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Many years from now a deactivated but still sentient female cyborg, Alita (Rosa Salazar), is reanimated by cyber surgeon Dr. Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz). Unable to recall her past, Alita will have to re-learn what it is to exist, survive, grow, love, and kill, all the while bounty hunters and the oppressors of society seek her out for their own gain.

Directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by James Cameron and Laeta Kalogridis, based on the graphic novel series by Yukito Kishiro, this imaginative tale of discovery is a strange assembly of superpowers in the cinema world. The well equipped and talented Rodriguez clearly appears to be a strong choice to capture the cinematic scope and action required to do justice to the script, and, James Cameron is clearly a great choice to include on the production team for his cinematic and technical pioneering vision and prowess. So what’s the catch? What’s strange or amiss? Sadly, it’s the dialogue throughout that consistently fails with groan worthy, lackluster, and half baked originality. For all the glitz and all the glamour, the actual words behind the movement fall flat and uninspired. Those looking for inspiring dogma best look elsewhere, but, for those looking for amazing visuals, stop, and look no further. Additionally, credits to the ensemble all round should be well received for doing their best with the pulp served up to work with. Perhaps, if we see a continuation of this world we’ll be able to retain the production brains overall, but install a different writing component to the mix. Worthy as a matinee for the cinematic spectacle, Alita: Battle Angel is rated PG-13.

Commemorating the centennial of the end of World War I Director Peter Jackson was charged with the making of a unique documentary around the event. Culling through hours upon hours of never before seen footage and narrated by historical interviews from veterans who were there, the end result is a haunting and beautiful tribute to the men (often 15 to 17 year old boys) who served.

Furthering the experience, with footage that’s now been retouched, restored, and colorized using technology of today, audiences are now able to see and feel the emotion, humanity, and insanity surrounding the war in a truly moving and impactful way. Important to point out, this isn’t the kind of documentary that hangs on numbers, dates, and statistics, but instead aims to capture the feel and ambiance– a different but also incredibly important method of historical storytelling. Also of note, the first 10 to 15 minutes of the film is in original black and white, but then, once the audience is fully induced and the stage is set, the real magic of the restoration work becomes apparent, it’s worth the wait. Worthy of your time and definitely worth checking out, They Shall Not Grow Old is rated R.