Top 10 Korean Contenders for Cannes 2015

By Pierce Conran

Guessing what films might go to Cannes is a bit of a fool's errand, but as those go, it can be a fun one. Korea doesn't always get features selected (though it has its fair share of award wins) yet, in the months leading up to the fest, people in the local industry often like to speculate about what might make the lineup.

Click to read more»

Review - DETECTIVE K: SECRET OF THE LOST ISLAND, Another Underwhelming Korean Period Action Comedy

By Pierce Conran

Detective Kim is back with his trusty sidekick Seo-pil in the follow up to 2011’s hit period action-comedy Detective K: Secret of the Virtuous Widow. A hodgepodge of genres delivered at breakneck speed, this new instalment, subtitled Secret of the Lost Island, comes on the heels of a raft of period successes, and will again open during the busy Lunar New Year period.

Click to read more»

Coming Attractions: SOCIALPHOBIA Logs on to Korean Screens This March

By Rex Baylon

I love a good mystery and Hong Seok-jae's feature debut Socialphobia, opening in Korean theaters on March 12, has it in spades. Centering on a couple of police cadets played by Byun Yo-han and Lee Joo-seung sniffing around for clues about an online user with the handle Re-Na who made waves by posting a vicious comment about a dead soldier. These wannabe Hardy Boys eventually track her down, but before they can wring an apology out of her they are shocked to find something else.

Click to read more»

Review: THE CONTACT Provides a Glimpse of Romance at the Speed of the ‘90s

By Chris Horn

The romance genre is always teetering on the edge of a dangerous precipice: an original plot and strong chemistry between the leads are the essential yet often elusive elements of successful romance. In 1997, Jang Yoon-hyeon struck gold, courting both viewer and critical approval with his hit romance The Contact. While it has its share of self-indulgence, it ultimately deserves its reputation as a refreshing genre film.

Click to read more»

Korean Box Office: Soft Opening for C'EST SI BON Ahead of Lunar New Year (2015 WK 6)

By Pierce Conran

In the warm up to holidays, 1.81 million people visited theaters as a Korean film reclaimed the top of the charts. Local films were dominant with 62% of the market.

Click to read more»

Reel Talk: Korea's Lunar New Year Contenders

Every Friday I appear on a segment called Reel Talk for Arirang TV on the 2 o'clock news, mostly covering Korean cinema.

The Lunar New Year, one of Korea's major holidays, takes place next Thursday so local studios are pitting their biggest releases against each other to capitalize on the busy theatergoing period. This week I talked about this year's holiday releases, C'est si bon and Detective K: Secret of the Lost Island.

Click to read more»

News: ODE TO MY FATHER Becomes 2nd Most Successful Korean Film of All Time

By Pierce Conran

Yesterday, JK Youn's Ode to My Father surpassed The Host (2006) and The Thieves (2012) to become the second most successful Korean film of all time. Still in third place on the charts in its eighth week, the blockbuster melodrama added 89,809 viewers on Saturday to bring its total to 13.02 million admissions ($92.16 million). Including foreign films, the film is in third place, behind Avatar's (2009) 13.62 million viewers.

Click to read more»