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Netflix’s latest Korean romance-mystery drama, The Trunk, questions the basis of conjugal relationships in a time when increasingly fragmented lifestyles have created an existential crisis—pitting self-centered endeavors against the notion of companionship. The idea of marital relationships functioning solely on the basis of personal necessities, as a transactional affair, is an extension of issues like fear of commitment, emotional baggage, lack of self-reflection, and acceptance of personal drawbacks. Needless to say, exploring topics such as these will need the backing of strong performances by the cast, something which The Trunk doesn’t lack one bit. The complexities of the emotional intricacies of the narrative were expertly handled by the ensemble cast, allowing viewers to relate with the characters and even the supporting cast, a number of whom played the role of comic relief, proving their excellence with the roles they were given.

Han Jeong-won Played By Gong Yoo...

Intimacy coordinators, basically delicate choreographers for sex scenes, are not new to Hollywood productions. But this may be a first.

For the Paramount+ with Showtime limited series “A Gentleman in Moscow,” in which Ewan McGregor plays a Russian aristocrat banished to a bleak hotel room during the early days of the Soviet Union, the actor told Britain’s Radio Times that the production still used an intimacy coordinator for one romantic sequence, even though his scene partner was Mary Elizabeth Winstead, his wife of two years.

“We did have an intimacy coordinator!” McGregor said, when it was suggested he probably didn’t need one. “It’s still necessary, because it’s also about the crew, and it’s odd to be naked in front of people, it’s odd to be intimate in front of the camera. If you were doing a dance scene, you’d have a choreographer. It...

As it is, Believer was not a fantastic movie; in fact, it’s a grain of sand on the shore that is the Korean action film industry. It’s not unusual to have great expectations from a country that has given us action-packed spectacles like Oldboy, I Saw the Devil, or most recently, Ballerina, and it’s equally fair to be disappointed. Personally, Believer wasn’t anything special on its own, and in an attempt to make a twisted film, the story got lost within itself, making for a convoluted film with an open ending. Now, we get Believer 2, a (very unnecessary) sequel to a rather mediocre movie. At least the first part had a decently cohesive story, though. Believer 2 follows Detective Won-Ho (again) as he continues his search for Asia’s (supposed) biggest drug-ring mastermind, Mr. Lee, along with looking for Rak, the inside man who got away.

Disney+ has announced that Moving, an adaptation of Kang Full’s popular webtoon, has become the most-watched Korean original on Disney+ globally and Hulu in the U.S. based on hours streamed after its first seven days.

The 20-episode series, which started streaming on August 9, has also become the most watched series on Disney+ across the Asia Pacific region and the biggest premiere on Disney+ in Korea to date.

Produced by Studio&New, the series stars Ryu Seungryong (Extreme Job), Han Hyojoo (The Beauty Inside) and Zo Insung (Escape From Mogadishu) in the story of three teenagers who have inherited unusual physical powers from their secret agent parents.

While on the surface they look like ordinary high school kids, each has the power to transcend a different physical limitation, but with outside forces keen to exploit these talents, their parents know it’s safer to keep them hidden away.

“The global...

The Busan International Film Festival has unveiled its selections for the popular Korean Cinema Today – Special Premiere and On Screen strands.

The On Screen section, introduced in 2021, showcases series and this year boasts six world premieres – five from Korea and one from Indonesia.

Tving show “I Am a Running Mate,” about an ordinary student trying to become student president marks the directorial debut of Han Jin-won, winner of best original screenplay as a co-writer for Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite.” The series merges the coming-of-age genre with elements of a political drama, and stars Yoon Hyun-soo, Lee Jung-sic, Choi Woo-sung, Hong Hwa-yeon and Lee Bong-jun. Three of the nine episodes will screen at the festival.

“The Deal,” a Waave original series, is a tale of criminal intrigue in which two young men kidnap their friend and demand KRW10 billion ($7.5 million) as ransom. The cast features Yoo Seung-ho’s streaming debut alongside Kim Dong-hwi,...

Exclusive: On August 9, Disney will drop the first seven episodes of its adaptation of Korean artist Kang Full’s Moving webtoon worldwide on Hulu and Disney+.

Directed by Park Inje (Kingdom Season 2), the 20-episode series tells the story of three teenagers who have inherited unusual physical powers from their secret agent parents.

While on the surface they look like ordinary high school kids, each has the power to transcend a different physical limitation like gravity, speed or pain. But with outside forces keen to exploit these talents, their parents know it’s safer to keep them hidden away.

Lee Jungha (Run On), Go Younjung (Sweet Home) and Kim Dohoon (The Law Café) play the teenagers, while the parents are played by Ryu Seungryong (Extreme Job), Han Hyojoo (The Beauty Inside) and Zo Insung (Escape From Mogadishu). You can watch the trailer here.

Kang Full, who also wrote the screenplay for the series,...

Multi-starrer Christmas films have been being released around the holiday season for a while now and the fad seems to have finally reached South Korean shores. After “New Year Blues” last year, this year sees director Kwak Jae-yong, who is no stranger to the mushy romance genre after having made such classics as “My Sassy Girl”, “Windstuck” and “The Classic”, take on a similar project, with a massive star-cast boasting of impressive talents both young and young-at-heart.

Synopsis

The story of people who met each other at Hotel Emros during the New Year holidays, each with their own stories and creating relationships in their own ways.

As expected from the storyline, the characters are divided in both the staff and guests working in the Hotel. The staff comprises of Han Ji-min (“Miss Baek”), who plays the hotel manager, Lee Dong-wook (“The Beauty Inside”) as the hotel’s CEO, Yoona (“Exit”) as the receptionist,...

Take a look at actress Caitriona Balfe, aka 'Claire Randall' in "Outlander" Season 5, premiering February 16, 2020 on Starz, posing for "InStyle" magazine:

In 1999, while studying drama at the 'Dit Conservatory of Music and Drama'...

....Balfe was appoached to work as a fashion model in Paris.

She was then featured both in advertising campaigns and on runways for brands including...

..."Victoria's Secret", "Dolce & Gabbana", "Moschino", "Roberto Cavalli", "Max Mara", "Bottega Veneta", "H&m" and "Oscar de la Renta".

Prior to "Outlander", Balfe appeared in feature films including "Super 8", "Now You See Me" and "Escape Plan".

She also had leading roles in "The Beauty Inside", "Crush" and "H+: The Digital Series".

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek Caitriona Balfe...

Emilia Clarke has been busy. After eight seasons and nearly a decade spent starring as Daenerys Targaryen on “Game of Thrones,” the four-time Emmy nominee is looking to reset her acting career.

During the show, she had plenty of feature-film side projects, including starring roles as iconic heroine Sarah Connor in “Terminator Genisys” and a key part as Han Solo romance Qi’ra in the standalone Star Wars films “Solo: A Star Wars Story.” Both films were just as demanding as “Thrones,” with significantly less returns, as each proved to be disappointing entries (both critically and in terms of box office take) in two enduring franchises. That’s not how Clarke wants to spend her time anymore.

“For 10 years, I was either on ‘Game of Thrones’ or I was doing a different movie, and if I wasn’t doing a different movie, I was promoting a different movie or I was promoting ‘Game of Thrones,...

Does everything under the label of cinema has to be completely original? Of course not, because otherwise we would not be able to enjoy precious little thing called genre. Genre works on the terms of archetypes, and, for added bonus, if we are lucky, it innovates or even creates them. “Golden Slumber” directed by Noh Dong-seok works as a stellar example: it is hardly original, but it is well-made and fun to watch. After a successful stretch in theatres world-wide, especially in East Asia, it is being shown at Florence Korea Film Festival.

“Golden Slumber” is screening at Florence Korea Film Fest

It is a recognizable riff on the trope called “wrong man wanted”, with our unlikely hero Kim Gun-woo being framed for assassination of a leading presidential candidate. Otherwise, he is a happy-go-lucky delivery guy who became a minor celebrity for being a model citizen and saving a K-Pop star from mugging,...

Throne of elves

This Chinese fantasy cartoon tells about the world of elves. A grand celebration is being prepared in their country – the elf princess is getting married. A warrior called Lambert is invited to the wedding. He does not realize that the queen of the black elves is planning to spoil the event by stealing a valuable relic. But it is he who decides to face the villain.

The Crossing 2

This film is a joint production of China, Japan, South Korea, and the United States. Our characters are aboard the ship called Taiping. There is drama, there is love, and there is the fear of death.

The Beauty Inside

Recently, Korean love films were replenished with a masterpiece by director Song Hyun-Wook who combines science fiction and melodrama. The main character has a stable inner world, but his appearance changes every morning. How can you love a guy like that?...

Police procedural comedies are more often than not a fun ride. The latest to tackle the genre is director Lee Byung-heon with his new film “Extreme Job”.

Synopsis

A drug squad consists of 5 detectives: Detective Squad Chief Go, Detective Jang, Detective Ma, Detective Young-Ho and Detective Jae-Hoon. The team attempts to take down a criminal organization and they must go undercover to do so. The detectives begin work as employees at a chicken restaurant across the road, but the chicken restaurant becomes famous for its delicious chicken. Due to the restaurant’s unexpected popularity, the detectives find themselves in a situation they never expected.

Director Lee Byung-heon is no stranger to comedy, with his previous two films “Twenty” and this year’s sleeper hit “What A Man Wants” both being well-received, as well as having written the screenplays for “Scandal Makers” and “Love Forecast”.

Starring as Chief Go a leaner,...

“For the past decade, Next Entertainment World has continuously challenged itself whenever there was an opportunity,” said Kim Woo-taek, chairman of Next Entertainment World.

Indeed, New, celebrating its 10th anniversary at Busan, has come a long way in a short time, developing itself from a second mover in the industry into a total entertainment company, overcoming hurdles and implementing innovative decisions. Take, for example, the company’s beginnings. When Kim launched New in 2008 with only four employees, the Korean film industry had been dominated by long-established, vertically integrated big companies. Cj Entertainment had been the top Korean distributor since 2003, with Showbox the a runner-up. The Korean arms of Hollywood majors had boasted strong lineups. A fledging in such a saturated industry, New started its domestic distribution business with foreign titles including Catherine Hardwicke’s “Twilight.” In its second year, when it launched investment-distribution operations of Korean titles, it became one of the top five distributors.

Exclusive: Luma Pictures, a visual effects company, has picked up Salt of Joy, a romantic drama written by The Beauty Inside’s Rich Greenberg, to develop and produce as part of its original film slate. The pic, which is in early development, is a love story set in the afterlife where themes of selfless love and redemption are explored.

Greenberg’s recent film Zoe, starring Ewan McGregor and produced by Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Productions, premiered at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival and is available on Amazon Prime. His other writing credits include Desert Saints, which also served as his directorial debut feature, and the drama One Fall.

Vincent Cirelli and Luma founder Payam Shohadai will serve as executive producers on Salt of Joy.

“Rich excels at storytelling with a captivating narrative that beautifully bridges characters and plot and a certain complexity that makes audiences think, said Jill Gilbert,...

Take a look at actress Caitriona Balfe, aka 'Claire Randall' in the Starz action fantasy series "Outlander", posing for "InStyle" magazine:

In 1999, while studying drama at the 'Dit Conservatory of Music and Drama'...

....Balfe was appoached to work as a fashion model in Paris.

She was then featured both in advertising campaigns and on runways for brands including...

...'Dolce & Gabbana', 'Moschino', 'Roberto Cavalli', 'Max Mara', 'Bottega Veneta', 'H&M' and 'Oscar de la Renta'.

Prior to "Outlander", Balfe appeared in feature films including "Super 8", "Now You See Me" and "Escape Plan".

She also had leading roles in "The Beauty Inside", "Crush" and "H+: The Digital Series".

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek Caitriona Balfe...

We've posted a couple trailers for the upcoming futuristic action thriller Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade over the past month. The Korean film comes from director Kim Jee-woon, who previously directed the films I Saw The Devil, The Good the Bad the Weird, and The Last Stand. A lot of fans love what they have seen from these trailers and are excited to watch the movie! Well, Netflix has picked up the rights to it, which will make it easy for everyone to watch! 

The news comes from Variety, and even though we've been calling the movie Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, they say that the title of the film will Illang: The Wolf Brigade.

The film is a live-action adaptation of 1999 Japanese-made animation Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, which is based on the Mamoru Oshii manga. The story is set in 2029 and follows the actions of a special forces squad set up...

An awesome full international trailer has been released for the upcoming futuristic action crime thriller Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade. The Korean film comes from director Kim Jee-woon, who previously directed the films I Saw The Devil, The Good the Bad the Weird, and The Last Stand. Jee-woon has made some pretty hardcore and wild movies and this next film of his looks so good! The trailer is in Korean and I have no idea what anyone is saying but it still looks like it could be a badass film!

The film is a new adaptation of the popular Mamoru Oshii manga. The story is set in the near future, "the film takes place in a world where the governments of South and North Korea are on the cusp of reunification, following seven years of preparation. When demonstrations opposing the unification turn more violent, a special police force is formed to combat them.

After an all-too-brief tease last month, the full-length international trailer has arrived for Kim Jee-woon’s next feature, the futuristic crime thriller In-rang, a remake of Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade. An adaptation of the popular Mamoru Oshii manga, which had a few prior feature-length iterations, the director looks to be working on a large scale here after his more modestly-budgeted The Age of Shadows.

Taking place sometime in the future, In-rang follows the story of the special police unit that has been created to contain the tumultuous activity between North and South Korea, after the countries agree to create a joint government. Ten years after their first collaboration on The Good the Bad the Weird, Kim Jee-woon and Jung Woo-sung team back up for Jin-Roh. Alongside Woo-sung the film stars Han Hyo-Joo, Gang Dong-won, and Han Ye-ri.

While Warner Bros. has no plans for domestic distribution yet, In-rang will be...

Like Crazy helmer Drake Doremus has signed a two-year overall deal with Paramount TV to develop new projects and direct select existing projects for the studio.

The deal marks a return to Paramount for Doremus, best known for directing the studio’s 2011 release Like Crazy, which won the Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic Film at the Sundance Film Festival. His other film credits include Douchebag, Equals, Newness and Zoe, which premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival as their Centerpiece title. His TV work includes The Beauty Inside, a miniseries which earned him a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding New Approaches- Original Daytime Program or Series.

“I was so happy to get to know Drake and his unique style as a creator and director when we worked together on Like Crazy many years ago,” said Amy Powell, President of Paramount TV. “He allows audiences to experience love and relationships in a truly...