A.X.L. ROLLS INTO THE MOVIE JUNGLE

New offerings can take you in many different directions, Chris Lackner writes.

MOVIES

Big releases on Aug. 24: A.X.L.; Searching

Big picture: My first instincts when I read this film’s title were undeniable: “FINALLY! It’s the long overdue ’80s-style action hero movie starring Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose. Clearly, soon to be followed by A.X.L. 2: Appetite for Destruction!”

Alas, A.X.L. is instead a familyfriendly flick about a robot dog designed for war who instead becomes a young man’s best friend. It’s like RoboCop meets Short Circuit meets WALL-E meets Paw Patrol meets Lassie (it’s a marketing department’s dream). A.X.L. is a top-secret military project who escapes his lab only to bond with a misfit outsider named Miles who activates his “owner-pairing ” technology. Soon on the run, the duo manage to pull on your heartstrings while evading the military, nefarious scientists, plausibility and more.

Meanwhile, Searching dives into every parent’s nightmare: their child’s laptop. When his teen daughter goes missing, David Kim (John Cho) goes down the rabbit hole into her secret cyberlife. The movie is like The Blair Witch Project, only instead of being told via a handheld camcorder, it’s told through social media accounts and posts. No digital hub is left unexplored and no random online “friend” is beyond suspicion.

Forecast: I know what you’re thinking, “If I haven’t seen Mission: Impossible yet, this is the week.” Me? I’m thinking, nice try, Hollywood, call me when we’re talking A.X.L. 3: Welcome to the Jungle or A.X.L. 4: Paradise City.

TV

Big events: Carpool Karaoke: When Corden Met McCartney Live from Liverpool (Aug. 20, CBS); The Innocents (Netflix, Aug. 24)

Big picture: Sports and special events. They’re the last gasp of the dying big TV networks. A special from The Late Late Show host James Corden, this promises never-before-seen footage from his popular carpool singa-thon with a certain former Beatle named Paul. You may have heard of him. The segment has more than 130 million views on social media, so why not turn into a special? The networks are “searching ” too, after all — to survive. Speaking of promotion, it’s no coincidence that McCartney’s new album Egypt Station comes out Sept. 7.

Meanwhile, The Innocents is X-Men meets Orphan Black meets Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Move over vampires and werewolves, bring on the shape-shifters. Sure, the former can turn into bats and wolves? But what if you could take the form of anyone — and maybe even anything ? Scotland’s Sorcha Groundsell is set to become a household name playing June, a troubled heroine who learns she is some kind of super shifter. Guy Pearce stars as her would-be mentor, but he is no benevolent Professor X.

Forecast: The Innocents could be Stranger Things for teens, tweens and the young at heart.

MUSIC

Big releases on Aug. 24: Alice In Chains (Rainier Fog); Mark Lanegan & Duke Garwood (With Animals)

Big picture: Seattle grunge rock scene survivors Alice In Chains release their first effort since 2013 — and their first recording from their hometown in more than 20 years since they helped put that city on the musical map. Meanwhile, With Animals is being promoted by its studio as “soul music for anyone who’s long since left the crossroads” and described as “it sounds like Lanegan and Garwood have been holed up in a ’60s recording studio while the apocalypse rages outside.” One word. Sold. Forecast: Alice In Chains proves they are alive — and so is grunge. Meanwhile, I predict this column will inspire Axl Rose to write the soundtrack for the real A.X.L. 2. The band’s on a reunion tour after all, so the timing is right and think of the synergy. Lyrics like “and it’s hard to walk a robot in the cold, November rain!” (I should really leave the “glamour” and “wealth” of the newspaper business and get a job in marketing).