The Box

Released: 2009
Sci-fi
Director: Richard Kelly
Starring: James Marsden, Frank Langella, and unfortunately, Cameron Diaz
Running Time:115 minutes
Rated: PG-13

The breakdown: Based on the Richard Matheson short story "Button, Button", this movie takes us on a frightening and thought-provoking journey of decisions and consequences.

Oh, how I love this movie!
Taking place back in the late 1970's, a married couple finds a wooden box on their doorstep one cold December morning.
A mysterious and disfigured man shows up during the day to explain that he will give the couple 24 hours to make a difficult decision.  They can push the button and immediately kill someone in the world, they don't know, and receive 1 million tax free dollars; or not.  Either way, they receive $100.00 from the mysterious man just for their time.  The man explains this to the wife alone as she is the only one home that day.  When her husband returns home she tells him what happened and they talk about it.  The man decides they shouldn't press it, and takes the box down into the basement so no one can accidentally hit the button.  He's some sort of scientist for NASA and is curious about the design of the cheap looking box.  He takes apart screws on the bottom and opens it up to reveal no machinery, and no electronics or anything inside the box.  It looks like a prop that does nothing.
The wife meanwhile, still thinks about their decision.  The morning that their time is up, they seem to be still debating it, and time is running out.

I won't tell you anymore because it's a great movie worth seeing, despite Cameron Diaz's performance.

4 out of 5 for being very intriguing to watch as the story unfolds and being completely unpredictable; you never know where the story will go until the very last shot.   SEE IT!