By Monika Bartyzel

I sometimes wonder if the best way to enter Hollywood is with the littlest splash, whether that be with a terrible feature one can look back at with humor, or a moderately good film -- one that pleases without setting up terribly high expectations. Would Richard Kelly's path had been different if Donnie Darko wasn't his introduction to the cinematic world?

After being juggled back and forth like an angry pinball, and almost getting a breath of relief with a Halloween release date, Bloody Disgusting reports that The Box has been bumped again. It's not going back to the Thanksgiving release it once had, but rather November 6 -- up against A Christmas Carol, Precious, Men Who Stare at Goats, Pirate Radio, and The Fourth Kind. Will this date stick? Your guess is as good as mine. Once a film gets shot around, anything is possible.

Of course, this doesn't bode particularly well for the feature, which already has the cards stacked against it. Donnie Darko hit the scene and grabbed the love of many, but Domino, Southland Tales, and even the director's cut of Darko didn't grab the same admiration. Domino is a bird of a different feather, since it isn't Kelly's own story. The D.C. Darko lost a lot in translation -- all of the explanations taking the fun out of it.



And then there's Southland Tales. Between the booing at Cannes and the struggle to actually make it to the big screen, one would've thought the film was the baddest of the bad. It wasn't the worst, and actually ended up being one of those movies where you wonder exactly where all the hate and apprehension came from. But still -- it was no memorable exploration of teenage lust and time travel.

So what of The Box? The trailer was decent, but it's getting the Southland treatment so far. If this project doesn't evoke some love, is there any chance of Kelly continuing in Hollywood as a writer/director? To completely lose him would be unfortunate, because even in his failure, the man has a unique and creative vision -- something we don't see everyday. But even vision isn't enough to stand up against what Kelly's last two films have gone through.

What say you, Cinematical readers? Will The Box charm? And if it doesn't, can Kelly's career survive it?