SPOILER WARNING: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Andy Lau and Shu Qi in "Look for a Star"

Sam Ching (Andy Lau) is a business tycoon who owns a number of business (just like Stanley Ho). Sam is admired by the rich but despised by the poor, including Milan Sit (Shu Qi) who works as a croupier in a casino and as a cabaret dancer to make ends meet.

Milan meets Sam but she thinks he’s just a poor gambler. From the way Sam dresses, he doesn’t at all look like a gambler or a poor man at all. Somehow, Milan has that perception Sam is even poorer than her and has lost all his money in the casino. Sam, inadvertently falls in love with Milan. While Milan shares her dreams with Sam, little does she knows Sam is the business tycoon who owns the casino she works at, the night club she dances at, and is a billionaire whom she hates as a child.

When Sam realizes he’s in love with Milan, he confesses to Milan his true identity. Fallen in love against all odds, this mismatched couple soon get married without realizing the consequences which will affect Sam’s business. Due to Milan’s background, the media and shareholders alike have strongly criticized Sam’s decision. In order to save the shareholders and investors, Sam’s mother has proposed to get Milan to sign a prenup agreement. Sam feels it is necessary without thinking about Milan’s feeling. Furthermore, Sam’s third ex-wife has taken one third of his asset when they divorced. Sam’s action has strongly caused an upset in Milan.

As Sam’s chauffeur, Tim (Lam Ka-Wah) and Secretary General, Jo (Denise Ho) both also have problems in confessing their love towards their partners, the three of them including Sam decide to join a Television show in order to confess their love to the world.

While the movie is quite predictable, there are scenes during the Television show which are quite emotional. Zhang Hanyu plays Lin Jiu, a general worker from Shandong who comes to Macao to make ends meet in contrast to Jo, only second to Sam in the huge conglomerate. It seems Lin Jiu and Jo’s love story easily overshadow Sam and Milan. Even Tim’s confession is more touching than Sam and Milan’s love.

The movie is shot mainly in Macao and the filming location is nothing less than spectacular. Macao is a beautiful country with colonial architectures and splendid hotels, casinos and night clubs.

Overall, it’s a good effort by director, Andrew Lau, even though Andy Lau and Shu Qi do not have the sparkle and do not seem to suit each other in a romance movie. Just like the movie, they are mismatched after all.

My ratings: 6 out of 10.

SPOILER WARNING: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon

Three Kingdoms occurred during 220 – 280 A.D. when the country is split into three kingdoms namely Wei (also known as Cao Wei), Shu (also known as Shu Han), and Wu (also known as Dong Wu or Eastern Wu) Kingdom. When Shu Han needs a hero, Zhao Zilong (Andy Lau) joins them and he meets a senior soldier named Luo Ping An (Sammo Hung) who gives him a map. Zilong acknowledges Ping An as his “brother” since Ping An has joined the armies for five years. In the initial battle in the battlefield, Zilong does not take any credit by helping Ping An to kill one of the enemies’ leaders. When Luo Ping An and his comrades are out of ideas as Wei armies prepare to invade, a man named Zhuge Liang (Quanxin Pu) join them as a war adviser. Zhuge Liang’s brilliance in the art of war helps Shu Kingdom to win many battles.

When Wei armies are invading, the Shu kingdom plans to close the main gate. Somehow, due to carelessness of Ping An, the royal families including the emperor’s son are left outside the gate which later on become the victims of Wei relentless armies. Somehow, Zilong manages to save the emperor Liu’s son from the armies of Wei. He manages to fend off, escape and even steal Cao Cao’s (Damian Lau) sword despite being trapped by hundred of Wei armies to become the hero of Shu Han.

After many years of battles, Zilong is finally promoted to the rank of General to join the other four as one of the infamous Five Generals. As the other Generals perish in battle, Zilong becomes the only one left standing, winning battle after battle. After more than 35 years in the armies, Zilong and Zhuge Liang have reached old-age. Zilong’s so-called brother, Ping An is always watching him and they fight in the battlefield together.

One fine day, the ceaseless armies of Wei Kingdom has a final plan to invade Shu, it is up to Zilong who takes a last stand against the invading forces from the Kingdom of Wei. Cao Ying (Maggie Q), the granddaughter of Wei warlord Cao Cao leads the battle for Wei Kingdom. Both Zilong and Cao Ying try to outsmart each other but in the end, it is revealed that Zilong’s so-called brother Ping An has betrayed him as Cao Ying promises to recruit Ping An as Wei’s General. All these years, Ping An is envied of Zilong’s success as a top general while he feels he gets nothing by going into the battlefield.

The movie ends as Zilong charges into the battlefield all by himself, as all his armies are already dead before fading into the credits.

Overall, the movie is intriguing and comparable to The Warlords despite the controversy caused by Andy Lau’s costume and the casting of Maggie Q because of her non-Chinese and Eurasian appearance.

My ratings: 7 out of 10.

SPOILER WARNING: Plot and/or ending details follow.

In the 1860s, during the late Qing Dynasty, as one of the darkest periods of Chinese history, the country is suffering under the rule of the corrupt Manchus who invaded China from the North and established the country’s last imperial dynasty, the Qing. Natural disasters are wreaking havoc in the countryside, and in the midst of this chaos, the Taiping Kingdom, one of the strongest rebel groups ever to rise up in China, is overrunning the country and staging battles with the Qing army threatening the throne.

Jet Li, Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro in The Warlords

In a war between the Qing army led by General Ma Xinyi (Jet Li) and the Taiping Kingdom, General Ma’s army is overpowered by the rebels as Ma’s allies back out in the last minute causing a slaughter of Ma’s army. Every army of Ma’s is dead except General Ma, himself as he has feigned death. Though he is able to escape from the masses of dead bodies, he faints in the middle of nowhere due to hunger. There, Lian (Xu Jinglei) has saved him and brought him to a deserted house. She cooks porridge for him in order to revive him. Ma gobbles the porridge before he breaks out and tells Lian about the slaughter of his army. Lian consoles him and before long, they both ends up in the bed.

Later on, while resting in a village after having his armors and weapons sold in order to buy food, the village is attacked by bandits led by Cao Erhu (Andy Lau) and his trusted Lieutenant Zhang Wenxiang (Takeshi Kaneshiro). Zhang quickly tests the ability of Ma after he sees Ma still wears boots that only the ranks of General wears them. Ma easily fends off Zhang’s attack and Zhang straightaway recommends Ma to join the bandits.

When Ma saves Cao in a furious battle, the three swear blood brotherhood. When Lian returns home after running away from Cao, Ma realizes that Lian is Cao’s wife but what already happened has happened.

Besides Lian, Ma’s dream is to get rid of the rebels and the corrupted Qing officials and he manages to convince both Cao and Zhang and their troop of bandits to join Qing army instead of robbing to survive. Easily fooled by the cunningness of Ma, Cao and his men join Ma and many dangerous battles are engaged. Ma’s become more and more ambitious as he wins every battle despite having less men than the enemies. Ma soon became obsessed with power.

The complication between the blood brothers and Lian have worked out in favor of Qing’s ruthless Empress and her highly ranked officials. In the end, the assassination of Ma takes place during the day he is supposed to be sworn as The Governor.

Overall, The Warlords show a more ruthless side of Jet Li as he plays his role well to his USD $13 million paycheck while Andy Lau plays a tragic hero torn between different factions. Takeshi Kaneshiro, meanwhile, plays a second fiddle to both these actors with his innocence overshadows the elements of being a bandit but his years of acting his Hong Kong movies have somewhat improved. The talented Xu Jinglei plays the beautiful Lian well to every bit, as Cao’s wife and even better as Ma’s woman.

Note: In Malaysia’s version, General Ma is known as General Pang, Cao Erhu is known as Zhao Erhu, and Zhang is known as Jiang.

My ratings: 7 out of 10, could be 8 out of 10 if only Lian shows more flesh.