Suburbicon, Magic Camp, Tulip Fever, Kidnap and More in This Week's MPAA Ratings Bulletin

By Chris Kavan - 05/17/17 at 09:35 AM CT

A week of wide variety as we find our ratings board tackling a magical comedy, a period romance, a comedy/crime from George Clooney and a thriller about one dedicated mother. Even with the wide array of films, I can't say I'm exactly excited about the prospects. Still, there should be a little something here for everyone, and it's better to have something to talk about than not, so let's get on with the show.

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By far the most interesting film to me on the horizon looks to be George Clooney's Suburbicon. Now, granted, there isn't a lot of information about this one quite yet (seeing as we're not getting it until November) but the cast list alone makes me giddy with anticipation: Matt Damon, Oscar Isaac and Julianne Moore highlight the cast and Clooney has proven a deft director with the likes of Good Night, and Good Luck., The Ides of March and the underappreciated (in my opinion) Monuments Men. The very short synopsis makes this sound like a thriller - seeing as it involves a quiet town being rattled when a family experiences a home invasion, but according the genre, this is also a comedy and mystery to go along with the crime. I'm willing to give it a shot - rated R for violence, language and some sexuality.

Jumping way ahead of the gun (seeing as it's not going to premier until April of next year) is the straight-up comedy Magic Camp. I have to plug Nebraska native Adam Devine, who stars as Andy, who returns to the Magic Camp after being burned out in hopes of rekindling his love of the magic arts. Jeffrey Tambor plays his one-time mentor Roy Preston while the supporting cast includes Gillian Jacobs, Aldis Hodge and a host of young talent: Izabella Alvarez, Cole Sand, Hayden Crawford, Bianca Grava, Leon Masuda and plenty of other fresh faces. Given its PG rating (for some mild rude humor) it's obvious this is targeting a much younger audience than Devine's Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates - but, hey, if it's not too sweet and actually imparts some decent life lessons - who knows, maybe this will be a decent coming-of-age/comedy.

It has been a bit of a bumpy road for the romance Tulip Fever. Originally set for a release back in July of 2016, it was set for February of 2017 before being delayed once again to August 25th. But that's par for the course for The Weinstein Company - who seems to delight in moving release dates around (often to the detriment of the final product). The knockout cast includes Alicia Vikander, Christoph Waltz, Zach Galifianakis, Cara Delevingne, Dane DeHaan, Jack O'Connell, Holliday Grainger, Judi Dench and Matthew Morrison. The film follows a young artist (DeHann) who is commissioned to paint a portrait of a new bride (Vikander) only to find himself falling in love with her. All this is set against the backdrop of 17th Century Amsterdam at the height of the Tulip mania - a period of time in which Tulip bulbs were being sold for astronomical prices (like 12 hectares of land for a single bulb) and it considered one of the first economic collapses when the mania subsided. In any case, this film was once considered an awards contender but will now probably be lost in the flood of summer movies and die a lonely death - and it's too bad, because the cast deserves better. Rated R for sexual content and nudity.

Finally, we have yet another film that has seen several release changes, the Halle Berry thriller Kidnap. The premise is as simple as they come - Berry plays Karla Dyson, a loving mother, who watches as her son is kidnapped and then does everything in her power to get him back. A woman scorned is one thing, but a mother separated from her child - this is Grizzly Bear, Lioness territory here. Dana Gourrier, Lew Temple and Christopher Berry round out the cast. As stated, Kidnap was also set to be released back in 2016 (December), was pushed to March and now also finds itself with an August release date. But this is more a direct result of the Relativity Media fiasco than anything else. Most of the other delayed Relativity films have been underwhelming to say the least and, despite a decent cast, I don't think Kidnap is going to buck that trend (whenever it gets released). Rated R for violence and peril.

Those are the big-name films getting their ratings but be sure the check out the full MPAA Ratings Bulletin below:

THE BEST THANKSGIVING EVER

Rated R for strong crude sexual content and language throughout, nudity and some drug material.


BRING IT ON: WORLDWIDE #CHEERSMACK

Rated PG-13 for crude sexual material.


FINDING FATIMAH

Rated PG-13 for some drug references.


FUN MOM DINNER

Rated R for language throughout, crude sexual material, and drug use.


GENERATION IRON 2

Rated PG-13 for some language, thematic elements, drug material and nudity.


KIDNAP

Rated R for violence and peril.


LOVE, KENNEDY

Rated PG for thematic elements.


MAGIC CAMP

Rated PG for some mild rude humor.


SUBURBICON

Rated R for violence, language and some sexuality.


TULIP FEVER

Rated R for sexual content and nudity.

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