Thirteenth Floor, The

When the developer of a virtual reality computer simulation (Armin Mueller-Stahl) is murdered, suspicion falls on his young protégé (Craig Bierko); the younger man has to plunge into the computer (a mock-up of 1937 Los Angeles) to try to learn who—or what—killed the boss. If you can’t see the solution coming a mile away, consider that the film takes place in a gloomy, blue-black LA where the sun never shines and it rains constantly. Doesn’t that sound just a bit … well, unreal? Stranded in a script with no surprises (by Ravel Centeno-Rodriguez and director Josef Rusnak, from Daniel Galouye’s novel), the actors (who include Vincent D’Onofrio, Gretchen Mol, Dennis Haysbert) do their best. Rusnak directs at a doleful trudge that makes the film seem a half-hour longer than it really is.