2013.6.7 Now playing
Secretly, Greatly (15)Action / 123 / Korean
Three spies from the North are dispatched to a small town in South Korea. One of the group, Won Ryu-han (Kim Soo-hyun), an elite spy who has survived a brutal competition, takes on his first mission, which is playing an idiot in disguise. Another spy, Lee Hae-rang (Park Ki-woong), is ordered to play the role of an aspiring rock singer. The youngest spy, Lee Hae-jin (Lee Hyun-woo), is just a high school student.
Moreover, they grow anxious with no news from the North for a long time. Amid escalating tension on the peninsula as well as their concerns of being forgotten and abandoned, they come to mingle with the locals, gradually assimilating into the neighborhood.
But one day, all of sudden, they are ordered to complete an unexpected but significant mission. To come back home, they have no choice but to be legendary spies.
The film is based on the Webtoon of the same name by Hun (a pen name of Choi Jong-Hoon)
Although the plot is centered on the Korean conflict, the film will give a view of heartwarming humanity.
Miss Cherry’s Love Puzzle (15)
Drama / 98 / Korean
The film shows the struggles of four women in their late 20s.
No special event or big-name actors are in the film, but it’s just the story of you or your friends that any woman can related to. One day, when Aengdu (Ryu Hyun-kyung) says goodbye to her boyfriend who cheated on her, her parents win the lottery and go traveling. Left with money but lonely, she moves in together with her three best friends and is determined to embark on a new life. Five years later, now at age 28, when the four girls thought they would be at the top of their careers, they are lost and stuck in their life with their own problems. Moreover, none of the four women have been in a relationship over the whole five years.
Aengdu dreams of being a writer but continues failing in literary competitions. So-young, who works in a coffee shop as a part-timer, dates and mooches off numerous men and never settles down. Yoon-jin is a workaholic and can’t get over her first love. School teacher Na-eun has never dated a man in her whole life. Simply put, the film is made by women, for women, and is sure to be a blast for ladies’ movie night.
Dorian Gray (18)
Fantasy, Thriller / 112 / English
Based on Oscar Wilde’s 1890 Gothic novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” this movie adaptation would see the writer turning in his grave.
Set in Victorian London, it is a tale of a naive young man corrupted by a hedonistic lifestyle.
A young Dorian Gray (Ben Barnes) inherits his grandfather’s estate, moves to London and quickly falls under the influence of the charismatic Lord Henry Wotton (Colin Firth).
Soon after he arrives, artist Basil Hallward (Ben Chaplin) paints a portrait of the youthful Gray.
So remarkable is the portrait that Gray makes a deal with the devil to stay looking as he did in the picture. Instead, the picture ages and acts as a mirror of Gray’s soul, reflective of his increasing excesses and moral decay as encouraged by Wotten.
Cliched special effects, a liberal amount of rewriting and far too many sex scenes render it, at times, laughable. The ending is completely different from the original.
Wilde’s wit was almost entirely lost in this movie; the few classic lines that remain are what makes the film, to some degree, watchable.
Read the book before seeing the film. Then, watch it for what it is - an average film loosely based on a literary classic.
I Give It A Year (18)
Romantic Comedy / 97 / English
This British rom-com is a directing debut for Dan Mazer, best known for collaborations with Sacha Baron Cohen.
Also written by Mazer, it follows the trials and tribulations of a couple, novelist Josh (Rafe Spall) and brand consultant Nat (Rose Byrne), who marry shortly after meeting.
None of their friends, including Nat’s sister Naomi (Minnie Driver), think the couple will last.
Shortly after getting hitched, they are in counseling, and before long, both are tempted by others.
For Nat, it is American businessman and client Guy (Simon Baker) whom she neglects to tell that she is married.
For Josh, it is ex-girlfriend Chloe (Anna Farris), an aid worker who has recently returned from Africa.
While funny enough to keep the viewer entertained, the comedic aspects of the film mostly come from the characters embarrassing themselves in front of others. Comedian Stephen Merchant, who plays Josh’s obnoxious best friend Dan, also provides some laughs.
It is an easy, light-hearted, sometimes awkward movie that takes a somewhat cynical view of its genre. It’s only real difference from other rom-coms is that it starts where most of them end - with the wedding.
After Earth (12)
Sci-fi / 100 / English
M. Night Shyamalan, director of the movie “The Sixth Sense,” teams up with Will and Jaden Smith in this film.
The story is set 1000 years after humanity abandoned earth in the wake of cataclysmic events, and the human race moved to Nova Prime. But accidently, legendary commander Cypher (Will Smith) and teenager Kitai Raige (Jaden Smith) crash land on a desolate earth which looks like a barren desert. To make matters worse, Cypher gets critically wounded and Raige is the only one who can signal for help. Thus, the son takes a perilous journey and faces dangers like hungry animals and alien creatures - all the while learning to survive on his own.
The highly anticipated film is an extraordinary feat of imagination, featuring space and an imaginatively beautiful earth that is home to a number of mysterious creatures. The cutting-edge cinematography and the on-screen chemistry between the two Smiths will enthrall viewers. Shyamalan, of course, can also be counted on to jazz up the plot with his signature twist at the end.
Fast & Furious 6 (15)
Action / 130 / English
Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and the crew head back into the fast lane at the bidding of Agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) who needs help locating a mercenary. Promising to do away with their criminal records, Hobbs also promises Toretto and friends an unexpected incentive: Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), who was presumed dead in the fourth installment.
With Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) having become a dad and becoming an uncle himself, Toretto is at first unsure whether he should assemble his gang and re-enter the world of crime and action.
But at the urging of those who are closest to him, Toretto risks it all to find out once and for all if Letty is indeed alive. The plot is relatively easy to follow, but unless you are a fan of the car-heist franchise, there is nothing really new brought to the table by this tale.
Still, those who have a need for speed coupled with exotic locations - all over Europe - will get their thrills. The fight scene between Rodriguez and Mixed Martial Arts fighter Gina Carano also adds some extra oomph to the usual routine.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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