“ClearMind” (* out of four) was a mindless psychodrama about a young woman (Rebecca Creskoff) who uses virtual reality to enact revenge on her friends (Rob Benedict, Jessica Peraz, and others) until they realize what she is doing and try to turn the tables on her. Promising story for an intriguing mind-bender is static and boring. The concept of virtual reality doesn’t have much concept when there’s no reality and you don’t believe (or care about) any of the characters.

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“Story Ave” (*1/2 out of four) was a syrupy, preachy melodrama about a young inner-city hoodlum (Asante Blackk) who runs away from home and holds up an MTA worker (Luis Guzman) but they form an unexpected bond together and the worker becomes a father figure to him that could change his life. Earnest and well-intentioned story is also contrived and maudlin and rings false. Guzman is solid as usual but even his effortless charisma can’t make this a “story” worth watching.

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“Bosco” (** out of four) was a superficial biographical drama of Quantay “Bosco” Adams (Aubrey Joseph) sentenced to federal prison for marijuana possession and meets a woman (Nikki Blonsky) from a lonelyhearts ad who helps him to escape but he soon realizes that he must face up to the responsibility and consequences of his actions and returns to finish up his prison sentence and become a motivational speaker for his community. Well-intentioned movie doesn’t provide much insight or information on main characters and thus covers overly familiar terrain. Solid supporting cast including Thomas Jane, Tyrese Gibson, and Vivica Fox aren’t given enough to do.

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“Calamity Jane” (*1/2 out of four) was a limp pile of Western cliches about the title character (Emily Bett Rickards) whose long-term partner Wild Bill (Stephen Amell) dies and she breaks out of prison and is pursued to the death by a dogged sheriff (Tim Rozon). Opening scenes with Darren Fung’s stirring Muzak score promise a grandeur that film doesn’t achieve as it becomes slapdash and sluggish. Rickards tries in the lead role but Ellen Barkin was a livelier Jane in Walter Hill’s 1995 “Wild Bill.”

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“In Its Wake” (* out of four) was a startlingly awful horror thriller about a former minister (Robert Notman) and various businessmen and townsfolk (Kenneh Bemister, Paige Foskett, Damien Doepping, and others) who are besieged by (yawn) an ancient evil that threatens to engulf and encompass the entire town. Yet another piece of low-budget junk allegedly inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft; if more timewasters like this get made, it may “wake” him up from his ancient grave. Low-grade all the way through. Filmed in only 11 days but you’re unlikely to remember this 11 days after watching.

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“Arbor Demon” (*1/2 out of four) was a grueling horror thriller about a couple (Fiona Dourif and Kevin Ryan) who go on a camping trip to try and repair their damaged relationship; while out in the wilderness, they take in a wounded stranger (Jake Busey) and find that an unknown evil is taking out all nearby hunters and wildlife and they need to decipher whether the evil is real or in their minds. Passable beginning with shades of “The Blair Witch Project” and “Evil Dead 2” soon fizzles as film becomes muddled, pretentious, and dull.

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“Confessions Of A Cam Girl” (*1/2 out of four) was a plastic suspense melodrama about a high-schooler (Megan Best) who years to go to fashion school but her parents refuse to pay for it so she decides to raise the money on her own by creating an explicit webpage but this soon unravels and afflicts everyone around her and their relationships. Sordid subject matter is sanitized into conventional teen melodrama that is pointless and artificial. Some scattered effective moments can’t begin to save it.

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“My Husband’s Seven Wives” (*1/2 out of four) was a gratingly predictable thriller about a woman (Kristi Murdock) who meets another woman and finds out to her dismay she is also married to her sociopathic husband (Adam Harper) and the two of them uncover together that he has multiple other wives who he has lied to and exploited. Formulaic enough to insult anyone’s intelligence but intelligent is the last thing you’d say about this contrived and transparent film. Watch “Why Do Fools Fall In Love?” instead.

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“Doomsday Meteor” (** out of four) was a minor-league action melodrama about a high-powered meteor that’s headed straight on a path of destruction to Earth and a group of scientists (Patrick Labyorteaux, Joseph Michael Harris, Anthony Jensen, and others) attempt to destroy it using high-powered lasers. Not bad and moves zippy enough but is just a chintzy rehash of “Deep Impact” and “Armageddon” and other large-scale disaster films. Visual effects aren’t bad given film’s limited budget but this is still overall pretty forgettable.

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