"Mr. Knockout"
The tape "Mr. Knockout" is based on the real story of the formation of the Soviet boxing champion Valery Popenchenko.
He not only won the championship in the USSR, Europe and the Olympic Games, but also became the first Soviet boxer to receive the Val Barker Cup.
The film touches on some of these events, such as winning the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Artyom Mikhalkov, director of the film, admits that he got the desire to film the story of the famous boxer after reading Popenchenko’s memoirs “And forever the fight ...”.
During the production of the film, the filmmakers worked closely with Popenchenko's relatives - widow Tatyana Igorevna and son Maxim.
According to the director, he was interested in Popenchenko's life outside the book pages.
“When I began to read, I realized that there really is no movie, a full-length movie about such a great, legendary boxer.
And he was right, there really wasn’t a movie about him, and after that we contacted the authors, our screenwriters Presnyakovs, and they were tasked by me to work this out, this story, and write the script, ”said Mikhalkov.
The Soviet boxer in the sports biopic was played by Viktor Khorinyak, known for the film "The Last Hero" and the TV series "Kitchen".
Another central role - coach Grigory Kusikyants - went to Sergei Bezrukov.
"Pleasure" (
Pleasure
)
The world premiere of the drama "Pleasure" took place in January 2021 at the Sundance Film Festival.
Since then, the film has received eight prizes at various events.
Among them are the Gothenburg Festival, the Deauville American Film Festival and the Art Film Fest, as well as the Online Film Critics Society and the Gold Bug Awards.
In the center of the plot is the girl Bella (Sofia Kappel), who dreams of becoming famous in films for adults.
She moves to Los Angeles and faces the ugly side of working in the porn industry.
Critics rated "Pleasure" highly: on Rotten Tomatoes, the "freshness" rating of the tape is 87%.
In particular, the authors note Kappel's game.
The film was directed by Ninja Tyuberg, whose filmography currently consists of the collection "The Best Erotic Short Films" (2019) and a series of other short films.
In 2013, the director's debut film of the same name ("Pleasure") premiered, for which Tuberg received an award at the Cannes Film Festival.
© Shot from the film "Pleasure"
"Dads"
This picture is made up of four short stories from five different directors: "Vacation" by Anna Matison, "Family Ties" by Karen Oganesyan, "One Day" by Sergei Yudakov, as well as "Doctor" by Armen Ananikyan and Mikhail Pogosov.
It is known that during the production of the tape, its creators were inspired by real events.
Each short story has its own plot, but all of them are connected with the theme of father's love.
For example, "Doctor" tells the story of a talented surgeon performed by Dmitry Nagiyev.
The medic helps everyone in need, but cannot deal with personal problems.
The short story "Vacation" is dedicated to the relationship between an adopted child and his father (Sergey Bezrukov).
In two other stories, the roles of dads were played by Yuri Stoyanov and Vadim Demchog.
Mark Bogatyryov, Mikhail Galustyan, Igor Zhizhikin and Valeria Kudryavtseva also joined the cast.
"Cyrano" (
Cyrano
)
The dramatic musical Cyrano is based on the play in verse Cyrano de Bergerac, written by Edmond Rostand in 1897.
This movie is a reimagining of the love triangle from the original.
The protagonist, Cyrano de Bergerac (Peter Dinklage), skillfully wields words and swords, but believes that he is not worthy of his beloved, the beautiful Roxanne (Haley Bennett), because of his unattractive appearance.
The girl, in turn, is in love with a handsome man named Christian (Kelvin Harrison).
Critics especially praise Dinklage's performance.
Experts point to the Game of Thrones star's "combination of composure and vulnerability, playfulness and bluntness" and note how the actor "saves the day by demonstrating life's sophistication, mockery and dark wit in the face of the vicissitudes of fate."
The film has a freshness rating of 88% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Based on the emotionally authentic performances of the three lead actors, this Cyrano is sure to touch your soul.
It's an old-fashioned film that exposes all inner feelings, even when the protagonist has to hide them," writes Time Out author Cathy Brennan.
The director of the tape was Joe Wright, known for the films "Atonement" and "Pride and Prejudice" with Keira Knightley.
The director is far from being the first to take on the play by the French playwright.
The list of earlier adaptations included the film by Jean-Paul Rappneau with Gerard Depardieu in the title role, the Soviet film by Naum Birman with Grigory Gladiy and Olga Kabo, as well as a new vision of the drama from director Fred Schepisi with Steve Martin.
Claustrophobic Begins (
The Bunker Game
)
The horror film "Claustrophobes: The Beginning" was the debut of Roberto Zazzara as a director and screenwriter, in earlier films the cinematographer acted as a cameraman.
The roles in the film were played by Gaia Weiss (The Maze Runner) and Lorenzo Riquelmi (Marco Polo).
The plot revolves around a costume party game that takes place in an old bunker.
At one time, the Romans built a temple of the underground god Soranus in its place, and during the Second World War, the Nazis built a shelter there.
During the role-playing game, a series of mysterious incidents occur, causing the event to be cancelled.
One of the organizers of the game goes missing, and his colleagues are going to investigate the disappearance.
Soon the heroes find themselves in a trap.
The members of the group realize that they are being played with a twisted game of survival.
Shadow Play (Blacklight)
FBI agent Travis Block (Liam Neeson) learns that one of the organization's programs includes the elimination of ordinary citizens.
In an attempt to understand what is happening, the hero turns to a journalist (Emmy Raver-Lampman) for help.
At the same time, the agent's loved ones are in danger.
Block has to save his family and expose the agency.
It is noteworthy that film experts and amateurs evaluate the film differently: the audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes is 80%, while critics assigned it only 8% "freshness".
One reviewer notes that the film is "a rusted trash can full of mismatched themes, concepts, poses, conventions, stilted acting, disparate clichés, and stagnant bits of dialogue from other films."
Critics scold the script: in their opinion, the tape is not able to hook the audience.
However, among the pluses, experts highlight the game of Liam Neeson.
“This melancholy, clichéd action movie tells the story of a moral man contemplating retirement as his past catches up with him, his sore legs and knees, too.
But Neeson is still on top,” says Thelma Adams of AARP.
The film was directed by Mark Williams ("The Hunter from Wall Street"), this is his third work as a director.
With the lead actor Liam Neeson, he already crossed paths on the set: the actor played a professional bank robber in Williams' action movie The Honest Thief.