The upcoming mystery drama “A Day” is about people who wake up to find themselves locked in what seems to be an eternal time loop.“It’s a painful day that you hope will end but never ends,” said director Jo Sun-ho (“Killer Toon,” 2013) at the film’s press screening in Seoul Wednesday.“It’s a day where you have to watch your loved one die over and over again, where someone has to kill over and over again.”The film has been invited to screen at the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival, set

Film June 8, 2017

The upcoming historical film “The Battleship Island” starring Song Joong-ki has been sold to 113 countries, its distributor CJ Entertainment said Thursday.The film has been sold to North American countries as well as France, Italy, Russia, Turkey, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand, among others, following its promotion at the European Film Market in February. “(The film) is a war film, prison film and escape film,” said Cyril Burkel, acquisitions executive at French distributor Metropolit

Film June 8, 2017

Genre dramas featuring increasingly supernatural elements, long seen as lacking mainstream appeal, are flooding Korean television recently. 　Time slip has now become a staple device in both mystery thrillers -- last year’s hit tvN series “Signal” revolved around walkie-talkies that connected its users to the future -- and even in romantic comedies such as tvN’s “Tomorrow With You,” where the male lead was a time traveler. KBS’ “Hit the Top,” which began airing Friday, focuses on a K-pop idol sin

Television June 7, 2017

Korean hip-hop duo XXX has been invited to perform at the opening of Midem music festival, the world’s largest business-to-business music event, held in Cannes, France.XXX will be putting on a 40-minute performance at the event’s opening show, titled “Midem by Night,” Tuesday evening, according to its label Beasts and Natives Alike.Some 6,000 music industry insiders from 75 countries are expected to participate at this year‘s Midem.  Hip-hop duo XXX (BANA)Other Korean artists such as rock band G

Performance June 6, 2017

The cast of “Okja” is coming to Korea next week despite the controversy surrounding its theatrical release in Korea.　Hollywood actors Tilda Swinton, Steven Yeun, Giancarlo Esposito and Daniel Henshall will be present at the red carpet event for “Okja” at Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo Times Square mall Tuesday at 7 p.m., Netflix announced Tuesday. 　The film’s Korean cast members Ahn Seo-hyun, Byun Hee-bong and Choi Woo-sik will also attend the event.　Swinton, Yeun, Esposito, Ahn and Byun will participate

Film June 6, 2017

This year‘s Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival will feature a special exhibition focusing on the works of actress Jeon Do-yeon, BIFAN announced Monday.　“The exhibition will screen the major works from Jeon Do-yeon’s 20 years of acting onscreen. It will feature a press conference, a discussion with viewers, an exhibition of posters and stills from her films, and a booklet of Jeon‘s acting career,” said BIFAN in a statement. 　 Poster for Jeon Do-yeon’s special exhibition at BIFAN (BIFAN

Film June 5, 2017

The future of Bong Joon-ho’s much-anticipated Netflix-backed fantasy flick “Okja” has become murky in Korea, as the local cinema industry begins to mirror the conflict between online streaming and theatrical screenings that took center stage in Cannes last month. Last Friday, Korea’s largest cinema chain CGV announced it would not show “Okja” in its theaters unless Netflix agreed to postpone online streaming until after the film’s theatrical debut. Other major cinema chains, Lotte Cinema and Meg

Film June 5, 2017

Warriors of the Dawn(Korea)Opened May 31Historical, drama. Directed by Jeong Yoon-chulTo-woo (Lee Jung-jae) is the rugged leader of proxy soldiers who receive money from noblemen to go to war on their behalf. When the Imjin War between Joseon Kingdom and Japan breaks out, King Seonjo flees to Ming China. His son Prince Gwanghae (Yeo Jin-goo) is left to lead the royal court alone, and the responsibility of protecting and guiding the young heir befalls on To-woo. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men

Film June 2, 2017

Actor Lee Jung-jae has come to symbolize the sleek, sophisticated modern male in Korean cinema. But in his most recent film “Warriors of the Dawn,” directed by Jeong Yoon-chul, Lee sheds his usual slim-fitting suit for rags, dirt and disheveled hair.“Appearances are important for viewers,” Lee said at an interview Thursday at a cafe in Palpan-dong in central Seoul. “Then, only afterwards, are viewers able to feel the emotion of scenes.”Lee plays To-woo, the rugged leader of proxy soldiers that e

Film May 26, 2017

Get Out(US)Opened May 17Mystery, horror. Directed by Jordan PeeleChris (Daniel Kaluuya) and Rose (Allison Williams) have been dating for awhile, finally reaching the meet-the-parents point in the relationship. Rose invites Chris to a weekend mini-vacation in an upstate home with her family. At first, Chris believes Rose’s parents are being uncommonly kind to overcompensate for their awkwardness with their daughter’s interracial relationship. But in a series of disquieting discoveries throughout

Film May 26, 2017

Since Hollywood loves a nostalgic reboot, it’s no surprise that the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise is setting sail once again, six years after 2011’s “On Stranger Tides.” For this film, subtitled “Dead Men Tell No Tales,” Disney has hired a lesser-known filmmaking duo to reanimate the series -- a pair of Norweigan filmmakers, Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg, who helmed the 2012 oceanic adventure film “Kon-Tiki.” What they’ve delivered is a cookie-cutter “Pirates” movie that faithfully f

Film May 26, 2017

Most journalists stifle a laugh when we hear somebody denounce a newspaper as a product of organized conspiracy.Because everyday we see the reality -- the mistake-filled atmosphere of chaos, rancor, disagreement, systemic technological failure, desperate last-minute alteration. The paper comes out, but nobody knows how, or cares, because yet another deadline looms.One useful attribute of the new documentary “Obit” is the way it illuminates this process. The movie literally peeks over the shoulde

Film May 26, 2017

Poet Omar Perez, the son of the late Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara, visited Korea to attend the Seoul International Literature Forum on Tuesday, according to reports.Perez, 53, spoke at a session titled “Us and Others” at the event, hosted by the Daesan Culture Foundation. The poet said that misunderstanding between people rises when one is unable to clearly express one’s thoughts. “We need to foster the ability to express our thoughts as they are,” he said.  Omar Perez in the studio of Denn

People May 25, 2017

“The Merciless (Bulhandang)” met with an avid response at the Cannes Film Festival’s midnight screening Thursday, receiving a seven-minute standing ovation from the audience, according to reports.It was the longest duration of applause that a Korean film had received at Cannes this year, reports said.Hong Sang-soo’s “The Day After,” “Claire’s Camera” and Jung Byung-gil’s “The Villainess” received applause that ranged from two to five minutes. Bong Joon-ho’s Okja met with applause that lasted fiv

Film May 25, 2017

For most of his career, Yeo Jin-goo has played the younger versions of characters.He acted out the childhood of a Robin Hood-esque hero in the 2008 TV series “Iljimae.” He played a youngster who grows up to be a gambler in the crime film “Tazza: The High Rollers.” His character in the TV drama “Giant” later became the charismatic founder of a building company. In 2012, he stole viewers’ hearts with the younger role of a Joseon-era king in the period series “Moon Embracing the Sun.” 　Although man

Film May 24, 2017