We have three Korean movies opening this coming week– two comedies in historical settings and one documentary about penguins. Let’s start with the comedies.
Tears in the Antarctic was made by the same directors of the excellent Tears in the Amazon, Kim Jin-man and Kim Je-yeong.
Next we have a comedy that was given a test release this past weekend and wound up appearing in the top ten at the box office. I Am The King is directed by Jang Gyu-seong and stars Joo Jin-hoon and Baek Yoon-shik.
And finally we have The Grand Heist starring Cha Tae-hyeon and Oh Ji-ho, directed by Kim Joo-hoon
Other movies opening this week include LA, I Hate You (us), Unrest (us), American Reunion (us), Stake Land (us), Last Caller (puetro rico), Animals United (de), Last Circus (es), If You Die, I’ll Kill You (fr), Sister (fr), and Love (tw)
There are four Korean films opening this coming week.
The first is an animation about the fish in a holding tank at a sushi restaurant.. (the comments on Youtube comparing the trailer to Finding Nemo made me laugh– this is definately NOT a petstore they are in!) The name of the film is Padak and it is directed by Lee Dae-hee and voiced by Kim Hyeon-ji and Shi Yeong-joon. It has a darker theme than Nemo and is rated for ages 12 or older.
Horror Stories is an omnibus film directed by Jeong Beom-shik, Im Dae-woong, Hong Ji-yeong, Kim Gok, Kim Seon and Min Gyu-dong. It originally screened at the Bucheon Fantastic Film Festival and is now getting a general release for those of us who didn’t go this year.
An Escalator in World Order is a documentary film by Kim Kyeong-man looking at the role of the USA in the development of Korea
And finally, we have what might be the most anticipated film of the summer in among Korean audiences, The Thieves, featuring Kim Yoon-seok, Lee Jeong-jae and many other talented actors directed bed Choi Dong-hoon. Even with Batman only in its second week in theaters, it is a pretty sure bet that this film will wind up in the number 1 spot at the end of the weekend.
There are two Korean films opening this Thursday. The first is a comedy entitled The 5 Million Dollar Man which tells the story of a millionaire on the run.
The second is a documentary, Ukulele Love Together
The Dark Night Rises (us), also opening, will probably land in the number one place in the coming weekend box office. Other films include: The Ceremony (us), Unstable Fables (us), Bounty Hunters (ca), Cafe de Flores (ca), Exorcismus (es), Detective Conan (jp), Honokaa Boy (jp), Rain Fall (jp), and Memories of My Melancholy Whores (mx)
This week we have no less than twenty new movies opening across Korea this coming weekend. Five of them are Korean and their trailers are below. Films from other nations are as follows: Cat Run (us), Everything Must Go (us), Days of Darkness (us), Limitless (us), Pool Boys (us), Anything for Her (fr), In Gold We Trust (fr), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (uk), Street Dancer 2 (uk), Artic Blast (au), Lost in Beijing (ch), Soft Boys (jp), People of Baekja (jp), Wandering Home (jp) and Fake Sisters (jp).
The first trailer here is for the new horror film Two Moons, directed by Kim Dong-bin and starring Park Han-byeol and Kim Ji-seok.
Next we have a thriller entitled Venus in Furs starring Seo Jeong and Baek Hyeon-jin and directed by Song Ye-seob.
Dangerously Excited is a comedy directed by Ku Ja-hong and starring Yoon Je-moon and Song Ha-yoon.
I love the 70s retro title of Bloody Fight in Iron Rock Valley which matches the setting of the film and the old Hong Kong action movies it was inspired by. It was directed by Ji Ha-jin and stars Lee Moo-saeng and Yoon Sang-hwa.
The above film was only one of two that Lee Moo-saeng is starring in this week. He also leads the cast in director Bong Man-dae’s film Sex, Lies and Videotapes. This movie co-stars Ko Soo-hee.
We have nine films preparing to open on July 5th in theaters across Korea. They are Midnight in Paris (us), Days of Darkness (us), Haywire (us), Raven (us), Trespass (us), Letter to Momo (jp), Kidnapped (es), Desco (mx), and Deranged (kr).
Of these, only Deranged has the potential not only of rivalling Amazing Spiderman– which took 71% of the box office last weekend– but also of knocking it out of the top ranked spot. Watch the trailer below–English subtitles provided– and see whether you agree that this looks good. Deranged stars Kim Myeong-in, Moon Jeong-hee and Shinhwa member Kim Dong-wan. It is directed by Park Jeong-woo.
It has been awhile since I wrote about a short film and there is really no excuse for it. Short films are my favorite movies to watch, especially when I am busy with correcting papers or other school-related work. And it is not as if there are any shortage of them. While a few years ago, viewing shorts was difficult to do outside of film festivals or the rare DVD compliation, but then the INDIEFILM television channel became available here in Jeonju. As the name implies, it airs solely independent and art films and among its offerings are numerous short films. A surprising number of these have English subtitles including the movie I caught by chance last night, The Postcard. This touching tale was directed by Kim Joon-pyo aka Josh Kim and after watching this movie, I wish he would do more. He put an incredible amount of characterization and emotion into a film which was no mean feat considering that the entire running time he had to work with was 14 minutes. Unfortunately, up until now, his only other work in films has been a bit part in the 2007 comedy Master Kims– a movie I forgot existed until today. The Postcard is really a moving film, bringing me close to tears twice in its short running time. The first time was when the mailman’s hopes are crushed. He goes from happiness to utter despair in the blink of an eye an it is truly heartbreaking. The second time was at the end. It is a film that shows a lot of sensitivity about a delicate topic without maudlin or unduly sentimental and it mixes in a heavy dose of humor. It is really a movie in need of a wider audience
Actually, I had initially written a full-review of the plot and the points I liked as I had assumed most readers of this blog would not be able to see the movie. Then I did a quick search and found that this movie had been posted, presumably legally, on Youtube with the English subtitles. I erased my summary and embedded the film below. Enjoy the movie and judge it for yourself.
Several new Korean films are opening this week along with The Slut (is), Di Di Hollywood (es), Special Forces (fr), Big Bang (us), Yattaman (jp), and Faces in a Crowd. The trailers for the Korean films are below.
The one that seems most interesting to me among the many films opening this week is Two Weddings and a Funeral. It was directed by Kimjo Gwang-soo and stars Kim Dong-yoon, Ryu Hyeon-kyeong
The Suck Up Project, formerly dubbed with the English name The XXX-Kisser. (The X’ s are not be being coy, that is how the title was originally written). It is directed by Jeong Seung-goo and starring Song Sae-byeok and Seong Dong-il.
Miss Conspirator is an action comedy starring Ko Hyeon-jeong and Yoo Hae-jin .. third on the cast list is Seong Dong-il ..he has been busy lately as he was also playing the lead in the above film…
Heaven is Only Open to the Single– director Jo Seong-gyu; starring Choi Yoon-so and Lee Neung-ryong.
Finally, we have 2 documentaries. The first is entitled Two Doors focussing on a recent and tragic demonstration in Seoul.
Only for movies are opening this week, and two of them are Korean films.
The trailer below is for THE CONCUBINE directed by Kim Dae-seung and starring Jo Yeo-jeong and Kim Dong-wook.
The other film is SUPER STAR starring Kim Jeong-tae and Song Sam-dong. It is directed by Im Jin-soo
They are up against two other films that have the potential to be big hits.. one is PROMETHEUS (us) which I admit to being interested in and, for the younger crowd, there is MADAGASCAR 3 (us)
There are four new Korean movies opening in theaters for this coming weekend.
First we have the comedy Runway Cop starring Kang Ji-hwan and Seong Yoo-ri and directed by Shin Tae-ra.
Next we have Kim Kyeong-tae’s horror/thriller Don’t Click starring Park Bo-yeong and Joo Won.
Third is Still Strange, directed by Lee Hong-jae and starring Jang Shi-won and Kim Soo-yeong.
The final Korean movie opening this week is from acclaimed director Hong Sang-soo. It is entitled In Another Country and it stars Yoo Joon-sang and French actress Isabelle Huppert.
Other movies opening this week are Setup (us), Snow White and the Huntsman (us)..which had a very successful test-run this past weekend, Blue Valentine (us), and The Sending Meal (ch),
Usually I post this on Tuesday, but I had a former student visit yesterday so I am a little behind. Tomorrow there will be a total of ten new films hitting Korean cinemas, six of these are produced in Korea.
This first trailer is for a Korean/German documentary called HOME FROM HOME directed by Jo Seong-hyeong and featuring Woo-Za Strauss-Kim and Ludwig Stauss-Kim.
Next is a drama with a title that translates as Children of Heaven (but no official English title has been assigned as of this writing) starring Yoo Da-in and Park Ji-bin and is directed by Park Heung-shik.
U.F.O. looks like it may be interesting..It is listed as a drama, not science fiction, so don’t expect any aliens in the film.
Next is another documentary and another film with no English title assigned by KOFIC yet. This one is Anyeong, Haseyo! featuring the lives of a group of visually impaired children.
EMPTY FULLNESS is yet another documentary, this one directed Im Seong-gu.
Finally we have the movie GRANNY GOES TO SCHOOL. (As accurate as it is, I think this title could use tweaking…) which not only looks like it will be a moving family film, but also seems to have an interesting family unit
Other movies opening this week are: INAZUMA ELEVEN GO (jp), KIROT WALLS (il), MEN IN BLACK 3 (us), MACHINE GUN PREACHER (us)
