By Chris Kavan - 10/28/15 at 12:35 PM CT
Once again, so many movies to cover, I couldn't even fit them all in the title! Risen, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, The Nice Guys and Pixar's upcoming short, Sanjay's Super Team are also all getting their ratings this week. Wow, what a packed house - Burnt is getting rated literally just before it gets its Friday release, while many of the films in the bulletin aren't coming out until some time next year. Still, it's a great mix from family-friendly titles to Christmas horror to zombies in classic literature to a boxing legend to the Resurrection. What more could you ask for? Anyway, let's get on with the long show, shall we?
A lot to choose from, but I'm going with what is going to arguably be the most popular, Pixar's upcoming film, The Good Dinosaur. Pixar already has one big hit on their hand this year with Inside Out ($355 million domestic, $842.2 million worldwide) and, given their track record, there is absolutely no reason to think The Good Dinosaur is will be any different. The film posits what life would be life if humans and dinosaurs coexist and does this by presenting a relationship between an Apatosaurus named Arlo and a young boy. I have no doubt the film will be huge - the film earns a PG for peril, action and thematic elements. Along with The Good Dinosaur comes Sanjay's Super Team, the new Pixar short. Set in an Indian household, a young boy, bored with his father's meditation, imagines Hindu gods as superheroes. A departure, but I'm sure it will be another good one - also rated PG for some scary images.
Next up is a film that is coming very soon - Bradley Cooper's chef dramedy Burnt. Not exactly sure why this one took so long to get its rating, but considering it comes out this Friday I guess better late than never. Cooper is usually a solid draw with audiences (not that it helped Aloha earlier this year) so we'll see if his broke-down chef (along with co-stars Sienna Miller, Daniel Brühl, Emma Thompson, Alicia Vikander, Omar Sy, Lily James and Matthew Rhys) are a big enough draw. The story follows a pretty standard route - a young man burns out early only to try to get back into the game - acting, sports, politics - why not cooking? The success or failure of this one is whether that star power is going to be a big enough draw, and if it can draw in a female audience - an audience that has been left out of the loop for awhile. Burnt earns an R for language throughout.
Releasing just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday is the return of everyone's favorite boxing legend, this time mentoring a new generation in Creed. Instead of playing the boxer, Rocky Balboa , Sylvester Stallone is stepping into the shoes of Burgess Meredith and becoming the mentor - and not just to anyone, but his one-time rival's son Adonis Johnson. Hopefully this turns out a bit better than Rocky Balboa - which wasn't a terrible film, but could have been a lot better. Stallone has found success with his Expendables series (for the most part) and also isn't shy about revisiting his past (besides Rocky Balboa, he has Rambo as well). Granted, he has had a rough go of late - trying to team up with fellow 80s action star Arnold Schwarzenegger led to mostly disappointing results - but hopefully Creed, with more of a focus on teaching rather than punching, will set things back on the right track. Creed is Rated PG-13 for violence, language and some sensuality.
What Christmas would be complete without terrifying toys coming to life, evil reindeer and demonic decorations? Well, just hope that your dysfunctional family doesn't have you cursing Christmas or else you may also invite the wrath of Krampus. The film kind of reminds me of another horror film set around the Christmas holiday - Gremlins. Granted, Krumpus will have a big more edge, but I also think it's going to mix in a good bit of dark humor to go along with the murderous intentions of Gingerbread men. Oh, there will be blood, but hopefully in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way. Krampus get a PG-13 for sequences of horror violence/terror, language and some drug material. So bring the kids - maybe they'll learn a valuable lesson.
Another out-there horror film getting its due is the early 2016 release Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Based on the best-selling novel by Jane Austen about love among the different social classes in 19th century England... and also against the backdrop of a zombie uprising. I mean, who doesn't want to see proper English ladies kick some zombie ass? Especially when you have Lily James, Lena Headey and Bella Heathcote leading the charge. But it has a touch of class - Charles Dance, former doctor Matt Smith, Jack Huston, Sam Riley and Douglas Booth. I mean, you would think by the casting they were going after a standard version of the classic. I'm a fan of zombies myself, but I don't know how this will go over with fans. Still, I'll watch this at some point, just probably not in theaters. Not surprisingly rated R for violence, sexuality, nudity, language and brief drug use.
If somebody died and then came back from the dead, does that make them a zombie? I guess not if you happen to be the most important religious figure of our time. Risen follows the Resurrection of Christ as seen through the eyes of Clavius (Joseph Fiennes) and his young charge Lucius (Tom Felton) as they investigate events leading up to the crucifixion to disprove his supposed return as Messiah as Jerusalem faces an uprising of its own. This is some heavy material to tackle and I'm guessing they are going for that with Peter Firth (as Pontius Pilate), María Botto (Mary Magdalene) and Cliff Curtis (Yeshua) all on board along with a host of other actors portraying both those close to Jesus and those who opposed him. Rated PG-13 for Biblical violence including some disturbing images.
Two comedies coming next year also have their ratings. First up, Arms and the Dudes starring Miles Teller and Jonah Hill as a pair of unlikely young men who find themselves in control of a $300 million contract to arm allies in Afghanistan. And guess what? Things don't go quite as planned and things get both intense and out-of-control in short order. While March isn't exactly the prime slot for movies, we'll see if the dynamic duo can pull off a March miracle.The film is Rated R for language throughout, drug use and some sexual references. Then we have The Nice Guys. Taking place in 1970s L.A., a private investigator finds himself looking into the apparent suicide of a fading porn star only to uncover a much wider conspiracy. Matt Bomer, Ryan Gosling, Russell Crowe and Kim Basinger lead the charge. Though you would think this would be a straight-up murder/mystery - it also it looking to throw in a bit of levity. This one is coming out in May, prime time, so I think they're expecting good things out of this one. Rated R for violence, sexuality, nudity, language and brief drug use.
The entire MPAA Bulletin can be found below:
1982
Rated R for language, some violence and a sexual situation.
ARMS AND THE DUDES
Rated R for language throughout, drug use and some sexual references.
BURNT
Rated R for language throughout.
CREED
Rated PG-13 for violence, language and some sensuality.
THE DARK HORSE
Rated R for language throughout, and drug use.
THE GOOD DINOSAUR
Rated PG for peril, action and thematic elements.
HENERAL LUNA
Rated R for strong bloody violence, some language and brief nudity.
KRAMPUS
Rated PG-13 for sequences of horror violence/terror, language and some drug material.
THE MEDDLER
Rated PG-13 for brief drug content.
THE NICE GUYS
Rated R for violence, sexuality, nudity, language and brief drug use.
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES
Rated PG-13 for zombie violence and action, and brief suggestive material.
RISEN
Rated PG-13 for Biblical violence including some disturbing images.
SANJAY'S SUPER TEAM
Rated PG for some scary images.
SNERVOUS TYLER OAKLEY
Rated PG-13 for language and some thematic elements.
SONG OF LAHORE
Rated PG for thematic elements, some violent images and smoking.
THE WHOLE TRUTH
Rated R for language and some violence including a sexual assault.
YOSEMITE
Rated R for some sexual material/nudity and language.
