[HanCinema's Film News] New Korean Films Inbound...
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★★★ "Mango Tree": A sexy romantic comedy set in the Philippines that follows two young and beautiful vacationers and the handsome man they meet there. (10/31)
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★★★ "No Breathing": Two very different restless youths join a swimming competition for love and friendship that is, in fact, a rite of passage to growing up. (10/30)
★★★ "Nora Noh": A documentary about the influential Korean fashion designer Nora Noh. (10/31)
★★★ "One of a Kind 3D: G Dragon 2013 1st World Tour": The real live feed of one of the leading K-pop artist G-Dragon who always attempts at new challenges in music and style on the 30th of March 2013. (10/31)
★ "Delicious Love Formula - Sex": A sexy romance drama that follows four trouble individuals and their steamy encounters. (10/31)
★★★ "Green Chair 2013 - Love Conceptually": An attractive owner of an art academy finds love in different and difficult places. (10/31)
Title: "Days of Wrath"
Genre: Action, Thriller
Length: 103 min
Release Date: 2013/10/31
Director: Shin Jai-ho ("Wedding Scandal", "100 Days with Mr. Arrogant")
Stars: Yang Dong-geun, Joo Sang-wook, Lee Tae-im
The Short and Sweet: The victim and bully from school reunite after 15 years with Yang Dong-geun as they bully and Joo Sang-wook as the victim.
Actors Yang Dong-geun ("Perfect Game", "Grand Prix") and Joo Sand-wook ("90 Minutes", "The Scent") square off this week in Shin Jai-ho's fourth feature "Days of Wrath". Shin's previous work revolved around romantic ("Wedding Scandal", "100 Days with Mr. Arrogant") comedies and the action sci-fi adventure film "Super Monkey Returns"; but his new film deviates heavily with its dark imagining of an unsettling reunion of Joon-seok (Joo Sang-wook) and his school bully from fifteen years ago. Action thrillers have become a mainstay of Korea cinema; it's a polished genre and style that Korean cinema frequently returns. Shin's new flick looks to join the bandwagon here with a twist that looks not too dissimilar from Park Chan-wook's "Oldboy". "Days of Wrath" looks intriguing and it will be exciting to see if Yang and Joo strike are able to invoke the sort of tension and thrills fans of the genre have come to expect.
★★★★
Title: "Mango Tree"
Genre: Comedy, Melodrama, Romance
Length: 89 min
Release Date: 2013/10/31
Director: Lee Soo-sung
Stars: Seo Ji-suk, Hong Soo-ah, Han Soo-ah, Cha Ji-hoon
The Short and Sweet: A sexy romantic comedy set in the Philippines that follows two young and beautiful vacationers and the handsome man they meet there.
Director Lee Soo-sung has had his fingers in a number of different areas of film production in the past, but here he finds himself once again in the director's chair in charge of his third feature "Mango Tree". Despite the swift change of season, there are a surprising number of flirty "Vacation" flick hitting Korean screens - the type that has young blooded beautiful people searching for love in paradise. In "Mango Tree" two friends (played by Hong Soo-ah and Cha Ji-hoon) visit the Philippines where the two meet Tae-hoon (Seo Ji-suk), the owner of a mango factory who gets caught-up in the girls fantasy of love, fate, and fun. "Mango Tree" looks like a light and sexy flirt in the sun, one sure to please fans of Korean cinema's brand of romance and playfulness.
★★★
Title: "No Breathing"
Genre: Drama, Sports
Length: 118 min
Release Date: 2013/10/30
Director: Cho Yong-sun*
Screenplay: Yoo Yeong-ah
Stars: Lee Jong-suk, Seo In-guk, Kwon Yuri, Park Chul-min
The Short and Sweet: Two very different restless youths join a swimming competition for love and friendship that is, in fact, a rite of passage to growing up.
This sports drama is Cho Yong-sun's debut feature and in it he has manage to recruit Lee Jong-suk ("The Face Reader", "R2B: Return to Base") and the, largely drama actor, Seo In-guk ("Master's Sun", "Rascal Sons") to carry his hopes that a successful sports drama is on the cards here. The two are also supported by the actor/singer Kwon Yuri ("Fashion King", "I AM.") as well as actor Park Chul-min ("The Hero"). In "No Breathing", The Lee and Seo play Woo-sang and Won-il, two highly driven youths who follow their dream and talents by joining a swimming competition that tests not only their abilities, but raises new questions in other areas of their lives as well.
★★★
Title: "Nora Noh"
Genre: Documentary
Length: 93 min
Release Date: 2013/10/31
Director: Kim Seong-hee-II*
The Short and Sweet: A documentary about the influential Korean fashion designer Nora Noh.
Korean fashion is big business and in recent years the industry has been gaining momentum on the international stage. "Nora Noh" is debut documentary from Kim Seong-hee-II (previously contributed to the script on the 2010 documentary "Miracle on Jongno Street") and it follows the influential fashion designer Nora Noh as she attempts to deal with creative difference and conflict within the demands of the industry.
★★★
Title: "One of a Kind 3D: G Dragon 2013 1st World Tour"
Genre: Documentary, Music
Length: 90 min
Release Date: 2013/10/31
Director: Jeong Chi-yeong, Son Seok
Stars: G-Dragon
The Short and Sweet: The real live feed of one of the leading K-pop artist G-Dragon who always attempts at new challenges in music and style on the 30th of March 2013.
★★★
Title: "Delicious Love Formula - Sex"
Genre: Romance
Length: 78 min
Release Date: 2013/10/31
Director: Lee Se-il
The Short and Sweet: A sexy romance drama that follows four trouble individuals and their steamy encounters.
According to HanCinema's database Lee seems to have nothing but alluring sexual encounters on the brain. Since 2011 Lee has released eight features, all of which seem like journal entries of an over-active sexual imagination. Lee's previous titles include "Breed - Her Inside Me", "Game of Desire", "Yellow Hair - Plastic Sex", "Dream Affection 2", The Final Addition", "Woman's Breath", and "Love and Affair". Viewers will know what they in for here and, like his filmography, age restrictions will be in play.
★
Title: "Green Chair 2013 - Love Conceptually"
Genre: Drama
Length: 97 min
Release Date: 2013/10/31
Director: Park Chul-soo
The Short and Sweet: An attractive owner of an art academy finds love in different and difficult places.
In 2004 Park made the melodrama "Green Chair" starring Suh Jung and Shim Ji-ho. It's not clear how exactly Park's new film relates to the precedent "Green Chair", but Park has chosen to return to some of themes found in this feature film. "Green Chair 2013 - Love Conceptually" follows Moon-hee, an attractive young woman whose husband won't divorce her. Moon-hee runs an art academy through which she finds herself caught between the long time affair with a professor and a young student at her school who is infatuated with her. Like "Delicious Love Formula - Sex", this one looks to carry adult themes and visuals as Park showcases his telling of scandalous encounters and modern romance.
★★★
Also Coming Soon:
- C.J. Wheeler (chriscjw@gmail.com; @KoreaOnTheCouch)
Sources:
AsianWiki: http://asianwiki.com/Mango_Tree; http://asianwiki.com/No_Breathing;
Daum: http://movie.daum.net/movieinfo/coming/movieInfoScheduled.do?modeType=day&order=recently
KOBIZ: http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/jsp/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20122786; http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/jsp/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20130681