Following the horror blockbuster Exhuma, Kim Go Eun swiftly makes her silver-screen return in the Korean romantic comedy Love in the Big City alongside Noh Sang Hyun (Love My Scent). Love in the Big City previously premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival in mid-September.

Based on the same-titled novel by Park Sang Young, Love in the Big City stars Kim Go Eun as Jae Hee, a free-spirited soul who attracts attention with her bold style and attitude. While he's not interested in her, Heung Soo (Noh Sang Hyun) is caught by Jae Hee for a secret he never wants to be revealed. Though they're not each other's type, the two connect in ways that others don't understand. They start living together in harmony as roommates.

Love in the Big City is scheduled to be released in Korean cinemas on October 2.

Text / Violet

tvN's acclaimed mystery suspense thriller series Stranger returns with its spin-off, Dongjae, the Good or the Bastard, four years after the second season. Created by Stranger's screenwriter Lee Soo Yeon, Dongjae, the Good or the Bastard is led by Lee Joon Hyuk reprising his role of prosecutor Seo Dong Jae. Park Sung Woong (The Killing Vote) co-stars as a new character.

Dongjae, the Good or the Bastard unravels a new story from the perspective of morally gray prosecutor Seo Dong Jae. Due to the stigma of his sponsor scandal in the past, Dong Jae expects to have a dark future at the Cheongju District Prosecutors' Office. He takes charge of a murder case of a high school girl. During the investigation, he discovers the corruption of Lee Hong Construction and CEO Nam Wan Sung (played by Park Sung Woong).

Before its official release on TVING, Dongjae, the Good or the Bastard is set to make its world premiere at the 29th Busan International Film Festival in early October.

Text / Violet

Nagano Mei and Satoh Takeru are working blood cells in the upcoming Japanese live-action film based on the manga series Cells at Work! by Shimizu Akana and the spin-off manga Cells at Work! Code Black by Harada Shigemitsu and Hatsuyoshiya Issei. Cells at Work! anthropomorphizes the inner happenings of the human body by following blood cells hard at work day and night to protect human health. The manga was previously adapted into an anime series and stage plays.

The live-action Cells at Work! film depicts "the biggest battle in the history of the body." Nagano Mei plays the protagonist, a clumsy Red Blood Cell who is getting the hang of the job, while Satoh Takeru co-stars as a White Blood Cell who fights off pathogens. Ashida Mana plays a healthy high school girl, and Abe Sadao plays her unhealthy father who has irregular lifestyle habits.

The cast of cells and bacteria includes Yamamoto Koji as Killer T Cell, Naka Riisa as NK Cell, Matsumoto Wakana as Macrophage, Maika Pugh as Platelet, Kataoka Ainosuke as the pneumonia-causing Pneumococcus, and Niira Shinya as Streptococcus Pyogenes. Sometani Shota, Fukada Kyoko, Itagaki Rihito, Kato Ryo, Kato Seishiro, Ozawa Maju and SEKAI NO OWARI's Fukase also appear in the film.

Cells at Work! is directed by Takeuchi Hideki (Fly Me to the Saitama) and features action direction by Ouchi Takahito (Rurouni Kenshin series). CG and VFX are handled by Shirogumi, the studio behind Godzilla Minus One. Official Hige DANdism writes and sings the film’s theme song 50%.

Cells at Work! will be released in Japan on December 13, 2024.

Text / Sanwei

Akaso Eiji and Kamishiraishi Moka star in the upcoming Japanese romance film 366 Days that will be released in January 2025. The love story spanning 20 years is based on the 2008 ballad song 366 Nichi by rock band HY. 366 Days is directed by Takehiko Shinjo who has directed romantic hits like Daytime Shooting Star, Your Lie in April and I Give My First Love to You.

366 Days revolves around the relationship between Minato Makiya and Tamashiro Miu, portrayed by Akaso Eiji and Kamishiraishi Moka, who are high school students in Okinawa. The two love the same music and are naturally drawn to each other. On Minato's graduation day, they confirm their feelings and begin dating. Minato goes on to college in Tokyo, and Miu joins him two years later. The two spend their time together happily until one day, Minato suddenly leaves Miu.

Other cast members include Hey! Say! JUMP's Nakajima Yuto, Tamashiro Tina, Inagaki Kurumi, Saito Jun, Kuninaka Ryoko, Ishida Yuriko and Sugimoto Tetta. Nakajima Yuto plays Miu's childhood friend who holds a torch for her, and Tamashiro Tina plays a music club classmate who likes Minato. Inagaki Kurumi plays Miu's daughter Himari 20 years later, while Saito Jun is Himari's childhood friend. Kuninaka Ryoko and Sugimoto Tetta play Miu's parents, while Ishida Yuriko plays Minato's mother.

Mizobata Junpei plays a senior colleague at Minato's company. Notably, Mizobata was the lead of the 2008 romantic TV drama and film Akai Ito that HY's 366 Nichi served as the theme song for at the time of release. 366 Nichi is also the inspiration for the 2024 Fuji TV series 366 Days starring Hirose Alice and Maeda Gordon that aired in the spring.

The film 366 Days will open in Japan on January 10, 2025.

Text / Sanwei

Suda Masaki reunites with Wilderness director Kishi Yoshiyuki for the upcoming Japanese comedy film Sunset Sunrise based on Nire Shuhei's same-titled novel. Kudo Kankuro, the master of offbeat comedies, adapts the screenplay about the experiences of an urban transplant in the northeastern coastal town of Minamisanriku and his humorous interactions with the townsfolk.

Suda Masaki plays Shinsaku, a fishing enthusiast who works for a large company in Tokyo. In 2020 when much of the world is under lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Shinsaku falls in love at first sight with a dream rental property in Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture. He decides to try moving to Minamisanriku and spend his days fishing in between remote work. To the people in town, Shinsaku is a stranger from the big city, but his positive personality allows him to blend in with the quirky locals.

Sunset Sunrise will be released in Japan in January 2025.

Text / Sanwei

I, the Executioner, the sequel to the 2015 Korean action blockbuster Veteran, opens in Korea on September 13. Writer-director Ryoo Seung Wan again helms the film and co-writes the screenplay with Lee Won Jae.

Hwang Jung Min reprises his role as veteran detective Seo Do Cheol of the violent crime investigation unit. Jung Hae In (12.12: The Day) joins as the unit's youngest detective Park Sun Woo. Together, they trace the clues behind a professor's death, which is apparently related to several other murder cases. As they are investigating, the serial killer shakes the whole country by releasing a trailer about his next target.

Oh Dal Soo, Oh Dae Hwan, Jang Yoon Joo, Kim Shi Hoo and Jung Man Sik reprise their roles from Veteran in I, the Executioner, while Ahn Bo Hyun (Noryang: Deadly Sea) joins the cast in a new character.

Text / Violet

Two decades into his career, Hospital Playlist actor Jo Jung Seok officially makes his singer debut through the Netflix variety show A-List to Playlist. The Korean actor records his 100-day pre-debut journey on the reality program.

Jo Jung Suk will release his self-penned original debut single Champagne, which was previously teased on The Seasons: Zico's ARTIST. A starry lineup of singers and actors – including Gummy, IU, Park Hyo Shin, Dynamic Duo, Gong Hyo Jin, Jung Kyung Ho, Kim Dae Myung, Yoo Yeon Seok, Jeon Mi Do, Jung Sang Hoon and Moon Sang Hoon – make special appearances in his grand debut project.

A-List to Playlist drops on Netflix on August 30.

Text / Violet

Kim Dong Wook (Delightfully Deceitful) stars as an elite police force officer in the Disney+ Korean series Seoul Busters. Racket Boys director Ahn Jong Yeon partners up with High Kick! series screenwriter Lee Young Chul and Lee Gwang Jae (Potato Star 2013QR3) for the police comedy drama.

Seoul Busters follows Kim Dong Wook as elite cop Dong Bang Yoo Bin, who transfers to work as the chief of the lowest-performance violent crime unit in Korea. His team member include Moo Joong Ryuk (Park Ji Hwan, Gyeongseong Creature), Jung Jung Hwan (Seo Hyun Woo, Uncle Samsik), Seo Min Seo (Park Se Wan, Doona!) and Jang Tan Shik (Lee Seung Woo, Vigilante).

Seoul Busters is set to be released on September 11.

Text / Violet

Kitano Takeshi's new film Broken Rage will make its world premiere out of competition at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on September 6, 2024. The legendary Japanese filmmaker writes, directs and stars in the Amazon Original film which is created with the theme of "comedy within a violent movie."

From 2010 to 2017, Kitano made an Outrage trilogy of violent yakuza crime films. Broken Rage both returns to and subverts the genre, with the first half of the film being a crime action thriller about a hitman who is caught between the police and the yakuza and struggling to survive. The second half of the film is a comedic self-parody that follows the same story as the first half.

Kitano Takeshi plays the main character of hitman Nezumi. Asano Tadanobu and Omori Nao play detectives Inoue and Fukuda who are trying to get Nezumi to cooperate as an informant for a drug investigation. Nakamura Shido and Hakuryu play yakuza bosses involved in drug trafficking. The cast also includes Suzuki Mogura, Nishina Takashi, Uno Shohei, Kunimoto Shoken, Babazono Azusa, Hasegawa Masanori, Yano Masato, Kaku So, Maeda Shiro, Akiyama Jun and Gekidan Hitori.

After its Venice premiere, Broken Rage will be released globally on Prime Video in 2025.

Text / Sanwei

Nobel Prize-winning Japanese-British writer Kazuo Ishiguro's first novel A Pale View of Hills is being adapted into a live-action film starring Hirose Suzu. Currently in production, the film is directed by Ishikawa Kei, the Japan Academy Prize-winning director of A Man.

Published in 1982, A Pale View of Hills is partially set in Ishiguro's birthplace of Nagasaki. The human drama unravels secrets hidden in memories while intersecting 1950s Nagasaki with 1980s England.

Hirose Suzu plays protagonist Niki, who has a Japanese mother and a British father. One day, Niki, who dropped out of university and wants to become a writer, visits her mother Etsuko who lives alone in the suburbs. Etsuko experienced the atomic bomb in Nagasaki and moved to England after WWII. She begins to tell Niki about a recurring dream she's been having recently. The dream is about a woman and her young daughter whom Etsuko met when she was living in Nagasaki.

Ishiguro serves as executive producer for the Japanese-British co-production. A Pale View of Hills is scheduled for release in the summer of 2025.

Text / Sanwei

The Korean film Land of Happiness, led by seasoned actors Jo Jung Suk (EXIT), Yoo Jae Myung (Kingmaker) and the late Lee Sun Kyun (Parasite), is set to release in cinemas on August 14. Masquerade director Choo Chang Min helms the courtroom drama, which is based on a real-life case in 1979 after the assassination of President Park Chung Hee.

Jo Jung Suk takes the role of lawyer Jung In Hoo who is struggling to save client Park Tae Joo (played by Lee Sun Kyun), the secretary of the intelligence chief involved in the assassination of the president. Park Tae Joo is an upright character who is unable to betray his sense of loyalty even in an unfair political trial. Yoo Jae Myung plays the main antagonist Jeon Sang Doo, the head of the joint investigation team with dangerous ambition that controls the trial.

Award-winning music director Kim Tae Seong, who scored the 2017 political thriller 1987: When the Day Comes, also takes charge of the music for Land of Happiness.

Text / Violet

Chinese actor-director Xu Zheng's new film Upstream is set to open in theaters in China on August 9. Based on the novel Ni Xing Ren Sheng by Qing Ming, the inspirational underdog drama revolves around a group of food delivery workers.

Upstream is Xu Zheng's first feature-length directorial work since 2020's Lost in Russia, which was released online only during the COVID-19 pandemic. The blockbuster filmmaker also directed installments in the anthology features My People, My Homeland (2020) and My Country, My Parents (2021).

Xu Zheng himself stars as Upstream's protagonist Gao Zhilei, an impulsive IT company manager who is forced to make a new start after getting laid off. Due to livelihood pressure, he becomes a food delivery rider and meets other riders from different walks of life. Through struggling and growing in his new job, Gao recovers his courage and fighting spirit.

Xin Zhilei (Blossoms Shanghai) co-stars in the film as Gao's wife. Other cast members include Wang Xiao, Jia Bing, Feng Bing, Ding Yongdai, Ding Jiali, Chen Harin, Wu Jiaka, Liu Meihan, Huang Xiaolei, Ma Dong and Liang Jing.

Text / Sanwei

Noda Satoru's popular manga Golden Kamuy set in late-Meiji-era Hokkaido is being adapted into a Japanese live-action TV series set for premiere on October 6, 2024. The WOWOW TV drama Golden Kamuy - Hokkaido Shisei Shujin Soudatsuhen serves as a sequel to the live-action Golden Kamuy film released in January 2024.

The film's main cast returns for the series including Yamazaki Kento as Sugimoto Saichi, a former soldier after a legendary buried treasure left behind by the indigenous Ainu people, and Yamada Anna as Asirpa, an Ainu girl who joins Sugimoto's gold hunt to avenge her father. Set right after the film, Hokkaido Shisei Shujin Soudatsuhen ("Hokkaido Tattooed Prisoners Scramble Arc") picks up the story with the search for escaped prisoners bearing coded tattoos that indicate the location of the gold treasure. Each prisoner's past and motivations are gradually revealed.

Maeda Gordon, Kudo Asuka, Yanagi Shuntaro, Yamoto Yuma, Otani Ryohei, Kiba Katsumi, Iura Arata, Katsuya, Ohkata Hisako, Tamaki Hiroshi and Tachi Hiroshi reprise their roles from the film. New cast members include Ikeuchi Hiroyuki as an Ainu man who was friends with Asirpa's father, Takahashi Maryjun as a mysterious Ainu fortune teller, Sakurai Yuki as a young hotel proprietor, Shiono Akihisa as a gangster who becomes fascinated with Hijikata, Furukawa Yuki as a taxidermist who makes clothes from human skin, as well as Fujimoto Takahiro, Hagiwara Masato, Shibukawa Kiyohiko, Kimura Tomotaka, Tokui Yu and Yamaji Kazuhiro.

Text / Sanwei

Winners of the 3rd Blue Dragon Series Awards were revealed on July 19. Disney+'s Moving was honored with the Daesang, along with Best Rookie Actor and Actress awards for breakout stars Lee Jung Ha and Go Youn Jung, respectively.

Netflix's Daily Dose of Sunshine was hailed as Best Drama, and its leading actress Park Bo Young was named Best Actress. Im Si Wan walked away with his first-ever Best Actor trophy for his performance in Coupang Play series Boyhood. Mask Girl's Ahn Jae Hong and A Shop for Killers' Geun Hae Na were recognized as Best Supporting Actor and Actress, respectively.

Wavve's The Thought Verification Zone: The Community was crowned Best Entertainment Program, and Shin Dong Yup (SNL Korea Season 5) and Jang Do Youn (High School Mystery Club 3) came away with the Best Male and Female Entertainer titles. Kwak Joon Bin (The Devil's Plan) and Yoon Gai (SNL Korea Season 5) picked up the Best Rookie Male and Female Entertainer awards, respectively.

IVE's An Yu Jin (Crime Scene Returns) received the U+ Why Not Award, while ZEROBASEONE's Zhang Hao won OST Popularity Award for I Wanna Know (Exchange 3). TIRTIR Popularity Awards went to DEX, (G)I-DLE's Mi Yeon, Choi Woo Shik and Park Ji Yoon.

Text / Violet

Winners of Taiwan's 35th Golden Melody Awards were announced on June 29. No Party For Cao Dong won three major awards for their second full-length album The Clod, including Album of the Year, Best Mandarin Album and Best Band. Accusefive's We Will Be Fine was hailed as Song of the Year, while Faith Yang Naiwen's Flow received Best Album Producer (Howe Chen) and Best Album Design awards.

Xu Jun walked away with Best Composer and Best Arranger for Open It, and MC HotDog won Best Lyricist and Best Male Mandarin Singer for Disgusted Artist. Shi Shi (BOOMERANG) took home her third GMA trophy with her first-ever win of Best Female Mandarin Singer. Mark Cheung, director of Eason Chan's "Don't Mind Me" MV, picked up the Best Music Video award. Katayama Ryota and Wen Hung came away with the Best Song Producer award for A Walk to Remember (Abang Adik's original theme song). Makav won Best New Artist along with Best Indigenous Language Album (Treasure). O-Kai Singers (Those Days) were recognized as Best Vocal Group.

The winners of Best Taiwanese Album and Best Hakka Album went to Panai's Iā-Pô and Qiu Shu Chan's Shape Of Life, respectively.

Text / Violet

Nakata Hideo's mystery thriller film series based on Shiga Akira's novel series Smartphone wo Otoshita Dakenanoni reaches its final chapter with the third film Stolen Identity: The Last Hacker, which will make its world premiere at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in July.

Best known for the J-horror classic Ring, Nakata Hideo explores a horror closer to home in Stolen Identity when a woman finds her life threatened by a serial killer after she drops her phone. The first film of the series was released in 2018, and a sequel followed in 2020.

Based on Smartphone wo Otoshita Dakenanoni: Senritsusuru Megalopolis, the third book of the social media mystery novel series, Stolen Identity: The Last Hacker follows the battle between serial killer Urano Yoshiharu and detective Manabu Kagaya in Japan and Korea. Narita Ryo and Chiba Yudai, who appeared in the previous two films, return to play Urano and Manabu. Korean idol Kwon Eun Bi, a former member of girl group IZ*ONE, plays the mysterious Soo Min.

Otani Ryohei plays Kim Kang Hoon, the No. 2 leader of a Korean anti-government group that recruits Urano to plot a cyberterrorism attack on the Japan-Korea summit. Other cast members include Sano Shiro as a Korean taxidermist whom Urano admires, Matobu Sei as Kagaya's superior and head of the cyber security division, Izuka Kenta as a copycat criminal, and Takaishi Akari as a cafe employee. Tanaka Kei and Harada Taizo from the first film and Shiraishi Mai and Iura Arata from the second film also reprise their roles.

Stolen Identity 3: The Last Hacker will be released in theaters in Japan on November 1.

Text / Sanwei

Lee Je Hoon makes his silver-screen comeback in the Korean action thriller Escape, four years after Time to Hunt and Collectors! Koo Kyo Hwan, the breakout star from the Netflix military action series D.P., takes part in an army-themed show again.

Directed by Lee Jong Pil (Samjin Company English Class), Escape follows a sergeant from North Korea's frontline military unit wanting to flee the North and start a new life. Gyu Nam (Lee Je Hoon), who is about to be discharged from the military after ten years, plans to cross the DMZ line and escape from a homeland where he finds no choice and future. Junior soldier Dong Hyuk (Hong Xa Bin, Hopeless) learns of his plan and attempts to escape first. They both get arrested as deserters, even though Gyu Nam was only trying to stop him. Hyun Sang (Koo Kyo Hwan) from the National Security Department, who has known Gyu Nam since he was young, becomes a hero after the pursuit. Gyu Nam later begins his full-fledged escape that leads to a chase with no way to turn back.

Song Kang (Beautiful Vampire), Esom (Samjin Company English Class), Lee Ho Jung (The Battle of Jangsari) and model-actor Shin Hyun Ji also make special appearances in Escape. The film is set to be released on July 3 in Korean cinemas.

Text / Violet

Hirose Suzu stars in the upcoming Japanese period film Yukite Kaeranu, which is director Negishi Kichitaro's first feature since 2009's Villon's Wife. Distributed by Kino Films, Yukite Kaeranu is based on the real-life love triangle of actress Hasegawa Yasuko, poet Nakahara Chuya and critic Kobayashi Hideo.

Negishi Kichitaro adapts a storied "phantom script" written by screenwriter Tanaka Yozo over four decades ago. Tanaka Yozo was a key figure of Nikkatsu's Roman Porno films in the 1970s and 1980s, and his screenplays include Suzuki Seijin's Taisho trilogy.

Yukite Kaeranu follows the fierce youth and passion of the three protagonists who, despite being covered in wounds, move forward freely without turning back. Hirose Suzu plays Hasegawa Yasuko who was a 20-year-old aspiring actress when she met and fell in love with then-student Nakahara Chuya in 1920s Kyoto. They begin living together. Later in Tokyo, critic Kobayashi Hideo unexpectedly visits Chuya and Yasuko at their home. Kobayashi knows Chuya's talent as a poet better than anyone else. He also becomes attracted to Yasuko, setting off the complicated yet simple relationship of one woman loved by two men.

The film's title of Yukite Kaeranu is taken from a poem that Nakahara entrusted to Kobayashi when he was gravely ill. The poem is included in the poetry collection Arishihi no Uta published after Nakahara's death. The casting for Nakahara Chuya and Kobayashi Hideo has not been announced yet.

Yukite Kaeranu is slated to be released in Japan in February 2025.

Text / Sanwei

Nominees for the 3rd Blue Dragon Series Awards were recently announced. This year's nominees are selected from original dramas and variety programs released on streaming platforms from June 1, 2023, to May 31, 2024.

Disney+'s global sensational Moving leads with seven nominations in the drama categories, including Best Drama, Best Actor (Ryu Seung Ryong), Best Actress (Han Hyo Joo), Best Supporting Actor (Kim Sung Kyun), Best Supporting Actress (Kwak Sun Young), Best New Actor (Lee Jung Ha) and Best New Actress (Go Youn Jung). Moving will go head to head against Mask Girl, A Killer Paradox, LTNS and Daily Dose of Sunshine for the Best Drama title.

Netflix's dark comedy thriller The 8 Show receives four nominations, including Best Actor (Ryu Jun Yeol), Best Actress (Chun Woo Hee), Best Supporting Actress (Lee Joo Young), and Best New Actress (Lee Yeol Eum). Apart from the aforementioned names, Best Actor and Actress nominations also went to Uncle Samsik's Byun Yo Han, Boyhood's Im Si Wan, A Killer Paradox's Choi Woo Shik, Daily Dose of Sunshine's Park Bo Young, Goodbye Earth's Ahn Eun Jin and LTNS's Esom.

The 3rd Blue Dragon Series Awards will take place on July 19.

Text / Violet

Naniwa Danshi member Onishi Ryusei takes his first leading film role in the upcoming youth romance We Don't Know Love Yet based on the manga Koi wo Shiranai Bokutachi wa by Mizuno Minami. The Japanese teen drama follows six high school students who don't know what true love is yet. Onishi is joined by fellow fresh-faced young talents in Kubozuka Airu, former =LOVE member Saito Nagisa, Riko, Komiya Rio, Shida Sara and HiHi Jets' Igari Soya.

The unexpected love story centers around Onishi Ryusei's main character Aihara Eiji, whose best friend begins to date the childhood friend whom he secretly likes. Choosing friendship over love, Eiji can't express his true feelings. Kubozuka plays Eiji's friend Naohiko, a straightforward boy who is honest about love, and Riko is Izumi, the cheerful girl they both like. Also at their school are Taichi (Igari Soya), a band member who is sincere about love; Mizuho (Shida Sara), a serious bookworm who wants to learn about love; and Koharu (Saito Nagisa), a lovestruck girl with a crush on Naohiko.

We Don't Know Love Yet is helmed by Sakai Mai, the director of You Made My Dawn and the hit BL series My Beautiful Man, and written by Okita Haruka whose credits include And Yet, You Are So Sweet, Radiation House and this year's Tokyo Tower and Ooku: The Palace TV series.

We Don't Know Love Yet opens in Japan on August 23.

Text / Sanwei