... infamous, abandoned nuclear plant hits theaters after protests that it sensationalizes a disaster that had tragic human consequences. But filmmaker Oren Peli, best known as the creator of the "Paranormal Activity" horror franchise, defends his movie by calling it a horror film meant to entertain and never offend. And he does have some support from outside groups. Still, as with many other films that use real events or people on which to base fictional horror stories — "The Texas...

... person to act unceremoniously. This is fine if your love is directed toward someone who loves you back, but if the object of your affection turns out to be 43-year-old actor Will Smith, you may be biting off more than you can chew. At the Karo Film movie theater on Friday night, Vitaly Serdyuk learned this the hard way. During the red carpet entrance and photo shoot for the “Men in Black 3” premiere, Serdyuk, a Ukrainian 1+1 television reporter, approached the actor and moved in for...

Beat Film Festival, which presents a range of documentaries on music and contemporary culture from all around the world, opened late Wednesday at the Gorizont movie house. Beat Film Festival, which presents a range of documentaries on music and contemporary culture from all around the world, opened late Wednesday at the Gorizont movie house. One of this year's highlights is Oscar-winning director Kevin McDonald's...

... 2011– Member of the board at MMK 2011– Member of the board at Eastern Promises Favorite book: “The Lord of the Rings” (1954-5) by J. R. R. Tolkien Reading now: Stephen King’s “11/22/63” (2011) and Ibn Battuta Movie pick: “Dr. Strangelove” (1964), directed by Stanley Kubrik Favorite restaurant: Maharaja, 2/1 Starosadsky Pereulok, Moscow Weekend getaway destination: Detroit There were traces of nostalgia for what Sucher likened to the "Mad...

... on bass and Anders Hangard on drums and has been described as "progressive, electronic- and rock-based." The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble, also known by the acronym TKDE, formed in 2000 as a project to compose new music for existing silent movies. Based in Holland, the band uses traditional instrumentations, including cello, trombone, violin, beats and vocals. SKIF was launched in memory of the late St. Petersburg musician Sergei Kuryokhin and aims to continue his music and performance...

... completely misdefined by Hollywood and are nothing like James Bond. "Pop culture is about two things — assassination and seduction. The real world is about information and communication. The sad thing is information and communication don't sell movies," Melton said. "James Bond wouldn't last four minutes in the real world." Melton, the author of several books on espionage including "Ultimate Spy," has spent decades gathering unusual spying gadgets from Germany, Russia...

... arrived at the Pushkin monument by noon and tried unsuccessfully to locate Bykov or Akunin. Before I could take another step, I was mobbed by people proffering books for me to sign. I at last struggled free to look for Bykov on the steps of the nearby movie theater, but he wasn't there. People once again came running from everywhere asking me to sign their books. One even held out a copy of "Atlas Shrugged" — the novel written by U.S. objectivist writer Ayn Rand who was persecuted in...

... the Taliban banned cinema, music and television outright during their five-year rule, deeming them un-Islamic and ending a rich tradition in a country that started showing films in the 1920s during the rule of King Amanullah Khan and shot its first movie in Lahore in 1951. Now Afghan directors are desperately trying to salvage what is left of their industry and its legacy but receive almost no support from the government or abroad. "We have international forces here and billions of dollars...

... out to extinguish a blaze. The equipment inside the fire station in the Moskva City business district is brand new, and there is even a guestroom where exhausted firefighters can plop down to watch Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" movie or feed fish in an aquarium. But the atmosphere here was tingling with uncertainty on a recent afternoon as the firefighters, emergency specialists, doctors and other personnel waited for news on who would replace their charismatic boss, Sergei...

... Zvyozd-Paveletskaya Thurs. to Wed. at 11:30 a.m., 12:40, 1:50, 3, 4:10, 5:20, 6:30, 7:45, 9, 10:15, 11:30 p.m. and 12:35 a.m. Dubbed. Rolan Thurs. to Wed. at 12:45, 2, 6:55 and 8:20 p.m. Dubbed. Tarbosaurus (Tarbozavr 3D, 2012): Han Sang Ho’s animated movie about a family of dinosaurs living in Korean land now known as Jeonnam Yeosu. Pyat Zvyozd-Paveletskaya Thurs. to Wed. at 10:05 a.m. Dubbed. The Artist (2011): The Oscar-winning black-and-white silent romantic comedy about an early 20th-century...

... Superclasico (2011): Ole Christian Madsen’s comedy about a wineseller on the brink of bankruptcy and divorce. Oktyabr Thurs. to Wed. at 12:40 and 7 p.m. In Czech; Russian subtitles. Tarbosaurus (Tarbozavr 3D, 2012): Han Sang Ho’s animated movie about a family of dinosaurs living in Korean land now known as Jeonnam Yeosu. Pyat Zvyozd-Paveletskaya Thurs. to Wed. at noon. Dubbed. The Artist (2011): The Oscar-winning black-and-white silent romantic comedy about an early 20th-century Hollywood...

... attended the Kazan Theater School for a short time before being sent to Moscow by teachers who saw in her a special talent. She first shot to fame with her first big film break as the lead in Valery Todorovsky's "Country of the Deaf" (1997), a movie about blind gangsters, and gained renown among European audiences when playing a Russian nurse in the acclaimed "Goodbye Lenin!" (2003), which explored the reunification of Germany. Her given name in the Tatar language means "dawn...