[Herald Review] ‘One Line’ tries to discuss money, but falls short

The new bank scam thriller “One Line” traces a very specific type of crime that emerged around 2005. By then, Korea’s economy had recovered to a certain extent from the 1997 Asian financial crisis, but an uneasiness foreshadowed the soon-to-come global crisis of 2007. Locally, it was a period when the gap between the rich and poor widened and solidified, stirring up anger among those with less.　It was during this time that a group of scammers began to “rob” banks, according to director Yang Kyun

March 21, 2017

Lee Je-hoon cast as English tutor in new film

Lee Je-hoon will star in the upcoming film “I Can Speak” (unofficial translation), a story of two people who bond through learning English.Lee, who currently stars in the tvN romantic comedy series “Tomorrow With You” with Shin Min-ah, will begin filming at the end of March, according to the film’s producers See Sun and Myung Films on Monday. Lee Je-hoon (Saram Entertainment) Na Moon-hee (Official website)Lee will play a civil servant, acting alongside veteran actress Na Moon-hee, who plays a ne

March 20, 2017

'Beauty and the Beast' enchants S. Korean box office

Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" smashed the local box office on its opening weekend, taking up nearly 67 percent of all ticket sales, data showed Monday.The live-action version of the animated classic, starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens, garnered 1.4 million views over the March 17-19 weekend, supplanting the previous No. 1, "Kong: Skull Island," according to the real-time based box office tally from the Korean Film Council. A promotional poster for "Beauty and the Beast" (Yonhap)The King Kong

March 20, 2017

Actor-singer Lim Chang-jung considers role in satire movie about Choi Soon-sil scandal

Actor-singer Lim Chang-jung is reportedly considering appearing in an upcoming movie about the corruption scandal involving President Park Geun-hye and her confidante Choi Soon-sil. According to local news outlets, Lim and fellow actors Lee Geung-young and Jung Ryeo-won have been offered roles in the new flick “Gate” by director Shin Dong-yeop and might take up the offer. Lim Chang-jung (NH Entertainment Media Group)The political satire comedy will feature an elite prosecutor who loses his memor

March 15, 2017

[Herald Review] Life inspires fiction for accidental masterpiece

Can a film be appreciated on nothing but its own merit, completely independent of the person behind it? Apparently not, as evidenced by the snickering and scoffing of the audience at the Korean premiere of Hong Sang-soo’s “On the Beach at Night Alone,” during what were intended as serious scenes but were blatantly reminiscent of the director’s widely publicized personal affairs.Hong returns to his often-used theme of what love means in life, with his trademark style of improvised directing that

March 14, 2017

Hong Sang-soo, Kim Min-hee confirm they are in love

Director Hong Sang-soo and actress Kim Min-hee came out into the open with their relationship during a press conference Monday after a screening of Hong’s latest film “On the Beach at Night Alone.” Kim had clinched a best actress award for the film at the Berlin International Film Festival last month.“We are in love with each other. The reason we said nothing to the press so far is because we felt there was no need to explain such a personal affair,” Hong said. Director Hong Sang-soo (Yonhap)The

March 13, 2017

Local film 'The Prison' presold to 62 countries

"The Prison," a Korean crime thriller, has already been sold to 62 countries around the world before its release in local theaters next week, its local distributor said Monday.(Yonhap)The distribution rights for the movie were sold to such territories as North America, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, China, Japan and the Philippines during the European Film Market at the Berlin International Film Festival in February, according to Showbox."It was highly rated for being an action genre f

March 13, 2017

'Kong' beats 'Logan' at S. Korean box office

King Kong conquered Wolverine in its first weekend in South Korean theaters. The Hollywood action blockbuster "Kong: Skull Island" drew in 823,222 viewers, or 49.1 percent of ticket sales, over the March 10-12 weekend, the official box office figures from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) showed on Monday. (Yonhap)The King Kong movie surpassed the 1 million mark in the aggregated number of views on Sunday, the fifth day of its run.It pushed aside the previous lead "Logan," a Hollywood superhero mo

March 13, 2017

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Kong: Skull Island (US)Opened March 8Fantasy, science fiction. Directed by Jordan Vogt-RobertsIt is 1973. A secret organization called Monarch finds an island that is known to hold a new species of animals. An expedition team learns that a giant ape called Kong lives on the island, fighting predators called Skull Crawlers for dominance over the island. The expedition crew is concerned with its own survival on the dangerous island, but some members begin to see that Kong is also in need of rescui

March 10, 2017

New poster for Hong Sang-soo’s film revealed

The Korean poster for Hong Sang-soo’s “On the Beach at Night Alone,” which competed in the Berlin International Film Festival last month, was revealed by the film’s production and distribution company Jeonwonsa on Thursday.It features Kim Min-hee, who won the award for best actress at the film fest, gazing into the distance on a beach at the break of dawn. The film’s title in Korean, handwritten by Hong, is featured in the center of the poster, according to Jeonwonsa. The Korean poster for “On t

March 9, 2017

Scarlett Johansson, cast of ‘Ghost in the Shell’ to visit Korea

The sci-fi crime action thriller “Ghost in the Shell” will have its world premiere in Korean theaters on March 29, the film’s local distributor Lotte Entertainment said Wednesday. The film’s director Rupert Sanders and its cast, including Scarlett Johansson, Juliette Binoche and Pilou Asbaek, will visit Korea on March 17 to promote the film.The film will hit US theaters on March 31 and Japanese theaters on April 7.  Scarlett Johansson stars in “Ghost in the Shell.” (Paramount Pictures)A promotio

March 8, 2017

Bong Joon-ho's new Netflix movie 'Okja' to be released on June 28

"Okja," South Korean director Bong Joon-ho's follow-up to his smash-hit "Snowpiercer," will get a worldwide release on Netflix on June 28, officials at the US streaming service's local PR agency said Wednesday.The film is also set to be shown in South Korea in the same month, but the exact date for the domestic release has yet to be set, they said. This image provided by Netflix shows An Seo-hyun as Mija in South Korean director Bong Joon-ho`s new sci-film "Okja." (Yonhap)"Whether to open in the

March 8, 2017

‘Taxi Driver’ featuring Song Kang-ho, Thomas Kretschmann to open this summer

“Taxi Driver,” a film about the 1980 Gwangju uprising, will hit local theaters this summer, the film’s distributor Showbox said Tuesday. 　The film stars Song Kang-ho as the taxi driver Man-seob who picks up Peter, a German journalist, played by German actor Thomas Kretschmann, and heads to Gwangju, not knowing what will unfold in the city.The film centers on the historic event also known as the May 18 Democratization Movement, in which more than 100 civilians protesting the authoritarian regime

March 7, 2017

‘Logan’ tops box office

Hugh Jackman’s final Wolverine movie “Logan” was tops at the box office here, data showed Monday. 　The sci-fi action flick featuring actor Jackman’s return as the clawed Marvel superhero sold some 633,000 tickets at local theaters nationwide during the March 3-5 weekend, according to box office statistics gathered by the Korean Film Council. 　The latest “X-Men” film opened here on March 1 and had sold a total of more than 1 million tickets as of Sunday. 　 Hugh Jackman in “Logan” (20th Century Fo

March 6, 2017

[Movie Review] ‘Kiki’ is energetic, affectionate portrait of New York’s LGBT ballroom scene

LOS ANGELES -- The various bodies moving through “Kiki,” an energetic and enveloping documentary about New York City’s LGBT ballroom scene, are capable of astonishing, even superhuman physical feats. They dance and gyrate on underground subway platforms, down half-empty streets, and on the grass at Christopher Street Pier. They pour themselves into stunningly elaborate costumes before hitting the dance floor, performing under hot lights, thundering music and the eyes of hundreds of enthusiastic

March 3, 2017

[Movie Review] Oscar nominee ‘Zucchini’ is stop-motion delight with tart humor

LOS ANGELES -- As unexpectedly enchanting as its title is initially perplexing, “My Life as a Zucchini” is short but oh so satisfyingly bittersweet, an example of the kind of movie magic that’s always hard to find.A word-of-mouth phenomenon since its premiere at Cannes last year, this 70-minute stop-motion feature took the grand jury prize and the audience award at the top-drawer Annency International Animation Film Festival.More impressive still, it managed the almost unheard of double feat of

March 3, 2017

Song Ji-hyo, Shin Ha-kyun cast for new film ‘Wind Wind Wind’

Song Ji-hyo and Shin Ha-kyun have been cast in an upcoming film tentatively titled “Wind Wind Wind” (unofficial translation), the film’s distributor Next Entertainment World said Friday. Directed by Lee Byeong-heon, who was behind “Twenty” (2015), the film is a comedy about four people seeking love and adventure on Jeju Island. Shin, previously in “Empire of Lust” (2015), will play a dispirited husband who once had dreams of becoming a renowned chef. Song, who was in “New World” (2013), will pla

March 3, 2017

‘Oldboy’ Choi Min-sik unscrupulous politician in new film

Iconic Korean actor Choi Min-sik will be returning to the big screen next month with “Special Citizen.” A trailer for the film was released by its distributor Showbox on Thursday. Best known to international audiences for his striking performance as a vengeful prisoner in the 2003 Park Chan-wook thriller “Oldboy,” Choi plays Byun Jong-goo, the ambitious mayor of Seoul running for his third term, in the upcoming film. The trailer features the unknowable and multifarious politician Byun, who in on

March 2, 2017

[Herald Review] ‘Bluebeard’ toys with psychology of fallen man

The frozen Han River melts to reveal the body of a woman. With the resurfacing of a murder long forgotten, “Bluebeard” sends the characters, audience and plot spiraling down a rabbit hole where nothing is what it seems.Lee So-yeon’s psychological thriller shadows the steps of Seung-hoon, a doctor played by Cho Jin-woong whose failed marriage and career have pushed him to his psychological and financial edge.Once the proud owner of a hospital in the affluent Gangna area, the doctor is forced to m

March 2, 2017