Thursday, March 23, 2017

City On Fire's Film Review - Sea Fog | aka Haemoo (2014). "Perhaps most impressive is Park Yoo-chun as the innocent and inexperienced Dong-sik."



Director: Shim Sung-Bo
Writer: Shim Sung-Bo, Bong Joon-Ho
Cast: Kim Yun-Seok, Park Yoo-Chun, Han Ye-Ri, Lee Hee-Joon, Moon Sung-Geun, Kim Sang-Ho, Yoo Seung-Mok
Running Time: 111 min.
By Kyle Warner
I think Memories of Murder deserves to be in the conversation of the finest films ever made. Dark, thrilling, funny, and almost poetic, it’s the movie that made me a fan of director/co-writer Bong Joon-ho, who did not disappoint when he followed up that masterwork with other great titles like The HostSnowpiercer, and Mother. But one of the voices behind the making of Memories of Murder that never got the same level of acclaim that Bong did was co-writer Shim Sung-bo. Since Memories of Murder, Shim has directed a couple of short films, but has largely remained an unknown to most viewers. Now, with his feature directorial debut Sea Fog (aka Haemoo), Shim steps up and presents himself as one of the most promising new directors in Korean cinema. And, like that modern classic Memories of Murder, Shim shared the writer’s room with the great Bong Joon-ho to help bring the dark story to life.
Sea Fog is a story of desperation. The characters are desperate to make a living, desperate to escape hardship, desperate to evade the law, desperate to survive. It’s downbeat, has the heart of pitch black film noir, and takes you in directions you wouldn’t expect.
The fishermen of the boat Jeonji aren’t catching much these days. Captain Kang (Kim Yun-seok) has a wife who is cheating on him, his rusty boat is now owned by the bank, and he has to beg the boss for money to pay his crew. Without so much as consulting his crew, Kang agrees to use the boat to pick up illegal immigrants coming out of China and smuggle them back into South Korea. What begins simple enough takes a turn when the illegals challenge the sailors, who are obviously out of their depth.
When a horrible accident occurs, the fishermen try their best to cover things up for fear of facing jail time. It’s then that things shift from a dark (sometimes politically charged) drama to a thriller, as already desperate men lose their humanity and inch closer to madness. Captain Kang, who had once seemed like a sympathetic figure, becomes merciless and cold. Some of his crew, now reduced to their base nature, obsess over money or the women among the illegal immigrants. Only one crewman, Dong-sik (Park Yoo-chun) remains largely himself throughout the ordeal. Even so, the young Dong-sik must decide how far is to go in order to survive the increasingly desperate scenario.
Sea Fog is based on a stage play, which itself was inspired by a sad true story. Like many stage play adaptations, Sea Fog has one primary set. But unlike many stage play adaptations, we never really take notice of the limited sets and locations. The boat is big and it’s surrounded by that cold, black ocean. Filmed beautifully by cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo (The Wailing), Sea Fog plays bigger than its surroundings might suggest. When the fog rolls in, strange colors shine through the mist, giving the film the surreal appearance of a film noir nightmare.
The cast is largely excellent. Kim Yun-seok (The Chaser) has made a career of playing anti-heroes and likeable villains, and Captain Kang fits somehow into both categories. It’s an intimidating performance, made all the better by the fact that Kim saves the major outbursts for the finale. Perhaps most impressive is Park Yoo-chun (Sungkyunkwan Scandal) as the innocent and inexperienced Dong-sik. Han Ye-ri (Commitment) is very good as the film’s central Korean-Chinese immigrant, giving her character enough individuality so that she is not just a damsel. And character actor Mun Seong-kun (Green Fish) is memorable in one of the film’s most showy roles, that of the boat’s old-timer engineer who starts losing his mind when the worst happens.
If the script lacks subtlety in the final act, then at least you can say that it might endear itself more to thriller/horror fans that’ve come to expect a certain level of the extreme from Korean genre movies.  I did not mind this shift in tone to a bloodier, high-pitched thriller. I do have to question the ending, however. Sea Fog ends with an extended epilogue, which felt unneeded especially after what would’ve been an excellent final shot.
A film with dark moral dilemmas and increasingly raised stakes, Sea Fog is the sort of movie that’s almost impossible to look away from. It also unfolds in an unexpected way, taking you on strange detours from the storyline that you were probably expecting. It’s an excellent thriller for fans of co-writer Bong Joon-ho, who explores more of the theme of class warfare seen earlier in Snowpiercer. For writer/director Shim, Sea Fog is one hell of a feature debut, and is hopefully a hint of more good things to come.
Kyle Warner’s Rating: 8/10

Source: City On Fire
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[HanCinema's Film Review] "Lucid Dream"



Dae-ho (played by Ko Soo) is a reporter with legal troubles who struggles to make time for family. Then, one day at the amusement park, Dae-ho loses something very precious to him and is haunted by nightmares, slowly being driven mad. That is, until he learns about neurology researcher So-hyeon (played by Kang Hye-jeong), who is working to unlock the power of the "Lucid Dream" to reconstruct in fuller detail the mysteries of the subconscious.

With such a cool concept it's a bit of a shame that the actual plot of "Lucid Dream" is just a standard investigative thriller. A good investigative thriller, admittedly, as writer/director Kim Joon-seong-I has just the bare minimum number of twists and turns to keep us guessing as to the ever elusive identity of the true antagonist. It was admittedly a little silly how dubious medical practices are more of a plot point than Dae-ho's backstory, which barely gets used even as a red herring.

But as to the good stuff, "Lucid Dream" looks great. The film's climactic setpiece is beautifully set among the crumbling black-and-white dreamscape of the Digital Media City in Seoul. The atmosphere is oddly fearful and unnerving, and well symbolizes the general collapse in psyche of the three persons who ultimately meet there. It's the ultimate spookiness- trapped inside a dying mind, feeling ever conscious of the destruction of self, the hopelessness of it all, the sheer desperation.

So yep, a nice metaphor. And it's actually quite well built up to throughout the story. If writer/director Kim Joon-seong-I doesn't seem to show much interest in the possibilities of the dream world, it's because Dae-ho doesn't care. Remember, Dae-ho only wants to go into dreams to resolve the nightmare of his daily reality. We can feel this tension in all of the dream sequences. There's always this sense that Dae-ho feels as out of control there as in the real world. Consequently, Dae-ho wants to escape dreams as badly as he wants to escape reality. In both locations his sense of self is intolerable.

The contrast is well marked with Yong-hyeon (played by Park Yoo-chun), a mysterious man of the dream world who seems to have all the answers yet Yong-hyeon's powers are illusory. He is master of the dream world precisely because he is powerless in the real one. If Yong-hyeon at times seems magical in scope, and a better hero than Dae-ho can ever hope to be, it's important to realize that Dae-ho, with his actual joyful real life talisman, very much does not want to become Yong-hyeon.

Of course as is often the case with metaphysical stories it's very easy to read an amount of depth into "Lucid Dream" that may well not actually exist. So to put this movie into simpler teams, the "Lucid Dream" concept? Cool. The story? Above average. Special effects. Excellent, and frequently subtle. The emotional kicker at the end? Actually pretty good considering what an archetypal character Dae-ho. So this is an easy recommendation for me.

Review by William Schwartz


Source: HanCinema
Shared by: 6002xfiles

Monday, March 20, 2017

[OTHER INSTAGRAM] 170320 Cafe I’m Home shared photos of their store, where ‘The Girl Who Sees Smells’ once filmed at


[PHOTO] @ 백현카페거리 I’mhome
#카페아임홈 #브런치맛집 #빙수맛집 #케이크맛집 #냄새를보는소녀 #별그대촬영지 #로필2 #백현동아임홈본점 #韓国 #韓国カフェ #박유천 #6002 #yuchun #朴裕天 #thegirlwhocanseesmells #냄보소
#cafeimhome #서현역 #수내역 #판교역 #분당구 #백현동 578-8 ☎070-4418-0415
#백현동카페거리 #아임홈 #가맹점
🍬#백현동아임홈 🍬#광교아임홈 🍬#광화문아임홈 🍬 #미사아임홈
instagram.com/p/BRzdvd6jFUC/
[TRANS]
@ I’m Home on Baekhyeon Cafe Street
#Cafe_I’m_Home #famous_brunch_restaurant #famous_bingsu_restaurant #famous_cake_restaurant #The_Girl_Who_Sees_Smells #My_Love_from_the_Star_fiming_site #I_Need_Romance_2 #Baekhyeon-dong_I’m_Home_main_store #Korean #Korean_cafe #ParkYuchun #6002 #yuchun #ParkYuchun #thegirlwhocanseesmells #TGWSS
#cafeimhome #Seohyeon_Station #Sunae_Station #Pangyo_Station #Bundang-gu #Baekhyeon-dong 578-8 ☎070-4418-0415
#Baekhyeon-dong_Cafe_Street #I’m_Home #franchise
🍬#Baekhyeon-dong_I’m_Home 🍬#Gwanggyo_I’m_Home 🍬#Gwanghwamun_I’m_Home 🍬 #Misa_I’m_Home

Source: imhomecafe
Translated by: rilanna of JYJ3
Shared by: 6002xfiles

[TRANS] 170309 Go Soo mentions Park Yuchun in Arena HOMME+ magazine



For your movie this time, you are together with an esteemed actor, Sol Kyung-gu, and a talented actor in different fields, Park Yuchun. Are there special points to being together with actors who are different in temperaments?
[…] Yuchunnie also is an extremely charming actor. He showed different energy with me, with Sol Kyung-gu sunbae-nim, and with Hye-jungie. So it was a very interesting work.

Translation by: rilanna of JYJ3
Shared by: 6002xfiles


*JYJ3 note: The ‘S.M.’ that is above, stands for ‘Seoul Munhwasa’ [which translates to ‘Seoul Cultural History’]

The Official Statement from Park Yuchun's Korean-Foreign Fan Union.






Source: 6002nanal
Shared by: 6002xfiles

Friday, March 17, 2017

[OTHER TWITTER] 170316 Fan shared a photo of Yoochun with Go Soo on ‘Lucid Dream’ set



[TRANS]
The happy May 2015. It was my birthday and the day the time with you was more dreamy. Always, you are the person who’s like a gift for me. Thank you. You worked hard. We’ll see you soon. #ParkYuchun #LucidDream


Source: @Eiryne_Lee
Translated by: rilanna of JYJ3
Shared by: 6002xfiles

C-JeS' Official Statement on the Investigation Result of Park Yuchun’s Case



***

*Other trans~
SKY TEAM's note: Yeah we are well aware that there is an English version by C-JeS but we think that our version is better (closer trans from the Korean one)


On March 13th 2017, Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office cleared Park Yuchun of the suspicion of all four cases related to sexual assault allegations filed against him.

Particularly, Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office ruled Park Yuchun innocent of the allegation of prostitution charged by and transferred from Gangnam Police Office related to the second case filed against him on the basis of absolutely no foundation while it indicted the second accuser on the charge of False Accusation without detention to Seoul Central District Court on the same day. On the other hand, Central District Court found the first accuser and her accomplices, who had been indicted with the status kept in custody, guilty of the charges for False Accusation and Attempted Extortion and sentenced two years in prison for her on January 17th 2017. For the third and fourth cases, the investigation for False Accusation was not processed due to the missing status of the accusers.

Therefore, it was finalized that Park Yuchun was found innocent for all the related cases which have carried on since June last year.

Regardless of the reason, Park Yuchun, as a person who has been greatly loved, sincerely apologizes for causing a social controversy and not having moral responsibility.

He also conveys his deep gratitude to all of his fans in Korea and overseas who have kept their eyes on the investigation results and supported him. Park Yuchun will take this case as a chance to look back his life as a public figure and reflect on himself.

Source: C-JeS
Trans by: Uttunfan via 6002SKY
Shared by: 6002xfiles


170314 Another Woman Filing the Report against Park Yuchun and Having Interviews was Indicted

(Seoul=Yonhapnews Lee Bo Bae reporter)

On the 14th, Investigative Division on Women and Children at Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Jung Hyun) made it public that they indicted Song (24, female) on charges of falsely filing a complaint against Singer Actor Park Yuchun (31) for sexual assault and giving false statements to the media (the charges of False Accusation and others) without detention.

According to Prosecutors’ Office, Song consensually had a sexual relation with Park in the entertainment place where she worked in Dec 2015. Song claimed that Park just left the place afterwards although he had asked her contact information and had told her to give his musical equipment before they had a relation.

Moreover, it was investigated that she complained about this to Jung, one of her acquaintances, but she was rather blamed for it (by Jung) so that she came to have ill feelings against Park.

Prosecutors’ Office judged that she decided to file a false complaint herself when she saw the media report that another woman received a large amount of settlement money from Park and his agency by filing the complaint against him for sexual assault last June.

Hence, Song filed a report asking “to punish Park who had sexually assaulted me while locking me in the restroom of the entertainment place” to Gangnam Police Office.

Song was also charged of having a broadcasted interview with false content (defamation by publications) after she was proposed by Jung “to be interviewed with a reporter.”

According to Prosecutors’ Office, Song met a reporter the day before she filed a complaint and was interviewed with false content that “Park took her to the restroom for talking, but he started to assault her. She told him to go outside with her, but he took the door handle and kept her from getting out.” This interview was reported the day after.

In the same month, she was also interviewed by a PD from a broadcasting system.

Prosecutors’ office concluded that those interviews were false and brought Song to the trial.

Previously, last January, Lee (25, female) who had been imprisoned and indicted on the charge of False Accusation for sexual assault against Park (the charges of False Accusation and Attempted Extortion) was sentenced for two years of imprisonment in the court.

bobae@yna.co.kr

Source: Naver
Trans by: Uttunfan via 6002SKY
Shared by: 6002xfiles

DO NOT EDIT! 

Thursday, March 9, 2017

[OTHER INSTAGRAM] 170305 Jihye Kim shared a photo from filming day on Rooftop Prince set with Park Yoochun


[PHOTO] 봄바람이살랑살랑~매년요맘때쯤이면 항상생각난다ㅋ곤지암세트장에서끓여먹던라면 꿀맛이었는데ㅜㅜ나름고민이많았지만 즐거웠던시절 옥탑방왕세자♡
#라면#라면맛있게먹는법#봄바람#벚꽃계절#옥탑방왕세자
instagram.com/p/BRQXHitjpTX/
[TRANS]
The spring breeze was gentle~ I always think about it around this time of yearㅋ The ramen boiled on Gongjiam filming site was deliciousㅜㅜ I had many worries of my own but there was Rooftop Prince on my happy days♡
#ramen #how_to_enjoy_eating_ramen #spring_breeze #cherry_blossoms_season #RooftopPrince

Source: jihye_kim870221
Translated by: rilanna of JYJ3
Shared by: 6002xfiles

Saturday, March 4, 2017

[TRANS] 170228 ‘Lucid Dream’ review – This Man


The part of the supporting role of This Man/Park Yuchun


Appearing as a mysterious man early in the movie, he is This Man. The doubts [about him] crumple with Dr. So-hyun’s kind explanation. Meeting in a department store going after Chairman Cho Myung-chul, there is an encounter with This Man within a dream. The movie starts to come alive with the ingenious This Man [aka] Kwon Yong-hyun’s presence and character like you’ve never seen before. Contrary to a ‘maniac-fan’ shown in existing movies, he is a character of a ‘maniac-fan’ who talks a lot but his abilities are obvious, for one; and even though he cannot use his two legs, he can certainly take care of himself, for another. He brings life into the film with his fresh presence. The shared-dreaming attempted by him, as expected, makes you sense a taste of following into a ‘dreamland’ for the first time, as much as This Man’s appearance early on.
Source: MediaUs
Translated by: rilanna of JYJ3
***
~other trans~



Translations by: @rng_hrq 
Shared by: 6002xfiles

[INTERVIEW] 170226 Go Soo “Park Yuchun did well as This Man…Wasn’t his acting good?”


Actor Go Soo praised Park Yuchun’s acting.
Toward reporters’ buzz over movie ‘Lucid Dream’, Go Soo disclosed his thoughts in an interview conducted at one of the cafes in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul recently: “In the movie, it might not be easy for audiences to accept This Man’s presence”.
About this, Go Soo added, “This Man is an important hidden character. He appears as a person who’s able to freely come into and go from dreams but I learned he is actually a presence named This Man. I hear he is some kind of presence who generally shows up in people’s dreams”.

Also Go Soo was unsparing with his praises, saying: “I had the notion that This Man is an attractive character and wondered who would play him,” and, “I wanted to get along well, to match, and to work well with Park Yuchun. I wondered how I could express it. I even saw ‘Sea Fog’ which Park Yuchun-ssi acted in,” and, “Wasn’t his acting really good?”.
Source: News1
Translated by: rilanna of JYJ3
Shared by: 6002xfiles