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.

Men In Suits (2012)

Green vs Blacks: 4.25/5


Green vs Red: 3.25/5


Purple vs Blacks: 4/5


Purple vs Red: 4/5



One of my favorite Vlad shorts of all time. And that's saying something. The use of dress color is evocative yet effective in establishing the characters, who never speak. Aaron Toney, the badass big boss in red. Mickey's heroine is easy to root for and Amy carries herself with a real sense of self confidence. I also appreciated Xin's mini boss character, clearly a lover of violence and challenging fights. I do wish I had a little more back story on what is going on, exactly. But the storytelling is simple and told well through the fighting. Great stuff.

Part 2 Chapter A (2012)

White Suits vs Black Suits: 3.5/5

Mickey vs Caitlin: 4/5

Mickey vs Gui: N/A

These are great. Caitlin carries herself very well in these, exuding an aura of physical dominance. Mickey is always so easy to root for. Her small stature yet clear ability serves well for the plucky underdog character. Gui's character is great too, as the boss who's too strong to break a sweat on anyone, with an artifact of power, his white umbrella. Very anime, I dig it. I want more.

Part 1 Chapter C (2012)

Mickey vs Amy: 4/5




Arguably the two best female screen fighters in the game tearing it up. It's gritty, it's bloody and goddamn is it good. Vlad does it again.

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. 

Vlad's "Dragon Lady" (2014)

Brendon vs Pei Pei: 4.5/5

Excellent stuff. Inventive choreo and good humor as well. Pei Pei looks like a million bucks here. One of my favorite Vlad fights to date.

Vlad's "Hammer Girl" (2014)

Fight Scene: 4/5

Great choreography, and brutal as well. Might have even given it higher if there had been time for Mickey to fight Caitlin. I know they filmed this all in a day, which is impressive. I haven't seen the actual Raid 2 Hammer girl fight, but this fight sets some high expectations for it with me. Vlad, great work as usual. And everyone played their part very well.