Get some beautiful wallpapers from Korea at:
http://www.kois.go.kr/kois/eng_bk_list.asp

27th Blue Dragon Awards

27th Blue Dragon Film Awards Winners are...
The Best of the Best

Picture: The Host.

Screenplay: Lee Hae-yeong and Lee Hae-joon, for Like A Virgin.

Cinematography: The War of Flowers.

Art Direction: Forbidden Quest.

Actor: Park Joong-hoon and Ahn Seong-gi, for Radio Star.

Supporting Actor: Byeon Hee-bong, in The Host.

Actress: Kim Hye-soo, in The War of Flowers.

Supporting Actress: Jeong Yoo-mi, in Family Ties.

New Actress: Ko Ah-seong, in The Host.

Music: Lee Byeong-woo, for The King and the Clown.

New Director: Lee Hae-yeong and Lee Hae-joon, for Like A Virgin.

New Actor: Ryoo Deok-hwan.

Director: Kim Tae-yong, for Family Ties.

THC Best Films of the Year

My Best 5 Movies of the Year

1.The Prestige (USA, 128 min)
director: Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins, Memento)
with Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, David Bowie
info: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,22872-2441195.html

2.Re-cycle / Gwai wik (HK)
director: Pang Brothers
with Angelica, Lawrence Chou, Lau Siu-ming
info:http://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/recycle.htm

3.Caché (FR, 2005, 118 min.)
director: Michael Haneke (best director Cannes 2005)
with Juliette Binoche, Daniel Auteuil, Maurice Bénichou
info: http://www.cinemovies.fr/fiche_film.php?IDfilm=5197

4.Volver (SPAIN, 121 min.)
director: Pedro Almodóvar
with: Carmen Maura, Penélope Cruz
info: http://www.sonyclassics.com/volver/main.html

5.The Lake House (USA, 105 min.)
director: Alejandro Agresti
with: Sandra Bullock, Keanu Reeves
info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0410297/

Happy Xmas!

May your holidays
be filled with laughter,
fun, and the company
of good friends!

Happy 2007,
to all bloggers!

Champion:
Sport Club Internacional (Porto Alegre)
Brazilian teams have won all Championships with Sport Club Internacional the latest winner 1-0 over UEFA Champions Barcelona.
Congratulations to the "colorados" all around the world!

57th Berlin International Film Fest

The Korean film Like a Virgin (about a chubby high school boy who decides to compete in traditional Korean wrestling to earn money for a transgender operation) directed by Lee Hae-young was officially invited to the Generation Section of the 57th Berlin International Film Festival (open on February 8th of next year).









Other Korean movies in competition will be: director Lee Yoon-ki’s Ad Lib Night for the Young Forum section and Hong Sang-soo’s Woman on the Beach and Lee Jae-yong’s Dasepo Naughty Girl for the Panorama section.

Golden Globe Awards 2007

Golden Globe Awards

Babel's Rinko Kikuchi received the nomination for Best Actress In A Supporting Role.

Ensemble drama Babel (spanning several countries telling four inter-related stories) leads the nominations at next year's Golden Globe Awards, boasting seven nods including Best Dramatic Picture.

30th Cairo International Film Festival

Zhang Jingchu's Star

Chinese director Zhang Jiarui’s film The Road, which stars Chinese actor Fan Wei and rising actress Zhang Jingchu, scooped the 30th Cairo International Film Festival’s top prize, the Golden Pyramid.

And Zhang Jingchu (Tsui Hark's Seven Swords) also garnered the Best Actress award. Zhang won the Best Actress award for her role in Peacock (director Gu Changwei’s film) at the sixth Chinese Film Media Awards in Hong Kong, April 17, 2006.

THC Message

The Beautiful Country

The Beautiful Country (DVD/ USA,Norway/ 2004, 128 min.)
Director: Hans Petter Moland (Aberdeen)
Production: Terrence Malick (Thin Red Line)
Actors: Damien Nguyen, Bai Ling (Anna and the King, Taxi 3), Nick Nolte (Hulk, Hotel Rwanda),Tim Roth (Don't Come Knocking, Planet of the Apes).

In his first lead role, Nguyen plays Binh, a social outcast in Vietnam, called ugly and "bui doi" (less than dust) because of his mixed race. He makes a dramatic journey from Vietnam to USA, trying to find his american war veteran father (Nolte).

The Norwegian director Moland, about the Binh character “He’s one of the finest human beings, but you would’t pick him out of a crowd. He ultimately succeeds in keeping his goodness; he is not corrupted or hardened. It is a celebration of what human beings are capable of and what is grand about us. So it’s not about an immigrant, but about humanity.”

Damien Nguyen, the great surprise of the movie --- it’s amazing too see such a strong performance, considering that this is the first lead role for Nguyen. The actor was born in Viet Nam, but his family emmigrated to America when he was 3 years old. Living in Orange County, dropped out of college to pursue the acting career in Los Angeles.
Nguyen Says “... being second-generation Vietnamese American has always been an interesting experience. When I was growing up, I always felt trapped by the Old World customs and traditions. Trying to find my identity in this new world was hard when I felt labeled a certain way because of how I looked, talked, and dressed. Then when I became older, I began to wonder why I never took the time to really understand all those things, like my family and my ancestors, the things that made me who I really am. However, as an actor, I really am given a chance to search, to some degree, for who I really am. I realized it is possible for me to find the characters that I portray within myself.”

Learn more about Damien Nguyen in:http://www.asiaarts.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=26462
http://www.moviehabit.com/essays/moland_nguyen.shtml
http://movies.about.com/od/thebeautifulcountry/a/beautiful070605.htm
http://www.nhamagazine.com/back_issue/issue_0106/feature1_p1.html