It's finally getting to the point where what is imaginable in the mind and what is possible in the movies are finding common ground. Historically, movie makers have had great ideas that they've had to tone down and compromise simply because visualizing those ideas was either too costly or just plain impossible.

Rapidly advancing technology is changing all of that. No longer does a filmmaker have to say, "well, this is what I'd like - how close can we get?" Now, he or she can say, "this was my original idea, but wouldn't it be cool if we took it even further?"

All in all, it's a great time for film. Imagination can now be fully realized and the result is a movie like The Cell. This film is a visual feast of stunning sets and horrifying images. The movie is just plain mesmerizing to watch.

However, any film these days can look good; the trick is to have something to say as well. The story of The Cell isn't quite as strong as its visuals, yet it does hold up well. It doesn't cheat in the progression of events and the main characters are given enough to say and do that we actually care about what happens to them.

As the movie opens, we learn that technology has been developed to allow two people to share thoughts. Essentially, their minds are networked not unlike two computers. I have no idea how possible this sort of technology might be, and the movie wisely doesn't go into too many details about it. This is a case where our suspension of disbelief is better preserved by the less we know. More films should understand this because they tend to get into trouble when they try to explain the fantastic too much. If the rest of the plot is solid, we'll buy it without knowing how stuff works.

This mind sharing is initially used to help patients that can't be communicated with in any other way. In this case, it's a boy who is comatose. Jennifer Lopez is social worker Catherine Deane and she has been working with the boy in an attempt to bring him back to consciousness. She's managed to communicate with the boy, but she hasn't been able to cure him.

Meanwhile, the FBI is hot on the trail of serial killer Carl Starger (played by Vincent D'Onofrio) who has been murdering young women. The killer has recently gotten sloppy and it's hypothesized that perhaps he wishes to be caught. Whether this is the case or not, the FBI finds vital clues that reveal the killer's identity and his whereabouts.

As they make their arrest, the FBI discovers that the killer has had a psychotic episode that has put him in a coma. This wouldn't be so bad, except that there is evidence that the killer has another victim locked away somewhere, awaiting certain death if her location can't be revealed.

It's at this point that the talents of Catherine Deane are called into play as she agrees to enter killer Carl Starger's mind to look for answers. This is where the movie really takes off. Starger's mind is thoroughly deranged and this is realized both through impressive practical sets and computer generated wizardry. There are scenes that are both beautifully astonishing and thoroughly horrifying.