the hit list 2017
THE HIT LIST: December 4, 2017
Near topping off our initial playlist is an exciting shortfilm that I’ve actually been chasing since reporting on its crowdfunder since 2014. The new Zoë Bell/Heidi Monkeymaker headliner, No Touching, came out on the Crypt TV YouTube channel just in time for Halloween back in October after keeping folks in suspense and I couldn’t help but add this to this week’s Hit List finale, even if I am a few months late (And a much-deserved hat tip to Ms. Moneymaker for keeping me abreast of this lovely haunted house beat ’em up fest! ?)
THE HIT LIST: November 27, 2017
Believe it or not, we’re coming down the wire with the Hit Lists of 2017! December 4 will be the last entry before I recommence things in January. Until then, I am also preparing content for the next several weeks in which I discuss upcoming films to look out for in 2018, so stick around for those as well.
For now though, it’s business as usual for The Hit List assembling the week’s stunt and demo reels and projects.
Stuntman, actor and filmmaker Diego Ramiro gives us an impressive showing this week with an spirited action comedy reel showcasing just what a versatile talent he is. He kicks off this week’s playlist with more reels by Kimberly Root, Andrew Nadanyi, Valisa Tate, Adam Carson, Marina Volkova, Geoffrey Boggs, Molly Thomas, Felix Cortes, Jeffrey Mayfield, Trevor de Groot and Chad Riley.
It’s time for some trailer gems and thus, the past decade or so have seen a sizeable raft of creatives among which only a handful have provenly taken the initiative in emulating visions that pay such organic, visceral homage to 80’s Hong Kong action filmlore. Australia’s own Adrian Castro continues this effort once more with three-part Girls With Guns action webseries, Tiger Cops, in reunion with actress Maria Tran who has performed at the forefront on similar conceptual proofs from Castro. The two are joined by Steven Oliver and legendary Hong Kong cinema star, actor and martial artist Richard Norton also star among the raft of characters now available in the latest trailer before we venture into the new promo for Noah Fleder’s own forthcoming endeavors at Force Storm with the new series, Legend Of The Kickmaster kicking off on January 18.
It’s time to round out the week’s fights and films and Dardrex’s Darren Holmquist set it off with a lesson in Anger Management with R Marcos Taylor and Angela Lynn among the cast. The next video sees the resurfacing of a group called Legionarius and their latest is called Combate Escencio, and that’s really all I have to go on since there’s nothing in credits or in the description while the short itself is a worthy view.
Pirhana Stunts members Danang and Evan, and director Majid shepherd Man Of Jungle with some fantastic and speedy fight execution before we make two revisits: a recent re-upload of action comedy skit, Invisible Danger, with David “Dax” Bauer and Seth Austin, and, and Juan Bofill’s Karate-infused Tatakai: The Battle, which proved itself twice with award-winning fruition at the Urban Action Showcase and Expo seventeen days ago.
Kingslayer Joey Min makes his final bid to akwaken a kingdom of live-action role players and their deluded king in the webseries finale of The Forbidden Kingdom: A Kung Fu Larp Story, and writer and Samuel Delitans Lee sets the stage for a shady businessman’s underworld brawl to rescue the love of his life in the new short, Rescue Before Dusk, led by Peps Goh and Shian Wen.
I’m looking forward to December 4 guys. If you have some time to spare then last week’s Hit List should be more than appealing! Sub to the channels and SHARE the Hit List with friends, and as always, if you or someone you know does action as badass as some of today’s crowdpleasing badasses and you would like a stake in our weekly Hit List, hit us up at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com!
THE HIT LIST: November 13, 2017
Hat tip goes to Ukranian actress and stuntwoman Karina Bershadskaya who stars in the video, thus showcasing just why it is I’m thankful to be following her work since last December. (Her stunt reel is also a thing of beauty. ?)
THE HIT LIST: November 6, 2017
…and drink responsibly!
THE HIT LIST: October 23, 2017
I’m actually a little upset that I came across a few of this week’s entries as late as I did, particularly having tried to been on top of it. Such is why I need at least two more of me (especially since one could use the extra sleep ?).
At any rate, tireless and forever tired as I am (a phrase coined by my friend Philippe), my quest continues to help bring notable independent content and stunt talent to the spotlight per our weekly vehicle here at the Hit List. Let’s load up on paramount stunt talent with the latest stunt and training reels from today’s talented stunt performers beginning with Dylan Rampulla, Jessica Barfoot, LeRoyal Tutt, Alina Andrei, Kage Yami, Damali Ross, Tony Vittorioso, Donny Nichols, Niko Dalman, Camran Bostanabad, Johnny Zhao Haitao and Darrell McLean. We round out this playlist with a tasty teaser reel by a fantastic group from the land down under called Dauntless Movement Crew, and a delighful and adventurous parkour mini doc by performer and filmmaker Remi Girard.
Onto a few promotional bits this week and we revert to an earlier piece I did for Stephen Vitale’s upcoming chanbara horror proof of concept, Sword Of The Dead. The teaser is available in the campaign video I wrote up on here but you’re more than welcome to view an isolated version just beneath. And, by all means, stay tuned for our forthcoming interview.
Last and far from least is the latest creative effort from Chasing The Dragon and London Has Fallen co-star, actor Bryan Larkin with Dead End, the latest entry in a series of shorts here from director and co-star Carter Ferguson. Filmed on a shoestring budget, London, Hong Kong and the U.K. serve as the backdrop for the narrative with Larkin starring as a contract killer whose latest job with a young hitman goes awry, forcing the two to question their motives.
Larkin wrote the self-funded Dead End which was also crowdfunded in an effort to help circulate through festivals, so keep an eye out for this one.
And onto the business we go of bringing hearty fight action by way of a select number shorts and action practice gems, starting with a pair of offerings via Vimeo with Ulrik Bruchholz and Andy Long having brought their six-year old test bout to my attention over the weekend with Do Not Disturb. The second comes courtesy of one of my favorite people in film and action, Tanay Genco Ulgen who harnesses his strengthening storytelling for a gripping crime thriller capped off with brutal action featuring Starlise Waschuk in One Eight Seven.
For the playlist just beneath, our good friends at Lunar Stunts warm up the crowd with an L.A.-set installment of Eric Nguyen’s The Fighting Journey while Kai Ferris and Ben Van Huis aim to please with a slick new lightsaber gem, and Gaetan Caillot trades fisticuffs and prop-knife warfare with Gabriel Senges over at Stunt-Do Fighting as the start of this week’s Fights And Films playlist. Following that is David Lavallee‘s own triskadekaphobic action short offering with The 13th Friday as one of two shorts this month reviving the Jason Voorhees fandom – the other being Flawless Films‘s newest fanfight pitting the resurrected killer against the Gingerninja himself, Aaron Gassor as Spider-Man.
Filmmaker and fight choreographer Lawrence Yip assembles his own throwdown with performers Sam Jaikaran and Nhan Du for hitman short, Just Another Job, before we take a Critical Coffee Break with a couple of guys named Trevor and Orion and learn their swift and applicable techniques for breaking a werewolf’s curse, Troy Sandford and Vladmir Ershov delve right into a spectacular action short with an anime twist for Said Chaou’s My Revenge, and Rooster Teeth’s latest shortfilm thereafter ties into the Volume 5 premiere of RWBY, focusing on the rising underdog, Yang, and I highly recommend watching the series now available online via YouTube or Rooster Teeth, or Crunchyroll.
Inanna Sarkis and Anwar Jibawi return with a second episode of spy comedy webseries, Secret Life (watch the first installment HERE), while Brian Lee and Matthew Sumner clown around over at Beat Down Boogie for an Epic Clown Fight that’ll slap you so hard your momma will feel it.
Brazen Action Design sets forth an impressive debut this month with Jackie Zenders’s action proof-of-concept, Providence, set in a dystopian world as we witness seeds of betrayal and family upheaval between forces of law and order, and lingering factions of chaos. Zenders directs from her own script, co-written by Veto Swarn who stars along with Jonathen Wallace, Monique Avila, Jake Moore, Daniel Masterson, Austin Durden, and Hayden Lam among the B.A.D. cast.
Last and far from least is a brand new comedy short by stuntman and filmmaker, actor Marcus Shakesheff who is never one to shy away with his love and fandom for all things comic book and DC. Here in The British Superman, he leads as mankind’s ill-gotten and unpopular savior named Neville at the center of his own documentary in which a professor puts our less-than-enthusing hero through a series of trials to prove he’s from the planet Krypton. It’s a less-action oriented affair but Shakesheff plays the role fittingly and entertains viewers from start to finish.
Enjoy the hits!
There’s plenty more where hits like these came from and you can catch them by clicking here. Share The Hit List with friends and help grant these creatives the audience they need to grow and thrive in the name of awesome cinematic action, and by all means, if you or someone you know is in the market for support as a filmmaker or a stunt performer with a kickass new demo reel or a project with Hit potential, hit us up at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com!
THE HIT LIST: October 16, 2017
I’m going through a little sleep deprivation while I write this so I hope you all enjoy this latest installment of The Hit List until then. My weekend was definitely at least half-good and you can visit my weekend posts over at my Instagram to see what’s up.
As for here, we kick off the Hit List with the necessary appetizer of stunt and training reels from some of today’s top and up-and-coming in stunt performance. Ramping things up is a cool new highlight reel from this year’s events at Oia for the seven year-strong Red Bull Art Of Motion competiton.
Following that is a barrage of badass new stunt reels courtesy of Talyn Edelson, Darin Hicks, Krystle Martin, Ross Kohnstam, Gabriela Kostadinova, Cameron Brown, Angela Lynn, John Ternavis, Rissa Kilar, Cheech Vitale, Andi Norris and stunt coordinator Jae Greene.
I don’t have anything to promote in terms of teasers and trailers but I do have this amazing shortfilm by Shaun Charney. It’s the most serious action short you will ever see in all its indie action glory with Nicole Mae Martin, Michelle Jubilee Gonzalez and Sayaka Pereira front in center as three of the most serious screenfighters you will ever see in all your action movie fandom.
This action short is so seriously done by the ever-so seriously serious Charney that by just over three minutes in, you’ll be so caught up in the seriousness of it all that you will simply quit everything just as these people did, ensuing from a three-minute FMA battle royale into a six-minute blooper reel with three amazing girls being amazing. And girly. With sticks. Seriously. Watch.
Winding down the Hit List is a mix of some quick short action gems from around the web with stunt players Jesper Bergstroem and Livia Wistmar roughing it up for viewers followed by ScrewAttack’s newest Death Battle offering with iconic antagonists Vegeta and General Zod. Filmmaker Eskindir Tesfay strikes a chord for self-defense with former champion Jörg Gantert in Black Belt for Movie-Do. Jon Alagoa pays his tribute to live-action fandom with Yakuza Kiwami, inspired by PS4 remake of Sega IP, Ryū ga Gotoku (Like A Dragon) while Art School Dropouts sets forth their latest First-Episode push to attain the crowdfunding they need to finalize inspired webseries The Forgotten Kingdom: A Kung Fu LARP Story, and Ballistic Blade Entertainment wields its own fandom with their latest fantasy action short, New Shannara Chronicles.
Last and far from least is a quality pick from sibling directing duo Rajeev and Elan Dassani titled Seam, currently hosted on the CGBros YouTube channel. The setting itself is an immensely beautiful choice for a story host to the lives of a fugitive couple on the run for the run for their lives in a future where tenuous peace between man and machine all but tilts dangerously to its end.
Khaled al Ghwari and actress Rakeen Saad star with The Mummy and The Mummy Returns co-star Oded Fehr in this stunning little project that bodes with as much compelling, emotive fervor as it does with its ambitious offering to sci-fi action and romance.
Enjoy the hits!
If you want some more action, last week’s entries are still pretty feasible so feel free to check it out if you fancy it. Follow the channels and support these creatives and SHARE the Hit List with friends if you wish to see more genuine action and storytelling from hungry artists and entertainers. More importantly, if you or someone you know has a quality project or stunt reel that needs extra eyes, send it to filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com and we’ll be glad to take a look at it ourselves!
THE HIT LIST: October 9, 2017
As we speak, I am completely overwhelmed and ecstatic with what I just saw over the past week and this weekend. Sadly none of it includes what happened at New York Comic Con since I couldn’t go but I had plenty to keep busy with.
THE HIT LIST: October 2, 2017
I find myself taking more weekends off these days. I’ll be doing more of this as it’ll give me more time for movies to enjoy. Some I’ll review, like this one, which was very good and you can find it now on Netflix.
THE HIT LIST: September 18, 2017
I did a lot of work this weekend. So, don’t be surprised if things slow down a bit for me this week. At best, I might be able to pace myself and keep going but a little me-time also suffices.
THE HIT LIST: September 11, 2017
Peep the teaser and poster below.
THE HIT LIST: September 4, 2017
The second pic reveals Film Combat Syndicate favorite, actress and filmmaker Yadi Nieves, in the first of a few teaser images now viral for an upcoming project from Distinctive Light Entertainment.
THE HIT LIST: August 28, 2017
I’m still in recovery mode and will likely be so for the next several days. I forgot that’s what happens when you have as much fun as I did for two nights in a row.
THE HIT LIST: August 21, 2017
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!
THE HIT LIST: August 14, 2017
My weekend was pretty huge for movies. My thoughts on Wolf Warrior 2 are up on my Instagram as well as posts about S.S. Rajamouli’s Bahubali saga so feel free to skim those through and follow me as well as I also cross post news there.
The news also includes the latest on what’s what in the weekly Hit List and we begin with a new round of stunt and training reels from around the web. Anna Akimova gets things going this week with her latest reel followed by Jake Teel, D.L. MacDonald, Tyler Street, Jessica Stafford, Graham Hooper, Andy Whitmarsh, Samuel Horowitz, Monica Lopez, Noel Martinez, Casey Michaels, Bronson Cameron, Yessenia Cossio, Aaron D. Alexander, Antjuan Rhames, Donovan Law, Ai Ikeda, Justin Mane, Lukaz Leong and Cassie Lee Minnick, along with Benjamin J. Redic III and the crew at Ballistic Blade, multifaceted stuntmen and fight choreographers Fernando Jay Huerto and Geo Corvera, and Australia’s own Asaya Yasushi with a newly launched team reel for Team Yas!
As for promotional gems, there’s plenty to gush over and especially if you have an UltraFlix subscriber – Even moreso if you’ve been keeping up with Iron Dragon TV whose founder, actress and martial artist Janell Smith just hosted this year’s debut IDTV Action Fest in Texas, now ripe with a raft of featured shorts and selected ‘Bests’ ranging from Clayton Barber’s Eric Jacobus headliner, Blindsided, to Holy Bastards’s proof-of-concept, You Can’t Hear Me – You Can’t See Me, Samuel Smith’s Tengu: Birdmen Of The Mountains, and many, many more now available on Iron Dragon TV for subscribers.
Head over to the official IDTV website with links to the listed entries and subscription access!
Time to finish things on a fantastic, fight-filled high-note, and as a small matter of trivia, at least three of the people in the following projects have their stunt reels listed, so feel free to try and spot them! ?
Beyond that, we begin with the return of a nifty “tasting” this summer from Bronson Cameron and Joshua Zacharias, and a parkour-packed action skit from the UrbanAmadei channel with Amadei Weiland and Niklas Kinzel, and Victoria Simone and Al James getting in some fight time with Lawrence Yip behind the moves and the lensing.
Next up is an impromptu video from Lunar Stunts cutting loose with some training featuring Mickey Arce, and brothers Irvin and Eric Nguyen among the bunch, along with cosplay powerhouse, actor and martial artist Ben Bergmann killin’ some ninjas in a piece inspired by The Witcher 4, actress Josie Renault in a sexy cat and mouse game with Kamy Bruder in the sleek, brutal, musical action short, Jacked, Vlad Rimburg’s latest pre-viz entry with stunt players on Batman: The Telltale Series, and Lauren Mary Kim host to another filmic, kinetic, third entry into the Kali Diaries now with actress Amy Johnston.
Rounding it all out are the latest stylings from the rabble rousers at Art School Dropouts in Samurai Gunman with Joey Min and DL MacDonald, Wolf Warrior 2 badass Aaron Toney consuming the JAM gym facility in Reseda behind the camera for an ensemble action previz dubbed The Nightbreed, Adeola Alao throwing Wadi Jones, Ricky Barksdale and Andrew Mihalko in the mix for Supply Drop, Donald Brooks and Aaron D. Alexander doin’ it old-school in Leather Jacket Jive Turkeys, and Indian film fan and YouTube personality Anthony Alba in comedic short, Raging Bullish – this one was purely delightful and I couldn’t NOT share it.
Enjoy the hits!
Feast your eyes on last week’s Hit List if you’re pining for more action, and don’t hesitate to subscribe to the channels as your show of support. And, as always, if you or someone you know has a kickass demo reel or a project in the works, or something they think deserves presenting, send it to us at for a closer look at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com!
THE HIT LIST: August 7, 2017
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.
THE HIT LIST: July 31, 2017
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 HIT LIST: July 24, 2017
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.