[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Battle of Jangsari(Korea)Opened Sept. 25Drama, WarDirected by Kwak Kyung-Taek, Kim Tae-Hoon During the height of the Korean War, Capt. Lee Myeong-jun (Kim Myung-min) and his 772 student soldiers take the North Korea-occupied Jangsari beach to provide a diversion for UN forces ahead of the Battle of Incheon. But their ship runs aground, forcing them to hold back a massive wave of North Korean retaliation with no means to escape.Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood(US)Opened Sept. 25Comedy, Drama Dir

Sept. 27, 2019

Italian directors, actors join list of BIFF guests

Organizers of the 24th annual Busan International Film Festival added more names to the list of international guests on Thursday for the upcoming event, including up-and-coming directors and actors from Italy.Francesco Di Leva and Adriano Pantaleo, two actors from “The Mayor of Rione Sanita,” will be making an appearance at the festival. The film, directed by Mario Martone and based on the 1960 play of the same name, was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 76th Venice Inte

Sept. 26, 2019

Busan film fest set to attract audiences with all sorts of delicacies

The 24th edition of Busan International Film Festival is ready to entertain local and overseas movie buffs with delicate flicks for 10 days in the middle of the fall season.This year's festival will take place from Oct. 3-12 at five cinemas, including the Busan Cinema Center, in Busan, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, featuring 303 films from 85 countries.Among the invitations, 120 films, including 97 feature-length movies, will be at BIFF for world premieres.Award-winning auteurs' new works a

Sept. 25, 2019

[Herald Review] ‘Battle of Jangsari,’ average delivery, worthy tribute

Judging by the massive box office score, I’m in the minority when I say I hated “Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War” (2004). It had good acting, action and drama, but it was far too sappy and a bit too contrived -- not uncommon criticism for Korean films.“Battle of Jangsari” -- directed by Kwak Kyung-Taek and Kim Tae-Hoon -- is one that had the potential to be a great film, but fell short in delivery because of the problems it shares with “Taegukgi,” as we

Sept. 22, 2019

Korea’s Oscar-tipped ‘Parasite’ sets French box office record

PARIS (AFP) - The South Korean satire “Parasite” has become the most successful Cannes-winning film at the French box office in 15 years, new figures show.Director Bong Joon-ho became the first Korean to lift the Palme d’Or in May for his brilliant class war black comedy, and is an early favorite to lift the best foreign language movie Oscar. More than 1.6 million people have paid to see the film in France so far, according to the site CBO box office, a feat not achieved by a C

Sept. 22, 2019

[Box Office] Movies in Theaters this week

The Bad Guys: Reign of Chaos (Korea) Opened Sept. 11Crime, ActionDirected by Son Yong-hoAfter the events of OCN drama “Bad Guys,” legendary gangster Park Woong-cheol (Ma Dong-seok) is back behind bars, and maverick policeman Oh Gu-tak (Kim Sang-joong) -- who put together a team of incarcerated criminals to catch evildoers -- is bed-ridden, struck down by liver cancer. But The “mad dogs” are called upon once again when a police bus flips over and some of the country’

Sept. 20, 2019

'Lord of the Rings' show to start filming in New Zealand

WELLINGTON (AFP) -- US-based streaming giant Amazon announced Wednesday its big-budget "Lord of the Rings" series will within months start filming in New Zealand, home to Peter Jackson's movies of the fantasy epic.Amazon is reportedly spending $1 billion-plus on the series as it seeks to emulate the runaway success enjoyed by "Games of Thrones".Showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay said the South Pacific nation offered the "primordial beauty" of Middle Earth, the s

Sept. 18, 2019

[Herald Review] ‘Man of Men’ is a film that shouldn’t work but does, through power of character

Director Yong Soo’s first feature film, “Man of Men,” is a film that by all accounts shouldn’t work: It is far too familiar, far too obvious and far too sappy for a movie that came out in 2019.Yet surprisingly, the buddy flick starring Sol Kyung-gu and Cho Jin-woong turns out to be pretty fun, buoyed by a mix of drama and comedy -- albeit pretty much by the book -- from the accomplished actors.The film kicks off with gangster Yeong-gi, who embezzles his boss’s money

Sept. 17, 2019

[Herald Review] ‘Yesterday,’ an unimpressive, but lovely film

For those who have someone they hold dear, how would it feel to fall in love with the same person for the first time, once again? That mixture of excitement and nervousness, followed by a rush of joy after realizing that you have stumbled upon something truly special?Director Danny Boyle’s “Yesterday,” a film about a world where the Beatles never happened, depicts that wonderful moment of the world falling in love with their astonishing music for the first time, through a feel-

Sept. 15, 2019

Aug. ticket sales for S. Korean movies hit 7-year low

Monthly sales figures for homegrown films tumbled to their lowest point in seven years last month on a dearth of hit titles, a report showed Saturday.Sales of tickets for South Korean movies came to 18 million in August, 4.21 million less than the monthly sales recorded in August last year, according to the Korean Film Council.It is the first August figure to fall below the 20-million level since 2012.The unusual downturn is attributable to Korean films' tepid performance this summer.Such famous

Sept. 14, 2019

[Box Office] Movies in Theaters this week

It Chapter Two(US)Opened Sept. 4HorrorDirected by Andy Muschietti Twenty-seven years after the Losers Club defeated Pennywise, he has returned to terrorize the town of Derry once more. Now adults, the Losers have long since gone their separate ways. However, kids are disappearing again, so Mike (Isaiah Mustafa), the only one of the group to remain in their hometown, calls the others home.Tune in for Love(Korea)Opened Aug. 28Romance, DramaDirected by Jung Ji-wooIn 1994, when singer Yoo Yeol appea

Sept. 11, 2019

Four Netflix films invited to Busan Int'l Film Festival

Four Netflix original movies have been invited to this year's Busan International Film Festival in an apparent move to keep up with rapidly changing trends in the industry.Last week, the festival announced this year's lineup of 303 films from 85 countries. The list included four Netflix films -- "The King" by David Michod, "The Two Popes" by Fernando Meirelles, "Marriage Story" by Noah Baumbach and "I Lost My Body" by Jeremy Clapin.The 24th edition of BIFF

Sept. 10, 2019

Dark ‘Joker’ wins top Venice Film Festival prize

VENICE (AP) -- Todd Phillips’ dark comic book film “Joker” won the Golden Lion Award at the 76th Venice International Film Festival on Saturday and cemented its place as a legitimate contender for the rest of the awards season.Jury president Lucretia Martel announced the winners of the prestigious award during a ceremony on the Lido. The Golden Lion previously put a spotlight on films that went on to be major awards season players, such as “Roma” and the film academ

Sept. 8, 2019

South Korea's only mountain-themed film festival opens in Ulju

This year's Ulju Mountain Film Festival kicked off on Friday for a five-day run in the southeastern county of Ulju, with 31 movies from 20 countries set to be screened.Under the slogan of "The Road Together," the fourth edition of the mountain-themed film fest runs from Sept. 6-10 in the county near the eastern coastal city of Ulsan."Piano to Zanskar," a British documentary film by Michal Sulima, will open the festival, according to organizers. It depicts an attempt by a reti

Sept. 6, 2019

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Tune in for Love(Korea)Opened Aug. 28Romance, DramaDirected by Jung Ji-wooIn 1994, when singer Yoo Yeol appears on the air for the first time as host of the radio show “Yoo Yeol’s Music Album,” Hyeon-woo (Jung Hae-in) happens to run across Mi-su (Kim Go-eun) at the bakery where she works. Throughout the next decade, fate keeps pulling Hyeon-woo and Mi-su together and pushing them apart again as they try to figure out life on their own, and with each other.Metamorphosis(Korea)Op

Sept. 6, 2019

BIFF award recipients to open and close this year’s festival

Films by directors who previously received commendations will open and close the upcoming 24th Busan International Film Festival, which organizers said was a testament to the annual film festival’s contributions to the Asian film scene.Opening BIFF 2019 is “The Horse Thieves. Roads of Time” by Kazakhstan’s Yerlan Nurmukhambetov and Japan’s Lisa Takeba. The film is about a boy, his encounter with horse thieves and his life after his childhood is dismantled following

Sept. 4, 2019

[Herald Review] ‘Bad Guys’ epitomizes why we love Don Lee

Don Lee, known here better by his Korean name Ma Dong-seok, has a unique place in Korean cinema. Never before had a muscle-bound, middle-aged man -- who looks like he could move a tank with his right hook -- become the image of “cuddly and cute.” What’s more bizarre is that he built the image not by playing family-friendly roles, but by bashing bad guys’ brains on screen.Comparisons of Lee to pro wrestling superstar and Hollywood darling Dwayne “The Rock” John

Sept. 4, 2019

[Herald Review] ‘Tazza: One Eyed Jack’ a mediocre, but fun sequel

All that glitters is not gold, and all hit films are not masterpieces. But just because a movie isn’t that well made doesn’t mean it can’t be enjoyable.Director Kwon Oh-kwang’s “Tazza: One Eyed Jack,” the third in a series about swindling gamblers, is a far cry from a masterpiece, but manages to be fun and loose in its own way. It trades in most of the characters and philosophy of the original comic book that it was based on for a much simpler story and origin

Sept. 1, 2019

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Tune in for Love(Korea)Opened Aug. 28Romance, DramaDirected by Jung Ji-wooIn the year 1994 as singer Yoo Yeol hosts radio show “Yoo Yeol’s Music Album” for the first time, Hyeon-woo (Jung Hae-in) happens to run across Mi-su (Kim Go-eun) at a bakery where she works. Throughout the next decade, fate keeps pulling Hyeon-woo and Mi-su together and pushing them apart again as they try to figure out life on their own, and with each other.Metamorphosis(Korea)Opened Aug. 21Horror, Thri

Aug. 29, 2019

'Parasite' selected as S. Korea's Oscar contender

The Cannes-winning film "Parasite" by renowned auteur Bong Joon-ho has been selected as South Korea's entry to the best international feature film category at the upcoming Academy Awards.The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) said Thursday that it picked Bong's black comedy film to compete for an Oscar nomination for best foreign film next year.The state-run council said it chose "Parasite" for its Palme d'Or achievement at this year's Cannes Film Festival, the worldwide reputation

Aug. 22, 2019