Rating: 
Summary: Visually beautiful
Review: I gave this movie a five because the visual effects are amazing. It is filled with gorgeous costumes and vibrant sets. I was astounded with the look of the film. I am no huge fan of Jennifer Lopez, but she was pretty ok in this movie. Not fantastic but then...what were you expecting? Vincent D-Onofrio delivered an incredible performance though, which saved the novie for me. I loved it, but maybe it's just because I like sick and twisted movies (try Happiness if you want to test your limits). This is definitely a love or hate type of film.
Rating:
Summary: A Simply Beautiful Film.
Review: While I'm certainly not a big J-Lo fan, I quite admire her understated but gutsy work in this gorgeously terrifying feast for the eyes. The actual plot is a standard 'catch a psycho before he kills again' story with a few bizarre twists thrown in for good measure and features solid supporting work from Vince Vaughn and the incredible, immensely watchable Vincent D'nofrio. The Direction however, is without peer. This journey iside the mind of a killer is without question, one of the most stunning visual trips ever filmed and director Tarsem should be extremely proud. With artistic influences ranging from Salvador Dali to the 60's/70's work of the Great Stanley Kubrick, "The Cell" may disturb you upon initial viewing, but will also soothe you at the same time. Creepy and Beautiful, someone finally got it right!
Rating:
Summary: Great Artistic Thriller
Review: This movie is quite gross and scary, but enjoyable due to Jennifer Lopez excellent acting abilities. She definitely portrayed her character extremely well. The special effects, vivid colors and Dali-like concept was original and hypnoticly surreal.
Rating: 
Summary: 5 stars for imagery, 3 stars for plot
Review: "The Cell" has been dissed as a surrealist makeover of "Silence of The Lambs." The films do have similar plots, but director Tarsem Singh's visual style renders "The Cell" worthy of consideration on its own merits. Jennifer Lopez does a good job in the heroine role, and Vincent D'Onofrio is impressive in portraying different extremes of the same bad guy. You can't help but feel for Vince Vaughn's FBI agent, who gets dragged into some maximum freakocity in his efforts to find and rescue the killer's next victim.If you really wanna play the "derivative" card, look no further than "Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Warriors." My advice, specific to this DVD: 1) Use the "Script-to-Screen" feature. You can see that the finished product is tighter and more effective than the original form of Mark Protosevich's script. 2) Don't bother with Tarsem's audio commentary; he sounds like Apu on stimulants. Plus, as another reviewer noted, Singh basically confesses that the look of the film is more important than its content. 3) Try Howard Shore's isolated score. He also did "Lambs," but "The Cell" has a stronger, more chaotic soundtrack. With those caveats, the film does some things very well. The visual style is amazing, especially inside Carl Stargher's skull. The skip-frame work and film speed changes give the whole thing a dreamlike feel. While the film is not an indictment of child abuse, its most powerful scene for me is Stargher's childhood agony under his father's roof. It is a difficult minute to watch. In an early scene, the adult Carl is walking through his kitchen with the imprint of a clothing iron on his chest. Later on, we learn how that got there. I juuuust about had to put a chair through the TV screen. Another amazing visual trick (just before the showdown) is the gold/floral border that surrounds Catherine and Child-Carl. It doesn't quite remain fixed in place as the camera moves between the two characters, and it makes the scene look as if it's in YOUR dream, rather than onscreen. The DVD has some good knicknacks, the sound and picture transfer are top-notch, and the movie is a visual feast. With deeper character development, you'd have about another fifteen minutes and a more powerful film. Still, this is Jennifer Lopez' best work since "Selena." I refuse to call her J-Lo until I hear people calling Ben Affleck B-Aff.
Rating:
Summary: Smarter than it seems
Review: This is a movie that, for obvious reasons, has gone overlooked/under appreciated by far too many people. For one, having Jennifer Lopez in the star role probably attracted the wrong audience for this film -- don't bother watching it if all you're interested in seeing is J-Lo in a tight outfit. Secondly, this isn't really a see-it-once-and-get-it-all type of movie, which is unfortunately what mainstream hollywood thrives on.
Yes, the basic plot is fairly simple and has been done before (detective must go into the mind of a serial killer, taken to a new extreme), but at this point pretty much every narrative film made is based on a plot which, at its core, has been done before. And yes, some of the acting is rather mediocre, but the crucial parts are, for the most part, spot-on. J-Lo truly surprised me with her acting when I first saw this.
Where this movie really shines is in its cinematography. The visuals are *amazing*, but it doesn't end there. Almost everything you see has quite a bit of symbolism attached to it, and this symbolism remains cohesive throughout the film. From pop-culture references (the set from the scene where Carl discusses his trauma and his first kill is taken from REM's video for "Losing My Religion", which had the same director as this film) to amazingly subtle internal symbolism (a nursery rhyme is sung several times which makes a connection between children and mares, which gives meaning to the scene where a live horse is split into several still-functioning but disconnected pieces in the mind of the schizophrenic Carl).
This movie takes a lot of thought and attention to truly appreciate (I've watched it at least 10 times now), but it's entirely worth it.
Rating:
Summary: disturbing and yet strangely artistic
Review: The first time I saw this movie I didn't even like it. I thought it was very disturbing, and I still do. I saw it again with a friend (not my idea) and for some reason, that time I really liked it. It is very visual and definetly will not bore anyone who sees it.
The movie is about a pshyciatrist, Catherine, who is transferred into the mind of a killer in a coma to find out where a victim of his he has set in cell where she will slowly drown is. Inside his mind she must deal with his strange fantasies and take part of his sadistic world.
This movie is not for people with weak stomachs or who are easily offended as there are some pretty gruesome scenes in there. For people who are looking for something scary (and disturbing) this is the movie for you. This is one of the few movies that has given me nightmares.
Rating:
Summary: It's a unique film- Love it or hate it!
Review: The plot is kind of simple: Child-pychologist uses a new technology to enter the mind of a serial-killer to help save what could be his next [and last] victim. But the visuals makes this movie a sight to behold. In the mind-world scenes, there are some very graphic images. But you are assured by it being mention that it's not real, except if your mind is fooled to believe it is. Since the machine used to get into the serial-killer's mind shows the reflection of his thoughts, of course you could expect some dark, disturbing things.
This is more of a visual film, so don't expect some great acting. Jennifer Lopez though gives a good performance. Not as good as she was in "Selena" or "Out of Sight", but better than anything she's been in lately. Vincent D'Onofrio (or something like that) does a good performance also. From his outside appearance to the appearance he sees himself in his mind is good. I can't say much about Vince Vaughn's performance, but it was okay.
Despite the very forward plot, the ideas in the movie make you think. Think of the differences to the killer's mind, Catherine's(J.Lo), and Edward(a patient). The movie makes you ask: What could make a person go to the point of having no love and feelings for people? Is there a part of us that seeks a way out of the wrongs of the past? Can a person go inside someone's mind without changing themselves? Anyway, there is more depth to this movie than one assumes. Watch it with an open mind and you might enjoy it. I know I did. Recommended
Rating: 
Summary: A disturbing film
Review: When I worked in Brooklyn Heights, I could go to a local theatre very cheaply on Tuesday nights, and that's how I saw "The Cell" with Jennifer Lopez. I saw on the poster that it was something about the mind of a killer, but I had no other inkling of what lay in front of me that night at the flicks. Like "Leave Her to Heaven", "The Cell" is an extraordinarily beautifully made movie that I can't in good conscience recommend to anyone. That's because both movies have scenes that go way beyond what I find comfortable. In "Leave Her to Heaven", Gene Tierney's character sadistically lets a young boy drown in front of her, calling her name for help. In "The Cell", we witness a serial killer desecrating the body of a young girl he has murdered by inserting fish hooks and immersing it in bleach. Many years ago, I flipped thru the book "Hollywood Babylon" expecting to find salacious stories about old movie stars and instead was confronted with a police photo of the murder victim the Black Dahlia. That poor young woman's body had been tortured in much the way of what was being depicted here in the movie. So how can I describe this as an extraordinarily beautiful movie? Well, the Jennifer Lopez character is a psychologist involves in a high-tech treatment of an autistic child. She is able to enter into the landscape of his mind and try to understand his thinking. The result is something highly suggestive of Salvador Dali, truly interesting. The developing plot of the movie is that she has as well to enter the mind of the killer in order to locate his latest, not yet dead, victim. There are truly amazing sequences in the mind of the killer, so much so that I really wish I could recommend the film. However, those gruesome early scenes, as well as the sadistic scenes of how the missing victim girl is on the verge of drowning in a tank are too disturbing for me ever to recommend the movie. It is a mistake to attempt to blend sadism and art. Those who think otherwise are dangerously wrong.
Rating:
Summary: What was this ...?
Review: Why does she keep doing stories taht have been done? This is a ... Silence of the Lambs wannabee and Enough is a Sleeping w/the Enemy wannabee. This movie bored me to death. Don't watch or get this...unless you want to torture yourself. And even then, there are better ways to torture.
Rating: 
Summary: interesting but flawed
Review: While The Cell is a cut above the usual serial killer movie, it is no Silence of the Lambs or Manhunter. The psychology is weak and, while the visuals are fascinating to look at, they are not very illuminating (a touch of Joseph Campbell mythology would have gone a long way toward pushing this movie into the "must-see" category). Such as it is, it lies halfway between The Eyes of Hell (aka The Mask, 1961) and something by Jodorowsky or Bunuel. The director's commentary is interesting, though it is annoying the way he keeps harping about the actress who said she could swim, but couldn't.
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