Character building, building up of tension, attention to detail and other qualities that made Kim Yoon-seok one of the best actors in Korea are also what make him a good director. Kim has created some of the most memorable characters in Korean cinema through understanding his characters. In “Tazza: The High Rollers,” the most talked-about character was Kim’s Agwi, despite his appearing in just five scenes, and the actor depicted a cold-blooded menace who believes he is doing right in “1987: When

In retrospect, the DC Extended Universe having the rights to two of the most popular superheroes of all time could have been both a blessing and a curse. Both Superman and Batman have been done on screen masterfully -- though it got rather embarrassing for Supes in later films -- and making new films about them would’ve been like batting after Babe Ruth: You have to fill supersized shoes. After the surprise hit of “Aquaman,” David F. Sandberg’s “Shazam!” appears poised to become another bench pl

Kim Ki-duk, an internationally acclaimed filmmaker, has lodged a damages suit against an actress who claimed she was sexually assaulted by him and a local television broadcaster that reported on the sexual assault allegations against him. According to legal authorities on Friday, Kim filed a 1 billion-won ($880,700) suit earlier this month to the Seoul Western District Court against the actress and MBC, insisting that he suffered damages from their false claims. This file photo taken on June 12,

Money (Korea)Opened March 20Crime, DramaDirected by Park Nu-riCho Hyeon-il (Ryu Jun-yeol), a young stock broker on the verge of being fired, has his life turned upside down when a colleague introduces him to “Beonhopyo” (Yoo Ji-tae), a mysterious figure who is an architect of shady but lucrative stock brokerage. But Cho’s newfound sense of invincibility is challenged when maverick investigator Han Ji-cheol (Jo Woo-jin) starts pressuring him.Captain Marvel (US)Opened March 6Action, Adventure, Sci

Three main cast members of Marvel's "Avengers: Endgame" will visit South Korea next month to promote the movie ahead of its release in the country, the movie's local distributor said Tuesday.The three actors -- Robert Downey Jr., Jeremy Renner and Brie Larson -- and directors Anthony and Joe Russo will be in South Korea on April 14-15 to attend an Asian press junket in Seoul, Walt Disney Company Korea said. (Marvel)This will be Downey Jr.'s fourth visit to South Korea in four years since one for

Captain Marvel (US)Opened March 6Action, Adventure, Sci-fiDirected by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck Vers (Bree Larson), a warrior from a powerful alien race called the Kree, struggles to control her emotions and powers, trained by her commander Yon-Rogg (Jude Law). A botched rescue mission lands her on Earth, and after a narrow escape from the hostile Skrull, with which her race is at war, she embarks on a journey to find the life she’s missed on Earth, along with her true identity as Carol Danvers.

Having your character killed off without uttering a single line may be an actor’s worst nightmare, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Zachari Levi, the lead man for the upcoming superhero film “Shazam!” “We didn’t really have that much to do (in ‘Thor: Ragnarok’) I felt like the warriors three in that franchise weren’t exactly used to the fullest of their capabilities,” Levi said in a press conference held in Seoul on Tuesday, about playing the role of Fandral in Marvel Cinematic

First impressions can be deceiving, but so can second and third impressions. Sometimes a film that looks promising from its opening scene will falter, only to rally with heartfelt moments of joy and grace.Lee Chang-geun -- who took the helm of “Romang,” a romance featuring an elderly couple suffering from dementia -- did not show top-notch directing skills with his first feature film. But he delivered when it counted in the crucial moments depicting the couple’s love, care and companionship -- a

Boosted by the huge success of the local cop comedy "Extreme Job," South Korean movie theaters attracted the highest number of admissions of all time for February, a report from a market tracker showed Tuesday.The number of admissions in local theaters was up 43.2 percent to 22.28 million last month, with sales jumping 50.3 percent to 190 billion won ($167.87 million), according to the monthly report by the Korean Film Council. (Yonhap)KOFIC attributed the bullish sales to the presence of the bo

South Korean filmmaker Lee Chang-dong received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 13th Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong on Sunday. The auteur also won the best director award at the film festival for his movie "Burning," which was selected for the Cannes Film Festival in May last year and won the best foreign film award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association in December and the Toronto Film Critics Association and the Best Foreign Language Film Award from the French Union of Film Critics

Apparently it’s an epidemic in South Korean cinema. The parade of pretentious characters uttering “poignant” lines to feed a film’s bloated self-importance is nothing new here.But Lee Jeong-beom’s upcoming crime film “Jo Pil-ho: The Dawning Rage” takes it to another level, replacing character development with cliches and corny dialogue while tying in one of the biggest tragedies in the country’s recent memory to no clear point.“Jo Pil-ho: The Dawning Rage” (Warner Bros. Korea)The film kicks off

Captain Marvel (US)Opened March 6Action, Adventure, Sci-fiDirected by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck 　Vers (Bree Larson), a warrior from a powerful alien race called the Kree, struggles to control her emotions and powers, trained by her commander Yon-Rogg (Jude Law). A botched rescue mission lands her on Earth, and after a narrow escape from the hostile Skrull, with which her race is at war, she embarks on a journey to find the life she’s missed out on Earth, along with her true identity as Carol Dan

Lee Su-jin’s second feature film “Idol” had talent, potential and many of the ingredients for a masterpiece, yet comes up woefully short of being a quality movie. The thriller starring the brilliant acting trio of Han Suk-kyu, Sol Kyung-gu and Chun Woo-hee winds tortuously to a predictable conclusion, a major letdown from a director whose directorial debut a few years ago showed much promise.It starts with a hit-and-run accident caused by the son of a leading gubernatorial candidate in which Yu

Some may call their acting cliche, others may say it is a formula that works. I’d say actors like Ryu Jun-yeol, Jo Woo-jin operate best when they just run amok with their own unique style.And run amok they have, in the upcoming crime drama “Money” by Park Nu-ri that deals with a small-time stock broker hooked into a life of wealth that has strings attached to it, ones that could drag him right to the bottom.In Park Nu-ri’s directorial debut, Ryu plays Cho Hyeon-il, a young stock broker on the ve

A Resistance(Korea)Opened Feb. 27Drama, HistoryDirected by Jo Min-hoAfter the iconic March 1 Independence Movement of 1919, one of its leading figures, Yu Gwan-sun (Go Ah-sung), is sentenced to three years in prison and sent to the infamous Keijo Prison, now known as Seodaemun Prison. But being confined to a tiny cell with dozens of inmates does not hold back Yu, her unconquerable spirit seeping out from behind the locked doors.Savaha: The Sixth Finger(Korea)Opened Feb. 20Mystery, Horror Christi