Cee I saw this movie last night and hated it. This movie is for you if: (1) You want a glimpse into the kind of hallucinations schizophrenics could have. (2) Want to be reminded that there is a grain of goodness even in serial killers.This movie is not for you if: (1) You are looking for a Criminal Minds-type movie where it gives you a glimpse into the criminal psyche but don't really care for spending so much time seeing the hallucinations they are having. (2) Want a good suspense movie. (3) Looking for a feel-good movie where good triumphs over evil in the end. This movie does have a "good triumphs over evil" in the end but the path to the end was too painful for me that it robbed me of all good feelings.

Leofwine_draca This is a weird movie. The best thing you can say about it is that it's fairly original, especially the scenes taking place inside dream landscapes. Such moments in film are hard to capture but I found them well realised here, and pretty believable. The structure of the film is rather predictable, and there's a gritty vibe running through it the same as in SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Detectives, including a surprisingly decent Vince Vaughn, are on the trail of a supremely sick serial killer, played to the hilt by a highly disturbing Vincent D'Onofrio. This guy has a fetish for kidnapping and trapping women in glass tanks that slowly fill with water, drowning them.Eventually, the guy is caught, only to go into a coma. Thanks to a sci-fi element, scientists are able to enter the man's consciousness and now they need to find out where a girl is hidden…and the film runs with that premise. For a start, the imagination here is way out. The serial killer's mind is full of sickening imagery, and there's a central torture sequence that turned my stomach. Strong sauce indeed. Then there's a cast who actually do the material justice – including Dylan Baker's twitchy scientist, Jake Weber's serious fed and best of all Jennifer Lopez, as the smart, sassy and fearless heroine.The film is suspenseful and twisted, as thrillers should be, and it kept me gripped until the very end. Looking back, I see it as one of the most atypical Hollywood films out there – and it benefits from this status. Recommended.

moviewizguy Let's just get this out of the way: I absolutely loved The Cell. I loved it in my first viewing and have continued to love it in subsequent viewings. Why? Well, visually speaking, it was ahead of its time, and by today's standards, its imagery has remained unmatched. A film like this would have never been able to get made today, one in which a studio would put millions of dollars into an R rated film that could turn the audience off due to its perverse visuals. Only Tarsem Singh could have created such beauty and disturbing imagery in a directorial debut. But what about the story, you might ask. Yes, I have to admit the story may be secondary, reminding one of The Silence of the Lambs, but remember, this film did dream heists before Inception did.With all this talk about the film's visual execution, some may say that The Cell is merely style over substance. However, I'd argue the style *is* the substance. The film is like an empty canvas where we can witness Tarsem's crazy and absolutely beautiful imagination. Still 15 years later, the visuals hold up incredibly well, provided without some dated CGI, but those are easily forgiven with the many things the film gets right with visual storytelling. Even scenes that take place outside the dream world are shot meticulously, every frame a painting (thanks Tony Zhou for the phrase). The film's cinematographer, Paul Laufer, should be given some recognition as well, providing some of the film's unconventional camera movements. It's a surprise to learn Laufer hasn't shot a film since The Cell, only working on music videos. Sadly, he's a talent untapped by Hollywood.The soundtrack by Howard Shore nicely complements the look of the film, providing a necessary momentum that slowly builds towards an explosive finale that is emotionally compelling as much as it is visually stunning. Despite the flack she gets, Jennifer Lopez is quite good in the film, who gives her character enough layers to be engaging. A young Vince Vaughn is also very good in his role as the FBI agent with an intriguing past the film doesn't delve too deep into. Lastly, Vincent D'Onofrio is outstanding as the film's complex antagonist, effectively playing the different facets of what could have been a forgettable, two dimensional villain. Overall, The Cell is an incredible film, unforgettable in its visual execution. Although the story is familiar, it is nonetheless involving with good performances from the actors who carry it. One wonders whether the film would work better today due to the vast progress of technology, but for now, The Cell is irreplaceable, with no other films that can rival it. At least, visually speaking.

brchthethird Tarsem Singh has basically made his career on films that emphasize style over substance. Prior to this, I only saw a couple of his more recent efforts: MIRROR MIRROR, which I liked well enough, and IMMORTALS, which felt like Zack Snyder-lite and was a bit boring. I wasn't really expecting anything deep when I got this, and my expectations were met. Is it great? No, not really, but the potent cocktail of Tarsem's visual style combined with some (pop) psychological drama was enough to keep my interest throughout. The premise is that there is this technology which allows someone to enter the mind of another person. Jennifer Lopez plays a social worker who enters the mind of comatose patients to see if she can bring them back to consciousness. Vince Vaughn plays an FBI agent/profiler who is after a serial killer (Vincent D'Onofrio) who likes to do some pretty twisted things to his victims. Fortunately, he's captured, but in a comatose state, therefore he has to team up with Jennifer Lopez to enter the killer's mind and try to find the location of the latest woman before she dies. The film actually takes its time getting started, establishing (however lightly), the principal characters. However, once the plot is set in motion it rarely stops. Anyone looking for extensive character development and logical plot might as well give up because you won't find it here. What you will find is an intriguing debut film from a distinctive visual stylist. If I had to describe the fantasy sequences, it would be like Jodorowsky and Del Toro mixed together in the style of a Marilyn Manson or Nine Inch Nails music video. Put simply, those particular sequences were very dreamlike and surreal, with echo-chamber dialogue, jerky cuts/editing, and semi-heavy color saturation. By far, this was the most interesting part of the film. However, the performances weren't bad by any means. Jennifer Lopez acquits herself nicely, and Vince Vaughn shows some range. Vincent D'Onofrio as the villain doesn't get as much dialogue, but a lot comes through in the physical aspect of his performance. On a side note, his hairdo in this film made him look like Philip Seymour Hoffman in BOOGIE NIGHTS. Of additional interest is the score by Howard Shore. Given that this is a thriller, there is, to some degree, a reliance on bombastic music cues that match the action but are still a little over-the-top. The parts I liked best were the quieter moments that featured native Indian instruments (Tarsem Singh is from India). The weakest aspect of the film is undoubtedly the script, which has an overly simple story, thin characters, logical errors, and clichés. There's also a last-act choice that had little motivation other than that it was referenced early on, so they might as well have followed through with it. For what it's worth I was never bored because Tarsem conjured up plenty of cool imagery to take my mind off of the relatively unimportant plot. And for style over substance, THE CELL isn't half bad.