2012.10.12 NOW Playing
Sci-Fi, Action / 118 / English
Time travel is outlawed in the year 2074, while technology has made it virtually impossible to destroy evidence of crime. This doesn’t stop organized criminals from eliminating their targets. The future mobs send the people they want killed back to 2044, where “loopers,” or hired assassins, await them. The loopers have one rule: Never let your target escape - no matter what. If the mobs want to close the contract with the looper, they “close the loop” by sending him to the past to be eliminated by his younger self.
In Kansas, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a looper named Joe who holds a perfect record of killings. As a looper, he is highly paid and lives the rock star lifestyle of constant parties, drugs and women.
One day, Joe is faced with his new target - a 30-year-old Joe (Bruce Willis). Older Joe has traveled in time to locate and kill “Rainmaker,” his wife’s murderer. With a moment of shock as he discovers the truth, Joe misses his target. Knowing his life could be in danger if his boss were to be aware of his failed mission, Joe goes on a manhunt to kill his future self.
“Looper” is full of fast chases, explosions, gun battles, bloodshed and suspense wrapped with thought provoking elements of ethics.
Romance, Drama / 111 / Chinese, Korean
Set in the 1930s, Shanghai, the city’s greatest playboy and every woman’s dream, Seipan (Jang Dong-gun), and the city’s wealthiest businesswoman, Mojiewi (Cecilia Chung), meet at a charity ball for refugees from the Japanese-occupied northeast part of the country. As ex-lovers, these two make a bet for Seipan to seduce the charity’s organizer and demure widow Du Fenyu (Zhang Ziyi). Mojiewi believes that Seipan won’t succeed, but the man thinks otherwise.
This movie is one of the many adaptations of the acclaimed French novel “Les Liaisons Dangereuses,” by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. “Dangerous Liaisons” was released in China last month to rave reviews, and it has been very much anticipated by the Korean audience as well. Expectations are higher than usual as it stars A-lister Jang, who is one of the most beloved Korean actors both at home and abroad. The movie’s director, Hur Jin-ho, is known to have a preference for love-themed productions, such as his past work in “One Fine Spring Day” (2001) and “Christmas in August” (1998), which was shown at Critic’s Week in Cannes in 1998, and in his first Korean-Chinese movie ,“A Season of Good Rain” (2009).
Documentary / 106 / English
Ever wondered how a life in prayer and silence can be alike?
With his 10 years of correspondence, director Michael Whyte has been given unrestricted access to just that. He offers viewers an inside look at the monastery of the Most Holy Trinity located in London’s Notting Hill, a home of Carmelite nuns since 1878.
The devotions of the nuns are solemn. They vow poverty, chastity and obedience, while silence is maintained throughout the day. The film gives an account of the day-to-day routines of these women of faith, showing them cooking, cleaning, gardening and singing. They also hardly ever leave their cloister, aside from a visit to a doctor or dentist.
“No Greater Love” is a captivating and inspirational record of pious women who have fully placed themselves in God’s hands.
Drama / 96 / French
Polish feminist director Malgoska Szumowska explores the theme of prostitution in her French film, “Elles.”
Anne is a feminist and a journalist for the renowned French magazine Elle.
For her latest assignment, she engrosses herself in examining university student prostitution.
The job leads her to meet two audacious and independent young women, Alicja (Joanna Kulig) and Charlotte (Anais Demoustier).
To her disbelief, Anne’s study leads her to think the persisting thought about one of the oldest professions in the world may have been blown out of proportion. She finds freedom, pride and empowerment from these women as their stories stimulate her to rediscover her own sexuality.
The film stars Academy Award winner Juliette Binoche as the main character.
The Spy (15)
Action, Comedy / 115 / Korean
Section chief Kim (Kim Myung-min) was dispatched to South Korea 22 years ago to spy for the North Korean government. But spying is not his job anymore, or at least, it’s not what he does in daily life.
Now, Kim makes a living by selling fake Viagra pills smuggled from China and returns home every night to his wife and two loving children.
When Kim unexpectedly receives an assassination order from his boss (Yu Hae-jin), he gathers his teammates: assistant manager Kang (Yum Jung-ah), a single mother and real estate agent, adviser Yoon (Byun Hee-bong), a retired senior citizen who specializes in making forged IDs, and assistant manager Woo (Jung Gyu-woon), a farmer whose expertise is hacking computers.
Although these four people no longer want to be part of the assassination attempt, they have no choice but to follow the order.
While on routine reconnaissance, the protagonist enters the residence of their target as a cable repairman and notices a large safe in one of the rooms. Later, he meets his fellow spies and devises a secondary plan to steal the contents of the safe, presumed to be money. No one knows if they will actually be able to get hold of the money as they in turn have become targets of the South Korean government.
My Way (15)
Drama / 148 / French
Director Florent-Emilio Siri captures the story of Claude “Cloclo” Francois, a French pop singer, songwriter and dancer whose global claim to fame is the eponymous Frank Sinatra ballad he composed and performed under the title “Comme d’habitude.” He spent most of his childhood in Egypt until his family moves to live in poor conditions in Monaco. Despite being the breadwinner of the house, Francois never abandons his dream of music and dance and continues to dream of becoming a singer. Yet his father reproaches the instability of his future as a musician. With his unrelenting zeal and confidence, Francois moves to Paris, where opportunities await. Soon, he mesmerizes Europe with his music, making a name for himself.
On the fast track to success, he shows unprecedented spectacular performances, attracting public praise and becoming an icon of French pop music. Yet slowly his dark inner side, concealed by the glamorous performances ,begins to encroach on his spotlight.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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