Lee Hye: Last News

Siddhant Adlakha Min Kyu-dong’s South Korean action-drama “The Old Woman with the Knife” adapts Gu Byeong-mo’s novel of the same name with results at once languid and overstuffed. While it features an enticing premise, slotting a 65-year-old woman into the underground assassin genre (a position usually reserved for grizzled men and young vixens), its story remains rooted in an inordinate amount of detail, which the film metes out in awkward ways. Of course, as with any film of this nature, it’s worth first asking whether its fireworks are worthwhile.

It’s a quiet but quality indie weekend led by documentaries and a few features in limited release as Gladiator 2 and Wicked storm in, other independents hold over, and ahead of anticipated specialty debuts next week like Queer, The Seed Of The Sacred Fig and Maria.

Seoul-based Finecut has secured distribution deals in more than six territories for high school drama film Victory, ahead of the film’s Korean release on August 14.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Victory, an uplifting drama film about cheerleading, has been widely pre-sold ahead of its upcoming South Korea commercial release. Directed by Park Beom-su, known for “Single in Seoul” and “Red Carpet,” the film is about a high-school dance duo who inspire people in their village with a heartfelt cheerleading performance, and an underdog school soccer team on a remote island. The film has been acquired by 815 Pictures for North America; Sky Films Entertainment for Taiwan; Lumix Media for Vietnam; PT Prima Cinema Multimedia for Indonesia; House of M for Thailand; Emphasis Video Entertainment for inflight distribution; and by Westec Media Limited for Cambodia.

Agents of Mystery, starring aespa‘s Karina. Read on for everything you need to know about the show’s plot, cast, premiere date and more.According to a press release by Netflix, the series will follow “six personalities [as they] find themselves as agents transported to secretive sites to investigate cases and complete missions with their combined intellect.

Unmasked, an upcoming original K-drama production slated to release on the platform later this year. Read on for everything you need to know about the forthcoming series.Billed as an “edge-of-your-seat thriller”, Unmasked follows a team of investigative journalists after they publish a particularly controversial story, which now poses a threat to their careers.

K-pop girl group aespa have released their own version of Bobby Helms’ classic holiday song, ‘Jingle Bell Rock’.Today (November 24), the quartet unveiled a lyric video for their remake of the iconic 1957 Christmas song. aespa’s version of ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ features a hip-hop-inspired beat, as well as a brand-new rap verse.“Ring ring ring, jingle bell rock / Play like a spell I won’t tell, jingle bell talk / So giddy up, giddy up / Turn it up fast till we burn up / We ain’t ever gonna stop, jingle bell rock,” Giselle and Winter rap on the second verse.SM Entertainment first announced the song via a press release earlier this week, describing it as a “catchy and hip” reinterpretation of the classic track, with the girl group’s “unique vocals and rap” setting it aside from the original ‘Jingle Bell Rock’.aespa’s ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ comes just two weeks after they released their fourth mini-album ‘Drama’.

TWICE have dropped a remix album titled ‘The Remixes’, featuring seven re-arranged versions of some of their hit songs, alongside several new collaborations.The new record, which dropped on streaming services earlier today (November 22), includes new English versions of ‘Alcohol-Free’ and ‘Cry For Me’, as well as an electronic dance pop remix of ‘Moonlight Sunrise’ with DJ Jonas Blue, which first dropped as a pre-release for ‘The Remixes’ last week.TWICE also joined forces with pop-rock band Boys Like Girls on a refreshed version of ‘I Can’t Stop Me’, and collaborated with DJs Ian Asher, Carneyval and Lee Hae-sol on remixes of the songs ‘The Feels’, ‘Set Me Free’ and ‘More & More’, respectively. Listen to the record below.In other K-pop news, aespa’s Karina has joined the cast of an upcoming reality series from Netflix titled Agents of Mystery. She is set to star alongside former Girls’ Day member and actress Lee Hye-ri, actors Kim Do-hoon and Lee Yong-jin, comedian Lee Eun-ji and singer John Park.While an official premiere date for the series has yet to be announced, Netflix announced that the show will be produced by Jeong Jong-yeon, who previously helmed the viral Netflix reality show The Devil’s Plan, which premiered earlier this year.Meanwhile, Prime Video has released the first trailer for its upcoming original K-drama series My Man is Cupid, starring Mask Girl‘s Nana and Daily Dose of Sunshine‘s Jang Dong-yoon.

aespa member Karina has been announced as part of the cast for Netflix’s upcoming original Korean reality show Agents of Mystery. The streaming service announced the cast of Agents of Mystery earlier today (November 22) through its official Netflix K-Content account on X (formerly known as Twitter).

My Man is Cupid, starring Mask Girl‘s Nana and Daily Dose of Sunshine‘s Jang Dong-yoon.The series revolves around Chun Sang-hyuk (played by Jang Dong-yoon), a cupid who has been stuck on Earth for 500 years after losing his wings. He starts off as a stoic being unable to get over his first love, but things quickly change when he accidentally shoots himself with one of his arrows.He somehow crosses paths with Oh Baek-ryun (Nana), a veterinarian who is incredibly sought after for her beauty.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean sales agency, Finecut has picked up international sales rights to dance drama film “Victory,” which it will launch during the Asian Contents & Film Market that sits alongside the Busan Film Festival. The film, currently in post-production, is an upcoming title by Park Beom-su, a director known for a promising debut film “Red Carpet” in 2014. The story of “Victory” is centered around a high-school dance duo and an underdog school soccer team on a remote island. Two girls initially create a cheerleading club to pursue their love for dance, but they soon find themselves passionately cheering for the soccer team, eventually becoming a source of support for the entire island. The film stars Lee Hye-ri, a member of K-pop girl group Girl’s Day, who has become a popular actor with roles in “Monstrum” and TV’s “Reply 1998,” and Park Se-wan (“Life Is Beautiful,” “6/45,” “Collectors”) as the two protagonists.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief A+E Networks is continuing its investment in Korean entertainment content with “A Good Day to Be a Dog,” a fantasy romantic comedy that will upload from Oct. 11. Within Korea, the show will play on public broadcaster MBC and Lifetime Korea, releasing at the rate of one episode per week, every Wednesday.

The Devil’s Plan.The Devil’s Plan will feature 12 contestants of various backgrounds living together for a week and competing through a chain of bizarre events in order to win ₩500million (roughly US$370,000).Netflix’s new trailer introduces the series’ 12 contestants – including SEVENTEEN member Seungkwan, actors Ha Seok-jin, Lee Si-won and Park Kyung-lim and YouTuber Kwak Joon-bin – as they enter the different rooms where their challenges will take place.Scenes of these upcoming challenges, which appear to include card games, pattern recognition challenges and an escape room, are also shown in brief snippets. The new South Korean variety competition series will premiere on Netflix on September 26.The other cast members on The Devil’s Plan are: professional Go player Cho Yeon-woo, announcer Lee Hye-sung, US-based lawyer Seo Dong-joo, Canadian pro gamer and poker player Guillaume Patry, former Blue House policy advisor Kwedo, American orthopedic surgeon Seo Yoo-min and university student and pro poker player Kim Dong-jae.The upcoming series is produced by Jung Jong-yeon, who previously worked on game shows like The Genius and Great Escape.

HYBE, the label behind K-pop supergroup BTS, has seen their stock price plummet after the K-pop boyband announced they would be going on a temporary break.The South Korean entertainment agency’s shares dropped as much as 28 per cent within the first hour of trading today (June 15), one day after BTS said they would be focusing on their solo careers. According to a report by Billboard, HYBE’s shares had fallen as far as ₩140 thousand per share after opening at ₩168 thousand.The company is currently headed for its lowest close on record since it went public in 2020, wiping out as much as $1.7million in market value as of writing.In light of uncertainties regarding the septet’s future, even prior to their recent announcement, HYBE has seen its stock go down by nearly 60 per cent this year so far, per The Straits Times.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentAudrey Diwan’s “Happening,” Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog,” Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car” and Terence Davies’s “Benediction” won top prizes at the 19th ICS Awards which are handed out by the International Cinephile Society. This edition marks a milestone with female talents winning best picture, director, animated film, documentary, debut feature, breakthrough performance and cinematography.“Happening,” a timely abortion drama set in 1960’s France, took home best picture, while its star, Anamaria Vartolomei, won best breakthrough performance.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefLeading indie sales agent Finecut has picked up international rights to “The Novelist’s Film.” The picture marks the third year in a row that South Korean director Hong Sang-soo has had a film selected for competition in Berlin.Hong, who works on low budgets, controls much of the production process and makes repeated use of a small pool of actors, is one of the most prolific feature directors in the world. Although his works divide critics, he appears to have been recently rehabilitated among selectors (and juries) at the major European festivals.Hong’s 2020 “The Woman Who Ran” earned Berlin’s silver bear for best director.