El Testigo (The Witness, 2011)

Jose vs Thugs: 3.75/5


Jose vs Gil: 2.5/5


Jose vs Detective Suarez: 2.25/5


Market Fight: 3.5/5


Gil vs Thugs: 3.25/5


Jose/Cristina vs Thugs: 2.25/5


Jose vs Gil: 3.25/5



Solid action throughout. Gil Sanabria carries himself very well. He's smaller than Jose but more imposing. He's a real badass in this movie. Jose has the beats down of a prototypical action hero. The Jackie Chan influence is big in this movie, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. This is from 2011 and having seen the stuff this team has done since, they've gotten even better. There's not a bad fight in it.

The action is good and well laid out, I just wish this movie did a little more to distinguish itself from other modern martial arts movies. There are a couple of nice turns in the plot, but it is a pretty straight forward movie. This is this team's first feature, so it's good that they got all the basics down. There's just nothing that really stands out, for me. The fights range from good to very good.

I wanted more from that end fight too, since my favorite aspect of the movie is Gil's inferiority complex towards Jose. I feel like they really made me want to see them fight and then didn't give that fight enough time.

Also, the girl that plays Cristina, Melissa Serrano, is stunningly gorgeous. I think this is my first review where I ever mentioned that about a leading lady, which tells you how gorgeous she is. I was distracted at times.

I'm partial towards this movie also because I am Puerto Rican, and how many Puerto Rican martial arts films are there? No seriously, are there more? If there are, link me. Not joking. I want more.

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.

Tribal Ties (2013)

Felix vs Max: 4.5/5

Eskindir vs Lorenz: 4.5/5


Love this short. Two excellent concurrent fights. With anime elements.

Slug Streets Scrappers 4 (2014)

Peaches vs Knuckles: 2.75/5

Buster vs Slugger Squad Fabulous: 2.75/5

Bruiser vs Knuckles: 3.5/5

Peaches vs Buster: 3.25/5

Bruiser vs Revered One: 3.5/5


I liked this final installment. I wish the finale had gone a bit longer, but they did a good job of making it feel epic in a short amount of time. They also didn't have access to a lot of their cast frm earlier installments, and they made it work. Not as good as Part 3, or even Part 2 I would say, but a solid end to the series. Recommended.

Mario Warfare Part 8 (2014)

Toad vs Wario: 4/5


Toad's back! Brian Lee straight up kicks ass. The final installment of this franchise is satisfying and filled with action. Recommended.

Slug Street Scrappers 3 (2013)

Peaches vs Hopz: 3.25/5

Peaches vs Bruiser: 1.5/5

Jimmy Broker vs Billy Broker: 4.25/5

Ryuken vs Bones: 3.75/5

Peaches vs Punchy: 3.25/5

Jimmy & Billy vs Mr. Sexy: 4/5

Knuckles vs Slugger Squad: 2.75/5

Knuckles vs Ryuken: 3.5/5



Man, this is great. Tons of fighting, and it's varied. Jimmy vs Billy steals the show. Highly recommended.

Slug Street Scrappers 2 (2012)

Ryuken vs Slugger Squad: 3.25/5

Knuckles vs Billy Broker: 2.75/5

Bruiser vs Venom: 3/5

Bruiser vs Ryuken: 3.75/5

Peaches vs Shizuka: 1.75/5


Good short film. The fighting is varied and the story progresses. Shaun Charney and Micah Brock are both great. And we get to see them fight each other, here. Recommended.

Slug Street Scrappers (2012)

Bruiser vs Punchy: 3.25/5

Bruiser vs Slugger Squad: 3/5

Bruiser vs Peaches: 2.25/5


Decent short film. More of just a taste of the universe being created. Its sequels improve upon it. Recommended.

Swag (2012)

Felix/Lorenz vs Fabian/Michael: 4.25/5

Felix & Lorenz vs Michael: 4.5/5




Another great Young Masters short film. Fun choreography, cool outfits and cool music. Watch it.

Shadow Plant (2011)

Forest Fight: 5/5

Underground Fight: 3.75/5


The fight in the forest is one of the greatest fight scenes I've ever seen. And the underground fight is also good. The Young Masters fucking rule.

From Man to Man Vol. 2 (2013)

Brendon vs Vonzell: 4.75/5

One of the best fights of 2013, and one of the greatest fights I've ever seen. The fluidity and intricacy of the sequences are phenomenal. Love love love it.

Special ID (Flash Point/SPL) (2014)

Fight Scene: 3.75/5


Much better than their Raid tribute, I dug this fight. My main qualm was that the choreography felt a bit repetitive towards the end. But overall lots of great stuff. Good exchanges, a nice sequence leading into a triangle choke, and some flashy kicks. Better than any of the solo fights in Special ID.

The Raid 2: Berandal Tribute (by EMC Monkeys, 2014)

Fight Scene: 3/5


Good effort by EMC, but I've seen them do much better. Of course it's difficult to try to pull off an homage to another style. But I was expecting a bit more. Not a bad fight by any means, just nothing special.

Mario Warfare Part 7 (2014)

Peach vs Wario: 3.25/5

Mario vs Waluigi: 4/5


Getting Eric Jacobus to play Waluigi was a terrific idea. It produces the best fight of the series so far and maybe my favorite video game character live action fight ever. Waluigi looks like an absolute beast the whole fight. Utilizing Wing Chun punches and stellar kicks, Waluigi makes Mario look outclassed for the first time in the series.

I also want to note that the fight between Peach and Wario is surprisingly good. If it weren't for Eric's performance in this episode I'd still have a new favorite fight of the series in Peach vs Wario. A lot of emotion, drama and some of the exchanges caught me off guard with how good they were. In terms of storytelling it might be the best of the series so far.

So in all, yeah this is my favorite episode of the series to date. Two major fights that deliver exactly as they should, or even better. And looking forward to the next.

Mario Warfare Part 6 (2013)

Smash Club vs Shy Guys: 3.5/5


The whole episode is a war! And it's great.

Mario Warfare Part 5 (2013)

Mario vs Peach: 2.25/5


Good episode! The fight is more about story than anything else. Makes you excited as hell for part 6.

Mario Warfare Part 4 (2013)

Mario vs Link: 3/5

Smash Club Battle Montage: 2.75/5


Enjoyable episode. Lots of solid fighting. And we get to see a lot of the characters. First fight with Link is solid, good kicking in there. The fight montage is fun, all the characters fighting with their unique style. That montage also shows Link pulling off an impressive acrobatic double kick on Ness. Fun episode all around.

Mario Warfare Part 3 (2013)

DK vs Peach: 2.75/5


Liked this episode, more about backstory than anything. Brian Lee's a talented guy. He uses some cool, lucha libre style moves even while in that costume.

I was confused by the tone of the fight scene though.  I spent the whole fight worried about Princess Peach's safety but meanwhile the fight almost looked comical. So that dissonance took away from it, for me. Good storytelling episode, though.

Mario Warfare Part 2 (2013)

Mario vs Shy Guys: 2.5/5

Mario vs Hammer Bros.: 3/5


Good action in this. Establishes Mario's character nicely, even though we all know he's the hero anyway. Plus Mario uses a cool hammer combo on one of the brothers at the end. Solid stuff all around.

Mario Warfare Part 1 (2012)

Toad vs Bill: 3.5/5


My first gun-kata review! Yay. Good chorerography and fluid performance. Main gripe is it didn't feel varied enough. Enjoyed the humor element they mixed in as well, though. Also, Mario Warfare as a series is terrific. There's tons of action besides just the fights I'll be reviewing. Check it out.