By Chris Kavan - 01/04/17 at 11:25 AM CT
Golly, that darn MPAA board gets an entire week off for once and it looks like they're still slacking on their first week in 2017. So what if it's not the biggest update ever? Eh, I guess I can take it easy too. The only movies of note are a new chapter in a once-successful horror franchise that came over from Japan, along with a sequel to a rather mediocre action film that somehow racked up an obscene amount of views when its first trailer dropped. That's it for the big movies this week, but I'm sure that the rest of 2017 will bring plenty of weeks full of superb ratings.
Wracking up an impressive 100 million views in a couple of days (and for Paramount studios, their fastest trailer to hit that century mark), Vin Diesel has brought back another action franchise after more than a decade since the last film came out (and he wasn't even part of the sequel). That's right, I'm talking about... not Shaft, but xXx: The Return of Xander Cage. Diesel skipped the 2005 sequel so it will be 15 years since he starred in the original film back in 2002. While the trailer didn't break any records for views, the amount of people interested in this film is frankly kind of surprising. Granted, Diesel has made a name for himself thanks to the Fast and Furious franchise, as well as The Chronicles of Riddick and. of course, uttering the iconic line "I Am Groot!" about a hundred times in Guardians of the Galaxy. Whatever the case, the man knows how to play tough characters, so why not resurrect Xander Cage? People are interested and while it may not match the level of the Furious films, I think based on the response, it looks like it should do just fine. Rated PG-13 for extended sequences of gunplay and violent action, and for sexual material and language.
Horror franchises are hard to reboot after an extended period of time. xXx is one thing but look at Blair Witch or Evil Dead or even Halloween and Friday the 13th - jump-starting a new generation isn't an easy thing to do. That's why I'm a bit dubious about the upcoming Rings. Don't you remember The Ring - you know, the one with that creepy video (you also remember video cassettes, don't you?) that killed you seven days after watching it? It was one of the original trends to remake popular J-horror films for American audiences (see also The Grudge, Dark Water, Shutter...) that enjoyed a popular, if fleeting, moment in cinema. That's why Rings seems so strange. Also, it was originally supposed to be released in 2015 - a two-year delay doesn't make me think any better of it. While I thought this was going to be prequel of some sort, it seems this is a continuation of the series in which a man is attempting to explore an urban legend regarding the cursed video only to have his girlfriend wind up the sacrifice only to find out there is more to the curse - a video within the video. I might check this out on streaming, but I have a feeling it's going to be hard to pin down a large audience for this one. Rated PG-13 for violence/terror, thematic elements, some sexuality and brief drug material.
That's it for the big two, but be sure to check out the full MPAA Ratings Bulletin below:
GUNS FOR HIRE
Rated R for sexual content, violence and language.
PERSONAL SHOPPER
Rated R for some language, sexuality, nudity and a bloody violent image.
QUEEN OF THE DESERT
Rated PG-13 for brief nudity and some thematic elements.
RINGS
Rated PG-13 for violence/terror, thematic elements, some sexuality and brief drug material.
SOPHIE AND THE RISING SUN
Rated R for some sexuality and nudity.
UN PADRE NO TAN PADRE
Rated PG-13 for drug material, some language and partial nudity.
WIND RIVER
Rated R for strong violence, a rape, disturbing images, and language.
xXx: The Return of Xander Cage
Rated PG-13 for extended sequences of gunplay and violent action, and for sexual material and language.
