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

Contour (2007)

Opening Fight: 3.5/5

Eric vs Andy: 4.75/5

Dennis & Ray vs Vlad, Troy & Thugs: 3.75/5

Ed vs Rabbit: 2.5/5

Ed vs Phantom: 4/5

Tyler vs Thugs: 2.25/5

Ed vs Troy & Thugs: 4.5/5

Andy & Vlad vs Ray: 4/5

Eric vs Dennis: 5/5

Man, what can I even say? Contour is one of the best martial arts movies of all time. It's not just "good for an indie movie". It's incredible. It's honestly probably in my top 5 fighting movies ever. And I've watched a lot of fighting movies. 

What's so great, beyond just the pure quality and amount of fighting there is, is the variation of fighting. From 1 vs many, to a baseball bat eskrima fight, to a wing chun duel to your standard straight up kickboxing clash...Contour offers so many fights and every fight tells its own unique story through its own unique brand of martial art. Great stuff.

I mean, the ratings speak for themselves. Just buy it, support these guys. Go to the stuntpeople.com and see for yourself. HIGHLY recommended. 

Death Grip (2012)

Baseball Field Fight: 3.25/5

Bathroom Fight: 2.25/5

Dark Fight: 2.75/5

Eric vs Knights: 3.75/5

Eric vs Alvin: 4.75/5

Eric vs Johnny: 4.25/5

The stunt people truly are a top tier stunt group. Eric Jacobus performs great screen fighting as usual. Add Johnny Yong Bosch to the mix and we've got a barn-burner. I will say that a lot of the fighting in the first half of the film didn't grab me. The dark fight is an interesting concept. The bathroom brawl is pretty funny. Once we get towards the end, things really pick up. Alvin and Eric deliver a near perfect knife fight. And the highly anticipated finale is also great stuff, more of a storytelling fight than a technical one. Recommended.