First ‘Pororo’ movie to be played on 6,000 screens in China

The beloved Korean animated penguin Pororo from the children’s TV series “Pororo the Little Penguin” will now be seen on 6,000 screens across China. “Pororo, The Racing Adventure” is the first full-length 3-D feature movie version of the popular TV show and is the largest release for an international animated movie in China, according to the film’s distributor CJ Entertainment. The movie was produced in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of Pororo and the animation series, which was developed

Jan. 10, 2013

Revisiting BIFF 2012

An Oscar-shortlisted Israeli-Palestinian documentary is in the lineup for the upcoming screening of last year’s BIFF highlights. Starting Thursday, Seoul’s Indie Plus Theater is showcasing a total of eight works screened at last year’s Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), including “5 Broken Cameras,” which features the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The documentary received a 5 million won ($4,700) fund from BIFF and Busan Bank’s Asia Network Documentary (AND) Fund back in 2010. Co-directed

Jan. 9, 2013

Bae Doo-na, on her own

Actress Bae Doo-na has been famously adored by some of the most celebrated filmmakers in Asia, such as Park Chan-wook, Bong Joon-ho, and Japan’s Hirokazu Koreeda.“I always felt I was very lucky,” Bae said during an interview with The Korea Herald on Friday.“Throughout my career, I often felt like it’s my luck (to star in the directors’ films) that brought me success, not my own ability as an actress. But with my latest movie, I feel like I achieved almost everything on my own (for the first time

Jan. 7, 2013

Box Office

Life of Pi (U.S.)Opened Jan. 1 Drama. Action. Adventure. Directed by Ang Lee. Pi (Suraj Sharma)’s family prepares to move upon hearing that the government’s financial aid for the family’s zoo will be cut off. The family boards a ship to Canada with their zoo animals. But an unexpected storm sinks the ship and only Pi, who gets on a lifeboat, survives the deadly accident. On the lifeboat, an injured zebra, a starved hyena and an orangutan with a handful of bananas increase the tension. However, t

Jan. 4, 2013

James Gandolfini remembers his father in ‘Not Fade Away’

When his “Sopranos” boss David Chase asked James Gandolfini to play another New Jersey Italian for his movie, a working class dad unhappy with his musician-son’s career choice in the swinging ‘60s, the big man didn’t hesitate.“I knew this guy,” Gandolfini says. “There’s a lot of my dad in him.”Pasquale, his character in “Not Fade Away,” is a gruff mechanic who runs a local Pep Boys auto repair shop. He’s pushing his son (John Magaro) to go to college. He doesn’t approve of the kid’s music, his l

Jan. 4, 2013

2 Israeli documentaries shortlisted for Oscar

JERUSALEM (AP) ― The Mideast conflict has done little to help Israel’s image in the world, but the way local filmmakers deal critically with the Israel-Palestinian issue has won wide international praise ― and this year, recognition from the top of the movie industry.Two Israeli-produced documentaries about the conflict have been shortlisted for possible nomination in this year’s Academy Awards. Few Israeli films have contended in the Best Documentary category before. The shortlisted films repre

Jan. 4, 2013

Oscar-winning sound editor Michael Hopkins killed in rafting accident

Oscar-winning sound editor Michael Hopkins, a frequent collaborator of filmmaker Peter Jackson, was killed in a rafting accident in New Zealand, police said.Hopkins, 53, drowned Sunday in the Waiohine River on New Zealand‘s North Island, the BBC reported. Two people with him survived after all three were ejected from the raft in a fast-flowing eddy, the report said. Hopkins won Academy Awards for his work on “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” in 2003 and “King Kong” in 2006. Both were big-s

Jan. 2, 2013

Anne Shirley returns

We all know Anne Shirley, the pale-skinned girl with freckles, braided red hair and a lot of imagination.Japan’s celebrated animator Hayao Miyazaki’s famous TV anime, “Anne of Green Gables,” is hitting the big screen this month, offering many Seoulites a chance to revisit the beloved literary character.Based on Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery’s 1908 bestselling novel, Miyazaki, along with anime director Isao Takahata, created the 50-episode anime series for Japan’s Fuji TV in 1979.  The sho

Jan. 1, 2013

Park brothers reunite for another short

After their first Berlin-winning project together, the famous Park brothers are back with another short film ― this time about a pansori artist and his young student. Director Park Chan-wook (“Oldboy,” “Sympathy for Lady Vengeance”) and his brother and media artist Park Chan-kyong in 2011 won the top prize at Berlinale for their short “Night Fishing.” The 30-minute fantasy film, which touches on local shamanism and dreams, was shot entirely with an iPhone 4.The Park brothers launched a co-direct

Dec. 30, 2012

Box Office

Life of Pi (U.S.)Opening Jan. 1 Drama. Action. Adventure. Directed by Ang Lee. Pi (Suraj Sharma)’s family prepares to move upon hearing that the government’s financial aid for the family’s zoo will be cut off. The family boards a ship to Canada with their zoo animals. But an unexpected storm sinks the ship and only Pi, who gets on a lifeboat, survives the deadly accident. On the lifeboat, an injured zebra, a starved hyena and an orangutan with a handful of bananas increase the tension. However,

Dec. 28, 2012

‘Zero Dark Thirty’ spares few details in the hunt for bin Laden

“Zero Dark Thirty” begins in our mind’s eye ― our memories of 9/11 play out as a black screen is backed by the sounds of news reports, 911 emergency calls and tearful dying messages left on voice mails.The movie about the long hunt for Osama bin Laden will have plenty to show us. But “Hurt Locker” writer Mark Boal and director Kathryn Bigelow want us to provide the rationale for the next 2 hours. What they’re about to depict is the spy’s-eye-view of this epic search ― the tedium of false leads,

Dec. 28, 2012