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 Chris' Review: When we were picking out the Tuesday Movie... Jim suggested "Cellular"... I responded with a "What's that? Some genetics monster movie or something?" So going in, I had no expectations. I think that is why I enjoyed this movie as much as I did. With no expectations, there really is nowhere to go but up, right? This was a wild ride. Chris Evans plays the screw-up beach-boy turned hero, Ryan... and does it admirably. Intense emotion and I never doubted him for a second. I don't know how he caught such a lucky break, pretty much coming in from complete obscurity, but he did a bang up job. I loved watching him on screen and I'm going to be closely monitoring his career from now on. Kim Basinger, the kidnapped Jessica Martin, on the other hand, was adequate at best. Ok, so she didn't have much script to work with and she was pretty much made to be a sobbing mess the entire time, but I've come to expect a lot more from her in past films and I just didn't see that same magic here. She was ok, but nothing that jumped off the screen. William Macy plays whipped cop, Mooney. I don't know what it is about this guy, but I love him in this part. It's like he was made for it. He's a decent actor, works steady in Hollywood, but I've never really been that impressed. Here, he slips into the part like a well broken in shoe. Fun to watch. I got to the end of the movie and I realized that it was written by Larry Cohen, same guy that did Phonebooth (does he have a phone fetish or something?)... oh, but wait... he only did the story, someone else hacked up the work and made a screenplay out of it. I remember watching Phonebooth and how intense it was. Cellular had all the makings, but wasn't quite as tight. Most of the plot was rock solid, don't get me wrong... but then there were things like why the hell Ryan, after thinking that Jessica was just some crack-pot, suddenly starts believing her. There wasn't a serious transition. The portion where he overheard her getting beat up was well after he and already turned that corner. Then you have to ask yourself, how many of us would be willing to steal cars, kidnap children, shoot up phone kiosks... on the idea that someone MIGHT be in trouble. I like to believe that we all want to help those in need... but committing felonies on a "maybe"? Then there were some improbabilities with the phone technologies. From the signal cutting out to the ability to film high resolution clips where one might be able to identify criminals. Oh, and I loved the part where he stopped in a phone store to get a charger and (once he got their attention) they immediately handed him the correct one. I searched for two weeks for a charger for mine! Not to mention, what, did he charge it for 10 minutes and then play out the rest of the day with it at full power? Ok, I'm starting to rant here... summing up, if Larry Cohen wrote Cellular with the same attention to detail that he did Phonebooth then I can only blame Chris Morgan for his chop job on the screenplay or maybe David Ellis for the direction. Now, just so you don't go thinking that this was some sort of swiss-cheese-type of plot, the rest of the movie was rock solid. Sure, the criminal cops were dumb as rocks, and Mooney, even though he had spent all of his career behind a desk, turns into a Bruce Willis at the end... but the time frame of everything, the movement of the script, the thinking of the characters were all perfect. Once in the movie, Jessica asks Ryan what he's going to do now and he responds with, "I have no idea. I haven't known what I was doing all day." The audience is left feeling like that through the whole film. You know what the goal is, but you have no idea how the hero is going to achieve that goal. You're completely in the dark and wondering until he turns that corner and lets you know. It's unpredictable in that aspect. I kept trying to forecast his next move... there was plenty of thinking time... and I just couldn't do it. What would I have done in that situation? "I have no idea." So it becomes a fast and furious rollercoaster. The lead character is smart... you're not sitting there screaming at the screen, "No! Don't do that you moron! The bad guys will see you!" because he's always a second ahead of the audience... if not the bad guys.... but only a second. Never smug, never all knowing... So I really enjoyed this movie, despite it's shortcomings. Good acting, brilliant premise, good story, and just fun to watch. I give it 6 thumbs up and I'll probably be getting the DVD. It will look kind of cool next to Phonebooth. What is it with Cohen and phones?   Jim's Review: I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll have to say it again: My enjoyment of any given film depends quite a bit on my expectations going into it. And, quite honestly, I wasn't looking forward to "Cellular". It just didn't look like much to get excited about. An aging, past-her-prime actress I've never cared much for to begin with (Kim Basinger), a plotline that seemed contrived at best, and a relative unknown in the male lead. Add to this the fact that the film underperformed at the box office, and it seemed like it'd be a direct-to-video-quality clunker. Nevertheless, I'll admit it surprised me. While it wasn't a blockbuster and didn't deserve to be, "Cellular" nonetheless proves greater than the sum of its parts. Basinger appears as Jessica Martin, an upper-middle class L.A.-area teacher whose son goes to private school, and whose husband does fine in real estate. A family like many others. Until the moment when a black-clad gang of toughs kicks in the French door of her kitchen, shoots her housekeeper, and takes her hostage, demanding to know where "it" has been hidden. Genuinely clueless, she is nonetheless dragged off in a van, and roughly tossed into the locked attic of a remote home on the edge of town. There, the de facto lead thug (reliable, all-purpose bad guy Jason Statham) smashes the wall telephone in the attic to pieces, and leaves. Jessica is understandably disoriented, and begins assessing her surroundings. The floor is bare, the room is empty, and the door is locked. There is one window, which doesn't permit much more than a smeared view of some outbuildings. She seems pretty well S.O.L. However, upon kneeling near the corpse of the ruined telephone, she discovers that while it may appear to be just so many shards of plastic and chunks of wire, life still courses through its guts. Upon twisting a few copper leads together, a surge of hope: It's ringing! With no way to dial, Jessica can only hope there is someone on the other end who can help her. That someone turns out to be Ryan (Chris Evans), a hunky surfer with an irresponsible streak who's on his way to prove to his ex-girlfriend that he can be counted on by picking up some t-shirts for a peace rally she's helping run. Naturally, he initially dismisses Jessica's desperate ramblings as a cruel joke, but the more she pleads her case, the more he begins to understand that her peril is real. He can't help but be drawn in and compelled to help...He is her only hope, her single prayer. What's more, their connection must be maintained; if the signal fades, if the battery dies, if the wires disconnect...she cannot call back, and neither can he. And, being as neither of them has any idea where she is or why she's there, the tension mounts. What follows is a surprisingly entertaining, twist-filled (yet plausible) thriller involving kidnappings, crooked cops, mistaken identity, car chases, interrogations, and the constant threat of Jessica and Ryan's lifeline getting severed. It's fast, furious, and surprisingly funny. I'm not keen to ruin the specifics, so I'll leave it at that. Basinger is, as usual, adequate. This role won't add another Oscar to her mantle, but she conveys the harried victim well enough. The always-enjoyable William H. Macy plays his signature role of the nebbishy, good-hearted mensch the way only he knows how. Statham also continues his fun-to-watch streak of capably squinting, punching, and gravel-voicing his way through the villain role. But the film largely rides on the shoulders of Evans, whose most notable credit to date has been "Not Another Teen Movie", where he literally embodied a cliché. Here, his character's progression from cocky, duty-shirking rake to concerned, neck-risking hero is career-making. He's at least twice as good as the film, and the film is pretty good. Green or not, he carries the film and runs swiftly with it. I'm going to give "Cellular" six thumbs up. It may not break any new ground or win any awards, but it's a fun film...well-written, well-performed, and well-executed. A fun rental for those in the audience inclined to dig thrillers with just as much a sense of humor as pace.
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