There's a new movie out called Lila and Eve, which you probably haven't heard of. It stars Jennifer Lopez, and no one really gets excited for Jennifer Lopez movies, right? In fact, more people probably have the inverse reaction if anything. Thankfully, the movie also stars Oscar winner Viola Davis, which has to count for something. Right?

Lila and Eve is further proof that the presence of a suitable actor does not a good movie make. Viola plays an angry mother of a young man who was gunned down by drug dealers, and due to the urging of an odd, red-devil-on-your-shoulder-esque woman she meets at a therapy group (J-Lo), she sets out to kill the people responsible.

Well, sort of.

Lila and Eve is a revenge flick without the awesomeness of—you know—being a revenge flick. Even bad revenge flicks can be enteraining, because they usually involve a pissed off character going crazy on some really nasty bad guys. Lila and Eve's protagonist (Viola) is remorseful half the time, her actions not making a whole lot of sense, and the more aggressive character is played by annoying Jennifer Lopez, doing her best to play an annoying Jennifer Lopez.

Not a whole lot happens in Lila and Eve, which isn't entirely true because several generic drug dealers die at the hands of these angry, misguided and nonsensical women. The problem is none of their deaths are even remotely gratifying, which begs the question: what's the point of this fucking movie?

If director Charles Stone III (Mr. 3000, Drumline) was trying to do a morality tale or something that speaks to the racial violence in urban areas (and police disinterest in solving such cases), he largely misses the mark (by "largely," I mean "entirely"). Lila and Eve has little substance or depth, and neither the screenplay or acting elevate the material.

Despite all its faults, Lila and Eve, at a brisk 90 minutes, isn't completely painful to watch. But frankly, I'd rather watch a painful revenge movie than a boring, aimless one any day of the week—or any movie starring Jennifer Lopez.

Review by Erik Samdahl.