Project Silence (15)
Thriller / 96 mins. / Korean / July 12
The bridge has fallen and the dogs are out.
Cha Jung-won, played by Lee Sun-kyun, is a single father and government security administrator. The day starts off rather terribly with foggy weather, and Cha is going to send off his daughter, played by Kim Su-an, to study abroad. But the day just reaches another level of distress when the airport bridge he is on collapses. Even worse, in an almost freakish turn of events, there are lethal military dogs ravaging the people caught under the debris.
Amid all this chaos, the people around Cha are not exactly friendly to him either. Tow-truck driver Jobak, played by Ju Ji-hoon, chased Cha onto the bridge after not receiving payment from him for gas fees earlier. Will Cha safely make it through the horrific disaster with his daughter?
“Project Silence” was co-written and directed by Kim Tae-gon, who debuted in 2008 with the full-length film “The Pot.”“Project Silence” was originally screened at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. Significant edits were made to the film by director Kim after its Cannes screening, aiming to enhance its pace and tension.
“Project Silence” is also a posthumous work for Lee. Lee died in December last year while under investigation for illegal drug usage.
Deadpool & Wolverine (19)
Action / 128 mins. / English / July 24
Seething anger meets chaotic madness, with claws slashing and bullets flying everywhere.
Unbridled madness will clash with ferocious intensity on July 24 when antihero assassin Deadpool, played by Ryan Reynolds, and clawed superhero Wolverine, played by Hugh Jackman, exhibit their reluctant yet explosive chemistry in the latest installment of the Marvel antihero series, “Deadpool” (2016-).
True to its title, “Deadpool & Wolverine” will feature the erratic assassin teaming up with the ruthless, clawed superhero to save the world from a multiverse threat, spanning adventures across different timelines. The trailers released for “Deadpool & Wolverine” included numerous easter eggs related to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and alluded to cameos, building up anticipation for the film.
Directed by Shawn Levy, the film arrives six years after “Deadpool 2” (2018). “Deadpool & Wolverine” is the third installment in the “Deadpool” franchise following “Deadpool” in 2016 and “Deadpool 2” in 2018. It is also the first “Deadpool” film to be released under Marvel Studios and its fictional universe, the MCU.
“Deadpool & Wolverine” actors Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman visited Korea in July to meet fans, alongside the film’s director Shawn Levy.
Handsome Guys (15)
Comedy, Horror / 101 mins. / Korean / June 26
The two guys may not be handsome in the conventional sense, but they sure are funny.
Two men, who refer to themselves as “handsome guys,” move to the countryside for a quiet life. Jae-pil, played by Lee Sung-min, and Sang-koo, played by Lee Hee-jun, have rather eccentric takes on fashion and a delusional level of narcissism, but they don’t exactly seem evil to the people of the town. If anything, the two men mind their own business, excited about starting their new lives.
What is evil, however, is the house that they bought. It turns out there is an evil spirit that haunts their dwelling. Not only that, after the duo saves Mina, played by Gong Seung-yeon, from drowning, they are misunderstood as kidnappers by the townspeople. Will the duo ever find peace?
“Handsome Guys” is directed by Nam Dong-hyeop. The film is a Korean remake of the 2010 black comedy horror film “Tucker & Dale vs. Evil,” directed by Eli Craig. “Handsome Guys” was produced by film production studio Hive Media Corp, which produced the films “Inside Men” (2015), “The Man Standing Next” (2020) and “12.12: The Day” (2023).
A Quiet Place: Day One (15)
Thriller, Horror, Sci-fi / 99 mins. / English / June 26
Stay quiet, your life may depend on it.
Samira, played by Lupita Nyong’o, is enjoying the last moments of her life in peace outside the city. She is terminally ill with cancer, living out her time left with her cat, Frodo. She decides to venture into the urban jungle for a marionette show one day. Little does she know what will be in store for her after arriving in the city.
Asteroids fall from the sky and aliens crawl out from craters, killing everything in sight. The creatures have ultra-sensitive hearing, which means that making noise results in a swift death. Will Samira make it out of the city alive, or will she inevitably fail to live up to the impossible task of complete silence?
“A Quiet Place: Day One,” directed by Michael Sarnoski, is the third installment of the “A Quiet Place” (2018-) film series. The film is a spin-off and prequel to the first installment of the series. Sarnoski has previously directed the drama film “Pig” (2021) and documentary “The Testimony” (2015).
Will you please stop, please (ALL)
Drama / 63 mins. / Korean / July 10
Hye-in, played by Kim Yeon-kyo, looks like your ordinary office worker, but she is in a rather unfortunate situation. She is still the youngest in the company she works at despite being five years into her job. Hye-in works in a rather peculiar workplace, which is a Buddhist publishing house located in a Buddhist temple.
But it seems Buddhism is still not enough to iron out all the ills of Korean office life. There are still office villains, boredom with the job and the ever-present pressure of late night shifts. With all of her colleagues being older than her, will the young office worker ever be satisfied with the job she has?
“Will you please stop, please” was directed by Kim Eun-young, who previously directed the films “Secondhand, Paul” (2016), “A Dancer on a Plain” (2020) and “Breathe” (2022). “Will you please stop, please” is based on the 2020 novel of the same name by writer Hey Song, who also participated as the screenwriter for the film.
BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]