2017.3.16 Now Playing

Gold(15)

Drama/121/English

Kenny Wells, played by Matthew McConaughey, is a man who dreams of earning a great fortune. He heads to a jungle in Indonesia with an enthusiastic geologist Michael Acosta, played by Edgar Ramirez, to find gold. Just when his dream to become rich seemed impossible, he succeeds in discovering gold which is worth millions of dollars.

This film is loosely based on the true story of a gold scandal in 1993, where a large amount of gold was discovered in a jungle in Borneo, Indonesia. The character of Kenny Wells is based on Davis Walsh, a Canadian businessman in the oil industry. He is the founder of Bre-X, a Canadian mining company which was involved in one of the biggest stock market scandals in the history of Canada.

The film was nominated at the Golden Globes for Best Original Song in 2017. Matthew McConaughey won the Academy Awards for Best Actor for the film “Interstellar” (2014).

Collide (15)

Action/99/English

Casey Stein, played by Nicholas Hoult, is an American who lives in Cologne, Germany, working for a drug dealer. One day, he meets Juliette Marne, played by Felicity Jones, at a bar. After the two grow feelings towards each other, Casey asks her out on a date and they move in together. The story develops as Juliette suffers major kidney problems, but is unable to get a transplant as she does not have German citizenship. To get the money for Juliette’s medical operation, Casey goes back to work for his former boss and pulls off a big drug theft from the biggest drug dealer in Germany.

However, things do not go as planned when Casey’s identity is exposed to the rival group and Juliette gets kidnapped.

Nicholas Hoult is known for the British teen drama “Skins” (2007-8). Felicity Jones is best known for her role as Jyn Erso in “Rogue One” (2016).

Talking Kungfu Battles (18)

Comedy, Animation/73/Korean

Produced by Team5p, a flash animation production company formed in 2002, this is the first theatrical version of their animation. The group is known for their reckless and challenging spirits and sharp social satire, and the members of this group consist of five friends who majored in animation in college together. They have all participated from planning out the storyline and doing the dubbing work for the characters in the animation.

It took 13 years for them to complete the movie, and it portrays the world of martial arts and three warriors who have no idea what they are doing and are only interested in beautiful women.

Some of the popular animations from the group tackle issues such as evasion of military service among Korean celebrities, school violence issues, and sexual harassment in companies.

The Prison (18)

Action/125/Korean

After nightfall, inmates break free and commit perfect crimes, returning to the prison before sunrise. Han Suk-kyu, who plays the role of Jung Ik-ho, acts like a king among the inmates. One day, a new inmate Yu-geon, played by Kim Rae-won, comes to the prison charged with a hit and run accident and bribing a police officer. Ik-ho finds out that Yu-geon is a former detective and has a perfect arrest record. Soon, Yu-geon joins Ik-ho’s criminal organization.

Although the prison is considered to be a place for rehabilitation, separating criminals from society, the prison in this film is a place that provides a perfect alibi for its inmates.

Praised for his superb acting skills, Han Suk-kyu is known for the roles in “Christmas in August” (1998) and “Berlin” (2013).

Hidden Figures(12)

Drama/127/English

When the U.S was in fierce competition with Russia over who would succeed in sending mankind to space for the first time, three mathematicians played a vital role in the space program at NASA. These ‘human computers’ are: Dorothy Vaughan, played by Octavia Spencer, a programmer and a leader among black female employees at NASA, Mary Jackson, played by Janelle Monae, who dreams of becoming the first female engineer at NASA, and Katherine Johnson, played by Taraji P. Henson, who has outstanding mathematics skills. Despite the fact that they had to use a separate restroom from the white employees and were not able to attend important meetings because they were women, they did not give up and were selected as members of the space orbiting program. When faced with difficulty and things looked hopeless, the mathematical equations calculated by these women played a huge role in scientific breakthroughs.

This film, which is based on a true story, was selected by the National Board of Review as one of the top ten films of 2016. The film was nominated for three Oscars and two Golden Globes.

Les Cowboys (15)

Drama/104/French

It was a festive day in a village in France when a young girl, named Kelly, played by Iliana Zabeth goes missing. The father of Kelly, Alain, played by Francois Damiens, and his son Kid, played by Finnegan Oldfield, set off on a relentless search to find Kelly, going to far away places and searching for almost 15 years. Despite their efforts, they can’t find a clue or any evidence where Kelly might be.

Unlike similar thrillers, which often focus on action sequences as the father searches for his daughter, this movie sheds light on the meaning and the importance of family.

The director, Thomas Bidegain, made a name for himself in the French movie industry as some of his movies have been nominated for Academy Awards and other prestigious international movie awards.

The Postman (15)

Drama/114/Italian

Originally released in 1994, this film is about a friendship between real life Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (1904-73), played by Philippe Noiret and a postman, Mario Ruoppolo, played by Massimo Troisi. A former fisherman, Mario is hired as a postman and Pablo, who was exiled onto this small Italian island due to political reasons, is his only customer. The two form a friendship and Mario learns the world of poetry through Pablo.

Mario falls in love with Beatrice Russo, played by Maria Grazia Cucinotta, and thanks to the tips he learned from Pablo, he is able to express his love to her with his poetry, and wins her heart.

Pablo won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971. At the 68th Academy Awards, the film received five nominations and received an award for Best Original Score.

Beauty and the Beast (All)

Fantasy/123/English

Disney’s classic animated film takes a new form in this live-action adaptation with Emma Watson playing the role of Belle and Dan Stevens playing the role of the Beast. Just like the original film, Belle is a smart and a beautiful girl who dreams about finding love. One day, she heads to a mysterious-looking tower in search of her father and meets a beast who is under a curse. Belle is taken as a prisoner in exchange for her father, Maurice, and finds out that everyone in the enchanted castle is under a spell. Despite her fears, Belle makes friends with others in the castle and looks beyond the beast’s scary image and notices the warm heart that the beast has. The beast’s spell can only be broken by finding true love.