martial arts

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Watch The New Russian TV Spot For THE RAID 2!

Lee B. Golden III

The Action/Martial Arts bar has been raised and bolted shut! #TheRaid2 is in a class by itself: Beautality 101! pic.twitter.com/27mbZSNZLK — Michael Jai White (@MichaelJaiWhite) March 13, 2014 Writer and director Gareth Evans has taken the world by storm with his latest critical beloved favorite, The Raid 2. The film, starring actor and action star Iko Uwais, is being accomodated with boundless praise and appreciation from critics and lucky viewers fortunate to attend early screenings since the film’s initial debut at the Sundance Film Festival in January. And just recently, the film also earned its latest entry of fan film approval by way of independent filmmaker and action choreographer Vlad Rimburg with his latest hit, HammerGirl with CZ12 co-star, actress Caitlin Dechelle. Big things are happening this year for Evans and Uwais as developments continue for their third entry into their successful franchise by as early as 2017, with an American […]

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Danger Comes From All Directions In The New Poster For THE RAID 2!

Lee B. Golden III

Writer and director Gareth Evans‘ new epic action thriller, The Raid 2, has already become a hit among critics since its debut at the Sundace Film Festival two months ago. And with screenings between last month and other early March events preceding the film’s wide release beginning March 28, the film has already garnered its fair share of poster art, including a New Zealand/Australian and an Indonesian print. Alas, with the film’s push in other markets, there are more to come, and thus Entertainment Weekly forwarded an exclusive look at the latest poster for the film being heralded as one of the greatest action movies ever made. Check it out: The Raid 2 follows up the events of the first film with a largely new cast of killers, gangsters to comprise Jakarta’s seedy underworld of criminal activity with Indonesian action sensation Iko Uwais as the rookie cop forced to walk […]

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New Photos Trickle Online For HIGH KICK ANGELS

Lee B. Golden III

The high-kick genre of Japanese martial arts films since actress Rina Takeda’s 2009 break out hit, High Kick Girl, seems to have been a proven formula in recent years. On that note, Filmsmash forwarded a new glimpse into another film headed our way in the form of High Kick Angels from the film’s official Twitter account. Little is yet to be made clear about who is behind this project, although High Kick Girl director Fuyuhiko Nishi might somehow be involved, based on several vine videos aired from his account as well. Like previous “high-kick” films, High Kick Angels currently has a cast accumulating with its fair share of talented acting and athletic martial arts beauties, including Karate champion Kanon Miyohara, Kyokushin black belt Mayu Kawamoto, and featuring Japanese model and fellow Karate blackbelt Kaede Aono making her film debut. A small slate of training videos were made available on YouTube […]

THE NIGHT COMES FOR US: Director Timo Tjahjanto Talks More About Julie Estelle's New Role

Lee B. Golden III

On Wednesday, breaking news reported that actress Julie Estelle, co-star of Gareth Evans’ The Raid 2 was confirmed to appear in director Timo Tjahjanto‘s latest crime thriller, The Night Comes For Us, currently featuring lead actor Joe Taslim and actor Yayan Ruhian. Following that report, Tjahjanto spoke on-record to Twitchfilm writer Andrew Mack about the status of Estelle‘s preparation for the role: She is about to enter a heavy duty training phase right now as we will be demanding a LOT of her physically in this film. I worked with Julie before in my first feature film (Macabre), she was a ferocious kid then. Watching her in the RAID 2 : Berandal almost 5 years later (Sundance) I literally bit my tongue several times, in awe; how hardcore she has become, Hammer Girl will be remembered as an iconic character for years to come. I said to Gareth; I […]

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THE NIGHT COMES FOR US Officially Confirms Julie Estelle!

Lee B. Golden III

There are multiple occurrences this month, with Indonesia, New York, Los Angeles, and Sydney scheduled for early screenings of writer and director Gareth Evans’ new film, The Raid 2, and The Expendables 3 helmer Patrick Hughes officially signed to reboot the first of both films with Evans executive producing with XYZ Films, and original stars Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian on board to direct the brutal signature fights. While all of this is happening, the producers over at XYZ Films and Merantau Films are also busy preparing to shoot this Spring for Killers co-director Timo Tjahjanto‘s new Indonesian action crime thriller, The Night Comes For Us, which, so far, has seen its fair share of teaser photos highlighting notable efforts in fight choreography courtesy by Evans and Uwais in previous reports. One of those photos also included the potential for a female contender for the film’s action-oriented atmosphere, which now leads to […]

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Feel The Sting Of Action In The New Shortfilm Trailer For THE BLACK WASP STRIKES

Lee B. Golden III

A new trailer has been making the rounds for an upcoming 20-minute late 60’s/early 70’s martial arts noir comedy titled The Black Wasp Strikes. Directed by Richard and Chris Pelletier, the project initially began in 2012, as a martial arts portfolio for another associate who moved on due to other obligations, which left room for a producer to oversee the project’s potential. The Black Wasp Strikes is led by up-and-coming actor Thomas Tan who got his start in theater nine years ago, prior to taking up Judo and having since expanded his horizons in the field of stunt performancr and independent film, working among the likes of Darren Holmquist and Eric Jacobus to name a few. “I think my favorite part is the collaboration,” says Tan on what he enjoys most about fight choreography and stuntwork. “Seeing the full system come together to make a movie is a great process.”. […]

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REEL TIME: LBP Stunts Chicago (2014)

Lee B. Golden III

LBP Stunts Chicago has unveiled their latest reel for the new year. The group, which launched back in 2006, has progressively become one of the foremost leading action cinema purveyors of the independent industry, further credited by its often-occuring collaborations with other elite stunt professionals and newcomers over the years, in addition to its further venture into mainstream television, video games and Hollywood movies. With the team’s upcoming premiere united alongside a vast, prominent cast of performers for the upcoming release of The Stunt People member Dennis Ruel’s directorial debut, Unlucky Stars, rest assured, to simply say of LBP Stunts Chicago that the hits will keep coming would be a severe understatement. Check out their new video in the embed below and stay tuned for more information. You may also visit their official website by clicking HERE.

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Crowdfunding Begins For Martial Arts Action Webseries, STREETS OF MYTH

Lee B. Golden III

Following the unveiling of an action packed shortfilm promo last November with new concept art earlier this year (seen above), the new Kickstarter has officially begun to fund independent filmmaker Brandon Kahn‘s ambitious online martial arts webseries, Streets Of Myth. Featuring a prominent cast of talented actors and performers led by UK martial arts stalwart, actress Zara Phythian, the set up takes place in England, where society shaped itself into warring factions co-existing in social toxicity where any and all matters are settled in a hail of hand-to-hand combat and martial arts weaponry. Kahn is looking toward raising £30,000 to fund the production costs prior to the hopeful pre-production and filming of the first episode titled “The King’s Arms” this summer for a September airing, off-setting a ten-to-twelve episode season with each episode lasting thirty minutes. That’s right! Not six or ten or fifteen, but whole half-hour episodes replete with […]

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Watch David Sakurai Clean House In A New Action-Packed Clip From ECHOES OF A RONIN!

Lee B. Golden III

Actor David Sakurai is looking to make 2014 his break out year as another rising action star in the genre with the forthcoming release of his latest shortfilm out of Denmark, Echoes Of A Ronin. The shortfilm has since begun ramping up promotional efforts with new teaser photos unveiled earlier in December last year, and this week, we now have an exclusive clip, courtesy of Twitchfilm before the its entry into this year’s film festival circuit. Katinka Elmin Danielsen, Thomas Chaanhing and Nukaka Coster Waldau round out the main cast, with signature choreography by Ninja 2 action director Tim Man. SYNOPSIS: The story is set in a contemporary Scandinavian/Asian environment with a universal story about injustice and loss of innocence combined with recognizing ones destiny. This is all seen through the eyes of a child and through her experience see how man, despite being protected by morals and a strong […]

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Lionsgate Presents The New Trailer For WARRIOR ASSASSIN

Lee B. Golden III

As per the following press release, new trailer aired for the home release of Warrior Assassin. The new film, shot in 2011, marks the latest from director Dou Xiao whose string of period wuxia and kung fu actioners have been the subject of acquistions by Lionsgate in recent years, with this one making its way to DVD and Blu-Ray store shevles this April. You can currently pre-order the film online at Amazon or wherever DVDs are sold. Take a look at the trailer beneath and stay tuned for more updates. Great achievement is born of great sacrifice in the revenge thriller Warrior Assassin, seeking vengeance on DVD (plus Digital Ultraviolet), Digital HD and Video on Demand April 1 from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. Filled with explosive action and mesmerizing fight sequences, Warrior Assassin stars Pan Yuanjia (Ju Ke Zhen), Ji Chunhua (Kung-Fu Master) and Bryan Leung (Kung-Fu Master) and will be available for the […]

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STREET FIGHTER: ASSASSIN'S FIST – Joey Ansah Answers Your Questions

Lee B. Golden III

On Tuesday, actor, writer and director Joey Ansah hosted a half-hour long Q&A recording session to discuss answers from fan questions regarding his new festure-length serial webseries, Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist. In the video, Ansah, who also starred-in and directed the action sequences with fellow lead actor, co-creator and fight choreographer Christian Howard, delved into a variety of topics ranging from his own personal motivations and aspirations as a martial artists and devoted fan of the original fighting game franchise by Capcom, how the story has been formatted according to the appearances and dimensional explorations of the characters, to the challenges he and the cast and crew faced on the pre-production and filming process, designing the evolutionary layers of the Asatsuken – the titular fighting style of the series, what it means to create a series that differs substantially better from previous live action attempts, and much more. The series […]

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301 TROOP: ARAWN RISING: Hitting The Reset Button For British Action Cinema

Lee B. Golden III

Actor Lee Bennett is ready to make 2014 his banner this year with the forthcoming production of his action horror directorial debut, 301 Troop: Arawn Rising. The project marks the first film for Bennett’s new production banner, Only The New Breed, since its launch a year ago led by Bennett, a three year veteran actor and action performer with a proven intense love for film and a passion to reinvigorate the current state of the U.K. action cinema with a fresh vision that harkens back to the glory days of hardcore action cinema for today’s audiences. 301 Troop: Arawn Rising introduces an original tale of two longtime friends – soldiers rejected after failing their commando selection examination, who find themselves in their biggest fight for survival the U.K. Northern wilderness against a clan of possessed Druids performing blood sacrifices in the name of an ancient Celtic underworld god. The film, […]

SECOND LIFE: A Dialogue With Malaysian Filmmaker James Lee

Lee B. Golden III

From L to R: James Lee, Charlene Meng, Michael Chin, Low Chee Hong, Adrian Poh and Adrian Lai on the set of the upcoming martial arts action shortfilm SECOND LIFE Independent filmmaker James Lee recently officially launched his content creation platform this year, Doghouse 73 Pictures, with a brand new website to host his YouTube channel, and a variety of other cool merchandise for fans and viewers. In covering this for my previous article, I was eager to follow up on a shortfilm project titled Second Life, succeeding his 2012 martial arts feature-length contribution with The Collector starring Sunny Pang. With a new year just beginning, I took interest in sharing a dialogue with some questions for the director who shares some pretty insight on what he hopes to accomplish, and the people in his circles that are working with him to change the game for the Malaysian film industry. […]

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The Hollywood Theater Set To Screen THE RAID 2 One Week Early From Wide Release

Lee B. Golden III

Since making huge waves at this year’s film festival circuit with rip-roaring fans of martial arts action star Iko Uwais are on high alert for the next five weeks until the theatrical release of writer and director Gareth Evans‘s new film, The Raid 2, with the latest unveiling of the official mosaic poster for the film’s Indonesian premiere titled The Raid 2: Berandal. This week however, reports indicate that The Hollywood Theater in Pennsylvania is hosting its own early screening of the upcoming action epic on Wednesday for March 19 at 7:30pm PST, nine days before the film’s wide premiere the following week on Friday, March 28. The Hollywood Theater is located in 1449 Potomac Avenue in the Dormont section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For more info on the venue, you can visit their official website, and check out their reviews on Yelp. In the meantime, check out some recently released stills […]

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SKIN TRADE Lands Its Own Facebook And Twitter Pages

Lee B. Golden III

For the past couple of months, fans and followers of the upcoming international action thriller, Skin Trade, have been keeping tabs on the film’s progress through the Facebook pages of its lead actors – namely action stars Dolph Lundgren and Tony Jaa, and in recent weeks, Michael Jai White. So far, no footage from the film has yet been offered publicly as the film is still shooting on location Thailand and is expected to continue through mid-March prior to its post production and 2015 release. However, the steady stream of set pics and stills via Facebook have lended a glimpse or two into just what we can expect from this latest project from director Ekachai Uekrongtham, including some major fight scenes between our aforementioned action trio, to name a few. This week, the film is now launching its own Facebook page and Twitter feed where you can also subscribe for […]

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Iko Uwais Faces Duality In The New Poster For THE RAID 2: BERANDAL

Lee B. Golden III

XYZ Films producing partner and Twitchfilm founder and editor Todd Brown unveiled an exclusive look at the brand new Indonesian poster art on Tuesday night for the upcoming release of the epic martial arts crime saga, The Raid 2 from writer and director Gareth Evans. The latest feature starring Iko Uwais reprising his role from the first film in 2011, the new film has been on a busy streak making the film festival rounds at Sundance and SXSW, and celebrated far and wide as one of the best martial arts action thrillers as of late. Sony is releasing the film worldwide beginning March 28, 2014 in Indonesia, North America and New Zealand/Australia with other dates and locations pending. The film is a production of XYZ Films and Merantau Films with actresses Julie Estelle and Marsha Timothy, and actors Alex Abbad, Arifin Putra, Mathias Muchus, Tio Pakusadewo, Cecep Arif Rahman and Yayan Ruhian also starring. […]

REEL TIME: Mickey Facchinello (2014)

Lee B. Golden III

Action fans can expect plenty of surprises this year from independent action filmmaker and rising star in fight choreography, Vlad Rimburg with his latest project putting him on the path to the galaxy far, far away with creator and Force Storm Entertainment frontman, actor and action actor Noah Fleder‘s currently-developing Star Wars fan series project. Leading the first of the series is an episode titled Dark Betrayal which features an amazing slate of some of the best cinematic action performers to take the internet by storm in recent history, including LBP Stunts Chicago member, action actress and stuntwoman Mickey Facchinello taking the lead in Sith form as you can see in the photo aligned above left. In addition, to showcase Facchinello‘s skillset, her latest sampler action and stunt reel just landed online for those of you curious to see what awaits Force Storm Entertainment’s latest endeavors. As a highlight, the […]

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Get A First Look At Peter Weller And Ron Pearlman On The Set Of SKIN TRADE!

Lee B. Golden III

On Sunday, the steady stream of teaser photos highlighting the production process of action star Tony Jaa‘s latest film, Skin Trade continued. There are a few more with Jaa having fun on set, although Sunday’s report marks our first look at actors Peter Weller and Ron Pearlman, since their casting was officially announced a month ago. When asked how things were going with the two actors, producer Mike Selby writes “Nothing short of amazing, their performances are stunning.”. Check out the pictures in the embed below. (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1”; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’)); Post by Tony Jaa Official. From a script by Gabriel Dowrick and Steve Elder, Skin Trade is the latest pairing between actors Jaa and action hero Dolph Lundgren, centered on a tough New York detective who travels all […]

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Father And Son Grace The Latest Promo Pic For STREET FIGHTER: ASSASSIN'S FIST!

Lee B. Golden III

Time marches on as actor, co-writer/creator, action director and filmmaker Joey Ansah continues to work out the kinks for the pending distribution of his upcoming online action adventure with Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist. The word is already positive though, with fans already aware of the exclusive feedback from a few lucky observers who have had a chance to report on the footage in its developing phases, largely including author strugler at hadoken.net whose intricate analysis in October of last year included the following statement: “After watching the few clips i can easily say that all my worries were thrown out of the window. This is no ordinary web series. The show is very cinematic and feels like a big budget movie. And if you think Mortal Kombat Legacy looked good then wait until you see what these guys have done.” This week for now, we have another announcement accompanied by […]

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DEATH GRIP Is Now Available For Pre-Order With A New DVD Release Date!

Lee B. Golden III

It has taken a couple of years since the crowdfunded production, completion and independent distribution of actor, martial arts stunt impressario and filmmaker Eric Jacobus landed his third directorial feature, Death Grip. And with other projects in the works, this particular film has since earned a rightful place with several distributors worldwide, including its new North American home at Osiris Entertainment with pre-order period open to the public as of a few days ago, and a street date set for March 11, 2014. If you’re not yet familar with the film, check out my previous review HERE following the trailer which you can check out in the embed below. You can learn more about Jacobus at the official website for his independent stunt forum, action cimema and choreography team, The Stunt People, in light of its 13-year anniversary since its launch. And, if you happen to also be a bit […]