`Creator' is an AI thriller for these polarizing times

Also worth seeing: Touching `Flora and Son" and charming 'Paw Patrol' sequel

An intelligent dystopian blockbuster that addresses AI technology and our fear of it, along with a delightful human dramedy about an Irish mom trying to help her always in-trouble son.

Those films top our list of must-sees, along with a cute animated feature aimed for wee ones who love puppies and a cheeky Coen Brothers homage.

Here's our roundup.

“THE CREATOR” >> The acceleration of AI technology continues to astound and inspire us, but also fuels trepidation and fear. Will AI supplant workers? Will it reduce us into lazy oafs? Those legit, and sometimes not so legit, concerns abound. And they're part of the reason why Gareth Edwards' stirring dystopian epic — one that's been in the narrative cooking process for years — is so refreshing. It turns the tables on our sense that it is humans being victimized.

In “The Creator,” we look in the mirror and an American aggressor stares back at us.

It's a turnaround that creates thicker layers and adds philosophical/ethical debates to this big-budget thought-provoker, a sobering and entirely satisfying experience that balances grandiose visual effects with emotional heft. (Get ready to tear up).

The serpentine plot hinges on former American mercenary Joshua (John David Washington, in his best performance to date) who gets summoned back into action five years after the death of his wife Maya (Gemma Chan). His assignment is to chase down the enigmatic Creator, an architect of AI intelligence that American politicians and military officials blame for a nuclear bomb that wiped out much of downtown L.A. The infiltration of AI into life produces different reactions across the globe, with Americans wanting to annihilate AI beings and the Eastern world willing to coexist in a peaceful way.

Joshua hesitantly joins a military mission — Alison Janney is unforgettable as a rabid vengeance-seeking colonel — with a goal to eradicate the architect, and AI, overall. Joshua's search propels him deep into East Asia, where townspeople have been terrorized by soldiers — those scenes serve as a powerful metaphor for the Vietnam War and how history often repeats itself. When Joshua learns that the assassination target happens to be an child (Madeleine Yuna Voyles, in an awards-worthy performance), he questions the ethical boundaries being crossed. With an added incentive that Maya might indeed be alive, Joshua faces a crisis on numerous levels.

While “The Creator” does lack the gut punch of “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” it's merely a few rungs below that film in

20TH CENTURY STUDIOS John David Washington stars as a mercenary assigned to track down a dangerous AI figure in “The Creator,” a film that examines an issue that is starting to resonate.