By Chris Kavan - 03/06/19 at 09:23 AM CT
The MPAA Ratings Board continues it's steady pace, and while I can always say that I want more, I guess I can be happy with what I get. At least there are some heavy hitters this week - the main being the live-action Pokemon film with the ever-charming Ryan Reynolds voicing the electrified Pikachu and Justice Smith playing the only human who can understand him (and looking to solve the case behind his father's disappearance). Alongside that we have the a group of young actors (led by Jacob Tremblay) playing anything but Good Boys in a roadtrip full of very adult situations. Two decent films to talk about? Better than none and I continue to count my blessings.
Ever since the first trailer for Pokémon Detective Pikachu dropped, I have to admit I have been pretty excited about this. One, Ryan Reynolds is just a perfect choice to voice the cute, yellow and most-recognizable Pokémon, Pikachu. Fresh off another Deadpoool, his is a much more family-friendly role, but no less iconic and he just fits the role like a glove from what I've seen. Up-and-coming actor Justice Smith (Paper Towns, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) looks to solidify his status as the main human role, who finds his life in turmoil following the disappearance of his father - and the burden of living up to his legacy. But things chance when he realizes that he can "hear" our cute, yellow detective - and he seemingly is the only one with this power. Thus begins a relationship that is first contentious but blossoms and the duo look to solve some mysteries - including what happened to his father. The rest of the cast features the likes of Suki Waterhouse, Kathryn Newton, Bill Nighy, Karan Soni, Rita Ora, Ken Watanabe and Rob Delaney among others. The film is tracking pretty big and the PG rating (for action/peril, some rude and suggestive humor and thematic elements) means it should have no trouble drawing in families. Even if some of the designs are a bit... strange, this looks like a big winner and I'm looking forward to it.
On the other side of the coin, even though Good Boys stars a mostly young cast (Jacob Tremblay, Millie Davis, Chance Hurstfield, Lina Renna, Brady Noon, Keith L. Williams, Molly Gordon and Midori Francis), this is decidedly not a movie for the whole family. It follows the exploits of a group of sixth-grade boys who are looking at enjoying their first "adult" party, but who find themselves in accidental possession of stolen drugs and being pursued by a ruthless group of teenage girls. It's like Superbad-lite! In any case, Lil Rel Howery, Enid-Raye Adams, Benita Ha and Matt Ellis make up the adult side of the cast. Because of the content, this one is getting an R for strong crude sexual content, drug and alcohol material, and language throughout - all involving tweens. I mean, I think it will be a lot of fun but they kind of missed out on a large chunk of their target audience by avoiding a PG-13. We'll see how that turns out for it.
That's all for the big-name films for this week, but as always, feel free to check out the full MPAA Ratings Bulletin below:
AQUARELA
Rated PG for some thematic elements.
THE BUDDY GAMES
Rated R for strong crude sexual content and language throughout, some graphic nudity, drug use and brief violence.
GOOD BOYS
Rated R for strong crude sexual content, drug and alcohol material, and language throughout - all involving tweens.
LADY DRIVER
Rated PG for thematic elements and language.
THE NIGHTWALKER
Rated R for bloody violence, language and brief sexuality/nudity.
NO MANCHES FRIDA 2
Rated R for sexual content and teen drinking.
POKEMON DETECTIVE PIKACHU
Rated PG for action/peril, some rude and suggestive humor, and thematic elements.
STOCKHOLM
Rated R for language and brief violence.
TWICE THE DREAM
Rated PG for thematic elements and some language.
THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS PAPER ROUTE
Rated PG-13 for some war images and descriptions.
