| Bong's 'Mother - 2009' Highlights Maternal Love (Source) |
2009/05/21 |
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
"Mother - 2009", coming to theaters May 28, had its world premiere at the 62nd Cannes International Film Festival. Variety magazine was not kidding when it said the Bong Joon-ho film was "unjustly denied a competition berth" in the prestigious French event.
The film is certainly not as edgy as "Memories of Murder" nor does it have the mainstream appeal of the blockbuster "The Host".
But, featuring South Korea's symbolic Kim Hye-ja as a mom with a formidable mission and heartthrob Won Bin in the improbable role of her vulnerable "baby", Bong brings an arresting tale that is at once quintessentially Korean yet universally classic, and uniquely visionary.
Complete with composer Lee Byeong-woo's film score bearing hints of "trot" (Korean country music) beats and landscapes of rural Korea, Bong constantly surprises the viewer with unexpected outbursts of violence ― Kim offering a most Shakespearean "mad scene" ― and an ironically dista... |More
|
|
| Low Budget Films Gaining Popularity With Good Storylines (Source) |
2008/09/24 |
With a growing number of big production Korean movies struggling to make a hit at the box office the trend these days is to make quality films on low budgets.
For instance, take a look at this horror film "Death Bell" released this summer.
The movie was made at a considerably low cost but most importantly it managed to attract 1.5 million viewers twice more than the 700,000 it needed to break even.
Another low-budget film "Rough Cut" featuring two A-list actors debuted just last week and it has already been seen by over a million people.
And some highly anticipated films made on a tight budget are about to hit theaters.
Starring Jeon Do-yeon who won best actress at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival and another well-known actor Ha Jeong-woo "My Dear Enemy" was produced on just two billion won which is about 1.7 million US dollars.
Up next is "Truck" a thriller that cost 1.8 billion won.
And this movie "Miss Carrot" ("Crush and Blush") was made on a budget of a mere one billion won.
... |More
|
|
| "Portrait of a Beauty" Most Anticipated Film in Fall (Source) |
2008/09/10 |
"Portrait of a Beauty", a film about painter Shin Yun-bok of the Joseon era, was cited the most anticipated Korean movie this fall in a survey conducted by the film site Movist (http://www.movist.com). In the survey 994 out of 5485 respondents (18%) replied that this faction film was their number one choice for the fall movie.
Starring Kim Min-seon and Choo Ja-hyeon, "Portrait of a Beauty" is about a genius female painter, who had to disguise herself as a man to survive in the Confucian era, and the relationship she has with Kim Hong-do, another illustrious painter of the time and her mentor. The release date has not been determined yet, but it's certain to stir up huge interest in Korean painting, not to mention renewed enthusiasm for the long-struggling Korean film industry.
Following the "Portrait of a Beauty" in the survey were "My Dear Enemy", starring award-winning Jeon Do-yeon and Ha Jeong-woo, "Go Go 70s" with Sin Min-ah and Jo Seung-woo, "Truck" with Yoo Hae-jin, and "M... |More
|
|
| [ChanMi's movie news] Jin Goo's new role as a serial killer! (Source) |
2008/07/31 |
Actor Jin Goo changes in the new film "Truck" as a serial killer!
Through this movie, the actor Jin Goo shows the existence of good and evil in one person as he fights against the truck driver acted by Yoo Hae-jin.##
Jin Goo is Kim Young-ho, the serial killer who makes Cheol-min, the truck driver's live complicating by riding his truck while Cheol-min tries to find a way to destry the corpses in order to survive.
The actor is known to have read many books and researched about serial killers sin order to understand their minds.
This deathly thrilling movie will be released this September! ... |More
|
| |
| [ChanMi's movie news] Movie star Yoo Hae-jin earns a truck driving license (Source) |
2008/07/29 |
Yoo Hae-jin bring is a new character, Cheol-min brings thrill through his new movie "Truck" about a trucker in a mysterious case where he delivers corpses.
He has been showing the viewers his ease and comic characters in previous movies.##
Because his character was a trucker, and 90 percent of his acting involved driving his truck, Yoo Hae-jin had to earn a driving license for truck driving.
The director wanted to show a regular man experiencing life threatening situations where things turn out worse every time and seeing how he makes decisions in these times. Yoo Hae-jin is the perfect actor for this role!
... |More
|
|
|