“The Cell” is an unusually intense psychological thriller about a child psychologist, Catherine Deane (Jennifer Lopez, “U-Turn”), who uses an advanced technological process to enter the mind of her patient and attempt to bring him out of his coma. It is also the story of a multiple murderer named Stargher (Vincent D’Onofrio, “Full Metal Jacket”) who is coming to the end of his psychological rope. After a long manhunt, FBI agent Peter Novak (Vince Vaughn, “Swingers”) has finally found his man. Unfortunately, his man has just suffered a complete schizophrenic break and is in a coma of his own. At this point, the two plots merge. One young girl is stuck in a cell with video cameras pointed at her to record her automated torture. The only way to find out where she is being held is to get inside the mind of the killer, and it is freaky. GJ:The most prominent feature of “The Cell” is its visual effects. Director Tarsem Singh has brilliantly brought the life of the mind to the big screen. In each scene that takes place inside Stargher’s mind, we are treated to a full spectrum of colors more real than reality. Stargher’s id, ego and superego are rendered as child, man and superman in a bizarre environment with images taken from a lifetime of experience. KM: “The Cell” was visually stimulating at times, but for the most part, it was an overhaul of freaky images, giving the impression that the filmmakers tried way too hard to awe us. But in this day in age we’ve been desensitized, and “The Cell” more resembled a bad Marilyn Manson video than a believable psychological thriller. GJ: The film was definitely all about the images, but what made it stand out was that the effects were in service to the plot. Going into it, one might assume the film to be just another big budget F/X waste of time. But there was some compelling acting in this film to justify those effects. For one, Jennifer Lopez never ceases to surprise. She was not over-the-top-brilliant in this film, but she did do a good job of convincing the audience that what we were seeing was real. Acting in front of a green screen cannot be the easiest thing to do, and for that she should get credit. KM: Lopez’s acting was above par, but she didn’t fit the role she was in. A beautiful Latin woman who walks around in other people’s minds trying wake them out of their comas – it just wasn’t believable. GJ: Vince Vaughn gave some life to what was a fairly small part. As the FBI agent in search of Stargher, he could have played it as a straight stereotypical cop. Instead, Vaughn added a “tortured soul” dimension to his cop character that created surprising depth. KM: Vaughn was great as usual as he portrayed a work-minded FBI agent with a sentimental side. But his character was slightly underwritten and left the viewer hanging after some of his lines. GJ: There is not enough time in the world to go on about Vincent D’Onofrio’s mad acting skills. To do them justice would take a three-volume critique by Umberto Eco. D’Onofrio nails every role he is in, and “The Cell” is some of his best work. He actually makes everyone else look a little shoddy in comparison. As a character, Stargher is not just a madman, but the unrestrained fantasies of one as well. Going into the theater, audiences might be expecting to see cheese, but what they get is truly innovative. KM: D’Onofrio is pretty good as he portrays his skills through ways other than talking, something he rarely does in the film. But the real credit should go to his makeup artist. He definitely makes for a pretty freaky bad guy with the right makeover. GJ: “The Cell” is great eye-candy with a decent story, but for some reason it just lacks the kind of resonance required for greatness. In the moment, it was fun to watch, but you will not be able to remember this flick in a couple of months. KM: Tarsem Singh’s biggest fault was overworking the visuals in many aspects of the film. The clever and original plot is mostly what keeps this movie afloat, but it can still be followed by the average moviegoer. The ending dragged on, tried too hard to outdo the rest of the movie and just came up lame. Greg gave The Cell three stars. Kyle gave The Cell two and a half stars.