Well, my weekend wasn’t much of one, save for a few anime breaks on Netflix. Most of my time was spent either at work or posting reviews here on the blog on top of prepping at least two interviews, one that will likely post sometime this week.
Surprisingly, I actually thought this was going to be a smaller Hit List and I always think that every week. As it turns out, this one’s loaded quite amply and we begin with actor and stuntman Eric Jacobus with a new movelist video attributed to Tekken favorite, Jin Kazama! The playlist continues with great new stunt and training reels featuring Mark Fichera, Janelle Beaudry, John J. Shim, Nick DeKay, Dirk Ellis, Phi Huynh and Katelyn Brooke, followed by the latest stunt coordinator reels from Bryce Bermingham and Jennifer Badger, and one from KingOfKungFuAMP’s YouTube channel with an excellent fan reel attributed to the stellar career of none other than Shaw Brothers vet and action legend Kara Hui, star of the upcoming action thriller, Mrs. K.
Onward to a few promotional bits and one dating back to a few updates I shared last year for a project called I Am Spartan. Dance Nocturnal’s own Jyo Carolino stars and directs in the short which centers on a former soldier who, on a tragic twist of fate, is given an opportunity to redeem himself, and all he has to do is survive! I was instantly sold on the concept and story, and the teaser drew me some as well and I’m looking forward to watching and sharing it here when it airs online this March. Peep the poster below!
The remaining two are a perfect fit fot Star Wars fans – the first is a promotional featurette preceded by a Facebook video I linked in a seperate Hit List a few weeks ago. The project comes from Force Storm Entertainment’s own Noah Fleder who is now partnerning with Playstation for a new action short titled Grey Knights now in pre-production, and the crew on they have on board is quite a list!
The last is a teaser for a project coming soon from writer, producer and director Shawn Bu for Darth Maul: Apprentice, and the teaser for it just glistens with appeal. Vi-Dan Tran directs the action with a cast that includes Mathis Landwehr, Svenja Jung, Eskindir Tesfay, Sefa Demirbas and Maja with Ben Schamma in the title role.
Watch all three videos in the playlist now.
And now, it’s fight time and there are several action bits here worth your time. First up is a fresh new short fight titled Rough Waters, with Deviant Child Production’s own Nicholas Ortiz with comedic action skit, The Handshake, and Asian Auntie Returns! courtesy of Art School Dropouts with Joey Min back in costume, and the latest action comedy skit from Jabronie Pictures, Distraction.
The playlist finishes with three videos – The first two are recut fight sequences by filmmaker Darren Holmquist, shot initially for a project now under water and I’m pretty happy to share these as they’re some of the best I’ve seen from Holmquist since I began following Dardrex Productions a lot more. Holmquist is joined by Trinity Allen, Matt Bethel and John Rickard in both videos, respectively. The third comes courtesy of filmmaker Taj. L. Cooper testing out his own action chops with Holmquist front and center opposite Ronma Perry in Intercept.
It’s down the wire now with the list of some of the internet’s worthwile feats in film and webseries content, and director Nguyen Anh-Nguyen is getting things started with a project that’s been on the come-and-go list since last December. The shortfilm is a Vimeo exclusive titled Temple which stars Canadian actor Osric Chau as a semi-cyborg in a dystopian future where the world is on the verge of an end due to climate change, and a disease has forced mankind to survive on cybernetic implants, one which our hero must fight for in order to save the one he loves.
It’s a very visually stunning piece from the crew that brought us The Akira Project in recent years, and not much is known beyond its removal from online two months ago. At any rate, this puppy is back up and all yours to endulge.
As for the playlist, filmmaker Anthony Winson is getting things up and rolling with a little piece that looks bound for a possible webseries starring Cora Vanaman. It’s titled My Name’s Faith and while I am new to Winson, I caught the name of actor and martial artist Craig Canning who co-stars in and choreographs for this one, and seeing as how I’ve followed him for better part of the last three years, I was instantly intrigued to check it out, and now I’m sharing it. The second comes courtesy of Rocketjump with actress and writer Ashly Burch tearing it up at a sleep over in Sleep Fighter, followed by Andrew Shanks’s latest contribution from Fury Fingers with Anthony Rinna front and center in Pac Man: Come Out To Play, and martial arts action favorite Felix Fukuyoshi Rwwue’s most recent get-together with fellow actor Alesssndro Lo Cacciato in a robust new hitman gem called Wrong Way.
The final video in playlist is an absolute hit for me, accompanied by the above poster. It comes from director Godefroy Ryckewaert who I’ve absolutely enjoyed observing in the last few years I’ve been posting on Film Combat Syndicate. He knows his way something fierce around action and comedy, and he exemplifies it accordingly in his latest French undercover cop romp, Le Aventures De Tranh Et Nowak, a hilarious buddy story of two very different cops assigned to go undercover and infiltrate Nazis to retrieve a specific painting in order to return it to its rightful owner. This one is full of wit and off-beat humor with a script that isn’t afraid to tackle stereotypes. Plus it’s got some of the best action sequences you’ll ever see from today’s crop of stuntmen a la France, including a few of whom I’m proud to call great acquaintances.
Geneviève Doang, Quentin d’Hainaut and Simon Dubreucq star.
Watch all the videos right now!
That’ll be all for this week’s Hit List and so be sure to catch last week’s gems if you’ve at all missed them. Moreover, if you yourself have something to add to next week with an equally badass test fight scene, shortfilm or stunt reel, email it to us at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com and we’ll gladly screen it!
