Avatar M.O.: the most anticipated movies of 2025
Last year was not very generous to good movies, critics struggled to find their top picks and found it difficult to name the best movie - 2024. It looks like things will be brighter in 2025, both in auteur and commercial cinema. In our review we give the dates of Russian premieres, if they are known, and world premieres, if nothing is clear about Russia, but experience shows that in a week or two all major releases appear on our screens. Films that do not have any date yet, we did not take, although we are also waiting for them, such as Guillermo del Toro's "Frankenstein". In the meantime, here's our recipe for how to make the most of the year while waiting for the third "Avatar."
"Bad Girl"
Jan. 16
A mix of Flaubert's "Madame Bovary" and Buñuel's "Daytime Beauty," this is the story of a middle-aged woman who is bored and uncomfortable with her perfect and successful husband. At night she secretly watches porn, and during the day she wears an expensive suit as a top manager of a large company. And when she meets a young man with psychopathic symptoms, a stormy romance begins, one of the rules of which is a complete secret from everyone. Nicole Kidman's benefit, expect our interview with the actress in time for the movie's release.
"Basil"
Jan. 23
Double Van Damme's "double whammy?" No, double Sasha Petrov! He plays two brothers, Vasya and Kolya. Both are orphans. One was adopted, taken to the U.S., where he grew up, got involved with drug dealers, went to Mexico and was captured by the police. The other stayed in Russia, a typical loser, but with a good soul. He has to go to Mexico and rescue his brother, which means he has to get involved in a criminal showdown, meet a beautiful wife of a drug lord and reconsider his views on life. Just now we watched "Emilia Perez" with a similar plot, now we can compare with a view from Russia on the same problems.
"Presence"
January 23
Steven Soderbergh, one of the most talented, prolific and uneven American directors, decided to tap into the new wave of horror that owns the minds of filmmakers and audiences. His five pennies is a story about a haunted house from the point of view of the ghost himself. Well, it's hardly going to be like "Casper" or "The Others," though it's hard to tell here.
Soderbergh is a master of stylization, but honestly, he hasn't had many big hits since "Under the Candelabra." Maybe it'll work out this time. And if not, he has another movie coming out in March. It is called "Black Bag", starring Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender, about the plot is known very little, it is clear only that it will be a spy thriller.
"What happened in the fall"
January 23
One of the most favorite French directors in Russia, Francois Ozon releases in our rental his new picture. By the way, with music by Russian composers Galperin. In one of the main roles - the muse of Ozon's early period Ludivine Sagné, and the movie this time, it seems, without any eccentricity and scandal, tells how one old lady got into trouble, and her acquaintance, just returned from prison, decided to help her.
"Most Valuable Cargo."
Jan. 30
Michel Hazanavicius' animated full-length feature is a fairy tale that takes on more and more realistic shape by the minute. An old man and an old woman lived once upon a time, they had no one, and suddenly a baby fell on them from the sky. They began to nurse him, loved him, but when the locals found out about the child, problems began. Because the baby had been thrown out the window of a wagon that was carrying Jews to a concentration camp, and although the locals were peaceful and good people in every way, they of course knew that the Jews were the enemy. An infant's life would come into question more than once, and it was as if none of this was anyone's fault.
"The Grand Tour
Feb. 13
If you don't know Miguel Gomes' work well, "Grand Tour" is a great way to start familiarizing yourself. An outstanding Portuguese director and one of the most important auteurs of the twentieth century, Gomes doesn't make movies very often, but each of these films becomes iconic. "Grand Tour" is a masterful travelogue about a groom running away from his bride on the pretext of a business trip to Asia, and her throwing herself after him. The movie consists of these two parallel journeys from a century ago, with Gomes colliding them with contemporary footage of the cities the characters visit. Certainly one of the highlights for cinephiles.
"The Prophet. The Story of Alexander Pushkin."
February 14
Yura Borisov in the image of Pushkin reads rap. This alone is already enough to wait for the movie with impatience, but let's add that Pushkin in general in the movie so far no one has not yet shown well. All the time it turned out to be a caricature. There is no certainty that it turned out and now, but since Borisov has already turned out to be the main artist of his generation, who, if not him, to play the main Russian poet?
"The summer will end"
February 27
The movie is included in all lists of the best pictures of last year (and in ours too), but it will be released only this year. And there, too, Yura Borisov. And it was shot by two winners of big international film festivals, the color of our author's cinema Maxim Arbugaev and Vladimir Munkuev. This is a story about a guy who after serving time returned to his family, found out that the family was completely destitute, robbed gold miners unsuccessfully and started a chain of big problems for himself and for others. The movie is inspired by Balabanov's work and is sure to appeal to those who missed "Brother" and "Kochegar".
"Snow White"
March 21
"Disney" continues to release movie versions of its classic films, and now is the moment when the studio dared to present to the public a feature film based on its very first and, perhaps, the best full-length cartoon. Nearly a century separates the two versions, and the excitement is impossible to convey. Snow White is played by Rachel Segler from another remake of the classic, West Side Story. The evil queen will be the beautiful Gal Gadot.
"Mickey 17"
April 18
Shooting of the new movie of the most successful Korean director Bong Joon-ho took place back in 2022, and why he procrastinated for so long is completely incomprehensible. Maybe the author of "Parasites" tried to get the movie into a good festival, but didn't get a bargain - or didn't finish in time, that's also possible. Starring Robert Pattison, he plays a man who went to colonize another planet and died 17 times, because his body can regenerate.
"Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning."
May 23
Is it really final? How will we live without Ethan Hunt, what reason will Tom Cruise have to jump on a motorcycle off a cliff or climb to the roof of the Burj Khalifa? It's so scary, it's scary to watch. And yet it's necessary. Tom Cruise, understandably, does not need to prove anything to anyone, and the Mission Impossible series has become a part of cinematic history. Still, he will surprise us again, hopefully not for the last time.
"Shroud"
May 29
David Cronenberg's quiet masterpiece. At the same time a testament and an attempt to look on the other side, in the afterlife, and literally. The protagonist, who looks suspiciously like Cronenberg, has built a business by allowing clients to monitor the decomposing corpses of their loved ones with the help of special cameras. And then his business is jeopardized. When the movie comes out, we'll release our interviews with Cronenberg and Vincent Cassel, stay tuned!
"28 Years Later"
June 28.
Danny Boyle returns to his gold mine that has provided him with a steady income for twenty-plus years. It's hard to say in advance what we'll get at the end, because Boyle's sequel to "On the Needle" didn't turn out so well, and in general Boyle hasn't had everything smooth and of high quality in recent years. But there is a suspicion that in this case, the producers watched carefully that the movie was on a level of quality at the level of past parts.
"The Battle of Bactan Crossing."
Aug. 8
Everything about this project inspires holy awe. The great Paul Thomas Anderson, who never has "just a movie", but always piece things, masterpieces that are then quoted for decades. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio Del Toro and Sean Penn. Anderson's is also the most expensive movie of his career. No one knows anything about the plot even in the slightest, everything is kept in the strictest secrecy. It is only known that DiCaprio will have a mustache in the frame. And this is enough to hurry the days until August - and further believe that the picture will quickly turn up and in Russian cinemas.
"Bride"
September 26
Maggie Gyllenhaal even in the last directorial work "Lost Daughter" showed that with drama she can handle at the highest level. Her variation on the "Frankenstein" theme stars Christian Bale, Jesse Buckley, Penelope Cruz, Peter Sarsgaard and Annette Benning, and the genre is defined as musical/horror/fantasy/drama/melodrama. These introductions are more than enough.
"Michael"
October 3
A potential participant in the Oscar race, a biographical movie about Michael Jackson everyone is interested in only one thing: how there will be solved moments with harassment, which became the reason for numerous scandals around the King. The musician will play his nephew Jaafar Jackson, which already inspires a lot of concern, because the role is complex, and the young man is a debut.
"Bugonia."
Nov. 7
Yorgos Lanthimos directs "Bugonia," and in the lead roles, as in the last film "Kindred Species," Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons. Stone is said to have shaved her head for the role. What else is known? That it's a loose remake of the Korean black comedy "Save the Green Planet!" and that 90s sex symbol Alicia Silverstone will be in the cast. But under the brand "Lanthimos" go only masterpieces, so there is nothing to guess - we must humbly wait for the premiere.
"Avatar: Fire and Ashes"
December 19.
The third "Avatar." Words are definitely unnecessary here.
