A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

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Title: The Cell

Date Viewed: 8/27/00

Details:

Jennifer Lopez

Vince Vaughn

Vincent D'Onofrio

Director: Tarsem Singh

Score: 0

The Review: J-Lo plays a psychologist who builds curative, emotional bonds with her patients through the use of augmented sharing and cooperative shaping of their mental images: yes, a drug-assisted mind-transfer device complete with full-body suit sensorium and free-floating, pseudo-zero gravity suspension. (Suspending a body is one thing, disbelief quite another.) The gadget's the gimmick. Add to this a psychotic murderer leaving bodies and clues all over the place, a missing kidnap victim, and a race for life because the criminal has retreated into a coma. You can see where this is going, but you probably don't want to follow.

This movie is filled with disturbing (and disturbed) fantasy dream images, disgusting special effects, high saturation color, costumes marginally more bizarre than those worn by Princess Amidala, and set design by someone almost as disconnected from reality as the criminal herein portrayed. While not as repulsive as 8mm, this is not for the faint-hearted.

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