THE HIT LIST - August 31, 2015

This week's Hit List was an absolute blast to help put together. We've got new action shorts and reels of all kinds to snack on this week in addition to some brief updates on major projects that are forthcoming!

For now though, let's face it: The only way I'm starting off this Hit List is if I do it with one of the most popular videos online to date, and if you're a Jason Statham fan, you'll understand. It's a supercut of every single punch Statham has ever thrown. Ever. And it needs no further introduction than that.

Beneath that will be the week's stunt playlist with a slew of action, stunt and training reels by Noah Fleder, Awaken star Natalie Burn, stuntman Djibril Newik Chase, independent filmmaker Shahaub Roudbari, Mirkos Radas, John Renyolds, Uros Certic, Amiee Zannoni, Cornered webseries co-star, actor Bobby Hernandez and action actor Angel Vasquez.

Now we get to brings things here into focus just a bit with the latest installment of actor and Ameritoku mainstay Jason David Frank's online doc series, My Morphin Life. For this, we venture into a behind-the-scenes look into the spectacular episode featuring Frank and action actors Peter Jang and Alvin Hsing in the epic duel between the Green Ranger and legendary Street Fighter character Ryu. As always, these things come with a few snags and Frank sure had his, but it didn't stop him from powering through. Check it out!

Up next are a couple of other new director reels featuring a small variety of things, including action. The first comes with great revere for French action director Godefroy Ryckewaert who never ceases to impress, and his latest trailer for the new shortfilm, Hiro, samples that fact quite a bit with Alex Duong starring as a man forced back into the Yakuza underworld in order to save his daughter. Hiro is set to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival which kicks off on September 10, and you can purchase your ticket by clicking right here for the screening.

The second video comes from Canadian cascadeur, actor and filmmaker Taz Garcia in the form of First Bust, a story of two odd couple undercover cops well on their way to their first major arrest, as long as they don't get in each other's way, and you can imagine the hilarity that ensues. The project was initially going to be a two-minute short story which eventually expanded into something slightly longer when more people got involved, and as it stands, it could very well present a meaty concept for television if things go favorably.

Check out both videos below!

Up next is a bit of a teaser from the folks over at EMC Monkeys who have been very busy working on their own individual projects and other obligations in the past couple of years. Such things tend to get in the way of content creation which is what they've largely been known for, and now the team's teaser is officially circulating online with a number of exciting new projects that are either completed, still being filmed or already in post, including an upcoming collaboration with Corridor Digital, as well as the long-awaited Evolution Of Fight series, Vs. Ninjas series, and the upcoming Nerf Cops tete-a-tete sequel with the first part arriving on Friday, September 4 upon which fans can expect even more content every week thereafter. (If you haven't seen the first Nerf Cops installment yet, your chance to do so is right here).

Also up for viewing are two other new director reels, including Desciple's latest reel full of action and dialogue gems, with snippets from two of his latest hyper-reality action shorts, Hetja and Hetja 2; The latter title is also being groomed for a possible award win at this year's Action On Film Festival with acting nominations for two of its lead performers, Disavowed webseries star Will Yick, and The Stunt People's own Bridger Fox.

The second reel comes from Darren Holmquist of Dardrex Productions with a new director's reel full of long-awaited goods that are pending with planned releases before the end of 2015.

Time to pepper thing up a bit with some fighting, and following Holmquist's production reel is a fresh new fight featuring himself opposite Leonard Zhang, proceeded by some sweet Karambit/Gun choreo from director Evan Taylor, a quick little scene of action from Rising Tiger Films's own Leroy Nguyen and Edmond Shum, and a superb test fight from Jay Kwon with Alex Meglei and Brett Easton.

And lastly, it's been a long and incredible journey for independent filmmaker and film student Anthony Pellino for his latest labor of love, Mortal Kombat: The Chosen One. Inspired by the popular fighting game of the same name, and featuring fight design by Cinematic Fight Studio's own Lawrence Yip, this one takes a slightly derivative approach to the source material. Jonathan Lee, David Chen and Craig Zisel are joined by lead actor Kage Yami in the role of former Shaolin monk, Liu Kang who is about to receive the most unexpected visit of his life.

Pellino's goal was originally to create something more than a fan film, which is why it took so long to finish, aside from school, two crowdfunders, reshoots and other hurdles. Fan film or not, a project like this is just what we need to help keep the pulse beating among fans as a new webseries season is still pending, in addition to further details regarding the revived hopes for a film as recently as the top of last month. It's a great case for more similar content with dozens of characters to experiment and play with, and I hope this isn't the last we see from the creative field we have today in that regard.

Mortal Kombat: The Chosen One can now be viewed on YouTube in the player below, as well as on Vimeo!

Further worth mentioning is the current completion post-production of independent action director Eric Nguyen with the new short, Of Martial Arts And Men, with a September airing planned, and it just so happens that his Spring actioner, El Guerrero, has been nominated with a mention among a slew of other shortfilms for this year's Action On Film Festival which kicks off on September 18 through 26.

Other news includes the upcoming comic-book fan film sequel, Black Panther And Deadpool: The Gauntlet, which just finished filming over the weekend, and a trailer can be viewed here as well in case you missed it. In addition, further pending are updates for Robot Underdog's forthcoming episodes for the Dragon Ball Z: Light Of Hope webseries with actor Tim Neff (Flowers Of The Night) set to play Trunks. Major creative differences have currently invoked restructuring of the original script, Dragon Ball Z enthusiast and former series writer Derek Padula who made his case in a recent blog post after announcing his departure from the project; As pot-stirring as these things tend to be, the least we can do is hope for a great sequel after this year's stellar offering, which you can check out here.

Indeed, this week is another loaded one with more to come, and hopefully you've been able to keep up with all the craziness as last week's Hit List is just as awesome. Beyond that, subscribe to the channels above and by all means, if you or someone you know creates exciting, QUALITY content, just hit us with an e-mail filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com.

THE HIT LIST - August 24, 2015

The Hit List is back once again, and gladly it comes loaded once more with some amazing stuff from around the web!

As usual, we're starting things off with this week's newest online stunt, training and action reels with Deanna Page, Lacey Robinson, Solomon Brende, Tyrone Wiggins, Heather Baroody, Janelle Beaudry, Shawna West, Mike Ryan, Kai Fung Rieck and Reda Oumouzoune.

Moving on to other content, this next video comes from J. Matthew Turner who puts a clever spin on interpreting the perpetual storyline that kicked off the highly-heralded Karate Kid trilogy with the first film. It's pretty hilarious when you watch and listen to it, and it may even have you thinking about whether or not this is the movie you remember. Take a look!

Delving further into the expansion of stunt talent in the world, we can largely thank 20th Century Fox in the wake of their latest release, Hitman: Agent 47. Part of their promotional campaign included enlisting Toronto-based stage and stunt performance troupe, X Limit Entertainment who are now underway with a slate of live-stage shows attributed to the film.

The team itself didn't exactly have a principle actor to befit the lead character's likeness and so they eventually sought after newcomer Andre Guantanamo to lead the way alongside Julia Riddell with just two weeks of rehearsal in advance. It takes a specific skillset to memorize and perform choreography of any kind to a T in front of a live audience, and thankfully, we have a talented group of individuals in a performance that's slightly rough at the edges, but still delivers the desired effect with a satisfied crowd.

Check it out below!

Cutting to the chase, it's time to fight. As such, Reel Deal Action's own Tanay Genco Ulgen is back with another fresh new test action video, and this time with fellow stuntmen, Ken Do and Dimitri Tsoi. Following this is the latest action comedy video from Saudi Arabia-based Stunt Guys Team titled Have Some Water (insert your favorite Bruce Lee joke *HERE*), the latest three way shorts from Cinematic Fight Studio, Crossroads, French action filmmaker Godefroy Ryckewaert latest comedic stooge fight, Nuts, and Shaun Charney's latest three way fight short with Tatiana Dekhtyar and Call Me King co-star Kevin Lukata!

Director Riley Hayes is out and about online with his own take on the sci-fi with the latest original proof-of-concept, Out Of The Maw. The scope here is quite immersing with a lush green overview used as the backdrop of a story of interplanetary turmoil starring Mark Poletti and Ashley Waters-Harrison as two soliders retrieving important data from behind enemy lines.

This one could get picked up for something larger, so feel free to check out the description in this one and watch the video to help warm you up to this awesome universe.

February was a great time for me as I was heavily into getting more interviews moving foward, and I've since had the good fortune to meet and acquaint myself with Malaysian stunt coordinator, choreographer and stuntman, Ayez Shaukat Fonseca. Feel free to read it here, otherwise, you can get your feet wet with his latest test action short pitch, Keluang Man - inspired by the 90's animated cartoon of the same name.

The next video comes with a great blend of action and comedy by way of Mark Anthony Gadia's latest San Diego 48 Hour Film Project entry, RDJ9000. Independent action creatives Fernando Jay Huerto and Eric Nguyen go head to head in this one with Nguyen completely selling his character as an overzealous personal fitness expert opposite. Add Huerto's portrayal as a new student whose attention span completely erodes with the presence of a hot woman in the room, and you can imagine what happens next...

And last but far from least, drenched in blood and betrayal is director Paul Nicoleto's newest dystopian action proof-of-concept, The Dragon's Blade. You can read more about it at my coverage here with well over 120 behind-the-scenes photos, but by all means, watching this little gem from start to finish brings nothing but joy and excitement for something greater with action actor Morgan Benoit leading the epic duel of clashing swords, kabuki masks and more!

The Dragons Blade from PAUL HATZINICOLETOS on Vimeo.

Noteworthy mentions go to Hybrid Fight Academy's own George Johnston in lieu of his recent successful short, Interrogation which now has a color-revised version up for viewing, as well as director Jose Montesinos following the competion and forthcoming post-production of the second installment of his 70's-themed retro action comedy, Sensitive 70's Turtleneck Tough Guys; Click here to read more about it and stay tuned for more updates.

As for last week's Hit List, you can check that out right here, and if you or someone you know creates QUALITY content with an eye for action and exciting fight and stunt work that deserves a spotlight in our weekly Hit List, e-mail us at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com!

THE HIT LIST - August 17, 2015

Well, Monday night has arrived and I pretty much consider myself well-rested seeing as how I ended up back in blogger-mode on Sunday night. Some days you burn out, and on others you just start clicking...it's funny, really.

Anyway, with our return to the start of a new week, the Hit List is back just as well, lending nods to a meaty handful of stunt professionals every week in attribution to their hard work shown in reels and shortfilms alike. Alas, the new stunt reel playlist for the week is now up and running with reels by Donovan Sheehan, Boris Martinez, Marco Pancrazi, an awesome action reel by Raze co-star Allene Quincy, Jacob Sebastian Malm's latest reel featuring his Turandot stunt team from the summer in an illuminous new fire showreel, and actor David Sakurai in a new Vimeo-exclusive action reel of his own assembled from several of his recent action projects, including Dark Samurai and Echoes Of A Ronin!

David Sakurai Way of the Sword from サクライ on Vimeo.

Now onto more web content with some more specials, and if you were watching the last reel carefully, you may have recognized Andy Le who can also be seen among his principle team members at Martial Club in a new video up and running by Just Kidding Films where they learn all the ins and outs of Tricking. And if you know Just Kidding Films, you know your face is going to hurt plenty by the end. Enjoy in all it's delightful laughs!

I seldom spot fan videos, although when I do, quite a handful of them present just the right amount of flair attributed to the respective works they acknowledge. It's a case in no way dissimilar in actress and stuntwoman PeiPei Alena Yuan's latest love letter to martial arts action star Donnie Yen by way of the opening B-Boy sequence in Yuen Woo Ping's 1995 Hong Kong action comedy, Mismatched Couples. Yuan also happens to be a dancer, and her credentials notwithstanding (i.e. Step Up 3D, Battle B-Boy), her talent speaks for itself. Watch and leasrn!

Now let's get into some more action-oriented material with a nifty handful of trailers - one including some updated and rather crazy cool poster art as of late.

Aside from making other videos, Rising Tiger Films's latest, Black Scar Blues, has clearly been a more concentrated effort at something larger in scale. The film is directed by Leroy Nguyen who stars along with Edmund Shum and Queen Sayat, and focuses on two drug traffickers whose bond of friendship is slowly eroded through a series of events when personal ambition, lust and greed get in the way.

Nguyen will be presenting the film later this year at the Urban Action Showcase and Expo in New York City for the last of its year-long festival run boasting a slew of laurels and accolades well-earned, including as recently as the past two weekends in California at An Anti-Hero Production Genre Film Festival and The L.A. Neo Noir Film And Script Festival. Hopefully by then, the short will be released on YouTube unless it acquires a decent on-demand or purchase platform beforehand. In the meantime, it's got a fresh new trailer now running online with an updated poster, and once more, it has a quote. By me! And you're welcome.

We also have a new behind-the-scenes featurette with Nguyen explaining the four year-long process in working up to the high creative plateau presented for the film's final fight. Having seen it for myself, I have to say it really does deliver the desired effect.

Other trailers just beneath include the second promo for Dance Nocturnal creative Jyo Carolino's new action short, I Am Spartan, Tokyo-based action actor Chuck Johnson's upcoming surreal action comedy short, Fists Of Absinthe, and 3 Strands Of Rope Productions's Assassin/Darkside, sequelizing actor Calvert David Miles's 2014 awarded short, Assassin: Origins.

New short action vids are also circulating the web this week, and kicking this next leg off on the Hit List is League Of Legends themed short, Udyr's School Of Kung Fu, initially released back in May from Art School Dropouts and Fighting Panda Productions. Actor and fight choreographer Joey Min leads this one and its one adding to his resume of years of awesome action shorts and films, which makes it all the more awesome and honoring that he's now a part time contributor to Film Combat Syndicate to provide his perspective of action on film from time to time.

Check it out below as well as other new action projects this week, including Narayana Cabral's Spy Vs. Spy with Angela Bend and Danielle Stahl, the long-awaited release, Grave Error featuring Darren Holmquist and the one and only Eric Jacobus, and...well, probably the sickest Mortal Kombat fan short you'll ever see online..ever. And if you know RackaRacka, you know this ain't gonna no PG-13 shit. So consider yourself forewarned!

Finally, a few new action shorts have also been unveiled this week in slightly longer duration. Azi Rahman's cerebral action thriller, Drake is now online starring Cengiz Dervis in the role of a man trapped in his own mind amid spiritual battle with inner-demonic forces. The action is largely fueled by the music for a more dramatic affect so don't expect any foley effects as the stuntwork is solely visual.

And last but not least, gladly continuing the vision of R-rated superhero fanfare with brutal and gory action sequences is the latest sequel offering from Workhorse Pictures, Storms Of Carnage: The Black Panther Unleashed Part 2. Actor and director D.A. Jackson reprises his role once more opposite K. Jackson in a story of espionage, betrayal and the moral paradox that arises when battling evil, ultimately pitting the Black Panther against opponents on both sides of the spectrum, humans and mutants alike.

Fans familiar with the source material may either love or hate this one depending on the viewer as these things normally tend to be slightly more controversial than intended (see Adi Shankar's Power/Rangers). For what it's worth though, this one has quite the admirable traits for something truly worth the enjoyment as it's full of special effects, explosive action and dramatic intensity to accomodate the epic final fight between our embattled couple.

Twenty minutes and counting, folks. Press play and enjoy!

There is at least another short that I haven't gotten around to yet as it's forty minutes long and dated only by about few years, but I will share that one next week. For now though, if you have time to kill then last week's Hit List may be worth your remaining minutes at the moment. Above all else however, do subscribe to the channels above, and if you or someone you know makes awesome, QUALITY action and stunt reels, films and shorts like these, send them to us at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com!

THE HIT LIST - August 10, 2015

It's been a busy, busy year for the blog, and I seem to notice I'm running out of outstanding stunt reels. I may have to substitute if this keeps going, although I hope this turns around. Anyway, this week has a new Hit List installment and it should be an awesome evening or morning for you, wherever you are in the world as there are plenty of shorts and bits of webserial content to share with at least one being a matter of catching up for me.

I almost wish there were two of me for this thing.

Starting things off here is the stuntreel playlist with samplers by Robert Watson and Sean Taylor's stunt highlights from work on Josh Trank's Fant4stic, as well as reels by Tony Flores, Noah Woods, Lisa LoCascio, an excellent new reel from stunt coordinator and stuntman, Arnold Chon and a fantastic action reel courtesy of Martial Club's own Daniel Mah!

Now it's time to get fighting, and kicking things off are a trio of quick little fight action jewels, and I have a favorite from these. Cinematic Fight Studio initiates this round here with a test fight starring CFS student Nhan Du and martial artist and upcoming actor Tom Caserto, followed by Jeff Centauri's latest bit of madness in Young Model Fights Back: Secrets, a nifty little video from our German entertainers within the Noobtown Monkeys as dueling roommates, Player VS. Player and the latest test fight short, Captured, from Wolf Stunts!

Taking a moment to help share a little bit of webseries, YouTube Space has proven to be quite the breeding ground of ideas for Toku creative, indie filmmaker Bueno. The latest idea to come to fruition has finally taken shape in the new webseries, Ayakashi Zamurai, with Kimura Keisaku starring as a fugitive and wandering drifter armed with a kickass...puppy. Yes, I'm calling it a puppy until you see it for yourself.

The second video comes from the kind folks over at Shuriken Films in the wake of their new webseries launch, Warigami, starring Sam Marra in the story of a warrior on a mission to protect ancient scrolls while facing an opposition with a shared, unique skillset. It's visually impressive and the story and action share as every bit of intensity as you'd hope, and if you're new to the webseries, then you're just in luck. Because you can also catch the second episode today after you've seen the first in the player below!

And lastly, though far from least, oft contributor and independent action coordinator, James Couche, has a few gems of his own now out and about. One is the latest long-awaited short Demon Hunters:  Zero Mission, now online as of last week and serving up a nice little slice of sci-fi action cheese circa the mid-90's.

The second, and final video of the Hit List this week comes by the good graces of the latest milestone success of the current Kickstarter for director Michael Neal's webseries, Swords Of Insurgency, with the unveiling of the pilot while crowdfunding continues. Couche's team, DC Stunt Coalition led by stunt coordinator Dylan Hintz, designed the action with actress Rebecca Hausman front and center of this post-apocalyptic tale of one woman's struggle to survive tyrannical usurpers of the future.

Click here for more info, otherwise, enjoy both videos below!

Swords of Insurgency - Pilot Episode from Michael Neal on Vimeo.

A few noteworthy mentions here are necessary this week, particularly for independent filmmaker Frank T. Ziede who is currently around the corner with his latest military action series, Black. In the meantime, he's also promoting the Wednesday online premiere of his latest shortfilm, Dogs Of War, and there's an event page where you can join and view the trailer as well.

As for all else, there's plenty to catch up with if you're new to the Hit List, and last week's list is full of goodies if you missed any. And, if you or someone you know have QUALITY content you would like to host in our weekly Hit List, e-mail us at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com.

THE HIT LIST - August 3, 2015

There weren't a lot of new stunt reels to host this week - I share a lot of them anyway so I wouldn't really be surprised if I covered every working stunt professional who had a reel. 😀 Still though, I have a few gems to share in this week's Hit List which also grants us a look at a small variety of some upcoming independent projects, as well as the usual assortment of exciting independent fight action that goes out in epic fashion, and a little something special end!

Toby Fuller, James Mowat, Benjamin Redic II and Jenna Hellmuth outline this week's playlist of stunt performers with fantastic reels, in addition to an awesome featurette by stuntwoman Cheryl "In Action" Lewis, on location in Jersey City, New Jersey back in June to rappell 480 feet down a building in the name of fighting cancer. Check out the goods!

Getting into some cool new promotional content is a set of four titles, two of which will need help of public support.

The first is a campaign pitch by the folks over at DC Stunt Coalition (MAGfest, Swords Of Insurgency) for their upcoming Spartacon Live-Action Gladiator Stunt Show debut in Maryland. The event page is live on Facebook where you can join in on the fun as the show, hosted by Red Serpent, L.L.C. sets out to premiere a bold reenactment of daring action sequences inspired by the Starz hit series. In the meantime, the team itself is well into its current Indiegogo campaign to help raise money to reimburse its members with a reasonable bit of pay, as well as to reassure future live-performances for audiences across the country.

Watch the campaign video below!

Next up is the first of several trailers now online for The Hit List - this one is for an inspired Batman fan film directed by James Campbell which is set to arrive this October provided current post-production crowdfunding goes according to plan. Ripper is the name of the project and puts a uniquely impressive conceptual spin on the Batman storyline with a late nineteenth century London setting as it sets up for a decisive final battle between darkness, and the one vigilant Knight lurking within. Find out more about it at the Indiegogo page right here!

The second trailer comes in the wake of the latest digital download release in the form of the new documentary, From Here To There. Professional freerunning athletes Jesse LaFlair and Cory DeMeyers are the center of this newest profile with segmemts by fellow stunt performers and friends alike as it looks into the various aspects of what it really means to chase your dream as a freerunner. You can find the documentary right now on iTunes, Google Play and wherever digital downloads are sold, including links in the description of the video in the player below.

The third trailer is for upcoming short dark dramedy, The Recovery from A Mindful Samurai Productions. Filmmaker A.J. Singh wore multiple hats for this one while directing this latest gem clocked in at just forty-two minutes with actor and producer Jon Bailie starring in a story of a drunken loser's last ditch effort to get himself together when life takes an expected turn.

It's not heavy on action but does present glimpses of what looks to be typically British comedy and drama with a few hits to the face to boot. Not to mention the soundtrack here has some extra good energy, courtesy of Ace Records and Selrec International, Ltd. It's heading to festivals first and foremost, so mind the poster just beneath the trailer and keep this on your radar if you see fit.

And now we get to the fight stuff, with action actors Betim Alimi and Agron Pajaziti in Special Forces, Delivery Man from the folks at CBR Stunts, indie filmmaker Anthony Pho's latest Monkids offering, Candy Thief, the latest superhero Minute Match-Up from the ismahawk channel pitting Green Arrow against Hawkeye, Nathan Quattrini's latest test fight stunt gathering titled Poison and a Neo-Geo-inspired experimental Final Fight fan short from the gang over at EMC Monkeys that will literally have you spinning in circles (open it with the YouTube app and you'll see what I mean)!

Of course, I'm going to save the best for the last. It's the latest upload from the amazing crew over at stellar action choreography and film team, Reel Deal Action and having seen it for myself many moons ago, I have been waiting and hoping it wouldn't be too long before I could share this to you. Yes, it's director Christian Pfeil's MULTI award-winning shortfilm, Evil Twin, with Can Aydin in a dual role in a story that takes place following a robbery involving two teleportation jewels, and an epic fight between two brothers on opposite sides of the moral compass.

This is from the same team that's about to unleash its feature film and without dissent, it'll be well worth it to see what happens on that end. For now though, I welcome you to watch Evil Twin in all its explosive, hard-hitting and spectacular NSFW glory, and follow the Facebook fanpage right here. Who knows what that could that could accomplish, if not the hopes of a forseeable feature or a sequel?!

And now for that special little something - no, I'm not too familiar with her music, but it's still worth taking an ear to even if you don't speak the language. Taiwanese hip-hop artist and musician, Miss KO, unveiled her latest music video dedicated to domestic violence awareness with a special message shedding light on how her own survival inspired her to help carry the message forward. Let It Go (Stop The Violence) is the name of the song with actor, stuntman and filmmaker, Ron Yuan, sitting in the director's chair. Granted, most of the lyrics aren't in English but the imagery here is just as compelling and transcending in nature.


....Wow. I can't wait until next week and hopefully I don't bleed the inrernet dry! 😁 Last week's Hit List was even more loaded with action and I highly recommend bookmarking it for later viewing if you've missed it . Beyond that, if you make movies that kick just as much ass or do stunts that are just as daring, bold and sensational, send them to me directly at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com!

THE HIT LIST - July 27, 2015

This past week was pretty busy for me, so content has been slower than usual. But, that doesn't mean I haven't been keeping up with with what's happening in independent material and other matters of visual feats of sports and athleticism of which you will see plenty.

Time to get things rolling, and as always with a new playlist of stunt and training reels with performances by Aaron Gassor in full Sith mode, stunt players Moussa Sako, Luciano Arnieri, Deangelo Harding, Laura Beamer, Hayley Wright, Jesse Haus, Jennifer Li, Chistopher Leps, Mallory Thompson, Jwaundace Candace, Jared Losano, Sina Ali, the latest action director reel by Mark Mottram featuring scenes from the 2014 thriller, The November Man, and a new director reel by lensman and action director Godefroy Ryckewaert.

For the next leg, while I don't always feature freerunning in these, gems featuring any aspect of stunt performance are welcome with solid video production to boot. Damien Walters himself has since applied this in a new video of his own in a new video where he pretty much freeruns while engulfed in flames. It's not the first time I've seen this particular stunt, but it's also seldom done since the last time I'd seen a traceur on fire was about two years ago, which is pretty amazing.

Walters kicked off the new year in great fashion as well with the release of Matthew Vaughan's Kingsman: The Secret Service in which he performed stunts and helped train in the fight action as well, and he also put together an impressive short video ahead of the film's release. This is a guy that really knows his stuff, so I wouldn't fall asleep on him.

Other videos to accompany this segment include a new globetrotting reel featured on Team Farang's new channel in which parkour wunderkinds Luci Romberg, Anan Anwar and Jason Paul went leaps and bounds around Los Angeles, Bangkok and Japan.. thus the perks of being a traceur; you literally get to run around the world. Not. Even. Kidding - And speaking of, you will also find Romberg's latest video in the form of a submission sampler among a playlist of several now online for this year's Red Bull: Art Of Motion completion in the lush outskirts of Oia, Greece. I didn't include them all in this playlist because there are so many, but these are the ones that stood out to me while fishing through them.

Submissions ended today as well, so click here to say hello to the fanpage and learn more about the event!

While we are on the subject of athletic competition, martial arts trickerd from across the country are being invited out to East Windsor in Connecticut for Battle Of Fury 2015. Tricking gatherings are full of electricity with badass performances by young and inspired martial arts purveyors and experts from nearly all walks of life, which is worthy of noting as much as the phenomenon has taken shape in recent years, so help keep the spirit alive and if you're interested, headover to the link to get your tickets today and check out the promo for the event below!

Well into the new year, little is known about the future endeavors of Just Kidding Films duo Bart Kwan and Joe Jo outside of their usual feats of comedic spectacle. However, whatever their later aspirations may be, it clearly involves martial arts, and they've undergone quite a bit of training for some time now with martial artist, actor and action trainer, Force Storm Entertainment's own Noah Fleder. This week, Kwan and Jo are offering up another journal entry enviting subscribers of their network into a day of weapons training at South Coast Martial Arts.

Keep in mind, martial arts training is some serious stuff, especially with weapons...although clearly that doesn't take away from any of the hilarity you're about to see. They really do put the 'stick' in "slapstick". Watch please.

Alas, we've come to the last leg of this week's Hit List and the fight stuff is a bit light this time around, but still worth lending an audience to. First up is a trailer for the August 3 premiere for the new webseries, Warigami, a vengeful tale of martial arts and fantasy where paper is the deadliest weapon of choice.

The proceeding two videos thereafter include a new group test fight by Gay Alexandre with Thomas Lorber leading the badassery, and the newest fight short from the growing crew over at Wolf Stunts titled, The Bag.

The next video comes from director Andy Hourahine with the new shortfilm, Karate Girl: Brawl. Produced by Blair Johannes, the project sequelizes last year's Karate Girl: Streetfight with martial artist Julia Hourahine back once more and leading a story that takes our martial arts heroine's journey into further contemplation. The project here takes on a more spiritual shape here, and with your help, her path can go even further, so subscribe to the project's fanpage and lend your support, accordingly.

And lastly, and all the better for it, is a filmmaker who I've rambled about for nearly as long as I've run this blog. Stuntman and oft-filmmaker Emmanuel Manzanres has returned to charm the hell out of the online action fanbase once more with a spectacular new group offering in the new short, Monster. FMA purveyor and action actor Bryan Sloyer plays our captive forced to fight from the bloodthirsty clutches of four goons led by Jerry Quill in a scrumptious onslaught of hand-bound fistcuffs and full-fledged, no-holds-barred bat-cracking, headbashing, flesh-wounding facial reconstruction of only the brutal kind. This jewel of a video is literally so good it hurts, and bares all the markings of what it truly means to create quality content.

Someone get these people on a TV show please. Who must I bake cookies for in order for this to happen?

*sigh*.. Watch below, in awe.

A few more honorable mentions go out this week to independent filmmaer Vlad Rimburg's latest fan reel attributed to legendary action star Jean-Claude Van Damme, as well as actress and filmmaker Toy Lei for her Best Actress and Best Action Film victory among the winners this year's 11th installation of the 72-Hour Shootout competion hosted by the Asian American Film Lab in NYC for her new short, Boxer. The short is currently not available to the web yet, but the stills are still available in case you missed them...

...As for all else, feel free to view last week's Hit List roster in case you need catching up, and if you have QUALITY content that could use an audience, send it over to filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com

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 - July 13, 2015

It's never a dull week when finding content online to share. Indeed, a new batch of stunt reels with an extra dash of tricking are now online, followed by new trailers as well as a couple of stellar action gems which keep things nothing short of exemplary...thus why the Hit List exists. Let's get to it!

First up are two playlists with the first showcasing this week's stunt packed demo reels from Lukaz Leong, Greg Rementer, Adam Chase, Benjamin Hoffman, Dan Dargan Carter, Dom Kegel and stuntwoman Elisabeth P. Carpenter. The playlist beneath features a small batch of tricking samplers led by the gang over at Martial Club, Micah Karns, Matt Emig, John Franks, Lee Hye-Ji, a video highlight reel from a preliminary round at a Red Bull jam in South Korea late June, and a fun little demo reel featuring Jimmy James Pham.

Moving forward, there is a TON of content here and coming soon and fortunately some of these projects are offering preview clips and trailers. To start things off, a clip has since gone viral for director and actress Jennifer Linch's new shortfilm, Flowers Of The Night, a tale of three assassins on their quest for vengeance. The film earned the iCannes Film Festival Grand Prize on July 7 in Beverly Hills, California in the wake of the sudden passing of festival co-host, Londy Pictures founder Rebecca Guzman who died at the age of 32 the same day. (H/T: Examiner) The other three videos come courtesy of Bat fan-flick Beyond: Rebirth helmer, filmmaker and action director Phillip Forteza with a new trailer for his next project, Ghost Ops starring Stef Valencia, the Dragon Ball Z: Light Of Hope creatives over Robot Underdog's newest contribution to Stan Lee's online heroic universe in the form of Vigilantes - due for an August release, and a trailer for Matthew Salanoa's Golden Gun-inspired 007 fan film, I Only Need One.

Alas, the fighting begins for this last leg of the Hit List this week and the first load comes straight from indie actioner Shaun Charney at Dragon Phoenix opposite actress Tatiana DeKhtyar, Cinematic Fight Studios's latest fight scene with inductee Nhan Du, David Conk's latest from Wolf Stunts called The Fugitive, and two collaborations between filmmaker Federico Berte and industry stunt coordinator Geo Corvera for the action short, Knock Out, and a stellar ensemble gathering of masked stunt perfomers at war in Combatants.

But FIRST..let's liven things up a bit. The first video in this portion is a promotional contribution from Epic Rival to the forthcoming Playstaion 4 release of the 16-bit game, Phantom Breakers: Battle Ground Overdrive with actress Gemma Nguyen in a dazzling cosplay of sword-wielding epic epicness. The game itself is available online as of July 21 and you'd be wise to click here to learn more about it, otherwise, watch Ms. Nguyen do her thing in the video below, and then enjoy the rest!

And now, for some of the longer form material, and kicking things off is Blood And Bone helmer Ben Ramsey's latest proof of concept short, Interface. Highlight of this have been previously seen in stunt reels performed by stuntman Christopher Balualua who principally performs the action designed by Arnold Chon as per the theme - a cyberpunk dystopia where virtual gaming is taken to a whole new level.

Maverick cinematographer and filmmaker Devin Graham (handled as @devinsupertramp) can pretty much film the shit out of any freerunning sequence, and there's a good chance you've sampled his work on Youtube (or Facebook, as typical as is the nature of viral video). And so it is, once again with his second fan-offering attributed to the new game, Assassin's Creed Syndicate, shot in 4K. The organically-performed stunts, as seen by French Freerun Family are nothing short of breathtaking with a filmic standard that dares to put Hollywood to shame! (H/T: Reader Ben Hoffman)

Up next is another offering from the folks over at Singapore-based JUO Productions (formerly branded as Jaze Phuaductions) with a new fan film spoof on the hitman genre Lucky Strikes, centered on Jaze Phua as a hitman assigned with eliminating the luckiest man in the world. The audio and acting aren't much here, but it brings plenty to the table stylish and impressive action and choreography toned with plenty of laughs, and even ornamented a little bit toward the end with some Gun-fu action, which I'm sure fellow contributor James Couche should be pleased with.

This was a treat to catch and you might enjoy it yourself.

Multifaceted filmmaker and stuntman Ulrik Bruchholz shares the same lineage as any fan of the action genre. Point in fact, it was at the age of ten that his evident love for film would ultimately bring him to the foray of German martial arts action cinema with credits that now include Kampfansage: Der Letzte Schüler and Arena Of The Street Fighter, whilst experimenting with aspects of the craft both in front AND behind the camera. Bruchholz has since compiled footage highlighting all of his achievements in a massive new career demo reel titles 22 Years - chronicling more than two decades of doing what he's loved since childhood. The evolution starts at around the six-minute mark.

And lastly, an action-packed Donnie Yen hero mashup...because why the hell not?

Talk about a Hit List...boy oh boy. Last week's Hit List was a trip too, so be sure to check it out if you've missed it. Otherwise, feel free to subscribe to these channels for future content, and if you yourself are a QUALITY content creator or a stunt performers with a kick ass reel, share it with us at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com!

THE HIT LIST - July 6, 2016

This is going to be another incredible Hit List with an array of stunt reels and shorts that will impress you, a few of which may even do so to the point of fandom. Granted, this column's existence also comes with the perk of knowing that there are a degree of important people in film who look at these pieces, and I'm grateful to help play an integral role in that regard. It's refreshing!

That said, cue the stunt reels and overall sickness of the amazing footage from Darcy Hinds, Anthony DiRocco, Niko Dalman, Aaron Jones Beck, sibling XMA purveyors Liana and Jentzen Ramirez, Tien Hoang, Eric Erickson, Jerry Quill, Cali Nelle and Alpha Stunts member and stuntman Yokoyama Kazuhiro!

It'a trailer time and I've got two for your viewing pleasure!

Following Kickstarter efforts earlier in the year, UK-based UCA student filmmaker Charlie Dennis and his team have begun the promo campaign for their latest short English action thriller, Deep Pan Fury, about a Japanese street fighter forced to take on Yakuza underlings to defend his grandfather's pizzeria. You can read more about the production process at Get Surrey while a trailer has finally been unveiled for you to view below. The second video is just beneath ahead of the release of Gun Caliber helmer, filmmaker Bueno's new webseries, Ayakashi Samurai, and it looks just as delightfully gonzo as any of his previous work, including the trailer-only project, Yakuzambie. Actor Kimura Keisaku stars in the title role!

And now, the fighting begins from fists to weapons, dull AND sharp, several gems are now online beginning with LBP's own Emmanuel Manzanares with Marissa Labog and PeiPei Yuan, the latest from David Conk at Wolf Stunts with Johnny Gao and David Lavalee Jr., Tony Diaz's latest test fight with action actresses Natalie Diaz and Toy Lei, and an experimental Bourne-inspired bit from the guys over at Reel Stunts with Jeff Ellenberger and Shakil Chaudhry.

The last several years have been quite bustling for Disney upon acquiring Lucasfilm, LTD. New films, books and other projects are brewing as the phenomenon heats up worldwide this year, including in Hong Kong Times Square, now host to the city's latest Jedi, actor Aarif Lee in a new locally produced short lightsaber battle opposite Darth Vader!

Clearly there's still plenty of love to go around for Genndy Tartakovsky's short-lived multi-award winning Cartoon Network series, Samurai Jack - the story of a samurai prince who jumps back in time to take on a powerful demon. Animator, solely named avemagnadude took to his craft to bring us his own take on the characters in full fan fashion, and it misses not a single beat. Check it out.

Up next is the latest episode for Bat In The Sun's Superpower Beat Down pitting actors Orion Acaba/Dirk Ellis and Tatiana DeKhtyar, and series creator/director Aaron Schoenke and Amy Johnston in the respective roles of Deadpool and Domino, and Joker and Harley Quinn. As usual, the victor(s) was(were) determined by voters, and the alternate ending should be made available shortly. In the meantime, check out who wins the first round!

And last but not least, director Antoine Fuqua's upcoming boxing drama, Southpaw is well underway promoting its July 24 release. Hip-hop artist Enimem has proven integral in spearheading the new movie following his contribution to Fuqua's 2014 hit, The Equalizer with the hit song Guts Over Fear - such is the case for his latest music video, Phenomenal, told in cinematic action and sci-fi fashion with Eminem roaring through an Asian city with superhuman stamina, and a hungry John Malkovich villainously rolling up in a Rickshaw like a boss. The rest, of course, is history after pressing play. (H/T: Apple Music)

If you liked what you just saw in this article, then feel free to click here with more from the internet within weeks before each, and do subscribe to these channels. And hey, if you own one and create QUALITY content like this yourself, don't be shy! Hit us up and share it with us at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com!

THE HIT LIST - June 29, 2015

This week's Hit List is definitely running light, but there are definitely a few gems worth sharing here, including a Film Combat Syndicate Exclusive!

But, first things first as the Hit List kicks off with a thrilling new stunt reel playlist for the week. The highlights including feats from Jaime DiLeo, Miles Brew, Juan De la Cruz, Rachel Lynn David, Kawui Joa, Mounir Quazzani, Brett Praed, Taylor Hemmeter, Matt Kennedy and the latest team action reel from Michael Lehr, Katelyn Brooke, Narayana Cabral and others at Fight Factory Stunt Team. The awesome reel beneath the playlist comes directly from Vimeo via fight choreographer Jimmy Lui!

Jimmy Lui Fight Choreography Reel from Jimmy Lui on Vimeo.
The folks over at Washington D.C.-based Rising Tiger Films are currently readying to lend some festival eyes to their latest dramatic action crime short, Black Scar Blues. I had the pleasure of posting my own review of the project and I proudly stand by it...and apparently so does director, actor and fight coordinator Leroy Nguyen who included a quote from me on the poster he will be using to help present the project to various festivals until its public airing later this year; I rarely get quoted on posters, so this was a joy to come across. Peep it.

And now we get to the action, and to get things started is a brand new clip from the upcoming sci-fi action short, Blue Hope. Starring and directed by Marina Voruz with actor and martial artist Austin Jorgensen, the short tells the story of Jack and Lana, whose romantic fate will be determined in a brutal reunion long after Lana's sudden disappearance and inexplicable "transformation".

The shortfilm is currently undergoing a few festival entries by October with plans for a November airing while both Voruz and Jorgensen set the course for another upcoming action comedy project. In the meantime, here's a small montage-cut of the climatic fight from Blue Hope!

And then there was that one time actor, stuntman and YouTube creative Devin "@KidHaru" White challenged actor and filmmaker Joey Min on whether or not a dog could be elegantly used as a deadly kung fu weapon. That was fun!

As I usually say, its never too late or early for Halloween. As such, horror seems to be the running theme at the moment and a few of these next videos come with a twist.

The first of the batch comes straight fron the folks over at Genesis Action Stunts who are usually more geared toward stylish choreography bits. This time they're a little less graceful but even moreso brutal in their latest array of exchanges between iconic horror mainstays, Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers; You can pretty much guess who lives and dies at the end of that one.

The latter two come from the gang over at WTFLOL who are no strangers to cult fandom in the past few years of their existence. They managed to succeed in their adherence to filmlore with their 2014 fan short, Marvel Zombies vs. The Evil Dead which initially aired at the bottom of 2013 prior to being briefly censored at the behest of Marvel. Legal stuff occurred, things happened, hands were shaken and the project finally went back up early last year, and to much approval from fans.

You can watch it for yourself here if you're just now seeing it. I've only just discovered it for myself and a project like this comes just in time with Starz packaging a brand new Ash serial TV reboot. But apart from that, WTFLOL is in post production with their sequel short, Ash VS. The DC Dead, featuring fellow character faves Green Arrow and Lobo in its latest trailer.

Watch all three videos below!

This one isn't a scripted drama or other, but a trailer for an upcominng three-part serial documentary from online womens' periodical, Cleo. Writer Lizza Gebilagin is at the center of this latest experiment in the form of Fight Like A Girl, showcasing what happens when a writer journeys into the world of MMA training in a seven-month regimen that will before ultimately determining her skillset in a competitive arena. The series launches on July 7, so you would be wise to subscribe.

The folks over at Z-Team Films have already made headway with the most recent online digital release of their cult action feature hit, Die Fighting. This time they are taking their efforts to a new dimension - a dystopian future with Earth's natural resources near depletion and mankind leaning on virtual extinction...

Essentially, enter Drained World and watch Fabien Garcia kick and bash the shit out of some zombies, basically.

It's awesome to follow various martial artists and performers alike who not only show off their prowess, but also share their amazing adventures, and actor and tutorialist Aaron "Gingerninja" Gassor has definitely has his share so far. From the gym to comic-cons, catch all his videos right now on his channel, and if you're new to his craft, here's a cool trailer to help warm you up!

And lastly, comic book creator and leading Marvel mainstay Stan Lee broke the internet back in May for filmmakers on the web when he annonced World Of Heroes, an intricate new program for creatives in conjunction with Lee's POW! Entertainment and YouTube Spaces at select global locations. Now, the time has come for the rollout and director John Wynn's latest, Call To Heroes takes the lead with a story centered on The Forge Academy, whose young and gifted pupils, brought together by devastation and tragedy become mankind's last defense against superhuman evil. Watch and enjoy!

Click here to catch last week's Hit List and be sure to subscribe to these channels. And, if you or someone you know has QUALITY content they would like shared in a Hit List piece, send an email at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com

THE HIT LIST - June 22, 2015

This week's Hit List has some substance to it, if I may say so myself. One shortfilm finally came out in particular and it's one I've covered quite a bit lately and I'm proud to have done as much as I have on it, and you'll see more coverage on Tuesday.

Until then, it's Monday night, and it's time to show off some stunt reels to cleanse the palette with videos by Bryan Sloyer, Michaela Chernoch, Cliff Ryder, Tonya Kay, Alexander Ullrich, Tim Storms, Lou Simon, Cassie Lee Minick, Sara Holden, Brett Easton and Narayana Cabral.

Skipping brifely over to teaser territory, actor and stuntman Michael Lehr growing craft over at Fight Factory Stunt Team has amassed some impressive work in recent months; VerseS is one of those projects - a grisly implementation of violent prose with Lehr fighting his way out of captivity. It's part of a whole series and the second episode isn't too far off, and its teaser is up for your viewing pleasure.

Time to practice fighting again, and for the first two quick videos of this segment, we get to see the latest from Emmanuel Manzanares and Jim Ng with respective performances by Amy Sturdivant and Bryan Sloyer, and a slick knife fight between James Ng and Evan Daniels. The third video below features actor Nick Denbeigh in a brief short expansion of the dystopian world created by filmmaker Jela Oba Okpara for the hit 2014 short, The Last Girl - hence the title, Give Us The Girl, followed by a new motivational gem from the folks over at Cinematic Fight Studio titled Never Give Up with actor Ricky Barksdale front and center.

The video beneath comes by way of fellow fan, New York City comedian Lawson Leung whose gotten some attention by the stunt community for assembling great montage footage in the name of supporting indepenent martial arts action. That's exactly what his new video does for the work brought about in 2015.

Speaking of independent action, it's about that time again, and the first to see is the latest websode of director Tony Laudati's long-running series, Kung Fu Femmes. It's a story of one warrioress's mission to save exploited stage fighting showgirls from a nefarious underworld crimeboss, and it's a mission that no less tests our heroine in more ways than one. If you're new to this series, feel free to click here and brush up, otherwise, check out the video below!

Lunar Stunts Action Cinema is back and at it again with director and fight choreographer Eric Nguyen whose short films are quite an example of an evolution in style. Each of his projects up the antee just a little more than his predecessors and his latest, Pandora's Box 3 exemplifies this rightly so.

The film itself follows a slate of stories of hitmen conflicted with the traditions their firm is beholden to by their lottery, wherein the one who wins the black dot gets marked for death. Nguyen's work is highly worth speaking of, and I'm ever more hopeful that the right person will grant this man whatever he needs to get a lush film career going.

And finally, peer over to University Of York film graduate Andrew Kueh whose latest sci-fi thriller, Prime Contact, is slowly but surely (and hopefully) becoming a big deal. Spy co-star Julian Miller takes on the role of Sam LeBrant, a transconciousness in a race against time to reunite with his wife and his vegetative body against the will of the courrpt tech corporation that expended him.

It's taken a couple of years for this project to finally go public since its crowdfunding and subsequent production and festival run, and this newly-released pre-viz clip by Leeds-based SG Action lends a tasty morsel worth the eyes. Beyond that, I got to interview Miller last week and it's going up on Tuesday, so check him out in action below with the short in full.

Last week's Hit List wasn't as light as I thought it was, but is still worth your time if you have any left to kill. For now, subscribe to the channels above and yes, if you make QUALITY content yourself, send us something at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com!