Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens (2015)

Fin vs Storm Trooper: 2.5/5


Kylo Ren vs Fin: 2.5/5


Kylo Ren vs Rey: 3/5



Look, no one is going to watch this movie based on my recommendation. Everyone reading this has seen it, I'm sure. This was a good flick, I liked it. The lightsaber fights were solid, if nothing special. I enjoyed Kylo Ren and Rey, although Rey was definitely overpowered. Maybe the most OP force user ever. And the Raid guys were wasted in a dumb sequence.

But I enjoyed the movie overall. Recommended.

Unlucky Stars (2016, or possibly earlier)

Josh vs Stan: 2.75/5


Church Fight: 4/5


Josh/Ken vs Muggers: 3/5


Tomas vs Thugs: 2.5/5


Josh/Ken vs Marty: 3.25/5


Rehab House Fight: 3.25/5


Josh vs Rich: 4/5


Ken vs Vic: 3.75/5


David vs Sam: 4/5


Josh/Ken vs Kyle: 3.5/5



I really dug this movie. It's as good an 80's Hong Kong tribute film as you'll find.

Let's start with the obvious. The fight choreography and execution are on point. The thing I love about these indy martial arts films is their clear devotion to making great fight scenes. Watching Dennis fight Manny is a dream fight for me. They're two of my favorite active screen fighters. I believe this is their first screen battle. And it's my favorite fight in the movie (Josh vs Rich, as scored above).

Fighting aside, this is a very enjoyable movie. Dennis and Ken's chemistry is great. I really liked Vlad as the noble overlooked stuntman. It's such a perfect hero for this type of film. I loved how Dennis, Ken and Vlad were clearly set up as the modern Jackie, Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung. Sari Sabella and Steve Yuen are quite funny. Jose Montesinos carries a lot of the emotional weight of the film. Sam Hargrave kills it as the villain. He's probably the most charismatic performance.

I do wish Shawn Bernal was in this more. He's awesome.

There's a lot of commentary going on in this movie about the entertainment industry. And how it's a bunch of malarkey. As someone in the business myself, I relate and find it awesome.

I remember Vlad talking about how the finale was where this movie was going to shine. It certainly did peak there, which is when a martial arts movie should. It was very reminiscent of the old 3 Dragon films where they would each have to take on a different bad guy. I dug that.

Now to some minor qualms I have with the movie. I don't think there are any Fight Of The Year contenders. Every fight in this movie is good (not counting the fight scenes in the movies within the movie, which I didn't grade) to great. But there's nothing I would call excellent. Now...excellent fights are hard to find. So I'm not bashing this movie at all, clearly. I think it just goes to show how hard it is to make an enduring classic fight scene. Dennis vs Manny comes the closest but I wish it had been longer.

Maybe part of my disappointment is me looking forward to watching this movie for 4 years. And maybe part of my disappointment is just that it's not Contour, which is the best indy martial arts film ever. Sure, this is a more complete and mature film than Contour, but the action never peaks as high as Contour does. That being said, Unlucky Stars has got to be my 2nd favorite indy martial arts film of all time.

There were also a couple of editing instances I didn't like. Hollywood style editing on hits rather than Hong Kong style. Again, this happens maybe 3 times in the entire film, so these are minor complaints.

I really liked how they built to the fights at the end. Manny and Roy's characters wanted a piece of Dennis and Ken from early on and you could tell. Really made it satisfying to see them throw down later.

The finale is also edited really well. The transitions between the showdowns are great. As far as martial arts film finales go you probably won't see a better one this year.

This is my favorite martial arts film since The Raid 2. Highly recommended.

SPL 2: A Time For Consequences (2015)

Chatchai vs Kit: 3/5


Prison Riot Fight: 3.5/5


Ah-zai vs Cops: 2.25/5


Kit, Wah & Chatchai vs henchmen: 3/5


Kit vs Ah-zai: 3.25/5


Fight in the Dark: 2.75/5


Kit & Chatchai vs henchmen & Ko Chun: 3.75/5



A lot of people compare this movie to The Raid 2. I don't quite see it. The Raid 2 is an excellent sequel to an excellent movie. SPL 2 is a good sequel to a good movie. I guess the tones are similar as well as both movies featuring a cop going undercover and also being in a prison when a prison fight breaks out. But that's about where it ends.

I gotta say, this is the best Tony Jaa movie since Ong Bak 2 (not counting Furious 7). It might even be his best work, overall. As an actor and a screen fighter, he's one of the better parts of the film. Wu Jing is also great. A better actor than Jaa, but towards the end of his screen fighting prime, he carries the film's emotional weight.

There are a bunch of good fights in this movie, but not one truly great fight. There's also some suspect use of wire fu. Considering this is a modern crime film, seeing guys fly through the air can be jarring. Jing and Jaa square off in the first fight and it's solid stuff, if a bit short. The prison fight is also good with a lot of moving parts and long takes. I do slightly prefer The Raid 2's prison fight, though.

The knife vs nightstick fight towards the end, clearly an homage to Wu Jing vs Donnie Yen in one of the best fights of all time from the first SPL, is not in the same league as the original. It's a good fight, it only suffers by comparison. However, when "store the sun" plays in the minutes leading up to that, I got real excited. That's one of the more iconic fight scene themes ever, to me.

Let's talk about Max Zhang, the Big Bad of this flick. He's quite good here. The main problem I have with him, and his part in the finale, is the wire work. A pet peeve of mine is when a character is a lot stronger than the others, seemingly only because he's fighting on wires while they are not. Jaa and Jing are kicking ass the whole movie with straight Muay Thai and Wushu. Zhang's flying around throwing wire kicks. But that's not his fault.

The finale is the best fight in the movie. Jaa taking out the henchmen is some of the better choreography I've seen all year. It's also such a breath of fresh air to see Muay Thai used in a modern, Hong Kong action film. Wu Jing plays such a good hero, night and day from his original SPL character. One thing this movie does well is have the heroes always fighting from underneath. Jing and Jaa are beat to hell by the time they have to take on Zhang.

The best part of the finale is when Jaa squares off with Zhang. Jaa attempts Muay Thai moves he's been using effectively the whole movie and Zhang has a counter for all of them. Such smart choreography. Because of course, Zhang has seen Jaa fight before, so he has that advantage. It devolves after that, though. The 2 on 1 stuff has more wire fu and unfortunately the fight has an implausible conclusion. There's also a weird side part with Jaa's daughter that felt unnecessary.


It's a solid action movie with some really good parts. All in all, Mildy Recommended.

Marvel's Daredevil Episode 13 "Daredevil" (2015)

Daredevil vs Kingpin: 3.5/5




Ah yes, the big climactic showdown. Lots of Kingpin headbutts and Daredevil acrobatics. He even jumps off the wall to kick Kingpin at one point. Solid fight, worthy of closing out such a great show.

Marvel's Daredevil Episode 11 "The Path Of The Righteous" (2015)

Murdock vs Potter: 3.25/5



Only one fight but it's an intriguing one. I like whenever Murdock tries to intimidate a guy but then that guy turns out to be no pushover. Solid.

Marvel's Daredevil Episode 9 "Speak Of The Devil" (2015)

Murdock vs Ninja, Part 2: 3.5/5


Murdock vs Ninja, Part 3: 3/5


Ass kicking Montage: 2.5/5


Murdock vs Ninja, Parts 1 and 4: 3.5/5


Murdock vs Fisk: 2.5/5



A lot of good action in this episode. Murdock's battle with The Ninja, if looked at as one collective fight, is the best fight in the series thus far besides the long take. Adding ninjas to most things make them more badass.

We also get our first taste of Murdock vs Fisk. Just a taste, I'm sure there's more to come.

Marvel's Daredevil Episode 7 "Stick" (2015)

Kid Murdock vs Stick: 2.75/5


Murdock vs Thugs: 3/5


Murdock vs Stick: 3.5/5



I mean, Stick is awesome. He's an elderly, dickish, hardass badass. I loved every scene he was in. And his fight with Murdock at the end was beautiful storytelling. We might not see him again for a while but his presence really brought new energy to the show.

Marvel's Daredevil Episode 6 "Condemned" (2015)

Murdock vs Cops: 2.75/5


Murdock vs Vladimir: 2/5


Murdock vs Cops: 2/5



Good little fight in the beginning. Nothing too substantial afterwards, more short confrontations. Beginning to feel like the fight in episode 2 won't come close to being matched. Show's still awesome, though.

Marvel's Daredevil Episode 5 "World On Fire" (2015)

Murdock vs Russians: 2/5


Murdock vs Russian Guard: 2.25/5


Murdock vs Vladmir: 2/5



Really short bursts of fighting. It's a great episode, just no memorable fights.

Marvel's Daredevil Episode 4 "In The Blood" (2015)

Garage Fight: 2.5/5

Fisk vs Anatoly: 3/5



Sweet, Kingpin's finally getting some. The first fight is pretty standard "hero lurks in the shadows" warfare, but still well done. Fisk's fight is brutal. As it should be.

Marvel's Daredevil Episode 3 "Rabbit In A Snowstorm" (2015)

Bowling Alley Fight: 3/5


Murdock vs Heely: 3.5/5



Good action in this episode. I like that Murdock is being challenged physically in every episode so far, he's not just running through red shirts.

Marvel's Daredevil Episode 2 "Cut Man" (2015)

Murdock vs Russians: 4.25/5


The first truly great fight of the series. I may be grading this a bit generously, but it's such an impressive long take shot. Thought it's evident that there are times when Cox switches out with stuntmen, that's more smart action direction than anything. All in one take, it felt real and gritty.

Marvel's Daredevil Episode 1 "Into The Ring" (2015)

Murdock vs Thugs: 2.75/5


Murdock vs Assassin: 3.25/5


A couple of solid fights in the pilot. Covered in darkness, as Daredevil is a nighttime crime fighter. Hoping to see more in coming episodes.

Rope A Dope 2 - Return of the Martial Arts Mafia (2015)

Eric vs Mafia: 4/5

Eric vs Dennis: 4.75/5



Honestly, I thought the first Rope a Dope was my favorite short action film of all time. This might've surpassed it. Exceeding my already lofty expectations, Rope a Dope 2 takes a great concept and escalates it even more. Also, it's hilarious. The broken bottle gag near the end I've rewatched almost as much as the fights. And the fights are, of course, superb. Eric and Dennis are like this generation's Yuen Biao and Dick Wei, such awesome chemistry between the two. Their duel in this short is actually different than their previous ones. I could watch them fight forever (though I'm hoping if there's a third installment their characters will team up). I'm out of superlatives. Just watch this. HIGHLY Recommended

Mister a.k.a. Xian Sheng (2015)

Lorenz vs Felix: 4/5


They're back! Sweet. The first Young Masters project to be released since I had the pleasure of meeting Lorenz on my birthday two Decembers back. A tribute to "The Man From Nowhere", which is awesome in its own right, the brothers bring an even greater martial ability to their tribute to that film. Recommended.