A pair of reviews for the hotly anticipated thriller Howling this week which will be opening on the 16th in Korea. Many more reviews of past and current films also on offer from a wide range of sources.
The Weekly Review Round-up is a weekly feature which brings together all available reviews of Korean films in the English language (and sometimes French) that have recently appeared on the internet. It is by no means a comprehensive feature and additions are welcome (email pierceconran [at] gmail [dot] com). It appears every Friday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News, and the Korean Box Office Update. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site.
To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.
The big news this week is the announcement of this year's Korean Blogathon which is being presented by cineAWESOME! and New Korean Cinema and will this year be hosted on Modern Korean Cinema and a number of other sites, visit the press release below for more information.
2012 KOREAN BLOGATHON
Join Us For ‘Korean Blogathon 2012′
Last year New Korean Cinema played host to the Korean Blogathon – a week which was used to try to shine the spotlight on Korean films and the people who are writing about them online. The response blew us away – over the seven days many great articles emerged from some brilliant writers and this created some interesting discussions about many varied aspects of Korean film and filmmakers. It was such a great event that we promised the Blogathon would return…. so here we go! (New Korean Cinema, February 7, 2012)
KOREAN CINEMA NEWS
Seven Korean Films Invited to 2012 Berlinale
Seven Korean films have been invited to this year’s Berlinale, scheduled for Feb. 9-19. Among the seven, director Kang Ju-gyu’s 28 billion won war blockbuster My Way and Jeon Kyu-hwan’s drama Varanasi have been invited to the festival’s non-competition “Panorama” section. (The Korea Herald, February 1, 2012)
More Images From Yim Pil-sung and Kim Ji-woon's The Doomsday Book
Just last week we heard the good news that the omnibus sci-fi project The Doomsday Book was back on its feet after a long hiatus. The cast includes Kim Gyu-ri, Kim Kang-woo, Ryoo Seung-beom, Cho Youn-hee, Kim Seo-hyung, and Song Sae-byeok. The film will hit Korean cinemas this Spring and will also screen at EFM in Berlin next week. (Twitch, February 2, 2012)
'Jang Keun Suk effect!' You’re My Pet Earns 2.4 Million Dollars
Jang Keun Suk showed off his box office power on the Japanese silver screen. You’re My Pet, which was released in Japan on January 21, earned 2,424,009 dollars by January 29. The movie ranked ninth in box office receipts in the second week. (korea.com, February 2, 2012)
Korean Film in 2012
The Korean film industry has a lot to offer for the year of 2012. Korean films have been gathering more attention around the world and in the domestic market, as Korean films gain attention and Korean actors and producers take part in more international collaborations. According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the market share for Korean films was 51.9%, up from 46.5 in 2010 and marking the first time in modern history that Korean moviegoing audiences showed a marked preference for domestic movies. As well, film exports increased by 14% in 2011. (IT Times, February 3, 2012)
The cast of Korean director Bong Joon-ho's (The Host) first English-language movie, the post-apocalyptic drama Snow Piercer, was already impressive, but it just got even better. Captain America: The First Avenger star Chris Evans was the first to sign on, but he was soon joined by two-time Academy Award-nominated actor John Hurt (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) and Academy Award-winner Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton). Now, the cast has gained another Oscar contender as THR reports Octavia Spencer (The Help) has also joined the cast. (reelz.com, February 5, 2012)
Finecut Acquires Hong Sang-soo's Another Country
The South Korean sales company will be screening a promo reel at the upcoming European Film Market. South Korean company Finecut is handling international sales on Hong Sang-soo’s new film Another Country, starring the award-winning actress Isabelle Huppert. The film was shot in summer last year and is now in post-production. (Screen Daily, February 6, 2012)
Leafie Launches 108 Media
Toronto-based 108 Media is launching at the Berlin market by acquiring English-language rights to Korean animated title Leafie: A Hen Into the Wild. Company will focus on worldwide sales and Canadian distribution of films, TV, gaming and mobile content. Funded by private equity, 108 Media is headed by Abhishek Rastogi, former managing director of Cinesavvy. (Variety, February 6, 2012)
KOFIC to Support 33 Korean-Foreign Joint Productions in 2012
The Korean Film Council will be supporting 33 Korean-foreign joint production films this year, as well as small-sale production houses and distributors, its officials announced in a press meeting in Myeong-dong, Seoul, Tuesday. The council kicked off the 2 billion won project for the 33 joint productions on Tuesday by announcing its official call for submissions. (The Korea Herald, February 7, 2012)
Film Unbowed Creates Nationwide Stir on Fair Trial
The Korean film Unbowed has now become the center of attention in Korea, drawing more than 2.5 million viewers since it opened in mid-January. The film succeeded in reaching out to millions of viewers, as the film focuses on unfair and biased legal procedures. Although this movie is based on a true story, it has created a stir nationwide on whether or not the plot has been exaggerated or even modified from the actual facts. (Arirang TV, February 7, 2012)
INTERVIEWS
Lee Myeong-se – “Better and Sweeter”
Award winning films, Nowhere To Hide (1999), Duelist (2005) and M (2007) are amongst those directed by Lee Myeong-se. In between directing (& writing) these action, fantasy & thriller-noir titles he’s given the world further tales made up of dramas, love stories and comedies. However, it’s not only the genre-busting he seems to do well it’s also in his filming techniques. Rarely does a scene pass without some brilliant imagery. With all this in mind, it’s my reckoning that this down-to-earth and funny guy is more than capable of pulling off his forthcoming feature. We cover that film and others in our interview together. Well done, ‘Mister Lee’! (Mini Mini Movie Review, February 2, 2012)
Back From Near Extinction, Dinosaurs Tromp Through New Film
Dinosaurs once roamed through Korean film, but none were very fierce. All of the reptiles were shoddy creatures shot with miniature action figures, resulting in unnatural performances and awkward movements. The lack of technology also allowed these gigantic characters just one facial expression: an angry face with a mouth wide open to reveal a set of threatening, peg-like teeth. Then, in the late 90’s, dinosaur films did a disappearing act and it looked like they were on their way to extinction. (Joong Ang Daily, February 3, 2012)
Interview With Director Lee Kwang-kuk
Formerly an assistant director to Hong Sang-soo, Lee Kwang-kuk has struck off on his own to make his feature debut with Romance Joe. After a world premiere at the Busan International Film Festival, Romance Joe made its international premiere in the Tiger Awards Competition at the recently wrapped International Film Festival Rotterdam. Lee spoke with Jean Noh ahead of and at the festival about his work. (KoBiZ, February 6, 2012)
Two Korean films emerged as major hits in 2012's Lunar New Year holiday season – Dancing Queen and Unbowed. The success of Dancing Queen, which sold 2.26 million tickets in its first two weeks on release, was not entirely unexpected. (KoBiZ, February 3, 2012)
Korean movies are outshining their international counterparts at domestic box offices, according to statistics released recently by the Korean Film Commission, as the top-five most-watched movies at the moment are all homegrown. (Joong Ang Daily, February 7, 2012)
Korean Cinema News is a weekly feature which provides wide-ranging news coverage on Korean cinema, including but not limited to: features; festival news; interviews; industry news; trailers; posters; and box office. It appears every Wednesday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at the Korean Box Office Update and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site.
To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.
Local films dominated the marketplace this weekend as they took the top 5 spots and an 88% market share, effectively wiping out Hollywood's mark on Korean theaters over the time frame. Total admissions stood at 2.36 million, a very healthy figure for this time of year. The chief element of success was a strong variety of enticing projects which have mostly benefited from positive reactions.
Leading the charge was the hotly anticipated Nameless Gangster which did not disappoint, both with its positive notices and supercharged 917,379 opening weekend. It's no small feat coming so close to the million mark at this time of year but even more encouraging in light of the strong competition from Lunar New Year's leading releases. It will probably remain strong next weekend, likely taking the crown again but will face stiff competition thereafter following the debut of Howling.
Unbowed slowed a little over 40% in its third weekend, winding up with 406,646 which put it past 2.5 millin admissions. Dancing Queen was next with 322,688, a 45% drop, it also crossed the 2.5 million mark. Dancing Queen is still in the lead but Unbowed is likely to pull ahead before too long. 3 million is a guarantee for both but it will be interesting to see if they go further, especially Unbowed.
Tarbosaurus 3D dropped about a third and succeeded in lording over the numerous other children's offerings with its 219,930 take. It looks set to cross the one million mark before long, another feather in Korean animation's cap.
Papa also opened this weekend but was overwhelmed by immense local competition, finding itself lost amongst event pictures. It pulled in 213,946 viewers in its opening bow and is not likely to improve on that in coming weeks. Seeing how the slate was shaping up at the beginning of the year, the distributors probably should have considered pushing its release back to a less crowded weekend.
The next three entries in the chart were Hollywood kids movies Happy Feet 2 (99,405), Puss in Boots (83,013), and Journey 2: Mysterious Island (36,000). Sarah Jessica Parker vehicle I Don't Know How She Does It was a non-starter with 30,324 while Mission Impossible 4 is now winding up its extraordinary run, amassing an additional 17,438. Its 7,538,551 total is enormous but Transformers 3's chart-topping figure is now soundly out of reach.
The local industry is on a bit of a roll and I am now very curious to see how things will shake up over the next few weekends. Howling pushed its release date back a week, a wise choice given Nameless Gangster's strong performance especially given the film's similar appeal. So quick on its heels it might also have overloaded the marketplace, it is now being released February 16. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The War Horse are opening next weekend but neither stands a chance of knocking Nameless Gangster from its perch. Korean doc Two Lines will also be bowing in limited release.
The Korean Box Office Update is a weekly feature which provides detailed analysis of film box office sales over the Friday to Sunday period in Korea. It appears every Sunday evening or Monday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site.
To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.
A couple of reviews of current films, including the hotly anticipated Nameless Gangster and lots of reviews for past films this week, including a trio concerning Lee Myeong-se's gorgeous Duelist (2005), which was screened in London with a Q&A from Lee himself as part of the KCCUK's 12 Korean Directors program of 2012.
The Weekly Review Round-up is a weekly feature which brings together all available reviews of Korean films in the English language (and sometimes French) that have recently appeared on the internet. It is by no means a comprehensive feature and additions are welcome (email pierceconran [at] gmail [dot] com). It appears every Friday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News, and the Korean Box Office Update. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site.
To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.
This monthly features previews the coming month's attractions in Korean cinema. All of these monthly posts are available in an archive on the Upcoming Releases page.
February 2
Nameless Gangster
Papa
February 9
Two Lines
February 16
Howling
February 23
The Angel's Breath
February 29
Comic Book Store 3D
Love Fiction
Nameless Gangster
Director: Yun Jong-bin
Screenwriter: Yun Jong-bin
Cast: Choi Min-sik, Ha Jung-woo
Synopsis: Nameless Gangster chronicles the happenings in Busan, South Korea when the government in 1990 declared its war against crime. A corrupt public official (Choi Min-sik) faces criminal charges and meets Choi Hyung-bae (Ha Jung-woo), a mysterious man with connections to the Yakuza.
Release date: February 2
Anticipation is riding high for young Yun Jong-bin's third feature after The Unforgiven (2005) and Beastie Boys (2008). The period set gangster film pairs veteran thespian Choi Min-sik (Oldboy, 2003; I Saw the Devil, 2010) and up-and-coming star Ha Jung-woo (The Chaser, 2005; The Yellow Sea, 2010). Numerous impressive stills and some promising trailers have already appeared on the web. Nameless Gangster is shaping up to be one of the 2012's early hits.
Synopsis: Choon-Sub (Park Yong-roo) is a talent manager who goes to the US after a client runs off. To stay he must get married for a visa and soon he ends up with six new children.
Release date: February 2
Papa is Han Ji-seung's second film following Venus and Mars in 2007. 90% of the film is said to have been filmed in America and it follows a rash of multicultural Korean films that have appeared recently, such as He's On Duty (2010). Originally slated for the Lunar New Year holiday weekend, Papa was rescheduled due to an overcrowded field.
Two Lines
Director: Ji Min
Synopsis: Ji Min and Cheol met in university ten years ago and now live together as roomates and lovers. People ask them why they won't get married since they're at that age but they've never seen the reason to. Life was happy enough as it was until they come face to face with two dark red lines on a home pregnancy test.
Release date: February 9
New documentary which premiered at the 13th International Women's Film Festival in Seoul last March from Ji Min. Her previous film won the Ock Rang Award at the same festival and she had previously also been involved with docs To Live - Save Our Saemankum (2006) and The War, You and I (2010).
Howling
Director: Ha Yu
Cast: Lee Na-young, Song Kang-ho
Synopsis: A man dies by spontaneous combustion. Animal teeth marks are discovered on his body. A veteran male cop (Song Kang-ho) and rookie female (Lee Na-young) start to investigate.
Release date: February 16
Without a doubt one of the most promising projects of 2012, Howling is acclaimed director Ha Yu's (Once Upon a Time in High School, 2004; A Dirty Carnival, 2006; A Frozen Flower, 2008) fifth feature. As well as boasting a top cast with Song Kang-ho and Lee Na-young, the film has an intriguing premise which starts off with spontaneous combustion. The moment this project came to light I was already very excited and there are few films I am more eager to discover.
Synopsis: Jae-min's (Han Ji-won) dream is to become a super star. His sick mother Yeong-ran (Kim Yeong-son) does what she can to support him.
Release date: February 23
Bar the information provided above and the trailed posted below, I have no further information on this low budget release.
Love Fiction
Director: Jeon Kye-soo Screenwriter: Jeon Kye-soo Cast: Ha Jung-woo, Kong Hyo-jin Synopsis: A shy novelist falls for a beautiful, confident woman.
Release date: February 29
Jeon Kye-soo's third feature, after Midnight Ballad for Ghost Theater (2006) and Lost and Found (2009). Ha Jung-woo has been very busy of late, racking up an impressive set of credits including The Yellow Sea (2010) and The Client (2010) and has a lot coming up including Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Berlin File, and Nameless Gangster which will be released the same month. The film also stars Kong Hyo-jin who has been equally impressive of late with stand out turns in Crush and Blush (2008) and Rolling Home With a Bull (2010).
Comic Book Store 3D
Director: Heo Jae-hyeong
Cast: Lee Eun-mi, Lim Ah-yeong, Jang Sang-jin, Jeong I-gyeol
Synopsis: So-ra has tough luck with her auditions and she blames the directors for her rejections. One She runs into Seung-hyeon, someone she used to act with. He invites her to a film set and So-ra gets to fill in for an actress fails to show up. Release date: February 29
Local business finally found itself back in the driver's seat this past weekend as its market share soared to 71%. That on top of the fact that total admissions were 2.56 million, 30% higher than last year's comparable weekend, and suddenly things are starting to look a lot rosier for Korean films in early 2012.
After a very strong start, Unbowed has taken over first place by jumping nearly 100% to 716,945. Though it is not the only Lunar New Year's release on the path to success, it looks like the first major hit of the year. It looks to continue the trend of strong small releases outperforming expectations that we saw so much of last year.
Meanwhile, Dancing Queen built on its successful opening by rising slightly to 597,666 and has now crossed the 2 million mark. Competition from Unbowed and next week's opener Nameless Gangster will be tough, but it's already a hit.
The highest opener this week was another local release, the animated dinosaur feature Tarbosaurus 3D which wound up with an decent 329,625. Though this film has managed to generate some buzz and has been presold to a number of markets, this probably wasn't the best time to release it. The market has been flooded with children's fare recently and after the holidays, it's hard to imagine that this will pick up steam in February.
Puss in Boots remained steady at number 4 with 260,898 and looks to cross the 2 million mark before the end of its run. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island dropped three places to number 5 but was able to hang on to nearly two thirds of its business as it finished the weekend with 216,196. Mission Impossible 4 fell one spot to number 6 with 92,673. It has now crossed War of the Arrows to become the second highest grossing film of 2011 and its total, which is inches from 7.5 million may come excruciatingly close to Transformers 3's chart topping tally, which stands at 7,790,434.
The other two Korean Lunar New Year's releases did not fare so well. Pacemaker has simply failed to impress as it has receded 50% after a lackluster opening, its most recent take was 60,634. The marketing team behind the film desperately tried to increase awareness in interest in the film last week with a number of promotional tactics but these seem to have fallen flat.
Meanwhile, The Neverending Story, which no one seems to be talking about, finished at number 9 with 30,886 after losing 65% of its business. It has barely managed to scrabble together a quarter million admissions to date and looks likely to finish with less than 500,000.
We Bought a Zoo stayed at number 8 as it added 47,485 to its paltry total while The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo rounded out the top 10 with 27,326.
Next week sees the release of the much anticipated Nameless Gangster starring Choi Min-sik and Ha Jung-woo but I am starting to wonder if it may fall short of expectations. It will be hard enough to unseat Unbowed, which has taken over the public consciousness, but I'm wondering wether the film itself will fail to live up to the hype. Papa will also be opening and will likely do so in the top 5 while the major US release will be Happy Feet 2 but after so much kids fare of late, I think this may be one too many.
The Korean Box Office Update is a weekly feature which provides detailed analysis of film box office sales over the Friday to Sunday period in Korea. It appears every Sunday evening or Monday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site.
To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.
Still not too much news at the beginning of the year but there a few pieces looking at the year ahead and the one just past as well as a brand new English trailer for The Front Line as it gets ready to bow in the US courtesy of Well Go Entertainment.
KOREAN CINEMA NEWS
Big-Budget Films to Open in 2012
While 2011 saw the release of some novel, genre-defying works, not many local films aside from Sunny and War of the Arrows (a.k.a. Arrow, The Ultimate Weapon) managed to draw crowds at the box office. This year, a lineup of big-budget films featuring the return of big stars await moviegoers. (The Korea Times, January 5, 2012)
Best News Stories of the Year
Twitch, in its annual best news stories feature, ranked the Spike Lee directed Oldboy reboot as one of 2011's best film news stories. The project has had a few setbacks with both Colin Firth, Clive Owen, and Mara Rooney all turning down lead roles but is still scheduled to start shooting in the next few months with star Josh Brolin in the main role. (Twitch, January 10, 2012)
Which Way, My Way?
The dramatization of a true war-time story that spans years, continents, and changing friendships and enmities, My Way is director Kang Je-kyu’s comeback after seven years. My Way deals with a true story that is practically legend. In the late 1930s, a man from Joseon ends up going to China and the Soviet Union towards Germany and finally ends up on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. (Korean Cinema Today, January 8, 2012)
Three Korean Projects Selected to HAF
Hong Kong - Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) is set to celebrate its 10th anniversary this March with a record 32 selections, including three from South Korea. These are director Jeon Soo-il’s Another Country, Kim Baek-jun’s Monsters and Lee Hae-jun’s My Dictator. The festival chose these from more than 200 submissions from over 45 countries and regions. The final selection represents 20 different territories including Australia, China, India, Japan, and Malaysia. (KoBiz, January 6, 2012)
Crossing the Streams...
Up until this point in time the only real option for streaming a large amount of content in theUK has been through LoveFilm. Yesterday the big US company Netflix launched their service in the UK and they’ve undercut LoveFilm on the cost of their service (that’s on the standard price, LoveFilm are understandably offering promotional prices for the next few months) and, again, while the Netflix offering is limited to some degree there’s also a lot of good content on there – some of it in HD. (New Korean Cinema, January 10, 2012)
Martin Cleary takes a look at the frustrating state of the availability of Korean fils in the UK over on his new blog. (New Korean Cinema, January 6, 2012)
Rotterdam Takes Three More Korean Films
The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has announced its line-up to include three more Korean films in addition to the previously announced A Fish, the Tiger Awards Competition’s first 3D film. The film by Park Hong-min will be joined by Roh Gyeong-tae’s Black Dove, Kim Kyung-mook’s Stateless Things and Hong Sang-soo’s The Day He Arrives. The latter three films will be in the festival’s Spectrum section. The section will show 72 features and documentaries from 32 countries. (KoBiz, January 10, 2012)
Foreign Koreanness Captured in the Movies
With the recent release of the first two trailers for Papa, it looks like mainstream Korean cinema will continue to wrestle with the issue of immigration and multiculturalism into the new year. As new as this theme may seem for Korean film, Papa actually follows in the footsteps of last year’s very successful Punch and 2010’s almost equally successful He's on Duty, as well as a string of independent films that addressed the same theme. (The Korea Herald, January 5, 2012)
Michael Stipe Produces Gay Korean-American Film
Former REM frontman Michael Stipe is the executive producer behind a new short film of a gay Korean man who yearns for a family, which the director used to come out to his own parents. The short, entitled Dol, will be shown at the Sundance Film Festival this year, Indie music news site Electric Banana reports. (pinknews.co.uk January 10, 2012)
My Sassy Girl to Be Made Into a Drama
On January 11 it was announced that the drama production company “Lemon Rain” would produce a TV drama version of My Sassy Girl with “Shincine Communication Co.” In order to find a charming and perfect script they are holding a script contest starting from February 1 to March 30. The original film My Sassy Girl is a classic Korean romantic comedy that jumpstarted Cha Tae Hyun andJeon Ji Hyun’s acting careers. (soompi.com, January 10, 2012)
Oldboy Production Delayed Until May; Clive Owen Passes on Villain Role
The inability to cast, plus Brolin’s press commitments to MIB 3, has forced production of Oldboy to be pushed back to May of this year. Colin Firth was the biggest name to be attached to play as the villain, but he passed on the role, which was then offered to Clive Owen. But according to a report from Jeff Snieder over at Variety, “don’t expect Clive Owen to play the villain.” (Fused Film, January 7, 2012)
INTERVIEW
Director Park Hong-min
Director Park Hong-min’s A Fish is about a professor who searches for his runaway wife. It compares this life to the afterlife, and humans on land to souls in the sea. A Fish was revealed to the world at the 16th Busan International Film Festival and has also been invited to compete at the 41st International Film Festival Rotterdam’s annual Tiger Awards Competition. Director Park is now making final adjustments to the film’s sound effects and computer graphics before he heads off to Rotterdam. (Korean Cinema Today, January 5, 2012)
Korean Cinema News is a weekly feature which provides wide-ranging news coverage on Korean cinema, including but not limited to: features; festival news; interviews; industry news; trailers; posters; and box office. It appears every Wednesday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at the Korean Box Office Update and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site.
To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.
