Men from the Monastery (1974)

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Men from the Monastery (1974)

Filmed simultaneously with Heroes Two, this stoic film forms part of the so-called ‘Shaolin cycle’ of films by director Chang Cheh, writer Ni Kuang, and fight choreographers Lau Kar-leung and Tong Gaai. Given its episodic nature, this is a more disjointed film than Heroes Two, which focused on the budding bromance between Shaolin rebels Hung Hei-kwan (Chen Kuan-tai) and Fong Sai-yuk (Fu Sheng) following the burning of the Shaolin Temple at the hands of the Manchu-backed Ching government. This film is split into four chapters and looks at the origin stories of three legendary resistance fighters. Spirited man-child Fong Sai-yuk …

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Heroes Two (1974)

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Heroes Two (1974)

A pivotal moment in kung fu movie history. This is when authentic martial arts fight choreography – rooted in geographic, stylistic and historical truth – replaced the ‘swinging arm’ aesthetic of Hong Kong action cinema in the late ’60s and ’70s, thanks to Chang Cheh‘s go-to fight coordinators, Lau Kar-leung and Tong Gaai. Their genius is brought to the fore here; a move which would ultimately help to secure the look and feel of all subsequent kung fu movies thereafter, and raise the bar in terms of on-screen fight choreography. Their championing of southern Chinese kung fu styles is apparent in an opening …

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KFMG Podcast S04 Episode 44: Heidi Moneymaker

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KFMG Podcast S04 Episode 44: Heidi Moneymaker

“You can’t just be a stuntman or stuntwoman anymore. You have to be a performer.”

When Hollywood stunt performer Heidi Moneymaker was asked to flip a car three times in mid-air while doubling for the actor Saoirse Ronan in the 2013 film, The Host, she approached the job in much the same way she approaches all other aspects of her work: fearlessly.

Heidi is the real deal. Operating in the shadows, she is a genuine action hero who has entertained millions around the world in some of Hollywood’s most successful films (from the Fast and Furious franchise to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, …

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Profile: Heidi Moneymaker

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Profile: Heidi Moneymaker

Date of birth: February 9, 1978 (Santa Rosa, California, USA)

Full name: Heidi Louise Moneymaker

Occupation: Stunt performer, stunt coordinator, actor, personal trainer, fight choreographer.

Biography: Heidi Moneymaker is the oldest of three children born to parents Dennis and Linda Moneymaker. She has a younger brother, Sean, and a younger sister, Renae, who followed her sister to become a competitive gymnast and work in the film industry. Heidi also has three other sisters: Denise, Liz and Sadie.

Heidi trained as a gymnast from the age of five. She received a scholarship to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she studied history and received numerous accolades …

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KFMG Podcast S04 Episode 43: Fighting Spirit Film Festival 2019

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KFMG Podcast S04 Episode 43: Fighting Spirit Film Festival 2019

“This festival is very important because it puts people who have the same passion in the same place in a fantastic environment. It’s so warm; it’s like a family.” Max Repossi

We have been reporting from the Fighting Spirit Film Festival since it started back in 2016. Now in its fourth year, the event has grown to become the UK’s largest martial arts film festival; a two-day celebration which welcomes some of the genre’s biggest names and best talent. As well as screening some of the hottest new feature films from around the world, the festival also provides an opportunity for …

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Lôi Báo (2017)

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Lôi Báo (2017)

Vietnamese body swap action movie from director Victor Vu, an acclaimed filmmaker known more for his dramatic work. He crafts a convincing thriller, dealt with at times in sombre tones, which is a bit of stretch for a film with the sort of premise that wouldn’t look out of place in an old episode of The Twilight Zone. Chinese fight choreographer Vincent Wang (The Great Wall) brings a grounded realism to the combat scenes – again, slightly at odds with the fantastical story – who turns the film’s star, Cuong Seven (a famous singer and dancer), into a knife-wielding, free-running, …

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The Prey (2018)

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The Prey (2018)

Considering the limitations of putting an action movie together in Cambodia – where fight filmmaking is still very much in its infancy – it is nothing short of amazing that Italian-born writer-director Jimmy Henderson can even get his films made, let alone have them looking so good. With this violent cat-and-mouse tale – which borrows thematically from films like Hard Target, First Blood and Predator – Henderson brings his own flair to a somewhat predictable set-up, running wild in the luscious greens of a Cambodian jungle. But it’s no breath of fresh air; his use of close-up, thudding sound design, and …

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Profile: Alexander Fu Sheng

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Profile: Alexander Fu Sheng

Date of birth: October 20, 1954 (Hong Kong)

Date of death: July 7, 1983 (aged 28), Hong Kong

Real name: Cheung Fu Sing (Cantonese); Zhang Fu Sheng (Mandarin)

Other names: Fu Sheng; Cheung Fu-sheng; Alexander Seng.

Occupation: Actor.

Biography: With his boyish charms, mop of black hair, wide eyes and great screen-fighting skills, Alexander Fu Sheng would become one of Hong Kong’s most unlikely superstars at a time when the cool intensity of Bruce Lee was all the rage. His naïve, tragicomic film persona would set the template for future action stars like Jackie Chan to follow during the kung fu comedy boom of the late 1970s. Fu …

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The Art of Self-Defense (2019)

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The Art of Self-Defense (2019)

Riley Stearns’ darkly comic study on toxic masculinity is the sort of strikingly original and unsettling vision that lives long in the memory, destined to become a cult favourite. Like a well-timed leg sweep, the film constantly shocks and surprises. When Casey – an ostracised, terminally single accountant played by Jesse Eisenberg, firmly in his comfort zone – is mugged and beaten on his way to buy dog food for his baby dachshund, he decides to take up karate lessons. Alessandro Nivola plays his sensei in what starts as a somewhat obvious lampooning of the type of ‘McDojo’ enterprises you …

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Furie (2019)

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Furie (2019)

Vietnamese martial arts film which revolves around a captivating performance from Veronica Ngo. She is exceptional as Hai Phuong (the character name is the film’s original Vietnamese title), a Vovinam-trained former Saigon street punk who falls pregnant and escapes her hoodlum life to raise her daughter in rural isolation. Her fighting skills comes in handy as a debt collector, but her motherly tendencies don’t quite come as naturally; she is ignorant to her child’s pleas to escape her bullied school-life, she burns the dinner and fails to protect her daughter when she is snatched by criminals in the village and …

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