Managed to get a few things done this weekend including enjoying a few others screeners – one for a film that was supposed to be out this month but will be releasing this Fall instead and I’ll bring some news about that in the weeks ahead.
Well… the summer heat is setting in. If anyone needs me, I’ll be crowding the A.C. at home ?…Or at the movies. Preferably the latter.
Top (L to R): Andrei Nazarenko, Michelle Jubilee Gonzalez, Branden Arnold, Kiera O’Connor, Veto Swarn
Bottom (L to R): Charlit Decharkhom, Kwang Bin, Sherry Rene, Ari Loeb, Troy Butler
Of course, things will heat up as usual with our weekly installment of the Hit List and thus, we begin as always with a round of stunning demo reels from some of today’s best and rising talents in stunt performance and cinematic action. Vinny O’Brien gets things started this week followed by Sherry Rene, Ari Loeb, J.D. Garcia, Niahlah Hope, Garreth Hadfield, Austin Durden, Michelle Jubilee Gonzalez, Lance Brazil, Nikkilette Wright, Christian Petersson, Takahashi Hiroshi, Margaryta Soldatova, Girvan “Switch” Bramble, a nostalgic lookback at the work of Felix and Lorenz Hideyoshi for YoungMasters, and the the talent feats of action as shown in a new reel for Switzerland-based Sammali Design.
As far as promotional items go, there’s only one and it’s with a final poster for Ryan Connolly’s new short, BALLiSTTIC. Once more, plot details are nil but the trailer is fantastic and bodes something exciting for its release this Wednesday. Check out the poster below and check out the link at the far bottom to last week’s Hit List for the trailer, or simply click here and sub to the Facebook fan page and view it these.
There’s nothing else in the way with promotional gems, but I thought I’d tidy up a little on the parkour end with some smooth POV freerunnimg jams courtesy of Nick Ortiz. Joined by Ampisound in his efforts, Ortiz brings us what he calls The Descent Project. He does a lot of that, and running, and then some. Et voila!
Without further ado, time to get straight to the fight action this week. Kiera O’Connor weighs in opposite Kwang Bin for some choreography workshop time from Vlad Rimburg while we next get to introduce ourselves to Tristan Corrigan’s channel with his two most recent shorts, Repeat and Pay Your Debt.
Branden Arnold and Troy Butler get in some Gun Fu from Joseph Ray Roark prior to checking out what Bobby James and performers Pat Chu and choreographer Jenin Gonzalez did at Midnight. From there we get to observe the subbed, old-school, OTT kung fu shenanigans in Drug Den Master from Asian film stuntman, performer and director Jude Poyer and starring Andrei Nazarenko and Craig Miller, and the unsubbed action and drama over at 777 Raw Street’s latest, The Resignation Letter.
Writer and director John Pollock’s new release has been a long time coming given his testimony in this description. This one is called Honour, and though it’s not as fight-heavy as most of what we get going in the Hit List, I can’t say this one doesn’t entertain with its visual and contemplative, more artful approach. It’s a little different, but I like it.
I also liked Tomires Ribeiro’s newest short, Punhos e Leis (Fists And Laws), freshly out of Brazil and with Renan Medeiros and Bruno Carmo playing two rivaling pickpockets vying for the same street, and thus, there can be one!
Press play below and enjoy!
Top (L to R): Christian Petersson, Takahashi Hiroshi, Niahlah Hope, Austin Durden, Cirvan Bramble
Bottom (L to R): Nilkilette Wright, Jenin Gonzalez, Vinny O’Brien, Renan Medeiros, Margaryta Soldatova
Things ran a little light this week so we’ll see how next Monday goes unless I decide to take another break which might leave some room for more content to arrive. Until then, sub to the channels and SHARE the Hit List with friends, and visit last week’s entries if you’d like to see more of where these goods came from.
Also, if you or someone you know has an equally cool new demo or project that needs promoting or sharing, feel free to run it by us at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com.
My energy level was sputtering all weekend. I had some much needed fun though and got to decompress and meet some new and beautiful people. Happy start to my summer.
L to R (top): Masami Kosaka, J.C. Leuyer, Sadiqua Bynum, Cyrus Leisy, Bobby Nickels
L to R (bottom): Sonalii Castillo, Peter Syckelmoore, Seydina Balde, Frans Steyn, Sarah Chang
I’m also where the independent action and stunts are as we commence with this week’s return of the Hit List after a period of catching up and a little more rest in between. We begin with the familiar name of Judit Szvia and I couldn’t be more proud to start her at the top of this week’s playlist of stunt and athetic reels followed by contributions from Ryan Robertson, Darin Hicks, Cyrus Leisy, Peter Syckelmoore, Sadqiua Bynum, Frans Steyn, Robert Linden, Lexter Santana and J.C. Leuyer.
Promotional items are quite a handful with Kamen Ramen Studios off and promoting their June 7 online Tokusatsu short, Homemade Hero G starring Gee “Lil’ Bomb” Jay, and actor and filmmaker Sam Puefua’s latest offering to neon-lit female-centric revenge thrills with the Oniros Film Fest-selected Mamba starring Sonalii Castillo.
Third in the playlist is a teaser for a television/webseries proof of concept that garnered my interest for a few weeks before I heard back from its star, actor and martial artist Seydina Balde. Protection Fantome is the name with Seydina leading the story of an officer whose elite witness protection agency out for retribution against a powerful criminal organization when he fails for the first time.
Last and WAY FAR from least is the official trailer for The Division, a short-form proof of concept making it’s way to exclusive screenings in London this summer. It’s the latest brainchild of film and fighting duo, actors Jean-Paul Ly and Law Plancel and you are more than welcome to read all about the details by clicking here as well.
Following that are some pictorals straight from Instagram, firstly with a raft of on-set production stills from Bobby Nickels’ latest piece of work, Flux Action. This was a project that Bobby himself launched crowdfunding for last summer and a year later, this little independent feat is nearing the finish line before going into post-production.
Below is at least one still of several you can now catch at Instagram, while the second photo just beneath hails from actress Kerry Lacy who is currently on the way with a second chapter to follow up Stacey Maltin’s thrilling character study, Viola, which brings us to this week’s action treats from around the web and thus, we begin with the aforementioned inaugural shortfilm thriller that got some festival attention in the past year or so before being quietly released online. Stuntman Paul Varrachi who coordinates the calamity in the second half, plays opposite Kerry in a tale that delves into the dark confessionals of a woman who, in a word or more, is, well… pretty sick of everyone’s shit. Paul plays a fugitive rapist on the loose and as narratives like these usually go, it doesn’t end well for one of these two.
Bobby Nickels in FLUX ACTION
Kerry Lacy in VIOLA 2
Viola is currently prohibited from viewing on other sites, so click here to watch it in full. Beyond that, it’s off to the races this week for the playlist in tow and with plenty of fisticuffs to make the rounds courtesy of filmmaker, action actor and stuntman Marques Zaror with performances by Zaror himself along with Branden Arnold, Pat Chu, Rabon Hutcherson II, Darin Hicks, Mark Hudson, Cycerli Ash, Amber Lamarca and many, many more.
Zhanna Sattseva and PeiPei Alana Yuan keep the monentum going with a short interlude of their own followed by K Dynamique’s OTT proof of concept, G1NMAN KILL with music by Tom Konidas, Hymson Chan shepherds the action and comedy in Where’s A Cop When You Need One?, the almighty Bryan Sloyer contains his kill zone in Night Watch, Joseph Roark reaps what he sows in revenge short, Unforgiven with the aforementioned Branden Arnold, Tolga Degirmen with a small band of players led by Kai Fung Rieck for action concept, Slice And Shoot and Anton Simpson-Tidy kills ’em all in Ashley Beck’s anime-inspired Afro Samurai: Vexed.
Second to last is the amazing jidaigeki shortfilm opus, Sword Of The Dead whose director, Stephen Vitale was recently the subject of an interview you can also now catch here. Last and far from least is the inaugural outing of Jeremy Weiss’ thrilling new short, The Teacher, filmed at the vast and newly-opened Wanda Film Studios in China and starring Sarah Chang forced to whip out her syllabus of fists and fury to lay the past to rest one last time.
This is a really fun playlist if you ask me. Enjoy it all!
L to R (top): Zhanna Sattsaeva, Kai Fung Rieck, Cycerli Ash, Anton Simpson-Tidy, PeiPei Alena Yuan
L to R (bottom) Gee “Lil’ Bomb” Jay, Robert Linden, Amber Lamarca, Bryan Sloyer, Branden Arnold
If you missed the Hit List from two weeks ago, catch it here. Also, subscribe to these creators and their pages online and SHARE the Hit List with friends and, as always, if you or someone you know performs or creates splendid action and stunts on film and you think it deserves a place in our Hit List, hit us up at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com and we’ll be pleased to vet your goods accordingly!
Enjoy the trailers!
“I wasn’t really sure of what I wanted to do in life, let alone in film.” he tells us. “I tried it all and one day someone told me that I should try getting into stunts and then years later I was doing stunts for films and TV, eventually that led me to acting.”
Balazs’s story is far from unique pertaining to others who have faced adversity and/or continue to do so. He’s not over the hump yet, though the past four years have shown tremendous, visible results in his strive for betterment at Prima Lux, and Australia’s film environment in whole, overseeing the strain of facing down hardship with persistence and resolve.
Honestly, if it were up to me, I would have stayed in bed, Netflixing and sleeping this past weekend. (Sigh…) If only, right?…
L to R (top): Glenn Somera, Geoffrey Boggs, Alex Marshall-Brown, Zak Self, Branden Arnold
L to R (bottom): Megan Le, Darin Hemmer, Darin Hicks, Temujin Shirzada, Leandro Mayor Martinez
At any rate, another week is upon us and once more, we’re back to highlighting some of today’s top and rising talent in stunts and action with another installment of the Hit List. Battle B-Boy co-star Megan Le tops this week’s playlist with a fitting track from Frankie Valli and the Four Season that had me dancing in my seat. Following that are reels from Eric C. Sun, Zak Self, Kai Fung Rieck, Eddie JY Lee, Andrew Long, Sarah Schulte, Andrew Nadanyi, Anna Yosin, Jim Ellason, Miyashiki Akio, Jonathan Yurco, Kellie Victoria Scarangello, Narayan Cabral, Sher Juraev, and Creative Rising’s Glenn Somera with an action director’s reel to finish off on a tasty high note.
Just a couple of items outline this week’s promotional gems and we begin with another sweet new pre-viz sampler from director Johnny Balasz in lieu of the coming production of Night Shift with actress Adele Elasmar front and center. You can peep a little more action in addition to current updates by clicking here.
Another quick look at some of the fight previz that we are doing for our new film Night Shift. Just to think 8 weeks ago our lead actress @adeleelasmar had no experience whatsoever in screen fighting or combat in general. This is a testament not only to her but the amazing team we have. This is only a small section of the fight so we’re saving the best for the film. This scene will take place on a rooftop in the Melbourne CBD. #nightshift #nightshiftfilm #womeninfilm #girlfight #martialarts #mixedmartialarts #actionfilm #aussieaction
A post shared by Prima Lux Films (@primaluxfilms) on Apr 7, 2018 at 5:39pm PDT
Last is a trailer that sees the return of actress Alex Marshall-Brown (Brix And The Bitch) to the Hit List in Rand Behr’s new shortfilm, No Trace. Marshall-Brown and actor James Kyson (Heroes, Preacher) headline the pic for its upcoming Artemis Film Festival premiere, centered on a bank robber in cahoots with the mob and on the run from her former detective partners following a successful heist.
The Artemis Film Festival kicks off on April 26. Until then, the trailer itself has some domain restrictions so peep the poster below, then then click here and take a look.
LUMIX
This week presents a sweet reprisal as well as something different in the fights and films section, and you’ll know it from the artwork below.
The playlist kicks off with Darin Hemmer taking Geoffrey Boggs to the mat before Action Movie Makers makes way to the Hit List with Philippe Deseck lensing some pre-viz action of his own with Darko Tsukan coordinating, and Branden Arnold front and center for some bo-staff and stunt practice from Marques Zaror over at Bridgette Michelle’s channel.
Stunt players Stuart Williamson amd Craig McCrae keep the momentum going with some pre-viz sword-and-shieldplay making a grand case for viewers to watch Netflix period drama Troy: Fall Of A City, while Slade Lemieux Hallet helms a woeful test of endurance for a small film crew on the brink in Fight No Flight For Film. Temujin Shirzada singles out the key, unrelenting fight sequence with Leandro Mayor Martinez from February shortfilm, Fatal Blades, and the official LUMIX channel brings aboard director Sam K.J. for PvP, an epic, neon-lit tale starring Yoshi Sudarso and choreographer Alvin Hsing at the center of an epic arcade rivalry between two jukebox heroes who are too cool to be in the room!
Following that is the latest vid packed with freerunning feats over at the Urbanamadei fanpage, and UK-based animator Paul Johnson (Star Wars: TIE Fighter) delivers a fresh and spectacular shortfilm inspired by all that 70s and 80s babies know and love about going to an arcade alley in Retro Arcade Anime: R-Type.
Rounding it all out is the full edit of Christian Kohnke’s shortfilm sequel, I’m Out Johnny 2.0. Tanay Genco Ulgen directs with Kohnke joined by Aidan Pringle in the title role as the gangster to beat for one man fighting his way out of the underworld.
Kohnke released the sequel initially in two parts last month following the initial four-minute thriller last May. For those entirely new to it, enjoy yourself in the playlist below with I’m Out Johnny 2.0 bookending this week’s Hit List.
L to R (top): Amadei Weiland, Kellie Victoria Scarangello, Eddie J.Y. Lee, Anna Yosin, Jonathan Yurco
L to R (bottom): Stuart Williamson, Eric C. Sun, James Kyson, Kai Fung Rieck, Andrew Nadanyi
Last week’s entries should do you justice if you need to catch up. Check it out and be sure to SHARE the Hit List with friends. For folks out there who have or know someone who has a kickass stunt or demo reel or an equally badass action project that could use promoting or presenting, send it to filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com!
The days of video stores are long behind us, as are the days of distributors throwing literally EVERYTHING at the booming DVD market. In those halcyon days, independent distributors were lining up to partner with (see: take advantage of) indie filmmakers and help chains like Blockbuster and Hollywood Video fill the gaps in their shelves between big Hollywood releases. For those of us brave enough to wade through this swamp of content, the occasional diamonds felt like a gift from god.
For every 10 unmitigated disasters, there was a gem like Mean Guns or Extreme Heist to incentivize further exploration. Sadly those days are lost to time; a fading piece of nostalgia that older millennials will lament to future generations. But maybe those days aren’t totally lost. The torch of obscure video store treasures may have been passed to an unlikely new champion… Amazon Prime!
From the beginning, Amazon Prime felt grittier than the other big dog of streaming, Netflix. It was a bit more dangerous, a bit less scrupulous in the content it allowed on the service. Sure, this lower bar of entry lead to a glut of inferior content but it also created a far more lawless environment that was ripe for obscure gems to be discovered.
Then, in 2016, Amazon opened the floodgates further with Amazon Video Direct. Now all filmmakers had full access to the service; an unconditional home for films created outside the system. The benefits it offered, while limited at times, were quite tantalizing: you could reach a whole new audience with your films without the need to find a Distributor or pay an Aggregator. Additionally, Amazon offered to payout 50% of revenue earned from paid sales / rentals and up to $.15 per hour streamed through their Prime service.
Naturally this lead to an absolute tsunami of micro budget horror films and borderline softcore porn, but it’s also become home to an increasing number of independent action films… Provided you can find them. Amazon is terrible at directing its users to said indie action films, though it’s not not hard to see why. Indie actioners are as niche as niche gets and there’s little incentive to promote them.
Despite this indifference, there is a technique to finding these films that’s reminiscent of the old days of video stores: referrals. Much like that cool, slightly snobbish video store clerk, Amazon offers a system of referrals that can lead you to similar movies that may help scratch that itch: “Customers who watched this item also watched.” Finding one movie you love can lead you down a rabbit hole of similar content from which you may never emerge (it’s important to come up for air every so often, trust me).
In closing, Amazon Prime is definitely a viable platform to find and even distribute independent action films (features AND shorts). It most definitely is in need of higher quality content, but the same lack of barriers that allows shovelware also welcomes excellence.
Here’s a list of indie actioners to get you started. Good Hunting!
Death Grip
This 2014 action-drama, directed by and starring Eric Jacobus, is the real deal! While the tone is much more grim than the usual Stunt People fare, the action is on point. Death Grip is the story of Kenny Zemacus (Jacobus) as he tries to get his life together and reconnect with his autistic brother Mark (Nathan Hoskins). Kenny’s attempt at reconciliation is jeopardized when he is dragged into conflict with dangerous cult and must go toe-to-toe with their evil leader played by Johnny Yong Bosch (Power Rangers).
America Has Fallen
Don’t let the mockbuster title fool you, this film is actually Rising Fear; a film for which we gave a stellar review. Created on a $6000 budget by writer, director, producer, editor, and star Tom Getty, this film is a master class in resource based filmmaking. America Has Fallen / Rising Fear follows former-Marine, Ryan Taylor, who is framed for a devastating terror attack and must race against time to clear his name…. and save the President!
Blood Of The Samurai
A campy blast from the past, this 2001 action-grindhouse movie is a scrappy delight. Writer / Director Aaron Yamasato has created a gory, ridiculous love letter to Sonny Chiba and Tokusatsu heroes. Two friends stumble onto a centuries old conflict between two vengeful Samurai. After donning their clothes and brandishing their swords, they receive abilities they never thought possible. Those abilities will come in handy when they have to fight against the evil syndicate that is trying to recover the swords for their own agenda.
Prodigal
Directed by and starring martial artist D.A. Jackson, Prodigal is an action packed retelling of The Prodigal Son. Jacob (Jackson) returns to his hometown to start a new life, but his old life of violence follows close behind. Now, the criminal organization he turned his back on wants him and everyone he loves dead. Brutal fight scenes and crazy stunts ensue.
Revenge Of The Gweilo
Writer / Director / Producer / Star, Nathan Hill has created the action movie equivalent of The Room. It’s the kind of action film that feels like it was made by someone who had only ever had action films described to them and it defies classification. All you need to know is this: The film’s IMDB page proudly states that would-be action star, Nathan Hill, did all his own stunts AND sex scenes…. You’ve been warned.
Click here and you’ll be able to see just how far back I began lending lip service to one of the most anticipated martial arts film titles at the time prior to its ensuing title, Plan B: Scheiss Auf Plan A (click here to read our review). That was in 2015 and it certainly feels like forever looking back as far as then in covering German film and stunt troupe, Reel Deal Action, as much as I have been.
For this, it is with great pleasure to have been able to share an auspicious chat with Adam Brashaw, someone whose work thusfar in stunts, film and television have been all but impressive. He’s only appeared in The Hit List a few times having done three shortfilms (two of which I have seen), and you need only to see the results for yourself apart from his exceptional work reel just above.
So…how was your weekend? I spent mine reviewing a few titles – one which apparently led people to think I was picking a fight with a martial arts expert who lives thousands of miles away from me, which is…STILL hilarious.
Anyway, I also got to look at some great shortfilm items in the past week and I’ve gladly collated them for this week’s installment of the Hit List, kicking off with another round of awesome stunt reels and other cool film bits from around the web. Stuntwoman Ellette Craddock gets a spotlight twice over this week, beginning with her new stunt reel, followed by reels from Brady Jo Merriman, Josh Schmitt, Michael Hartwick and Beni Alexander with action actor and filmmaker Jarrod Crooks, stunt players Tom Caserto, Girvan Bramble and Anton Guryanov, and 3Run Ambassador, stuntman and traceur Bogdan Pascal trekking the terrain in Bilbao, Spain.
Promotional bits are few this week, but ample enough to serve your needs and first up is a trailer from Gunsavior Pictures’s latest action comedy short, Iron Jade which made the rounds this weekend at the Action On Film Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada. Angela Lynn and David Norton star while an online date remains pending.
The other is a cool, new and inventive offering from award-winning short film director Daniel Vogelmann who, after earning his acclaim with projects like Dubois (2005) and Welk (2011) makes his return to fray with Hard Way: The Action Musical. Produced by Sebastian Bandel and Florian Gengnagel, Hard Way chronicles the story of Jake, a S.W.A.T. officer bent on vengenace for the death of his partner at the hands of notorious terrorist, The Mother, and with an arsenal that isn’t the usual song and dance for an action movie venture.
The project hails from Fireapple in association with University Of Television And Film Munich and Bayrischer Rundfunk and with funding by Filmfernsehfonds Bayern. The film is now available through Vimeo On Demand with more information and goods pertaining to supporting the project at its official website.
Before we get to this week’s action bits, stuntwoman and staff professor/extraordinare Michelle Christa Smith just made her most stunningly badass appearance in the past week in a new music video featuring recording artist Jackson Harris for the new song, “All Your Love”. Links to purchase for downloading or streaming are in the description, but more importantly, for as long as I’ve been following Smith since the launch of her Facebook, it makes me proud to see her showcase herself in such high-energy and filling fashion. If nothing else, this video is three minutes and fifteen seconds of sexy and sweet!
The action is where its at this week and you’re more than welcome to pay a visit to the aforementioned Ellette Craddock’s official website where her latest judo-themed mix-up, Date Fight, can be spotted in the videos section. Also on deck are Film Combat Syndicate favorites Felix King and Tony Vittorioso in a gem of their own called New Approach, and a brief fight practice short from Ieisha Auyeung with David Van Le and Mig Buenacruz – all viewable exclusively on Vimeo before we commence with this week’s hit-loaded YouTube playlist starting with a quick minute-long fight piece by Daniel Nelson and Ebony De La Haye, and a couple of cool concepts by Team STAMA‘s own Tanguy and Anthony Guinchard.
Continuing the momentum is Mikko Löppönen with a little night time fun featuring Jessica Wolff and Judit Sziva, and a late entry I found titled Dispute with Craig Canning opposite Andy Whitmarsh, and with Ashley Beck lensing before The Beat Down commences for helmer Jennifer Li with Keanu Lam, Matt Kennedy and Oshima Haruka.
Devin Supertramp returns to the Hit List this week with freerunner Calen Chan to bring Sonic The Hedgehog to real-life in 4K before we meet up with vlogger, stuntman and filmmaker Federico Berte in a new experimental comedy bit involving rapiers for The Duel (his intro explains it all by 1:55).
Rounding off the playlist is something truly, awesomely special from actor and filmmaker Jay Kwon who puts morsels of depth, artfulness and energy into his latest piece, Fixed Cost, centered on two partying women lured by a group henchmen against their will, ensuing a deadly fight for freedom from their captors. Katie O’Donovan is another prospect re-emerging once more in the weekly Hit List and if she keeps this up, I may end up becoming a fan!
Also starring are Hester Jean Lee and Oscar Leiva along with Anisha Gibbs and Nick Krawiec.
Enjoy the hits!
Last week’s treats still a blast. If this is your first stop via the Hit List, take a gander and get an even greater whiff of what we collect every week and then subscribe to the channels for your show of support. And, if you or someone you know is an equally talented filmmaker or stunt performer with a solid new reel or a project they’d like to either promote or present, run it by us at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com and let us be the judge!
My weekend was good! Well… not terrible anyway. Atomic Blonde was on my agenda and I stand by my last words in that piece as we now approach a new week with another installment of The Hit List.
My weekend was a much-deserved quiet getaway. Didn’t get to go out or anything but I did get in some extracurricular viewing and you’ll see some bits about that on my Instagram page if you’re following me.
If not, then clicking here is how you can do just that. Afterwards, you’re more than welcome to spend this moment getting in on some weekly Hit List fun with some of today’s upcoming stunt talents. A resplendent, firey mix of freerunning, falls and and film fighting ensue with Anna Griukach, Corey Tomicic, Alix Schwartz, Thomas Watson, Kate Angus, Andrew Nadanyi, Lacey Robinson, Glenn McCuen, Athena Perample, Xandar Chabrieay, Bethany Levy, Zoltan Hodi, Kyal Scott, Damian Mavis and the automotive catastrophic stylings of stunt coordinator Michel Julienne.
There are a couple of projects worth lending an eye to as their completion nears, first of which slated to arrive this Winter. The Omega, hailing from filmmaker Steven Michael has a GoFundMe campaign to help wrap things up for a story set in the distant future where a squad of scouts find themselves on a harrowing last ditch mission to preserve what’s left of mankind in the wake of centuries-old nuclear war and on-going conflict between five walled-off cities.
You can read more about The Omega, its cast and crew and their m.o. at the official GoFundMe page, while you can also catch their latest teaser for Ashley Beck’s newest action short, Abducted, as well as a ceremonial first trailer for Michael S. Moore’s milestone crowdfunded Kiai-Kick Films shortfilm adaptation, El Gato Negro: Prey, following its debut at the premiere Texas Latino Comic Con over the weekend.
The last phase of the Hit List has some really great material and we begin with Daniel Neslon and pair of experimental fight choreography pieces extrapolated from Marvel’s Captain America films – Winter Soldier and Civil War. Film Combat Syndicate favorites Tara Macken and Shahaub Roudbari follow through with a medley of kinetic Jiu Jitsu fight choreography at Inglewood’s 87Eleven gym just before we see Pejuang Stunt Indonesia keeping the momentum going in a group test fight of their own. Muhammet Aksoy and prolific action actor Mike Moeller also make their return to the Hit List in a reupload of a practice fight from late last year while Luis Fernandez hunts down Xavier Luo in Bluenight Productions’s latest, The Fugitive.
Veto Swarn and Jonathan Pantera Wallace mix it up with some Muay Thai and Capoeira in their new practice fight lensed by Steven Chan before catching this week’s return of film duo Vlad Rimburg and Emmanuel Manzanares with another BTS pre-viz clip stemming from upcoming game release, Batman: The Telltale Series, and Nathan Barris evens the score in iStunt Academy serial project, Outnumbered.
Up next is one badass shortfilm that recently had its exclusive debut on the Dust online network. It hails from director Steve Petersen (Erebus) who happens to be one of the best and most outstanding creatives I’ve ever observed, and his latest treatment of 2012 Dark Horse Comics property, dystopian aciton sci-fi, Number 13, is a testament of that fact. The shortfilm takes its cues from the August 2013 issue in which ouy bionically equipped hero sets out in search of a father he can’t remember, all while battling swarms of heavily armed creatures with a visual gloss that harkened back to my appreciation of Kiriya Kaz’s 2004 manga adaptation, Casshern. Gizmodo got some hits in their own notable coverage this month and you can learn more about the short there, and though the video is only a few minutes long, a few minutes is all this project needs to get you looking in his direction…unless you’ve seen Erebus in which case, you’re all caught up!
Next in line is an epic prop-battle between stunt pair Caitlin Huston and Omar Zaki in Netflix And Kill, with filmmaker Matthew T. Robinson following suit with two independent action finds I felt to be really impressive – Cornered and Shelter, host to performances by Saskia Allen, Jon Slayer, Tom Barnett and fight choreographer Marc Rodriguez-Bernet. Front and center thereafter is Mark Miscione as a fighter challenged in a 3-on-1 underground brawl in the aforementioned Manzanares’s latest brutal, pulse-pounding ode to martial arts pioneer and author, Judo founder Kano Jigoro with Bryan Cartago, Bryan Sloyer and Gui DaSilva also starring.
Last and far from least is something of a treat courtesy of Crunchyroll’s latest 14-minute special, Children Of Ether. Having chased an ample diet of anime for the last two years, I’m proud to add this one as a grand finale to this week’s Hit List from director LaSean Thomas and centered on a post-apocalyptic tale of a young, afflicted swordswoman on a trepidating quest to learn more about what’s happening to her in the year’s since her father’s murder.
I thought this would be a magnificent addition to the Hit List and a great way to change it up some, and I’m especially looking forward to an extension of this story moving forward.
Enjoy the hits!
Last week has everything you need and then some if online action is what you crave. Check it out and support the channels therein and once more, if you or someone you know has something equally terrific to share in the world of online action, stunts and filmmaking and you would like for us to host it in our weekly Hit List, hit us up at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com!
The story is very entertaining as is the overall look and feel, and Suljic brings a very edgy mien to the lens. The action can be jarring at times in the editing but you still get something out of it next to the solid drama with a commanding performance by Loredan Krug who plays the villain.
My weekend was a bit of a bummer…although it’s nothing compared to what others were going through in the world of stunts and entertainment as last week.
For all intents and purposes here though, it’s worth celebrating the life and legacy of stuntman and New Orleans native, John Bernecker, who sadly lost his life on Friday. In honor of his memory, he kicks off this week’s installment of The Hit List with highlights from projects such as This Is The End, Goosebumps and Get Hard to name a few, followed by reels from some of today’s top and up-and-coming stunt professionals, including Bryan Sloyer, Rosslyn Luke, Michael Bekemeier, Bronin October, Brandon Ly, Gabriela Kostadinova, Doug Karr, Suo Liu and stunt coordinator T.J. White.
At current, there’s nothing really in the way in terms of promotional materials. However, the latest shortfilm directoral outing from Christopher Zatta might be worth a nod as the new thriller, Imbroglio, readies for its Fantasia screening on July 26 and at LA Shorts Fest.
“IMBROGLIO” is a short action film starring Zoë Bell in which two warring groups of criminals meet to exchange hostages, each side unaware the other harbors a deadly secret. On one side, KYLE wants his brother back. On the other, DAVID wants to free his girlfriend. And ANNA (Zoë Bell), fueled by a history of bad blood, just wants revenge. As the standoff unfolds, everything goes south for everyone.
Also starring are Alina Andrei, Deosick Burney, Robert Dill, Joseph Michael Harris, Kiralee Hayashi, Travis Johns and Jason Tobias. Zatta recently posted a version of the one-sheet with its LA Shorts Fest laurel for next month. Check it out the poster just above, and peer onward below for a brand new trailer for Jyo “Six” Carolino’s latest action shortfilm sequel, Gauntlet Run: Breach, currently an entry for the Memphis Film Prize in Tennesse this August!
Flmmaker Philippe Deseck gets things off to a proper start this week hailing from Action Movie Makers with a trio of test fight pieces featuring Brigette Paroissan and Angie Adler-Koops, Maddison Bailey and Madeline Howlett, and Johnrè Blackie opposite Emily Rowbottom.
Antonio Cortes and Femi Olagoke follow up with an action demo of their own while we get something quite special out of an action snip from an otherwise miscellanous project I can’t find called Redline with performances by Guillaume David and Raimund Querido; From what I’ve discovered the footage is from around 2011 and whether or not I can find the whole shortfilm itself remains to be seen, but their action sequence was a great find in my opinion.
Filmmaker James Lee returns to the Hit List from doghouse73 Pictures and Low Angle Productions with the new mobile phone-filmed experimental action short, Overtime with Ben Chan and Lau Chee Hong about a man fighting to retrive a briefcase in order to clear his debts.
Rounding it all off is a project that was unveiled back in February, and we’ve only just caught wind of it. Acheron is the name from Wooden Gate Productions and helmed by directors Julian Lambert and Lee Fox Williams and centers on a young fighter journeying to an underground fight club, only to be tangled in a web of mystery as he must discover what led him there. Christian Arno Williams stars along with Faye Tozer and Jase Dean.
Last week’s Hit List is still a feat to enjoy if you have the time. Check it out while you can and subscribe to the channels to show your support, and as always, if you or someone you know has a kickass action reel or demo, or shortfilm project that could use a boost, contact us at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com!
JLP Pictures Mystery Pilot Project – STILLS
Online martial arts instructor and debut actor Master Wong kicks it up some thereafter with a quick fight interlude promoting his latest feature-length endeavor on The Real Target from acting/production duo David Cheng and Yolanda Lynes while Kenny Wong lenses Stephanie Vovou’s Big Sis Beatdown with Dan Carter and Warren Hull, and stunt player Luc Antoine headlines his latest get-together with UK Fight Design for La Main De La Mort.
My not-weekend was indeed such. I did not one, not two, but three reviews, and frankly I’m surprised I even managed to get the Hit List done.
So there, I’ve amazed myself whereas the following stunt performers and creatives below inducted into this week’s Hit List will do so tenfold. Alex Chansky dons his share of superheroics and thick skin in his latest action packed reel followed by Kate Petersen, Yavuz Topuz, Jessie Simpson and the incomparable Christopher Leps. Adair Moran gets a bit of height in for her newest reel next to that of the ‘Chemist’ himself, Jason Ng, with Nick Shuhan, weapons grade badasses Tien Hoang and Mike Moeller, Matt Shadden, Julia Maggio, Patrick King, Joshua Romeo, and stellar fight choreographer and all-around impressario Olivier Schneider rounding out the first, jam-packed stunt playlist, queued and ready to go!
There’s only one item to promote in this segment and for that, in case you missed our exclusive last week on Eric Nguyen’s forthcoming Lunar Stunts shortfilm endeavors with the Of Martial Arts And Men trilogy, feel free to peep the images below with Enter The Dojo‘s own Matt Page joining the universe as his popular on screen persona, AmeriDoTe pioneer Master Ken! (Read more HERE!)
View post on imgur.com
Now let’s finish this playlist with a bang and for this, we have K Dynamique, and sword pugilists Katie Pucillo and Tanna Mayer ringing in some test fight action of their own followed by Lunar Stunts‘s own Irvin Nguyen and Mickey Arce clashing light sabres for the fate of the universe, and Marcus Shakesheff’s bloody, epic battle as Batman against the Easter bunny. Things take a compelling and dramatic turn from there for the next video sent to us courtesy of Fred Nguyen with Grip Of Death, a kung fu comedy that is sure to have you holding onto your junk for dear life. Fred calls them “giggleberries”…which is a first for me. Hilarity.
Last and far from least is director Daniel Anthony with the new action comedy short, Comic Wars: Kaomic which follows two comic book nerds pressured by their boss and forced to escape into their imaginative world to overcome their fears. David Neyts, Louis Easton, Marty Hrejsa, Erica Jean and Brahim Rachiki star among the action-talented cast. I never got to finish this one before editing after my busy weekend, but it definitely doles out its share of zany comedy and silliness and I’ll definitely check it out on my own time. Beyond that, I’m walking by faith here that you’ll possibly enjoy that one.
Check it all out!
Last week’s Hit List is still alive and kicking if you need more hits to whet your indie action appetite. Check it out and support the channels, and if you have an equally cool project you think deserves a spotlight in our weekly Hit List, hit us up at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com!
I may have to take a break from the Hit List next week so as to catch up on projects as well as movies. I miss watching movies these days…it’s funny.
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