“UNIAN has prepared a traditional selection of movie releases this week – both in Ukrainian cinemas and online.”, — write: www.unian.ua
The main film premiere this week in Ukraine will be the spectacular science fiction epic “Megalopolis” by the iconic Francis Ford Coppola, which the director himself calls “the project of his whole life.”
Also on the screens of Ukrainian cinemas you will be able to watch the western “To the End of the World” by Viggo Mortensen, the horror film “Bagman”, the Ukrainian documentary “Fragments of Ice” and several other novelties.
Meanwhile, online you can watch the horror film “Apartment 7A”, which became a prequel to the cult “Rosemary’s Baby” by Roman Polanski, and the action comedy “Lone Wolves” with Brad Pitt and George Clooney, which Ukrainian moviegoers did not wait for in cinemas (and can’t wait).
Read about all the movie news of the week in the UNIAN review.
- Megalopolis
- Until the end of the world
- Bagman
- Fragments of ice
- Karaoke
- Chantal in the Magic Kingdom
- Ozzy: Voice of the Forest
- Lone wolves
- Apartment 7A
MegalopolisMegalopolis (USA, 2024, Fantasy/Drama)
This week, a new film by the iconic Francis Ford Coppola (“Apocalypse Today”, “Rain People”, “The Godfather”, “Dracula”) will be released in Ukrainian cinemas, which the director himself calls “the project of his life”. The Hollywood legend worked on the film for more than 40 years, and he spent about 100-120 million dollars of his own money on its shooting. To raise such an amount, he even had to sell “a significant part of his wine empire” in Northern California.
In the center of the plot is the brilliant architect and artist Caesar Catilina, who knows how to stop time and see through dimensions. He dreams of creating the city of the future Megalopolis on the ruins of the abandoned Empire – the former New York, suffering from lawlessness, arbitrariness and corruption. But Catiline is a part of the Empire himself, and the question oppresses him: is her society worthy of salvation?
The main roles in the film were played by Adam Driver (Star Wars franchise, House of Gucci, Ferrari) and Natalie Emmanuel (Game of Thrones series, Fast and Furious franchise), and the main competitor of Caesar was played by Giancarlo Esposito (series Let loose shore”, “Guys”, “Mandalorian”).
Also involved in the film are Jon Voight (“Midnight Cowboy”, “The Showdown”, “Mission Impossible”), Dustin Hoffman (“Midnight Cowboy”, “Straw Dogs”, “Tootsie”), Aubrey Plaza (the series “Parks and Zones rest”, “Legion”, “White Lotus”), Shia LaBeouf (“Transformers”, “Nymphomaniac”, “Rage”), Jason Schwartzman (“Scott Pilgrim vs. Everyone”, “Marie Antoinette, “Full Moon Kingdom”) , Laurence Fishburne (“Apocalypse Now”, “The Matrix”, “John Wick”) and many others.
The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2024 and received mixed reviews – some called it a masterpiece, and others a confusing mess. However, everyone praised the film for its visual component.
The film currently holds a 6.2 out of 10 score on IMDb, while it has a 52% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. On Metacritic, the film received 60 points out of 100 from film experts, which corresponds to the characteristic of “mixed or average reviews”.
UNIAN also had time to see the new product at the pre-premiere screening – and here is our verdict. After watching the film, it is really difficult to form an unequivocal reaction to it – you have to think about it, and this is rather a good indicator. The film has an excellent visual part, thanks to which we really see an alternative world of the future, incredible costumes, an interesting world structure in general and a successful adaptation of the elements of Ancient Rome to modern times, most of the characters are very bright. The film is surprisingly humorous and not as overburdened with philosophy as one might expect. On the other hand, sometimes it may seem that there is too much mixed in it, which could be done without (but maybe we just didn’t understand it). Well, I was a little surprised that despite all the complexity of the film, its ending seemed very naive.
In general, we advise you to definitely watch the film and form your opinion about it, because “Megalopolis” is from the category of films that cannot be passed by.
Read interesting facts about the film in our separate article.
Until the end of the worldThe Dead Don’t Hurt (USA, UK, Mexico, 2023, Drama/Romance/Western)
The events of the tape take place in the 1860s in the USA. Desperate Vivienne Le Coudy embarks on a journey with the Danish migrant Holger Olsen to build a life together in a dusty town in the state of Nevada. However, the civil war is gaining momentum, so the man goes to war on the side of the Army of the North. Now his beloved must defend herself, which is not easy in a city controlled by cruel and corrupt men.
American actor Viggo Mortensen, best known to the Ukrainian audience for the role of Aragorn in the trilogy “The Lord of the Rings”, as well as the films “Justified Cruelty”, “Captain Fantastic” and “Green Book” acted as the director, screenwriter, producer, composer and performer of the main male role in the film. “.
By the way, Mortensen, known for his active support of Ukraine during the full-scale war unleashed by Russia since February 2022, came to the Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi in the summer of this year to personally present the film as part of the Mykolaychuk OPEN film festival.
The main female role in the film was played by the Luxembourgish actress Vicky Krieps, known for the films “Bergman’s Island”, “In Love in the Desert”, “Corset” and “Phantom Thread”.
The film currently holds a 6.4 out of 10 rating on IMDb, while on Rotten Tomatoes it has an 85% approval rating from critics with a “Certified Fresh” rating and a 68% approval rating from audiences. At the same time, on Metacritic, film experts rated it 70 out of 100 points, and the general audience gave it 6.1 out of 10 points, which in both cases corresponds to the characteristic of “generally positive reviews”.
Read interesting facts about the film in our separate article.
BagmanBagman (USA, 2024, horror)
The main character of the film is a man named Patrick, who spent his entire childhood in an incomprehensible fear. Now, in adulthood, the horrors from the past are returning, and this time something incomprehensible is not hunting him, but his son.
The main role in the tape was played by the star of the franchise “Hunger Games”, as well as the series “Sharp Cartridges” and “Daisy Jones and The Six” Sam Claflin. Antonia Thomas (TV series “The Good Doctor”), William Hope (“The First Avenger”) and others also starred in “Bagman”.
“Bagman” was directed by Colm McCarthy (the series “Sharp Cartridges”).
The film currently has a rating of 6.2 out of 10 on IMDb.
Fragments of iceFragments of Ice (Ukraine, Norway, 2024, documentary)
The film is a delicate hypnotic journey through the video archive of Mykhailo Stoyanov, a figure skater of the Ukrainian ensemble “Ballet on Ice”, who toured abroad in the 80s and 90s. Using these cassette recordings, his daughter recreates the unique story of growing up: her own, her family’s, and society in Ukraine in general.
The tape was edited from the home archives of the family of director Maria Stoyanova, for whom “Fragment and ice” became the feature-length debut after a series of short archival films. The cameraman of the film is considered to be the father of the director – Mykhailo Stoyanov, who is also the main character of the film.
Director and producer Maksym Nakonechny (“Butterfly Vision”) and documentary filmmaker Alina Horlova (“This Rain Will Never End”) joined the production team from the Ukrainian side.
Ukrainian sound engineer Vasyl Yavtushenko (“Butterfly Vision”, “Evrodonbass”, “Outside”) worked on the sound, and the director of the film’s editing was Viktor Onysko, who died in December 2022, defending Ukraine – the film was started in 2019, and ended already without Victor Editing director Maryna Maikovska (“We will not fade away”) took up his case.
The world premiere of the film took place as part of the international feature film competition at Visions du Réel 2024 in Switzerland. In Ukraine, “Fragments of Ice” received one of the main awards of the 21st DOCUDAYS UA International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, including the main award in the DOCU/UKRAINE competition.
The film currently has a rating of 7.4 out of 10 on IMDb.
KaraokeKaraoké (France, 2023, comedy)
In the center of the plot is an opera diva, whose reputation is destroyed by a scandalous video spread on the Internet. The depressed singer is chased by obsessive paparazzi, but the housekeeper who loves karaoke and is responsible for cleaning the luxurious room where the singer lives helps to get rid of them. Or rather, lived. After learning that in addition to losing her job, she was also kicked out of the house and withdrawn from the bank, the virgin is forced to take advantage of the housekeeper’s hospitality and help her fulfill her dream – to participate in the World Karaoke Championship in Japan.
The main role in the film was played by the famous French actress Michel Larocque (“My Life in Pink”, “Chameleon”).
The film currently has a rating of 5.3 out of 10 on IMDb.
Chantal in the Magic KingdomChantal im Märchenland / Chantal in Fairyland (Germany, 2024, comedy/adventure/fantasy)
The film is a spin-off of the hit (in the Motherland) German comedy trilogy “The Fallen Teacher” (2013, 2015, 2017), and its events revolve around one of the main characters of the original films – the troubled schoolgirl Chantal Akermann.
After finishing school, red-haired Chantal tries to find her place in life, dreaming of becoming a blogger. But all her ideas end in complete failure. But one day, the girl and her friend Zeynep find a magical mirror that helps them get into a fairy-tale world. There she becomes a princess and wreaks havoc for likes and viral content. However, everything goes awry when the portal collapses – and the girls have to find a way to get home.
The film stars Yella Haase and Gizem Emre, who reprise their roles from the original trilogy. Elias M’Barek, the actor of the main role in the series “Apostate Teacher”, also made a small cameo in the novelty.
The film was directed by Bora Dagtekin, who also directed and wrote the three original films.
The film currently has a rating of 4.6 out of 10 on IMDb.
Ozzy: Voice of the ForestOzi: Voice of the Forest (UK, France, 2024, Adventure/Animation)
This cartoon for the whole family tells the story of Ozzy, an orphaned orangutan who uses his unusual skills to save his forest and home from deforestation.
The film currently has a rating of 4.4 out of 10 on IMDb.
Lone wolvesWolfs (USA, 2024, Comedy/Action)
In the center of the plot of the film are two competing professional “cleaners” who are forced to join forces to hide the traces of a high-profile crime. However, unexpectedly for them, an ordinary business turns into a real mess.
For the actors of the main roles in the film, Brad Pitt and George Clooney, who are longtime friends in real life, this is not the first time they have worked together. Nevertheless, the last time they played together in the same film was in 2007 – in the crime comedy “Ocean’s Thirteen Friends”. Also this year, they both had small roles as voice actors in John Krazinski’s Imaginary Friends.
The film also stars Austin Abrams (The Walking Dead, Euphoria), Amy Ryan (Law & Order, The Office, Sugar) and Poorna Jagannathan (House of Cards, Big little lie”).
“Lone Wolves” was directed by John Watts, who previously directed the last three installments of “Spider-Man” with Tom Holland (2017, 2019, 2021), as well as the thriller “Police Car” with Kevin Bacon (2015).
The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September 2024, where it received rather positive (but not enthusiastic) reviews.
The film currently holds a 6.2 out of 10 rating on IMDb, while it has a 72% approval rating from critics and 63% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. At the same time, on Metacritic, film experts rated it 61 out of 100 points, and the general audience – 6.5 out of 10 points, which in both cases corresponds to the “generally positive reviews” characteristic.
A very interesting story has developed with this film – it was announced for distribution in Ukraine from September 19, 2024, even a Ukrainian trailer was released, which was actively played in cinemas before screenings of other films. However, it was never released on the big screens on the specified date – as the press service of the Ukrainian film distributor B&H film distribution later explained to UNIAN, the studio decided to release the film only online and in a limited release in the USA, so expect it in Ukrainian cinemas already not worth it
Meanwhile, it will be available to watch online on Apple TV+ from September 27.
Apartment 7AApartment 7A (USA, 2024, Horror/Psychological Thriller)
The film, which is a kind of prequel to Roman Polanski’s cult “Rosemary’s Baby”, tells the events shortly before and at the beginning of the original story. The story revolves around Terri Gionoffrio, a young dancer and ex-drug addict, who also rents an apartment in the same building as Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse, the heroes of the classic film. The girl makes friends with her new neighbor Rosemary, but for unknown reasons she throws herself out of the window. From the prequel, the audience learns how she was led to this by a couple of pensioners, Minnie and Roman Kastevet, who, along with other residents of the house, are members of a satanic cult that seeks to give birth to Satan’s child.
The main role in the new film was played by Julia Garner (series “Ozark”, “Fictional Anna”, “The Americans”).
The film currently holds a 48% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, while Metacritic has given it a score of 52 out of 100, indicating “mixed to average reviews”.
The film will be available online from September 27, 2024 on Paramount+.
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In addition, you can watch movies released in previous weeks, as well as the most interesting TV series of September 2024.
Marina Grigorenko