The upcoming Korean War film “Operation Chromite” takes on the loaded subject matter with a studded cast of Korean A-listers and Hollywood actor Liam Neeson, best known to Korean audiences for his 2008 thriller “Taken.” It clearly aims to be a commercial blockbuster, armed with glitzy visuals, loud battle scenes, budding wartime romance and easily imaginable characters. It is, however, all style and very little substance. And like most recent Korean films that draw on conflict with the North --

July 21, 2016

Often called the “Prince of Asia,” actor Jang Keun-suk will stand before audience at the 20th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival as a director instead. Scheduled to be screened on July 22 and 26, the nine-minute short film “The Great Legacy” was made with the help of students at Hanyang University, where Jang is currently a lecturer.  “It is a great pleasure for him to unveil this collaborative production and he is looking forward to engaging in conversations with viewers regarding th

July 21, 2016

"Train to Busan," one of the most anticipated films of this summer, has set a new record opening for all movies ever screened in the country, data showed Thursday.The apocalyptic zombie thriller drew an audience of 858,659 on Wednesday, taking 82.3 percent of all ticket sales, according to the computerized box-office figures from the Korean Film Council. (Yonhap)The previous record was 727,901 set by "Captain America: Civil War" in April, which surpassed the 2014 Korean film "Roaring Currents."

July 21, 2016

In the zombie apocalypse film “Train to Busan,” which opened in theaters Wednesday, actor Gong Yoo plays the role of a father who is too busy with his demanding job as a fund manager to spend quality time with his daughter.　　“I’m still single, so I had to use my imagination for that,” Gong told reporters at a group interview on Monday in a cafe in Seoul. Casually dressed and waering a baseball cap, the actor discussed his thoughts on parenthood, social media and his own horrors.　 Actor Gong Yoo

July 20, 2016

Starring actors Gong Yoo, Kim Soo-an, Jung Yu-mi and Ma Dong-seok, “Train to Busan” has set a new pre-sale record for Korean blockbusters.Over 320,000 people reserved tickets for the movie in advance of its Wednesday release with an estimated ticket sales of over 2.6 billion won, according to the Korean Film Council data as of Wednesday morning.Although it is difficult to predict how many people “Train to Busan” will draw following its July 20 opening, the Korean crime film “A Violent Prosecutor

July 20, 2016

Fantasy, horror, cult and thriller. Whatever the genre, it's all there in the line-up of the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival if you're a big fan of genre flicks.A mecca of the country's comics and animation industry, the city of Bucheon, located just west of Seoul, is about to become an even more entertaining place when the 20th BIFAN opens Thursday for an 11-day run under the theme "love, fantasy and adventure." (Yonhap)A total of 302 films from 49 countries will make up Korea's l

July 20, 2016

BOSTON (AP) -- “America’s prince” is getting a new documentary.“I Am JFK Jr. -- A Tribute to a Good Man,” which hits select theaters on July 22, captures the fascination with John F. Kennedy Jr., from his early days toddling around the White House to his death in a plane crash in 1999.Network Entertainment’s Derik Murray made the film in the mold of his other “I Am” movies, including “I Am Bruce Lee,” “I Am Chris Farley” and “I Am Evel Knievel.” It also airs on Spike TV at 9 p.m. EDT on Aug. 1,

July 15, 2016

Trick(Korea)Opened July 13Drama, Thriller. Directed by Lee Chang-yeolSeok-jin (Lee Jung-jin), a workaholic television producer obsessed with ratings, propels a terminally ill man and his wife to national fame through his sensational show. When the man refuses to be filmed further, Seok-jin pushes through in an attempt to capture his death on camera. Now You See Me(U.S.)Opened July 13Crime, Action. Directed by Jon M. ChuA team of illusionists known as the Four Horsemen (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Har

July 15, 2016

Upcoming summer film “Tunnel” will be representing the Korean film industry at the annual Locarno International Film Festival.The story of a man’s fight for survival as the lone victim of a tunnel collapse, the thriller-drama will be screened in the non-competitive Piazza Grande program, according to the event’s official website.Also included in the section are Paul Greengrass’ much anticipated “Jason Bourne,” Colm McCarthy’s adaptation of M.R. Carey’s award-winning novel “The Girl with All the

July 15, 2016

As a first-time director, Anna Rose Holmer is in an elite group. Her movie, “The Fits,” about an 11-year-old tomboy trying to fit in, was one of the fewer than 1 percent of submitted features that Sundance Film Festival programmers chose last year, an acceptance rate tougher than that of an Ivy League college. She received some of the best reviews of the festival and secured a distribution deal, a manager and an agent.And yet, amid this success, Holmer, 31, now faces what is possibly the greates

July 15, 2016

Director Yeon Sang-ho’s apocalyptic thriller “Train to Busan” is something of a cross between Bong Joon-ho’s dystopian film “Snowpiercer” and the zombie flick “World War Z” starring Brad Pitt.In the movie, which screened at the Cannes Film Festival’s Out-of-Competition category in May, viewers are presented with a racing train on which an outbreak of a virus causes those infected to instantly turn into flesh-devouring zombies. Passengers fight for their lives, compartment by compartment, as the

July 14, 2016

NEW YORK (AP) -- The conditions placed on director Vitaly Mansky for shooting a film in North Korea were severe. For what was ostensibly to be a “documentary,” North Korea would supply the script. The state would choose the subjects, too, as well as the location of all scenes. He would be accompanied at all times by several state officials who would control the production. And North Korea would have final say on any footage that was used. Yet even in these impossible circumstances, Mansky manage

July 14, 2016

It is not every day that a Hollywood heavyweight stars in a Korean film, particularly one retracing real-life events in Korean history. But Liam Neeson, who portrays the legendary Gen. Douglas MacArthur of the U.S. Army in the upcoming war drama flick “Operation Chromite,” says he was made an offer he “couldn’t refuse.”The film’s director Lee Jae-han and producer Jung Tae-won, who helms the production company Taewon Entertainment, were “very, very persuasive, let’s just put it that way,” said th

July 13, 2016

Jennifer Aniston says she’s not pregnant and she’s fed up with predatory tabloid culture that defines women by their looks and maternal status. In an essay published Tuesday in the Huffington Post, Aniston says constant paparazzi coverage contributes to a “dehumanizing view of females, focused solely on one’s physical appearance.” She says the further speculation over whether she looks as though she’s pregnant or may have eaten too much “reflects the warped way we calculate a woman’s worth.”She

July 13, 2016

PRAGUE (AFP) -- Hungarian film “It’s Not The Time Of My Life” won the top prize at the Czech Republic’s Karlovy Vary film festival on Saturday, the organizers said.The Crystal Globe award winner directed by Szabolcs Hajdu (“White Palms,” “Bibliotheque Pascal”) is a study of two families forced to share a flat. American actor Willem Dafoe, the star of “Platoon,” “Shadow of the Vampire” and “The Last Temptation of Christ,” received the Crystal Globe at the festival earlier on for his contribution

July 10, 2016