15 main films of October
We tell you what to expect in online cinemas and the Russian box office in October: from the main hits of the recent "Kinotavr" to new films by Aaron Sorkin and Sofia Coppola.
A brisk grandfather, after an attack on a security guard in a supermarket, is sent to live in a house with relatives, which his grandson is not at all happy about: after all, the old man took his room from him and forced him to live in a cramped attic.
The young declares war on the old, but the old, as usual, will not give up so easily. Not only does the grandson deal with Robert de Niro, but he is also a war veteran and knows firsthand how to conduct combat operations.
"Grandpa (NOT) easy behavior" is a new work by Tim Hill, the screenwriter of "SpongeBob" and the director of "Alvin and the Chipmunks." The picture has no direct relation to the comedy "Grandfather of Easy virtue" about the crazy summer adventures of the same de Niro. This is a simple family comedy that really surprises the cast: in addition to the aforementioned de Niro, Uma Thurman and Christopher Walken.
After the failure of the Fantastic Four, which was seriously cut by the producers, director Josh Trunk returned to the author's cinema — perhaps even more author's than the one he once started with.
His "Capone" at first glance fits into the trend to rethink the gangster genre, stands on a par with Scorsese's "The Irishman" and, say, the documentary "The Mafia is not what it used to be."
But Trunk's view is much more radical: he tells the story of the legendary Al Capone, who, after earning neurosyphilis in prison, turned into an adult with the mind of a child and gradually lost this remaining sanity. A ridiculous carrot instead of a cigar, a parade of hallucinations and injuries popping up from somewhere in the subconscious — and all this with the eccentric performance of Tom Hardy, the main star of the film.
One of the best films of the last "Kinotavr— is a lively sitcom about the life of four friends in Moscow.
Director Alexey Kamynin made a film about himself and his friends, and this is clearly noticeable - both by the gravity of the sincerity of the "Melancholy", and by the warmth and at the same time purely friendly irony with which he looks at the characters and the crazy events that happen to them.
For once, a picture has appeared in Russian cinema that really makes sense of our reality in an extraordinary way and without frowning eyebrows: absurd and colorful, where the "bookmarks" turn out to be right next to the temple, and the police are steamed with glycine. And where young directors are ordered exclusively sports dramas, while they want to become the new Tarkovsky ones (for Kamynia, however, both are equally sad extremes).
James Franco has long established himself not only as a good actor, but also as a very strange director — who can shoot both an art house that no one needs, and quite a spectator "Would-be creator".
Now his younger brother, also an actor, Dave Franco, decided to try himself as a director. He has ambitions, however, more modest: "Who didn't hide" is a genre and simple movie, although with an interesting twist.
From such a pop version of mumblecore (Joe Swanberg wrote the script for a reason) about two couples who come to a country house and find out their difficult relationship, he transforms into a bloody slasher by the end. Nothing particularly original, but at the genre level everything is solved very decently here: there is intrigue, suspense, and not the most expected denouement.
A simple guy from Chukotka falls in love with a girl from an erotic video chat (played by Kristina Asmus) - but he doesn't know exactly how the webcam model service works, and reads her averaged emotions as responses to his awkward flirtations. Therefore, he decides that he urgently needs to go to Detroit for his love: fortunately, it's not so far to sail from Chukotka to the USA.
A year ago, we already had a film about how a guy from the outback fell in love with a webcam model - it was called "Sheena667", it was shot by Grigory Dobrygin. Why our cinematographers suddenly, obviously without collusion, simultaneously began to address the problem of ghostly Internet relationships is an interesting question and deserves a separate article
Now we can only say that Kitoboy understands this topic more interestingly - both because of the hero in the midst of puberty, and because of the interesting ethnography, a portrait of a truly deep Russia, a place between "Monday and Tuesday" that lives some kind of mysterious life.
A new film by Francois Ozon, one of the most interesting and unpredictable modern European directors — this time the Frenchman, apparently, decided to shoot the answer "Call me by your name".
16-year-old Alex is resting at a resort in Normandy in the mid-1980s: the guy is enjoying his youth and thinking for a long time about his future, going to work or continuing to study literature. The hero almost dies during a storm, but he is saved by the handsome David. The guys become friends, ride a moped and dance at night, but one day David asks Alex to promise that he will dance on his grave.
The film was supposed to be shown at the canceled Cannes Film Festival — instead, it was quietly released in France and, judging by the reviews of the press and the audience, charmed everyone with the atmosphere of the 80s and an unusual plot structure.
In a French province, three neighbors are trying to survive in a world consumed by social networks: Marie is being blackmailed by a sex tape, Bertrand is trying to save his daughter, a victim of cyberbullying, and Christine is worried about a low score in Uber.
The three of them declare war on the IT giants and plan to delete their personal data from their vaults.
One of the main hits of the Berlin Film Festival is a little boomer French comedy about how bad it is to live in our time, such a satire about the development of technology, but without the horrors of the "Black Mirror". It turned out well: the film by Benoit Delepin and Gustave Kervern was enthusiastically received in France.
Aaron Sorkin's second directorial work had to wait three years, but judging by the first reviews, the expectations were worth it.
"The Trial of the Chicago Seven" is based on a true story that happened in 1968: during the Democratic Convention there were mass protests against the Vietnam War — seven arrested later appeared in court on charges of conspiracy against the American government.
What was supposed to be a show case against pacifists quickly turned into a farce that the whole world was watching. Such stories are always relevant and topical — it will be interesting to see how Sorkin adapted it into a full-length film format and what he squeezed out of the magnificent cast.
One of the most interesting Russian authors, Mikhail Segal, after the restrained "Elephants can play football" shot, perhaps, his funniest work (even funnier than the already hilarious "Stories").
"Deeper!" is a film about a serious theater director who, by the will of fate, begins to shoot porn videos. But he is not interested in hack work, and simple sighs do not touch the soul: he introduces the Stanislavsky system into the shooting of adult films and invents "deep porn".
Then the absurdity only grows, and at some point from a comedy built on one joke (but wittily reinterpreted over and over again), "Deeper!" turns into an intelligent statement about art and the figure of the Author as a whole. In addition, here you can see one of the best roles of Alexander Pal — an already excellent actor, whom we see less often on the big screen than we would like.
"The King of Staten Island" is a new work by Judd Apatow, one of the main comedy directors of the noughties, the author of "The Forty-year-Old Virgin", "A Little Pregnant" and "Pranksters". Here he tells the story of Scott, a 24-year-old kid who lives with his parents and is still going through the death of his father, which happened a couple of decades ago.
Scott is played by stand-up comedian Pete Davidson, and the character is partially based on himself — which, I must say, is noticeable. Against the background of the same "Forty-Year-Old Virgin", this film feels like a more personal and restrained work, the humor typical for Apatow is diluted here by the drama of a man who hides a long-term depression behind the guise of a disorderly stoner.
It's a funny and sad movie that may lack some drive, but it's still worth appreciating.
Perhaps the kindest film of the year: Oksana Karas's biopic about Elizaveta Glinka (the wonderful role of Chulpan Khamatova), a doctor and founder of the Fair Aid Foundation, who treated and supported people who had nowhere else to go.
According to the plot of the film, Dr. Lisa (as her colleagues and patients call her) is forced to commit a crime: she steals morphine from the hospital for a cancer-stricken girl who is dying in excruciating pain, and because of bureaucratic delays she cannot get painkillers. Because of this, Lisa is being hunted by the Federal Drug Control Service in the person of the ambitious Kolesov.
"Doctor Lisa" may sound like the most manipulative movie in the world: cancer patients, old people, children, and everyone must be helped, and for one day, and the heroine is guided only by her boundless kindness, there is no other motivation for her in principle.
And that's why it's only more surprising how a film with a similar plot manages to intonationally and scenically deprive itself of any anguish and deliberate tearfulness. This is an infinitely touching movie, but never annoyingly melodramatic: I would be in Russia's "Oscar", "Doctor Lisa" would certainly be one of the main contenders — in a good way.
One of the main American indie films of the year is dedicated to Shirley Jackson, a writer known for the novel "The Ghost of the House on the Hill".
She makes a bet with her husband Stanley: they plan to destroy the marriage of a young family who will live in their house for several months. This is necessary in order for Shirley to overcome the writer's block and be able to finish a horror novel about a missing student.
Josephine Decker's film is not a typical biopic, but an attempt to tell about the author using his tools and corporate identity, so "Shirley" is an alarming movie about a creative crisis and madness. It's worth watching at least for the sake of the magnificent Elisabeth Moss in the title role.
Right before the US presidential election, the premiere of the sequel "Borat", one of the main comedies of the XXI century, will take place. The second part, judging by the talking, long title and the first promotional materials, will move away from criticism of American hospitality and focus entirely on politics: according to the plot, Borat Sagdiev is forced to disguise himself because of fame, but continue his journalistic activities.
It is reported that Sacha Baron Cohen wore a bulletproof vest on the set, but it seems to have been worth it: the interviews turned out to be so scandalous that they will cost some politicians their careers.
Apparently, we should expect something close to last year's series "Who is America?", but with a bias towards criticizing Republicans. It's a bit insulting, but what can I do: Americans have only elections on their minds right now.
Laura thinks she is lucky: she is a successful writer, she has two daughters and a caring husband. However, when he starts to linger and come home from work at night, Laura begins to suspect something is wrong.
The heroine decides to turn to the playboy father, with whom she has a strained relationship. He, being an expert in women, understands that the only way out of the situation is to follow her husband and catch him by surprise.
Night trips with her father in New York should not only save Laura's marriage, but also help her get to know her father better. Sofia Coppola shoots rarely and not always successfully: "The Last Straw", judging by the first reviews, is rather a passing work in her filmography, but still a very touching story about the relationship between father and daughter.
Obviously, the most scandalous domestic film of the year is "Outlo" by Ksenia Ratushnaya, a bright, daring and bold debut, which unexpectedly for everyone (including the creators) will be released in Russian.
There are two parallel stories in the film: the first one is dedicated to a modern love triangle — a freedom-loving girl and a gay schoolboy are fighting for the attention of a local gopnik. The second unfolds: in 1985, the general risks his career, family and life to be together with a transgender dancer.
To find out how the stories rhyme and whether they are related at all, you will have to watch the movie itself. And, as the first viewers report, there is something to watch: orgies, bondage, that's all.