"THE BOX" (2009) (Cameron Diaz, James Marsden) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Heavy Heavy Extreme Heavy Heavy Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate Moderate Extreme None Mild Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Mild Moderate Heavy Moderate Heavy QUICK TAKE: Science-fiction: A married couple is approached by a mysterious stranger with a tempting offer where if they push the button on a seemingly non-descript box, they'll receive $1 million, with the catch being someone somewhere in the world who they don't know will die as a result. PLOT: In 1976, husband-and-wife Norma and Arthur Lewis (CAMERON DIAZ and JAMES MARSDEN) live in Richmond, Va., with their son Walter SAM OZ STONE) and have good jobs. She is a teacher, and he is scientist working for NASA. But they live paycheck to paycheck and can't seem to get ahead. Into their lives comes a mysterious stranger named Arlington Steward (FRANK LANGELLA), who drops off a box one morning. The box has a button on it. Arlington soon informs that if they push the button, they will receive $1 million tax-free. What's the catch? Someone, somewhere in the world who they do not know will die. Norma eventually decides to push the button, but they immediately have second thoughts after receiving the cash. Arthur starts to investigate further to determine Arlington's real identity, who he works for, and why he chose them. Arlington, who seems to have eyes and ears everywhere including the Lewises' babysitter, Dana (GILLIAN JACOBS), punishes the couple for not leaving well enough alone. This puts into motion a series of events that will lead this couple to make some exceedingly hard choices involving life and death. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Older teens will likely have some interest in this movie with its creepy premise and the presence of James Marsden from "Enchanted" and the "X-Men" movies. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For thematic elements, some violence and disturbing images. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: CAMERON DIAZ plays a generally good-hearted wife, mother, and college instructor who ultimately chooses to kill someone she doesn't know in return for $1 million. JAMES MARSDEN plays her scientist husband who supports her decision to push the button in exchange for the cash. He is a casual drinker. FRANK LANGELLA plays a mysterious and horrifically scarred man who gives Norma and Arthur the choice to kill someone they do not know in return for the fortune. His true identity and otherworldly purpose is later revealed. SAM OZ STONE plays Norma and Arthur's pre-teen son, who loves his parents but sometimes speaks disrespectfully with them. GILLIAN JACOBS plays Walter's babysitter, who may or may not be under the control of Arlington. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this science-fiction film that has been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 1 "s" word, while a handful of other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Some brief, sexually related content is also present. Violence consists of two characters dying from gunshot wounds, another character being manhandled at a party, and a violent crash involving a jeep-like vehicle and a semi truck. Some of this has moderately bloody results, while a man's disfigured face is also seen. Such scenes might be unsettling and/or suspenseful to some viewers. Bad attitudes are present throughout, as is some potentially imitative behavior, various thematic elements, and tense family material. Drinking is present in a number of scenes, as is smoking. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there are some distorted water effects in several scenes. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Much wine, champagne, and other spirits are served at a wedding rehearsal dinner. Practically every major and minor character in this sequence is shown consuming some type of alcoholic beverage. Arthur and Norma chuckle at the memory of their "keg party" rehearsal dinner years earlier. Later in the film, Norma and Arthur attend a wedding reception where a considerable amount of champagne, wine and other alcoholic beverages are served and consumed. Following a mysterious teleportation, Arthur calms his nerves by drinking some Jack Daniels whiskey. He opens his home bar to reveal several bottles of whiskey and other spirits. BLOOD/GORE Norma is goaded by a creepy student into showing her mangled foot to the class. We later learn that her brother dropped a barbell on her foot years earlier, and she then had four of her toes amputated after her doctor left her behind a turned-on X-ray machine for a long period of time. Arlington's face is horribly burned on one side. The damage is so severe, we can see through a portion of his cheek to his teeth. A woman is found shot dead by her husband, with blood from her chest wound. We later see black-and-white crime scene photos of the murder, complete with a close up the bloody bullet wound. The principal at Norma's school suffers a nosebleed. A friend of Norma's suffers a nosebleed as he leads her to a phone. A mysterious student of Norma's also has a nosebleed. Dana the babysitter has a nosebleed in the front seat of Arthur's car. Dana notices blood on Arthur's hand as he is driving. A journalist has a nosebleed just before collapsing to the ground. Following a vehicle crash, Arthur has bloody wounds on his neck and head. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Norma's son, Walter, calls her "old" and tells her "You're kind of a geezer." When Norma follows Walter to the bus stop, he tells her to go back inside the house because she is "embarrassing" him in front of his friends. A student of Norma's describes the female lead in Jean-Paul Sartre's "No Exit" as a "slut who married for money," then killed her own child. That same student goads Norma into showing her gnarled foot to the class after asking her point blank why she walks with a limp. Later, a waiter makes fun of her foot. An early discussion between Walter and Arthur betrays the Santa Claus legend. Walter refers to Santa as a "fat guy." Cops pull up on a scene where a husband has shot his wife. They find the couple’s young daughter locked in a bathroom and crying. Arthur stares for a disrespectfully long time at Arlington's scarred face. Arlington, under the direction of some mysterious "employer," gives married couples strapped for cash a choice to kill another human being in return for $1 million. The movie infers that Arlington and his minions go to great lengths to create economic circumstances for each couple to accept the money. Norma and Arthur eventually accept the offer. A creepy old woman stares at Arthur throughout dinner, making him feel uncomfortable. Someone has finger-written the words "No Exit" on Arthur and Norma's frosty windshield. Norma sees a creepy, dazed-looking man staring through a window in her backyard. Arthur searches through Dana's purse while unconscious and takes her driver's license, which reveals that Dana is not her real name. Arthur later steals a photo from a crime scene that clearly would have been bagged as police evidence. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. Dana, Walter's babysitter, jolts awake in the front seat of Arthur's car after being rendered unconscious for a short time. Dana walks through the corridors of a motel, as each guest room opens and its occupants look at her menacingly. Arthur is followed by Arlington's zombie-like associates in a creepy library. He is ultimately outnumbered, surrounded, and given a life-or-death choice. Walter is abducted by Arlington's minions, rendered unconscious, and mysteriously rendered deaf and blind. GUNS/WEAPONS Cops enter an apartment where a murder has been committed with guns drawn. Jeffrey holds a gun to Arthur's head. Government agents are shown approaching a mysterious hangar with guns and rifles drawn. One character is given a handgun and the choice to kill a loved one to save another loved one. Cops are called to a murder scene at the film's climax and enter the residence with guns drawn. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "She's a slut who married for money," "How the hell is he going to know if we called someone?" "Shut up," "Hey, big mouth" and "Flunkie." Arlington rings the Lewises' doorbell very early in the morning while they are still sleeping, leaves his mysterious package on the doorstep, and then drives off. Police officers drive recklessly and at high speeds on icy city streets to reach a crime scene. A dazed Santa Claus stands in the middle of an icy road. JUMP SCENES Dana, Walter's babysitter, jolts awake in the front seat of Arthur's car after being rendered unconscious for a short time. Some kind of NASA test vehicle comes screaming into camera view from out of frame. Arthur is sucked hard into a big wall of water that is actually a portal. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) An extreme amount of creepy and ominous music occurs throughout the entire film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None PROFANITY At least 1 "s" word, 1 damn, 1 hell, and 1 use each of "Jesus" and "Jesus Christ." SEX/NUDITY A student of Norma's calls the female lead in Jean-Paul Sartre's "No Exit" a "slut." Partygoers joke about some photos being too private to see, inferring that they're sexual in nature. SMOKING On at least three occasions, '70s era switchboard operators are shown smoking on the job as they field 911 calls. One partygoer is shown with an unlit cigarette in his ear. The head of the NSA smokes during a tense meeting with NASA officials. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Cops pull up on a scene where a husband has shot his wife. They find the couple's young daughter locked in a bathroom and crying. Norma and Arthur debate for nearly a day on whether to push the button on a mysterious box that will make them rich, but will result in the death of someone they do not know. Arthur scuttles a wedding rehearsal dinner involving his wife's side of the family when he fights a waiter that has made fun of Norma's deformed foot. Late in the film, a man is given the choice to shoot his wife in order to heal his child, who has been rendered both blind and deaf. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The $1 million deal offered here and whether people would accept it considering the lethal ramifications. Mind control. The possibility of extraterrestrial life. How to deal with and treat people with deformities, burns, and heavy scarring, especially on the face. Financial problems in a marriage and how they can cause problems with the couple. The Viking space program in the '70s VIOLENCE A woman is found shot dead by her husband, with blood from her chest wound, and we see her dead body afterwards. Arthur manhandles a creepy waiter who had previously made fun of Norma's deformed foot. A large semi truck plows into a jeep in which Arthur is a passenger, leaving him bloodied. Norma and Arthur are manhandled and abducted by agents under the control of Arlington. A man shoots a woman in the chest, killing her. Reviewed November 5, 2009 / Posted November 6, 2009

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