(:)(:)(:) out of a possible 5 snouts for Curse of the Golden Flower now playing in art houses everywhere.
This film like many directed by Zhang Yimou has everything you would want in a big Chinese epic: Chow Yun Fat, Gong Li, glorious color and costume, insanely improbable fight scenes, jealousy, plots and most of all incestuous royalty.
There is more personal intrigue and less fighting than some of these things, so that held my interest a bit. Also the sheer scale and color is visually arresting, if, like the fighting completely improbable and distracting. Mostly, though, I was bored by it and had trouble caring. If you’re going to see it, see it on the big screen. Better yet, stay home and watch the Sopranos on DVD.
Sigh. Should I perhaps stop seeing movies?