By Chris Kavan - 03/07/18 at 10:15 AM CT
I'll give this to the MPAA Ratings board, they sure have been consistent these past few weeks. Yup, two big movies and bunch of other fluff. This week we have Dwayne Johnson turning a one-note video game into a blockbuster of destruction and also the new Blumhouse horror featuring young adults dying horribly. Still, a trifle is better than nothing, so I guess if two is what I get - two is what I'll be thankful for. Still keeping my fingers crossed for the next really decent upgrade, but for now I'll deal.
Dwayne Johnson has cut his teeth on action films and franchise, from the Fast and the Furious to San Andreas to the current hit Jumaniji: Welcome to the Jungle. It's no surprise then, that he is the lead in the upcoming action-packed Rampage. Now, to understand the film, you have to understand the video game it's based on. The video game it's based on has you playing as a monster, mutated and giant, who goes around knocking down buildings, eating people (and sometimes toilets), destroying tanks and helicopters - and, well, rinse and repeat. Look the game wasn't deep at atll - arcade carnage at its best, but nothing special. That's why I'm surprised the film takes the ida and deepens it - the monsters aren't mutated humans, but rather regular animals who have been hit with a genetic bomb - one that enhances their strength, aggression and size. Johnson plays the world's most ripped primatologist, one very much attached to George - an extremely intelligent ape he has been with since birth. Of course George is one of the subject affected by the DNA bomb and as he grows and gets angrier, our primatologist will stop at nothing to get his friend back - and stop him from his reign of destruction. Negan - I mean Jeffrey Dean Morgan, co-stars, along with Will Yun Lee, Malin Akerman, Joe Manganiello and Naomie Harris. Also, there is a giant wolf and alligator so its got that going for it. The trailer makes this look ridiculous, but then so was San Andreas, and Johnson somehow made that work. Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence, action and destruction, brief language, and crude gestures.
Blumhouse has done a great job with horror with some excellent additions to the genre including The Gift, The Purge, Split and, of course, Get Out. Now, I'm not saying Truth or Dare is going to be the next Get Out, but given Blumhouse's track record, even this somewhat... generic horror should find an audience. As the title implies, a group of pretty, young people (including Lucy Hale, Tyler Posey, Violett Beane, Sophia Ali, Sam Lerner, Aurora Perrineau and Hayden Szeto among others) decide to play that age old classic game - but, unfortunately, as in Soviet Russia, this game plays you! It seems that instead of a being a mildly risque fun party game, this is all too real and if you fail to tell the truth or fail to complete your dare, people with super-creepy smiles will show up and you'll die horribly, like breaking your neck on a pool table, falling off a roof or stabbing yourself in the eye with a pen (don't worry - that's all in the trailer, no spoilers). But I will say those smiles are truly creepy and even if the rest of the movie is crap - it's worth it for that alone. So remember, next time you're about to play a party game, make sure it's not accompanied by a curse. Rated PG-13 for violence and disturbing content, alcohol abuse, some sexuality, language and thematic material.
Those are are two (again) big movies but you know the drill - the full MPAA Ratings Bulletin is below for your perusing pleasure.
BEST OF ENEMIES
Rated PG-13 for thematic material, racial epithets, some violence and a suggestive reference.
BLOOD BROTHER
Rated R for strong violence, language throughout, some drug use and sexual content.
THE CATCHER WAS A SPY
Rated R for some sexuality, violence and language.
GODARD MON AMOUR
Rated R for graphic nudity, sexuality, and language.
RAMPAGE
Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence, action and destruction, brief language, and crude gestures.
SOCIAL ANIMALS
Rated R for strong and crude sexual content, language, and drug use.
TRUTH OR DARE
Rated PG-13 for violence and disturbing content, alcohol abuse, some sexuality, language and thematic material.
UPGRADE
Rated R for strong violence, grisly images, and language.
THE VALLEY
Rated R for language, and some teen drug and alcohol use.
WILDLING
Rated R for violence including bloody images, language, some sexual content and teen drinking.
