Actor Lee Jong-suk has received notification to begin his mandatory military service on Aug. 10, but his agency said nothing has been confirmed yet. Earlier in the day, local media reported that Lee was notified by the Military Manpower Administration to report for duty on Aug. 10. He is expected to be allocated to non-active duty as a public service worker. “It is true that Lee received the notification, but nothing has been finalized on the matter,” YG Entertainment released a statement.Lee Jo

Much-talked about war flick “The Battleship Island” drew in a record number of viewers on opening day, but has also been accused of monopolizing screens throughout theaters here.　According to Korean Film Council figures, 970,516 tickets were sold for screenings on Wednesday of “The Battleship Island,“ the largest figure achieved by a movie on its first day in Korean cinemas.The previous record was held by “The Mummy,” starring Tom Cruise, which opened in June. The film amassed 872,965 tickets on

Song hopes to weather ever-growing hurricane of Hallyu stardom with wisdom

"The Battleship Island," a new South Korean World War II blockbuster film, is set to make an opening day splash on Wednesday, with nearly 600,000 tickets having been reserved on the release date.According to the computerized tally from the Korean Film Council, the number of ticket reservations for the film stood at 594,370 as of 7 a.m. Wednesday, accounting for 70.1 percent of all movie reservations for the day.The film, directed by Ryoo Seung-wan and starring Hwang Jung-min, Song Joong-ki and S

The Seoul Museum of History is hosting the 2017 International Various Film Festival, screening a wide range of movies celebrating diversity and multiculturalism through the end of the year. 　An array of shorts, features and documentaries from around the globe will be screened at the museum’s first floor theater on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2 p.m.From July 25-Aug. 31, the festival celebrates the analog sentiment, screening movies that have been shot on 35-millimeter film. This section will featur

“Train to Busan” will be opening in Japanese theaters on Sept. 1, the last stop in its worldwide run.The zombie flick, which was screened at the Cannes Film Festival’s Midnight Screenings category last year, has been sold to some 160 countries since its release.　The film opened in North American theaters in July 2016 and was later released in Europe and South America. It will be shown on 149 screens in 44 cities in Japan, including Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka.  A still from “Train to Busan” (NEW)“I

Asia’s largest virtual reality film event will take place at the Busan International Film Festival, running from Oct. 12-21 this year. The event, VR Cinema in BIFF, will screen some 30 virtual reality films in an exclusive screening space at the Busan Cinema Center, according to BIFF.　The film festival, Asia’s largest, has signed a memorandum of understanding with culture and VR contents company Barunson for the exhibit. 　BIFF will be spotlighting the virtual reality venue as one of the film fes

From the chilling revenge story in 2003 neo-noir “Oldboy” to last year’s erotic thriller “The Handmaiden,” cinephiles will be able to revisit the works of Korean director Park Chan-wook from July 27 to Aug. 23 at the newly opened Park Chan-wook theater at CGV Yongsan, Seoul. Opened July 18, it is the third screen that CGV has dedicated to a significant figure in Korean cinema, following the Im Kwon-taek theater in Busan and the Ahn Sung-ki theater at CGV Arthouse Apgujeong. 　A wide range of Park

In his ludicrously entertaining 2014 science-fiction thriller, “Lucy,” French director Luc Besson gave us a chemically enhanced action heroine with the rare ability to harness 100 percent of her brainpower. Besson’s latest futuristic whatsit, “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets,” seems determined to induce the opposite effect in the viewer. When you enter the theater, you can pick up your 3-D glasses with one hand and drop off your brain with the other.All in all, you might not consider

“Dunkirk” is not a typical war movie. There are no brothers in arms, no flashbacks to simpler times and pretty wives and girlfriends left behind, no old men in situation rooms pontificating about politics or helping with exposition. There’s no talk of Hitler, or Germans or battlefields or trauma or mothers. In fact, there’s hardly any talk at all, or, for that matter, even any characters in the traditional sense. 　 But don’t be mistaken: Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk” is a stone cold masterpiece.

Dunkirk(US)Drama, thriller. Directed by Christopher NolanIn May 1940 during World War II, Germany advances into France and traps the Allied troops on the beaches of Dunkirk. A slow, methodical plan to evacuate the British and French troops began to be put into motion, using every naval and civilian ship that could be reached. Some 330,000 French, British, Belgian and Dutch soldiers were brought to safety after the completion of the mission. Flipped(US)Opened July 12Romantic comedy, drama. Direct

Hong Sang-soo’s “On the Beach at Night Alone” won the top prize in the international film category at the Jerusalem Film Festival on Friday. 　“Using the simplest of cinematic tools, Hong Sang-soo creates a mysterious magic, rooted in the heart of daily life,” said a jury consisting of Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid, actress Evgenia Dodina and journalist Deborah Young on awarding the film, according to ScreenDaily. 　“Love, hatred, affection, rage, sexuality, loneliness and deep pain are reflected

Kim Bum is set to return to the big screen with the third sequel of comedy-mystery film “Detective K.”　Kim’s agency Kingkong Entertainment said Thursday that the actor is confirmed to star in the upcoming movie, which starts filming next month. It will be the actor’s first Korean film in four years, having last starred in “The Gifted Hands” in 2013. 　 Kim Bum (Yonhap)He appeared on TV screens in tvN’s 2015 drama “Hidden Identity” and SBS’ 2016 drama “Mrs. Cop 2,” but he has starred only in Chine

CJ CGV, Korea’s largest cinema chain, opened the world’s biggest IMAX screen in its renovated CGV Yongsan multiplex in Seoul Monday.The screen measures 31 meters wide and 22.4 meters high -- about five times the size of the average multiplex cinema screen. The pictures projected are also some 50 percent brighter and twice as clear, according to CGV.  CGV Yongsan’s IMAX screen (CJ CGV)Previously, Australia boasted a 35 meter-wide IMAX screens but they are not currently in use. CGV’s CEO Seo Jung

One of the big issues in the film world today is getting more female perspectives on to the silver screen, and perhaps no film better exemplifies those efforts than director April Mullen’s “Below Her Mouth,” which made its Korean premiere at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival on July 14. Not content with just a female director for the lesbian love story, the film generated buzz with its all-female crew, from sets and lighting to catering. April Mullen (April Mullen)“We wanted the