Blog: Lunapark6

Good news for indie Asian film fans. The next film for Korean director Hee-il Leesong titled "Tal Gu" (literal translation "Break Out") has started filming. Hee-il Leesong's first film "No Regret" dealt with the topic of homosexuality in Korea and impressed many viewers including myself. Even more good news for fans of that movie, Leesong's "Tal Gu" will also star Young-hoon Lee who played the main character in "No Regret." Other performers lined up to appear in "Tal Gu" are Yu-jin So and Lee-han Jin. "Tal Gu" deals with 6 soldiers and the reasons why [...]

More good news concerning Ki-duk Kim's next picture "Dream" (Bi-mong). The San Sebastian Film Festival has formally invited "Dream" to screen at their upcoming 56th Annual Film Festival in the competition section. So far Kim's "Dream" is the only Asian pic selected for the competition area and the others announced are Daniel Burman, Christophe Honoré, and Jaime Rosales. As mentioned in our prior article , Ki-duk Kim's "Dream" screened for movie investors at this year's Cannes Film Festival and went on to sell distribution rights to 8 countries including France, Russia, and Japan. [...]

Movie: L: Change the World Release Date: January 31, 2008 Country: Japan Director: Hideo Nakata Starring: Ken'ichi Matsuyama Runtime: 129 min Editor Rating: 5.5 Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. Following the successful 1-2 combination punch of "Death Note" and "Death Note: The Last Name," comes that series' first spin-off "L: Change the World." Yes, "L: Change the World" features everybody's favorite hunchbacked, candy loving, Gothic genius named "L." [...]

Movie: The Chaser Release Date: February 14, 2008 Country: South Korea Director: Hong-jin Na Starring: Yun-seok Kim , Jung-woo Ha Runtime: 123 min Editor Rating: 9.0 Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. Upon its theatrical release in Korea (Feb. 14th, 2008), "The Chaser" simply took the box office by storm and packed Korean cinema houses for 3 consecutive months. Currently the movie is the highest grossing film of [...]

Movie: Mongol Release Date: August 10, 2007 Country: Mongolia, Russia Director: Sergei Bodrov Starring: Tadanobu Asano Runtime: 126 min Editor Rating: 8.0 Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. "Mongol" is the highly anticipated new Genghis Khan film made with an international flavor. The film features noted Russian director Sergei Bodrov, Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano in the lead role, Chinese actor Honhlei Sun in the supporting role of Jamukha, and first time Mongolian [...]

Movie: My Mighty Princess Release Date: June 26, 2008 Country: South Korea Director: Jae-young Kwak Starring: Min-a Shin Runtime: 118 min Editor Rating: - Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. "My Mighty Princess" is the latest picture from Jae-yong Kwak, well known for his romantic-comedies like "My Sassy Girl" and "Windstruck." Although the film is being released today (June 26th) in South Korea, "My Mighty Princess" was filmed over 2 years ago [...]

The upcoming Korean/Japanese film " Boat ," which we reported about here , has casted its main female lead. Drumroll please. The lucky lady that will work alongside Satoshi Tsumabuki and Jung-woo Ha will be South Korean actress Su-yeon Cha . If you have seen " Eternal Hearts " you'll know who she is (she played Su-ji), as well as starring in this year's " Beautiful " (Ahreumdapda). For the Young-nam Kim directed film "Boat" Su-Yeon Cha will play Ji-su, the girl that gets smuggled into Japan from [...]

This little bit of news should get the girls excited. The very popular Geun-seok Jang ( Doremifasolasido / Crazy Waiting ) is set to appear in a new film titled " Baby & Me " (Agiwa Na). Starring alongside Geun-seok Jang is Byeol Kim last seen on the big screen in " Dasepo Naughty Girls " and currently on the KBS television show " Chilwu, the Mighty ." "Baby & Me" will be directed by first time director Jin-yeong Kim, who has produced such films as Mapado 2 , My Son , and [...]

One of the best actors working in Korea today, Jeong-min Hwang , is working on his next picture titled "Gongjung Gokyesa" (literal translation Air Acrobat). The film will co-star actor Deok-hwan Ryu ( Our Town / Like A Virgin ) and actress Ji-won Uhm ( Traces of Love / Scarlet Letter ). "Gongjung Gokyesa" will also feature acting vets Dal-su Oh and Je-mun Yun in supporting roles. The film is also directed by first time director Dae-min Park (having previously directed two short films). In "Gongjung Gokyesa" Jeong-min Hwang [...]

In a sign of the times, Korean website Cine21 has negotiated the rights to offer legal downloads of " The Chaser " via the internet starting on June 23. This is a full week before the release date for the DVD release. Cine 21 and investment company Vantage Holdings worked for 2 months to secure the rights for "The Chaser," which is the highest grossing South Korean film so far this year. Korean movie studios have been bleeding red for the past year and the potential to receive added revenue on top of ticket sales is a [...]

Hye-jeong Kang is quite the busy actress these days. She has a romantic-comedy titled " Kill Me " set for release sometime this summer/fall, and then she will work on a U.S. film, which we reported about here . It's now reported that she will also work on a new film with the working title of "Why Did You Come To Our House?" (literal translation of "Woorijibe wae wassni"). Her co-star will be Hie-sun Park , seen most recently in " Seven Days ." The film will be directed by newcomer Su-ah Hwang [...]

Likely the second most anticipated South Korean movie for summer 2008, " Dachimawa Lee ," has made August 14th as its official opening date. What's so special about "Dachimawa Lee" you may ask? Well, the movie is directed by none other than Seung-wan Ryoo, maker of such films as " City of Violence ," " Crying Fist ," " No Blood No Tears ," " Arahan ," and " Die Bad ." There's also Won-hie Lim ( Le Grand Chef ) playing a suave (Mike Myers type?) secret agent. If the thought of Won-hie Lim doesn't wet your [...]

Movie: Sky of Love / Koizora Release Date: November 3, 2007 Country: Japan Director: Natsuki Imai Starring: Yui Aragaki , Haruma Miura Runtime: 129 min Editor Rating: 3.0 Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. Warning: If you are averse to ultra-sweet love stories, "Sky of Love" may be hazardous to your health. (think uncontrollable laughter all the way to the urge to upchuck your lunch). The film [...]

Movie: And the Spring Comes Release Date: October 23, 2007 Country: China Director: Changwei Gu Starring: Wenli Jiang Runtime: 94 min. Editor Rating: 6.0 Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. "And the Spring Comes" is the second film from Chinese director Changwei Gu. Prior to Gu taking the director's seat, he was already well known as an accomplished cinematographer, having worked with the likes of Fifth Generation directors Chen [...]

Movie: The Machine Girl Release Date: March 22, 2008 Country: Japan Director: Noboru Iguchi Starring: Minase Yashiro , Asam i, Kentaro Shimazu Runtime: 96 min. Editor Rating: 4.0 Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. A movie creating strong buzz on the internet is the latest Noboru Iguchi splatter pic - named oh so cleverly - "The Machine Girl." The movie from the start let's you know its a tongue-in-cheek film, [...]

Hyuk Jang (Volcano High / Windstruck / Please Teach Me English) will appear in a new South Korean film named "Penthouse Elephant" (Pyenteuhauseu Kokkiri). The film is helmed by first time director Seung-ku Jeong, who has previously worked under Chang-dong Lee as an assistant director in "Secret Sunshine." ""Penthouse Elephant" will also co-star Dong-hyeok Jo , Sang-woo Lee , and Min-jung Lee (Pruning the Grapevine). The movie is reported to have heavy sex scenes and centers around three close friends as they deal with anxiety, desire, and blind passion. In "Penthouse Elephant," the [...]

Most likely to be the Korean movie of the year, at least in terms of box office receipts, is coming that much closer to its final release. Production company, CJ Entertainment, has announced the firm release date of July 17th, 2008 as the opening day for Ji-woon Kim 's highly anticipated Asian western, " The Good, the Bad, the Weird ." If you don't know by now, "The Good, the Bad, and the Weird" stars 3 of Korea's biggest acting names: Woo-sung Jung (The Good), Byung-hun Lee (The Bad), and Kang-ho [...]

Kar Wai Wong , the auteur of such legendary films as " Chunking Express " and " In The Mood for Love ," is currently residing as the head juror for the 11th Annual Shanghai International Film Festival. In a press conference given during SIFF, Kar Wai Wong spoke about his future plans and (thankfully) it doesn't include another Americana pic ala " My Blueberry Nights ." Rather, Kar Wai Wong wants to focus on the city of Shanghai in the same manner as Woody Allen works with the city of New York. Kar Wai Wong was originally [...]

Chalk up one more Korean actor/actress attempting to crack the U.S. market. In the past year alone, big name stars like Rain , Byung-hun Lee , Hye-kyo Song , and Gianna Jun (Ji-hyeon Jeon) have all appeared in U.S. films. One more person attempting to make that jump is Hye-jeong Kang , best known for her role in "Oldboy." Since her eye opening appearance in "Oldboy," Hye-jeong Kang's career has been hit or miss. Commercially speaking, "Welcome to Dongmakgol" was a big hit, while " Herb " and " Love Phobia " were flops. [...]

Movie: Exam: Bloody Mid-Terms Release Date: July 2008 Country: South Korea Director: Kam-dok Chang Starring: Beom-su Lee, Gyuri Nam, Beom Kim Runtime: Editor Rating: - Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. So you've had your fair share of South Korean romantic-comedies and twisted thrillers. What's there coming up this summer, besides the Good, the Bad, and the Weird, that's a bit off the beaten track? One such film that might pique your interest is "Gosa: Pihee Jungkangosa" with [...]