Top 10 Tallest Buildings In The World (as of April 2020)

It has been quite some years since I last made a check on the list of tallest buildings in the world. When I researched on this topic again recently, I was quite shocked to see many new buildings popping out in the top 10 list. I do periodically write a post on this topic once in a few years and I think it’s time now to write another one for the updating purpose.

Now, each of the present top 10 tallest buildings in the world is at least half a kilometre tall. That’s 500 metres. About a decade ago, a skyscraper is sure to join top 10 list when it reaches beyond 400 metres mark. Now, that is no longer possible. Once the tallest building in the world, Taipei 101 is now at the very last spot in the top 10 standing. Burj Khalifa still maintains the title of the world’s tallest building (also world’s tallest man-made structure) for a decade since 2010 when it is first completed. 9 out of 10 skyscrapers in the top 10 list are in Asia. Well, that is not surprising as many countries in this continent observe huge growth and high demand for construction of tall buildings especially China.

Here’s the current top 10 tallest buildings in the world (information correct as of April 2020, information comes with building’s name, city, country, height, number of floors, and year of completion). Do be reminded that this official list is obtained from the international governing body in worldwide tall buildings called ‘Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat’ (CTBUH). This list does not include telecommunication or observation towers, antennas, masts, non-habitable structures and buildings which are still under construction. Only completed buildings are qualified to the list.

10 – Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan (508 metres, 101 floors, 2004)

9 – CITIC Tower, Beijing, China (528 metres, 109 floors, 2018)

8 – Tianjin CTF Finance Centre, Tianjin, China (530 metres, 97 floors, 2019)

7 – Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre, Guangzhou, China (530 metres, 111 floors, 2016)

6 – One World Trade Center, New York City, USA (541 metres, 94 floors, 2014)

5 – Lotte World Tower, Seoul, South Korea (555 metres, 123 floors, 2017)

4 – Ping An Finance Center, Shenzhen, China (599 metres, 115 floors, 2017)

3 – Makkah Royal Clock Tower, Mecca, Saudi Arabia (601 metres, 120 floors, 2012)

2 – Shanghai Tower, Shanghai, China (632 metres, 128 floors, 2015)

1 – Burj Khalifa, Dubai, UAE (828 metres, 163 floors, 2010)

My country’s famous Petronas Twin Towers which are once the tallest buildings in the world too are now at 17th place. That’s quite far behind. Nevertheless, they are still the current tallest twin buildings in the world, at 452 metres tall each. Soon, we will see a skyscraper in Malaysia to appear again in the top 10 list with the expected completion of Merdeka PNB118 Tower next year (2021). The tower, located in Kuala Lumpur will be 644 metres tall with 118 floors when completed. It will be ranked 2nd tallest in the world, just behind Burj Khalifa. As of today, the core of the tower has reached 112nd floor.

Seeing Burj Khalifa holding the record for more than a decade now, I’m starting to hope that some day soon, another taller tower will take the title from it. Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah Tower will be that tower possibly. The 167-floors Jeddah Tower will be 1000 metres tall (that’s 1 km!) and is currently under construction. However, there seems to be little to no progress to its construction in the last few years due to financial reason. There is no estimated completion date for this massive megatall and its fate is still uncertain for now.

(Images in this post are from various online sources. Buildings’ information is from CTBUH as highlighted earlier)

The Exchange 106 officially becomes the tallest building in Malaysia, dethroning the iconic Petronas Twin Towers.

Petronas Twin Towers are now no longer the tallest buildings in Malaysia. Standing at the height of 451.9 metres, they were also once the world’s tallest buildings too. Another higher sksycraper called The Exchange 106 has taken over the title as Malaysia’s tallest building.

Located at the planned new financial district of Kuala Lumpur, The Exchange 106 tower stands at a height of 453.5 metres tall. That makes it 1.6m taller than the Petronas Twin Towers. What a tiny difference. In the past and even until today, there has been a lot of debates on the building’s height. Some said 492 metres (including some recently published news article regarding the tower’s completion), and some said it is just 445 metres tall.

Around a year ago, there is a sectional drawing of the tower that has been revealed at the skyscrapercity forum. The 492m figure comes from measuring from the top of the tower to the sea level. This is certainly not to be used to measure a building’s height. And then there’s argument on measuring from top to the main podium or the lower secondary entrance which is still above ground. Hence, the 445m figure comes in and is accepted by Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) earlier.

Now, after its official completion and a r0evaluation by CTBUH, the final height of the tower is now confirmed to be 453.5 metres. The news report got it wrong (I don’t blame them since the ones writing the articles are not an expert in sksycraper’s height and I believe they just copy the figure from the developer’s website). Some still insisted it is 492m despite the sectional drawing already proven it is not.

On the other hand, the tower also does not have 106 floors as suggested by its name. It only has 97 floors above ground. The 106 figure is adding in the floors below ground and some technical or unused floors in between. The developer has been over excited on bumping up its figures (both floor numbers and building height) without following the convention of measuring them. They are the culprit behind this misleading information.

Nevertheless, the tower is a magnificent addition to the city skyline of Kuala Lumpur, though certainly not as iconic as the Petronas Twin Towers. The tower’s crown looks impressive but the dull design of the rest of the tower is too hard to be ignored. The lighting of the tower is also poorly designed.

The Exchange 106 will only hold the title for a very short period of time. In about two years time, PNB118 Tower located just a short distance away will be the new tallest building in Malaysia. When completed, the tower will reach around 500m to top of its roof and up to 644m to top of its massive spire. At 644m, it will also be the second tallest building in the world, behind Dubai’s Burj Khalifa (828m).

(Images in this post are from various online sources)

TVB Anniversary Awards 2017 ended with some shocks yet again.

TVB love to deliver shocks in their annual awards presentation by announcing result that is surprising to the majority of people. It is no exception for this year as well. The Hong Kong’s TVB Anniversary Awards 2017 is delayed a month to make way for all anniversary dramas to finish airing and also to express the much grander 50th anniversary celebration the television station is having in late 2017 that extends now until early 2018. Here below is the full result for the awards (held on the evening of 21st January 2018) along with my opinions for each categories:

TVB Anniversary Awards 2017’s Winners List:

Best Non-Drama Programme
“The Ahistoric Grandpa Cooking Show” – WINNER
“Miss Chinese International Pageant 2017”
“Love at Last Sight”
“Feng Shui for the New Year”
“Cantoxicating!”
“Dinner Ma’s”
“Eating Well with Madam Wong (Sr. 3)”
“Dream in the Ring”
“HK Gag Gag”
“Anchors with Passport (Sr. 3)”
“The Place We Call Home”
“Neighborhood Treasures (Sr. 7)”
“Public Housing Outing”
“Hong Kong Round the Clock”
“Easy Come Easy Health”
“Good Cheap Eats (Sr. 6)”
“Cantopop at 50”  – WINNER
“Pay It Forward”
“Sidewalk Scientist”
“Retiring in Paradise”
“Litigation at Home”
“Big Big Kids Awards 2017”
“All Work No Pay Holidays (Sr.2)” 
“Young and Restless”
“Buskkkkk Music”
“The Big Big Channel Nite”
“Amazing Summer Splash”
“Fun Abroad”
“Chef Minor (Sr. 3)”
“C AllStar Thai Odyssey”
“Miss Hong Kong Pageant 2017”
“Faraway Brides” – WINNER
“Starry Starry Talk”
“The Sisterhood Traveling Gang” 
“Bazaar Carnivals (Sr. 3)” – WINNER
“Sir Ben Prop Guide”
“Helen Goes to Kyushu”
“The Ultimate Street Sorcerer”
“Sammy on the Go”
“Line Walker: The Hunting Game”
“EYT: Anniversary Edition” 
“Diva Liza 50-Year Special”
“TVB Anniversary Gala”
“The Heavenly Party”
“DoDo Goes Shopping (Sr. 2)” – WINNER
“Tung Wah Charity Show 2017”
“Gala Spectacular”
“Dickies on Tour”
“J.S.G. Awards Presentation 2017”

Opinion: Didn’t expect that TVB decided to hand out five awards in this category. I enjoyed ‘The Sisterhood Traveling Gang’ but it lost. Anyway, I didn’t have much interest in this category every year. Moving on…

Best Host(s)
Lee Ka Ting & Helen Tam (“The Ahistoric Grandpa Cooking Show”)
Gigi Wong (“Eating Well with Madam Wong (Sr. 3)”)
Maria Cordero & Luk Ho Ming (“Good Cheap Eats (Sr. 6)”) 
Nancy Sit, Michael Lai, Raymond Cho & Karen Tong (“Cantopop at 50”)
Mayanne Mak, Kaki Leung, Roxanne Tong, Crystal Fun, Tiffany Lau & Bowie Cheung (“Sidewalk Scientist”)
Tony Hung (“Retiring in Paradise”)
Luk Ho Ming, Louisa Mak & Crystal Fung (“Young and Restless”)
Bob Lam, Mayanne Mak & Linna Huynh (“Chef Minor (Sr. 3)”)
Janis Chan (“Faraway Brides”)
Lai Chi San (“Starry Starry Talk”)
Evergreen Mak, Joyce Tang & Elena Kong (“Bazaar Carnivals (Sr. 3)”)
Benjamin Au Yeung, Mayanne Mak, Luk Ho Ming, Bella Lam & Liz Ji (“Sir Ben Prop Guide”)
Helen To (“Helen Goes to Kyushu”)
Sammy Leung, Samantha Ko, Mayanne Mak & Jacqueline Wong (“Sammy on the Go”) 
Carol Cheng, FAMA, Kenneth Ma, Edwin Siu & Priscilla Wong (“DoDo Goes Shopping (Sr. 2)”) – WINNER

Opinion: I do expect the hosts for ‘DoDo Goes Shopping (Sr.2)’ to win because it’s Carol Cheng. Anyway, she is really good in hosting and her chemistry with FAMA and also the other co-hosts are amazing and fun to watch.

Most Improved Female Artiste
Rebecca Zhu (“May Fortune Smile on You”, “A General, a Scholar and a Eunuch”, “Hong Kong Round the Clock”)
Samantha Ko (“My Unfair Lady”, “Bet Hur”, “Sammy on the Go”, “Gag Gag Summer”) 
Mayanne Mak (“Miss Hong Kong Pageant 2017”, “Sammy on the Go”, “Line Walker: The Hunting Game”, “TVB Anniversary Gala”) – WINNER
Zoie Tam (“May Fortune Smile on You”, “My Unfair Lady”, “Legal Mavericks”, “My Ages Apart”) 
Roxanne Tong (“Provocateur”, “My Dearly Sinful Mind”, “The Tofu War”, “Sidewalk Scientist”) 
Jacqueline Wong (“Provocateur”, “Nothing Special Force”, “Sammy on the Go”) 

Opinion: The first shock of the evening. Mayanne Mak would be my last choice in this nomination list and yet she ended up winning. Artistes who are doing non-drama programmes are usually not being much acknowledged but here she comes taking home this prize to everyone’s surprise. I would prefer Jacqueline Wong to take this as I do see that she really improved a lot this year. Hey…where is Sisley Choi? She deserves a nomination here as she is seriously the most improved actress of all for this year. But hey…surprise later on.

Most Improved Male Artiste
Owen Cheung (“The No No Girl”, “Legal Mavericks”, “HK Gag Gag”, “Amazing Summer Splash”) 
Matthew Ho (“May Fortune Smile on You”, “Tiger Mom Blues”, “A General, a Scholar and a Eunuch”, “Tiger Mom Blues Returns”) 
Luk Ho Ming (“Good Cheap Eats (Sr. 5)”, “Sir Ben Prop Guide”, “TVB Anniversary Gala”, “Young and Restless”)
Hugo Wong (“May Fortune Smile on You”, “Legal Mavericks”, “The Exorcist’s Meter”)
Hubert Wu (“The Exorcist’s Meter”, “My Ages Apart”)
Mat Yeung (“My Dearly Sinful Mind”, “Bet Hur”, “Love and Construction”, “All Work No Pay Holidays (Sr.2)”) – WINNER

Opinion: I knew Mat Yeung is finally going to win. His hard work for the past many years is finally paid off. The other deserving candidates, Owen Cheung, Hugo Wong and Matthew Ho can wait for the coming years to get this.

Best Supporting Actress
Stephanie Ho (“Recipes to Live By”)
Kaman Wong (“Tiger Mom Blues”)
Mandy Lam (“Lo and Behold”)
Joyce Tang (“Lo and Behold”)
Kelly Fu (“Burning Hands”)
Vivien Yeo (“My Dearly Sinful Mind”)
Eileen Yeow (“The No No Girl”)
Samantha Ko (“My Unfair Lady”) 
Zoie Tam (“My Unfair Lady”)
Toby Chan (“Legal Mavericks”)
Tracy Chu (“Legal Mavericks”)
Rebecca Zhu (“A General, a Scholar and a Eunuch”) – WINNER
Grace Wong (“A General, a Scholar and a Eunuch”) 
Harriet Yeung (“A General, a Scholar and a Eunuch”)
Elena Kong (“The Unholy Alliance”)
Elaine Yiu (“The Unholy Alliance”) 
Alice Chan (“Line Walker: The Prelude”)
Susan Tse (“The Exorcist’s Meter”) 
Katy Kung (“My Ages Apart”)
Sharon Chan (“Heart and Greed”) 

Opinion: Second shock of the evening. TVB gave us surprise on all the awards in female categories. Yes, Rebecca Zhu has improved in her acting too, but I don’t think her performance deserves a supporting actress win yet. Her role in ‘A General, A Scholar And A Eunuch’ is also too ordinary and easily forgotten. I can see just now that she herself was very surprised when her name is announced as the winner. I would prefer Elaine Yiu, Susan Tse, Sharon Chan, Grace Wong or even Samantha Ko to win.

Best Supporting Actor
Hugo Ng (“Burning Hands”)
Matthew Ho (“Tiger Mom Blues”)
King Kong (“Destination Nowhere”)
James Ng (“Destination Nowhere”)
Mark Ma (“Lo and Behold”)
Fred Cheng (“Provocateur”)
Mat Yeung (“My Dearly Sinful Mind”) 
Max Cheung (“My Unfair Lady”)
Lai Lok Yi (“My Unfair Lady”)
Andrew Yuen (“My Unfair Lady”)
Owen Cheung (“Legal Mavericks”) 
Timothy Cheng (“A General, a Scholar and a Eunuch”)
John Chiang (“A General, a Scholar and a Eunuch”)
Jimmy Au (“The Unholy Alliance”)
Joel Chan (“The Unholy Alliance”)  – WINNER
Kwok Fung (“The Unholy Alliance”)
Carlo Ng (“The Unholy Alliance”)
Benz Hui (“Line Walker: The Prelude”) 
Brian Tse (“Line Walker: The Prelude”)
Kenny Wong (“Line Walker: The Prelude”)
Ram Chiang (“The Exorcist’s Meter”)
Ho Yuen Tung (“The Exorcist’s Meter”)
Hugo Wong (“The Exorcist’s Meter”) 
Hubert Wu (“The Exorcist’s Meter”)
Louis Yuen (“Heart and Greed”)

Opinion: I’m happy that Joel Chan won. I noticed him several years ago and he had already been doing awesome job back then. It’s finally time for him to win and he totally deserved it. I was quite nervous before the winner is revealed because I’m worried that Jimmy Au (another favourite and he also starred in ‘The Unholy Alliance’ with Joel Chan) may win because of his seniority and popularity as being Hong Kong’s version of James Bond. He can take that nickname but his performance is too plain. Joel is very emotional when delivering his acceptance speech.

Global Netizens Favourite Series
“Rogue Emperor”
“Recipes to Live By”
“May Fortune Smile on You”
“Burning Hands”
“Tiger Mom Blues”
“Destination Nowhere”
“Lo and Behold”
“Provocateur”
“Married but Available”
“My Dearly Sinful Mind”
“The No No Girl”
“My Unfair Lady” 
“Phoenix Rising”
“Bet Hur”
“Legal Mavericks” 
“A General, a Scholar and a Eunuch” 
“The Unholy Alliance” 
“The Tofu War”
“Line Walker: The Prelude”
“Nothing Special Force”
“Oh My Grad”
“The Exorcist’s Meter”  – WINNER
“My Ages Apart”
“Heart and Greed”

Opinion: This is a new category and it allows all people (not just from Hong Kong) to vote online for this one. I’m delighted that ‘The Exorcist’s Meter’ won because it really deserved. It’s such a small production with lesser known cast and yet able to make huge impact with great and touching storyline and wonderful performances by its actors and actresses. Does that mean this series will not win the ‘Best Drama’? Yes…unfortunately.

Most Popular TV Partnership
Vincent Wong & Natalie Tong (“My Unfair Lady”) 
Vincent Wong & Owen Cheung (“Legal Mavericks”)
Edwin Siu, Raymond Cho & Matthew Ho (“A General, a Scholar and a Eunuch”)  – WINNER
Ruco Chan & Nancy Wu (“The Unholy Alliance”) 
Joel Chan & Elaine Yiu (“The Unholy Alliance”) 
Moses Chan & Jessica Hester Hsuan (“Line Walker: The Prelude”)
Benjamin Yuen, Priscilla Wong & Pakho Chau (“Line Walker: The Prelude”)
Kenneth Ma & Hubert Wu (“The Exorcist’s Meter”) 
Moses Chan & Bobby Au Yeung (“My Ages Apart”)
Ha Yu & Louise Lee (“Heart and Greed”)
Maria Cordero & Luk Ho Ming (“Good Cheap Eats (Sr. 6)”)
Benjamin Yuen & Mat Yeung (“All Work No Pay Holidays (Sr.2)”)
Myolie Wu, Nancy Wu, Mandy Wong, Elaine Yiu, Selena Li & Paisley Hu (“The Sisterhood Traveling Gang”)
Carol Cheng, C Kwan & Luk Wing (“DoDo Goes Shopping (Sr. 2)”)
Wayne Lai, Edwin Siu, Raymond Cho & Raymond Wong (“Dickies on Tour”)

Opinion: I’m happy for the three actors from ‘A General, A Scholar And A Eunuch’ to win because their chemistry on-screen is really awesome and fun to watch. I remembered a lot of funny scenes involving the three of them in that drama.

Most Popular Series Song
四方 (“Rogue Emperor”) – Hoffman Cheng
心暖 (“Rogue Emperor”) – Kenneth Ma & Niki Chow
乾杯 (“Rogue Emperor”) – Ronald Law, Hoffman Cheng & Yao Bin
天賜的味道 (“Recipes to Live By”) – Maria Cordero
財神駕到 (“May Fortune Smile on You”) – Wayne Lai, Amy Fan, Pal Sinn, Matthew Ho & Kelly Fu
一輩子守候 (“The Princess Weiyoung”) – HANA
不變的愛 (“Tiger Mom Blues”) – Edwin Siu
迷 (“Destination Nowhere”) – Fred Cheng
獨來獨往 (“Provocateur”) – Gallen Lo
地盡頭 (“Provocateur”) – Fred Cheng
真心真意 (“Married but Available”) – Fred Cheng & Stephanie Ho
印記 (“Married but Available”) – Kayee Tam
籠牢 (“My Dearly Sinful Mind”) – Alfred Hui
你走的那個晚上 (“My Dearly Sinful Mind”) – Fred Cheng
我有我美麗 (“The No No Girl”) – Nancy Wu
我不會撒嬌 (“My Unfair Lady”) – Stephanie Ho
手中沙 (“My Unfair Lady”) – HANA
陪著你走 (“My Unfair Lady”) – Kayee Tam 
我不歸去 (“The Legend of the Condor Heroes”) – Kayee Tam
用愛邁步 (“Phoenix Rising”) – Kelly Chen
久別重逢 (“Eternal Love”) – HANA
十倍奉還 (“Bet Hur”) – Fred Cheng
心眼 (“Legal Mavericks”) – Vincent Wong
愛近在眼前 (“Legal Mavericks”) – Stephanie Ho
戰勝吧 (“A General, a Scholar and a Eunuch”) – Fred Cheng
一觸即發 (“The Unholy Alliance”) – Ruco Chan
家中的太陽 (“The Tofu War”) – Nancy Sit
天網 (“Line Walker: The Prelude”) – Pakho Chau
忘記我自己 (“Line Walker: The Prelude”) – HANA 
安守本分 (“Line Walker: The Prelude”) – Vivian Koo
快樂快活人 (“Nothing Special Force”) – Kayee Tam
畢業之後 (“Oh My Grad”) – Mag Lam
你在我心間 (“Nothing Gold Can Stay”) – Jinny Ng
到此一遊 (“The Exorcist’s Meter”) – Hubert Wu – WINNER
遙不可及 (“The Exorcist’s Meter”) – Hubert Wu 
泣血薔薇 (“The Exorcist’s Meter”) – Jinny Ng
誇世代 (“My Ages Apart”) – Hacken Lee
別再記起 (“My Ages Apart”) – Jinny Ng
我本無罪 (“Heart and Greed”) – Susanna Kwan 
欲言又止 (“Heart and Greed”) – Vincent Wong & HANA 
I Promise (“Heart and Greed”) – Linda Chung

 

Opinion: My preferred choice is the ending theme song for the series ‘Line Walker: The Prelude’ by Hana Kuk. The song and its melody is much more beautiful than the others.

Most Popular TV Female Character
Elena Kong (“Tiger Mom Blues”) 
Kristal Tin (“Destination Nowhere”)
Koni Lui (“Lo and Behold”)
Jessica Hsuan (“My Unfair Lady”) 
Samantha Ko (“My Unfair Lady”)
Natalie Tong (“My Unfair Lady”)
Sisley Choi (“Legal Mavericks”) – WINNER
Tracy Chu (“Legal Mavericks”)
Rebecca Zhu (“A General, a Scholar and a Eunuch”)
Nina Paw (“The Unholy Alliance”)
Nancy Wu (“The Unholy Alliance”) 
Elaine Yiu (“The Unholy Alliance”)
Nancy Sit (“The Tofu War”)
Roxanne Tong (“The Tofu War”)
Priscilla Wong (“Line Walker: The Prelude”)
Moon Lau (The Exorcist’s Meter”)
Susan Tse (“The Exorcist’s Meter”)
Mandy Wong (“The Exorcist’s Meter”)
Ali Lee (“My Ages Apart”) 
Susanna Kwan (“Heart and Greed”)
Louise Lee (“Heart and Greed”) 
Michelle Yim (“Heart and Greed”)
Eliza Sam (“Heart and Greed”)

Opinion: Third shock of the evening…but I’m actually agreeing on this outcome. Sisley Choi defeated a lot of favourites (Ali Lee, Nancy Wu, Elaine Yiu, Elena Kong, Natalie Tong, etc) to take this prize to everyone’s surprise again. However, I find that Sisley Choi really did very well for her ugly role in ‘Legal Mavericks’. She is very natural and her performance is amazing in that one. Hence, I’m actually fine with her winning this although many others may disagree with me. This is just like what happened when Grace Wong won for her character in ‘A Fist Within Four Walls’ that shocked quite a lot of people in the previous edition of this awards. No wonder there is not even a nomination for Sisley in ‘most improved’ category. She immediately elevated to the ‘favourite female character’ category. Anyway, she talked too much during her acceptance speech just now.

Most Popular TV Male Character
Tony Hung (“Recipes to Live By”)
Ben Wong (“Tiger Mom Blues”)
Gallen Lo (“Provocateur”)
Raymond Wong (“Married but Available”)
Eddie Cheung (“The No No Girl”)
Frankie Lam (“My Unfair Lady”)
Vincent Wong (“My Unfair Lady”) 
Andrew Yuen (“My Unfair Lady”)
Natalis Chan (“Bet Hur”)
Owen Cheung (“Legal Mavericks”)
Raymond Cho (“A General, a Scholar and a Eunuch”)
Edwin Siu (“A General, a Scholar and a Eunuch”) 
Jimmy Au (“The Unholy Alliance”)
Ruco Chan (“The Unholy Alliance”)
Cheung Wing Hong (“The Tofu War”)
Lai Yok Yi (“The Tofu War”)
Pakho Chau (“Line Walker: The Prelude”)
Michael Miu (“Line Walker: The Prelude”)
Benjamin Yuen (“Line Walker: The Prelude”) 
Kenneth Ma (“The Exorcist’s Meter”) – WINNER
Hubert Wu (“The Exorcist’s Meter”)
Bobby Au Yeung (“My Ages Apart”) 
Moses Chan (“My Ages Apart”) 
Bosco Wong (“Heart and Greed”)

Opinion: Happy for Kenneth Ma to win this award again (he had won this before back in 2012 for his role in ‘The Hippocratic Crush’). However, this means that he is not going to win best actor later and I pitied him for that. He hardly get any good roles in recent years. Then, he had this role as ‘Ma Kwai’ in ‘The Exorcist’s Meter’ and he did very well in it. This must be his chance for best actor. But again, he didn’t have the luck to snatch it. I hope that he will get more good roles later on and will one day win best actor. He deserves it.

Best Actress
Lin Xia Wei (“Burning Hands”)
Sharon Chan (“Tiger Mom Blues”)
Elena Kong (“Tiger Mom Blues”) 
Kristal Tin (“Destination Nowhere”) 
Jacqueline Wong (“Provocateur”)
Nadia Chan (“The No No Girl”)
Jessica Hsuan (“My Unfair Lady”) 
Natalie Tong (“My Unfair Lady”) – WINNER
Sisley Choi (“Legal Mavericks”)
Nina Paw (“The Unholy Alliance”) 
Nancy Wu (“The Unholy Alliance”) 
Nancy Sit (“The Tofu War”)
Roxanne Tong (“The Tofu War”)
Priscilla Wong (“Line Walker: The Prelude”)
Mandy Wong (“Nothing Special Force”)
Ali Lee (“My Ages Apart”)
Susanna Kwan (“Heart and Greed”)
Louise Lee (“Heart and Greed”) 
Michelle Yim (“Heart and Greed”)
Eliza Sam (“Heart and Greed”)

Opinion: Fourth shock of the evening. TVB really do it all wrong for the female categories. I’m really disappointed that Kristal Tin did not even make it into top 5 list as revealed in the ceremony. This is a big snub for Kristal as I find her performance in ‘Destination Nowhere’ is the best of all in 2017. It was such a challenging role and she nailed it, and yet a lot of people had simply forgotten or ignored her. She is my pick for best actress. Natalie Tong! Well, for me, she is not a leading actress material yet. My other choices would be Elena Kong, Nina Paw, Ali Lee or Jessica Hsuan. I never even have a sight on Natalie Tong and she prevailed in the end. I also disliked that drama ‘My Unfair Lady’. It was such a boring series.

Best Actor
Tony Hung (“Recipes to Live By”)
Wayne Lai (“May Fortune Smile on You”)
Ben Wong (“Tiger Mom Blues”)
Gallen Lo (“Provocateur”)
Eddie Cheung (“The No No Girl”)
Frankie Lam (“My Unfair Lady”)
Vincent Wong (“Legal Mavericks”)  – WINNER
Raymond Cho (“A General, a Scholar and a Eunuch”)
Edwin Siu (“A General, a Scholar and a Eunuch”)
Ruco Chan (“The Unholy Alliance”) 
Lai Yok Yi (“The Tofu War”)
Pakho Chau (“Line Walker: The Prelude”)
Michael Miu (“Line Walker: The Prelude”) 
Benjamin Yuen (“Line Walker: The Prelude”)
Roger Kwok (“Oh My Grad”)
Kenneth Ma (“The Exorcist’s Meter”) 
Bobby Au Yeung (“My Ages Apart”)
Moses Chan (“My Ages Apart”)
Ha Yu (“Heart and Greed”) 
Bosco Wong (“Heart and Greed”)

Opinion: Congratulation, Vincent Wong! He has an amazing role as a blind lawyer and he delivered in ‘Legal Mavericks’. I find both him and Kenneth Ma are equally good in 2017 and I have to give the edge to Kenneth Ma because of his seniority. Since Kenneth has won ‘My Popular TV Male Character’, Vincent must get something and so, here it is. However, I do find that he is a bit too early on winning best actor. I’m sure he would have plenty of great roles later on and hence having more chances to win this next time (but not Kenneth). That is why I felt bad for Kenneth in losing this one. I seriously don’t mind him winning both ‘My Favourite TV Male Character’ and this ‘Best Actor’.

Best Series
“Rogue Emperor”
“Recipes to Live By”
“May Fortune Smile on You”
“Burning Hands”
“Tiger Mom Blues” 
“Destination Nowhere”
“Lo and Behold”
“Provocateur”
“Married but Available”
“My Dearly Sinful Mind”
“The No No Girl”
“My Unfair Lady”
“Phoenix Rising”
“Bet Hur”
“Legal Mavericks” 
“A General, a Scholar and a Eunuch”
“The Unholy Alliance” 
“The Tofu War”
“Line Walker: The Prelude”
“Nothing Special Force”
“Oh My Grad”
“The Exorcist’s Meter” 
“My Ages Apart” – WINNER
“Heart and Greed” 

Opinion: TVB should reveal the top 5 for this category. I’m particularly surprised by this outcome too. My preferred choice would be ‘The Exorcist’s Meter’. I didn’t watch ‘My Ages Apart’ but I do heard some good comments for that drama. I didn’t expect ‘those good comments’ (not really as critically-acclaimed as ‘The Exorcist’s Meter’) would translate to ‘best drama’ win, the last major prize of the evening. I didn’t expect a drama which is themed on nonsense and exaggerated stuff get to win this top honour.

Special 50th Anniversary Lifetime Achievement Awards

Liza Wang, Luo Zhongbing

Opinion: This a special award to coincide with the station’s 50th anniversary and it replaces the usual lifetime achievement awards. That means Liza Wang is getting this prize again (she had won Lifetime Achievement before several years ago). The other one, Luo Zhongbing is a behind-the-scene man who worked relentlessly for TVB and is acknowledged now with this honour.

That’s it for TVB Anniversary Awards 2017. It concluded after a ceremony that slightly exceeded its planned two and a half hour broadcast time. ‘The Exorcist’s Meter’ took the most awards (3 – theme song, popular male character, and global netizens favourite series). ‘Legal Mavericks’ is just behind with 2 wins (best actor, popular female character). ‘A General, A Scholar, And An Eunuch’ also performed better than expectation with 2 wins (supporting actress, partnership). ‘The Unholy Alliance’ had one win (supporting actor). These are my favourite TVB series in 2017. And none of them won ‘best drama’ in the end as that prize went to ‘My Ages Apart’ (and I didn’t watch that because I don’t like drama that is excessively long…it has 50 episodes and I also don’t like its premise). ‘Heart and Greed’, the third installment to the highly successful ‘Heart of Greed’ franchise failed to win anything (unlike its predecessors that swept a lot of awards last time). Well, that is expected because this third installment is poorly made and is no where near the quality of the first two ones.

Alright. That’s a wrap up to TVB dramas and awards for year 2017. Now, it’s time to move on to new and coming dramas in 2018.

(Images in this post are from various sources throughout the world wide web)

 

Nomination list and my picks for TVB Star Awards Malaysia 2017

The nomination list for the TVB Star Awards Malaysia 2017 has been out many days ago ever since its voting started on the end of November. I didn’t have time to post that up earlier as I was very busy recently. But, hey, now I’m back to post the nomination list and putting in my thoughts and predictions as usual. I would like to thank Joshua who posted the nomination list to me in English version earlier as I still couldn’t find any source that provides the list in English version yet.

Alright…without wasting more time, here you goes: (the asterisk indicates my top 5 or top 3 picks)

My Favourite TVB Drama:
Dead Wrong
No Reserve
Rogue Emperor
Recipes to Live By
Burning Hands
Tiger Mom Blues 
Destination Nowhere *
Provocateur
Married but Available
My Dearly Sinful Mind
The No No Girl
My Unfair Lady
Come with Me
Bet Hur
Legal Mavericks *
The Unholy Alliance *
A General, A Scholar and A Eunuch *
The Tofu War
Line Walker: The Prelude *
Nothing Special Force
Oh My Grad

My pick: The Unholy Alliance

Prediction: The Unholy Alliance

Opinion: Although ‘The Unholy Alliance’ is not doing well in its final few episodes, but it is still an enjoyable and intense drama to watch. It has win the similar award in Singapore’s Starhub TVB Awards earlier, and so I don’t see why it’s not going to do the same in Malaysia too. I haven’t watch ‘Legal Mavericks’ yet but I have been hearing a lot of positive words about it. I will list it as a dark horse for now.

My Favourite TVB Actor in A Leading Role:
Wayne Lai (No Reserve)
Ben Wong (Tiger Mom Blues)
Kevin Cheng (Destination Nowhere) 
Gallen Lo (Provocateur)
Tony Hung (Married But Available)
Kenneth Ma (My Dearly Sinful Mind) *
Eddie Cheung (The No No Girl)
Frankie Lam (My Unfair Lady)
Vincent Wong (Legal Mavericks) *
Edwin Siu ( A General, A Scholar And A Eunuch) *
Raymond Cho ( A General, A Scholar And A Eunuch)
Matthew Ho (A General, A Scholar And A Eunuch)
Ruco Chan (The Unholy Alliance) *
Chris Lai (The Tofu War)
Moses Chan (Line Walker: The Prelude)
Benjamin Yuen (Line Walker: The Prelude) *
Chow Pakho (Line Walker: The Prelude)
Michael Miu (Line Walker: The Prelude)
Roger Kwok (Oh My Grad)
Wong Cho Lam (Oh My Grad)

My pick: Vincent Wong (Legal Mavericks)

Prediction: Vincent Wong (Legal Mavericks) / Ruco Chan (The Unholy Alliance)

Opinion: Although I haven’t seen ‘Legal Mavericks’ yet, but I do think Vincent is the front contender now (since he also won the same award in Singapore). I do saw him in other dramas and he is good. I do think he did exceptionally well in ‘Legal Mavericks’. However, this is a popularity contest and Ruco Chan has a huge fanbase in Malaysia. Ruco had also actively participated in promotion events to this awards lately. He has won the same award in Singapore for three consecutive years not long ago. He can get the same record in Malaysia this year too. So, Ruco is the dark horse although his role in ‘The Unholy Alliance’ is nothing spectacular. Benjamin Yuen also stands a chance as he is great in ‘Line Walker: The Prelude’. Putting Wong Cho Lam as lead actor in ‘Oh My Grad’ is a joke. He had such a minor role in that one. Roger Kwok should be nominated for ‘Dead Wrong’ instead.

My Favourite TVB Actress in a Leading Role:
Myolie Wu (No Reserve)
Niki Chow (Rogue Emperor)
Joey Meng (Dead Wrong)
Rosina Lam (Burning Hands)
Elena Kong (Tiger Mom Blues) *
Sharon Chan (Tiger Mom Blues)
Kristal Tin (Destination Nowhere) * 
Grace Wong (My Dearly Sinful Mind) *
Adia Chan (The No No Girl)
Jessica Hsuan (My Unfair Lady)
Natalie Tong (My Unfair Lady) 
Charmaine Sheh (Bet Hur)
Ali Lee (Legal Mavericks) *
Sisley Choi (Legal Mavericks)
Nina Paw (The Unholy Alliance) *
Nancy Wu (The Unholy Alliance)  
Nancy Sit (The Tofu War)
Mandy Wong (Nothing Special Force)
Priscilla Wong (Line Walker: The Prelude) 
Ada Choi (Oh My Grad)

My pick: Kristal Tin (Destination Nowhere)

Prediction: Ali Lee (Legal Mavericks)

Opinion: I think this is the category that would be the most controversial for me. Why? The above top 5 picks are my preferred choices but since this is a popularity contest rather than really awarding who gave the best performance, it’s all going to be narrowed down to young ladies and this would narrow down the list to another set of 5; Grace Wong, Natalie Tong, Sisley Choi, Nancy Wu, Ali Lee. If this is really judged by best performance, Kristal Tin would be the most deserving as she nailed that challenging role in ‘Destination Nowhere’ in a way that surprised me. But I don’t think she would have any chance here…or even in Hong Kong’s awards later since that drama was aired a bit too early. So for my prediction to this Malaysia’s awards, I’m so far sticking to what Singapore had chosen; Ali Lee. I do think she is too early for leading actress award. This award has no clear frontrunner.

My Favourite TVB Supporting Actor:
Kenny Wong (Dead Wrong)
James Ng (Destination Nowhere) *
Pierre Ngo (My Dearly Sinful Mind) *
Mat Yeung (My Dearly Sinful Mind) *
Yuen Man Kit (My Unfair Lady)
Owen Cheung (Legal Mavericks) *
Joel Chan (The Unholy Alliance) *
Dominic Lam (The Tofu War)
C-Kwan (Nothing Special Force)
Ram Chiang (Oh My Grad)

My pick: Joel Chan (The Unholy Alliance)

Prediction: Joel Chan (The Unholy Alliance)

Opinion: I do have a feeling here that since Ruco and Nancy are highly likely to lose in leading actor and actress categories this year, the organizer would still want to reward ‘The Unholy Alliance’ in acting categories. This would be it. Joel has not win anything before in Malaysia and it’s time for him. I am amazed by some of his earlier performances already. He even outshines Ruco in ‘The Unholy Alliance’. Dark horse here would be Owen Cheung from ‘Legal Mavericks’ who had just won the supporting actor in Singapore.

My Favourite TVB Supporting Actress:
Koni Lui (Tiger Mom Blues) *
Jacqueline Wong (Provocateur) *
Alice Chan (Married But Available)
Jeannie Chan (The No No Girl)
Samantha Ko (My Unfair Lady) *
Tracy Chu (Legal Mavericks) *
Rebecca Chu (A General, A Scholar and A Eunuch)
Elaine Yiu (The Unholy Alliance) *
Roxanne Tong (The Tofu War)
Eliza Sam (Oh My Grad)

My pick: Elaine Yiu (The Unholy Alliance)

Prediction: Elaine Yiu (The Unholy Alliance) / Jacqueline Wong (Provocateur)

Opinion: Elaine is doing great in ‘The Unholy Allisnce’ but she had just won the same award last year. Would she win again this year? There is a possibility. But that also allows for higher chance to other strong contender like Jacqueline Wong who won the supporting actress in Singapore earlier. Koni, Samantha and Tracy are good too.

Most Improved TVB Actor:
Matthew Ho (Tiger Mom Blues, A General, A Scholar And A Eunuch) *
Brian Tse (Rogue Emperor, The No No Girl, Line Walker: The Prelude) *
Owen Cheung (The No No Girl, Legal Mavericks) *
Arnold Kwok Zi Ho (Tiger Mom Blues, Nothing Special Force)
James Ng (Destination Nowhere, A General, A Scholar And A Eunuch)

My pick: Matthew Ho

Prediction: Matthew Ho

Opinion: I have watched the two series that Matthew was in. He is doing well. However, I find that his kid-like voice is still hampering him. On the other hand, Brian only stood out a bit in ‘Line Walker: The Prelude’ while Owen was in ‘Legal Mavericks’ (I supposed since he won supporting actor for that role in Singapore). Matthew has two solid performances this year. One number higher. So, I’m giving this to him than the others.

Most Improved TVB Actress:
Zoie Tam (Dead Wrong, My Unfair Lady, Legal Mavericks) *
Kaman Kong (Tiger Mom Blues, My Unfair Lady)
Jeannie Chan (The No No Girl)
Roxanne Tong (Provocateur, My Dearly Sinful Mind, The Tofu War) *
Gloria Tang (My Unfair Lady, A General, A Scholar And A Eunuch)

My pick: Zoie Tam

Prediction: Roxanne Tong

Opinion: I enjoyed Zoie’s performance in ‘Dead Wrong’. However, she only has very minor roles in the other two dramas while ‘Dead Wrong’ is aired late last year. That’s a bit of disadvantage and it pushes Roxanne Tong as the predicted winner since she won new artist award in Singapore earlier.

Most Favourite TVB On-Screen Couple:
Frankie Lam, Jessica Hsuan (My Unfair Lady)
Vincent Wong, Natalie Tong (My Unfair Lady) *
Vincent Wong, Tracy Chu, Sisley Choi (Legal Mavericks)
Owen Cheung, Ali Lee (Legal Mavericks)
Edwin Siu, Kristal Tin (A General, A Scholar And A Eunuch) *
Ruco Chan, Nancy Wu (The Unholy Alliance) *
Joel Chan, Elaine Yiu (The Unholy Alliance) *
Chris Lai, Roxanne Tong (The Tofu War)
Benjamin Yuen, Chow PakHo, Priscilla Wong (Line Walker: The Prelude) *
Moses Chan, Jessica Hsuan (Line Walker: The Prelude)

My pick: Joel Chan and Elaine Yiu (The Unholy Alliance)

Prediction: Joel Chan and Elaine Yiu (The Unholy Alliance) / Vincent Wong and Natalie Tong (My Unfair Lady)

Opinion: I find that chemistry between Joel and Elaine is so much better than Vincent and Natalie in their respective dramas. But everyone is simply falling in love with the Vincent-Natalie pair since ‘My Unfair Lady’ has been emphasizing so much on romance storyline (and it made me so bored of watching it last time).

My Favourite TVB Theme Song:
Tam Kayee (My Unfair Lady) *
Hana Kuk (My Unfair Lady)
Vincent Wong (Legal Mavericks)
Stephanie Ho (Legal MAvericks) *
Chow Pakho (Line Walker: The Prelude) *

My pick: Tam Kayee (My Unfair Lady)

Prediction: Tam Kayee (My Unfair Lady)

Opinion: I’m very surprised that the winning song from Singapore’s Starhub TVB Awards isn’t even getting a nomination here. That ending theme for Line Walker: The Prelude by Hana Kuk is beautiful and yet not nominated. I would prefer that to win actually. So, now I’m left with no choice but to choose the second best (not really); the song by Tam Kayee in ‘My Unfair Lady’.

My Favourite TVB Drama Characters :

(I think they will award this to around 12 winners. So the 12 names with asterisk are my picks and predicted winners)
Joey Meng (Dead Wrong)
Kenny Wong (Dead Wrong)
Niki Chow (Rogue Emperor)
Wayne Lai (No Reserve)
Myolie Wu (No Reserve)
Rosina Lam (Burning Hands)
Kelly Fu (Burning Hands)
Elena Kong (Tiger Mom Blues)
Sharon Chan (Tiger Mom Blues)
Ben Wong (Tiger Mom Blues)
Koni Lui (Tiger Mom Blues)
Kaman Kong (Tiger Mom Blues)
Arnold Kwok (Tiger Mom Blues)
Kevin Cheng (Destination Nowhere)
Gallen Lo (Provocateur)
Jacqueline Wong (Provocateur)
Fred Cheng (Provocateur)
Tony Hung (Married But Available)
Alice Chan (Married But Available)
Raymond Wong (Married But Available)
Kenneth Ma (My Dearly Sinful Mind) *
Grace Wong (My Dearly Sinful Mind) 
Mat Yeung (My Dearly Sinful Mind) 
Adia Chan (The No No Girl)
Eddie Cheung (The No No Girl)
Jeannie Chan (The No No Girl)
Jessica Hsuan (My Unfair Lady)
Natalie Tong (My Unfair Lady) *
Chris Lai (My Unfair Lady) 
Frankie Lam (My Unfair Lady)
Samantha Ko (My Unfair Lady)
Yuen Man Kit (My Unfair Lady)
Charmaine Sheh (Bet Hur)
Vincent Wong (Legal Mavericks) *
Ali Lee (Legal Mavericks) 
Sisley Choi (Legal Mavericks) *
Tracy Chu (Legal Mavericks)
Owen Cheung (Legal Mavericks)
Edwin Siu (A General, A Scholar And A Eunuch) *
Matthew Ho (A General, A Scholar And A Eunuch)
Raymond Cho (A General, A Scholar And A Eunuch) *
Kristal Tin (A General, A Scholar And A Eunuch) *
Rebecca Chu (A General, A Scholar And A Eunuch)
Ruco Chan (The Unholy Alliance) *
Joel Chan (The Unholy Alliance) *
Elaine Yiu (The Unholy Alliance) *
Nina Paw (The Unholy Alliance) 
Nancy Wu (The Unholy Alliance) *
Nancy Sit (The Tofu War)
Jonathan Cheung Wing Hong (The Tofu War)
Roxanne Tong (The Tofu War)
Michael Miu (Line Walker: The Prelude)
Benjamin Yuen (Line Walker: The Prelude) *
Chow Pakho (Line Walker: The Prelude)
Priscilla Wong (Line Walker: The Prelude)
Mandy Wong (Nothing Special Force)
Roger Kwok (Oh My Grad)
Ada Choi (Oh My Grad)
Wong Cho Lam (Oh My Grad)
Ram Chiang (Oh My Grad)
Eliza Sam (Oh My Grad)

Opinion: Cast from ‘The Unholy Alliance’ is going to take a lot of spots here. ‘A General, A Scholar And An Eunuch’ is also expected to win at least in this category for a minimum of two awards. Benjamin is a sure as a sole representative winner from ‘Line Walker: The Prelude’. Same goes to Kenneth Ma for representing ‘My Dearly Sinful Mind’. And of course not to forget the critically-acclaimed cast from ‘Legal Mavericks’.

My Favourite TVB Variety Programme:
Spirits On Vacation *
Peak To Pit
Cantopop At 50 *
All Work, No Pay Holidays
The Ahistoric Grandpa Cooking Show
Sammy On The Go
The Sisterhood Travelling Gang *
Anchors With Passport
Priscilla Wong’s Show
Maria Cordero’s Auspicious Recipes

My pick: Spirits on Vacation

Prediction: Cantopop at 50

Opinion: I love seeing ‘Spirits on Vacation’ which is a spin-off variety programme from the drama ‘House of Spirits’ last year. It is very entertaining. However, it was released way too early and many may have forgotten or have not watched it. ‘Cantopop at 50’ may snatch this quietly as a way for organizer to indirectly honour the 50-years long history of Cantopop music.

My Favourite TVB Informative Programme:
Big Big World
Neighbourhood Treasures Repack
Retiring In Paradise 
Easy Come Easy Health
Sermon By Ben Sir 2
Litigation@Home
Faraway Brides
All Things Girl Malaysia Edition
Sidewalk Scientist

Opinion: No comment or picks for this category as I have watched none of them.

My Favourite TVB Variety Show Host:
Ashley Chu, Mayanne Mak, Alycia Chan, Brian Tse, Kenny Wong, Chris Leung (Peak To Pit)
Maria Cordero (Maria’s Auspicious Recipes)
Nancy Sit, Raymond Cho, Michael Lai, Tong Bo Yu (Cantopop At 50)
Tony Hung (Retiring In Paradise) *
Benjamin Yuen, Mat Yeung (All Work, No Pay Holidays) *
Steve Lee, Helen Tam (The Ahistoric Grandpa Cooking Show)
Janis Chan (Faraway Brides)
Myolie Wu, Elaine Yiu, Selena Lee, Nancy Wu, Paisley Wu, Mandy Wong (The Sisterhood Travelling Gang) *
Elena Kong, Sharon Chan, Elaine Yiu, Sarah Song, Katy Kung, Joyce Tang, Priscilla Wong (All Things Girl Malaysia Edition) *
Sammy Leung, Mayanne Mak, Samantha Ko, Jacqueline Wong (Sammy On The Go) *

My pick and prediction: Benjamin Yuen & Mat Yeung (All Work, No Pay Holidays) / Myolie Wu & Elaine Yiu & Selena Lee & Nancy Wu & Paisley Wu & Mandy Wong (The Sisterhood Travelling Gang)

Opinion: The group of six ladies is entertaining to watch in ‘The Sisterhood Travelling Gang’. Their chemistry and bond are affectionate. Benjamin Yuen and Mat Yeung are two young handsome men and people will vote for them simply because of their look here and not because of how great their hosting is.

There you go. The end of the nomination list along with my own choices and predicted winners. The predictions do differ with my own picks in some categories. Now we have to wait and see for the result to be unveiled on the awards ceremony to be held on November 25th, 2017 at Avenue of Stars, Genting Highlands.

(Images in this post are from various sources throughout the world wide web)

Top 10 Tallest Buildings in the World (as of April 2017)

The two cities that witness the birth of skyscrapers are Chicago and New York City in United States. That was over a hundred years ago after the introduction of steel framed construction and passenger elevator that enables buildings to be built much taller. Now in 2017, only one building in United States that is placed within the top 10 tallest buildings in the world currently. The other 9 are generally all located in Asia. Here below is the current top 10 tallest buildings in the world as of April 2017. The list only includes completed buildings and does not include television towers, observation towers, masts, antennas or buildings with very little percentage of habitable floors.

1. Burj Khalifa, 828 metres, 163 floors, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (completed in 2010).

2. Shanghai Tower, 632 metres, 128 floors, Shanghai, China (completed in 2015).

3. Makkah Royal Clock Tower, 601 metres, 120 floors, Mecca, Saudi Arabia (completed in 2012).

4. Ping An Finance Center, 599 metres, 115 floors, Shenzhen, China (completed in 2017).

5. Lotte World Tower, 555 metres, 123 floors, Seoul, South Korea (completed in 2017).

6. One World Trade Center, 541 metres, 104 floors, New York City, United States (completed in 2014).

7. Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre, 530 metres, 111 floors, Guangzhou, China (completed in 2016).

8. Taipei 101, 508 metres, 101 floors, Taipei, Taiwan (completed in 2004).

9. Shanghai World Financial Center, 492 metres, 101 floors, Shanghai, China (completed in 2008).

10. International Commerce Centre, 484 metres, 108 floors, Hong Kong, China (completed in 2010).

This list will change drastically from year to year due to rapid increase of construction of supertall skyscrapers in the world in recent decade. More and more new buildings are reaching further to the sky. Out of the current top 10 tallest buildings in the world, half of them are in China (this doesn’t even include Taipei 101 in Taiwan). 8 of them soar above 500 metres in height respectively too. Also noted is that every buildings in this top 10 tallest list has over 100 floors respectively. The tallest in the world, Burj Khalifa has been on the top of the list for over 7 years now. By 2020, it is expected to be defeated by Kingdom Tower, a skyscraper currently under construction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. That tower is projected to soar above 1000 metres (1 km!) when completed in 2020.

The oldest supertall in this list is Taipei 101 which is only 13 years old by now as it is built in 2004. More and more new buildings are joining the list with two newcomers this year; Ping An Finance Center and Lotte World Tower at No.4 and No.5 placing respectively. Former world’s tallest buildings and still the current world’s tallest twin buildings, the Petronas Twin Towers are kicked out of the top 10 list this year as they are now placed at No.11 (and 12) with height of 452 metres. Too bad…my home coutry’s famous twin towers are now out of the ranking. Anyway, in few years to come, Malaysia will have another new supertall; PNB 118 Tower that will certainly join this top 10 list with a height of over 600 metres.

(Images in this post are from various sources throughout the world wide web)

World’s 10 Tallest Buildings in 2016.

It’s been quite some time since I last compiled a list of the world’s top ten tallest buildings. I think the last time I worked on that was about a year or two ago and I’m very sure that the data in that particular post would be inaccurate as of now due to the world’s high interest on building supertall skyscrapers in recent years. So, if you are looking for the latest and the most accurate list of world’s top 10 tallest buildings as of June 2016, this is the right place to be.

The list only includes buildings (structures that contain mostly habitable or functional floors) and excludes tv masts, telecommunication or observation towers, antennas, etc. This list also includes the buildings that are still under construction but have already topped out (reached final height).

< 1 > Burj Khalifa, 828 metres, 163 floors, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (completed in 2010).

< 2 > Shanghai Tower, 632 metres, 121 floors, Shanghai, China (completed in 2015).

< 3 > Makkah Clock Royal Tower, 601 metres, 120 floors, Makkah, Saudi Arabia (completed in 2012).

< 4 > Ping An International Finance Center, 599 metres, 116 floors, Shenzhen, China (topped out, to be completed in 2016).

< 5 > Lotte World Tower, 556 metres, 123 floors, Seoul, South Korea (topped out, to be completed in 2016).

< 6 > One World Trade Center, 541 metres, 104 floors, New York City, United States of America (completed in 2014).

< 7 > CTF Finance Centre, 530 metres, 116 floors, Guangzhou, China (completed in 2016).

< 8 > Taipei 101, 509 metres, 101 floors, Taipei, Taiwan (completed in 2004).

< 9 > Shanghai World Financial Center, 492 metres, 101 floors, Shanghai, China (completed in 2008).

< 10 > International Commerce Centre, 484 metres, 118 floors, Hong Kong, China (completed in 2010).

Burj Khalifa remains as the world’s tallest building, holding on to the title for the 6th year. It is also still the world’s tallest man-made structure and is likely to remain at the top of the list for another few years before being taken over by Kingdom Tower (now under construction in Jeddah) in 2020. Half of the 10 buildings in this list above are in China, further displaying the country’s massive economic boom and interest on constructing tall buildings. Also discovered from the list above is that for the next newly completed building to be able to be ranked in the world’s 10 tallest, it has to be at least 500 metres high. 500 metres (above 100 floors as well) is now the minimum mark to get into top 10 tallest’s ranking. Back in 10 years, 400 metres is the mark. Now, an extra 100 for that.

My beloved Petronas Twin Towers are out of the list since they are only 452 metres tall. They are now placed at 11th (and 12th) tallest. Goldin Finance 117, a tower planned for completion this year and nears topping out in Tianjin, China is currently on-hold and is awaiting funding. Its completion date is now pushed to end of year 2017. The tower is expected to reach final height of 597 metres (117 floors) and will be the 5th tallest once topped out either by end of the year or early next year.

(Images in this post are from various sources throughout the world wide web)

Full result of the 35th Hong Kong Film Awards

The 35th Hong Kong Film Awards was held successfully last night to honour the best of Hong Kong films released last year in 2015. Here below is the full list of winners for the awards presentation:

Best Film: “Ten Years”
Best Director: Tsui Hark for “The Taking of Tiger Mountain”
Best Screenplay: Philip Yung for “Port of Call”
Best Actor: Aaron Kwok for “Port of Call”
Best Actress: Jessie Li for “Port of Call”
Best Supporting Actor: Michael Ning for “Port of Call”
Best Supporting Actress: Elaine Jin for “Port of Call”
Best New Performer: Michael Ning for “Port of Call”
Best Cinematography: Christopher Doyle for “Port of Call”
Best Film Editing: Cheung Ka-fai for “Ip Man 3”
Best Art Direction: William Chang, Alfred Yau for “Office”
Best Costume Make Up Design: Kenneth Yee for “Monster Hunt”
Best Action Choreography: Nicky Li for “SPL 2: A Time for Consequences”
Best Sound Design: Kinson Tsang, George Lee, Yiu Chun-hin for “The Taking of Tiger Mountain”
Best Visual Effects: Jason Snell, Ellen Poon, Tang Binding for “Monster Hunt”
Best Original Film Score: Lo Ta-yu, Keith Chan for “Office”
Best Original Film Song: “We Almost Fly” for “She Remembers, He Forgets”
Best New Director: Raman Hui for “Monster Hunt”
Best Film of Mainland China and/or Taiwan: “The Assassin”
Most Professional Award: Chow Wing-kwong
Lifetime Achievement Award: Li Li-hua
Best Dressed: Jacky Cheung, Karena Lam

‘Ten Years’ is a movie that is set in a “darker” future where Hong Kong is under greater Chinese control. The picture while receiving critical acclaim in Hong Kong has sparked anger and controversy from mainland China. The movie was eventually banned in China. Even the broadcast of this awards ceremony is also not shown in mainland China. This is a politically sensitive film and I’m actually glad that the judges put the politics aside (not afraid of creating further anger from China) and vote the best out by choosing this movie as the best film. I haven’t watch this movie yet, but I think I will after it has win the best film last night. It is also the only film not nominated at all in other categories but only in best film category and won the top honor surprisingly.

‘Port of Call’ is the biggest winner of the ceremony with a total of 7 awards. It received the most nominations and it is expected that it will win also most of them. The film excelled particularly in the performances by the cast despite most of them are new actors and actresses. This film also gave Aaron Kwok his first best actor win in Hong Kong Film Awards after having been nominated five times in total. Congratulations. I have been predicting him to win this time since he is overdue. Well, Jacky Cheung is also overdue but I’ll rather hand out this year’s award to Aaron. I’m sure Jacky’s time will come very soon too since he is another good actor, and is just waiting for the right role and timing. The battle of the best actor is the most interesting one since it involved two Film Kings (Tony Leung, Nick Cheung) against three Heavenly (Music) Kings (Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok, Jacky Cheung).

As for best actress category, there is not much excitement around. My preferred choice would be Miriam Yeung since I saw the movie she was nominated in which is ‘Little Big Master’ and she is exceptionally good in it. However, she won it before. My next choice would be Karena Lam but her buzz is low this time around. Same goes to the other nominated actresses. In the end, a new performer, Jessie Li won for ‘Port of Call’. Now, I also would like to watch and see what ‘Port of Call’ is all about since it won so many awards.

I love ‘Ip Man 3’ film. It is a wonderful film and is my personal best for Hong Kong films last year. However, it didn’t get enough interest in this awards to my surprise. Fortunately, it still managed to won 1 award in the end (at least not empty-handed). On the other hand, it’s interesting and refreshing to see Sean Lau to become the host of the ceremony this year. He is usually sitting in front of stage competing for best actor for many years, and now he is on the stage being the host. Interesting choice…well, at least better than seeing the same old faces of the hosts every year. The most interesting segment of the awards ceremony is when they introduced the veteran artists who actually started out in film industry when they were very young, doing on child roles back over many decades ago. I’m moved by the dedication of these artists.

(Images in this post are from various sources throughout the world wide web)

More updated details for KL118 Tower.

Finally, after months and months of speculation and secrecy surrounding Malaysia’s plan for the next tallest building of the country, more details had been revealed recently from the officiating ceremony. What is the project that I’m talking about? It’s the KL118 development. Now, it is renamed to PNB118 since PNB is the name of the owner’s company for this project. Well, I prefer KL118 more as it has more international appeal than ‘PNB’. Nobody knows (not only foreigners but also locals) what does PNB stands for.

Also known as ‘Warisan Merdeka’ (Heritage Independence), this development is located on a site just adjacent to the historic Stadium Merdeka and Stadium Negara. It is also located nearby to some very old buildings like Victoria Institution, Methodist Boys School (my former secondary school), Chin Woo Stadium, and Petaling Street (Chinatown). The project has been receiving heavy criticism due to its location on low-lying area which is also full of historical buildings and that this new modern supertall would not fit into this site context. I agreed. This project also receiving strong objection as the money put into this can be more beneficial for other purposes as the city does not need another supertall yet.

The iconic feature of this development would be the construction of an 118-storey tower, now named PNB 118 Tower. The final height of this skyscraper is still not confirmed but it is now fixed to be between 600 metres to 650 metres. Some sources said 610 metres or 630 metres while some even said it would be 644 metres tall which would make it even taller than the Shanghai Tower, the current world’s second tallest building. No matter what the final height is, this PNB118 Tower would still easily be the country’s new tallest building as well as one of top five world’s tallest buildings once it is completed. And it is announced recently that it is expected to be completed in 2024. Years ago, it is planned for completion by 2020 to coincide with Wawasan 2020 (Vision 2020) when the country would become a developed nation by year 2020. However, the project faced delay and it’s getting back on track now. It is now officially under construction.

The tower is designed by Fender Katsalidis Architects, an architecture office based in Melbourne, Australia which is previously famous for designing Eureka Tower in Melbourne. The design is also not that well received as many people commented that it is too simple, too glassy and do not possess timeless elegance like what Petronas Twin Towers achieved. I agreed to these opinions too. However, after its official rendering and an animation clip of the tower are out recently, some changed their mind and started to like the design. I’m one of them, but I still think that the design needs further improvement especially on its treatment to the top where it meets the spire. The spire is also a bit too long and out of proportion in comparison to the building form and volume. I knew it is just there to increase a substantial height for the building just to have it to be placed higher in the list of world’s tallest buildings later on.

So, here below are some new (latest) renderings, plan view and models’ images of the PNB118 Tower and also an animation clip for it by RSP Architects, the local design consultant for this project.

Looking forward to see this new skyscraper dominating the skyline of Kuala Lumpur as soon as possible. Hmm…I suddenly changed my mind and think that KL needs a new supertall now since Petronas Twin Towers have been here for almost two decades already. However, it is undeniable that the twin towers are still elegant and remain as icon of the country forever.

(Images in this post are from various sources throughout the world wide web)

 

Winners List for The 88th Academy Awards (The Oscars).

Many social networking sites are now overwhelmed with news of Leo finally taking his first Oscar! Yes, Leonardo DiCaprio finally won his first Oscar for best actor in a leading role after having been nominated many times in the past. The world is very happy and excited for him right now and we all agreed that he should have win it much earlier as he is a one great Hollywood actor who excelled in all the film roles given to him.

Yes, the 88th Academy Awards (or famously known as the Oscars) was held successfully few hours ago to honour the best of films in year 2015. Here below is the full list of nominees with the winner in bold in each categories alongside my brief opinion:

Best Picture
“Spotlight”
“The Big Short”
“Bridge of Spies”
“Brooklyn”
“Mad Max: Fury Road”
“The Martian”
“The Revenant”
“Room”

Opinion: My personal choice is ‘Room’ but the movie didn’t get enough buzz to fight with ‘Spotlight’, ‘The Big Short’ and ‘The Revenant’ for the top three spots that are only seen as the potential to grab this prestigious honour. ‘Spotlight’ won multiple best movie prizes before the Oscars and I’m not surprised that the movie win Best Picture here. However, I don’t really enjoy the movie unlike most others.

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Bryan Cranston, “Trumbo”
Matt Damon, “The Martian”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Revenant”
Michael Fassbender, “Steve Jobs”
Eddie Redmayne, “The Danish Girl”

Opinion: As I said earlier, finally Leo is taking home his first ever Oscar which is long overdue for this talented actor. In my personal opinion, I think it is a three-way-tie for best performance by a leading actor this year; they are Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Fassbender and Eddie Redmayne. Eddie had just won this award last year. So, it’s between Michael and Leo. Leo had more nominations with zero win in the past and so this is his year and I agreed.

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Cate Blanchett, “Carol”
Brie Larson, “Room”
Jennifer Lawrence, “Joy”
Charlotte Rampling, “45 Years”
Saoirse Ronan, “Brooklyn”

Opinion: Another expected result as Brie Larson is extremely wonderful in ‘Room’. She and his son in the movie portrayed by Jacob Tremblay drive the movie to its critical success. It’s her first nomination and she won it straight away.

Best Director
Lenny Abrahamson, “Room”
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, “The Revenant”
George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Tom McCarthy, “Spotlight”
Adam McKay, “The Big Short”

Opinion: Alejandro G. Inarritu is brilliant in his job as a director. We saw that excellence in ‘Birdman’ last year and he did it again this year in ‘The Revenant’. He won this award back-to-back and this is the third year in a row Mexicans winning best director in the Oscars.

Best Original Song
“Earned It,” “Fifty Shades of Grey,” Music and Lyric by Abel Tesfaye, Ahmad Balshe, Jason Daheala Quenneville and Stephan Moccio
“Manta Ray,” “Racing Extinction,” Music by J. Ralph; Lyric by Antony Hegarty
“Simple Song 3,” “Youth,” Music and Lyric by David Lang
“Til it Happens to You,” “The Hunting Ground,” Music and Lyric by Diane Warren and Lady Gaga
“Writing’s on the Wall,” “Spectre,” Music and Lyric by Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith

Opinion: ‘Writing’s on the Wall’ is a good song for the latest James Bond movie titled Spectre but it’s still not as good as Adele’s Skyfall for the previous James Bond movie. Out of the five nominated songs, I have only heard this one and so I’m fine with this song winning in the end.

Best Original Score
“Bridge of Spies,” Thomas Newman
“Carol,” Carter Burwell
“The Hateful Eight,” Ennio Morricone
“Sicario,” Jóhann Jóhannsson
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” John Williams

Opinion: Expected result. This is the only category that ‘The Hateful Eight’ gets to win.

Best Foreign Language Film
“Embrace of the Serpent”
“Mustang”
“Son of Saul”
“Theeb”
“A War”

Best Live Action Short Film
“Ave Maria”
“Day One”
“Everything Will Be Okay”
“Shok”
“Stutterer”

Best Documentary Feature
“Amy”
“Cartel Land”
“The Look of Silence”
“What Happened, Miss Simone?”
“Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom”

Best Documentary Short Subject
“Body Team 12”
“Chau, beyond the Lines”
“Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah”
“A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness”
“Lasy Day of Freedom”

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale, “The Big Short”
Tom Hardy, “The Revenant”
Mark Ruffalo, “Spotlight”
Mark Rylance, “Bridge of Spies”
Sylvester Stallone, “Creed”

Opinion: Many previously predicted Sylvester Stallone to win for his great comeback role in ‘Creed’. I didn’t watch it and so I couldn’t comment further. I have seen Tom Hardy, Mark Ruffalo and Mark Rylance in their respective nominated performances and Mark Rylance is the best and so he should be rewarded. And yes, he won it.

Best Animated Feature Film
“Anomalisa”
“Boy and the World”
“Inside Out”
“Shaun the Sheep Movie”
“When Marnie Was There”

Opinion: Happy for ‘Inside Out’ to win as it is really the best animated film last year. This is the only category that appeals to the kids and I don’t think ‘Anomalisa’ should win (that movie is adult-themed eventhough it’s technically brilliant). I’m happy that the Academy is making a right decision as previously many hinted that ‘Anomalisa’ may be a spoiler.

Best Animated Short Film
“Bear Story”
“Prologue”
“Sanjay’s Super Team”
“We Can’t Live Without Cosmos”
“World of Tomorrow

Best Visual Effects
“Ex Machina,” Andrew Whitehurst, Paul Norris, Mark Ardington and Sara Bennett
“Mad Max: Fury Road,” Andrew Jackson, Tom Wood, Dan Oliver and Andy Williams
“The Martian,” Richard Stammers, Anders Langlands, Chris Lawrence and Steven Warner
“The Revenant,” Rich McBride, Matthew Shumway, Jason Smith and Cameron Waldbauer
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan and Chris Corbould

Opinion: I’m quite surprised that the film with smallest scale and budget win in this category. Anyway, I’m fine with Ex Machina winning it. Well, at least give this wonderful film an award!

Best Sound Mixing
“Bridge of Spies,” Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Drew Kunin
“Mad Max: Fury Road,” Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff and Ben Osmo
“The Martian,” Paul Massey, Mark Taylor and Mac Ruth
“The Revenant,” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño, Randy Thom and Chris Duesterdiek
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” Andy Nelson, Christopher Scarabosio and Stuart Wilson

Opinion: From here onward, it’s all for Mad Max: Fury Road. The movie literally won almost everything in technical categories which is expected earlier but I didn’t see that coming in such a huge number. Mad Max eventually becomes the biggest winner of the night with 6 awards. I’m fine with the movie going home with four. Six is a bit too much for it.

Best Sound Editing
“Mad Max: Fury Road,” Mark Mangini and David White
“The Martian,” Oliver Tarney
“The Revenant,” Martin Hernandez and Lon Bender
“Sicario,” Alan Robert Murray
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” Matthew Wood and David Acord

Best Film Editing
“The Big Short,” Hank Corwin
“Mad Max: Fury Road,” Margaret Sixel
“The Revenant,” Stephen Mirrione
“Spotlight,” Tom McArdle
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” Maryann Brandon and Mary Jo Markey

Best Cinematography
“Carol,” Ed Lachman
“The Hateful Eight,” Robert Richardson
“Mad Max: Fury Road,” John Seale
“The Revenant,” Emmanuel Lubezki
“Sicario,” Roger Deakins

Opinion: Emmanuel Lubezki overwhelmed us with awesome cinematography in ‘Gravity’, and he won this award for it. He did it again in ‘Birdman’ with unique one continuous shot in ‘Birdman’ last year. Now, he’s back with third consecutive win from his work in ‘The Revenant’. He deserved it again but he should make way for others from now on.

Best Make-Up and Hair-Styling
“Mad Max: Fury Road,” Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega and Damian Martin
“The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out a Window and Disappeared,” Love Larson and Eva von Bahr
“The Revenant,” Siân Grigg, Duncan Jarman and Robert Pandini

Best Costume Design
“Carol,” Sandy Powell
“Cinderella,” Sandy Powell
“The Danish Girl,” Paco Delgado
“Mad Max: Fury Road,” Jenny Beavan
“The Revenant,” Jacqueline West

Opinion: There isn’t anything exciting for costume design in Mad Max obviously. I would have prefer Cinderella or The Danish Girl to win for their beautiful and wide range of costumes.

Best Production Design
“Bridge of Spies,” Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Rena DeAngelo and Bernhard Henrich
“The Danish Girl,” Production Design: Eve Stewart ; Set Decoration: Michael Standish
“Mad Max: Fury Road,” Production Design: Colin Gibson; Set Decoration: Lisa Thompson
“The Martian,” Production Design: Arthur Max ;Set Decoration: Celia Bobak
“The Revenant,” Production Design: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Hamish Purdy

Opinion: My personal choice would be Bridge of Spies or even The Danish Girl. This is why I said earlier that Mad Max should be taking home 4 Oscars, and not 6.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Rooney Mara, “Carol”
Jennifer Jason Leigh, “The Hateful Eight”
Alicia Vikander, “The Danish Girl”
Kate Winslet, “Steve Jobs”
Rachel McAdams, “Spotlight”

Opinion: I’m glad that Alicia Vikander won for her amazing performance as the supportive wife that went through an emotional roller coaster in ‘The Danish Girl’. She is also incredible as the robot in Ex Machina. She is one big rising star and this is the award right on time to mark her big entry into Hollywood for many years to come. This is the only category that ‘The Danish Girl’ can win as expected.

Best Adapted Screenplay
“The Big Short,” Charles Randolph and Adam McKay
“Brooklyn,” Nick Hornby
“Carol,” Phyllis Nagy
“The Martian,” Drew Goddard
“Room,” Emma Donoghue

Opinion: Didn’t watch ‘The Big Short’ and hence couldn’t judge whether its screenplay is really that good or not. My personal choice is actually ‘Room’.

Best Original Screenplay
“Spotlight,” written by Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy
“Bridge of Spies,” written by Matt Charman and Ethan Coen and Joel Coen
“Ex Machina,” written by Alex Garland
“Inside Out,” screenplay by Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley; original story by Pete Docter, Ronnie del Carmen
“Straight Outta Compton,” screenplay by Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff; story by S. Leigh Savidge and Alan Wenkus and Andrea Berloff

Opinion: Didn’t quite like ‘Spotlight’ as my personal picks are ‘Bridge of Spies’, ‘Ex Machina’ or even ‘Inside Out’.

Mad Max: Fury Road is the biggest winner of the night with 6 Oscars; all in technical achievements. The Revenant took home 3 awards (director, lead actor, cinematography) out of 12 nominations (the movie with most number of nominations). Spotlight won two, including the prestigious Best Picture and also the Best Original Screenplay. ‘Room’, ‘Spectre’, ‘The Danish Girl’, ‘Bridge of Spies’, ‘Inside Out’, ‘The Hateful Eight’, ‘Ex Machina’ and ‘The Big Short’ each won one. These films were at least not ending the night empty handed. Films that were previously tipped to win at least an Oscar like ‘Steve Jobs’, ‘Carol’, ‘The Martian’, ‘Brooklyn’, ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ couldn’t manage to do so in the end.

That’s it for the 88th Academy Awards this year.

(Images in this post are from various sources throughout the world wide web)

Full nomination list for the 88th Academy Awards (Oscars).

The Oscars’ followers would have checked out the full nomination list of the upcoming Academy Awards (famously known as the Oscars worldwide) before I even have this post published. The announcement of the nomination list of the 88th Academy Awards was over just now (managed to watch it live just now from Youtube) and I’m so excited to be among the first to post up the full nomination list alongside with my thoughts and predictions.

NOMINATION LIST FOR THE 88TH ACADEMY AWARDS:

Best Picture

The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight

Opinion: 8 nominees this year for Best Picture. Out of the 8, I watched all of them except ‘The Big Short’ and ‘Brooklyn’. So, without these two in my mind, I’m predicting that Bridge of Spies may take it. It’s a solid film by director Steven Spielberg and starred Tom Hanks. Both are Oscars’ magnet. But wait a second, the movie didn’t get the best director nomination. Oppss…I’ll then switch to ‘The Revenant’. Maybe the Academy voters this year prefer something more daring or out of typical but not too much like ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’, despite the latter received a lot of nominations here. In my heart, I would love the much smaller film ‘Room’ to win as it is the film out of the 8 that touched me the most in 2015. ‘Spotlight’ received critical acclaim (but not from me), but the movie’s award buzz is getting lesser and lesser. ‘The Martian’ could be a dark horse here too, but for me, it’s just an ordinary good film, not something outstanding that deserved this best picture win. I’m surprised that ‘Carol’ is not in.

Predicted to win: The Revenant.

Hoping to win: Room.

Best Director

Adam McKay, The Big Short
George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
Alejandro G. Inarritu, The Revenant
Lenny Abrahamson, Room
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight

Opinion: Surprised with directors of ‘The Big Short’ and ‘Room’ getting nominated here. That would certainly push up their chances in best picture category too. Also surprised with omission of Steven Spielberg for ‘Bridge of Spies’, Todd Haynes for ‘Carol’ and Ridley Scott for ‘The Martian’. I don’t mind having Alejandro G. Inarritu to win this back-to-back as he certainly mastered the skill in directing.

Predicted to win: Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)

Hoping to win: Alejandro G. Inarritu (The Revenant)

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

Opinion: These five names are expected. Academy members love Jennifer Lawrence and so they sorted one place for her. Didn’t watch ‘Joy’, so couldn’t comment further on her performance but she is a good actress. Not another win for her most probably. The earlier frontrunner is Cate Blanchett (I love her), but now all eyes are on Brie Larson for her powerful performance in ‘Room’ as the kidnapped mother.

Predicted to win: Brie Larson (Room)

Hoping to win: Brie Larson (Room)

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Matt Damon, The Martian
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

Opinion: Also another category with very predictable list of nominees. Didn’t watch ‘Trumbo’ but I heard good reviews for Bryan Cranston’s performance in there. The other four delivered outstanding performances too. So, how to choose? Then, we will see who got nominated a lot of times but never win before…ahhaa…I have the answer: Leonardo DiCaprio. He is one great actor and is long overdue for an Oscar. This year must be his year. Give him an Oscar already! His dedication to the challenging physical and mental demands required for his role in ‘The Revenant’ put him in a very good form to win this Oscar finally. Eddie Redmayne who had just won this award last year came back with another superb performance as a transgender artist in ‘The Danish Girl’. A wonderful performance that may give thought to the voters to award the Oscar back-to-back for him. Or will they two fight out and make way for Michael Fassbender? Probably too…but I’m still rooting for Leo to take it!

Predicted to win: Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)

Hoping to win: Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Christian Bale, The Big Short
Tom Hardy, The Revenant
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Sylvester Stallone, Creed

Opinion: The expected 5 names again. But I’m disappointed that there is no more place for Jacob Tremblay who is equally great in ‘Room’ as the son. Sylvester Stone suddenly jumped out of no where and won the same category in Golden Globes recently. His odd to win shot up so quick that the other nominees could feel their confidence losing out fast. Mark Ruffalo is always great, but it looks like he have to pass it over to someone more senior, Mark Rylance of Sylvester Stone. Also surprised that Idris Elba is not nominated. This category is too crowded.

Predicted to win: Sylvester Stallone (Creed) / Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)

Hoping to win: –

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

Opinion: Also nothing surprising here. It is just in my mind that Rooney Mara and Alicia Vikander are both actually leads in their respective film, and yet many think that they had higher chance in supporting category. It’s true. If that’s the case, it’s Rooney against Alicia. Kate Winslet may triumph surprisingly in the end given that she won in this category in Golden Globes recently. But I think the odd is still in favour for Rooney Mara who had won Best Actress in Cannes Film Festival for her role in ‘Carol’. I’m still wishing for Alicia Vikander to win since she is a one big new name Hollywood immediately remember last year, and that her performance in ‘The Danish Girl’ is remarkable.

Predicted to win: Rooney Mara (Carol).

Hoping to win: Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl).

Best Foreign Language Film

Embrace of the Serpent (Colombia)
Mustang (France)
Son of Saul (Hungary)
Theeb (Jordan)
A War (Denmark)

Opinion: Didn’t watch any of these movies, but I heard that ‘Son of Saul’ is getting a lot of award buzz now.

Predicted to win: Son of Saul.

Hoping to win: –

Best Animated Feature

Anomalisa
Boy and the World
Inside Out
Shaun the Sheep Movie
When Marnie Was There

Opinion: Have never heard of ‘Boy and the World’ and ‘When Marnie Was There’. My prediction sticks to ‘Inside Out’ all the way. Many are critically praising ‘Anomalisa’ recently since this animated movie had just been released not long ago but I don’t like it. Still think that ‘Inside Out’ is the best animated film in 2015. But Academy voters do tend to vote for the second most favourite one to win like last year how ‘Big Hero 6’ won this category over the much better ‘How To Train Your Dragon 2’. So, ‘Anomalisa’ poses a strong threat to ‘Inside Out’.

Predicted to win: Inside Out.

Hoping to win: Inside Out.

Best Film Editing

The Big Short
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Spotlight
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Predicted to win: Mad Max: Fury Road.

Hoping to win: Mad Max: Fury Road.

Best Production Design

Bridge of Spies
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant

Opinion: Out of the 5 nominees, ‘The Danish Girl’ is the only one that couldn’t get a best picture nomination. But I actually hope it can at least win this one as the film delivered from its production design which is one of the main attraction of this period piece besides than the acting. ‘Bridge of Spies’ is also wonderful in their sets.

Predicted to win: Bridge of Spies.

Hoping to win: Bridge of Spies / The Danish Girl.

Best Adapted Screenplay

The Big Short
Brooklyn
Carol
The Martian
Room

Opinion: Surprised that Golden Globe’s winner for Best Screenplay, ‘Steve Jobs’ couldn’t even get nominated here. Weird.

Predicted to win: The Big Short.

Hoping to win: The Martian / Room.

Best Original Screenplay

Bridge of Spies
Ex Machina
Inside Out
Spotlight
Straight Outta Compton

Opinion: ‘Inside Out’ secured a nomination here, which means the movie’s chance in best animated feature is now a lot higher and I’m happy for that.

Predicted to win: Spotlight.

Hoping to win: Bridge of Spies / Ex Machina.

Best Original Score

Bridge of Spies
Carol
The Hateful Eight
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Predicted to win: The Hateful Eight / Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Hoping to win: –

Best Original Song

“Earned It,” 50 Shades of Grey
“Manta Ray,” Racing Extinction
“Simple Song #3,” Youth
“Til It Happens to You,” The Hunting Ground
Writing’s On the Wall,” Spectre

Opinion: Another surprise. Didn’t expect that ‘See You Again’ (Furious 7) is not even nominated here though previously many see the song as a top competitor in this category. So, that makes it a lot easier for ‘Writing’s On The Wall’ (Spectre) which had just won in the same category in Golden Globes recently.

Predicted to win: Writing’s On The Wall (Spectre)

Hoping to win: Writing’s On The Wall (Spectre)

Best Visual Effects

Ex Machina
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Predicted to win: Mad Max: Fury Road / Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Hoping to win: Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Cinematography

Carol
The Hateful Eight
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Sicario

Opinion: I love Emmanuel Lubezki’s cinematography work in ‘The Revenant’. His work is astonishing every time. He may be the first to win this Oscars three times consecutively, from ‘Gravity’ two years ago to ‘Birdman’ last year, and this year for ‘The Revenant’. His cinematography is excellent and his approach on using only natural lighting in ‘The Revenant’ worked out well. Always like his creative way of displaying the scenes.

Predicted to win: The Revenant.

Hoping to win: The Revenant.

Best Documentary Short Subject

Body Team 12
Chau Behind the Lines
Claude Lanzmann
A Girl in the River
Last Day of Freedom

Best Documentary Feature

Amy
Cartel Land
The Look of Silence
What Happened, Miss Simone?
Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom

Best Costume Design

Carol
Cinderella
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant

Opinion: ‘Cinderella’ delivered beautiful things to our sights and one main element of that is from their costumes. Beautiful and colourful costumes everywhere especially during the ballroom scene. On the other hand, there is one second of thought in my mind to award ‘The Danish Girl’ something, since that movie is also brilliant in this category.

Predicted to win: Cinderella.

Hoping to win: Cinderella / The Danish Girl.

Best Sound Editing

Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Predicted to win: The Revenant / Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Hoping to win: The Revenant / Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Sound Mixing

Bridge of Spies
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Opinion: I think Academy should combine ‘Sound Mixing’ and ‘Sound Editing’ together into one category. It’s enough and it should be.

Predicted to win: The Revenant / Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Hoping to win: The Revenant / Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Make-Up and Hairstyling

Mad Max: Fury Road
The 100-year-old Man Who Climbed Out a Window and Disappeared
The Revenant

Opinion: I’m shocked to see this category. It should have five nominees too. Furthermore, what is this movie ‘The 100-year-old Man Who Climbed Out a Window and Disappeared’ doing here? Most of us have never even heard of this movie before. Would have prefer movies like ‘The Danish Girl’, ‘Black Mass’ and ‘Carol’ nominated here.

Predicted to win: Mad Max: Fury Road

Hoping to win: Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Live Action Short Subject

Ave Maria
Day One
Everything Will Be Okay
Shok
Stutterer

Best Animated Short Film

Bear Story
Prologue
Sanjay’s Super Team
We Can’t Live Without Cosmos
World of Tomorrow

Okay…Done with my analysis and predictions for the nomination list of the 88th Academy Awards this year. What is your predictions? Would love to see your opinions on this too since it’s now the time for Oscar talks. By the way, we will just wait for the ceremony to come on 28th February 2016 (Sunday) for the much anticipated results in honouring the best of films in year 2015.

(Images in this post are from various sources throughout the world wide web)