She expresses as much to her sister Jessica (Paulson) on the way to a meeting with her obstetrician, as the two discuss reports of mass suicides on the other side of the world. It opens in the nightmarish present, but actually spends more time in flashbacks with Malorie (Bullock), an expectant mother unsure about whether or not she’ll form a connection with her baby. In particular, Sandra Bullock does typically solid work, buoyed by a great supporting cast that includes the should-be-a-star Trevante Rhodes, Jacki Weaver, Danielle Macdonald, Sarah Paulson, and John Malkovich.īased on Josh Malerman’s novel, “Bird Box” intercuts between two time periods-about five years after the end of the world and in the first days when everything collapsed. I'm a sucker for King-inspired things, and this one hits that chord well enough to be worth a look over your Christmas break. Lazy critics and viewers will compare it to “ A Quiet Place” (I've already seen it called 'A Blind Place'), but this is a piece that actually draws more from “ Stephen King’s The Mist,” another tale of the paranoia that invades a group of strangers when they’re dealing with both the unknown and the worry that they may never again see the outside world or fully understand what's hiding in it. Most of its strength emerges from a well-directed ensemble, one able to convey the high concept of a nightmarish situation without losing their relatable humanity. Undercooked metaphors about motherhood and a mishandled climax aside, there’s enough to like in Susanne Bier’s “Bird Box,” premiering on Netflix after a limited theatrical release today.

How’s this year’s cinematic sci-fi stocking stuffer, 'Bird Box'? It’s imperfect, but you probably won’t be returning it.

So, apparently, futuristic action movies are now going to be what the company gives us for Christmas every year. Last year, Netflix dropped the high-budget “ Bright” just before the holidays and it turned out to be a pretty massive sci-fi hit for the company, even if critics hated it.

Who plays tom in bird box