Despite criticisms, opening title ‘Uprising’ has compelling VFX and sound that makes it a pity it won’t screen in theaters

The 29th Busan International Film Festival kicked off Wednesday, screening a total of 279 films from 63 countries. Though this year’s edition has taken the unusual step of opening with a Netflix movie, “Uprising,” it has also established a new competition section for documentaries. As Asia’s largest film festival, it continues to attract films from around the world, many of them Asian or Korean premieres. Here are three movies that The Korea Herald recommends. The 29th BI

BIFF’s selection of major streaming platform movie to open festival criticized

After leaving a strong impression as Protestant minister Baek Isak in the Apple TV+ series “Pachinko,” Noh Sang-hyun makes his big screen debut with “Love in the Big City,” where he plays a young gay man living in Seoul. When asked if people around him ever commented on or worried about him playing an LGBTQ+ character for his first-ever movie role, Noh simply said he was determined to play Heung-soo. “I understand why people worried (about me playing Heung-soo), but

“Free Chol Soo Lee,” a 2022 US documentary about a Korean immigrant who was wrongfully convicted in 1973 of murdering a gang leader in San Francisco, won an award at the 45th News & Documentary Emmy Awards. “Free Chol Soo Lee” won in the Outstanding Historical Documentary category during the Emmy Awards, which took place in New York on Thursday local time, according to the film's distributor, Connect Pictures. The four other contenders were: MSNBC’s “

“Transformers One” (US) Opened Sept. 25 Animation/Science fiction Directed by Josh Cooley Set on Cybertron, the home planet of the Transformers, future sworn enemies Optimus Prime and Megatron are friends who have bonded like brothers. “I, the Executioner” (South Korea) Opened Sept. 24 Crime/Action Directed by Ryoo Seung-wan Veteran detective Seo Do-cheol (Hwang Jung-min) teams up with rookie cop Park Sun-woo (Jung Hae-in) to track down a serial killer taunting police b

Kim Min-soo, one of the writers behind crime noir films “The Merciless” (2017) and “Kingmaker” (2022), will release his debut crime flick “Dirty Money” on Oct. 17. “Dirty Money” revolves around detectives Myung-deuk (Jung Woo) and Dong-hyuk (Kim Dae-myung), who become involved with tainted money and make the choice to run away with it, dreaming of committing a perfect crime. Seung-chan (Park Byung-eun), a cynical team leader of an investigative squ

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Bestseller-based movie follows the friendship of two young, cynical, fun-loving Seoulites

Through Netflix action comedy “Officer Black Belt,” Kim Woo-bin said he became appreciative of the “unseen” heroes ensuring people’s safety every day. In this coming-of-age film, Kim plays Jung-do, a young man gradually exposed to the world of martial arts officers and probation officers. He accidently bumps into a probation officer chasing after a criminal wearing an ankle monitor on the run. Before shooting began, Kim said he had no idea what the job was about. Bu

“I, the Executioner” (South Korea) Opened Sept. 24 Crime/Action Directed by Ryoo Seung-wan Veteran detective Seo Do-cheol (Hwang Jung-min) teams up with rookie cop Park Sun-woo (Jung Hae-in) to track down a serial killer who taunts the police by announcing his next victim before committing each crime. “Jung Kook: I Am Still” (South Korea) Opened Sept. 18 Documentary Directed by Park Jun-su Follow K-pop phenomenon BTS member Jung-kook and his performance in New York, Lon

For “House of the Seasons” director Oh Jung-min, a family is like tofu. “The process of making tofu is quite arduous. You have to soak beans for a long time, boil them, grind them and filter until they become softer, but only a small amount of tofu is made at the end. Plus, you have to be careful not to put too much salt,” director Oh told The Korea Herald in an interview in Seoul on Sept. 12. The 35-year-old director said that’s why he made the characters in his de

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“My Dearest Fu Bao” (South Korea) Opened Documentary Directed by Shim Hyung-joon Follow Fu Bao on the big screen in her last three months in Korea and see her interactions with the “Fu Bao grandpa” zookeepers, as well as the heart-touching moment when Kang Cheol-won reunites with Fu Bao three months after she is sent to China. “Alien: Romulus” (US) Opened Aug. 14 Horror/Sci-fi Directed by Fede Alvarez In 2142, a group of young space colonizers go on an

Singer-turned-actor Hyeri’s latest teen cheerleading flick “Victory” was embroiled in a rumor that people related to the movie have hoarded tickets to increase sales, causing production firm Mind Mark to release a statement. According to the Korea Film Council data, “Victory,” which opened in local theaters on Aug. 14, has topped the box office as of Thursday. On Tuesday and Wednesday, more than 26,000 moviegoers watched the film, placing the movie at the top of the