Hwang Jung-min, Hyun Bin team up for 'The Point Men' A scene from the film, “The Point Men.” / Courtesy of Plus M EntertainmentBy Kwak Yeon-sooLongtime friends Hwang Jung-min and Hyun Bin expressed their excitement about sharing the screen for the first time in the action film “The Point Men.” Directed by Yim Soon-rye, the film follows a story of Korean diplomat Jae-ho (Hwang) and National Intelligence Service agent Dae-sik (Hyun) who are on a mission to rescue Korean hostages kidnapped by the Taliban in Afghanistan. They must negotiate a settlement within 24 hours or the Taliban will kill the Korean hostages.Hwang, who is collaborating with Yim for the second time since the 2001 film, “Waikiki Brothers,” said he was grateful for the chance to work with the director once more.“Director Yim shaped my early career and I will always be thankful to her,” he said during a press conference for the film, Tuesday. “When I heard that she was directing 'The Point Men,' I said I would do it without hesitation.”Hwang revealed that he convinced Hyun to take the role of Dae-sik.“We haDec 21, 2022By Kwak Yeon-soo
'Avatar 2' tops 3 mil. admissions in Korea in first week The poster of "Avatar: The Way of Water" hangs in a theater in Seoul, Dec. 18. YonhapJames Cameron's sequel to his 2009 sci-fi blockbuster, "Avatar: The Way of Water," surpassed 3 million admissions in Korea in its first week, data showed Tuesday.Released on Dec. 14, "Avatar 2" had amassed a total of 3.07 million moviegoers as of 7 a.m., topping the local box office, according to the data from the Korea Film Council (KOFIC).This image released by 20th Century Studios shows Britain Dalton, as Lo'ak, in a scene from "Avatar: The Way of Water." AP-YonhapThe sequel to "Avatar", the world's highest grossing film of all time, opened to $134 million at the box office in the United States, industry tracker Box Office Mojo's data showed.In the international market, China delivered the biggest start with $57.1 million, and Korea came next with $24.7 million on its opening day.The original "Avatar", which was a breakthrough for 3D cinema, attracted 13.6 million viewers in Korea in 2009 to become the most-viewed foreign movie released here. (Yonhap)Dec 20, 2022
'Phantom' is action-packed spy thriller with multi-layered mystery From left, director Lee Hae-young, actors Seo Hyun-woo, Park Hae-soo, Park So-dam, Lee Ha-nee and Seol Kyung-gu attend a press conference for the film “Phantom” in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap By Kwak Yeon-sooDirector Lee Hae-young, whose stylish crime thriller “Believer” (2018) earned him commercial success and critical acclaim, has returned with the action spy thriller “Phantom” with an ensemble cast.Set in 1933 during the Japanese colonial occupation of Korea, the film follows five people suspected of being a spy for an anti-Japanese resistance group. Trapped inside an isolated hotel, the five characters must use their wits to survive and escape while suspecting one another.Lee explained that the film is a period piece, but its plot and characters are mostly fictional. “The film drew inspiration from a clandestine organization that fought against Japanese colonial rule in the 1930s, but it is very much a fictional story. I wanted to make a film where every character hasDec 19, 2022By Kwak Yeon-soo
Movies with star-studded casts coming to theaters next month A poster for the film, “The Point Men” / Courtesy of Plus M Entertainment By Kwak Yeon-sooDecember welcomed some of 2022's biggest releases, such as “Avatar: The Way of Water,” and “Hero” among many others. January won't see as many theatrical releases as in past months, but it will still have some exciting titles on offer for the audience, such as “Switch,” “The Point Men” and “Phantom.”“Switch” is a heartwarming drama about an A-list actor, Park Kang (Kwon Sang-woo), who wakes up one Christmas morning to find himself living an alternate version of his own life in which he had chosen to marry his girlfriend and settled into a quiet family life with two adorable kids. It will hit theaters on Jan. 4. The cast also includes Oh Jung-se, Lee Min-jung, and child actors Park Soi and Kim Jun.The action drama, “The Point Men,” starring actors Hwang Jung-min and Hyun Bin, will hit theaters on Jan. 18. Hyun will be back in his first movie since welcoming a baby boy with actreDec 18, 2022By Kwak Yeon-soo
Avatar sequel surpasses audience of 1 mil. within 3 days of Korea release Movie posters for "Avatar: The Way of Water" at a cinema in Seoul on the film's opening day, Dec. 14. Yonhap Walt Disney's "Avatar: The Way of Water" has surpassed 1 million cumulative viewers in Korea within three days of its release, data showed Saturday.James Cameron's sequel to his 2009 sci-fi epic had its world premiere in the country Wednesday.The movie recorded 1.06 million admissions as of Friday, according to data from the Korean Film Council. It drew 359,000 moviegoers on its first day, 291,000 Thursday and 414,000 Friday. The original "Avatar" is the highest-grossing film of all time with $2.9 billion in global ticket sales. It attracted 13.6 million moviegoers in South Korea to become the most-viewed foreign movie released here. (Yonhap)Dec 17, 2022
Star-studded 'The Match' skips theaters, goes straight to Netflix This photo provided by Netflix shows a scene from the upcoming Korean film "The Match" about legendary Go players. Newsis"The Match," a highly anticipated Korean film about professional Go players, will skip theaters and go straight to Netflix for global release, the streaming service said Friday.The movie is based on a true story of two legendary Go players ― Cho Hoon-hyun (Lee Byung-hun) and his protege and future rival Lee Chang-ho (Yoo Ah-in). Kim Hyung-ju, behind comic crime action "The Sheriff in Town" (2017), took helm of the movie and finished shooting in April 2021, but its theatrical release has been delayed amid the pandemic.Netflix said the movie will be streamed exclusively on its platform without providing details of its release schedule.Actor Lee Byung-hun / Courtesy of BH EntertainmentThe film has drawn attention with the first acting ensemble between Lee and Yoo, both of whom have a large fan base.Lee has starred in numerous hit Korean movies as well as Hollywood films, such as the "G.I. Joe" series, and appeared in Netflix sensation "Squid Game" (2021). "The Match" Dec 16, 2022
Comedian Kim Shin-young named Best Supporting Actress at KFPA Awards Comedian Kim Shin-young in a scene from the film, “Decision to Leave” / Courtesy of CJ ENMBy Kwak Yeon-sooComedian Kim Shin-young has won the Best Supporting Actress Award for her performance in director Park Chan-wook's “Decision to Leave” at the ninth Korean Film Producers Association (KFPA) Awards held in Seoul, Wednesday.Her very first film appearance, playing the role of a detective alongside Park Hae-il in “Decision to Leave,” earned her the trophy, with the film itself also winning Best Picture and Best Screenplay. The film tells the story of a detective (Park) who suspects a mysterious Chinese widow is the culprit of a murder case and later falls in love with her.“Thank you for the honorary award. I also want to thank our wonderful 'Decision to Leave' team and the audience who watched and supported our film,” Kim wrote on Instagram, Wednesday.Earlier in May, director Park praised Kim's acting in an interview, saying that he thinks Kim is a born genius. Kim was also nominated for the Best New Female Actor award at the Blue DragonDec 15, 2022By Kwak Yeon-soo
Fandom enables some movies to stay longer in theaters The posters for “The Night Owl,” left, and “Hero” / Courtesy of NEW, CJ ENM'No film is a failure if it has fans'By Kwak Yeon-sooSince the pandemic outbreak, viewers have shifted to streaming services to watch movies and fewer people are going to theaters than before. Against this backdrop, a movie's opening week at the box office has become a stronger predictor of a film's overall commercial success than it used to be, as moviegoers ― both frequent and infrequent ― are influenced by word of mouth generated by social media and reviews when they decide whether to go to a theater or wait until the film becomes available on streaming services. So if word of mouth online and critical ratings during a film's first week are mostly negative, the number of moviegoers tends to decrease thereafter, and the screening period is ultimately shortened.However, movies with a strong fan base are likely to stay longer in theaters thanks to repeated viewings.Despite its wins at major awards including Cannes Film Festival, “Decision to Leave” had lower-than-expected opDec 15, 2022By Kwak Yeon-soo
'Decision to Leave' nominated for Critics Choice Awards Director Park Chan-wook, left, of "Decision to Leave" and actor Song Kang-ho of "Broker" give media interviews after winning Best Director and Best Actor, respectively, at the 75th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 28. YonhapPark Chan-wook's romance thriller "Decision to Leave" has been nominated for best foreign film for this year's Critics Choice Awards.According to the nominations announced by the Critics Choice Association on Wednesday (U.S. time), the Korean film starring Park Hae-il and Tang Wei was listed in the best foreign language film category, along with five other movies."Decision to Leave" has also been named the best non-English language film at the Golden Globe Awards and brought Park the best director prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival.Last week, the association announced the nominations of two Korean-language dramas, "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" and "Pachinko," as best foreign language series in the TV category, which is selected by a group of 500 film and TV broadcast critics in North America."Extraordinary Attorney Woo" is a Korean legal drama airDec 15, 2022
Lee Ji-hoon to lead Japanese director Sabu's new film By Lee Gyu-leeActor Lee Ji-hoon / Courtesy of Enter7Actor Lee Ji-hoon will play the lead role in the new thriller film, “Under Your Bed,” led by Japanese director Hiroyuki Tanaka, professionally known as Sabu. The film's distributor, Mystery Pictures, announced Wednesday that production is set to begin later this month.The suspense-thriller flick, based on the Japanese novel of the same name by Kei Ohishi, will follow the story of a man named Ji-hoon (Lee) who gets pulled into a whirlwind of destructive love.Actress Lee Yun-u will play the role of Ye-eun, who is Ji-hoon's first love, and Shin Soo-hyang will play the role of Hyung-oh, who is Ye-eun's husband. This will be the first Korean-language film for Sabu, whose previous works include the 1997 crime comedy film, “Postman Blues,” and the 2017 crime film, “Mr. Long.”Lee Ji-hoon debuted in 2013 with a minor role in the teen drama, “School 2013,” and has taken supporting and lead roles in various series, including “Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung” (2019), “Dinner Mate&Dec 14, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
