Having written this on the day of, I’m just glad that my weekend didn’t completely burn me out. Needless to say, I had my work cut out for me but I’m glad to have managed to squeeze in today’s playlists loaded with great stunt and fight work from today’s inspired action cinema creatives.
Alas, welcome to another installment of The Hit List, and kicking things off is another new playlist full of electric stunt reels. Shahaub Roudbari kicks things off followed by Canadian traceur and stunt performer, Thomas Lorber. Following that is one of the rare instances I’ll feature a reel that doesn’t use music as the outling backdrop, and that comes from actress and filmmaker PeiPei Alena Yuan – no stranger to stunts and fight choreography having put out some great gems on her channel and making her all the more enjoyable to cover on this site. Deadpool double Ross Kohnstam and lightsaber-wielding wunderkind Hannah Spreitzenbarth are here to showcase their talents as well, followed by the ever-graceful Michelle Jubilee Gonzalez, stunt performers Loïc Molla, and Donald Brooks, and two terrific coordinator reels by Jae Greene, and Jake Huang – the latter modeling a wonderful highlight in how one designs action for animation.
The last comes courtesy of Damien Walters – someone who pretty much goes for broke on some really sick stunts, one even including a blind backflip over a speeding Formula E race car. And, of course he’s in movies, several of which you will see highlit in his newest reel at the bottom of the following playlist. Enjoy!
Kicking off this week’s playlist of comedic action shorts is a new action gem from filmmaker Benedict Sanderson in a recent pairing with fight choreographer Joey Ansah, British martial arts star Zara Phythian in Kung Fu Darling. (P.S. – On top of being a badass, she’s definitely a darling in real life!). Following that is short new skit from director Ben Rezendes titled Sticks At Dawn with Stephen Koepfer and Paul Varacchi, an experimental action practice video by Cedric Tellier and Kevin Remy, and a little Batman throwback interlude circa 1966 showcasing the stunt and cosplay styling of Welsh actor and stuntman Marcus Shakesheff. Rounding it out is another impressive display of grappling choreography by lensman and action director Emmanuel Manzanares for SIDE A: [PART 1 of 2] with Michael Lehr, Vonzell Carter and Nicholas John Verdi, and Dardrex Productions’s latest, Phone It In – a delightful new action comedy short with a lovely reminder that when the chips are down and you’re outnumbered, don’t summon your friends like Pokemon, or the odds won’t be in your favor. Hey, it makes sense!
Last and far from least, we can expect to hear a lot more from filmmaker and stunt coordinator Mark Grove in the coming months. In the meantime, his latest credit now comes in the good company of actress and director Marina Voruz in the new sci-fi action short, Blue Hope. Voruz is joined by co-star and fight coordinator Austin Jorgensen, with the story of Lana and Jack – two company assassins whose romantic fate will be determined in a brutal, bloody reunion long after Lana’s sudden disappearance and inexplicable “transformation”.
The short is finally out after a year’s waiting period, and I personally enjoyed this one when I first screened it close to a year ago. The drama is tightly knit as well as much of the choreography, and Voruz herself shows a sense of adaptability to the demands of physical screenfighting. She’s a great fit for this role and I hope to see more of her work in the near future, no matter on what side of the camera she’s on. Check it out below!
Feast your eyes on last week’s Hit List entries if you haven’t had enough, and be sure to subscribe to the channels as shown in this piece. Moreover, if you or someone you know has a kick ass new stunt reel or short film you think is worthy of a Hit List mention, hit us up at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com!