THE HIT LIST: March 6, 2017

If anyone needs me, I’ll be spending the week collecting my brain between articles and work so I can recover from my near-sleepless weekend. For the record though…no, I’m not complaining. Headshot was awesome!

As for all else, this week’s HIT LIST is here for your enjoyment with another round of stunt and demo reels, promo goodies and action-packed shortfilms. Canadian stunt troupe K Dynamique kicks things off with a new reel of their own followed by Jared Blake DiCroce, Mark Miscione, Eurico Senna and the award-winning fiery stylings of Rachel Novak. The playlist rounds out with reels by Marcel Mala, Joseph Roark, Barry Nerling and Felix Cortes with Godefroy Ryckewaert showcasing some delicious lensing highlights of his own, including footage from Jimmy Henderson’s new movie, Jailbreak.

Up next are the usual promotional goods and just in time for the release of the hit film, Logan, is an inspired new concept trailer that sees stuntwoman Ilyana Eberhardt wielding her own set of claws as X-23.

Following that is a trio of videos that have earned stuntman and filmmaker Rustic B a pretty ample audience for his skillset. As of late, he’s taken to YouTube to share some of his knowledge in a series of film fighting tutorials and the videos have proven successful since the first one took off back in February.

It’s part a series he’s doing and there may be more installments so feel free to watch this space or subscribe. Besides, if this is something you’d like to do someday or are doing and in need of help, it could very well give you the tools you need to land a spot on our Hit List in the not-too-distant future.

Beneath that is slate of posters designed by Mounie Omari for actor and director Phillip Ray Tommy’s upcoming shortfilm, Cain & Abel following its teaser back in November last year with actor and martial artist Grant Steven also starring.

Enjoy the goods below!

Last and far from least is a quick round of test fights and short films from around the web and the first up are a spurt of action pieces from DC Stunt Coalition, CBR Stunts and Mykola Galagan with Leif Johnson keeping the momentum going over at his channel with the new action short, Ten Percent, and Adam Lytle keeping the pace going for Alex Hashioka’s demise in the trippy, brutal basement brawler, Chains.

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The next comes courtesy of Vlad Rimburg in the wake of nearly three years since working on putting the project together. Such were the good graces had in the form of working with Hollywood stunt professional Larnell Stovall and martial arts stars Marko Zaror and Darren Shahlavi for the new four-minute short, Raaz’s Rage along with fellow stunt players Kim Do, Ken Quitugua and Brendon Huor.

Notably, Raaz’s Rage, initially part of a larger project, is just one of the last few film ventures that included Shahlavi before a rare heart condition took his life on January 14, 2015. The late Kickboxer: Vengeance star is lived on by family, close friends, and a legacy of film that stretches twenty five years, and with Rimburg’s own hard-earned efforts, hands us one of the single-most key signature performances on screen worthy of being a hit any day.

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Last and far from least is Shane Fazen capping things off in fine form. His is called Trigger, delivering a one-take blitzkrieg of action centered on one man’s incursion into an enemy’s lair to rescue his wife. It’s a down-and-dirty brawlfest and, much to our delight, is a record breaking feat of action that graciously tops Tony Jaa’s enthralling restaurant fight sequence in Tom Yum Goong (2005).

This only gets more brutal, folks, so hit play, sit back and take it all in one blow at a time!

Last week’s Hit List is relentless with action and I welcome you all to check it out if you have the time. Sub to the channels to show your support and share the Hit List with friends to keep independent action cinema alive, and if you’re a creator, or even a stunt professional or know someone who has a project or a trailer for something that may very well become a hit we should know about, share it with us at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com!