to start with. However, while the big boys have all been getting in on the 3D act, many smaller animation studios have been left out. One of these is the Spanish based animation studio Ilion Animation who this week, make their feature debut with the release of Planet 51. Having already been release in the states the film performed extremely poorly, suggesting that demand for animated movies not released in 3D has virtually disappeared over the past year. But while the film may not be presented in three dimensions, does this mean that the film is in any way two dimensional when it comes to quality on its own terms? Sadly yes.

Lem (voiced by Justin Long) is just an average teenager working on getting his dream girl Neera (voiced by Jessica Biel) and furthering his career at the local planetarium – except that he’s an alien. At least to U.S. astronaut Captain Charles T. Baker (voiced by Dwayne Johnson) who lands on Lem’s planet hoping for a quick flag plant and a hasty return to Earth and his millions of screaming fans. But on this alien planet, which bares a striking resemblance to 1950s America, the media has tagged spacemen as brain-eating, zombie-creating monsters, causing Baker to run for his life and into Lem’s house. Now it’s up to the green native to get the clumsy astronaut back to his spaceship before military dictator General Grawl (voiced by Gary Oldman) and mad scientist Professor Kipple (voiced by John Cleese) manage to exterminate the Earthly visitor.

In the animation department, while it may not quite be of the standard we have come to expect from the product of the major animation, Planet 51 does have some things going for it. While rookies to the computer animation game, Ilion Animation has done a pretty decent job here with animation that is bright and colourful and extremely cute and charming with a very smooth look, even if it is a bit lacking in texture. The animation style perfectly suits the content of the film and shows that Ilion may well have a bright future in the world of animation. Sure, the animation isn’t the best you will see this year but at times there are sequences that are quite beautiful. It is really just a shame that the quality seen in the animation isn’t evident elsewhere. For example, when it comes to humour there is a genuine lack of substance. Essentially, the film is a homage/spoof of 50s B movies and this comes with a potential goldmine for gags, something that this year’s Monsters Vs Aliens exploited very effectively, but here much of the humour is rather predictable and the successful gags are more likely to make you giggle than laugh out loud. There are a few in jokes and references that are clearly aimed at older viewers, with films being references including Aliens – alien xenomorphs are kept as pets – E.T., Star Wars and The Terminator. Sadly, none of these jokes are particularly smart and so not only will they not make older viewers laugh but they will also go completely over the heads of younger ones. The voice cast is also pretty serviceable with all involved doing a decent job but no one really standing out in anyway. This is pretty much the way the film is in general, actually – a serviceable and mildly entertaining animated film that may keep undemanding kids satisfied for a while but has little to offer anyone wanting more. There is definite promise in the animation though so here’s hoping that Planet 51 isn’t the last we see of Ilion Animation, but that next time they’ll put a bit more effort into other aspects as well.

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Review by Robert Mann BA (Hons)