Box office: Elysium, Now You See Me, The Grandmaster

Elysium Sci-fi. Action. Drama. Directed by Neill Blomkamp.Opened Aug. 29In the year 2154, people are divided into the wealthy and the poor, the former living in a floating luxurious space station Elysium and the latter living in an overpopulated, disease-stricken Earth. People on Earth are especially in need of the state-of-the-art medical care available on the spaceship. Max Da Costa (Matt Damon), an ex-convict living on Earth, is desperate to get into the Elysium, and reluctantly takes on a da

Aug. 30, 2013

Brian De Palma casts his murderous gaze on ‘Passion’

The 2010 French film “Crime d’Amour (Love Crime)” opened to unspectacular reviews and indifferent box office in France and then the United States. But something about it intrigued legendary American filmmaker Brian De Palma. And when a producer pitched the idea of an English-language remake to him, the director of “Scarface,” “Dressed to Kill,” “The Untouchables” and the first “Mission: Impossible” could see places where this story of two women’s cutthroat (literally) rivalry in the workplace mi

Aug. 30, 2013

Emulating Paris Hilton, Hollywood glamour

Many local moviegoers liked her previous movies, especially “Lost in Translation” (2003) and “Marie Antoinette” (2006).Sofia Coppola’s latest film is arriving in Korean theaters next month, and the movie ― titled “The Bling Ring” ― will likely draw those who love designer labels, interested in the lifestyle of Hollywood celebrities, and of course, Coppola and her well-known taste in fashion. (The filmmaker is the famous muse of Marc Jacobs). And the high-fashion heist film has another local conn

Aug. 30, 2013

Korean films rocket toward record box office numbers

Domestic films are set to break the 100-million mark in attendance since January this year by next month, according to the state-run Korean Film Council. Local films exceeded the 100 million-viewer mark for the first time in November 2012. The milestone meant Koreans saw at least two local films on average last year. A new box office record is about to be set, beating last year’s performance by almost three months.In the month of August alone ― from Aug. 1 to 25 ― Korean films drew 24.36 million

Aug. 29, 2013

Clooney, Bullock space thriller opens Venice film festival

VENICE (AFP) ― Hollywood high-rollers George Clooney and Sandra Bullock kicked off the Venice film festival on Wednesday with a harrowing space drama that opens a line-up flush with gloomy tales.“Gravity,” a 3-D sci-fi thriller, sees Clooney and Bullock as astronauts who are flung into deep space when a debris shower destroys their shuttle.The stars sashayed down the red carpet to the song “Mambo Italiano” for the opening ceremony of the world’s oldest film festival, drawing wild screams from ad

Aug. 29, 2013

Stars land in Venice for fiendish film festival

VENICE (AFP) ― The Venice film festival kicks off Wednesday with the arrival of movie stars on water taxis for a dark line-up flush with fiendish tales of abuse, betrayal and survival.The world’s oldest film festival opens with “Gravity,” a 3-D sci-fi thriller starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock as astronauts who are flung into deep space when a debris shower destroys their shuttle.Other premieres are “Parkland,” Peter Landesman’s re-creation of John F. Kennedy’s assassination and David G

Aug. 28, 2013

Ben Affleck to play Batman in ‘Man of Steel’ sequel

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ― Actor Ben Affleck will play Batman in an upcoming Superman sequel that will see the two caped crusaders face off against each other, film studio Warner Bros Pictures said on Thursday. Affleck, 41, will take on the role of reclusive billionaire Bruce Wayne, Batman’s alter-ego, in director Zack Snyder’s 2015 sequel to this year’s Superman reboot “Man of Steel,” starring 30-year-old British actor Henry Cavill. “We knew we needed an extraordinary actor to take on one of DC Co

Aug. 25, 2013

Box Office

Now You See MeCrime. Mystery. Thriller. Directed by Louis Leterrier.Opened Aug. 22Four magicians are invited to an obscure address for a meeting filled with secrets. One year later they return as the famous illusionists of the Four Horsemen and pull off a variety of daring heists against corrupt business leaders during their big performances. In the middle of their shows, the stolen goods are distributed among the audience. FBI officer Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) and Alma Dray (Mélanie Laurent)

Aug. 23, 2013

Young actors pals offscreen, enemies in ‘Kick-Ass 2’

Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Christopher Mintz-Plasse square off in fisticuffs and a climactic stare-down through their masks when the subversive superhero sequel “Kick-Ass 2” hits theaters on Friday.But during a recent promo appearance at the annual Comic-Con pop-culture fest, Taylor-Johnson, 23, and Mintz-Plasse, 24, are more into comparing weird marks on their forearms caused by spirited fans and playfully squabbling over a glass of ice provided by a publicist.“She got that for me,” Mintz-Plasse

Aug. 23, 2013

1-D goes 3-D in boy band’s debut on screen

LONDON (AP) ― In the tradition of great music movies, One Direction’s feature-film debut has sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll ― just without the sex or the drugs.The Morgan Spurlock-directed 3-D documentary “One Direction: This Is Us” hangs out with Harry, Louis, Liam, Niall and Zayn backstage, at home and on the road, and comes to the conclusion that the five well-coiffed lads who have conquered the world are, well, pretty nice.Spurlock ― who made his name with socially engaged documentaries such a

Aug. 20, 2013

Park brothers enlist public to capture Seoul on film

“Joint Security Area” and “Oldboy” director Park Chan-wook is again combining forces with his younger brother Park Chan-kyung, famous for directing art house films, to create the brothers’ latest PARKing CHANce production “Seoul, Our Movie.”The upcoming documentary film is to be created from video submissions about Seoul from people around the world, non-professionals included. The directors will take these film submissions and edit them to create the video project, making it the first time the

Aug. 20, 2013

Seoul festival brings youth closer to film

The 15th annual Seoul International Youth Film Festival is opening this week for eight days of diverse screenplays from around the globe. The upcoming film fest will be held Aug. 22-29 and will feature 142 films from 40 countries, including 23 world premieres including that of Canadian film “Hold Fast,” which follows the story of a 14-year-old boy named Michael who is forced to live with his uncle Ted after his parents die in a tragic car accident. The two do not get along and Michael ends up de

Aug. 19, 2013

Soo Ae: Best characters have iron fist in a velvet glove

Actress Soo Ae says she is drawn to roles that are “oeyunaegang,” a four-character idiom that translates to an iron fist in a velvet glove.“The quality is what I consider to be ideal,” the actress said in an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul last week. “I’ve always admired those who appear gentle but are determined and strong underneath. They are my role models. So naturally, I chose to play a lot of characters that have that quality.”The 34-year-old’s past roles are evidence of the profe

Aug. 19, 2013

[Newsmaker] Hong Sang-soo wins Best Director at Locarno

Korean director Hong Sang-soo’s latest film “Our Sunhi” has nabbed the filmmaker the Best Director award at this year’s Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland. The award marks Hong’s first win at the annual film fest, which was held Aug. 7-17.“Our Sunhi” is Hong’s 15th film, starring actress Jeong Yoo-mi and actors Lee Sun-kyun and Jung Jae-young. It tells the story of a young film studies graduate student named Sun-hi, who is about to leave for the United States to continue her stud

Aug. 18, 2013

'Snowpiercer' surpasses 8 mln viewer mark

South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho's English language debut film, "Snowpiercer," has attracted more than 8 million viewers in 19 days since opening, the national film promotion agency said Sunday.The film, starring top Korean actor Song Kang-ho alongside Hollywood thespians Chris Evans, Ed Harris and Tilda Swinton, attracted a total of 8,004,089 viewers as of Sunday morning, the 19th day since first playing on local screens, the Korean Film Council said. The feat marks a faster speed in attract

Aug. 18, 2013

Box Office: The Grandmaster, The Flu, The Place Beyond the Pines

The GrandmasterAction. Directed by Wong Kar-wai. Opening Aug. 22Ip Man (Tony Leung) is a martial arts specialist who enjoys a peaceful life with his wife (Song Hye-kyo) and two children in southern China. While Ip is training, he is challenged to a duel by Gong Yutian, a martial arts master known for his 64 hands technique. Ip wins, much to Gong’s surprise. He later runs into Gong’s daughter, Gong Er (Zhang Ziyi), who visits Ip to regain her father’s honor. The two form a special bond through an

Aug. 16, 2013