The Korea Herald

Warner wows Comic-Con with blockbuster previews

Jul 24, 2016

SAN DIEGO (AFP) -- Warner Brothers pulled back the curtain on its slate of upcoming blockbusters on Saturday at a star-studded presentation to thousands of die-hard San Diego Comic-Con fans.The studio took over the fanfest for two hours, with Conan O'Brien as host, to premiere its hotly anticipated DC Comics movies and non-superhero offerings.Stars onstage at the 6,500-seat Hall H included “Wonder Woman” lead Gal Gadot and Ben Affleck, who reprises his turn as Batman in “Justice League.” A beat-
Asia’s largest genre film fest kicks off

Jul 22, 2016

Crowds flocked to the grass lawn in front of Bucheon City Hall on Thursday night for the opening of Asia’s biggest genre film event, the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival. The festival kicked off with fireworks, a modern dance performance, and an outdoor screening of “Captain Fantastic,” this year’s opening film directed by American actor-turned-director Matt Ross. 　　“This is a very personal film, about parenthood and parenting, choices we make as people and how they impact those aro
[Herald Review] Complexities of war lost in ‘Operation Chromite’

Jul 21, 2016

What’s left is simple heroism and rote sentimentality
Actor-turned-director Jang Keun-suk to unveil short film

Jul 21, 2016

Often called the “Prince of Asia,” actor Jang Keun-suk will stand before audience at the 20th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival as a director instead. Scheduled to be screened on July 22 and 26, the nine-minute short film “The Great Legacy” was made with the help of students at Hanyang University, where Jang is currently a lecturer. “It is a great pleasure for him to unveil this collaborative production and he is looking forward to engaging in conversations with viewers regarding th
'Train to Busan' fetches record opening

Jul 21, 2016

"Train to Busan," one of the most anticipated films of this summer, has set a new record opening for all movies ever screened in the country, data showed Thursday.The apocalyptic zombie thriller drew an audience of 858,659 on Wednesday, taking 82.3 percent of all ticket sales, according to the computerized box-office figures from the Korean Film Council. (Yonhap)The previous record was 727,901 set by "Captain America: Civil War" in April, which surpassed the 2014 Korean film "Roaring Currents."
Movie star Gong Yoo opens up about his own fears

Jul 20, 2016

In the zombie apocalypse film “Train to Busan,” which opened in theaters Wednesday, actor Gong Yoo plays the role of a father who is too busy with his demanding job as a fund manager to spend quality time with his daughter.　　“I’m still single, so I had to use my imagination for that,” Gong told reporters at a group interview on Monday in a cafe in Seoul. Casually dressed and waering a baseball cap, the actor discussed his thoughts on parenthood, social media and his own horrors.　 Actor Gong Yoo
‘Train to Busan’ sets new pre-sale record

Jul 20, 2016

Starring actors Gong Yoo, Kim Soo-an, Jung Yu-mi and Ma Dong-seok, “Train to Busan” has set a new pre-sale record for Korean blockbusters.Over 320,000 people reserved tickets for the movie in advance of its Wednesday release with an estimated ticket sales of over 2.6 billion won, according to the Korean Film Council data as of Wednesday morning.Although it is difficult to predict how many people “Train to Busan” will draw following its July 20 opening, the Korean crime film “A Violent Prosecutor
Bucheon fantastic film fest to thrill moviegoers

Jul 20, 2016

Fantasy, horror, cult and thriller. Whatever the genre, it's all there in the line-up of the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival if you're a big fan of genre flicks.A mecca of the country's comics and animation industry, the city of Bucheon, located just west of Seoul, is about to become an even more entertaining place when the 20th BIFAN opens Thursday for an 11-day run under the theme "love, fantasy and adventure." (Yonhap)A total of 302 films from 49 countries will make up Korea's l
Film academy diversifies leadership with new governors

Jul 19, 2016

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The film academy is taking more steps to diversify, with three women and two black filmmakers newly elected to leadership positions.The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its newly elected board of governors on Monday. The list includes six first-time representatives: director Steven Spielberg, actress Laura Dern, costume designer Sharen K. Davis, documentarian Roger Ross Williams, composer Laura Karpman and sound engineer Kevin Collier. Each of the academy'
French thriller ‘Bastille Day’ may be pulled after attack

Jul 18, 2016

PARIS (AFP) - French film distributor Studiocanal has asked cinemas to pull the thriller “Bastille Day,” about a planned attack on the eve of France’s national holiday, after the real-life truck attack in Nice.The plotline of the film became even more chilling in attack-weary France after Tunisian Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel smashed a truck into a crowd enjoying Bastille Day fireworks on Thursday night, killing 84.“Bastille Day” was being shown in 237 cinemas.“We asked all cinemas to withdraw ‘Bas
New JFK Jr. documentary looks back at 'America’s prince'

Jul 15, 2016

BOSTON (AP) -- “America’s prince” is getting a new documentary.“I Am JFK Jr. -- A Tribute to a Good Man,” which hits select theaters on July 22, captures the fascination with John F. Kennedy Jr., from his early days toddling around the White House to his death in a plane crash in 1999.Network Entertainment’s Derik Murray made the film in the mold of his other “I Am” movies, including “I Am Bruce Lee,” “I Am Chris Farley” and “I Am Evel Knievel.” It also airs on Spike TV at 9 p.m. EDT on Aug. 1,
[Box Office] Latest movie releases

Jul 15, 2016

Trick(Korea)Opened July 13Drama, Thriller. Directed by Lee Chang-yeolSeok-jin (Lee Jung-jin), a workaholic television producer obsessed with ratings, propels a terminally ill man and his wife to national fame through his sensational show. When the man refuses to be filmed further, Seok-jin pushes through in an attempt to capture his death on camera. Now You See Me(U.S.)Opened July 13Crime, Action. Directed by Jon M. ChuA team of illusionists known as the Four Horsemen (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Har
‘Tunnel’ invited to Locarno International Film Festival

Jul 15, 2016

Upcoming summer film “Tunnel” will be representing the Korean film industry at the annual Locarno International Film Festival.The story of a man’s fight for survival as the lone victim of a tunnel collapse, the thriller-drama will be screened in the non-competitive Piazza Grande program, according to the event’s official website.Also included in the section are Paul Greengrass’ much anticipated “Jason Bourne,” Colm McCarthy’s adaptation of M.R. Carey’s award-winning novel “The Girl with All the
Kristen Stewart, Jesse Eisenberg enliven otherwise dull nostalgia in ‘Cafe Society’

Jul 15, 2016

There’s not much to “Cafe Society,” but for a while now Woody Allen has been getting by with not much happening at the keyboard. Thanks to the warm, glowing light lavished on the film by cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, shooting digitally, the writer-director’s 47th feature looks like a million bucks in that drippingly nostalgic late-period Allen way.The dialogue? The dialogue ranges in value from a quarter-million to a buck eighty-three. Then again, the cast is pretty wonderful, particularly J
Why are second films so hard to get going for women, directors of color?

Jul 15, 2016

As a first-time director, Anna Rose Holmer is in an elite group. Her movie, “The Fits,” about an 11-year-old tomboy trying to fit in, was one of the fewer than 1 percent of submitted features that Sundance Film Festival programmers chose last year, an acceptance rate tougher than that of an Ivy League college. She received some of the best reviews of the festival and secured a distribution deal, a manager and an agent.And yet, amid this success, Holmer, 31, now faces what is possibly the greates