London Film Festival opens with spotlight on diversity

LONDON (AFP) -- The London Film Festival opened its 60th edition Wednesday with a spotlight on ethnic minority actors and filmmakers, reflecting a debate over the lack of diversity currently raging in Hollywood.“We really wanted to shine a light on black stars,” festival director Clare Stewart told AFP as the event opened with a tale of inter-racial love in Botswana by British director Amma Asante who was born to Ghanaian parents.“I'm incredibly excited by just how dynamic, and broad, and urgent

Oct. 6, 2016

‘Girl on the Train’ doesn’t stay on the rails

Tate Taylor’s “The Girl on the Train” may be technically set in the Westchester suburb of Ardsley-on-Hudson, but its cocktail of commuter trains, marital infidelity and alcoholism make its proper setting Cheever Country. The unhappy, martini-stained lives of New York suburbanites have long been a rich vein for writers like John Cheever, Richard Yates and Paula Fox. “The Girl on the Train” is the trashier, paperback version. Its old-school title may suggest Hitchcock or maybe Fincher (who himself

Oct. 5, 2016

Korean dramas, movies finishing year strongly

This year saw a rich slew of actors making their mark in both television dramas and movies. Memorable performances in cinema came from actresses like Kim Tae-ri, who received international attention for her role as the earthy heroine of Park Chan-wook’s erotic thriller “The Handmaiden,” Kwak Do-won, who appeared as the fear-stricken policeman in Na Hong-jin’s horror flick “The Wailing” and the shrewdly domineering prosecutor in Kim Sung-su’s crime-noir “Asura: The City of Madness.”　On television

Oct. 4, 2016

‘Asura’ tops weekend box office

Crime-noir “Asura: The City of Madness” topped the local weekend box office, drawing some 826,655 admissions Oct. 1-2, according to the Korean Film Council.The film has sold over 1.8 million tickets since its opening Wednesday, when it broke the record for best-selling rated “R” movie on its opening day. A scene from "Asura: The City of Madness" (CJ Entertainment)The bloody thriller, starring a handful of Korean cinema’s A-listers including Jung Woo-sung, Hwang Jung-min and Kwak Do-won, tells th

Oct. 3, 2016

Busan Int’l Film Festival screens vast variety of films

The 21st Busan International Film Festival will show a total of 299 movies from 69 countries, and among them 122 films will premiere at the event, its organizers said Sunday.The annual festival, which will open Thursday and run through Oct. 15, will show a wide variety of films ranging from critically acclaimed films to experimental movies and those made by female directors. Under the World Cinema section, numerous award-wining films from the 2016 Cannes Film Festival will be featured. Among tho

Oct. 3, 2016

[Box Office] Latest movie releases

Asura: The City of Madness(Korea)Opened Sept. 28Crime, noir. Directed by Kim Sung-suIn desperate need of money, corrupt cop Han Do-kyung (Jung Woo-sung) agrees to cover up the illegal dealings of avaricious Mayor Park Sung-bae (Hwang Jung-min), consorting with low-lives and sinking deeper into the criminal world.Bridget Jones’ Baby(US)Opened Sept. 28Romantic comedy. Directed by Sharon MaguireThe clumsy, lovable Bridget Jones (Renee Zellweger) has returned, now over 40 and single once again. Brid

Sept. 30, 2016

‘The Lovers and the Despot’ reveals story of Kim Jong-il’s private, kidnapped filmmakers

Lives there a film fan anywhere who doesn’t wish his or her country made better films, who couldn’t sympathize with Kim Jong-il when he’s heard to say, “There’s nothing new to our films. We don’t have any films that get into film festivals. People here are so close-minded?"Kim Jong-il was no everyday film fan, however. Oh, no. He was the absolute ruler of North Korea, and though you’d think he’d have more important matters to attend to, he not only did something about his complaint, he did it in

Sept. 30, 2016

Small fish caught in ‘The Net’ of big ideologies

Controversial director Kim Ki-duk has veered away from the provocative in his latest psychological drama “The Net,” which centers on a North Korean fisherman who accidentally drifts into South Korean waters. Verbose, calculated and bordering on didactic, the film, which premiered at the Venice International Film Festival last month, might be described as the prolific and brazen director’s most wholesome, public-friendly work to date. While relatively low on shock factor, coming from Kim, it does

Sept. 29, 2016

[Herald Interview] Making glitz without glamour

Director Tyler Rubenfeld traveled from New York City to Seoul to present his debut feature film in competition at a recent film festival. Noteworthy was that he made the trip to compete in the “No Budget” category -- the 64-minute film’s budget came to just $4,000. “No-budget filmmaking is just a series of burned bridges,” Rubenfeld said after the screening of his psychological drama “Wake Me When I Leave” at the Korea International Expat Film Festival, held in Seoul from Sept. 9-11. The second

Sept. 29, 2016

‘Asura’ expected to draw big crowds

Directed by Kim Sung-soo, “Asura: The City of Madness” is predicted to become a blockbuster hit this fall. Nearly 250,000 people had reserved tickets for the movie in advance of its Wednesday release, with estimated ticket sales of over 1.6 billion won ($1.46 million), according to data from the Korean Film Council as of Wednesday morning.　The recent summer blockbuster “Train to Busan” currently holds the record for the highest number of pre-sale reservations, with over 320,000 pre-sold ticket. 

Sept. 28, 2016

‘Bacchus Lady’ offers more than sexual services

As elderly men stroll around lush, sun-soaked parks in the city, equally aged women approach them offering energy drinks called “Bacchus,” which is also the name of the Roman god of wine and debauchery. This exchange is code for a particular type of prostitution among seniors in Korea, and forms the basis of director-writer E J-yong’s “The Bacchus Lady.” The contemplative erotic drama has been garnering international attention, screening at numerous international film festivals -- Berlin, Hong K

Sept. 27, 2016

Hong Sang-soo wins best director at San Sebastian film fest

Korean film director Hong Sang-soo has taken home the Silver Shell award for best directing for his new film “Yourself and Yours” at this year’s 64th annual San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain, which ran from Sept. 16 to 24. Best known for his films “Hahaha” and “Right Now, Wrong Then,” Hong’s latest feature film stars actors Kim Joo-hyuck and Lee You-young in a movie that chronicles one man’s desperate search for his girlfriend, who had gone missing after a serious spat between the two. The wi

Sept. 25, 2016

Brad Pitt allegations relate to treatment of son

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Allegations Brad Pitt was abusive on a private plane last week relate to the actor’s treatment of his 15-year-old son, sources said Friday, as the FBI continued to gather information before determining whether to open an investigation.FBI Spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said the agency hasn’t made a decision on a formal investigation into what occurred on a plane ferrying Pitt, his wife Angelina Jolie Pitt and their six children.Several news outlets have reported that a child welf

Sept. 25, 2016

Red flags, not red carpet: Local film wins North Korean fest

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) -- And the envelope, please! The Pyongyang International Film Festival wrapped up Friday with top honors going to -- wait for it -- a domestically produced feature about a young woman who selflessly devotes herself to raising orphans. The winner of the “Best Torch Award,” selected by a panel of international judges, was “Story About My House,” a drama about Ri Jong A, who wins the honors of leader Kim Jong-un for devoting herself to raising orphans after graduating fr

Sept. 25, 2016

Flush with opportunities, Chris Pratt plays a new hand

TORONTO (AP) -- The offer to star in Antoine Fuqua’s “The Magnificent Seven” came to Chris Pratt while he was on a hunting trip with friends, listening to an audio book of Larry McMurtry’s “Lonesome Dove.” Having recently learned some card tricks of his own, the part -- a gun-slinging card sharp -- felt like kismet. “All of the signs in my life pointed me toward doing this movie,” Pratt says. “It’s like when you get dealt a hand that you don’t even throw a single card back. You’re like: That’s t

Sept. 23, 2016

[Movie review] ‘Seven’ more mediocre than magnificent

Seven warriors fight for the vulnerable, in a formula that bears revisiting in “The Magnificent Seven.” Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 masterpiece, “Seven Samurai,” begat the classic 1960 Western “The Magnificent Seven,” then a late ’90s TV series and now, a big budget action adventure Western directed by Antoine Fuqua. It’s an appealing concept -- bad guys who can be good, loners who can work together and find camaraderie in a team when it comes to protecting innocents.With the blockbuster cast that Fuq

Sept. 23, 2016

[Box Office] Latest movie releases

The Magnificent Seven(US)Opened Sept. 14Western, action. Directed by Antoine FuquaA motley crew of stealthy gangsters led by Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington) attempts to defend the helpless town of Rose Creek when ruthless industrialist Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard) seizes control of it. Ben-Hur(US)Opened Sept. 14Drama, action. Directed by Timur BekmambetovPrince Judah Ben-Hur (Jack Huston) is falsely accused of treason by his adopted brother Messala (Toby Kebbell), an officer in the Roman

Sept. 23, 2016