Most people who come here complain about the movie and express almost religiously how much better the original manga and anime are. I'm not a big fan of comics and animation films that mostly have children and teenagers as target audience. However, I had heard about Assassination Classroom and wanted to give it a shot. It turns out that watching this live action science-fiction comedy spectacle was the right decision for me. I can't compare it to the manga and anime but highly recommend this outstanding movie to fans of Japanese culture.

For those who aren't familiar with the story, this first of two movies talks about a mysterious creature with supernatural powers that has destroyed half of the Moon and menaces to destroy the Earth next year. However, this creature has made a deal with the Japanese government: it wants to work as a teacher for an isolated class of hopeless delinquents and undesirables of an elite junior high school. The creature even offers the students the opportunity to kill it and earn a hefty reward. It teaches different techniques, strategies and plans to see the assassination through. The mysterious creature is assisted by a careful government official and a seductive Serbian assassin who starts working as an English teacher. The class also welcomes some new students such as a radical loner who had been suspended from school for a violent brawl, an artificial intelligence presented as a hot-tempered girl living in a box and a strange youngster who claims to be the creature's blood brother. There are also influences from the outside who plan on getting involved such as a brutal drill instructor. As if all those distractions weren't enough, the students also need to study for their mid-term exams and deal with their everyday lives. The biggest secret however is what the creature's true motives are.

This movie convinces on numerous levels. The story is quirky, diversified and creative as an unsuspecting viewer couldn't possibly foresee what might happen next in this highly entertaining potpourri. The characters are unique, memorable and have interesting dynamics with one another. The special effects are employed with care but thankfully not as exaggerated as in many other live action movies.

Assassination Classroom might be difficult to digest for Western viewers who aren't used to quirky, fast and experimental live action cinema. This film features science-fiction, action, comedy, drama, horror and slice of life elements in this exact order of preference and proportion. I got used to the movie's unique style right from the start and the film went by much faster than its running time seems to indicate. This charismatic frantic pace can't be reproduced by a manga or anime. Please be aware that this isn't a stand-alone movie since its sequel Assassination Classroom: Graduation tells the second and final part of the story.

The Witch: Part 1 - The Subversion is the first part of a trilogy about a female teenager with supernatural capacities. This first film introduces her as she escapes a secret laboratory at the age of eight, runs through the forest and collapses next to a nearby farm. The childless couple who lives there takes care of her. The protagonist Ja-yoon grows up to become a very intelligent and gifted teenager who is still rather shy and isolated. Her best friend Myung-hee encourages her to participate in a talent show where Ja-yoon sings and performs magic. As the show is broadcast on national television, Ja-yoon becomes a star but also starts attracting shady characters. She is stalked by a boy of her age who is the leader of a group of criminal teenagers and claims to know her and asks her to remember what happened in the past. She is also tracked down by a a group of armed security agents who harass her downtown and at her secluded family mansion. Ja-yoon must confront the demons of her past to protect her foster parents and her best friend and to find out who she really is and what her destiny might be.

This excellent science-fiction movie for teenager and young adults convinces on numerous levels. The story is intriguing and comes around with a few twists that also lead to a volatile atmosphere. The characters are attaching, intriguing and mysterious. The locations are diversified and fitting. The special effects are intense and memorable. The film starts as a coming-of-age drama that becomes a science-fiction thriller with spectacular action scenes. The camera work is calm and precise, the lighting techniques are crafted with care and the soundtrack blends in perfectly to enhance the atmosphere.

If you like contemporary science-fiction films with intriguing characters, unpredictable plot and stunning special effects, you can't get around watching The Witch Part 1 - The Subversion. This excellent start of the franchise raises the bar for its two sequels that are yet to be released. Expert director Park Hoon-jung of New World, The Tiger and V.I.P. fame delivers his best film yet. Lead actress Kim Da-mi is one of the most skilled new actresses I have come across in quite a while and I certainly hope to watch more movies with her in the future. If you have only discovered Korean cinema thanks to Parasite winning the Academy Award for Best Picture, you have a lot of things to catch up and might as well start here.

Operation Red Sea is a Chinese big budget patriotic action film that is inspired by the highly successful Operation Mekong released two years earlier but follows a different set of characters in a different location. The story takes place on the Arabian peninsula where a group of terrorists overthrows a weak government. The People's Liberation Army Special Operations Forces are given order to evacuate Chinese personnel and workers from the country. They must save a hostage from a heavily guarded terrorist stronghold. The group comes across an ambitious French-Chinese journalist who reveals that the terrorists plan to weaponize yellowcake materials into a dirty bomb. The military personnel must now save the hostage, protect the journalist and prevent the yellowcake materials to be delivered to the terrorists.

This stunning movie convinces on numerous levels. The story isn't particularly imaginative but already more elaborate than similar American movies and comes around with a few interesting events and turns. The characters are attaching, diversified and unique as viewers will care about their fates. The realistic locations have been perfectly chosen and offer much diversity. The action scenes are among the most spectacular ones ever created. Especially the bloody showdown in the terrorist stronghold is absolutely breathtaking. The special effects are employed with care as the movie has a realistic touch. Despite a length of nearly two hours and a half, this film never gets boring and convinces from start to finish. Even the deleted scenes adding more information about the lead characters are sympathetic and could have been included in the original movie without making things redundant at all. While many similar Chinese movies are a little bit too patriotic, this one here focuses on the story, locations and characters which makes it more diversified.

If you like action movies, you should definitely watch Operation Red Sea that offers some of the very best fight scenes ever created in the history of cinema. As if this weren't enough, the movie convinces with an above average story, sympathetic characters and gripping tension that will keep you hooked for nearly two and a half hours. While American cinema led the world with action franchises such as Rambo four decades ago, the best action franchises these days seem to come from China and deserve more international attention and acclaim.

Operation Mekong is yet another contemporary big budget patriotic action thriller from China such as Wolf Warrior. The message is quite clear: if Chinese citizens get into trouble anywhere on the globe, the government is going to intervene and bail them out. In this particular movie based upon a true event, a group of thirteen Chinese sailors get ambushed on the Mekong, are brutally murdered and framed for drug trafficking. A group of perfectly trained special police forces cooperates with institutions from the Golden Triangle to capture and bring to justice the drug lord behind the attack.

This movie convinces on many levels. The locations in China, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar are particularly exotic and the hidden villages in the jungle and the gorgeous shots of the Mekong are truly fascinating. The fight scenes are intense and the ones taking place in a shady building complex where the team tries to rescue a potential witness are absolutely stunning. The movie also includes some really tense moments such as the risky negotiations in a Thai mall. The characters are interesting enough and especially the police officer who lost his girlfriend to a ruthless drug trafficker and has been looking for vengeance ever since is quite intriguing. The film convinces with great pace and is entertaining from start to finish.

There aren't too many things to mention on the negative side. The story is somewhat predictable. The film takes some time to introduce all characters and get properly started. The underlying propaganda message leaves a bitter taste but comes along with most Chinese action movies these days.

In the end, fans of dynamic action movies in the key of Hollywood's Rambo franchise and the likes should certainly watch Operation Mekong. The special effects look great, there is a healthy dose of tension and the locations are truly interesting. The story might not be innovating and the propaganda elements wouldn't have been necessary but you will get two hours of spectacular entertainment. If you like this film, you should also watch the similar Operation Red Sea released two years later.

I hadn't been too impressed by the first entry in the Wolf Warrior franchise that had been released two years prior to this sequel. The first film had suffered from exaggerated acting performances, boring locations and cheap special effects. That's why it took me almost a year to convince myself to watch the sequel. I'm glad that I ended up giving it a chance. This movie is one of the few cases when the sequel is much better than the original film.

The story still revolves around special forces operative Leng Feng who has spent some time in prison after having attacked a ruthless real estate company boss. During his time in prison, his relationship with his fiancee has taken a turn for the worse and she has gone on a mission in Africa. However, she has been kidnapped and the only clue to whoever could be responsible is a mysterious bullet Leng Feng keeps on a chain around his neck. As soon as he gets released from prison, he moves to an unnamed African country where he works as a port merchant and also occasionally protects crews from pirates. Still, he hasn't forgotten about his fiancee and keeps looking for clues. A civil war erupts in the country and Leng Feng volunteers to save Chinese citizens from a hospital and a plant. He joins forces with a resilient female doctor and a local female teenager who has developed antibodies against a deadly disease. Leng Feng decides to protect the teenager and the Chinese civilians and soon faces a big group of mercenaries led by a ruthless boss called Big Daddy. Things become more personal when Leng Feng realizes that Big Daddy uses the same type of bullet that was used in the kidnapping of his fiancee.

The movie convinces on numerous levels. The acting performances have become more charismatic, natural and versatile. Especially lead actor Wu Jing has improved a lot over the two years between the two movies. The locations are particularly intriguing here and show poor villages, isolated plants and modest hospitals. The special effects look much more realistic now thanks to a generous budget. The fight scenes are intense and feature tanks, rocket launchers, machine guns, knifes and martial arts. The body count is particularly high and this might be the most brutal movie ever made in China. The film has great pace from start to finish without any breaks. Even though the movie is more than two hours long, watching it seems to go by in a heartbeat.

There are a few minor flaws left. Even though the lead character faces hundreds of opponents, he doesn't even seem to sweat and survives even the most dangerous situations like a superhero which is at times highly exaggerated and also becomes easily predictable. The movie obviously has a very strong propaganda message yet again. This time, the film attempts to teach its viewers that the Chinese government will protect its citizens around the world no matter what. In my opinion, entertainment and politics shouldn't be mixed anyway.

Still, Wolf Warrior II is an excellent action movie with outstanding fight scenes, wonderful locations and impressive special effects. It's one of the best genre movies of the decade. This movie has rightfully been a massive success in China and deserves more attention abroad as well. Ignore the weak predecessor and watch this outstanding sequel instead. On a closing side note, the mid-credit scenes hint at a third movie that hasn't materialized yet but after this excellent second part, action movie fans around the world are impatiently waiting for the franchise to carry on.