Shorts

In the planned suburban town of Black Falls, everyone works for Black Box Industries, the company behind a communications device found in every home. Eleven-year-old Toby Thompson has a hard time with the local bullies, among them Helvetica Black and her brother Cole. When a rainbow-colored rock falls from the sky and ends up in his hands, he learns it grants the wishes of whoever holds it. Since the stone passes from child to child and from parents to neighbors, the wishes pile up and turn the orderly community upside down.

Robert Rodriguez directed and produced the film, which he co-wrote with Álvaro Rodríguez. It is the fifteenth of the twenty-four features he has directed in chronological order, following Grindhouse and preceding Machete. Jimmy Bennett plays Toby, with Jake Short, Kat Dennings, Trevor Gagnon, Devon Gearhart and Jolie Vanier among the credited cast of thirty-seven. The film was made for about 40 million dollars and took in roughly 29 million dollars worldwide, so it did not recover its cost in cinemas. On TMDB it holds a rating of 5.9 out of 10 from 339 votes, placing it in middling territory.