Monday, November 21, 2011

Korean Box Office Update (11/18-11/20, 2011)

Weekend of November 18-20:

Title Release Date Weekend Total
1 Punch 10/20/11 361,807 4,126,808
2 Immortals (us) 11/10/11 197,472 952,258
3 Moneyball (us) 11/17/11 186,122 211,097
4 Real Steel (us) 10/12/11 143,526 3,140,901
5 You're My Pet 11/10/11 87,572 411,506
6 Penny Pinchers 11/10/11 62,831 316,878
7 Tower Heist (us) 11/17/11 34,792 40,625
8 Perfect Partner 11/17/11 34,282 46,183
9 Horrible Bosses (us) 11/17/11 20,879 25,029
10 Wu Xia (China) 11/17/11 10,427 12,904
- Couples 11/2/11 8,655 348,907
- A Reason to Live 10/27/11 7,200 130,720
- Merry Christmas, North! 11/17/11 4,098 4,956
- Always 10/20/11 3,065 1,019,595
- Dancing Cat 11/17/11 2,965 4,189


South Korea box office was a little slow this past weekend with total admissions amounting to 1.21 million, which nevertheless was marginally above last year's total for the comparable weekend.  More worrying is that the Korean market share dipped below the 50% mark for the first time in a little over a month, coming in at 45%, last year the figure was 63%.  While not alarming, this slight lull can mostly attributed to a lack of mainstream Korean films in the marketplace, only 4 of the 10 were Korean this week.

Punch stayed at no.1 once again for its fifth consecutive weekend after another small drop (<20%) saw it add 361,807 tickets to its 4,126,808 total.  The vaunted five million mark is all but certain at this point, it may cross it in as little as 10 days and could still go further still.  I don't think it will challenge War of the Arrows or Sunny a the top of the yearly chart but if it continues to play well through Christmas it may well come very close.

Immortals say its take halved to 197,472 this weekend after its strong start and is presently a shade off the 1 million mark, though actuals may well push it above.  Moneyball had a decent debut at no.3 with 186,122 most likely buoyed by star Brad Pitt's first visit to the peninsula.  Real Steel barely dropped at all and added another 143,526 to its coffers as it soared past the 3 million point.

You're My Pet, which had a curious injunction to ban it dismissed last week, made 87,572 this weekend which was a little over half of its opening.  The pic which was designed for and has been performing well with young woman has being doing well and may have benefited from the publicity of the injunction.

Penny Pinchers, which has had some good word of mouth, wound up with 62,831 and seems poised to cross half a million.  As some people have noted, including Darcy Paquet, the romantic comedy focusses on more impoverished leads than is usually the case which is a welcome change from the standard romcoms.

Tower Heist opened with 34,792 and I believe that this was previews so it may challenge for the top spot next weekend, which would be a shame since I despise Brett Ratner.

Perfect Partner made 34,282 this weekend in a limited amount of theaters.  Though this was already its second weekend I imagine it will go wider next week.

Horrible Bosses from the US and Wuxia from China rounded out the top 10 with underwhelming figures, 20,879 and 10,427 respectively.

Outside of the top 10: Couples took another big tumble; A Reason to Live stayed steady with last week and has surprised in the late stages of its run; Documentaries Merry Christmas, North! and Dancing Cat opened; and Always squeaked by the 1 million mark.


The Korean Box Office Update is a weekly feature which provides detailed analysis of film box office sales over the Friday to Sunday period in Korea. It appears every Monday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

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Friday, November 18, 2011

Weekly Review Round-up (11/12-11/18, 2011)

A wide array of films reviewed this week, many due to the just-wrapped London Korean Film Festival.


RECENT RELEASES

A Better Tomorrow

(SBCC Film Reviews, November 14, 2011)

(fright.com, November 15, 2011)

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, November 15, 2011)

(Alive Not Dead, November 12, 2011)

(Nekoneko's Movie Litterbox, November 14, 2011)

(Horror Films, November 17, 2011)

(Film Business Asia, November 15, 2011)

(PinoyMovieBlog, November 14, 2011)

(The Korea Times, November 17, 2011)

(Otherwhere, November 14, 2011)

(Init_Scenes, November 14, 2011)

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, November 16, 2011)

(Variety, November 15, 2011 - Paid Subscription Required)

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, November 15, 2011)

(Dread Central, November 14, 2011)

(Next Projection, November 17, 2011)

(London Korea Links, November 12, 2011)

Sunny

(Film Business Asia, November 18, 2011)

(Init_Scenes, November 17, 2011)

The Front Line

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, November 16, 2011)

(Eye for Film, November 18, 2011)

The Yellow Sea

(Korean Class Massive, November 6, 2011)


PAST FILMS

Handphone, 2009
(Korean Class Massive, November 7, 20110

(moviefilmreview.com, November 14, 2011)

Rough Cut, 2008
(Next Projection, November 17, 2011)

The Host, 2006
(Ticker Talks Film, November 11, 2011)


The Weekly Review Round-up is a weekly feature which brings together all available reviews of Korean films in the English language (and sometimes French) that have recently appeared on the internet. It is by no means a comprehensive feature and additions are welcome (email pierceconran [at] gmail [dot] com). It appears every Friday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News, and the Korean Box Office Update. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

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Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Korean Cinema News (11/10-11/16, 2011)

Another huge amount of news this week including some great features from Korean Cinema Today which among other things broke news regarding the start of production on Bong Joon-ho's much anticipated Snow Piercer.  Lots of great features but also a perplexing one from The Guardian which I discussed in the comments with its author.  Also lots of new trailers including a bombastic one for the upcoming My Way.


KOREAN CINEMA NEWS

Arirang and The Yellow Sea play at Mar del Plata
Argentina’s Mar del Plata International Film Festival is screening Korean films Arirang, directed by Kim Ki-duk, and The Yellow Sea, directed by Na Hong-jin during its 26th edition, Nov. 5 – 13.  (KOBIZ, November 8, 2011)

Asiana International Short Film Festival closes with Promise
The 9th Asiana International Short Film Festival closed Monday, Nov. 7 after a six-day run with Jero Yun’s fiction short Promise winning the best film award.  At the Closing ceremony, Festival Director Ahn Sung-ki and jury head Kang Soo-yeon, both veteran Korean actors, were joined by jury members director Inudo Isshin from Japan, director Kim Tae-yong from Korea, Sarah Hoch Delong, founder and Executive Director of the Guanajuato International Film Festival, and Tono Seigo, Festival Director of the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia.  (KOBIZ, November 8, 2011)

YesAsia Sponsors the Fantastic Asia Film Festival in Australia
Leading online retailer YesAsia.com is a premier sponsor of the Fantastic Asia Film Festival (FAFF) which runs from November 10 to 13 at the Cinema Nova in Melbourne, Australia.  In cooperation with distribution and production company Monster Pictures, the inaugural event brings a diverse and interesting mix of Asian genre films from Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, China and the Philippines to film enthusiasts in Australia.  (prurgent.com, November 9, 2011)

Korean Agent Gets Remake Treatment From UTV
Indian entertainment giant UTV Motion Pictures is to make an official Hindi-language remake of South Korean hit My Girlfriend is an Agent (2009).  The new film, which will retain the English title, will be produced by director Imtiaz Ali and his wife Preety Ali under their new PI Films label. Choreographer Bosco will direct.  (Film Business Asia, November 10, 2011)

Punch VS A Reason to Live - Why did Yoo Ah-in laugh and Song Hye-kyo cry?
Song Hye-kyo's movie A Reason to Live is on the verge of disappearing.  The accumulated number of admissions as of today November 9th is 58,877, showing very slow progress.  This movie was greatly looked forward to as it was being directed by Lee Jeong-hyang, who returned nine years after the 4 million-plus admission box office hit The Way Home (2002) and the cast included Song Hye-kyo.  However, as soon as it came out, it was ignored by audiences and isn't showing any signs of doing better even after two weeks in release.  (hancinema.net, November 9, 2011)

First Images From Choi Min-sik Starring Thriller Nameless Gangster
The simple fact that Choi stars in this is reason to pay attention.  Not only is he a fabulously talented actor but he is also extremely selective about his roles, making very few missteps along the way.  And when the first images look as good as those in the gallery below ... well, all the better.  (Twitch, November 9, 2011)

New Stills for the Upcoming Korean Movie My Way
My Way, directed by Jang Je-gyu and starring Jang Dong-gun, was formerly known as D-Day.  My Way is a co-production between South Korea and the USA.  (hancinema.net, November 9, 2011)

Actress Son Ye-jin is planning on debuting in the Chinese film market...before it gets too late!  After making her big screen comeback with Lee Min-gi in the movie Chilling Romance, Son revealed on a recent interview with OSEN that she's currently eyeing out the Chinese movie scene.  (KBS, November 9, 2011)

Four Leading Korean Directors Working on Overseas Projects
The year 2012 looks like it will see an unprecedented rush of Korean directors working on foreign projects.  This phenomenon seems similar to the situation back in the late 1990s when Hong Kong directors John Woo, Ringo Lam, Tsui Hark, Kirk Wong and Ronny Yu all directed films produced in Hollywood.  What’s different is that whereas they were inclined to make films only in Hong Kong’s specialty genre – the action film, their Korean counterparts are expected to make films that will retains the directors’ varying styles and sensibilities.  (Korean Cinema Today, November 9, 2011)

Korean Wave Rises to China Challenge
Very little is known of the personal life of Chinese President Hu Jintao, but we do know that he likes paper-cutting and cycling.  And that he is a fan of Korean costume dramas. China's deeply private head of state has gone on record to say that he is a fan of the blockbuster soap opera Jewel in the Palace, and is one of millions of fans of Korean movies and TV in the world's most populous nation.  (Korean Cinema Today, November 1, 2011)

Korean Crews in China
Films from Greater China increasingly employ technical specialists from Korea - Kim Seong-hoon reports.  For a long time, the film industry has evolved according to emergences of new technology and this has meant new opportunities for those working in the field.  We all know how when “talkies” were invented, many silent movie actors lost their jobs and at the same time, many other people found work as synchronized sound technicians and post-sync supervisors. (Korean Cinema Today, November 8, 2011)

South Korean Documentary Arirang Wins BIFFDOCS
Renowned South Korean arthouse filmmaker Kim Ki-duk has won BIFFDOCS, Australia’s richest documentary award.  Ki-duk’s entry Arirang beat 19 films from around the world to win the top prize of $25 000, including Queensland-produced documentary, The Trouble With St Mary’s, which received a $35 000 documentary production investment from Screen Queensland in 2009-10.  (if.com.au, November 11, 2011)

Bong Joon-ho Opens Busan West Festival at Chapman University with 3D Version of The Host
Growing up in South Korea, Bong Joon-ho developed a love of American science fiction movies thanks to the Armed Forces Network.  Now, the acclaimed filmmaker and the new 3D version of The Host (2006), Bong's 2006 valentine to American creature features, come to Orange Friday to open the Busan West Asian Film Festival at Chapman University.  (OC Weekly, November 9, 2011)

Korean Films at the 13th Cinemanila International Film Festival
Another special Cinemanila section this year is “Focus on Korea,” which highlights the movies of acclaimed Korean filmmakers like Boo Ji-Young.  Mr. Aguiluz said Mr. Young will arrive in the country to present his film A Time to Love during the festival.  (Business World, November 10, 2011)

Filmmakers Lynn Lee and James Leong of Lianain Films gained unprecedented access to the Pyongyang’s main film academy for an exceptionally well observed documentary piece.  (North Korean Films, November 2, 2011)

The fine folks at Koryo Tours have given us a bit of advanced notice about the Pyongyang International Film Festival 2012.   It’ll be a great chance to not only see some of the best North Korean films of recent years but also a chance for North Koreans to experience some Western releases.   (North Korean Films, October 22, 2011)

Buyers Take Aim for Lotte's War of the Arrows
Korean box-office hit has sold to US, UK, German-Speaking Europe, Taiwan, Singapore and elsewhere.  Korean studio Lotte Entertainment has closed a number of deals on its local box-office smash The War of the Arrows.  (Screen Daily, November 4, 2011)

North Korean propaganda website Uriminzokkiri has lambasted the inaugural two-day North Korean Human Rights International Film Festival, scheduled to be held this Thursday and Friday at a Seoul university theater.  (Daily NK, November 7, 2011)

An Up-to-Date Look at the Korean 3D Content Industry and 3D Imaging Technology!
To briefly talk about the present condition of the Korean 3D industry, much of the content is produced under the support of government-affiliated organizations related to cultural contents, and there are not many that are being produced by actual media content producers.  However, the fact that there is education regarding 3D image available for people, along with the support for production, presents much better conditions than neighboring Japan, where there is no government support for the 3D content industry.   (Advanced Technology Korea, October 4, 2011)

War of the Arrows – Causing Death and Saving Lives
The opening gala of the London Korean Film Festival was a more rambunctious affair than I remember even last year’s being, due in no small part to the sudden and unexpected entrance of SHINee (I was lucky enough to be two rows behind them, but many who had specially booked seats I gather were incandescent to have been re-seated!).   (London Korea Links, November 14, 2011)

Injunction to Ban You Pet Dismissed
The male solidarity's injunction to ban the movie You Pet has been dismissed.  The male solidarity requested the banning of the movie You Pet, saying it was insulting to men.  (hancinema.net, November 13, 2011)

S. Korean Film Festival Begins in Kathmandu
The Korean craze amongst the Nepalis, especially the youngsters, is a common scenario these days.  Films are one way to express the culture, life, human relations, religion and values of a particular country.  One can get an idea about a particular country from a film, which one may not get from reading dozens of books.  (The Seoul Times, November 13, 2011)

Top star Lee Byeong-Heon is attempting a historical drama for the fist time in his acting career.  He has recently confirmed as a cast member for King of Chosun.  This will be directed by Choo Chang-min and not Kang Woo-seok, who was initially supposed to direct this movie.  (hancinema.net, November 13, 2011)

Korean Cinema: Local Film Industry Goes Global
Korea is the 10th largest movie market in the world and is endeavoring to meet global standards.  Not only have veterans such as Im Kwon-taek, Kim Ki-duk and Hong Sang-soo made a name in arthouse films, but blockbuster hits appearing from Park Chan-wook, Bong Joon-ho and more.  (Korea Magazine, November 2011)

Bong Joon-ho's Snow Piercer Rumbles to Life
It was all the way back in 2006 when Korea's Bong Joon-ho first spoke about his planned big screen adaptation of French graphic novel Snow Piercer (Le Transperceneige).  With Bong riding high from the massive success of the The Host (2006) and with Oldboy (2003) director Park Chan-wook on board as a producer it seemed certain that this one would be up and running quickly.  That proved not to be the case. (Twitch, November 15, 2011)

Do South Koreans Actually Love Film?
In the noughties, South Korea earned itself a reputation as the new hotspot for cinephiles.  A cultural explosion followed the end of military rule in 1987: on the cinema front, film festivals and magazines sprung up to feed the new curiosity.  Attendance more than doubled between 2000 and 2006, when it stood at 153m admissions a year (comparable to Britain's, with a smaller population). (The Guardian, November 15, 2011)
Actors Ha Jeong-woo, Han Seok-Kyu and Ryoo Seung-beom will meet in director Ryoo Seung-hwan's 10-billion won project.  The Berlin File, by director Ryoo Seung-hwan, is a spy story based in Berlin, Germany about a man who infiltrates a South Korean organization and gets left behind in North Korea.  (hancinema.net, November 15, 2011)
In conjunction with the exhibition “Korean Eye”, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York presents “Unbridled Energy: Korean Animation”, a program that showcases the breadth and diversity of contemporary creativity in this Asian nation.  The series runs from December 2 to December 16, 2011 at MAD (2 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019).  (scifijapan.com, November 13, 2011)

LKFF: Why Dachimawa Lee is Thoroughly Groovy, and Why I’m Becoming a Fan of Ryu Seung-wan
I have to confess that when I heard that Ryu Seung-wan was to be the featured director, my reaction was lukewarm.  Of the films I had already seen, the silliness of Arahan (2004) did not endear the film to me, while seeing Jeon Do-yeon and Lee Hye-hyoung severely thrashed turned me off No Blood No Tears (2002). I had tried hard to like City of Violence (2006) and only succeeded on the third watching.  (London Korea Links, November 15, 2011)

Honorary Busan Fest Chief Kim Dong-ho to Make Directorial Debut
Honorary Festival Director of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) Kim Dong-ho is set to make his short film directorial debut with the Opening Film for next year’s Asiana International Film Festival (AISFF).  Yonhap News Agency reports AISFF has revealed that Kim will be directing the short film for the festival’s 10th anniversary edition.  (KOBIZ, November 15, 2011)

Jeonju to Meet Increased Demand with New Soundstage
Yonhap News Agency reports that the home city of the Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) is planning to build more special studio space in the Jeonju Cinema Studio by July 2012.  The new space will be comprised of a 795㎡ soundstage along with 560㎡ of attached facilities including a make-up room.  (KOBIZ, November 11, 2011)

Choi Equan Appointed Head of KAFA
Chairman KIM Eui-suk of the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) appointed film director Choi Equan as the new head of the Korean Academy of Film Arts (KAFA) on Nov. 10 in Seoul.  Established in 1984, KAFA has played a leading role in producing some of contemporary Korean cinema’s major filmmakers. Kim Eui-suk was actually one of the first graduates of KAFA before he directed the seminal hit Marriage Story (1992).   (KOBIZ, November 10, 2011)

After holding special screenings in support of The Front Line, South Korea’s submission to the Academy Awards best foreign language film category nominations, the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) has announced it saw a strong turnout and positive reactions.  About 500 industry professionals including members of the press from LA Times, Variety and the Hollywood Foreign Press attended the screenings. (KOBIZ, November 10, 2011)

Bong Joon-ho Gives Lecture at Chapman University
Film director Bong Joon-ho appeared at Chapman University in Orange County, California on Saturday (local time) to give a master class as part of the Busan West Asian Film Festival hosted by the university's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts.  (The Chosun Ilbo, November 15, 2011)

Only Second Time Around, but Korean Cinema is Definitely Down Under
South Korea and Australia are celebrating the last stretch of their Year of Friendship, with this year marking the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, bringing more attention to the second annual Korean Film Festival in Australia (KOFFIA).  (Yonhap News Agency, November 7, 2011)

Poetry UK Blu-ray Detailed
Independent British distributors Arrow Films have officially announced that they will release on Blu-ray Korean director Lee Chang-dong's Shi a.k.a Poetry (2010), starring Yun Jung-hee and Lee David.  Last year, the film won Best Screenplay Award at the Cannes Film Festival. Street date is Novemver 28th.  (Blu-ray.com, November 12, 2011)

Ryoo Seung-hwan Speaks About his New Movie The Berlin File
Director Ryoo Seung-hwan spoke about his next coming movie The Berlin File known to be a 10 billion won blockbuster.  He appeared as the final lecturer in a lecturing event that was held in the LIG Art Hall on the 11th.  His upcoming movie The Berlin File has been an issue and movie fans have been very interested.  (hancinema.net, November 11, 2011)


INTERVIEWS

KOFIC Chairman Kim Eui-suk
Korean Film Council (KOFIC) Chairman Kim Eui-suk talks to Kim Seong-hoon about promoting Korean cinema internationally.  With his background as a filmmaker whose credits include the seminal hit Marriage Story (1992) and the period martial arts film Sword in the Moon (2003), Kim Eui-suk also spent seven years nurturing the next generation of filmmakers as a professor at the Korean Film Academy of Arts (KAFA), five years as a member the organizing committee of the Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF), and then time as KOFIC Vice Chairman and Acting Chairman before he was name Chairman in March 2011.  (Korean Cinema Today, November 4, 2011)

Acclaimed Director Pushing Back NKHR Envelope
The North Korea Human Rights International Film Festival (NKHRIFF), which opens this afternoon, is attracting domestic attention for its attempt to blend North Korean human rights-and film.  Optimists hope that the festival can turn North Korean human rights into a real social issue, using the silver screen to nag at viewer consciences.  (Daily NK, November 10, 2011)



TRAILERS



Punch (eng sub)



POSTERS 











BOX OFFICE


(Modern Korean Cinema, November 14, 2011)


Korean Cinema News is a weekly feature which provides wide-ranging news coverage on Korean cinema, including but not limited to: features; festival news; interviews; industry news; trailers; posters; and box office. It appears every Wednesday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at the Korean Box Office Update and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

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Monday, November 14, 2011

Korean Box Office Update (11/11-11/13, 2011)

Weekend of November 11-13:

TitleRelease DateWeekendTotal
1Punch10/20/11462,6703,382,457
2Immortals (us)11/10/11391,317490,466
3Real Steel (us)10/12/11175,2532,850,840
4You're My Pet11/10/11158,219208,344
5Penny Pinchers11/10/11111,793158,337
6In Time (us)10/27/1133,774523,998
7Couples11/2/1128,850307,340
8Always10/20/1123,065987,972
9The Help (us)11/3/1114,56989,441
10A Reason to Live10/27/117,26694,243
-The Kick11/3/116,11145,660
-Mr. Idol11/3/113,74269,878
-King of Pigs11/3/111,9917,786
-The Crucible9/22/118534,668,645
-The Client9/29/115422,395,115


Punch led another strong weekend at the Korean box office with a total 1.44 million tickets sold, of which  55% were for Korean films.  This represented a slight uptick for tickets sold but a drop for Korean market share versus the same weekend last year.  Though, of late, many Korean films have been underperforming, the slack has been picked up by a handful of particularly successful films.  It's great to see so many Korean films stack up millions of admissions but also a little worrying that this is happening at the expense of many other films which are barely registering with moviegoers.

Despite some big competition from the just-released Immortals, Punch scored its fourth consecutive win with another big 462,670.  This is the first time it has dropped since it release, though a 35% decline versus last week's final figures is nothing to be worried about, in fact that percentage will likely shrink as the final count is tallied for this weekend's receipts.  The well-received picture now sits on 3,382,457 and will quickly cross 4 million with a very good chance of challenging for 5.  It remains to be seen whether the word of mouth as reached it zenith.  Like Sunny earlier this year, it is not inconceivable that it will increase again.

Immortals opened with 391,347, a respectable figure given how it has done in other territories.  Real Steel added another 175,253 (a 40% drop) and is now within striking distance of the 3 million mark.  If it crosses it, it will be only the fifth non-Korean film to do so this year, an impressive result.

You're My Pet managed a 158,219 opening weekend without the benefit of any previews last week.  For a mid-level film this is an okay start but if it drops fast next week, it won't be seen as a satisfactory result.  Similarly Penny Pinchers went wide this weekend with 111,793, another so-so opening that will be tested this coming weekend.

Despite some positive word of mouth, Couples completely fell apart, dropping a catastrophic 84%.  People who have seen it have expressed surprise at the film, expecting something mediocre and being delighted to be contradicted.  Is this poor result the fault of bad marketing?  Why is it that people assumed this was going to be a bad film?  Perhaps it never had a chance.

Always fell hard again, about 70%, but 23,065 weekend has brought it very close to the 1 million mark, which it will likely cross in the next week or 10 days.  Not a bad result but still a little underwhelming.

In Time and The Help also saw considerable drops this weekend, though the former, with over half a million admissions has had a decent performance.

After all but disappearing from marquees last weekend, A Reason to Live has bounced back, growing nearly 200%.  Though the resulting 7,266 weekend is not necessarily something to be jubilant about.  Still, the film is set to cross 100,000 admissions now so it will save some face.

The other of last week's openers, The Kick and Mr. Idol, fell 80% and 90% respectively.  Even with significant media coverage, these films have completely floundered at the box office.  What went wrong exactly? The Kick's failure does not bode well for further Thai-Korean co-productions or indeed for martial arts films in general while the dud that is Mr. Idol seems to show little overlap between the K-Movie and K-Pop worlds.


The Korean Box Office Update is a weekly feature which provides detailed analysis of film box office sales over the Friday to Sunday period in Korea. It appears every Monday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

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Friday, November 11, 2011

Weekly Review Round-up (11/05-11/11, 2011)

A massive haul this week with 50 reviews of a wide range of films, with a number for the popular War of the Arrows.  Many came as a result of the London Korean Film Festival but I also found a lot of new sources, including Hanguk Yeonghwa who, covering the LKFF, delivered no less than 6 writeups.

Enjoy!


CURRENT KOREAN RELEASES

(The Korea Times, November 10, 2011)

(Film Journal, November 4, 2011)

(hancinema.net, November 6, 2011)


RECENT RELEASES

A Better Tomorrow

(heyuguys.co.uk, November 7, 2011)

(Movie Habit, November 10, 2011)

Bleak Night

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, November 10, 2011)

(hancinema.net, November 5, 2011)

(Film Fracture, November 8, 2011)

(Movie Habit, November 8, 2011)

(Joong Ang Daily, November 4, 2011)

(London Korea Links, November 6, 2011)

(iCov, November 11, 2011)

Night Fishing

(Init_Scenes, November 8, 2011)

Sector 7

Sunny

The Day He Arrives

The Front Line

(Asian Movie Pulse, November 4, 2011)

The Journals of Musan

(Film 4, November 10, 2011)

(Init_Scenes, November 6, 2011)

War of the Arrows


PAST FILMS

Chunhyang, 2000
(bltnotjustasandwich.com, November 6, 2011)

D-Wars, 2007
(Bullet Reviews, November 7, 2011)

(Seen in Jeonju, November 9, 2011)

Going By the Book, 2007

(Spinetingler Mag, November 10, 2011)

(Otherwhere, November 8, 2011)

Taegukgi, 2004
(Hanguk Yeonghwa, November 1, 2011)

The Chaser, 2008
(Korean Class Massive, November 8, 2011)

(North Korean Films, November 6, 2011)


The Weekly Review Round-up is a weekly feature which brings together all available reviews of Korean films in the English language (and sometimes French) that have recently appeared on the internet. It is by no means a comprehensive feature and additions are welcome (email pierceconran [at] gmail [dot] com). It appears every Friday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News, and the Korean Box Office Update. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

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Thursday, November 10, 2011

Sector 7 (7-gwang-goo) 2011

Straight off the bat I can say that the most anticipated Korean blockbuster of 2011, aside from Christmas’ war epic My Way from Jang Je-gyu, is easily the worst film I’ve seen all year, no matter how you look at it.  It’s very easy to see what went wrong, one bad decision was made after another, with barely any right ones in between.  What is not so easy to understand is how things went wrong.  Though I would not label Sector 7’s filmmakers as the cream of the crop, they normally seem to know what they’re doing and consistently deliver solid, if overly sentimental fare.  They are endowed with a keen ability to whet Korea’s insatiable appetite for melodrama.

Oil rig bonding
Curiously, there is little to no melodrama in Sector 7.  It hints at it a few times but seems to abandon it in favor of concocting a copycat medley of rehashed Hollywood plot devices and production techniques.  It is truly a triumph of expectation over delivery as I cannot imagine any producer seeing a cut of this expensive bomb and proclaiming “We have a hit on our hands!”  The film’s pre-release exposure was enormous, everyone (at least in Korea and on the internet) knew about it being the first Korean 3D IMAX film, numerous posters and trailers were available, and the entertainment rags were all talking up Ha Ji-won’s arduous workout regimen.  When the day came, it opened very strong before the poisonous word of mouth pulled it right back out of theaters within weeks.

Clearly it was the intent of Yoon Je-kyoon (producer/writer) and Kim Ji-hoon (director) to copy every similar film that had met with a lot of success in the hope that their synthetic product would also be a big hit.  Ha Ji-won is basically an Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver’s iconic character in the Alien franchsie) stand-in, the oil rig is from Armageddon (1998), a major character’s death and resurrection is lifted from the first Lord of the Rings, the genesis of the monster is not dissimilar to Korea’s own The Host (2006), and the list goes on.

Ha Ji-won, tough as nails... apparently
In fact, the film is a veritable cornucopia of metanarratives.  Curiously, aside from lifting all of its plot elements, characters, set-pieces, and effects from other movies, it also has a link to the popular K-Drama Secret Garden (2010) which ends with Ha Ji-won’s stuntwoman character being given the script of Sector 7.  Clever synergy?  I suppose so.  Even stranger is that her characters in both the show and the film are identical.  Women that are physically strong but emotionally weak and incapable of making decisions.  Stranger still is that her tragically deceased father is incarnated by Jeong In-gi in both.  Everything about Sector 7 is constructed, even the sets aren’t real as most of it was shot on green screen.  As a result it barely feels like a film and the chief cause of this is just how badly it is made. 

Unlike Yoon’s previous blockbuster, the tsunami-themed Haeundae (2009), Sector 7 spares little time for scene-setting and character development. A brief underwater intro features a pair of oil drillers setting in place a pipe.  A couple of little glowing creatures swim around them, suddenly they attack and one of the men falls to his death.  Fast forward to the present where we are directly introduced to the hardy (but strangely Spartan) crew of an oil rig.  They are battling with a malfunctioning pipe and being doused in brute petroleum, no doubt reinforcing the intrinsic bond between them.  Cha Hae-joon (Ha Ji-won) is pretty but tough as nails and shows grit alongside the men.  A couple of scenes explore the relationships between the rig’s crewmen (and woman), which is to say that nothing happens.  One of those glowing creatures is found and then Anh Suh-kee (Hae-joon’s mentor) comes aboard to aid the exploration of the new underwater oil fields.  Of course he knows more than he lets on and blah blah blah blah blah…

The first of many oil rig bike scenes
What is it that can make a film go oh so wrong?  B-movies, as I’ve explored in my I Am a Dad review, benefit from lowered expectations.  Conversely, when you suffocate the nation’s media outlets for a month, touting your bigger-than-anything-you’ve-ever-seen-before-it blockbuster, you suffer from heightened expectations.  When you go down the latter route but produce a film on par (or below, as is the case) with the former course, you’re left with a big problem that is pretty much irreparable.  You’ve promised something spectacular and eventful but have completely failed to deliver.  Worse than a bad filmmaker, this makes you a liar.

More than anything else, and there’s a lot, two things bothered me the most about Sector 7.  One is the incomprehensibly bad rear-projection technique used in the bike sequences, of which there are four… on an oil rig.  The quality is what you would expect from the 30s or 40s not 2011, worse still is watching Ha Ji-won madly rev the bike and swoop down to her left and right sides, she actually looks like a little 6-year-old boy pretending to ride in a Grand Prix. Yoon, who also produced this summer’s Quick, seems to have a bike fetish.

Sacrifice: LOTR style
The second, and perhaps more upsetting point, is the film’s latent mysoginy.  Hae-joon embodies both male and female traits, the problem is that the male traits are the hero ones, and the female traits are all ugly stereotypes.  Additionally, for a film that attempts to make Ha Ji-won a consummate action star by pitting her as a conquering heroine against a vicious antagonist, the heroics are mostly reserved for the men.  Throughout the film, they are repeatedly sacrificing themselves, one of the characters does so twice! Another does so to save his friend, in what I’m assuming is supposed to be an emotional scene (no such luck).  After he does so, his friend remains rooted to the spot, whimpering, not trying to escape and is then quickly impaled.  In more able hands this might have been a clever send-up but no such attempt is made here, which begs the question, what was the point?

If you decide to get on board Sector 7, here’s what you can expect: wild lapses in logic, rampant misogyny, numerous laughably atrocious rear-projection motorcycle sequences, complete disregard for the natural laws of physiques, risible dialogue and matching delivery, an ugly monster that is never hidden from view, and perpetual references to superior films that it could never hope to match.  Your choice…


Reviews and features on Korean film appear regularly on Modern Korean Cinema.  For film news, external reviews, and box office analysis, take a look at the Korean Box Office Update, Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Review Round-up, which appear weekly on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings (GMT+1).

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Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Korean Cinema News (11/03-11/09, 2011)

A number of Korean sales at worldwide film markets this week, along with some festival, casting, and awards news.  Some fantastic features and interviews to boot, as well as some trailers and posters as per usual.  It seems Jang Jin will now be doing the Korean Saturday Night Live, while this sounds interesting does this mean he won't have time to make films anymore?

Enjoy!


KOREAN CINEMA NEWS

Finecut Sells Leafie to Italy, Launches New Films at AFM
Major South Korean sales company Finecut has sold hit animation Leafie to Mediterranea Productions for Italian-speaking territories at the Rome Film Festival’s Business Street market.  Mediterranea Productions plans to release the film in Italy on 50 screens with Italian dubbing.  (KOBIZ, November 3, 2011)

Jo Yeo Jeong to Bare it All Again in New Film
Filming for Royal Concubine, which has garnered immense interest from the screenwriting stage to casting, will begin on November 3 with confirmed leads Jo Yeo Jeong and Kim Dong Wook.  (enewsworld, November 3, 2011)

Korean Documentary The Color of Pain Invited to Int'l Film Fests
Korean documentary The Color of Pain has been invited to two upcoming international film festivals, according to the movie's distributor Cinemadal on Friday.  (asiae.co.kr, November 4, 2011)

Steven Spielberg Praised Park Chan Wook. “I Want to Work With Him.”
A Hollywood director, Steven Spielberg, praised Park Chan Wook who directed Old Boy (2003).  Section TV met Steven Spielberg in Europe on the 6th.  A reporter asked Steven Spielberg if he has ever watched Korean movies and he answered directly. Old Boy.  (Korea.com, November 6, 2011)

Putting the 'Han' in Korean Cinema: Meta-narratives and Cultural Identity
Where are Korea's happy endings?  If you have ever watched a Korean film you will know that they don't always conclude as they might have done if produced by Hollywood.  The characters and their stories seem to be influenced by an invisible force that marks a film as typically "Korea".  From its melodramas to revenge thrillers, there is something tragic and constant driving the Korean film culture, but what exactly?  (hancinema.net, November 5, 2011)

First Live Comedy Program in the Country, Directed by Jang Jin
Cable channel tvN attempts a live comedy show.  It has recently imported the rights to the American NBC comedy program Saturday Night Live.  The Korean SNL is aiming for the 3rd of December.  Director Jang Jin is the main writer for the Korean 'SNL'.  tvN stated, "He is the main writer and director who is putting his passion in the scripts and continuity."  (hancinema.net, November 8 2011)

Yoo Ji-tae Debuts as Feature Film Director
Actor Yoo Ji-tae is debuting as a movie director.  He is in charge of the movie Sanseberia, which Lotte Entertainment is producing and distributing.  According to his management, he completed the signing of contracts on November 8th and will start shooting sometime at the end of this year or next January.  (hancinema.net, November 8, 2011)

9ers Pre-Sells Miss Conspirator
South Korean sales company 9ers Entertainment has done a raft of sales at the American Film Market (AFM) on titles including Miss Conspirator, starring Ko Hyun-jung (Woman on the Beach, 2006), according to UK-based trade magazine Screen International.  (KOBIZ, November 7, 2011)

The nominations for the upcoming 32nd Blue Dragon Film Awards have been announced and The Front Line, War of the Arrows and Silenced lead the pack.  (AsianMediaWiki, November 6, 2011)

Saving World Through Cinema, Korean Style
In the film A Barefoot Dream, a failed Korean businessman trains a children's soccer team in strife-torn East Timor and helps the nation heal.  Not only this, but four more interesting tales were told at the just concluded Korean Film Festival here.  The tiny nation of South Korea can afford to only help heal a nondescript Timor.  Yet like A Barefoot Dream – based on a true story – shows, it is much more real and tangible than saving the world from aliens.  (daijiworld.com, November 5, 2011)

Riding the Wave
Since the first theatrical release in the UK of Lee Myung-Se’s wickedly innovative crime thriller Nowhere to Hide in 2001, South Korean cinema has emerged as one of the most dynamic, if not notorious, foreign national cinemas.  At the time of its release, in the absence of any immediate points of reference, critics compared it with the best known Hong Kong action films and hailed its director as the next John Woo.  (Glass, November 2, 2011)

Lee Byung-hun Mulling Historical Film Role
Actor Lee Byung-hun is considering appearing in a historical film, according to his agency BH Entertainment on Friday.  "He's looking into the movie after being offered a role in it although nothing has been decided as of yet," an official at BH said of the pic tentatively named I am the King of Joseon.
 (asiae.co.kr, November 4, 2011)

Korean documentary The Color of Pain has been invited to two upcoming international film festivals, according to the movie's distributor Cinemadal on Friday.  The official Facebook webpage of Cinemadal showed that Pain will be screened at the 13th annual Cinemanila International Film Festival to be held in Taguig in the Philippines from November 11 to 17.  (asiae.co.kr, November 4, 2011)

Actor Cha Seung-won got the title, "The Best Icon of 2011".  The "2011 Style Icon Awards" was held on November 3rd at CJ E&M Center in Seoul. Cha Seung-won won the "Style Icon of the Year" award, which is like the Grand Prize.  The 4th Annual "Style Icon Awards" is one of its kind in Korea, choosing characters who've introduced a new paradigm to life and style within the year.  (hancinema.net, November 3, 2011)

Films Probe Experimentalism, Human Rights
Korea has its fair share of thematic film festivals but a couple of upcoming events will offer moviegoers a unique opportunity to reflect on human rights in North Korea and the spirit of experimentalism in filmmaking.  The Off and Free International Film Festival (OAF) will hold its third edition from Nov. 17 to 23 in Seoul, offering fans zany alternatives to mainstream franchises.  (The Korea Times, November 3, 2011)

Only Second Time Around, but Korean Cinema is Definitely Down Under
South Korea and Australia are celebrating the last stretch of their Year of Friendship, with this year marking the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, bringing more attention to the second annual Korean Film Festival in Australia (KOFFIA).  (Yonhap News Agency, November 7, 2011)

Feel The Film Emotion With These Korean Movie Songs
Korean movie songs rock and it may be quite hard to choose which the best song because there are so many to choose from.  Nevertheless, here are six absolutely amazing songs you'll hear from your favorite Korean movies.  (Screen Junkies, November 8, 2011)
Kwon Soon Keun, 70, went from one of South Korea’s biggest celebrities to a Canadian immigrant, working in obscurity in a factory and running a variety store, far from the spotlight. But through seven decades of drastic change, his love for drums and percussion persisted. His story will be featured in a short documentary called A Drummer’s Passion, part of the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival. (yorkregion.com, November 7, 2011)

CJ Adds in the Pipeline Trio
South Korean major CJ Entertainment Inc. has added three new titles to its already bulging American Film Market sales line-up.  The additions are headed by sports drama As One, a period piece about North and South Korea playing table tennis in a United Korea team.  (Film Business Asia, November 4, 2011)


INTERVIEWS

Judy Ahn, Head of International Business, Showbox / MediaplexJudy AHhn is Head of International Business at Showbox / Mediaplex, the company responsible for the hit Korean War film The Front Line. Directed by Jang Hun, the film has been selected as South Korea’s entry for consideration to be nominated to the Oscars foreign language film category.  Kim Seong-hoon met with Ahn to talk about Showbox’s films and The Front Line in particular.  (KOBIZ, Nobember 7, 2011)

Dark, Brutal King of Pigs no Milquetoast Cartoon
You may love it or hate it. Regardless, animation director Yuen Sang-ho’s debut feature film The King of Pigs is different from anything you’ve been watching. (Joong Ang Daily, November 4, 2011)

The ‘Catcher’: Yoon Sung-hyun
Director Yoon Sung-hyun has been watching a lot of soccer games on TV lately.  It’s always been his favorite sport, and he’s been an avid fan since he was a child.  And though it’s only been two weeks since he won a prestigious film award, what pops in his head, when asked about recent days, is watching the sport, not winning his trophy.  (The Korea Herald, November 8, 2011)


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(Modern Korean Cinema, November 7, 2011)


Korean Cinema News is a weekly feature which provides wide-ranging news coverage on Korean cinema, including but not limited to: features; festival news; interviews; industry news; trailers; posters; and box office. It appears every Wednesday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at the Korean Box Office Update and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

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