By Chris Kavan - 01/27/16 at 12:23 PM CT
If last week was a veritable cornucopia of new ratings, this week is more like a desert. Not one, single wide release is getting rated this week. Instead, you'll have to be satisfied with a few limited release films (that could go wide... maybe) and that's it. Oh well, not every week can be exciting, this is just one of those times we'll have to be happy with what we get and hope that next week and beyond provides a bit more excitement. Until then... here we go.
Having premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, and opening across most of Europe, America finally gets a proper release of The Program. Starring Ben Foster as Lance Armstrong and Chris O'Dowd as David Walsh, an Irish sports journalist who is convinced Armstrong's impressive cycling career is due to performance enhancing drugs - and pursues the story until he can find proof. Much like the recent wave of journalistic and sports true stories - think Foxcatcher and Spotlight - The Program should fall right in line with those films. Director Stephen Frears is no stranger to true-life stories - with both The Queen and Philomena having garnered several awards. Hopefully The Program holds up as well. The film is rated R for language.
When two experienced actors team up with two up-and-coming stars - what fun can be had? A Bigger Splash is a remake of the 1969 Jacques Deray film, La Piscine. The setup remains the same - a rock star and her lover (Tilda Swinton and Matthias Schoenaerts) have their sun-drenched vacations interrupted by an old friend and his estranged daughter (Ralph Fiennes and Dakota Johnson) and soon jealousy and passion take hold. Oh, and apparently Fiennes has a dance number tha has to be seen to be believed. With this essentially being a four-character show, it all comes down to how the actors play the roles, and how they connect with each other. I'm sure Swinton and Fiennes can hold their own - but Schoenaerts and Johnson are probably thrown into the deep end and will just have to survive. It might play well to a limited audience crowd. Rated R for graphic nudity, some strong sexual content, language and brief drug use.
That's really about it - but please check out the full MPAA Ratings Bulletin below:
A BIGGER SPLASH
Rated R for graphic nudity, some strong sexual content, language and brief drug use.
THE DOG WEDDING
Rated PG-13 for some drug material and suggestive content.
FEBRUARY
Rated R for brutal bloody violence and brief strong language.
KTOWN COWBOYS
Rated R for language throughout, sexual content and brief graphic nudity.
THE LITTLE PRINCE
Rated PG for mild thematic elements.
LOUDER THAN BOMBS
Rated R for language, some sexual content, nudity and violent images.
MARVEL SUPER HERO ADVENTURES: FROST FIGHT!
Rated PG for fantasy action.
PRECIOUS CARGO
Rated R for language throughout, some violence and sexual material.
THE PROGRAM
Rated R for language.
