TVB 50th Anniversary Awards: My Predictions and Personal Picks

Best Actor

Predicted Top 5: Ruco Chan, Wayne Lai, Liu Ka Chi, Bobby Au-Yeung, and Roger Kwok
Predicted Winner: Ruco
Most Deserving: Ruco
Personal Choice: Ruco

I'll be completely honest: I was hoping that Roger's performance in "Dead Wrong" would turn out to not be another groundbreaking role so that Ruco would have the best chance possible to win Best Actor. And while this may be premature since I've only watched 13 episodes, it seems like my wish came true. "Dead Wrong" is a very well-written and compelling series and Roger performs well as always, but beyond the two hour premiere, he isn't doing anything new compared to his award-winning performance in 2013's "Black Heart White Soul" that would warrant a fourth Best Actor win.

While Ruco doesn't break any new ground in "A Fist Within Four Walls" either, it is certainly a solid performance where, unlike his past performances that mostly highlighted his capability as a dramatic actor, he is able to show a playful and more comedic side too. It's about time TVB finally awards him Best Actor.

Best Actress

Predicted Top 5: Nancy Wu, Kristal Tin, Tracy Chu, Mandy Wong, Joey Meng
Predicted Winner: Nancy
Most Deserving: Nancy
Personal Choice: Nancy

I genuinely think that Nancy deserves Best Actress this year, and the only thing that makes this less satisfying is her premature win for "Ghost of Relativity" from last year. After a string of weaker and/or less interesting roles in the last two years such as "Ghost," "Overachievers," and "House of Spirits," Nancy really took advantage of her role "Diu Lan" in "A Fist Within Four Walls" by absolutely shining. She is fierce, funny, sassy, and strong, while easily evoking lots of compassion and sympathy from the viewers. Last year's win aside, "Fist" feels like a representative culmination of all the improvements and hard work Nancy has put into her acting over the years.

But also, everyone else kinda bombed. Maggie Shiu received critical acclaim for "The Executioner" but that's obviously not happening. Tracy Chu will (hopefully) take home Most Improved. Bad performances aside, Grace Chan and Selena Li should be in the supporting category.

Best Supporting Actor

Predicted Winner: Raymond Cho
Most Deserving: Power Chan
Personal Choice: Mat Yeung
Wtf? Oscar Li for Fist

I'm not saying I think Raymond isn't deserving since he's always been a reliable supporting actor (though I did not watch "Short End of the Stick"), but Power has long been unappreciated and narrowly lost the award to Koo Ming Wah two years ago as well. This could be TVB's chance to make it up to Power, but my gut's telling me it'll still go to Raymond.

I about hit the table when I realized Mat wasn't nominated for Most Improved again this year, since his chances of winning seemed high without Tony Hung in the running like last year. Instead TVB opted to shoot him up into the Best Supporting category, where he has no chance. This feels like a repeat of last year where his "Momentary Lapse of Reason" co-star Rosina Lam was nominated for Best Actress instead of Best Supporting, ruining any chances of her winning an award. No, from what I saw of "Brother's Keeper II" Mat was not best supporting level, but I'm allowed to have personal biases right? (9 months after watching "Momentary Lapse" and I still strongly believe Louis, Rosina, and Mat were robbed last year)

Best Supporting Actress

Predicted Winner: Joyce Tang
Most Deserving: Joyce
Personal Choice: Joyce

Best Supporting Actress has become a weaker and weaker category over the years, to the point I literally did not put down any predictions or choices for it last year. Surprisingly though, there are some good contenders here this year and it's even a little ~unpredictable~. I won't be mad if either Rosina or Grace wins. People were ready to dislike Rosina when she first started acting a few years ago, but she has genuinely surprised me as an actress. She was out of the running before the race even began last year, and I heard good things about her comedic performance in "Stick." She definitely deserves more opportunities. Grace hasn't had a substantial role since I believe 2013's "Awfully Lawful," so it was nice to see TVB give her a dynamic role in "Fist." While not without her flaws, Grace's performance proved that she is a noteworthy actress that really hasn't been getting enough notable work the last few years. Not quite "best supporting" level, but "Chiu Ha" made an impact and a win would at least make sense.

However, my vote definitely goes to Joyce, who shows her strength in portraying tough, intelligent, and motherly roles in "House of Spirits," as well as making me laugh very hard in certain scenes. She's been long one of my favorite supporting actresses, but never seemed to stand a chance at winning an award. With "House" being one of the highest rated series of the year and her satisfying win in Singapore though, it looks like 2016 is finally Joyce's year to receive recognition.

*Random fact: I usually keep a note on my phone of memorable characters/performances for when anniversary awards season comes around. Joyce was the first (and only) person I wrote down this year when I created the note.

My Favorite Male Character

Top 5: Ruco Chan, Vincent Wong, Louis Cheung, Bosco Wong, Roger Kwok
Predicted Winner: Vincent
Most Deserving: Vincent
Personal Choice: Ruco

Ruco, Vincent, and Tracy each received four nominations, which makes me think... Is TVB setting up Vincent for a Favorite Character win? I've heard so many good things about him and Tracy in "Over Run Over" and have been a long-time fan of Vincent, so I'll be thrilled if Ruco can win Best Actor and Vincent can win this award. If Ruco does not win Best Actor, I will assume this award will go to him as a consolation prize for the second year in a row. Fingers crossed that doesn't happen.

Personally though, if I were to choose any male character as my favorite from this year, it'd probably be Ruco since I did not watch "Over Run Over" (but intend to).

My Favorite Female Character

Top 5: Nancy Wu, Grace Wong, Tracy Chu, Joey Meng, Priscilla Wong
Predicted Winner: Nancy
Most Deserving: Nancy
Personal Choice: Nancy

I see Nancy pulling off a double win, and I would have no problems with that. "Diu Lan" was a wonderful heroine to root for who was dynamic and flawed yet infinitely likable and funny. Even if this wasn't a year where there were very few captivating characters in TVB series, Diu Lan was a stand out.

Most Popular Series Partnership

Predicted Winner: Wayne Lai, Edwin Siu, Power Chan, and Raymond Cho for "Short End of the Stick"
Most Deserving: Vincent Wong and Tracy Chu for "Over Run Over"
Personal Choice: N/A
Snub: Ruco Chan and Nancy Wu

I would've thought that if TVB was going to bring in this category, it would've been to further milk the Ruco and Nancy pairing. Yet, they weren't even nominated but Carat Cheung, Apple Chan, Chloe Nguyen & Doris Chow were? And Eddie Kwan and Vivian Yeo from "My Lover From the Planet Meow"? What's going on here? Vincent and Tracy should get the award for their well-received pairing, but it will probably go to Wayne, Edwin, Power, and Raymond since the comedy quartet was also well-received in "Short End," and was a ratings hit (by today's standards).

Most Popular Theme Song

Predicted Winner: Ruco and Nancy’s subtheme for “A Fist Within Four Walls”
Most Deserving: Ruco and Nancy's subtheme
Personal Choice: Ruco and Nancy's subtheme, Vincent Wong’s theme song and Stephanie Ho’s subtheme for “Dead Wrong”

TVB can't give this to Jinny again...right? I'm putting my money on Ruco and Nancy's subtheme, which has already won in both Singapore and Malaysia. It's a lovely duet that I think complimented the scenes between the two in "Fist" very well.

However, I also really like both Vincent's theme song and Stephanie's subtheme for "Dead Wrong." The former brings out the suspenseful and dark nature of the series, while the latter brings out the emotionally-charged factor. In general, I've been loving the songs Stephanie has been singing for series soundtracks.

Most Improved Actor

Predicted Winner: Jonathan Cheung
Most Deserving: Jonathan
Personal Choice: Jonathan
Snubs: Mat Yeung, Benjamin Yuen, Lai Lok Yi

For as long as I can remember this has always been a strong category and probably my favorite one. Yet when I first saw the nominations for this category this year, my first reaction was "Seriously?" The competition for this year is sad and the weakest it's been in years. Three of the nominees are singers who TVB just started sticking into series, probably for self-promotion! I was so sure Mat would be one of the top contenders this year, but it turns out he didn't even get a nomination (which I'm very salty about), nor did Benjamin, instead getting bounced up to the Best Supporting and Best Actor (???) categories respectively. TVB once again shows they don't give a damn about Lai Lok Yi, despite delivering a chilling villain performance in the last few episodes of "Presumed Accidents."

With that said, I'm so happy Jonathan is nominated and really hope this is TVB's way of paving the road for him to win. I've loved watching him as a supporting actor the last few years. He never fails to make me laugh, but proved in "House of Spirits" he can handle drama and more major roles as well. If Jonathan doesn't win, you can find me at home on my laptop on the 19th, kicking and screaming.

Most Improved Actress

Predicted Winner: Tracy Chu
Most Deserving: Tracy
Personal Choice: Tracy
Snub: Roxanne Tong

Last year Tracy decided to ditch the anniversary awards to go on a school trip to Europe (can't blame her), but now that she's graduated and has the sleeper hit "Over Run Over" under her belt, she has a significant chance of winning. Unlike the Most Improved Actor category though, she faces some competition from Moon Lau and newly minted lead actress Ali Lee. I would not be too mad about Ali winning and think that she has been a decent actress since her debut and getting better, but after enjoying her character in "Fist," Moon proves she is still very raw in "Two Steps in Heaven." So if Tracy has to lose to anyone, I really hope it's Ali, but Tracy definitely deserves this award. Meanwhile, poor Katy is probably going to continue to be a perpetual nominee, but never a winner.

The only notable snub I can think of is Roxanne. I was not crazy about her in "Come Home Love," but she was my favorite part about "Between Love and Desire" once the series started stalling in the second half. She was natural and bubbly with an affable charm that lit up the screen during her scenes. Yet, she was next seen on air playing a tiny role in "Fist." TVB, get on promoting her (consistently)!

Best Series

Top 5: A Fist Within Four Walls, Dead Wrong, Short End of the Stick, Over Run Over, House of Spirits
Predicted Winner: A Fist Within Four Walls
Most Deserving: Dead Wrong or Fist
Personal Choice: Dead or Fist

It's going to be a tough competition between "A Fist Within Four Walls" and "Dead Wong," and I myself can't make a clear decision on which I personally love more, but I'm giving the advantage to "Fist." After all, as critically acclaimed as "Dead Wrong" has been so far, the ratings, buzz, press coverage, and popularity of "Fist" easily beats everything this year.

However, in terms of writing, I personally give an advantage to the 13 episodes I've seen of "Dead Wrong," which feels much more serious and tight, whereas "Fist" felt more entertaining (with a cartoonish villain) than well-written in the last stretch episodes.

What are your predictions? Who are your dream winners? Comment below!

"Momentary Lapse of Reason" Review

I had a lot of reasons to just completely skip "Momentary Lapse of Reason." Premodern dramas are my least favorite to watch since they tend to be tragic in nature. Despite being a big fan of Louis and happy he received his first leading role, I also wasn't interested in seeing Tavia. However, with the quiet but strong critical acclaim, I finally decided to give in because I wanted to check out Louis, Mat, and Rosina's performances for myself.

I'm glad I finally gave this series a chance, and didn't just give up after the first two episodes. It took maybe 5 episodes, but once I got into it, I was hooked and binge watched it over the course of my 3 day weekend. Against all my (non-existent) expectations when first hearing about this series, "Momentary Lapse of Reason" has become my favorite series of 2015.

Although all four leads deliver, the main reason I enjoyed "Momentary" so much is because of Louis Cheung and Mat Yeung's performances. The changes of their characters as well as their friendship drive the series forward and are what make it compelling.

There is not much romantic chemistry present in this series, which may make it sound like a failure, but romance was ultimately not integral to the series despite what some people may have thought initially. Mat and Tavia Yeung are by no means wooden and awkward with each other, but didn't create any sparks either. Same goes for Louis and Tavia, but this is because Louis' love for Tavia remains one-sided for the entire series.

Instead, all the "sparks" happen between the incredibly close brotherhood that develops between Louis and Mat - and I have no complaints about it. It was very rewarding to watch these two characters go from being foes who were completely different cops with contrasting morals, to two people who cared so much about each other and made such a huge impact on the other's life (which is why part of the ending was such BS - but more on that in a bit).

There was a split second where I was not sure if Louis was ready to be a leading actor, although it was only because he (deservingly) had bounced up so quickly. I'm now slapping myself for ever thinking that, because Louis absolutely shines in his first leading role. He and Ruco are one of few TVB actors who excel in these gray characters. In the early episodes, he does well as the clever, "Corrupt Wah" who has no problem taking credit for other people's work and being mean-spirited. Some of his best acting though is when his character slowly starts becoming more conscientious. From feeling guilty over indirectly causing the death of an innocent man to showing compassion over his widow, and standing up for Mat when no one else would, Louis' portrays the character's change in nature after befriending Mat very well. With another actor, the transition probably would've felt sudden, but Louis' expressiveness allowed you to see "Kam Wah" rethinking himself. Although the character becomes easier to play once he is no longer corrupt, Louis does wonderfully in his emotional scenes, particularly when he found Ng Chin's lifeless body.

Kam Wah is also a character who, even when he was a corrupt cop, is very humorous and playful. This made him a lot of fun to watch and prevented "Momentary" from becoming too tragic or "heavy" to watch like most other premodern series. Some of his funniest moments are when Mat catches him doing good deeds and expressing sympathy early on, only for Louis to deny it profusely and claim he is just a creep. It was also hilarious when Louis decided to go into the walled village (where there is no police jurisdiction) to help save Mat, but not without getting himself drunk to work up the guts first. I am happy to see that Louis was able to get into the top 5 nominations for Best Actor despite this series not being a big ratings hit.

Mat had a tough task of leading alongside Louis and is not nearly as expressive as him, but certainly rose up to the challenge in his first shot at second male lead. He was able to portray the character of "Sam Yat Yin" as the righteous and serious cop he is without being wooden, and tender in his scenes with Tavia's Leung Sum. He shows the internal emotional struggle of wanting to be a good cop in a precinct full of greedy and corrupt ones who actively dislike him and what he stands for very well. His most memorable and absolutely heartbreaking scene is when he forces himself to collect the bribes from the market sellers against all his morals and beliefs. 

With the path the character was taking in the early episodes and TVB's usual predictability, I had expected Yat Yin to become a full-on villain. Although he does make a terrible jerk move towards the end in a desperate attempt to move up so he can continue to fight police corruption, Yat Yin never becomes evil or even mean-spirited and simply becomes more dire in the lengths he'll take to fulfill his goal. Until the very end, he still remains a hero. This was a direction I appreciated because it made the character much more realistic as well as allow the plot to move along logically, instead of hurriedly turning him into a caricature, a la Ruco's "Ah Lik" in "Eye in the Sky." As far as secondary leading characters go, Yat Yin was absolutely integral to the story (just as much as Kam Wah) and in moving the series along. Mat got a great opportunity, and he took advantage of it. 

While this is both of their first time as leads, Louis and Mat were my favorite leads to watch all year, and I hope to continue seeing them in major roles.

Tavia once again receives the least interesting role of an entire main cast, but unlike in the
previously mentioned "Eye in the Sky," is not irritating to watch. In the end, I don't have any praises to sing, but I also don't have any nit picks with her performance. Leung Sum is likable instead of a suffocating goody two shoes. While she thinks lowly of Kam Wah initially, she does soon come to the realization he is not what she judged him to be after she gets to know him. The character cries from time to time, but it's also not an endless waterfall like some of Tavia's past dramatic series. The most heartbreaking moment for the character is in the very last episode when she sees someone who she believes is Yat Yin, but is really Willie Wai in Yat Yin's clothes. 

Although playing a character who goes through many major events that can be considered either unfortunate at best or highly traumatic at worst, Rosina gives a very natural performance as "Fa Ying Yuet." There are no huge dramatic acting moments, and that ended up being what I liked. It's so easy to start equating dramatic yelling and crying with good acting. Rosina had many opportunities to overact and it would have even been understandable for the character to be portrayed as over the top. Yet, she never does, but still shows the emotions of the character. Ying Yuet ended up not having as much screen time as I thought she would, but she was a character that could have easily become grating to watch where the actress could take every opportunity to try to steal the scene. Instead, Rosina injects just enough emotion and makes her a sympathetic and intriguing character without trying to steal anyone's thunder, allowing the focus to remain on Kam Wah and Yat Yin's brotherhood. 

With such solid performances playing such intriguing roles, it is very disappointing that Mat and Rosina did not win Most Improved. Based on acting merit alone, they definitely had it in the bag, but much like Vincent before his villain role in "Will Power" came along, simply did not have the buzz (or favoritism) Grace and Tony possessed. (On the bright side, Mat did win Most Improved Actor in Malaysia, while Rosina took home Best Supporting Actress in Singapore, although she was nominated for "Young Charioteers" instead.)

I enjoyed the friendship between the core four characters and the few scenes they all shared, and only wished that there had just been a few more. Unlike in recent series that try to portray friendship (ahem, "Raising the Bar"), you could feel the bond between the four despite them not sharing many scenes altogether.

In addition to our leading actors, the rest of the cast performs well too. Also providing some comic relief were Brian Burrell, who appears to be playing an important role for the first time, and Amy Fan. The two were very sweet to watch as a married couple. Hugo Wong was convincing as the corrupt and cruel police inspector. Lai Kong does well as always, but him as the villain is getting increasingly predictable.

Ending Commentary (Spoilers ahead!!)

A very satisfying ending overall, with just one major complaint. On his death bed, Yat Yin tells Leung Sum that she is the reason Kam Wah changed to be a better person, not him. While the writers do not try to drill into our heads the importance of Leung Sum on Yat Yin and Kam Wah too much, doing so at all was a disservice to how important the two guy's friendship truly was. This was inconsistent just timeline-wise, as Kam Wah had already become more conscientiousness before even developing a crush on Leung Sum. Yat Yin's death was terribly sad, but fitting, though I also wish he and Kam Wah were able to share more of a "final" scene together. 

Lai Kong, Akina Hong, and Joe Tay's endings were incredibly satisfying and poetic. Akina and Joe trying to outsmart each other by poisoning the other to receive all the money for themselves, only to both die at the hands of the opposite, was brilliant and a bold writing move.  

Finally, I have mixed feelings towards Kam Wah feigning memory loss. He had already lost Yat Yin, and by pretending to not remember, he was isolating himself from his two remaining best friends. However, I am glad the writers chose not to have him and Leung Sum end up together, as the latter never expressed romantic feelings for him and it would have been too sudden and convenient for her to do so so shortly after Yat Yin's death. Kam Wah continuing to watch over Leung Sum from afar may not be the happiest ending, but it was the most fitting one. A bittersweet ending was the most appropriate for "Momentary," but the characters also ended up all pretty content.

Overall

As stated before, Louis and Mat are the heart of the series and it is ultimately about how Kam Wah and Yat Yin come to impact each other as they try to rid Tong Sai of its rampant corruption. The series makes full use of its 20 episodes, and the writing feels very tight, with none of the inconsistencies or wackiness present in many series' writing today (I enjoyed you "Captain of Destiny," but I'm looking at you). Despite being a premodern series, "Momentary Lapse" also manages to succeed more as an action series than recent typical police procedurals. Its elements of drama, action, and suspense along with its fast paced writing and strong leading performances makes you want to keep watching once you get past the set up of the first handful of episodes. "Momentary Lapse" is the most underrated series of the year, and one of the best.

Rating: 4.5 stars