Kwon Sang-woo as vengeful Go master in ‘The Divine Move: Ghost Move’

The 2014 film “The Divine Move” about a Go master was a brutal, violent film about vengeance and gambling, shattering any expectations one might have had about watching the millennia-old board game that is played completely silently with minimal movement. “The Divine Move: Ghost Move,” an upcoming spinoff and prequel, stars Kwon Sang-woo as the mysterious “Gwi-soo,” or “ghost move,” whose presence was never fully explored in the first film.In the n

Oct. 1, 2019

Director says ‘Kim Ji-young, Born 1982’ a story that ‘must be told’

A book dealing with the hotly debated topic of gender equality has been made into a film, challenging the audience to ponder the issue of discrimination as the controversial source material did upon its 2016 release.“As a mother of two, a daughter and someone living in this society, there were a lot of parts (in the book) that I could relate to,” said director Kim Do-yeong of “Kim Ji-young, Born 1982,” her first feature film.“Since the book had presented several top

Sept. 30, 2019

Sony, Marvel strike deal for new 'Spider-Man' film

LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- Spider-Man will spin his web on the big screen once again.A breakdown in talks between Sony Pictures and Marvel had imperiled the web-slinger's celluloid future, but the two companies announced a deal Friday for Marvel Studios to produce the third Spidey film starring British actor Tom Holland.The film -- which follows up on "Spider-Man: Homecoming" and "Spider-Man: Far from Home" -- is set for release on July 16, 2021, the studios said.Marvel Studios pre

Sept. 29, 2019

[Herald Review] Send in the clowns: ‘Joker’ pokes where it hurts for a fiendish joke

This film is f---ing intense. I apologize for the vulgarity, but there is just no other way to put it. There are films that push you to the limit, have you on the edge, and then there’s “Joker,” starring the brilliance of Joaquin Phoenix.Unlike films like “Requiem for a Dream” -- for which honestly I don’t even know “intense” is the right word -- director Todd Phillips’ new film doesn’t have a lot of extreme in-your-face moments. That i

Sept. 27, 2019

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Battle of Jangsari(Korea)Opened Sept. 25Drama, WarDirected by Kwak Kyung-Taek, Kim Tae-Hoon During the height of the Korean War, Capt. Lee Myeong-jun (Kim Myung-min) and his 772 student soldiers take the North Korea-occupied Jangsari beach to provide a diversion for UN forces ahead of the Battle of Incheon. But their ship runs aground, forcing them to hold back a massive wave of North Korean retaliation with no means to escape.Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood(US)Opened Sept. 25Comedy, Drama Dir

Sept. 27, 2019

Italian directors, actors join list of BIFF guests

Organizers of the 24th annual Busan International Film Festival added more names to the list of international guests on Thursday for the upcoming event, including up-and-coming directors and actors from Italy.Francesco Di Leva and Adriano Pantaleo, two actors from “The Mayor of Rione Sanita,” will be making an appearance at the festival. The film, directed by Mario Martone and based on the 1960 play of the same name, was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 76th Venice Inte

Sept. 26, 2019

Busan film fest set to attract audiences with all sorts of delicacies

The 24th edition of Busan International Film Festival is ready to entertain local and overseas movie buffs with delicate flicks for 10 days in the middle of the fall season.This year's festival will take place from Oct. 3-12 at five cinemas, including the Busan Cinema Center, in Busan, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, featuring 303 films from 85 countries.Among the invitations, 120 films, including 97 feature-length movies, will be at BIFF for world premieres.Award-winning auteurs' new works a

Sept. 25, 2019

[Herald Review] ‘Battle of Jangsari,’ average delivery, worthy tribute

Judging by the massive box office score, I’m in the minority when I say I hated “Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War” (2004). It had good acting, action and drama, but it was far too sappy and a bit too contrived -- not uncommon criticism for Korean films.“Battle of Jangsari” -- directed by Kwak Kyung-Taek and Kim Tae-Hoon -- is one that had the potential to be a great film, but fell short in delivery because of the problems it shares with “Taegukgi,” as we

Sept. 22, 2019

Korea’s Oscar-tipped ‘Parasite’ sets French box office record

PARIS (AFP) - The South Korean satire “Parasite” has become the most successful Cannes-winning film at the French box office in 15 years, new figures show.Director Bong Joon-ho became the first Korean to lift the Palme d’Or in May for his brilliant class war black comedy, and is an early favorite to lift the best foreign language movie Oscar. More than 1.6 million people have paid to see the film in France so far, according to the site CBO box office, a feat not achieved by a C

Sept. 22, 2019

[Box Office] Movies in Theaters this week

The Bad Guys: Reign of Chaos (Korea) Opened Sept. 11Crime, ActionDirected by Son Yong-hoAfter the events of OCN drama “Bad Guys,” legendary gangster Park Woong-cheol (Ma Dong-seok) is back behind bars, and maverick policeman Oh Gu-tak (Kim Sang-joong) -- who put together a team of incarcerated criminals to catch evildoers -- is bed-ridden, struck down by liver cancer. But The “mad dogs” are called upon once again when a police bus flips over and some of the country’

Sept. 20, 2019

'Lord of the Rings' show to start filming in New Zealand

WELLINGTON (AFP) -- US-based streaming giant Amazon announced Wednesday its big-budget "Lord of the Rings" series will within months start filming in New Zealand, home to Peter Jackson's movies of the fantasy epic.Amazon is reportedly spending $1 billion-plus on the series as it seeks to emulate the runaway success enjoyed by "Games of Thrones".Showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay said the South Pacific nation offered the "primordial beauty" of Middle Earth, the s

Sept. 18, 2019

[Herald Review] ‘Man of Men’ is a film that shouldn’t work but does, through power of character

Director Yong Soo’s first feature film, “Man of Men,” is a film that by all accounts shouldn’t work: It is far too familiar, far too obvious and far too sappy for a movie that came out in 2019.Yet surprisingly, the buddy flick starring Sol Kyung-gu and Cho Jin-woong turns out to be pretty fun, buoyed by a mix of drama and comedy -- albeit pretty much by the book -- from the accomplished actors.The film kicks off with gangster Yeong-gi, who embezzles his boss’s money

Sept. 17, 2019

[Herald Review] ‘Yesterday,’ an unimpressive, but lovely film

For those who have someone they hold dear, how would it feel to fall in love with the same person for the first time, once again? That mixture of excitement and nervousness, followed by a rush of joy after realizing that you have stumbled upon something truly special?Director Danny Boyle’s “Yesterday,” a film about a world where the Beatles never happened, depicts that wonderful moment of the world falling in love with their astonishing music for the first time, through a feel-

Sept. 15, 2019

Aug. ticket sales for S. Korean movies hit 7-year low

Monthly sales figures for homegrown films tumbled to their lowest point in seven years last month on a dearth of hit titles, a report showed Saturday.Sales of tickets for South Korean movies came to 18 million in August, 4.21 million less than the monthly sales recorded in August last year, according to the Korean Film Council.It is the first August figure to fall below the 20-million level since 2012.The unusual downturn is attributable to Korean films' tepid performance this summer.Such famous

Sept. 14, 2019

[Box Office] Movies in Theaters this week

It Chapter Two(US)Opened Sept. 4HorrorDirected by Andy Muschietti Twenty-seven years after the Losers Club defeated Pennywise, he has returned to terrorize the town of Derry once more. Now adults, the Losers have long since gone their separate ways. However, kids are disappearing again, so Mike (Isaiah Mustafa), the only one of the group to remain in their hometown, calls the others home.Tune in for Love(Korea)Opened Aug. 28Romance, DramaDirected by Jung Ji-wooIn 1994, when singer Yoo Yeol appea

Sept. 11, 2019

Four Netflix films invited to Busan Int'l Film Festival

Four Netflix original movies have been invited to this year's Busan International Film Festival in an apparent move to keep up with rapidly changing trends in the industry.Last week, the festival announced this year's lineup of 303 films from 85 countries. The list included four Netflix films -- "The King" by David Michod, "The Two Popes" by Fernando Meirelles, "Marriage Story" by Noah Baumbach and "I Lost My Body" by Jeremy Clapin.The 24th edition of BIFF

Sept. 10, 2019

Dark ‘Joker’ wins top Venice Film Festival prize

VENICE (AP) -- Todd Phillips’ dark comic book film “Joker” won the Golden Lion Award at the 76th Venice International Film Festival on Saturday and cemented its place as a legitimate contender for the rest of the awards season.Jury president Lucretia Martel announced the winners of the prestigious award during a ceremony on the Lido. The Golden Lion previously put a spotlight on films that went on to be major awards season players, such as “Roma” and the film academ

Sept. 8, 2019

South Korea's only mountain-themed film festival opens in Ulju

This year's Ulju Mountain Film Festival kicked off on Friday for a five-day run in the southeastern county of Ulju, with 31 movies from 20 countries set to be screened.Under the slogan of "The Road Together," the fourth edition of the mountain-themed film fest runs from Sept. 6-10 in the county near the eastern coastal city of Ulsan."Piano to Zanskar," a British documentary film by Michal Sulima, will open the festival, according to organizers. It depicts an attempt by a reti

Sept. 6, 2019

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Tune in for Love(Korea)Opened Aug. 28Romance, DramaDirected by Jung Ji-wooIn 1994, when singer Yoo Yeol appears on the air for the first time as host of the radio show “Yoo Yeol’s Music Album,” Hyeon-woo (Jung Hae-in) happens to run across Mi-su (Kim Go-eun) at the bakery where she works. Throughout the next decade, fate keeps pulling Hyeon-woo and Mi-su together and pushing them apart again as they try to figure out life on their own, and with each other.Metamorphosis(Korea)Op

Sept. 6, 2019

BIFF award recipients to open and close this year’s festival

Films by directors who previously received commendations will open and close the upcoming 24th Busan International Film Festival, which organizers said was a testament to the annual film festival’s contributions to the Asian film scene.Opening BIFF 2019 is “The Horse Thieves. Roads of Time” by Kazakhstan’s Yerlan Nurmukhambetov and Japan’s Lisa Takeba. The film is about a boy, his encounter with horse thieves and his life after his childhood is dismantled following

Sept. 4, 2019