Rating: 
Summary: The Cell - DVD
Review: It's a weak attempt at a serial killer film, but interesting is the fact that the serial killer is comatose. EFX are top notch, as well as the colors and design of the sets. Other than that, personally, I don't think much of Jennifer Lopez as an actress, so the film suffers greatly from her sophomoric attempt.
Rating:
Summary: Psychological Thriller without the "Psychological"
Review: The Cell is basically a bunch of pretty yet distrubing pictures, with no underlining order. You can just see the filmmakers saying to each other "Oooh, that's bizarre yet makes no sense. Put it in!" J-Lo plays a social worker who enters the mind of a comatose serial killer, Matrix-style, to help discover the location of his latest victim. She "lives" his mind as if it were the real world. Once in, she is trapped there, and FBI agent/romantic interest Vince Vaughn must rush in to save her. In a mad dash ending, Vaughn runs off to rescue the victim, while J-Lo rushes off to save the serial killer. There is some subtle feminism ("My world, My rules"), a cheap shot at religion, and of course, the typical Hollywood message "Serial Killers need Love, too". In director Tarsem Singh's own words, "You can't go too far" when displaying the mind of a psycho-path. Or at least what Hollywood *thinks* that mind looks like. ...We are treated to all kinds of S&M sexual images and vibrant colors, one after another, very similiar to a Nine-Inch-Nails video. There is a few water images which are explained in the killer's past, but who knows why that S&M stuff was in there... Singh is a master at editing distrubing images to make you squirm to, but is completely clueless about his characters and story. When you strip away all the effects and "shock-factor", you wind-up with nothing more than a cheap "Silence of the Lambs" rip-off. J-Lo plays one of those characters with a little bit of everything to appeal to everybody -just ignore the contradictions and you'll be fine. Vaughn's character has reached the top of 2 career fields (criminal lawyer and senior FBI agent) at the tender age of 35, dispite his terrible work habits which suspend him at the end of the film. There is a manditory "suggested-romance" scene, as well as the "girl-talk" scene and the "I-gotta-do-what-I-gotta-do" finale. More cliches than actually people here.
Rating: 
Summary: WOW!
Review: This film was amazing i went to a sleep ova and we decided to freak ourselves right out by watching it! I only got to watch like the first 30 mins because they wanted to turn it off. But what i saw of it i really liked. I really want to watch this again but i found it quite scary is there any other films with a similar story line that is not as scary? if you have watched any not like nightmare on elm st. cauz thatz scary but any milder ones .... ...Alex xxx
Rating:
Summary: Not Quite Sure How I Feel About This
Review: At the end of this movie, I didn't quite know what to think. In a nutshell, The Cell has gorgeous costuming, stunning if disturbing sets, interesting story concept, and questionable acting. The Cell is the story of psychologist Catherine Deane played by Jennifer Lopez who treats patients through entering their minds via an experimental technology. Catherine is destined to cross paths and brainwaves with serial killer Carl Stargher played by Vincent D'Onofrio. Stargher suffers a seizure while being captured by the FBI, which renders him comatose. In a race against time, Catherine is tapped by the FBI to enter the mind of Stargher to discover the location of his last victim before she is killed via Stargher's time controlled drowning process. What Catherine sees in Stargher's mind is predictably not very pretty, and she finds that not only is she battling against time, but she's battling against being overtaken by the grotesque and mind bending world inside Carl Stargher's head. Within Stargher's funhouse of a mind is a younger version of Carl before he was warped into the maniacal killer of the present. Also present is an older grandiose freakish version of Carl who represents him as he is at present. Towards the end of the movie, Catherine find herself trying to save and protect young Carl from the older depraved version of himself. I found the sets and costuming to be appropriately weird and disturbing as befits the mind of a serial killer and some of the scenes of the past memories of Carl Stargher insightful. Warning to the weak of stomach, you may want to skip some of the stranger parts of the movie...actually on second thought, you may want to skip it altogether. I also found Vincent D'Onofrio's portrayal of serial killer Carl to be wonderfully creepy and freaky, overall, very convincing. Unfortunately Jennifer Lopez's acting seemed to be disappointingly flat even in the supposed climax of the film where a final showdown occurs between Stargher and Catherine. But she sure did look pretty...the makeup in this film was also out of sight. Although this was partly a story of a race against time, I found it to be amazingly slow in some parts. I gave the film three stars for the costuming, sets, and for D'Onofrio's performance. If you are interested in any three of these points, pick up this movie. If you are looking for great acting from Lopez or something you can watch while eating dinner, look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Visually arresting thrillwe
Review: When The Cell opened in August 2000, critics were divided. Reviews ranged from glowing to devastating. Chicago critic Roger Ebert declared it one of the best films of the year. Others branded it as trash, but because Mr. Ebert made his statement on his nationally syndicated TV show, many moviegoers probably entered theaters with overly optimistic expectations. This, along with an observation at the end of this review, might help to explain the disappointment many of them found. My advice is that you should expect The Cell to be a clever thriller with flashy and, at times, over-the-top imagery. Social worker Catherine Deane [Jennifer Lopez] is involved in a scientific experiment in which doctors and therapist are able to get into the minds of patients. When the movie opens, she is inside the mind of a boy in a coma. At the same time, the FBI has tracked down a serial killer who is also comatose. The agency knows that the killer's method involves the use of a timed device which he uses to dispatch his victims. They need to find out where the device, which hold the latest victim, is located before it is too late. They turn for help to Deane and the laboratory's doctors. She is repeatedly warned that to enter the mind of such a person could be dangerous. Of course, she doesn't listen and soon discovers she has entered a mind that is complex, cruel, deceptive and perhaps lethal. This begins a race against time for the victim, Deane and FBI agent Peter Novak [Vince Vaughn]. Director Tarsem Singhe is an acclaimed director of music videos. This is his first feature film. He is obviously quite talented and should have a bright future in the movies. I think he has some things to learn, as well as some to unlearn. For example, some images that are appropriate for TV do not translate well to the big screen, in the same way that scenes that seem huge and epic on a movie screen often do not appear as grand on TV. Also, what works to illustrate a pop song does not necessarily prove as effective in a drama. In particular, imagery which is merely bizarre on TV can prove to be utterly grotesque when blown up a hundred times for movies. There are scenes in The Cell that can come off as pop commercialism or as ads for the latest cologne or fashion accessory. I am certain this is not what Tarsem [he prefers to be called only by his first name] intended. This is not to say that all of the imagery is bad; indeed, some of it is brilliant. I know that I couldn't begin to imagine the things that Tarsem uses to illustrate the inner workings of the human mind. Part of what draws me to the movies is the ways in which they can represent not just reality but also possible realities. The Cell gets my vote as the most visually adventuresome movie of 2000. It may be flawed, but the suggestion of genius abounds in it. Jennifer Lopez has never been more strikingly beautiful. This may be her best performance to date. Her serene presence adds a nice counterpoint to the frenzied storyline. Vince Vaughn is much better at acting than he is at choosing roles, but here he has made a good choice. Vincent D'Onofrio makes the most of his role as the killer, Pardon me for saying this, but his is the kind of role other actors would kill to play. It is possible that I liked The Cell more than I am letting on in this review. After all, I do not wish to repeat Mr. Ebert's unintentional mistake. Still, it wouldn't surprise me if The Cell attained the status of a cult classic in a few years.
Rating:
Summary: The Sell
Review: An intriguing, disturbing, strange story highlighted by artistically metaphoric imagery. The idea behind it is fantastic, but overall the film seemed too short to support its concept: discovering secrets from a madman through his dreams. An overall, lush, nightmarish, surreal film worth watching, but it could have been written a little tighter. You may find yourself wishing you could spend more time with the madman than his imperiled prey due to the sympathetic use of a child as his true, tormented, inner self. Pretty cool.
Rating: 
Summary: Dismal Wannabe Shocker
Review: Is this what passes for a thriller nowadays? The Cell is something like The Silence of the Lambs meets the latest Marilyn Manson video. Sounds bad? Well, it's even worse than you could possibly imagine. The basic premise is this: a vulnerable female scientist (Jennifer Lopez) has to save an innocent young woman by exploring the mind of a serial killer. This has been made a million times before, so the twist here is that the killer is in a coma and she literally goes into his mind through some preposterous pseudoscientific process. With a premise as ridiculous as that you wouldn't really expect very much, but The Cell still manages to be surprisingly bad. If all you ask from a movie are bright colours and loud noises you might actually enjoy this one. Otherwise stay well clear from it, this is one of the most pretentious, ludicrous and ineptly made films you are likely to see in a long time. Ridiculously overblown sets, shrilly music, wooden acting (with the only exception of Jennifer Lopez, who manages to infuse a little depth and credibility into her character despite the absurd material she had to work with), trite cinematography and a non-existent screenplay conspire to make The Cell one of the worst films of the 1990's.
Rating:
Summary: Really 3 and a half stars . . ..
Review: If not original, it's a good story. The idea reminded me of Stephen King's "Dreamscape." The difference is that this movie deals with entering the subconscious mind of coma victims instead of entering the dreams of others. While this movie was more visually pleasing, the story is not as well executed. It's a shame. The acting was good. The potential for the story is there, but it somehow goes nowhere. The ending was written like an afterthought. It's weak and doesn't really say anything. I do see room for a decent sequel where Jennifer Lopez can play a dream warrior as she did in the last dream sequence of this film. If you like this film, you might like "Dreamscape" with Dennis Quaid even better.
Rating:
Summary: Trippy images...
Review: and wonderful artistic work in this film make it what it is; GREAT! Nothing so spectacular you will rate it as the best film you saw, but definately worth ones time. I love some of the images in this flick... but I tend to have a morbid sense of humor. ^_~
Rating:
Summary: First 20 Minutes or so great, then......
Review: By the time the second hour started, I was wishing that the killer would get to me. Awful.
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