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THE HIT LIST: April 23, 2018

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There is a LOT to sift through this week with the Hit List. I almost thought I wouldn’t be able to make it because of all the content and information I managed to come across but I think I accomplished a little something-something!

L to R (top): Joanna Ke, Kyle Murillo, Ruben Maldonado, Jason Elwood Hanna, Cassandra Ebner
L to R (bottom): Nik Pelekai, Aline Mayne, John Soares, Erin Haus, Johnny Gao

As always, it’s another round of energizing stunt, training and performance reels by some of today’s amazing creatives and up-and-coming professionals. John Soares was a terrific find for me in the last few years with the long-awaited release of feature steampunk sci-fi, The Danger Element. He starts off the week followed by cosplayer and actress Erin Haus who has certainly earned a rightful place in the Hit List a few times in recent history, and you’re more than welcome to look her up online as Hausplay when you get to it.
Rounding out the playlist are Timothy Parsons, Ruben Maldonado and Romanian stunt sibs Daniel and Adrian Bondor, with Aline Mayne, Walter Dodson, John Gilbert, Kate Angus, Marques Archie, Timothy Eulich, David Miller, Sherry Rene and some fight choreography and performance rounds courtesy of Florida-based Anthony Giovanni Elias with a reupload of some of his work!
It’s time to get some promotional gems off the ground and much to our delight there’s plenty to mention if you’re game for this year’s installment of the Artemis Women In Action Film Festival. Tickets are on sale at the official Lammele theaters website for this weekend’s shortfilm portion themed Future Times And Good Ol’ Days. I’ve managed to compile an album of all the posters as well as trailers for only four of these projects, save for a Facebook clip of Stanton Chong’s new short, Lost In Transit, which you can find only on the Facebook page for Eunoia Creations.

Most of these shortfilms have also appeared online before being set exclusive to the event, including Jason Satterlund’s The Force And The Fury which was a great find for The Hit List last May. The showcase kicks off on Saturday and Sunday, April 28 and April 29 at the Monica Film Center and runs about 85 minutes. Check out the posters for the subsequent line-up and the available trailers I managed to scavenge for the week, and then click here to get tickets!

FIRST SAMURAI IN NEW YORK– SHORT NARRATIVE: In the late 1800’s, a Japanese samurai family, who recently immigrated to New York, clash with local Irish gangsters out for blood. Adult themes. Maho Honda; Kyo Kasumi; Gabe Fazio; Mike Houston; Justin Ambrosino, director. Sword violence. Fight action. F-lang. Subtitles. USA

PROTECTRESS– SHORT NARRATIVE: During battle, a healer duels with her mortal enemy in an unsettling form, facing an impossible choice that will forever forge her destiny as a warrior. Joanna Ke; Charlotte Bjornbak; America Young, director. Fight action. USA

SHIELDMAIDEN– SHORT NARRATIVE: In medieval Norway, a defiant young Viking woman named Sigrid is thrust into a fight for survival when a violent raiding party invades her homeland. Olena Medwid; Aaron Harrison; Jackson Berlin; Richard Wasnock; Shawm McKinney; Benjamin Janicki, director. Fight action. USA 

TRIALS OF EMBER STAGE ONE – SHORT NARRATIVE: A warrior fighting to escape a virtual world is forced to relive the death of her only brother. Amy Schumaker; Jayme Woscjechowski; Steve Lamorte, director. Fight action. USA

THE ZONE- SHORT NARRATIVE: A young woman turns to sport hypnosis to improve her boxing skills and faces the challenge of an underground fight that may change her life. Denisse Bon; Anthony Ray Parker; David Tirado; Sarah Brown; Monica Azevedo, director. Boxing. USA

LOST IN TRANSIT – SHORT NARRATIVE: A martial arts teacher gets caught up with the possession of a briefcase being protected by a girl he knows. Cassandra Ebner; Ken Do; Osric Chau; Berlin Lu; Simon Chin, Stanton Chong, director. Adult. Fight action. Canada

RFLKTR- SHORT NARRATIVE: A pilot crashlands on an alien planet where she faces an unexpected enemy. Breeda Turner; Mark K. Turner, director. Sci-fi action. USA

THE FORCE AND THE FURY- SHORT NARRATIVE: A Jedi crash lands on a barren planet and is pursued by a mysterious Sith who seems to know him. Aris Juson; Deborah Lee Smith; Jason Satterlund, director. Sci-fi sword action. Family. USA


The fights and films section is literally packed with amazing gems and the first of which brings us to content exclusively available for a limited time courtesy of Comicbook.com. The first episode went live for Bat In The Sun’s new series, Ninjak VS. The Valiant Universe, following the last two years of production and comic-con hype-building. Michael Rowe stars in the title role who is forced into a battle royale with other superhero when his weakness is exposed. Check out the trailer below, and then head to Comicbook.com and enjoy the show!
The sweet, raspy sounds of Nancy Sinatra pave the way for brutality Distinctive Light’s new short, Bang Bang, kicking off a lovely raft of fight loaded action to cap off the hit list. The subsequent playlist beneath invites us further into the latest of online beatdowns starting with Rustic B.’s Keep The Hat with Bryan Dodds and Troy Castaneda, and Kai Young with a pair of new videos from his channel featuring Alfredo Sanchez and Phil Soulides, and with Chris Lafferty, Joshua Moaney, Kirsten Andersen, Tori Clark, Cody Evans-Gan, Tully Bertorelli and Rob Fury.
David Lavallee Jr. takes the stage with a test fight of his own aided by Paul Drechsler-Martell and Anthony Hoang while Judit Sziva and Juha Hippi throwdown in the woods with Mikko Löppönen lensing, and Jefferson Lewis III arrives with a pair of new videos as well host to a Catfight with Lacey Kayr and Katie Kramer, and a Kung Fu Challenge opposite Jason Elwood Hanna. From there, Bethany Curry and Joseph Oreste engage in some Twix Tango, Tatiana DeKhytar bridges the brutal gap with Jean-Charles Rousseau, rising star Tristan Defeuillet-Vang makes his Hit List debut getting Kidnapped with Daniel Locicero behind the action, Jonathen Pantera Wallace gets into some ninja thangz for a robust game of Rock Paper Scissors, Nik Pelekai battles the zombie apocalypse in Infected with Branden Arnold and Steven Rodriguez, and Kyle Murillo returns to the Hit List in fan film fashion with a nod to a few Avengers and a lesson in tardiness.


Rounding out the playlist are two delightful additions to this week’s roster, and first up is a project that comes by way of one of Film Combat Syndicate’s latest contributors. As most of Nicholas Ortiz’s time is dedicated to keeping the engine running over at Deviant Children Productions, this site is happy to proudly present Krystal “Honey” Pizzaro into the mix and all-smiles and beatdowns in Ortiz’s new neon-lit, hard-hitting thriller, Black Betty.
Bookending the hit list is actor and stuntman Joe Chacon who has made the Hit List quite a few times in the last several years through stunt reels and shorts. Fight To Live, the newly-released MMA fight drama from director Leon Pierce Jr. is his biggest by far, casting him opposite Javier Lezama for the story of a friendship damaged beyond repair in lieu of a fateful illegal underground MMA prize fight that could change both of their lives forever.
Damn I love this.
Enjoy the hits!!!

L to R (top): Javier Lezama, Jonathen Pantera Wallace, Tatiana DeKhytar, Phil Soulides, Joe Chacon
L to R (bottom): Kate Angus, Bryan Dodds, Alfredo Sanchez, Kai Young, Olena Medwid

Click here to get your fill with last week’s entries and those before them if you’re feelin it. Otherwise, sub to the channels for a show of support and SHARE THE HIT LIST with friends who love action on film. And, as always, if you or someone you know has an amazing stunt reel or a project that needs promoting, or one completed that could use some sharing, contact us at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com and we’ll be more than happy to vet your material.

Lee B. Golden III
filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com | Web

Native New Yorker. Lover of all things pizza, chocolate, pets, and good friends. Karaoke hero. Left of center. Survivor. Fond supporter of cult, obscure and independent cinema - especially fond of Asian movies and global action cinema. Author of the bi-weekly Hit List. Founder and editor of Film Combat Syndicate. Still, very much, only human.

Lee Golden

Native New Yorker. Lover of all things pizza, chocolate, pets, and good friends. Karaoke hero. Left of center. Survivor. Fond supporter of cult, obscure and independent cinema - especially fond of Asian movies and global action cinema. Author of the bi-weekly Hit List. Founder and editor of Film Combat Syndicate. Still, very much, only human.

→ Lee Golden

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