The Witches

The works of Roald Dahl, the British storyteller known for his black humor, are already familiar to movie lovers: the writer's books have formed the basis of many films.

The most popular of them, perhaps, was Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory".

In 1990, Nicholas Rogue's The Witches, also based on the works of Dahl, was released.

Now, 30 years after the premiere, Robert Zemeckis ("Back to the Future", "A Christmas Story") offers his reading of this story.

Among the screenwriters and producers of the film is Guillermo Del Toro, who wanted to direct it himself.

The Witches are set in the late 1960s.

The boy (Jazir Bruno) and his grandmother (Octavia Spencer) arrive at the resort, where at the same time the Greatest Most Important Witch (Anne Hathaway) collects other sorceresses.

The witches must discuss a plan to destroy all children in the world.

Empire author Nick De Semlien notes that The Witches has more comic than scary.

"The film introduces its main characters on a grand scale, but in the end it is unlikely to be able to scare anyone," writes the critic.

He also notes that filmmakers follow the book, but bring nothing new to the tape.

Brian Tallerico of Roger Ebert.com also considers "The Witches" not Dahl's best work - and Zemeckis, in his opinion, could not enrich it in any way.

Although the film is about children, it is recommended for viewers from 12 years old. 

"How Nadya went for vodka"

Sisters Valya (Evgenia Solyanykh) and Nadya (Nadezhda Igoshina) did not have a chance to meet the love of their lives, so they stick together and sometimes conduct philosophical discussions.

The heroines are not alike: the youngest is open and windy, the older is responsible and serious.

Alexey (Evgeny Tsyganov) is interested in the strong drinks declared in the name.

He comes with Nadia from the nightclub.

It turns out that Aleksey is married to a wealthy lady (Yana Troyanova), but does not have tender feelings for her.

The sisters first fight for the attention of the hero, and then decide to destroy his marriage together.

This alignment of forces is reminiscent of the situation from Anna Melikyan's Mermaid, where the character of Tsyganov also found himself in the center of the battle of women from different social strata who sought his favor.

The director of the new project was Vladimir Mirzoev.

Previously, he directed such films as "The Man Who Knew Everything" and "Boris Godunov".

"The Godmother" (La Daronne)

Both the title of the film and its slogan - "Catch her if you can" - refer to the classics of crime movies.

In the new French painting, this theme is rethought with traditional lightness and humor.

Portefeu Solitaire (Isabelle Huppert) works in the police as a translator from Arabic - she helps law enforcement officers and suspects understand each other as part of operational work, and also intercepts telephone conversations of suspects.

However, when the heroine accidentally becomes aware of the upcoming delivery of a large consignment of drugs, she neglects her professional duty and decides not to confront the dealers, but to lead them.

Previously, the tape was shown at the Alpe d'Huez International Comedy Film Festival.

"Widow"

The premiere of the debut tape directed by Ivan Minin was scheduled for 2017, then postponed to the second half of 2018.

Then the picture was called "Forest.

Cover".

Minin himself came up with the idea to make a film about volunteers who are looking for missing persons.

It is interesting that the plot based on real events uses the motives of pagan mythology.

According to the plot, a team of volunteers goes in search of the missing boy.

The heroes enter the forest, where, according to legend, the spirit of the Lame Widow is found - a witch who has long been dead.

Local residents are sure that meeting with the Widow promises death.

Superstition is reinforced by the fact that people die in the forests under mysterious circumstances.

Filming took place in the Leningrad region.

“In order to achieve a certain documentary character, we decided to assemble a part of the cast of professional rescuers and ethnographers, for whom search work is a daily routine,” said one of the film's producers, Ivan Kapitonov. 

One of the central roles in the film was played by debutante Victoria Potemina.

Interestingly, she also participated in the writing of the script.

The Dark and the Wicked

Brian Bertino's mystical horror ("Strangers", "Monsters exist") has already been tested by the audience of the Tribeca, Fantasia and Sitges festivals.

Professional critics greeted the release warmly: according to the calculations of the Rotten Tomatoes website, more than 90% of the reviews are positive.

The film is set on a farm in Texas.

Its owners are an elderly couple.

The children of the old people, Michael and Louise, come home to say goodbye to their dying father.

When the mother of the family commits suicide, the heroes find her diary and a bag with her crosses.

It turns out that during her lifetime the woman had a difficult relationship with religion (according to the local priest), so a mysterious and sinister force took over the house.

For a week, the life of a brother and sister is filled with frightening omens and paranormal phenomena.

By the way, for the shooting, Brian Bertino singled out a farm that belongs to his family.