They Can Only DIG

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres and VOD from director K. Asher Levin, Lionsgate and Saban Films comes the intensity of the DIG.

Scott Brennan (Thomas Jane) is upset that daughter Jane (Harlow Jane) has to be tracked down. Along with his wife, they discover the girl is in a local bar. Scott is not happy, and his anger is on the edge, and it leads to devastation for the Brennan family.   

Years have passed and Scott is trying to reconnect with deaf daughter Jane, but she is experiencing anger toward her father. Back to his auto repair shop, he meets Victor (Emile Hirsh), a man with a job for him to do for extra cash. At first Scott is not interested but knows the money will help Jane.

Victor tells him to strip down a house that is being taken over for a new housing project. Heading out to the middle of nowhere, the work begins. What Scott and company do not know is that Victor and girlfriend Lola (Liana Liberato) are looking for something very specific. Scott is surprised when they two show up and mayhem begins.

Now Scott must do whatever he can to protect Jane from the gun toting Lola as he pieces together who Victor truly is and what it is he is digging for.

Jane as Brennan is a father who is trying to make up for the tragedy that effected his daughter so dearly. Taking the extra job is a way to get her something she really needs to show that not only is he sorry but wants the best for her. Jane gives us all of that in his character and his role does not physically look like an easy one. Yet, Jane is going to do what Jane does best, take a dangerous situation and keep it moving.

Harlow as Jane is a daughter who has every right to be upset with her father but adds a bit of teen attitude along with it. Going along with her father, things turn into a world she could never have imagined. Harlow portrays all of that rage and fear in her character until she comes to terms with everything that has kept her in a dark place. Well done young lady, well done!

Hirsh as Victor is, how should I put this, dangerously charming? He comes off with charm and a bit of twisted humor but that can turn on a dime. He has no issue with throwing his gun around but even then, he tries to be charming about it at the same time. Just a bit of twistedness to this character with dangerous undertones.

Liberato as Lola is just out and out a psychopath. She has no issue with shooting someone and actually gets upset when she does not get to. Messing with Jane’s mind while holding a gun to her head, she does not break a sweat. Her conscience is clear on everything that she and Victor are doing and won’t apologize for any of it. Wicked, wicked lady!

Shout out to Makana David as Tommy. Trust when I tell you he is the nicest young man and I do wish him every sucess!

Lionsgate is a global leader in motion picture production and distribution for theatres, television, home entertainment and more. Theatre franchises include THE HUNGER GAMES, and DIVERGENT along with JOHN WICK. Now, adding this film to its 16,000-motion picture and television titles you can see everything coming soon as well as available now at http://www.lionsgate.com.

Saban Films was launched in 2014 and has built an impressive slate of high-quality feature films distributed with partner Lionsgate. Focusing on talent-driven films, the company looks at projects in all stages of production to be released across multiple platforms. Films such as SISTER OF THE GROOM, FATMAN and BREACH are part of the wonderful Saban slate, and more information can be found at www.sabanfilms.com.

DIG has twists and turns yet there are moments of predictability which I do not mind in the slightest. Jane comes on strong as a man who wants to protect his family, one event works, and one does not, and both call for him to keep his head. Harlow Jane’s character puts father Scott through the emotional paces and proves the acting apple didn’t fall far from the tree.

Hirsch and Liberato together are remarkable and dangerous in their roles, and I loved it. They are on equal ground criminally but in such different ways that work beautifully. Charming insanity works as these two actors make it clear through their characters that they are not here to play – they are here to slay.

Grab the popcorn and watch the story unravel with each shovel full of dirt!

In the end – getting out is the deadly part!

 

 

It is all in the WARNING

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to Bluray and Digital from director Agata Alexander and Lionsgate is a world turned sideways when given plenty of WARNING.

The future is a place that is dealing with technological issues. As AI find their voice, now it is the human race that is dealing with the repercussions. Relationships have taken a turn and to make matters worse, there is a global storm that is causing outages.

Watching it all is as astronaut in deep space who is trying to understand ‘why me?’ while down on earth the same questions are being asked. Love comes up against technology in a way that turns one against another, uses one against another and sees being human as the lowliest form.

Searching for ‘god’ becomes the only human thing left and that comes with a few realizations of its own.

WARNING is a film that is filled with stories of relationship, struggles, and lives that are one second away from the end.

The cast includes Alex Pettyfer, Alice Eve, Annabelle Wallis, Benedict Samuel, Charlotte Le Bon, Thomas Jane, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Rupert Everett, Tomasz Kot, Kylie Bunbury, Garance Marillier, Tony Garrn, Annabel Mullion and Richard Pettyfer.

Lionsgate is a global leader in motion picture production and distribution for theatres, television, home entertainment and more. Theatre franchises include THE HUNGER GAMES, and DIVERGENT along with JOHN WICK. Now, adding this film to its 16,000-motion picture and television titles you can see everything coming soon as well as available now at http://www.lionsgate.com.

WARNING takes one story at a time, one character at a time but they each have something in common. It is either the realization that technology craves human interaction and affection or that technology has no use for humans at all and, in a sense has a distain for them.

The characters in the film are each unaware of how close they are to extinction but then again, they crave something as one finds god in a wake up call each morning. Another tries to understand a relationship with something that has no expiration date.

WARNING gives us all the opportunity to discuss the role of technology in our world and when to say stop. This is a far reaching look at where it can go and how the roles can flip so quickly. The title is exactly that, a warning in its most realistic terms because, as we all know, anything is possible!

This is the way the world ends!

THE PREDATOR Stalks on 4K and Bluray

Jeri Jacquin

On 4K Ultra HD, Bluray and Digital from writer/director Shane Black and 20^th Century Fox Home Entertainment comes a new generation of terror with THE PREDATOR.

Quinn McKenna (Boyd Holbrook) is part of a Ranger team that is sent on a mission to find out about a ship that has crashed on Earth. After a very close range fire fight, McKenna gets part of a Predator’s armor because he wants to prove they exist. Sending what he needs for proof to ex-wife Emily (Yvonne Strahovski) and son Rory (Jacob Tremblay), the government holds him.

Also at the crash site is agent Will Traeger (Sterling K. Brown) who takes the Predator to a lab where Casey Bracket (Olivia Munn) is assigned to study it. Thinking they have everything under control was their first mistake when the Predator wakes up and begins to wreak havoc in the lab. Bracket hides and is surprised when the creator walks away from her.

McKenna has been put on a bus with other government prisoners that include Nebraska Williams (Trevante Rhodes), Coyle (Keegan-Michael Key), Baxley (Thomas Jane), Lynch (Alfie Allen) and Nettles (Augusto Aguilera). It doesn’t take long before after shareable moments between fellow military men, turns into a mission to save McKenna’s son.

Taking charge of the bus, they group finds Bracket on the road and she tells them what has happened. Especially the part where she informs them that they found human DNA in the Predator believing they are becoming hybrids.

McKenna’s son Rory has gone trick-or-treating and after finding the armor his father sent, it becomes clear it is a beacon for the Predator to find him. The group comes under fire from the creature and Traeger knows that it is the boy that can tell him exactly what he needs to know. Taking Rory to the ship only brings more trouble because McKenna isn’t about to let Traeger or the Predator hurt his son.

Arriving at the ship, it doesn’t take long before they all begin to understand what it is the Predator wants. None of them could have predicted who the creature wants but the Predator isn’t going to get it without a fight.

Holbrook as McKenna is a man on a mission with the biggest problem being no one believes what is actually happening. It’s hard to do the job when the government is keeping its own secrets about what is really happening. Holbrook is tough and isn’t about to let his character be seen as anything other than a bad ass.

Munn as Bracket is brought in to studying the Predator and discovers what the creatures DNA contains and what they’ve been doing on our planet. Munn is fast, smart and is up for a good fight, especially when she has alien-dogs on her side.

Tremblay as Rory is a young boy who is interested in the gadget his father has sent. He knows there is something more to it all and discovers quickly that it isn’t a video game! Strahovski as Emily knows McKenna is a good man and an even better soldier and makes it clear to the group to not mess with him.

Brown as Traeger is part of the “Stargazer Project” and wants to keep anyone who has any knowledge about it under wraps – and that includes especially McKenna. The problem is once the Predator escapes, the one guy he has put away is the one guy he needs. Jane as Baxley is a character and a half and suffers from post-traumatic stress after his time in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Allen as Lynch, Aguilera as Nettles, and Key as Coyle are the rest of the group who have no problem joining in with McKenna. They are eager to strap on some weaponry and help not only find the Predator but show it who’s planet it really is!

Other cast include Jake Buey as Sean Keyes, Niall Matter as Sapir and Brian Prince as The Predator.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment brings award-winning global product and new entertainment to DVD, Bluray, and Digital HD. There amazing collection offers fans an opportunity to expand their own home libraries with the best films. To discover what other titles they have please visit www.fox.com.

The Bluray Special Features include Deleted Scenes, a Touch of Black, Predator Evolution, The Takedown Team, Predator Catch-Up and Gallery. There is over an hour of Bonus Content with Inside the Evolution of The Predator. The 4K Ultra HD is the Ultimate Movie-Watching Experience and you can have it at home. Also there is Movies Anywhere and to watch anywhere all you have to do is download the app!

Taking a different perspective from the original 1987 film PREDATOR, director Black expands the alien’s world with a few new plot twists. Of course it wouldn’t be a Predator film without lots of action and because this creature isn’t going out without a fire fight of some kind.

The group of fighters quickly understand what they are up against and this is definitely a film that needs a sound bar attached to an absolutely stunning 4K television. It’s the kind of film you gather up a group of friends with some popcorn and pick a side till the end.

In the end – the hunt has evolved!