By Chris Kavan - 02/20/19 at 10:44 AM CT
The MPAA steps things up with an actual trio of major movie ratings. Now, I fully admit, it's not the most exciting of updates for me, personally, but I take what I can get and this is exactly the kind of output I appreciated from the MPAA Ratings Board as three is the perfect amount - not too many, not too few and if I could get this every week my life would be so much better. So my hat is off to the releases this week - let's keep it going, shall we?
By far the film that looks most interesting to me is Yesterday, which finds director Danny Boyle directing a relative unknown in Himesh Patel and looking to do for him what he did for a different Patel - as in Dev Patel in a little film you may have heard about, Slumdog Millionaire. This film looks to be a bit more heart-warming as Patel plays Jack Malik, a struggling singer/songwriter who can't seem to catch a break. Then, following an accident that leaves him with slightly fewer teeth during a world-wide blackout, he wakes up and discovers a brave new world - one in which The Beatles never wrote their chart-topping and highly-influential songs - but somehow he still remembers them. Thus begins a new life - one that finds him performing the music of what one could argue is the most important band in the history of the modern era - and on a meteoric rise up the charts. The film features real-life talent in Ed Sheeran (who has a great moment in the trailer by suggesting he change the lyrics of "Hey Jude" to "Hey Dude") and late-night fixture James Cordon. The cast is rounded out by the likes of Lily James, Kate McKinnon, Ana de Armas, Joel Fry and Lamorne Morris. I mean, this film just looks like a lot of fun and while it's not the first film/book/TV show to explore the "What if..." scenario, but music is all the rage recently (Bohemian Rhapsody, A Star is Born) and Patel has a great voice and who doesn't like The Beatles? I'm interested to see how they resolve the film - and Boyle is talented so I hope it's not a typical "he was in a coma the whole time" cliche - but otherwise, it very much looks like just a laid-back, big grin type film watch. Rated PG-13 for suggestive content and language.
The concept of re-living your youth is nothing new as films like 18 Again and 13 Going on 30 can attest to. But the upcoming Little has the benefit of turning 14-year-old Marsai Martin (best known for her role on Black-ish) into the youngest executive producer in history. She shares this title with co-star Regina Hall as well as Josh Martin. Little follows the life of Jordan Sanders (Hall) who is an unpleasant, jaded woman who, cursed by a young girl, finds herself inhabiting the body of her younger self (Martin) during a crucial moment in her life. The film also stars Issa Rae, Justin Hartley, Tone Bell, Caleb Emery, Luke James and JD McCrary. While the story is not completely original, certainly this cast is going to make it work like nothing before. And young talent is always welcome thus I am really interested to see what this does to Martin's future endeavors. Rated PG-13 for some suggestive content.
I have no problem admitting that when I see Pure Flix Entertainment is involved in a film, I pretty much put it on my ignore list. Faith-based films are a hard sell to me and while there are some I wouldn't be 100% against watching, Pure Flix are some of the worst offenders of pandering to their target audience and I have no doubt that Unplanned is going to follow this formula. Based on the true story of Abby Johnson (played by Ashley Bratcher) she goes from one of the youngest Planned Parenthood directors in the U.S. to a staunch pro-life advocate after she witnesses a late-term abortion. I'm not even going to get into abortion, which remains a hot-button issue in the U.S. but all I'm going to mention is this film seems to be inching us ever closer to The Handmaid's Tale than anything else. Rated R for some disturbing/bloody images.
Those are three big films releasing this week but be sure to check out the full MPAA Ratings Bulletin below:
BATMAN VS TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
Rated PG-13 for fantasy violence.
BRAVE GIRL RISING
Rated PG for thematic elements.
DEAD TRIGGER
Rated R for bloody violence throughout.
FINDING STEVE MCQUEEN
Rated R for language throughout, including some sexual references.
HAIL SATAN?
Rated R for graphic nudity, and some language.
LITTLE
Rated PG-13 for some suggestive content.
OKKO'S INN
Rated PG for thematic material.
SUPERPOWER DOGS
Rated G
TRIPLE FRONTIER
Rated R for violence and language throughout.
UNPLANNED
Rated R for some disturbing/bloody images.
YESTERDAY
Rated PG-13 for suggestive content and language.
