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.

Dogfight (2012)

The Fight: 4.5/5



One of the best LBP fights ever. And that's saying something. Shawn Bernal's never looked better. That's also saying something, as Shawn is one of my favorite screen fighters of all time. This is also a top contender for greatest 2 vs 1 fight of all time. Interesting dynamic in that there are 2 good guys. I guess my only complaint about the short is I wish there was more to establish them as the good guys. I was rooting for Shawn through most of it. But the choreography and exchanges still run through my mind sometimes, it's so on point. Excellent stuff.

Yo Soy Un Hombre Loco (2011)

House Fight: 2.75/5


Bathroom Fight: 2.25/5


Number 1 vs Number 2: 4/5


You know, it's weird. Shawn vs Manny is great, and I can tell they tried to make their fight as good as possible. I just feel like they have a better 1 on 1 fight in them. They're LBP's best, but I feel there were certain things about the fight that could've been better. Their offensive transitions didn't really utilize counters, more just the other one not blocking. And a lot of the choreo felt basic, for guys of such high caliber

I don't want to be a negative Nancy on this. I gave it 4/5, it's still great. It's beautifully shot, backdropped with great music and location. The speed and power of the hits sold well. And Manny's character arc through the fight is a well told story. I still feel these 2 have a better fight in them, though. I shall wait for it patiently.

If you're unfamiliar with LBP, this is still a dope place to start.

Those Who Go To Hell Episode 3 (2012)

Roberto vs Jessie: 3.25/5


Daniel vs Timothy: 2.25/5


Daniel vs Shin: 4/5



Man I wish Manny vs Jay had gone longer. It does make however Manny's character of Roberto, the silent assassin, look strong, that he beat a legitimate fighter that quickly. It really sets up the final showdown between Daniel and Roberto nicely...except we never actually get it due to the project being unfinished :(


Shawn's fight with Jon is...there. It's not bad, it's short and pretty basic. Since this was originally going to be a movie not every fight can be long and epic. Which brings me to...


Shawn vs Keith. Though unfinished, the best 1 on 1 fight in the series. Manny vs Shawn might've surpassed it had it been filmed, but take nothing away from this fight; it's modern day shapes in a noir setting. There's really nothing else like it, anywhere. Had it been finished who knows how great it could've been.


Whenever I think of the Shawn/Manny fight we never got here I think of this fight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OruqZ0_Tb3o

It's the spiritual replacement of the final fight that we never got in this series, for me. Also if you're reading this I probably reviewed all of the fights in "Yo Soy Un Hombre Loco" somewhere on this blog.

Those Who Go To Hell Episode 2 (2012)

Daniel vs Jonathan: 2.75/5


Daniel vs Thugs: 2.75/5


Shin/Roberto vs Thugs: 3.5/5



Another unfinished fight! Man, and it was looking pretty good too. The house fight was more of a struggle than a traditional fight scene, but it wasn't bad, some good falls in it.

Manny is an artist behind the camera. But man is he a great screen fighter too. And this was Keith's breakout performance to me. Keith looked like an absolute powerhouse fighter here. Juxtaposed with the more experienced, smaller and faster character Manny played. I loved their different styles of annihilating enemies. "2 vs many" is a genre I wish we saw more of. Great work, just wish it was longer and had more Manny.

Those Who Go To Hell Episode 1 (2012)

Daniel vs William: 3.25/5



Man, I wish this series had been finished. So much. Shawn's energy in this fight is great, and he throws a memorable 4 kick combo as well. Steven brings a dynamic unhinged energy to this as well, these two work well together.