2016.5.20 Now Playing

Canola (15)

Drama/ 116/ Korean

A long-lost granddaughter has returned after 12 years. But the passage of time has changed the relationship between her and her grandmother. What has happened to her?

Gye-chun, played by Yoon Yeo-jeong, is a haenyeo (female diver) on Jeju Island. After her granddaughter, Hye-ji, played by Kim Go-eun, comes back, Gye-chun cannot understand what she is thinking. She has a hidden objective in coming back to the island. The townspeople become suspicious of her. And again, she plans to disappear.

Director Chang came up with the screenplay based on memories of his mother. He thought that through this film, he could show his feelings toward her before it is too late.

Other actors also sympathized with the story. Yoon remembered her actual grandmother, who loved her so dearly. Kim felt the film could be a good present for her grandmother as well, since they live together.

Also, the film was shot mostly on Jeju Island. This is where Gye-chun has lived all 70 years of her life, and where her granddaughter has many memories. The film features scenes of haenyeo doing her work at sea, the island’s low stone walls and students riding bicycles. The film depicts ordinary life but is very beautiful.

The film will remind moviegoers of familial ties and love going beyond the generations.

The Angry Birds Movie (All)

Animation, comedy/ 97/ English

The Angry Birds are moving from your cell phone to the big screen. They will battle the villains who are disrupting the peaceful world.

There are three Angry Birds: Red cannot retrain himself from expressing his anger, Chuck acts before speaking, which causes problems, and Bomb literally explodes when he gets upset.

One day, an unknown and mysterious green pig arrives on the bird island. Incidents are continuously happening that threatens the birds’ lives. Conflict between the bird island and the pig island is inevitable.

The film features various action scenes and the adventure stories that cannot help but bring a smile to viewers’ faces. In particular, launching bombs at targets, which is a key element of the game, also plays an important role in the film. The frequent explosions give a sense of catharsis.

Surprisingly, a total of 130 different birds and 100 peculiar-looking pigs appear in the film, and they all have different facial expressions. Moreover, their action scenes are showcased in 3-D, which Sony Pictures Imageworks put a great deal of effort into.

The Wailing (15)

Thriller/ 156/ Korean

Thriller master Na Hong-jin once again brings the killings and the gore in his latest project, “The Wailing,” also known as “Gokseong” in Korea.

But this time, the acclaimed filmmaker takes the perspective of the victims instead of emphasizing the pursuit of the killer, as he did in his most well-known work, “The Chaser” (2008).

In the isolated mountain village of Gokseong, a mysterious series of killings begin to happen for an unknown reason. The assailants are covered with rashes and show irrational behavior as if they are possessed by demons.

Some say it is because of poisonous mushrooms, but no vegetable could cause this much damage.

Village police officer Jong-gu starts to track down the perpetrator once his one and only daughter falls victim to the mysterious symptoms.

He chases after a Japanese man living deep inside the village, after hearing rumors that he is a ghost that came to wipe out the village.

In the process, Jong-gu invites a famous shaman (Hwang Jung-min) to drive out whatever is controlling his daughter, but it seems that the shaman is not powerful enough to stop the evil force.

As Na tries to show the randomness of how murder victims are chosen, the spine-chilling “The Wailing” encompasses elements of Christianity, Shamanism and even Exorcism.

The Third Way of Love (15)

Drama, romance/ 113/ Chinese

The very first encounter of the two has changed their fate. Love has begun.

Lin Qizheng, played by Song Seung-heon, and Zou Yu, played by Liu Yifei, meet on an airplane. Lin sees the bitterly crying Zou and thinks her strange but wants to know more about her.

Like a miracle, they meet again. Lin has everything: money, honor, power and a handsome face. But he has not found true love, which he feels toward Zou. She, on the other hand, does not believe in the existence of true love. She does not feel the necessity of it anyway.

Nonetheless, he feels more attracted to her and wants her to love him.

The film is based on the best-selling novel of the same name. The Chinese author with the penname Ziyouxingzou uploaded the story online for seven years, touching the hearts of over 10 million readers.

With the all-star cast of Song and Liu, the film has gained much attention. Director John H. Lee, who is acclaimed for his famous romance film “A Moment to Remember” (2004), has shown his talent in displaying sophisticated emotions between two characters.

There is realistic love and ideal love, but the predestined love of Lin and Zou seems to be somewhere between.

I’m Feng (12)

Drama/ 66/ Korean

Feng Zhengjie is an acclaimed Chinese contemporary artist. This film deals with how Feng finds his artistic inspiration. But he finds he is lacking inspiration.

He cannot even sleep but struggles to produce art.

However, there is a female figure vaguely standing in front of Feng’s eyes. He cannot catch it and cannot go near it. Wherever he goes, he sees the image, and he cannot distinguish whether he is in her mind or she is in his mind.

Then, one night, he finally encounters the mysterious woman.

Director Min Byung-hun met Feng three years ago. Min could not define the level of profundity of his artworks - they just mesmerized the director. So he decided to film Feng in order to understand what his art is all about.

The film does not have much dialogue, but instead centers on images and sound.

The film is being screened as a special art exhibition along with an explanation from professional curators. The director is planning a six-month road show along with actors and Feng.

My New Sassy Girl (15)

Romance, comedy/ 99/ Korean

The sequel to the hit film “My Sassy Girl” (2001) has finally hit theaters. Many fans longed for the bizarre and comic relationship between Gyeon-woo, played by Cha Tae-hyun, and the sassy girl, played by Jun Ji-hyun in the first series.

After its successful release in Korea, the movie was exported to various countries, including China.

Thus, for the sequel, Chinese investors participated as well to produce the next hit film.

The film features a new sassy girl, Victoria from the K-pop girl group f(x). After the previous girl disappeared to become a Buddhist nun, Gyeon-woo encounters a new girl, who came back to Korea to marry him. She is his first love who moved to China. They together face hurdles in order to have a successful wedding.

Cha portrays the hardship of the young generation in Korea during the process of getting married.

Also, the film showcases various places in China such as Lijiang and the ancient tea route called Tea Horse Road in Yunnan Province. The filming sites were quite dangerous to shoot in, but created the spectacular scenes that will grasp the attention of moviegoers.