Weekend Box Office Guide: Jan. 23-24

Thinking about watching a movie this weekend? The Korea Herald offers a guide to the top movies playing on the big screen.

A Melody to Remember (Korea)
Drama, war. Directed by Lee Han

Opened Jan. 21

Sang-ryeol (Im Si-wan) is a soldier who has lost everyone he loves in the Korean War. He is sent to another division, and meets a group of children who have lost everything, just like him. Along with volunteer teacher Ju-mi (Ko A-sung), he creates a children’s choir to bring a little warmth to the cold battlefield.

Steve Jobs (U.S.)
Biography. Directed by Danny Boyle

Opened Jan. 21

With a plot built around the launches of the Macintosh, the NeXTcube and the iMac, this Aaron Sorkin-penned biopic shines a harsh light on the personal struggles and falterings of Steve Jobs (Michael Fassbender), who is willing to sacrifice everything in the name of creating art in technology. 

Mood of the Day (Korea)
Romantic comedy. Directed by Cho Ku-jang

Opened Jan. 14

Su-jeong (Moon Chae-won) and Jae-hyeon (Yoo Yeon-seok) are two strangers who find themselves as seat neighbors on a train to Busan. The confident, suave Jae-hyeon is attracted to Su-jeong, and proposes a one-night stand -- but she won’t have any of it. Will he be able to convince her to come over to his side?

The Revenant (U.S.)
Western. Directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

Opened Jan. 14

From the director of “Birdman,” “The Revenant” takes viewers to the wild wilderness of America’s Midwest in the 1820s, where a frontiersman named Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is left for dead by his hunting team after a bear attack. Glass survives his injuries, and sets off to get revenge on John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), the man who betrayed him.

The Good Dinosaur (U.S.)
Animation. Directed by Peter Sohn

Opened Jan. 7

The latest release from Disney-Pixar follows the story of Arlo, a young apatosaurus, who must find his way home after he becomes separated from his family. The timid and clumsy Arlo tries to muster up the courage to overcome obstacles along the way, and finds an unlikely friend in a small human boy whom he names Spot.

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)