'Flower' impresses with visual flair

Courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes In the realm of martial arts epics, Zhang Yimou's "Curse of the Golden Flower" sits squarely between the lovely "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and the lowbrow "Kung Fu Hustle." It's no revolution in its genre, but its visual beauty is something to drool over: The action is drenched in rich gold, extreme close-ups register faces taut with unease and fury and color-coordinated armies clash in battles that might as well be "Lord of the Rings" in a Skittles commercial. This being Oscar season, it's no wonder that bombast and posturing are all over the silver screen nowadays.