Quote of the Day (South Korean Filmmaker Chan-wook Park)

We continue our 32 quotes from 32 people representing the 32 countries in The World Cup with a quip from South Korean film director Chan-wook Park (born 1963) whose most famous film "Oldboy" has been featured at midnight screenings around the world, including The Tower Theatre in Salt Lake City, Utah, which is certainly hipper than a karaoke joint in nearby Provo (the town of Provo, Utah, reporetdly doesn't allow alcoholic beverages).

Today, the South Korean soccer team tied Nigeria 2-2 with goals from Lee Jung-Soo
(38th min.) and Park Chu-Young (49th min.) to reach the second round of The World Cup where they will face Uruguay on Saturday.

Here is the quote from one of our favorite Asian film directors:

"I have principles and rules. I deal very carefully with acts of violence and make sure that audiences understand how much suffering these acts cause."

SIDEBAR: Those of you residing in the Raleigh, NC-area can catch World Cup action at The Galaxy Cinema in Cary, which will show tomorrow afternoon's game between Australia and Serbia (2:30 p.m., kickoff) as well as other games throughout the week and the rest of the tournament. The Galaxy also 'kicks off' its Chinese Film Series on Thursday with "In the Mood for Love" (Hong Kong. 2000. dir-Wong Kar Wai)

And, a happy birthday to Iranian film director Abbas Kiarostami who turns 70 today. He is best known for the film "Ten." No, that is not the one with Bo Derek!

Best Films of 2000- Kudos to Wong Kar Wai

This is the final entry in my series which looks at the Best Films from the starting year of each decade. We conclude with my choice for the Best Films of 2000. The Best Films of 1990 are listed on our sister blog "The Daily Vampire."

At the time, I considered Cameron Crowe's autobiographical film "Almost Famous" to be the best film of the year, but I have since seen Wong Kar Wai's (pictured here) masterpiece "In the Mood for Love," a film made in Hong Kong and I think it surpasses Crowe's film as it is a genuinely remarkable artistic achievement.

But, "Almost Famous" is still my choice for the best American film of 2000 which also saw solid films from directors like Steven Soderbergh, Christoper Nolan and Stephen Frears:

1. "In the Name of Love" (Hong Kong. Wong Kar Wai)

2. "Almost Famous" (Cameron Crowe)

3. "Traffic" (Steven Soderbergh)

4. "Best in Show" (Christopher Guest)

5. "Amores Perros" (Mexico. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu)

6. "O Brother, Where Art Thou!" (Coen Bros.)

7. "High Fidelity" (Stephen Frears)

8. "Memento" (Christopher Nolan)

9. "Italian for Beginners" (Denmark. Lone Scherfig)

10. "Wonder Boys" (Curtis Hanson)

Other films of merit include "Nurse Betty," "Requiem for a Dream," and "Sexy Beast."

NOTE: We originally had an image of the film "In the Name for Love," but there appear to be tech glitches with that!