The Top 10 Lists

10. Shun Hing Square (China)

Shun Hing Square (Chinese: 信兴广场/地王大厦) is a 384m (1,260 ft) tall skyscraper in Shenzhen, China. It is the 5th tallest building in China, and the 9th tallest in the world. It was the tallest building in China from its completion in 1996 until CITIC Plaza in Guangzhou was completed the next year. The building was built at the fast pace of four floors in nine days. The main tower has offices, while an accomping 35 floor annex contains apartments, car park and shopping arcade complex which has 5 floors, four sets of escalators, five passenger lifts and two service lifts, and a floor area ranging from 3450sq m to 4900sq m. On the top floor is the Meridian View Centre, an observation deck.

9. CITIC Plaza (China)

CITIC Plaza (simplified Chinese: 中信广场; traditional Chinese: 中信廣場; pinyin: Zhōngxìn Guǎngchǎng) is a skyscraper built in Tianhe District, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China. Its structural height is 391 m (1,283 ft) 80 stories including two tall antenna-like spires on the top. Completed in 1997, it is the tallest concrete building in the world. Currently, it ranks as the fourth tallest building in China, seventh in Asia, and eighth worldwide.

Located in the growing and expanding Tianhe District, it is part of a complex of the same name which also consists of two 38-story residential buildings. Its proximity includes a new train station which serves the extremely busy Guangzhou-Shenzhen and Guangzhou-Hong Kong railways. A new metro station, and the Tianhe Sports Center, where the 6th National Games was held and parts of the upcoming Asian Games 2010 will be held. It is on the same Axis as two new building developments in Guangzhou, the first being the East and West Towers in Zhujiang New City and the Pearl Observation tower. It is surrounded by other tall buildings and is a symbol of Guangzhou's growing wealth and importance.

8. 2 International Finance Centre (China)

A prominent landmark on Hong Kong Island, IFC consists of two skyscrapers, the IFC Mall, and the 55-storey Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong. Tower 2 is the tallest building in Hong Kong, a title formerly held by Central Plaza. It is the third-tallest building in the Greater China region and the seventh-tallest office building in the world, based on structural heights; by roof height, only the Taipei 101, Shanghai World Financial Center, and Willis Tower exceed it. It is of similar height to the former World Trade Center. The International Commerce Centre, currently under construction above the MTR Kowloon station and scheduled for completion in 2010, will surpass 2IFC in each of these categories.

IFC was constructed and is owned by IFC Development, a consortium of Sun Hung Kai Properties, Henderson Land and Towngas.

The Airport Express Hong Kong Station is directly beneath it.

7. Jin Mao Tower (China)

The Jin Mao Tower (simplified Chinese: 金茂大厦; traditional Chinese: 金茂大廈; pinyin: Jīn Mào Dàshà; literally "Golden Prosperity Building") is an 88-story landmark supertall skyscraper in the Lujiazui area of the Pudong district of Shanghai, People's Republic of China. It contains offices and the Shanghai Grand Hyatt hotel. Until 2007 it was the tallest building in the PRC, the fifth tallest in the world by roof height and the seventh tallest by pinnacle height. Along with the Oriental Pearl Tower, it is a centerpiece of the Pudong skyline. Its height was surpassed on September 14, 2007 by the Shanghai World Financial Center which is next to the building. The Shanghai Tower, a 128-story building located next to these two buildings and now under construction, will be even taller.

6. Trump International Hotel & Tower (United States)

The Trump International Hotel and Tower, also known as Trump Tower Chicago and locally as the Trump Tower, is a skyscraper condo-hotel in downtown Chicago, Illinois. The building, named after real estate developer Donald Trump, was designed by architect Adrian Smith of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. Bovis Lend Lease built the 92-story structure, which reached a height of 1,389 feet (423 m) including its spire, its roof topping out at 1,170 feet (360 m). It is adjacent to the main branch of the Chicago River, with a view of the entry to Lake Michigan beyond a series of bridges over the river. The building received publicity when the winner of the first season of The Apprentice television show, Bill Rancic, chose to manage the construction of the tower.

Trump announced in 2001 that the skyscraper would become the tallest building in the world, but after the September 11, 2001 attacks, the building plans were scaled back, and its design has undergone several revisions. When topped out in 2009 it became the second-tallest building in the United States after Chicago's Willis Tower. It is expected to be surpassed by the 1 World Trade Center in New York City in the middle of 2013, and by the on-hold Chicago Spire if completed. Trump Tower surpassed Chicago's John Hancock Center as the building with the world's highest residence above ground-level and held this title until the completion of the Burj Khalifa.

The design of the building includes, from the ground up, retail space, a parking garage, a hotel, and condominiums. The 339-room hotel opened for business with limited accommodations and services on January 30, 2008. April 28 of that year marked the grand opening with full accommodation and services. A restaurant on the 16th floor, named Sixteen, opened in early 2008 to favorable reviews. The building topped out in late 2008 and construction was completed in 2009.

5. Willis Tower (United States)

Willis Tower, formerly named Sears Tower, is a 108-story 1,451 feet (442 m) skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois. At the time of its completion in 1973, it was the tallest building in the world, surpassing the World Trade Center towers in New York. Currently, Willis Tower is the tallest building in the United States and the fifth-tallest freestanding structure in the world as well as the fifth tallest building in the world to the roof.

Although Sears' naming rights expired in 2003, the building continued to be called Sears Tower for several years. However, in March 2009 London-based insurance broker Willis Group Holdings, Ltd., agreed to lease a portion of the building and obtained the building's naming rights as part of the agreement. On July 16, 2009, at 10:00 am Central Time, the building was officially renamed Willis Tower.

4. Petronas Twin Towers (Malaysia)

The Petronas Twin Towers (Malay: Menara Berkembar Petronas) (also known as the Petronas Towers or just Twin Towers), in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia are twin towers and were the world's tallest buildings before being surpassed by Taipei 101. However, the towers are still the tallest twin buildings in the world. They were the world's tallest buildings from 1998 to 2004 if measured from the level of the main entrance to the structural top, the original height reference used by the international organization Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat from 1969 (three additional height categories were introduced as the tower neared completion in 1996).

3. Shanghai World Financial Center (China)

The Shanghai World Financial Center (Abbr: SWFC; simplified Chinese: 上海环球金融中心; traditional Chinese: 上海環球金融中心; pinyin: Shànghǎi huánqiú jīnróng zhōngxīn) is a supertall skyscraper in Pudong, Shanghai, China. It is a mixed use skyscraper which consists of offices, hotels, conference rooms, observation decks, and shopping malls on the ground floors. Park Hyatt Shanghai is the hotel component containing 174 rooms and suites. Occupying the 79th to the 93rd floors, it is the highest hotel in the world, surpassing the Grand Hyatt Shanghai on the 53rd to 87th floors of the neighboring Jin Mao Tower.

On 14 September 2007 the skyscraper was topped out at 492.0 meters (1,614.2 ft) and became the second-tallest building in the world; as well as the tallest structure in the People's Republic of China, including Hong Kong. It is currently the third-tallest building in the world.

On 28 August 2008, the SWFC officially opened for business. On August 30 the Observation Deck opened with a view from 3 levels. The highest view is at 474 m (1,555 ft) above ground level.

The SWFC has been lauded for its design and named by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat as the best skyscraper of 2008.

2. Taipei 101 (Taiwan)

Taipei 101 (traditional Chinese: 台北101 / 臺北101), also known as the Taipei Financial Center, is a landmark skyscraper located in Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan. The building was the tallest building in the world (with occupiable floors) until it was surpassed in height by the Burj Khalifa on July 21, 2007. The skyscraper was officially the tallest building until the opening of the Burj Khalifa on the 4 of January 2010. Taipei 101, designed by C.Y. Lee & Partners and constructed primarily by KTRT Joint Venture and South Korean Samsung C&T received the 2004 Emporis Skyscraper Award and was hailed as one of the Seven New Wonders of the World (Newsweek magazine, 2006) and Seven Wonders of Engineering (Discovery Channel, 2005). The tower has served as an icon of modern Taiwan ever since its opening. Fireworks launched from Taipei 101 feature prominently in international New Year's Eve broadcasts and the structure appears frequently in travel literature and international media.

Taipei 101 comprises 101 floors above ground and 5 floors underground. The name of the tower (pronounced "Tie-pay one-oh-one" in English) reflects its floor count and carries symbolic meanings alluding to technology and Asian tradition (see "Symbolism" below.) Its postmodernist approach to style incorporates traditional design elements and gives them modern treatments. The tower is designed to withstand typhoons and earthquakes. A multi-level shopping mall adjoining the tower houses hundreds of fashionable stores, restaurants and clubs.

Taipei 101 is owned by the Taipei Financial Center Corporation (TFCC) and managed by the International division of Urban Retail Properties Corporation based in Chicago. The name originally planned for the building, Taipei World Financial Center, was derived from the name of the owner. The original name in Chinese was literally, Taipei International Financial Center (traditional Chinese: 臺北國際金融中心; pinyin: Táiběi Guójì Jīnróng Zhōngxīn).

Taipei 101 was surpassed in height on 2007 July 21 by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, UAE, upon the completion of the Burj's 141st floor.

1. Burj Khalifa (United Arab Emirates)

Burj Khalifa (Arabic: برج خليفة‎ "Khalifa Tower"), formerly known as Burj Dubai, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and the tallest man-made structure ever built, at 828 m (2,717 ft). Construction began on 21 September 2004, with the exterior of the structure completed on 1 October 2009. The building officially opened on 4 January 2010. The building is part of the 2 km2 (490-acre) flagship development called Downtown Burj Khalifa at the "First Interchange" along Sheikh Zayed Road, near Dubai's main business district.

The tower's architecture and engineering were performed by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill of Chicago. Adrian Smith, who worked with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill until 2006, was the chief architect, and Bill Baker was the chief structural engineer for the project. The primary contractor was Samsung C&T of South Korea, who also built the Taipei 101 and Petronas Twin Towers. Major subcontractors included Belgian group Besix and Arabtec from the UAE. Turner Construction Company was chosen as the construction project manager. Under UAE law, the Contractor and the Engineer of Record are jointly and severally liable for the performance of Burj Khalifa. Therefore, by adoption of SOM's design and by being appointed as Architect and Engineer of Record, Hyder Consulting was legally the Design Consultant for the tower.

The total cost for the Burj Khalifa project was about US$1.5 billion; and for the entire new "Downtown Dubai", US$20 billion. Mohamed Ali Alabbar, the Chairman of Emaar Properties, speaking at the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat 8th World Congress, said in March 2009 that the price of office space at Burj Khalifa had reached US$4,000 per sq ft (over US$43,000 per m2) and that the Armani Residences, also in Burj Khalifa, were selling for US$3,500 per sq ft (over US$37,500 per m2). The completion of the tower coincided with a worldwide economic slump and overbuilding, causing it to be described as "the latest ... in string of monuments to architectural vacancy."

Source: Wiki

10. Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology

The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (commonly referred to by the acronym "RMIT" - and also used in its post-nominal letters) is an Australian public university and provider of vocational education located in Melbourne, Victoria. It has two main branches: RMIT University (encompassing RMIT TAFE) and RMIT International University.

Founded in 1887 by prominent grazier and philanthropist, The Hon. Francis Ormond, RMIT is the third-oldest higher education provider in the state of Victoria and the seventh-oldest in Australia. Its foundation campus "RMIT City" is located at the northern end of the Melbourne CBD. RMIT was awarded royal patronage in 1954, and is the only Australian university to date to have received the honour.

RMIT is considered to be a selective university, ranked third in the state of Victoria and tenth in Australia - in reference to its research output. According to the THES - QS World University Rankings it is ranked as one of the top five internationalised universities; top 100 universities for producing work-ready graduates; and amongst its annual list of "Top 200 World Universities" - one of 20 institutes of technology that regularly feature in the listing. It has an internationally-recognised reputation for art, design, engineering and technology; and its industry-relevant ethos.

RMIT pioneered the dual sector education system in Australia during the mid-20th century. It is now the largest institution of its type in the country, and offers every level of award available in the Australian Qualifications Framework. Academically, the university focuses on higher education and research while its TAFE division focuses on vocational education and training.

It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network and the Global U8 Consortium.

9. Macquarie University

Macquarie University is an Australian public teaching and research university located in Sydney, with its main campus situated in Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of Sydney. Macquarie’s 126 hectare, park-like campus belies its setting within the high-technology corridor of Sydney’s north-west.

The University comprises four faculties, enrolling approximately 33,000 students and having 2,221 (full-time equivalent) academic and professional staff, making it the fourth largest University in Sydney. At present, the University offers 87 undergraduate courses and 124 different post-graduate courses to students. The University is governed by a 17-member council.

The University also has the largest student exchange programme in Australia. The Academic Ranking of World Universities listed Macquarie as 7th among Australian Universities in its 2008 rankings. The University is also ranked among the national top five recipients of relative research income.

Also affiliated with the University are several research centres, schools and institutes including the Macquarie Graduate School of Management, Australian Proteome Analysis Facility, the Institute of Human Cognition and Brain Science, the Macquarie University Research Park and the soon to be opened Macquarie University Hospital.

Macquarie University's linguistics department developed the Macquarie Dictionary, the copyright on which it still owns.

8. University of Western Australia

The University of Western Australia (UWA) is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia. Established in February 1911, it is the only university in the state to be a member of the prestigious Group of Eight, as well as the Sandstone universities. The University was established under and is governed by the University of Western Australia Act 1911. The Act provides for the control and management of the University to be the responsibility of the Senate, and gives it the authority, amongst other things, to make statutes, regulations and by-laws, details of which are contained in the university Calendar. One of the best and most prestigious universities in Australia, UWA is also highly ranked internationally in various publications. To date UWA has close to 100 Rhodes Scholars.

7. University of Adelaide

A public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia. It has produced five Nobel laureates, 101 Rhodes scholars and is a member of the Group of Eight, as well as the Sandstone universities.

Its main campus is located on the cultural boulevard of North Terrace in the Adelaide city centre, adjacent to the Art Gallery of South Australia, the South Australian Museum and the State Library of South Australia. The university also has four other campuses throughout the state: Roseworthy College at Roseworthy; The Waite Institute at Urrbrae; Adelaide University Research Park at Thebarton; and the National Wine Centre in the Adelaide Park Lands, and a campus in Singapore.

6. University of New South Wales

The University of New South Wales, also known as UNSW or colloquially as New South, is a university situated in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

The University was founded in 1949. Today it is recognised as one of Australia’s leading teaching and research institutions, and has developed a strong reputation in a number of fields, including renewable/alternative energy, quantum computing and nanotechnology, taxation reform, information and communication technology, digital media, electrical engineering, chemical engineering, bio-medical engineering, sustainable development, HIV/AIDS research, and social justice and social policy research.

The University is a member of Australia's "Group of Eight" lobby group, and is also a founding member of Universitas 21, an international network of leading research-intensive universities.

5. Monash University

A public university based in Melbourne, Australia. It is Australia's largest university with around 56,000 students and 15,000 staff.

The University has a total of eight campuses: six in Victoria, Australia (Clayton, Caulfield, Berwick, Peninsula, Parkville and Gippsland), one in Malaysia and one in South Africa. The University also has a research and teaching centre in Prato, Italy and a graduate research school in Mumbai, India.

Monash University is a member of the prestigious "Group of Eight", a group composed of some of the most research-intensive universities in Australia. It was recently ranked by The Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings at number 45 of the world's top 200 universities for 2009. It is one of only three post World War II universities in the world's top 50. It has the largest number of first and total preferences from school leavers in Victoria seeking university places.

Monash is home to a range of major research facilities, including the Australian Synchrotron, the Monash Science Technology Research and Innovation Precinct (STRIP), the Australian Stem Cell Centre, 100 research centres and 17 co-operative research centres.

The university is named after the prominent Australian general Sir John Monash. One of his most well known statements is inscribed along a walkway between the Robert Blackwood Hall and Performing Arts Centre at the Clayton campus: Adopt as your fundamental creed that you will equip yourself for life, not solely for your own benefit, but for the benefit of the whole community.

The University's motto is Ancora imparo (Italian), meaning 'I am still learning', a saying attributed to Michelangelo.

4. University of Queensland

Also known as UQ, is a public university located in Brisbane, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest university in Queensland and the fifth in the nation. The main campus is located in St Lucia, southwest of the Brisbane CBD. UQ is a member of the Australia's Group of Eight lobby group, and the Universitas 21, an international network of research-intensive universities, and is colloquially known as a "sandstone university".

UQ is ranked among the top universities, both in Australia and the world. In 2009, the Australian Cancer Research Foundation reported that UQ have taken the lead in numerous areas of cancer research, having awarded almost $10 million in grants over a three year period.

There are numerous collaborative research centres associated with the university. The Queensland Bioscience Precinct on the St Lucia campus houses scientists from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology and the Queensland Brain Institute to form one of the largest biomedical research clusters in Australia.

3. University of Melbourne

The University of Melbourne (informally Melbourne Uni, Unimelb or just Melbourne) is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia, and the oldest in Victoria. The main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb just north of the Melbourne CBD, however it has several other campuses located across Victoria. It is a member of Australia's "Group of Eight" lobby group, the Universitas 21 and Association of Pacific Rim Universities networks, and is colloquially known as a sandstone university. It has one of the largest financial endowments of any Australian university, standing at $1.105bn as of 2008.

Melbourne is ranked among the top universities in Australia and the world. Among Australian universities, it claims a leading position in business, education, engineering, arts, law and medicine.

Melbourne University is the second largest research organisation in Australia after the CSIRO. In 2008, it spent $653.7m on research, and has consistently ranked first or second on the major national research indicators which are used by the Australian Government to allocate public funds for research and training infrastructure.

The university has over 35,000 students, who are supported by nearly 7,200 staff members. In 2008, it introduced the controversial Melbourne Model, a combination of various practices from American and European universities, aimed at consistency with the European Union's Bologna process and international relevance and standing for its degrees. Professor Glyn Davis AC is Melbourne's current vice-chancellor.

2. University of Sydney

The University of Sydney (informally Sydney University, USyd or simply Sydney) is the oldest university in Australia. It was established in Sydney in 1850. In 2009, the university had 47,775 students making it the second largest (behind Monash University) in Australia.

The university has a number of small special-purpose satellite campuses as a result of annexes over the past 20 years, however the main campus is centred on the large Oxbridge-inspired grounds which spread across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the south-western outskirts of the Sydney CBD.

The University of Sydney is a member of Australia's Group of Eight, Academic Consortium 21, the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) and the Worldwide Universities Network.

1. Australian National University

The Australian National University, commonly abbreviated to ANU, is a public teaching and research university located in Canberra, Australia, the federal capital city. The University was established by an act of the Parliament of Australia on 1 August 1946, with the legislated purpose of conducting and promoting research in Australia.

The University is consistently ranked as the best university in Australia by many worldwide university ranking systems, including the Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the annual Times Higher Education Supplement rankings. Its notable staff and alumni include five Nobel laureates.

The University is governed by a 15-member council. ANU is a member of several university alliances and cooperative networks, including the Group of Eight (Australian universities), the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy and the International Alliance of Research Universities.

Source: Wiki, AEN

10. The plural and singular forms of the word “Rendezvous” are spelled the same but pronounced differently. Rendezvous, singular, is pronounced RUN-dei-voo. Plural, the word is pronounced RUN-dei-vooz.

9. The new electronica band, RendezVous, prefers to spell their name with a capital V.

8. RendezVous classifies their music as belonging to the electropop genre, but their songs are also part of the jazz movement.

7. RendezVous’ music has accomplished the impossible: they brought two opposite styles together. Their music has successfully fused clean, modern electronica with psychedelic retro sound.

6. Although RendezVous’ songs seem to require at least four musicians, the band is composed of just two members. Itai Simon and Hagai Izenberg are the duo behind RendezVous.

5. Simon and Izenberg are no amateurs; they’ve both taken up music at Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music. In fact, that’s where they first met.

4. Hagai Izenberg loves keyboards – both the musical and the computer type. Izenberg first learned to play the piano at seven years of age but also knows his way around computers, having worked in the Internet and software industry for 13 years.

3. Itai Simon is a bass guitarist – but he wasn’t until many years after he first learned to play the guitar. He tinkered with electric guitars at an early age but found his instrument, the bass guitar, only at the age of 17..

2. RendezVous is currently working with music veteran David Bascombe, a well-known figure in the music industry. Bascombe has done mixing and production with band icons Tears for Fears and Depeche Mode. He is teaming up with RendezVous for their first album launch.

1. The jazz electronica band RendezVous already has more than 7000 fans on Facebook even if they haven’t released a single album.. After launching their very first EP, RendezVous earned thousands of fans. Their EP was downloaded countless of times, pushing them to the top of underground band lists. RendezVous now plans to go mainstream, with their debut album in the works. (Who knows how many fans they’ll have by then?)

Contributed by: Alma Jone

10. While filming a fight scene, Robert Maillet accidentally knocked out Robert Downey Jr..

9.  Jude Law had an early role in "The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes" (1991) Shoscombe Old Place. This was the series featuring Jeremy Brett, and is a favorite adaptation among Sherlock Holmes fans.

8. The set for Sherlock Holmes's home in this film was previously used as Sirius Black's home in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007).

7. There were rumors that Brad Pitt has been cast as Moriarty and re shoots have taken place, but the rumors were quickly denied.

6. The part of Sherlock Holmes has been previously played by Michael Caine, while Watson is played in this film by Jude Law. Law took over Caine's role in Alfie (2004) and Sleuth (2007), appearing together with him in the latter film.

5. Sienna Miller was in talks for a role before her ex-fiancé Jude Law was cast as Watson.

4.  James Downey, Robert Downey Jr.'s uncle and long time head writer of "Saturday Night Live" (1975), played Sherlock Holmes in a sketch during the same season his nephew was a cast member.

3. The outfits worn by the navvies are the same ones worn by the railway workers in "Cranford: Part One: August 1844 (#2.1)" (2009).

2. Colin Farrell was in talks to play Watson before Jude Law was cast.

1.  The first Sherlock Holmes film to reach U.S. movie theaters in over twenty years, since the 1988 comedy Without a Clue (1988) with Michael Caine as Reginald Kincaid/"Sherlock Holmes".

 

Source: Movie Trivia

10. The Blind Side

A 2009 American drama sports film written and directed by John Lee Hancock, and based on the 2006 book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis. The storyline features Michael Oher, an offensive lineman who plays for the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL. The film follows Oher from his impoverished upbringings, through his years at Wingate Christian School (a fictional representation of Briarcrest Christian School), his adoption by Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, and on to his position as one of the most highly coveted prospects in college football.

The film stars Quinton Aaron as Michael Oher, Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy, Tim McGraw as Sean Tuohy, Oher's adoptive parents, and Kathy Bates as Miss Sue, Oher's tutor. The movie also features appearances by several current and former National Collegiate Athletic Association coaches, including Houston Nutt, Ed Orgeron, Phillip Fulmer, Nick Saban, Lou Holtz and Tommy Tuberville, and recruiting analyst Tom Lemming.

9. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Also known as Ice Age 3, is a 2009 3-D computer animated film. It is the third installment of the Ice Age series, produced by Blue Sky Studios and distributed by 20th Century Fox. A sneak preview was shown in selected theaters on Father's Day in the United States. The film features the voices of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Queen Latifah, Seann William Scott, Josh Peck, Simon Pegg, and Chris Wedge. The story has Sid being taken by a female Tyrannosaurus rex after stealing her eggs, leading the rest of the protagonists to rescue him in a tropical lost world inhabited by dinosaurs beneath the ice. Despite mixed reviews by critics, Dawn of the Dinosaurs became the second highest grossing animated film of all time with $869.1 million worldwide. There is an attraction based on the film at Chessington World of Adventures. It is a small walkthrough involving a few interactive activities. It was available to June 18 to August 31.

8. Monsters Vs. Alien

A 2009 American computer-animated 3-D feature film from DreamWorks Animation and Paramount Pictures. The movie was the first computer animated movie to be directly produced in a stereoscopic 3-D format instead of being converted into 3-D after completion, which added $15 million to the film's budget.

The film was scheduled for a May 2009 release, but the release date was moved to March 27, 2009, to prevent competition with James Cameron's Avatar, which has since moved its release to December 2009. It was released on DVD and Blu-Ray September 29, 2009 in North America. Monsters vs. Aliens features the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Rainn Wilson, Kiefer Sutherland, Stephen Colbert, and Paul Rudd.

7. Avatar

A 2009 American science fiction film written and directed by James Cameron, and starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang. The film is set in the year 2154 on Pandora, a fictional Earth-like moon in a distant planetary system. Humans are engaged in mining Pandora's reserves of a precious mineral, while the Na'vi — the sapient and sentient race of humanoids indigenous to the moon — resist the colonists' expansion, which threatens the continued existence of the Na'vi and the Pandoran ecosystem. The film's title refers to the remotely controlled, genetically engineered human-Na'vi bodies used by the film's human characters to interact with the natives.

Avatar had been in development since 1994 by Cameron, who wrote a 114-page scriptment for the film. Filming was supposed to take place after the completion of Titanic, and the film would have been released in 1999, but according to Cameron, "technology needed to catch up" with his vision of the film. In early 2006, Cameron developed the script, the language, and the culture of Pandora. He has stated that if Avatar is successful, two sequels to the film are planned.

The film was released in traditional 2-D and 3-D formats, along with an IMAX 3D release in selected theaters. Avatar is officially budgeted at $237 million; other estimates put the cost at $280 – $310 million to produce and an estimated $150 million for marketing. The film is being touted as a breakthrough in terms of filmmaking technology, for its development of 3D viewing and stereoscopic filmmaking with cameras that were specially designed for the film's production. Opening to critical and commercial success, it grossed an estimated $27 million on its opening day and made $77,025,481 in the United States and Canada on its opening weekend. Worldwide, the film grossed an estimated $232,180,000 on its opening weekend, the ninth-largest opening-weekend gross of all time, and the largest for a non-franchise, non-sequel and original film.

6. Star Trek

A 2009 science fiction film directed by J. J. Abrams, written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is the eleventh film based on the Star Trek franchise and features the main characters of the original Star Trek television series, who are portrayed by a new cast. The film follows James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) before they unite aboard the USS Enterprise to combat Nero (Eric Bana), a Romulan from their future who threatens the United Federation of Planets. The story establishes an alternate reality through time-travel by both Nero and the original Spock (Leonard Nimoy), freeing the film and the franchise from established continuity constraints.

Development of the film began in 2005. The production's aim was to be faithful to the Star Trek canon, modifying continuity with the time-travel storyline, and modernizing the production design of the original show. Filming took place from November 2007 to March 2008 under intense secrecy. Midway through the shoot, Paramount chose to delay the release date from December 25, 2008 to May 2009, believing the film could reach a wider audience.

Star Trek has earned high critical praise, gaining a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. It is the eleventh-highest-grossing film of 2009 — sixth-highest within North America — and has become the highest-grossing film in the Star Trek series and is credited by the media as a reboot of the series.

5. The Hangover

The Hangover is a 2009 American screwball comedy film directed by Todd Phillips, co-written by Jon Lucas and produced by Phillips and Daniel Goldberg. The film was produced by Legendary Pictures for Warner Bros. Pictures. It stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, and Heather Graham.

The plot follows four friends who travel to Las Vegas for a bachelor party, only to wake up the next morning not remembering a thing and missing the groom, whose wedding is scheduled to occur the next day. The film was inspired by the filmmakers' real life misadventures, and was released in North America on June 5, 2009, to critical praise and box office success.

4. The Twilight Sage: New Moon

A 2009 American romantic fantasy film based on Stephenie Meyer's 2006 novel New Moon. It is the second film in The Twilight Saga film series and is the sequel to 2008's Twilight, which is also based on Meyer's previous novel. Summit Entertainment greenlit the sequel in late November 2008, following the early success of Twilight. Directed by Chris Weitz, the film stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner, reprising their roles as Bella Swan, Edward Cullen, and Jacob Black, respectively.

Melissa Rosenberg, who handed in a draft of the film script during the opening weekend of Twilight, returned as screenwriter for The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Filming began in Vancouver in late March 2009, and in Montepulciano, Italy in late May 2009.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon was released on November 20, 2009 in most countries, and set domestic box office records as the biggest midnight screening with $26.3 million. This led to the biggest single day domestic gross with $72.7 million. The film also opened with the third biggest domestic opening weekend ($142,839,137). The film was voted as the "Favorite Movie of 2009" on Moviefone and was was well received by fans, but critical reception was mixed.

3. Up

A 2009 American computer-animated comedy-adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The film premiered on May 29, 2009 in North America and is the first animated film to open the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. The film was released in the United Kingdom on October 9, 2009.

Up is director Pete Docter's second feature-length film after Monsters, Inc., and features the voices of Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer, Bob Peterson, and Jordan Nagai. It is Pixar's tenth feature film and the studio's first to be presented in Disney Digital 3-D, and is accompanied in theaters by the short film Partly Cloudy. The film was also shown in Dolby 3D in selected theaters.

The film centers around an elderly widower named Carl Fredricksen and an overeager wilderness explorer named Russell who fly to South America in a floating house suspended from helium balloons. The film has received overwhelmingly positive reviews with a rating of 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, and grossed over $683 million worldwide, making it Pixar's second most commercially successful film, after Finding Nemo.

2. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Released on 16 July 2005, is the sixth of seven novels from British author J. K. Rowling's popular Harry Potter series. Set during Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts, the novel explores Lord Voldemort's past, and Harry's preparations for the final battle amidst emerging romantic relationships and the emotional confusions and conflict resolutions characteristic of mid-adolescence.

The book sold three million copies in the first 16 hours after its release, a record at the time which was eventually broken by its sequel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

1. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

A 2009 American science fiction action film, directed by Michael Bay and produced by Steven Spielberg. It is the sequel to Transformers (2007) and the second film in the live action Transformers series. The plot revolves around Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), the human caught in the war between Autobots and Decepticons, having visions of Cybertronian symbols, and getting hunted by the Decepticons under the orders of their long-trapped leader, The Fallen, who seeks to get revenge on Earth by finding and activating a machine that would provide the Decepticons with an energon source, destroying all life on the planet in the process.
With deadlines jeopardized by possible strikes by the Directors Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild, Bay managed to finish the production on time with the help of previsualization and a scriptment by his writers Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and series newcomer Ehren Kruger. Shooting took place from May to November 2008.

Although Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen received mixed to negative reviews from film critics it was a box office success, achieving the highest Wednesday opening gross in history, bringing in $62 million in North America and close to $100 million worldwide; this is also the second-highest opening day gross of all time, behind only The Dark Knight's $67.8 million. It is currently the third highest-grossing film of 2009 worldwide (behind Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs) and the highest-grossing film of 2009 in the United States. In less than a month, the film surpassed the all-time earnings of its predecessor. It was released on DVD and Blu-Ray in USA on October 20, 2009 and on the 30th November 2009 in the UK.

Source: Wiki