Parents' Guide to Mosaic

Flat characters and blah visuals make this innovative filmmaking experiment less grabby than it should be, but it's definitely interesting enough for a look. Fans of "choose your own adventure" books will be especially intrigued by the idea of a narrative that gives viewers some choice in how a story is told to them, but this tale is less of a "choose your own adventure" and more of a "choose your own path," because you see the same content, just mixed up in different ways. If you watch Mosaic via the app, when you come to the end of one chunk, you are presented with the choice of two paths -- which both ultimately lead to the same place.

Narrative experiments aside, the central mystery could be juicier. Sharon Stone is still a star and effortlessly holds focus, Paul Reubens, who plays Stone's puckish best friend, is a delight. But the male foils set up to make us wonder which of the two bumped Olivia off are pretty colorless and underwritten -- a pity once she disappears from the scene and leaves behind only complications and a blood-splashed studio. Summit -- played by Park City, Utah, and filmed over two consecutive winters -- emerges as an interesting character of its own later on, but until it does -- and until Nate and Petra perk up the proceedings with their sleuthing -- there are a lot of scenes of people talking (and talking) in dark wood-paneled rooms with snowy vistas in the background that might leave watchers a little (sorry) cold.