Private Eye (Movie - 2009)

Korea culture to be on the screen at 4th London Korean Film Festival

Source | 2009/11/06 | 0 comments | Permalink |

The fourth London Korean Film Festival 2009 runs from Nov. 1 to 18 and already some of the big name directors in Korea have flown to the United Kingdom to promote Korean movies. Prior celebrations and functions aside, the actual first screening was on Thursday (Nov. 5).

This year's film festival, with 25 feature films and four animations from Korea, is organized by the Korean Cultural Center in the United Kingdom and the Korea Creative Content Agency, with the support of the Korean government.

The films will be screened at the BFI (British Film Institute) from Nov. 1 to 14; the London Barbican Centre from Nov. 5 to 12; Manchester Cornerhouse from Nov. 7 to 9; and Nottingham Broadway Cinema from Nov. 16 to 18.

Some award-winning directors from Korea, namely director Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho will visit London with their respective works, "Thirst" (2009) and "Mother - 2009" (2009). The Thirst, which won a Jury Prize at the 62nd Cannes International Film Festival this year,...| More

Actor Lee Expanding Horizons

Source | 2009/09/28 | 0 comments | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

Lee Byeong-heon continues to expand his horizons. After his "kimchi Western" flick "The Good, the Bad, the Weird" featured at the Cannes Film Festival last year, he made his Hollywood debut in "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra". In the fall he will appear in the U.S.-France joint production "I Come With the Rain", and his anticipated blockbuster TV soap "Iris" will hit screens at the end of the year.

All these works were shot overseas. "I Come With the Rain" is particularly drawing much attention: directed by esteemed Vietnamese-French auteur Tran Ahn Hong, the movie stars Lee opposite Hollywood heartthrob Josh Hartnett and Japanese superstar Takuya Kimura. It will be screened at the 14th Pusan (Busan) International Film Festival (PIFF) next month before hitting theaters nationwide Oct. 15.

"I deliberated for a year for this piece", Lee was quoted as telling Yonhap News, explaining that "choosing this piece was an experiment".

"When I first receiv...| More

New Korean Films at PiFan

Source | 2009/07/16 | 0 comments | Permalink |

The 13th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan) kicks off July 16 – 26 with an exciting range of new Korean independent genre films, commercial hits and rare classics. Among the 12 films vying for the Puchon Choice competition section's top prizes are Korean low-budget omnibus feature "The Neigbour Zombie", by four Korean directors, OH Young-doo, RYU Hoon, HONG Young-geun, and JANG Yoon-jung and the spring released detective thriller "Private Eye" starring HWANG Jeong-min and written and directed by PARK Dae-min.

PiFan hosts several World Premieres of new Korean genre films in its World Fantastic Cinema section including "Bloody Shake" by KIM Jee-yong, a film that delves into the dark side of the unconscious; "A Good Night's Sleep for the Bad" by KWON Yeong-cheol - an action noir that portrays how several desperate youth are driven to armed robbery; "Norwegian Woods" by NO Zin-soo - a campy B-horror set in a forest; "My Burning Heart", an upbeat, sexy love story by...| More

Korean Line-up at Fantasia Int'l Film Fest

Source | 2009/07/06 | 0 comments | Permalink |

North America's largest genre film fest, the Fantasia International Film Festival boasts an impressive line-up of notable Korean films this year; among them the North American premiere of PARK Chan-wook's Cannes-winning vampire drama, "Thirst". Held annually in Montreal, Canada, the event will run from July 9 – 29 at several theaters in the city.

Along with PARK's latest is "Crush and Blush", a film he produced for debut director LEE Kyoung-mi. Two int'l festival favorites, NOH Young-seok's micro-budget but acclaimed debut, "Daytime Drinking", and JANG Hoon's "Rough Cut" will screen. Both films have had their Canadian rights bought by Canada's Evokative Films which plans to release "Rough Cut" in Canadian theaters in January of 2010.

Rotterdam winner "Breathless" by YANG Ik-joon will screen along with sleeper hit of 2008, "The Chaser" by NA Hong-jin. LEE Yoon-ki's Seoul odyssey, "My Dear Enemy" and KWAK Jae-yong's Japanese made "Cyborg, She", were also invited. Other film...| More

Summer Action Flicks Are Coming

Source | 2009/06/30 | 0 comments | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

Every summer, big budget Hollywood movies flow in, and many worry about the potential threat to homegrown films. Recent trends, however, suggest that competition is healthy.

"The fact that such a comparison (between national and international franchises) is even possible is unique; there aren't so many countries around the world where domestic films can compete with American ones", Han Seung-hee, researcher at the Korean Film Council, told The Korea Times.

After the turn of the new millennium, the Korean film industry enjoyed rapid growth, with blockbusters rewriting box office history each year. But the market plummeted for the first time last year, and investment and production hit an all time low. Moviegoers even criticized films that fared well at the box office as being formulaic.

So far, 2009 looks better. The success of "A Frozen Flower" and "Scandal Makers" ("Speedy Scandal") opened up a promising new year. Although February and March...| More