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By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
This week's new movies have made an early debut for the Seollal long weekend. Here are some features to enjoy over the holiday with some popcorn. Happy Lunar New Year! No English subtitles for Korean films.
`His Last Gift'
In time for the big holiday comes a tearjerker family drama. ``His Last Gift'' tells the story of a young girl and her ``two fathers.''
Tae-ju (Shin Hyun-jun) is imprisoned for life for murder. One day, his friend _ and cop _ Yeong-wu (Huh Jun-ho) pays him a visit and asks for a liver transplant to save his daughter Se-hui.
Tae-ju gets a 10-day break from prison for the operation. But paying no heed to the little girl's life, he solely sees this as a golden opportunity to escape prison. However, a surprising transformation starts to take place…
Popular actress Ha Ji-won makes a special appearance as Tae-ju's former girlfriend.
`Lovers of 6 Years'
Ahead of St. Valentine's Day comes a romantic comedy. But as the title suggests, this film is devoid of heart-fluttering first kisses and sentimental tug of wars.
Popular stars Kim Ha-neul and Yoon Kye-sang play the role of a couple who've been dating for six years. The two know each other inside out, and as next-door neighbors, they are like family and have no need to spend extra cash on their dates.
Each is enjoying a fine career and everything seems swell. While marriage seems to be the logical next step, the flip side of their intimate relationship is a settling sense of ennui.
`Once Upon a Time'
While set during the 1940s during the Japanese occupation, ``gone are the times of Independence fighters.'' This delightful comedy sheds new light on the period as con-artists reign in style.
The Japanese army is desperate to get a hold of ``the Light of the Orient,'' a legendary diamond from the Shilla Dynasty (75 B.C.-A.D. 936). After much sweat and tears, the Japanese army finally finds it, and prepares a festive reception before transporting the treasure to the Japanese mainland.
Meanwhile, two notorious swindlers, the suave Bong-gu (Park Yong-woo) and beautiful Chun-ja (Lee Bo-yeong), compete with ambitious schemes to steal the diamond.
The film earned rave reviews from big-time directors such as Choi Dong-hoon (``Tazza: The High Rollers'') and Yoon JK (``Sex is Zero'').
`Charlie Wilson's War'
Nominated for five Golden Globes this year, this film boasts a star-studded cast with Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts.
In the early 1980s, Charlie Wilson is a fun-loving congressman representing Texas. Teaming up with the beautiful and powerful Joanne Herring, he orchestrates some major foreign policy issues concerning the Soviet's occupation of Afghanistan.
With his smooth-talking, womanizing charms, Wilson sets out to save the Middle East, but learns the harsh realities of military intervention.
`The Game'
Currently topping the box office, ``The Game'' features a heart-thumping ``Face-Off''-style battle between two colorful actors, Shin Ha-kyun and Byun Heui-bong.
Heui-do (Shin) is an ordinary young man who leads a humble yet happy life as a street-side artist. One day, No-sik (Byun), an elderly tycoon of the financial world, challenges him to a game. Stakes are high, but the monetary reward is big and Heui-do decides to give it a shot in order to protect his beloved girlfriend.
But the young man loses, and is deprived of everything. No-sik on the other hand not only achieves wealth and fame but possesses Heui-do's youth and body as well.
To take back what he has lost, Heui-do prepares for the final round that can change everything.
hyowlee@koreatimes.co.kr |
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