2012.11.09 NOW PLAYING
Published: 08 Nov. 2012, 21:19
Drama / 99 / Korean
Soo-won (Kim Ji-young) works as a caregiver in a hospital while her husband Dong-sik (Yoo Jun-sang) is a shooting coach in a middle school. Dong-sik used to be a former national shooter but alcoholism stopped him to compete further.
One day, Dong-sik is forced to drink though he has been sober for several years when meeting with the chairman of the board. Thinking it would reward him with a better salary, Dong-sik heavily drinks with the chairman. Then he drives under influence and ends up hitting one of his students, Chae-bin. Dong-sik becomes flustered and makes a hit-and-run, but he is soon found out by the police and sent to jail. While his husband is imprisoned, Soo-won resorts to the unthinkable to pay for the victim’s family.
In the process, her daughter goes missing and everything seems to collapse yet at the end, a miracle seems to rise and help this family break away from this chaos.
After having graduated with a degree in Cinematography from the Russian State Institute of Cinema, the movie’s director Min Byeong-hoon won various international awards for his first feature film “The Flight of the Bee” (1998) including the FIPRESCI Award and the Audience Award at the 16th Torino Film Festival. Min won his second FIPRESCI Award for his second feature film “Let’s Not Cry!” (2001) and a Special Mention Award at the 37th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival as well.
Drama, Romance / 103 / English
Be prepared to be caught in the moment as you let this romantic and stirring film take you on the life journey of Tessa, a 17-year-old leukemia patient. Played by American actress Dakota Fanning, Tessa is young, brave and passionate about her short but exhilarating life.
When Tessa decides to terminate her cancer treatment, she also makes the decision to live every moment to the fullest.
With the help of her best friend Zoey, she compiles a bucket list typical to a teenager. She takes drugs, rebels from her parents and loses her virginity.
An unexpected romance blossoms between Tessa and her neighbor Adam, who stands by her until the very end. While her family deals with fear and grief, Tessa continues to fulfill her life. “Now is Good” received mixed reviews when it was released in Britain.
Empire Magazine awarded the film three out of five stars and The Birmingham Mail said it was a great film for a good old weep.
Based on the book “Before I Die” by Jenny Downham, this movie is one for the family or younger couples on a rainy afternoon.
Drama, Sci-Fi / 90 / English
This fantasy romance will turn your world upside down in a gripping story between star-crossed lovers.
It is about two parallel worlds drawn apart by the laws of gravity.
The two worlds sit directly on top of each other, but remain out of reach for human interaction. The upper, more affluent world looks down upon the lower world, making interaction between the two worlds virtually impossible. But when Adam (Jim Sturgess) stumbles across Eden (Kirsten Dunst) from the other world, their curiosity about one another inevitably develops into passionate love. But the walls of gravity keep the couple apart.
In an action-packed adventure, Adam breaks all of the rules to get to the other world. He becomes the most wanted man by police forces and experiences many near misses with death. But the thing Adam must question is whether Eden, his great love, is worth the battle.
Starring two of Hollywood’s A-listers, this film about alternate universes will stimulate the mind and keep you sitting on the edge of your seat.
Don’t expect a slick blockbuster from this film. Although the graphics are mildly impressive, “Upside Down,” is worth seeing for its unique, quirky and intriguing story line.
How far will Adam go to get to the other side?
Black Dawn(19)
Thriller, Action / 128 / Korean, Japanese
Japan is in chaos after the country is struck by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. At the same time, the government is informed by the American CIA that uranium is being smuggled into Japan by North Korean spies.
When sensitive documents and enriched uranium goes missing, Kenji Sumimoto (Atsuro Watabe), a detective in the foreign affairs division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, is handed a hot case to lead anti-terrorist investigators to prevent a nuclear attack against Japan.
Meanwhile, the Korean National Intelligence Service also obtains the same information and an undercover Korean policeman Ahn Min-chul (Kim Kang-woo) joins the top secret investigation to uncover the truth by tracking the wife of a suspected company president who may be in contact with the terrorists.
“Black Dawn” is a follow-up to a Japanese television series, “Anti-Terrorism Investigators,” which aired in 2009. Yahoo TV drama review rated the movie 4.95 out of 5.0.
Drama, Comedy / 104 / English
Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins) is a somber and lonely man who works as an economics professor, plodding through life doing the same tedious job for 20 years. When he is asked to present a paper of which he is only the nominal co-author, he is reluctant.
He is neither interested in the subject nor has he read the whole work. Yet he is forced to attend the conference by his department head.
He does have one desire: to periodically immerse himself in learning how to play the piano so to feel connected to his late wife, a classical concert pianist.
His fairly solitary life is altered when he arrives back in Manhattan to discover an unmarried couple Tarek Khalil (Haaz Sleiman), a Syrian musician, and Zainab (Danai Gurira), a Senegalese ethnic jewelry designer, living there, having rented it from a swindler who claimed it was his.
Finding sympathy with the situation of the illegal immigrants who have nowhere else to go, Walter offers them to stay with him.
Walter finds connection with Tarek through both of their shared passion for music, especially Tarek’s African drumming. Eventually, the relationship grows fonder and genuine, enlivening Walter’s life again. Complication concerning illegal immigration stirs, however, as a misunderstanding on the subway leads to Tarek’s arrest and reveals the couple’s prohibited stay.
Will Walter be there to help Tarek out of his desperate situation?
You can expect an inspirational and heartfelt human drama in “The Visitor,” starring Richard Jenkins who was nominated for Best Actor in 2008 Academy Awards.
Director Thomas McCarthy also won the 2008 Independent Spirit Award for Best Director for the film.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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