Lakhta Center is the winner of Emporis Skyscraper Award 2019

Full article below from http://www.emporis.com/awards/2019 :

The Emporis Skyscraper Award, one of the world’s most renowned prizes for high-rise architecture, goes to a project in Russia for the very first time in its 20-year history. The 462-meter-high Lakhta Center in St. Petersburg, designed by GORPROJECT and RMJM, is not only the tallest building in Russia, but is the tallest building in Europe and the fourteenth tallest building in the world.

When choosing the Lakhta Center as its favorite, the jury was impressed by the skyscraper’s unusual form. The exterior structure of the building consists of five wings that rotate almost 90 degrees. The twist creates a dynamic impression, giving the building the shape of a blazing flame, which resembles the logo of Gazprom, the natural gas producer that has taken up its new headquarters inside the building. The skyscraper was also able to score points with the jury due to its use of environmentally friendly and energy-efficient technologies. As the northernmost supertall skyscraper in the world, the building is exposed to extreme temperatures. A double skin façade prevents unnecessary heat loss and makes it extraordinarily energy efficient. In addition, thanks to the innovative use of infrared radiators, excess heat is not lost but fed back into the system.

Voted into second place, was the Leeza SOHO in Beijing. The unique office building with its round shape and twisted inner core was one of the last projects by star architect Zaha Hadid before her death in 2016. Especially striking to the jury was the atrium of the tower, which runs through the entire building from top to bottom and elegantly divides it into two halves. With a height of 194 meters it is also the highest atrium in the world. The continuous glazing of the atrium ensures that the building is flooded with light and allows an exceptional view into the building as well as to the busy streets of Beijing.

In third place is 35 Hudson Yards in New York. The skyscraper is located in Manhattan and is part of a major Hudson Yard construction project bound to reshape the west side of Manhattan. 35 Hudson Yards is the tallest residential building of the Hudson Yards project and includes 143 apartments and a luxury hotel that extends over 11 floors. The 72-story building stood out to the jury particularly due to the use and mix of special building materials. The façade is made of Bavarian limestone and glass, adding to its unique appearance with several setbacks over its full height of 316 meters.

1ST PRIZE – LAKHTA CENTER (462m, 87 floors, St Petersburg, Russia)

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2ND PRIZE – LEEZA SOHO (207m, 45 floors, Beijing, China)

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3RD PRIZE – 35 HUDSON YARDS (308m, 72 floors, New York City, USA)

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4TH PLACE – TIANJIN CTF FINANCE CENTRE (530m, 97 floors, Tianjin, China)

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5TH PLACE – AURORA MELBOURNE CENTRAL (270m, 84 floors, Melbourne, Australia)

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6TH PLACE – 18 ROBINSON (180m, 28 floors, Singapore)

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7TH PLACE – THE PARAGON (157m, 48 floors, Chicago, USA)

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8TH PLACE – ONE THOUSAND MUSEUM (215m, 62 floors, Miami, USA)

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9TH PLACE – OMNITURM (190m, 46 floors, Frankfurt, Germany)

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10TH PLACE – ROSEWOOD BANGKOK (154m, 32 floors, Bangkok, Thailand)

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(Images in this post are from various online sources)

Very excited with ‘Parasite’ winning best picture at the 92nd Academy Awards!

‘Parasite’, a South-Korean film last year that receives huge critical acclaim and international buzz and is my best film in 2019 made history by becoming the first ever foreign language film to win the coveted ‘best picture’ prize at the 92nd Academy Awards (Oscars)! Before the awards ceremony, I have looked into the major precursor awards and I have been thinking that ‘Parasite’ has been doing quite well but not to the point that it can manage to pull off this huge best picture win.

Deep down in my heart, I still wish for it to win despite knowing that ‘1917’ film is the frontrunner (I also love 1917 and placed it as my 2nd best film in 2019). My wish came true. I was so excited when ‘Parasite’ name is called during the revealing of the best picture’s envelope a moment ago. History is made!

The film is also the biggest winner of the night with 4 wins including best director, best international feature film and best original screenplay. Even Bong Joon-Ho (the director of ‘Parasite’) had told us that he thought he was done for the day at the acceptance speech for his win in the international feature film category (previously known as best foreign language film). I didn’t expect he would go up on stage two more times later. What a great result and the film totally deserves it! It is a masterpiece and it marks a huge step forward for South Korean films, or in more general, Asian film industry. Asian talents and films do deserve more attention in Hollywood.

World War I film, ‘1917’ lost out in best picture and best director categories but still managed to score 3 wins in other categories (sound mixing, cinematography and visual effects). I’m surprised for this movie to prevail in visual effects category. Among all the nominees, ‘1917’ has the least amount of work in visual effects and yet it won.

Each of the 9 best picture nominees won at least an Oscar in the ceremony except for ‘The Irishman’. The 4 acting champs (Joaquin Phoenix, Renee Zellweger, Brad Pitt, Laura Dern) from the previous major precursor awards (Golden Globes, Critics Choice, SAG & BAFTA) repeat in the Oscars with no surprise.

Here below is the full list of winners for the 92nd Academy Awards (Oscars 2020) honoring the best of films in 2019:

Best Picture
Ford v Ferrari
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
Marriage Story
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Parasite

Best Actress
Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
Saoirse Ronan, Little Women
Charlize Theron, Bombshell
Renée Zellweger, Judy

Best Actor
Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory
Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes

Best Director
Martin Scorsese, The Irishman
Todd Phillips, Joker
Sam Mendes, 1917
Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Bong Joon Ho, Parasite

Best Supporting Actress
Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell
Laura Dern, Marriage Story
Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit
Florence Pugh, Little Women
Margot Robbie, Bombshell

Best Supporting Actor
Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes
Al Pacino, The Irishman
Joe Pesci, The Irishman
Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Best Animated Feature
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
I Lost My Body
Klaus
Missing Link
Toy Story 4

Best Animated Short
Dcera (Daughter)
Hair Love
Kitbull
Memorable
Sister

Best Original Screenplay
Knives Out
Marriage Story
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Parasite

Best Adapted Screenplay
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
The Two Popes

Best Live Action Short
Brotherhood
Nefta Football Club
The Neighbors’ Window
Saria
A Sister

Best Production Design
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Parasite

Best Costume Design
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Documentary Feature
American Factory
The Cave
The Edge of Democracy
For Sama
Honeyland

Documentary Short
In the Absence
Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)
Life Overtakes Me
St. Louis Superman
Walk, Run, Cha-Cha

Sound Editing
Ford v Ferrari
Joker
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Sound Mixing
Ad Astra
Ford v. Ferrari
Joker
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Best Cinematography
The Irishman
Joker
The Lighthouse
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Best Film Editing
Ford v Ferrari
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Parasite

Best Visual Effects
Avengers: Endgame
The Irishman
The Lion King
1917
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Bombshell
Joker
Judy
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
1917

Best International Feature Film
Corpus Christi
Honeyland
Les Misérables
Pain and Glory
Parasite

Best Original Score
Joker
Little Women
Marriage Story
1917
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Best Original Song
“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” Toy Story 4
“(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again,” Rocketman
“I’m Standing With You,” Breakthrough
“Into the Unknown,” Frozen II
“Stand Up,” Harriet

(Images in this post are from various online sources)

 

BAFTA is over, which means Oscars is on this coming weekend!

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has just revealed the winners for 2019 films in its awards presentation (British Academy Film Awards 2019 or commonly known as BAFTA) on last evening. ‘1917’ became the biggest winner by sweeping 7 out of 9 awards it is nominated in, including the top prize; best film. The film also won best British film, best director, best cinematography, best production design, best sound, and best special visual effects. Very impressive run there!

Now, the film is the frontrunner to win best picture in the Academy Awards this coming weekend. It has already won Golden Globes-best motion picture drama, Producers Guild Award (PGA), Directors Guild Award (DGA), and now best film at BAFTA. It is my second favourite film to win as my top preference is still ‘Parasite’ but the language barrier is certainly a hindrance to many traditionalist Academy voters.

Here below is the full list of winners for the 2020 British Academy Film Awards:

BEST PICTURE
X – “1917”
“The Irishman”
“Joker”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
“Parasite”

BEST DIRECTOR
X – Sam Mendes, “1917”
Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”
Todd Phillips, “Joker”
Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Bong Joon Ho, “Parasite”

BEST ACTOR
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”
Taron Egerton, “Rocketman”
X – Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”
Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”

BEST ACTRESS
Jessie Buckley, “Wild Rose”
Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”
Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women”
Charlize Theron, “Bombshell”
X – Renee Zellweger, “Judy”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”
Al Pacino, “The Irishman”
Joe Pesci, “The Irishman”
X – Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
X – Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”
Florence Pugh, “Little Women”
Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”
Margott Robbie, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Susanna Fogle, Emily Halpen, Sarah Haskins, & Katie Silverman, “Booksmart”
Rian Johnson, “Knives Out”
Noah Baumbach, “Marriage Story”
Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
X – Bong Joon Ho & Han Jin Won, “Parasite”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Steven Zaillian, “The Irishman”
X – Taika Waititi, “Jojo Rabbit”
Todd Phillips & Scott Silver, “Joker”
Greta Gerwig, “Little Women”
Anthony McCarten, “The Two Popes”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
X- “1917”
“The Irishman”
“Joker”
“Ford v Ferrari” (“Le Mans ’66”)
“The Lighthouse”

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Judy”
X – “Little Women”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

BEST FILM EDITING
“The Irishman”
X – “Ford v Ferrari” (“Le Mans ’66”)
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

BEST MAKE UP & HAIR
“1917”
X – “Bombshell”
“Joker”
“Judy”
“Rocketman”

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
X – “1917”
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

BEST SCORE
“1917”
“Jojo Rabbit”
X – “Joker”
“Little Women”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”

BEST SOUND
X – “1917”
“Joker”
“Ford v Ferrari” (“Le Mans ’66”)
“Rocketman”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”

BEST SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
X – “1917”
“Avengers: Endgame”
“The Irishman”
“The Lion King”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”

BEST CASTING
X – Shayna Markowitz, “Joker
Douglas Aibel & Francine Maisler, “Marriage Story
Victoria Thomas, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Sarah Crowe, “The Personal History of David Copperfield”
Nina Gold, “The Two Popes”

BEST ANIMATED FILM
“Frozen 2”
X – “Klaus”
“A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmaggedon”
“Toy Story 4”

BEST DOCUMENTARY
“American Factory”
“Apollo 11”
“Diego Maradona”
X – “For Sama”
“The Great Hack”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“The Farewell”
“For Sama”
“Pain and Glory”
X – “Parasite”
“Portrait of a Lady on Fire”

BEST BRITISH FILM
X – “1917”
“Bait”
“For Sama”
“Rocketman”
“Sorry We Missed You”
“The Two Popes”

BEST DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
X – “Bait”
“For Sama”
“Maiden”
“Only You”
“Retablo”

BEST BRITISH ANIMATED SHORT
X – “Grandad Was a Romantic”
“In Her Boots”
“The Magic Boat”

BEST BRITISH LIVE-ACTION SHORT
“Azaar”
“Goldfish”
“Kamali”
X – “Learning to Skateboard in a War Zone (If You’re a Girl”)
“The Trap”

RISING STAR AWARD
Awkwafina
Jack Lowden
Kaitlyn Dever
Kelvin Harrison Jr.
X – Micheal Ward

There is obviously no more competition in the four acting categories. Joaquin, Renee, Brad and Laura can start practicing their Oscar acceptance speech already. They have sweeping all the major precursor awards. I’m quite surprised seeing ‘1917’ winning best special visual effects too. It means the film really getting a lot of love, more than what we have expected earlier.

I’m also surprised to see a much lesser known animated film ‘Klaus’ (didn’t watch it yet) winning best animated film over hot favourite like ‘Toy Story 4’. It may stage similar upset in the coming Oscars. I’m also surprised that Awkwafina is not winning the Rising Star Award. She deserves it more than anyone else in that category. I can say that British Academy is still not too fond to reward people of different colour yet.

(Images in this post are from various online sources)

Full list of nominations for the 92nd Academy Awards (aka Oscars 2020).

When I have just done posting the result of the Critics Choice Movie Awards a moment ago (the awards ceremony was held last evening), the full list of nominations for the Academy Awards is announced.

Here below is the full list of nominations alongside my pick of ‘who will win’ and ‘who should win’ for the 92nd Academy Awards (aka Oscars 2020) scheduled to take place on 9th February 2020:

Best Picture:

“Ford v Ferrari”
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”
“Little Women”
“Marriage Story”
“1917”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
“Parasite”

Who will win: ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’
Who should win: ‘Parasite’

Lead Actor:

Antonio Banderas “Pain and Glory”
Leonardo DiCaprio “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Adam Driver “Marriage Story”
Joaquin Phoenix “Joker”
Jonathan Pryce “The Two Popes”

Who will win: Joaquin Phoenix
Who should win: Joaquin Phoenix

Lead Actress:

Cynthia Erivo “Harriet”
Scarlett Johansson “Marriage Story”
Saoirse Ronan “Little Women”
Charlize Theron “Bombshell”
Renee Zellweger “Judy”

Who will win: Renee Zellweger
Who should win: Renee Zellweger

Supporting Actor:

Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”
Al Pacino, “The Irishman”
Joe Pesci, “The Irishman”
Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Who will win: Brad Pitt
Who should win: Brad Pitt

Supporting Actress:

Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”
Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”
Scarlett Johannson, “Jojo Rabbit”
Florence Pugh, “Little Women”
Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”

Who will win: Laura Dern
Who should win: Laura Dern

Director:

Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”
Todd Phillips, “Joker”
Sam Mendes, “1917”
Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Bong Joon Ho, “Parasite”

Who will win: Sam Mendes, ‘1917’
Who should win: Bong Joon-Ho, ‘Parasite’

Animated Feature:

“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” Dean DeBlois
“I Lost My Body” Jeremy Clapin
“Klaus” Sergio Pablos
“Missing Link” Chris Butler
“Toy Story 4”  Josh Cooley

Who will win: Toy Story 4
Who should win: Toy Story 4

Animated Short:

“Dcera,” Daria Kashcheeva
“Hair Love,” Matthew A. Cherry
“Kitbull,” Rosana Sullivan
“Memorable,” Bruno Collet
“Sister,” Siqi Song

Adapted Screenplay:

“The Irishman,” Steven Zaillian
“Jojo Rabbit,” Taika Waititi
“Joker,” Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
“Little Women,” Greta Gerwig
“The Two Popes,” Anthony McCarten

Who will win: Little Women
Who should win: Jojo Rabbit

Original Screenplay:

“Knives Out,” Rian Johnson
“Marriage Story,” Noah Baumbach
“1917,” Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Quentin Tarantino
“Parasite,” Bong Joon-ho, Jin Won Han’

Who will win: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
Who should win: Parasite / Knives Out

Cinematography:

“The Irishman,” Rodrigo Prieto
“Joker,” Lawrence Sher
“The Lighthouse,” Jarin Blaschke
“1917,” Roger Deakins
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Robert Richardson

Who will win: 1917
Who should win: 1917

Best Documentary Feature:

“American Factory,” Julia Rieichert, Steven Bognar
“The Cave,” Feras Fayyad
“The Edge of Democracy,” Petra Costa
“For Sama,” Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts
“Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov

Best Documentary Short Subject:

“In the Absence,” Yi Seung-Jun and Gary Byung-Seok Kam
“Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone,” Carol Dysinger
“Life Overtakes Me,” Kristine Samuelson and John Haptas
“St. Louis Superman,” Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan
“Walk Run Cha-Cha,” Laura Nix

Best Live Action Short Film:

“Brotherhood,” Meryam Joobeur
“Nefta Football Club,” Yves Piat
“The Neighbors’ Window,” Marshall Curry
“Saria,” Bryan Buckley
“A Sister,” Delphine Girard

Best International Feature Film:

“Corpus Christi,” Jan Komasa
“Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov
“Les Miserables,” Ladj Ly
“Pain and Glory,” Pedro Almodovar
“Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho

Who will win: Parasite
Who should win: Parasite

Film Editing:

“Ford v Ferrari,” Michael McCusker, Andrew Buckland
“The Irishman,” Thelma Schoonmaker
“Jojo Rabbit,” Tom Eagles
“Joker,” Jeff Groth
“Parasite,” Jinmo Yang

Who will win: Ford v Ferrari
Who should win: Ford v Ferrari

Sound Editing:

“Ford v Ferrari,” Don Sylvester
“Joker,” Alan Robert Murray
“1917,” Oliver Tarney, Rachel Tate
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Wylie Stateman
“Star Wars: The Rise of SkyWalker,” Matthew Wood, David Acord

Who will win: Ford v Ferrari
Who should win: Ford v Ferrari / 1917

Sound Mixing:

“Ad Astra”
“Ford v Ferrari”
“Joker”
“1917”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Who will win: 1917
Who should win: Ford v Ferrari / Ad Astra

Production Design:

“The Irishman,” Bob Shaw and Regina Graves
“Jojo Rabbit,” Ra Vincent and Nora Sopkova
“1917,” Dennis Gassner and Lee Sandales
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh
“Parasite,” Lee Ha-Jun and Cho Won Woo, Han Ga Ram, and Cho Hee

Who will win: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
Who should win: Parasite / 1917

Original Score:

“Joker,” Hildur Guðnadóttir
“Little Women,” Alexandre Desplat
“Marriage Story,” Randy Newman
“1917,” Thomas Newman
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” John Williams*“The King,” Nicholas Britell

Who will win: Joker
Who should win: Joker

Original Song:

“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” “Toy Story 4”
“I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” “Rocketman”
“I’m Standing With You,” “Breakthrough”
“Into the Unknown,” “Frozen 2”
“Stand Up,” “Harriet”

Who will win: I’m Gonna Love Me Again (Rocketman)
Who should win: Into The Unknown (Frozen 2)

Makeup and Hair:

“Bombshell”
“Joker”
“Judy”
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”
“1917”

Who will win: Bombshell
Who should win: Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

Costume Design:

”The Irishman,” Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson
“Jojo Rabbit,” Mayes C. Rubeo
“Joker,” Mark Bridges
“Little Women,” Jacqueline Durran
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Arianne Phillips

Who will win: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
Who should win: Little Women

Visual Effects:

“Avengers Endgame”
“The Irishman”
“1917”
“The Lion King”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”

Who will win: The Lion King
Who should win: The Lion King / Avengers: Endgame

I wonder how many I got it correct in my prediction this time. ‘Joker’ leads the list with 11 nominations. Before the movie release, no one would expect ‘Joker’ to do so well in awards season besides than just its leading man, Joaquin Phoenix. The movie is also garnering attention in multiple other categories too. ‘The Irishman’, ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’ and ‘1917’ are just slightly behind with 10 nominations each. My beloved film of 2019, ‘Parasite’ is doing quite well too with 6 nominations (more than what I was expecting earlier as it is able to score nomination in production design and film editing on top of picture, director, original screenplay and foreign language film now renamed to international feature film).

(Images in this post are from various online sources)

 

Critics’ Choice Movie Awards 2020; Same acting champs from Golden Globes and ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’ took home best picture.

We are seeing major televised film awards on every weekend now (except Chinese New Year weekend on 25th and 26th), leading to the Academy Awards (aka Oscars) on 9th February 2020. For the last weekend, the Critics’ Choice Awards 2020 was held and here below is the full list of winners in film categories:

Best picture – “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Leading Actor – Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”

Leading Actress – Renée Zellweger, “Judy”

Supporting actor – Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Supporting actress – Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”

Young actor/actress – Roman Griffin Davis, “Jojo Rabbit”

Acting ensemble – “The Irishman”

Director (tie) – Bong Joon-ho, “Parasite”, Sam Mendes, “1917”

Comedy – “Dolemite Is My Name”

Original screenplay – Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Adapted screenplay – Greta Gerwig, “Little Women”

Cinematography – Roger Deakins, “1917”

Production design – Barbara Ling, Nancy Haigh, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Editing – Lee Smith, “1917”

Costume design – Ruth E. Carter, “Dolemite Is My Name”

Hair and makeup – “Bombshell”

Visual effects – “Avengers: Endgame”

Animated feature – “Toy Story 4”

Action movie – “Avengers: Endgame”

Sci-fi or horror movie – “Us”

Foreign-language film – “Parasite”

Song (tie) – “Glasgow (No Place Like Home)” (from “Wild Rose”), “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” (“Rocketman”)

Score – Hildur Guðnadóttir, “Joker”

It is a joke seeing ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’ winning best picture at the Critics’ Choice. It doesn’t even has the highest critics score from Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritics when compared to the other nominated films. I find the movie too long and boring and don’t see how critics view it as the best film of 2019. That’s crazy. Best picture should goes to ‘Parasite’.

As for the acting champs, they are basically the same group of people winning at the Golden Globes the weekend prior. So, it is now obvious that these 4 people will go on to win the same at the coming SAG, BAFTA and OSCARS. There wouldn’t be any surprise anymore since they are the frontrunners who are way ahead of the others.

This Critics’ Choice also dropped out major hints that ‘Joker’ is going to win also for score, director will be fight between Sam Mendes and Bong Joon-ho (sorry for the others), and Roger Deakins is going to win cinematography again for his work in ‘1917’. ‘Parasite’ is a lock for foreign language film win while it is also now among the frontrunners for best picture (together with ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’, ‘1917’ and ‘The Irishman’). However, it looks like Hollywood is still not ready to have a foreign film winning their coveted best picture prize although it is highly deserving.

Next awards will be the Screen Actors Guild Awards 2020 to be held in the coming weekend.

(Images in this post are from various online sources)

Kenneth Ma and Kara Wai becomes TV King and Queen at TVB Anniversary Awards 2019, while ‘Big White Duel’ took home best drama.

After postponement for a month, the TVB Anniversary Awards 2019 is finally here to honour the best of Hong Kong’s TVB series in 2019. The star-studded event hosted by Carol Cheng, Karl Ting and Mak Mei-yan saw presentation of various awards in nearly 3 hours.

Here are the full list of winners for TVB Anniversary Awards 2019 (except non-drama categories) along with my opinions:

Lifetime Achievement Award: Lau Dan

Opinion: Happy for him in winning this award. This is also his big birthday gift as he will be turning 76 tomorrow. With career spanning over 50 years and involvement in over 50 series, Lau Dan certainly deserves this recognition.

Most Improved Male Artiste: Owen Cheung

Opinion: Didn’t see any of his performance last year. He won mainly because the competition for this category is very weak this time. I do like his role in ‘Legal Mavericks’ few years ago.

Most Improved Female Artiste: Kelly Cheung

Opinion: Saw her in ‘Big White Duel’, ‘Barrack O’Karma’ and ‘The Man Who Kills Troubles’ last year. Wow..she really has a lot of projects recently. Not a surprise that she is winning this. Her acting feels natural and she is really beautiful-looking.

Best Supporting Actress: Candice Chiu (Barrack O’Karma)

Opinion: Happy for her. I like her performance in ‘Barrack O’Karma’ but didn’t expect this kind of role (as a psychopathic mum) to win but she did. It’s her first nomination and she got it. Even she herself is very surprised.

Best Supporting Actor: Kalok Chow (Come Home Love: Lo And Behold)

Opinion: Didn’t saw his performance in long-running ‘Come Home Love’ series. It’s his first nomination and he won it (similar case for Candice). Very surprised with TVB preferring to award more lesser known artistes this time. 

Most Popular On-Screen Partnership: Joel Chan & Selena Lee (Barrack O’Karma)

Opinion: Excited for this pair to win. Joel & Selena’s chemistry is very impressive in ‘Barrack O’Karma’. Their love story in the drama is captivating and this first-time on-screen pairing created wonderful spark. 

Best Drama Theme Song: ‘Let Love Fly High’ by Pakho Chau (Wonder Women)

Opinion: I felt the song is just fine in my first time hearing it. However, after listening to it few more times, I enjoy it more and more It’s a nice song and fits very well to the ‘Wonder Woman’ series too. I particularly like the kids who present the award in the ceremony. They are so cute.

Most Popular TV Male Character: Pakho Chau (Wonder Women)

Opinion: I do like his character in ‘Wonder Woman’. A young, handsome, caring and kind character. Who will not like it? But I didn’t expect him to win honestly. 

Best Leading Actor: Kenneth Ma (Big White Duel)

Opinion: Wow! wow! Finally! After nominated for 12 times in the past, finally it’s time for Kenneth to win best actor. Although he is seriously overdue for this award, but I think his performance in ‘Big White Duel’ is average only because there’s nothing much to shine in his role in that drama. Anyway, very happy for him. He always missed out on this award every single year by a small margin and now he got it!

Most Popular TV Female Character: Selena Lee (Barrack O’Karma) & Miriam Yeung (Wonder Women)

Opinion: I’m shocked with this double win (never before in TVB). This is so obvious to please Miriam who attended the later part of the ceremony as a consolation prize. She is good in ‘Wonder Women’ but not worthy of an award because the role is tailor made for her hence she does not need to put much effort in it to be honest. On the other hand, I’m glad that Selena finally win her first ever individual award at TVB Anniversary Awards. However, I much prefer her to win best actress because she is really phenomenal in ‘Barrack O’Karma’. 

Best Leading Actress: Kara Wai (The Defected)

Opinion: Kara Wai is three time best actress winner at Hong Kong Film Awards. A very notable film actress who didn’t win anything yet at TVB which is quite absurd. So, I already knew she is going to win this and as expected, she does. She is good in ‘The Defected’ but I felt Selena is a better choice. I actually find Kara’s expression is a bit rigid in ‘The Defected’, but well, she has to win this.

Best Drama: Big White Duel

Opinion: The last major award and the most disappointing one. I find ‘Big White Duel’ boring actually. I don’t like this drama and yet it won best drama. The drama lacks suspense and thrill, and its content is quite dull and empty. ‘Barrack O’Karma’ should have win this by a mile. 

‘Barrack O’Karma’ and ‘Wonder Women’ are the biggest winners of the evening with 3 wins each. ‘Big White Duel’ took 2 wins including ‘Best Drama’.

(Images in this post are from various online sources)

Golden Globes 2020: ‘1917’ and ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’ win big.

The first major televised Hollywood film awards ceremony of the year, the 77th Golden Globe Awards took place yesterday with Ricky Gervais hosting it again (it’s his fifth and final time). I watched some of his jokes at the ceremony today and I really think it should be his last time hosting (most of his jokes fall flat and not humorous) too. Someone please get Tina Fey and Amy Poehler back.

Here’s below the list of winners for all the film categories (I only pay attention to film categories and I don’t watch US television series):

Best Motion Picture — Drama

• 1917
• The Irishman
• Joker
• Marriage Story
• The Two Popes

Comment: So far I have only watched ‘Joker’. I would love to watch ‘1917’ especially after this win. A war film shown in one continuous shot…that is already brilliant. 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama

• Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
• Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
• Saoirse Ronan, Little Women
• Charlize Theron, Bombshell
• Renée Zellweger, Judy

Comment: Well deserved win for Renee Zellweger. She is fantastic in ‘Judy’. The captivating final scene of the movie helped a lot.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama

• Christian Bale, Ford v Ferrari
• Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory
• Adam Driver, Marriage Story
• Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
• Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes

Comment: Glad for Joaquin Phoenix. He is phenomenal in ‘Joker’. His laugh, gesture, posture, speech and expression in the movie are top notch acting.

Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy

• Dolemite Is My Name
• Jojo Rabbit
• Knives Out
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
• Rocketman

Comment: I don’t enjoy ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’. I find it boring. Would prefer ‘Jojo Rabbit’, ‘Knives Out’ or even ‘Rocketman’ to win.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy

• Ana de Armas, Knives Out
• Awkwafina, The Farewell
• Cate Blanchett, Where’d You Go, Bernadette
• Beanie Feldstein, Booksmart
• Emma Thompson, Late Night

Comment: Happy for Awkwafina. She is the first Asian actress to receive lead actress award at Golden Globes. History made! Luck is on her side too as this category is particularly weak this year.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy

• Daniel Craig, Knives Out
• Roman Griffin Davis, Jojo Rabbit
• Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
• Taron Egerton, Rocketman
• Eddie Murphy, Dolemite Is My Name

Comment: Deserving win for Taron Egerton too although many would prefer Eddie Murphy or Leonardo DiCaprio to win. Taron Egerton portrayed Elton John quite convincingly to my surprise.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture

• Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
• Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes
• Al Pacino, The Irishman
• Joe Pesci, The Irishman
• Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Comment: Votes split between two actors in ‘The irishman’. ‘The Two Popes’ didn’t get enough publicity. Tom Hanks is solid as usual, but too usual. So, that’s it; Brad Pitt, you get your trophy. 

Best Original Score — Motion Picture

• Little Women – Alexandre Desplat
• Joker – Hildur Guðnadóttir
• Marriage Story – Randy Newman
• 1917 – Thomas Newman
• Motherless Brooklyn – Daniel Pemberton

Comment: Beautiful score in ‘Joker’ and I can’t compare too since I have not watch the other nominated films.

Best Director — Motion Picture

• Bong Joon-ho, Parasite
• Sam Mendes, 1917
• Todd Phillips, Joker
• Martin Scorsese, The Irishman
• Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Comment: Sam Mendes winning this is quite a surprise as there are at least two presumed frontrunners in this category; Bong Joon-ho and Martin Scorsese. Anyway, good for Sam Mendes. This raises his chance to win best director and best picture at the Oscars next month.

Best Original Song — Motion Picture

• “Beautiful Ghosts,” Cats – Music and Lyrics by Andrew Lloyd Webber & Taylor Swift
• “I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” Rocketman – Music by Elton John, Lyrics by Bernie Taupin
• “Into the Unknown,” Frozen II – Music and Lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez
• “Spirit,” The Lion King – Music and Lyrics by Timothy McKenzie, Ilya Salmanzadeh & Beyoncé
• “Stand Up,” Harriet – Music and Lyrics by Joshuah Brian Campbell & Cynthia Erivo

Comment: In a moment I thought ‘Into The Unknown’ would win. I’m alright with a song from ‘Rocketman’ winning. Why is ‘Speechless’ from ‘Aladdin’ not even getting a nomination here?

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture

• Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell
• Annette Bening, The Report
• Laura Dern, Marriage Story
• Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers
• Margot Robbie, Bombshell

Comment: Happy for Laura Dern. She is a great actress who is underrated. Make the way for her to win the Oscars next month!

Best Motion Picture — Animated

• Frozen II
• How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
• The Lion King
• Missing Link
• Toy Story 4

Comment: Oh..wow! This is surprising! Before this announcement, I would have placed ‘Missing Link’ at 4th or 5th place. And now, it came out on top defeating heavy favourites like ‘Frozen 2’ and ‘Toy Story 4’. Maybe HFPA is really tired of sequels.

Best Screenplay — Motion Picture

• Marriage Story – Noah Baumbach
• Parasite – Bong Joon-ho & Han Jin-won
• The Two Popes – Anthony McCarten
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Quentin Tarantino
• The Irishman – Steven Zaillian

Comment: ‘Parasite’ should win this. What’s the love with ‘Hollywood’? I can’t understand.

Best Motion Picture — Foreign Language

• The Farewell
• Les Misérables
• Pain and Glory
• Parasite
• Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Comment: A 100% sure win for ‘Parasite’ here. Just a single win here for this film seems unjustified too. This film deserves more recognition and hope it did well in the Oscars next month.

(Images in this post are from various online sources)

2019: Year of record-breaking movies and massive protests.

Year 2019 is coming to an end. I’m not done for the year until I have written a post to review 2019 in general (now this is something I do every single year too without a miss). And so here it goes.

2019 can be easily summarized as the year of record-breaking movies and massive protests. Released to cinemas worldwide near the end of April this year, ‘Avengers: Endgame’ broke multiple box office records such as largest worldwide opening of all time, fastest to $500 million, $1 billion, $1.5 billion, $2 billion and $2.5 billion, etc. The movie which is the culmination to the Marvel’s 22-film saga also became the world’s highest grossing film of all time with its final gross at $2.797 billion (defeating previous record holder, Avatar).

In fact, there are many other films released this year that performed exceptionally well. Year 2019 broke the record for being the year with most number of films crossing $1 billion. A total of 9 films achieved that milestone; Avengers: Endgame, The Lion King, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Captain Marvel, Frozen 2, Toy Story 4, Joker, Aladdin and Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker. 2019 surpassed 2015 and 2018’s record of 5 billion-dollar movies. 2019 has 9 so far and it is possible that the currently still airing ‘Jumanji: The Next Level’ to be the 10th film this year to join the billion dollar club. That will further stretch the record.

Superhero movies are the highlights of the year. However, let’s not forget that the remake of ‘The Lion King’ this year becomes the world’s highest grossing animated film too. Other more ‘animated’ movies like Frozen 2 and Toy Story 4 also made big money in the box office. In 2019, Walt Disney Studios became the first studio in history to surpass over $10 billion in worldwide box office grosses in a year.

Year 2019 is marked with huge number of massive protests worldwide, with most of them coming from just one small place; Hong Kong. What began as a protest against introduction of an extradition bill to China on early June has escalated into violent demonstrations, dangerous standoff, chaos and vandalism acts all over the city. The protest has also evolved into call for greater democracy after the extradition bill is suspended.

What’s impressive is the hard work of the police force (been attempting hard to bring back order to the city) and the determination of the protesters (they have been protesting on streets from June till now). That’s half a year! I’m sure that a solution can be reached without the need of violence. It gave a huge impact to the city’s economical stability, tourism, and the city’s infrastructures. There were also protests on other parts of the world but I’m not going to elaborate on that. Most of the international attention is directed at Hong Kong.

Other major events of the year that worth highlighting are the terrorist attack by a lone attacker on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand on March this year that took 51 lives and injured 50 others (it’s the deadliest mass shooting and terrorist attack in New Zealand’s history…and the fact that the attack is streamed live on social media by the attacker made widespread attention),

political chaos in UK throughout the year due to Brexit that saw resignation of UK Prime Minister Theresa May and replacement by Boris Johnson,

second summit between US President Donald Trump with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at Hanoi, Vietnam on February 27-28 that didn’t turn out well,

major fire that took down the roof and main spire of the famous Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France on April 15,

Taiwan becoming the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage on May 17th,

huge fires at Amazon forest in August that should be of huge concern from all of us ,

massive celebration of 70th anniversary of People’s Republic of China on October 1st,

and the recently occurred rare annular solar eclipse that was visible from South Asia on December 26.

It’s quite a blessing to see decrease of major natural disasters and terrorist attacks this year. Let’s hope for that pattern to continue for following years. The world deserves more peace and more good things. Let’s look forward to a great 2020, the beginning of another new decade.

(Images in this post are from various online sources)

Report card for 2019 films.

With an average of around 100 films I have watched per year, I can say that I’m quite a movie buff. That means I have watched at least 8 new films per month, and that’s 2 per week. No matter how occupied I am, I would still find time to watch it as it is one of my interests and is also a good source of entertainment for me.

Here below is the list of 2019 films that I have watched alongside my rating to it (maximum 5 stars). My top 10 films are in bold:

Hollywood Films:

1. Escape Room. *****
2. Captain Marvel. ***
3. Happy Death Day 2U. ****
4. Us. *****
5. The Final Wish. **
6. How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. ****
7. Avengers: Endgame. *****
8. The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part. ***½
9. The Prodigy. ****
10. The Silence. ****
11. Pet Sematary. ***½
12. Shazam! ****½
13. Zoombies 2. *
14. The Curse Of La Llorona. ****
15. Zoo. **
16. Godzilla: King Of The Monsters. ****
17. Pokemon Detective Pikachu. ***
18. Dumbo. ***
19. Brightburn. ***½
20. Child’s Play. ***½
21. Play Or Die. ***
22. Alita: Battle Angel. ***½
23. Rocketman. ***½
24. Spider-Man: Far From Home. ****½
25. Missing Link. ***½
26. Crawl. *****
27. Men In Black: International. ***
28. The Intruder. ***
29. Toy Story 4. *****
30. Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. ***½
31. Assimilate. ***½
32. Aladdin. ****½
33. The Secret Life Of Pets 2. ***
34. The Lion King. ****
35. Annabelle Comes Home. ***½
36. Ma. ***½
37. Angel Has Fallen. ****
38. Clown. *
39. The Dead Don’t Die. **½
40. 47 Meters Down: Uncaged. ***½
41. Dark Phoenix. ****½
42. Survival Box. *
43. The Furies. ***½
44. It: Chapter Two. ****
45. Glass. **
46. The Final Scream. **
47. The Queen’s Corgi. ***
48. Midsommar. ***½
49. Prey. **½
50. The Boat. ***
51. Harpoon. **
52. Joker. ****
53. Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark. ****
54. The Angry Birds Movie 2. ****
55. The Room. ***½
56. Trick. ***
57. Terminator: Dark Fate. ****
58. Rabid. ***
59. Zombieland: Double Tap. ****½
60. The Farewell. ****
61. Dora And The Lost City Of Gold. ***½
62. Shockwave. *
63. Pickaxe. *
64. Midway. ***½
65. The Laundromat. ***
66. The Shed. ***½
67. Ready Or Not. *****
68. Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil. ****½
69. Burn. ***½
70. Frozen 2. ****½
71. Jumanji: The Next Level. ****
72. Abominable. ***½
73. The Gallows Act II. ****
74. The Aeronauts. ***½
75. The Addams Family. ***
76. Ford v Ferrari. ***
77. Stalked. *½
78. Jojo Rabbit. ***½
79. Depraved. ***
80. A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood. ***½
81. Judy. ****
82. Knives Out. ****
83. Spies In Disguise. ***½
84. Gemini Man. ***
85. Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. **½
86. Last Christmas. ****
87. Doctor Sleep. ****
88. Lake Artifact. *
89. Ad Astra. ***½
90. Little Women. ***
91. 1917. *****
92. Black Christmas. **½
93. I Spit On Your Grave. *½
94. Animal Among Us. **½
95. Bombshell. ***½
96. Marriage Story. ***
97. Cats. *½
98. Little Monsters. ***
99. Haunt. ****½
100. Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker. ***
101. In The Tall Grass. ***
102. Hoax. **
103. The Jack In The Box. ***                                                                                                104. The Dare. ***
105. Zombie Tidal Wave. *½
106. Countdown. ****½

Other International Films:

1. The New King Of Comedy. (China) *½
2. The Wandering Earth. (China) ***
3. Mega Crocodile. (China) *
4. Parasite. (South Korea) *****
5. Fagara. (Hong Kong) ****
6. Metamorphosis. (South Korea) ***
7. Jade Dynasty. (China) ****
8. The Divine Fury. (South Korea) ***½
9. Ip Man 4: The Finale. (Hong Kong) *****
10. Ne Zha. (China) ****
11. Big Three Dragons. (Taiwan) ****
12. Ashfall. (South Korea) ***
13. The Dude In Me. (South Korea) ***½
14. The Pool. (Thailand) ****½
15. Exit. (South Korea) ****½

As of 6th December 2020, I have watched a total of 121 films. I have not only successfully passed the 100-mark, I also crossed the 120-mark. Even if only Hollywood films are counted, I have breached the 100-mark too. I must say that is impressive!

You will notice that for this year, 3 out of my top 10 films of the year are actually foreign language films. It means that these films are getting better and more international attention nowadays. South Korea’s ‘Parasite’ is my pick for best movie of the year. Hands down. With 99% Rotten Tomatoes score, 96% Metacritic score and 8.6/10 IMDB score, this movie is now gaining a lot of awards buzz and it certainly deserves the recognition it won. The movie is wildly entertaining and surprisingly engaging with perfect mixture of multiple genres into one single film, excellent performance and chemistry by all the cast, superb perspective on social themes, and beautiful crafts.

Now, here is the top 10 highest grossing films of 2019 (information accurate as of 6th December 2020):

1. Avengers: Endgame ($2.797 billion)
2. The Lion King ($1.656 billion)
3. Frozen 2 ($1.450 billion)
4. Spider-Man: Far From Home ($1.131 billion)
5. Captain Marvel ($1.128 billion)
6. Joker ($1.074 billion)
7. Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker ($1.074 million)
8. Toy Story 4 ($1.073 million)
9. Aladdin ($1.050 billion)
10. Jumanji: The Next Level ($800 million)

A total of 9 films this year joined the billion-dollar club. This makes 2019 the year with most number of billion-dollar films at 9. The previous record is 5 films in 2015 and 2018. ‘Avengers: Endgame’ ultimately becomes the world’s highest grossing film of all time as its box office intake has exceeded previous record holder, ‘Avatar’ by around $10 million. Superhero films are still doing very well (no superhero fatigue yet) while Disney remakes seems to be very popular recently.

And finally, here is my personal selection of the best in 2019 films (in 26 categories):

Best Film : Parasite

(Honorable mention: 1917)

Best Director : Bong Joon-Ho (Parasite)

(Honorable mention: Sam Mendes (1917))

Best Actor In A Leading Role : Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)

(Honorable mention: George MacKay (1917))

Best Actress In A Leading Role : Renee Zellweger (Judy)

(Honorable mention: Lupita Nyongo (Us))

Best Actor In A Supporting Role : Song Kang-Ho (Parasite)

(Honorable mention: John Lithgow (Bombshell))

Best Actress In A Supporting Role : Elizabeth Banks (Brightburn)

(Honorable mention: Zhao Shuzhen (The Farewell))

Best Cast Ensemble : Parasite

(Honorable mention: Avengers: Endgame)

Best Young Performer : Roman Griffin Davis (Jojo Rabbit))

(Honorable mention: Jackson Robert Scott (The Prodigy))

Best Original Screenplay : Us

(Honorable mention: Parasite)

Best Adapted Screenplay : Jojo Rabbit

(Honorable mention: Joker)

Best Film Editing : Parasite

(Honorable mention: Ford v Ferrari)

Best Cinematography : 1917

(Honorable mention: Parasite)

Best Production Design : Parasite

(Honorable mention: 1917)

Best Action Choreography : Ip Man 4: The Finale

(Honorable mention: Avengers: Endgame)

Best Visual Effects : The Lion King

(Honorable mention: Avengers: Endgame)

Best Original Score : Us

(Honorable mention: Godzilla: The King Of The Monster)

Best Original Song : Into The Unknown (Frozen 2)

(Honorable mention: Speak Properly (Fagara))

Best Sound Mixing And Editing : Godzilla: King Of The Monsters

(Honorable mention: Terminator: Dark Fate)

Best Costume Design : Aladdin

(Honorable mention: Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil)

Best Make-Up And Hair-Styling : Maleficient: Mistress Of Evil

(Honorable mention: Bombshell)

Best Youth / Superhero Film : Avengers: Endgame

(Honorable mention: Shazam!)

Best Horror / Supernatural Film : Us

(Honorable mention: Escape Room)

Best Musical / Comedy Film : Ready Or Not

(Honorable mention: Aladdin)

Best Sci-Fi / Fantasy Film : Godzilla: King Of The Monsters

(Honorable mention: Maleficient: Mistress Of Evil)

Best Action / Thriller Film : Parasite

(Honorable mention: Ip Man 4: The Finale)

Best Animated Film : Toy Story 4

(Honorable mention: Frozen 2)

That’s it for my review of 2019 films. What a long post.

Checking out the solar eclipse and new supertalls in town; TRX106 and PNB118.

I was very free this morning and doesn’t want to stay at home for most of the day. (I will feel very bored and depressed if stay at home whole day) Besides than checking out the very uncommon annular solar eclipse on today’s afternoon, I also took the opportunity to do the thing that I love the most; check out new skyscrapers in the city.

This solar eclipse (when the moon blocks out the sun) that happens today on Boxing Day is a very rare occurrence. The last time this happened and can be viewed from Malaysia (after a quick research) was way back in 1998. That’s 21 years ago! And the next time this would be visible again from this region will be in 2063. That’s 44 years later! I would be 72 years old by then.

Hence, it is very normal for everyone to look up to the sky today…to catch a glimpse of this ‘Ring of Fire’ phenomenon. I did but I can’t see it very clearly. No worry…my Facebook home page today is literally flooded with hundreds of pictures of the eclipse.

Let’s get back to the two skyscrapers that I checked out today. They are the two latest supertall (over 300m high) buildings in Kuala Lumpur. The first one is the recently completed Exchange 106 (commonly referred as TRX106) Tower at Tun Razak Exchange. The tower stands at 445m tall and is currently the third tallest building in Malaysia (behind the 452m tall Petronas Twin Towers).

The next one is the PNB118 Tower adjacent to the historic Merdeka Stadium (just two MRT stops after the TRX station) and is right opposite my former secondary school (MBSSKL). This megatall skyscraper is currently still under construction. When completed (probably in 2021), it will be the tallest building in Malaysia as well as second tallest building in the world at over 644m. Its core currently is estimated to reach beyond 400m already.

This thing is going to be insanely huge when it is completed. It’s nice to see a lot of constructions going on in the city as it is a sign of growth despite all the recent economic uncertainties. More buildings up will also enhance the city’s skyline. KL will be a lot different when you see it every 5 years.