THE HIT LIST - May 18, 2015

Stunt reels, freerunning, tricking, fighting and more. The Hit List is back this week and there's at least one video you should check out here as it pertains to an upcoming televsion series arriving this Fall.

For now, the Hit List begins in the only way it should, particularly considering anyone who knows who action star Donnie Yen is knows he has a sister. Alas, Chris Yen's latest reel comes first and foremost, with others from Amy Sturdivant, Kiki Okubo, Christopher Llorca, Paul Clark and David Rodriguez, as well as a new fight choreography reel Paradox Pollack, and an absolutely fantastic stunt coordinator reel from Philippe Guegan!

Now we get to do a little bit of freerunning, and to kick things off, the folks over at Precision Parkour have a new video out which you can view right now, with other entries from Team Farang's own Pasha Petkuns, 16-year old prodigy Serafina Ferraro, and a recent video from the amazing content creators and cinephiles at SubOverHype titled Midnight Mayhem!, taking parkour and car stunts to yet another level of pure physical genius!

Alas, it's time to get punchy, kicky, stabby, shooty and all dramaticky and whatnot, as Italy's own D-Unit gets things started with a Donnie Yen-inspired test fight. Peep it.

Up next, actress Kristen Brancaccio got some mighty attention from YA bookworms and sci-fi fans last week with her stellar performance in Leo Kei Angelos's new short, Mockingjay Burn. If you've been keeping up with the updates, you likely already understand the circumstances that kept the short from airing online right away, and for very good reason.

Feast your eyes on the new post-apocalyptic sci-fi short, Day One, which lands you right smackdab in the middle of nowhere with Brancaccio as a seemingly lone survivor on Earth, fighting to live as she counts the days since she last saw human contact. The short was submitted and earned a top-10 place in a competition headlined by HBO's Project Greenlight, which is set to air its new season this September, so there's a good chance we'll see Brancaccio and Angelos on TV this year to learn more about them as aspiring filmmakers.

You can check out a director's cut of the short by clicking here. Otherwise, enjoy the video below!

Here, it's not everyday a shortfilm like this comes around, particularly with regard to subject matter as relevant as what's often seen in the news lately. Chainwheel is the name of the new short from director Sean Tambour Marshall and starring Dwight Taylor and Marisa MacFarlane, featured at several film festivals with one nomination in the past year. It's not a huge action piece aside from what little martial arts elements are added, but its male lead does show some screen acting and fighting skill. This, coupled with a comprehensive message about ancestral and global history in correlation with the systemic degradation of minorities in the face of municipal courruption in corporate America makes Chainwheel definitely worth the viewing.

Watch it right now and all the way through the end credits. Trust.

Back on point here, we now get back in action with a new short from Perry Vangoethem and Quentin Kloos titled Friendship, a story of an assassin assigned to kill his best friend, although evidently the mission ends with a twist. This is the first I've seen from Vangoethem and his team, and while some of YouTube's own editorial handling of this doesn't do it justice, this still looks pretty entertaining for any action fan if I may say so. Check it out!

Next is a fresh bit of throwback fanfare, and not too far back at that. Actor and stuntman Damien Walters was one of several professionals commissioned by Fox to help promote their February release of the theatrical spy romp, Kingsman: The Secret Service, and so what you see below is his contribution at the time. No, I haven't seen the movie yet, and it doesn't mean that I won't, and I'm certain I need to. I've written and learned about it enough to know it's a hit, so it's in my wishlist as we speak.

In the meantime, this was a real gem to find, and continues to be one in many reasons why I support independent film and online action through genuine performers and their platforms. Watch.

Take two assassins and watch as they go about their killing ways while talking about life, love and happiness in the new pilot piece, The Scuttlebutt Assassins following a trailer unveiling a few months ago. It's the latest collaboration from Wusah Productions and Usurp Productions with DY Sao and Wen Ren directing, and it bares mentioning the potential here for something truly amazing to happen, be it for a series or a movie. The acting is good, the dialogue is hilarious, and the action and fight choreography are solid between the fisticuffs, stabbings and double taps. It's the kind of R-rated martial arts action comedy with just the right amount of violence and charm, and I for one, hope the right people will board this to help provide what it needs to give it more than just merely these six-minutes. Enjoy the shit out of this one.

Next to last, it's trailer time with a look into the third chapter of Lunar Stunts's indie trilogy, Pandora's Box 3. Action creator Eric Nguyen directs once more, for this latest chapter of the thrilling drama centered on secretive organization of mercenaries and its brutal and violent hiring (or firing) practices. Nguyen's been making some staunch improvement when it comes to cinematic quality and promotion of his work, and this first teaser alone is a great display of that progress. I say give him a decent feature-length movie budget and let him flex his muscles more than ever. He's more than earned it.

Also, the boys over at Rising Tiger films have a trailer out as well for a new shortfilm contributed to videogame fanfare of their own with their latest project, Shenmue (Suka High). Not that I'm at all familar with this particular game, but I wouldn't put it past this group that this turns out to be another impressive piece of work, and if you're familiar with their channel, you'll know what I'm talking about.


And finally, last night, awards were given, songs were sang, and Taylor Swift won the evening in addition to debuting her latest kick ass music video, Bad Blood with stunt coordination by Don Theerathada and Power Rangers bootleg helmer Joseph Kahn directing a music video in the only way Joseph Kahn would. Expect an array of sexy femme fatales, tons of girl on girl action, and a good share of explosions, spills, kicks and thrills. And Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar, for certain.

Subscribe to these channels above and be sure to catch last week's videos if you missed any. Moreover, if you have a QUALITY action short, stunt reel or trailer for a project you're working on, e-mail us at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com!

Kristen Brancaccio Is On Fire In The New Fan Short, MOCKINGJAY: BURN!

A year ago today, Lionsgate continued its stake in author Suzanne Collins' best-sellng YA-novel franchise, The Hunger Games, with the first of the studio's two-part Mockingjay finale. It's proven to be a highly lucrative move whilst continuing to perpetuate more and more fandom, even from a creative aspect for people like film duo, actress Kristen Brancaccio and filmmaker Leo Kei Angelos who've spent well more than a year putting together an inspired fan film take of their own with the help of crowdfunding.

Thankfully, close to a year later, those efforts have finally come together with today's release of the new shortfilm, Mockingjay: Burn, and as we await Hollywood's fourth and final chapter to open in theaters later this year, this should whet the appetite for virtually any fan. It's packed with energy and intensity with Brancaccio in her own iteration of Katniss, the symbolic leader of the resistance against the courrpt, theocratic and oppressive Capitol, and appearances by franchise favorites, actor Nick Apostolides's role as Gale Hawthorne and Nick Uhas's portrayal of Peeta Mellark.

The cinematography takes you right in the heat of battle with spectacular stunt sequences and explosive battle action. The violence does get a little gory, but thankfully a project of this nature allows someone like Angelos to strech his muscles a bit, adding a dash of grit while still keeping true to the inherent authenticity of Collins's vision. In short, it pushes the envelope a little bit while not completely setting it ablaze, and serves as a fitting fan tribute to a literary and cinematic property adorned by many, and that's all really anyone can ask for from a small-scale, independently produced cinematic labor of love. I sure loved it.

Watch Mockingjay: Burn in the player below, and open the description to find out how you can win your own custom-made resistance patch. And a special shout out to my friend Darren Bailey who makes an *explosive* appearance in this one!

'Hunger Games' Fan-Film, MOCKINGJAY: BURN Comes Tomorrow!

Fans and moviegoers alike are just five months away from Lionsgate's forthcoming finale of the hit franchise, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2. If you feel that's too long a waiting period, then you needn't look further than the fanbase itself, where one of its own, multifaceted actress Kristen Brancaccio, whose own efforts have been brewing in well over a year now for the upcoming release of her latest fan-attributed short, Mockingjay: Burn, following a successful crowdfunding campaign earlier on.

Since then, a few updates have granted viewers some exhilarating footage with Brancaccio lending her iteration of screen heroine Katniss Everdeen to the battlefront with director Leo Kei Angelos at the helm. It's nothing short of a stellar and fitting representation of its Hollywood counterpart and I'm hard-pressed to believe some folks at the studio weren't the least bit impressed. Granted, the shortfilm itself is coming out this Tuesday, and we'll all have some much more well-informed opinions by then.

For now though and with just hours left, Brancaccio updated fans with a video briefly explaining what took so long, with some interesting details included as well. Take a viewing, and follow suit!