The Mayor, also known as Special Citizen, is an excellent political drama that tells the fictional story of the charismatic, greedy and influential mayor of Seoul who seeks election for a third term which will set him up for a run at the presidency. The film follows his career and life from the start of his campaign until the immediate aftermath of election day. The movie revolves around conflicts, conspiracies and corruption among the mayor's team involving betrayal, blackmail, drugs, murder, prostitution, suicide and theft. Without pointing fingers,Park In-je's movie shows how disconnected politicians are from other citizens, hence the title of the film.

The movie convinces with a twisted story exposing the abyss of the human psyche with a particularly intense middle section. The characters have depth beneath their obvious greed which makes them round but static characters. The acting performances are excellent as Korea's best actor Choi Min-sik delivers yet another career highlight portraying the twisted mayor. Female lead actress Shim Eun-kyung stands out as determined, honest and smart rookie advertisement specialist who is constantly trying to not get corrupted by her more experienced colleagues and superiors. Camera work is enjoyably calm and precise. Settings, effects and costumes are so realistic that the movie almost feels like a documentary at times or at least like a film based upon a real story.

There are only a few minor negative elements to mention. First of all, several twists of the story are predictable since movies about shameless politicians are nothing new or shocking anymore. Secondly, the movie could have had a more concise introduction, portraying the greatest moments in the mayor's career instead of throwing us into a campaign for a third term right away. Thirdly, the same thing could be said about the ending as one would have liked to know what happens next after election day. On the other side, those minor negative points also show that the great script of this movie would have made for an excellent extended televions series in the key of ''House of Cards''.

If you like realistic, intense and honest political dramas, this film will fully satisfy you. The acting skills are outstanding, the movie offers some food for thought without being overtly moralizing and the detailed script is filled with numerous twists and turns. While the movie certainly doesn't reinvent its genre, it certainly is among the better of its kind in recent memory.

 Meine Damen und Herren!

Hier folgen einige Eindrucke meines dritten Adventswochenendes in Ottawa und Gatineau. Ich wunsche viel Spass damit.

 In Ottawas Little Theatre fand am Freitag Abend eine Vorfuhrung des Theaterstucks ''Peter Pan & Wendy'' statt.

 Hier bin ich hinter den Kulissen des Theaterstucks mit meinem ehemaligen Schuler Jannis Dupuis.

 Dieses Bild wurde vor dem Parlament in Ottawa gemacht.

 Auf dem Parlamentshugel gab es einige Trucks, in denen man Relikte aus einhundert Jahren NHL begutachten konnte.

 Hier sieht man das Ende des winterlichten Lichtspektakels am Parlament.

 Dieses zweite Lichtspektakel wurdigt einhundert Jahre NHL und hier sieht man die Logos aller aktuellen einunddreissig Mannschaften.

 Hier sieht man das offizielle Logo zum NHL 100 Classic, der am Samstag stattfinden sollte.

 Hier sieht man das eroffnende Feuerwerk samt Militarflugzeug nach dem Singen der kanadischen Nationalhymne am TD Place vor dem Beginn des Eishockeyspieles zwischen den Montreal Canadiens und den Ottawa Senators.

 Hier sieht man den zeremoniellen Bully des Spieles zwischen den Kapitanen Max Pacioretty (Montreal Canadiens) und Erik Karlsson (Ottawa Senators). 

 Dies ist der offizielle Spielbeginn.

 In der Pause zwischen dem zweiten und letzten Drittel spielte Bryan Adams. Man sieht einige Fans mit nacktem Oberkorper bei minus zwanzig Grad. Da warmt auch die Pyroshow nicht mehr auf.

 Jeder Zuschauer bekam ein Lanyard, dessen Farben im Dunkeln leuchten, wie man hier gut sehen kann.

 Beim Spiel habe ich auch meinen Schuler Etienne Sauvé getroffen. Die Chance, das man bei funfunddreissigtausend Zuschauern ausgerechnet in derselben Reihe sitzt oder steht sind schon gering, daher war das Treffen um so ungewohnlicher. 

 Auch zum Abschluss des Spiels gab es noch einmal ein kleines Feuerwerk.

 Hier sieht man die feiernden Ottawa Senators, welche die Montreal Canadiens mit drei zu null besiegt hatten.

 Hier sieht man das Logo der Veranstaltung vor dem an den TD Place angrenzenden Aberdeen Pavillion.

 Hier sieht man die Fassade des TD Place mit Weihnachtsbaum und Restaurantmeile.

 So sah der Aberdeen Pavillon tagsuber aus. Innen gab es diverse Attraktionen, Laden und Verkaufsstande.

 Hier sieht man gut die uberdimensionalen Trikots der beiden Mannschaften im Aberdeen Pavillion.

 Hier ist noch ein uberdimensionales Logo der Veranstaltung.

 Blick auf den Aberdeen Pavillon mit angrenzender Restaurantmeile.

 Am Sonntag fand im TD Place noch das lokale Juniorenspiel zwischen den Gatineau Olympics und den Ottawa 67s statt.

 Auch bei diesem Spiel gab es einen zeremoniellen Bully.

 Die beiden Mannschaften klatschen sich zum Schluss ab. Die Gatineau Olympics haben das Spiel vier zu eins gegen die Ottawa 67s gewonnen.

 Zum Abschluss gibt es noch ein paar weihnachtliche Lichter vor dem Château Laurier in Ottawa.

Warning: Spoilers

I'm glad I didn't trust the numerous negative reviews of Railroad Tigers and decided to purchase the film. This epic war movie convinces with a set of sympathetic characters, a vivid pace and flow, stunning settings, spectacular sound and visual effects and an intriguing story partially inspired by historic events. 

The film includes an atmosphere reminding me of old American westerns with train robberies in isolated places, incorporates a few martial arts sequences that contrast the shooting duels and instills a few humorous elements that are though never getting annoying as they focus on situation comedy rather than misplaced slapstick moments. Railroad Tigers is entertaining from start to finish and makes you want to experience the whole film again once the vivid roller coaster ride is over. Despite its length above two hours, not one single minute is wasted here.

As a matter of fact, there were so many characters with intriguing background stories such as the charismatic leader of the Railroad Tigers or the resilient noodle shop owner, that the film could have easily been even half an hour longer without getting boring. Even though a few characters weren't perfectly fleshed out, antagonists and protagonists were intriguing enough to stimulate potential spin-offs. The closing scene of the film hints at a potential sequel which would be very welcome in my book.

Railroad Tigers got some unfair criticism for promoting communist propaganda which is completely exaggerated. The film features a communist soldier fleeing from Japanese troops who has about ten minutes of screen time and doesn't look too heroic and the final battle concludes with an ambush of arriving communist troops that might get five minutes of screen time but that's all. The film truly focuses on a group of railroad workers who are attempting to destroy a strategically important bridge to stop Japanese supplies to conquer the northern parts of China. The film doesn't include any obvious political propaganda and rather underlines values like courage and friendship. Other critics claimed that the Japanese weren't portrayed accurately in this film and even suggested that the movie might be slightly disrespectful or racist. Once again, this is nonsense since the film shows two quite dangerous Japanese antagonists, a brutal male military and a determined female investigator who aren't easily fooled but rather never give up and fight back until the very end. Other people criticized the film for being one of Jackie Chan's most disappointing films but along with the sinister The Foreigner, this film is the best he has made since 2011 and easily beats more shallow family entertainment in the key of Chinese Zodiac and Kung Fu Yoga. I would even consider this movie a late career highlight by Asia's most famous actor of all times.

In the end, the epic Railroad Tigers is an unfairly underrated war movie that will entertain you from start to finish with its explosive mixture of intense action sequences, character development, historic inspiration, humorous elements and western atmosphere. Some of the fight scenes are slightly grisly as some blood is shown and as the body count is quite elevated, so I would rather recommend this film to older teenagers and adults since this isn't your typical Jackie Chan movie for the whole family.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Here are the highlights from Saturday's NHL Centennial Classic between the Montreal Canadiens and the Ottawa Senators.

Please follow the link for the highlights of the outdoor game between the Gatineau Olympics and the Ottawa 67s: 

http://ontariohockeyleague.com/video/dec-1717-gat-4-ott-1

 Ladies and gentlemen,

Here are a few pictures taken inside photo booths all around TD Place and neighboring Lansdowne Park in Ottawa during the NHL Centennial Classic weekend. More personal pictures will be following shortly. Enjoy!

 Picture with Ottawa Senators' captain Erik Karlsson. 

 Photo with TD Place and Lansdowne Park in Ottawa in the background.

 Photo with red NHL 100 Classic logo.

 Photo with white NHL 100 Classic logo.