the way fighters twitch

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THE HIT LIST – December 21, 2015

The Martial Club team has been busy for some months now having trained with Leo Au Young, martial arts instructor and a friendly face among those as fight coordinator for several Ip Man films on top of having studied under Ip Man’s son, Ip Chun. That said, while the Donnie Yen-starring franchise itself takes a few historical liberties, there’s no question that the films pay homage to a great man in at least one form or another which is imaginably challenging to do. Ip Man Returns echoes that effort graciously in its own way for fans of kung fu and martial arts, which undeniably serves as a hit in my book.

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THE HIT LIST – April 20, 2015

The past week has been a bit crazy for me, although I wasn’t going to let it stop me from putting together this week’s new Hit List article. Indeed it’s shorter than usual as I’m sure I missed some gems that may be floating around out there, but there’s always time to share those as well, at best.

Alas, we get to see some new reels featuring amazing stunt feats by Sarah Belala, Niki Whalen, Samantha J. MacDonald, Kendall Wells, Isaac Bernauer, Dennis Ruel and Tyler Williams!

And now we get fighting! To kick things off though, the first short comes from independent filmmaking troupe, The Collective with Jeff Lunzaga at the helm. Hetja 2 is the name following last year’s Hetja, and I tried to share it in last week’s Hit List article when it was taken down for further edits before being uploaded again. And so I’m reintroducing it this week, and if should this be your introduction into Lunzaga’s brand of ‘Hyper Reality’ filmmaking, all I have to say is…well, be ready for ANYTHING. And I mean that in the most literal sense of the word. Will Yick and Bridger Fox star!

Up next, when Anthony Alba isn’t reacting to trailers with his adorable family, he’s also making indie films, and amid all the Star Wars hype last week, he released his latest bit of fanfare with Antoine Bandele in the new short, Way Of The Saber. Take a looksy!

NBC may be in limbo over its live-action serial DC Comics adaptation, Constantine, but that clearly won’t stop the looming fanfare over its source material. As such, the guys Lunarverse Pro have at least two new shorts out this year set within their own establishment of the Constantine universe with its own assortment of Angels and Demons, and of course…ninjas. Because why not? I’m as new to these guys as they are at screenfighting, though I do like some of the action and acting, so there’s some value here. Check it out for yourselves.

Speaking of ninjas, I have no idea how I missed this, and I hate that I did. This was released a few weeks ago from Substance Over Hype, the same team that helped bring J.W. Mariott’s ‘lovely’ original content debut to life last month with the short, Two Bellmen, and to day the least, this team continues not to miss a beat. That certainly applies with their latest collaboration with hip hop artist, MALAKAI for the song, Queens And Kings featuring Fingazz, with performances by the team and guest performer, EMC Monkey’s own Xin Wuku, and more! (cc iTunes)

And last but not least, the fourth episode of Envizion Film’s indie action drama series, The Way, is up and running with actor, martial artist and writer Khalil Barnett front and center with his as one of several branched-out stories of fighters trapped in an underground fighting circuit. The series is a spiritual homage to Bruce Lee with a script that reflects on internal martial transcendence and philosophy which makes it more cerebral than anything, as well as enjoyable to watch in that aspect. Watch it all unfold below! (FULL DISCLOSURE: Khalil Barnett is also an oft-contributor to Film Combat Syndicate with a column of his own titled “To The Hashi!”, which provides some interesting reads on his own insight with respect to the action genre today and its many facets. Stick around for those as well.

Subscribe to these channels and then CLICK HERE for last week’s Hit List if you’ve missed it. And moreover, if you have QUALITY content yourself in the form of a stunt reel, shortfilm or teaser, hit us up at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com

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THE HIT LIST – March 23, 2015

Well, another weekend has passed with some rough bumps and Monday is here. Of course, this means The Hit List is back and its obviously a little shorter which was bound to happen. Nevertheless, there’s still plenty here to pay attention to, so know that this won’t be a complete waste of your time…

On that note, the reels are here! Check it all out with stuntwomen Michaela Chernoch, Tally Rodin and Mallory Thompson, and stuntmen Adam Lytle, Keith Lemay and Shane Yan, in addition to a cool new trickling sampler from actor, comedic and martial arts talent Cong Guo, and a fresh new fight sampler from the folks at Fight Factory/108 with Vaughndio Forbes and Michael Lehr.

Real quickly, let’s get a crowdfunder going if possible here from Czech filmmmaker Miroslav Karel who has been mainly active in Shanghai since 2011. It turns out that he himself has an eye for action filmmaking for which he now he has a campaign with his newest short film project, Kaiser. The conceptual details being introduced on the current Indiegogo page are pretty flat at the moment as I suspect the plot itself is being kept a secret, so for a 45-minute long shortfilm, I’d say there’s plenty more to look forward to, and of course you can read more about their movement, and the assortment of the whos, hows and whys at Indiegogo. But, they do have a cool looking teaser which does look pretty neat in sharing just the tone Karel and his team want to go for. Watch it.

One suitcase, and two soldiers fighting for its possession. Only it doesn’t matter what’s in it, because the fighting is as fantastic as the hilarity. Hard Case is the most recent video shared on the official YouTube channel for Bloody Underground Productions as of last year, so presumably the folks behind the scenes have been busy with up-keep on other ends. Hopefully we’ll hear more from these folks as time passes, but do check this out if you are new to this.

“The Raven” knows more than what our hero may be in for, as is always the case with espionage and crime at the highest levels. Defining the term, Retribution rightfully is the latest short from film duo, director Justin Kruse and actor James MacDonald in a story of one man’s search for the truth before a bullet finds him first. 12 minutes and counting with great storytelling and short bursts of action in between the intensity is what you get, and Kruse is no stranger to what he does as he clearly shows he can do it well. Take a look!

It’s a story of unlikely heroes…and weapons. Following production last year, the new shortfilm, Nerf: Rebellion is finally here from writer and director John Eagan and Dreamfire Films in association with Eternal Circle Productions. The second episode arrived today, but you can feel free to check out the first below, as well as an official fanpage where you can find out more on how to donate if you wish to see this project converted into something bigger.

Next up, Elit Unit helmer Cedric Tellier’s latest screenbout with Kevin Remy is finally here titled La Casse. Short and sweet with lots of damage and nasty wrecks to boot, it almost makes you wish these things were longer.

And last but not least, episode two is here for the new season from martial artist filmmaker and creator titled The Way: Fighters Twitch. Actress Rachel Thompson now stakes her claim as she is forced to fight her way from the clutches of an enigmatic foe in a story that fuses suspense and mystery with martial arts action in darkness and intrigue, all in a spiritual homage to Bruce Lee. Enjoy!

Bare the honorable mentions in mind as last weeks second episode of Cambodian Killers and all three thematic episodes of Ty Burnham: The Last Asian Cowboy are now available online. If you missed them, do check those out right now as they’re entirely worth it. In the meantime, subscribe to all these channels above and check last week’s Hit List for some more exciting content if you missed any of it. And, by all means, if you have a QUALITY project you would like hosted here, drop us a line at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com!

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A Warrior Will Rise In The New Indie Webseries Trailer For THE WAY: FIGHTER'S TWITCH

Independent filmmaker, actor and Jeet Kune Do purveyor Ronny Vega is ready to tackle the second installation of his ambitious new project which delves into the very psyche of what it means to pursue martial arts glory. The second season, The Way: Fighters Twitch, picks up where the finale of the first season for The Way left off with co-star, actor and martial artist Khalil Barnett who also serves as series writer in addition to the new lead actor.

The new trailer for the first episode, “Hair Of The Dog”, has gone viral and you can check it out below, in addition to three character posters for the inspired new independent action drama series. Subscribe to the channel and stay tuned for more updates!

SYNOPSIS:

The Way: Fighter’s Twitch is a martial arts action series that examines the consequences of ego. A warrior’s path is no easy journey. And losing one’s way can lead to the destruction of the soul and the gratuity of violence. A mysterious organization with power yet unknown uses tactical manipulation, hallucinogenics, and occult forces to exploit the weaknesses and insecurities of fighters, pitting them against each other in illegal battles. But they underestimated a few, and will pay for it.

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