The Korea Herald

Film seeks new take on foreign domestic workers

Oct 10, 2016

BUSAN (AFP) - A documentary that takes an intimate look at the daily dramas of foreign domestic workers premiered at Asia's largest film festival, with its director pushing a fresh perspective on the millions employed in homes across the globe.“So much of what we hear and see about them is sensational or negative,” said Baby Ruth Villarama on the sidelines of the 21st Busan International Film Festival in South Korea.“I wanted to show them living their daily lives, with their own hopes and dreams
Busan Film Fest’s role is to support budding Asian filmmakers: executive director

Oct 7, 2016

Eleven films probing Asia’s rapid development, gender inequality compete at BIFF
[Box Office] Latest movie releases

Oct 7, 2016

The Net(Korea)Opened Oct. 6Drama. Directed by Kim Ki-dukHumble North Korean fisherman Nam Chul-woo (Ryoo Seung-beom) accidentally crosses the maritime border into South Korean waters when his fishing boat is caught in strong tides. Bacchus Lady(Korea)Opened Oct. 6Drama. Directed by E J-Yong Elderly sex worker So-young (Youn Yuh-jung), who frequents parks to pick up old men seeking her services, begins getting requests for a different type of service from her aging clientele. Asura: The City of M
‘Miss Peregrine’ is familiar, yet fun

Oct 7, 2016

The very best Tim Burton films feature a charismatic weirdo at the center of the story who is either preternaturally innocent (Edward Scissorhands, Pee-Wee Herman), or charged with the protection of innocence (Batman). Enter Miss Alma LeFay Peregrine (Eva Green) into the canon of Burton heroes of this type. She’s the headmistress of a Home for Peculiar Children, which is a sort of mashup of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.“Miss Peregrine’s Hom
Busan Film Fest opens with muted fanfare

Oct 6, 2016

BUSAN -- The opening ceremony of the 21st Busan International Film Festival was held quietly, without its usual display of fireworks, but to enthusiastic applause in a packed outdoor theater at the Busan Cinema Center on Thursday evening.　While some 160 prominent filmmakers and actors graced the red carpet, including veteran Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki and Japan’s Watanabe Ken, many hard-hitting celebrities were noticeably absent due to a Korean film industry boycott of the event following dispute
Busan Film Fest kicks off amid foreseen, unforeseen complications

Oct 6, 2016

BUSAN -- The 21st edition of the Busan International Film Festival, Asia’s largest, kicked off Thursday amid a number of complications both unexpected and long-standing -- outdoor facilities damaged by Wednesday’s Typhoon Chaba and local filmmakers’ ongoing boycott over BIFF’s artistic autonomy.Sets at BIFF Village, the venue on Haeundae Beach which was to host many of the festival’s outdoor events, were almost completely destroyed when the typhoon swept through the southeastern tip of the Korea
London Film Festival opens with spotlight on diversity

Oct 6, 2016

LONDON (AFP) -- The London Film Festival opened its 60th edition Wednesday with a spotlight on ethnic minority actors and filmmakers, reflecting a debate over the lack of diversity currently raging in Hollywood.“We really wanted to shine a light on black stars,” festival director Clare Stewart told AFP as the event opened with a tale of inter-racial love in Botswana by British director Amma Asante who was born to Ghanaian parents.“I'm incredibly excited by just how dynamic, and broad, and urgent
In ‘Voyage,’ the history of life on a very big screen

Oct 6, 2016

NEW YORK (AP) -- About 20 years ago, Andrew Knoll, a professor of natural history and NASA consultant, was sitting in his office at Harvard when he got a strange phone call. “The person on the other end of the line said, ‘My name is Terry Malick. I‘m interested in making a film about the history of life. I’m going to be in Cambridge next month. Could we have lunch?” Knoll recalls. “I must admit, it was probably halfway through lunch when it just dawned on me: ‘Hey, this guy made ‘Badlands.’”Mali
Ben Affleck reveals title of upcoming Batman film

Oct 5, 2016

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Ben Affleck says the upcoming stand-alone Batman film he’s directing and starring in will be called "The Batman."Affleck is leaving open the possibility of changing the title, but tells the Associated Press "that's what we’re going with now."Affleck is also dismissing critics of his debut as the Dark Knight in "Batman v. Superman" earlier this year. He tells Washington's WTTG-TV that the film is the "biggest hit of my career" and says he loves the movie.Responding to the mostl
‘Girl on the Train’ doesn’t stay on the rails

Oct 5, 2016

Tate Taylor’s “The Girl on the Train” may be technically set in the Westchester suburb of Ardsley-on-Hudson, but its cocktail of commuter trains, marital infidelity and alcoholism make its proper setting Cheever Country. The unhappy, martini-stained lives of New York suburbanites have long been a rich vein for writers like John Cheever, Richard Yates and Paula Fox. “The Girl on the Train” is the trashier, paperback version. Its old-school title may suggest Hitchcock or maybe Fincher (who himself
Korean dramas, movies finishing year strongly

Oct 4, 2016

Hefty names to wrap up 2016 on small and big screens
‘Asura’ tops weekend box office

Oct 3, 2016

Crime-noir “Asura: The City of Madness” topped the local weekend box office, drawing some 826,655 admissions Oct. 1-2, according to the Korean Film Council.The film has sold over 1.8 million tickets since its opening Wednesday, when it broke the record for best-selling rated “R” movie on its opening day. A scene from "Asura: The City of Madness" (CJ Entertainment)The bloody thriller, starring a handful of Korean cinema’s A-listers including Jung Woo-sung, Hwang Jung-min and Kwak Do-won, tells th
Busan Int’l Film Festival screens vast variety of films

Oct 3, 2016

The 21st Busan International Film Festival will show a total of 299 movies from 69 countries, and among them 122 films will premiere at the event, its organizers said Sunday.The annual festival, which will open Thursday and run through Oct. 15, will show a wide variety of films ranging from critically acclaimed films to experimental movies and those made by female directors. Under the World Cinema section, numerous award-wining films from the 2016 Cannes Film Festival will be featured. Among tho
[Box Office] Latest movie releases

Sept 30, 2016

Asura: The City of Madness(Korea)Opened Sept. 28Crime, noir. Directed by Kim Sung-suIn desperate need of money, corrupt cop Han Do-kyung (Jung Woo-sung) agrees to cover up the illegal dealings of avaricious Mayor Park Sung-bae (Hwang Jung-min), consorting with low-lives and sinking deeper into the criminal world.Bridget Jones’ Baby(US)Opened Sept. 28Romantic comedy. Directed by Sharon MaguireThe clumsy, lovable Bridget Jones (Renee Zellweger) has returned, now over 40 and single once again. Brid
‘The Lovers and the Despot’ reveals story of Kim Jong-il’s private, kidnapped filmmakers

Sept 30, 2016

Lives there a film fan anywhere who doesn’t wish his or her country made better films, who couldn’t sympathize with Kim Jong-il when he’s heard to say, “There’s nothing new to our films. We don’t have any films that get into film festivals. People here are so close-minded?"Kim Jong-il was no everyday film fan, however. Oh, no. He was the absolute ruler of North Korea, and though you’d think he’d have more important matters to attend to, he not only did something about his complaint, he did it in