Rating: 
Summary: cell out
Review: being an intransigent modernist, i'm all for the idea of form over content, but in the postmodern era that conceit seems almost reactionary. on the other hand, since virtually all postmodernism is devoid of any meaningful content, the difference between the two starts to become a little abstract. so to say that that the cell emphasizes style over substance is missing the point. the plot, such as it is, involves telnetting into the mind of a comatose serial killer to locate his next would be victim. jennifer lopez shuffles through the film as if she were the one in the coma, taking some time outs to display her extreme cuteness in a variety of guises and ways hopefully acceptable to puff daddy. her character has a romantic interest in an fbi agent (vince vaughn), and of course there's the popcorn gnawing suspense of whether or not she'll outwit the killer in time to save the damsel in distress. so with all the cliché bases firmly covered we get to spend 100 minutes watching utter inanity punctuated by some truly great visuals. hollywood's obsession with the tender intricacies of the serial killer is truly amazing. there are far more serial killer films than bona fide serial killers. in film after film, this infinitesimally small part of the criminal universe has been imbued with wit, humor, artistic sensibilities, super human strength and sexual prowess. i suppose the next step is to make a movie with matt damon flying around in a cape, decapitating people, writing treatises on particle physics and spending hours with the ladies at a hip-hop pool party before he's finally done in by nicole kidman... there's obviously nothing to be gained by such explorations, because whatever twisted motivations drive these criminals they are chicken feed next to the social conditions that have created them in the first place. so we have clichés, stupidity, and poor acting (with the exception of vincent d'onofrio as "the psycho"), and what else? well, there are the visuals which are truly beautiful and artistically substantial, but only take up about 10 minutes of screen time. the cell could have been a music video and lost absolutely nothing. but i'm forgetting, a dumb and meaningless work with all the skill and artistry poured into the visuals and special effects is exactly what finds favor with the marketing wizards, allowing "the product" to perform a kind of de facto lobotomy which does not allow the viewer to operate above the level of sensory stimulation. ah, the joys of postmodernism. i'm giving the cell 2 stars for art direction, set and costume design. aside from that, it's little more than a second feature on the usa network.
Rating: 
Summary: The Cell or my 2 hours wasted
Review: This movie was horrible. I can appreciate a movie if it is mindless fun. This one is just mindless. Stay away from this turkey even if you have absolutely nothing else to do.
Rating: 
Summary: Dark movie, yet stunningly colorful
Review: I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie, so I went into it with an open mind. I had only seen one preview for this movie so I wasn't sure where this movie would take me. That's a good feeling to have going into a movie.I also didn't expect a lot from Jennifer Lopez. In my mind she was a singer, and I figured this was just another one of those "singer becomes actress" situations. I have to say I was a little surprised by her abilities to act in this film. She wasn't perfect, but she did make me believe she was Catherine, therefore she did her job nicely. The plot of the film is a bit predictable. You basically know what is going to happen before you reach the middle portion of the film. Predictability can bring a film down. Like knowing it was going to come down to close seconds before the victim drowns, and knowing that somehow the FBI agent would also take his own trip into the mind of the killer. These things were predictable and I think it is these aspects of the film that bring it down. The visuals of the movie really make up for all of it. It is dark and haunting, yet filled with color. The viewer actually feels they have taken the trip right along with the character. The visuals reminded me a bit of those in Pink Floyd's "The Wall", and "What Dreams May Come." Put these types of visuals into a film that is very much like "The Silence of the Lambs" and you get "The Cell. Overall a very entertaining film. I would recommend it to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Weird movie, good visuals.
Review: This movie was pretty decent, although very dark in theme. What really stands out, however, is the amazing visuals that are in this film. The sequences while Lopez is inside the serial killer's mind are incredible. The film is also back by an equally great soundtrack which really sets the mood in a few places. If The movie is pretty graphic, which I know turned a few people off to the movie. But if you enjoy really eerie and suspenseful movies, this is one for you. I'd probably say that if you liked the movie Se7en, then you'll probably like this one also. The DVD itself is full of extras. New line platinum has done an excellent job here - deleted scenes, cool looking menus, the ability to watch the movie with just the music (I think, never actually tried it though), etc. On top of that the sound and picture transfer is crystal clear, which is a must for a movie like this.
Rating:
Summary: put lopez in the cell and throw away the keys
Review: Ok I went to see this movie because Ebert gave it 4 stars. I heard this someplace: Siskel was going to have to watch this movie, he took the easy way out. The plot is "been there, done that numerous times", and extremely weak. I swear if I see another movie with the computer brain interface... There are some great individual sequences that would have made some other movie really great, but not this one. So if you take those sequences and put them together what you have is a great trailer. Acting wise, nobody really outdoes him or herself in this movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice to look at, but that's it.
Review: My rating should probably lean closer to 3.5, as I thought 'The Cell' was an enjoyable film, but certainly didn't set any milestones. The film successfully merges the genres of sci-fi and suspense (in the vein of Silence of the Lambs) into a chilling story of a serial murderer hunt. The focus of the film is the technology which enables a young social worker (Lopez) to literally delve into the minds of her patients. The Fed's employ this technology to enter the mind of a killer, whose final victim remains hidden. The premise is very intriguing. I had no problem believing that this technology worked in the film, and enjoyed the sequences where Lopez would undergo the procedure. I was pleasantly surprised at the singer/actresses performance, and Vince Vaughn turns in a great off-kilter performance. Brad DiNofrio was also quite spooky as the demented killer. Problems, though, lie with the actual production of the film. Although I thought the surreal scenes inside the killers minds were amazing (very artsy and great fun to watch) almost 90% of them were what I had seen from trailers and promo's. That is a true shame about Hollywood, where a film's best scenes are already previewed in the commercials. Also, there was no emotional hook tied to the victim Lopez and Vaughn try desperately to save. She is just kinda thrown into the mix to start the movie off. Also, I felt many of the plot devices used (Lopez confronting both the evil side of the killer and his good side, portrayed as a child) were kind of cliched and not very interesting. 'The Cell' is great fun to watch, but it seemed over too quick. A great example of a film being over-advertised.
Rating:
Summary: Boring and Dull
Review: I'm just going to say that this movie is horrible. Jennifer Lopez is a joke as an actress (not to mention a singer). My biggest complaint about this movie is not the predictability or even the blatant rip-off of the TRULY best serial killer film of all-time, "The Silence of The Lambs", it just sucks! Come on, Lopez entering the mind of a killer to find a victim still in danger? I try not to pick films apart. I realize that many great films share certain characteristics. I don't have to have a message in a movie, or even depth really. As long as I'm being entertained. This film didn't do that. The movie is BORING as well as ALL of the characters. The only credit this movie deserves is for the visual imagery, which reminded me at times of a Marilyn Manson type video. That is the only good thing to be said for this movie. To each his own, but in my opinion this film should only be watched if one is seeking a cure for insomnia.
Rating:
Summary: i only gave it two for vince vaughn
Review: Seriously, why was this movie made? the idea was cool, but jennifer lopez is just not the greatest actress...her character does not once make me believe she is smart and therefore i can't believe she has the job she does (she's like a therapist/whatever)...she is all about kicking butt for about 5 seconds and then her character gets totally thrown into the evil guys world and she gets stuck there...dumb dumb dumb. Vincent D.'s character is pretty cool but really doesn't match the movie or maybe it was just the script, who knows...it's worth seeing just to say, "oh, i saw the cell", but not worth buying or anything....really i just saw it for Vince V. and this wasn't his best role either...this movie.just.sucked.
Rating:
Summary: Put Lopez in a cell
Review: This movie is only good when there is nothing else on, I mean nothing, not an old Brady Bunch rerun, nothing. Lopez is, as usual, lackluster. The visuals are ok, but so what? Is this a music video or movie? This might be a good date movie if you aren't planning on watching the movie...hint hint.
Rating:
Summary: AN ELEVATION OF FORM OVER SUBSTANCE...
Review: The movie starts out promisingly enough. FBI agents are on the hunt for a bizarre serial killer, well acted by Vincent D'Onofrio, who kidnaps his victims and then, while they are still alive, puts them into a giant water tank which, after a certain timed interval, slowly begins to fill up with water, until the inevitable occurs. The FBI ultimately apprehends the serial killer just after he kidnaps his last victim, but not before he has stashed his victim in an unknown location. Before the FBI can pry from him information as to the victim's whereabouts, the killer eludes them mentally by going into a total catatonic state out of which he cannot be induced. The police are at a loss as to the location of the water tank where the last victim has been presumably stashed and time is ticking. They have no way of verbally communicating with the killer in his catatonic state. Enter psychologist Catherine Deane, into which role Jennifer Lopez is woefully miscast. Ms. Deane apparently has the ability to enter the mind of another person through the aid of a newly developed and experimental technology. She agrees to enter the mind of this deranged, sado-masochistic serial killer in an effort to probe his mental recesses for a clue as to where the victim may be, so as to aid the FBI in locating his last victim and, hopefully, snatching her from the jaws of death. Ms. Lopez sleep walks through her role and, while looking stunningly beautiful at all times, demonstrates the acting ability of an amoeba. Anyone who has seen her in the title role in the film, "Selena", knows that she is capable of much more. For whatever reason, she seems to have been persuaded that speaking in a monotone and gazing into the distance connotes intelligence and depth. Wrong! Moreover, while the imagery in the film is visually stunning and, oftentimes, quite beautiful, almost Dali-esque in its conception and execution, it cannot carry and sustain the film, when the plot and story line thin out. What starts off promisingly enough, ultimately falls flat. The film turns out to be just an unfortunate elevation of form over substance. The end result is that the movie fails to deliver.
|
