The Cell (DVD)

Advantages: Good acting and some great cinematography and direction
Disadvantages: Shocking, quite gross and lots of unpleasant goings-on

The Cell is an odd and quite horrendous film. I thought it looked freaky when it was released in the cinema and on video so I never gave much thought to watching it. But last night I watched it on Sky Box Office because there was nothing much else to do. Well. Yuk, yuk, creepy, gross, yuk. You’ll see why. The Cell begins by introducing us to Catherine Deane (Jennifer Lopez), a psychotherapist who is part of a team pioneering a groundbreaking ...
...into the mind of a comatose young boy, in order to give him therapy and try to wake him up, as it were. We are told that the team tried once before to ‘reverse the feeds’ and insert the boy into her mind, but this did not work because the boy was unsure of his surroundings. We are also told that it is possible for three people to participate in a ‘group session’. The need for this information becomes clearer later on in the ... Read review

Advantages: The visuals show great imaginations
Disadvantages: everything else really

The initial hype surrounding this movie on its cinema release was considerable, mixed reviews followed, along with reasonable box office success ($100m world-wide). Reviews ranged from “From the first frame to the last, The Cell is a visually striking film, as gorgeous as it is grotesque, at times virtually unwatchable, yet impossible not to watch." To the slightly more sobering… “A little pretentious by the half-hour mark. An ...
...I was unable to watch the cinema release but have been eagerly anticipating the recent video release to make up my own mind. For those that don’t know The Cell marks the return of Jennifer Lopez to the world of mainstream movies having been lured away from her mediocre pop career. It is a shame that she has taken such a long sojourn since her fantastic performance in the hugely under watched and rated Soderburgh classic Out of Sight where co-starring ... Read review

Advantages: Original, daring, visually stunning...
Disadvantages: Bare-bones plot, definite reek of misgony...

...fails to enchant me. The Cell, Singh's debut feature-film following a widely-lauded career in music videos and advertising, is astonishing on several levels. Granted, none of those levels are anywhere near the level upon which the Plot is situated, but so intoxicating is most everything else that one scarcely has the wits to notice. That plot - a flimsily-strung mesh of cliché and genre conventions - concerns the efforts of psychotherapist Catherine ...
...the mind of captured serial killer Carl Stargher (Vincent D'Onofrio) by way of an elaborate machine of some kind that transports one into the dreamscapes of another. To this end, she is assisted some by Stargher's captor, FBI agent Peter Novak (Vince Vaughn), himself harbouring a fair few demons also. It is whilst wandering those dreamscapes that The Cell astounds. The work of Scandinavian artist Odd Nerdstrum is plundered throughout, and the resultant ... Read review

Advantages: intense, claustrophobic
Disadvantages: ultimately shallow

Wouldn’t the world be a nicer place if Lopez just stuck to acting instead of inflicting another piece of sub-Gloria Estefan detritus on us? Remember 'Out Of Sight'? Bloody marvellous, I thought. Then came ‘If You Had My Love.’ Hmmm… thinks I, hoping this doesn’t set a trend, and the girl sticks to screen and not songs. No such luck. Having lost all respect for the artist formerly known as Jennifer, it was with a heavy ...
...She uses high-tech to enter the minds of patients, into their dreamworlds, and help them repair from the inside out. This technique, it appears, is especially effective with comatose subjects for whom other therapies are useless. When a comatose serial killer (Vincent D’Onofrio,) is brought in, our heroine must discover the location of his last victim before time runs out... Directed by Tarsem Singh, this is the most visually intense piece ... Read review

Advantages: Surreality, Jennifer Lopez, Truly original film-making.
Disadvantages: The subject matter clearly makes some people uncomfortable, and it's quite scary in parts.

...mental laboratory where she enters the mind of a young boy in a vegetative state in order to help coax him out into the real world. At least, that's how it starts. We are quickly introduced to the world of Karl, a sick and twisted serial killer who likes to slowly drown his female victims while filming them. After this he dowses them in enbalming fluid, raises himself to the roof on hooks attatched to his back and masturbates over the corpses while ...
...describe this, sick. Straight away the film enables you to develop a serious loathing of this character thanks, mainly, to the incredible acting skills of Vincent D'Onofrio. The police eventually catch him but, with one victim still missing, he refuses to say where she is. In comes Catherine. She steps into Karl's head in order to find the wherabouts of the missing girl. HERE BEGINS THE MOST SURREAL HEAD-TRIP EVER SEEN. All I want to know is how ... Read review

Advantages: Good acting performances, excellent plot. DVD boxset for good price.
Disadvantages: Maybe too short.

...I read a review about sleeper cell in a newspaper and they rated it better than 24. I on the other hand would not go that far. I did think that sleeper cell was gripping and tense but didn't have the twists and turns that 24 presents. Even though i say it isn't as good as 24, it is one of those dramas that has you reaching for the DVD remote to watch the next episode straight away. Sleeper cell follows the story of a muslim undercover FBI agent who infiltrates a terrorist cell that is planning a major attack in America. The actors all give excellent performances and really make the program enjoyable to watch and the fact that the members of the cell are not all middle eastern is quite refreshing because it doesn't stereotype Arab muslims as terrorists, it shows that anybody from any walk of life can be influenced by others. To... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: The superb performances of Val Lehman, Sheila Florence and Fiona Spence
Disadvantages: None

...Well, let me tell you, since Fremantle have welcomingly began releasing the early episodes of "Prisoner Cell Block H" (episodes made between 1978-1979 - before I was even born!) I have become totally hooked all over again on this cult-classic Aussie soap, set in the fictious womens prison Wentworth Detention Centre. The episodes on this lavishly and attractively packaged dvd box set, are now over 30 years old. So has it aged well? Incredibly, in its own bizarre yet unique way, yes it has! The essence of the series still holds up, much of it flowing quite well for its age. This is not least due to some splendid acting from certain members of the cast that ignited the show into a red hot hit. Despite the popular myth that "Prisoner Cell Block H" is legendary for its bad acting, shoddy editing and wobbly sets (and at times this is all... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Adrenaline Fueled And Out Of This World
Disadvantages: None What So Ever

...stories, the relationships make it such a good success. It brings some hope into some of our love life's you might say. Each episode that goes on we can see how more romantically attached the characters become. The realism of the show is exceptional, from the special effects to the terror plots. All would be capable. One of the main factors of the show is the suspense. It makes us grab on to those pillows and really shout at the TV! Most importantly after the series is finished... It makes us want more! The packaging of the box set is also very good. It has a clear description of what the shows about and the menus are very easy to navigate within the DVD's. I also feel the age restriction has been set just right as i feel it would be too much for someone younger to really relate to the characters. Overall, i would suggest that you all... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful