2017: Summer Movie Round Up
One of the summer movies attempting to entice youngsters into theater seats is Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie, a saucy look at how a couple of kids control their school principal through hypnotism (may yours not try this at home!).
Several studios are rolling out second (or third or fourth) editions of successful franchises. Disney/Pixar’s entry is Cars 3 featuring an aging Lightning McQueen, Universal rides the popularity of an evil-villain-turned-Dad with Despicable Me 3 (let’s hope it’s as much fun as the first two and not at all like the spin-off movie Minions), and Fox’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid goes The Long Haul with a fourth edition starring an all new cast—because the group of kids in the last three films have outgrown the story’s characters.
Some series that seem to have no end in sight also hit the marquee, such as: Transformers: The Last Knight, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, and War for the Planet of the Apes.
And garnering some big buzz are Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Wonder Woman, super-hero tales which are the sort of thing teens seek when they are looking for a cool escape.
Parents should be aware that Baywatch, a movie based on a popular TV show you likely remember even if your kids have never heard of it, is poised to live up to its nickname – Babewatch. The MPAA gave this flick an R-rating “for language throughout, crude sexual content, and graphic nudity.”
For information on these and other movies releasing between May 1 and August 31, 2017, see the list below:
5 May 2017
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action and violence, language, and brief suggestive content. The Guardians continue their space adventures in this sequel. This time, Peter Quill’s (Chris Pratt) gets a chance to find his real father (Kurt Russel).
12 May 2017
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, some suggestive content and brief strong language. Charlie Hunnam takes a stab at the title character in this latest version of the once and future king.
19 May 2017
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul MPAA Rating: PG for some rude humor. With an all new cast, this Wimpy Kid’s diary chronicles a family road trip.
Everything, Everything MPAA Rating: PG-13 for thematic elements and brief sensuality. Wanting more than her sheltered life, a teenager girl (Amanda Sternberg) risks her life to see the world and hang out with the boy next door (Nick Robinson).
May 25, 2017
Baywatch MPAA Rating: R for language throughout, crude sexual content, and graphic nudity. Based on the TV show of the same name, parents may be surprised by the movie’s R-rating. Expect plenty of sexual comments and even some nudity as two buff lifeguards (Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron) keep their eyes on the beach (and especially the bikini clad girls).
May 26, 2017
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of adventure violence, and some suggestive content. The swaggering Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) returns to face the revenge-seeking Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem).
2 June 2017
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie MPAA Rating: PG for mild rude humor throughout. Two creative kids (voiced by Keven Hart and Thomas Middleditch) hypnotize their school principal (voice of Ed Helms) and turn him into a comic superhero called Captain Underpants.
Wonder Woman PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, and some suggestive content. An Amazon princess (Gal Gadot) faces the dangers of WWII by becoming the super hero Wonder Woman.
9 June 2017
The Mummy (2017) MPAA Rating: PG-13 for violence, action and scary images, and for some suggestive content and partial nudity. Digging up an old franchise, this ancient mummy (Sofia Boutella) comes to life in the modern world with intention of settle old grudges on a new group of people.
Megan Leavey MPAA Rating: PG-13 for war violence, language, suggestive material, and thematic elements. Based on a true story, dog lovers are sure to appreciate this movie about a US marine and her military combat canine.
16 June 2017
Cars 3 MPAA Rating: G Disney/Pixar are out to prove that you can teach an old car new tricks in this latest story about Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson).
47 Meters Down MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of intense peril, bloody images, and brief strong language. A shark gets a double helping of helpless females when two sisters (Mandy Moore, Claire Holt) get trapped in a marine-life observing cage at the bottom of the ocean.
21 June 2017
Transformers: The Last Knight MPAA Rating: Pending The Transformers make a fifth return to the big screen for an even bigger action adventure. This CGI-enhanced film will likely fall in the PG-13 range (as did all the others in the series) because of violent action and battle sequences.
30 June 2017
Despicable Me 3 MPAA Rating: PG for action and rude humor. Reformed bad guy Gru (voice of Steve Carell), super-spy Lucy (voice of Kristen Wiig) and the yellow minions (voiced by of Pierre Coffin) return in this third despicable adventure.
7 July 2017
Spider-Man: Homecoming MPAA Rating: Pending In this chapter of the Marvel Avengers Tom Holland plays the young Peter Parker who needs some mentoring to master his super hero powers as Spider-Man.
14 July 2017
War for the Planet of the Apes MPAA Rating: Pending In this third outing of the re-booted Planet of the Ape’s franchise, Caesar (Andy Serkis) and his band of apes battle against a humans army led by Colonel (Woody Harrelson) in a genocidal war.
Wish Upon MPAA Rating: Pending A mysterious box grants a teen girl (Joey King) several wishes. What she doesn’t realize however is that none of these requests come without great costs.
21 July 2017
Dunkirk MPAA Rating:PG-13 for intense war experience and some language. Older teens and adults may appreciate the history lesson included in this war movie that depicts the WWII battle at Dunkirk.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets MPPA Rating: PG-13 for sci-fi violence and action, suggestive material and brief language. Based on a graphic novel, this sci-fi adventure follows the galaxy-saving efforts of the teen-aged team, Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne).
28 July 2017
The Emoji Movie MPAA Rating: Pending This animation goes inside the world of emojis where the icons are learning how express their emotions.
4 August 2017
The Dark Tower MPAA Rating: Pending Young Lucas Hanson (Nicholas Hamilton) has been having visions about a tower, a gunslinger and a man in black. When he discovers a parallel universe, he meets the Gunslinger (Idris Elba), and they set out to find the Dark Tower that might have the power to protect both worlds from the evil Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey).
11 August 2017
The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature MPAA Rating: Pending In this sequel, Surly the squirrel (voice of Will Arnett) and his nutty try to stop the townsfolk from turning their parkland home into an amusement park.
18 August 2017
Logan Lucky MPAA Rating: PG-13 for language and some crude comments. Brothers Jimmy (Channing Tatum) and Clyde Logan (Adam Driver) plan an elaborate heist during the Coca-Cola 600 race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
25 August 2017
All Saints MPAA Rating: PG for thematic elements. Based on a true story, Pastor Michael Spurlock (John Corbett) can’t help himself from trying to rescue a struggling church in Smyrna, Tennessee, that has become a place of shelter for a group of Christian refugees from Southeast Asia.
