Weekend Box Office Guide: Feb. 20-21

It's a big weekend at the box office. For those who are overwhelmed by all the choices, The Korea Herald offers a guide to the top movies playing on the big screen.

DONGJU; The Portrait of a Poet (Korea)
Drama. Directed by Lee Joon-ik
Opened Feb. 17

Dong-ju (Kang Ha-neul) and Mong-gyu (Park Jung-min) are close friends and cousins who grew up together during the chaotic Japanese colonial era. After the two young men head to Japan to study, their relationship takes on some strain as Dong-ju becomes a poet, and Mong-gyu an independence fighter.

Like for Likes (Korea)
Romantic comedy. Directed by Park Hyun-jin
Opened Feb. 17

Three couples find love in the omnibus film “Like for Likes”: A haughty drama writer (Lee Mi-yeon) and a global star (Yoo Ah-in), a friendly next-door tenant (Kim Joo-hyuk) and a standoffish landlady (Choi Ji-woo), and a shy composer (Kang Ha-neul) and a coy TV producer (E Som). Six different characters bring six different styles of love to the screen.

Deadpool (U.S.)
Action. Directed by Tim Miller
Opened Feb. 17

Former Special Forces operative-turned-mercenary Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) becomes Marvel anti-hero Deadpool when a rogue experiment leave shim with superhuman healing powers. Sassy, snarky, and carefree, he’s a spandex-clad hero unlike any other.

The Dressmaker (Australia)
Drama. Directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse
Opened Feb. 11

Myrtle “Tilly” Dunnage (Kate Winslet) was chased out of her childhood hometown as a young woman, accused of murder. Years later, she makes a dramatic return as an elegant dressmaker. She wins back the hearts of the villagers with fabulous gifts of haute couture dresses, but her true goal is to set right the wrongs of the past.

A Violent Prosecutor (Korea)
Crime. Directed by Lee Il-hyung
Opened Feb. 3

Hotheaded prosecutor Jae-wook (Hwang Jung-min) suddenly finds himself behind bars convicted of murder when a suspect he was investigating turns up dead. When he meets the handsome con man Chi-won (Gang Dong-won), he senses that Chi-won is the man to help him clear his name and helps Chi-won stay out of jail -- but Chi-won has different plans once he’s set free.

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