John Hancock (Will Smith), the miserable superhero in Peter Berg's "Hancock", should be happy now.
Released last Thursday, the film is number one at the box office in Korea.
According to the Korean Film Council, Hancock attracted 948,397 viewers during the weekend (July 4 to 6), outnumbering Timur Bekmambetov's action film "Wanted", which ranked second.
Third on list was the Korean action thriller
"Public Enemy Returns", directed by
Kang Woo-seok.
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The 22 Korean film screenwriters include ...
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Song Seung-heon used to play sweet, gentle parts, mainly in sad melodramas that squeezed copious tears from his women fans. But in his first work after being discharged from the military, Song is reborn as an explosive, wild and tough guy. He stars in the gangster movie
"Fate" with
kwon Sang-woo and
Ji Seong. The movie was sold to Japan for US$2 million last year, even before production had been completed. And more than 30 percent of tickets for the movie are booked even before its release, such is the curiosity about the film.
Song plays Woomin, a gangster who enjoys the trust of his boss and colleagues. "I thought hard about my first work after the discharge. I chose 'Destiny' in the end because I wanted to change my gentle image. My family...
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By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
In the star-studded gangster film
"Fate", friends become foes and "pretty" actors get rough. Actor-turned-director
Kim Hae-gon casts hallyu TV stars
kwon Sang-woo ("
Stairway to Heaven") and
Song Seung-heon ("
Autumn in my Heart") and other familiar faces to play unfamiliar roles.
"Fate" is a quintessential commercial flick that feeds on star power, provocative action and melodrama. While weak storytelling and exhausting running time wane the fun, the actors' engaging performances fill in the missing links.
In the dark criminal world of Seoul, U-min (Song), Cheol-jung (Kwon), Do-wan (
Kim In-kwon) and Yeong-hwan (...
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By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
"Fate" is the talk of the town as actor-turned director
Kim Hae-gon brings together not just one but four of the hottest Korean actors in his second feature film: hallyu stars
kwon Sang-woo (2003 SBS drama "
Stairway to Heaven") and Seung-heon ("
Autumn in my Heart" 2000 KBS2), heartthrob
Ji Seong (
"All In", 2003 SBS) and bona-fide actor
Kim In-kwon (
"My Father", 2007).
"The Fate" tells the story of a group of close friends who rule the underworld of Seoul. One day they scheme to steal casino money, so they leave their mob. They almost succeed ― until Cheol-jung (Kwon) betrays them. While Wu-min (Song) is forced to go to prison on behalf of the gang, everyone's lives are torn apart by lustful desires and other mishaps. After serving his two-year term, Wu-min tries to rectify things, in...
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"Fate" (Sukmyeong) packs plenty of heart-pumping action sequences on the strength of high-profile Korean Wave stars but its heavy reliance on stylized images without offering background details stops short of expectations. In the movie, we see the downfall of a handsome and kind-hearted gangster Woo-min (
Song Seung-heon) who attempts to hit it big by attacking a casino along with his close friends including Cheol-jung (
kwon Sang-woo).
Somehow, they manage to escape with bags of cash, but it turns out that Cheol-jung, a short-tempered, foul-mouthed money-will-solve-everything villain, has sold them out for a reward in a secret contract that he hopes will land him a comfortable life.
After all, Cheol-jung's unwavering belief about life is that money talks the loudest and nothing else, even lifetime friendship, counts.
Playing a scapegoat, Woo-min serves a two-year prison term, showcasing his willingness to sacrifice for his friends. Once out of prison, however, he realizes that s...
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