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In evident, art-house fashion, the film follows Choi Hyeon, a S.Korean man, who works in China as a professor and is married there, in a melancholic trip in the streets of the city of Gyeongju, and down memory lane. In his trip, that was instigated by the death of an old friend, he meets another old friend, the deceased's wife, an ex-lover and gets to know the beautiful owner of a tea-house and her friends.

“Gyeongju” is available from Echelon Studios

Zhang Lu directs a very personal film, with the protagonist conversely mirroring his own situation, since Lu is Chinese, but now works in S. Korea. The dialogue is scarce and the pace quite slow, as Lu almost forces the audience to observe the surroundings, the beauties of the city, and the everyday life in it.

Through this trip, and the experiences Choi Hyeon has, he also makes some subtle comments,...

Back in 2014, director Kim Han-min’s “The Admiral: Roaring Currents” released in Korean and international theatres and in the process set a record for the highest grossing Korean film of all time at the domestic box office, a record that no other feature has managed to push it off of even eight years later. Based on one of the most important and famous naval battles in history, the feature benefitted from the legendary hero status of Admiral Yi Sun-shin, a man so revered and loved that he has a statue of himself in the center of Seoul. Following up such a successful production can be daunting for a person, but Kim Han-min went down a unique path to follow it up; he decided to do not one but two different features and do a full trilogy on Yi Sun-shin, with the second story coming in the form of “Hansan: Rising Dragon...

When Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy screened at Cannes in 2004, Korean cinema was still a relative rarity at the festival. Occasionally, a new feature from Im Kwon-taek might land a coveted competition slot, but the festival was still years away from fully acknowledging the burgeoning wave of creativity then emerging from Seoul’s film scene.

Oldboy was a film of such startling intensity and originality, though, that Cannes granted a rare exception that year: The film would compete in the festival’s main competition despite the fact that it had already been released theatrically in South Korea nearly six months prior. Oldboy went on to win the Grand Prix from a jury chaired by Quentin Tarantino, and it became a cult hit the world over, earning $15 million in cinemas outside Korea and becoming a sensation on home video. As he had already done with prior releases like Joint Security Area (2000) and...

Asian Pop-Up Cinema: Season 14 will present 28 films in downtown Chicago and the north suburbs, with select films available for online streaming. The joint virtual and in-person festival opens March 13 and runs through April 10.

The diverse lineup celebrates the best of Asian cinema from South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Taiwan. Programming highlights include work from female filmmakers and an in-person special guest appearance from Sunday LEAGUEdirector Yi Sung-il.

Season 14 opens with the Midwest Premiere of Heaven: To The Land Of Happiness (AMC Niles 12) from director Im Sang-soo. Korean stars Choi Min-sik (Oldboy) and Park Hae-il (War of the Arrows) lead this crime comedy as two terminally ill men on one last, unexpected journey of their lives. The international premiere of sports comedy Sunday League will follow, a heartwarming story of a former rising soccer star who reluctantly coaches a ragtag team of amateur players. Writer/director Yi is...

Asian Pop-up Cinema Announces

Opening, Centerpiece, And Closing Films

Bright Star Award Recipient And Special Guest For Season 14

Asian Pop-Up Cinema today announces the spotlight Marquee films scheduled for the 14th Season, March 13- April 10. Additionally announced is, Kai Ko as the recipient of the festival’s Bright Star Award, and the first movie director special guest to attend the festival since the pandemic started during Season 10.

Korean star power from Choi Min-sik (Oldboy) and Park Hae-il (War of The Arrows) will open Season 14 with the Midwest Premiere of Heaven: In The Land Of Happiness from Im Sang-soo, director of The Housemaid (2010) and The President’s Last Bang. ‘Heaven’ is about a journey of two terminally ill men making a heart-throbbing finale of their lives.

Director Sung-il Yi will attend his International debut of Sunday League, a sports comedy about a once-rising high school soccer star reduced to coaching children,...

“Warriors of the Dawn” is an historical drama/action film set on the conflict between Korea and Japan in the year 1592. Korean historical action/war movies are somehow of a trend, and they are always a sign of quality, with films like “Roaring Currents”, “War of the Arrows” or “Kundo: Age of the Rampant”. These productions have nothing to envy from big Hollywood productions, having such an excellent production design.

Whereas “Warriors of the Dawn” is itself a clearly big and good looking production, it is not big on a great epic scale, as the locations are somehow scarce and simple but effective and beautiful at the same time.

“Warriors of the Dawn” screened at the London Korean Film Festival

The story revolves around a group of mercenary fighters who are called the Proxy Soldiers. These group of soldiers are basically poor people who can’t earn a living, and...

Korean-Chinese director Zhang Lü (“A Quiet Dream”) is back working with Park Hae-il and Moon So-ri with his latest film “Ode to the Goose”. The film premiered at the Busan International Film Festival this month.

Synopsis

Yoon-yeong has been harboring feelings for Song-hyeon, a friend’s wife. When he finds out that she is divorced, Yoon-yeong and Song-hyeon take a trip to Gunsan on a whim. They find lodging at an inn where the middle-aged owner lives with his autistic daughter who does not leave her room. The four become star crossed lovers in the city of Gunsan. The film could be named “Gunsan,” as it is a film about a specific place, which also explores the world’s hidden, unspoken elements.

“Ode to the Goose” features an all-star cast including Park Hae-il, Moon So-ri as well as Jung Jin-young and Park So-dam as the owner of the inn and his daughter respectively.

Actor Cho Seung-woo likes to be quite selective with his projects. Last seen on the big screen in 2015’s brilliant political crime-thriller “Inside Men“, he is back again this year in the period film “Feng Shui”.

Synopsis

Not many plot details are known at the moment, but “Feng Shui” tells a story of those who struggle to become king and fight over grave sites and a young man who lost his parents attempting to take revenge on the king.

Directed by Park Hee-gon, “Feng Shui” reunites Cho Seung-woo with his “Inside Men” co-star Baek Yoon-shik. The film also stars Ji Sung, Kim Sung-kyun and Moon Chae-won and is slated for a September 19th, 2018 release in South Korea.

Films about the Joseon era had been among the most popular in S. Korea for years now, particularly through their combination of blockbuster production values and historic setting. This tendency found its apogee in “The Admiral”, a 2014 film based on the historical Battle of Myeongnyang, which recorded 10 million viewers in 12 days, setting a record for achieving 10 million viewers in the shortest amount of time, and in the process becoming the highest grossing film of all time in S. Korea, a place it still holds.

The story begins with the events leading to the naval battle, which, actually, became the duel between two men: Joseon admiral Yi Sun-sin and Kusushima Michifusa, whom Hideyoshi Toyotomi sent to Joseon to take over the navy. In the beginning of the film, both men have a number of issues to deal with. Yi Sun-sin has been just released from prison after the disaster at Chilcheollyang,...

Stars: Hae-il Park, Seung-yong Ryoo, Chae-won Moon, Mu-Yeol Kim, Han-wi Lee | Written and Directed by Han-min Kim

In action films so often it’s all about the gun or the fist, archery has taken the back seat as an inferior way of combat. There has been a slight change lately of course with The Hunger Games and The Avengers with Hawkeye and his exploding arrows; it is nice to see that when archery is featured it’s more about skill and precision than just point and shoot. The archer is skilled and a master of his art, in warfare he could be compared to the modern day sniper, having to take into consideration things like wind speed and direction. War of the Arrows is a film that takes this to a new level, showing how the archer could be the difference between victory and defeat.

When Nam Yi witnesses the...

In evident, art-house fashion, the film follows Choi Hyeon, a S.Korean man, who works in China as a professor and is married there, in a melancholic trip in the streets of the city of Gyeongju, and down memory lane. In his trip, that was instigated by the death of an old friend, he meets another old friend, the deceased’s wife, an ex-lover and gets to know the beautiful owner of a tea-house and her friends.

A very personal, art house film.

Zhang Lu directs a very personal film, with the protagonist conversely mirroring his own situation, since Lu is Chinese, but now works in S. Korea. The dialogue is scarce and the pace quite slow, as Lu almost forces the audience to observe the surroundings, the beauties of the city, and the everyday life in it.

Through this trip, and the experiences Choi Hyeon has, he also makes some subtle comments,...

This month, fans of Korean cinema living in Australia have more than one reason to celebrate. Firstly, Korean Film Festival In Australia (Koffia) has kicked off in Sydney and so you have the opportunities to watch exciting films like The Admiral: Roaring Current and The Target on the big screen. Secondly, you also get the chance to win some Blu-rays and DVDs of awesome Korean films, thanks to local distributor Madman!1st Prize (one winner): All of the following (on Blu-rays or DVDs for titles that are available in both formats): - Jsa: Joint Security Area- Shadowless Sword- The Host- Chaw- Quick- War of the Arrows- The Tower- The Front Line- Sector 7- The Thieves- The Suspect- The Admiral: Roaring Currents 2nd Prize (3 winners):- One copy of...

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

To celebrate the Australian release of The Admiral: Roaring Currents, the South Korean blockbuster that attracted over 17 million admissions during its theatrical run and became the all-time highest grossing film at the local box office, Twitch and Madman are giving you the chance to win an awesome Asian period epics prize pack!1st Prize (one winner): All of the following (on Blu-rays or DVDs for titles that are available in both formats): From South Korea:- The Admiral: Roaring Currents- Shadowless Sword- War of the Arrows From Japan:- Rurouni Kenshin trilogy- Lone Wolf & Cub 7-disc Ultimate Collection- The Samurai Trilogy From China / Hong Kong: - Master of the Flying Guillotine - Wu Dang- The Myth- The Monkey King- Reign of Assassins2nd Prize (Five winners): One copy of The Admiral:...

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

Major South Korean investor/distributor Next Entertainment World (New) has launched its own international sales division through subsidiary Contents Panda.

Originally established in 2013 as New’s international business and ancillary rights division, Contents Panda will debut its sales arm at next month’s European Film Market (Efm).

Woody Kim, CEO of New, told ScreenDaily: “We started Contents Panda because we felt a need to prepare for future market potential in distribution. The company started in Iptv and VOD and is now launching into international sales.

“It will start by handling New contents, but we plan to expand to take on diverse films from other companies as well using our sales network and know-how.”

Last October, New received investment of $53m from China’s Huace Film & TV and recently saw a successful Ipo.

Contents Panda will be handling all of New’s films from this year onwards. Sales agent Finecut will continue to handle previously announced titles such as...

Back in August, we reported that Fight of the Living Dead, an original competition series in which YouTube stars try to survive a simulated zombie apocalypse, would air on CONtv, a streaming network from Cinedigm and Wizard World that launches early next year, and now a long list of movie / TV titles that will air on the network has been revealed, including The Evil Dead, Hellraiser, and Re-Animator.

Press Release – “(Los Angeles, CA) December 11, 2014 – CONtv today announced an expansive portfolio of acquired film and television content that will be available on the new digital network. Launching in early 2015, the direct-to-consumer digital service geared specifically for fans in the Comic Con community, will also include the previously announced original program “Fight of the Living Dead,” a horror-competition series from Alpine Labs, BlackBoxTV and Revolver Picture Company. CONtv plans to announce additional programming initiatives, original series and talent partnerships in the coming weeks.

The Admiral: Roaring Currents has turned the Korean opening weekend record to rubble with 3.34 million admissions ($25.65 million) during its first weekend, which accounted for 65.7% of the marketplace. That represents a 41% increase over the former record, set by Transformers: Dark Of The Moon in 2011 (2.37 million). The film has already banked 4.75 million viewers and $35.4 million since its debut five days ago. The film stars Choi Min-sik as Admiral Yi Sun-shin, who led a small fleet of 13 ships to victory against Japan and its 333 vessels in the Battle of Myeongnyang, which took place in the 16th century. Co-starring as the Japanese admiral is Ryu Seung-ryong and War Of The Arrows (2011) director Kim Han-min is at the helm....

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

If you had to list the greatest naval warfare films — specifically ones focused on surface combat as opposed to submarine action — how many of them would be movies released in this century? You’ve got Peter Weir’s Master and Commander in 2001 and then… what? (Sorry, but the Pirates of the Caribbean films are not great, and I’m not currently drunk enough to allow an argument for the inclusion of Battleship.) The challenge grows only slightly easier if we extend the time frame to films released in the last fifty years and remove the “greatest” qualifier. For whatever reason, filmmakers just aren’t making ocean-set tales of war these days. Odds are it’s a cost issue, and that’s a shame as the sub-genre (not to be confused with the sub sub-genre) is one rich with exciting true-life stories and opportunities for incredible action and visuals. Happily, South Korean director Kim Han-min (War of the Arrows) didn...

Third Window Films is pleased to announce the theatrical release of Pluto, a film by Shin Su-won (Passerby #3). Starring Kim Kkobbi (Breathless, King of Pigs, Greatful Dead), Lee Da-wit (Poetry, War of the Arrows) and Sung Joon (Horror Stories II), Pluto is both out of this world and out at the Ica Cinema, Quad Derby and Regional Sites from June 6th, 2014. You can book your tickets here. Alternatively, the DVD and Blu-Ray releases fall on June 23, 2014. You can pre-order them here too. Synopsis: Pluto is a story of the extremes elite high school seniors are prepared to go to guarantee entry into prestigious universities, and asks what could possibly turn an innocent boy into a monster. June, a transfer student into an elite school, is driven to despair by the year’s first examination results. One day he discovers that a mysterious clique of fellow students are sharing secret notebooks,...

(Screened at the 2013 London Korean Film Festival.) One of the biggest Korean films of the year arrives in the form of “Secretly, Greatly”, a spy blockbuster that mixes comedy, thrills and tragedy to entertaining effect. Based on the hugely popular webtoon series “Covertness” by Hun, the film was perhaps surprisingly directed by Jang Cheol Su, best known for the 2010 ultra-dark revenge horror “Bedevilled”. The main draw here is definitely the cast, the film being headlined by three of the country’s biggest up and coming stars, namely actors Kim Soo Hyun (“The Thieves”), Lee Hyun Woo (“To the Beautiful You”) and Park Ki Woong (“War of the Arrows”), playing a trio of young North Korean spies infiltrating a quiet suburb in the south. The film proved a massive hit at the box office, opening with Korea’s first day box office record, and going on to pull in nearly nine million admissions overall.

Korean director Song Hae Sung has had a very interesting career which has seen him tackle a variety of social and (often multi) cultural issues in different ways, from his award winning Choi Min Sik and Cecilia Cheung starring “Failan” through to his recent “A Better Tomorrow” remake. Based on a novel by Cheon Myung Gwan, his latest offering “Boomerang Family” is on the surface a lighter and more comic affair, dealing with a group of nearly middle aged siblings who return home to live with their aging mother. Playing the family are a fittingly eclectic and impressive cast, which includes Park Hae Il (“War of the Arrows”), Kong Hyo Jin (“Love Fiction”), Yoon Je Moon (“Dangerously Excited”) and Yoon Yeo Jeong (“The Taste of Money”), joined by young actress Jin Ji Hee (“Moon That Embraces the Sun”). Like most of Song’s works, the film went down well with the critics at home,...

Two architects of Cinematography. Three Prophetical Visions of Humanity’s Future

Breaking a Paradigm

Doomsday Book

Kim Ji-woon and Yim Pil-sung’s combination for the creation of an Epic Sci-Fi Anthology

Debuts on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital December 11th

Internationally-acclaimed Directors Kim Ji-woon (I saw the Devil, The Good, The Bad, The Weird) and Yim Pil-sung (Hansel & Gretel) deliver us three visions on an apocalyptic theme in the anthology film Doomsday Book, debuting on Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital December 11th.

In the first story, Director Yim Pil opens with Brave New World, Ryoo Seung-bum (The Servant) starring as a young man fighting for survival in a world infected by biological toxins. A recurring theme in the modern Sci-Fi that dares to explore the depths of

the unconscious, exploiting humanity’s collective fear on the misuse of technologies and hazards that mortals are yet to understand completely.

The core of the film,...

We’re back with the latest installment of the Indie Spotlight. In today’s feature we have the first two episodes of the Ghost Trek webseries, a trailer for Rites of Passage, a Walking Dead-inspired musical, and much more:

Ghost Trek: The Kinsey Report: “Do you ever watch those ghost hunting shows and scratch your head, thinking to yourself, “These shows are so ridiculous. Why am I watching this?” Well, Ghost Trek creator, Michael Plumides sat through marathon episodes of paranormal reality TV one Christmas and came up with a comic-horror concept called, Ghost Trek, which takes a swipe at the whole genre – with you in mind.

Ghost Trek follows the Paranormal Underworld Detective Society (Puds) as they investigate haunts across the U.S. and abroad between tanning beds, babes, body-building, and bong hits — all the while risking life and limb capturing the undead and unexplained on video.

The team is lead by Dr.

The latest anthology on the horror block, Doomsday Book, is coming home to Blu-ray and DVD this December, featuring tales of terror from Korean directors Kim Jee-woon (I Saw the Devil, A Tale of Two Sisters) and Yim Pil-sung (Hansel & Gretel)! Read on for details!

From the Press Release

Internationally-renowned directors Kim Ji-woon (I Saw the Devil; The Good, The Bad, the Weird) and Yim Pil-sung (Hansel & Gretel) present three interpretations on an apocalyptic theme in the anthology film Doomsday Book, debuting on Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital December 11th from Well Go USA Entertainment. In the first film, director Yim Pil-Sung opens with Brave New World, starring Ryoo Seung-bum (The Servant) as a young man trying to survive in a world infected by biological toxins. The centerpiece of the film, Heavenly Creature, directed by Kim Ji-woon, stars Kim Kang-woo (A Better Tomorrow), Kim Gyu-ri (Portrait of a Beauty) and Park...

“Lolita” goes Korean with “A Muse”, the story of a 70 year old poet falling in love with a young high school girl. Based upon the popular and controversial novel “Eun Gyo” by Park Bum Shin, the film was directed by Jung Ji Woo, who previously tackled unconventional relationships in his acclaimed 1999 debut “Happy End”. As well as its premise, the film attracted attention for the choice of award winning actor Park Hae Il (“War of the Arrows”) as the male lead, the 35 year old apparently undergoing nearly 8 hours of makeup daily to fit him for the part. In addition to Park, the film also stars Kim Moo Yeol (“Doomsday Book”), and actress Kim Go Eun in the pivotal role of the girl, a first time actress whose only prior experience had been in student productions. Park Hae Il plays the 70 year old Lee Jeok Yo, one of Korea’s top and most praised poets,...

The full program for the 2012 Korean Film Festival In Australia (Koffia) has just been unveiled. This year's streams include Panorama, Modern Classics, K-Mystery, K-Comedy, Documentary, Animation and Short Films. The line-up is undoubtedly the best since the Festival started in 2010, and fans of Korean cinema will certainly be delighted with the chance to see the latest Korean blockbusters and hits such as War of the Arrows, Sunny and The Frontline, as well as thrilled by the opportunity to revisit some of the modern classics like Oldboy, Christmas in August and Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... and Spring, all on the big screen!Here's what the organizers said about the program:PanoramaOur Panorama section showcases the latest release films from Korea that have either been commercially successful...

The 11th annual New York Asian Film Festival (June 29 through July 15) has announced its full schedule, which will showcase over 50 feature films and three programs of short films from Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the USA, and Vietnam.

Presented in partnership between Subway Cinema and the Film Society of Lincoln Center with programming support from Japan Society, America’s biggest festival of popular Asian film is opening with Vulgaria: Described as “astonishingly filthy,” “outrageous,” and “displaying a reckless abandon in mentioning genitals” Pang Ho-cheung’s show business satire pushes good taste as far as it can go, and then it keeps on going. What’s most astonishing about this lewd, crude, and hilariously dirty film is that it achieves all its shocking effects with nothing more than dialogue.

In addition, Doomsday Book and Guns And Roses make their North American premieres as the Centerpiece Selections.

Director: Kim Han Min. Review: Adam Wing. Korean cinema is well known for startling thrillers, but occasionally they put a little more emphasis on action and War of the Arrows is the result. Orphaned as a child, Nam Yi (Hae-il Park) overcame tragic loss to become the most accomplished archer of his generation. When Chinese forces attack Korea, he returns to discover that his sister - who he’s sworn to protect - has been taken into slavery on her wedding day by invading armies. Now he must prove himself against some of the greatest archers in history, shooting to thrill in a brave attempt to re-unite his family. War of the Arrows picked up 11 international awards on its way to DVD and it’s easy to see why. Park Hae Il (The Host) won Best Actor at the Daejong and Blue Dragon Film Awards for his screen-hugging portrayal of...

★★★☆☆ Han-min Kim's historical epic War of the Arrows (2011) is the blood-spattered and thoroughly enjoyable tale of the Manchu invasion of Korea in the mid-17th century. Skilled archer and hunter Nam-yi (Hae-il Park) embarks on a one man guerilla war against the Qing Army who murdered his step-father and kidnapped his sister. Utilising his proficiency with the bow he stalks the soldiers through the countryside but the tables are turned when the Qing commander Jyu Shin-ta (Seung-yong Ryoo) decides to hunt Nam-Yi through the undergrowth.Read more »...

Another week, another Monday. So it’s time for the rundown of DVDs and Blu-ray’s hitting stores online and offline this week. It’s another packed week, with plenty of movies waiting to take you money, so let us breakdown the new releases and highlight what you should – and shouldn’t – be buying from today, May 7th 2012.

Pick Of The Week

The House by the Cemetery: Dual Format Edition (DVD+Blu-ray)

Shock gore master Lucio Fulci s The House by the Cemetery is one of the finest typically single-minded exercises in zombie terror. Its just a shame no-one told the Boyle family who move into a gothic style house (by a cemetery) with a bloody past and a guts spraying future, what is yet to come! You d think they d twig given the basement door is nailed shut that they should get the hell out. Instead they...

The Korean Box Office Smash ‘War of The Arrows‘ as finally hit Amazon and UK stores .

Winner of 11 prestigious international film awards, War of The Arrows is a film not to be missed!

Having sold over a staggering 7.5 million tickets in its homeland last year its fantastic that Cine-Asia have managed to gain distribution rights on this brilliant movie. As usual Cine-Asia have packed the Blu-Ray / DVD release with some excellent features including :

Exclusive Commentary Special Making of Showcase Cine-Asia World Exclusive Featurette

Win a copy of War of the Arrows

Blu Ray

Buy Blu Ray Now

DVD

Buy DVD Now...

War Of The Arrows

Stars: Hae-il Park, Seung-yong Ryoo, Chae-won Moon, Mu-Yeol Kim, Han-wi Lee | Written and Directed by Han-min Kim

In action films so often it’s all about the gun or the fist, archery has taken the back seat as an inferior way of combat. There has been a slight change lately of course with The Hunger Games and The Avengers with Hawkeye and his exploding arrows; it is nice to see that when archery is featured it’s more about skill and precision than just point and shoot. The archer is skilled and a master of his art, in warfare he could be compared to the modern day sniper, having to take into consideration things like wind speed and direction. War of the Arrows is a film that takes this to a new level, showing how the archer could be the difference between victory and defeat.

When...

Forbidden Zone

Brothers Danny and Richard Elfman used to head legendary performance art troupe The Mystic Knights Of The Oingo Boingo, whose bizarro, overblown shows featured a whole host of twisted showtunes. When they morphed into the excellent, more managably sized, new wave rockers Oingo Boingo (best known in the UK for the theme tune to John Hughes's movie Weird Science), the Elfmans wanted to record their out-of-control live show for posterity. And that's where this 1982 curio comes in.

Filming over several months, the duo roped in as many of their fringe friends as possible – including Warhol superstar Viva, Fantasy Island star Hervé Villechaize and UK performance duo The Kipper Kids – to string together a dozen or so songs in an anything-goes fashion.

It's a strange movie, a true cult oddity and one of the last gasps of the bygone midnight movie circuit. Shot in black and white (though...

War of the Arrows

Directed by Han-min Kim

Written by Ham-min Kim

2011, South Korea

Director Han-min Kim’s film The War of the Arrows is something of a rarity in the international image of Korean cinema as its focus lies on the second Manchurian invasion of Korea, the Joseon Kingdom in particular. In layman’s terms, the War of the Arrows is about the second Chinese invasion of Korea.

Personalizing history by focusing on the children of a Korean traitor, we follow Nam Yi (Hae-Il Park, The Host) and Ja-In (Chae Won-Moon). Receiving a family bow and a message for the elder brother to look after his younger sister as he would a daughter, they both barely escape certain execution in Seoul. Fast forward 13 years and Ja-In is getting married despite her older brother doing everything he can to prevent it. As the wedding nears, Nam Yi wanders off and...

The Korean Box Office Smash ‘War of The Arrows‘ is finally hitting UK stores this May.

Winner of 11 prestigious international film awards, War of The Arrows is a film not to be missed!

Having sold over a staggering 7.5 million tickets in its homeland last year its fantastic that Cine-Asia have managed to gain distribution rights on this brilliant movie. As usual Cine-Asia will be packing the Blu-Ray / DVD release with some excellent features including :

Exclusive Commentry Special Making of Showcase Cine-Asia World Exclusive Featurette

Pre-order Links Below Movie Plot Orphaned as a child, Nam Yi overcame tragic loss to become the most accomplished hunter and archer of his generation. When his beloved Korea comes under attack from Chinese imperial forces, he returns from he forest to discover that his sister, and only living relative, has been taken into slavery by Manchu invaders. Now faced with the most daunting challenge of his life,...

Here's the trailer for the DVD/Blue Ray release of South Korean historical action film 'War of the Arrows,' starring Park Hae-il and directed by Kim Han-Min.

Set in 1636, the second Manchurian invasion of Korea rages chaos, as villages are attacked by overpowering Manchurian soldiers. The Manchurians kidnap childhood sweethearts, Ja-in and Seo-Goon on their wedding day. In an effort to save his sister, Ja-in’s brother Nam-Yi sets out to defeat the enemy and save his sister and other Korean victims with only 1 bow.

'War of the Arrows' is available on DVD & Blu-Ray 7th May 2012 from Cine Asia.

Push Like Pushing A Mountain And Pull Like Holding A Tiger’S Tail

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For five minutes dogs were everywhere it seems in the year 1623, and they were out for blood. A young man named Nam-Yi (Hae-Il Park/Da-Wit Lee) becomes his sister Ja-In’s (Moon Chae-Won/Min-Seo Jeon) guardian after witnessing the savage assassination of their father, a man with strong political ideals who had been branded a traitor. They escape, making their way to a safe destination to seek help and shelter. Then, Bam! the story fast-forwards 13 years…

After years of living in exile, and now grown-up, Nam-Yi and Ja-In have integrated themselves well within their new community. One night, after a fresh kill, Nam-Yi sits with the boss’ son, Seo-Goon (Mu-Yeol Kim), and hears an irritating request:”Could I please marry your sister?”. Not too chuffed by the whole concept, Nam-Yi lays down the law: let’s fight,...

DVD Playhouse—March 2012

By Allen Gardner

J. Edgar (Warner Bros.) Director Clint Eastwood provides a rock-solid, albeit rather flat portrait of polarizing FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, covering his life from late teens to his death. Leonardo DiCaprio does an impressive turn as Hoover, never crossing the line into caricature, and creating a Hoover that is all too human, making for an all the more unsettling look at absolute power run amuck. Where the film stumbles is the love story at its core: Hoover’s relationship with longtime aide Clyde Tolson (Armie Hammer). In the hands of an openly-gay director like Gus Van Sant, this could have been a heartbreaking, tender story of forbidden (unrequited?) love, but Eastwood seems to tiptoe around their romance, with far too much delicacy and deference. The film works well when recreating the famous crimes and investigations which Hoover made his name on (the Lindbergh kidnapping,...

According to the Kofic (Korean Film Council,) 2011 was a great year for the South Korean Film Industry. for 2011 at the South Korean box office. More than 1.1 billion dollars were grossed, which represents more than a seven percent rise since the previous year. South Korean movie makers also had a great year, with records in both movie exports and in the market share for local film in the Korean box office.

The South Korean audience was also inspired and engaged with various local films, including War of the Arrows, Sunny, and Silenced (which also had an important social impact as an expose on child abuse.) Because of the way these films became a part of the Korean zeitgeist in 2011, they managed to perform up to par – and even better in some cases – than typical Hollywood juggernauts like new entries in the Transformers, Kung Fu Panda, Mission Impossible, and Harry Potter franchises.

Welcome back to This Week In DVD! Some fun titles are hitting shelves today, and not a single one of them rocked the box office. Of course, some of them never had the chance… but Tower Heist? Pretty sure that was intended to be a hit. Other releases this week include the Elizabeth Olsen stunner Martha Marcy May Marlene, the Korean action epic War of the Arrows, the bland Channing Tatum (redundancy alert!) thriller Son of No One, and more! As an added bonus one of the eleven entries below has been contributed by the highly educated and spry Landon Palmer! Can you guess which one? As always, if you see something you like, click on the image to buy it. Retreat A couple dealing with marital issues heads to a remote island to save their relationship, but when a stranger washes up onshore with a fantastical tale of a worldwide plague the three of them enter...

Anatomy of a Murder (Criterion Collection) I looked back through my Netflix queue to see when I first watched Anatomy of a Murder and it turns out it was back in January 2009 and while I remembered enjoying it I didn't remember the film per se. So it was a treat to pop this new Criterion Blu-ray in the player and settle in to Otto Preminger's 1959 thriller with James Stewart in the lead and an impressive supporting cast and a feature filled with dialogue you can't get enough of.

As for the transfer, it's almost too good as a moment early on featuring the makeup on Lee Remick's bruised face is so obvious it's almost comical, but you're hardly paying attention as she does everything in her power to seduce Stewart into taking her husband's case.

Anatomy for a Murder may best be known in the movie blogosphere as...

You can watch the exclusive Blu-ray and DVD trailer for historical actioner War Of The Arrows below. Set in 1636, the story centres on the second Manchu invasion of Korea. As you'll see in the trailer, arrows fly and blood is spilt with considerable panache. Check out the trailer now:[brightcove]1462640039001[/brightcove] The film has been favourably compared to House Of Flying Daggers, and you can see if it meets those high standards when it is released on DVD and Blu-ray on 30 April 2012.  

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Kim Han-min's War of the Arrows (Arrow, the Ultimate Weapon) was the second highest grossing homegrown film in Korea in 2011. Normally, such an achievement wouldn't impress me much, as I'm the last person on this earth to equate financial success with quality, however, in this case I'm genuinely happy. War of the Arrows is a top notch period action epic, on par with anything out of Asia in the last few years, and certainly less overtly tainted with politics than most films of its ilk from the region. Well Go USA will release War of the Arrows on Blu-ray/DVD combo on February 21st, and if you've a fan of Asian action, I definitely recommend you make a little space in your budget for this...

This is kind of unusual, but the prizes are pretty sweet, so I'm gonna go with it. Our friends over at Well Go USA have begun a comment to win contest for War of the Arrows swag. Here's the word from Wg:It's on!  Watch and comment on our War Of The Arrows trailer for Three chances to win an iPod Touch plus a $150 iTunes Gift Card (over $450 value), framed Wota movie posters, and other great Wota gifts.  enter now for Three Times the chance to win!  Prizes awarded 2/22, 3/7, and 3/21. Available on DVD and Blu-Ray Tuesday, February 21. Those are some pretty sweet prizes, and the movie is awesome in my humble opinion.  Go check it out.  To win, check out...

“War of the Arrows” (also known as “Arrow, the Ultimate Weapon”) is a period set Korean blockbuster revolving around battling archers and the 17th century second Manchu invasion of Korea. The film was directed by Kim Han Min, previously responsible for the offbeat mystery “Paradise Murdered”, and attempts to offer something a little different to the usual historical epics by notching up the tension and aiming for more of a focus on action. The film was a massive success at the box office, emerging as the biggest domestic hit of last year, and also brought home a slew of accolades, with Park Hae Il (“The Host”) winning Best Actor at the Daejong and Blue Dragon Film Awards, Moon Chae Won (“The Princess’ Man”) winning Best New Actress and Ryu Seung Ryong (“The Front Line”) claiming Best Supporting Actor. The film kicks off in the early 17th century with a young...

Nominations for the 6th annual Asian Film Awards were announced in Hong Kong today:

Best Film

A Separation (Iran) Postcard (Japan) The Flowers of War (Mainland China) Flying Swords of Dragon Gate (Hong Kong/Mainland China) Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale (Taiwan) You Don’t Get Life a Second Time (India)

Best Director

Asghar Farhadi, A Separation Teddy Soeriaatmadja, Lovely Man Sono Sion, Guilty of Romance Tsui Hark, Flying Swords of Dragon Gate Wei Te-sheng, Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale Zhang Yimou, The Flowers of War

Best Actor

Chen Kun, Flying Swords of Dragon Gate Donny Damara, Lovely Man Andy Lau, A Simple Life Park Hae Il, War of the Arrows Yakusho Koji, Chronicle of My Mother

Best Actress

Vidya Balan, The Dirty Picture Michelle Chen, You Are the Apple of My Eye Eugene Domingo, The Woman in the Septic Tank Leila Hatami, A Separation Deanie Ip,...

The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate and the other nominations for the 2012 Asian Film Awards have been announced. The 6th Annual Asian Film Awards was presented by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society (Hkiffs) “to recognize excellence of film professionals in the film industries of Asian cinema.” This year’s award ceremony will be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on March 19, 2012.

The full listing of the 2012 Asian Film Awards nominations have been announced.

Best Film

A Separation (Iran)

Postcard (Japan)

The Flowers of War (Mainland China)

Flying Swords of Dragon Gate (Hong Kong/Mainland China)

Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale (Taiwan)

You Don’t Get Life a Second Time (India)

Best Director

Asghar Farhadi, A Separation

Teddy Soeriaatmadja, Lovely Man

Sono Sion, Guilty of Romance

Tsui Hark, Flying Swords of Dragon Gate

Wei Te-sheng, Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale

Zhang Yimou, The...

Here are the new MPAA ratings from Bulletin No: 2206.

Animals United Rated PG For mild thematic elements, some action and peril, rude humor and brief language. Bounty Hunters Rated R For language, violence and some sexuality/nudity. Deep In The Heart Rated PG-13 For mature thematic elements involving alcohol and substance abuse, and for some violence and brief language. Dr. Seuss' The Lorax Rated PG For brief mild language. Release Date: March 2, 2012 Enter Nowhere Rated R For language and brief violence. Freeloaders Rated R For crude sexual content, nudity, language and drug use. Lovely Molly Rated R For strong disturbing violence and grisly images, some graphic sexual content and nudity, drug use and language. Mirror Mirror Rated PG For some fantasy action and mild rude humor. Release Date: March 16, 2012 The Odds Rated R For pervasive language, some violence, drug content and brief teen drinking. Safe House Rated R For...

Korean period-set action film War Of The Arrows has been winning praise everywhere it has been seen and with a Us release coming in February distributor Well Go USA have just released an excellent local trailer.Award-winning writer/director Kim Han-Min (Handphone, Paradise Murdered) unsheathes the lavish historical action epic War of the Arrows on Blu-ray™ + DVD Combo Pack and DVD February 21st from Well Go USA Entertainment. The international box office success stars Hae-il Park (The Host) as the best archer in Korea who is forced to go up against the Qing Dynasty in order to save his younger sister (Moon Chae-Won) from Mongolian invaders. The film was honored four times at the 2011 Daejong Awards, including Best Actor (Park Hae-il) and Best New...

Kim Han-Min's War of the Arrows (Choi-jong-byeong-gi Hwal) trailer and images, out on Blu-ray and DVD. The historical action epic finds release via Well Go USA Entertainment on February 21st, with a cast including Hae-il Park, Moon Chae-Won, Ryoo Seung-Ryong and Kim Mu-Yeol. Kim Han-Min helmed and wrote War of the Arrows, which opened theatrically last October. Blu-ray and DVD combo includes bonus features like actor and director interviews, a "Making of War of the Arrows" featurette, various deleted scenes and theatrical trailers. A Hero is Born. The Legend Begins. Set in 1636, the second Manchurian invasion of Korea rages chaos, as villages are attacked by overpowering Manchurian soldiers. The Manchurians kidnap childhood sweethearts, Ja-in and Seo-Goon on their wedding day. In an effort to save his sister...

Kim Han-Min's War of the Arrows (Choi-jong-byeong-gi Hwal) trailer and images, out on Blu-ray and DVD. The historical action epic finds release via Well Go USA Entertainment on February 21st, with a cast including Hae-il Park, Moon Chae-Won, Ryoo Seung-Ryong and Kim Mu-Yeol. Kim Han-Min helmed and wrote War of the Arrows, which opened theatrically last October. Blu-ray and DVD combo includes bonus features like actor and director interviews, a "Making of War of the Arrows" featurette, various deleted scenes and theatrical trailers. A Hero is Born. The Legend Begins. Set in 1636, the second Manchurian invasion of Korea rages chaos, as villages are attacked by overpowering Manchurian soldiers. The Manchurians kidnap childhood sweethearts, Ja-in and Seo-Goon on their wedding day. In an effort to save his sister...