Premieres: 03/14/2013

"The Mind-blowing Fantasies of Charles Swan III" (directed by Roman Coppola).

The son of Francis Ford Coppola, brother of Sofia Coppola, colleague and close friend of Wes Anderson, with whom he wrote “Train to Darjeeling” and “Moonrise Kingdom,” Roman Coppola does not give up trying to establish himself as an independent creative unit. It’s not going well yet, and Roman has already gained a reputation as the most unlucky member of the famous family. And this despite the fact that he has, for example, an Oscar nomination this year for the screenplay of Moonrise Kingdom. Feel the level of intra-family competition here! You wouldn't wish it on your enemy. After all, he is doomed to eternal comparisons not with anyone, but with his father, who is a classic of world cinema, and his sister, who is one of the leading independent directors of our time, favored by critics and all kinds of festivals.

Perhaps, if Roman did not have such eminent relatives, critics would have been more loyal to his new work with an indecently long title, which, with your permission, I will shorten to “Charles Swan”. And so - devastating reviews, accusations of bad taste, bad sense of humor and empty formalism. In addition, it looks very similar (including from the trailer) that Coppola Jr. is trying too hard to imitate Wes Anderson's style, which is by definition unique and inimitable. On the other hand, well, this is not the worst guideline. Why not, actually? But here you need a certain sense of tact, the ability to balance on the edge, subtlety - so as not to completely fall into stylistic plagiarism. If Roman can display these qualities, then "Charles Swan" could turn out to be a very digestible film. At least I have hope for this.

But what (or rather, who) Coppola absolutely stole from Anderson was Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray, without whom it’s hard to imagine Wes’s films. Well, Charlie Sheen was invited to play the main role, who seemingly disappeared forever in the abyss of scandalous chronicles. But here it is, a chance to prove to the whole world that you are still worth something as an actor.

"The Elusive" (directed by Dan Bradley).

In fact, this is a remake of the brutal 80s trash "Red Dawn", which told the story of the Soviet invasion of the United States. Actually, even now in the original version the film bears the same name - Red Dawn. Only now the American civilian population is being attacked not by the Russians (oddly enough), but by the North Koreans (interestingly, they were originally Chinese, but almost in post-production the authors made such a castling, it is clear for what reasons). According to the trailer, everything is very reminiscent of the Call of Duty Modern Warfare video game series (in one of the parts there was also an attack by adversaries on a quiet American town). This is probably what it will look like in general. Vile enemies, desperate young Americans, a lot of patriotic pathos, shooting, explosions, little logic and common sense. But here you need to understand in advance what you are getting into. This, like 30 years ago, is trash, and not a serious military action movie. Be careful.

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson and Josh Peck.

“I Give It a Year” (directed by Dan Mather).

A romantic comedy on the well-worn theme of the first year of marriage of a young couple. Not so long ago, Judd Apatow’s team did not look very successfully into this territory in the film “Knocked Up” (although there was a very sweet Emily Blunt). Now the British, led by Dan Mather, who worked with Sacha Baron Cohen on “Borat” and “Bruno,” are trying to master it. That is, in this case you can count on provocative humor. However, British humor is a rather specific thing in itself. Perhaps this will bring some fresh air into the familiar balance of power. For now, let's not write this film off. It can both unpleasantly disappoint and pleasantly surprise.

Starring: Rafe Spall, Rose Byrne, Anna Faris and Simon Baker.

"Alarm Call" (directed by Brad Anderson).

A new thriller from the director of "The Machinist". This time it's about a 911 call center employee (Halle Berry) who is trying to help a kidnapped young girl (Abigail Breslin, the chubby girl from Little Miss Sunshine). An additional intrigue is that due to her frivolity, another girl once died at the hands of a maniac in a similar situation. And now the main character, among other things, is also overcoming her own psychological problems caused by feelings of guilt, etc., etc. We hope, of course, for the best, but Halle Berry hasn’t starred in anything decent for so long (“Cloudy.” atlas" is an exception) that we have almost stopped believing in it. It is up to her and Brad Anderson to try to change such a sad trend.

"For Marx..." (director - Svetlana Baskova).

New Russian political cinema, as some domestic critics have already dubbed it “For Marx...”. Well, this is a serious request. Moreover, considering that on a global scale there are very few good political films, and even in Russia, with its well-known specifics, this cinematic layer has remained completely unexplored in recent years.

In the film by Svetlana Baskova, the plot focuses on the confrontation between the workers of a certain industrial enterprise and the managers of this enterprise. A topic that, in my opinion, has never been raised by anyone in modern Russian cinema. Workers, trade unions, oligarchs, top managers, capitalism, democracy, relations of power and subordination - an unplowed field opens up for Baskova. It will be interesting to see what she got out of it.

"28 Bedrooms" (directed by Matt Ross).

A melodrama with a slight touch of eroticism about two lovers who met by chance in a hotel, after some time they also met by chance in another hotel, after which, in fact, off they went. The talented Chris Messina and Marin Ireland play out the plot for two. Much (if not everything) will depend on their performance in terms of assessing the final result. This is more of an actor's film than a director's film. I can say that I personally found the project interesting.

"Sex and nothing more" (director - Sean Garrity).

A comedy about understanding the intricacies of sexual pleasures. No matter how stupid it may sound. However, “sex Yoda” is still funny.

"Timeless. The Ruby Book" (directed by Felix Fuchssteiner).

German fantasy about time travel. As is fashionable now, with a girl as the central character.

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