LOS ANGELES -- The various bodies moving through “Kiki,” an energetic and enveloping documentary about New York City’s LGBT ballroom scene, are capable of astonishing, even superhuman physical feats. They dance and gyrate on underground subway platforms, down half-empty streets, and on the grass at Christopher Street Pier. They pour themselves into stunningly elaborate costumes before hitting the dance floor, performing under hot lights, thundering music and the eyes of hundreds of enthusiastic

LOS ANGELES -- As unexpectedly enchanting as its title is initially perplexing, “My Life as a Zucchini” is short but oh so satisfyingly bittersweet, an example of the kind of movie magic that’s always hard to find.A word-of-mouth phenomenon since its premiere at Cannes last year, this 70-minute stop-motion feature took the grand jury prize and the audience award at the top-drawer Annency International Animation Film Festival.More impressive still, it managed the almost unheard of double feat of

Song Ji-hyo and Shin Ha-kyun have been cast in an upcoming film tentatively titled “Wind Wind Wind” (unofficial translation), the film’s distributor Next Entertainment World said Friday. Directed by Lee Byeong-heon, who was behind “Twenty” (2015), the film is a comedy about four people seeking love and adventure on Jeju Island. Shin, previously in “Empire of Lust” (2015), will play a dispirited husband who once had dreams of becoming a renowned chef. Song, who was in “New World” (2013), will pla

Iconic Korean actor Choi Min-sik will be returning to the big screen next month with “Special Citizen.” A trailer for the film was released by its distributor Showbox on Thursday. Best known to international audiences for his striking performance as a vengeful prisoner in the 2003 Park Chan-wook thriller “Oldboy,” Choi plays Byun Jong-goo, the ambitious mayor of Seoul running for his third term, in the upcoming film. The trailer features the unknowable and multifarious politician Byun, who in on

The frozen Han River melts to reveal the body of a woman. With the resurfacing of a murder long forgotten, “Bluebeard” sends the characters, audience and plot spiraling down a rabbit hole where nothing is what it seems.Lee So-yeon’s psychological thriller shadows the steps of Seung-hoon, a doctor played by Cho Jin-woong whose failed marriage and career have pushed him to his psychological and financial edge.Once the proud owner of a hospital in the affluent Gangna area, the doctor is forced to m

Bluebeard(Korea)Opened March 1Thriller. Directed by Lee Su-yeonSeung-hoon (Cho Jin-woong) is a doctor whose failed marriage and career have put him on edge financially and psychologically. Forced to give up his hospital in Seoul’s affluent neighborhood, he moves to a provincial city to work at a clinic. During a sedated endoscopy, one of his elderly patients makes a confession to murder. The corpse of a woman is also found on the Han River, reviving a murder case. Logan(US)Opened March 1Action,

Netflix on Tuesday released a teaser trailer for “Okja,” Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s follow-up to his smash-hit “Snowpiercer,” via local web portal Naver, for the first time in the world.A scene from director Bong Joon-ho’s upcoming film “Okja” (Netflix)Co-written by Bong and Jon Ronson of “Frank,” Okja tells the story of a young girl who risks everything to prevent a multinational company from kidnapping her best friend -- a massive animal named Okja. The movie streaming service invested $50

Andrew Ahn flattered by comparisons of his ‘Spa Night’ to Oscar-winning ‘Moonlight’

Yes, the Great Mistake of Oscars 2017 made history in all the wrong kinds of ways. But a day later, advocacy groups and others overjoyed by the Cinderella win of “Moonlight” were saying, let’s forget the snafu and move on -- because “Moonlight” made history in all the right kinds of ways.The coming-of-age story of a gay black youth in a poor Miami neighborhood was made on the tiniest of budgets -- $1.5 million, said director Barry Jenkins backstage. It had a mostly black cast, and was seen as th

In a first for the streaming industry, Amazon Studios and Netflix walked away with Oscars, underlining their emergence as major players in the entertainment business.Amazon won two Oscars Sunday for gritty family drama “Manchester by the Sea,” which collected statuettes for best original screenplay and best actor (Casey Affleck).The studio also scored an Oscar for Iran’s “The Salesman,” which won for best foreign language film.Netflix, the main rival of the e-commerce giant’s streaming video arm

Barry Jenkins’s coming-of-age drama “Moonlight” won the coveted best picture statuette at Sunday’s Oscars -- but the evening ended in chaos as “La La Land” was mistakenly handed the award.Hollywood legends Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, stars of 1967 crime classic “Bonnie and Clyde,” were meant to give the evening’s top prize to Jenkins’s film, but she mistakenly called it for Damien Chazelle‘s musical. From left: Best supporting actor Mahershala Ali, for "Moonlight," best actress Emma Stone fo

US psychological thriller "Split" packed moviegoers in at the local box office last weekend, opening in first place with a robust 698,900 in attendance, data showed Monday. (Universal Pictures International Korea)Helmed by director M. Night Shyamalan, the film follows a man with 23 different personalities who kidnaps three girls.It was followed by three homegrown films on the chart.The courtroom drama "New Trial," which topped the box office the previous weekend, is the runner-up with 439,586 in

K-pop sensation-turned-actress is a student of human behavior, quietly observant of people and their often erratic emotions

Sunday might have been dominated by “La La Land,” but Saturday belonged to “Moonlight.”Barry Jenkins’ luminous coming-of-age tale swept Saturday’s Film Independent Spirit Awards, taking home six awards including best feature. “Moonlight” won every award it was nominated for at the 32nd annual indie awards, the dressed-down, beachside ceremony held the day before the Academy Awards. “Moonlight” won for its directing, screenplay, cinematography and editing. It was also honored for its ensemble cas