Model-turned-actor lauded for seemingly effortless performances, stars in upcoming thriller “Master”

“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story “ seemed suspicious on paper, like any film saddled with the dreaded “spinoff” label. For a while all the odds looked stacked against it too -- reshoots, script changes and a director in Gareth Edwards whose last blockbuster “Godzilla” had visual flair but no humanity, not to mention the fact that the film would be asking us to learn a dozen new characters with strange names, none of which were Skywalker or Solo. And of course as with any franchise there’s that ever

Will You Be There(Korea)Opened Dec. 14Drama. Directed by Hong Ji-youngScrupulous pediatric surgeon Han Soo-hyun (Kim Yoon-seok) is transported back in time to meet his 20-something self (Byun Yo-han) when he swallows a mysterious vial of gold pills he received as a gift for curing a child in a remote African village. He tries to guide his younger self not to make the same mistakes and change the course of his and his loved ones’ livesPandora(Korea)Opened Dec. 7Drama, thriller. Directed by Park J

What happens when two strangers find themselves stranded in a spaceship headed for another planet? They fall in love. At least that is what happens in romantic sci-fi flick “Passengers,” which comes to theaters in Korea on Jan. 5.“I thought the script was very original, the concept and the idea, so grand in scale,” said Chris Pratt during a press conference held Friday in western Seoul. “But I don’t know what I would do in that situation,” he said. “Life is meaningless if you can’t share it with

PARIS (AFP) -- A lost drawing by the Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci has been discovered in the papers of a French provincial doctor, a Paris auction house said Tuesday.The dreamily sensual sketch of Saint Sebastian is thought to be worth around 15 million euros ($15.8 million) and is an “extraordinary discovery,” the Tajan auction house said.It has been authenticated by the French specialist Patrick de Bayser and Carmen C. Bambach, curator of Renaissance drawings at New York’s Metropolitan

In upcoming political thriller “The King,” Zo In-sung returns to the big screen as ambitious prosecutor Tae-soo, who yearns to wield absolute power.To rise to the top, Tae-soo teams up with Han Kang-sik, played by Jung Woo-sung, a kingmaker who is the real decision-maker behind the country’s politics. “I thought it was very brave,” said Jung at a Thursday press conference in southern Seoul, regarding the film’s resemblance to Korea’s current scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye and her in

Lee Byung-hun may portray a boxer for his next role, attempting another radical transformation in his prolific acting career. Though he has yet to officially sign on, Lee is working out the specifics to star in Choi Sung-hyun’s “Only That is My World” (unofficial title) for his next project, a local entertainment outlet reported Wednesday.Lee will be playing bygone boxer Jo-ha whose younger brother Jin-tae is a piano virtuoso. The film will tell a story of reconciliation between the brothers and

After almost two decades of strict censorship under the authoritarian Park Chung-hee regime, Korean cinema began producing heavily political movies following the country’s democratization in the 1980s. While some saw film as a device of pure artistic expression, a large chunk of filmmakers viewed the medium as “the most powerful political and social weapon,” according to “Korean Cinema after Liberation,” a study by Hallym University’s professor Park Seung-hyun.　Countless films have since satiriz

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Al Gore’s climate change documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth,” is getting a sequel.Paramount Pictures said Friday the follow-up to the Oscar-winning original will premiere at next January’s Sundance Film Festival.In the new documentary, former Vice President Gore examines global warming’s escalation and the solutions at hand, Paramount said.In a statement, Gore called for a re-dedication to solving what he called the climate crisis and said there are reasons to be hopeful.He

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Nominations for the Golden Globes will be unveiled Monday with critics expecting musical “La La Land” to lead the pack ahead of “Moonlight,” “Manchester by the Sea” and “Lion.” In a departure from last year‘s awards calendar, the announcements come before the influential Screen Actors Guild nominations, making them the first major bellwether of momentum going into the Oscars race.The Globe nominations, set to be made at the crack of dawn in Beverly Hills, are decided by the H

Pandora(Korea)Opened Dec. 7Drama, thriller. Directed by Park Jung-wooA 6.1 magnitude earthquake hits the western coastal town of Wolchon-ri in the vicinity of a nuclear power plant. The earthquake causes fissures in the plant’s pipes, exposing the surrounding areas to radiation. The government and the president (Kim Myoung-min) fumble with the crisis, while the lives of the plant’s workers are in great danger.La La Land(US)Opened Dec. 7Drama, musical. Directed by Damien ChazelleMia (Emma Stone)

In relationships, and in music, it’s all about the timing. So Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land” is the perfect marriage of style and story -- a good old fashioned musical about the ups and downs of one love story that struggles to stay in tempo. It’s also a sealed-with-a-kiss love letter to the city where it’s set, and the unabashed dreamers who inhabit the environs of Los Angeles.Written and directed by “Whiplash” wunderkind filmmaker Chazelle, “La La Land” is a meticulously crafted and choreograp

Director Park Jung-woo’s latest thriller “Pandora” is off to a strong start. Since opening in local theaters on Wednesday, the film has attracted a total of nearly 338,000 moviegoers, topping the local box office, according to recent data from the Korean Film Council on Friday morning. Currently trailing behind “Pandora” is the romantic musical “La La Land” by US director Damien Chazelle with nearly 69,000 viewers, and local comedy blockbuster “My Annoying Brother” with over 48,000 people.  The

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Katie Holmes is a single mom raising a daughter and that's the subject of her feature film directorial debut, “All We Had.”The 37-year-old actress stars alongside 18-year-old Stefania Owen in the film about a mother who finds herself living in a car with her daughter and looking for a new start. Holmes said it’s a specific story but one she can relate to.“I think the universal theme of that love you have for your daughter and that love you have for your mother is so powerful.

This year’s hit Korean zombie flick “Train to Busan” is heading to Hollywood. The French studio Gaumont -- responsible for feature productions such as “Point Blank,” “The Fifth Element” and “Leon: The Professional” -- will be remaking the film into English, according to the local production and distribution company Next Entertainment World on Thursday.“We hope this opportunity will get Korean films more attention and become familiar with audiences all over the world,” said Kim Woo-taek, the CEO