House of Flying Daggers

Leighton ***1/2
DVD Rental

I have to admit, I really like a lot of the movies coming out of China, whether they're the bullets and blood movies of John Woo or the quirky folk tales of Ang Lee or Yimou Zhang, who directed House of Flying Daggers. The locations and scenery in this movie are beautiful, especially the bamboo grove, and the way the scenes are framed and filmed is amazing. The fight sequences are like ballet. And there is still room in the movie for a love triangle. I haven't seen Hero yet, also by Yimou Zhang, so I can't compare the two. But House of Flying Daggers was really enjoyable.

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PoP ***1/2

I really enjoyed this film. It is another of what I refer to as a Chinese folk tale film. It has twists and turns in the roles of the characters, but in the end, it all ties together and makes sense.

The young actress, Ziyi Zhang, delivers another wonderful performance as the heroine. Since her breakout
performance in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, she has given a string of wonderful performances including, Hero, and Memoirs of a Geisha.

All in all, it remains a guy flick as opposed to a chick flick.