Last night Michele and I got to see a movie my brother, Dan, had highly recommended: House of Flying Daggers. Since Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is one of my all-time favorite movies, I looked forward to comparing it with this one that is somewhat similar in style and setting.

Some impressions:

• eye-popping cinematography, such gorgeous colors and scenery
• very good casting and acting
• some of the fight scenes definitely topped the stunning scenes in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, including a whole segment shot in a bamboo forest that puts the ostensibly similar scene in the other movie to shame
• the ending scene, shot in a sudden, blinding snowstorm, was beautiful but really stretched the limits of believability
• overall, some other adjectives that attempt to capture my impressions include gorgeous, rich, lush, romantic, incredible, lyrical, tragic, stunning.

If you can’t tell, I loved it.