Movie Reviews:
”The Cell”, ”Trixie”, ”Godzilla 2000”

The Cell
Starring Jennifer Lopez and Vince Vaughn. Directed by Tarsem Singh.

Renowned for his stunning art direction and attention to detail, Tarsem Singh (better known just as Tarsem), has been one of the music industry’s most sought-after directors (REM’s “Losing My Religion”). If his feature film debut, The Cell, is any indication he’ll be sought after by the movie biz as well.
With extraordinary special effects, an intriguing and well-scripted story, and a respectable cast, The Cell may well be this year’s The Matrix. But don’t expect any action-packed sequences. Instead it’s all a matter of mind control and psychology that makes this engrossing flick most worthwhile checking out.

Catherine (Jennifer Lopez) is a psychologist who’s been experimenting with a new therapy. With the help of the two professors who invented the technique (Dylan Baker and Marianne Jean-Baptiste), she manages to hook into the unconscious minds of her subjects and take part of their dreams. When FBI officers Peter (Vince Vaughn) and Gordon (Jake Weber) capture comatose serial killer Carl (Vincent D’Onofrio), they enlist Catherine’s help in uncovering the whereabouts of Carl’s latest victim before she too dies. And so begins a wild trip through the reality of a psychotic person.

Through dream-like settings, sequences and imagery, Tarsem delivers a truly hypnotic version of a person’s unconscious state. Even choosing overstated clothing for Lopez as she travels through these unknown lairs is a reflection of his understanding of the human mind.

Fans of David Fincher’s Seven will see parallels with that movie, mostly in its terrific and tight script, but with plenty more colour. In addition, the performers make even the “littlest” scenes worth paying attention to. The Cell has been a long time coming, but it’s certainly worth the wait.

Trixie

Starring Emily Watson and Dermot Mulroney. Directed by Alan Rudolph.

Described by its makers as a screwball noir, Trixie is actually kinda silly and tired after its first hour. Despite the presence of a good cast, Alan Rudolph’s latest flick is an uninvolving genre pastiche that milks a one-note joke too long.

Trixie (Emily Watson) is a private detective with a bizarre point of view and a poor sense of language. She unwittingly gets involved in a political murder situation featuring a violent hood (Will Patton), his awkward sidekick (Dermot Mulroney), a bimbo singer (Lesley Ann Warren) and the lascivious senator (Nick Nolte). With this motley crew of misfits she somehow — and messily — manages to crack a seemingly complicated case.

OK, Trixie’s strange vocabulary is cute for awhile (“You’re not going to drink yourself into Bolivia”, “I woke up unconscious”), but then it gets redundant and irritating. Then there’s the plausibility of the plot which, in pure Rudolph form, is never an important factor.

Never able to break into the mainstream (The Moderns, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle), Rudolph has had a difficult time getting his puzzling concepts accepted by both the public and critics. Often mirroring his mentor in style, Robert Altman, Rudolph seems unable to write out characters that are clear and interesting despite their eccentricities. Trixie falls into that trap. Too many quirky folk that just don’t matter to anyone.

Godzilla 2000
Starring Takehiro Murata and Shiro Sano. Directed by Takao Okawara.

Encouraged by the failure of Roland Emmerich’s dismal Godzilla a couple of years ago, the Japanese decided to release a millennium rendition of their beloved creation. Directed by Godzilla films veteran Takao Okawara, Godzilla 2000 is definitely for fans of the genre alone.

Featuring the latest in special effects, the film sees our sea monster back to haunt the people of Japan despite the efforts of scientist Shinoda (Takehiro Murata) to save him, and those of company chief Katagiri (Hiroshi Abe) to destroy him. But that’s the least of the peoples’ problems. When the navy mistakenly lift a dormant spaceship from its seabed, they awaken a deadly alien. Now it’s a battle to the death between Godzilla and this space creature, all the while destroying the city below them.

Kinda like King Kong meets Independence Day.
Make sure to catch Godzilla 2000 with a theatre full of fans. Only then will the campy dialogue, the cheesy dubbing and silly plot will combine for an entertaining evening out.