Phone (2002) - 폰

2008/01/30 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

Director KIM Jeong-kwon will next bring a drama with comical touches starring HA Ji-won and CHA Tae-hyeon. The film is titled "BA:BO" (Babo, English translation: fool). The film is an adaptation of a popular internet manwha (Korean equivalent of the Japanese manga, Chinese manhwa and the western comic) with a great emotional appeal.

CHA portrays a young man who stopped developing mentally after an accident at a young age. HA plays his youth friend who returns to her hometown and the two are reunited. HA's character is a talented pianist, but she suffers from stage fright.

CHA is a comedy star, most notably for his leading role in "My Sassy Girl". HA's filmography ranges from comedy to horror and includes the titles: "Sex is Zero", "Duelist" and "Phone". KIM is the director behind the romantic drama "Ditto". The film is scheduled for release at the end of February.

Yi Ch'ang-ho (KOFIC)...

To participate to HanCinema, you must sign up or log in. Sign up, Why ?

2007/12/02 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

[DVD Review] You Il-han's horror short given a lackluster adaptation

Kyu Hyun Kim (qhyunkim)

"4 Horror Tales" was the 2006 summer season's top-line experiment of producing four horror movies based on Yoo Il-han's short stories on the cheap in high definition video. The tab was picked up by CJ Entertainment and TV station SBS. Yoo himself was involved as executive producer, teaming up with Korea's resident horror specialist Ahn Byeong-ki ("Phone", "A.P.T", among others) and giving opportunities to four young directors to scare up the audience in theaters as well as on TV screens.

The first installment "February 29 - 4 Horror Tales" might be of interest to the fans of "Dae Jang Geum" ("Jewel in the Palace"), a mega-hit Korean TV drama, since two among its main cast members, Im Ho (who played the Choseon monarch Joongjong) and Park Eun-hye (Jang-geum's friend Yeon-saeng), star in the movie....

To participate to HanCinema, you must sign up or log in. Sign up, Why ?

2006/07/06 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter

In recent years, local horror film directors have struggled to break free from conventional formulas, seeking fear factors in ordinary and familiar places and people.

Mysterious beings appear in an ordinary high schools instead of typical haunted houses, and modern daily items such as mobiles and computers are used as deadly objects possessed by a ghost.

Such efforts continue in new horror film "Apartment" ("A.P.T"), which transforms the modern residential space into the most dreadful place, and takes a critical look at individuals in the aviary-like place.

But new attempts aside, the film is a bit disappointing as it reveals its weakness after the first half, losing originality and depending on cliches during crucial scary moments.

Directed by Ahn Byeong-ki and starring actress Ko So-young, the film revolves around Se-jin (played by Ko), a single successful woman living alone in an apartment.

Her neighbors start to die one by one, and ...

To participate to HanCinema, you must sign up or log in. Sign up, Why ?

2006/06/27 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

There is something afoot in Korean horror movies. From "Arang", to be released on June 28, via "Apartment" ("A.P.T".) out in July, to "To Sir With Love", "Cinderella" and "Untold Story - The Red Forest" all to be released in August, indigenous horror movies have evolved to a higher level. In an effort to wash away the cheap shocker taint, the budgets are growing and the casts are becoming stellar. This summer, even moviegoers with sophisticated tastes are bound to find one good enough for them.

Quality Horror

Horror films have long been a gateway to success for new directors due to their relatively low budgets. If a W2-3 billion (US$1=958) investment including marketing costs lured more than 1 million viewers, the movie was considered to have hit the jackpot. But the new slew of horror films are betting on quality. "To Sir, With Love" cost W4.2 billion, "Apartment" W4 billion, "Arang" W4 billion' and "Cinderella" W3.6 billion -- all pretty close to the average for Korean movies, ...

To participate to HanCinema, you must sign up or log in. Sign up, Why ?

2006/06/12 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

With the summer season approaching, local movie-goers can look forward to a host of new horror films, a Korean cinema staple during the hot and humid months of July and August. Film companies bank on the Korean tradition of beating-the-heat by going to a bone-chilling horror movie in an ultra-air-conditioned theater.

The most anticipated of horror films coming out this summer is indisputably "The Host "which had its world premiere at Cannes last month and is scheduled for a July 27th domestic release. The third feature by director BONG Joon-ho, T"he Host" received rave reviews at Cannes, and with its all-star cast of SONG Kang-ho, BYEON Hee-bong, and BAE Doona, it is likely to become the blockbuster hit of the summer. While billed as a horror-thriller, the film blends together various genres, and centers around a monster that lives in the Han River (which divides Seoul) and devours humans.

"Arang", starring SONG Yoon-ah and LEE Dong-wook, will be the first local horror film of th...

To participate to HanCinema, you must sign up or log in. Sign up, Why ?