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Queenmaker is a new Korean Netflix series directed by Jin Suk Oh and starring Kim Hee-ae, Luna So-ri and Su-yeong ryu.

Queenmaker is a curious Korean series with a very, very special protagonist played by Kim Hee-ae. A mix of comedy and drama quite, quite interesting and, above all, with a different flavor.

A series that makes the “bad guys” (supposedly) a little more human (just a little).

Plot

An excellent image consultant does the impossible: she cleans up the image of the meanest and cruelest bosses in town. After suffering an accident, she faces her greatest challenge: to make a woman lawyer becomes the mayor.

Is it really possible to give a lawyer a good image?

About the series

A fun and entertaining series that, at least, has a different plot, and that is appreciated among a grid of repetitive series and hackneyed plots.

Yes, South Korea is currently...

Back in 2011, Yeon Sang-ho’s “The King of Pigs” sent ripples in the movie industry, being the first adult animated film produced in South Korea, the first film of its kind to screen in Cannes, and a recipient of three awards in Busan. Now, based on the same material, actually Yeon’s childhood, Kim Dae-jin presents a live-action series edition, in 12 episodes. (This review is for the first 4).

“The King of Pigs” is screening on Fantasia International Film Festival

A serial killer is on the loose, with his murders being particularly brutal, shocking every policeman that comes across them, with the exception of Kang Jin-ah, a brilliant detective whose intense tactics and obsession with solving crimes have alienated her from her colleagues. It is she who discovers a message written on a window, of the killer addressing a homicide detective, Jong-suk, even identifying himself as his childhood friend, Hwang Kyung-min.

As we have mentioned in our specific list, the Gwangju Massacre was one of the most horrendous events in contemporary Korean history, and the local movie industry could not avoid dealing extensively with the topic. Apart from filmmakers, however, a number of other artists have also dealt with the events, and Kang Full’s webtoon is one of the most popular to do so. As such, it was inevitable for the manhwa to be transferred to cinema also, but the first effort in 2008 was met with financial issues, with the production eventually stopping. 4 years later, , online donations poured in from 15,000 individuals amounting to ₩700 million, with singer Lee Seung-hwan contributing another ₩1 billion won, toward the film’s ₩4.6 billion production cost. The crowdfunding worked, and “26 years” was finally released in 2012, immediately topping the box office upon its opening.

“26 years” is screening at Florence Korea Film Festival

Starting with a rather...

A Better Tomorrow 2012

Stars: Jin-mo Ju, Seung-heon Song, Kang-woo Kim, Han Sun Jo, Kyeong-yeong Lee | Written by Hing-Ka Chan, Suk-Wah Leung | Directed by Hae-sung Song

A Korean remake of John Woo’s original film, A Better Tomorrow 2012 tells the story of Hyuk (Jin-mo), who lives the fast life as a high-ranking mobster in Busan, South Korea with his closest pal, fellow mobster Lee Young-Chun (Seung-heon). Hyuk is haunted by the memory of leaving behind his younger brother Chul (Kang-woo) and mother as they attempted to flee into South Korea from North Korea. Hyuk is set up by the police and jailed. Three years later, he is released and travels back to Busan to find his younger brother Chul now a high-ranking police officer. Hyuk tries to earn back the trust of his brother, but rejection and betrayal are hard to forget. Things come to a head when Young-Chun pulls Hyuk into doing one last gig.