Maximum Conviction (2012)

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Maximum Conviction (2012)

For this perfunctory DTV thriller, Steven Seagal is joined by ex-wrestler Steve Austin, aka ‘Stone Cold’, which is a good way to describe the film’s calibre of acting. Both Steves seem to be communicating on a similar monotone frequency, as if they’re sharing the same air supply, leaving it to the supporting acts to spark life into this inert macho fest. They play security guards – former Marines, of course – in charge of a black site prison monitoring some rotten criminals, who bring in two new female inmates whose backgrounds are left deliberately ambiguous. A crack team of mercenaries …

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KFMG Podcast S08 Episode 105: Bren Foster

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KFMG Podcast S08 Episode 105: Bren Foster

“The clock’s ticking, and right now, I really want to focus on action movies.”

Bren Foster is a man on a mission. Fresh from the positive reactions to his blistering 2024 martial arts revenge drama, Life After Fighting – which also marked his directorial debut – Bren is now keen to show the world a new kind of action hero. The former soap star, who made his name on shows like Days of Our Lives and Home and Away, is now capitalising on his incredible martial arts abilities to star in more fight films. His next will be an MMA actioner …

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Profile: Bren Foster

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Profile: Bren Foster

Date of birth: 2 November, 1976 (London, UK)

Occupation: Actor, martial arts instructor, producer, writer, director.

Style: Taekwondo, Hapkido, Hwa Rang Do, Brazilian jiu-jitsu

Biography: Bren Foster is an Australian actor and martial artist. His mother is of Cypriot heritage and his father of English-Irish heritage. He was born in London, but moved to Australia when he was three years old. At the age of six, he started training in karate, and then moved onto Hapkido and taekwondo. At 14, he started training in Muay Thai, and at 21, he learned Brazilian jiu jitsu. He has also trained in Filipino martial arts with …

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Life After Fighting (2024)

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Life After Fighting (2024)

Impressive Australian indie from Bren Foster, a former soap star and martial artist who writes, directs, produces, choreographs the fight scenes and stars in this effective, efficient revenge drama. What it lacks in budget it makes up for in an absorbing cinéma-vérité style which lends the drama a quite convincing sense of reality – despite the extreme nature of the story – supported by strong acting performances (especially the film’s central warring couple, played by Luke Ford and Cassie Howarth), and great action which shows Foster at his blistering best. Foster plays a hunky, retired, wholesome MMA fighter called Alex …

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KFMG Podcast S08 Episode 104: Andy Le / Brian Le

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KFMG Podcast S08 Episode 104: Andy Le / Brian Le

“We came from the ground up, working inside out. Whatever our inspirations, that would go straight onto the film.” Brian Le

Self-made and self-taught, the story of Martial Club – a YouTube channel created in 2012 by Daniel Mah and the brothers Andy Le and Brian Le – is truly inspiring. As kids obsessed with kung fu movies, they would copy the moves, create their own short films and upload them to the internet, purely as a way of expressing their passion for the martial arts. As their filmmaking and on-screen talent progressed – Brian, Andy and Daniel are all incredible …

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KFMG Podcast S08 Episode 103: Jude Poyer – Live in Oxford, ‘The Heroic Trio’ special

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KFMG Podcast S08 Episode 103: Jude Poyer – Live in Oxford, ‘The Heroic Trio’ special

“If one of my stunt people or the director of photography has an idea that they think I should listen to, I will listen to it. Then if we follow it or we don’t, it’s not about me, and it’s not about them, it’s about the sequence.”

For the second of our four live podcasts – co-hosted by the Life of Action author, Mike Fury – we welcome back the British stunt coordinator and former Hong Kong stuntman Jude Poyer. Jude’s first appearance was on Episode 48 back in 2019 – now, in 2025, he is the action director behind Xavier Gens’ violent …

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KFMG Podcast S08 Episode 102: Katrina Durden – Live in Lewes, ‘Dragon Inn’ special

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KFMG Podcast S08 Episode 102: Katrina Durden – Live in Lewes, ‘Dragon Inn’ special

“I’ve always been a bit of a tom-boy, I grew up that way… I never wanted to be a damsel in distress. I wanted to be Xena: Warrior Princess.”

For our first live episode – recorded at the wonderful Depot Cinema in Lewes, UK – we welcome back the actor and martial artist Katrina Durden, who first appeared on Episode 12 of the podcast back in 2017. From her work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Doctor Strange (2016) and Joey Ansah‘s fantastic Street Fighter web series, to roles in TV’s Strike Back, Heads of State starring Idris Elba and John Cena, and the upcoming Red Sonja reboot, …

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KFMG Podcast S08 Episode 101: End of Year Show 2024 with Mike Fury

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KFMG Podcast S08 Episode 101: End of Year Show 2024 with Mike Fury

It’s that time of year again – the annual Kung Fu Movie Guide Podcast End of Year Show returns for its eighth year!

Featuring the author of Life of Action Vol. 1 and 2, Mike Fury, we unpack our martial arts movie highlights of the year, discuss the news that has been hitting the headlines, and – because it’s the festive season – we also unwrap some martial arts-themed Christmas presents.

2024 has been a particularly strong year for fight-centric action films. We saw the return of many fan favourites – Po the panda returned in Kung Fu Panda 4, Hugh Jackman’s …

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Profile: King Hu

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Profile: King Hu

Date of birth: 29 April, 1932 (Beijing, China)

Date of death: 14 January, 1997 (aged 64), Taipei, Taiwan

Mandarin name: Hu Jinquan

Other names: Hu King-chuan, Wu Kam-Chuen, Frankie Gam Chuen, Hu King-Chuan, King Chuan, Hu Jing-Chuan, Chin Chuan

Occupation: Director, writer, editor, actor, set designer.

Biography: King Hu is one of China’s most respected and influential filmmakers, famous for historical martial arts films. Despite not being particularly interested in martial arts, he popularised the ‘new school’ wuxia (‘martial chivalry’) genre in the 1960s and helped to cultivate the role of the female knight-errant. King Hu was a scholar of Chinese history and a master …

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18 Fingers of Death! (2006)

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18 Fingers of Death! (2006)

Life imitates art in James Lew’s directorial debut, Hollywood’s go-to Asian heavy and stunt performer from countless American martial arts films. The film employs a ‘mockumentary’ style to tell the story of Buford Lee (James Lew), stunt double to the stars who is desperate to launch his own starring-role project and leap out from the shadows. When Buford is told he’s not a big enough name to attract the finance needed to produce his own film – which he calls 18 Fingers of Death! – he sells his prized possessions collected from years in the movie business to make the movie …

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