THE WITNESS: New Poster Revealed For Jose Manuel’s Breakout Indie Martial Arts Hit
Puerto Rico’s first-ever independent martial arts action thriller is getting a 4K revival screening at festivals later this year!
jose manuel
THE WITNESS: Exclusive 4K Trailer Debut For Jose Manuel’s Award-Winning Breakout Martial Arts Actioner
The cult 2010 hit is now getting a 4K restoration with an eye for a hopeful wider release, and more!
TAKEOUT TAKEDOWN!: Deliveryman José Manuel Gets Handed A Fistful In The New ASDO Action Comedy
This year saw filmmaker Joey Min and his team at Art School Dropouts make their return to the Urban Action Showcase presenting their latest indie action labor, Takeout Takedown! with actor José Manuel. The short, about a haphazard food delivery to a secret cockfighting ring, won several Bests for its presentation, including Best TV/New Media and Best Action Sequence, and is now playing online via their YouTube channel for the viewing public. To be clear, no actual chickens were harmed during the twelve-day period of this shoot. No, I wasn’t there since I live further East of the Hudson River, but I know a plush chicken toy when I see one. Enjoy the action and laughs below, as well as the behind-the-scenes of it all in an extended ASDO featurette beneath!
COMING ATTRACTIONS: Nicholas Ortiz’s JUGANDO CON FUEGO Heats Up With Revenge Thrills And A Touch Of Genre Nostalgia
Four years after landing on our radar with 2018’s multi-award winning short, Black Betty, up-and-coming director Nicholas Ortiz has long since stayed the course with developments on his endeavors, ultimately landing one of his more larger projects to date out of his Deviant Children Productions banner. Jettisoning out to Tijuana, Mexico last summer for the independent short production of action crime thriller, Jugando Con Fuego, Ortiz is joined by none other than R4 Films LLC, whose Robert Samuels has been a working staple in the Nothern East Coast indie film community between Pennsylvania, New Jersey and neighboring New York City. To boot, Samuels, a veteran member of the heralded Hong Kong Stuntman’s Association who’s credits are shared with the likes of Jackie Chan, Frankie Chan, Yuen Woo Ping and Sammo Hung, continues to apply his trade on both sides of the lens. He successively segues here from his previous Hong […]
BORIKEN: LAND OF THE BRAVE: Goons, Femme Fatales And Kung Fu In The Latest Teaser For Jose Manuel’s Action Comedy Short
My longstanding mission to help prop up actor José Manuel continues to this day, as it has since I first discovered his work for myself in 2015. His hustle remains an uphill climb, but there’s no doubt he’s made some strides along the way, delivering continuously solid and driven action and stunt work and acting to boot, all expressed and executed with the kind of exacting attentiveness to detail he’s grown to admire in bigger stars over the years like Jackie Chan. Surely enough, there are echoes of this in his latest labor of love, Boriken: Land Of The Brave, with a teaser currently running online. Combining inspirations from Indiana Jones and the physical hi-jinks and fast-paced action of the Armor Of God films, Manuel places the two firmly at the center of his concept, telling of an adventurer in search of a long lost item – one that could […]
EL TESTIGO Review: A Regional Action Star’s Potential Is Ripe For The Taking
Since the transfer of my original blogspot to a more optimal wordpress platform on July 8, 2018, I’ve taken an interest in re-editing and republishing some select interviews and articles for better, cleaner presentation. The following piece was previously published on March 4, 2015. It’s not everyday you get to see a Puerto Rican-produced martial arts film…well, at least it felt that way until about 2011 with the rollout of director Andres Ramírez‘s action adventure, El Testigo (The Witness). Featuring the stylings of lead actor, writer and stunt coordinator Jose Manuel, the film was ultimately the first of its kind in Puerto Rico to reportedly cater to the martial arts movie niche. It’s earned its share of awards and nominations for a reason, and while the genre is still slow to take in Puerto Rico among other parts of the world, one can only hope that the slow nature of […]
EL PUÑO DEL CONDOR (THE FIST OF THE CONDOR): Details On The New Martial Arts Series From Chilean Action Duo Marko Zaror And Ernesto Diaz Espinoza [EXCLUSIVE]
In the years since placing himself firmly on the martial arts action fandom radar with Ernesto Diaz Espinoza’s 2006 debut, Kiltro, one fact remains is that fans can’t get enough of Marko Zaror. It’s been fifteen years since then, with the two having already done three movies together with the latest being monastic action thriller, Redeemer (2014), and now they’re back together once again with the wheels turning for the new digital series, El Puño Del Condor (The Fist Of The Condor), which is currently in production in Chile. Extenuating plot and story details are under wraps for the series, but what I can report is that the crux of the series deals with martial artists from around the world, all in search of a book containing ancient secrets on overcoming the limits of the human body. That book and its very knowledge is protected by its most impenetrable gatekeeper, […]
THE MAN FROM KATHMANDU: Jose Manuel’s Epic Martial Arts Action Drama Now Available In The U.S.!
Long since making headway as Puerto Rico’s premiere martial arts star in El Testigo, Jose Manuel has worked his way up from YouTube talent to working in feature films. Thus, his debut lead role in Pema Dhondup’s martial arts action drama, The Man From Kathmandu, just dropped in the United States and you can now find it for rent via YouTube, as well as Apple TV, Amazon and Google Play from High Octane. A young man morally torn between his cultural identity and his newfound vendetta, must reconnect with the traditions of his roots and find the true meaning of justice. The Man From Kathmandu has been on my radar for a really long time having undergone its evolution over the years in cast and story. It’s a milestone success for Manuel, and with a story that takes quite a cerebral turn and should definitely be seen with a nuanced […]
THE MAN FROM KATHMANDU Revealed In A New Poster
Folks are just a few weeks away from the U.S. premiere of Pema Dhondup’s new action drama, The Man From Kathmandu at the seventh Urban Action Showcase in New York City. The film opened overseas in Nepal earlier this year prior to featival screenings in Puerto Rico and Barcelona with an upward mixture of reviews and we now get a little more of its profusion with new poster art now making the rounds. The Man From Kathmandu is a milestone role for actor Jose Manuel who debuted in 2011 as Puerto Rico’s premiere martial arts action star with independent thriller, El Testigo. In Dhondup’s new film, Manuel plays a disaffected half-Nepali Muslim beleagured by life in L.A. who pit-stops in Kathmandu on his way to Syria only to find his true, redemptive calling when a seedy politician and the actions of his criminal underpinnings put his family and the woman […]
UASE 2019 Spotlight: DEAD END II, SANTOS Returns, Rising Tiger Brings SILVERBACK, And More!
The seventh annual Urban Action Showcase kicks off its two-day event on November 8, host to a raft of spectacular film celebrations including The Warriors, Tim Burton’s Batman and blockbuster sci-fi, The Matrix among a plethora of others. The festival will also have its share of celebrity appearances by martial arts stars to further magnify the annual event. Of course, one other major end of the showcase will include a slew of projects from independent filmmakers from around the world. In addition to the previously reported Final Contact: Episode III and El Hombre De Tijuana, actor Bryan Larkin will enter the fray with his new shortfilm continuation, Dead End II: A Justified Kill. It’s in this chapter where our two contract killers in pursuit of a gangster cross paths with a young girl whose eyes are fixed on a bag of cash as a way out for a better life. […]
THE MAN FROM KATHMANDU Soul Searches With A Fistful Of Hope
Disaffection by one’s current societal millieu stands as one in a myriad of reasons amid studies about why some people, including those of Islamic faith, would begin thinking the grass is greener with a terrorist organization. In pondering director Pema Dhondup Gakyil’s sophomore feature, The Man From Kathmandu, it needs reiterating that this is not a mere justification, but an important and worthy observation in engaging Gakyil’s independently-produced, slightly more escapist feat that orchestrates a much more poignant tale of redemption and love in its delivery. Actor and rising action star Jose Manuel rises to the occasion in the years since putting his native Puerto Rico on the map with debut martial arts thriller, El Testigo (2011). Beating out one of several casting choices in following the film’s extensive development, Manuel stars front and center for his second lead role in The Man From Kathmandu as Faizal, a non-residential half-Hindu/Muslim […]
THE MAN FROM KATHMANDU: VOL. 1 Hits The Streets With New Trailer Footage, Poster And Original Music
The campaign continues for Tricity Pictures with a brand new Nepali trailer for writer/director Pema Dhondup’s action adventure, The Man From Kathmandu: Vol. 1. Host to the action and drama stylings of breakout Puerto Rican martial arts star, Jose Manuel, moviegoers in Nepal will be the first to see the story unfold beginning March 15. A disaffected American – Nepali half Hindu – Muslim boy detours to Kathmandu on his way to find his father who thinks has joined the war in Syria, but his battle against a local don who kills his grandfather grounds him to the reality of his relationships and and in the process he re-connects with his roots, culture and traditions of the Himalayan nation, which he had forgotten and both his external and internal journey changes. At least one noticeable difference is that the title now brandishes with a Vol. 1 suffix, which makes things […]
THE MAN FROM KATHMANDU Is The Hero We Need In The Official Teaser
In just shy of a decade, breakout Puerto Rican action star, actor Jose Manuel has proven himself to be a purely prospective candidate for genre fans who love films of the fightin’ kind. Well on his way to a second feature lead outing in the long-developed The Man From Kathmandu, the film’s regional Nepali release now has its own official teaser for local filmgoers following its international trailer from a few months back. A disaffected American – Nepali half Hindu – Muslim boy detours to Kathmandu on his way to find his father who thinks has joined the war in Syria, but his battle against a local don who kills his grandfather grounds him to the reality of his relationships and and in the process he re-connects with his roots, culture and traditions of the Himalayan nation, which he had forgotten and both his external and internal journey changes. Expect […]
THE MAN FROM KATHMANDU: A New Hero Is Born In The First Teaser
Actor and martial arts star Jose Manuel will make his return to the feature-length stardom in THE MAN FROM KATHMANDU!
MADE IN CHINATOWN: Puerto Rican Martial Arts Action Sensation Jose Manuel Joins The Cast
Photo: Carlos Alfonso One of the biggest and best things happening right now in the upper East coast is just weeks away from cameras rolling for upcoming martial arts mob comedy, Made In Chinatown. Breakout martial arts star, actor Jose Manuel has joined the cast that has martial arts cinema mainstays Art Camacho and Robert Samuels (H.K.S.A.) pairing up to direct. The details of Manuel’s role are unknown. He’ll otherwise be among a raft of actors and action talent led by world class Wushu stylist and stuntman Alfred Hsing (Ready Player One, Ip Man 3) debuting a lead acting role. Executive producer Mark Wiley is penning the script that sees Hsing playing Vinny, an underdog Asian American who, with the help of a ragtag group of friends and his Sifu, fights to work his way up the ranks in the Italian mob to win over the girl of his dreams. […]
THE MAN FROM KATHMANDU Springs Into Action In The First Behind-The-Scenes Photos
EXCLUSIVE: American action star Jose Manuel made a name for himself in 2012 with Puerto Rico’s first martial arts thriller, El Testigo. It’s led him to a progressive career now blooming and the current subject in which he and I have shared two interviews to date – the latest in which we discusse his prevalent new action adventure thriller, The Man From Kathmandu, now in full tilt with cameras rolling in Nepal from writer and director Pema Dhondup. A disaffected American-Nepali half Hindu-Muslim boy detours to Kathmandu on his way to join the on going war in Syria, but his battle against a local don who kills his grandfather teaches him to follow a far more greater purpose in life, and in the process he reconnects with his roots, culture and traditions of the Himalayan nation, which he had forgotten. Manuel leads a cast that includes Nepali actress Anna Sharma, popular […]
Rising Action Star Jose Manuel Talks THE MAN FROM KATHMANDU
Much has happened this year for actor and martial artist Jose Manuel. Interviewing him back in April was something of a milestone achievement, and no less for a rising star who himself has contributed years of sharpening talent and unmitigated resolve toward growing into the headlining action star he strives to be to date since making history in 2012 with Puerto Rican martial arts action feature, El Testigo (The Witness). His recent ‘Best’ wins for the Short Film Competition and Blood Sweat And Bones categories at the Urban Action Showcase and Expo on November 10 are also doing plusses for him this month. Retribution won the latter of the two and you can currently catch that one via YouTube. The other, Uncompromised, still stands plenty to gain with Manuel taking the lead next year following his current endeavors in Nepal. For this, we bring you The Man From Kathmandu, hailing […]
THE WITNESS SPEAKS: An Interview With Actor And Filmmaker José Manuel
It’s probably a pretty timely thing for me to be able to interview someone like José Manuel. Jackie Chan just had a birthday and Manuel, well… he’s probably one of the biggest Chan fans I’ve interviewed in my time on this site. He’s bigger than me for sure, and in the wake of his own efforts as a filmmaker and entertainer with a distinct and profound love for action on film, I couldn’t be more proud of him. I actually REALLY wanted to meet him late last year when he attended the events at the Urban Action Showcase and Expo, only I had approximately zero clue that he was in town and had only found out when he presented a documentary video of his trip on social media. I was a bit floored and a laughed it off; it wasn’t too upsetting, rather just delightful to know that New York City […]
GIVEAWAY: Win A DVD Copy Of José Manuel’s Debut Martial Arts Movie, EL TESTIGO (The Witness)!
It’s been about six years since Puerto Rican audiences came to know of actor and martial artist Jose Manuel in his 2011 feature debut, El Testigo (The Witness). In the time thereafter, Manuel and those among his tenacious group of creatives at North Compass have been steadfast in amplifying the martial arts genre with a raft of test fights and shortfilms you can find online. And not for nothing either as the genre did manage to leave a mark in the North American commonwealth. El Testigo was a local hit, thus proving its viability and so it’s clear that Manuel and filmmaker Andres Ramirez only see fit to take things a step further. Ergo, we now await to find out what happens with their latest thrilling, edgy concept, Uncompromised, for which you may have already spotted its trailer as well as an action clip. At current, I plan on delving […]
THE HIT LIST: March 20, 2017
Well, it’s been another close call but I finally managed to bring you this week’s installation of The Hit List for your own viewing pleasure. Last week was crazy packed with festival news upkeep from Asia along with posting our recent inteview with actress Yadi Nieves and managing to review Mitsutake Kurando’s new movie, Karate Kill, which releases this summer. Considering all this and then some, I’m ready for the weekend! But, it IS only Monday and so too, shall the norm continue with this week’s Hit List nearly packaged and ready to go, and with a new spate of stunt reels to kick things off, courtesy of a slick and sexy new stunt driving reel by stuntwoman Daylin Matthews. Rounding out the playlist are reels by Louis Sebastian, Joseph Roark, Nik Pelekai, Joe Gallina, Entony Ruscetta, Dean Gould, Noah Woods and D.L. MacDonald, and a spectacular new reel by […]
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