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126 minutes, now showing

4 stars

Squid Game (2021) actor Lee Jung-jae makes his directorial debut with this twisty and exciting espionage thriller set in the turbulent political climate of South Korea in the 1980s.

Lee, who not only directed but also co-wrote the screenplay, takes on the role of Park Pyung-ho, the foreign unit chief of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency. Fellow A-lister Jung Woo-sung (Innocent Witness, 2019) plays Kim Jung-do, a former military man who is the agency's domestic unit chief. At the discovery of a North Korean mole hiding in their midst, the two men begin investigating each other, only to find themselves inching closer to a plot to assassinate the South Korean president.

Lee and Jung give intense and, at times, intimidating performances, but the film is also boosted by the cameo appearances of other renowned South Korean film actors like Hwang Jung-min (The Spy Gone North, 2018).

Little Women

Premieres on Sept 3 on Netflix

This K-drama series inspired by the classic 1868 American novel of the same name caused a stir in Singapore when its leading stars Kim Go-eun (Yumi's Cells, 2021) and Wi Ha-joon (Squid Game, 2021) came here to film scenes.

Teaser clips of the drama feature iconic Singapore spots like Marina Bay Sands and Fullerton Hotel.

Kim plays In-ju, the eldest of three sisters who grew up in poverty. Actresses Nam Ji-hyun and Park Ji-hu play her younger siblings. When an astronomical sum of money goes missing, the three women are unexpectedly embroiled in a controversy that will set them on a warpath against the wealthiest family in South Korea. Wi plays an elite consultant from London who takes an interest in In-ju.

The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power

Premieres on Sept 2 on Amazon Prime Video

Rumoured to be the most expensive television show ever made at a budget of more than US$1 billion (S$1.4 billion), this fantasy series takes audiences back to Middle-earth.

Just like The Lord Of The Rings (2001 to 2003) and The Hobbit (2012 to 2014) film trilogies, the series is adapted from the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and his narrative of Middle-earth's history.

Set thousands of years before the events of The Lord Of The Rings, the series is set in the Second Age. Since Tolkien did not specifically write a book about that period, some details of it and its events are taken from the lore collection The Silmarillion (1977). Expect to see dwarves, elves, and the mightiest and most beautiful of the elves - a young Galadriel. The character is played by Cate Blanchett in The Lord Of The Rings films and Welsh actress Morfydd Clark in the series.