jung byoung gil

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THE VILLAINESS: Take A Swipe At The UK Trailer!

I’m a happy camper. Director Jung Byung-Gil’s The Villainess is set to have its day here in the U.S. in just over a week following an eventful film festival run that garnered swarms of praise on many fronts, and having been unable to attend any events myself, I can only hope I’ll get to share the experience with friends by then.

The wait overseas, however, will be a bit longer as Arrow Films is poised to present the new assassin thriller in U.K. cinemas on September 15. An official trailer was unveiled this week and you can a take a look below to get a whiff of what all the fuss is about.

Exploding onto the screen in a kinetic flurry of hyper-stylised action, The Villainess is a stunning vengeance film that draws its inspiration from western classics including Nikita and Kill Bill. 

Sook-hee (Kim Ok-bin, Thirst) is a trained assassin who takes revenge on the men who murdered her father in a breathtaking opening sequence. After losing consciousness she awakes at the National Intelligence Service who recruit her as an agent to undertake confidential missions. Initially refusing, Sook-hee soon realises it is her only method of escape, until she is given a new assignment that suddenly changes everything…þy 

Deliriously indulging in the excesses of South Korean action, recalling Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy, The Villainess is a visionary new take on the neo-noir genre and an incredible thrill ride not to be missed.

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THE VILLAINESS: Catch The Teaser Trailer For Well Go USA’s Release Of The New South Korean Action Thriller

Jung Byoung-Gil’s new movie, The Villainess, is probably one of the most hyped Asian thrillers of the summer. Really, that’s a matter of opinion but I haven’t yet met a person who learned about this movie and isn’t excited for it.

We have a hit director on our hands with a notable stunt background, and a worthy actress with gumption proven through her own martial arts training. Plus, if you’ve been paying attention to the press in wake of the film’s Cannes screenings, you also know the film has itself quite the handful of reviews to back it up.

Since she was a little girl, Sook-hee was raised to be a deadly assassin. She gladly accepts the chance to start a new life when South Korea’s Intelligence Agency recruits her as a sleeper agent, with the promise of complete freedom after ten years of service.  

But soon after taking on her new identity as Chae Yeon-soo, a 27-year-old theatre actress, she begins to realize that for someone who has lived as a killer her entire life, normal is no easy task. When two men from her past suddenly appear in her new life, it unlocks dark secrets that should’ve stayed hidden, and the fallout is swift and explosive.

I’ve been sold since actress Kim Ok-vin came on my radar in last month’s first teaser artwork for the film. Next Entertainment World is releasing the film in South Korea on June 8 and so with Well Go USA’s acquisition this month, we could very well end up with a limited theatrical release of our own maybe a week thereafter.

We’ll see what the distributor says. In the meantime, they’ve now attached their logo to an English-subbed version of the teaser which continues to sell itself over and over. Easily.

Plot this one somewhere between Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman and Charlize Theron’s Atomic Blonde and you’re gonna have one hot summer at the movies, methinks. Stay tuned for more info and peep the newly-branded teaser below, as well as a batch of character posters!

Actors Shin Ha-Kyun and Sung Joon and actress Kim Seo-Hyung also star.

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THE VILLAINESS: Check Out A Batch Of Stills For Jung Byuong-Gil’s New Action Thriller

Whether or not you choose to look at Confession Of Murder helmer writer and director Jung Byuong-Gil’s newest, The Villainess, as South Korea’s answer to John Wick or Nikita is entirely up to you. The bottom line however, is that it exists, and nothing short of a step-up for Korean action cinema with actress and martial artist Kim Ok-Vin leading the way.

The film is poised for an early-hours Sunday morning Out-Of-Competition screening at Cannes before rolling out in June and the trailer above has already offered plenty on what we can expect. In the meantime, we do have a batch of stills you can revel in for the time being as the film inches closer to its festival outing. Shin Ha-Kyun, Bang Sung-Jun and Kim Seo-Hyung also star.

Since she was a little girl, Sook-hee was brought up to become a deadly assassin. She gets a second chance in life when South Korea’s Intelligence Agency’s Chief Kwon recruits her to become a sleeper cell.  

“Work for us for 10 years, you’ll gain freedom.” 

Her new identity is Chae Yeon-soo, 27 years old, theater actress. With a promise of complete freedom after serving the country for 10 years, Sook-hee begins a new life. For someone who lived a life of a killer, living a normal life is no easy task. But when 2 men appear in her life suddenly, she uncovers secrets of her past…

Check out the stills below!

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Peep The International Artwork For Jung Byoung-Gil’s New Action Thriller, THE VILLAINESS

Sook-hee, who was raised as a killer, has her revenge on unidentified men who murdered her husband. However, as she exits, she loses her consciousness and is brought to National Intelligence Service. NIS suggests her to live as a secret agent with new identity as Yeon-soo for confidential missions. At first, she refuses but as she notices her pregnancy, she decides to take the job. She gets fond of her new life as she meets Hyun-soo and dreams of forming a new family. On their wedding, Yeon-soo gets a new mission and it shakes everything.

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A Grudge Between Two Old Friends Unfolds In The New Trailer For MONKEYS

The 15th annual Jeonju International Film Festival has its Korean Film Competition finalists lined-up as of last month, ahead of the two-part event set to begin between May 1 through May 10. One such selection includes Jung Byung-shik‘s directorial debut, Monkeys, a feature-length Korean noir action comedy satirizing the indepenednt film scene. Jung Byoung-gil, best known for helming the 2008 Korean stunt documentary, Action Boys, and the 2012 thriller, Confessions Of Murder, trades the director’s chair for an acting role this time around alongside Jeon Se-jin and Kwak Jin-seok.

Check out the trailer below, and to learn more about the Jeonju Film Festival line-up, head over to their official website by CLICKING HERE.

SYNOPSIS:

Monkeys revolves around Gong-hyeok, a man who once had future ambitions of becoming renowned in the music and film industry. Yet now in his late twenties and in dire need to support his family, Gong-hyeok is still no closer to achieving his dreams. Yet when he reconnects with an old friend who has just debuted as a film director, Gong-hyeok cannot help himself and old quarrels suddenly start to reappear and drive a wedge between them. The film is in both colour and black and white.

H/T: Thirty Toes, Hanguk Yeonghwa

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