THE CELL

2000
TARSEM SINGH

That the inside of Vincent D'Onofrio's head is a scary, dangerous place has been clear since Full Metal Jacket, but only with Tarsem Singh's visually lush and wholly idea-free new flick The Cell has it become clear that there's actually a music video version of the infamous Brooklyn Museum Sensation exhibit going on in there, complete with cross-sectioned ruminant mammals and callous fem-doll mutilations. The Cell is always diverting and eye-catching, especially when psyche-spelunker Jennifer Lopez (by way of a red rubber suit that recalls The Simpsons episode where Scratchy is skinned by an escalator) gets to vixen about in serial killer D'Onofrio's head as his lure for dumb fed Vince Vaughn. Vaughn starts badly, despite his edgy new perm, and gradually becomes less unbelievable while going through the supporting-hero motions. D'Onofrio is suitably creepy and Lopez plenty plucky as our boss heroine, but the script's lame abuse-excuse treatment of D'Onofrio's motivations prevents any really compelling face-off from developing.

read DOUG BOST's review of THE CELL