Michael Jai White’s Trouble Man

His name is Jaxen, so they sometimes call him “Action.” He will also be compared to Jim Kelly, by a new associate, who also drops frequent references to Sweet Sweetback and Superfly. Indeed, it is not hard to figure out what inspired this film. Just look at the title (previously used by Ivan Dixon’s 1972 directorial debut). Jaxen might quote blaxploitation like Remington Steele quotes golden age Hollywood, but he throws down like Black Belt Jones, in Michael Jai White’s Trouble Man, which releases this Friday in theaters and on digital.

Jaxen was a cop, but now he is more or less a fixer. He starts with an abusive doctor, who definitely needs fixing, before moving on to the main event. Swerve Records’ biggest star Jahari has disappeared, presumably returning to her old heroin habit. Since they share history together, Jaxen agrees to find her—for a fee. However, he soon suspects foul play.

So does her new lover, “Money,” who admittedly models himself after blaxploitation anti-heroes, but disavows any involvement with drugs. They suspect label founder Barnes Holland and his predatory partner Yuen Song, especially when people try to kill them. All that trouble comes at an inconvenient time for Jaxen, because he was just starting to rekindle his relationship with Gina, an old flame.

Trouble Man is perfect showcase for White, which rather follows, considering he directed it. Regardless, he gets a lot of laughs with his hip blaxploitation references, while handily taking care of business during the fight scenes. Action directors Angela Jordan, Joey Min, and Stephanie Pham definitely take care of their director and cast. It is also worth noting White and screenwriter Michael Stradford give Jaxen an aversion to firearms, which often forces him to do things the hard (but highly cinematic) way.

Kensuke Sonomura’s Ghost Killer

Its a ghostly buddy comedy, sort of like All of Me, but with some seriously “anti-social” behavior. Hideo Kudo was an elite hitman with a shadowy syndicate—with the emphasis on the “was.” Now he is dead, murdered by his former associates. However, he still has his deadly skills, when he borrows Fumika Matsuoka’s body. He is an extremely angry ghost, but their partnership makes him a more decent soul in Kensuke Sonomura’s Ghost Killer, which releases today on digital.

Kudo was hard to kill, but eventually they got him. The operation is perfectly executed, but the clean-up crew misses the cartridge casing. When Matsuoka, a distressed college student, picks it up, her resentments combine with Kudo’s grudge to produce a haunting. To get rid of him, she must allow him to take over her body, to extract his vengeance. However, he first spends a good deal of time beating the snot out of her would-be abusers.

In fact, things get so messy, Kudo must call in help from his protégé Toshihisa Kagehara, to tidy up all the moaning and groaning bodies. Of course, Kagehara has only one method of cleaning, which poor Matsuoka does not want to think about. Regardless, Kagehara is way too edgy to fully trust.

You often see the me-and-my-ghost premise in comedies, but Ghost Killer is surprisingly dark. It also kicks tons of butt. Sonomura served as his own fight director and he did not pull any punches. It is one gritty but spectacularly cinematic beat-down after another.

Shiraishi's 11 Rebels

They were like an early Meiji Era Dirty Dozen except there were only eleven of them. In fact, the so-called “Suicide Squad” were initially only ten condemned prisoners who agreed to fight for the Shibata Domain, but somehow, they will add one more. They will need the reinforcements to hold the fort (literally) in Kazuya Shiraishi’s 11 Rebels, which releases today on DVD and VOD.

Masa was condemned for killing the Shibata samurai who attacked his wife, so as far as he is concerned, the rest of the clan can go die a fiery death. Nevertheless, Natsu the lady arsonist (who is stuck with all their domestic chores), convinces him to join the others “rebels,” to gain his freedom and provide for his wife.

It will be a motley crew, including the hulking serial killer, a defrocked priest, a village madman, and Koshiba, an old man, who, ironically happens to be the best swordsman of the lot. Ostensibly, they fall under the command of a handful of Shibata samurai, including the young and honorable Washio Heishiro and duplicitous Irie Kazuma. However, the Rebels take command of themselves once they discover Kazuma and Mizoguchi Takumi, the chief retainer, intend to betray them after the battle. That definitely prompts an “I told you so” moment from Masa, but the rebellious Rebels are still the only protection their village has from the approaching Imperial army.

The mayhem of 11 Rebels is not quite as spectacular as that of Miike’s 13 Assassins, but it is still pretty impressive. (To be fair, they also have two fewer rebels than assassins.) Jun’ya Ikegami’s screenplay was inspired by an unproduced and now lost screenplay written by Kazuo Kasahara way back in the 1960s. It is definitely dark, but its tragic heroism nicely taps into the concept of the “Nobility of Failure” popularized in academic circles by Ivan Morris. If you don’t really care about that, rest assured there are plenty of cool martial arts battles.

Diablo, Starring Scott Adkins & Marko Zaror

El Corvo is martial artist with an iron fist, but he is nothing like Marvel’s Hero-for-Hire or RZA’s Kung Fu hip hop hero. He is more like an invulnerable serial killer from a slasher horror movie, but with incredible chops. However, he might just meet his match in a motivated American ex-con trying to rescue his biological daughter throughout Ernesto Diaz Espinoza’s Diablo, which releases this Friday in theater and on-demand/digital.

Rather counter-intuitively, Kris Chaney paid to be smuggled into Colombia from the United States. Perhaps even more ill-advisedly, the traffickers try to extort more money from him upon arrival. He is played by Scott Adkins, so good luck with that.

Chaney had to keep his visit secret from Vicente, a big Columbian boss, who was once part of Chaney’s bank heist crew. Then Vicente betrayed Chaney and stole his lover. By the time she realized his true colors it was too late, but she made Chaney promise to save their daughter Elisa once he was released from prison. Of course, Elisa only knows life as Vicente’s daughter, so she rather resists Chaney’s rescue, at least initially.

Unfortunately, El Corvo (which translates to “The Crow,” but he nothing like the immortal Eric Draven either) is the wild card in Chaney’s feud with Vicente. Bearing a bitter grudge against the latter, the hulking killer with metallic arm (complete with a lethal selection of attachments) attempts to abduct the already abducted Elisa, to prosecute his vicious revenge plot against Vicente. At this point, Elisa starts to appreciate Chaney, since he seems to be the only mortal who can temporarily fight off El Corvo.

Frankly, co-star Marko Zaror’s fight choreography might just be some of the most intense and frequently brutal beatdowns genre fans have seen in years. (It ranks right up there with the bone-crushing Avengement, also starring Adkins.) This is the sort of film that will have you yelling “oomph” and “yow,” even if you are watching alone, in the privacy of your own home.

It also represents perfect casting. Obviously, Adkins and Zaror have all kinds of skills and moves. Adkins also has the right brooding earnestness for Chaney. Zaror’s severe screen presence sometimes makes heroic leads challenging, but his imposing physicality is perfect for El Corvo, who is like Lurch from The Adams Family, but with Matrix-level Kung Fu.

Absolute Dominion: The Kumite of World Religions

Athletes talk about God all the time, but it is weird when Sagan Bruno does it. That is because he is sponsored by the Institute of Humanism and Science (IHS). He represents secular humanism in the global kumite to determine which faith will rule the world. Yet, lately, he has heard God speaking to him. Of course, he is the first to agree he maybe just took a few too many to the head. Regardless, he must keep fighting to save the world from all the rival theocracies vying for global supremacy in director-screenwriter Lexi Alexander’s Absolute Dominion, which releases today in theaters and on digital.

Fix Huntley (a very shticky Patton Oswalt) was just another loud-mouth influencer, until he jokingly suggested an MMA battle royale featuring each faith’s standard-bearer settle the religious wars devastating the planet. The idea caught on like wild fire. The “Absolute Dominion” treaties were codified, fighters were trained, and Huntley grew to prophet-like status. Through a loop-hole, the IHS had a sufficient ethical framework to submit their own fighter. Lacking an inventory of holy warriors, they genetically engineered Sagan (in honor of Carl?) Bruno.

His father, Dr. Yehuda Bruno, is a scientist and his coach. His mother is an Olympic gymnast and Rhodes scholar, but she and Sagan aren’t close. Arguably, Bruno’s trainer Anton Moskovitz is like a second parent. However, Bruno will quickly develop a close rapport with Naya Olinga, his bodyguard during the wild card tournament. Weirdly, she volunteered, even though Bruno is considered the longest of long shots.

Nevertheless, Bruno quickly emerges as a bracket-buster, breaking multiple Absolute Dominion records. Naturally, all the media attention concerns the Absolute Dominion organizers, who fear a victorious atheist would launch fresh waves of sectarian violence, so they leak surveillance video in which Bruno talks about the possibly divine voice that speaks to him (unheard by the audience). Frankly, that makes many people even more intrigued, which means Olinga will be very busy during this assignment.

First of all and perhaps most importantly, Absolute Dominion works pretty well as a no-holds-barred beatdown. Lead actor Desire Ma is clearly a natural athlete and he broods with considerable screen presence. He also gets terrific martial arts support from Junes Zahdi and Fabiano Viett as Bruno’s greatest rivals (who want to beat him fair and square in the ring).

Striking Rescue, Starring Tony Jaa

Bai An is clearly making decisions on an emotional basis. He set out to kill the Chinese businessman he blames for the death of his wife and daughter, but made the impromptu decision to protect his nemesis’s daughter from a rival drug gang. Despite the well-heeled He Yinghao’s concern, little Ting is probably safer with the vengeful vigilante than his own compromised organization in Siyu Cheng’s Striking Rescue, which releases today on VOD.

An's wife was a whistle-blower in He’s company. Assassins managed to destroy her and her flash drive, but they left alive a very angry Muay Thai fighter. The Thai cops assume An is responsible for the carnage, but they are too incompetent to be a factor in this film. Instead, An started following the chain back to He. Yet, when he sees a small army employed by Clay, a particularly vicious drug lord, threatening Ting, he swopes into protect her.

That puts An in an awkward position. He’s driver-security director Wu Zheng wants to work together to protect Ting. Wu also denies any involvement in the murder of An’s family. The vengeance-seeker is not buying it, but at this point, he really isn’t thinking straight, due to his considerable blood loss.

Somehow, Guo Haiwen’s screenplay manages to be both simplistic and confusing, but it does not matter. Striking Rescue was clearly conceived as a showcase for Tony Jaa’s butt-kicking—and on that level it succeeds smashingly. This is the best star-vehicle Jaa has had in several years, so he makes the most of it.

Kung Fu Rookie, from Kazakhstan

Timuchin is a prime example of the power of positive thinking. His hard head and fleet fists do not hurt either. Usually, the big city of Almaty eats county bumpkins like him for breakfast, but he is a college grad, who finished his military service and closely studied all of Jackie Chan’s old school HK movies (the good ones). Consequently, the bad guys routinely misunderestimate him in Aman Ergaziyev’s Kung Fu Rookie (a.k.a. Timuchin), which is now available on VOD.

Good natured, lunk-headed Timuchin came to Almaty to apply for the police academy, but his uncle Samat argues he should just find a girl and settle down while he still has time to enjoy starting a family. As fate would have it, Timuchin quickly meets Alua, a civilian academy employee who accepts his paperwork (after a bit of teasing). She also happens to be the daughter of a high-ranking officer and the niece of Samat’s special customer Samal. (Obviously, they are quite compatible—just look at their names.)

Of course, Timuchin won’t back down when Arsen, the neighborhood gang leader acts all thuggish. Timuchin does not look so scary, but he has the moves to teach Arsen and his henchmen a few lessons, but they refuse to learn and keep coming back for more. Eventually, they start coming for Samar and Alua.

Anuar Turizigitov’s screenplay is not exactly brilliantly original, but Ergaziyev’s fight choreography is gleefully inventive, incorporating a host of found objects into the melees. Essentially, this film is an introduction to Timur Baktybayev, to determine whether his martial arts chops and ah-shucks screen presence can carry a film. He passes the test. In fact, he aces it.

There are no special effects tricks, so somehow, Baktybayev must have the same kind of rubber bones and cement head that made Chan so entertaining in his prime. This film has been widely compared to Rumble in the Bronx, with good reason. Indeed, you can see deliberate homages in several fight sequences.

Jade, Co-Starring Mark Dacascos

Jade is a one-woman case-study both supporting and undermining gun control policy. She has a visceral aversion to firearms, but she still piles up plenty of dead bodies. Guns don’t kill people. Jade kills people—a whole lot of people in James Bamford’s Jade, which releases this Tuesday on digital platforms.

Okay, the truth is Jade will eventually overcome her revulsion and start shooting her way out of trouble, because desperate situations demand desperate measures. Jade and her brother Brandon were orphans who were sucked into the gangs. Unfortunately, she cannot avenge his murder, because she accidentally killed him with a stray bullet. Hence, her no guns policy. Fortunately, that does not preclude a full range of cutting implements.

Jade wants to get out and leave town, but she still worries about Brandon’s girlfriend, Layla, especially when she learns the woman is pregnant with her niece or nephew. Unfortunately, Jade gets pulled back in when a soon to be dead member of her gang entrusts her with a MacGuffin that looks like an external hard drive. Frankly, nobody every fully explains what it is, but rival gang leader Tork wants it, so he will kill anyone he has to.

Basically, the film mostly consists of Jade hacking and slashing Tork’s henchmen. It is simple, but effective. Obviously, Bamford and co-screenwriters Lynn Colliar and Glenn Ennis conceived the film as an homage to blaxploitation films like Coffey. Although it is not slavishly imitative, the gritty and garish look definitely evokes the right vibe.  However, the writing is conspicuously spotty, especially considering the abundance of apparent non sequitur scenes. Plus, the obvious “twist” ending feels like an insult.

Nevertheless, the fighting impresses. Bamford and most of the supporting cast have extensive stunt performance experience which shows in the martial arts scenes. This is way rougher than a film like Black Dynamite. There is some brutal stuff in here could leave a mark on some less jaded viewers.

The Martial Artist

It is easy to lose sight of the spiritual aspect of martial arts in a steel cage. Consequently, when an up-and-coming MMA fighter loses his way, he must reconnect with his heritage and the transcendent spirit of martial arts practice to regain his mojo. Of course, nobody wants to watch a long meditation session, but a few seconds can help round out a training montage. Regardless, Ibby “The Prince” Barkan’s path to MMA glory takes a detour through the mountains of Pakistan in Shaz Khan’s The Martial Artist, which had its release bumped to April 4th.

After years of training and many questionably sanctioned matches, Barkan finally signs with a major mixed martial arts promoter. However, he lets success go to his head, before he fully attains it. He starts drinking, partying, and making enemies. Soon, the violence of his needless grudges spills-over onto his family. Barkan’s resulting guilt, compounds his anger, leading to a self-destructive cycle.

To save Barkan from his demons, his mother sends him to Pakistan, to learn about his late father from the Dada, the grandfather he never met. Nestled in the rugged mountains, Dada’s retreat trains disciples to be warriors, both physically and spiritually. It is exactly the kind of discipline Barkan needs, but he must come to that realization for himself, before he can reap the benefits of Dada’s teachings.

Although Khan emphasizes the loftier ideas underpinning martials arts, as the director, co-screenwriter, and star, he often showcases the practice at its most brutal. Much of the action consists of gritty, no-holds-barred street-fighting. Barkan’s two MMA showcases are impressively staged, against strikingly cinematic backdrops, while still featuring absolutely ferocious fight choreography.

Indeed, the fight scenes are far and away the best aspect of The Martial Artist. In contrast, the family melodrama is clunky and cliched. Frankly, some business with Barkan’s brother-trainer Ali will elicits groans from many viewers. Admittedly, Barkan’s quest for re-centering also travels a well-trod thematic path, but it is nicely executed and the Pakistani setting adds a distinctive vibe.

Bangkok Dog: Prachya Pinkaew “Presents” D.Y. Sao

LS-75 is such a super-secret law enforcement agency, it apparently operates out of a Chatsworth office park. Somehow, they scrape enough money to send agent Andrew Kang to Thailand, where he assumes the identity of a drug ring’s American point-man. Despite the constant brawling, Kang’s handler fears he might be succeeding a little too well in Chaya Supannarat’s Bangkok Dog, executive-produced by Ong-Bak action auteur Prachya Pinkaew, which releases Tuesday on VOD.

After Kang and his partner Kaitlyn Liu bust Benz Wu for his shipping container full of dead trafficked people, with stomachs stuffed with illegal narcotics, they are highly motivated to take down the rest of the operation. The top man is Dominic Mesias—and he is one bad apple.

However, in his new role in the Bangkok agency, Kang masquerading in the guise of Wu, works closely under jaded Charn Chai Yoodee, who quickly becomes a fast-friend. Kang even harbors illusions of flipping Yoodee, which worries Liu, who now serves as his in-country LS-75 handler. Regardless, Kang has no such affection for Mesias, especially after a particularly brutal debt-collection. Obviously, the worst thing that could happen for Kang would be Wu escaping from LS-75 to blow his cover, so that is exactly what will happen.

Everything about Bangkok Dog looks cheap, except the considerable blood and sweat equity co-stars and co-fight choreographers D.Y. Sao and Brian Le put into the bone-crushing marital arts beatdowns, which are priceless. They bleed for this movie.

Clearly, Bangkok Dog was conceived as a no-frills showcase to determine whether Sao and/or Le leave a sufficient impression on viewers to warrant a comparatively bigger budgeted follow-up. They both should pass the test, provided the film attracts enough eyeballs.

Sao plays Kang with impressive intensity and his physicality is off the charts. However, the breakout discovery could turn out to be Le, who struts through the picture with the flamboyance of a pro wrestler. Yet, he matches Sao, step for step. As a considerable bonus, martial arts fan favorite and journeyman stuntman Ron Smoorenberg also appears as Vega, tangling with Sao in what might be the film’s most brutal fight scene.

Batman: Soul of the Dragon

Happy Batman Day. The original Batman Day was celebrated on July 23^rd, to commemorate his Detective Comics debut, but it was subsequently moved to September, for marketing reasons. There have been many Batmans—Adam Westverse, Frank Miller’s Dark Knight, Matt Reeves’ The Batman, etc., so maybe there can be multiple Batman Days too. This Batman Day, fans can celebrate with the 1970’s martial arts Batman, who fights evil with a Richard Dragon who now looks amazingly like Bruce Lee, in Sam Liu’s Batman: Soul of the Dragon.

Before he became the Caped Crusader, Bruce Wayne trained under the mystical O’Sensei in his hidden Himalayan sanctuary. He studied with five other disciples, Dragon, Ben Turner (a.k.a. Bronze Tiger), Lady Shiva, Jade Nguyen, and Rip Jagger (a.k.a. Judomaster). (If you are wondering, DC’s Karate Kid, who predated the 1980s movies, exists in a far-future timeline.)

Obviously, when Wayne returned, he donned the Batman costume to instill fear in criminals’ hearts, while Dragon became a globe-trotting secret agent. Some of their fellow disciples made disappointing choices, like Lady Shiva, who now controls the Gotham Chinatown crime syndicate. However, she still guards their old master’s sword, which also serves as a key to unlock the portal to the dimension of Naga, the apocalyptic snake god.

Ominously, the leader of the Kobra cult wants to do exactly that, so Batman, Dragon, Lady Shiva, and Turner must band together again to stop them. Although he is the last to join them, Turner is most familiar with Kobra, having targeted their criminal operations for years.

Soul of the Dragon lovingly recreates the look and vibe of vintage 1970s martial arts films, first and foremost, by deliberately designing Dragon and Turner to resemble Bruce Lee and his Enter the Dragon co-star, Jim Kelly. While not slavishly imitative, composer Joachim Horsley’s soundtrack also clearly evokes the vibe of Lalo Schifrin’s classic theme as well.

For further authenticity, genre fans will happily recognize experienced on-screen martial artists Mark Dacascos, Michael Jai White, and Kelly Hu (Sammo Hung’s Martial Law) supplying the voices of Dragon, Turner, and Lady Shiva. (You can hear White’s enthusiasm for the subject matter and the films that inspired Jeremy Adams’ screenplay in all his scenes. He was also familiar with the character, having played him on a recurring basis on CW’s Arrow.) Just as fittingly, James Hong (Rush Hour, Kung Fu Panda) adds the appropriate sage crustiness as O’Sensei.

Kitty the Killer

The so-called “Agency” is a lot like a Southeast Asian version of the La Femme Nikita covert organization. Each female assassin has a “guardian,” who is only supposed to watch over them. In practice, the watchers code-named “Grey Fox” will have to fight like heck. It sort of goes with the territory when you work for an assassination agency. They will have to fight each other when a power struggle splits the Agency. Again, this isn’t so surprising for a group of killers-for-hire. Whether he likes it or not, the new Grey Fox must look after his Kittys in Lee Thongkam’s Kitty the Killer, which releases today on VOD.

It is a bit of mess when Keng, the Grey Fox, sends Dina, his favorite Kitty, to retrieve a box from sleazy Wong, before he can sell it to the Japanese wing of the Agency. Whatever is in that box is a lot like the glowing briefcase in Pulp Fiction. Keng has his reasons for wanting it, which puts him crosswise with Ms. Violet, the Agency’s boardroom boss, who unleashes “Nina the Faceless” on Keng.

The Grey Fox handily fends off hordes of generic henchmen, but the Faceless Kitty is too much for him. As he nurses his mortal wounds, Keng carjacks poor Charlie, a nebbish office worker, forcing him to become the next Grey Fox.

Or something like that. Honestly, it’s debatable how much of this weird story really makes any kind of sense.  However, it is easy to get all the heads that get decapitated by katana swords. Charlie’s shtickiness can be a bit much, but the martial arts beatdowns are brutally spectacular. Sumret Mueangputt’s fight choreography is wildly cinematic, but also dirty and gritty.

Enter the Clones of Bruce [Lee, Obviously]

Bruce Lee was so powerful, he created a new subgenre after his death. It was also proof of how many tickets he could sell, even posthumously. Bruceploitation was definitely exploitation, often at its sleaziest, but fans just couldn’t help hoping the next one might include some legitimate lost Bruce Lee footage. David Gregory looks back on the Bruceploitation films and the sometimes reluctant imposters who made them in Enter the Clones of Bruce Lee, which starts a nationwide screening tour this Friday.

Fans knew Lee had shot some scenes for Game of Death before he died, because they had seen the publicity photos that made his yellow track suit iconic. Initially, the Hong Kong studio Golden Harvest assumed their incomplete film was unreleasable, which left the field open to enterprising (and ethically flexible) exploitation producers to deceptively fill the void.

Soon, they released a slew of supposed Bruce Lee stories, which often rather ghoulishly incorporated footage of his funeral. Many of these films had a conspiratorial tone, promising to expose the real “truth” of his death. Another frequent trick was the inclusion flashbacks, using scenes Lee shot as a child actor in Hong Kong. For their own footage, they often hired vague lookalikes, whom they gave screen names that might deceive patrons if they were not paying close attention.

Ironically, many of the Bruce Lee clones were skilled martial artists, who might have otherwise had a distinctive screen identity of their own. Bruce Li was one of the first and he is still widely considered one of the most talented Bruces. Dragon Lee was Korean, but that hardly mattered. Burmese Bruce Le could have been the toughest, since knocked several actors silly during his first fight scene. He is also the only Bruce clone to appear opposite Enter the Dragon bad guy Shih Kien in his “Bruce Lee Story.” Not so shockingly, Yasuaki Kurata did not know he was a Bruce Lee clone until he saw the foreign distributor for one of his Japanese movies had dubbed him Bruce Lo on their English-language poster.

After watching Enter the Clones it is easy to understand why the Lee family is so protective of his image. Some of the things these sketchy outfits did were beyond tacky. However, the film also suggests some of the films designed to appeal to Bruce Lee fandom were not so exploitative. Gregory’s talking heads convincingly argue the popularity of both Jim Kelly and Angela Mao films were largely built on their appearances in Enter the Dragon. Gregory even scored an interview with Mao herself, which was a real coup.

One Percent Warrior, Starring Tak Sakaguchi

Do not call Toshiro Takuma “Jackie,” like some of these Yakuza do. He prefers ‘Bruce,” in honor of the Master (who stayed true to Hong Kong). Realism is important to Takuma. That is why he is only now working on his second film. Due to twist of fate, Takuma happens to be scouting a remote location where two rivals Yakuza clans happen to be fighting over a hidden cache of cocaine. Of course, Takuma is way too much for either of them to handle in Yudai Yamaguchi’s One Percent Warrior, which releases tomorrow on BluRay.

Takuma’s skills are so legit, real-life martial arts schools would gladly hire him. (Only one percent of martial artists truly master their discipline, he sneers.) However, his commitment to authenticity is largely lost on the film industry. His first film has become a cult hit, but producers prefer flash and sizzle over his guts and grit. When a possible funding opportunity arises, Takuma heads out on a scouting mission with Akira, his last remaining apprentice.

Instead, the ruthless Takenouchi dragged Maria, the daughter of a recently deceased Yakuza chairman, to the deserted zinc factory, in search of his cocaine stash. Of course, Takuma quickly rescues Maria, leaving her in Akira’s care, as he picks off Takenouchi’s henchmen one by one. Soon, a rival faction led by Shishidou also barges in. They share Takenouchi’s determination to recover the old man’s drugs, but Shishidou’s daughter Ami also seems to have an unhealthy interest in Maria as well.

Sarnet’s The Invisible Fight

Today the Axis of Authoritarians clearly includes Xi and Putin, but in the early 1970s, the Soviet Union and China had rather standoffish relations. (Actually, defector Anatoliy Golitsyn claimed that was just an act, but he was “controversial.”) Either way, the clueless Rafael’s outpost on the Soviet-Chinese border was a real hardship post, especially when a trio of Chinese Kung Fu bandits attack. He will be the sole survivor, because “God has other plans for him.” Those plans are weird and chaotic in Rainer Sarnet’s Kung Fu-Russian Orthodox mash-up The Invisible Fight, which opens tomorrow in New York.

Except for the anachronistic crosses, the trio that attacks Rafael’s base look like they could have walked out of a Shaw Brothers movie—and they fight like it too. The opening over-the-top martial arts sequence sets the tone for the rest of the film. They kill everyone, except Rafael, whom they deliberately spare, even leaving a pair of nunchaku behind for him. As a result, he dives into Kung Fu when he returns home, often to sounds of his favorite death metal.

Somehow, Rafael is drawn to a sort of Shaolin-style Russian Orthodox monastery, where he is taken in as a novice (despite his obvious idiocy) when his prayers elicit tears of honey from the sacred Virgin Mary icon. The order’s spiritual leader, Nafanail, sees something in the moron that is lost on the other Brothers, especially his presumed protégé, Irinei, who has the day-to-day responsibility of training Rafael. With this set-up, Sarnet unleashes one crazy encounter after another, enlisting demon temptresses and arrogant KGB agents as potential foes.

Frankly, Invisible Fight can be a little exhausting. The nearly two-hour running time is a bit much for a wild and larky movie like this. However, it truly sports some of the most inventive and comedic fight choreography since Stephen Chow’s early 2000’s peak.

As the wacky mayhem in Invisible Fight escalates, its depiction of the Orthodox Brothers becomes increasingly “unorthodox,” almost to a disrespectful extent. (Of course, given the current Church’s collusion with Putin and the past allegations of high-level KGB collaboration, reputedly including Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow, many Westerner viewers might not be inclined to object too strenuously.) Yet, eventually, the film delivers a surprisingly heartfelt expression of faith. If only the real-life Patriarch were as humble and true as these gravity-defying monks.

Submitted by Vietnam: 578 Magnum

It is tough being a trucker in America, because you must deal with raising oil prices, spare parts inflation, and nuisance law suits. At least they usually do not have to contend with a brutal human trafficking gang, like Hung. His daughter was a victim of the creepy criminals, so he is out to deliver some street justice in Luong Dinh Dung’s 578 Magnum, Vietnam’s official internation Oscar submission, which releases this Friday on VOD.

Hung was once a member of Vietnam’s Special Forces, so the boss, Mr. Khang, admits in hindsight, his predatory son Thai should have avoided Hung’s young daughter, An. Still, as far he is concerned, what’s done is done. Frankly, it was probably a miracle one of his henchmen released the gravely ailing girl, out of concern for her health. She recovers physically, but the trauma continues to torment her.

Hung will pass along the pain to Khang’s gang, foiling their next abduction. Soon, Khang has small armies of thugs out looking for Hung. The angry father is not a superman. He takes a number of severe beatings, but he is incredibly hard to kill.

For those who want to see some massive martial arts beatdowns, this film is for you. If you have no patience for boring transitions or establishing shots, you are sure to appreciate Dung’s approach, because he often just jumps into fight scenes, without even a “how do you do?” It is probably just as well. 578 Magnum cuts directly to the chase, delivering exactly what it promises. Oscar experts might consider it a poor fit for Academy voters’ taste, but 578 Magnum secured distribution from the well-regarded Film Movement, so maybe the added attention paid dividends.

The Foggy Mountain, sort of Introducing Peter Pham

When a fighter like Phi wants to retire, just let him. But no, slimy crime boss Ba Rang wants him to come back for one last fight, so he can bet against him. You really can’t blame Phi for kicking his final opponent’s butt, but Ba Rang does anyway. We can all smell the feud coming on in Phan Ahn & Ken Dinh’s The Foggy Mountain, which releases Tuesday on digital.

Phi just wants to live quietly, taking care of his blind wife Lanh. Instead, Ba Rang lures him back, but the gangster loses his shirt when Phi wins the match. For those who were watching, it was a pretty good fight, but obviously, only the money matters to Ba Rang. To express his disappointment, he has Phi waylaid and beaten unconscious, but they mistakenly leave him for dead. On the other hand, they make darned sure they finish the job with his wife Lanh.

Of course, Phi is bent on revenge. He knows all about the “dig two graves” business, so he visits one of his former students, now a teacher in a mountain village, as a final act of closure. As it happens, Ba Rang’s human trafficking gang has been active in the area, kidnapping a prostitute and two children. The teacher will be their next victim, but Phi is not having it.

Even by action movie standards, Dinh’s script is pretty bare-bones, but that is not really the point of Foggy Mountain. Essentially, this is a straight-over-the-plate audition film to determine is Peter Pham (with a handful of films under his belt thus far) has the stuff to carry a film as an action star (and also the action director). The answer is yes. He has amazing martial arts chops and he handles the quiet squinty stuff well enough.

It also helps that Pham has a worthy primary sparring partner in Simon Kook (who previously appeared in Ip Man 3). Frankly, kook has a menacingly look that really stands out as Vong Akork. Ba Rang’s chief henchman. Ironically, Kook might get even more career momentum out of Foggy Mountain, but if so, it will be deserved.

Once Upon a Time in Ukraine

Taras Shevchenko was a former serf, who became Ukraine’s national bard. His poetry was so important to Ukrainian cultural identity (which Putin denies ever existed), the Soviets never banned his work. They just emphasized his anti-Czarist writings, rather than his Ukrainian pride. He also teamed up with a half-Ukrainian half-Japanese samurai to fight ninjas. That part might be a bit of dramatic license on the part of screenwriter-director Roman Perfilyev. Regardless of historical accuracy, Ukrainians will rise-up and fight for their freedom in Perfilyev’s Once Upon a Time in Ukraine, which releases tomorrow in theaters and on VOD.

Shevchenko and his ilk are still referred to as “Bondman,” meaning they are bonded to the land. He almost escaped over the border with his beloved, Maria, but their plan was foiled, by her master, Yaromir Loboda. While awaiting execution, Shevchenko is “liberated” by Bogdan Chuba, a supposed peasant revolutionary, who is really just out for himself, like every other “revolutionary” since 1776. Instead of joining his gang, Shevchenko shuffles off with Akayo Nakamura, the half-Japanese son of a Ukrainian Bondwoman, who also has business with Loboda.

The vicious landowner also does business with Nakamura’s nemesis, Yoshi Harimoto, an opium dealing human-trafficker, who killed the samurai’s master and stole his sword. Subsequently, Harimoto gave the katana to his new business partner, Loboda, with whom he exchanges opium for Ukrainian women. Obviously, Nakamura will not let that stand.

The Tarantino echoes here are obvious and deliberate. If anything, Perfilyev’s film is even less historically accurate than Inglorious Basterds. However, like Tarantino’s films, Once Upon a Time is presented as a wish-fulfilling fantasy—one that happens to be particularly crazy and over-the-top. It is not trying to re-write history, like the recent Chinese film that radically altered the events and implications of the Battle of Chosin. In further contrast, Perfilyev’s film clearly believes all people deserve freedom and human dignity.

Perhaps the happiest surprise is how much great martial arts and swordplay this Ukrainian film stages. It is debatable whether Sergey Strelnikov really looks half-Japanese, but he is convincingly fierce and was well-trained for Nakamura’s fight scenes. Roman Lutskyi’s portrayal of Shevchenko is surprisingly comedic, for a national hero, but he also gives him everyman grit that is easy to identify with and root for. Weirdly, they mesh pretty well as odd-couple action buddies.

The Fist of the Condor, Starring Marko Zaror

El Guerrero is not yet as blind as Zatoichi, but his extremely light-sensitive eyes are irreversibly deteriorating. As a consolation, the same is true for his sworn rival, which makes sense, since that happens to be his twin brother Gemelo. Each wants to control the book that holds all the secrets of Rumi Maki, an ancient Incan martial art. Obviously, when it comes to this kind of knowledge, there can be only one. Both archetypal brothers are played by Chilean martial arts superstar Marko Zaror in Ernesto Diaz Espinoza’s The Fist of the Condor, which screens this Tuesday in Drafthouses theaters across the country.

The two brothers wanted to learn the ancient Condor-style martial art discipline from Mother Condor, but she only deemed El Guerrero worthy. However, Gemelo kept watching them outside the grounds of her school, biding his time. Now, Gemelo is a master and a criminal kingpin, but he still worries about what his brother might know.

For years, El Guerrero has trained for an inevitable showdown with his twin brother. He even abandoned his family, to live and train like a mystical nomad, sort of like Cain on Kung Fu, or any number of angsty martial arts protagonists.

It makes sense for Well Go USA to try to build the Chilean Zaror into the next big martial arts superstar. He is recognizable from the John Wick franchise and lacks the baggage of many of his colleagues or competitors from Hong Kong and Mainland China. Speaking solely for myself, I will no longer be covering films starring Donnie Yen or Jackie Chan. They have endorsed 7.5 million of their fellow Hongkongers losing their freedom to curry favor with the CCP. This makes them traitors to their homeland and total sell-outs. It is simply not acceptable.

That brings us back to Zaror, who has tremendous skills and an imposing screen presence. He might have to work on developing more leading man charisma, but the trippy, spiritual vibe of Fist shrewdly fits his muscular, bird-of-prey-like physicality. He can fight like crazy and brood like a house on fire. Yet, he clearly establishes very distinct personas for El Guerrero and Gemelo.

Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday, on DVD

Mike Fallon is a talented fighter, but his preferred method for assassinations is arranging “convenient accidents” that the police never investigate with much thoroughness. It therefore makes sense that he would live to see another day of misadventures after the carnage of his first movie. It turns out Malta is a great place for a hitman to work, given its handy proximity to Europe, the Middle East, and Northern Africa. However, trouble still finds him there in the Kirby Brothers’ Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday, which releases tomorrow on DVD.

Fallon still feels bad about killing all his colleagues in Big Ray’s hitman guild during the first film, but what can you do? What’s done is done. He wanted to lay low in Malta, but he soon found himself busier than ever. That is hardly surprising, considering former Maltese Labour Party Prime Minister Joseph Muscat (or his associates) hired a hitman to assassinate investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Talk about a friendly business environment—for hired killers.

Still, Fallon carries a heavy load of guilt over what happened. Technically, he was the good guy, saving his ex, but there is no getting around the fact he killed a lot of his friends. That is why he is uncharacteristically welcoming when his old mate, tinkering hitman Finicky Fred shows up in Valetta, looking for the internet girlfriend (whom Fallon assumes scammed him). Soon, they are teaming up on jobs, until Mrs. Zuzzer, a legendarily ruthless crime family matriarch kidnaps Fred. If Fallon wants him back, he will have to eliminate all the international assassins who have accepted the non-exclusive contract on her idiot son Dante, awkwardly including Big Ray. Ordinarily, Fallon would tell her to go pound sand, but that guilt still has a hold on him.

Like the first film, Hitman’s Holiday is a terrific showcase for Scott Adkins’ martial arts skills. He also shows off solid comedic chops, but never at the expense of the action. To Adkins’ credit, generously shares the screen with Sarah Chang, who definitely deserves breakout action stardom for her work as Wong Siu-ling. Essentially, Fallon has hired her to be like Burt Kwouk in the Pink Panther movies, attacking him once a week to keep him sharp. Of course, they team-up against some imposing martial artists and a psychotic killer-clown, who can’t feel pain.