TVB: The Life and Times of a Sentinel (紫禁驚雷)(2011)

Year Produced: 2011


Executive Producer: Leung Choi Yuen
Writers: Ng Siu Tung, Sit Kar Wah
Language: Cantonese
Country of Origin: Hong Kong


Theme Song: Bin Tin (變天) by Steven Ma


Cast:
Imperial Palace
Steven Ma Chun Wai as Lip Dor Bou/Kei Chun Kit
Kenneth Ma as Fook Chuen/Prince Yu/2nd Imperial Prince
Ching Hor Wai as Grand Empress Dowager Hao Chong
Power Chan as Emperor Hong Hei/3rd Imperial Prince/Yuen Yip
Tsui Wing as Prince Kung/Sheung Ning/5th Imperial Prince

Selena Li as Cheuk Chi Ying/ Princess Tuen Man

Natalie Tong as Kwai Lun/2nd Princess Consort

Christine Kuo as Kin Ching/5th Princess Consort
Lo Chung Shun as Chiu Lai Wo


Imperial Harem
Elaine Yiu as Imperial Consort Wong/ Man Kwan
Grace Wong as Imperial Consort Wai
Rosanne Lui as Grand Consort Sau
Oceane Zhu as Consort Tung Ngok


Imperial Guards
Evergreen Mak Cheung Ching as Po Chai/Cheuk Muk Hak Po Chai
Deno Cheung as Sheung Chak Yi Tai Shek

Jack Wu as Ha Seen

Fred Cheng as Yan Chak

Imperial Court

Law Lok Lam as Lap Lan Ming Chu

Stephen Wong as Lap Lan Sing Tak

Sheung Moon Lau Restaurant/Lip Family

Samuel Kwok Fung as Lip Koon Yat

Helen Ma as Ko Choi King

Katy Kung as Fung Sheung Hei

Early Characters/Cameos

Ben Wong Chi Yin as Kei Tou Ting/Imperial Bodyguard

Chris Lai Lok Yi as Young Kei Man Cheong

Felix Lok as Kei Man Cheung/Sam Chin Yat

Matthew Ko as Ngai Chun

Sunny Chan Kam Hung as Emperor Shun Chi

Lau Kong as Monk Hin Yan

Anti-Qing Activists

Cheung Kwok Keung as Cheuk Shu Tong

Lily Ho as Sam Chui Yuk

Angel Chiang as Hor Yee

Synopsis/Plot/Storyline:

The story starts with an intense scene in the Imperial Court, with exchanges of heated glances and words between the 2nd Imperial Prince, Royal Sentinel, Grand Empress Dowager and the reigning Emperor Hong Hei amongst the ministers standing watching. It appears to be a seizure of power by the 2nd Imperial Prince, and the Emperor is weakened by the strength of the Prince's support.

Taking a step back into the past when the reigning emperor was Shun Chi (Sunny Chan), the father of Emperor Hong Hei who appeared to prefer the 2nd Prince over the 3rd Prince for the succession of the throne. However, his plans were disapproved by his mother, the Empress Dowager Hao Chong (Ching Hor Wai) who pointed out that 3rd Prince, Yuen Yip would make a better ruler due to his compassion and kindness, over Fook Chuen/2nd Prince who seemed to be more cunning in nature.

Emperor Shun Chi then made a will to pass his throne to Yuen Yip, but was uncovered by the Empress Dowager and taking advantage of the Emperor's sudden retreat to becoming a monk following the death of his favorite concubine, Consort Tung Ngok, the Empress Dowager secretly changed the Emperor's will and announced for 3rd Prince Yuen Yip to ascend the throne.

Imperial Bodyguard Kei Tou Ting (Ben Wong), who was a loyal follower of the Emperor, knew of this secret and swearing to protect the Emperor, he shaved his head and joined the Emperor in his final days of contemplation in retreat, he was entrusted with a sacred letter which stated the will of the late Emperor. Returning to the Imperial Palace upon the Emperor's death and also upon summoning by the witty Empress Dowager, Kei Tou Ting pledged to bring the secret to his tomb and after handing the Emperor's letter to the Empress and asking for pardon of his family members, he took his own life before the Empress Dowager.

At the same time, the Kei family was on the run as the Empress Dowager did not want to take any risk in order to protect the new Emperor's ascension to the throne and ordered for them to be killed. Hin Yan, a monk who was a student of Kei Tou Ting arrived to escort Kei Man Cheong (Chris Lai), his only son along with his grandson to safety. In his desperate to bid to hide from the army, Cheong placed his infant son by the riverside a moment of anxiety but was alarmed to find the baby missing when he came out of his hiding place.

Discovering the baby's shoe, Cheong and Hin Yan decided that it was probably God's will and knowing that he cannot escape death, Cheong decided to return to the palace to end the mass murder of his own family.

Pledging himself to secrecy, Kei Man Cheong took to drinking poison to muting himself before the Empress Dowager who finally relented to spare the Kei's family from tragedy.

The 3rd Prince, Yuen Yip then ascended the throne and became Emperor Hong Hei at the age of eight and assisted by the Empress Dowager who became the Grand Empress Dowager.

This decision angered the 2nd Prince, Fook Chuen who believed that the throne was rightfully his and grew up plotting to take over the throne. Due to his aggressiveness, Fook Chuen, now Prince Yu (Kenneth Ma) never gained the trust of his own grandmother, the Grand Empress Dowager; especially after his unforgivable act 15 years ago and she banished him into seclusion and minor roles outside the palace.

Prince Yu remained determined as ever to gain the trust of the Empress Dowager and also of his own brother, the Emperor for him to be able to hold an important position within the court for him to execute his own plans. 

Besides his political inclinations, the Prince also harbors hatred towards the Emperor due to his treatment towards the Imperial Consort Wong (Elaine Yiu), who was later revealed to be his romantic interest Man Kwan and that they were already acquainted in their younger days in Mongolia, until she decided to enlist for  the emperor's harem. Consort Wong was also the elder cousin sister of Prince Yu's wife, Princess Consort Kwai Lun (Natalie Tong), and the two were extremely close in their relationship, along with the 5th Princess Consort, Kin Cheng (Christine Kuo). Both princess consorts serve as the trusted allies of Imperial Consort Wong, who was constantly being bullied by her rival Consort Wai (Grace Wong) due to her kindness and unsuspecting nature. Consort Wai was the favorite of the Emperor, but was disliked by the Empress Dowager who favored Consort Wong as the next candidate to be Empress to Hong Hei. 

 
Consort Wong was also a maternal relative of the Empress Dowager, besides her exceptionally good qualities and was highly recommended to assume the role of the Royal Empress which had been vacant for a while since the death of the previous Empress who was deeply loved by the Emperor.

Consort Wai resorted to various evil ways to dispel Consort Wong, much to the displeasure of the Grand Empress Dowager, but she finally fell prey to her own trap when she suffered a miscarriage and was banished from the palace to seclusion. Her fall paved the way for Consort Wong to be named the successor to assume the role of the Empress.

Our main protagonist enters the scene way earlier, as a young and promising man of Han descent who helped his family to run the family business in the famous Sheung Moon Lau Restaurant in the city.

Following various acts of suppression and persecution by the arrogant Qing palace guards, Lip Dor Bou (Steven Ma), was determined to take up the challenges to be a palace guard to protect his family and also the Hans, in conjunction with Emperor Hong Hei's call to unite both the Manchurians and the Hans.

However, Dor Bou's path to becoming the royal guard was not an easy one and along the way, he courted the attention of Prince Yu, the Emperor and also the Grand Empress Dowager.

What seemed to be a simple gesture of kindness and friendship with the conniving Prince Yu soon turned out to be a web of deceit and lies which Dor Bou plunges into and slowly discovers as he cohorts to the Prince's evil schemes to ascend the throne. 

Along the way, Dor Bou befriends the sweet and naive Cheuk Chi Ying (Selena Li), who was the daughter of a pharmacy business owner, Cheuk Shu Tong (Cheung Kwok Keung). Though seemingly harmless, the business and Cheuk Shu Tong was slowly revealed to hold a much darker secret behind the doors, as Cheuk was actually the leader of an anti-Qing and revolution group and were secretly planning their acts of rebellion in the secret chamber of his shop which was discovered by chance by his own daughter. Chi Ying was coerced into joining the activities of the group upon learning the truth about her own parents and foster mother (Cheuk Shu Tong's wife), who were apparently killed by the evil Manchurians, as told by her father, who was also revealed to be her foster father.

Dor Bou's exceptional skills soon gained him recognition and importance in the palace as he was quickly promoted to third rank and then first rank officer after his proven dedication to his duties and saving the Emperor's life. His influence caused displeasure among the Qing guards who were previously his superiors and harassers. However, his favor in the Emperor's eyes made him almost invincible to the rest and was of immense value to Prince Yu. The Prince himself, had also gained the trust of the Grand Empress Dowager following his sacrifice to save her life, and had earned a position in the palace where he slowly planned his rebellion. The Grand Empress Dowager was still suspicious of Prince Yu, but was constantly assured by the Emperor.

The sudden appearance of the long lost Consort Sau (Rosanne Lui) soon brought to light more complex stories of the past, and Prince Yu found, from the mouth of the Consort who used to be a favorite of the late Emperor Shun Chi, that he was supposed to take over the throne and resorted to protect her by all means. The return of Prince Gong/5th Imperial Prince (Tsui Wing) reunited him with his biological mother, Consort Sau, whom he thought had died when he was young, as informed by the Grand Empress Dowager. Although  now mentally unstable, Consort Sau slowly recalled that she used to have a princess whom she had lost on a trip to the temple and the Emperor ordered for a secret search for the long lost Princess Tuen Man who could be dead by now but seeking confirmation, the guards embarked on a search for the princess.

Dor Bou soon tracked the evidences to Chi Ying, and as the father and daughter pleaded with him to keep the secret, he was even more assured that she was indeed the lost princess and brought her back to the palace.

Chi Ying then assumed her identity as the lost Manchurian princess, Tuen Man in the palace and reunites with her royal family. What Dor Bou did not know was that Chi Ying and Cheuk Shu Tong made it a plan to smuggle Chi Ying into the palace by masquerading her as the lost princess so that their group could find out more about the happenings inside the palace and assist in their plans to rebel against the government.

They even smuggled Chui Yuk (Lily Ho), another activitist, disguised as the princesss's maid, to aid her in the palace. Chui Yuk's identity was soon exposed by the intelligent Dor Bou and she then killed herself while Chi Ying was sent away in exile. Cheuk Shu Tong was then arrested by the Qings and the whole anti-Qing group was busted following their failure in their attempts to assassinate the Emperor.

It was then that confusion rise over the real identity of Chi Ying; was she truly the lost Princess Tuen Man or a nobody's daughter was just adopted by Cheuk Shu Tong?

Dor Bou gained the trust of Emperor Hong Hei and as they worked together, Dor Bou realized that he was truly a compassionate and just ruler. Prince Yu was, at the same time, creating so much drama in the palace to expose the Grand Empress Dowager of her past deeds, but also ended up hurting many others who were innocent. Dor Bou was also torn between his loyalty to both Prince Yu and the Emperor and his hatred for the Grand Empress Dowager after discovering his real identity as the grandson of Kei Tou Ting and reuniting with his mute father, Kei Man Cheong (Felix Lok). 

The death of his father and foster parents, which were apparently orchestrated by the prince, made Dor Bou even more adamant to assist the prince in revolting against the Grand Empress Dowager whom he blamed for all the misfortunes which befell his loved ones.

As Dor Bou learns the truth, he was burning with fury but yet continues to assist the evil prince in turning against the unsuspecting Emperor Hong Hei. Prince Yu finally gained the upper hand with the assistance of his brother, Prince Gong, who held command of the military along with the ministers and the scene from the first episode came into place as the prince announced his rights to the throne and exposed the Grand Empress Dowager of her act in changing the will of the late Emperor to pass the throne to the 3rd Prince at that time.

However, as Prince Yu thought that he had finally succeeded in his schemes, a truth was exposed which astounds everyone including Dor Bou himself.

Christy's Review:

Excellent and definitely one of the best TVB series I have seen in years!
The interwoven plots were intriguing and provided more drama and complexity yet engaging interests in the series along the way. There was rarely any dull moment that I can recall in the drama, and I am truly impressed with the well-written story which astounds with the uncovering of each plot.

Unlike other TVB dramas, the ending was exceptionally good, and I found myself still gripping the edge until the very episode which revealed the end of the story whereas other dramas just makes most of us flop in disappointment.

There is a reason I maintained certain anonymity and secrecy in writing my synopsis, to maintain the originality and suspense of the story for those who have yet to watch.

It is definitely my vote for the best TVB series for the year 2011, if not all time!

Cast and Characters Analysis

This is a star-studded cast; and obviously everyone put in a good performance to make the drama successful. Most of the actors are also rather commendable in their past experiences but they have made it through various TVB dramas in their acting career.
I can't even begin with any one of them, but the veterans; Ching Hor Wai, Evergreen Mak, Samuel Kwok, Cheung Kwok Keung paved the drama for an entertaining watch with their subtle and believable performances.

Steven Ma never fails to impress with his acting skills and his role here was another of his regular characters; righteous, brave and charming. His character in the drama, however, was one of complexity and Steven had to navigate his expressions as he discovers his own identity and also in dealing with the different people who are in favor of his service. 


 
Kenneth Ma showed his major improvement in his acting although he still lacked control of certain emotions as evident in certain scenes. Playing a villain is never easy and Kenneth's usual charms were not properly masqueraded here as he plays the scheming and conniving prince.


Natalie Tong and Elaine Yiu were both playing adverse characters from their past experiences; with Elaine having to play a kind and compassionate concubine while Natalie is to be a jealous wife forced into evil yet struggles with her own conscience.

Selena Li is just playing her usual sweet, naive and lovable self in her character here.
The rest of the cast, though not mentioned, deserves a big clap for their excellent portrayals of ministers and civilians in the Qing Dynasty.


My Verdict:
In my opinion, this is definitely a MUST watch for all the reasons above if not for my vote as the best TVB drama of 2011.


Rating: 4/5

Disclaimer: Images are properties of TVB.com and are only for illustration purposes. They do not belong to MovieBugz.

Red Cliff 赤壁 (Part 1 and 2)

Three Kingdoms is as much a roar of a classic as it is a factual part in China's history. While the west pore over the great Homer's Odyssey, the east have the Three Kingdoms to boast of.
The period of the Three Kingdoms (before, during and after) have always been an important mark in China's history; where the kingdom was separated into three parts (Northland, West and the Southland) and was under the warring stage at the point.

The most significant event in the history; a turning point is the battle at the Red Cliff where the three forces meet at war for a full-force and amazing battle of the century, and this is particularly the event which is much talked about and impressed all of the fans of this favorite Chinese historical classic.


It is this excitement which captivated those who have decided to capture it on film; re-enacting and bringing to life the huge battle which saw the beginning of the three kingdoms.

Director John Woo is involved in this mega blockbuster which was estimated to boast of a huge budget of over USD$80 billion; making it the most expensive Asian film ever to market.
However, it was definitely an epic of a movie and after watching it, I highly recommend it to the fans who would love to get a bit of action after reading it on sheafs of paper all these years.
A word of caution though; the movie is not entirely based on the historical facts and there are major fictional events included in the storyline.

Synopsis:
Part 1 started off with the battle between Cao Cao's troops and Liu Bei's army at Xinye; where Liu Bei suffered a great loss due to his kindness towards the Xinye's folks whom he protected. Due to his compassion, he lost most of his soldiers in the battle. We see Zhang Fei, Guan Yu and Zhao Zilong (zi: Zhao Yun) fighting with their utmost might while Liu Bei continuously reminds his warriors to ensure the safety of the refugees.
His Chief Strategist, Zhu-Ge Liang was seen frowning and had to order for the retreat of the army due to them being outnumbered by the enemy. Zilong only managed to rescue Liu Bei's son while both his wives perished in the war.

This defeat caused a great loss of men in Liu Bei's army and at his wit's end, Zhu-Ge Liang (zi: Kong Ming) proposed to form an alliance with the Southland; Sun Quan to wedge the war against the traitor Cao Cao. He set forth on his diplomatic mission to the South and was led by Lu Su, Sun Quan's advisor to Sun Quan himself.
However, Sun Quan was hesitant due to the split voices of his court ministers and Lu Su recommended Zhu-ge Liang to seek the support of Zhou Yu; the Grand Viceroy of the kingdom. Zhu-ge did so, and through his chance encounter, Zhou Yu gave his answer through his music.
Sun Quan was then convinced by Zhou Yu and his sister, Sun Shangxiang during the tiger hunt; following the arrival of the letter from Cao Cao, for him to surrender.

Sun Quan then decided to wedge the war, against all protests as he refused to surrender to Cao Cao. His message was sent clear through his return of a white piece of paper to Cao Cao who then killed Sun Quan's messenger in a fit of rage.

Cao Cao enlisted the newcomers from Jingzhou; Cai Mao and Zhang Yun (both from the Southland, and were rebels) to lead his naval army in the upcoming war against the two kingdoms.

After the formation of the alliance, Liu Bei and Sun Quan soon called for a meeting to discuss on their strategies to take on Cao Cao's troops. Sun Shangxiang led the enemy by a light cavalry unit to the actual battle site; on which Zhu-Ge Liang has arranged his Eight-Trigrams Formation. Cao's troop fell into the trap and suffered a great setback from this battle where the alliance's army emerged victorious.

However, Cao Cao was not discouraged by the loss and was determined to take on Red Cliff. While his troop celebrates through a grand banquet, Zhu-Ge Liang and Zhou Yu hatches up a plan for the upcoming war.
The film ends with Zhu-Ge Liang sending off a pigeon to Cao Cao's site followed by Zhou Yu setting fire to the miniature ships on the make-up model of the war site.


Part 2:
The sequel begins with the pigeon (sent by Zhu-Ge Liang in Part 1) landing in the hands of Sun Shangxiang who was disguised as part of Cao Cao's troop and was the appointed spy for the kingdom. She sent the information she obtained on the troop to Zhu-Ge Liang; a communication which the duo maintained through the white pigeon.
Cao Cao's army was threatened by an outbreak of typhoid; which killed a vast number of his soldiers and infected many of those who was in contact with the infected ones. Zhou Yu and Zhu-Ge Liang got the wind up of this through Sun Shangxiang's message, and despite the persuasion of the commanders (likes of Guan Yu, Zhang Fei) to launch attack at this desirable time when the enemy is weak, Zhou Yu refused to move forward as he deems this as an unfair play at war.

Anxious over the high number of casualties, Cao Cao then decides to send the dead bodies of the affected soldiers (who were supposed to be cremated to end the spread of the disease) to the alliance army's camp, despite the protest of his advisor.
Zhu-Ge Liang realized the intention of Cao Cao after testing on one of the corpses and warned all the soldiers to stay away from the dead bodies. Liu Bei decides to leave the alliance at this moment; claiming to protect his own people from the deadly disease and also the losing end of their outnumbered army.Zhu-Ge Liang stayed on to help to nurse the sick at Sun Quan's camp. Xiao Qiao, Zhou Yu's wife was upset to see the great loss of soldiers over the outbreak and starts eavesdropping on the strategist's discussion.

Cao Cao's army is also suffering from seasickness due to the new environment to fight battle on the ship and the naval commanders-in-chief, Cai Mao and Zhang Yun proposed to interlock the vessels together to minimize the movement of the ships and lessen the possibility of the seasickness. At the same time, Zhu-Ge Liang and Zhou Yu worked on a plan to obtain 100,000 arrows and to eliminate Cai Mao and Zhang Yun, their biggest threats as the duo are familiar with the naval base.
The two strategists appointed each other to the task and agreed that whoever fails shall succumb to military judgement.
Zhou Yu provided 10 days to Zhu-Ge Liang to obtain the 100,000 arrows to which the latter asked for 3 days only.
At the same time, Cao Cao sends Jiang Gan to persuade Zhou Yu to surrender but Zhou Yu tricks him instead into believing that Cai Mao and Zhang Yun are actually in the plot with the Eastern Wu alliance and are set to betray Cao Cao.


Simultaneously, Zhu-Ge Liang's brilliant plan in setting out with a small number of ships filled with scarecrows made of straw in the thick fog to arouse the suspicion of the enemy who shot arrows to scare them away, came back victorious and deepened the suspicion of Cao Cao towards the two naval commanders who was ordered to be put to death at once when he saw the floating boat from the Eastern Wu filled with straw-made scarecrows. His advisor reminded him of their naval capabilities; and Cao Cao realized he has been tricked.


Sun Shangxiang left Cao Cao's camp to rejoin her own army; and shared the map of Cao Cao's vanguard and his vessels' arrangement.
Her bit of information on the vessels which were tied together gave Zhou Yu the idea to set fire and burn all the vessels.
However, the disadvantage is the direction of the wind; which could cause their plan to backfire. Zhu-Ge Liang then predicted that the wind should change to the South-East wind which is to their advantage sometime in the midnight to the early hours of the morning.
The only setback is whether they can put off Cao Cao's pursuit until then.

Xiao Qiao then set out on her own to Cao Cao's army; leaving a letter for Zhou Yu that she is determined to do her bit for her people. She sets out alone; with the intention to cause the delay in Cao Cao's attack; using the weapon of her beauty and the fact that Cao Cao is enthralled by her charms.

Zhou Yu was worried over his wife and was comforted by his army; who celebrated the festival of the Winter Solstice and vowed victory in the upcoming war.
He rejected Sun Quan's proposal to change their strategy in order to rescue his wife from Cao Cao's hand and proceeded to wait calmly for the great battle.


Meanwhile, Xiao Qiao was greeted warmly by Cao Cao who was only too glad to see her, and she mesmerized him by her soft and gentle ways. She held him back by her tea-ceremony when he was getting ready for the battle to buy more time for the change of the wind.
The army waited for the whole night for the change of the wind; and when it finally changed, Zhou Yu commanded his naval army to sail at full speed towards Cao Cao's vessels and set them on fire.
The South-East wind aided in the rapid spread of the fire; which set all the interlocked vessels in a mass fire at once and killed the soldiers who were frantically trying to separate the vessels.
As the fire spreads to the vanguard, Zhu-Ge Liang and Zhou Yu has the armies from Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zilong on the stand to attack them from the different gates.
It turned out that Liu Bei's departure during the disease outbreak was a deliberate play staged by Zhou Yu to boost the confidence of Cao Cao.

Gan Xing led the troops towards the vanguard and died while trying to break the barricade of Cao Cao's vanguard to allow Zhou Yu's troops to join Liu Bei's army. Cao Cao suffered a great loss; and met Zhou Yu at each other's sword's tip while Cao Cao commanded Xiahou Jun to push Xiao Qiao off. Zilong managed to interrupt and killed Xiahou Jun while Zhou Yu let Cao Cao off.

The movie ended with Zhou Yu and Zhu-Ge Liang parting ways; that they shall continue to serve their masters.

My opinion:
I loved the beautiful choreography of the war and the cinematography effects which made the movie so enjoyable and not in the least boring.
It was a masterpiece; and it was the battle of Red Cliff to life!

A few glaring things shown in the movie to point out though; Part 2 was definitely way out of the historical facts.
1. Sun Shangxiang was never the spy in Cao Cao's army and communicating with Zhu-Ge Liang via a pigeon.

2. Xiao Qiao definitely did not present herself to Cao Cao's army alone; and never did play a role in halting the battle to win the time for the change of the wind.

3. The idea of setting fire to the interlocked vessels was provided by Pang Tong; also known as the Young Phoenix and is the equal of Zhu-Ge Liang. Sadly, they omitted such a brilliant character in this movie; a case of over-budget perhaps?

4. Gan Xing is actually the character Gan Ning in the history; Gan Xing was actually the father of Gan Ning and ceased to exist during the period of Red Cliff.

5. Cao Cao's action of sending the infected dead bodies to the enemy's camp is questionable; as some claimed it did not exist in history/novel.

6. Cao Cao is interested in both Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao; but in the movie, he is shown to only harbor lust/love feelings for Xiao Qiao. Da Qiao is supposed to be Sun Quan's wife.

7. Huang Gai should be featured in the film as he was the one who was sent in disguise by the Eastern Wu alliance following their ploy in banishing him; and he was to go to Cao Cao to propose the idea of interlocking the vessels (not Cai Mao and Zhang Yun as shown in the movie).

There are too many misalignment from the actual storyline in the movie that it is disappointing.
True, the whole film was done in a magnificent way but I feel they should have toed the line as this is not just a famous epic we are looking at, but it is also history!
Furthermore, this is an outrageous change to the facts or even the novel especially to the hardcore fans of the Three Kingdoms saga.

I was told that they probably did so to justify harmony and eliminate the element of discrimination since this is an international film; which is why they used a Japanese for the role of Gan Xing and then they changed the part to Sun Shangxiang and Xiao Qiao's contribution to the success of the war for fear of feminist's attack.

Oh well, I think this is a bit absurd because it IS history and history has shown us that women were discriminated all this while; there is no denying that. Whether we like it or not, women were never honored and to have women given an opportunity to do such a role is impossible back then!

The CAST
The casting was not too bad either; and in a way I am kind of glad that Tony Leung did not take on the role of Zhu-Ge Liang because he did a great job in playing Zhou Yu!




Furthermore, Takeshi Kaneshiro is definitely a much better Zhu-Ge Liang; so suave, calm and collected and just the Zhu-Ge Liang one would definitely have in mind when they read the book =)

There are a few characters whom they should have changed; it is not for the bad performance, rather their appearance just does not fit the description/image of the actual character.

1.Cao Cao, played by Zhang Fengyi, just seemed too mild-looking to play the conniving and smart Prime Minister told in history. The initial casting of Ken Watanabe for this role was foiled due to his nationality as a Japanese and had fans complaining that Cao Cao is a notable historical figure in the Chinese history and should be played by a Japanese.
I personally feel that even Ken Watanabe may not be able to bring out the true character of Cao Cao.

2. Guan Yu by Ba Shen Ba Bu is also not the right; as this actor looks too mild and too kind to play the courageous and loyal warlord.

3. Zhao Zilong/Zhao Yun by Jia Hongwei is not a bad choice to me; but some claimed that he is too plump and mature for the young warlord in the book.

4. Zhang Fei was played to life by Zhan Jinsheng! The only thing is the height of the actor; I remembered that Zhang Fei is at a towering height :)

5. Xiao Qiao, played by newcomer Lin Chi-Ling was said to be too old as the actual girl in history is only in her early twenties compared to the 30-something actress.
I personally feel Lin Chi-Ling has that exotic and demure oriental style to play Xiao Qiao and she does not look her age at all, so people, give her a break!

Favorite Character/Cast
1. Zhu-Ge Liang of course!! He is already my favorite character in the book all the way and Takeshi Kaneshiro is also one of my favorite actor!
Takeshi just have the right stature and looks for this role; just perfect!!


2. Zhou Yu is another admirable character, and I particularly like Tony Leung who has that determined and wise look on his face. Too bad Tony is a great deal older than the young warlord; but setting aside the age, I think Tony did a notable performance in playing Zhou Yu!


3. Zhang Fei by Zhan JinSheng; need I say more?

4. Xiao Qiao by Lin Chi-Ling
Demure and lovely!


5. Sun Shangxiang by Zhao Wei
As usual, Zhao Wei has that boyish, fearless and calm character to play this rebellious and brave young princess. Zhao Wei is also my favorite actress :)


Favorite Scenes
1. Zhu-Ge Liang meets Zhou Yu; and commented on the outdated Goose formation of Gan Xing.

2. Zhang Fei requests for Zhu-Ge Liang's help to bring support in the battle at Xinye and was surprised to see Zhu-Ge Liang returning alone again

3. Zhou Yu and Zhu-Ge Liang's music session

4. Zhu-Ge Liang's arrow acquisition in the fog (it is also my FAVORITE in the book!) Smart smart move of the smart man!

5. All the battle scenes; awesome choreography

6. The Eight Trigrams formation; amazing!

7. The fire battle in part 2

8. Zhu-Ge Liang was offering to help the horse give birth and Zhou Yu turned to him and said, "You are also knowledgeable in this?"

9. All the scenes with Zhu-Ge Liang in it

10. All the scenes with Zhu-Ge Liang AND Zhou Yu

Interesting Part
1. Is it me or did anyone else find Zhang Zhen (who played Sun Quan) looks like Daniel Wu???


2. How did Xiao Qiao go to Cao Cao's army and is unhurt? Cao Cao claims to dream of her day and night and did not even touch her when she is there alone?
Furthermore, when they are attacked and suffered a great loss, they did not link it to Xiao Qiao immediately???

3. Sun Shangxiang spied on the army for so long and sent pigeons frequently and nobody realized it? When she was trying to escape, how come it is so easy when Cao Cao's army outnumbered her?

4. Part 1 and Part 2 were filmed at the same time; and they decided to release the first part for character development and also, they could not finish editing in time to release both!

Summary
Anyway, regardless of all the glitches mentioned, I still find this an enjoyable movie and definitely one to watch for all hardcore fans.
It is great to see the action; and for those who are not avid readers/fans of this epic, go watch it for the effects and you will find yourself interested in the facts and fiction of the story!
It has definitely made it to my favorite movies list; and I liked both parts equally!


Disclaimer: Images are taken from web and only for illustration purpose and does not belong to me.

The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)

Based on the novel of the same name by Philippa Gregory, this is a cross historical-fiction story which tells of the shaken grounds of the Catholic Church and the love triangle between two sisters for the ruler of the kingdom.
This movie has received multiple praises and criticisms alike; drawing upon the main cast who were all non-British to play such prominent historical British figures.

I personally find the casting excellent; with Natalie Portman playing the scheming Boleyn sister while Scarlett Johansson is the fairer one.
However, it was the fairer sister who first won the heart of King Henry VIII; despite the family's efforts to promote Anne (Natalie) to the King following the Queen (Catherine of Aragon)'s failure in producing a male heir to the throne.

Duke of Norfolk, together with his brother, Thomas Boleyn then see this as an opportunity to strengthen their influence in the court and decided to use her daughter; Anne to seduce the King and to be the King's mistress and thereby bearing him a son to gain his Majesty's favour in their family.
Thomas's wife, and the Duke's sister were disgusted and refused to take part in the scheme.

The beginning of the movie showed how close both Anne and Mary were (Natalie and Scarlett respectively) and how excited Mary is in getting married to her husband, William Carey.

As William is soon sent away on an assignment and the King visiting, the Boleyns were thrilled to welcome his royal Majesty and to kick their plan into action.
Much to their excitement, the King expressed interest in the married Mary instead of Anne and he took her into his palace where she became the King's mistress, much to the father's delight and Anne's fury.
Anne was then treated as an outcast and in one of her rebellious acts, she decided to elope with Henry Percy, who was supposed to be betrothed to be married to someone else. Confiding in her brother George about it was a mistake as George informed Mary and the marriage was annulled while Anne, was sent to France in exile for the disgrace she brought unto the family.

Anne was really angry with Mary and consider her act as that of a betrayal and vows revenge unto her sister.

Anne was called to return to the court by her father who needed her to keep the King's attention on Mary who was bed-ridden due to a near miscarriage and to ward the King's attention off another rival in Jane Seymour.
Anne seized the opportunity to seduce the King and Mary was sent home after giving birth to her son.


Anne then pressed the King to marry her; and this caused conflict between the King with the Catholic Church when the church refused to annul his marriage to Queen Catherine on the grounds that the Queen has not done anything wrong.
The trial then took to a higher level when the secret marriage of Anne and Henry Percy was brought up and Mary came back to testify; telling a lie to the court that the marriage was never consummated.

The King was furious with the Church and declared himself as the Supreme Governor of the Church of England which signified a crack in the Catholic Church when they split into two churches.
Anne had succeeded in her schemes but at the same time, the King was furious with her for causing so much harm to the kingdom and himself, and at the edge of his breaking point, he rapes her.

The King was disappointed when Anne gave birth to a daughter; and when Anne suffers a miscarriage during her second pregnancy which was actually a boy, she turns to George in desperation to impregnate her.
Of course,they didn't do it as George and Mary took turns to calm Anne down but their conversation was overheard by Jane, George's neglected wife who testified against them in court and this led to the execution of George and Anne who were both found guilty of incest.

Mary, now married to William Stafford, a soldier, runs back to the court to plead mercy for her sister after the beheading of her brother George.
King Henry VIII was happy and yet sad to see her and told her that he would not do anything to harm her.
However, when Mary receives a letter from the King and hearing Anne makes her last statement, she watched in horror as her sister is beheaded.

It was a tragic end for the Boleyns; and Elizabeth Boleyn; mother of Mary,Anne and George denounced both her brother and husband for what they had done to her children.

It was a truly great epic and I found myself enjoying the thrilling drama of how the dangerous schemes of a family to gain position in the court turned out to be such a tragedy.

Natalie Portman played the cunning Anne to perfection and Scarlett was great as the fairer and softer Mary Boleyn.



The male heir that King Henry VII so much wanted was never there, but there was the birth of one brave and beautiful daughter by the name of Elizabeth who was much more than he could ever ask for; as indicated at the end of the movie.

Thumbs-up for this movie, and part of its historical trail also led to the huge success and popularity of the movie in the box office.

It is really interesting to see how a kingdom is torn apart by a woman.
Sadly, it was also the historical turning point of how the Catholic Church was defied and how we ended up in so many different churches today.

A brilliant film and I definitely recommend it; a movie that I'd definitely want to watch more than once!