News

South Korea’s Barunson E&a has secured sales rights to The World Of Love, the next project of acclaimed Korean filmmaker Yoon Ga-eun, and is beginning talks with buyers at the EFM.

It marks the third feature by Yoon after debut The World Of Us, which premiered at the Berlinale in 2016, and The House Of Us, which screened at the BFI London Film Festival in 2019.

Her latest will focus on an enigmatic 17-year-old student named Jooin who is a cheerful friend, a shameless daughter, a mischievous girlfriend, and always hard to predict. More than anything, she is curious about and baffled by love.

Action-comedy Hitman 2 dominated the Korean box office for a second consecutive weekend, claiming 28% of admissions.

The film earned $1.3m from Friday to Sunday (February 7 to 9), according to Kobis, the Korean Film Council’s box office tracking service.

The sequel has grossed $15m since its January 22 release, surpassing original Hitman: Agent Jun, which took $14.1m in 2020, and pushing the film past its break-even point of 2.3 million admissions. Kwon Sang-woo reprises his role as secret agent-turned-webtoon artist who, in this instalment, is falsely accused of plotting a terrorist attack.

Ranking second was mystery romance Secret: Untold Melody, which added $937,000. Based on...

The South Korean box office saw “Hitman 2” continue its run at the top, though with a steep decline, while the new release “Nocturnal” landed in third place over the weekend of Feb. 7-9.

“Hitman 2,” the action-comedy sequel, remained in first place with KRW1.93 billion ($1.3 million), according to Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council. The film accounted for 27.8% of the market share but saw a sharp 52.9% decline in revenue and a 55.3% drop in admissions, with 201,556 viewers over the weekend. Its cumulative total has reached $15.04 million.

Musical romance “Secret: Untold Melody” moved up to second place with $936,515, taking 19.6% of the market share. The film experienced a relatively mild 9.7% decline and attracted 138,241 viewers, bringing its cumulative total to $3.7 million.

“Nocturnal,” a neo-noir crime thriller directed by Kim Jin-hwang, debuted in third place with $622,790, securing 13.% of the market share with 94,267 admissions in its opening weekend. The film stars Ha Jung-woo as Min-tae,...

South Korea’s Barunson E&a has boarded sales of fantasy animated feature Gill and will launch the title to international buyers at the European Film Market (EFM) in Berlin next week.

Directed by acclaimed animation filmmaker Ahn Jae-huun, the feature premiered in the Contrechamp competition of Annecy International Animation Film Festival last year.

The story centres on a young man and his grandfather who rescue a mysterious boy with gills and shimmering scales at the side of a river. Named Gon, he is welcomed into their family but is forced to leave after an unexpected accident exposes his secret.

It...

Lee Byung-hun’s career goes beyond Squid Game and is packed with standout roles across both Hollywood and Korean cinema, making him one of the most versatile actors of his time. His haunting performance as the masked Front Man garnered worldwide attention, particularly with Squid Game season 2's Player 001 twist.

Though Squid Game hid the Front Man’s identity for much of the first season, Lee’s intense presence shone through. For those intrigued by his complex and mysterious character, there are plenty of movies and TV shows to watch to explore the actor's incredible talent. As we wait for Squid Game season 3, Lee's other works offer a deeper look into why he’s a master at bringing unforgettable characters to life.

Ashfall (2019) Directed by Kim Byung-seo & Lee Hae-jun

Ashfall is an action-disaster movie where Lee Byung-hun plays a key role as Lee Joon-Pyeong, a North Korean spy who possesses...

It was a tense time in Korean history. In 1971, a young man named Kim Sang-tae hijacked a domestic passenger plane, demanding to be flown to North Korea. The story shocked the nation and highlighted societal tensions between North and South that continued long after.

Director Kim Sung-Han brings this tragic event to the screen with Hijack 1971. Starring Ha Jung-woo as Tae-In, a former fighter pilot now turned commercial co-pilot, the film recreates the nerve-racking drama that unfolded in the sky. We also meet security threat Yong-Dae, played compellingly by Yeo Jin-goo, who commandeers the plane mid-flight.

Shooting in his home country of South Korea and drawing on the real accounts, Kim Sung-Han aimed to honor those impacted while crafting an entertaining thriller. The review will discuss the characters’ emotional journeys, the visceral atmosphere of suspense in the close quarters of the plane, and how effectively the film addresses its profound historical backdrop even years later.

The ReportImage: Amazon

Even if it might be harder to navigate than any of its top-tier streaming peers, Amazon Prime Video still boasts a wide selection of films, including plenty of older movies that places like Netflix simply don’t care to host. That said, its turnover is frequent and subtle.

“Inside Out 2” enjoyed another stellar second weekend at the South Korean box office, and again led from local thriller “Hijack 1971.” But unlike in the previous session, the pair of frontrunners did not have the field to themselves. Local title “Handsome Guys” opened in third place and “A Quiet Place: Day One” fourth. with respectable numbers

“Inside Out 2” recorded a week-on-week drop of 31% to score $7.09 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from Kobis the box office tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). Its market share through the weekend was a still powerful 51%.

Those performances give the film a $39.3 million cumulative after 19 days in Korean cinemas. They also confirm “Inside Out 2” as the third highest-scoring film released in the country this year. It is also far ahead of “Wonka” as the most watched import title of 2024.

Holding on to second place was “Hijack 1971,...

"We're heading North. There's no dodging this." Sony Pictures has revealed the official trailer for an action thriller survival movie called Hijack 1971, based on a true story of a flight in winter of 1971. It just opened in South Korea last week, and will also be opening in select US theaters starting next week - glad to see them finally releasing films the same time they open in other countries. Hijack 1971, also known as just Hijacking in Korean, depicts the story of people fighting for their lives in an extreme situation when a passenger plane is hijacked in the air space of Korea in 1971. Starring Ha Jung-woo as Tae-in, the first officer of the plane; Sung Dong-il as Gyu-sik, captain of the flight; Yeo Jin-goo as Yong-dae, the terrorist hijacker; and Chae Soo-bin as Lee Ok-soon, a flight attendant on the flight. The hijacker used homemade grenades on a twin prop plane,...

“Inside Out 2” enjoyed a stellar second weekend at the South Korean box office, comfortably beating local thriller “Hijack 1971.”

The Pixar animation recorded a week-on-week drop of only 15% to score $10.3 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from Kobis the box office tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). Its market share through the weekend was a powerful 70%.

Those performances give the film a $28 million cumulative after 12 days in Korean cinemas. In that short time, “Inside Out 2” has become the third highest-scoring film released this year in the country. And it has overtaken ”Wonka” to be the most watched import title of 2024.

Opening in second place was “Hijack 1971,” a fact-based Korean kidnap story about an airplane hijacking during which an explosion caused the pilot to lose an eye. Starring Ha Jung-woo and Yeo Jin-goo, the film opened in second place It earned $3.36 million and...

Blue Finch Film Releasing presents A Bittersweet Life, The Foul King and The Chaser on digital platforms from 8 April. These must-see modern Korean cult cinema classics from acclaimed filmmakers Kim Jee-woon and Na Hong-jin, are exploding back onto screens, with The Foul King available in the UK and Ireland for the very first time.

A Bittersweet Life

Gangster Sun-woo (Lee Byung-hun) has worked his way up the ranks in his organisation, earning the trust of his callous crime boss Mr. Kang, who assigns him to spy on his mistress fearing she may be having an affair. When Mr Kang's suspicions are found to be true, Sun-woo finds his life on the line when his choice to spare the mistress and her secret lover's lives starts an irreversible gang war.

This ultra-stylish neo noir is written and directed by renowned filmmaker Kim Jee-woon, and features a career-defining performance from international star Lee Byung-hun,...

A scene from the Korean action drama-adventure Ransomed. Courtesy of Well Go USA.

South Korea has exported a slew of first-rate action flicks in the past few years, and Ransomed counts as another. Most have been based on cops vs. bad guys within the country. This one, supposedly based on real events, takes us to Lebanon in the 1980s. It also plies the waters of plot complexities and suspense more, without sacrificing the action component.

As factional wars rage within Lebanon, one group kidnaps a Korean diplomat, holding him for over a year before finally demanding a $5 million ransom. A foreign-service colleague, Min-joon (Ha Jung-woo), volunteers for the risky task of delivering the cash and returning with the hostage, even though he’s been a desk jockey without any military that would prepare him for the likely difficulties in achieving the rescue. Corrupt police are swarming the airport, waiting to...

Kim Seong-hun and Ha Jung-woo, the director-actor combo who gave us Tunnel, reunite for the second time on the winning buddy action-comedy Ransomed, the latest in a series of high-profile films based on recent real-life stories featuring Korean characters gallivanting in third world countries. This very specific subgenre, which also includes Ryoo Seung-wan's Escape from Mogadishu, The Point Men and the Netflix series Narco-Saints, also with Ha, popped out of nowhere when all these projects were announced in late 2019. Later joining the cadre was the Choi Min-shik led Disney+ series Big Bet. Ha plays Korean diplomat Lee Min-jun in the 1980s, who volunteers to engage in a daring plot to retrieve a fellow Korean diplomat, kidnapped in Lebanon 18 months earlier but yet to...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Ransomed is a South Korean action-adventure movie directed by Kim Seong-hun from a screenplay by Kim Jung-yeon and Yeo Jung-mi. Ransomed is loosely based on a true story and it follows a South Korean diplomat who is tasked with carrying the ransom money and leading the dangerous rescue mission to get his abducted colleague and friend back. But when things go awry he had to team up with a local taxi driver. The film stars Ha Jung-woo, Ju Ji-hoon, Anas El Baz, and Burn Gorman. So, if you loved Ransomed here are some similar movies you should check out next.

Argo (Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Warner Bros.

Synopsis: Oscar® winner Ben Affleck directs and stars in this real-life political intelligence dramedy based on a true story. Produced by George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures (Ides of March), this hostage rescue picture follows CIA “exfiltration” operative and master...

For many, Kim Seong-hun made one of the best non-serial killer South Korean thriller in “A Hard Day”. While he followed that up with the rather well-made but comparatively underwhelming “Tunnel”, he has since settled for creating a zombie-infested Joseon for Netflix's ultra-popular series “Kingdom”. For his much-awaited return to the big screen, he follows “Escape from Mogadishu” and “The Point Men” in adapting a real-life situation involving Korean diplomats finding themselves in a pickle overseas, for an action adventure feature presentation.

“Ransomed” is released by WellGo USA

Lebanon, 1986. A newly-deployed South Korean diplomat gets kidnapped and despite the government's best efforts, they are unable to find his whereabouts or even who his captives are. Without any ransom demands, the case hits a dead-end for more than a year, when suddenly one evening, Min-joon, a diplomat for the Iranian region in the Ministry of External Affairs, gets a phone...

On the 31st of January 1986, Do Chae-sung, second secretary at the South Korean Embassy in Lebanon, was taken captive in Beirut. Several foreign hostages were known to be held there at the time, as gangs controlled much of the city following massively destructive wars with Syria and Israel. Getting them out was an arduous business and not everyone survived – nor did those who went looking for them. Kim Seong-hun’s latest thriller is a fictionalised take on the recovery of Do.

In this take, it’s an ambassador, Oh Jae-seok, who is abducted, causing shock in a country unused to being caught up in events of this sort. A year later, diplomat Lee Min-joon (Ha Jung-woo) is working late one night in the Department of Foreign Affairs when he receives a telephone call with a secret code: it means that Oh is likely still alive. Departmental distrust in intelligence agency the.

Korea’s box office reached 70% of pre-pandemic levels of revenue in the first half of 2023, according to data released by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).

Korean action film The Roundup: No Way Out was the highest-grossing film of the period – pulling in $82M from 10.68 million admissions – followed by two Japanese animated features, Suzume and The First Slam Dunk, and U.S. titles Avatar: The Way Of Water and Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3.

Total box office for the period reached $475M (KRW607.8Bn), equivalent to 72.5% of average box office during the January-June period in 2017-2019, before Covid-19 shuttered cinemas and played havoc with release schedules.

As in many other territories, the recovery was partly due to ticket price increases, as admissions totalled 58.39 million, which is only 57.8% of the pre-pandemic average in the same period during 2017-2019.

While the top-grossing film in the first half was Korean, local films achieved only 54% of their pre-pandemic average,...

"You don't have to worry about who you can trust, if you just don't trust anyone." Well, I guess that's true? Sure, okay. Well Go USA has revealed an official trailer for a Korean action thriller titled Ransomed, which is apparently the final release title in addition to its name Unofficial Operation. This movie is set to open in theaters in the US at the exact same time as in Korea, starting in early August this summer - in just a few weeks. A young diplomat is assigned the task of carrying the ransom money to rescue an abducted diplomat in Lebanon, and a local taxi driver accidentally gets involved in the mission. When the plan goes awry, he is forced to team up with the driver—the only Korean expat he can find—and go deep into the heart of Lebanon in a final desperate attempt to bring their fellow countryman home.

Well Go USA will distribute both titles in select markets.

Well Go USA has revealed the North America theatrical release dates for South Korean thrillers Ransomed and The Moon.

Action drama Ransomed will roll out from August 4 and sci-fi survival drama The Moon is set for August 18. Both will receive theatrical releases in select markets.

Ransomed is directed by Kim Seong-hun of Netflix original series Kingdom and stars Ha Jung-woo of Narco-Saints and Ju Ji-hoon of Kingdom. Inspired by a true events that took place in 1986, it follows a young diplomat (Ha) who is assigned the task of carrying the...

In the realms of Asian cinema, where fascination and sadism frequently intertwine, the existence of a legion of unforgettable villains is not exactly a surprise. Menacing yakuza bosses, cruel moguls, serial killers, vengeful parents, trigger happy crime lords and rogue samurais among others have casted their sinister shadows and have left an indelible mark on the silver screen. With their complex motivations, chilling charisma, and uncanny ability to evoke both fear and fascination, these 30 villains have become iconic figures, embodying the depths of human malevolence. Join us as we delve into their twisted minds and explore the mesmerizing realm of Asian cinema's most unforgettable antagonists.

Without further ado, here are 30 of the most iconic villains ever to appear on Asian cinema, in random order.

1. Lee Woo-jin

The case of Lee Woo-jin in “Oldboy” shows the futility of revenge as an action for a man that could do so much with what he had,...

Kim Sung-hoon, the man responsible for terrific thrillers like “A Hard Day”, “Tunnel” and both seasons of Netflix's first original Korean series “Kingdom” is back with his new movie “Unofficial Operation” (previously titled “Ransomed”).

Synopsis

In Beirut 1986, during the Lebanese civil war a Korean diplomat is taken hostage without a trace. Two years pass and long forgotten, a young diplomat Min-joon receives a phone call proving that the hostage is still alive. With the given mission, Min-joon is sent to Beirut to save the hostage with a bag of ransom money. However, Min-joon gets into trouble as soon as he sets foot in Beirut. As luck would have it, Min-joon manages to flee from the airport with help from a local taxi driver Pan-soo who he stumbles across. Despite the distrust toward Pan-soo of his obvious mischievousness, the two unlikely allies must navigate the demolished, war-raging streets of Beirut...

The film is directed by Kim Seong-hun of Netflix series ‘Kingdom’.

South Korea’s Showbox has pre-sold action drama Ransomed to a raft of territories led by North America (Well Go USA) and Japan (The Klockworx).

The film has also sold to Hong Kong and Macau (Edko Films), Taiwan (MovieCloud), the Philippines (Viva Networks), Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar (Neramitnung Film), Vietnam (Lumix Media) and inflight (Kairos Distribution).

Directed by Kim Seong-hun of Netflix original series Kingdom and starring Ha Jung-woo of Narco-Saints and Ju Ji-hoon of Kingdom, Ransomed is inspired by a true event that took place in 1986.

It...

2022 was finally the year that the Korean box office, after the pandemic, was defibrillated back to life. Producers and distributors were finally confident that the time was right for big budget, blockbuster projects, that had long been queueing up for a release, to start making their way to the theatres. After having to resort to Ott streaming and generally smaller scale films, the audience too was hungry to see high-value productions, entertainment and their favorite stars on the big screen and thronged to the theatres, lapping up these releases. So much so that 2022 saw four new films make their way into the 100 highest grossing Korean films of all tie at the domestic box-office, with Ma Dong-seok’s “The Roundup” even rolling comfortably into the top 10.

2023 too began strongly, with the long-in-production “The Point Men” starring Hwang Jung-min and Hyun Bin and the Sol Kyung-gu led ensemble spy thriller “Phantom” opening the year strong.

Finecut will handle French-speaking territories.

South Korea’s Barunson E&a is set to launch sales on director Kim Jee-woon’s much-anticipated drama and black comedy Cobweb, starring Cannes best actor awardee Song Kang-ho of Broker, at the European Film Market (EFM).

The recently launched sales unit of the production company behind Bong Joon Ho’s Oscar-winning Parasite will handle the film’s international sales excluding French-speaking territories, which will be handled by leading independent Korean sales agent Finecut.

The film is produced by Anthology Studios, Barunson Studio (an affiliate of Barunson E&a), and Luz y Sonidos.

Cobweb has been...

Korea’s Barunson E&a, the production company behind Oscar-winning drama Parasite, is launching international sales on Kim Jee-woon’s Cobweb, starring Song Kang-Ho, at the upcoming European Film Market (EFM) in Berlin.

The star-studded black comedy drama is the fifth on-screen collaboration between Song and director Kim, whose credits include gritty noir A Bittersweet Life (2005), revenge thriller I Saw The Devil (2010), ‘Kimchi’ western The Good, The Bad, The Weird (2008), period spy action The Age Of Shadows (2016), and recent AppleTV+ series Dr. Brain (2021).

Set in the 1970s, an era in which censors dictated the shape of a film’s plot, Cobweb stars Song as an obsessive director on a mission to reshoot the end of his latest film, Cobweb, in two days to create a masterpiece. His attempts are constantly thwarted by the censors and his confused and uncooperative cast and crew.

In addition to Song, the star-studded ensemble cast includes Im Soo-jung,...

Exclusive: UTA has signed South Korean filmmaker Na Hong-Jin in all areas, as well as his production company, Forged Films.

The director, producer, and screenwriter is best known for his 2016 horror thriller The Wailing, which debuted at Cannes. Fox International Productions and Ivanhoe Pictures co-produced and co-financed the pic, which grossed 16.5M at open, becoming Fox’s biggest launch in Korea.

The movie centers on the arrival of a mysterious old stranger in an otherwise quiet village. As rumors begin to spread about him, the villagers drop dead one by one, grotesquely killing each other for inexplicable reasons. When the daughter of the investigating officer falls under the same savage spell, he calls for a shaman to assist in finding the culprit.

Na’s other credits include the 2008 action romp The Chaser and the 2010 thriller Yellow Sea, starring Ha Jung-woo, Kim Yoon-seok, and Lee Yoo-Mi.

More recently, Na collaborated as...

Comedy drama sold to North America and a raft of Asian territories.

South Korean distributor Showbox has closed pre-sales deals in North America and Asia on Men Of Plastic, an upcoming comedy drama starring Don Lee (aka Ma Dong-seok).

The film has sold to North America (Capelight), Taiwan (Moviecloud), Japan (At Entertainment), Hong Kong and Macau (Edko Films), Thailand (Cj Enm Hk), the Philippines (Viva Communications), Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and Vietnam (Purple Plan), and in-flight (Eagle International).

Directed by Im Jin-soon (Ordinary People), it stars Lee – whose credits include Marvel’s Eternals and Korean box office hit The Roundup...

Hollywood turned out for the Academy Museum of Motion Picture’s second annual gala on Saturday, raising 10 million in support of the museum’s access, education and programming initiatives.

The star-studded affair was presented by Rolex, the founding supporter and official watch partner of the Academy Museum, and co-chaired by Academy Award-winning actresses Halle Berry and Lupita Nyong’o and museum trustees Jason Blum (“The Black Phone”) and Ryan Murphy (“The Watcher”).

The celebratory evening also honored four Hollywood icons: George Clooney presented Oscar winner and “Ticket to Paradise” co-star Julia Roberts with the inaugural Academy Museum Gala Icon Award. The Visionary Award was presented to Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton by longtime friend and collaborator Luca Guadagnino (the upcoming “Challengers”). This year’s Vantage Award was presented by “Nope” star Daniel Kaluuya to Academy Award-winning director, producer, and writer Sir Steve McQueen for his work “helping to contextualize and challenge dominant narratives around cinema.

Click here to read the full article.

The Asian Content Film Market (Acfm), the Busan International Film Festival’s industry platform, wrapped up this week with organizers and market participants voicing a mix of optimism and concern for the post-pandemic state of the movie market.

The event, which was held in the city’s massive Bexco convention center, attracted 1,059 companies and 2,185 industry participants from 48 countries over four days — the highest attendance rate since the market launched in 2006.

The European Pavilion, which was jointly established by the European Film Promotion (Efp) and Unifrance, was staffed by representatives from 39 companies, while major Korean distributors and streaming services, including Disney+ and Netflix, participated in the Busan Story Market, the venue for intellectual property (IP) pitches, which introduced new projects from the region.

A market insider who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Hollywood Reporter that Acfm could potentially become the primary platform...

Click here to read the full article.

The government of Suriname is considering taking legal action against the producers of Netflix’s new Korean original series Narco-Saints over the way the country is portrayed in the show.

Released globally last week, Narco-Saints is loosely based on real-life events from the early 2000s. The show, titled Suriname in Korea, tells the story of an ordinary entrepreneur who risks his life to join a secret mission to capture a Korean drug lord operating in the Latin American country. The show was created by acclaimed filmmaker Yoon Jong-bin (The Spy Gone North) and stars Ha Jung-woo (Ashfall, Entourage).

But the government of Suriname says Netflix has gone too far in portraying the country as a “narco-state,” with story elements that highlight outdated “crime and cross-border activities” that the people of Suriname have worked hard to expunge.

“Suriname no longer has the image that...

For the first time in an illustrious career spanning 32 years, South Korean superstar is set to appear in a tv drama with “Uncle Sam-sik”.

Almost all Korean superstars have begun their careers on the small screen or have made periodic appearances in tv series, be it Choi Min-sik, Lee Byung-hun, Ha Jung-woo, Hwang Jung-min or many more. Song Kang-ho, however, was an exception so far, having made the jump from theatre to feature films rather swiftly and effectively early on in his career. That is to change now though, as he is confirmed to appear in the leading role in director Shin Yeon-shik’s “Uncle Sam-shik” (literal title).

“Uncle Sam-sik” will be a 10-episode series and, accordingly to Asia Gyeongje, will follow the bromance between a pair of long-time friends, Sam-shik and Kim-san, who survived South Korea’s turbulent 1960s period together. It must be noted that this...

It’s an occassion when a prominent director does a tv series project, in this case Yoon Jong-bin, who brought us hard-hitting hits like ”Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time” and ”The Spy Gone North”. But it’s another massive occassion when he brings together for the first time two of the biggest Chungmuro actors.

Synopsis

Based on an incresible true story, this is the life-threatening journey of Kang In-gu, a civilian businessman who has no choice but to cooperate with the secret operation of the National Intelligence Service to catch Jeon Yo-hwan, the Korean drug lord who has taken control of Suriname.

Yoon Jong-bin has managed quite a casting coup for this Netflix series, bringing together Ha Jung-woo (who he worked with on ”Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time”) and Hwang Jung-min (his star in “The Spy Gone North”), two of the most bankable Korean superstars and members of elite 100 Million Viewers Club,...

The major South Korean investor-distributor got a 108.4m investment from Maum Capital Group in April.

In South Korea, major investor-distributor Showbox has announced plans to increase its global competitiveness with a new infusion of capital and a creator-centred business model for K-contents.

At a media event in Seoul on June 15, Showbox CEO Do Soo Kim revealed the company had received an investment of 108.4m (KW140bn) from Silicon Valley-based Maum Capital Group (McG) in April and plans to use it to expand its platform value chains to metaverse and NFTs.

Kim said the company is focusing on partnering with creators...

After a great couple years that 2019 and 2020 were for South Korean cinema, big things were expected in 2021. With the virus situation calming down briefly and providing some relief, it looked set to be a promising year, as productions that were halted kicked back into gear and high-profile films that were awaiting release finally started to find their way back to the theatres. However, in terms of the quality of the output that we received, it would be safe to say that the industry could not quite capitalise on the success of the preceding two years and in fact can be seen taking a step back in 2021.

In any case, from what we did get, here are the best South Korean film of 2021, in reverse order. Some films may have premiered in 2020, but since they mostly circulated in 2020, we decided to include them.

15. Hard Hit (Kim Chang-ju)

Busan plays racetrack for the story,...

Serial killer thrillers are common fodder for South Korean cinema, with some of the best features in the sub-genre coming from the country and indeed, some of the best features from the country being in this sub-genre. Every year sees a number of releases about psychotic killers to varying responses from the audiences and critics. While 2020 was a tepid year from films in general, 2021 has so far fared much better and thus of course serial killer films would also make a return. One such release is “Midnight”, which saw a hybrid release both in theatres and on the local streaming platform Tving. A release which was pretty much swept under the radar due to a lack of a strong marketing campaign, it benefited from a strong word of mouth upon release.

“Midnight” is screening at Fantasia International Film Festival

Hearing impaired Kyeong-mi lives with her mother and works in a customer service centre.

“The Berlin File” was a big box office success during its screening in S. Korea, reaching million admissions after 14 days of release,[42][43] and eventually a total of 7.17 million admissions. Back in 2015, Ryoo Seung-wan stated that he was planning a sequel to screen in 2017, but the project has yet to materialize.

Pyo Jong-seong is a North Korean spy who lives in Berlin with his wife, Ryun Jung-hee, a translator for the local embassy. During an arms deal involving Pyo, Russians, Middle Eastern terrorists, South Koreans and the Mosad that goes horribly wrong, he discovers evidence that he may be set up by his own country. Moreover, CIA, a ruthless North Korean agent named Dong Myun-soo, and a South Korean agent named Jung Jin-soo come into the picture, complicating the case even more. Pyo has to decide who betrayed him and choose sides.

Ryoo Seung Wan wanted a film...

We have a special list of 2021 4 Most Anticipated Feature Films On Ott that is showing son! Check it out!

1. Shershah(Amazon Prime)

Bio-pic on Paramvir Chakra winner Vikram Batra promises to be a moving inspiring edifying tale . Said to be Siddharth Malhotra’s own Gunjan Saxena, the actor has given his career’s best as Batra and gone out of his way to explore the soldier’s world penetrating the heart of the theme , to answer that age-old question: what makes a man give up his life for his country?. The agony of the family on losing its loved one is recorded with a dignity and poignancy that will be long-remembered. Directed by Vishnu Vardhan and produced by Karan Johar, Shershah streams from 12 August.

2. Bhuj: The Pride Of India (Disney-Hotstar)

Another true-life tale of a soldier’s valour, this one features the redoubtable Ajay Devgan as Iaf squadron Vijay...

Capelight Pictures and Dark Sky Films have announced the December 15th release of The Closet on digital platforms and DVD. The film is written & directed by Kwang-bin Kim and stars Jung-woo Ha (The Handmaiden, Ashfall, Chaser), Yool Heo (Mother), Nam-gil Kim (Memoir of a Murderer, The Fiery Priest) and Sung-woong Park (New World, Rugal).

Official Film Synopsis:

After the tragic death of his wife, architect Sang-won moves into a new home with his daughter, Ina, hopeful to restore their relationship. Despite his efforts, Ina feels increasingly neglected by her busy father. She starts keeping to herself more and more and turns to strange noises from within her closet for comfort.

Meanwhile, Sang-won is plagued by eerie nightmares and soon after, Ina disappears without a trace. While searching for her, Sang-won meets the enigmatic Kyung-hoon who claims to know Ina‘s whereabouts. Desperate to find his daughter, Sang- won reaches out to open the mysterious closet.

"Take me with you..." Dark Sky Films has released an official US trailer for the Korean horror thriller The Closet, directed by Kwang-bin Kim. This already opened in South Korea in February this year, and arrives in the US to watch this fall. After Sang-Won's daughter Yi-Na goes missing in their new home, a mysterious man approaches him and tells him to look for her in the closet. The film is about a man who grows apart from his daughter following the death of his wife, and a mysterious exorcist who helps the man find his missing daughter. The supernatural film stars Jung-woo Ha, Yool Heo, Nam-gil Kim, and Si-ah Kim. The looks like it's borrowing some horror concepts from Poltergeist and Insidious and working them into a story of a grieving father. However, I don't know why this trailer is dubbed in English - very strange choice. Here's the...

Welcome back to Let’s Scare Bryan to Death, where this month I have a very interesting treat. Those who remember my interview with Alexandra West about the movie Pyewacket know we both loved it, so this month I’m thrilled to have a chat with the film’s director, Adam MacDonald, who you might also know from his film Backcountry and the third season of Slasher.

For this month’s film, we’re taking a look at MacDonald’s favorite of all time, a South Korean thriller from Hong-jin Na called The Chaser (2008). Now, I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical based on the synopsis provided by IMDb: A disgraced ex-policeman who runs a small ring of prostitutes finds himself in a race against time when one of his women goes missing.

From that synopsis I was expecting something overly stylized and action-oriented like Taken,...

MaryAnn’s quick take… The intrigue, shifting alliances, and twisted revenge? Delicious, pulpy fun. The male-gazey soft-core porn that undermines the female protagonists? Not so much. I’m “biast” (pro): I’m desperate for stories about women

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

I have not read the source material

(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)

In Japanese-occupied 1930s Korea, a Korean con man (Jung-woo Ha) and a Korean pickpocket (Tae-ri Kim) conspire to steal the fortune of sheltered Japanese heiress Lady Hideko (Min-hee Kim). He will pose as “Count Fujiwara” and woo Hideko, while thief Sook-Hee will become Hideko’s shy new maid “Tamako” and convince the lady to run off with the handsome and romantic count instead of marrying her hideous widowed uncle-by-marriage Kouzuki (Jin-woong Jo), who of course is (also) only after his niece’s money. The plan is, after “Fujiwara” and Hideko are wed,...

Chicago – Although “The Handmaiden” is based in deceit, fetishes, thievery and subservience, director Park Chan-Wook (“Stoker”) keeps it light by the addition of some subversive humor, and weaves a mystery with a pitch that is like the “The Sting” meets “In the Realm of the Senses.”

Rating: 4.0/5.0

Yes, there is eroticism in the film, but it is presented as a plot motivator, and is also used as a great punch line. Mostly the step-by-step story, told by emphasizing different elements of the same situation, seeks comeuppance for the evil that lurks within, even though all the players seem to have some level of larceny in their souls. That edge is the fun, as some characters end up bumbling in their own hubris, while others stay one step ahead of what could be their downfall. The dark mystery/comedy of Hitchcock, the cross cutting of Kurosawa and even the wackiness of...

This December 24th Ryoo Seung-wan’s The Berlin File is debuting on DVD from Cj Entertainment. The Berlin File stars Jung-woo Ha (winner of the Best Actor award for this performance at the 2013 Baek Sang Art Awards), Suk-kyu Han (Eye for an Eye), Seung-beom Ryu (Perfect Number, Doomsday Book) and Gianna Jun (The Thieves, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan). The bonus materials include deleted scenes and “The Making of The Berlin Files,” a behind-scene scenes featurette.

Synopsis

A tense illegal arms deal in a Berlin hotel suddenly descends into mayhem after a “ghost” agent named Jong-Seong (Jung-woo Ha) appears on the scene. Secretly watching the deal go down is embattled South Korean intelligence chief Jin-soo (Suk-Kyu Han), the North Koreans and the CIA, who are all left trying to decode whether the ghost is a double-agent or taking the fall for a more insidious plot. Myung-soo (Seung-beom Ryu) a young,...

Plot75% Acting85% Directing80% Music75%Agile, cool spy thriller with great action scenes and interesting story development.A bit too shallow and safe. 79%Overall Score Reader Rating: (3 Votes)98%

I can’t say I’m disappointed in ‘The Berlin File’. Seung-wan Ryoo, its director, did everything I expected… but not everything that I wanted. And I can hardly blame him. Although espionage is nothing more than the dark side of politics, real politics are rarely addressed in spy movies, at least in a non-standardized and meaningful way. But, if you can ignore that, then it’s not a problem, really. So, why take the chance? Nobody expects to see politics in a movie, anyway. For me it was like watching a juggler flip three power saws… without turning them on. You can’t expect him to do it, but then again, why use power saws if not for the added risk? I don’t expect it,...

DVD Release Date: Dec. 24, 2013

Price: DVD $26.98

Studio: Cj Entertainment

Ha Jung-woo goes for the gun in The Berlin File.

Korean action auteur Ryoo Seung-wan (City of Violence, Crying Fist) delivers his signature style to the East meets West double agent intrigue in the 2012 Korean action thriller film The Berlin File.

Exposed during an illegal arms trade gone wrong in Berlin, a North Korean “ghost” agent (Ha Jung-woo) finds himself in the cross-hairs of an international manhunt. Caught between his love of country and his wife (Gianna Jun), he must quickly prepare to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Along with Jung-woo Ha (winner of the Best Actor award for this performance at the 2013 Baek Sang Art Awards), the cast includes Suk-kyu Han (Eye for an Eye), Seung-beom Ryu (Perfect Number) and Gianna Jun (Snow Flower and the Secret Fan).

Presented in Korean with English subtitles, the DVD includes deleted scenes and “The Making of The Berlin Files,...

★★☆☆☆ Missions, murders and conspiracies: the basic recipe for almost all of Seung-wan Ryoo's films. His ninth feature, The Berlin File (2013), borrows a similarly seething framework to Dachimawa Lee (2008), all about spies and the threat of North Korea. This is certainly timely given Western paranoia over a nuclear Pyongyang, but Ryoo's new piece is a failed attempt at disentangling the complex web of corruption and browbeating politics cooked up between the military and government. Plotting this film is basically folly, as it clings to the idea that the action sequences will be so mesmerising you won't need to know what's going on.

Pyo (Jung-woo Ha), a North Korean secret agent, is sent undercover to expose an illegal arms deal but is soon caught up in a North-South espionage nightmare, where traitors defect and then re-defect, cameras film other cameras and Pyo is left wondering who has betrayed him: his wife or his political overlords.

If you want a Bourne Identity-type thriller with a Korean twist, you’ve come to the right place. Cj Entertainment has released the trailer for the blockbuster spy thriller The Berlin File arriving in the States next month.

Ryoo Seung-wan’s latest film was shot on location in Berlin and Eastern Europe, starring Jung-woo Ha, Han Suk Kyu, Ryoo Seung-bum and Gianna Jun.

From the director of Arahan and City of Violence, Ryoo comes back to the genre with his most ambitious project yet and intends to deliver the twisty tale of political intrigue and personal redemption.

The Berlin Files is expected to make a big splash when it opens in South Korea on January 31st and will hit U.S. and Canadian theaters February 15th, 2013.

Check out the official Us trailer for Ryoo’s first film since 2010s The Unjust including trademarks like crazy violence and neo-noirish elements like...

"A ghost?" Thanks to a tip from Quint on AICN, there's a trailer to watch for a spy-action-thriller film called The Berlin File, directed by Seung-wan Ryoo of films like The City of Violence, Crying Fist and No Blood No Tears. It pretty much looks like an action-packed Korean mix of Jason Bourne and James Bond in the tone of Infernal Affairs, which they sort of briefly make fun of anyway with that line about "arms deals, spying, assassination, deception." The cast includes Jung-woo Ha, Han Suk Kyu, Ryoo Seung-bum and Gianna Jun. It looks good, but the funniest part is the "revenge is a dish best served cold" line. Enjoy! Watch the official Us trailer for Seung-wan Ryoo's The Berlin File, on YouTube (via AICN): Action auteur Seung-wan Ryoo (Die Bad, No Blood No Tears, Crying Fist, The City of Violence) comes back to the genre with...

“Arahan” and “Crying Fist” director Seung-wan Ryoo hops into the deadly spy game with the new South Korean actioner “The Berlin File”, starring some of South Korea’s powerhouse actors. The action doesn’t look too bad, either. Check out a brief 30-second teaser trailer for the film, which is set on location in Berlin, Germany, and from the looks of it, is going to be one intense thrill ride. The plot goes something like this: Exposed by their government, a North Korean spy and his wife attempt to escape pursuing Korean agents as they flee Berlin. The film stars Gianna Jun (of “Blood: The Last Vampire” fame, though she’s still much more famous worldwide for the romcom hit “My Sassy Girl”), Jung-woo Ha, Seung-beom Ryu, and Han Suk Kyu (no stranger to spy movies himself with hits like “Shiri” and “Double Agent” under his belt). South Korea gets...

Special Mention: The Fake Trailers from Grindhouse (2007, USA): The four fake trailers featured in the otherwise disappointing Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino double-feature: Machete by Robert Rodriguez, Werewolf Women of the SS by Rob Zombie, Thanksgiving by Eli Roth and Don’t by Edgar Wright-are all very entertaining trips down horror/exploitation film memory lane and are easily the best part of the film.

****

2) Other Notable Horror Films Of The 2000’s:

This list focuses on films that are partially successful and even touch on brilliance at times but ultimately don’t pull everything together to fully deliver on their promise.

Intacto (Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, 2001, Spain):

This film about a group of people blessed with supernatural good luck has a great premise, several great scenes-the revelation of the plane crash early in the film, the blindfolded race through the trees and the Russian roulette climax-plus the welcome presence of...