Gemini (R)
Lola Kirke and Zoë Kravitz are two of the more compelling and promising of young actresses on screen today, and this Los Angeles-set neo-noir confirms the belief that they will enjoy long careers filled with projects far more fulfilling than writer/director Aaron Katz's half-baked mystery. The beautifully shot atmosphere of dread is just about the only thing Katz fully developed here, with everything else playing by rote as Kravitz, playing a rising Tinseltown starlet, disappears from the picture under shady circumstances, and her loyal assistant Kirke falls under suspicion. Kirke does what she can as her character goes in search for the truth, and while red herrings and misdirects are expected in such a mystery, what Katz cooks up are so half-hearted as to barely even qualify as dead ends, and even the ultimate anti-climax elicits more of a shrug. Kravitz and John Cho (as a police detective) are also reliably solid in their fairly limited roles, but the overall tedium gives one plenty of time to imagine and wish for this trio in a far more worthy vehicle.
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