THE MARTIAN

If you, too, are a devotee of Ridley Scott's Alien, you'll no doubt remember how its title came into view during the opening credits: as a series of vertical, diagonal, and horizontal white lines that slowly appeared, beginning with the "I," one or two at a time until the capitalized "ALIEN" was wholly spelled out. Thirty-six years later, the title for Scott's sci-fi tale The Martian is revealed in the exact opposite manner: as a full, capitalized "THE MARTIAN" that gradually fades away, one portion at a time, until only the "I" remains.

With a foreboding Beethoven composition lending an incongruously somber air to the proceedings, Ballet Quad Cities' ensemble is rehearsing. The brightly lit studio space finds the 10 company members engaged in all manner of movement during these five minutes of Ludwig van: two male dancers tussling in the foreground; another male skulking in the background; a petite female gliding amongst her fellow dancers and voicelessly addressing one with an accusatory glare.

THE INTERN

Older audiences deserve comforting, pandering crap as much as everyone else, so I probably shouldn't be too hard on The Intern, especially because, with Nora Ephron's passing, writer/director Nancy Meyers is pretty much carrying the torch for Hollywood's all-too-rare female-centric dramedies detailing the personal costs of Having It All. But I'm going to be hard on it anyway, given that Meyers' mildly insulting sitcoms about strong, successful career women who are only truly fulfilled after Finding the Right Man are usually buoyed by ace performances (Something's Gotta Give's Diane Kaeaton and Jack Nicholson; It's Complicated's Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin), and this film just doesn't have 'em.

EVEREST

At present, the only way to see director Baltasar Kormákur's adventure drama Everest - the only legal way, at any rate - is in its IMAX 3D presentation, as the film won't be released in other, less surcharge-filled formats until September 25. Yet even if, like me, you consider yourself a generally frugal (i.e., cheapskate) cineplex patron, I implore you to suck it up, shell out the extra dough, and treat yourself to the biggest, loudest Everest available. I'm not sure how well this thing will play on smaller screens, but the IMAX 3D version is a staggering, even humbling experience for the eyes and ears - a mountain that, on your TV or computer or iPhone, might more accurately suggest a molehill.