Showing posts with label war of the arrows. Show all posts
Showing posts with label war of the arrows. Show all posts

Friday, January 20, 2012

Weekly Review Round-up (01/14-01/20, 2012)

Lots of reviews this week with The Front Line being released in the US.  Four movies also came out this week in Korea though as of yet only review has surfaced, expect more to come.


CURRENT KOREAN RELEASES


(The Korea Times, January 19 2012)

(hancinema.net, January 14, 2012)


RECENT RELEASES


(Varied Celluloid, January 13, 2012)

(Init_Scenes, January 18, 2012)

(Film Business Asia, January 16, 2012)

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, January 13, 2012)

(Modern Korean Cinema, January 19, 2012)

(examiner.com, January 14, 2012)

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, January 16, 2012)

(Hangul Celluloid, January 18, 2012)

(Empire, January 18, 2012)

(Haunted Hell, January 19, 2012)

Spellbound

(Beyond Hollywood, January 13, 2012)

The Front Line

The Man From Nowhere

(Dramas Whoo!, January 16, 2012)

(The One One Four, January 14, 2012)

(Beyond Hollywood, January 19, 2012)


PAST FILMS


(Rainy Day Movies, January 13, 2012)

Chaw, 2009
(Movie Mobsters, January 15, 2012)

(Otherwhere, January 13, 2012)

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, January 18, 2012)

(boxofficebuz.com, January 16, 2012)

The Isle, 2000
(Hanguk Yeonghwa, January 15, 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 UpdateReviews 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.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Weekly Review Round-up (12/17-12/23, 2011)

A pair of reviews for the Kim Jong-il produced godzilla propaganda film Pulgasari (1985) this week and a huge amount of writeups from Hanguk Yeonghwa and Connor McMorran who recently wrapped up his fantastic Kim Ki-duk week.  A variety of other reviews for films, past and present, were also published this week.


CURRENT KOREAN RELEASES


(Film Journal, December 20, 2011)

(The Korea Times, December 22, 2011)


RECENT RELEASES


(Korean Class Massive, December 18, 2011)

(Otherwhere, December 23, 2011)

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, December 11, 2011)

(Modern Korean Cinema, December 20, 2011)

Poetry

(Modern Korean Cinema, December 22, 2011)

Suicide Forecast

(The One One Four, December 20, 2011)

(hancinema.net, December 17, 2011)

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, December 19, 2011)


PAST FILMS


3-Iron, 2004
(Rainy Day Movies, December 17, 2011)

Breath, 2007
(Rainy Day Movies, December 19, 2011)

(Hangul Celluloid, December 21, 2011)

Dream, 2008
(Rainy Day Movies, December 19, 2011)

(My Film Views, December 20, 2011)

(Subtitles Online, December 15, 2011)

Oldboy, 2003
(Hanguk Yeonghwa, December 12, 2011)

Pulgasari, 1985 - North Korean

(Rainy Day Movies, December 18, 2011)

The Bow, 2006
(Rainy Day Movies, December 18, 2011)

(Init_Scenes, December 21, 2011)

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, December 16, 2011)

The Host, 2006
(Hanguk Yeonghwa, December 10, 2011)

(Init_Scenes, December 20, 2011)

Time, 2006
(Rainy Day Movies, December 19, 2011)


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 UpdateReviews 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.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Weekly Review Round-up (12/10-12/16, 2011)

30 new reviews this week including a great write-up on Hong Sang-soo's latest from The New Yorker and a series of reviews on Kim Ki-duk's from the Rainy Day Movies blog where Connor McMorran is hosting a fantastic Kim Ki-duk Week.


CURRENT KOREAN RELEASES


Spellbound


RECENT RELEASES


(Shu-Izmz, December 11, 2011)

(Variety, December 14, 2011)

(Beyond Hollywood, December 12, 2011)

(Pinoy Movie Blog, December 16, 2011)

I Saw the Devil

(The Los Angeles Times, December 15, 2011)

(Modern Korean Cinema, December 11, 2011)

Poetry

(Twitch, December 13, 2011)

(The New Yorker, December 15, 2011)

(City on Fire, December 10, 2011)

(Inti_Scenes, December 14, 2011)

(Init_Scenes, December 16, 2011)

(Wildgrounds, December 13, 2011)


PAST FILMS


(Rainy Day Movies, December 14, 2011)

Bad Guy, 2001
(Rainy Day Movies, December 13, 2011)

Beat, 1997
(Modern Korean Cinema, December 9, 2011)

(Modern Korean Cinema, December 9, 2011)

(The Non-Review, December 9, 2011)

Green Fish, 1997
(Modern Korean Cinema, December 11, 2011)

No. 3, 1997
(Modern Korean Cinema, December 10, 2011)

(Rainy Day Movies, December 15, 2011)

(Rainy Day Movies, December 16, 2011)

(Rainy Day Movies, December 15, 2011)

The Isle, 2000
(Rainy Day Movies, December 12, 2011)


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 UpdateReviews 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.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Weekly Review Round-up (12/03-12/09, 2011)

A nice selection of reviews this week including a number for The Yellow Sea and three from The Hollywood Reporter.  Since it is Jopok Week here on MKC, I'm happy to note some reviews for A Bittersweet Life and Righteous Ties.

Enjoy!

CURRENT KOREAN RELEASES


(hancinema.net, December 3, 2011)


RECENT RELEASES


(Walter Peck Was Just Doing His Job , December 4, 2011)

(Film Business Asia, December 4, 2011)

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, November 27, 2011)

(The Hollywood Reporter, December 7, 2011)

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, December 6, 2011)

(The Hollywood Reporter, December 7, 2011)

(Modern Korean Cinema, December 2, 2011)

(The One One Four, December 6, 2011)

(Otherwhere, December 7, 2011)

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, December 9, 2011)

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, November 28, 2011)

Sunny

(Rainy Day, November 27, 2011

(Beyond Hollywood, December 6, 2011)

The Yellow Sea

(Japan Cinema, December 9, 2011)


PAST FILMS


(Hanguk Yeonghwa, December 7, 2011)

(Rainy Day, December 6, 2011)

My Sassy Girl, 2001

(searchindia.com, December 8, 2011)

Shiri, 1999
(Hanguk Yeonghwa, December 3, 2011)

(Modern Korean Cinema, December 7, 2011

(Modern Korean Cinema, December 8, 2011

(Modern Korean Cinema, December 9, 2011


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 UpdateReviews 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.

Friday, November 25, 2011

32nd Blue Dragon Film Awards

A little over two hours ago the proceedings for the 32nd 'Blue Dragon Awards' show wrapped up at the KBS Hall in Seoul.  Along with the 'Daejong (or Grand Bell) Film Awards', the 48th Edition of which was held last month, this is one of South Korea's most prestigious Film Awards ceremonies.  Unlike 'Daejong', the 'Blue Dragon Awards' has been privately funded since it was launched in 1963 by The Chosun Ilbo, a national newspaper.  It was discontinued in the 1970s but then revived by the Sports Chosun in 1990 and has occurred on a yearly basis since.

When I covered the 'Daejong' awards last month my analysis was somewhat impaired by the fact that I hadn't seen many of the main contenders.  Thankfully, in the time since, I have managed to catch up.  Out of the films that scored three or more nominations, I have only War of the Arrows and Silenced left to see, both of which I am looking forward to.

There was not a great deal of difference between the nominations for both events.  The Front Line led both with the same amount (12).  Silenced was the main difference as it scored 7 nominations, it received none at Daejong as it it was not eligible, having been released too late.  The Yellow Sea wound up with half the nominations it garnered at last month's event (5 vs. 9), and Hindsight was almost completely shut out (1 vs. 5).  Besides that, the main change was a slightly less even distribution outside of the top six or seven contenders.

This year, the most nominated films were (wins in parentheses):

The Front Line - 12 (2)
War of the Arrows - 8 (5)
Sunny - 8 (0)
Silenced - 7 (1)
The Unjust - 6 (3)
The Yellow Sea - 5 (1)
Blind - 4 (1)
Petty Romance - 4 (0)
Bleak Night - 3 (2)
Detective K - 2 (0)
Hello Ghost - 2 (0)
Late Autumn - 2 (0)
The Journals of Musan - 2 (0)

As I mentioned in last month's analysis, this year's roster of films duking it out for the major awards has been poorer than usual.  It has by no means been a bad year for Korean cinema as there have been numerous strong mid-level entries but, without a great many offerings from marquee names like Park Chan-wook, Bong Joon-ho, Kim Jee-woon, Im Sang-soo, or Lee Chang-dong, there have been relatively few breakout films that have made big impressions on critics.  In terms of audiences though 2011 looks to be the best year since the peak of 2006.  Both Sunny and War of the Arrows played long in theaters and attracted over 7 million admissions, well over what was expected of them.  Similarly, the controversial Silenced and the enjoyable but unambitious Detective K both nearly broke the 5 million admissions mark.  Punch, which came out too late to be considered for either of this year's awards looks set to cruise past that mark and may reach further milestones as it shows no signs of abating just yet at the Korean box office.

Jang Hoon's The Front Line came in as a heavy favorite, with 12 nominations and having already bagged the top prizes at the Daejong Awards and the Critics' Film Awards, as well being selected to represent Korea at the Oscars.  In the end it lost out in all of the major categories and only picked up two technical awards, for Best Art Design, which it wasn't even nominated for at 'Daejong', and for Best Cinematography, which it also won last month.  Personally I don't think it deserved that last award as I belive many films featured stronger cinematography this year, including some that weren't even nominated such as Late Blossom and Moby Dick.

The surprise big winner tonight, to my delight, was Ryoo Seung-wan's excellent The Unjust which deservedly took the awards for Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay.  In the Best Film category it routed some stiff competition from the heavily favored The Front Line and from the immensely popular Sunny, which, despite being loved by critics and audiences alike, has failed to score many accolades (save for Best Director at the 'Daejong Awards') this awards season, and War of the Arrows.  

Ryoo Seung-wan's Best Director win was equally impressive.  While the nominees were identical to the Best Film category, which is quite common, the last time a film has won both awards at a major awards show was Na Hong-jin's The Chaser back in 2008 at Daejong.

Park Hoon-jun walked away with the Best Screenplay prize after the tacky (but enjoyable) Blind had bizarrely picked it up last month.  However, it must be said that in a recent interview with Paul Quinn over at Hangul Celluloid, Ryoo Seung-wan did mention that "I changed the script entirely according to my own style but, in truth, I never actually saw the version that Hoon-jung wrote, and I still haven’t seen it. It had been through the hands of many other writers who had been adapting it and it was only at that point that I saw the script."  Park also wrote last year's popular I Saw the Devil

Park Hae-il won Best Actor for War of the Arrows, as he did last month, against heavy competition from Kim Yun-seok (The Yellow Sea) and Ko Soo (The Front Line) but I think many great performance were shut out of this category like Lee Soo-jae in Late Blossom (who was nominated at 'Daejong') or Hwang Jeong-min in both The Unjust and Moby Dick.

Repeating her Daejong success, Kim Na-heul picked up the Best Actress prize for Blind.  Frankly I don't understand this decision at all, her performance is passable but nothing very noteworthy. Kim Hye-soo (Villain and Widow) or Yun So-jeong (Late Blossom), who sadly wasn't nominated, would have been more deserving.

The fantastic veterans Ryoo Seung-ryong (War of the Arrows) and Kim Soo-mi (Late Blossom) were awarded the supporting actor prizes for their roles.  Ryoo in particular had to fend off some strong competition from Yu Hae-jin (The Unjust) and Jo Sung-ha (The Yellow Sea), though I was disappointed that Kim Sang-ho didn't get a nod for his fantastic turn in Moby Dick.

Bleak Night, which has been hoarding numerous awards these past few weeks, once again picked up prizes for Best New Director, for Yoon Sung-hyun, and Best New Actor, for Lee Je-hoon.  Meanwhile Moon Chae-won was awarded Best New Actress for War of the Arrows.

The blockbuster War of the Arrows won the most prizes of the night (5) including the
Audience Choice Award for Most Popular Movie and the 
Best Technical Award for its action sequences.  However its most impressive accomplishment was scoring three acting prizes, no mean feat for an action film!

Despite all of the hullaballoo and its 7 nominations, Silenced only picked up on award, for Best Music.  The Yellow Sea was similarly unsuccessful with only one win for Best Lighting.  Perhaps the biggest shock of the night was that the wonderful Sunny failed to win in any of the 8 categories it was nominated for.

The other awards went to Yanh Hyo-joo who won Best Short Film for Broken Night and Ko Soo, Gong Yoo, Choi Gang-Hee, and Kim Hye-Soo who shared the Popularity Award.

Petty Romance surprised with 4 nods though it didn't pick up any prizes and the huge critical darling The Journals of Musan was also unable to convert either of its nominations into wins at tonight's ceremony.

Just as I was about to write off this year's Korean film industry awards, the Blue Dragon's managed to surprise me by awarding a great film (The Unjust) some richly deserved accolades.  By and large however, the awards show's nominees and winners were often short-sighted, perplexing, and not very evenly distributed.  Though I must confess that I am looking forward to seeing what will be in the mix next year.

Special thanks to Asian Media Wiki, which live-tweeted the results.


32nd Blue Dragon Film Awards Winners and Nominees:


Best Film
Winner: 
The Unjust
Nominees:
Silenced
War of the Arrows

Best Director
Winner: 
Ryoo Seung-wan (The Unjust)
Nominees:
Kang Hyung-chul (Sunny)
Kim Han-min (War of the Arrows)
Ryoo Seung-wan (The Unjust)
Jang Hun (The Front Line)
Hwang Dong-hyuk (Silenced)

Best Actor
Winner: 
Park Hae-il (War of the Arrows)
Nominees:
Ko Soo (The Front Line)
Gong Yoo (Silenced)
Kim Yun-seok (The Yellow Sea)
Park Hae-il (War of the Arrows)
Yoon Kye-sang (Poongsan)

Best Actress
Winner: 
Kim Ha-neul (Blind)
Nominees:
Kim Ha-neul (Blind)
Kim Hye-soo (Villain and Widow)
Jung Yu-mi (Silenced)
Choi Gang-hee (Petty Romance)
Wei Tang (Late Autumn)

Best Supporting Actor
Winner: 
Ryoo Seung-ryong (War of the Arrows)
Nominees:
Ko Chang-seok (The Front Line)
Ryoo Seung-ryong (War of the Arrows)
Yu Hae-jin (The Unjust)
Jang Gwang (Silenced)
Jo Sung-ha (The Yellow Sea)

Best Supporting Actress
Winner: 
Kim Soo-mi (Late Blossom)
Nominees:
Kim Soo-mi (Late Blossom)
Ryoo Hyoun-kyoung (Petty Romance)
Yoo Sun (GLove)
Jang Yeong-nam (Hello Ghost)
Cheon Woo-hee (Sunny)

Best New Actor
Winner: 
Lee Je-hoon (Bleak Night)
Nominees:
Park Jung-bum (The Journals of Musan)
Seo Jun-young (Bleak Night)
Song Yoo-ha (Petty Romance)
Lee David (The Front Line)
Lee Je-hoon (Bleak Night)

Best New Actress
Winner: 
Moon Chae-won (War of the Arrows)
Nominees:
Kang So-ra (Sunny)
Moon Chae-won (War of the Arrows)
Baek Jin-hee (Foxy Festival)
Shin Se-kyung (Hindsight)
You Da-in (Re-encounter)

Best New Director
Winner: 
Yoon Sung-hyun (Bleak Night)
Nominees:
Kim Min-suk (Haunters)
Kim Young-tak (Hello Ghost)
Kim Jung-hoon (Petty Romance)
Park Jung-bum (The Journals of Musan)
Yoon Sung-hyun (Bleak Night)

Best Cinematography
Winner: 
Kim Woo-hyung (The Front Line)
Nominees:
Kim Woo-hyung (The Front Line)
Kim Tae-sung (War of the Arrows)
Son Won-ho (Blind)
Lee Sung-jae (The Yellow Sea)
Jung Jung-hoon (The Unjust)

Best Lighting
Winner: 
Hwang Soon-wook (The Yellow Sea)
Nominees:
War of the Arrows
The Yellow Sea

Best Music
Winner: 
Mogue (Silenced)
Nominees:
Sunny
War of the Arrows
Silenced
Late Autumn

Best Art Design
Winner: 
Ryoo Sung-hee (The Front Line)
Nominees:
The Front Line
Sunny
The Yellow Sea
War of the Arrows
Detective K: Secret Of Virtuous Widow

Best Technical Award
Winner: 
Oh Se-young (War of the Arrows) (action)
Nominees:
Detective K: Secret Of Virtuous Widow (costume)
Sunny (edting)
War of the Arrows (action)
Sector 7 (CG)
The Front Line (fx)

Best Screenplay
Winner: 
Park Hoon-jung (The Unjust)
Nominees:
Kang Hyung-chul (Sunny)
Park Sang-yeon (The Front Line)
Park Hoon-jung (The Unjust)
Choi Min-suk (Blind)
Hwang Dong-hyuk (Silenced)

Best Short Film
Winner: 
Yang Hyo-joo (Broken Night)

Popularity Award
Winners: 
Ko Soo
Gong Yoo
Choi Gang-hee
Kim Hye-soo

Audience Choice Award for Most Popular Movie
Winner: 
War of the Arrows

Friday, November 18, 2011

Weekly Review Round-up (11/12-11/18, 2011)

A wide array of films reviewed this week, many due to the just-wrapped London Korean Film Festival.


RECENT RELEASES

A Better Tomorrow

(SBCC Film Reviews, November 14, 2011)

(fright.com, November 15, 2011)

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, November 15, 2011)

(Alive Not Dead, November 12, 2011)

(Nekoneko's Movie Litterbox, November 14, 2011)

(Horror Films, November 17, 2011)

(Film Business Asia, November 15, 2011)

(PinoyMovieBlog, November 14, 2011)

(The Korea Times, November 17, 2011)

(Otherwhere, November 14, 2011)

(Init_Scenes, November 14, 2011)

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, November 16, 2011)

(Variety, November 15, 2011 - Paid Subscription Required)

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, November 15, 2011)

(Dread Central, November 14, 2011)

(Next Projection, November 17, 2011)

(London Korea Links, November 12, 2011)

Sunny

(Film Business Asia, November 18, 2011)

(Init_Scenes, November 17, 2011)

The Front Line

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, November 16, 2011)

(Eye for Film, November 18, 2011)

The Yellow Sea

(Korean Class Massive, November 6, 2011)


PAST FILMS

Handphone, 2009
(Korean Class Massive, November 7, 20110

(moviefilmreview.com, November 14, 2011)

Rough Cut, 2008
(Next Projection, November 17, 2011)

The Host, 2006
(Ticker Talks Film, November 11, 2011)


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 UpdateReviews 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.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Korean Cinema News (11/10-11/16, 2011)

Another huge amount of news this week including some great features from Korean Cinema Today which among other things broke news regarding the start of production on Bong Joon-ho's much anticipated Snow Piercer.  Lots of great features but also a perplexing one from The Guardian which I discussed in the comments with its author.  Also lots of new trailers including a bombastic one for the upcoming My Way.


KOREAN CINEMA NEWS

Arirang and The Yellow Sea play at Mar del Plata
Argentina’s Mar del Plata International Film Festival is screening Korean films Arirang, directed by Kim Ki-duk, and The Yellow Sea, directed by Na Hong-jin during its 26th edition, Nov. 5 – 13.  (KOBIZ, November 8, 2011)

Asiana International Short Film Festival closes with Promise
The 9th Asiana International Short Film Festival closed Monday, Nov. 7 after a six-day run with Jero Yun’s fiction short Promise winning the best film award.  At the Closing ceremony, Festival Director Ahn Sung-ki and jury head Kang Soo-yeon, both veteran Korean actors, were joined by jury members director Inudo Isshin from Japan, director Kim Tae-yong from Korea, Sarah Hoch Delong, founder and Executive Director of the Guanajuato International Film Festival, and Tono Seigo, Festival Director of the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia.  (KOBIZ, November 8, 2011)

YesAsia Sponsors the Fantastic Asia Film Festival in Australia
Leading online retailer YesAsia.com is a premier sponsor of the Fantastic Asia Film Festival (FAFF) which runs from November 10 to 13 at the Cinema Nova in Melbourne, Australia.  In cooperation with distribution and production company Monster Pictures, the inaugural event brings a diverse and interesting mix of Asian genre films from Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, China and the Philippines to film enthusiasts in Australia.  (prurgent.com, November 9, 2011)

Korean Agent Gets Remake Treatment From UTV
Indian entertainment giant UTV Motion Pictures is to make an official Hindi-language remake of South Korean hit My Girlfriend is an Agent (2009).  The new film, which will retain the English title, will be produced by director Imtiaz Ali and his wife Preety Ali under their new PI Films label. Choreographer Bosco will direct.  (Film Business Asia, November 10, 2011)

Punch VS A Reason to Live - Why did Yoo Ah-in laugh and Song Hye-kyo cry?
Song Hye-kyo's movie A Reason to Live is on the verge of disappearing.  The accumulated number of admissions as of today November 9th is 58,877, showing very slow progress.  This movie was greatly looked forward to as it was being directed by Lee Jeong-hyang, who returned nine years after the 4 million-plus admission box office hit The Way Home (2002) and the cast included Song Hye-kyo.  However, as soon as it came out, it was ignored by audiences and isn't showing any signs of doing better even after two weeks in release.  (hancinema.net, November 9, 2011)

First Images From Choi Min-sik Starring Thriller Nameless Gangster
The simple fact that Choi stars in this is reason to pay attention.  Not only is he a fabulously talented actor but he is also extremely selective about his roles, making very few missteps along the way.  And when the first images look as good as those in the gallery below ... well, all the better.  (Twitch, November 9, 2011)

New Stills for the Upcoming Korean Movie My Way
My Way, directed by Jang Je-gyu and starring Jang Dong-gun, was formerly known as D-Day.  My Way is a co-production between South Korea and the USA.  (hancinema.net, November 9, 2011)

Actress Son Ye-jin is planning on debuting in the Chinese film market...before it gets too late!  After making her big screen comeback with Lee Min-gi in the movie Chilling Romance, Son revealed on a recent interview with OSEN that she's currently eyeing out the Chinese movie scene.  (KBS, November 9, 2011)

Four Leading Korean Directors Working on Overseas Projects
The year 2012 looks like it will see an unprecedented rush of Korean directors working on foreign projects.  This phenomenon seems similar to the situation back in the late 1990s when Hong Kong directors John Woo, Ringo Lam, Tsui Hark, Kirk Wong and Ronny Yu all directed films produced in Hollywood.  What’s different is that whereas they were inclined to make films only in Hong Kong’s specialty genre – the action film, their Korean counterparts are expected to make films that will retains the directors’ varying styles and sensibilities.  (Korean Cinema Today, November 9, 2011)

Korean Wave Rises to China Challenge
Very little is known of the personal life of Chinese President Hu Jintao, but we do know that he likes paper-cutting and cycling.  And that he is a fan of Korean costume dramas. China's deeply private head of state has gone on record to say that he is a fan of the blockbuster soap opera Jewel in the Palace, and is one of millions of fans of Korean movies and TV in the world's most populous nation.  (Korean Cinema Today, November 1, 2011)

Korean Crews in China
Films from Greater China increasingly employ technical specialists from Korea - Kim Seong-hoon reports.  For a long time, the film industry has evolved according to emergences of new technology and this has meant new opportunities for those working in the field.  We all know how when “talkies” were invented, many silent movie actors lost their jobs and at the same time, many other people found work as synchronized sound technicians and post-sync supervisors. (Korean Cinema Today, November 8, 2011)

South Korean Documentary Arirang Wins BIFFDOCS
Renowned South Korean arthouse filmmaker Kim Ki-duk has won BIFFDOCS, Australia’s richest documentary award.  Ki-duk’s entry Arirang beat 19 films from around the world to win the top prize of $25 000, including Queensland-produced documentary, The Trouble With St Mary’s, which received a $35 000 documentary production investment from Screen Queensland in 2009-10.  (if.com.au, November 11, 2011)

Bong Joon-ho Opens Busan West Festival at Chapman University with 3D Version of The Host
Growing up in South Korea, Bong Joon-ho developed a love of American science fiction movies thanks to the Armed Forces Network.  Now, the acclaimed filmmaker and the new 3D version of The Host (2006), Bong's 2006 valentine to American creature features, come to Orange Friday to open the Busan West Asian Film Festival at Chapman University.  (OC Weekly, November 9, 2011)

Korean Films at the 13th Cinemanila International Film Festival
Another special Cinemanila section this year is “Focus on Korea,” which highlights the movies of acclaimed Korean filmmakers like Boo Ji-Young.  Mr. Aguiluz said Mr. Young will arrive in the country to present his film A Time to Love during the festival.  (Business World, November 10, 2011)

Filmmakers Lynn Lee and James Leong of Lianain Films gained unprecedented access to the Pyongyang’s main film academy for an exceptionally well observed documentary piece.  (North Korean Films, November 2, 2011)

The fine folks at Koryo Tours have given us a bit of advanced notice about the Pyongyang International Film Festival 2012.   It’ll be a great chance to not only see some of the best North Korean films of recent years but also a chance for North Koreans to experience some Western releases.   (North Korean Films, October 22, 2011)

Buyers Take Aim for Lotte's War of the Arrows
Korean box-office hit has sold to US, UK, German-Speaking Europe, Taiwan, Singapore and elsewhere.  Korean studio Lotte Entertainment has closed a number of deals on its local box-office smash The War of the Arrows.  (Screen Daily, November 4, 2011)

North Korean propaganda website Uriminzokkiri has lambasted the inaugural two-day North Korean Human Rights International Film Festival, scheduled to be held this Thursday and Friday at a Seoul university theater.  (Daily NK, November 7, 2011)

An Up-to-Date Look at the Korean 3D Content Industry and 3D Imaging Technology!
To briefly talk about the present condition of the Korean 3D industry, much of the content is produced under the support of government-affiliated organizations related to cultural contents, and there are not many that are being produced by actual media content producers.  However, the fact that there is education regarding 3D image available for people, along with the support for production, presents much better conditions than neighboring Japan, where there is no government support for the 3D content industry.   (Advanced Technology Korea, October 4, 2011)

War of the Arrows – Causing Death and Saving Lives
The opening gala of the London Korean Film Festival was a more rambunctious affair than I remember even last year’s being, due in no small part to the sudden and unexpected entrance of SHINee (I was lucky enough to be two rows behind them, but many who had specially booked seats I gather were incandescent to have been re-seated!).   (London Korea Links, November 14, 2011)

Injunction to Ban You Pet Dismissed
The male solidarity's injunction to ban the movie You Pet has been dismissed.  The male solidarity requested the banning of the movie You Pet, saying it was insulting to men.  (hancinema.net, November 13, 2011)

S. Korean Film Festival Begins in Kathmandu
The Korean craze amongst the Nepalis, especially the youngsters, is a common scenario these days.  Films are one way to express the culture, life, human relations, religion and values of a particular country.  One can get an idea about a particular country from a film, which one may not get from reading dozens of books.  (The Seoul Times, November 13, 2011)

Top star Lee Byeong-Heon is attempting a historical drama for the fist time in his acting career.  He has recently confirmed as a cast member for King of Chosun.  This will be directed by Choo Chang-min and not Kang Woo-seok, who was initially supposed to direct this movie.  (hancinema.net, November 13, 2011)

Korean Cinema: Local Film Industry Goes Global
Korea is the 10th largest movie market in the world and is endeavoring to meet global standards.  Not only have veterans such as Im Kwon-taek, Kim Ki-duk and Hong Sang-soo made a name in arthouse films, but blockbuster hits appearing from Park Chan-wook, Bong Joon-ho and more.  (Korea Magazine, November 2011)

Bong Joon-ho's Snow Piercer Rumbles to Life
It was all the way back in 2006 when Korea's Bong Joon-ho first spoke about his planned big screen adaptation of French graphic novel Snow Piercer (Le Transperceneige).  With Bong riding high from the massive success of the The Host (2006) and with Oldboy (2003) director Park Chan-wook on board as a producer it seemed certain that this one would be up and running quickly.  That proved not to be the case. (Twitch, November 15, 2011)

Do South Koreans Actually Love Film?
In the noughties, South Korea earned itself a reputation as the new hotspot for cinephiles.  A cultural explosion followed the end of military rule in 1987: on the cinema front, film festivals and magazines sprung up to feed the new curiosity.  Attendance more than doubled between 2000 and 2006, when it stood at 153m admissions a year (comparable to Britain's, with a smaller population). (The Guardian, November 15, 2011)
Actors Ha Jeong-woo, Han Seok-Kyu and Ryoo Seung-beom will meet in director Ryoo Seung-hwan's 10-billion won project.  The Berlin File, by director Ryoo Seung-hwan, is a spy story based in Berlin, Germany about a man who infiltrates a South Korean organization and gets left behind in North Korea.  (hancinema.net, November 15, 2011)
In conjunction with the exhibition “Korean Eye”, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York presents “Unbridled Energy: Korean Animation”, a program that showcases the breadth and diversity of contemporary creativity in this Asian nation.  The series runs from December 2 to December 16, 2011 at MAD (2 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019).  (scifijapan.com, November 13, 2011)

LKFF: Why Dachimawa Lee is Thoroughly Groovy, and Why I’m Becoming a Fan of Ryu Seung-wan
I have to confess that when I heard that Ryu Seung-wan was to be the featured director, my reaction was lukewarm.  Of the films I had already seen, the silliness of Arahan (2004) did not endear the film to me, while seeing Jeon Do-yeon and Lee Hye-hyoung severely thrashed turned me off No Blood No Tears (2002). I had tried hard to like City of Violence (2006) and only succeeded on the third watching.  (London Korea Links, November 15, 2011)

Honorary Busan Fest Chief Kim Dong-ho to Make Directorial Debut
Honorary Festival Director of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) Kim Dong-ho is set to make his short film directorial debut with the Opening Film for next year’s Asiana International Film Festival (AISFF).  Yonhap News Agency reports AISFF has revealed that Kim will be directing the short film for the festival’s 10th anniversary edition.  (KOBIZ, November 15, 2011)

Jeonju to Meet Increased Demand with New Soundstage
Yonhap News Agency reports that the home city of the Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) is planning to build more special studio space in the Jeonju Cinema Studio by July 2012.  The new space will be comprised of a 795㎡ soundstage along with 560㎡ of attached facilities including a make-up room.  (KOBIZ, November 11, 2011)

Choi Equan Appointed Head of KAFA
Chairman KIM Eui-suk of the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) appointed film director Choi Equan as the new head of the Korean Academy of Film Arts (KAFA) on Nov. 10 in Seoul.  Established in 1984, KAFA has played a leading role in producing some of contemporary Korean cinema’s major filmmakers. Kim Eui-suk was actually one of the first graduates of KAFA before he directed the seminal hit Marriage Story (1992).   (KOBIZ, November 10, 2011)

After holding special screenings in support of The Front Line, South Korea’s submission to the Academy Awards best foreign language film category nominations, the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) has announced it saw a strong turnout and positive reactions.  About 500 industry professionals including members of the press from LA Times, Variety and the Hollywood Foreign Press attended the screenings. (KOBIZ, November 10, 2011)

Bong Joon-ho Gives Lecture at Chapman University
Film director Bong Joon-ho appeared at Chapman University in Orange County, California on Saturday (local time) to give a master class as part of the Busan West Asian Film Festival hosted by the university's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts.  (The Chosun Ilbo, November 15, 2011)

Only Second Time Around, but Korean Cinema is Definitely Down Under
South Korea and Australia are celebrating the last stretch of their Year of Friendship, with this year marking the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, bringing more attention to the second annual Korean Film Festival in Australia (KOFFIA).  (Yonhap News Agency, November 7, 2011)

Poetry UK Blu-ray Detailed
Independent British distributors Arrow Films have officially announced that they will release on Blu-ray Korean director Lee Chang-dong's Shi a.k.a Poetry (2010), starring Yun Jung-hee and Lee David.  Last year, the film won Best Screenplay Award at the Cannes Film Festival. Street date is Novemver 28th.  (Blu-ray.com, November 12, 2011)

Ryoo Seung-hwan Speaks About his New Movie The Berlin File
Director Ryoo Seung-hwan spoke about his next coming movie The Berlin File known to be a 10 billion won blockbuster.  He appeared as the final lecturer in a lecturing event that was held in the LIG Art Hall on the 11th.  His upcoming movie The Berlin File has been an issue and movie fans have been very interested.  (hancinema.net, November 11, 2011)


INTERVIEWS

KOFIC Chairman Kim Eui-suk
Korean Film Council (KOFIC) Chairman Kim Eui-suk talks to Kim Seong-hoon about promoting Korean cinema internationally.  With his background as a filmmaker whose credits include the seminal hit Marriage Story (1992) and the period martial arts film Sword in the Moon (2003), Kim Eui-suk also spent seven years nurturing the next generation of filmmakers as a professor at the Korean Film Academy of Arts (KAFA), five years as a member the organizing committee of the Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF), and then time as KOFIC Vice Chairman and Acting Chairman before he was name Chairman in March 2011.  (Korean Cinema Today, November 4, 2011)

Acclaimed Director Pushing Back NKHR Envelope
The North Korea Human Rights International Film Festival (NKHRIFF), which opens this afternoon, is attracting domestic attention for its attempt to blend North Korean human rights-and film.  Optimists hope that the festival can turn North Korean human rights into a real social issue, using the silver screen to nag at viewer consciences.  (Daily NK, November 10, 2011)



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(Modern Korean Cinema, November 14, 2011)


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-upReviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

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