S. Korean box office thrives despite slowing economy With the year 2019 having just passed the halfway point, the South Korean film industry is eying the possibility of four movies posting more than 10 million admissions, considered a huge box-office success in a country with a population of about 52 million.Comedy film "Extreme Job" opened in January and posted the year's highest mark with a total of 16.2 million tickets sold, followed by Marvel's "Avengers: Endgame" with 13.9 million and Walt Disney's live-action film "Aladdin" with 10.3 million.Cannes-winning "Parasite" is expected to be the next to join the 10-million club, having logged 9.9 million admissions as of Wednesday. It will then be the 26th film of all time to record more than 10 million tickets sales in South Korea.It would be the first time in the Korean box office that four films hit the milestone in the first seven months of a year, and would tie the annual record set in 2014.In 2014, four movies ― Disney's animated film "Frozen," science fiction "Interstellar," Korean historical movie "Roaring Currents" and Korean drama "Ode to My Father" ― sold more than 10 millionJul 19, 2019
Interactive film 'AORB' offers viewers to choose story Nam Eun-ja, executive director of Oriental Brewery Company, speaks at a news conference on Yeouido, Friday, to promote the interactive short film “AORB.” Courtesy of Oriental Brewery CompanyBy Lee Gyu-leeKorean beer brand Cass Fresh of Oriental Brewery Company launched a film in a creative format to encourage the concept of “rule breaking” among the younger generation. The interactive film “AORB” is part of a YAASS Campaign by Cass to send the message “we support your decision.” The film title “AORB” came from “Choose A or B,” encouraging indecisive young people to make choices to influence the plot, which sets it apart from other films. “Nowadays, the younger generation is said to find it difficult to make decisions on even a tiny thing,” Nam Eun-ja, the executive director of the company, said at a media showing of the film, Friday, held on Yeouido, Seoul. “They are affected by others' views or reactions rather than making their own choices when faced with decisions. This is why some call them Jul 15, 2019By Lee Gyu-lee
Film airing on PBS recalls city's dark deportation history This undated photo provided by 4th Row Films, town residents dressed in period costume stand in a modern day classroom in "Bisbee '17," as they re-enact the deputizing of a private police force that broke up a brewing strike at a copper mine on July 12, 1917, when they rounded up some 1,200 miners, locked them into cattle cars and deported them over the state line into a barren part of southern New Mexico. The dark history of Bisbee was largely an open secret for decades in the funky old copper town just seven miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. APThe darkest, most violent chapter in the history of Bisbee was an open secret for decades in the funky old Arizona copper town 7 miles (11 kilometers) north of the U.S.-Mexico border. But few residents knew the details of how about 1,200 miners, most of them immigrants, were pulled violently from their homes a century ago by a private police force and put on cattle cars for their deportation to a desolate area of New Mexico. The filming of ``Bisbee '17,'' a documentary about what happened July 12, 1917, was a history lesson for residenJul 14, 2019
Disney's 3D 'Lion King' sends animation roaring forward This image released by Disney shows Scar, voiced by Chiwetel Ejiofor, center, in a scene from "The Lion King." Disney via APDisney's blockbuster 3D remakes of animated classics have rampaged through box offices in recent years, but the studio is banking on its latest ― "The Lion King" ― to climb right to the top of the food chain.With a star-studded voice cast including Beyonce and estimated $250 million budget, Hollywood's reigning hitmaker has spared no expense bringing arguably its most beloved source material roaring to photo-realistic life.Expectations are sky-high for the film about young lion cub Simba avenging his father's death to emulate the commercial success of "The Jungle Book" (2016), "Beauty and the Beast" (2017) and "Aladdin" (2019).A trailer for the new "Lion King" was watched by 225 million people in its first 24 hours in November, shattering Disney's record.But while the film ― set for release Friday ― is being billed as the Mouse House's latest "live-action" movie, it is in fact a different beast altogether.With no human characters in sight, almost every shot ― frJul 14, 2019
Reviews of new 'Lion King' poles apart The poster of Lion King, a remake from the original Disney animation in 1994/ Courtesy of Universal Music KoreaLive action remake to hit local theaters on WednesdayBy Jung Hae-myoung Disney's 3D remake of the 1994 blockbuster “Lion King,” which will hit local theaters Wednesday, has received mixed reactions since a local VIP preview held last week. The new “Lion King” directed by John Favreau, who also directed the “live-action” version of “The Jungle Book,” got sweepingly favorable comments from local media outlets. In its film review, the Chosun Ilbo newspaper described it “a total package” that meets four key criterion for a box office hit ― namely technology, music, casting and a core message. The newspaper said the remake was “flawless” in terms of those four criterion.Yonhap News Agency said the remake signifies the “heroic return of Lion King” and fans will be thrilled from the get go when its opening song fills the theater. Some other media outlets described it as a film that everybody would lJul 14, 2019
Disney says black mermaid right choice Ariel from Disney's animation “The Little Mermaid,” left, and Halle Bailey, new cast of the live-action remake of Ariel are seen in this combined photo. Korea Times filesBy Lee Gyu-leeFreeform, Walt Disney Company's TV network, issued a statement to counter the skeptical views on casting Halle Bailey as Ariel for the upcoming live-action remake of 1989 animation “The Little Mermaid.”In the statement to “The Poor, Unfortunate Souls” uploaded on its social media, Freeform said Ariel is a fictional Danish character created by a Danish author. “Danish mermaids can be black because Danish people can be black,” the statement read. It further described 19-year-old Bailey as being “incredible and highly-talented.”Disney officially announced the newest cast member on Wednesday, which was the first time it cast a woman of a different race for a role that was traditionally portrayed as a white princess. Many responded with the excitement, with multiple celebrities ― including Mariah Carey and Halle Berry ― publically supporting Disney'Jul 10, 2019By Lee Gyu-lee
French actress ditches Japan's Rising Sun flag cap By Dong Sun-hwaFrench actress Marion Cotillard was in hot water for wearing a Rising Sun flag-patterned cap. Capture from the Instagram account of “usatabloid”French actress Marion Cotillard will dump her Rising Sun flag cap after learning the flag is an emblem of Japan's wartime aggression and colonization, reports said Wednesday. The Japanese military used the flag during World War II.Cotillard raised the eyebrows of online users, mostly Koreans, for wearing the disputed cap on July 6 (local time) at the Longines Paris Eiffel Jumping event ― a horse-riding competition ― in Paris. Photos of the actress wearing the cap ignited controversy after they went viral. In the wake of the fuss, a Korean online user sent an Instagram message to Eliott Bliss, Cotillard's close friend and manager, explaining the flag's meaning. He also asked the actress to refrain from wearing the cap. Cotillard's manager Eliott Bliss said the controversial cap would go into the trash. Capture from online community.The user captured Bliss' message and posted it online Wednesday. In her reply, Bliss sJul 10, 2019By Dong Sun-hwa
'Spider-Man' takes local box office by storm Tom Holland, left, and Jake Gyllenhaal hold traditional Korean masks decorated like Spider-Man's costume during a promotion for the latest Marvel movie “Spider-Man: Far From Home” at a media conference held in Jongno-gu, central Seoul. Korea Times filesBy Lee Gyu-lee“Spider-Man: Far From Home” landed in the top spot in the domestic box office after it premiered last Tuesday. The superhero film has not allowed any other films to take the top spot since. The sequel to 2017 film “Spider-Man: Homecoming” sold about 3 million tickets over the weekend, collecting an overall grossing of 39 billion won ($33 million) as of Sunday. Marvel's latest movie picks up from “Avengers: Endgame” which came out earlier this year. It follows the web-slinging adventures of 16-year-old superhero Peter Parker, played by Tom Holland, on a class trip to Europe. While on his trip, Parker gets recruited by Nick Fury and Mysterio ― played by Samuel L. Jackson and Jake Gyllenhaal ― to fight the so-called evil Elemental creatures.From its premiere, the movie has beenJul 9, 2019By Lee Gyu-lee
'Comfort women' films to hit theaters this summer A poster for "Shusenjo: The Main Battleground of the Comfort Women Issue," left, and “My Name Is Kim Bok-dong.” Courtesy of cinemaDAL and at9 Film.By Lee Gyu-leeA handful of movies about the Korean wartime sex slavery during World War II ― "Shusenjo: The Main Battleground of the Comfort Women Issue," and “My name is Kim Bok-dong” ― are scheduled to hit the local theaters this summer, raising awareness on the unresolved issue. The issue of comfort women, a euphemism for the victims of wartime sex slavery, has been one of the most contentious debates between South Korea and Japan. Amid the growing tensions between the two countries, the movies are intended to shed light on the perennial yet unsettled issue. "Shusenjo: The Main Battleground of the Comfort Women Issue,” the directorial debut of Miki Dezaki, takes a different approach to present a new perspective on the matter. The documentary lays out the controversial issue by acknowledging both supporters and detractors of the comfort women issue. Dezaki interviewed about 30 scholars and experts from KoreaJul 7, 2019By Lee Gyu-lee
'Memory' dissects Ridley Scott's 'Alien' The poster for film “Memory”By Jason BechervaiseThe Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan), which kicked off on June 27, screens an array of genre films from all over the world Emerging in the late 1990s, the festival has become one of the most significant events on the festival circuit in Asia to showcase genre cinema thereby differentiating it from other festivals in Korea such as Jeonju and Busan that focus less on genre films. For its 23rd edition, the festival is screening a total 233 films from 49 different countries. One of the highlights of this year's event has been the Korean premiere of Alexandre O. Philippe's superb documentary “Memory: The Origins of Alien” that delves into Ridley Scott's 1979 classic. This project attracted notice ahead of its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, U.S. in January owing to Philippe's previous films including the documentary “78/52.” The film that centres on the iconic shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's “Psycho” was extremely well-received by critics and cinephJul 5, 2019
