Yoo Hae Jin 유해진

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August 13, 2015

Toronto Nabs Korean Veterans and Genre Newcomer
HONG Sangsoo, RYOO Seung-wan and KWON Oh-kwang Headed to TIFF

by Pierce Conran / KoBiz

A trio of Korean films, representing very different sides of the industry, were announced this week as part of the second wave of the 40th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Screening in the Masters section will be HONG Sangsoo’s latest film Right Now, Wrong Then, while RYOO Seung-wan’s current chart-topper Veteran and newcomer KWON Oh-kwang’s Collective Invention have both secured a berth in the Vanguard program.
 
The 17th film by respected auteur HONG, Right Now, Wrong Then stars KIM Min-hee (in a HONG film for the first time) and JUNG Jae-young, as well as YU Jun-sang and KO Asung, also a HONG neophyte. The film premieres this week in competition at the Locarno International Film Festival. The invitation marks HONG’s fourth consecutive appearance at TIFF, following In Another Country (2012), Our Sunhi (2013) and Hill of Freedom last year, and ninth selection overall.
 
The Vanguard section, which last invited a Korean film in 2013 (YEON Sang-ho’s The Fake), this year features a brace of films from the peninsula. Among those are RYOO Seung-wan’s kinetic action-thriller Veteran, starring HWANG Jung-min, which opened to rave reviews this past week in Korea and is commanding the charts, and the high concept mutation comedy Collective Invention from first time director KWON Oh-kwang. The film features PARK Bo-young, who was last seen at Toronto in 2012’s A Werewolf Boy.
 
With still some sections to be revealed, this year’s 40th TIFF will run over September 10-20.

 

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August 14, 2015

‘Veteran’ tops box office, surpassing 5 million mark

Source: KoBiz

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Photo credit: cormlee

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August 15, 2015

[HanCinema's Film Review] "Veteran" 

Review by William Schwartz l Hancinema.net

Do-cheol (played by Hwang Jeong-min) is a cop that doesn't play by the rules. That makes him a good guy. Tae-oh (played by Yoo Ah-in) is a corporate heir who doesn't play by the rules. That makes him a bad guy. That's "Veteran" on the most basic level. Both of its lead characters want to fun, often in equally pointless and gratuitously violent ways, but Do-cheol's antics are funny and Tae-oh's antics are evil because that's what it says in the script.

All right, facetiousness aside there's plenty to admire here. Like everything single action scene. Really- the extended open has nothing to do with Tae-oh at all. It's just Do-cheol running a scam designed to get him in a room with a bunch of guys he can beat up in increasingly comical ways with whatever blunt instruments happen to be nearby. It really helps the humor that hwang jeongpmin is obviously having a lot of fun. A later extended action scene starts out with Do-cheol just dancing gleefully until his boss barks at him to do some work instead of cheerleading on the other cops.

The action comedy in "Veteran" is easily the caliber of a classic Jackie Chan movie- half of it is intense choreography and the other half of it is intense awkwardness. Not just Do-cheol, but all the rest of the police team completely nail their punchlines just in time to razzle the viewer with another fabulous setpiece. "Veteran" look absolutely beautiful in motion and the opening sets up the promise of a constantly thrilling story to come.

Then the actual plot, the one featuring Tae-oh, sets in. And this story is much less fun, because writer / director Ryoo Seung-hwan makes the questionable decision to go for serious class commentary on the horrible things sadistic rich people can get away with. I'm all for class commentary, but Tae-oh is so cartoonishly drawn as a villain it's impossible to take him seriously. Which is unfortunate because the longer "Veteran" goes on the more obvious it is that we're supposed to see the story as a serious fight between good and evil.

This might not have irked me so much except that the mystery is poorly constructed. "Veteran" is another movie that takes place in a universe where modern medical examiners are just really incompetent. And don't get me started on the final summation. No corporation in the world, let alone an evil one, has employment benefits good enough to manage a cover-up of this magnitude. You might as well have Tae-oh enlist the help of space aliens- it wouldn't be any less plausible.

Granted, I'm guessing you're probably more interested in whether "Veteran" is fun rather than whether it's plausible. And...well, it's fifty-fifty really. Half of the movie is funny action jokes, and the other half is not-especially-funny-watch-the-bad-guy-be-a-sadist-while-the-hero-looks-on-helplessly plot. I know that was a lot of hyphens, but that's pretty much how it feels in the movie too. Like I'm impatiently waiting for the movie to get back to the fun parts I liked instead of belaboring an obvious point.

Review by William Schwartz Read more at: http://tr.im/CvfRO

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August 17, 2015

'Veteran' tops weekend box-office, crushing 'Assassination'

By Shim Sun-ah

SEOUL, Aug. 17 (Yonhap) -- It was a battle between Korean action films at the weekend box office, with "Veteran" outperforming "Assassination," which has already drawn more than 10 million admissions, according to data from the official market tracker.

"Veteran," which is about a confrontation between a police detective and an heir of a family-owned conglomerate known here as "chaebol," secured 18.12 billion won (US$15.32 million) in ticket sales for the Aug. 14-16 weekend, according to computerized box-office figures from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).

The amount represents 47.5 percent of the entire box-office revenues.

Directed by Rhoo Seung-wan, the film stars Hwang Jung-min as Seo Do-cheol, a hot-blooded detective with a strong sense of justice, and Yoo Ah-in as Jo Tae-oh, an arrogant and cruel chaebol heir, in addition to Yoo Hae-jin as a company executive who is Jo's right-hand man and Oh Dal-su as Seo's boss.

Released on Aug. 5, it has since attracted more than 6.64 million viewers as of Sunday.

"Assassination," which depicts Korean independence fighters' struggle against Japanese colonizers in the 1930s, ranked No. 2 on the weekend, earning 7.86 billion won from 767 screens across the country.

Starring Jun Ji-hyun, Lee Jung-jae and Ha Jung-woo, the action flick by Choi Dong-hoon surpassed 10 million in attendance on Saturday when the country marked the 70th anniversary of the Korean liberation from the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule. It currently is the most-viewed Korean film year-to-date.

"Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" came in third place, but lost much of its strength shown in the first two weeks of its run.

The fifth installment in the nearly 20-year-old film series earned 3.75 billion won from 500 screens, adding 469,283 to its accumulated number of viewers, which was 5.61 million as of Sunday.

Two other Korean films had a small opening weekend.

Released on Thursday, "Memories of the Sword" managed to sit at No. 6, collecting 247,119 viewers in its opening weekend. It has been seen by 330,000 people in the first week of its run, which is far below expectations for a film with top stars such as Lee Byung-hun and Jeon Do-yeon.

The romantic comedy "Wonderful Nightmare" started stronger than "Memories of the Sword," with 256,208 viewers on the weekend.

sshim@yna.co.kr

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August 16, 2015

Korea Box Office: Local Blockbusters Triumph on Holiday Weekend

Sonia Kil Variety.com

Representing a week-on-week rise of 18%, Ryoo Seung-wan’s “Veteran” earned $15.4 million from 2.25 million admissions between Friday and Sunday and held on to top spot over the busy Independence Day weekend.

The CJ Entertainment release has rapidly scored $44.4 million from 6.64 million admissions after 12 days on release.

Fittingly, Showbox’s period action drama “Assassination” crossed the 10 million admissions mark on Independence Day (Aug 15). It grossed $6.7 million from 989,600 admissions between Friday and Sunday, extending its total to $70.5 million from 10.7 million admissions. “Assassination” is now the top movie of the year, ahead of “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”

“Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” held third place, adding $3.2 million over the three-day weekend for $37.9 million. UPI’s “Minions” has made $14 million after three weekends on release.

Lotte’s long-anticipated “Memories of the Sword” disappointed. The big budget martial art drama starring Cannes-winning actress Jeon Do-yeon, top actor Lee Byung-hun, and rising star Kim Go-Eun only made $2.23 million over its opening four days.

Another local newcomer “Wonderful Nightmare” made $2.12 million over its opening four days. Screenwriter turned director Kang Hyo-jin, directed the fantasy comedy with actress Uhm Jung-hwa and actor Song Seung-heon.

“Shaun the Sheep Movie” came in like a lamb, and earned $371,700 between Thursday and Sunday. Aardman Studios’ previous, “Arthur Christmas” made $4.06 million in 2011—2012.

The Grand Prize winner of the Jeonju festival, director Ahn Gooc-jin’s first feature “Alice in Earnestland” opened in tenth spot, taking $116,600 between Thursday and Sunday.

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August 18, 2015

‘Veteran’ dominates over Liberation Day holiday

Source: INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily

Ryoo Seung-wan’s action comedy “Veteran” stayed well on top, attracting 2.3 million moviegoers during the weekend, which included the three-day holiday marking the 70th anniversary of Korea’s Liberation Day. 

At over 1,000 screens nationwide, the summer tent pole from CJ Entertainment made 18 billion won ($15 million), bringing its two-week total to 52 billion won. 

The speed at which “Veteran” is gaining ticket sales is as fast as that of “Assassination,” which succeeded in garnering 10 million ticket sales, the first Korean film to do so this year.

“Assassination,” a historical action flick crafted by Choi Dong-hoon, also continued to shine at the local box office, after opening nationwide on July 22.

It was meaningful that the film hit the monumental 10 million admissions mark (roughly equal to 82 billion won) on a Liberation Day, which fell on Saturday, since the film is about a secret assassination scheme during the 1910-45 Japanese colonial era. 

It is now the 10th most-watched film in Korean cinematic history. Its next goal is surpassing Bong Joon-ho’s “The Host” (2006), which holds ninth place with 10.9 million tickets sold. 

Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible ? Rogue Nation” also stayed put over the weekend in third place, selling 469,252 tickets. It has earned 44 billion won so far in Korea. 

Meanwhile, the much buzzed-about film “Memories of the Sword,” starring Lee Byung-hun and Jeon Do-yeon, took a disappointing sixth place with only 247,119 tickets sold, making 1.9 billion won. 

Despite its ambitious attempt at the martial arts genre fueled by a slew of A-list actors such as Jeon, Lee and rising actress Kim Go-eun, Park Heung-sik’s latest film, which reportedly cost 10 billion won, had to settle for a low ranking. 

Uhm Jeong-hwa’s romance drama “Wonderful Nightmare” debuted in fifth place with 256,199 ticket sales, while the low-budget dark fantasy film “Alice in Earnestland” from the Korean Academy of Film Arts debuted in 10th with 11,945 tickets sold.

A winner in the Korean competitive section of this year’s Jeonju International Film Festival, “Alice,” directed by Ahn Gook-jin, focuses on an unjust society where the most hardworking person can easily end up in the most miserable situation. 

Singer-turned-actress Lee Jung-hyun excels at playing Su-nam, who becomes increasingly merciless after realizing that her hard work and kindness don’t help her achieve a decent life.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]

Source: KoBiz

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August 18, 2015

‘Veteran,’ ‘Assassination’ top S. Korean box office as hits of the year

By Tae Hong The Korea Times US

The two giants of South Korean cinema so far this year have emerged — “Veteran,” which passed 7 million viewers Tuesday, and “Assassination,” which stands at 10.79 million as of Monday, according to Yonhap.

“Veteran,” which was released Aug. 5, passed the 5 million ticket sales mark on its 10th day, the fastest of any domestic film this year alongside “Assassination.”

Directed by Ryu Seung-wan, it stars silver screen giant Hwang Jung-min and heartthrob actor Yoo Ah-in as detective and powerful millionaire in a cat-and-mouse game.

“Assassination,” which premiered July 22, is the highest-grossing Korean film of the year.

Led by a heavyweight cast including Ha Jung-woo, Jeon Ji-hyun and Lee Jung-jae, and directed by Choi Dong-hoon, the film details an assassinatiion plot by a band of independence fighters during Japanese occupation in Korea.

Meanwhile, the box office has not been kind to “Memories of the Sword,” a period flick boasting big-name actors Lee Byung-hun and Jeon Do-yeon — according to Korean Film Council Tuesday, the film has only attracted about 350,000 moviegoers since its release last week, and is lingering at No. 6 nationwide.

 

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August 19, 2015

'Veteran' Close to Being Next Summer Hit

Source: The Chosun Ilbo

The crime flick "Veteran" hit the 7 million mark in cinema attendance on Tuesday.

As it has maintained momentum through its third week in theaters, the movie is expected to be another summer box office hit on part with the period espionage film "Assassination," which was the first to surpass 10 million viewers this season. 

"Veteran" is about a veteran detective who chases the arrogant heir of a wealthy and powerful family while investigating the mysterious death of a truck driver.

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August 19, 2015

‘Veteran’ surpasses 7 million-viewer mark

Crime action flick “Veteran” is racing up its viewer record at a pace matching that of “Assassination,” breaking the 7 million milestone in two weeks since release Wednesday. 

The film opened nationwide on Aug. 5, marking 1 million viewers by the third day, 2 million on fourth, 3 million on sixth, 4 million on ninth, 5 million on 10th, 6 million on 12th, and finally surpassing 7 million on the 14th day.

“Assassination” released on July 22 and entered the 10-million range in 25 days. 

Industry insiders are speculating whether “Veteran” will set a faster record than its precursor for viewers. 

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)

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Source: KoBiz

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Source: KoBiz

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August 22, 2015

'Veteran' hits North American theaters

Source: The Korea Times

Korea's hottest action movie now in theaters, "Veteran," is also testing North American theaters.

The action movie will open simultaneously in 45 theaters in cities across the U.S. and Canada, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, the movie's American distributor CJ E&M America was quoted as saying in media reports. It is a wider release than made by "Roaring Current" (2014) and "Ode to My Father" (2015), two of the most watched Korean movies in North America so far.

Directed by Ryoo Seung-wan and starring a stellar cast, including Hwang Jung-min, Yoo Ah-in, Yoo Hae-jin and Oh Dal-su, the film is about a veteran detective who stands up against an arrogant and cruel heir of a rich conglomerate.

The film has sold more than 8 million tickets as of Saturday in Korea, according to its local distributor CJ Entertainment.

aoshima11@ktimes.com

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August 23, 2015

Will ‘Veteran’ make it past 10 million mark?

Fast advancing crime-action film “Veteran” is dashing for the 10 million-viewer mark, as the Korean Film Council tallied a cumulative 8.5 million viewers on Sunday. 

The ninth movie by star director Ryu Seung-wan, “Veteran” raked in 8 million viewers by the 18th day since its release. 

Its pace exceeds those of “Ode to My Father” (2014) “Miracle in Cell No. 7” (2013) and “The Attorney” (2013), which respectively took 21, 25 and 20 days to jump the 8 million hurdle. The three movies are ranked second, fifth and eighth on the Korean Film Council’s list of 10 top-performing movies. “Veteran” is currently placed 20th. 

“Veteran” portrays the cathartic struggle and victory of a policeman against a corrupt and egocentric millionaire heir in the backdrop of modern Korea. 

Seasoned actors Hwang Jung-min, Yoo Ah-in, Oh Dal-su, Yoo Hae-jin, Jeong Woong-in and more are cast in the film.

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)

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August 24, 2015

'Veteran' leads box office for 3rd weekend

By Shim Sun-ah

SEOUL, Aug. 24 (Yonhap) -- The Korean action film "Veteran" topped the box office for the third straight weekend, surpassing 9 million in total attendance, data showed Monday.

Directed by Ryoo Seung-wan, the film stayed at the top of the box office, amassing 1.34 million viewers from 906 screens across the country for the Aug. 21-23 weekend, according to computerized box-office figures from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). This marked the film's third consecutive lead in the chart.

Also on Sunday, the film released on Aug. 5 ranked No. 1 for the 19th day on the daily box office, surpassing 9 million in attendance.

The pace is faster than 20 days for another Korean box-office sensation "Assassination."

   The action flick depicts a confrontation between a police detective and an heir of a family-owned conglomerate known here as "chaebol." It stars Hwang Jung-min as Seo Do-cheol, a hot-blooded detective with a strong sense of justice, and Yoo Ah-in as Jo Tae-oh, an arrogant and cruel chaebol heir.

"Beauty Inside," a Korean fantasy-romance film starring Han Hyo-joo, landed at No. 2 on the weekend chart, adding 486,216 viewers to its accumulated audience of nearly 630,000 in the weekend.

Released on Thursday, the film outperformed "Assassination," the most-viewed Korean film year-to-date, and Hollywood blockbuster "Fantastic 4," which opened the same day.

The movie depicts the story of a woman who falls in love with a man who changes into different people every day.

"Assassination" is about Korean independence fighters during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea dropped to the third place, drawing 484,217 audiences from 611 screens around the country. Its accumulated number of viewers reached 11.6 million as of Sunday, becoming the ninth-most-viewed Korean film ever.

"Fantastic 4," a superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name, started weak, ranking fourth with 234,531 admissions.

"Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" came down to the fifth post, selling only 135,319 tickets.

The fifth installment in the nearly 20-year-old film series is soon expected to top 6 million in attendance as its accumulated number of viewers was 5.92 million on Sunday.

Above is a poster of the Korean box-office sensation "Veteran." (Yonhap) Above is a poster of the Korean box-office sensation "Veteran." (Yonhap)

sshim@yna.co.kr

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August 24, 2015

'Veteran' Set to Hit 10 Million Mark

Source: The Chosun Ilbo

The crime flick "Veteran" is likely to hit the 10 million mark for cinema attendance soon as viewership exceeded 9 million by Sunday. 

Earlier this summer, the period espionage film "Assassination" achieved the feat, so if "Veteran" meets expectations, this will be the first summer that two Korean films draw 10 million viewers in a season. 

The flicks were released two weeks apart. 

"The Attorney" and "Frozen" both broke 10 million in the 2013-14 winter season. 

Korean films accounted for 64.4 percent of the market in August, recovering from lackluster performance earlier this year.

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August 26, 2015

‘My Refrigerator’ tops cooking show category: Gallup

JTBC variety program, “Please Take Care of My Refrigerator,” grabbed the No. 1 spot in the category of cooking programs, Gallup Korea said Wednesday, citing its survey of 1,003 people aged 19 or older.

Other cooking programs included in the top-tier ranks were “Three Meals a Day” and “House Cook Master Baek.” 

In the general category, Koreans’ favorite TV programs turned out to be MBC reality show “Infinite Challenge,” followed by KBS2 child-rearing program “The Return of Superman.” 

“Please Take Care of My Refrigerator” is a cooking variety show featuring famous chefs including Hong Seok-cheon, Choi Hyun-seok, Sam Kim and Lee Won-il. The chefs compete to present food in 15 minutes using the ingredients available in one of the guests’ refrigerators. It airs every Monday at 9:40 p.m.

By Lee Hye-won (hyewonlee@heraldcorp.com)

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August 28, 2015

Korean film 'Veteran' tops 10 million in attendance

SEOUL, Aug. 28 (Yonhap) - The domestic action film "Veteran" exceeded 10 million in attendance Saturday, the 25th day of its run, the film's distributor CJ Entertainment said.

The 10 million mark is considered a huge success for average budget films in the local film market. According to data from the Korean Film Council, only 14 films have reached the milestone so far with 10 of them Korean.

Earlier in the month, "Assassination" became the first Korean film this year to hit the mark.

The latest move set a new record in Korean film history, as two local films that opened in the same season surpassed the milestone.

"Veteran" has the largest number of viewers among the films by the Korean action auteur Ryoo Seung-wan.

On Thursday, the movie topped the box office for the 23rd consecutive day, the longest period for all films this year. It broke the previous record set by the American action flick "Fast & Furious 7."

   Starring Hwang Jung-min, Yoo Ah-in, Yoo Hae-jin and Oh Dal-su, "Veteran" is about a veteran detective who stands up to an arrogant and cruel heir of a rich family as he delves into the mysterious death of a truck driver that he knew.

sshim@yna.co.kr

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Source: KoBiz

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August 31, 2015

 'Veteran' leads box office for 4th weekend

By Shim Sun-ah

SEOUL, Aug. 31 (Yonhap) -- Industry predictions that the Korean action flick "Veteran" would stay on top at the box office for the fourth consecutive week turned out to be true.

In its fourth weekend, "Veteran" was distantly ahead of "Beauty Inside," another domestic film, collecting 1.08 million admissions compared with 401,810 for the latter film, according to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).

Directed by Ryoo Seung-wan, the film topped 10 million in attendance on Saturday, becoming the second Korean film to hit the milestone this year after "Assassination."

   The 10 million mark is considered a huge success for average budget films in the local film market.

On Sunday, "Veteran" topped the box office for the 26th consecutive day, the longest period for all films this year.

The action flick features a confrontation between a police detective and an heir of a family-owned conglomerate known here as "chaebol." It stars Hwang Jung-min as Seo Do-cheol, a hot-blooded detective with a strong sense of justice, and Yoo Ah-in as Jo Tae-oh, an arrogant and cruel chaebol heir.

"Beauty Inside," a fantasy-romance film starring Han Hyo-joo, remained unchanged at No. 2 over the Aug. 28-30 weekend. It added 401,810 viewers to its accumulated attendance of close to 1.4 million.

Released on Aug. 20, the movie tells the story of a woman who falls in love with a man who changes into different people every day.

"Assassination," a historical action film starring Jun Ji-hyun, Lee Jung-jae and Ha Jung-woo, sits at No. 3, drawing 344,825 moviegoers to 511 screens around the country.

It is the eighth most viewed Korean film ever at 12.19 million as of Sunday after "Roaring Currents," "Ode to My Father," "The Host," "The Thieves," "Miracle in Cell No. 7," "Masquerade" and "King And The Clown."

   In "Assassination," three Korean independence fighters are assigned the mission of assassinating a top Japanese official during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea.

"Untouchable Lawmen," an action film starring Im Chang-jung and Choi Daniel, landed at No. 4 on the weekly chart with 198,445 admissions. The film released on Thursday was marginally ahead of "Wonderful Nightmare," a comedy starring Song Seung-heon and Uhm Jeong-hwa, with 125,479.

With this, Korean films dominated the top five posts last weekend.

Sixth place went to "American Ultra," a Hollywood action-comedy film, which drew 91,083 viewers over the weekend.

It was followed by "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation," "Minions," "La Famille Belier" and "Inside Out."

   sshim@yna.co.kr