A Cela

We've seen this type of story before, but not like this! Wow, bloody, wow, the film's visuals are unusual and incredible! Almost every scene is masterfully done. To add to the visual experience, the photography and cinematography are equally impressive. The editing is also fantastic. The costumes and make-up are also absolutely stunning.

This is the story of a sick madman - abused as a child - who abducts women and transforms them into dolls. There are a few very disturbing images, so be warned. The dream world is very realistically created to look and feel like a dream. This is one incredible movie! You can't help but marvel at this cinematic achievement!

I've read so many analytical essays amongst the reviews on here. You know what? Stop watching every film as if it's a challenge to something else. Just let the present experience envelope you. I saw this on TV and immediately went online to buy a copy. All the actors do a good job, the plot is not 100% new it's true - but hey, c'mon, go with the flow. Visually it is stunning, beautiful, terrifying, glorious. Too many people look at films to find the flaws - every film has flaws, but this one overcomes any you may pick on. Sit back, relax, then realise thet Vincent D'Onofrio give Hannibal Lecter a run for his money.

Catharine Deane (Jennifer Lopez) is a psychologist who uses an experimental treatment that literally goes into the dreams of her patients. Captured serial killer Carl Rudolph Stargher (Vincent D'Onofrio) is in a coma and FBI Agent Novak (Vince Vaughn) convinces Deane to go into his mind to find his last victim before she's killed in an automatic water chamber.

Director Tarsem Singh uses the well worn serial killer movie to add an amazing visual depiction of the dreamworld. The serial killing is dark and creepy like 'Se7en'. It's been done before, but the dreamscape visuals are a completely different story. It is stunningly beautiful and disturbing, an artistic view on dreamscapes. The style is unlike anything I've seen before. For that, I must give it full marks.

This movie is definitely a case of style over substance but the style is good and certainly more than unique on its own to make "The Cell" a memorable and above average movie.

"The Cell" is beautifully looking with impressive sets, costumes and make-up. Yes, it's real eye candy to watch all. The movie has some perfectly 'dreamy' sequences that are certainly odd but also very beautiful and imaginative to look at. This movie is a perfect mix of an art-house type of movie and a typical Hollywood-thriller, that is accessible to both fans of the genre.

The story itself is pretty far fetched and doesn't always make sense. Because of that the movie isn't always pleasant and likable to watch but like I mentioned before, the style compensates for this. The style makes you keep watching till the end and provides the best moments of the movie.

Vincent D'Onofrio is unforgettable as the serial-killer with a twisted mind. Vincent D'Onofrio is really underused as an actor and this movie shows his talent once more. I'm not particularly happy about the casting of Jennifer Lopez. I know that she can act in some of her movies but she really wasn't suitable to play the main character in this movie. Her character wasn't strong enough and she was overshadowed by Vincent D'Onofrio and Vince Vaughn. Still I felt that Vince Vaughn was also miscast in this movie. He didn't fit the role well enough and no, I'm not saying that because I'm used of seeing him only in comedies now days. The rest of the supporting cast is good and still give the movie a certain degree of credibility.

The musical score by Howard Shore was also surprising good and was sort of "Se7en" like at times. It suited the movie well and gave some of the scene's some extra mood and atmosphere.

It's a far from perfect movie and the concept is far fetched and not always handled in the right way. Still "The Cell" is a perfectly watchable movie and perhaps even a bit of a must see, due to its style, originality and creativity.

7/10

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I've said before that some films are like `nothing you have ever seen before'. Well, The Cell takes that saying and burns it down, blows it up and drowns it. This movie is something you could and can be only imagined. And if you then told someone about it they'd have you locked up for a very long time. It could be categorized as a Sci-fi thriller and then as a serial killer film. Like Seven and Silence of the Lambs this is not the ordinary serial killer film. It stands on it's own as a new kind of thriller.

Jennifer Lopez stars as Catherine Deane, the best psychotherapist in the business. She works for a company who has developed the latest technology in therapy. She has the ability to go inside the mind of anyone and find out the reasoning to his or her distress. Enter Peter Novak (Vince Vaughn), a FBI agent tracking down a very sick serial killer Carl Stargher (Vincent D'Onofrio), who drowns his victims then dresses them up like dolls. On a FBI raid of his home Stargher goes into a coma and the whereabouts of his next victim are unknown. So Deane takes the job of going into his mind to find out where the victim is being held. And that's when this film gets intense, seriously intense.

The director Tarsem Singh, known for the award winning R.E.M. video `Losing my Religion', blows away everything you could have imagined. The dream sequences are beautifully shot with many camera tricks, creepy color distribution, graphic images, and a tense score. They are extremely trippy and surreal. They actually have a dream feel because anything goes and there are no rules. Lopez performance is as good as she looks. She nails the psychotherapist dead on and does a great job in showing the different aspects of her character. Vince is Vince, very cool, very low key, and very real. D'Onofrio will scare you. His Carl Stargher would make even Hannibal Lecter scream for mommy. This guy is more disturbed than ever imagined. He has to be seen to believe it.

Tarsem, with this film, has become one of my favorite directors and I will go see any film with his name on it. The Cell can only be described as a Sci-fi serial killer thriller that's visually disturbing, creepy, and one of the wildest films ever. It runs along the line with Seven for a good serial killer film and Event Horizon for a graphically sick and twisted film. This is best summer movie and the best film I've seen all year.