The Handmaiden(Korea)Opened June 1Thriller, Drama. Directed by Park Chan-wookHorror Stories III(Korea)Opened June 1 Horror. Directed by Min Kyu-dong, Kim Gok, Kim Sun, Baek Seung-binIn a futuristic universe, a girl arrives on a planet ruled by machines and begins to tell an omnibus story of horror-filled experiences involving human beings (Lim Seul-ong, Park Jung-min, Kyung Soo-jin) and why she had to escape.Me Before You(U.S.)Opened June 1Romance, Drama. Directed by Thea SharrockA small town En

In his movies, Greek writer-director Yorgos Lanthimos sets up surreal, outlandish premises and then pulls you inside, so the nonsensical takes on weighty, emotional import. In 2007’s Oscar-nominated “Dogtooth,” the lives of the members of a screwed-up family served as an exploration of misbegotten parenting and the perils of strict idealism. In 2011’s “Alps,” a group of eccentrics hired themselves out to people mourning the recent death of a loved one, examining the ways in which we all sometime

Mountain Cry 　(China)　Opened May 25　Directed by Larry Yang　A new family moves into a remote village with a tight-knit, traditional community. After the sudden death of the family’s father and husband, the widow, a mysterious mute (Lang Yueting), begins to tell her story wordlessly.　Sing Street　(Ireland)　Opened May 19　Directed by John Carney　　A teenager (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) living in 1980s Dublin escapes bullying at school and his strained family, his parents’ collapsing marriage and struggling f

Film is charged with sexual tension and flowery visuals, but ultimately an exhilarating display of female liberation

Actor Park Hae-jin, who starred as the lead character in the TV series “Cheese in the Trap,” has been cast for the same role in the upcoming movie adaptation, the film’s publicist said Tuesday.　The movie will be jointly produced by Mountain Movement, a Korean production company, and its Chinese partner in Shanghai, HNS HQ said in a statement. Park Hae-jin stars in tvN’s “Cheese in the Trap” (tvN)　Park, who played the enigmatic male protagonist Yoo Jung in the cable TV series, will stay on for th

British director Ken Loach won the Palme d’Or top prize at Cannes on Sunday for the second time in a decade with his moving drama “I, Daniel Blake” about the shame of poverty in austerity-hit Europe.　The award marked a major upset at the world’s top film festival in favor of the left-wing director, who turns 80 next month and is known for shining a light on the downtrodden.　He beat runaway favorites including the rapturously received German comedy “Toni Erdmann” by Maren Ade, one of three female

The distribution rights to Park Chan-wook’s “The Handmaiden” have been sold in a record 175 countries, making it the widest-selling Korean film to date.　The film’s rights were sold to over 55 countries at the Cannes Film Festival’s Film Market on Thursday, said CJ E&M, the film’s distributor.　Prior to Cannes, the film’s rights had already been sold to 120 countries.　The previous record for international sales of a Korean film was held by director Bong Joon-ho’s “Snowpiercer,” which sold in 167 c

CANNES, France (AFP) - Canadian director Xavier Dolan, a freakishly successful 27-year-old presenting his fifth film at Cannes, shrugged off a critical mauling for his new all-star drama Thursday. 　“It's Only the End of the World” features an A-list French cast including Oscar winner Marion Cotillard, Bond girl Lea Seydoux, Vincent Cassel of “Black Swan” and Gaspard Ulliel, who starred in “Saint Laurent” about the legendary designer.　The film, based on a play by Jean-Luc Lagarce, tells the story

Canola　(Korea)　Opened May 19　Drama, Family. Directed by Chang (Yoon Hong-seung)　　Grandma Gye-choon (Youn Yuh-jung) is reunited with her long-lost granddaughter Hye-ji (Kim Go-eun), who is no longer the sweet, innocent child she once was. The film follows the two as they forge a new kind of relationship.　The Angry Birds Movie　(Finland, U.S.)　Opened May 19　Animation. Directed by Clay Kaytis, Fergal Reilly　Most flightless birds lead generally happy lives, but Red seems to become agitated with every

Shane Black films are unmistakably Shane Black films, with crackling dialogue, relentless action, and tough guys cut from a decidedly retro cloth. 　In “The Nice Guys,” which he directed, and cowrote with Anthony Bagarozzi, that cloth is the kind of polyester that might make up a late-’70s leisure suit. While Black’s films are always deeply influenced by his appreciation for pulp noir detective fiction, “The Nice Guys” is one of the purest expressions of Black’s aesthetic, a bloody, hilarious, co