The Cell - New Line Platinum Series

Rating:
Summary: I wouldn't wanna be trapped in that cell
Review: When I heard about this movie I thought it sounded really thrilling and one of these nightmare ones that takes hold on a more psychological level. To my dissapointment it was more of an exiting ride digitally than emotionally. That's the least you can say. Very cool visual effects, that's true, but I missed that "What's happening? Something is going on and I don't know what it is but I sure don't wanna look" - feeling that I didn't get watching 'The Cell'. It was creepy alright but it was somehow not enough. Some scenes are so painful that for that matter I don't want to see the movie again! But the other parts I like.
Jennifer Lopez does an exellent work with this movie and I think the rest of the cast do it too. Though it's something about the FBI guy, Vince Vaugn, that I don't like. But Vincent D'Onfrio makes his character very creepy and disgusting as the murderer which was satisfying anyway.
If you like movies that stick to your head for weeks afterwards and don't tend to let go - this one's not for you, mate. But if you like J.Lo as an actress and think that the plot sounds intresting enough, sure go watch it! But, hey, prepare yourself for a bit of blood and things that hurt immensely just when you think about it...

Rating:
Summary: An Underrated Masterpiece of a Thriller
Review: Pathos and Hate; they are about as far apart as two emotions can be, and yet so often the two come hand in hand. Above all it is this aspect of first time director Tarsem's The Cell, and not the stunning visuals, which makes the film's most effective impact. The Cell is not just another case of style over substance as so many have said it to be, but rather an emotional tale of anger, fear and ultimately forgiveness that is told through the use of striking images instead of just dialogue.

The film's central character is Catherine Deane, a child psychologist portrayed by Jennifer Lopez, who has spent a number of months using a brand new experimental technology in an attempt to help a young boy come out of his catatonic state. The boy is the son of the millionaire helping fund the project, and the technology is a device that allows one to enter the mind of another. The film's opening scene takes place in one of these situations as we see Catherine in a desert wasteland trying to make a connection with the child in question, but like her prior attempts it too ultimately ends in failure. Upon this latest failure the boy's father decides to end his son's involvement in the experiment, only to give Catherine a few more months after being convinced otherwise by the designers of the project, Dr. Miriam Kent (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) and Henry West (Dylan Baker). During the film's introduction of Catherine we also get a quick glimpse of her life, or rather her lack of one, as she has engulfed herself with the project to such an extent that she has time for little else.

At the same time we are introduced to Carl Stargher, a demented and very complex serial killer, played by Vincent D'Onofrio in an absolutely astonishing performance that is so good that I would be tempted to recommend the film on it alone. Carl is about as strange as they get (at least in an R-rated film) as he finds relief by torturing young women in "The Cell" an escape-proof room that slowly fills with water until his victim drowns. And as we are shown in one of the film's more disturbing scenes, Carl watches his victims as they drown while hanging midair on a number of hooks that have been inserted into his back. Once Carl has gone through that part of the process, he continues his ritual by turning his victim into a doll-like creation through the use of bleach. Again, as sick as it is, Carl somehow finds comfort in it all.

Carl is also extremely sloppy; he dumps the bodies where it is easy to find them and leaves a number of clues behind wherever he goes. The FBI, which believes that Carl wants to be caught, is right on his tale, and almost ready to make an arrest. Agent Peter Novak (Vince Vaughn) is in charge of the manhunt, which quickly locates Carl. The only trouble is that Carl, who still has one more victim in the process of being tortured, is found lying in a coma after suffering one too many seizures. In order to find the last of Carl's victims before her fate is sealed it is suggested that Catherine should go into the Carl's mind. Despite having her doubts Catharine agrees to do so. Upon doing so The Cell starts to work on a whole new level.

Catherine's first encounter is with Carl's younger-self, who is the exact opposite of the Carl's current state, but at the same time troubled in his own way. Catherine attempts to make the connection, but can't as young Carl disappears without a trace. Soon afterwards the first interaction occurs between Catherine and Carl's other personality, an evil demon-like creature who rules supreme in the world that has been constructed within Carl's head, in one of the film's most visually striking scenes. During her second "session" Catherine encounters young Carl once again, with young Carl opening up to her (and us) for the first time. We see what turned Carl into what he was and his "reasoning" for his actions. This second encounter is one of the film's best overall scenes as it leaves us with a number of feelings towards Carl. We hate him, we fear him, and yet we start to feel sorry for him (or at least for his inner-child) despite what he has done. Yet, Tarsem doesn't overdo the sympathy that he creates for Carl, as we are soon reminded once again of what Carl really is and in doing so an excellent balance is formed throughout, and in this scene especially, between the three aspects of Carl's persona.

The rest of the film is filled with interesting, and often disturbing images throughout that I will leave for you to discover. However, the vast majority of the imagery in these scenes, as it was with the earlier scenes, is used to tell the story. There are very few images that serve no other purpose than to be looked at, another aspect that makes The Cell such an amazing film. Furthermore, in doing so the film leaves much to the imagination of the viewer as definite answers are not given but instead suggested by the film's imagery. In this sense the film generated some of the same reactions that are generated in my mind while watching 2001: A Space Odyssey. At first glance the films have almost nothing in common (other than their trip-out scenes), but upon getting into the film, The Cell, like 2001, also says something (although it be very different) about the human race through the use images instead of just words.

Much has been made about the underdevelopment of both Catherine and Peter. While it is a problem, it isn't that big of one, especially in the case of Catherine since we get to know a lot about her from the interactions she has with all three parts of Carl. Vaughn's character was by far the weakest of the three leads as he was primarily used to move the story along. With that small exception The Cell works in every other aspect. In addition to what has already been mentioned, The Cell also works as a film that terrifies. While it isn't filled with jump scenes or many other moments that are terribly scary in themselves, it is able to create a frightening experience nonetheless (think The Exorcist rather than a standard slasher flick) by the sense of eeriness that accompanies the film as a whole. I could literary talk about The Cell for hours, but instead of saying anymore I'll leave the rest up to you, as it truly is a film that should be experienced first hand and a film that I will personally never forget.

****, (10/10)

Rating:
Summary: HIS MIND IS HER PRISON
Review: {WARNING: There might be some spoilers here!}

First of all, let me start off by stating the obvious: this is not your average suspenseful cop chases killer kind of movie (it has far more substance than that). As well as achieving the understandable squeal or two (often because of grotesque things happening, such as flesh being stretched from suspension and intestines being pulled out), The Cell's visionary special effects is pure eye-candy that will undoubtedly thrill and excite you...

The film at first is divided into two different storylines. You have child therapist, Catherine Deane (played by Jennifer Lopez), who has devoted her life in trying to awaken a young boy by the name of Edward whom has lapsed into a coma. Then there is a swarm of FBI agents and criminal investigators (primarily Peter, played by Vince Vaughn) searching for clues to hunt down a serial killer that drowns his victims (all beautiful blondes), bleaches them to look like dolls once dead and then puts collars on them to make them feel that they belong to him.

Eventually these two storylines merge together...

When the FBI discovers where the suspect Carl (Vincent D'Onofrio) is living they immediately raid his house, but what they find is him lying unconscious on the kitchen floor. They rush him to the hospital and are crushed to learn that he has fallen into a catatonic state that is non-curable due to a mental illness of severe schizophrenia. He, unfortunately, is the only one who knows where his latest victim Julia is, so during the next 40 hours they must figure out where that is before the tank she's captured in fills up with water. The FBI then recruits Catherine to use an experimental device that links the two and enables her to travel within the killer's dark, perverse mind. Thus we enter imaginative worlds that intertwine reality with fantasy. Here Carl is a King in a very twisted kingdom, but as she delves deeper into his abusive childhood to better understand why he's the way he is, she tries to get him to trust her so that he'll reveal Julia's whereabouts before it's too late. Things get way out of hand, though, and when Catherine confuses reality with Carl's nightmarish dreamworld, Peter must go in to remind her that this is "not real" so that his mind doesn't become her prison...

'The Cell' is not quite a masterpiece but it is brilliantly unique nonetheless and is definitely one of the more original thrillers I've yet to see. And believe me, this is coming from a person who is not a big fan of Jennifer Lopez. I, however, truly feel that she put on a good performance here. Therefore I recommend!

Rating:
Summary: great
Review: This movie is deffinitely not for children. It is a scary movie
in a dramatic sense and has traumatic scenes that even mature
adults will be like, wow. I am not a huge fan of scary type movies, but this is one of my favorite movies. First time I saw
it with my friend, we watched it twice. Theres only a couple
movies we have done this. I guess this is what you would call a
drama thriller suspense. Jennifer Lopez is great in this movie.
Great, but not really for the weak at heart.

Rating:
Summary: Visual thriller..
Review: A serial killer (Vincent) is on the loose, and is finally caught but, is in a coma, leaving the police helpless as to how to save his last victim before she is drowned. Jennifer Lopez, who has previously been working with a comatose young boy through an advanced technological system that allows her to enter his mind (world) and talk with him. She uses this procedure to enter Vincents mind and find him so she can get the information on where he has hidden the girl. Vincents world is a creepy nightmare universe (as I assume a serial killers would be) dark and eery. Sometimes Vincent is a young boy, showing his family environment and how he was abused verbally, emotionally, and physically by his father, which probably led to part of the reason he became a killer, and his baptism where they held him under water and he partially drowned due to lack of air (which is how he kills his victims). Then she meets Vincent the monster and runs because he's angry and evil. Jennifer doesn't find out where the girl is, but becomes entrapped in his world by him. The detectives and police finally figure it out from a few clues and save the girl, and Jennifer breaks free from the hold he has over her, and kills Vincent in his world, and real life.

Rating:
Summary: Very strong, very enjoyable
Review: Truely first rate visual effects!
Story line was nicely done - only criticism is that they could have taken it a step further.
The plot was fine by itself and scarry enough to hold my interest (which is saying something); With that said, I would have liked to see them tie in the fact that Lopez's coma patient manifested the "boogy man" and the FBI's serial murderer (with the same rare mental/physical condition) was influenced by an evil 'side'. Both were in comas tied to a rare baterial brain infection contracted in-utero.
They could have easily taken this one step further to make the physical illness a manifestation of demonic/evil possession - what interesting and scarry possibilites that would have opened up!
At the of the movie, I asked myself - what? it ended? wow! that seemed to go by soo fast!
(The ending was logical and timely - I just wished it could have lasted longer.)
Well worth watching and seeing again.


Rating:
Summary: This film will inspire a cult-following!
Review: This movie had me in its grip. I can't recall a weak point in it. The visual effects are stunning both in reality and the dream scenes. Competent acting but the movie's real strength lies in the plot. It's just not your typical serial killer movie. It deserves a lot of credit for adding a little originality to an over-used subject. (And yes, I know about the movie 'Dreamscape'. It's a fine movie too!)

Rating:
Summary: Three And A Half Stars For A Nice Story
Review: first off, i am yet another guy who is cannot stand "j-lo". i hate her music and i hate her. but i figured i'd try out this movie anyway, because i'm not going to judge any star off of just one of their "talents". and on jennifer lopez's performance in this movie? suprisingly not THAT bad. she dropped her musical image for once and showed that she can act without making me want to shove a pencil in my ear. but it was only good enough because of what i already knew and disliked about her. and for the other actors? well, vince vaughn is always great, the victims played the parts believeably well, and that dude that played the psychotic killer did a pretty good job too. but there was still something about this movie that knocked a couple of rating stars off. i think it was the feeling i got from the movie.
the story is good--a very strange and deranged man kidnaps girls and kills them by letting them drown to death in a huge aquarium where he tapes it. a child mental health proffessional (lopez) is called in when they catch the killer because he has slipped into a rare coma. lopez must hook up her brain waves to his brain waves so that she can enter his mental world and try to figure out where he has his latest victim--who should still be alive (and she is). in his head, she gets trapped and ends up believing its real and may die because of it. in the end, you find out why he kills them like he does.
but with the all too common special effects, over-rated hyped up schitty cast (mainly lopez), and a few parts of the storyline off center a tad bit, this movie reminded me too much of the teeny slasher movies. though it was not a slasher movie at all, the emotion that it brought was that of one. this was one of those teens horror movies that was given a psychological "twist" so that it could fool them into thinking it was clever. its really not that clever, but by the end its worth the four bucks you pay to rent it. and though the ending was the smartest part of the movie(when you figure out why he killed them by water and whatnot), it tried to give too much emotion and sympathy. it didn't effect me that way, but it tried to and that was a little pathetic to me. not to mention that, near the end, lopez goes completely kung-fu on the main bad guy inside the killers head. that was just too cheesy! and not in a good cheese way either. so hopefully that will help you decide whether or not you want to rent it. but my advice is rent it first, because you may be disapointed.

Rating:
Summary: ......................................
Review: Ok, so the actors and script aren't great. I mean the two main actors were in Anaconda and Dodge Ball. However, if you love good film making and cinematography then you will love this movie. The beauty of each dream sequence is treated with so much care, and every detail counts. From the white trash scenes with Jake Thomas (the killer as a child), to Jennifer Lopez seducing Vince Vaughn. Just Jennifer Lopez's pale face and dewy lips are beautiful in contrast to many of the backround scenes. It's to bad, the director, Tarsem Singh hasn't done anything since. I recomend this movie to people who just want to see an abstract, visual masterpeice.