Review: In 'Allied,' with Brad Pitt, love in the fog of war

Deeply nostalgic moviemaking is rendered with digital precision in Robert Zemeckis' highly manicured World War II romance “Allied.”Zemeckis’ control of his camera is absolute, if self-consciously so. In “Allied,” with Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard, he has resurrected the espionage thriller in all its classical glamour with a knowingness that's both impressively grand and stiffly hollow. The crisp period images of “Allied” never feel far removed from their storyboards. “Allied,” despite its high

Nov. 22, 2016

Indie filmmakers denounce President Park, culture industry affiliates

Indie filmmakers called for President Park’s immediate resignation and the reform of the Culture Ministry and the Korean Film Council on Monday.　“The Park administration has emphasized culture and cultural enrichment ever since Park’s inauguration,” said producer Ko Young-jae, head of the Association of Korean Independent Film and Videos. “But now, three years later, never has the term ‘culture’ received so much ridicule,” he said, referring to the culture-related projects that allegedly misused

Nov. 21, 2016

Julie Dash's landmark 'Daughters of the Dust' is reborn

NEW YORK (AP) -- Julie Dash's 1991 film "Daughters of the Dust” was the first film directed by an African-American woman to get a nationwide theatrical release. When it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, its director of photography, Arthur Jafa, won best cinematography. In 2004, it was added to the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry. Rapturously lyrical, wholly original, it's been called “a landmark achievement” and “one of the most distinctive, original independent films of its

Nov. 21, 2016

Cruz, Bardem to star in Iranian director Farhadi's new film

MADRID (AFP) - Oscar-winning Spanish actors Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem will star in a new film set in Spain by Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, Cruz said in an interview published Sunday.Farhadi, who won the foreign-language Oscar in 2012 for “A Separation” about a middle-class couple's divorce, is currently finishing the original screenplay for the movie, she told Barcelona newspaper La Vanguardia."The idea is to film in Spain, we still don’t know where. It is an intense drama which is a g

Nov. 21, 2016

'Fantastic Beasts' takes top spot at box office

“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” a spinoff from the hit “Harry Potter” franchise, made its debut in South Korean theaters at No. 1 on the weekend box-office chart, data showed Monday.According to real-time based box office figures from the Korean Film Council, the Warner Bros.’ adventure film topped the chart, selling over 1.4 million tickets over the Nov. 18-20 weekend.The film, starring Eddie Redmayne and Katherine Waterston, is based on a screenplay by J.K. Rowling and follows Newt

Nov. 21, 2016

[Box Office] Latest movie releases

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them(US)Opened Nov. 16Fantasy. Directed by David Yates Eccentric, timid British wizard Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) arrives in New York with a magical suitcase full of fantastical creatures. The city is in chaos over a mysterious force that wreaks havoc everywhere, and a movement calling for the obliteration of all witches and wizards. It is up to Newt and Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston) to stop the shadow of evil. Vanishing Time: A Boy Who Returned(Kor

Nov. 18, 2016

‘Fantastic Beasts’ promising, but not yet Potter-magical

Who’s up for a little escapism at the multiplex? J.K. Rowling, embarking on her new, post-Potter blockbuster franchise with “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” has said herself that her screenplay, which she began several years ago, was informed by world events -- particularly, she noted, a rise in populism around the globe.And so there’s definitely some darkness in “Fantastic Beasts,” despite its being a family film, complete with the sweetest little beasts (and bigger ones) imaginable -

Nov. 18, 2016

[Herald Review] ‘Our Love Story’ a triumph of Korean indie film

“Our Love Story” is an exceptional work that portrays a mostly unexceptional love story. Director Lee Hyun-ju’s debut feature centers on Yoon-ju, a quiet 32-year-old art graduate student played by Lee Sang-hee, who says she has “never had time for dating.” Her priorities are shaken up, though, following chance encounters with the person who makes her want to make the time -- the more outgoing waitress and bartender Ji-soo, played by Ryu Sun-young.“Our Love Story” has already won acclaim in Korea

Nov. 17, 2016

Portman praises Jackie Kennedy's generosity

LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- She is famous for jealously guarding her privacy, favoring a small wedding to a lavish celebrity ceremony and taking her grandmother’s maiden name to shield her family from the limelight.But Natalie Portman said Monday portraying grief-stricken Jacqueline Kennedy had taught her the virtue of celebrities giving more of themselves to the public.“Jackie,” Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larrain’s first English-language feature, is a searing and intimate portrait of the first lady in th

Nov. 16, 2016

Director Paul Verhoeven bemoans Hollywood's lack of sex

LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- “Basic Instinct” director Paul Verhoeven complained Sunday that Hollywood had stopped making “challenging” movies featuring provocative sex as it clamored to cash in on mainstream audiences.The Dutch filmmaker, famous for a slew of films that shocked audiences with their sex and violence, said studios chasing ratings were now mainly interested in the lucrative “PG-13” market. “If you say it has to be PG-13, there are a lot of things you cannot do. You cannot be provocative,

Nov. 15, 2016

Upcoming crime flick ‘Master’ hits close to home

The hotly anticipated crime flick “Master” features three characters, played by a trio of top stars, who are each “masterful” at what they do. Lee Byung-hun portrays a criminal organization’s maniacal leader who dons a myriad of disguises; Kim Woo-bin is an unpredictable genius hacker and the mastermind behind the organization’s operations; and Kang Dong-won stars as the head detective of a white collar crime investigation unit who doggedly pursues elusive villains. “Things that shouldn’t happen

Nov. 14, 2016

Eagles of Death Metal singer denies trying to enter Sting gig

PARIS (AFP) -- The frontman of the US rock group on stage in Paris when jihadists massacred 90 people a year ago Sunday denied claims he was barred entry to the show marking the first anniversary of the killings.Management of the Bataclan venue said they prevented two members of the Eagles of Death Metal including lead singer Jesse Hughes from entering the Sting gig on Saturday night.“They came, I threw them out -- there are things you can’t forgive,” the venue’s co-director Jules Frutos said la

Nov. 14, 2016

Jeju film fest opens with ‘I, Daniel Blake’

The 12th Jeju Film Festival opened Saturday on Korea’s southernmost island.The annual film festival is being held through Saturday at Lotte Cinema Jeju in Jeju City. This year’s opening film was English director Ken Loach’s social drama “I, Daniel Blake,” which nabbed the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May. An exhibition is highlighting Korean director Kim Jee-woon’s works, including “A Bittersweet Life,” Kim’s 2005 crime drama featuring actor Lee Byung-hun as a gangster who starts a

Nov. 13, 2016

Filmmaker Frederick Wiseman says reading key to his success

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Frederick Wiseman is not a Hollywood guy. The filmmaker has been quietly making documentaries from his home base in Cambridge, Massachusetts, since 1967, exploring such subjects as meat production, welfare, a ski town and a hospital for the criminally insane.Though none of his films received Academy Awards bids, Wiseman accepted an honorary Oscar Saturday at the film academy’s eighth annual Governors Awards. He is being recognized alongside action star Jackie Chan, film edito

Nov. 13, 2016