How Long Will I Love U is a romantic comedy movie with supernatural elements and a few gloomy sequences. It tells the story of a real estate shark who plans on traveling nineteen years into the future to use this knowledge in order to expand his empire. However, the shift in the space-time continuum fails and opens a portal nineteen years in the past instead. It turns out that this portal is in the small apartment where the loan shark lived when he didn't have any investors and was about to lose his job. In present-day, a young woman who works in a jewelry store and dreams of getting married to a rich man lives in the same flat. One morning, she wakes up and is shocked to realize she shares her apartment with the unsuccessful property designer. In the beginning, she is distant to him and wants to get rid of him but their curiosity makes them bond as friendship soon becomes love interest. The young woman realizes she can't alter the past and the young man can't alter the future and attempting to meet their former or futures selves would lead to chaos. The young woman still travels back to the past to see herself as a child playing with her rich father who would soon die in a traffic accident. The property designer is curious about his future and stunned to see he has become a rich real estate shark. In present-day, the pitiless real estate shark realizes the past is about to shift and tries to convince the young woman to leave his former self and offers her the life she has always dreamed of. However, the young woman realizes the emotionless real estate shark is nothing like the sympathetic property designer but she has to make a choice that could alter past, present and future.

Let's start with the few negative elements about this good movie. First of all, the background story about time travelling is poorly explained as the script is lacking details in this part. The introduction of the young woman is somewhat confusing as one isn't quite sure what her real job is as she is mostly about to scam older men into marrying her in the beginning. Some parts of the movie are unnecessarily overacted, especially by lead actress Tong Liya who offers too many fake smiles and tears.

On the other side, the story is quite original and every loose end is solved and every question answered in the end. The movie's romantic side isn't too exaggerated and has a clumsy, juvenile, and sympathetic note. The film offers lots of situation comedy, especially when the property designer discovers the future and is amazed by food delivery services, mobile phones and virtual reality. The movie also has a gloomy touch related to corruption, greed and murder which obviously involves the mysterious death of the young woman's father. The film also has the message that money doesn't make you happy and shows how people in China are obsessed with fame, influence and money and leaving their communist culture behind for a world of steel, plastic and glass.

In the end, How Long Will I Love U is an entertaining movie that mixes romantic, humorous and dark elements in a balanced and unique way. Younger audiences in a relationship might even find this film even better than just good. If you can catch the film at a local cinema, don't hesitate to go for it.

A or B is a dramatic Chinese thriller that comes around with numerous surprises, twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. This breathless, clever and dynamic movie convinces with a truly amazing script, great acting performances and stunning settings and is best enjoyed at a cinema. After a concise exposition of about fifteen minutes, the rising action starts quite mysteriously, leading towards a series of surprising climaxes, transitioning to an intense falling action and coming around with a detailed resolution that will make you think about this film long after you have watched it.

The movie introduces us to an investor who has made a lot of money on the back of former associates and mentors. Wealth has corrupted this man who lives in an isolated mansion with his desperate wife who doesn't recognize the ambitious gentleman she once fell in love with anymore. When she finally decides to leave him, the investor gets drunk, has an argument with his chauffeur whom he suspects to have an eye on his wife and goes to bed in his mansion. The next day, he wakes up and realizes that he is kept captive in his mansion. An anonymous criminal contacts him and tells the investor that he must choose between two options every single day for five days that will have a serious impact on the lives of the investor and everyone who is close to him. If the investor doesn't choose either option, both will be chosen by the mysterious kidnapper and have dramatic consequences. The investor soon realizes that he must determine the things in life that really matter to him in order to protect and save them, escape his luxurious mansion that has become a death trap and find out who the mysterious assailant is in order to end his nightmare and save his reputation.

A or B is a movie that challenges you to analyze, feel and observe. It's an incredibly rewarding experience because it takes its audience seriously. If you like intellectual thrillers, this film might already be your candidate for movie of the year.

Champion is an emotional South Korean sports drama. It tells the story of Korean-born arm wrestler Mark who lives a solitary life in America where he has grown up in a foster family. He isn't allowed to practice the sport he likes professionally and has to do odd jobs as security guard in filthy discotheques. He comes across shady promoter Jin-Ki who is determined to pay off his father's debts by making money with Mark. He lures him back to South Korea but Mark realizes that he neither feels at home in the United States of America where he has faced racism nor in South Korea where people find his American manners awkward. Things don't get better when Jin-Ki gets involved with criminal promoters who want him to manipulate the outcome of several duels as Mark doesn't cooperate and puts himself and Jin-Ki in a dangerous position. On his quest for peace of mind, Mark wants to meet his biological mother but learns that she has died of cancer. However, he learns that he has a sister who lives at her house with a curious daughter and an honest son. For the first time of his life, Mark seems to have found a family but he soon realizes that things are much more complicated than they seem. Soon, he has to not only compete professionally in a national tournament against manipulative criminals but to find meaning in his personal life.

There are many elements that make Champion an absolutely outstanding movie. The story which openly references Over the Top with Sylvester Stallone might not be the most original one but it is performed with such genuine intensity, passion and talent that it doesn't matter. Sylvester Stallone is a quite wooden actor and the hollow performances by Dwayne Johnson are even worse. Ma Dong-seok shows how a gifted actor can play a tough guy with emotive depth without any shallow stereotypes. His performance is absolutely stunning because he becomes one with his role and will make viewers sympathize very easily.

Aside of just focusing on the profound main character, the film offers several side stories that are truly intriguing. Promoter Jin-Ki seems to be a superficial manipulator at first sight but turns out to be a concerned son who wants to pay off his father's debts. Soo-Jin seems to be an unsuccessful shop owner who doesn't give her children the attention they need but she turns out being a gentle woman in search for compassion. Every single side character in this movie is interesting and developed with much thought.

Champion is a film that might make you cry because it's heart-breaking to see a person who has faced as much hardship as Mark face important personal and professional challenges but the movie keeps things diversified from start to finish. The movie includes intelligent humor as it compares American and Korean cultures as well as childhood and adulthood and adds plenty of situation comedy that will put a big smile upon your face. If compared to numerous other Asian movies, this type of comedy never gets exaggerated or drifts into slapstick territory and contrasts and supports the movie's realistic tone surprisingly well.

The movie also offers a lot of action and tension. Arm wrestling never seemed as intense, strategic and technical as in this movie and the competitions will put you on the edge of your seat. The physical fights involving criminal promoters and their associates are brief but vivid and never drift into martial arts to keep the film's realistic spirit.

I had the chance to experience this film at a cinema with five other viewers while hollow effect-ridden action movies like Rampage attract millions of viewers. If you look for an emotional, intelligent and profound sports drama with sympathetic characters, you won't be satisfied with shallow Hollywood cinema but should give this passionate movie a fair chance. I hope to see more foreign movies like this one in North American cinemas but if you want to make this happen too, you have to actively support hidden gems like this one. In my opinion, Champion is already a solid candidate for movie of the year.

Brotherhood of Blades II: The Infernal Battlefield is a prequel of Brotherhood of Blades released three years earlier. However, you don't necessarily need to know the latter to understand the former. Some of the characters and the settings are alike but the story is a different one that even contradicts some elements shown in the first film.

Stylistically, we get a stylish wu xia movie with some conspiracy elements. The characters use arrows, daggers, swords and bare hands and feet to fight and most fight sequences look quite realistic. The opening sequence suffers from heavy CGI effects but the rest of the movie convinces with stunning landscapes and beautiful costumes. The locations are more diversified than in the first film. The conspiracy is similar to the first movie as Imperial Assassin Shen Lian gets caught in a conflict between a group of rebels supporting the emperor's younger brother and the emperor, his eunuch and government officials. Shen Lian tracks down some of the rebels before he decides to save a female painter he sympathizes with. From then on, he tries to cover his actions up and gets progressively involved with the group of rebels. However, he soon realizes that some of his colleagues are two-faced and that he can't trust anyone.

There are only a few minor reasons why I like this second film a little bit less than the first one. First of all, the exaggerated opening sequence doesn't start the movie on a positive note. Secondly, the side characters aren't as intriguing as in the first film. Thirdly, the movie's ending feels rushed and the scene after the credits is a waste of time.

However, if you like dynamic historical fiction cinema, Brotherhood of Blades II: The Infernal Battlefield delivers the goods. It's stylish, filled with action, passion and tension and is entertaining from start to finish. Even though you don't need to be familiar with the first film to understand this prequel, I would recommend watching the former first because it's the better movie. If you like it, you can't go wrong with this one either.

Brotherhood of Blades is a very entertaining wu xia movie. It combines dynamic martial arts and sword fights with historical costumes and settings and a dramatic dose of suspense in form of complex conspiracies. The greatest thing about the movie is that its outcome is quite unpredictable. Until the final fifteen minutes, it's not exactly clear who is friend and who is foe. This is a welcome change to Hollywood films featuring a lone wolf protagonist who fights his corrupted superiors. Until the final scene, it remains a mystery who is going to survive or not. Once again, this is a great change from Hollywood movies featuring a protagonist who is going to survive against all odds. This film will keep you on the edge of your seat until its dramatic resolution.

The story revolves around three Imperial Assassins who are charged to eliminate powerful eunuch Wei who has become a nuisance for the young Ming dynasty emperor. However, the leader of the trio decides to spare the eunuch and accepts a bribe instead without telling his colleagues. Back in the capital, the three sworn brothers are both tracked down by the eunuch's numerous followers who want them to take their secret to the grave and by suspicious government officials who realizes something is afoul. As if that weren't enough, they have to face numerous personal challenges. The youngest of the trio has fallen in love with the local pharmacist's daughter, the second assassin wants to buy the freedom of a prostitute who despises him for having participated in killing her family and the oldest assassin is tricked into getting promoted to be under constant surveillance. The trio decides it must flee the capital city in order to save their lives but their enemies give everything to try to prevent their escape.

Aside the fascinating story, the movie convinces with a gloomy and tense atmosphere that brings the dying Ming dynasty back to life. The emotional acting performances are very solid and show three overall sympathetic protagonists with strong moral compasses but quite a few personal weaknesses as well which makes them dynamic and round characters. The fight choreographies are intense and not as exaggerated as one is used to from numerous other wu xia movies. This approach suits the film's more authentic tone.

Brotherhood of Blades might not reinvent the genre but is one of the very best movies of its kind in recent memory. Especially the plot is truly intriguing while the film's atmosphere, settings, acting and choreographies are other positive elements. The movie became such an unexpected success that it spun off a prequel released three years later. If you like Asian cinema, you can't go wrong with Brotherhood of Blades.