Comedy-action 'Mission: Possible' takes back local box office Comedy action film "Mission: Possible" topped the local box office over the weekend. Courtesy of Merry ChristmasBy Lee Gyu-leeComedy action film "Mission: Possible" took back the top spot at the local box office over the weekend.The film has garnered about 69,000 ticket sales, Saturday and Sunday, grossing 639 million ($568,000). It has accumulated ticket sales totaling 331,000 since its release Feb. 17, collecting about 3 billion won ($2.7 million) in the process.The newcomer Kim Hyeong-ju's directorial debut soared in popularity upon its release before slipping to third position following the opening of director Doug Liman's latest blockbuster “Chaos Walking” and Warner Bros.' animated family film “Tom and Jerry.”It reclaimed the top spot this weekend, followed by two animated films ― the Japanese film “Demon Slayer” at second and the Pixar film “Soul” at third. “Chaos Walking” and “Tom and Jerry” fell to fourth and fifth respectively. “Mission: Possible” revolves around a private detective Woo Soo-Mar 1, 2021By Lee Gyu-lee
Exhibition highlights well-made Korean films in 21st century A media display of women-centric films at the “21st Century Korean Films: The Age of Well-made Cinema” exhibition at the Korean Film Museum, Seoul / Courtesy of Korean Film Archive By Kwak Yeon-sooThe Korean Film Archive (KOFA) is holding a special exhibition, “21st Century Korean Films: The Age of Well-made Cinema,” at the Korean Film Museum. The exhibit features notable film trends that shaped the past two decades through video, media displays and an art wall displaying film posters, stills and pamphlets.Korean cinema has enjoyed an unprecedented renaissance over the last 20 years, achieving quantitative and aesthetic growth. The global status of Korean films has increased dramatically thanks to “Parasite,” which became the first non-English-language movie to win the Best Picture award at the Oscars.The so-called “well-made” films that carry both artistic and commercial appeal attracted public attention, and independent films with a strong social conscience have eMar 1, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo
'Minari' wins best foreign-language film at 2021 Golden Globes A scene from “Minari” / Courtesy of PancinemaBy Kwak Yeon-sooDirector Lee Isaac Chung's “Minari,” a moving drama about a Korean immigrant family starting a farm in rural Arkansas, won a Golden Globe for the best foreign-language film Monday (KST). This is the second consecutive year that a Korean-language film has won the category, following Bong Joon-ho's black-comedy “Parasite” last year. “Minari is about a family trying to learn how to speak a language of its own. It goes deeper than any American language and any foreign language. It's a language of the heart. I hope we all learn how to speak this language of love to each other, especially this year.” Chung said in his acceptance speech, thanking his creative team and family. Other nominees in the category included Thomas Vinterberg's “Another Round” (Denmark), Jayro Bustamante's “La Llorona” (Guatemala), Edoardo Ponti's “The Life Ahead” (Italy) and Filippo Meneghetti's “Two of Us” (France).Chung's semi-autobiographical “Minari&rdMar 1, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo
'Minari' wins best foreign film at Golden Globes In this file photo Golden Globe statues are set by the stage ahead of the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards nominations announcement in Beverly Hills on Dec. 9, 2019. The drama film "Minari" about a Korean-American immigrant family was named the best foreign language film at the 2021 Golden Globe Awards on Monday (Korean time). AFPThe drama film "Minari" about a Korean-American immigrant family was named the best foreign language film at the U.S. Golden Globe Awards on Monday (Korean time).In a ceremony held virtually, "Minari" won the best motion picture in foreign language, beating "Another Round" from Denmark, "La Llorona" from Guatemala, "The Life Ahead" from Italy and "Two of Us" from the France.It is the second year in a row that a Korean-language film won the category of the accolades given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), following Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning "Parasite" last year.Director Lee Isaac Chung thanked his team for the honor, saying that "Minari" is about a family "trying to learn how to speak a language of its own.""It goes deeper than any AmericanMar 1, 2021
Golden Globes to launch pandemic-era Hollywood awards season This image released by Searchlight Pictures shows writer-director Chloe Zhao, from left, director of photography Joshua James Richards and actress Frances McDormand on the set of "Nomadland." APHollywood's award season kicks off Sunday at a very different Golden Globes, with a mainly virtual ceremony set to boost or dash the Oscars hopes of early frontrunners like "Nomadland" and "The Trial of the Chicago 7."Usually a star-packed, laid-back party that draws Tinseltown's biggest names to a Beverly Hills hotel ballroom, this pandemic edition will be broadcast from two scaled-down venues, with frontline and essential workers among the few in attendance.Deprived of its usual glamour, the Globes ― which also honor the best in television ― remain a coveted prize, and a high-profile source of momentum in the run-up to the season-crowning Oscars, which were pushed back this year to April."Nomadland," Chloe Zhao's paean to a marginalized, older generation of Americans roaming the West in rundown vans, has long been viewed as a frontrunner for the Globes' top prize.But it will face stiff compeFeb 28, 2021
Study finds Netflix leads on women directors, lags with Latin, Asian roles Netflix has outpaced its competitors in hiring women to direct feature films, but Latin-American and Asian actors were underrepresented in leading TV roles, according to a study commissioned by the streaming service and released Friday. AP-YonhapNetflix has outpaced its competitors in hiring women to direct feature films, but Latin-American and Asian actors were underrepresented in leading TV roles, according to a study commissioned by the streaming service and released Friday. Hollywood has faced criticism in recent years for a lack of diversity among people on and off screen. Netflix, the world's largest streaming service, asked researchers at the University of Southern California to assess the prevalence of multiple groups among actors in its English-language programming and creators working behind the scenes."The report makes clear that while Netflix has made advances in representation year-over-year, we still have a long way to go," Co-Chief Executive Ted Sarandos said in a blog post.Researchers at USC's Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, led by professor Stacy L. Smith, evaluated Feb 27, 2021
'Minari' wrestles with how we can love each other in difficult situations, says director Clockwise from top-left, actresses Youn Yuh-jung, Han Ye-ri, director Lee Isaac Chung and actor Steven Yeun discuss their film, “Minari,” in an online press conference, Friday. Courtesy of PancinemaBy Kwak Yeon-sooSteven Yeun, who plays a young father in the moving family drama, “Minari,” recalled that when he first got the script from writer-director Lee Isaac Chung, it felt like reading a script from Korea. “When you get scripts about people of color or minorities (in the U.S.), it's usually explanatory because the viewer is assumed to be a white audience. So, there's always a level of seeing yourself through the gaze and lens of the white majority,” Yeun told Korean reporters during an online press conference, Friday. He decided to come on board not just as an actor but also as a producer, because he wanted to add his voice to something that he deeply related to and had always wanted to talk about.“The thing that was really refreshing about Isaac's script was just how confident in its own point of view it was. I wanted to make sure our voiFeb 26, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo
Director Lee Joon-ik returns with historical biopic 'Book of Fish' Actor Byun Yo-han in a scene from “The Book of Fish” / Courtesy of Megabox Plus MBy Kwak Yeon-sooLee Joon-ik, a pioneering director who tells stories about Korean society and its traditions through a historical drama format known as “sageuk,” is back with another black-and-white biopic, “The Book of Fish.”In his upcoming film, actor Seol Kyung-gu plays scholar Jeong Yak-jeon, the brother of one of the leading scholars in the late Joseon era Dasan Jeong Yak-yong. His character meets a young fisherman named Chang-dae (Byun Yo-han) while living in exile on Heuksan Island in South Jeolla Province. In contrast to Jeong, who tries to avoid his scholarly endeavors, Chang-dae seeks knowledge. The fisherman believes that Confucianism ― the state ideology of the Joseon Kingdom ― can protect the people, so he concentrates on studying rather than catching fish.Lee has received accolades for making historical films such as “The King and the Clown” (2005), which revolves around two male traveling performers who are arrested for satirizing King YeonsaFeb 24, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo
'Beauty Water' becomes 1st Korean animated film to win award at Boston Sci-Fi Film Festival Animated film “Beauty Water” / Courtesy of Triple PicturesBy Dong Sun-hwaHorror-thriller “Beauty Water” has become the first Korean animated movie to win the best animated feature award at the 46th Boston Science Fiction Film Festival, its production team said Tuesday.The festival, which was held Feb. 10-15, is the oldest independent genre film festival in the United States. Every year, it showcases more than 100 science fiction features and short films from around the world.This year, the best animated feature award went to “Beauty Water,” directed by Cho Kyung-hun. It is the story of a makeup artist named Yeji, whose life takes a drastic turn after she comes across a mysterious liquid “beauty water” that turns her into a perfect beauty. The animated film was an adaptation of a popular web comic “Tales of the Unusual” by Oh Seong-dae. “It seems women are more likely than men to fall victim to 'lookism,'” director Cho said in a media interview last year, referring to the discriminatory treatment of people based oFeb 23, 2021By Dong Sun-hwa
INTERVIEW 'Minari' actor Han Ye-ri recalls why the film is special to her Han Ye-ri / Courtesy of PancinemaBy Kwak Yeon-sooWhen Han Ye-ri first saw the script for director Lee Isaac Chung's moving drama, “Minari,” she didn't think it was a story about immigrants. She thought it depicted the universal story of a family. The semi-autobiographical story of Chung, the film tells the story of a Korean immigrant family that moves to rural Arkansas to start a farm in the 1980s.Han plays the role of Monica, a young mother who follows her husband's decision to move to Arkansas in pursuit of the American dream. To portray Monica and bring emotion to her character, Han said that she turned to a particular person for inspiration. “To portray Monica, I thought about my mother a lot. It made me think about women who lived in that era and raised children in their early twenties, trying to make better decisions for their families,” she said during an interview with The Korea Times via Zoom, Tuesday. The questions Han held in mind while filming were: “why does Monica love Jacob?” and “why is she staying with him?” “MoniFeb 23, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo
