By Chris Kavan - 12/21/16 at 10:23 AM CT
Ho-ho-holy cow I guess the MPAA is in the Christmas spirit because there is a large update this week, just before we can celebrate the holidays. In any case, we have a great mix: fans of big-budget blockbusters, comedy, animation and horror all have something to look forward to. In any case, this, along with the super-sized box office preview, means it's a good thing I'm in a festive, giving mood - because there's a lot to talk about.
Up first is a reinvention of one of the biggest names in action - literally, Peter Jackson last took on the task of bringing King Kong to the big screen, now a new, and somewhat untested, director, Jordan Vogt-Roberts is taking on an origin story with Kong: Skull Island. The cast looks impressive - Academy award-winner Brie Larson, Marvel standout Tom Hiddleston is on board, the ever-present and always imposing Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, John C. Reilly, Toby Kebbell, Corey Hawkins, Shea Whigham and Tian Jing help round out the cast. Based on the cast alone, this has great potential. The latest Godzilla (while it didn't please everyone, but I liked it) took a similar route and did pretty good for itself. If the rumors of an impending Kong vs. Godzilla are true, how this movie performs will go a long way towards making that a possibility. Origins stories can sometimes be a drag, but I have a feeling this one is going to be pretty good. Jackson's version was a flawed but serviceable effort, I hope this turns out more like the reboot of Planet of the Apes and delivers something deeper but still exciting and action-packed. Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and for brief strong language.
I seem a resemblance between a certain commander-in-chief and the main character in the upcoming The Boss Baby, one may even say the resemblance is... huuuuge. Also, the main character just happens to be voiced by Alec Baldwin - who has portrayed an orange-hued oligarch in recent episodes of Saturday Night Live... coincidence? Even if the film is based on a book - it's just too good to pass up. In any case, the baby boss in question is used to getting what he wants, when he wants - but when he doesn't feel like his demands are being met - he takes things to the next level. How is this not a clear reference to Trump again? Baldwin is joined by Tobey Maguire, Steve Buscemi, Jimmy Kimmel, Lisa Kudrow and the young ViviAnn Yee in this adventure. I'm sure it will turn out just find - and it's timely to boot. Rated PG for some mild rude humor.
If you want a more mature comedy, you better be ready for a Fist Fight. Maybe mature is the wrong world - adult? Vulgar? Yeah - that's probably more like it. Look, if you're going to get someone fired, I wouldn't target the guy who looks like Ice Cube. Unfortunately that is what one teacher does - and he is challenged to a fight after school. Charlie Day plays the unfortunate teacher - and he better put up or shut up. So what if this appears to be a remix of Three O'Clock High and Joe Somebody - comedy is comedy and if Ice Cube has proved anything in the past few years, it's that he knows comedy. And he's not alone - Christina Hendricks, Jillian Bell, Dean Norris, Dennis Haysbert and JoAnna Garcia Swisher are coming along for this ride. Comedy is the one genre that it takes a lot for me to get into the theaters, and nothing I've seen convinces me this is going to be a standout example. Rated R for language throughout, sexual content/nudity and drug material.
That leaves our final film as the (probable) final film in a long series based on a popular survival horror video game series. It has been four years since we lasted visited the Resident Evil franchise (with Retribution) and now Paul W.S. Anderson is serving up Resident Evil: The Final Chapter - along with series vets Milla Jovovich and Ali Larter who will be joined by the likes of Ruby Rose, Iain Glen, William Levy and Shawn Roberts. The movies have moved well beyond the scope of the games, for the most part, and turned in to more action-oriented affairs. I have seen all of them to date but didn't feel that invested after about the second one and watch merely out of curiosity at this point. I don't think this is going to find much outside of the hardcore fans and will probably be a quiet sendoff for the horror franchise. Rated R for sequences of violence throughout.
Those are the big names this week, but be sure the check out the full MPAA Ratings Bulletin below:
BIGGER FATTER LIAR
Rated PG for language and rude behavior.
BLACK BUTTERFLY
Rated R for language.
THE BOSS BABY
Rated PG for some mild rude humor.
FIST FIGHT
Rated R for language throughout, sexual content/nudity and drug material.
THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS
Rated R for disturbing violence/bloody images, and for language.
KONG: SKULL ISLAND
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and for brief strong language.
LONDON HEIST
Rated R for violence, language throughout and some sexuality/nudity.
RESIDENT EVIL: THE FINAL CHAPTER
Rated R for sequences of violence throughout.
