Streaming Sleepers: In PITFIGHTER, Jose Montesinos’s Indie Action Knockout
Celebrate the memory of one of the best action stars to ever do it.
jose montesinos
UNLUCKY STARS Prevails With Indie Action Talent And Tenacity (Reprint/Revisal)
It’s been well over a decade since I first discovered independent martial arts shortfilms online and I have humbly stood by and watched over the years as companies like Zero Gravity, The Stunt People, Reel Kick, VJ Films, Montanick Pictures, LBP Stunts Chicago and other individual stunt professionals around the country have woven into a thriving community that nourishes itself with immense talent for projects in and outside of Hollywood. Of course, the goal has been, and still is, to keep creating enough content to generate interest in feature-length kung fu and martial arts films on larger scales, a campaign that couldn’t have come at a better time as the genre itself had taken a beating in popularity since its heyday in the 70’s and early 90’s with a market now saturated by million-dollar blockbuster superhero movies, and if you’re a filmmaker like debut director, actor, martial artist and stuntman […]
SYFY Shark Thriller, FRENZY Bites With Campy Shark Spectacle
I was recommended a shark movie, for a change. Here are my thoughts on Jose Montesinos’ FRENZY!
UNLUCKY STARS: Dennis Ruel’s Indie Action Comedy Feature Debut Is Online To Watch For FREE
When you look at the cadre of independent creatives in martial arts cinema who’ve impacted the internet, there’s no way you can miss the name Dennis Ruel. He’s germinated amply from his roots at The Stunt People with the exhilarating indie action classic, Contour, to starring and even directing feature films of his own, namely the 2016 crowdfunded action comedy, Unlucky Stars, and with that, ultimately becoming no stranger to the hurdles and woes of independent cinema. Unfortunately, that includes finding a credible distributor. Unlucky Stars, a film several years in the making from Prototype Monks, eventually landed itself a seemingly fitting distro outlet with the promise of returns from sales… returns that haven’t seen the light of day. To date, the film now has a new website up-and-running in which Ruel explains the long-story-short odyssey of the arduous and painstaking process that has now resulted in acquiring the rights […]
THE HIT LIST – November 2, 2015
Welcome to another installment of The Hit List! This week is a lot lighter in content, which is sort of good for me in that I got to kick back a little more and relax over the weekend – to be honest, I kind of needed it too aftet neglecting myself last weekend what with all that’s happening in Indonesia as of late. At any rate, it’s time to get the show going because this has week’s plate is FULL to the hilt! First on our list of priorities are some brand new stunt reels and a video dedicated to a very special someone who passed away last month. The first player below features a list of stunt and action reels by Ed Bossert, Johann Ofner, Kamen Casey, Adair Moran, Hannah Betts, Philippe Vonlanthen, Josh Romeo, Marc David, an intense and dramatic reel from filmmaker Ben Ramsey which also includes alluring […]
Shortfilm Review: SENSITIVE 70'S TURTLENECK TOUGH GUYS (2015)
As practical as it is for filmmakers to make movies set within a specific decade or a certain period in time, there’s always been something admirable when a director’s vision harkens back to a time period as recent as the last five decades, particularly the seventies. To date, it’s an era most people can still relate to given how varying cultural aspects of that time frame have inspired quite a handful of the artists living today, and to say the least, directing duo Jose Montesinos and Brett Stillo clearly fit the category. Their latest shortfilm, Sensitive 70’s Turtleneck Tough Guys, doesn’t have all the trimmings down, but it does hit most of the right notes to encompass the tone and level of satire embodying a project of this nature. Montesinos co-stars with actors and stuntmen Eric Jacobus and Troy Carbonel in a story that often switches between situation comedy and […]
Screener Review: UNLUCKY STARS (2015)
SYNOPSIS: When Peru’s Biggest Action Film Star and Jordan’s newest rising talent find themselves pursued by a notorious Bookie, a pair of private investigators are forced to choose between their job and their conscience. REVIEW: It’s been well over a decade since I first discovered independent martial arts shortfilms online and I have humbly stood by and watched over the years as companies like Zero Gravity, The Stunt People, Reel Kick, VJ Films, Montanick Pictures, LBP Stunts Chicago and other individual stunt professionals around the country have woven into a thriving community that nourishes itself with immense talent for projects in and outside of Hollywood. Of course, the goal has been, and still is, to keep creating enough content to generate interest in feature-length kung fu and martial arts films on larger scales, a campaign that couldn’t have come at a better time as the genre itself had taken a […]
Ain't No Bull In The New Teaser For SENSITIVE 70'S TURTLENECK TOUGH GUYS!
Independent filmmaker Jose Montesinos (Barrio Brawler, Bert: The Emotion Picture) is back to punch you in the face with all kinds of masculine tenderness! Yes, post-production currently remains on-going for the upcoming shortfilm, Sensitive 70’s Turtleneck Tough Guys, and action-packed comedic spoof circling the eclectic era best known for such trendy tropes like sideburns, UV sunglasses, groovy music, kung fu…and of course, turtlenecks. The project is just one in a handful of collaborations between Montesinos and martial arts action favorite, Eric Jacobus, two of the main cornerstones of online independent action cinema in the past fifteen years. If you know Montesinos‘ work, you can instantly tell he has a flare for all things fashionable when it comes to 70’s and 80’s nostalgia; One of his best contributions to date was a trailer-only project titled Hell’s Kittens, a homage to sexy grindhouse action cinema at the height of popularity for the […]
Watch The New Trailer For HERCULES REBORN!
Because you can never have enough Hercules in your life, The Asylum has itself a new trailer for its own claim on the classic mythological hero in director Nick Lyon’s new action adventure thriller, Hercules Reborn. WWE wrestler-turned-actor John Hennigan (Jumpstart) takes the lead as the titular role in this particular smaller-scale approach compared to its bigger-budget iteration by way of MGM. Still, judging by the trailer, it hits some nice beats here and there. The film was also written by Barrio Brawler helmer Jose Montesinos and arrives on DVD on July 8. SYNOPSIS: When a young man’s bride is kidnapped by an evil king, he turns to Hercules for help. The fallen hero has been living in exile, banished for killing his family, but the young man’s courage inspires Hercules. Together, they fight to rescue the bride and reclaim Hercules’ honor.
LA CUCHARA Speaks For Itself In Josè Montesinos's Newest Shortfilm
Straight from the creative mind of independent filmmaker Jose Montesinos, the man behind the latest martial arts action hit of the summer, Barrio Brawler, comes his latest interpretive avant-garde shortfilm, La Cuchara. Here, Montesinos himself incorporates his own love for action with a deep, unique and heartfelt appreciate of the classics in this illustrious cinematic interpretation that blends dark and light themes, and takes viewers on a path that delivers such a profound, twisted and internal sense of completion and fruition almost unlike anything previously seen on film, that even the most scholarly of minds will be blown. La Cuchara is not just another installation of indepedent film. This is an education. Check it out below and be amazed! *wink*
Filmmaker Jose Montesinos Brings Indie Fight Action To The Big Screen In BARRIO BRAWLER!
I have been following indie screenwriter, filmmaker and Montanick Pictures founder Jose Montesinos‘s career for a number of years now, ever since Deadly Finger 1 and 2, the four part action rom-com webseries, The Winds Of Time, and the exceptionally fantastic Grindhouse-inspired trailer-only project, Hell’s Kittens. In fact, Montesinos is part of my much larger discovery of independent online action cinema dating back almost a whole decade, and is part of the reason why I grew such an appreciation for independent action cinema in the first place. That said, it’s a bit nostalgic to witness and observe after all these years of being a fan of internet-based Hong Kong-stylized action shorts, now that Montesinos is ready to take to the big screen for the upcoming limited theatrical run of his latest gritty urban martial arts pit tournament drama, Barrio Brawler. The film is an original production with lead actor Marco Antonio Alvarez […]
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