Hollywood space epic “Interstellar” cleared the 10 million viewer mark at the Korean box office on Christmas Day, becoming the third film to achieve the feat this year after Disney animation “Frozen” (10.29 million) and Korean period action flick “Roaring Currents” (17.61 million).Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi film on Thursday joined the 10 million viewership club within 50 days of its release, its distributor Warner Bros. Korea said. Only two other imported films, “Avatar” (13.30 million) and “Fro

Dec. 25, 2014

Domestic films have sold 100 million tickets in movie theaters this year for the third year running, according to the state-run Korea Film Council. This year, Korean films garnered 100.19 million viewers as of Tuesday, which indicates every Korean has watched an average of two local films on the silver screen in a country of 50 million people. Local films have earned a total of 763.2 billion won ($695.3 million) in box office revenue this year.  People line up at a cinema chain in Yongsan-gu, Se

Dec. 23, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) ― While Hollywood continued to wrestle with the fallout of the Sony hacking scandal, the weekend box office offered the solace of a moviegoing truism: Hobbits sell. Peter Jackson’s final installment of his six J.R.R. Tolkien adventures, “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” debuted with $56.2 million over the weekend and $90.6 million since opening Wednesday, according to studio estimates Sunday. For an industry reeling from the cancellation of “The Interview” and terrorist

Dec. 22, 2014

GENEVA (AP) ― Brazilian author Paulo Coelho says the Sony hack threatens us all if society doesn’t enforce important values: our individual and collective freedom of expression and an unwavering refusal to negotiate with anonymous terrorists. The best-selling author said in an interview Friday with The Associated Press that he was prepared to make himself an example ― even if it meant inviting criticism and potential threats ― if Sony Pictures had taken him up on his $100,000 offer for the right

Dec. 21, 2014

The acting drops away from Bradley Cooper’s performance as “deadliest American sniper” Chris Kyle. Cooper bulked up, kept a pinch between his lower lip and jaw and became a man of few drawled words, the perfect Clint Eastwood hero in Eastwood’s film “American Sniper.”The director, who has seemed distracted if not downright bored with his recent films ― “Jersey Boys” was sort of a post-orangutan low ― returns to form with a clean kill of a movie, an unfussy combat film that only drifts in a third

Dec. 19, 2014

The Tailors (Korea)Opening Dec. 24Drama. Directed by Lee Won-suk“The Tailors” is the story of two tailors: Jo Dol-seok (Han Suk-kyu), the head of Sanguiwon, the office in charge of royal attire in the Joseon era (1392-1910), and Lee Gong-jin (Gosu), a rebellious, skilled young designer who sets his fashion career in motion by designing the most outrageous and artistic hanbok of the time. When Dol-seok, an orthodox designer, becomes jealous of Gong-jin’s talent, their friendly competition escalat

Dec. 19, 2014

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Hollywood loves its overseas villains. Evil forces from Russia, China and North Korea have tirelessly menaced our big-screen heroes in recent years. But, in the wake of the dramatic cancellation of “The Interview,” an entire species of movie baddies might be in danger of extinction. One film already bit the dust. “Pyongyang,” an adaption of a graphic novel set in North Korea, was given the ax Wednesday after distributor Fox abandoned the project and producer New Regency was fo

Dec. 19, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) ― At Sunday’s premiere of “Selma” in New York, the cast acknowledged parallels between their film about the African-American civil rights movement and recent protests nationwide, calling attention to the deaths of unarmed black males at the hands of police. “You can look out your window and you can see people protesting and you can look at the film and it looks similar,” said Oprah Winfrey, who is a producer on the film and has an acting role as well. “People are wearing different

Dec. 17, 2014

ATLANTA (AP) ― Seventy-five years after the premiere of the movie “Gone with the Wind,” research is shedding light on the racial tensions that existed at the time between the producer and city of Atlanta officials. Emory University film studies professor Matthew Bernstein has conducted extensive research into the archives of the film’s producer, David O. Selznick. His findings illustrate some of Selznick’s concerns with the city’s treatment of the film’s black stars at the Dec. 15, 1939 premiere

Dec. 16, 2014

A documentary about a couple who have been married for 76 years is storming the box office, with more than 1 million tickets sold so far, a rare feat for an indie-film in Korea. “My Love, Don’t Cross That River,” directed by Jin Mo-young, nabbed the top spot on Korea’s box office chart over the weekend, beating out blockbusters “Exodus” and “Interstellar.”The film has attracted a total of 1.06 million viewers since it premiered on Nov. 26, according to the state-run Korea Film Council. It seems

Dec. 15, 2014

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― The obvious question is: Where is Kim Jong-un’s sense of humor?It’s hard to understand why North Korea is taking “The Interview” ― a madcap comedy about a fictional CIA plot to kill the elusive leader ― so seriously.The film ― starring American comic actors Seth Rogen and James Franco, and due in theaters on Christmas Day ― is full of scatological humor and sexual jokes.It’s basically a cross between a slapstick James Bond and a “Hangover” movie, aimed squarely at an audience

Dec. 15, 2014

Ode to My Father (Korea)Opening Dec. 17Drama. Directed by Yoon Je-kyoon“Ode to My Father” is the story of Deok-soo (Hwang Jung-min), a man who lived through Korea’s tumultuous 1950s and 1960s. When the Korean War breaks out, Deok-soo is separated from his younger sister and his mother and becomes the breadwinner of the family. From a young age, he takes all kinds of difficult and odd jobs to provide for his mother and his other siblings. In search for opportunities, he travels the globe, working

Dec. 12, 2014

To what do we owe the second coming of the biblical epic? A genre that was once as moldy as stale communion wafers has been reborn this year, first with Darren Aronofsky’s “Noah” and now with Ridley Scott’s “Exodus: Gods & Kings.” The resurrection is partly to capitalize on the faith-based moviegoing audience and partly because the Bible offers stories suited to this blockbuster era, offering both spectacle and name-brand familiarity. More than 50 years after “The Ten Commandments” sandals are b

Dec. 12, 2014