mathis landwehr

THE LAST KUMITE Review: Mathis Landwehr Kicks Ass To A Nostalgic Soundtrack In Middling Martial Arts Tourno Thriller

5 min. read Martial arts fans now have another addition to their 2024 viewing slate with Capelight’s latest digital and physical release, The Last Kumite. The film is directed and penned by Ross W. Clarkson, and co-written by Sean David Lowe who produced the film, and shepherded the film’s initial crowdfunding campaigns in its earlier development stages. Coralling a bevy of nascent and veteran screen talents led by German action star Mathis Landwehr, The Last Kumite centers on Michael Rivers, a widower and seasoned tournament champion exiting the circuit to focus on his school, and raising his teen daughter, Bree (Kira Kortenbach). Seizing the opportunity while attending an afterparty in Michael’s honor, a man named Ron Hall (Matthias Hues) approaches Michael with a sereptitious “business opportunity”: A Kumite in Eastern Europe, and the chance to win a million dollars. Nevermind the consequences of albeit cordially turning down the offer. For […]

THE LAST KUMITE: New Trailer Revealed For Capelight’s German 2-Disc 4K/Blu-Ray Bundles Launching In May!

Lee B. Golden III

Ross W. Clarkson’s fan-funded martial arts tourno thriller, The Last Kumite, has a new trailer online exclusively from German portal KinoCheck. Capelight Pictures is heading up its German blu-ray release in May in two editions, including a two-disc 4K UHD/Blu-Ray package loaded with special features and a media book, and more. Produced by Wayne A. Graves and penned by Clarkson and co-scribe Sean David Lowe, The Last Kumite joins Mathis Landwehr with a bevy of martial artists and genre stars on screen including Kurt McKinney, Matthias Hues, Billy Blanks, and Cynthia Rothrock. A director’s cut is also in toe while Capelight slates a U.S. rollout this summer in association with MPI Home Video. Read on below, and click to visit Capelight’s page to pre-order the European disc releases, and be mindful of region coding as well, because that’s definitely still a thing. Available from May 16, 2024 as a 2-Disc […]

THE LAST KUMITE: Sample The Sounds Of Paul Hertzog And Stan Bush In The Newest Teaser For Ross Clarkson’s Throwback Martial Arts Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

Martial arts fans and ardent supporters of upcoming tourno fighting thriller, The Last Kumite, got a taste of things to come last month with a teaser that’s disappeared from the interwebs. Fret not though, for a new teaser has arrived for a proper intro into the millieu of arena fisticuffs shepherded by director Ross W. Clarkson. Kampfansage: Der Letzte Schuler star Mathis Landwehr takes the lead in his newest screen outing in the role of Michael Rivers, a fighter forced to take heed to an invite to compete in an underground fighting circuit to save his daughter, joining a plethora of other competitors who are in a similar predicament. Clarkson directs from a script he wrote with co-scribe Sean David Lowe who serves as one of the film’s exec producers, and who also led the film’s initial crowdfunding campaign in the last few years. Composer Paul Hertzog and recording artist […]

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THE LAST KUMITE Official Teaser: ‘Kampfansage’ Star Mathis Landwehr Is Back For His Newest Thriller Coming In 2024!

Lee B. Golden III

It’s been close to twenty years since German martial arts cinema came out of the woodwork bringing actor and martial artist Mathis Landwehr into the limelight as the star of Johannes Jaeger’s Kampfansage: Der Letzte Schüler, a feature expanded from a pre-existing indie action short concept. Landwehr has still been on radar from time to time in roles for projects like Lasko and Martin-Christopher Bode’s Ultimate Justice over the years, and even in Shawn Bu’s explosive hit fanmade Star Wars short flick, “Darth Maul: Apprentice” to name a few, although it remained to be seen just when exactly the actor would take the reins for a lead role in a new feature. I did have my eye on one project in which he would have starred but I don’t have any faith at the moment that it’ll ever see completion. Alas, leave it to the likes of noted cinematographer Ross […]

MASTER AND APPRENTICE: An Interview With Filmmaker Shawn Bu

Lee B. Golden III

The early days of the internet proved pretty exciting for me as I dabbled further into the world of indie film and fan film forums. Back during my college years, all I had at home was 56k dial-up and so I would always use one of the lab computers on campus to entertain myself because their service made it a little easier at the time. And this was just when Crew Of Two released their hit Star Wars fan film, Duality, which you can still find online to date. I even had friends who were huge Star Wars fans and were into rotoscoping and it all pretty much caught onto me during that time as I was familiarizing myself with the stunt community a bit more. From there, I would find myself a direct customer of the German website for Johannes Jaeger’s martial arts epic, Kampfansage: Der Letzte Schüler, starring […]

Dave Ardito’s PERCEPTION OF PEACE Spotlights Action, Drama And Global Turmoil In The First Teaser

Lee B. Golden III

German action cinema will be popping up on our radar quite a bit this year among other things, and with a talent base far from faint. Actor and stuntman Dave Ardito is one such example whose recent stunt performance credits include James McTeigue, as well as Mike Moeller actioners, Arena Of The Street Fighter and One Million K(l)icks, and after a small raft of shortfilm credits in the director’s chair, it wasn’t until around 2014 that the wheels began turning at Ardito’s production banner, Visioncreed, for their newest thriller, Perception Of Peace. Ardito leads the cast of the film from his own script which blends family drama and war themes with sprawling action depicting the tale of an American who sets out in search of his long lost brother by way of his diary amidst brewing global conflict and the rise of a supposed terrorist organization. Pia Grey is producing […]

THE HIT LIST: November 21, 2016

Lee B. Golden III

Well, it’s been another work weekend for me as usual, but thankfully it comes with a few rewarding jewels – one of which came to me on Thursday last week. You’ll learn more about it at the bottom of this week’s installment of The Hit List, all fresh and ready to go with another weekly round of amazing stunt and training reels by some of today’s talented stunt performers and up-and-comers. Victor Plajas revs things up some with his own new reel followed by Erika Frase and 12 year old Bryton Miller whose own reel comes with a famous, uplifting movie monologue from a certain star of a boxing movie franchise. Rounding out the playlist are reels by Ivan Pecuh, Anthony Oh, Olivier Lunardi, Erika Keck, Craig Putman, Ari Loeb, Tyler Hall, Philippe Vonlanthen, Diandra Milliner Stoddard and Michel Quach. Click here or below and enjoy! There’s only one bit […]

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ULTIMATE JUSTICE Gets Kicking With Mark Dacascos And Mike Moeller In The New Teaser

Lee B. Golden III

An action film that unfies the star caliber of performers like Matthias Hues, Mark Dacascos and Mike Moeller would be an easy sell for any fan of the genre. Thus, you get the case for director Martin Bode’s new film, Ultimate Justice, the latest from Silent Partners with producer Mike Leeder also in a starring role among our cast for a story that congregates an elite team of soliders when one of their own is attacked. The new teaser has arrived this year and you get a good sample of what awaits in terms of action and drama while no dialogue is heard. At any rate, we’re getting what looks like an ample package of heavy hitters ready to deliver something entertaining and worthwhile for fans. Fellow action favorite Mathis Landwher also stars with Brandon Rhea, Sandra Tauro, Yazmeen Baker and Wolfgang Riehm, and action sequences put together by none […]

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Mathis Landwehr Is Not Here To Play In The New Trailer For Survival Thriller, IMMIGRATION GAME

Lee B. Golden III

Shortfilm director Krystof Zlatnik first landed on our radar with the dystopian sci-fi pitch, Land Of Giants. It reinvigorated fandom once more for German martial arts star, actor Mathis Landwehr who has also been making the rounds from time to time in both stunts as well as leading roles following his role in the 2005 winning dystopian kung fu thriller, Kampfansage: Der Letzte Schuler. Nowadays, you’ll find both Zlatnik and Landwehr circling headlines for their latest pairing, Immigration Game, with Landwehr starring as a man trapped in a deadly game of survival in front of an online audience in an alternate future Berlin where refugees are hunted for sport. The action isn’t as stylish as the overall tone and vision per se, but you still get Landwehr in a role that surely grants him an audience that loves both seething drama, sci-fi, suspense, and a story that gets a few […]

Choose Your Fate! Watch One Or Both Versions Of The New Violent Action-Packed Short, HARD BOILED COP

Lee B. Golden III

It was earlier this month that an official trailer was added to the growing push for independent filmmaker, VFX whiz and Flatcoin Productions founder Ulrik Bruchholz‘s newest comprehensive action project, Hard Boiled Cop. Assembled in the course of nearly two-and-a-half years, the project ended up evolving from beyond that period with a few other concepts up to then, and this week, Bruchholz is rolling out the new project in a pretty cool, experimental way. On its face, Hard Boiled Cop invites you into a cold, dystopian future with a city in ruins, where crime runs rampant against the order of a militarized police force. At the center of it all is actor, German martial arts fave Mathis Landwehr leading the way from start to finish with the second half of the story completely loaded with full-on action, including car stunts, wired stunts and ballistic violent chaos, all rounding off Bruchholz‘s […]

The New Shortfilm Trailer For HARD BOILED COP Gives Us Mathis Landwehr, Flamethrowers, Machine Guns And Lots Of Red!

Lee B. Golden III

Independent filmmaker and Flatcoin Productions founder Ulrik Bruchholz has a vision in mind, with German martial artist and actor Mathis Landwehr (Kampfansage: Der Letzte Schüler, Lasko) at the center of it all in the hardcore, violently epic new shortfilm, Hard Boiled Cop. The project took roughly two-and-a-half years to evolve as earlier concepts were developing, and the project is finally getting its day in the sun sometime between now and during August. So, needless to say, the wait continues. However, the good news is you can follow the project right now on its official Facebook page where you can take a look at some extra photos, as well as the teaser and official trailer which you can check out below right now.

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Mathis Landwehr Photo Teases A KAMPFANSAGE Reunion

Lee B. Golden III

It’s been a good decade since German martial artist, action actor, stuntman and fight choreographer Mathis Landwehr blew the lid off the country’s brewing martial arts movie industry in director Johannes Jaeger‘s 2003 hit film, Kampfansage: Der letzte Schüler. And in the years since, Landwehr has continued to remain on the map, performing stunts and acting in several films as the eponymous film-to-TV hero, “Lasko” opposite Arnold Vosloo in Im Auftrag Des Vatikans, director James McTiegue’s V For Vendetta, and reuniting once more with Kampfansage co-stars Volkram Zschieche and rising cinema action hero, Reel Deal Action member Mike Moëller’s leading role in last year’s limited release of Arena Of The Street Fighter, to name a few. So considering the significant success action fans have seen from our friends in Germany, in addition to the establishment of individual independent screenfighting filmgroups by other aspiring action actors and stuntmen, what better way […]

Mathis Landwehr Delivers In DELIVERYHERO

Lee B. Golden III

If you don’t know who Mathis Landwehr is, then click his tag, because he happens to be one of the most influential action performers of this generation. Martial arts fans first got to know him back about eight or ten years ago when he was doing short film clips with his stunt team, and working on the feature production of KAMPFANSAGE: Der Letzte Schüler, a.k.a. The Challenge. Since then, he has also acquisitioned a longer list of TV and film credits throughout his career. The last time we heard from him, though, he was battling towering monsters in the post apocalyptic sci-fi western short film pitch, Land Of Giants, based on a story he created Krystof Slatnik, featuring action choreograohy by Ulrik Bruchholz. On June 6, he will make his appearance on the screen co-starring in Mike Möeller’s North American martial arts action thriller debut, Arena Of The Street Fighter. […]

A Warrior Vows Vengeance Against The Gods In LAND OF GIANTS

Lee B. Golden III

Last year, martial artist, actor, stuntman and choreographer Mathis Landwehr and stuntman, cinematographer and filmmaker Ulrik Bruchholz took to youtube back in 2012 to promote the crowdfunding of a visionary project by Roundhouse Films, incorporating a story told in a post-apocalyptic western setting with elements of sci-fi, fantasy, and martial arts. The final product at the bottom of the article is a thirteen minute-long promotional teaser for a possible television/feature film property called Land Of Giants about a world where electricity is forbidden by the gods, and a wandering loner named Crutch who sets out to find a way to defeat them, armed with a cane that extends itself into a long spear when it’s time to throw down! The shortfilm teaser features Landwehr, joined by actors Michael Higgs, Manon Kahle, Sigo Heinisch, Tolga Degirmen and Luke Cronauer, and directed by Kryztof Zlatnik. Co-creator Mathis Landwehr and Bruchholz also directed […]