The Curse of the Golden Flower

It was another of the "Chinese Epic Movies" that failed to capture my attention. They relentlessly fell into the trap of Props over Substance. It seems that Zhang Yimou has once again devote too much time on the props and settings (remember the Hero where he insisted using the freshest flower petals for a fight scene). Peel away all the grandeur and larger-than-life's props, one will feel empty after watching this show. Commerically speaking, they only did one thing right. Jay Chou and his song written for this show, Ju Hua Tai.



Enough of the epic battle scenes, bursting bust-lines, grandeur settings and stellar casts, I want to see a good and fulfiling movie, so much so that even without all the above mentioned, I will remember it forever. I guess the only thing that everyone will remember forever is the bursting bust-line.



In terms of cinematics, this show has scored well. (Not surprising since I guess most of the time was devoted to perfect the camera angles, pristine volume and correct colour mixing)

But in terms of story and acting, this show has failed its actors/actresses. There was not any room for them to perform their best. Contrast this to the "The Geisha", I think Gong Li has performed much better in "The Geisha". I always believe in substance over the form. Perfect props and settings will not mask a deficient story.

This score only garnered 2 Jay Chous...oops...I mean 2 Golden Flowers out of 5.