Painted Skin: The Resurrection (NR) 7.0

Painted Skin: The Resurrection (2012) 画皮II Huà Pí Èr: An ancient fox spirit embarks on a diabolical quest to become human after escaping an icy prison, and becomes bound to a disfigured princess who seeks the love of a noble guard as her kingdom crumbles in this lavish supernatural epic. (6.1)

Director: Wuershan
Written by: Ran Ping, Ran Jia'nan
Stars: Xun Zhou, Kun Chen, Wei Zhao
Language: Mandarin (w/ English subtitles)

A supernatural fantasy story presented quite well with strong female lead characters. Where the movie falls off just a bit is in a couple of the CGI scenes, but other scenes take your breath away. While the fantasy story is about the demons needing human hearts to stay in human form, the underlying story has the other, well known, meaning of giving your heart to someone else: love. Yes, the fantasy part of the story takes some getting used-to and a tad bit longer stretch of your imagination, but that's where the imagination and uniqueness of the movie lie. A nice blend of traditional East Asian storytelling and the modern cinematography with high-technology. Perhaps, not a movie for everyone, but if you like fantasy genre, you will enjoy it. (Some subtitles disappear too quickly, so keep that finger on the pause button.) My Rating: 7.0