2018.9.6 Now Playing
Romance / 97 / English / Sept. 6
This tale of survival and romance directed by Baltasar Kormakur of “2 Guns” fame is loosely based on the true story of two sailors who embarked on a treacherous journey from Tahiti to San Diego in 1983.
Easy-going tomboy Tami Oldham (Shailene Woodley) and the soft-spoken Richard Sharp (Sam Claflin) bond over their mutual desire to travel the world by yacht. Their happy journey comes to a halt when they run into a category-4 hurricane in the Pacific Ocean.
The storm batters their boat, but doesn’t completely destroy it, and when she wakes from the disaster, Tami finds herself in a flooded cabin, surrounded by cans of food and floating debris. Richard is nowhere to be seen, but when the two miraculously reunite, they rely on each other to survive and develop a close bond that endures.
Drama / 140 / English / Sept. 6
Molly Bloom (Jessica Chastain) is a competitive skier whose sports career comes to an abrupt end when she suffers a gruesome injury. Instead of following her original plan of going to law school, she decides to move to Los Angeles and makes up for her failed dream as a sport star by waiting tables, doing administrative work and, eventually, running an underground poker parlor.
Dean Keith (Jeremy Strong) runs poker games for the Hollywood elite and becomes responsible for Molly’s involvement in the underground world. Molly proves her talent and quickly learns to appeal to players to gain tips. She is soon tasked with organizing high-stakes games for the biggest stars.
When Dean realizes Molly is growing too independent, he attempts to control her, without much success, and eventually fires her. But after accumulating contacts through years of working in the field, Molly goes on to run her own poker games.
Things go smoothly for Molly until the FBI raids her home as part of an investigation into Russian mob activities, leaving Molly with two choices: give up all the information she has or go to prison.
This film was directed by Aaron Sorkin, the Oscar-winning writer behind acclaimed dramas like “A Few Good Men” (1992) and “The Social Network” (2010).
Romance / 86 / Korean / Sept. 6
Screenwriter Hee-jin (Choi Yeo-jin) and director (Ryu Seung-su) visit Bohol in the Philippines to collect information on diving for a script they are writing. The two interview several people on the island, a popular spot for divers. One of the interviewees is Si-eon (Jung Chae-yull), a diving instructor.
Hee-jin met Si-eon when she taught yoga, and though they used to be close, something went wrong between them. Noticing the strange vibe between Hee-jin and Si-eon, the director discovers the strange and shocking relationship that the two share.
The film uses diving as a metaphor to describe the depth of people’s relationships and the difference between what is seen on the surface and what lies below.
Directed by Cho Sung-kyu, “Deep” was screened at this year’s Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in July.
High Society (18)
Drama / 120 / Korean / Aug. 29
Jang Tae-jun (Park Hae-il) is a highly respected and popular economics professor at a university, but he hopes to become a politician in order to achieve his goal of creating microloan programs for economically struggling small business owners. By chance, he lands in the media spotlight, paving the way for him to jump into politics and giving him the opportunity to become a ruling party candidate with a seat in parliament.
His wife, Oh Su-yeon (Soo Ae), is a curator at a big art gallery operated by a conglomerate. She is an ambitious woman who has built a reputation in the industry and one day hopes to become director of the gallery. She insists to her husband that they continue living in the posh Gangnam area, where she says the high rent motivates her to push herself harder.
Her job as a curator, though, actually involves helping the conglomerate’s owner family create slush funds through mysterious art deals that often involve politicians.
The film looks into a well-off middle-class couple’s desperate attempt to enter the upper echelons of society.
Thriller / 101 / English / Aug. 29
David Kim (John Cho) is the single father of 16-year-old Margot (Michelle La). One night, his daughter goes missing. Worried about her safety, David follows Margot’s online footprint on her laptop and realizes that he knew very little about her.
After the lead detective on the case fails to find a single lead on Margot’s whereabouts, David becomes suspicious of the people around him and decides to take things into his own hands.
The film, directed by Aneesh Chaganty, tells the story of a father’s search using computer screens and smartphones.
Romance / 110 / Korean / Aug. 22
Directed by Lee Seok-geun, this romantic comedy is a classic boy-meets-girl story, depicting the 10-year love story of two people from their teenage years to adulthood.
In the summer of 2005, Wu-yeon (Kim Young-kwang), a high school senior, falls in love with transfer student Seung-hee (Park Bo-young). Believing that Seung-hee is the one, Wu-yeon constantly follows her around.
Just as they announce that they are officially dating, Seung-hee suddenly transfers to a different school, leaving Wu-yeon devastated.
A year later, Wu-yeon finds a job working part-time at a fried chicken joint and finds out that Seung-hee has enrolled at Hankuk University. Determined to meet her again, Wu-yeon decides to study hard and manages to enroll at the same university.
On the first day of school, Wu-yeon lingers around campus, hoping to bump into Seung-hee. The two meet in front of a tteokbokki (spicy rice cake) shop outside the campus. Unlike Wu-yeon, who is happy to meet her, Seung-hee is already in a relationship with a handsome and athletic senior.
Action, comedy / 117 / English / Aug. 22
Audrey (Mila Kunis) and Morgan (Kate McKinnon) are best friends living in Los Angeles. On her 30th birthday, Audrey is sad because her boyfriend Drew (Justin Theroux) just dumped her via text message and even Morgan can’t seem to cheer her up.
As if that’s not bad enough, Audrey gets called in to be questioned and soon finds out that Drew was actually a CIA agent instead of a radio host. What’s even worse is that he shows up to her apartment and informs her that the people who were after him are also after her. While warning her not to trust anyone, they are suddenly attacked by a team of killers who have been trailing him.
Despite the initial hesitation, Audrey joins Drew in helping him with his international mission, and Morgan volunteers to join along. The two go to Europe and get busy running away from assassins. Although they don’t know who to trust, they need to finish the assignment to save people’s lives.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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