Product: The Kovak Box (2006)
Rating: 3.0
Some Good Qualities but Seriously Flawed....
I am not as excited about this movie as other reviewers seem to be. It was worth watching, but contained a serious flaw that detracted from the viewing experience:It suffered from the "Mission Impossible Syndrome" in which a character wants to accomplish a reasonably simple goal, but then resorts to wildly implausible, ridiculously complex methods to achieve the goal. In this case, as I interpret the plot, the rich old geezer (well played by David Kelly) wants the famous author (played by Timothy Hutton) to write a story about the geezer's fabulous scientific accomplishments and then kill him, both to make him famous and to spare him from a lingering, painful death due to brain cancer.I guess just hiring an author to write the story and then seeking euthanasia (widely available, especially in Europe) were apparently way too simple for our villain. Instead, he sets up headquarters on the beautiful island of Majorca (coincidentally the writer/director's homeland), arranges for implants to be placed in 100 airline passenger's necks (which would be beyond impossible with today's supertight airline security), then uses the implants to compel the victims to commit ghastly suicides when they hear the song "Gloomy Sunday", all in hopes that this will inspire Hutton's character, the author, to write a story about it....making the demented old lunatic the "star" of the lurid tale. Never mind that the hugely negative (dare I say Hitleresque) fame resulting from a crime of this magnitude would certainly not be desireable, and definitely not worth the incredible expense and effort needed to pull it off. Indeed, he could have probably just skipped the implants and induced quite a few suicides simply by playing the song....it's a real "downer".Common sense would dictate that if he were rich enough to finance this preposterous scheme, then he probably could have hired a Pulitzer-prize-winning author to immortalize his achievements and then fly to Sweden for a catered orgy/assisted-suicide bash with live entertainment by Destiny's Child. Instead, he resorts to this wildly implausible plan. But let's face it, if a writer/director is absolutely determined to make a movie on his home island of Majorca, why would he let an implausible story line interfere with his plans?On the plus sides, the scenery is magnificent and the female lead, Lucia Jimenez is a pleasure to watch....sort of a "poor man's" Paz Vega. Production values are first rate and the acting is good overall.Speaking of which, be sure to watch Timothy Hutton in the "special features" at the end of the DVD. He is apparently a very honest man, for despite his actor's training and experience, he has great difficulty expressing any real enthusiasm for the plot or his character. He knows the absurdity of the story line, and to his credit, he lets it show. Pay heed to Tim's lack of enthusiasm and watch this overdone potboiler with your common sense firmly on "pause".