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)

This is a fun entry into the series. I only wish it could be the final chapter because so many of the main storylines are wrapped up and the send-off for Paul Walker is done tastefully, leaving me with a feeling of conclusion. But we all know they'll be more of these films... Oh well.

I still liked Fast 5 the best. It was the first one to really figure out what the franchise is best for, fun, over-the-top stunts, with a self-aware attitude. Furious 7 is more like 5 than 6, which was boring and disappointing compared to the others. The new director, James Wan, brought in a fresh feeling to the film. I especially appreciated the locked camera shots that spun when characters were flipped, creating a fun sense of disorientation.

As with the other recent Fast films, its biggest problem is just having too many characters to pay service to. Dwayne Johnson and Jordana Brewster are essentially written out for most of the film to make way for other characters, but I missed them the entire time. The Rock definitely brings an energy to the film that it sorely needs and when he shows back up at the end things pick back up. That might be why Fast 5 is my favorite.

At the end of the day, the real star of these films are the stunts. Having so many real cars being crashed, blown up, and dropped out of the sky, and with little to no CGI, is impressive, and refreshing to see. So much these days is done with computers, so it's nice to see so many practical effects. The film truly is impressive, even though the script is so flat. Out of all the car-racing-heist-movie-spy thriller-series out there, this is still the best.

3 Stars (out of 5)

There is a definitely a creepy vibe throughout It Follows, and once you leave the theater you'll swear you're being followed, but the story and some of the decisions made in the film turned me off a bit. The visuals are incredible, well thought-out and perfectly executed. 360 degree shots and slow pans set a scary mood, and the color grade gives off an early 80's film vibe. Speaking of the 80s, the score is a brilliant mix of slasher style synthesized sound with a modern mix; very loud, very creepy.

The film felt slow, especially considering its rather short running time, dragging on like the creepy people following the main character in the film. The idea of death always following you, ever so slowly, yet still inevitably catching up with you, is always intriguing to me, whether in a zombie film or in this new take. Without much of anything else happening though, this film is just plain boring at times... But that's my take on it. It's still worth admiring for its creepy atmosphere and beautiful craftsmanship.

3 Stars (out of 5)