Hwang Jung-Min 황정민 [Upcoming Movies: “12.12: The Day”, “Mission Cross”, “Veteran 2”, “Hope”]

[rubie]

Article at http://movie.naver.com/movie/mzine/read.nh...e_id=0000000290

[rubie]

July 11, 2007

"Ice Bar" Wins Top Prize at Fukuoka Asian Film Festival

http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/5293/070711ent1km6.jpg

The family film "Ice Bar" won the best picture award at the 21st Fukuoka Asian Film Festival that was held in Fukuoka, Japan from Jun 29 through July 8.

The film's production company MK Pictures said that its director, Yeo In-kwang, personally attended the award ceremony last Sunday to receive the top honor.

"Ice Bar" was chosen for the top prize because of its beautiful portrayal of a local city in the 1960s and 70s, and for the natural and realistic acting of its leading actress and child actor who played the roles of mother and son.

"Ice Bar" is the fifth Korean film to win the best picture award at this film festival. The other four award-winning films were "An Affair" in 1999, "Nowhere to Hide" in 2000, "Bad Guy" in 2002, and "YMCA Baseball Team" in 2003.

Source: KBS Global

http://english.kbs.co.kr/entertainment/new...5996_11858.html

[rubie]

Seems that HJM had signed on to Yedang after his Sidus contract expires, here is his new official website. I haven't seen all but it looks awesome! Way to go!

NEW HWANGJUNGMIN WEBSITE http://www.yedang.co.kr/hwangjungmin/

And I found this Black House capture at this photo section, ooo... eerie-effect... the pic that is.

[rubie]

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Korea Weekend Box Office - July 13-15

Title - Weekend Admissions - Total Nationwide Admissions

1. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - 1,427,700 - 1,815,100

2. Transformers - 815,000 - 5,606,900

3. The Cut - 257,400 - 328,100

4. Black House - 51,000 - 1,291,300

5. Descent - 37,100 - 214,100

6. Taxi 4 - 16,100 - 144,700

7. Shrek 3 - 11,200 - 2,813,900

8. Ocean's 13 - 9,800 - 1,373,700

9. Live Free or Die Hard - 3,700 - 8,900

10. Lady Chatterly - 3,300 - 4,400

Data from Film 2.0, with much thanks to Mark Russell at koreapopwars.blogspot.com

[rubie]

July 24, 2007

Korean Box Office 2007.07.20 ~ 2007.07.22

Title - Weekend Admissions - Total Nationwide Admissions

1. Die Hard 4 - 698,500- 1,465,100

2. Harry Potter 5- 427,800- 3,001,600

3. Transformers. 386,800 -6,508,600

4. Alone- 137,400- 295,800

5. The Cut 71,000-- 529,700

6. Mighty Morphin (2007) 31,100- 66,000

7. Black House 6,800- 1,314,600

8. The Descent 3,500- 227,900

9. Lady Chatterley 2,100- 9,300

10. Shrek the Third 1,300- 2,819,600

Posted by Mike McStay at http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/korean-box...07072020070722/

[rubie]

REVIEW The Black House (Geom-eun Gip)

Written by luna6

Movie : The Black House / Geom-eun Gip / 검은집

Year : 2007

Country : South Korea

Director : Shin Tae-ra

Starring : Jeong-min Hwang (Jun-Oh), Yu Sun (E-Hwa), Shin-il Kang (Choong Bae)

Run Time : 104 Minutes

Rating : 8.5

Plot Synopsis : During his first day as an insurance agent, Jun-Oh, receives a phone call from a lady enquiring if a life insurance policy could be collected if someone commits suicide. A few days later Jun-Oh is asked to personally come to the home of an insurance policy holder.

When Jun-Oh arrives at their home he is greeted by a grim man. They talk for a little while, before the father asks the insurance agent to go into their son’s room and have a talk with him. When the insurance agent opens the son’s door he finds the boy hanging from a noose, dead from an apparent suicide.

The father then shows up Jun-Oh’s office and asks for the money pertaining to his son’s life insurance policy. Jun-Oh is suspicious of the man and tells him he has to wait until the coroner’s report comes in. The man becomes furious and then leaves. The father returns the next day and the next day and the next day. Finally Jun-Oh’s boss decides to pay the man his son’s life insurance policy. Jun-Oh’s life doesn’t return to normal and in fact descends further downward because of a stalker that may well be the insurance policy holder that they just paid off.

Movie Review : Horror movies don’t usually scare me. Outside of Ju-On I haven’t even seen a horror movie I liked. Furthermore, Korean “horror” movies I usually avoid like the plague, because they generally suck more than the average horror flick (way to formulaic and a whole bunch of nonsense). Well to my surprise “The Black House” is one Korean horror movie that did not suck and in fact had me squirming in my seat throughout the horrifying climax.

Don’t let the title “The Black House” fool you into thinking this is your typical Asian horror film. You won’t see any pale face kids standing in a dark corridor, with grating sound effects blasted for shock value. Black House actually has more in common with psychological/serial killer movies like Silence of the Lambs, Saw, and Takashi Miike’s Audition. The film is based on a popular Japanese novel by Yusuke Kishi. At times during the riveting finale I felt like I was sitting on a ride in a amusement park rather than a chair in a cinema. This was mainly due to the audience gasping or shrieking in loud unison during those chaotic final moments. Although I didn’t scream as much as the rest of the audience, I did squirm around in my chair more than anyone else, much like a frightened passenger on a speeding New York taxi cab. It was fun!

One of my favorite actors in Korea would definitely be Jeong-Min Hwang (A Good Lawyer’s Wife, My Lovely Week, You Are My Sunshine, Bloody Tie) and he would be the primary reason why I even checked out Black House. I don’t recall ever seeing a bad performance by him and you won’t find such a performance in Black House either. Jeong-Min Hwang’s Jun-Oh character was different than his past characters, in that Jun-Oh is meek. He is haunted by the suicide of his own younger brother, which he feels responsible for. Yet as the story developed Jeong-Min Hwang was able to inject a subtle show of strength in Jun-Oh character’s that made him more admirable. Shin-il Kang, who played the deranged father, was even more impressive. He was able to portray a psychotic tendency that was so intense that it was downright scary to even watch him at times. His wife, played by Yu Sun, gave another strong performance, that at times reminded me of the stepmom in “A Tale Of Two Sisters.”

There’s not many weak points in Black House. I guess some can point to certain moments feeling like it was inspired by other horror films (Silence of the Lambs/Saw/Audition), but I didn’t mind the influences as much because the movie’s uniqueness and exceptional build up to those absolutely terrifying finale made me forget about any similiarities. Like I said earlier, I was way to busy squirming in my chair to think about anything more than what would happen next.

Quite frankly, the boogie man and ghosts don’t scare me, but psychotic people do. There are some absolutely terrifying moments in Black House along with characters that are the pure definitions of psychopaths. Perhaps Black House will set the grounds for more psychological thrillers from Korea that are not centered around pale face kids appearing in the hallways of an abandoned home. If so I would gladly welcome such move. When you watch “Black House,” try to watch it with a group of friends. The movie is scary, thrilling and 100% fun.

For pics and comments, source & gratitude to http://lunapark6.com/black-house-geom-eun-gip.html

[rubie]

Latest HAPPINESS poster

From empas movie-page http://movie.empas.com/movies/movie.tsp?mid=39773

[rubie]

Way to go for Happiness, Hwang Jung Min & Im Soo Jung!

August 16, 2007

Hwang-Im's 'Happiness' Invited to Toronto Film Festival

The Korean film "Happiness" starring Hwang Jeong-min and Im Soo-jeong has officially been invited to the 32nd Toronto International Film Festival.

The Toronto festival, called the 'Cannes' of North America, is the largest regional film market and one of the four major global film festivals after the Cannes, Berlin and Venice.

An official of the movie said, "An invitation to the festival's Contemporary World Cinema category came simply through a preview of the film's edited version, as full editing and mixing has yet to be done. It's double the pleasure to have been invited along with the Cannes winning Korean film 'Secret Sunshine'."

The Contemporary World Cinema category, regarded a key section at Toronto, invites award winning films and new productions by up-and-coming directors.

'Happiness,' directed by Heo Jin-ho, depicts the ultimately cruel love story of a couple who first meet at a nursing home.

Source: KBS Global

http://english.kbs.co.kr/entertainment/new...2710_11858.html

[rubie]

Thanks to cholo at Happiness movie-thread

http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?sho...40&start=40

credits: cyworld/soojung

Happiness coming to South Korea Oct. 3

A movie to look forward too would be the upcoming Korean flick “Happiness” (행복). The combination of director Hur Jin-ho (Christmas in August), actress Im Soo-jung (I’m A Cyborg But That’s Ok/ A Tale Of Two Sisters) and actor Hwang Jung-min (You Are My Sunshine/Black House) makes the film must see from the get go.

Furthermore - depending on your threshold for K melodramatics - the story seems seems quite interesting as well. The movie centers around two main characters who are both suffering from physical illnesses but are in love. The plot for Happiness (taken from a press release) goes like this :

“…Young-su lived freely in Seoul, but when he caught liver cirrhosis his business and love affairs went down hell. There’s nothing for him to rely on in Seoul anymore so he leaves the city and heads for a sanitorium in the countryside.

The sanitorium is a strange place for him to adapt to, but he later meets Eun-hee there, who is suffering from a critical lung disease but lives cheerfully without showing any of her pain. She curiously approaches Young-su while he begins to conjure up feelings for her. They fall in love with each other and begin to live togther in a small empty house. Although they’re poor, they spend happy moments together.

One year later, Young-su recovers from his illness while living with Eun-hee. Then one day Young-su’s ex-girlfriend Su-yeon unexpectedly pops up at his house. Young-su falls into a dilemma the moment he sees her.”

Tissues should be brought along as a precautionary measure. I would say that Hwang Jung-min would be one of the finest actors currently working in Korea today. His last film “Black House” was a riot and he impresses more with each and every movie. To this date, the only movie that had me bawling would be that end of end all dramatic endings in “You Are My Sunshine” with Hwang Jung-min banging against the glass booth while calling out to Do-yeon Jeon. Still gives me shivers thinking about that scene. Also Im Soo-jung turned over a new leaf with her brilliant performance in “I’m A Cyborg but That’s OK.” This would appear to be her first dramatic adult role and I’m a fan that wants to see this and that’s OK.

Happiness will open in South Korean theaters on October 3, 2007.

Source: lunapark6.com

[melusine]

Harper's Bazaar September issue

click for bigger size

click for bigger size

Dayuumm, what a great assemblage of actors! But then I may be a wee bit biased since most of the 13 are favorites of mine (and yes I do mean the watch&collect-everything-they're-in-get-excited-everytime-I-see-them-onscreen definition of favorite). Seriously, it's like a K-film lover's wet dream.^^

This thirteen-actor photo spread is for the Cinema Angels Project; proceeds earned will be donated to fostering the development of indie films.

[rubie]

August 29, 2007

PARK Chan-wook’s Film in Sitges Competition

The 40th Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival selected PARK Chan-wook’s I’m a Cyborg, But That’s Ok and SHIN Terra’s Black House for their main program Official Fantastic, as competitors.

The Official Fantastic section is the pulse of the festival with a wide range of fantastic films. The Catalan film festival is one of the three top international fantastic film festivals. The festival will run this year from October 4 until the 14th in Sitges, near Barcelona.

I’m a Cyborg, But That’s Ok was the much anticipated latest film of director PARK. Korean pop star Rain/JUNG Ji-hoon and leading actress LIM Soo-jung star as two mental patients in PARK’s visual distinctive mental institution. PARK’s films like Joint Security Area(JSA) and Oldboy have often been received positively at international film festivals.

Black House is a thriller/horror film and held the number one position at the Korean box office this summer. HWANG Jung-min has been much praised by Korean reviewers for his acting in this film.

Yi Ch’ang-ho (KOFIC)

http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/KOFIC/Channel?...Gesimul_SNO=767

[rubie]

Harper's Bazaar September issue

Dayuumm, what a great assemblage of actors! But then I may be a wee bit biased since most of the 13 are favorites of mine (and yes I do mean the watch&collect-everything-they're-in-get-excited-everytime-I-see-them-onscreen definition of favorite). Seriously, it's like a K-film lover's wet dream.^^

(I'll update/edit once I find scans of HJM's individual pages)

WAHHHH!!! What a cool spread from Harper's Bazaar! There's GHJ, SKH! Mr. ASK *hehe*... RSB... JJY (love her in OTR) .. and HJM of course!!!

Thanks melusine-hunnie for this awesome sharing. I'd love to see HJM, SKH and ASK in one movie .. if I can't get LBH acting with JJY or GHJ and RSB... hahaaa.. the ever hopeless rubie. :blush:

But the pics are sooooo precious! LOVELOVELOVE! Merci beaucoup!

[Guest yum yum dimsum]

i was going to post a topic but there has only been a couple of articles about this.

but it looks official, i thought id post it here. looks very promising

shooting start next month and an expected release early next year

A Man Once A Superman

CJ Entertainment

Directed by Jung Yoon Chul

starring

Hwang Jung Min and Jeon Ji Hyun

A human drama about an abnormal man who believes he's a superman

and a magazine writer, Soo Jung, a charming lady with naive, frank and

unaffected character who is interested in him and they get involved in

extraordinary events.

http://news.joins.com/article/2885412.html?ctg=-1

[rubie]

^ WAH!!! What a lovely surprise, after pairing with Im Soo Jung.. HJM is acting with Jeon Ji Hyun. Thanks so much yum yum dimsum for the news, The Man Once A Superman is finally in the works! So good to see these 2 actors getting together and getting busy for a movie to look forward to next year. Wow, lots of great movies coming out next year.. huh!

This is AWESOME news! Cool!

HJM is indeed a Superman Actor :blush: .. and JJH too, two excellent actors together!

[rubie]

Thanks to mangoicy's highlight at the movie thread, photos from HAPPINESS press conference on September 17.

Source: http://travel.innolife.net/innoreport/list...&ai_id=2382

[rubie]

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

[movie REVIEW] 'Happiness' a moving tale of addiction, affection

Once people get stuck with the same fate, a bond can grow between them instantly; however, the relationship can fall apart fairly quickly if the common ground vanishes. Director Hur Jin-ho's "Happiness" portrays a heart-wrenching drama in which bonding and parting take place over some period of time, accentuating the emotional depth of a relationship that is torn apart due to the ruinous fusion of addiction and affection.

In the film to be released on Oct. 3, Young-su (Hwang Jung-min) symbolizes the precariousness of life in the fast lane. A serious alcoholic, he drinks, drinks, drinks to the point of going blank at the trendy nightclub he runs. But his super-fast life skids to a thumping halt when he is diagnosed with a debilitating disease, cirrhosis of the liver. Jilted by his girlfriend, an equally addicted individual -- in this case, to meaningless consumption and a wasteful lifestyle -- Young-su hands over his nightclub ownership to his close friend, and reluctantly heads for a sanitarium in the remote countryside, where there will be no more booze, no more gals.

In the sanitarium, Young-su encounters a calm, soft-spoken girl with a pale face. Eun-hee (Lim Soo-jung), who has stayed at the facility for the past eight years, is struggling with a rare and serious lung disease, yet she remains upbeat and gentle. And she walks slowly and moves her body cautiously as if a single misstep might break her life into pieces. Yet, in a cheerful way, she tells Young-su that she has already lost about 40 percent of her lung, and a doctor says she might die if she ventures out to run fast. Young-su and Eun-hee stand at the opposite end of the lifestyle spectrum. He is yet to shed his old habits of the city -- drinking, smoking and clubbing -- and she leads her quiet, disciplined life in this rural setting. When they fall for each other in an unlikely spot nestled deep inside a mountainous area, they seem to forget where they come from. And they develop a bond that is immediately addictive, something that Eun-hee has experienced before. After a passionate kiss with him, Eun-hee shares her feelings about endless, almost addictive desire: "When I was kissing you, though it may sound strange, I wanted to kiss you more, and even more."

Thanks to her dedicated efforts and great caring, Young-su's health steadily recovers. It's a 'happy' development for Eun-hee, because his improved health means their nature-friendly, vegetarian and substance-free lifestyle has paid off nicely. But the same development does not come as a happy one for Young-su, who suddenly feels that his lifestyle has changed too much. He misses the old days when he indulged in alcohol, cigarettes, junk food and easy sex.

Director Hur carefully achieves a cinematographic distance when he depicts Young-su's struggle with addictive habits. It's true that it takes a tremendous amount of energy, patience and willpower to quit drinking and stay sober. At the same time, it's also resoundingly true that old habits die hard. In a telling scene, Young-su finishes the day's farm labor and gets paid; then the farmer who has hired him gently pushes a cup of beer to Young-su. At this critical moment of temptation, Young-su hesitates for a moment, about 10 seconds, puts his hand on the beer and gulps it down quickly. With a knowing smile, the farmer delivers an illuminating line: "No drinking and no smoking is surely good for your health, but without them, there's no fun in life."

Happiness, after all, depends on one's perspective. For Young-su, happiness means hitting the fast track and indulging his pent-up desire at a night club amid heart-thumping rock music, even though his health and long-term welfare may go down the drain. For Eun-hee, happiness implies decency, self-sufficiency, frugality, modesty and caring for others, especially her loved one Young-su, even though she is staging an uphill battle to extend her life.

Their views on happiness are poles apart -- so much so that when the falling-for period switches jarringly into a falling-out, she goes out and runs. She doesn't care even if she may die running like that. Death is not her primary concern.

In "Happiness," award-winning actor Hwang Jung-min shows off his versatility to the point of sheer shock and repugnance. Toward the end of the film, Hwang's Young-su character is so realistically portrayed as a callous and ungrateful man that audiences might not have any sympathy left when he turns a critical corner in his tumultuous life.

Lim Soo-jung also tops expectations by playing a difficult character with a rare finesse that adds a counterbalancing comfort to the touching interplay between addiction and affection.

Director Hur's efforts to keep sentimentality to a minimum also deserve credit for making the film a thought-provoking tale that transcends the confines of a typical melodrama. For a gentle reminder of where he stands on the matter of the impenetrable human mind, he also clearly depicts the symbolic name of the sanitarium, "House of Hope."

By Yang Sung-jin (insight@heraldm.com)

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/htm...00709200052.asp

[rubie]

Clip from Happiness 17/9 press conference copied from innolife.net

http://vod.innolife.net/2007/09/070917.wmv

Black House (DVDrip)

is now avaliable to download @ twoasone

[rubie]

Thanks to mangoicy at Happiness thread

http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?sho...99436&st=60

Unseen still from Happiness with Hwang Jung Min and Gong Hyo Jin:

credit: SidusHQ

[rubie]

UPCOMING NEW MOVIE

[2008 Movie] A Man Once A Superman 퍼맨이었던 사나이 - Jeon Ji Hyun, Hwang Jung Min

http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=168495

[Guest huangsy]