Operation Shu: A New Year's Cabbage patch against the restored Jarmusch

A film collection of jokes and jokes on the subject of Soviet classics about Shurik and more. Three cats who understand the long history of their parents' relationship. A snowman who, together with a little girl, saves the New Year from an evil Blizzard. A black comedy starring the star of The Adventures of Bill and Ted. Jim Jarmusch's debut film, which reached domestic distribution 45 years after its creation. Izvestia recommends releases that are worth going to the cinema for this weekend.

"The incredible adventures of Shurik" 18+

Directors: Roman Kim, Misha Semichev Starring: Timur Batrutdinov, Marina Kravets, Laysan Utyasheva, Pavel Volya, Olga Buzova, Philip Kirkorov, Larisa Dolina, ANNA ASTI, Sergey Lazarev

Should I make a New Year's skit on the theme of classic Soviet comedies to show it to the chimes? This is definitely nothing new, it's been done a million times. But to dare to release your New Year's cabbage patch three weeks before the TV broadcast in wide distribution is already something new. There is audacity in this, there is confidence in the quality of the product, it is impossible not to respect this decision.

It is important to understand that we are not talking about a remake of "The Adventures of Shurik." It's all mixed up at once: "Mary Poppins," "Office Romance," "Mimino," and "Prisoner of the Caucasus"—and in every scene the superstars, especially Philip Kirkorov, look unexpectedly funny in a parody of "Gentlemen of Fortune." Of course, it looks great at the New Year's table. How it will be perceived on a sober head, it will be possible to find out at the end of the weekend. But by the end of Thursday, the new Shurik is in first place and has overtaken Volchok. This means that even without alcohol, people want to relax and remember their favorite movies that they know by heart. And an 18+ rating didn't hurt.

"Three cats. Time travel" 0+

Director: Alexey Gorbunov Starring: Nyusya Glushinskaya, Lev Entelis, Svetlana Kuznetsova

Today it's hard to believe that once upon a time "Three Cats" was perceived as a simple analogue of "Peppa Pig". In the ten years of its existence, the series has turned into an independent large franchise, and quite an international one, and "Three Cats" has been among Netflix's children's hits for quite a long time, no worse than "Masha and the Bear". And in Russia, both series quietly coexist together on TV screens and tablets in every family. The episodes of the 9th season of "Peppa" have just been released, and here is a new gift for the kids — a fresh full meter about three cats and one kitty.

The plot of "Time Travel" is based on the fact that the parents of the main characters are celebrating their wedding anniversary. This becomes an occasion for the children to better understand the history of their family, and generally compare their own feelings with the memories of past generations of the family. Perhaps, after watching, the children will ask their parents a lot of sensitive questions, so it's better to prepare in advance and choose words that will not undermine the authority of the elders and at least say something to the younger ones.

"Family business", 18+

Director: Alex Winter Starring: Josh Gad, Kaya Scodelario, Anthony Carrigan, Billie Lourd, Alex Winter

Alex Winter is a cult figure in the geek community. In the era of video recorders, comedies about The Adventures of Bill and Ted, starring Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, were very popular. The last attempt to resurrect this franchise was quite recently, in 2020, and Reeves kindly agreed to participate in it. It turned out to be sluggish, lifeless, boring, but the fans watched it anyway, wept over the lost freshness, the riot of eyes and the flood of feelings.

The "Family Business" has the same problem. The brother and sister are engaged in hiding the traces of a heinous crime, getting bogged down little by little in atrocities of an increasing scale. There are more and more corpses, but such a movie needs more hooliganism, obscene jokes, and political correctness — it needs the carnival that "Bill and Ted," "Weekend at Bernie's," "Ace Ventura," "Dumb and Dumber," "Naked Pistol" and other classics of the late 80s had - early 90s. There is a feeling here that the authors are too mature, and the genre doesn't really like that.

Dancing in tinsel: "The Nutcrackers" in theaters and "Dudes" at the box office

The main cultural events of the week in the Izvestia collection

"The Snowman" 6+

Director: Alexander Babaev Starring: Ekaterina Temnova, Karina Razumovskaya, Dmitry Chebotarev, Polina Maksimova

Going out on the same weekend with the Three Cats, even though you're designed for about the same audience, is a challenge, especially if you don't have a brand, a super budget, or powerful media support behind you. But there is a Snowman who has come to life on the screen, a Blizzard witch and a girl who must save Santa Claus and the New Year from a terrible disaster.

This is quite a modest movie story, which is more appropriate on the small screen and ensures that children will not be afraid, will not cry, will not have nightmares after that. In the cinema, such films are an opportunity to put a grandmother and her grandchildren in a place for an hour and a half while their parents go shopping. Grandma may not like Zootopia, but here everything will definitely be without relapses. On the other hand, it is in such small films that you especially appreciate good acting, the same Dmitry Chebotarev, who turned out to be very precise and attentive to details in the role of dad.

"Vacation without end" 16+

Director: Jim Jarmusch

On January 1, 2026, cinephiles all over Russia are waiting with bated breath. On this day, "Father Mother Sister Brother," the film for which Jim Jarmusch received the first Golden Lion in his career, will be released. The most important hit of the author's cinema this season. And it's right that before that they decided to warm up the audience a little by releasing the restored Jim Jarmusch debut, filmed in 1980.

Today, this film is an absolute classic, it's hard to find a person who is interested in cinema, but at least he hasn't heard of this picture, and Jarmusch's fans have long watched it to the holes. Moreover, he is one of the simplest, and his character, a young idiot, loitering around Manhattan in search of meetings and adventures, immediately arouses sympathy. He has the time, he doesn't have the money, but he definitely has somewhere to go. By the way, this movie, shot almost for free, should definitely be watched by those who believe that you can't make a real movie without a budget. Jarmusch proved back then that this is exactly how it is done.