Mark James Russell

Books, blog and other blather

Category: Korean movies (Page 17 of 31)

Korea Weekend Box Office – Feb. 29-March 2

March 4, 2008 / / 0 Comments

Looks like THE CHASER continues to hold up nicely, taking the top spot at the box office for a third weekend in a row. THE CHASER has a little over 3 million admissions now, making it a solid hit, and since it is still No. 1, I am guessing it has a good shot at beating FOREVER THE MOMENT to become the biggest hit of the year so far.

Not much else noteworthy in the top-10 this week. But down at No. 15 is the sad, sad opening of Hong Sang-soo’s latest, NIGHT & DAY. Just 3,800 admissions in its first three days (or about $28,000). Wow. Is that the worst showing ever for a Hong Sang-soo film?

Looks like Korea is no country for NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. In its second weekend, NO COUNTRY landed in 13th, and has had just 37,000 admissions since it opened.

This Week Title…………………………………….. Release Date Screens Nationwide Weekend Revenue (bil. won) Total Revenue (bil. won)
1. The Chaser (Chugyeokja – Korean) 2.14 490 4.29 18.90
2. Vantage Point 2.28 353 2.34 2.75
3. Babo – Korean 2.28 342 2.17 2.58
4. Jumper 2.14 325 0.91 10.43
5. The Spiderwick Chronicles 2.14 229 0.62 3.73
6. Deathnote L: Change the World 2.21 279 0.35 2.06
7. Rambo 4 2.28 262 0.34 0.45
8. Fool’s Gold 2.28 168 0.24 0.28
9. Kungfu Dunk 2.28 190 0.20 0.25
10. War 2.28 170 0.19 0.22

(Source: KOBIS – Figures represent 97% of nationwide box office)

Crazy week coming up for new releases. THERE WILL BE BLOOD (yeah!), MY NEW PARTNER (ugh), 27 DRESSES (I’m always the bridesmaid…), ASSEMBLY (starts okay, but turns into Chinese propaganda in the second half), and MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS (getting a massive push on OCN, but I fear it is an inferior Wong Kar Wai film). Lots of competition for early March.

Korea Weekend Box Office – Feb. 22-25

February 26, 2008 / / 0 Comments

Looks like work is getting out about THE CHASER, whose box office rose to 4.40 billion won this weekend from 3.59 billion won last weekend. The question is, will the film begin to fade now, after a moderate success, or will word-of-mouth take it to the next level? Honestly, I could imagine either happening. The film is quite good and it could become one of those must-see films that erupt from time to time. But it is also quite dark and gory, which might turn off some audiences. I guess we’ll have to wait until next week to get a better idea…

DEATHNOTE L opened okay, I guess. It had about 210,000 admissions as of Sunday night. Down from the 290,000 the original DEATHNOTE pulled in during its opening weekend, but not bad for the third film in a silly franchise.

In case you are wondering, Korean films have now pulled in 59.9 percent of the box office thus far in 2008. Hollywood has 33.9 percent, and just dribs and drabs for the rest of the world.

This Week Title…………………………………….. Release Date Screens Nationwide Weekend Revenue (bil. won) Total Revenue (bil. won)
1. The Chaser (Chugyeokja – Korean) 2.14 501 4.40 11.52
2. Jumper 2.14 397 2.12 8.44
3. Deathnote L: Change the World 2.21 298 0.96 1.23
4. Spiderwick Chronicles 2.14 239 0.85 2.60
5. Atonement 2.21 166 0.56 0.68
6. Once Upon a Time in Corea – Korean 1.31 232 0.32 9.97
7. Lovers of Six Years (6 Nyeonjjae Yeonaejung – Korean) 2.05 215 0.24 7.30
8. Juno 2.21 203 0.20 0.26
9. 3:10 to Yuma 2.21 176 0.17 0.20
10. The Orphanage 2.14 178 0.17 1.00

(Source: KOBIS – Figures represent 97% of nationwide box office)

Straight, No Chaser

February 23, 2008 / / 0 Comments

I finally got around to seeing the surprise hit THE CHASER (추격자) today, and quite liked it. For a thriller about a serial killer, prostitutes and their pimp, it was surprisingly fresh and funny (not to mention tense and really gory). It is not as good as MEMORIES OF MURDER, but it is one the best Korean films I have seen in quite a while.


When I first saw the trailer, I scoffed pretty loudly. It looked like a hodgepodge of cliches and lurid voyeurism. The sort of lame crap we have seen 100 times before. Boy, was I wrong.

Na Hong-jin’s THE CHASER is not your typical murder mystery, and does not follow the 3-act Hollywood structure at all. For one thing, the bad guy spends much of the film in police custody. He even confesses to his crimes, almost casually.

So where is the suspense? Don’t worry, there is plenty to go around. Jung-ho (Kim Yun-seok) is strangely engrossing as the ex-cop pimp looking to find out what happened to his girls. The various people who cross the killer’s path come to some grizzly demises. The police, of course, are little help, preferring to argue amongst themselves rather than do any police work.

The various chase scenes in the movie are well done, weaving throughout the alleys and narrow streets in a way that really draws you in. In a movie called THE CHASER, you really need to have good chasing scenes, and fortunately THE CHASER has several.

(One minor quibble, or potential quibble, but is that really Mangwon-dong we see in the movie? Much of the film is supposed to take place on a big hill in Mangwon-dong, Mapo-gu. But I cannot think of any big, hilly neighborhood like that in Mangwon. Maybe such a place exists, but I have never seen it).

Korea Weekend Box Office – Feb. 15-17

February 19, 2008 / / 0 Comments

Huh? People were interested in seeing JUMPER? I would not have guessed that.

Nice to see THE CHASER doing well. The low-budget thriller got really good reviews and seems to have found an audience. But how long can it hold on? On Thursday, it will have to compete against the 3:10 TO YUMA, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN and DEATHNOTE: L.

FOREVER THE MOMENT has now officially passed the 4-million-admissions mark, making it the biggest Korean hit since D-WAR.

This Week Title…………………………………….. Release Date Screens Nationwide Weekend Revenue (bil. won) Total Revenue (bil. won)
1. Jumper 2.14 429 3.72 4.69
2. The Chaser (Chugeokja – Korean) 2.14 507 3.59 4.34
3. The Spiderwick Chronicles 2.14 207 1.07 1.25
4. Once Upon a Time in Corea (Korean) 1.31 310 0.72 9.25
5. Lovers of Six Years (6 Nyeonjjae Yeonaejung – Korean) 2.05 284 0.71 6.64
6. The Orphanage 2.14 195 0.47 0.58
7. Life Is Beautiful (Daehani, Mingukssi – Korean) 2.14 197 0.41 0.51
8. The Devil’s Game (Deo Geim – Korean) 1.31 280 0.40 9.43
9. Forever the Moment (Uri Saengae Choigo-ui Sungan – Korean) 1.10 265 0.36 25.63
10. The Martian Child 2.14 18 0.060 0.070

(Source: KOBIS – Figures represent 97% of nationwide box office)

As long as I am mentioning coming films, Feb. 28 sees the Korean release of Hong Sang-soo’s NIGHT AND DAY and Cristian Mungiu’s Cannes-winner 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS. And RAMBO 4.

March 6 is the happy day THERE WILL BE BLOOD comes out, which is the movie I really, really want to see. Wong Kar-wai’s MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS comes out then, too.

Korea Weekend Box Office – Feb. 8-10

February 13, 2008 / / 0 Comments

Seollal is always one of the best seasons in Korea for going to the movies. And this year, because Seollal fell on a Thursday, that meant people got most of the week off of work. In other words, last week was a movie-going holiday with limitless potential.

Unfortunately, the competition was pretty unbelievable. Six new, high-profile Korean films have been released in the past couple of weeks… all of which did okay, but none of which was able to distinguish itself from the others. As a result, a lot of films there did okay, but nothing special.

The one special film continues to be FOREVER THE MOMENT, which has now topped 4 million admissions… or over $25 million.

Oh, Korean films are now up to 61.5 percent of the year’s box office, in case you were curious.

This Week Title…………………………………….. Release Date Screens Nationwide Weekend Revenue (bil. won) Total Revenue (bil. won)
1. Once Upon a Time in Corea (Korean) 1.31 353 3.18 7.65
2. Forever the Moment (Uri Sangae Choego-ui Sungan – Korean) 1.10 357 2.88 24.83
3. Lovers of Six Years (6 Nyeonjjae Yeonaejung – Korean) 2.05 386 2.96 4.90
4. The Devil’s Game (Deo Geim – Korean) 1.31 327 2.91 8.24
5. His Last Gift (Majimak Seonmul – Korean) 1.31 291 0.93 1.47
6. The Man Who Was Superman (Syupeomaenieossdeon Sanai – Korean) 1.31 298 0.92 3.45
7. The Warlords 1.31 236 0.77 2.37
8. Charlie Wilson’s War 2.06 165 0.58 0.97
9. Radio Days (Korean) 1.31 229 0.33 1.32
10. Alien vs. Predator 2 1.24 134 0.28 1.73

(Source: KOBIS – Figures represent 97% of nationwide box office)

Sorry for not doing more updates these days. As I said before, am rather busy with regular work, plus I am trying to get a couple of new things off the ground. Hopefully I will be able to announce them soon.

Korea Weekend Box Office – Feb. 1-3

February 5, 2008 / / 0 Comments

Quite the battle of all-against-all last weekend, with four major new films opening (not to mention the continuing success of FOREVER THE MOMENT). Nevertheless, it was a quite weekend overall, and no single film really took hold of the public’s imagination. This long weekend, with the Seollal holiday, will show what people think of those new releases.

Overall, though, I think it was a decent weekend for Korean movies. The top four movies were all Korean, and five of the top six, and six of the top 10. Not bad. Good enough, in fact, to raise Korean films to 53.9 percent of the box office so far in 2008.

This Week Title…………………………………….. Release Date Screens Nationwide Weekend Revenue (bil. won) Total Revenue (bil. won)
1. The Game (Korean) 1.31 441 2.42 2.88
2. Forever the Moment (Uri Saengae Choego-ui Suga – Korean) 1.10 409 2.02 19.91
3. Once Upon a Time in Corea (Korean) 1.31 394 1.87 2.31
4. The Man Who Was Superman (Syupeomaenieossdeon Sanai – Korean) 1.31 514 1.38 1.71
5. The Warlords 1.31 293 0.81 0.99
6. Radio Days (Korean) 1.31 314 0.56 0.68
7. Cloverfield 1.24 255 0.42 3.47
8. Happily N’Ever After 1.24 212 0.28 1.32
9. Open City (Mubangbi Dosi – Korean) 1.10 159 0.24 10.3
10. Bee Movie 1.03 118 0.13 6.82

(Source: KOBIS – Figures represent 97% of nationwide box office)

‘Night & Day’ and other Random Notes – Vol 3, No. 5

February 3, 2008 / / 1 Comment

So I got the chance to see Hong Sang-soo’s latest film NIGHT & DAY a few days ago. The film officially makes its world premier on Feb. 12 at the Berlin International Film Festival, but, well, there are ways…

Of course, I am sworn to secrecy about the film. But I can say what the press kits talk about — it is the story of a middle-aged artist who flees to Paris after smoking a little pot in Korea. While in Paris he meets an ex-girlfriend, makes a new girlfriend, and smokes and drinks a lot.


It was Hong’s longest movie so far, clocking in at 144 minutes, but it felt quite brisk and I never felt bored. Perhaps not as fun as WOMAN ON THE BEACH, but most worthwhile. I will try to write more about it after its official premier in 10 days.

  • Not that anyone asked, but here is my unofficial list of Hong Sang-soo’s best films:
    1. A Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors
    2. Woman on the Beach
    3. Night and Day
    4. Turning Gate
    5. The Day a Pig Fell in the Well
    6. The Power of Kangwon Province
    7. Woman Is the Future of Man
    8. Conte du Cinema
    I would not put too much stock in that list, though. Nos. 1 and 8 are fairly entrenched, but the rest of the list fluctuates a lot day by day.
  • After the screenings, a bunch of us went to eat and drink and noraebang (because “noraebang” should be a verb at this point). Director Hong led us in a pretty brutal drinking version of Rock, Paper, Scissors. And there was much merriment. Drinking with director Hong just after watching a Hong film (full of drinking and such), is a pretty amusing experience.
  • I cannot believe I missed this news when it broke (well, actually I can… I have been swamped with work for the last couple of weeks) — Kim Chang-ik, drummer of the great Korean rock group Sanullim, died a few days ago. Apparently there was some sort of accident in British Columbia, where he lived.

    Like Popular Gusts, I have long considered Sanullim’s second album to be one of my favorites. When you have had a couple of adult beverages too many and you are at some old bar at 2 or 3 in the morning, and that great bass line from Nae Maeum-ae Judan-eul Kkalgo comes on the bar’s stereo, it is one of my favorite feelings. I am just happy I was able to catch the band live in concert at their 30th anniversary show a couple of years ago.

  • A very sad story in the New York Times a couple of days ago about the fate of Michael Vick’s dogs. Wonderful to see that people are trying to nurse them back to health (both physical and mental). But the story of Georgia is really heartbreaking…
  • THE WIRE. I have now managed to see the first five episodes of season five of THE WIRE, and I continue to be as impressed as ever. As I believe I said before, I am especially enjoying this season because it focuses on the Baltimore Sun newspaper, which I used to read regularly in the couple of years I spent in that city.

    What makes it even better for me is that when I was breaking into journalism a few years ago, I was working at the Joongang Daily under Hal Piper, a first-rate reporter and editor who spent most of his career at the Baltimore Sun.

    Season five has been especially controversial to some (journalists, mostly) because of its portrayal of cutbacks and the modern evolution of the news room. Some people think that David Simon, the show’s creator and veteran crime reporter for The Sun, has been unduly harsh and petty about the leadership at The Sun when he was there. Others think he was spot on. There have been some great debates.

    As for Mr. Piper, he has not seen THE WIRE, but this is what he had to say about The Sun and Mr. Simon and the others:

    Yes, I knew Simon (not well), Carroll and Marimow. The latter two were my bosses in my last few years at the Sun, and I respected them a lot. I have seen what Simon says, but I think Carroll and Marimow reversed a prior decline in the quality of the Sun. When I left it in 2001 I thought it was a better paper than it had been in 10 or 15 years. Now that I am back in Baltimore, and reading the Sun again, I think it is a worse paper than I can remember in my lifetime. So, acknowledging Simon’s talent — he really was a great police reporter — I wouldn’t trust his evaluation of the paper as a whole. That said, I am dying to see the show. Some of my friends who are no longer with the paper have bit roles as reporters.

    He goes on to say: “The issue, it seems to me, is that management has made a strategic decision in favor of mediocrity (closing foreign bureaus, using mostly wire stuff for travel and book reviews, etc.).” Ouch.

    At any rate, you can read Simon’s point of view about the series and Baltimore and more in this fine story.

    • Korea Weekend Box Office – Jan. 25-27

    January 30, 2008 / / 0 Comments

    Very impressive totals for FOREVER THE MOMENT, as the women’s handball film chugs past the 2.7 million admissions mark, or about $17.3 million. But will it be enough to revive MK Pictures?

    This Week Title…………………………………….. Release Date Screens Nationwide Weekend Revenue (bil. won) Total Revenue (bil. won)
    1. Forever the Moment (Uri Saengae Choego-ui Sungan – Korean) 1.10 493 3.50 16.3
    2. Cloverfield 1.24 344 2.01 2.40
    3. Open City (Mubangbi Dosi – Korean) 1.10 318 1.43 9.46
    4. Sweeney Todd 1.17 284 1.04 4.11
    5. Hellcats (Tteugeoun Geosi Joha – Korean) 1.17 284 0.88 3.37
    6. Happily N’Ever After 1.24 240 0.70 0.87
    7. Bee Movie 1.03 226 0.50 6.57
    8. Alien vs. Predator 1.17 180 0.37 1.75
    9. Mist 1.10 178 0.27 3.27
    10. Enchanted 1.10 138 0.26 2.63

    (Source: KOBIS – Figures represent 97% of nationwide box office)

    But this is the crazy weekend, with so many high-profile, big-budget films coming out for the Seollal lunar new year holiday. There is a nice analysis in this KOREA TIMES story about how oversupply is hurting (crippling?) the Korean film industry. So true. Everyone knows that 70-ish films is the “proper” amount for the Korean market, and yet the film industry keeps on cranking out 110 a year. Doesn’t this feel like a lesson from your Economics 101 textbook? But what can you do when stupid money insists on throwing itself away?

    Korea Weekend Box Office – Jan. 18-20

    January 22, 2008 / / 0 Comments
    This Week Title…………………………………….. Release Date Screens Nationwide Weekend Revenue
    (bil. won)    		 Total Revenue
    (bil. won)
    1. Forever the Moment (Uri Saengae Choego-ui Sungan – Korean) 1.10 587 4.93 9.74
    2. Open City (Mubangbi Dosi – Korean) 1.10 537 2.89 6.45
    3. Sweeney Todd 1.17 321 1.84 1.84
    4. Hellcats (Tteugeoun Geosi Joha – Korean) 1.17 315 1.43 1.44
    5. Bee Movie 1.03 384 1.18 5.56
    6. The Mist 1.10 357 1.01 2.58
    7. Alien Vs. Predator 2 1.17 178 0.88 0.88
    8. Enchanted 1.10 464 0.79 2.00
    9. Little Prince (Eorin Wangja – Korean) 1.17 228 0.22 0.22
    10. 30 Days of Night 1.10 181 0.18 0.55

    (Source: KOBIS – Figures represent 97% of nationwide box office)

    Note: I have changed WOMEN’S HANDBALL TEAM to FOREVER THE MOMENT, the name KOFIC seems to be using.

    Random Notes – Vol 3, No. 3

    January 21, 2008 / / 2 Comments
  • Good news for Hong Sang-soo — his latest film, NIGHT AND DAY, will be competing at the Berlin Film Festival. Despite winning all sorts of film award all over the world, and having been in competition at Cannes twice, I do believe this is Hong’s first time having a film in competition at Berlin. Good for him.

    After a bit of a dull stretch of film, Hong had a comeback of sorts with WOMAN ON THE BEACH, which I quite liked. Advance word on NIGHT AND DAY is pretty good so far… even though it clocks in at an intimidating 2 hours 24 minutes.

    I am especially looking forward to NIGHT AND DAY because the wonderful and talented Chun Sun-young worked on it as Assistant Director. Sun-young was nominated for a BAFTA award back in 2002 for her short film GOOD NIGHT.

  • Interesting article in the NEW YORK TIMES today about online gaming, and how Electronic Arts is now offering some games for free. Instead, it is trying to make money from “microtransactions” related to the playing of the game… basically, from selling gizmos for your game’s character, anything from clothes to weapons.

    I say this is interesting because anyone who knows Korea’s online gaming world will recognize that business model.

    E.A.’s most recent experiment with free online games began two years ago in South Korea, the world’s most fervent gaming culture. In 2006, the company introduced a free version of its FIFA soccer game there, and Gerhard Florin, E.A.’s executive vice president for publishing in the Americas and Europe, said it has signed up more than five million Korean users and generates more than $1 million in monthly in-game sales.

    Kind of cool. Although, to be honest, a little frustrating, too. Back in 2004-ish, I was talking with EA for months about writing a major feature about this business model and how EA was using the Korean method of online gaming and trying to take it global. But EA kept delaying and delaying and eventually the story kind of fell apart. So close…

  • Some music notes, too (hah!). Sato Yukie has a bunch of shows coming up.
    Jan. 23 – Club FB – Point Zero Three (Yukie’s jam band from Japan)
    Jan. 25 – Club Yogiga – Organic Music Concert. And more Point Zero Three.
    Jan. 27 – Club Yogiga – Bulgasari (4pm)
  • Friday is, of course, the latest Club Day in Hongdae, and it appears that once again, Club Day and Sound Day have been combined into one mega-day. Personally, that number of people scares me, but there are going to be so many bands it should be quite impressive. Galaxy Express, Byul, Oh Brothers, Sugar Donut, and much much more.

    • « Older posts Newer posts »

    © 2024 Mark James Russell

    Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑