Director Byun is known for directing “The Merciless,” which was invited as a midnight screening at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. His political drama film “Kingmaker” is set to hit theaters on Jan. 26, after its release was pushed back from the end of December due to the government’s toughened social distancing guidelines. Seol starred in both “Kingmaker” and “The Merciless.“ Along with Jeon an...

Even for veteran performer Song Se-byeok, 42, who debuted in 1988 as a stage actor, understanding the reckless character of Kyung-pil in the upcoming film “Special Cargo” by Park Dae-min was not easy. “Special Cargo” is a crime-action film that centers around a professional delivery driver named Eun-ha (Park So-dam). She delivers anything that cannot be delivered legally. One day, Eun-ha receive...

Park So-dam, one of the stars of the Oscar-winning “Parasite,” is returning to the big screen as a driver in the upcoming car chase film “Special Cargo” directed by Park Dae-min. “Special Cargo” is a crime-action film that centers around a special professional delivery driver Eun-ha (Park So-dam). She delivers anything that cannot be delivered legally. One day, Eun-ha receives a mission to deliv...

The eight-part series ranked in the fifth place as of Monday on the global Netflix chart, according to the US-based streaming analytics firm FlixPatrol. By Lee Si-jin ( sj_lee@heraldcorp.com )

"Spider-Man: No Way Home" has surpassed a cumulative 6 million admissions for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began in South Korea, box office data said Monday. The latest Marvel superhero film attracted 705,000 people from Friday-Sunday, bringing its combined total to 6.07 million, according to the data by the Korean Film Council. It is the first time a film has reached the 6 mil...

The King’s Man (UK) Opened Dec. 22 Action Directed by Matthew Vaughn In the early years of the 20th century, the Kingsman agency is formed to stand against the worst tyrants and criminal masterminds that joined hands to start a war and wipe out millions of people. Conrad (Harris Dickinson), who had witnessed World War I, hopes to join the army and fight for the country but his dad, Duke o...

“I don’t want to do a movie that shows bromance anymore. I don’t know why I keep getting a role that involves bromance,” he joked. Cho then spoke about what it was like to work with one of the stars of the Oscar-winning “Parasite.” “I thought of him as a cute chirping chick, but if you have seen the movie you would know that he has grown. You can find out what masculine charm really is through ...

Nonetheless, these problems are all resolved easily and idealistically in the movie. Also, rookie actor Jo Joon-young, who stars as a high school athlete in love with the most popular girl (Won Ji-an) in school, often shows his inexperience in the film. This is Jo’s first commercial film debut. Despite these defaults, the movie is still watchable. The rookie’s amateurishness is offset through ...

Local movies absent from top chart

Hollywood’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home” by Jon Watts is likely to overtake director Ryoo Seung-wan’s “Escape from Mogadishu,” which sold more than 3.61 million tickets this year. Ryoo’s film, which is so far the most-watched film this year, was released with support from the Korean Theater Association. The association’s members include the top three multiplex operators: CGV, Lotte Cinema and Megab...

Spider-Man: No Way Home (US) Opened Dec. 15 Action Directed by Jon Watts With Spider-Man‘s identity now revealed, Peter (Tom Holland) asks Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for help. But Doctor Strange’s spell goes wrong and dangerous foes from other worlds start to appear, forcing Peter to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man. Encanto (US) Opened Nov. 24 Animation Di...

South Korean director Erick Oh’s short animation “Namoo,” which means tree in Korean, on Wednesday made it onto the 94th Oscar shortlist after being nominated in the animated short film category. The Academy Awards will announce the final list of nominees on Feb. 9 and the awards ceremony will take place on March 27, 2022. Oh’s new animation follows the journey of a man’s life -- from beginning...

Gong Yoo, who previously made his Netflix debut with a brief appearance on “Squid Game,” was honored to take part in this project. “Unique setting, interesting scenario and amazing cast aside, I was personally interested in a dystopian world and stories about the near future,” said Gong. “I was disappointed that Korean contents were lacking in diversity, where similar stories and genres were con...

"Spider-Man: No Way Home," the latest Spider-Man series film, has topped a cumulative 3 million admissions at the fastest pace in the pandemic era, box office data showed Wednesday. The blockbuster attracted 196,000 people on Tuesday, bringing its combined total to 3.18 million on the seventh day following its release, according to the data by the Korea Film Council. Its pace outmatched that of...

To mark the end of the year, the Korean Film Council is screening a selection of films from Indieground’s “2021 Independent Movie Library.” The movie library is part of an Indieground project to promote Korean independent films to the public and find new distribution channels for filmmakers. For this year’s “Independent Movie Library,” a total of 727 films were submitted and 87 films -- 22 fe...