2008. 12.5 NOW PLAYING
Published: 05 Dec. 2008, 07:42
Adventure, Fantasy / 117 min. / English, Romanian
In 1920, stuntman Roy Walker (Lee Pace) and a young girl named Alexandria (Catinca Untaru) meet at a Hollywood hospital. Roy has suffered a broken leg after falling on the set of his latest movie; Alexandria broke her arm falling from an orange tree.
To pass the time, Roy begins telling Alexandria fantastical stories about five heroes. His tales include evil tyrants, dream-like palaces and outrageous landscapes that Alexandria’s vivid imagination brings to life. The adventures are entertaining, but as the story develops, the boundary between fiction and reality blurs and confuses her.
Award-winning music video and film director Tarsem Singh of “The Cell” creates a visually stunning film shot in 28 different countries.
Saw V (18)
Thriller, Horror / 92 min. / English
Although Jigsaw, the killer in the “Saw” franchise, died in Saw III, the saga continues. Director David Hackl, the production designer on the previous three films, takes Saw V navigating through this sequel with less gruesome torture scenes but more creative twists and turns in the story line.
FBI Agent Strahm (Scott Patterson) is working on an ongoing investigation into the Jigsaw killings of the previous films, only to find himself targeted. For some reason, he can’t escape that feeling that another detective (Costas Mandylor) is somehow linked to the carnage.
As the story progresses, a slew of new victims find themselves in the hands of Jigsaw’s successor. Meanwhile, the dead killer’s ex-wife, Jill, receives a strange delivery as his will is executed. Through flashback sequences, Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) himself returns to the screen to re-enact some of his familiar horrific tests.
The Magic Hour (12)
Comedy / 111 min. / Japanese
Bingo (Satoshi Tsumabuki) breaks a long-held taboo and has an affair with his boss’s lover.
His liaison with Mari (Eri Fukatsu) costs him his life. His boss orders him to find the legendary assassin Tera Togacy.
When he can’t locate the assassin, he tricks a third-rate actor, Murata (Koichi Sato), into playing the role for a film that does not exist.
The boss is impressed by Murata, whom he thinks is Tera Togacy, and plans on a decisive battle with the enemy.
Will Bingo’s movie work out in reality?
Blindness (18)
Thriller, Mystery / 121 min. / English
Jose Saramago’s renowned novel “Blindness” is brought to the screen by Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles.
An epidemic of blindness suddenly strikes an unnamed city. As the disease spreads, the government decides to quarantine the afflicted.
Amongst them is a doctor (Mark Ruffalo). His wife (Julianne Moore), unable to live without him, feigns blindness and joins him in the grimy high-security institution where all the visually impaired are isolated.
The couple is desperate to survive in the unsanitary facility, which falls into chaos.
As the only person who can observe the chaotic situation, the wife is put in a position of great responsibility.
Max Payne (15)
Thriller, Action / 100 min. / English
Max Payne (Mark Wahlberg) is a cop obsessed with finding the killer of his wife, Michelle, and newborn daughter. Max caught one of the two murderers but the other can’t be found.
Max attends a party run by his snitch where he meets Russian sisters Natasha (Olga Kurylenko) and Mona Sax (Mila Kunis).
Natasha wants to sleep with Max but he’s not interested. As Natasha walks down an alleyway, she is attacked and killed by a mysterious flying object.
Max’s former partner, Alex, investigates the murder and discovers that Natasha has the same tattoo on her arm as the murderers of Max’s family. Alex is later found dead, and both Mona and Max seek revenge.
Connected (15)
Thriller, Action / 113 min. / Chinese
Engineering designer Grace (Barbie Hsu) is kidnapped right after she drops off her daughter at school.
The unidentified kidnappers threaten to kill her daughter if she doesn’t tell them where her brother is.
She’s kept in isolation with nothing but an old broken phone that only connects randomly. She doesn’t know who’s on the other end, but just hopes that someone will pick up.
On the receiving end, Bob (Louis Koo), like all the others, thinks it’s a nuisance call and wants to hang up, but then he hears gunfire over the phone.
If he hangs up on Grace, she might die. But can he rescue the woman on the phone?
Waltz with Bashir (18)
Animation, War, Drama / 87 min. / Israeli
One evening, at a bar with an old friend, director Ari Folman recounts a nightmare in which he is chased by 26 furious dogs.
The two conclude that the nightmare is closely related to their experience in the first Lebanon War.
However, Ari can’t remember anything from that time, so he decides to meet old friends from the war and interview them.
The memories mostly blur at first but later develop vividly. 3D animation mitigates the severity of war and adds dramatic essence.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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