The return of Commissioner Maigret to the big screen, the survival of passengers on a liner among sharks with Aaron Eckhart, and a new body horror a la "The Substance." We tell you what you can watch in theaters this weekend.

"Eat. Pray. Lose Weight" (Saccharine)

A young girl named Hana (Midori Francis) is a medical student. In between lectures and practice, she, like most of her peers, scrolls through social media and dreams of an ideal body. One day she finds a recipe for 100% weight loss, but for that, she needs to use the ashes of the dead. Hana decides to experiment, and after that, her life turns into a nightmare.

Another body horror, repeating the ideas of "The Substance" by Coralie Fargeat, has reached wide release. The film was directed by Australian filmmaker Natalie Erika James, who had previously released the quite tolerable "Apartment 7A" — a dark prequel to "Rosemary's Baby" by Roman Polanski. Judging by her ambitions, James is clearly aiming for the big leagues of horror, and she seems to be succeeding. The press was impressed by the viscous anxiety and visually repulsive antagonists, but the muddled plot and uneven pacing did not allow the film to realize its stated potential.

"Deep Water" (Deep Water)

The co-pilot of a plane flying from Los Angeles to Shanghai, Ben (Aaron Eckhart), is forced to make an emergency landing of the airliner right in the ocean. In the plane crash, several people survived, including Ben himself, but the local fauna is teeming with bloodthirsty sharks, and a happy rescue turns into a new catastrophe.

Veteran of the action genre Renny Harlin, whose best years came with "Die Hard 2" and "The Long Kiss Goodnight," continues to actively make films even at a respectable age. In recent years, he has released the "Strangers" trilogy, and then — "The Bricklayer" with Aaron Eckhart. In "Deep Water," he again turns to the shark theme, already familiar from his "Deep Blue Sea," but this time he combines it with the idea of a "disaster within a disaster." Unfortunately, his sure hand let the venerable director down this time: the film limps in all aspects, and the inexpressive visual effects and poorly developed sharks become the anchor that finally takes the film underwater.

"Lucky Strike" (Lucky Strike)

The Ardennes Offensive. American officer John Castle (Scott Eastwood) is seriously wounded and cut off from the main forces by the enemy. Of the entire unit, only he remains alive. His only chance is to make his way back to his own, relying only on an old radio transmitter. Ahead lies a dangerous path through enemy territory, where every step could be his last.

Director Rod Lurie, who made "Lucky Strike," has long and closely worked with the military theme, exploring its place in American history. He has "The Outpost," "Straw Dogs," "Hell on Wheels" to his name: all of these are solid, quality genre films that the director can be proud of. The lead role in "Lucky Strike" went to Scott Eastwood, whose portrait resemblance to his father and organicity in a military uniform became an undoubted casting success.

The screenplay was written by Mark Friedman, known for the films "Flyboys" and "The Jacket." Lurie, as is his custom, did not create a product out of thin air, but brought in military experts and spent hours studying chronicles of World War II. What ultimately turned out better — the thorough preparation or the on-screen execution — can be assessed on the big screen.

"Maigret and the Murder in High Society" (Maigret et le mort amoureux)

A Parisian apartment of a former ambassador becomes the scene of a crime, and Commissioner Maigret (Denis Podalydès) must unravel a tangle in which the fates of the French aristocracy are intertwined. Behind the external polish and impeccable reputation of the deceased, love intrigues, money wars, and long-standing secrets are revealed, which many would have preferred to leave in the past forever.

The return of Commissioner Maigret to the big screen looks almost like an archaeological find: the antediluvian detective was carefully dusted off, freshened up, and released into the world. The last adaptation — with Gérard Depardieu in the lead role — was released in 2022, and since then, the inspector from Quai des Orfèvres has had time to miss the audience. Over the years, he has been portrayed by Charles Laughton, Jean Gabin, and in Soviet cinema — Boris Tenin and Armen Dzhigarkhanyan. The new film "Murder in High Society" entrusted the role to Denis Podalydès.

In an era of universal fascination with whodunits, the return of the cult detective looks not like a nostalgic gesture, but a quite timely step. Even if for some these stories are long-forgotten pulp fiction, and the younger generation did not even catch their former popularity. However, the appearance of Maigret on screen puts him on equal footing with Benoit Blanc and re-heats the public's interest in a genre where the main thing is not weapons, but logic.

And what are you planning to see in theaters this weekend? Share in the comments!