As you can see, the male actor is Song gang-ho. The actress is Kim ok-bin. The film to be shown on April 30 is a story of a catholic priest who becomes a vampire after blood transfusion. He gets involved in a fatal love affair with a friend’s wife (Kim ok-bin) who asks him to kill her husband.

The movie is drawing hot attention in Korea and from other countries as well. Even before the premiere, many countries such as France, UK, Russia, Greece, Singapore, Taiwan, and Romania (Yes. the homeland of vampire legend) already bought the film.

The strong interest may be attributed to Mr. Park Chan-wook’s artistic achievement thus far but also to the commercial potential of the film, because the movie is the first Korean film in which a major Hollywood studio  -  Universal Pictures International – invested.

Apart from the movie itself, there was an interesting happening about the poster. Original poster of the movie (below) was somewhat different from the above image.

Currently, the original poster cannot be used for the promotion in Korea. Why not?  It’s because Korea Media Rating Board, government agency that rates public release of films and performances decided that the poster is harmful.

I have no clear idea why and in what sense the poster is harmful. Maybe the female legs streched behind the back of Song gang-ho made the board members unhappy. Maybe they thought the position has some sexual connotation. Maybe they don’t like a woman hanging upside down with legs wide open.  Lots of maybe…

Maybe it would be wiser just to watch the trailer of the movie rather than wasting our time with so many maybes :-)

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

At the premiere, he will say hello to fans, give interviews and come back to Korea on the same day.

The movie, in spite of being low-budget film, drew favorable responses from audiences and critics in Korea when it was seen last year. It also won So Ji-sup Best New Actor awards at Chung-ryong Film Festival and Baeksang Arts Awards.

The movie had a good start in Japan as the preview held in February had 2,200 audiences and tickets sold out in a single day.

Synopsis of the movis is as follows.

Actor Jang soo-ta (played by Kang Ji-hwan) has a rough temperament and really beat other actors during shooting of action movie. Production of the movie faces a crisis due to the accident. Things get worse as no other actors can be found to work with him for the movie. In a desperate move, he offers a chance to act as his opponent to a gangster Lee Kang-pae (played by So ji-sup) who once asked him for an autograph.

It turns out that the gangster had a secret dream of becoming a movie star. He accepts the offer but with one condition that the action scenes should be real not fake.  Jang soo-ta, who thinks himself as good a fighter as gangsters accepts the condition and the shooting begins…….

Enjoy the trailer.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Seung-ri first reminded reporters that he and Kang hye-jung belong to the same agency.  He said “Kang hye-jeong first invited me to act together in the movie. I was so happy to hear than and decided to join.”

He added, “I did my best. My performace may not be unsatisfactory sometimes, but I would like to ask audiences to give me some slack as this is my first time as an actor.”

Kang hye-jeong spoke highly of seung-ri’s performance. “This was his first time in movie but he absorbed everything he needs to learn just like a sponge. He acted just as he was asked to.”

The movie “why did you come to our house” begins with unexpected intrusion by a mysterious girl (Kang hye-jeong) into the house of a suicide addict (Park hee-soon). The girl has three previous conviction for the charge of stalking a man (seung-ri) although she is just in one-sided love by mistaking a casual gentleness of the man as love.

It is the first movie directed by Hwang soo-ah who studied movie in New York State university and got attention for her short film “Decalcomanie” in 2001. The movie will be shown on April 9.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

“Scream” is a horror-and-mystery story about a possessed girl and fanaticism about cult religion. It is the first movie of director Lee yong-joo who participated in the making of “Memory of  murder”   The role Nam sang-mi will play is the heroine Hee-jin who tries to find her missing sister and find surprising secrets while following her traces.

For Nam sang-mi, this is comeback to the screen since 4 years after the last movie “Kangryeok 3 Ban” (English title: Never to lose).

The hero of the movie will be played by Ryu seung-ryong who showed a good performance in “Baram ui Hwawon (The painter of winds)”.  Ryu will act a police detective who investigates questionable deaths of people who insist that the missing girl is possessed.

Scream will start shooting in March to show in coming summer.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The times of UK gave four stars to The Good The Bad The Weird (Korean name “Nom nom nom”).  It was an exceptionally high point given compared to other films which will be released on the same day.   It gave 2 stars on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, starred by Brad Pitt, 3 stars on the animation film, “Bolt”, and Doubt, starred by Meryl Streep.

The times said The Good The Bad The Weird is a story of three Koreans, a psychopath gangster, a hunter, and a thief, in Manchuria, 1930’s.  It will be in cinemas on Feb. 6th in UK. The movie will be shown in 14 theaters in London, Birmingham, Manchester, and also Dublin in Ireland.

For synopsis and trailers the movie, check the official UK website.

The Good The BAd The Weird is also expected to run in  USA in first half of 2009.

Source: Money Today Star News

Castings: Jeong Woo-sung, Lee Byeong-heon, Song Kang-ho

It is the preview of the movie, The Good, The Bad, The Weird

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Kwon Sang-woo finally brings out a new film this year.  Sadder Story than Sadness or Sad sad love in English title.  Just like the title tells, it will be a film that requires hanky.  It will be so sad because K (Kwon Sang-woo) is the one who makes this movie sad.

Radio PD,K, and song writer, Cream, are good friends to each other.  They had a common sorrow in their hearts.  K was abandoned from his parents and Cream lost her parents in a car accident.  That was what makes them understand and depend on each other.

K knew that he loves Cream but he also knew that he is going to die for a cancer.  Because he knew how much she needs a nice person to take care of her loneliness, he had to let her marry a nice and intelligent dentist, Juwhan who loved her so much.

K cried so hard on the street after seeing her married.  Cream in wedding dress also cried because she knew how much K loved her.  Ju-whan couldn’t live without her and showed all his love to her.  These three will make this film interesting.

This film is schedule to be released on March 14th which is White Day in Korea.  It is an unofficial day that a woman gives a man candies.  A candy company promoted this day and youngsters loves to keep this day as a sharing their presents.  It is going to be a wonderful movie to watch with candies and hankies, Just kidding…

Here is an original soundtrack (OST) of A Sadder Story than Sadness (Sad sad love).  It is sung by Kim Bum-soo

Click here to go to the official website

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The first poster makes me laugh so hard.  They are having Chajangmyeon (???) together with putting the sauce all over his faces. Ah, it makes me hungry.  I need to stop blogging for now and order this wonderful Korean-Chinese food now.  While I am having this, please enjoy my post, guys. ^^

Korean Movie released on July 27th 2001  Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance Running Time: 122 min. Director: Gwak Jae-yong Casting: Jun ji-hyun, Cha Tae-hyun, Kim In-moon, Song Ohk-sook, Han Jin-hee

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

A mailbox in A Love Story

Cell phones in Tokyo Girl

The connectors that link the two people in different time lines of the two films

Eun Ju in A Love Story drops her letters in her mailbox and somehow those are delivered to Sung Hyun in the past.

Miho drops her cell phone when an earthquake occurs and somehow it splashes strange light goes to Dokijiro in the past.

In the beginning, none of the 2 pairs believes the two different time lines are connected but they have to accept that the people in the future predict future events belong to the past.

The most similar scene between the two films are the dating scenes. They both go and date at the same places in the different time lines. The filming locations for this scenes are an amusement park and Garosugil in Chungdam, Seoul, and Ginja street in different times.

They promise to go the same places in their own time. They appear on the same screen that audience can see the two differnet time settings on the two films. They talk to each other on the phone and walk on the same but different timed Ginja streets in Tokyo girl.

They visit the same places but can’t be together. It seems to make them happy for the two pairs in the given situations.

 There is another connector in the two films.Cola, the dog that sleeps like a person, in A Love StoryNanami, the young girl and old lady, in Tokyo GirlCola is the common issue of the two and hold the memories of the two that connects their hearts. Nanami delivers the gift to Miho waiting 100 years and influences Dokijiro’s fate decisively.

 Those two similar plots show the big differences in the end.The two keep missing each other at their meetings but eventually Sung Hyun survives and finds Eun Ju in A Love Story. They can’t change their tragic destiny in Tokyo Girl. Yet, Miho finds out the way to remember him after reading his posthumous work.There are many similarities between the two films but each one has its own fascination.

 It seems that there are more episodes lead the audience to fallen into the undeniable relationship of theirs in A Love Story. The beautiful Il mare, the common place for both, also lays in the audience’s hearts and doesn’t go away easily.

The castings ages are young and they talk about their dreams and want to try hard for their goals in the film. It shows the Japanese people’s positive and respectable attitudes.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Love surpasses many things like ages, borders, and even time and spaces.

The great love stories always move people’s hearts and that must be why Love is great and beautiful.

Here are two time surpassed love stories. As a matter of fact it is so common material for love stories but these two ordinary love story films has successfully made ordinary to extraordinary.

Main castings of A Love Story Eun Ju, the second owner of Il Mare who lives from year 1999 to 2000 Sung Hyun, the first owner of Il Mare who lives year 1997They all have the pain from love. Eun Ju has painful memory of runaway lover and Sung Hyun also has hurtful memories of runaway lover and father’s love.

It has relatively small time gap between the two. That allows this film to have interesting moments like they come across on the street and she asks him to find her lost recorder.The main casting of Tokyo Girl

Miho, lives in year 2008 Dokijiro, lives in year 1912 They both dream to become novelists but he keeps failing to become one and she doesn’t know how to become one. Although they can’t meet each other for the too much of the time gap, they slowly get closer and closer as they share their own stories. The fact is too cruel that impossible to meet each other no matter how hard they try. It must be the great time setting for audiences to feel pity on the two lovers.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I would like to show some of the clips of the two films and let you compare the scenes.

These are the starts of the Shiwarhe and the Lake House. The screens don’t have much in Shiwarhe but Lake House has full of trees in the house. It seems the lake house emphasizes the house from the first scene.

  Il Mare in Sukmodo – It has become so famous after filming Shiwarhe and doesn’t open for public to see it any longer.

Lake House – It looks like a house in a fairy tale.

Eun Ju and Kate both love their own house. They both leave a letter to get forwarded mail.

The men and women live year 97 and 99, and year 2004 and 2006 mail each other with doubting each other.

They are the two dogs, Cola and Jack, in these films. Both of them makes their cute foot prints and the men read about leaving the prints before it happens.

They sleep like a person. Both of them are cute. They connect the men and women together.

Both of them go to the women’s place before it is built.

They both read the women’s letter from 2 years ahead of their times. It says it has much snow and flu that year and it happens as it says.

Shiwarhe focuses more on their love. They write about not so special things like cooking recipe for gloomy days.

He plants the tree Kate misses and it grows right away in her time. It is like a fantasy world.

Dating scenes for both films. Since they can’t be together, first couple makes dating posts and explains how to play in the amusement park and where to walk in the hiking course. The second couple decides to walk on street in Chicago. She finds out his message on the wall. “Kate, I’m here with you. Thanks for the lovely Saturday together.”

The women ask men to find their precious belongings that they lost, Walkman and a book. They see the women for the first time.

Every time Alex does something to her in her past she gets her memory in her time. He asks her to dance together on her birthday and she gets his memory right away. That’s how she gets to know him, too.

The men like the women but realize they are with someone else.

They both thought that their fathers didn’t care of them much but later they found the traces of their fathers’ love and regretted.

Eun Ju asks him to stop her boyfriend to go overseas. She finds out that how much he loves her and his death during helping her. Kate hears his death from his brother and suddenly realizes that she witnessed the accident and failed to save his life at the moment.

They both hurry to send their messages to the men to save their lives by writing not to come to the sites they are supposed to die. The women wear read coats. Is it an accident?

The two couples final meet together and leave the house scenes.

As you see The Lake House didn’t change much of the original story and has made a good remake story all the way to the end. The weight of the castings is of course much heavy on the Hollywood stars than the Korean young actor and actress. The stories can’t be true but many of the fans are still wishing that could happen in their lives or dreams after watching these heartwarming movies.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.