Rob The Film Geek 2.0

Hi welcome to a new thing I want to get going - double bills - shared by a common theme, which could be absolutely anything - something obvious as an genre, actor or director, or less obvious, which could be any reason I guess.

The first double bill is not going to be two films but rather two adaptations of the same short story - who is by Richard Matheson - one, is an episode of the 80s incarnation of The Twilight Zone, the other is a full length movie made for the cinema in 2009.

I remember the episode Button, Button from seeing it in the 90s (I'll say 96 maybe, when it was repeated very late at night on Channel 4) and my memory didn't remember any of the actors but I remembered the dilemma, the decision and I guess you can call it the punchline (you know the Twilight Zone Twist), so when Richard Kelly's 2009 The Box came out I had idea of what could happen and the worry that would a 30 minute episode (and short story) could be expanded to a full length story and maintain the interest.

BUTTON, BUTTON

The 80s version of The Twilight Zone was never as good as the b/w original despite getting (particularly in the first season) some great actors and directors, but it delivered the goods more then once on some great stories (and performances) so it does have a place in my affections.

This is the second part of episode 20 from the first season of the show (the first part I am not watching as part of this), and stars Mare Winningham, Basil Hoffman and Brad Davis. Winningham is an actress who as never been on my radar as far as being a selling point for buying/watching something, Davis, when I first saw this episode I was unfamiliar with, but thanks to Midnight Express I rate him as an actor.

Davis and Winningham actually capture pretty well within minutes of the episode, that the relationship they are in is not in a good place thanks to money issues in, the parcel with a box and button arrives quite quick, which I suppose it has to since it's only a 30 minute episode. Basil Hoffman arrives with just Norma (Winningham) in the apartment and is very creepy - he describes what the button is - push the button and they get $200,000 but somebody they don't know somewhere will die. Arthur (Davis) arrives and this is where we get the central premise of the episode.

The central dilemma is move briskly along, Norma wants to push it, Arthur doesn't - which brings along a dilemma anybody in reality would actually face if this was real life - and it's impossible question here for me to answer.

SPOILERS AHEAD - the button is eventually pressed by Norma (like Eve eating the Forbidden Fruit) and next morning the Steward (Hoffman) comes to take the button back, she asks if someone died and he creepily says "of course" and gives her the money in a briefcase. He then says he will re-program the button and offer it to somebody else and he assures her it's somebody she won't know... SPOILERS END

I enjoyed this episode more as an adult, because there is little action but the dilemma of something and it's consequences, I thought it was well acted from all 3 (no other actors appear in this episode at all)

THE BOX

Richard Kelly - is first film Donnie Darko was an unexpected success thanks to DVD (it didn't really do much dent when it originally came out), a mind screwing but ultimately engrossing film, it seems the success of this got him Carte-Le-Blanche to do what the hell he wanted for his next film, and that seems the case with Southland Tales, which received a horrible reception at Cannes and when released, probably the best reviews would have described it as mess - Southland Tales however in my opinion did seem to have some memorable moments, but yeah I would fall into the category of calling it a mess. The Box, which followed some 3 years later was the work of a director who needed to show DD was not just a fluke and it's a film I haven't seen until now.

The Box comes in a 1 hour 55 minutes compared to Button, Button's 27 minutes and surprisingly the package with the box arrives just as quick (maybe quicker), we know less about the characters by the time the box as arrived actually and 3 minutes in they seem to have a kid, and for the first 40 or so minutes of The Box the plots are similar, the same central dilemma, Frank Langella's portrayal of Steward seems more friendly then Hoffman's portrayal, the family are apparently living from paycheck to paycheck but they have nice house and car (Arthur works for NASA as well), Norma and Arthur's relationship is also much nicer between the pair. It's when the button presses that the film changes.

While the short story obviously couldn't have lasted nearly two hours, the films second half premise could have gone into intriguing areas - the couple getting paranoid because of Steward's parting words to them - but it turns out they have reason to be paranoid, the money (a million dollars this time) is such a none issue in the second half that the reason for pressing the button could have been literally anything it really loses me though with SPOILERS AHEAD the premise of the second half being the button by those who control the lightning (aliens or gods or something) that if more couples with one child press the button the human race would be exterminated is just too much of a reach for me, the other condition of the button that nobody gets told is the child goes deaf and blind, what parent in the right mind would press the button knowing this? and it also makes the all pressing the button cute and dry - black and white with no gray morality - pressing the button is bad, not is good, but let's say your a very, very poor family you would do it easily, a multi-millionaire would have no reason to so does that make one bad and the latter good, it all ends with Arthur shooting Norma through the heart which will restore the kids abilities but mean's Norma's dead and Arthur is in prison SPOILERS END. The film basically took it's intriguing first half and turned it into a mess thanks entirely to it's second half.

I thought I would compare the three central characters for both versions.

Norma Lewis
MARE WINNINGHAM v CAMERON DIAZ

Cameron Diaz is decent in the role of lead female of the movie version even if her accent is distracting (did she study accents from watching Forrest Gump or something) but Mare Winningham makes the most of the limited story, you feel her character is much more desperate to press the button, we know in minutes the couple are struggling for money (but not entirely poor) while you never once believe Diaz (who has a back-story of getting her foot damaged thanks to medical negligence) really needs the money for bills and food. Winningham wins this one.

Arthur Lewis
BRAD DAVIS v JAMES MARSDEN

Davis plays stressed well in the episode, while Marsden plays it more coolly in the movie, he like Diaz is decent in the role but the character he's playing is just not as identifiable with as - it really is hard to identify with a character as an every man when he works for NASA. Davis wins this one for the show again.

Steward
BASIL HOFFMAN v FRANK LANGELLA

Hoffman plays it sinister, Langella more friendly - and both work probably equally as well, I reckon you could have changed roles and both still work as good as they did. Langella is probably the best thing about the movie version - even if in the second half mostly he has to work with a bit of crap, but at least his presence is great - Hoffman is in the episode very little but does leave an impression. I would say a tie but I will give it to Langella. So the episode wins 2 to 1 on the characters/casting front.

Which Is Better? - It would be a lot closer if it was the first 40 or so minutes of the movie against the episode, but the Twilight Zone episode wins because it gets straight to the point and you can identify with the characters even more.

Overall Thoughts On The Double Bill - This is likely one of the shorter double bills I will be doing, coming in at about a combined 140 minutes. The episode in many ways takes away the reason to ever watch the film again, Kelly - who probably feels he as to be let's say Lynchian and have is films have a lot of weird going on because that's what is ever shrinking audience want.

Do the double bill if you feel the need to see two different versions of the same story with varying lengths it was a decent experience from that point of view.

Kristen Bell received number one every month in my top women of the month for the entire year of 2012, which means nobody else as much as I loved them was close to getting the number one spot, and I don't mind that.

When I moved into my new place in February, because I didn't have aerial I was putting in DVDs in between sorting out my home and the first two seasons of Veronica Mars is what I watched all the way through - these I think where my third time going through them (it might be 4) and they still are as great to watch as ever - I finally got the third season on DVD the back end of this year in November which was awesome.

Much, much, much better for KB then getting the number one spot in some lonely guy's blog is her pregnancy which is wonderful for her.