Micitype Pretty Good

Borserie it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

David del Real Over the years, we all have read and seen hundreds of different stories about "Evil Emperors", and in most cases these Evil Emperors are focused either in conquering more territories (with an excessive use of power and aggression) or in making the poorest people within their lands suffer. In this case, nevertheless, we find ourselves with an emperor whose evil, or at least his flaws of character, are suffered mainly by his close family, more precise by his own wife and sons, Of course, consequently sometimes ending up creating suffering for pretty much everyone in the Royal Palace.As in many great plays, the story is preceded by a number of "tragical mistakes", that lead us to the present moment and circumstances, that are very unfortunate and sad.Talking about the constitutive elements of the production, we can appreciate a lot of outstanding characteristics: great and amazing colors throughout the film, great martial arts fights; both one-one-one and massive, nice wardrobes, great scenography, etc...Another point that we could remark about the movie, is the detail that the emperor seems to be instructed (as the old emperors of China were actually supposed to) in a number of disciplines, including medicine, which the emperor in our story sadly uses for malign reasons.Finally, we can say that the performances of Gong Li and Chow Yun-Fat both achieved what they were meant to; they gave us a great emperor we could hate and an empress we could both love and commiserate.Thanks for reading. IMDb by David del Real. Ciudad de México. México. October 11th, 2017.

classicsoncall Apparently director Yimou Zhang was just warming up with "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers" before tackling the project that resulted in "Curse of the Golden Flower". I think it's pretty safe to say you won't find a more outrageously colorful film anywhere in any genre, even topping the effort of Zhang's prior two films.It seems there's a bit of a disconnect between the opening scene which states the story takes place in 28 A.D. China during the Tang Dynasty, while the story line indicated on the IMDb title page for the movie places the time frame in the Tenth Century. A quick internet search reveals that the Tang Dynasty lasted from 618 to 907 A.D., so something must have gone awry there. Nevertheless, it's a compelling story if you're into dysfunctional royal families, because this tale is loaded with intrigue, falsehoods, and a surfeit of double crosses that results in disaster for most of it's principals.What you won't find here so much is traditional martial arts mayhem when it comes to the action scenes. A lot of that is provided by the ninja-like, black clad warriors who descend on the royal palace to defend the Emperor (Yun-Fat Chow), while an immense battle scene is staged in the latter part of the picture that rivals the opposing forces in "The Return of the King" from The Lord of the Rings trilogy. If you like to see your fight scenes handled realistically, better pass here as Prince Jai (Jay Chou) finds himself continually surrounded by hordes of attacking soldiers and fighting his way out just a bit too handily.So that's not the reason I would recommend the film for potential viewers. What I thrill to is the gorgeous cinematography and spectacular use of color for scenes ranging from the Imperial Palace to the chrysanthemum laden battlefield that lends a sublime backdrop to the carnage that follows. You'll also have to pay attention to the machinations of the main characters, virtually all of them deceitful and decadent as they play out their strategies to disastrous ends.

TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews Set in the 10th century, the Tang Dynasty(where, evidently, it is a law that any woman must be strikingly attractive and, whenever possible, present her cleavage(which I swear grows over the course of this), and try to frequently run or ride horses to make those babies bounce... well, makes sense, if I had the power, I'd pass that, as well), in China, this is about the royal family, in their lavish surroundings. The emperor married the princess of a neighboring province and she has borne him two sons and raised one he had already. Unfortunately, for the last decade, she has been suffering a deadly illness, for which she is receiving medicine several times a day. She's been getting worse, recently, and has also become obsessed with sewing chrysanthemums. With her husband and two of the princes returning, a soap opera will play out between these people. This is based on the classic play Lei yu, also adapted in '57 and '61. It is the final part of Zhang's trilogy started with Hero(the middle part being House of Flying Daggers, which I haven't seen), and unlike that one, this is primarily a drama(and befitting a closing chapter, it is a massive production). The epic cinematography, breathtaking art(with vivid colors and intricate symbols... if it does get to be straining at times) and flowing editing make this a remarkable visual viewing experience. This isn't pure flash, either, as it follows the film's theme of there being ugliness underneath the prettiest of surfaces. There are a few battles - the finale is grand in scope, and takes up 10 or 15 minutes of running time, and it may satisfy some - but this is not an action film. When there are martial arts sequences, they are badass, impeccably choreographed, smoothly filmed(the camera pulls back from/zooms in on, flies around or swiftly follows, the fighting) and quite exciting. Also, ninjas. For some reason. Yeah, their presence is actually pretty distracting(note that I'm not complaining about their inclusion). This is paced well. The story is fine, not the most interesting or well-told. There are twists, and they aren't bad. The DVD comes with trailers for The Hoax, The Dead Girl, Miss Potter and Astronaut Farmer. There is a bit of disturbing content(some of it sexual, if it is not explicit) and bloody violence(some of it gruesome, if not much of it graphic) in this. I recommend this to fans of Asian cinema. 7/10

Desertman84 Curse of the Golden Flower is a Chinese epic drama film directed by Zhang Yimou.It stars big name in the Chinese industry namely Chow Yun- fat and Gong Li together with Jay Chou and Qin Junjie.The movie presents a dying love between two powerful people leads to deceit, infidelity, and conspiracy in this epic-scale historical drama that has been reportedly the biggest budget Chinese film ever made.This Chinese film takes place during the latter days of the Tang dynasty.The Emperor returns home from the war with his son Prince Jai in tow. However, the monarch gets a chilly reception from the Empress; though she's eager to see her son, her marriage has become deeply acrimonious, and she's taken a lover, Crown Prince Wan, her stepson from the Emperor's first marriage. The Emperor, meanwhile, has his own plan for dealing with his failing marriage as he's ordered the Imperial Doctor to find an exotic drug that will drive the Empress insane and administer it to her without her knowledge. However, the doctor's ethical dilemma is intensified by the fact his daughter Chan has fallen in love with Crown Prince Wan and the two wish to elope. As the Emperor and Empress allow their estrangement to sink into violence and retribution, their youngest son, Prince Yu, struggles to keep the peace in the household. The movie was a good one.The acting of the cast was definitely brilliant.It consists of spectacular production designs and giant CGI battles especially the swordplay and fist-cuffs.It was definitely lavish,beautiful and appealing.What never lived up into becoming an epic film is the story and the screenplay.The violent and operatic saga of cruelty and revenge became more of an Asian soap opera and a melodrama that was contrived at some parts especially in the ending.Nevertheless,it is worthy of one's time to watch this film.