As a stand-alone film it doesn't work as well as some of the other films, most notably The Winter Soldier. It feels like a long episode of an Avengers television show, (and I do mean long). I'm exhausted just watching all of these films from the Marvel cinematic universe, so I can understand why Joss Whedon is tired of making them. There's too many characters to pay service to, too many plot-lines to pay attention to, and too much special effects for the filmmakers to get them all done well. (The opening sequence had rubbery digital people as bad as The Matrix Reloaded's Agent Smiths fight. Haven't we moved past that phase of CG?) As one would expect there was some great comedic moments in the film, and clever dialogue in true Whedon style. But the film is drably directed, trudging along its set path, moving from one scene to another, without really sitting long enough to completely take anything in. Surprisingly, Hawkeye had some of the most memorable moments, and I thoroughly enjoyed Paul Bettany as The Vision, although there wasn't nearly enough for him to do in the film. Strangely enough, this was one of the smaller storylines in the Marvel universe, and yet, once again, the fate of the entire world was on the line. It's hard to stay invested after the world has been in peril this many times.

3 Stars (out of 5)

The underpinning scientific theories described by the film are fascinating to me, and the film does a good job of illustrating them and their real-world importance. It's as beautifully stylized as any great science fiction film. The performances are believable on every level, from Oscar Isaac's reclusive, eccentric, and unpredictable inventor/millionaire, to Alicia Vikander's mysterious artificially intelligent being. Domhnall Gleeson ties the story together as the relatable every-man, Caleb, navigating this futuristic scenario through the eyes of today's tech.

The film explores the ideas of the Turing Test, the Chinese Room thought experiment, and the A-I Box Experiment, as well as modern dilemmas like tech companies using our personal data to do whatever it is they wish. All these concepts are meshed together into a science fiction story that plays like a cautionary tale more than your average Hollywood sci-fi, imparting the average movie-goer with some heavy philosophical ideas to contemplate after they've left the theater.

4 Stars (out of 5)

The gimmick of Unfriended is cleverly executed. The entire film takes place on a laptop screen and that's probably the best thing about it... That, and the 82 minute run-time that is. Every character in the film is thoroughly unpleasant, obnoxious, and self-absorbed, which makes it hard for the anti-cyber-bullying message to come across. Don't cyber-bully or ghosts will kill you through Facebook! Other than the poor characterization, the film handles the story well, explaining motivation through well-thought out mouse movements and strokes on the keyboard. Seeing the main character type something, hesitate, backspace, and start again helps illustrate what's going on in her mind. Web searches and YouTube videos help with delivering exposition. While I liked the execution, let's hope this is a one-of-a-kind found-footage film, because I've had my fill and don't need any more copycats (looking at you Modern Family).

3 Stars (out of 5)

I would call this film "serviceable". It accomplishes what it sets out to, hits all the Sparks marks, but just didn't pull me in. I took issue with how it tried too hard to be too many things, never really satisfying all of them in the end. The dual storyline is handled well in the first half, but after a bit I found myself not caring at all about the current-day characters. The trailers may have promoted the film as the story of a bull rider and young woman finding love despite being from different worlds, but reality is it's a love story about a couple that meet in the early 1940's, as described to a young couple, with a few brief sequences of bull riding thrown in. It succeeds more in its historical fiction than it does as a modern romance or a sports film. The message of the story is clear by the end, as is the case with Nicholas Sparks films, but the movie is unfortunately dull and all over the place.

2.5 Stars (out of 5)