Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
(US)
Opened Jan. 3
Comedy. Directed by Jake Kasdan
Four teenagers are placed in detention together. They find a magical video game in a school basement, and are subsequently sucked into it.
They find themselves in the form of their game avatars. Spencer Gilpin is a tough, muscular explorer named Dr. Smolder Bravestone (Dwyane Johnson), Anthony “Fridge” Johnson is a short zoologist named Franklin “Mouse” Finbar (Kevin Hart), Martha Kaply is a gorgeous commando and martial arts expert named Ruby Roundhouse, and Bethany is an overweight, male cartographer named Professor Sheldon “Shelly” Oberon (Jack Black).
The only way the four can escape is to work together to finish the game.
1987
(Korea)
Opened Dec. 27
Historical drama. Directed by Jang Joon-hwan
The year is 1987. Former Army Gen. Chun Doo-hwan is in power, and a harrowing series of events follow the torture and death of student activist Park Chong-chul. In an attempt to cover up the crimes that led to the killing, corrupt officials list Park’s cause of death as an unlikely heart attack. Investigator Park Cheo-won (Kim Yoon-seok) staunchly fends off reporters, believing cruelty is justified for the sake of bettering the country. Standing opposite him is the stubborn prosecutor Choi Hwan (Ha Jung-woo), who refuses to fall in line with the regime’s attempt to disguise the torture death as a mere accident.
Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds
(Korea)
Opened Dec. 20
Fantasy, drama. Directed by Kim Yong-hwa
Kim Ja-hong (Cha Tae-hyun), who has died, finds himself being escorted to the next world by three officials from the afterworld. He is appointed a lawyer, and instructed that everyone must face the seven judges, who rule on a person’s lifelong deeds based on sins such as violence, betrayal, laziness and hurting family, and decide whether they proceed to heaven or hell. Ja-hong and the three officials (Ha Jung-woo, Joo Ji-hoon, Kim Hyang-gi) travel through the afterworld and recall Ja-hong’s time on earth in search of a final conclusion.
Steel Rain
(Korea)
Opened Dec. 14
Action, drama. Directed by Yang Woo-seok
An attack on the North Korean leader takes place at an event at the Kaesong industrial park, leaving him injured. North Korean special agent Uhm Chul-woo (Jung Woo-sung) is ordered to take him and flee to the South via an underground tunnel to take refuge until the revolt concludes. There, Uhm encounters Kwak Chul-woo (Kwak Do-won), Korea’s senior secretary of foreign affairs and national security. Amid increasingly convoluted international relations, each country looking out for itself and blind domestic politics, Uhm and Kwak develop a brotherly bond.
