Actress Moon So-ri wins Italian film award

South Korean actress Moon So-ri has won an Italian film award on the sidelines of the 73rd Venice International Film Festival, her management agency said Tuesday.The actress, who is a jury member at the festival, won the Starlight Cinema Award in the International Award category on Monday, according to CJES Entertainment.Now in its third year, the award is presented by an association of Italian female film critics. Al Pacino and Spanish actress Paz Vega won the award in 2014 and 2015, respective

Sept. 6, 2016

Stars mull fourth Bridget Jones film at London premiere

LONDON (AFP) - The stars of “Bridget Jones's Baby” took to the pink carpet on Monday for the film’s London premiere, contemplating shooting another episode in the misadventures of cinema‘s most hapless singleton.Crowds gathered in Leicester Square to catch a glimpse of the cast of the third Bridget Jones film, in which Renee Zellweger plays the disaster-prone, chardonnay-swigging heroine.Ahead of the screening Zellweger suggested she would be open to a fourth film in the series. “I think it woul

Sept. 6, 2016

[Herald Review] ‘Age of Shadows’ shrouded in intrigue, style

“The Age of Shadows” is the latest among a handful of Korean movies this year to gain international attention. After being invited to Toronto and Venice international film festivals, the film was chosen last week as Korea’s contender for the Academy Awards’ Best Foreign Language Film.Directed by Kim Jee-woon (“I Saw the Devil”), the film is a stylish noir-thriller brimming with intrigue. It also spins a Western spy-action take on the history of the Korean independence movement, which will be ref

Sept. 4, 2016

Jude Law bewitches as Sorrentino’s dangerous ‘Young Pope’

VENICE (AFP) - It‘s Jude Law’s first day as pope, and after dropping his nightgown to reveal the sort of toned backside to make nuns blush, he addresses the crowd in Saint Peter‘s Square on the pleasures of masturbation.　Italian master Paolo Sorrentino’s first foray into the world of television series has produced a 10-part wonder set at the heart of the Vatican state, where the College of Cardinals has just elected its first-ever American pope.　Lenny Belardo, aka Pius XIII, is revealed in the f

Sept. 4, 2016

[Box Office] Latest movie releases

Grand Father(Korea)Opened Aug. 31Drama, action. Directed by Lee SeoWhen elderly truck driver Ki-kwang’s (Park Geun-hyung) estranged son commits suicide, he attends the funeral. There, his granddaughter tells him the death might not have been self-inflicted, sending Ki-kwang on a chase for the truth.Money Monster(US)Opened Aug. 31Thriller, crime. Directed by Jodie FosterTelevision stock expert Lee Gates (George Clooney) hosts the show “Money Monster.” One day, a disgruntled investor ambushes the

Sept. 2, 2016

The beauty and tragedy of ‘The Light Between Oceans’

There is no misfortune too shattering for Derek Cianfrance it seems. The writer and director of “Blue Valentine,” “The Place Beyond the Pines” and now, an adaptation of the M.L. Stedman novel “The Light Between Oceans” confidently strides into stories of little hope and painful circumstance, using pretty actors and even prettier settings to create sweeping milieus of human devastation. But where the dissolving marriage in “Blue Valentine” was so tangibly real that it felt as raw as a breakup, “T

Sept. 2, 2016

Actress Moon So-ri attends Venice Film Festival as judge

Actress Moon So-ri made her red carpet appearance at the 73rd annual Venice Film Festival as a judge on Wednesday.　“I look forward to seeing what all that the films I will be judging have to offer, and learning from them,” said Moon in a statement released by her management agency C-Jes Entertainment on Thursday.Globally acclaimed for her leading roles in Im Sang-soo’s “A Good Lawyer’s Wife” (2003) and Lee Chang-dong’s “Oasis” (2002), the 42-year-old actress will be judging in the Orizzonti sect

Sept. 1, 2016

'La La Land' musical masterpiece dazzles Venice film fest

VENICE (AFP) -- A bewitching musical starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone whipped up a frenzy on the opening day of the Venice film festival Wednesday as it kicked off the race for the Golden Lion.Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land,” a tribute to the golden age of American musicals, reunites the stars, who appeared together in the 2011 romantic comedy “Crazy, Stupid, Love” -- but with oodles of singing this time.The world’s top film critics, gathered on the glamorous Lido di Venezia for the 10-day fe

Sept. 1, 2016

Frankenstein 2.0: Hollywood’s obsession with ‘playing God’

LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- Ridley Scott’s son Luke steps out of his father’s shadow this week with his directorial debut “Morgan,” a modern take on the “mad scientist” trope that has preoccupied Hollywood for more than a century.Ever since inventor Thomas Edison’s company made the first Frankenstein motion picture in 1910, filmmakers have been telling cautionary tales about the folly of mankind “playing God” to create life.Setting aside more than 70 movies featuring Mary Shelley’s monster itself, nume

Sept. 1, 2016

‘The Age of Shadows’ selected as 2017 Oscars contender

Upcoming historical thriller “The Age of Shadows” has been selected as a contender for the 89th Academy Awards for best foreign language film, according to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) on Tuesday. “‘The Age of Shadows’ was selected not only for its aesthetic achievement, but also in recognition of the director and cast, and global distribution and marketing efforts,” said KOFIC in a statement. Starring big-name actors including Song Kang-ho from the 2013 dystopian film “Snowpiercer” and Gong

Aug. 31, 2016

Actor Cha Seung-won plays Joseon era cartographer in new film

One of the most famous maps in Korean history is the 1861 Daedongyeojido, meaning “the great map of the east land.” Measuring 6.7 by 3.8 meters and depicting the entire Korean Peninsula, it has long been lauded by historians for being astonishingly accurate, detailed and advanced for its time.In “The Map Against the World,” a new historical drama flick set for release on Sept. 7, actor Cha Seung-won takes up the role of Kim Jeong-ho, a late Joseon era geographer, cartographer and maker of the hi

Aug. 31, 2016

Lee Byung-hun to attend Toronto International Film Festival

Korean actor Lee Byung-hun is set to attend the 41st annual Toronto International Film Festival for the screening of his upcoming Hollywood film “The Magnificent Seven,” according to his management company BH Entertainment on Tuesday.　Starring Lee and American actors Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt and Ethan Hawke, the Western action film -- a remake of the 1960 movie of the same name -- follows seven mercenaries as they fight to protect a village from cold-blooded thieves.　Taking place from Sept

Aug. 30, 2016

Actress Tang Wei gives birth to daughter　

Chinese actress Tang Wei gave birth to a healthy and beautiful baby girl, the actress revealed on her Instagram on Saturday. 　Tang, wife of Korean filmmaker Kim Tae-yong, uploaded a photo of herself with the Chinese caption, “To everyone, today I gave birth to a 3.41kg baby girl. She is very healthy.” 　According to local media reports, Tang gave birth at a hospital in Hong Kong.　Tang and Kim married in 2014 on the remote Swedish island of Faro. The two first met while filming “Late Autumn” in 20

Aug. 28, 2016

‘Tunnel’ tops box office with 6 million viewers

“Tunnel,” depicting a man’s struggle to survive in a collapsed tunnel, has topped the local box office chart for 18 days since its release, attracting more than 6 million cinemagoers, according to the Korea Film Council on Sunday. 　The film, which was released on Aug. 10, sold 6,026,910 tickets Sunday. It attracted 1 million viewers within the first three days of its release and 3 million within six days.  A scene from “Tunnel” (Showbox)　The film, directed by Kim Sung-hoon of the 2014 hit “Hard

Aug. 28, 2016

Director Kim Jee-woon says ‘Age of Shadows’ is ‘heated’ noir

When director Kim Jee-woon first started filming his newest historical thriller “The Age of Shadows,” he had set his mind on making a “cold” noir flick featuring a ruthless world of spies. 　But the film turned out to be much more “heated” than originally intended, he told reporters after a press screening of the film in Seoul on Tuesday.　His original references had been classics like the 1949 black-and-white thriller “The Third Man” and the 1965 Western espionage flick “The Spy Who Came In from

Aug. 26, 2016

[Box Office] Latest movie releases

Truth(US)Opened Aug. 23Drama. Directed by James VanderbiltControversy begins to brew when anchor Dan Rather (Robert Redford) and producer Mary Mape (Cate Blanchett) broadcast a report about President W. George Bush and his military service.Florence Foster Jenkins(UK)Opened Aug. 23Drama. Directed by Stephen FrearsNew York socialite Florence Foster Jenkins (Meryl Streep) dreams of becoming an opera singer. The problem is her limited talent: while others are not at all impressed with her voice, it

Aug. 26, 2016

Frenzied visuals lead to middling remake of ‘Ben-Hur’

Neither a sterling remake nor the disastrous camp hoot some were anticipating, those punks, the new “Ben-Hur” arrives in theaters beaded with flop sweat. Its box office forecast calls for gray skies followed by red ink: It cost about $100 million to make and the tracking data puts the weekend haul at $14 million to $15 million, which is grim like the Charlton Heston jawline under pressure was grim.The movie arrives in the supplicant position, begging for unfavorable comparisons to the 1959 Willi

Aug. 26, 2016