Science more exciting than fiction, ‘Interstellar’ producer Obst says

“Interstellar” producer Lynda Obst believes grounded science is more exciting than fiction. “Science can inspire you if you can tell a great story behind it,” Obst said in a press conference ahead of her keynote speech at the Culture Technology Forum at Coex Center in Seoul on Thursday. “You can turn the world on to these big ideas through character and story,” she said, referring to the link between time and space illustrated in the internationally acclaimed hard sci-fi epic “Interstellar.” The

April 30, 2015

[Herald Review] Life in its harshest form in ‘Coin Locker Girl’

Darkness and isolation are the two constants in “Coin Locker Girl,” the feature-length debut from director Han Jun-hee. It is a crime drama ― violent, unpredictable and thrilling, but even amid its unexpected twists and turns the film never strays from its central message: life is a hard, solitary endeavor.That theme is counterintuitive to the fact that the central characters in the film call each other a “family” despite having no biological connection. In fact, it isn’t clear at first what the

April 28, 2015

[Herald Review] ‘Avengers’ sets Korean box office records

“Avengers: Age of Ultron” is setting box office records worldwide, and Korea is no exception to seeing the Disney Marvel superhero action movie hitting it big.The second Avengers film hit local theaters last Thursday, showing at over 44 percent of multiplex screens nationwide.It sold over 3 million tickets, or 21.2 billion won ($19.7 million), as of Sunday morning, according to the Korean Film Council.The movie, about a band of Earth’s mightiest heroes including Iron Man and Thor from Marvel’s c

April 26, 2015

Box Office

Coin Locker Girl (Korea)Opening April 29Drama. Directed by Han Jun-heeThe dark underworld of loan sharks, drugs, and commissioned kills are all Il-young (Kim Go-eun) knows as she grows up under the wing of Mother (Kim Hye-soo), the crime boss who bought Il-young when she was a little girl. Il-young is blindly loyal to Mother until she catches a glimpse of a normal life through her unlikely friendship with Suk-hyun (Park Bo-gum), the son of a debtor. Chaos ensues as Il-young slowly turns her back

April 24, 2015

‘The Shameless’ gears up for Cannes

“The Shameless,” a new film from director Oh Seung-uk starring Jeon Do-yeon and Kim Nam-gil, is described by its filmmakers as a “hardboiled melodrama-romance.” As one of the official selections invited to the sidebar “Un Certain Regard” competition of the 68th Cannes Film Festival, the film has been stoking curiosity about how Oh would bring together the seemingly antithetical genres of hardboiled and romance.“In terms of genre, the movie is closer to romance,” Oh said at a press conference at

April 24, 2015

Soul and Seoul in the ‘Age of Ultron’

Director Joss Whedon dispenses with all introductions and jumps straight into the action in the hotly anticipated “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” The opening sequence kicks off with the Avengers raiding a HYDRA stronghold in the snowy mountains of Sokovia, kicking, punching and blasting their way to capture Loki’s powerful scepter. From there, the action never slows down throughout the 140-minute film screened for the media at CGV Wangsimni on Tuesday. But between the heavy gunfire and scorched metal

April 22, 2015

[Herald Review] Two families with disabilities, two very different stories

Two films about families struggling with disabilities will hit theaters side by side on April 23, three days after the designated national day to raise awareness about physical disabilities. Despite their common subject matter, the films present a striking contrast in their portrayals of life with disabilities.The first film is “Glittering Hands,” the first full-length feature film from 25-year-old Lee-Kil Bora that received accolades at the Seoul Independent Film Festival and the Persons with D

April 21, 2015

Box Office

The Avengers: Age of Ultron (U.S.)Opening April 23Adventure. Directed by Joss WhedonTony Stark attempts to revive a dormant peacekeeping program, but the situation takes a bad, dangerous turn. The Avengers -- Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), The Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) -- team up again to save the world from the villainous Ultron’s plans.The Gunman (U.S.)Opened April 16Action.

April 17, 2015

Marvel’s superheroes back in action

The Avengers superheroes are back to save the world from a rogue robot.The cast and crew of Marvel’s blockbuster “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” including director Joss Whedon, Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans, came to Seoul to promote the film ahead of its official opening. They were joined by Mark Ruffalo and Kim Soo-hyun at a press conference at the Conrad Hotel in Yeouido on Friday.“We really started the movie by coming here, and this is actually the hotel where Claudia auditioned for a role,” d

April 17, 2015

Madness blurs with passion in ‘Whiplash’

“Whiplash,” the thrilling musical drama directed by Damien Chazelle, has become an unexpected hit in Korea, drawing in some 1.5 million moviegoers here as of early this month.The movie, which is about tough music professor Terence Fletcher (B.K. Simmons) tormenting his student Andrew Neyman (Miles Teller) to bring out the best in him, received rave reviews at the Sundance Film Festival. It also won Academy Awards, including for Simmons as best supporting actor.The positive reception in Korea for

April 12, 2015

Box Office

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them (U.S.), Opened April 9Drama. Directed by Ned Benson. Conor Ludlow (James McAvoy) and Eleanor Rigby (Jessica Chastain) are a young couple living in New York. They fall in love, and it seems they have nothing to fear or want in the world until a life-changing event threatens to throw their relationship on the rocks. Divided into three films ― “Them,” “Him” and “Her” ― the same story is narrated from different perspectives to provide insight and depth into t

April 10, 2015

KOFA receives large donation of lost Korean films

A large trove of old Korean films considered lost have been acquired by a state-run film archive center, potentially filling some of the gaps in the official record of Korean cinema, Korea Film Archive revealed Tuesday.At a press conference in Seoul, the Seoul-based KOFA said that it had received a donation of 450 films, 94 of which were Korean films from 1949-1981 that were believed to be lost. The films will lead to a fuller understanding of Korean cinematic history, officials said. The 94 fil

April 7, 2015

Box Office

Salute D’Amour (Korea)Opening April 9Drama, Romance. Directed by Kang Je-gyu70-year-old Sung-chil (Park Geun-hyung), who works at a local supermarket Jangsoo store is a stubborn, short-tempered, old man living by himself. One day, he meets a beautiful, thoughtful woman named Geum-nim (Yoon Yeo-jeong), who owns a flower shop and lives with her daughter Min-jung (Han Ji-min). Sung-chil is interested in Geum-nim and gets advice from his younger friends to go out on a date with her. Geum-nim’s cheer

April 3, 2015

Australian drama ‘Partisan’ to open Jeonju Film Festival

Australian director Ariel Keliman’s feature debut “Partisan” will open the 16th edition of Jeonju International Film Festival, inviting a slew of cineaste to the southwestern city of Jeonju from April 30 to May 9. Starring Vincent Cassel (“Black Swan”), the film depicts a closed community composed of troubled women and children who are trained to become child soldiers. The film is told through the eyes of a boy named Alexander (Jeremy Chabriel), illustrating the themes of violence, class struggl

April 1, 2015

Love lies between life and death

In the film “Revivre,” a middle-aged man who has been looking after his dying wife suddenly finds himself attracted to a younger, beautiful woman. In the backdrop of the man’s tireless emotional struggles, the contradicting themes of life and death, youth and maturity, and desire and responsibility continue to alternate throughout the film. “Revivre” is the 102nd film of veteran director Im Kwon-taek, who wanted to the explore symbolic, ideational meanings of death.  Kim Ho-jung (left) and Ahn S

March 31, 2015

Comedy ‘Twenty’ tops Korean box office

Local comedy flick “Twenty” was the most popular film at the theaters over the weekend, stimulating the sluggish Korean box office dominated by Hollywood movies. “Twenty,” directed by Lee Byung-hun and starring heartthrobs Kim Woo-bin, Lee Jun-ho and Kang Ha-neul, nabbed the top spot by garnering more than 1 million viewers since it premiered Wednesday. As of Monday, the film attracted 1,136,866 viewers and earned 8.74 billion won ($7.93 million), according to the official box-office tracker Kor

March 30, 2015

Box Office

Revivre (Korea)Opening April 9Drama. Directed by Im Kwon-taekBased on Korean author Kim Hoon’s award-winning novel “Hwajang” (a Korean word meaning makeup and cremation), “Revivre” is veteran director Im Kwon-taek’s 102nd film. The film centers on top marketing executive Oh Sang-moo (Ahn Sung-ki), who works at a major cosmetic company. He is attracted to a young, beautiful woman called Choo Eun-joo (Kim Gyu-ri), while his wife is dying of a brain tumor. The film has already been invited to a num

March 27, 2015