bryan sloyer
THE HIT LIST – September 19, 2016
This is one other gem I actually had the opportunity to screen earlier this year but I couldn’t post anything as it was planning a fest run at the time. Thankfully, it’s here and all still very much worth sharing as fans and netizens alike now get to see just why people like Lei are deserving of her accolades. By all means, it’s four minutes of contemplative drama, action, brutality and gore.. what more do you want?
THE HIT LIST – November 9, 2015
The second trailer comes from actor and up-and-comer Emilien De Falco, who I have had the pleasure of covering a time or two on my blog in a few shorts. This time he returns for the upcoming January 2016 short, Rage, from director Jonathan Cocco. This one looks full of thrills and vengeance with just the kind of action martial arts fans will love, and I will do my best to follow up on this one.
THE HIT LIST: September 14, 2015
It’s Monday, and that means another fully loaded Hit List has arrived with loads of stunts and action. This week has a few late entries that I’ve been otherwise inspired to share, and I think you all will enjoy them in some capacity.
Of course, we’re starting this off with a playlist that’s nice and light, graced with stunt and martial arts reels. Fabio Santos kicks things off in fiery fashion next to Jason Wingham, “Kid Haru” himself – Devin White, early 2015 demo reel footage from Team Raffaelli, industry fight choreographer, actor and stuntman Tim Man and the latest awesome tricking reel from Team Emig’s own Mackensi Emory (viewable only here).
Up next are a handful of trailers, a few of which are for foreign language projects on the way, and the first comes four years in the making from filmmaking duo David Vergne and Renaud Guin. Detour is the name of the short which focuses on three jewel burglars who discover a woman brutally beaten, and find themselves taking on a darker force of evil, and the short is currently in post production.
The second trailer hails all the way from Jose Manuel at North Compass, a familiar face I’ve already written about here at Film Combat Syndicate. His next potential webseries, Uncompromised, takes our hero on a quest to avenge his own death with symbolic enemies in the form of his own personal flaws. It’s deep, deep stuff, although I’m certain the project will put all the pieces together when released.
Both projects have trailers below, including Detour which also comes with some cool character promo art. The other trailers include Rising Tiger Films’s new action drama short, These Dog Days, and SG Action’s long-awaited sci-fi time-travel gig, The Mantis!
DETOUR [2015] Official Release from Renaud Guin on Vimeo.
View post on imgur.com
Now we get to the fighting, and as always, there’s plenty of it in the following playlist. Star Wars is the way to here as we set off wity two new videos, one from Noah Fleder‘s Force Storm Entertainment, and Logan Cross’s own short, The Force. Other fights include Tripp Pickell’s latest test choreo sampler with cohort Shannan Leigh Yancsurak, Allie Marrie’s kickass performance in Faux Fighting’s latest “Showdown” serial addition, A Better Workout, Dardrex Productions’s action comedy, Snatch And Grapple, Cinematic Fight Studio’s latest client-ordered project, The Sting, and independent action director Bryan Sloyer’s newest ode to Kurt Wimmer, Equilibrium: Gentlemen’s Game!
Moving on to some longer-form shorts nearing the end of this week’s Hit List, actor, dancer and filmmaker Jordan Cann released this newest drama, My Brother’s Keeper, last week. It’s the story of a friendship broken over a girl, and a rivalry that unfolds between three crews with a surprising twist at the end. Cann himself takes primarily on dance and so there’s plenty of it here as well as a dash of fight choreography for good measure. Take a look!
And finally, we cap things off in award-winning fashion. Australian actor, writer and director David No is still making the rounds these days with his latest short, Battle Of Wills, hitting the festivals this Fall. In the meantime, it was in a private message on social media he shared his 2012 period sword drama, Forged, the story of an impetuous martial arts student who reflects on his ill-fated upbringing with his master on the night of their death duel. The project won a great share of awards throughout the world, including several festivals in the U.S. a few years ago during its run, and you can see them for yourself at the official fan page.
For now, enjoy Forged (special thanks to David for sending this one over!)
Of course, coming from the folks over at Bat In The Sun, we’re bound sooner or later to find out how their next Superpower Beatdown will turn out. Their latest still is up and clearly this one looks to be a real Fall berzerker!…
Tune in to last week’s Hit List and catch up on all you may have missed, and be sure to subscribe to the channels listed. More importantly though, if you’re a filmmaker and you wish have your stunt reels or action shorts featured in a Hit List, shoot us an email at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com
THE HIT LIST – January 5, 2015
For now, though, let’s see which of these Rising Tigers are Baddest!
Here's Another Batch Of Online Action Shorts From Around The Web!
As many of you all know in partaking in our collective readership, I also try to share the spotlight with all the various talented performers out their presenting their own short test fight samples online. I do try to cover as much as I get my hands on or whatever comes my way, although it’s challenging at times to lend individual coverage for each project I spot. So, in the spirit of keeping up with independent artists, I’m now presenting clusters of micro articles like this. It probably won’t be a weekly thing, but if it helps entertain and grant folks an opportunity to share their craft more, then all the better. So, here goes!
An active team since 2010, Kung Fu Heroes recently unveiled a new promo reel to headline some of their previous and upcoming work. A few of their members I know of already have projects of their own, including D.Y. Sao’s latest creation, Cambodian Killers, now underway as a limited series. As for the reel, “Not Giving In” by Rudimental is the song of choice, a lively song for an otherwise livelier reel. Take a look!
South Africa-based indie film and team, Arcade Killers first came on my radar back in August. With screenfighting also on their agenda, I took notice at the time, and they have some cool stuff on the way as well. In the meantime, their latest skit is now online spoofing Capcom’s Street Fighter in Slogat vs. Chun Duy, with principle performances by stuntman Slobodan and stuntwoman Duy Panouvic. It was a project they tried to complete in time for Halloween and ultimately couldn’t. Still though, silliness, comedy, action…good times!
The next clip comes straight from Thai action and screenfighting group, The Action Guys. It’s a three-on-three malay and another short example of some of the amazing talent overseas worth taking note of, assembled at the behest of its founder, actor and stuntman Charlie Ruedpoknanon back in April. They have a page where you can find more of their awesome material which you can check out by clicking here!
Next, filmmaker and action veteran Jeff Centauri, fully immersed in nurturing the action industry in the Philippines has another fun little video on his YouTube channel titled Pinay Rival, a spin on his previous short from a few weeks ago that is also on its way to a second. Here, perfomers Andrea Lee and Rev Salmanca take on each other, and while Ms. Lee remarkably manages to switch so quickly between outfits. It’s silly and entertaining, and it’s worth a look.
And lastly, straight from indie director, martial artist and stuntman Bryan Sloyer comes his latest step in the evolution of his craft behind the camera with the new short One Rule. Jerry Quill, Eric “Jay Kwon” Jeong and Jeremy Tristan also star, and the one rule seen here is probably the best, most creative thing I’ve seen from Sloyer‘s channel yet. That, on top of some of the detailed editing and shots between techniques shows the level of intricacy he’s paying attention to, which makes watching these all the more fun to watch.
Subscribe to these channels, and if you’re a filmmaker or a martial artist with a good quality action short or a test fight you would like to share, feel free to shoot me an email at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com
Photo: @thekungfuheroes via Twitter
Check Out These Cool Test Fight Shorts Now Online!
In the sprit of keeping up with independent action, at least four new test fights are now available for viewing in the embeds below. As always, feel free to subscribe to their respective channels!
The first one comes from Bryan Sloyer, an actor and stuntman who I’ve been covering for about a year now. He’s gotten a little sharper with the camera and his editing ever since, and it also helps that he’s getting a bit more creative in the process. His latest is called Shadow Fighter, with actress and stuntwoman Amy Sturdivant in a performance that illustrates the psyche of a fighter in training. Stunt player Jerry Quill plays her shadow, and its pretty slick!
The next one comes from indie auteur Emmanuel Manzanares – someone who I’ve covered in articles aplenty in the past few years, mingling with who’s who in the stunt industry between his own team, LBP Stunts Chicago, and others from around U.S. and Canada. This past week saw the unveiling of his latest gem featuring performances by Gui DaSilva and Natalie Padilla, based on a DaSilva‘s own concept. It’s got the usual exhilirating action, and maybe a little comedy…well, if only for the fact that having to brawl with a chick who breaks into my home to try and kill me would be a just a bit stressful (personally I’d rather have breakfast in bed). Check it out!
Up next is the newest from a couple of cool folks in Canada who I’ve covered a few times, and this one is a bit more celebratory. It features Eclipse Stunts’ own Alex Chung and stuntwoman Wei-Hsin Lee, just off of recovering from a knee injury and subsequent surgery earlier this year. The first short I shared with Lee was last year’s sequel short, Hallowed 2 by Eclipse Stunts. She’s fun to watch and even more fun to see Chung doing his thing, and he’s someone you definitely want to keep an eye out for, and his upcoming sequel to this little jewel should serve as an awesome reason why. Other than that, let’s watch these two crazy kids go at it!
Last but not least, indie filmmaker Jeff Centauri‘s latest, Pinoy Rivals, is one of a many test fights and shorts he’s been working on while working the film scene in the Philippines. The new video features performances by Eulver Presto and Evangelista Noe, both talented screenfighters and up-and-comers who deserve a shot, and I certainly hope to see these guys prosper in the months and years ahead; As a noteworthy mention, Centauri just finished working on actor Robin Padilla’s upcoming period actioner, Bonifacio: The First President, which is expected to be completed in time for the Metro Manila Film Festival, so keep your eyes peeled on that. Otherwise, enjoy the clip!