The Korea Herald

'Snowpiercer' claims No. 2 spot at China box office

Mar 25, 2014

South Korean sci-fi thriller "Snowpiercer" took second place in the Chinese box office, posting a strong 8.2 billion won (US$7.5 million) in the opening week, the film's distributor said Tuesday.Released last Monday throughout China, the film was ranked No. 2 on the Chinese box office with 8.2 billion won, following 3-D Hollywood action film "Need for Speed," CJ E&M Corp. said, citing a Chinese box-office tracker.It marks the best opening for South Korean films released in China. "Snowpiercer" b
Teen sci-fi franchise ‘Divergent’ rakes in $56 million

Mar 24, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) ― To go with “Twilight” and “The Hunger Games,” Lionsgate now has a trio of young-adult franchises with the box-office leading “Divergent.” The teen science-fiction thriller starring Shailene Woodley debuted with $56 million over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. The opening, while less than some anticipated, launches Lionsgate’s third franchise built on young-adult best-sellers. With an audience 59 percent female and half under the age of 25, “Divergent” lured you
Box Office: Han Gong-ju, Stories We Tell, Moster

Mar 21, 2014

Han Gong-ju (Korea)Opening April 17Drama. Directed by Lee Su-jin. Han Gong-ju is a 17-year-old girl who starts a new life in a new school, leaving everything behind in her hometown. She makes new friends and begins to sing again, which she gave up after going through a traumatic event in the past. But everything changes when the parents of her old classmates visit Gong-ju out of the blue. The debut feature by director Lee Su-jin won numerous awards from international film festivals, including Ro
Jake Gyllenhaal doubles down in ‘Enemy’

Mar 21, 2014

Movie doubles seem to be multiplying at an alarming rate. At last fall’s Toronto International Film Festival both “Enemy” and “The Double” grappled with what happens when you confront your doppelganger, and the idea appeared again in several films at the Sundance Film Festival.With their enigmatic explorations of identity and persona, these recent films seem to be grappling with the human issues of the online age.“Enemy,” opening in theaters Friday and already available on VOD, also has its own
Award-winning film ‘Han Gong-ju’ to hit local theaters

Mar 19, 2014

Filmmaker Lee Su-jin’s first feature film “Han Gong-ju” is finally hitting local theaters after scooping up awards at international film festivals, including Rotterdam and Deauville.The film tells the tale of a traumatized teen sexual-assault victim, who is forced to change schools and leaves her family. It had its world premiere at the Marrakech International Film Festival in November, and won the top prize there, given by a Martin Scorsese-headed jury. It also nabbed the Tiger Award, which is
‘Avengers’ sequel to film in Seoul

Mar 18, 2014

Some scenes from the sequel to Hollywood blockbuster “The Avengers” will be filmed in and around Seoul from March 30-April 9.U.S.-based Marvel Studios signed a memorandum of understanding with the related Korean authorities on Tuesday regarding filming dates and six locations ― five in Seoul and one in its outskirts ― for “The Avengers: Age of Ultron.” The five locations in Seoul are Cheongdam Grand Bridge, a northern road in Digital Media City in Sangam-dong, Gangnam Boulevard, Mapo Grand Bridg
Seoul to close some roads for filming 'The Avengers'

Mar 18, 2014

The Seoul metropolitan city said Tuesday that it will restrict traffic in roads near the city's landmarks for half a month starting later this month for the filming of the sequel of the 2012 Hollywood blockbuster "The Avengers."Major scenes of the superhero sequel titled "Avengers: Age of Ultron" will be shot in the South Korean capital under a memorandum of understanding signed by the Korean Film Commission and four related government authorities, and the Burbank, Calif.-based Marvel Studios.Un
‘12 Years a Slave’ author’s death still a mystery

Mar 17, 2014

SARATOGA SPRINGS, New York (AP) ― Historians know where Solomon Northup was born, where he lived and where he worked. They know whom he married and how many children he had. They know he played the fiddle and spent 12 years enslaved in the South before being freed. What historians don’t know about the author of “12 Years a Slave” is when and how he died and where he is buried. It’s a lingering mystery in the final chapter of the life of the 19th-century free-born African-American whose compellin
‘Mr. Peabody & Sherman’ leads U.S. box office

Mar 17, 2014

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Street racers couldn’t catch a time-traveling dog and his son at the multiplex last weekend. Though Disney’s “Need for Speed” was expected to take the No. 1 position at the box office, DreamWorks’ “Mr. Peabody & Sherman” took the lead, with the action film in third place. The animated movie, about the adventures of a genius dog and the human son he adopted, earned $21.2 million, according to studio estimates released Sunday. Debuting on March 9 at No. 2, the 3-D kiddie-jaunt f
Eun-gyo returns as a ‘Monster’

Mar 16, 2014

Actress Kim Go-eun speaks about her latest film, her passion for acting
Box Office

Mar 14, 2014

Stories We Tell (Canada)Opened March 14Documentary. Directed by Sarah PolleyCanadian filmmaker Sarah Polley discovered in 2007, at age 28, that her father was not her biological father and that she was the result of an extramarital affair. Her personal documentary “Stories We Tell” follows her shocking discovery and family secrets, consisting of interviews with her siblings from her mother’s two marriages, as well as Michael Polley, the man who raised her, and her biological father Harry Gulkin.
Clooney and company go corny with ‘Monuments Men’

Mar 14, 2014

“The Monuments Men” is the “Last Vegas” of World War II movies. A roughly true, fictionally embellished account of the efforts of American arts scholars ― drafted into the Army ― to preserve the artistic patrimony of Europe from the scourge of combat and theft by the Germans, it is a cute but clunky ensemble piece that director George Clooney rarely bestows with the gravitas and jauntiness this material demanded.They changed the names ― well, of almost everyone ― from the historic “Monuments Men
With help from thousands, ‘Veronica Mars’ reborn

Mar 13, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) ― Rob Thomas knew he might make movie history by using Kickstarter to crowd-fund his “Veronica Mars” film. But he wasn’t prepared for the posters. Of all the prizes offered to donors of “Veronica Mars” ― everything from a digital copy of the script for $10 to a walk-on cameo for $10,000 ― the most taxing was autographing the cast-signed posters promised to more than 5,000 backers. It took several hand-cramping days and constant shuttling of boxes from one signee to the next. “We’ve
11 works to compete at Jeonju film festival

Mar 13, 2014

Jeonju International Film Festival on Thursday announced its lineup for this year’s Korean competition section, consisting of 11 films including three documentaries. Among them, nine will be screened as world premieres. A total of eight feature films have been included in the lineup, including Yang Ji-eun’s “Sook-hee,” a film about female sexuality with an unusual narrative, and “Monkeys,” which deals satirically with Korea’s independent film scene. Jang Woo-jin’s “Fall Break” tells the story o
‘Ernest & Celestine’ a delicate delight

Mar 12, 2014

The delicate and lovingly hand-made “Ernest & Celestine” captures the whimsy and warmth of a dearly felt children’s picture book like few movies before. The Oscar-nominated animated French-Belgian film is a simply rendered tale about a friendship between a mouse and a bear, painted with watercolor backgrounds and hand-sketched characters. In a movie landscape crowded with awesome digital animations and forgettable big-budget cartoon blockbusters, “Ernest & Celestine” is a humble oasis of gentle