Grade: C

Verdict: Not a bad use of your minutes.

By ELEANOR RINGEL GILLESPIE
Cox News Service

Some people have writer's block. Others, like Larry Cohen, are so darn fecund they can spin two movies out of the same idea. Namely, a guy who can't hang up the phone.

In 2002, there was "Phone Booth," directed by Big-Name Joel Schumacher and starring Big-Name Colin Farrell, as a guy trapped in a Manhattan phone booth. If he hangs up, he dies.

Now comes "Cellular," in which cute-guy beach-bum Chris Evans gets a call from a desperate Kim Basinger, who's been kidnapped. If he hangs up, she dies. And her kid and her husband.

Though reluctant at first, Evans nonetheless turns into a resourceful hero who handles traffic pile-ups that would make Nemo blush and hijacks a very expensive car from a very obnoxious lawyer. Twice.

Not much of this is very believable, but director David R. Ellis ("Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Franciso") whips things along so quickly, you barely have time to worry about it.

Evans, who'll soon be seen as the Human Torch in "Fantastic Four," grows on you, becoming less boy-band generic and more appealing as the movie progresses. Basinger makes the most of a stereotyped role, looking lovely even after she's been beaten up. And the always-welcome William H. Macy turns up as a cop on the verge of retirement who may finally have to fire a gun after 27 years of service.

Interestingly, "Phone Booth" was an over-hyped bust, while this scrappy little B-movie zips along rather entertainingly. Maybe it's a matter of lowered expectations -- and keep them low, because "Cellular" is no buried treasure. But you could do a whole lot worse this weekend than this unassuming throwaway.