The Cell (2000)

To me, this movie is perfection.

Simply A Masterpiece

One of my all time favorites.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

For a movie such as this, it's all about the imageries. The images here are very nightmarish, horrifying and creative. However it's a movie that tries to be artistic but lack true artistic elements. So the plot is about diving into the mind of a mentally disturbed culprit by using a machine that allows people to dive into the mind of a patient. It sort of reminded me of the Animus machine from Assassin's Creed. Anyways the process is to find the location of the killers latest victim. So you as an audience witnesses what is going down within the mind of a serial killer. And the demons and abusive past the killer dealt with in the past. However the drawbacks to this film is how it doesn't really delve into connecting the imagery to the story. What I mean is, you just don't get how some crazy images in this connects with why the killer is the way he is. Which in a way makes the journey lack substance and can become pretentious from time to time. However the crazy, bizarre and yet stunning imageries made this movie a somewhat worthwhile watch. Even if it lacks any real substance.6/10

I just saw this film on DVD on my laptop - how I wish I saw it on the big screen! - and it just blew me away. There was not a single second when I turned my eyes away from the screen. Right from the opening scene, with Jennifer Lopez - looking quite a vision in white! - riding a black horse in a desert, with a very catchy, Indian/Middle-Eastern music playing in the background, to the beginning of the end credits (with the same haunting Indian/Middle- Eastern music playing), this film is quite something!I wonder how did they ever think of such a plot? I mean, OK, they thought of going inside someone else's mind--but to actually show it with such visuals, that's what needs all the appreciation. The entire film is a vision, like a dream, like an exquisite artwork. And the best thing is that the director doesn't waste any time in establishing the plot and his surreal - and a bit disturbing - visions. It's like snap snap snap!--and a scene is done, and I was like: What did I just see now? The locations, the sets, the costumes, the looks of the three main characters when they enter their subconscious zones--the visuals will attract you like a magnet. Take my word for this.Beautiful, beautiful movie! This was released in 2000. Today, in 2016, this might have been made - I am sure - in 3D.

The Cell (2000) is definitely a very well made and smart movie. The costume design and the visuals are both so stunning and they are so meticulously done so that the audience really gets the full effect of the atmosphere. Jennifer Lopez really outdid herself here, her role in many movies is mostly comedic and light, but her role went through some really disturbing traumatic stuff in The Cell, and she pulled it off wonderfully. Vince Vaughn was pretty good in his part, he certainly looked the part. The rest of the cast did well too, no one actor really gave a bad performance in the film. The dialogue was well written in my opinion. The plot was well constructed and developed I might add. The execution of the material was strong throughout the film. This movies atmosphere is really awesome! It's incredibly suiting for the movie. And that Academy Award nomination for Best Makeup was oh so well deserved, the makeup was amazing here, especially oh JLo's part. 8/10 overall, entertaining well made film.

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.