What to watch in the movies this week: the story of the rise and fall of Robbie Williams, an action movie with a Hollywood superstar and a marriage scam from France

On January 9, a biopic about one of the most popular singers of our time, Robbie Williams, will be released in Ukraine. Also, a Ukrainian documentary composed of unique archival footage and a French melodrama about a marriage scam.

There is also an action movie with Hollywood superstar Gerard Butler and two animated films for family viewing. OBOZ.UA will tell you about six new releases that are already on the big screen.

Better Man

The film is based on the true story of the incredible rise, dramatic fall and impressive return to the stage of British pop star Robbie Williams. Early fame in the band Take That, the beginning of his career as a solo singer, the luxurious life of a millionaire, stadiums of fans. A difficult relationship with his father and a wonderful one with his mother and grandmother, who actually raised him. A destructive lifestyle in order to hide insecurities; addictions to alcohol, drugs and medications; problems in his personal life, and finally, a deep rethinking of his present.

The film was directed by Australian film director and visual effects specialist Michael Gracie, known for The Greatest Showman, Pink: All I Know So Far". Gracie also produced Rocketman, a film about the life of legendary musician Elton John.

Most of the film was shot in Australia, where we built a special studio for the work. Some events were filmed in the UK and Serbia. The role of Robbie Williams is played by actor Jonno Davis, who will be presented as a monkey throughout the film. The idea came to the director after numerous conversations with Williams. When he was talking about his concert life in a popular youth band, he said the following phrases: "I'm dancing in the background like a monkey" or "I was completely out of shape, but they dragged me on stage to perform like a monkey." The director decided to show the singer as he sees himself.

Williams the Monkey was created by Wētā FX, a company that has already worked on Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, Caesar in Planet of the Apes, and avatars in Avatar. Using modern technologies, the developers managed to capture the singer's facial expressions, manners, and movements, which were later reproduced by the actor who played the main character.

Robbie Williams' songs in the film are performed by him: the singer re-recorded his biggest hits in new versions especially for the movie. During some scenes, the creative team involved Williams in the filming - in particular, during the filming of the Take That show at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, where 30,000 people were present - their excitement was due to Robbie's appearance on stage. This episode was one of the most complex and large-scale in the film, involving more than 400 people on the creative team and 68 cameras.

In order to recreate Williams' legendary concert at the Knebworth in August 2003, when a record-breaking audience of 375,000 people watched his performance for three nights in a row, the director decided to combine archival footage with filming.

Fragments of Ice

The feature debut of Ukrainian director Maria Stoyanova. The film consists of archival footage of her father, a figure skater with the Ukrainian Ballet on Ice ensemble. The athlete toured abroad extensively and captured on film both life during perestroika and the collapse of the Soviet Union, his own world, and the life of his family. The film is dedicated to the film's editor, Viktor Onyshko, who did not have time to finish the project. The man volunteered to join the Armed Forces and died in December 2022 during the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Den of Thieves 2: Panthera

An American action movie by writer and director Christian Gudegast. It is a sequel to the 2018 film The Hunt for Thieves. The superstar and sex symbol of several generations Gerard Butler and O'Shea Jackson Jr. have returned to their roles in the film. This time, the movie will be set on the Cote d'Azur in Marseille, where one of the largest diamond exchanges in the world is located. Los Angeles sheriff Nick O'Brien, who is known as Big Nick, pursues his opponent Donnie Wilson and becomes part of a gang that plans a daring robbery.

L'heureuse élue

The protagonist of the French film has considerable debts, so he is forced to ask his rich parents for help. To get the money, he comes up with a scheme: he says he needs the money to get married to his girlfriend, the model Emily. The newlyweds are invited to Morocco to meet the family. Meanwhile, the bride-to-be cancels the trip to the airport, and the guy decides to invite a taxi driver instead.

The Sloth Lane

An Australian animated film about a family of sloths who move to a metropolis after a hurricane destroys their home and restaurant in their hometown. They open a food truck, which quickly becomes very popular thanks to the great food and the family members who grow the business at an incredible rate. But their success makes their competitors jealous: one morning it turns out that the family's unique recipe book has been stolen.

Bernard: Mission Mars

Another animated film - this time from Chinese animators. The fantastic adventure film tells the story of Bernard the polar bear, a character that is well known to local children, whose animated series has been successfully broadcast for over 20 years. Work on the current cartoon lasted five years. In the story, Bernard, who combines curiosity and clumsiness in a catastrophic way, dreams of proving to everyone that he is worth something. The bear wants to become a special agent, but no one believes that he can do it. Bernard sneaks onto a spaceship and heads to Mars.

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