fma

THE HIT LIST: October 16, 2017

I’m going through a little sleep deprivation while I write this so I hope you all enjoy this latest installment of The Hit List until then. My weekend was definitely at least half-good and you can visit my weekend posts over at my Instagram to see what’s up. As for here, we kick off the Hit List with the necessary appetizer of stunt and training reels from some of today’s top and up-and-coming in stunt performance. Ramping things up is a cool new highlight reel from this year’s events at Oia for the seven year-strong Red Bull Art Of Motion competiton. Following that is a barrage of badass new stunt reels courtesy of Talyn Edelson, Darin Hicks, Krystle Martin, Ross Kohnstam, Gabriela Kostadinova, Cameron Brown, Angela Lynn, John Ternavis, Rissa Kilar, Cheech Vitale, Andi Norris and stunt coordinator Jae Greene. I don’t have anything to promote in terms of teasers […]

Erik Matti's BUY BUST In Pre-Production With FMA Training Underway

Lee B. Golden III

Filipino action cinema still has its hurdles nowadays, and some of it is still much ado with the unwillingness to take certain risks to help bolster such films from the region. Fortunately that hasn’t hindered the earned acclaim by filmmakers like Erik Matti (On The Job, Honor Thy Father, Erik Matti, The Aswang Chronicles) who is reportedly pivoting to the martial arts genre with his own contribution. For this, we look to two new training videos now online featuring MMA fighter Brandon Vera and local actress Anne Curtis who are set to star on Matti’s latest, Buy Bust. Screen Anarchy‘s Todd Brown forwarded the latest updates via the Reality Entertainment Facebook with Vera and Curtis undergoing Pekiti-Tirsia Kali ahead of next month’s more solid rehearsals ahead of the film’s production in November, and with the prospects of performing the action themselves with out stunt doubles. That ought to be an […]

JAM With Bryan Sloyer This Friday For A Special Balintawak Cuentada Seminar!

Lee B. Golden III

Read the weekly Hit List enough and you’ll see at least one name mentioned time and again, and that is of independent filmmaker, actor and stuntman Bryan Sloyer. He’s gotten continually sharp in his methods when it comes to his resumé of experimental concepts for action choreography and storytelling in short form, and hopefully the momentum will play a larger role in many of his upcoming gigs both on and off set. That said, this Friday at the Reseda-based freerunning and martial arts gym, Joining All Movement, Sloyer will be hosting a special Balintawak Cuentada seminar for Escrima enthusiasts. An experienced martial artist since the age of fifteen, Sloyer himself has been a purveyor of Filipino martial arts dabbling in many styles of Escrima with Cuentada serving as the flexible medium of his tutelage and growing wealth of knowledge by his teacher, Jeff Soriano under Grandmaster Bobby Taboada. “…The concepts […]

Reel Time: BRYAN SLOYER

Lee B. Golden III

Follow any number of independent filmmakers and industry stunt performers and you’re bound to come across some amazing gems attributed to action on film. Stuntman Bryan Sloyer is a purveyor of this craft in several facets, now well over a year into his growing career as a stuntman with a knack for Filipino martial arts and a passion for a place both in front, as well as behind the camera. If you haven’t subscribed to his channel yet, than his latest action reel should serve as reason enough. It contains bits from practice fights that are both available on his channel as well as others pending, and they’re all worth checking out at some point before you end up falling too far behind. Enjoy and subscribe!

Filipino Martial Arts Takes The Spotlight In The New Shortfilm Trailer, BALINTAWAK

Lee B. Golden III

If you favor learning more about Filipino martial arts and if you look in the right places, you’re bound to come across things you might not have ever known about this particular fighting system. I especially found myself in such a position when inquiring a little more about stuntman, Eskrimador and independent filmmaker Bryan Sloyer‘s brand new trailer for the upcoming FMA training reel, Balintawak, which, in and of itself, is more than just a title. “Balintawak is a specific style of Escrima…” he says. “…There are many many styles of Balintawak alone and Escrima itself holds too many to count. Many of the forms and styles are passed down father to son and so not all are known outside the Philippines.”. Based on a concept Sloyer presented roughly in his previous action short, Bahad, back in March, Balintawak will set the stage for a more evolved treatment of that […]

Will Yick Delivers Espionage, Danger And Action Chops In The New Series Trailer, DISAVOWED

Lee B. Golden III

A little slice of intrigue, a dash of danger and a touch of deadly hand-to-hand combat can make for nice little online gem, particularly arriving soon in the form of independent filmmaker and actor Will Yick‘s new webseries, Disavowed. A purveyor of Filipino martial arts for six years, the series is an inspired product by Yick who wanted to incorporate comprehensive storytelling and acting with his own personal knowledge of military, having served both in the Navy and Army. Yick also directed, produced, edited, co-wrote and designed action sequences for the new series which he says will be much more character driven than some of his previous work. “I didn’t want to oversaturate the series with too much action this time around.” he says. “My goal was to have a balance of drama, plots and sub-plots, and enough action to get people interested, although I won’t always use this formula […]

Sharpen Your View With New Pics From THE BLADED HAND 2

Lee B. Golden III

Every now and then, a documentary comes along that inspires some reflection and changes the way you view a specific topic. For martial arts enthusiasts, such a documentary can be found in the recently released film, The Bladed Hand, a critically acclaimed and intricate retrospective into the world of the Filipino Martial Arts, hosting an eclectic array of interviews with fight professors and martial arts masters, as well as stuntmen and fight choreographers for film and television. The film became a huge success upon its DVD and Vimeo VoD release last year since earning its praise with several screenings back in 2012, so much so that a sequel is currently underway as of November last year, with writing and producing trio, Jay Ignacio, Kent Vives and actor and stuntman Sonny Sison (Broken Path, The Lackey, Godzilla), back on board to bring the next film to life. And with a large […]

FMA Takes Center Stage In The New LBP Short, BAHAD

Lee B. Golden III

It was back in February that I got to acquaint myself with actor and stuntman Bryan Sloyer who mentioned a few projects he was working on this year. One of those projects in particular would evidently include fellow action actor Jerry Quill and resident independent filmmaker and action director Emmanuel Manzanares for their latest collaborative short test fight effort, Bahad. The title itself carries several derivative meanings in a few languages, including Hebrew, and especially in Cebuano dialect. In this particular instance, for indie action fans, it simply earns the title meaning “Duel”, which is what it is — a breakneck, fast paced cinematic clash between two Eskrimadors challenging each other to test the limits of their skills. Bahad is also a reunion project after last year’s collaboration for The Fixer, as well as a concept introduced by Sloyer who also happens to be a purveyor of Filipino martial arts himself. […]

Christian Paolo Lat Is A One-Man Stickfighting Army In The New Shortfilm Trailer For ESKRIMADOR

Lee B. Golden III

Filipino martial arts have always been a tried and true application to martial arts action cinema, and such happens the case with the latest trailer for independent filmmaker Jelani Kim L. Maniago‘s upcoming dramatic action short, Eskrimador. Starring Chrisrian Paolo Lat, the new project started about a month and a half ago in collaboration with Maniago, as well as stuntfighter, performer and fight choreographer Eulver Presto, and a handful of other students from from the International Academy Of Film & Television near the city of Cebu. Not much is known about the plot here, but based on this week’s new trailer, Eskrimador could very well be one more treat to enjoy from the online action community. One guy armed with two Escrima batons taking on five skilled guys armed with similar knowledge on martial arts weaponry? I’m down with it. And with any luck, we will see more of it […]

Michelle Martins And Bryan Sloyer Go Head-To-Head In LBP's Latest Fight Demo

Lee B. Golden III

Michelle Alvarado Martins and Bryan Sloyer Fans and followers of independent action and Film Combat Syndicate readers might remember industry stuntwoman Michelle Alvarado Martins from her previous gig with filmmaker and stunt coordinator Geo Corvera on his first online shortfilm for the new year titled Triumph. Well, this week, Martins continues to expand on her craft, showcasing her screenfighting talents for the first time with independent filmmaker and LBP Stunts Chicago founding member Emmanuel Manzanares and fellow stuntman Bryan Sloyer on a new fight demo now available for viewing on the official LBP Stunts YouTube channel. Manzanares initially met Martins after working with her husband, fellow stuntman, Anthony Martins on set for the production of the TV show, Chicago Fire just a few weeks ago. As far as first impressions go, he generally described Manzanares as “great”, “humble”, “very nice” and “..very easy and fun to work with..”. He also […]

Around The Web: Indie Action Arms Itself In KNIFE FIGHT And KING OF STICKS

Lee B. Golden III

Action actor and stuntman Gui Da Silva returns back to the screen for his latest performance in the new shortfilm, Knife Fight. The shortfilm is Da Silva‘s latest (….ahem…) stab at weapons’ choreography opposite fellow actor and stuntman James Young, exquisitely arranged once again by LBP Stunts Chicago’s own Emmanuel Manzanares, who previously directed Da Silva in the stellar pistol-whip action short, Extraction. Both Da Silva and Young kick off the new year in the independent field just months away from seeing their respective stunt credits unveiled for Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, with their next credited work on director Brent Ryan Green’s upcoming sci-fi thriller, The Veil, set to release in 2015. In addition, you can see Young‘s latest work as fight coordinator with Sam Hargrave in director Josh Waller’s newly released film, Raze, out now in select theaters and on VOD. Meanwhile, Da Silva is expected to […]

A Soldier Takes His Fight To His Sister's Kidnappers In The New Shortfilm Thriller, TEARS AT DAWN

Lee B. Golden III

Following an article I spotted over at The Action Elite led me to the newest action packed shortfilm, Tears At Dawn, featuring actor Aaron Alexander who gets down and dirty as the lead who goes on a vengeful manhunt for the people who kidnapped his sister. After hitting this year’s film festival circuit in Los Angeles, Tears At Dawn is finally available online to view. The new shortfilm also stars Alyssa Roussel, Stephen Felix, Mia Rangel, Jasmine Flores, Cassandra Dixson, Conrad Gonzales and Bella Samman with fight choreography by Hector Gonzales. Be sure to check out the synopsis, in addition to the director’s poignant and heartfelt statement about the film from the official website. SYNOPSIS: After two successful tours in the Middle East where he received training in the deadly hand-to-hand combat of Kali and Escrima, Force Recon Marine Corpsman Arthur Orange finds himself adjusting to the domestic life with […]