Rating: Summary: Non-existent script and needlessly gorey Review: I was visubily sickened by this movie, the Virual 3D effects showing us the mind of a serial murderer are terrifying and sickening at the same time. I think the standards of movies have really fallen to a new low with this film. It is no more near the same class as other films like 2001; A Space Odyssey, as the preview stated. And as for it's script, or lack of one. I saw a better story told in Godzilla 2000.
Rating: Summary: The Silly Movie Review: In simple words: " I think... No I'm so sure that this silly, useless, meanless movie is the worst movie I had ever seen in my whole life. Also, it's worthless! Silly story, bad acting (especially Lopez), but I shall say there is one good thing (the oriental music or melody by the lute). In six words " It's waste of time and money ".
Rating: Summary: Overrated by Amazon reviewers, but has good visuals Review: There are some very nice artistic sequences in THE CELL. You might want to own the DVD just to watch those sequences a few times. The computer animation is not innovative, but even mainstream can be thrilling. The movie opens with a long sequence that we discover is Jennifer Lopez inhabiting the mind of a comatose boy. Not bad as you watch it, but as the movie goes on, you realize that the entire business about the comatose boy, his parents wanting to take him out of the experiment, Jennifer's problems with going ahead -- all have absolutely nothing to do with the movie that you're going to see that starts pretty soon. And this is a real problem. It's off-putting. Finally the main plot gets started, and we realize that the only thing it has to do with the comatose boy is that we are going to see yet another Lopez-enters-another-person's-mind. Why we just didn't start with that, only the director knows, if he knows. The main plot is straight-forward. The umteenth serial killer movie, a bit sicker than the previous one (it has to be, or else there's nothing new at all), but still the same insane killing spree. Government agent is on the trail, but he has to find out where the most recent victim is before she drowns in a fish tank. Why is everyone drowning in this movie? Hint: it has something to do with baptism. Maybe the movie as a whole has a lot to do with baptism, and I just didn't get it. Insane people are reborn, if that helps. A little Freud is thrown in. I kept thinking about the Salvator Dali dream sequence in Hitchcock's brilliant SUSPICION. What Dali could have done with today's computeranimation! The acting in THE CELL was a bit hokey, except for Jennifer Lopez, who did a fine job -- except that I think she was miscast. She has a rather narrow range, and while she's very good at what she can do, somehow a wider range of personality would have helped make the movie a bit scarier. (As it was, it was hardly scary or suspensful.) The extended dream sequences, while visually exciting, had a basic fault--the camera kept moving around. In a dream, you have a definite point of view. You're seeing things from where you are. If two people are inhabiting the same dream (which is the premise of this movie), then we have two points of view. But we don't have an infinite range. When the camera moves around, as if in a room, then it's no longer dreamlike; it becomes just an elaborate virtual set. Bottom line: a high budget, visually interesting, but fundamentally unimaginative move, slightly better than average.
Rating: Summary: Yikes!... Review: Premise: A firm has created a device that allows psychologiststo go inside the mind of people to cure them of their mental problems. The FBI need this device and hire Lopez to go inside the mind of serial killer Carl Stargher who has suffered an stroke like illess. Why? Because he has a woman locked up in a hidden "cell" which will fill up with water in 40 hours (his way of torture). Only he knows where she is and Catherine Deane has to enter his torturous mind to find the answer...I have to admit it. I like Jennifer Lopez... I think she has some charisma and can be very sexy (She was magnetic in the movie "Out of Sight"). I also like Vince Vaughn a lot in "Swingers", which I own on DVD. So with his easy charm and her hot fire, as well as a fascinating plot and cool TV commercials, this would be a movie that would move me. Move me to sleep maybe. There is no chemistry between the two leads. Actually, it's like someone performed a lobotomy on both actors. They are so leaden and lifeless that I thought they were on valium the whole time. And is it me or has Vince Vaughn put on more than a few pounds since his 1996 debut? The movie was touted as a visual effects masterpiece and it is arresting on the senses while in the dreamworld, but they are used as eye-candy and not really to push the storyline development. In fact, if Vince Vaughn didn't really catch the pivotal clue, all this dreamscaping would have produced little real effect. Another really bad job is the music. It was good while in subconsious reality, but in the real world, there was a lack of any dramatical context or pitch. It was as sleepy as the characters. So if you are expecting a movie that breaks barriers, you are partially correct. It's just too bad that you will have to sit through the boredom, bad acting and sleepiness to experience the mind bending special effects.
Rating: Summary: Stunning Visual Effects...but not much else Review: Ok, before you click the little "no" button at the bottom of the screen, let me try to explain why I decided to give The Cell only three stars. For the most part I have to agree with all the other reviewers that the visuals in the movie are some of the wildest anyone has seen since the Matrix. Tarsem Singh(director) went all out in making Vincent D'Onofrio's (his character's mind anyway) look as twisted, and even more so, as we would expect a serial murderers mind to be. And do I need to mention how stunning Jennifer Lopez looked in this film? ("pause"...of course not) However, there is too much missing from this eye-candy fest of a movie for it to get a better score. Firstly, the script took a back seat to the visuals in this movie. Every scene seemed very scripted and flat. In turn, the character development, not to mention the character interaction onscreen, was almost non-existent. We learn very little about who these characters on the screen are and even less about the character the story is based around...the murder. All we know is that he is really messed up in the head and that he had a bad childhood. There is nothing creative or really "new" here (for lack of a better word). And secondly, the movie, like the patients Lopez treats in the film, has a severe personality disorder. At times you're not sure whether it's trying to be a psychological thriller or a run of the mill action/horror movie. Other examples of movies with that type of problem include Event Horizon where the movie started off as Science Fiction and ended up as fickle horror and stupidity. The same goes for this movie. In one scene Lopez tries to discover the secrets within the murders twisted mind and in the next she's battling against the evil within him like Xena the Warrior Princess. It turns the surreal image of the cell into nothing more than a battle arena for Mortal Kombat like scenarios. One thing I will say is that Tarsem Singh, the very skilled music video director, does have quite a way of portraying his vision of the mind, both the sane and insane. His visuals, both from the camera and the computer, set the tone for the film from the beginning. It just would have been nice to see the rest of the film carry it's own weight all the way through to the end. So, that's that...enjoy! RevuMan: It's nice to be back. I took the summer off, but I'm back to review again. Hope you enjoy...Peace!
Rating: Summary: Is Amazing Until the End Review: The Cell is the most interesting movie I have seen in the longest time. Actually, I don't remember if I've ever seen anything like The Cell. Jennifer Lopez greatly portrays Catherina, a psychologist who, with the use of a high-tech machine, goes into the mind of a coma-endused boy. Then she asked by a group of detectices (inc. Vince Vaughn) to go into the mind of a killer, who has gone into a neverending dream state, to help find his most recent victim who is out in the middle of nowhere. From there, everything is stunning. The mind of the killer is the most twisted place. Catherine and Peter (Vaughn) try desperately to break down the killer's mind to find the girl held in captivity, while Catherine gets the extra treat of learning of the killer's disturbing past. With stunning visual effects, ultimate makeup and wardrobe, top notch acting, and some of the wittiest stuff to pass by the MPAA, The Cell is worth every cent you pay to see it.
Rating: Summary: Beautiful and clever movie! Review: I saw,"The cell" about 2 weeks ago and saw it again last week it was so good! This film is definitely worth seeing. "The Cell" was perfectly made. There are 3 main good things about it. 1. The acting was great and very believable! 2. The plot was very interesting and I couldn't leave the theatre for one minute to go to the bathroom I was so into the film! 3. The scenery when she was in the killer's mind was absolutely beautiful! There are more good things to say about this film but I don't want to give anything away. The last review I wrote (wild things) I gave everything about the film away! And I'm not making that mistake again. Ok, I hope you see ," The Cell"!
Rating: Summary: Zero Stars, Except fo the Special Effects Review: There isn't much good to say about this movie beyond its special effects: It's an absolutely dreadful movie--dull and predictable--except for the special effects. If all you demand from an effects movie IS the effects, you won't be disappointed. If you also demand coherence and originality, and a script that isn't unintentionally funny, then you'll feel you wasted your money, and an afternoon. This one's for the brain dead.
Rating: Summary: Director's enthusiasm shines through paltry script Review: Director Tarsem and director of photography Paul Laufer will make names for themselves with The Cell-- perhaps this is why they pushed themselves to create such a striking debut. The film's relentless imagery constructs itself from their unbridled artistic license. The fact that a more experienced director may have toned down the gore for fear of audience alienation makes the horrific imagery easier to appreciate. Trusted to keep our minds and eyes open, we're rewarded with a Dali- and Giger-esque vision. It's just too bad that the script can't keep up. Vincent D'Onofrio plays Carl Stargher, a schizophrenic serial killer obsessed with turning his victims into gruesome life-sized dolls. Jennifer Lopez is Catharine Deane, a child psychiatrist who must penetrate his mind to find the location of his next victim. She meets the comatose killer via a futuristic mind fusion process that pushes the limit on suspension of disbelief. The best clue we are given to the workings of this process (besides pretty graphics) is when Catharine "reverses the feed" to bring Stargher into her own mind. These characters do manage to keep our interest throughout the film, but more so because of their acting skills and engaging personalities. D'Onofrio capably transforms from a muddled Stargher into the violent ghoul that rules his imagination. However, it is hard to tell anything about the characters' motivations--just why Catharine cares so much about her patients is mentioned only as an afterthought. The character that comes close to fleshing out is Vince Vaughn's Peter Novak, an FBI agent also searching for the missing victim. But the one glimpse into his past--as a prosecutor who fails to convict a child molester--is also exploited as an audience gross-out. New Line is known for gambling with new directors and special effects. This tactic worked with movies like Se7en, and even as far back as Evil Dead in 1982. The Cell may not be such a well-constructed risk, but its memorable imagery will pay off for everyone.
Rating: Summary: A mind blowing experience . Review: The Cell is one of the most brilliant psychological thrillers to date.Directed by Tarsem Singh,The Cell stars Jennifer Lopez as a social worker who uses a technology to peer into the mind of a serial killer,played by Vincent Donofrio,who kidnaps females and...wait a minute.Do you think I am going to spoil this film for you? I don't think so.Do I think you are going to have a good time?The Cell is not about having a good time.This film makes you think of what goes on in the human mind.Watching this film,there was no doubt in my mind that Tarsem Singh has a brilliant mind when it comes to filmmaking.Jennifer Lopez was so great in the film,I myself thinks she is due for an Academy Award nomination.Jennifer Lopez is well supported by Vince Vaughn.The Cell ,in my opinion,is one of the best films since The Silence of the Lambs.
|