THE HIT LIST - July 20, 2015

Well, I'm certainly proud after last night. I don't get to have too many adventures with stunt professionals, but when I do, they're all inarguably some of the most fun experiences I continue to have. I guess I can only hope to share those experiences with even more people I include in the weekly Hit List...for now though, distance and affordability are my disadvantages. But that doesn't stop me from bringing the action where it is, so...

...let's get this shindig started with a new playlist of stunt and action demo reels. The names here include Alfred Hsing, Bonnie Pisciotta, Janelle Beaudry, David Ausem, Michelle DeMond, Petra Sprecher, Alvin Hsing and Julien Briau.

I thought I'd advance things a bit with the inclusion of a couple of parkour videos this week since content is a bit low. Plus, sometimes I do include freerunning videos to spice things up seeing as how such a dynamic sport has much to do with how we view cinematic action. And this week, Ilya Semyonov, Will Sutton, and the freerunning talent in a new reel hosted by the Epic Metal Piece channel have it down packed!

It was back in March that Stunt 360's own Jacob Sebastian Malm shared a trailer to showcase the names of talented martial artists enlisted in this Summer's presentation of Giacmo Puccini's Turandot at Bregenzer Festspiele in Austria. This month, we have a new highlight video featuring all of our talent hard at work behind the scenes and rehearsing, and to be honest though, I've never seen Turandot myself, so I've never been familiar with it until as of late, although considering what we're seeing here, it looks like an exciting show we could all wrap our heads around.

Anyway, as you are about to see, one of the show's key performers includes filmmaker and Martial Club creator Andy Le who himself has another video on his team channel featuring some more behind-the-scenes work, and this time with indepenedent action performer and member of Zero Gravity, Unlucky Stars star Ken Quitugua. Not much is being said about this project other than its title, The Challenger (I'm already sold), so there isn't much to go by except for Le's own insight and some of the exclusive footage Le is introducing to all of us. Check it all out now!

Also offering some extra behind-the-scenes goodies are on-set highlights from the production of Lunar Stunts Action Cinema's Spring short film release, Tough Street. You can find it on their channel as of three months ago, while this week you can now observe just how director Eric Nguyen puts together action sequences and tells stories in the process. His channel is full of morsels and if you haven't heard of him now, hopefully this will clue you in.

The fight action now ensues in several new test fights and shorts from here on out. Kicking things off is a new little gem from action actors Anthony Pho and Alex Levand and Shift Media's latest action short -The Reveal with Craig Canning and Grant Steven.

The remaning three videos recapitulating this week's Hit List are now here - a few of which you may be familar. The first is a new addition to the blog courtesy of Glasgow-based martial arts studio Hybrid Fight Academy who have experimented with cinematic action before. They always do solid work and moviegoers may even find some of their touch applied to filmmaker Christian Sesma's forthcoming installment sequelizing the long-awaited release of one of his recent titles, Vigilante Diaries.

In the meantime, you can find their latest contribution to action cinema with their brand new short, Interrogation, principally featuring Hybrid fight instructor, actor, choreographer and director George Johnston.

INTERROGATION from Refract Visuals on Vimeo.

Consider these latter two as honorable mentions, with the first coming from independent filmmaker Frank Hernandez in the form of the new action drama short, Heart, and Fabien Garcia's newest hard-hitting epic piece of post-apocalyptic action fanlore, Drained World, which is now seeking funding from the public, as well as interested investors for a full webseries season. Click HERE and HERE for more info.

That about wraps things up on this end, but if you have time to spare and you missed last week's Hit List, please feel free to have at it. Otherwise, if you or someone you know is a content creator with QUALITY work that could use some publicity in a future Hit List article, send an awesome e-mail at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com!

THE HIT LIST - May 25, 2015

Glad I took my time in getting this Hit List together with all the videos and pics to display. Its been a busy week for me so I hope this will suffice. I should, right?


As always, let's start off with the usual assortment of fantastic stunt reels now available online. Reel Deal Action member, actor and stunt professional Can Aydin has been coming into his own for sometime now. His story is an amazing one and I had the distinct pleasure of meeting him last month as he was in the good company of friend and industry fight coordinator and stuntman Jonathan Eusebio.

Aydin's body of work is currently poised to include his debut ensemble role with Reel Deal Action under directors Ufuk Genc and Michael Popescu for the upcoming milestone German martial arts action comedy, Plan B. Until then, you can currently his choreography and other stunt work in films such as Big Game starring Samuel L. Jackson, as well as upcoming releases of Hitman: Agent 47 this August, Ericson Core's gravity defying action remake of Point Break, and much more. I sincerely recommend checking out the interview for yourself. Oh, and you can also check out his latest reel in the player just below as it's TOO good to miss!

Other dynamo training and performance reels include those from Shayan Safar, Nick Siv, Hymnson Chan, Ben Tardif, Justice Hedenberg, Jade Dregorious and absolute MUST-SEE reels from Kassym Zhumaguzhin and team BUFF Connection.










And now, it's time to get fighting and kicking off this final leg of the Hit List is a new video from Stunt 360. It's been uploaded as a Demo Reel with footage pertaining to a future project, and between the stunts, the fight action, costumes and make-up, it looks absolutely ferocious both visually AND audibly. Judging by the title, Unleashed 360 Demo Reel, you can already tell what the theme is, and I'm sure that a workable expansion of this will do wonders.

The following test fight videos beneath it also include performances by Kamikaze star Marcus Shakesheff for Codex Digital's new Codex Action Cam Demo, Juan Bofill's newest fight experiment with Shayna Bofill, Christopher Llorca and Reuben Maldonado and director Sone Hayato's Samurai proof-of-concept, Shinsegumi with Shogen, Funaki Ikki and Mimoto Masanori with action design by Sonomura Kensuke. After that, you'll see a clip with Fernando Huerto and Eric Jacobus from Huerto's upcoming Gunpoint series reboot, and another gem from The Racka Racka pitting warring fans against one another between Halo against Call Of Duty - full of face-ripping, tit-shooting and all sorts of over-the-top violence you can expect from these folks!






At long last, Bat In The Sun and Machinima have recently unveiled both versions of the epic Super Power Beatdown episode featuring action actors Peter Jang and Toku mainstay Jason David Frank in their respective performances as Street Fighter's legendary Hadou purveyor, Ryu, and the iconic Green Ranger. Bat In The Sun hosts these videos periodically with votes from fans who generate which ending comes first.

I wonder who you guys voted for!



We have some new shortfilm material online as well with longer durations. The first comes straight from the gang at Martial Club as of last week, dispensing their usual flair for kung fu comedy in homage to the stylish classics. Quest To Become Kung Fu Master is the title with performances by Andy Le, Daniel Mah and Du Au with Brian Le and featuring Shaun Charney among others in this latest romp. The second is the first of several serial boxing drama installments to come from Grayson: Earth One helmer Hisonni Johnson, titled Fight Night Legacy, centered on the events of an underdog fighter (Dio Johnson) dying from liver cancer as he struggles his way back up.



Finally, it's trailer time. Some are real, and some are fake. These are definitely fake, but well worth the viewing if you're a true classic Asian action fan like Adrian Castro whose latest crafty contribution, Tiger Cop 1 & 2 captures all the aesthetics traditionally seen in 80's Hong Kong action cinema with actress Maria Tran lending her attributes as her own tributary 80's HK Police Madam genre. Dickson Poon would be proud.


Up next, Garrett Dumas and Carnell Holley are returning to reprise their roles in the upcoming shortfilm sequel, Black Panther & Deadpool: The Gauntlet, following up their successful short last year. If R-rated superhero action and comedy is more your speed ahead of what Hollywood and feature indies may offer, this will be reassuring for fans. Check out its trailer!


The last comes from filmmaker Sean Cronin in his most recent collaboration with UK actor and martial artist Cengiz Dervis for a 20-minute short that encapsulates you in a journalist's curiousity centered on one man's ultimate struggle for redemption and healing in the face of tragedy, taking on the underworld fight circuit's most gruesome pugilists. I got to screen this film before it was removed from public viewing prior to its entry at Cannes this month, and the result is simply an astonishing piece of work, delivering action and drama with great performances by the cast, including Dan Richardson and actress Kate Braithwaite.

Welcome to London Hood, and its following trailer.


As far as pics go, while you can currently catch a teaser for Rising Tiger's upcoming Sega Dreamcast-inspired fan short, Shenmue, the crew have assembed some new stills to inspire the curiousity. The short unveils its kickassery with Leroy Nguyen and Daniel Sim on May 27 29. The album beneath includes a set of pics from Bob Bravler's latest short, The Spider And The Bird, which centers on actresses Toy Lei and Michelle Jubille Gonzalez in a sexy revenge love story that packs a punch or two. It's currently seeking festival attention so it may not be up for a long while, but the pics should suffice, along with whatever you like at its Facebook page.



And lastly, we have a new music video for the upcoming feature thematic martial arts crime sequel, SPL 2: A Time For Consequences. For better or worse with what little Google translate does for anyone, the title song translates to "Break", featuring the vocal stylings of singer Alex Chia hitting the bag and taking it to the ring ahead of the film's release next month. Enjoy!


Last week's Hit List is HERE if you missed it. In the meantime, subscribe to these channels, and if you have a QUALITY reel, test fight or short you want presented here, e-mail us at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com!

THE HIT LIST - May 11, 2015

I'm kind of adding a little something new to The Hit List nowadays, and I hope it proves useful for you guys in your own enjoyment. But, first things first...

As always, there are plenty of stunt reels online, but only a handful of them can be shared here depending on how much they stand out to me (on top of the limit I'm setting for each Hit List piece). So, I've chosen reels from Mallory Thompson, Michele Silvestri, Chris Bradley, Tyler Elliot, Steven Turner and director Adam Zielinski's latest round up from the inner-workings of the Arahat Orphan Brotherhood, all of which should help get things off to an epic start. Enjoy!

For shortfilm territory, we have at least two new trailers to start with. The first for Grindhouse-era short, Death Blender, comes from Dylan Hintz over at DC Stunt Coalition by way of his latest entry into this past weekend's 48 Hour Film Project and it's got a gory trailer for which he hopes to feast more eyes on with bigger platforms. The trailer beneath that is for My Brother's Keeper, an upcoming new short from action actor and dancer Jordan Cann which aims for a neat hybrid of action and dance choreography to set the stage for a bitter rivalry between brothers over a similar love interest; this one is expected to arrive this June or July following post-production.

And now, as always and expected, we get fighting! But first, a word from actress, choreographer and martial artist Tess Kielhamer who has made somewhat of a name for herself among fans, a lot of whom may be familiar with her role in Micah Brock's four-part indie action mini-saga, Slug Street Scrappers. She's got her own channel nowadays where she vlogs, opinionates and often showcases her screenfighting and action design talents in their continuance, and a more recent case can be seen in quite a few pieces she's done, including the first-part of her martial arts game-inspired series, Cosplay Combat. It's been her labor of love and long-enduring in its wait for completion before the first episode was released, and this month, she's looking to move her efforts forward via Kickstarter with up to excesses of $800 or more. And provided she gets her figures in, fans can expect to catch her kicking ass as anyone from Street Fighter's Cammy to Mortal Kombat's very own Sonya Blade, and then some.

The first episode is available on her channel where you may also view her campagn video, and you can link there to her Kickstarter page as well. In the meantime, she's got another video up seperate from her platform with fellow indie actioner Shaun Charney you can view below as well, which, in case you're new to Kielhamer's work, should serve as a nice little intro to sample with. The other short fight beneath it comes courtesy of the Z-Team's own Dider and Laurent Buson circa 2009; it was reshared via Facebook in lieu of Dider's birthday a few weeks ago and just uploaded to YouTube with a different track, and as you can see, the choreography is still fresh and exciting to watch in its execution while pre-visual state for the brutality in their latest debut feature, Die Fighting - that film is currently available on VOD and various platforms.

Next up, it's a story of five men - each of with their own reasons to fight. Into the G.O.D. (Game Of Death) is the latest piece from the folks over at Legionarius Films who first came under my radar with a lovely little Capoeira-inspired action short titled Guerrero Capoeirista back in February and it was enough to get my attention. As for Into the G.O.D. (Game Of Death), this one has been waiting to come out for a while now with post-production issues occuring earlier on, but finally it's out now so, have at it!

The next short you're about to see comes from director Lawrence Blyth with a small story that easily harkens back to the old saying "crime doesn't pay". The Countdown is the name of this little gem between actress, writer and producer Lara Heller and actor Cengiz Dervis with a fair bit of mature comedy in between the action with an explosive ending to boot. This one will put a smile on your face, guaranteed.

Next up, Wolf Sensei has returned in Martial Club's latest to offer his opinion on the not-so-epic #MayPac fight earlier this month. It's actor Brian Le's second outing as this persona following its entrance in February, and I think only good things of this. Check him out in his element!

That was a fun laugh, but now we get back to the realm of the serious. The next episode of the martial arts drama webseries, The Way: Fighters Twitch is here with actress Rachael Thompson front and center, from creators Ronny Vega and Khalil Barnett.

Up next is action actor Vaughndio Forbes's latest debut with Fight Factory Stunt Team in the new short, Deliver(ed), pitting agents against agents with solid action design by stuntman Narayana Cabral.

And lastly, indie action creators Vlad Rimburg and Tony Chu have a lovely little gem coming soon. Here are some vicious stills to whet the appetite, along with a separate batch of new photos ahead of Alex Chung's Hit Me Apocalypse later this year.

Subscribe to these channels above and head over here to view last week's entries. And as always, if you have a QUALITY action short, demo reel or teaser you would like us to consider sharing for you, e-mail us at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com

THE HIT LIST - January 5, 2015

The new year has barely begun, and there's already tons of material floating around online with today's entry host to its usual amalagam of largely new and a few dated videos. Yes, it's insane, but it's also a wonderful (and delightfully explosive) reminder of what we can expect for the next 360 days. So, rest assured, lest you self-proclaimed sports and martial arts action fans find yourselves missing out on the immense amount of hidden talent online, there's a world out there full of artists looking to win your approval. And Film Combat Syndicate is happy to oblige.

If you're knowledgeable of the tricking community, the name Jeremy Marinas might ring a bell. He's hugely successful among other professional athletes in a career that has ultimately granted him a chance to work on plenty of feature films and shortfilm projects, namely Man Of Tai Chi (2013), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), and online shorts such as Death Before Dishonor and Garbage Day. If this is your intro to Marinas, then you've arrived just in time to check out his latest sampler below.

Up next is someone I've mentioned before. Again, another popular name in the martial arts community, actress and renowned martial artist and XMA purveyor Rayna Vallandingham has made quite a name for herself among millenials, having become the youngest black belt ever to win eleven (11) world martial arts championship titles by the age of ten. Needless to say, she's been a busy girl in the last three years,  and all prior to landing her latest role in actor and director Phillip Rhee's forthcomimg martial arts drama, Underdog Kids.

Her new demo reel is out and about this month, courtesy of Kickpics. Enjoy!

I think if it weren't for the rising popularity of parkour in the past decade through its communal buildup online, we would have less happier people in the world. I often look at these videos and wish this sport was known to me when I was much younger, as it really does seem to take you places, as does the latest contribution from parkour videographer and enthusiast Joel Eggimann with the new video, Adventure Stories, a testamemt to living life to its fullest purpose.

Check it out below, and if that doesn't fulfill your appetite, then feel free to gaze on two more videos just beneath, courtesy of Lynn Jung, and the traceurs featured on the Flow Channel's 2014 rewind video.

Actor and martial artist Gil Sanabria is someone I've had my eye on for a while now. Currently dabbling in a number of independent projects while working on building his career as a stuntman and fight choreographer, his latest reel should prove as a nice little introduction for you if this is your first time hearing of him.

Up next is a reel featuring a perpetual amount of previous and upcoming work from filmmaker Eric Nguyen over at Lunar Stunts Action Cinema. Shorts like Fair Game, Eat. Pray. Ninja. and El Guerrero are all prime examples of what Nguyen is capable of, and the potential that lies there. It'll be a blast to see what he comes up with this year!

Alas, we get fighting, and it's with great, GREAT pleasure to share the latest get together between action actors Gui DaSilva and Nick Benseman, and LBP Stunts Chicago mainstay Emmanuel Manzanares. It's been a few months since we've seen something from him, and from the looks of his first video of 2015, he's getting things off to a great start. I'm ready for anything!

This one was a late catch on Monday last week, but it still feels good to finally share with you straight from Shaun Charney's YouTube platform over at Dragon Phoenix Entertainment. Charney gets some screentime here alongside actress and model Ishida Sachiko and Slug Street Scrappers co-star Saito Mari. I've written plenty about these three in the past year, so a quick internet search will definitely take you where you can find even more of them on screen. Sample some of it below!

It's pretty clear that things are brewing for something new over in Australia with longstanding film producer Mike Leeder (One Million K-l-icks, Ultimate Justice) on hand. To date, the latest bit of proof has since arrived with recent new pre-viz fight choreography clip courtesy of action choreographer Trung Ly and his students over at Đồng Thanh Alliance Martial Arts in Sydney.

We'll be sure to find out more on what this will all mean come next year. In the meantime, push play!

This next video comes with the great pleasure of having already, finally, gotten a foothold of independent filmmakers Lester "Leroy" Nguyen and Edmund Shum. The two had a great Winter run last year upon making some sparks at the Urban Action Showcase and Expo in New York City while representing their production banner, Rising Tiger Films, and their award-winning Two Minute Fight category short, Baddest, is no exception.

Nguyen and Shum have other plans for 2015, including hopefully finding a proper platform to sell their latest labor of love, Black Scar Blues (and you can read more about that by clicking here), in addition to completing a slate of upcoming project after taking the creative helm of the female-centric action cinema platform, Deadly Dymes, with the first project, Exhit Wounds, officially on the way.

For now, though, let's see which of these Rising Tigers are Baddest!

This next one is quite the throwback, dating back to just a few years ago when wristband company, EFX, got together with Russian martial arts and tricking sports team, Street Union to create an advertisement. I found it on Friday morning last week and I figured this would be something worth sharing, particularly since there isn't a lot of recent content on this channel, and I certainly hope that this remarkable team is still active in some capacity.

At any rate, here is their 2012 EFX-RUS ad, Fight For The Bracelet, with Ilya Pozdnyakov and Mikhail Belskiy.

This next one is another in any number of online action shorts I've unfortunately overlooked in the past year. This one was written and directed by actor Roberto Lopez who first came on my radar with a hilarious and entertaining series pitch titled Dos Fat Guys with co-star Marcos Miranda. I certainly hope that one manages to pick up some steam at some point in the near future, but in the meantime, here's a little something Lopez put together ans unveiled online last summer titled Killer Wives, with Stephanie Vovou, Micole Aubertin Murray and one of my favorite people in the Earthrealm, actress and stuntwoman Kimmy Suzuki. And as you'll see, it'll take a lot more than act of national security to protect this man from his infidelity.

Killer Wifes from Stuntworks on Vimeo.

Over here...well, I guess it just goes to show that gratitude is much more open to interpretation these days. This one is called My Hero, the first video from the screenfighting and film production platform over at New York City's Cinematic Fight Studio, directed by Lang Yip with key performances by actress Judy C. Yang, actor Jeremy Rafal and Cinematic Fight Studio's own in-house fight professor, actor Adam Lee. Take a looksy!

The folks over at Martial Club had a great year last year putting out quite a few shorts while expanding themselves in competitive martial arts tricking. They've been around for several years now, having appeared in numerous collaborations, and even performing some stuntwork in the first of two principal episodes for the long-awaited release of Epic Rival's inspired new series, Clandestine.

In kind, their ambitions toward film also come entrenched in an immersive display of Asian philosophy and culture, embodied largely by a tremendous appreciation of, and respect for kung fu cinema. And at the top of the year, they have now returned with a brand new online gem that further sets the Martial Club example of this, led by actor and martial artist Andy Le in the new shortfilm, The Greatest Adversary 對頭. Check it out below!

An undercover cop desperate to keep his identity a secret until a deal goes bad and he's forced to fight for his life - That's pretty much the basic story setup as can now be seen in full with the release of director Fabien Carrabin's new long-awaited crime short, Iron. Filmed back in November 2013, producer, actor and stuntman Eddy Benguedih leads the way as he fights his way out of a hail of bullets and a squad of thugs bent on taking him out.

Cedric Teller (Elit Unit) directed the action, and while a few of the action sequences appear to be cut short for some reason, there are some highs to compensate for the lows, including good acting and great cinematography between certain shots. Perhaps all we really need now are some subtitles, because as of this write-up, there are none, although I imagine it would be fun to interpret, somewhat.

If you're familiar with the caliber of film and action talent from the folks over at German martial arts and film team, Young Masters and enjoyed recent online gems like Tribal Ties and Future Boss, you'll be glad to see just how they've kicked off the new year with the brand new shortfilm release, Mister. The project was last summer as a homage to Lee Jeong-beom's 2010 thriller, The Man From Nowhere, and would have released earlier if other time-consuming obligations weren't an issue.

Nonetheless, it's finally here, and presents another fine example of what great filmmaking can achieve for other hungry and inspired professionals. And in the case of writing/directing/action duo, badass in black Felix Fukuyoshi Ruwwe, and the guitar-wielding killer stylings of Lorenz Hideyoshi Ruwwe, there's nothing but potential, and I certainly hope they achieve even more greatness in 2015.

And last but far from least, martial artist and stuntman Bryan Sloyer has become much sharper in the past year I've been paying attention to his shortfilms, with respect to writing and character development, as well as music, editing and fight choreography overall. He made much of this clear in his previous project, One Rule, and now he's returned to put his cinematic growth on display once more with the new short, The Keeper, with key performances by Alvin Hsing and Jay Kwon.

Action and drama aside, Sloyer's upping the ante a bit this time around, and it's worth noting as we enter a new year with plenty in store from an inspired, and otherwise fully-fledged artist.

CLICK HERE to catch last week's year-end Hit List with a link to previous entries, and if you have a QUALITY action short or a trailer to a project you are working on and you would like it shared on Film Combat Syndicate, email us at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com.

THE HIT LIST - December 22, 2014

Christmas is approaching and hopefully you all have your gifts and stocking stuffers ready. With any luck, this could mean more of what is listed below from the creators and performers in today's installment of The Hit List!

Kicking things off with something a bit more holiday-spirited is Italian stuntteam Flying Without Fear and their new short, Stunta Clause: Una Visita Inaspettata (Stunt Claus: An Unexpected Visit). Stuntman Daniele Balconi takes the lead once more as the not-so-big guy in red as he's forced into another annual epic battle. Good thing he's in shape, because this creature looks pissed!

This week, I have at least two reels that I feel are worth adding to the Hit List, featuring stuntmen and action actors Vonzell Carter and Eric Jacobus. Carter is best known for his collaborative efforts for the last several years with the folks over at Thousand Pounds Action Company, performing and even directing much of their action-packed projects. He's currently partaking in some projects he can't talk about publicly, but its safe to say he's on his way up.

Of course, the same can also be said for Jacobus, founder of The Stunt People and a tentpole of the martial arts film community whose new reel is host to a number of accomplishments,  including Mortal Kombat Legacy 2 and horror anthology, The ABC's Of Death 2, as well as upcoming shorts like Rope-A-Dope 2 and his latest performance in the new short, Sensitive 70's Turtleneck Tough Guys from director Jose Montesinos.

Commence endulging!

Here, we have another test fight short project from the folks over at Cinematic Fight Studio titled Seven Seven. The short was constructed as one of the deals included by the studio for its clients, including Olie Brown who has already been training with studio founders Lang Yip and Adam Lee, in addition to performing in a few projects as well. Brown is joined by Matt Healey this week, and you can check them both out below.

Having followed aspiring action auteur Eric Nguyen and his work over at Lunar Stunts Action Cinema, I can honestly say that what I love most about his projects is the amount of contemplation and focus he puts in developing the characters he writes. He's only gotten sharper in the years since and he's back to prove that once more before the new year with this week's shortfilm, El Guerrero (The Warrior), the story of a bounty hunter whose own ego will serve as litmus test when he goes toe-to-toe with an enigmatic tattooed killer in the desert.

Lunar Stunts regulars Mickey Arce and Irvin Nguyen star, and hopefully you've already taken notice of this fine group as it continues to make strides to showcase their talents in filmmkaing. They're seriously good at what they do, and I hope their respective careers and visions take them to higher plateaus in 2015.

Up next is a commercial recently unveiled commercial produced for a massage chair company called Kawaii. The commercial was directed by up-and-coming filmmaker Ken Dinh whose Dallas-based group, P & K Company Productions, has been operating for close to a year now while working to set things in motion for some feature-length projects. Their most recent efforts can be seen in the new horror thriller, True God, for which a trailer has been going viral for about a year now, although the creamy center of their modus operandi leans more toward martial arts action, so with any luck, we will see some more progress from Dinh and his team in the next two weeks. In the meantime, Stairway To Heaven is the name of the theme for Dinh's contribution to Kawaii, starring lead actor and martial arts expert, Peter Tham with fight choreography by Vu Thach. Take a look!

The next video comes from stuntman Dylan Hintz over at DC Stunt Coalition with fellow performer John Soares. The two convened over at Soares's location in Nashville, Tennessee following Hintz's 16-hour bus ride, and while its one of the first test fights Hintz has ever done, its one he's considerably proud of. And rightfully so, with some great hand-to-hand and weapons choreography, and some noteworthy camerawork to boot.

There's a huge backstory Hintz will have available on his own blog which should appear in the description of the video following this write up. At any rate, this video was pretty entertaining!

Martial Club is probably one of the most prolific sports groups out there in the martial arts community. Martial artist member Andy Le who recently sat down with the folks over at Just Kidding Films to chat a bit about his roots and his future with the team, in addition to other current and developing plans. Of course, film is also a part of the plan, as per the latest trailer for the new Martial Club shortfilm, The Greatest Adversary, a story that puts Le's character on a warrior's journey leading to a climatic final fight against a mysterious foe.

Check out both videos below!

Newly on our radar is director and cinematographer Sergio Herencias who's dabbled a bit in the action genre in earlier years, including with the 2010 short, The Prague Assignment. Nowadays you'll catch him with folks like Swiss actor and aspiring action director and screenfighting athlete Betim Alimi as they've just put out a fresh new test fight project from Guave Studios titled Knuckle Heads, with Fetim Fetahi also starring. It's a genuinely awesome, simple story set in a futuristic underground game for the rich where the players are literally in control. And I do mean literally. It's worth every minute and I highly recommend it.

This next little gem is something I caught a bit late since it was uploaded a month ago. This one is titled The Take Back from director Isaul Trinidad, and I don't know much about him or his resume. However, I hope to learn more about him if there is more where I can find this, because it's pretty solid work! Principal performances include that of William Christopher Ford, Jacob Saphir and David Bezeau.

Busy trying to find your happy place on the job? Well, the folks over at U.K.-based Storm Freerun have you covered in their latest collaboration video to push the new HP Stream, accompanied by their usual assortment of epic feats of stuntwork they've become known for since 2010. Just follow the Twitter hashtag #WorkFromHappyPlace and see your way to newer heights!

And here, we have Jela Oka Okpara, a longtime advocate of kung fu cinema with a vision that harkens back to the glory days of Golden Harvest and Shaw Brothers. You can see hints of this among other colorful tropes in his latest of two recent shortfilms now available online; The first is Asceneded Masters with Nick Den and Oscar Perez, highlighting the story of Yeshua long before entering his prime as the Biblical savior of mankind himself, Jesus Christ. The project is set to be the first of twelve parts and it is not yet known when the second will arrive since Okpara is busy with other things, so time will tell. The second is a condensed eight minute version of Okpara's 2013 dystopian kung fu desert thriller, The Last Girl, which is reportedly in development for a hopeful feature expansion. Den is joined by Lincoln Centeio, William J. Hill and actress Marissa Pistone in a story of two men battle between good and evil for the Earth's last female.

Both shorts are easily two of the best pieces of online work you'll ever spot, earning Okpara some much-deserved accolades as a rising figure in martial arts action cinema. The man deserves some studio backing for a feature and I see no reason why that should take any longer.

At long last, we now have two projects well on the way from Japanese action director favorite Shimomura Yuji leading the way on two fronts. The first is a new training featurette with action star Sakaguchi Tak whose final film Re:Born, will commense filming in the Spring of 2015. Close quarters combat expert Inagawa i is coordinating the stylishly brutal and deadly bladed fisticuffs as we await details about the story and characters that will set up this last action-packed hoorah for Sakaguchi fans everywhere.

The other is a trailer that's been around for a while in lieu of a new shortfilm, Hero, once more with Sakaguchi joined by Mimoto Masanori - the latter recently known for his role as the Yakuza opponent in helmer Tsujimoro Takanori's Bushido Man. Hero is being slated for a screening at the Yubari film festival in February following an official announcement on January 15, 2015. If you're an action fan and you happen to be attending, feel free to take notice. (UPDATE: The Facebook embed code has been replaced with a YouTube player code in its place.)

Check out both videos below!

...And finally, a moment of holiday cheer and clarity from Master Ken.

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