Following 2012's blockbuster caper hit The Thieves, director Choi Dong-hoon is back at it with the new period action-thriller Assassination. What's more, he's bringing his The Thieves stars Gianna Jun, Lee Jung-jae and Oh Dal-su with him, along with more star wattage in the form of Ha Jung-woo and Cho Jin-woong.
Saturday, September 6, 2014
News: Choi Dong-hoon's ASSASSINATION Assembles Killer Cast
Following 2012's blockbuster caper hit The Thieves, director Choi Dong-hoon is back at it with the new period action-thriller Assassination. What's more, he's bringing his The Thieves stars Gianna Jun, Lee Jung-jae and Oh Dal-su with him, along with more star wattage in the form of Ha Jung-woo and Cho Jin-woong.
Monday, September 1, 2014
KOFFIA 2014 Review: HOPE Is An Obvious Yet Successful Tearjerker
By Hieu Chau
It wouldn’t be entirely wrong to say that Korean film has some affinity for children. Whether it’s a crowd-pleasing comedy like Miracle in Cell No. 7 or something a bit darker like Silenced, there really isn’t much of a shortage when it comes to stories about children in Korean cinema. Hope, last year’s recipient for Best Film at the Blue Dragon Awards (beating out films including Snowpiercer, New World, The Berlin File and The Face Reader), is one other such film with a story that’s motivated by children.
Monday, August 25, 2014
Top 25 Korean Films of All Time
By Pierce Conran
I've thought about doing a list like this for some time but frankly found the task quite daunting. Having seen so many Korean films and there being so many that I love, drawing up a list inevitably meant cutting out a large number of films that I wish could get more recognition. But for our 4th anniversary (it's hard to believe it's been that long) I wanted to do something a little special. It certain did prove to be a difficult task...
Sunday, August 24, 2014
MKC Turns 4 & New Plans on the Horizon!
It's a labor of love, but it wouldn't be possible if it weren't for all the passionate fans of Korean cinema out there. So thank you for all the support over the years!
Friday, August 22, 2014
Review: RED FAMILY's High Concept Suffers From Stilted Delivery
By Pierce Conran
Though as a theme it has spawned some of Korean cinema's biggest hits, including Shiri (1999), Joint Security Area (2000), Silmido (2003), Taegugki (2004) and Welcome to Dongmakgol (2005), the representation of North Korea on screen has always been a thorny one. It's a sensitive topic that is consistently affected by ebbing political tides. Though many different styles of narrative crop up relating to the Korean republic's Northern neighbor, those that have been most palatable to the public have featured themes of camaraderie across the demilitarized zone, films that stripped characters (mostly soldiers) of their ideologies and showed them for what they really were, which is of course people that are not all that dissimilar from one another.
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Review: PLAN MAN Takes A Few Wrong Turns
By Pierce Conran
The 2014 commercial Korean film calendar kicked off with Plan Man, a light and colorful romantic comedy that carries on in a straightforward manner with plenty of humor until a second half that squeezes in some subtle commentary on the regimented lifestyle of working Korean citizens.
Jung-seok is a librarian with a case of obsessive compulsive disorder. He gets up at the same time every day and plans the rest of his life down to the minute, to the point where he even catches the same street light just as it turns green on his way to work in the morning. He falls for a convenience store attendant who exhibits similar tendencies but when she professes a desire for someone who can challenge her nervous tendency to keep everything in its place, he decides to shake up the strict order in his life to steal her heart. He does so with the help of So-jung, a singer-songwriter who is his exact opposite. Though it's someone just like him who first caught his eye, perhaps he will discover that opposites do indeed attract.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
News: KOFA Uploads 15 More of Korea’s Best Films to YouTube for Free
By Pierce Conran
The Korean Film Archive (KOFA) has significantly expanded its YouTube channel, the Korean Classic Film Theater, after adding 15 new titles this summer. Among the new additions are rare titles from Korean cinema masters such as Im Kwon-taek, Yu Hyun-mok, Lee Man-hee, Lee Jang-ho, Kim Soo-yong and Ha Gil-dong.
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